17 Feb 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Photos of ailing Chavez stir emotions in Venezuela

150 FILS NO: 15722 40 PAGES

Arsenal knocked out of Cup by Blackburn

G20 pledges to hold back from currency warfare

10

www.kuwaittimes.net

RABI ALTHANI 7, 1434 AH

Oldest woman No. 1 player Williams in Qatar final

21 18 20 Saudi Arabia calls for

unity against ‘terror’ Senior official urges global cooperation to combat threat

TUNIS: Thousands of Tunisian supporters of ruling Islamist party Ennahda march along Habib Bourguiba Avenue during a demonstration to affirm their right to govern the country yesterday. — AFP

Tens of thousands rally for Ennahda TUNIS: Tens of thousands of members of the Islamist party Ennahda rallied yesterday in support of its right to rule and against plans to form a government of technocrats aimed at resolving Tunisia’s political crisis. The protesters, many waving party flags and some holding black Salafist banners, thronged Habib Bourguiba Avenue, a Tunis boulevard that was the cradle of the 2011 uprising which ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The demonstration was called to defend the right of Ennahda to continue at the head of the ruling coalition and to oppose Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali’s plan to form a government of technocrats.

Jebali, Ennahda’s number two, announced his plan in the wake of public outrage over the killing of leftist leader Chokri Belaid that has plunged Tunisia into its worst crisis since the revolution and laid bare divisions within the ruling party. “God is greatest,” and “Supporting Ennahda is a duty,” were some of the slogans chanted by the protesters, who also waved banners reading: “For the defence of the ArabMuslim identity,” and “Media of shame and sedition.” The crowd poured scorn on secular opposition leader Beji Caid Essebsi and France, the former colonial power accused of interfering in Tunisian politics, after its interior minister

warned last week of “Islamist fascism”.

Lotfi Hidouri, a spokesman in the Interior Ministry, told Reuters that more than 100,000 took part in yesterday’s rally, or about twice the number who turned out for Belaid’s funeral. Security sources referred to tens of thousands of demonstrators. Speaking at the end of yesterday’s rally, Ennahda’s veteran chief Rached Ghannouchi insisted his party was not ready to relinquish power, underscoring the split amongst its leaders. “Ennahda... will never give up power, as long as it benefits from the confidence of the people and the legitimacy of the ballot,” he told supporters.

The assassination of Belaid, a fierce critic of the ruling Islamists, came after months of failure by the ruling coalition to overhaul the government, and sparked bloody clashes between opposition supporters and police, and attacks on Ennahda offices.

The prime minister has threatened to resign if he fails to secure the support he needs to form his new government.

After meeting the leaders of the main parties on Friday, Jebali said talks on the new administration had been rescheduled for Monday and that a previous Saturday deadline for its formation had been cancelled, with no new

Khamenei: Iran not seeking nuke arms

PAGE

Slain Pistorius girlfriend leaves haunting message JOHANNESBURG: A celebrity television show yesterday aired haunting footage of Oscar Pistorius’ slain girlfriend speaking about the need to leave a positive mark on life, words laden with unintended poignancy two days after her shocking death. “Not just your journey in life, but the way that you go out and make your exit is so important, you have either made an impact in a positive way or a negative way,” Reeva Steenkamp said in the celebrity reality TV show. The 29-yearold model and law school graduate was shot four times at Pistorius’ home in the early hours of Valentine’s Day on Thursday in a case that shocked the country and topped news broadcasts around the world.

Pistorius - a national icon who inspired people around the world when he became the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes in the Olympic Games last year remained in a police cell yesterday, charged with murdering his girlfriend

JAMAICA: Reeva Steenkamp poses on set during the shooting of the reality show Tropika Island of Treasure in this undated photo. — AFP in cold blood. His uncle yesterday gave the strongest indication yet that the star athlete, who broke down sobbing during his initial court appearance the Continued on Page 13

date set. Ennahda was repressed under Ben Ali’s regime but emerged as a powerful political force after his overthrow in January 2011, with Ghannouchi returning from 20 years in exile to a hero’s welcome.

It won the first post-revolt polls in Oct 2011, securing the key foreign, interior and justice ministries in the coalition government, and controls the National Constituent Assembly, holding 89 of 271 seats. But it is divided between moderates, among whom Jebali is the most prominent, and hardliners, represented by Ghannouchi, who are refusing to give up key portfolios, insisting on the party’s electoral legitimacy. The family of Belaid has accused Ennahda of orchestrating his killing, which enflamed simmering tensions between liberals and Islamists in the once proudly secular Muslim nation. His funeral turned into a massive anti-Islamist protest, thought to be the largest since the revolution. The murder inquiry has yet to name suspects and the Islamists have strongly denied any involvement. For some Belaid supporters, the suspicion of blame has fallen on the League for the Protection of the Revolution, a controversial group linked to Ennahda and implicated in attacks on secular opposition groups. — AFP

‘Sophisticated’ cyber attack hits Facebook

PAGE

Max 24º Min 11º High Tide 04:35 & 16:05 Low Tide 10:16 & 13:20

RIYADH: A senior Saudi official told an international conference on security yesterday that the “terrorist” threat remains and urged global cooperation to combat it. “The danger of terrorism and terrorists still persists and affects several countries,” Prince Turki bin Mohammed Al-Saud of the foreign ministry told delegates at the opening of the two-day event. “We must face up to it using all means and at all levels, local, regional and international. “Terrorism threatens us all, without exception,” Prince Turki said, calling for global action to “eradicate terrorist plans through coordination between specialised centres in the struggle against terrorism.”

Some 50 countries are represented at the gathering in Riyadh, which has been organised in conjunction with the United Nations. In 2005, Saudi Arabia proposed creating in its Prince Turki capital an international anti-terrorism centre, a proposal that was approved in September 2011 by the UN General Assembly. Riyadh has pledged to finance the centre for three years at a cost of $10 million.

Between 2003 and 2006, the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom was targeted by a wave of attacks claimed by the extremist Al-Qaeda network, prompting a harsh crackdown by security forces. Al-Qaeda franchises remain active in the region, especially in Iraq and Yemen where the Saudi and Yemeni branches of the network have united to form Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). In August 2009, a suicide bomber from Yemen failed in an attempt to kill Saudi security chief Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Al-Saud. — AFP

KDcow affirms all its dairy products safe KUWAIT: Kuwait Dairy Company (KDcow) affirmed yesterday that all of its milk products were safe, brushing aside reports that its milk was contaminated with harmful bacteria. KDcow CEO Saleh Al-Atiqi, in a statement to KUNA, emphasized that KDcow’s dairy products were free of any harmful bacteria and were compatible with international standards. He said KDcow distributes more than 20 million milk packets to ministries, hospitals, co-operative societies, supply and grocery stores every month. “There is no problem in the milk,” added Atiqi.

KDcow’s laboratories were following safety procedures in line with international standards, he said, noting that its health-related tests have received certificates from Kuwait as well as the ISO-14001, ISO-9001 and ISO-22000 certifications. Atiqi said the ministry of health and Kuwait Municipality, which are monitoring KDcow products regularly, have no complaints over the dairy products. Atiqi was reacting to reports suggesting that KDcow milk products contained harmful bacteria.— KUNA

Bomb kills 64 in Quetta QUETTA, Pakistan: Sixty-four people including school children died yesterday in a bomb attack carried out by extremists from Pakistan’s Sunni Muslim majority, police said. A spokesman for Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni group, claimed responsibility for the bomb in Quetta, which caused casualties in the town’s main bazaar, a school and a computer centre.

Police said most of the victims were Shiites. Burned school bags and books were strewn around. “The explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device fitted to a motorcycle,” said Wazir Khan Nasir, deputy inspector general of police in Quetta. “This is a continuation of terrorism against Shiites.”

“I saw many bodies of women and children,” said an eyewitness at a hospital. “At least a dozen people were burned to death by the blast.” Most Western intelligence agencies have regarded the Pakistani Taleban and Al-Qaeda as the gravest threat to nuclear-armed Pakistan, a strategic US ally. But Pakistani law enforcement officials say Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has become a formidable force.

Television footage of the scene showed the rubble of the destroyed buildings with fruits and vegetables from what just minutes earlier was a lively market littered across the ground next to destroyed street carts. Members of the minority Shiite sect took to the city streets in angry protest, blocking roads with burning tyres and throwing stones at passing vehicles.

Many also started firing into the air in an attempt to keep people away from the area in case there was a secondary explosion. Sometimes insurgents stagger the explosions as a way to target people who rush to the scene to help and thus increase the death toll. — Agencies

QUETTA: A Pakistani man mourns the death of a relative killed in a bomb explosion yesterday. — AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

LOCAL

KUWAIT: The graduation ceremony for the 18th class of Special Forces group and the third class of spinners group of the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior, respectively, took place in the presence and under the patronage of the undersecretary of National Guards, Gen Nasser Abdullah Al-Dae. The ceremony also included a display of fighting skills and self-defense arts put up by the graduates. It was attended by assistant undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Lt Gen Mohammad Al-Dawsary, and director, special sources, Brig Ali Madhi. From the National Guards, Lt Gen Hashem Abdul Razaq Al-Rafae, Lt Gen Sabah Mijbel Mayouf and other officials attended.

News

in brief

Swine flu cases KUWAIT: Health Minister Dr Mohammad Al-Haifi said the number of those affected with the swine flu in Kuwait was not large and the current situation did not constitute a danger and was under control. Al-Haifi said six cases were reported last week of which five were treated and did not require hospitalization while the sixth patient was admitted but released three days later. He said a constant coordination was on with the World Health Organization in regards to the infectious disease and chronic non-infectious cases and added that the swine flu vaccine was merged with the seasonal one. He said all vaccines were available at the prevention centers.

Training for pilots KUWAIT: An informed source said that Kuwait Airways is training its pilots about the “777” and “310” aircraft operations in order to prepare itself for the first stage of privatization when it will be renting aircraft of that size.

The second stage will involve purchase of new aircrafts.

The source said pilots employed currently will not be retired simply because they have spent 25 years in service as the KAC required their services. He said the majority of pilots are Kuwaiti.

Ties with Qatar hailed KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Ali Al-Rashed Friday praised “strong and steadily progressing” relations between Kuwait and Qatar. Speaking to reporters ahead of leaving for Qatar as part of a Gulf region, AlRashed hoped Kuwait and Doha would witness solid political and economic collaboration in future. He said the National Assembly delegation, which consists of MPs and the Secretary General, would contribute to pushing forward bilateral relations as well as discussing regional and international matters of mutual interest.

Al-Rashed said he would hold talks with senior government officials and Shura Council members.

Holiday mood gripping residents of Kuwait Travel top option

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Residents of Kuwait are in for a long spell of holidays as the National and Liberation Day holidays will be stretched over six days starting from Feb 25, prompting many people to formulate vacation plans. Rabab has chosen to stay at home for most of the holiday season. “I want to spend more time cleaning the house, cooking, watching TV, and inviting friends over to my house. I will prefer to stay at home during these days as I know that the streets will be crowded because of the celebrations and the parade,” the 30-year-old employee told the Kuwait Times.

Some people will be working during

the holiday and may not feel so overjoyed at the prospect. “My job requires me to work even during the holidays, so I will not be able to enjoy or travel as I wish.

However, I will do some shopping and will also hangout with my friends but avoiding the Gulf Road as it would be jammed with traffic as usual during the celebrations,” noted 26-year-old Saly.

Others travel during these days every year. “I will be travelling to Omra with my family and visit my brother who lives in Saudi Arabia with his family. I have extended my holiday for an additional 15 days as my kids will also have holiday at school and it will be a good opportunity to take them along on this trip,” said 50-year-old

Mahmoud. Ibtisam was hoping to travel but her financial situation does not allow her. “I am forced to change my plans due to my financial situation. So I will have to entertain myself in Kuwait. I will change the interior decor of my bedroom and will spring clean the house during this long holiday. I will also visit some of my friends as during regular days I remain busy,” she pointed out.

Maha will meet up with the girls far from the city. “I will go to a resort for two days with my friends, and on the other days we will go to cafes and other places far from the city to avoid the traffic jam.

Also, it is a chance to visit relatives during this occasion,” she noted.

On his part, 36-year-old Ralph has chosen the camp to spend the holiday at. “I will take my family for desert camping to experience the cool weather during these days. Besides, my children will enjoy the outdoor weather. I will stay overnight there. We will rent a tent inside the camp. I want them to experience driving the buggy, which will be a first for them,” he explained.

Rami will just relax at home and plans to catch up with sleep by lying in bed for long hours during the holiday. Abullatif plans to celebrate the National and Liberation days with his friends roaming the streets and sharing the joy with his Kuwaiti brothers.

Diplomat lauds Al-Rashed’s visit to Saudi RIYADH: Kuwaiti Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sheikh Thamer Jaber AlAhmad Al-Sabah lauded the outcome of Kuwait ’s House Speaker Ali AlR ashed’s visit to the neighboring country where promoting bilateral ties were discussed.

The visit, which was concluded on

Wednesday, was “fruitful and successful” as described by Sheikh Thamer.

Mutual cooperation in all domains was tackled, the envoy said yesterday.

Speaker Ali Al-R ashed and his accompanying delegation kicked off a three - day visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday. He was received, at the air-

port, by Saudi Shura Council Speaker Abdullah Al-Sheik h, the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and other senior Saudi officials.

Al-Rashid and the Kuwaiti delegation met with Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz

Al-Saud, Second Deputy Prime Minister Prince, adviser and special envoy to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Muqren bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, former Deputy Governor of Riyadh Prince Muhammad bin Saad bin Abdulaziz and Shura Council Speaker.—KUNA

Labourer crushed to death underneath wheels of trailer

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A man, later identified as a Pakistani labourer, died yesterday morning when he was crushed underneath the wheels of a trailer. Earlier, the fire department received a report about the accident saying a man was stuck between the wheels of a trailer.

Al Shidadiya University project firemen of Al Jleeb fire center responded to the distress call and firemen from the technical rescue center led by Lt Colonel Bader Al-Kandari reached the spot but found the man already dead.

The body was extricated after lifting the vehicle and handed over to criminal investigation personnel.

A 22-year-old Syrian expat received multiple injuries in a car accident at Sixth Ring Road opposite Jleeb Al Shoyoukh. He was taken to the Farwaniya Hospital.

A 45-year-old Kuwaiti man suffered facial injuries in a scuffle at Salmiya, Salem Al Mubarak Street. He was taken to the Mubarak Hospital.

A five-year-old Egyptian boy fell at Hawally Leisure Park and fractured his left elbow. He was taken to the Mubarak Hospital.

A car accident at Kabd road near the first roundabout resulted in direct head injuries to a 58-year-old

Pakistani expat and a 32-year-old Indian expat. Both the injured were taken to the Farwaniya Hospital and admitted to its intensive care unit.

A motorcycle accident at Al Bedaa Street, opposite Movenpick, resulted in a head injury tor a 28-year-old Kuwaiti citizen. He was taken to the Mubarak Hospital.

A 20-year-old Syrian expat was injured in the head when a scuffle broke out at Salmiya, opposite the

Sultan Center. The injured youth was taken to the Mubarak Hospital.

A buggy accident at Nowaiseeb Road after McDonald’s left a 16-yearold Kuwaiti youth with fractures in his right hand’s fingers. He was taken to the Adan Hospital.

A car accident at Kabd road between the first and second roundabouts resulted in a fractured left foot of a 33-year-old Kuwaiti citizen who was taken to the Farwaniya Hospital.

KUWAIT: Firemen extricating the body after lifting the vehicle.

NBK participates in Omniaty Kids Run

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) participated in the first kid’s marathon in Kuwait “Omniaty Kids Run” to support children with terminal illnesses. Children all over Kuwait ran to support this cause and enjoyed a day full of fun activities.

NBK is a founding member of the Omniaty Project. The project aims to grant wishes to children who are less fortunate with terminal, and deteriorating illnesses. Omniaty project works in collaboration with NBK

Children’s Hospital, Bait Abdulla (BACCH), Kuwait Association for the care of children in hospital (KACCH) and other Children’s hospitals in Kuwait.

This national, non-profit project coincides with NBK’s deep engagement in social responsibility programs and mainly healthcare sector. NBK Children’s Hospital represents the most remarkable initiative launched

by NBK. The hospital provides medical care for children suffering from chron-

ic diseases, oncology and nematology.

NBK is always engaged in numerous activities and initiatives to support the healthcare sector in Kuwait based on the belief in its mission towards society.

Omniaty project has been established in collaboration with NBK and a number of well recognized companies and institutions in Kuwait that cover a variety of sectors. Omniaty ’s key responsibility is to ensure granting wishes to sick children in need.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

LOCAL

Cabinet ‘frustrated’ over influx of grilling motions Ministers meet na speaker

KUWAIT: Long Kem, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Cambodia and Dean of Asian Group hosted a dinner in honour of Sairaan Kader Ambassador of Mongolia and his wife, on Thursday at his residence. Asian Ambassadors and their spouses gathered to bid farewell to Ambassador Sairaan Kader who will complete his tour of duty in Kuwait soon. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

KUWAIT: Three ministers met Parliament Speaker Ali Al-Rashed to express the cabinet’s frustration about “the parliament veering away from the course of cooperation,” a move that they believed could negatively impact the relationship between the two authorities, a local newspaper reported yesterday quoting sources familiar with the issue. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the insiders further indicated that the “influx of grilling motions” filed so far was the main topic of discussion as the ministers believed that “some of them, if not all of them, are being filed with the intention to escalate the tension.”

The sources did not name the three ministers or give the date when the meeting was held. On the other hand, they told Al-Qabas that MPs also expressed their frustration with the cabinet about the way the parliament was being treated “as a temporary or incompetent assembly.”

The cabinet’s frustration at the grillings was also met by parliamentary concerns expressed by MP Tahir Al-Failakawi who said that “the influx of interpellations could lead to dissolution of the parliament.”

“[Dissolution could happen] if the cabinet feels that the grillings are personal, that there is lack of cooperation from the MPs and that there are MPs who seek to create tensions,” AlFailakawi told Al-Rai on Friday.

The parliament is scheduled this Thursday to debate a grilling motion filed by MP Husain Al-Qallaf against Minister of Communications Salem AlOthaina, and another motion filed by MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan against First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud AlSabah.

Meanwhile, MP Abdullah AlTamimi hinted in statements to AlJarida that a third grilling motion might be coming the cabinet’s way. “If there is any grilling worthy of being filed at the present time, it should be pertaining to development and how far the government has succeeded in [executing] the Development Plan,” AlTamimi said, referring to the file that is being handled by Minister of Development and Planning Dr. Rula Dashty.

In other news, MP Al-Tamimi reiterated commitment of the interior and defense committee to a draft law that

sets the number of people that can be naturalized in 2013, which is currently set in the draft law as 4,000 at least.

The parliament approved this draft law at its first hearing.

The cabinet had been granted a request for a delay in the second hearing so that it could come up with amendments to the draft law. But AlTamimi who is the rapporteur of the interior and defense committee told Al-Qabas that the panel planned to reject the said amendments which he said “could allow people with other nationalities to receive the Kuwaiti citizenship.” He said the proposed draft law focuses on stateless residents who meet the naturalization conditions.

In this regard, cabinet insiders told Al-Qabas that the true point of conflict pertained to the choice of words in the draft law. “ The cabinet had agreed to naturalize a maximum of 4,000 stateless residents who meet the conditions, but later realized that the proposed draft law states that ‘at least’ 4,000 are to be naturalized without setting a maximum cap,” said the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

MEW to face new challenges this summer KUWAIT: The Ministry of Electricity and Water faces a renewed challenge this summer to meet the increasing demand for water at a time when several production boosting projects have been delayed while new residential areas are set to be connected to the electricity network.

In this regard, MEW insiders indicated that the ministry had plans to operate new production units at the Subbiya and Shuwaiba power plants as well as to open the new North Zoor power plant to meet this year ’s demand as well as that in 2014.

“However, the delay in preparing the units as well as political interventions which put the new plant project on hold has put the ministry in a tough spot to meet the projected demand,” the sources told Al-Jarida recently.

According to the sources which preferred to remain anonymous, the MEW’s current maximum production

capacity was estimated at 12800 megawatts, while the average peak of consumption was estimated at 12200 megawatts. The new units which were supposed to have entered the service at the Suybbiya and Shuaiba plants would have added 2000 megawatts to the country’s daily production, while the North Zoor project would have provided 4500 megawatts. “These additional megawatts would have definitely saved the ministry from facing any trouble in meeting the demand for a few years to come,” the sources said.

While it is normal for demand of electricity to increase in Kuwait during the summer when temperatures can reach up to 50 C degrees, it is believed that the upcoming summer season could pose the biggest challenge for the MEW because two new residential areas, the Jaber Al-Ahmad City and Sabah Al-Ahmad City, have been connected to the state’s electricity distri-

bution network. If no production boosting projects were carried out within the next couple of years, the source warned that the ministry might resort to “programmed disconnection” of power by 2014 as a way to balance distribution in the light of the increasing demand.

To face these challenges, the sources said the ministr y has to immediately go ahead on three main fronts: finish the new production units at the Subbiya and Shuaiba plants before the onset of summer, start building the North Zoor plants regardless of the political obstacles especially now that the government has the legal document to prove the legality of the project’s contract, and launch serious rationalization efforts “which include penalties against state departments which waste energy according to official reports that are often not followed with punitive measures.”

KUWAIT: The fire department participated in the opening ceremony for Hala February 2013 on Friday noon at Salem Al Mubarak Street in Salmiya area. The personnel from the South Salmiya fire center, Marine Rescue Center and the public relations administration were present when the ceremony started at 2 pm. The Hawally governorate fire director, Col Mohmmad Al-Mhaimeed, and some fire department officers were also present. — Photo

by Hanan Al-Saadoun

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

LOCAL kuwait digest

In my view

Two sides of same coin

Sheikh Salem in good health

By Dr Hassan Abbas

D

o not be too happy with the current parliament because it is not too different from its 2012 avatar which was scrapped. Both are two sides of the same coin.

Neither was interested in the constitution, the national interest or what the people actually need.

They were strikingly similar when it came to achieving more goals and the methods they deployed to win their battles. The extreme hostility that they showed towards their foes was evident, while their selfish approach negatively affected the rights of people then and is continuing to do so now.

Let us not talk about the defeated parliamentary team, whose members are considered an opposition outside the National Assembly, and instead talk about current lawmakers. MP Abdulhameed Dashty commended the statements of MP Hammad Al-Dousary who said, “Every honorable man obeys the orders of the political leadership.”

Such statements were made by several other MPs in various forms, including MPs Husain Al-Qallaf, Faisal Al-Duwaisan, Askar Al-Enizy and Khalaf AlDumaitheer. Therefore, let us try to explain the meaning of the phrase “every honorable man obeys....”

The political leadership has stressed on numerous occasions the integrity of the judiciary, and the fact that court rulings are the final word in disputes between it and the opposition. If the leadership affirms obedience before the court, what does it mean when it says that being honorable is determined by whether you obey the political leadership?

The constitution determines the authority vested in the state’s leadership and its three wings executive, legislative and judicial. Obeying the constitution means obeying the constitutional interpretations, which will make people, in the words of Dashty and Dousary, “the honorable men.” I do not know how the lawmakers will identify others.

Maybe the two meant that obeying the political leadership would indirectly be equivalent to obeying the constitution, given the fact that top state officials have always reiterated commitment to the constitution. But using such terms to classify people implies that the MPs were taking a shot against their foes. While the state’s leadership and constitution are important to them, so is their eagerness to ‘win’. Otherwise the opposition also comes up with many constitutionally sound arguments. For example, take the statements of MP Nabil Al-Fadhl who criticized former MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun when he said “we will not cooperate with an unelected prime minister.” Al-Saadoun’s statements were very normal and did not violate the constitution, so what provoked Al-Fadhl about these statements as long as they were merely an expressed opinion derived from constitutional provisions? — Al-Rai

kuwait digest

‘The wife was handed back...’

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

A

local newspaper recently carried a follow up news story about a little girl who was reported by her father as having been kidnapped, triggering a frenzied search and rescue campaign on the Twitter for her. The report quoted a Ministry of Interior insider who said that the girl was found safe with her mother at a hotel, and that “the wife and her daughter were handed back to her Kuwaiti husband.”

The piece of news did not particularly merit my attention, but I was rather struck by the phrase “the wife was handed back.” The language almost implied as if the woman was some sort of a commodity that belonged to someone else and was now being restored to her owner. It also implied that the wife, according to the newspaper and the interior ministry source, ‘belonged’ to the husband and had no identity, will or choice of her own and who could be returned to him through the help of the police whenever he wished.

I can perhaps understand that the little girl was under her father’s guardianship as per the personal status law, despite the fact that in countries which respect their citizens and mothers in particular, children, whether male or female, are under the guardianship of the mother who is more capable of taking care of them.

But in Kuwait, where the law is male-oriented or patriarchal, it is not strange to see police ‘hand’ the child back to her Kuwaiti father. The story is different as far as the wife was concerned, however. As an adult and sane person, the woman is supposed to have exercised her freedom when she chose to leave her house, and is supposed to continue to enjoy that freedom to choose whether or when to come back. To be ‘handed’ back to her husband as if she was a piece of furniture is not only an insult to the wife, but an attack against the freedom of all women in the country.

MP Mohammad Al-Jabri announced a few days ago his plans to propose draft laws that would help ‘bring justice’ to women through more housing and job welfare and other privileges. This is a good thing considering that the state currently discriminates in favour of male citizens, singling them out for many privileges that their female counterparts are not entitled to.

After the ‘handing the wife back to her husband’ incident, I think that Al-Jabri’s efforts are even more welcome as long as these are be aimed at restoring women’s dignity and human rights which unfortunately many people, including parliament members, would rather want to remain ignored. —Al-Qabas

By Abdallah Abbas Bwair

local@kuwaittimes.net

A

kuwait digest

Pushing youth into rebellion

By Mustafa Al-Sarraf

A

ttempts are being made to use labor unions by pretending that they are the ‘voice of the Kuwaiti and youth activists to serve the tribal move- youngsters.’ But if we take a deeper look into the ment against the single vote decree. It is already demands of the so called ‘young people of Kuwait,’ we known that the emergency decree was issued as per find that their top demand is dissolution of the parliathe constitutional authorities vested in His Highness ment and withdrawal of the single vote decree. They the Amir, and that the constitution allows two checks feel no need to buttress their demands with any legal to regulate these authorities: either by discussing it in arguments, nor do they have any regard for the constithe parliament or challenging it in a constitutional tutional court’s ruling. They continue to repeat what court. they are being told without any political awareness Challenges have already been mounted against the and it is clear that they did not join the movement out decree through both the routes. While the parliament of any personal conviction. approved it, the constitutional court is still looking into While young people’s engagement with societal the challenges. However, the tribal movement that is causes and politics is always welcome, they should roughly referred to as the opposition has made it a never be taught to rebel against the law. Vested interhabit to rebel against the law of the land and the con- ests are brain washing these young people. stitution since it wants to enforce its own opinion. It Young citizens are the backbone of the future, and has been calling for withthey should be taught the drawal of the decree and disimportance of respecting People behind the tribal rebellion are the law and gaining solution of the parliament that was elected as per the using the same approach in misleading awareness about what amended voting mecha- young activists by pretending that they they do or say. Children of nism. It is adamant on its Kuwait, who in the begindemands even if the consti- are the ‘voice of the Kuwaiti young- ning joined those who tutional court were to sters.’ But if we take a deeper look into objected to the single uphold the decree. That is the demands of the so called ‘young vote system, later came to why I call this movement an people of Kuwait,’ we find that their top realize that the method to act of rebellion rather than a it was wrong, viodemand is dissolution of the parlia- oppose political movement. lent and subjective, and This rebellion was also ment and withdrawal of the single vote therefore decided to seen during gatherings out- decree. They feel no need to buttress abandon them. side the Palace of Justice their demands with any legal arguThe hardheaded where the rebels tried to put rebels continued their ments, nor do they have any regard for pressure on the judiciary to movement in the meanpress for their demands for the constitutional court’s ruling. time and announced the acquittal of certain outlaws. formation of a coalition.

This rebellion continues with attempts to push labor Their main goals were the dissolution of a legitimate unions into jettisoning their real role of focusing on the parliament, raising a ruckus about their freedoms by rights of their members and instead coaxing them into which they meant the chaos of their movement, joining the tribal rebellion. The rebels are using the rejecting authoritarianism, and adopting a full parliaunions’ name to hurt Kuwait’s international reputation mentary system by which they meant nominating one without any justification. of them as a prime minister after they take over the Meanwhile, people behind the tribal rebellion are parliament if and when the single vote system would using the same approach in misleading young activists be reverted. — Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

New prospect for solutions

By Dr. Sulaiman Al-Khadhari

T

he more intense the developments on Kuwait’s state. The state lacks a clear agenda that provides political horizon and the continued approach of guidance about how to practice politics, or evolve a the government to pursue legal action against unique form of parliamentary system that creates an opposition figures and Twitter activists, the more opportunity for the right kind of mainstream opposivoices are we hearing calling for serious efforts to find tion to emerge. It must also take into account the fact that the current system does not provide an opportua way out of the current ordeal. nity for the emergence of However, the solutions an elected leadership to proposed are nothing more than attempts which Our true problem is that we have a wield the executive authority. fail because they ignore The solution therefore the implications for our crisis of the state. The state lacks a already deteriorating clear agenda that provides guidance exceeds the concepts of social, political and legal about how to prac tice politics, or simply forgiving and reconciling. It requires a comprereality. These solutions focus mainly on pushing evolve a unique form of parliamen- hensive review by both for further escalation of a tary system that creates an opportuni- sides to recognize the root deteriorating scenario with ty for the right kind of mainstream causes of the crisis while at the same time reducing the the hope that it would push the government to opposition to emerge. It must also intensity of the kind of lanstrike a compromise or take into account the fact that the cur- guage being deployed in propitiate the regressive rent system does not provide an this abrasive debate which has now almost reached a forces to a level where we will be investing even opportunity for the emergence of an level where it could even more in our tribal affilia- elected leadership to wield the execu- instigate violence.

The government should tions, a state from which tive authority. seriously consider the fact we should have been movthat many of the problems ing away.

In my opinion, both solutions lack objectivity that Kuwaiti citizens are upset about are real and because they fail to address the real causes for the cri- must be contained. Meanwhile, the opposition needs sis while only addressing the results. Such an to realize that the reality in Kuwait, no matter how approach would only push back the crisis which bad it might seem, is still not suitable for all those slomight return in an even worse form at some point in gans and instigations that makes it sound as if we are dealing with the most draconian dictatorial governthe future.

Our true problem is that we have a crisis of the ment on the face of the earth. —Al-Rai

friend of mine told me that HH Sheikh Salem Al-Ali had passed away which made me very sad and I could not even explain what had happened to me. This reminded me of the time when citizens prayed for the recovery of HH Sheikh Salem when he was admitted to Mubarak Hospital nearly three and a half years ago. Allah answered those prayers and he recovered well. HH Sheikh Salem’s longing for Kuwait and its people was an integral factor behind his speedy recovery.

My sadness turned into joy when I personally ascertained through the office of HH Sheikh Salem AlAli that he was very much alive and in good health, and at that very moment I prayed to Almighty Allah to give him good health to continue his mission. The bad piece of news turned out to be wrong, the correct news sounded even better.

The doors of HH Sheikh Salem’s diwan are open to all those citizens who want to come in to ask after his health or seek to raise a personal matter. Not many can boast of such contacts, but through this diwaniya, Sheikh Salem continues to retain his contacts with his countrymen.

Kuwait will not forget his generosity when he donated KD60 million to citizens including KD20,000 for everyone who has a PhD from the university and used that education, KD 6000 for each Kuwaiti who married a Kuwaiti woman and KD 4000 for each debtor, adding to previous donations as contributions to ease the burden of life for many.

We urge everyone to remain careful while believing or receiving any news from their sources and not hasten to publish such inaccurate news as it can have a very bad effect.

May Allah protect Sheikh Salem Al-Ali and bless him with a long life.

kuwait digest

It’s extremely hypocritical

By Dr Ahmad Y Al-Duaij

T

he following headline was spotted on the website of Reuters news agency: “Human Rights Watch: Kuwait must stop jailing anyone charged with insulting the Amir.” In the details below, the report said, “The Human Rights Watch Organization (based in the US) said on Thursday that Kuwait cannot claim that it is a beacon of freedom in the Gulf if it issued jail sentences against those who make statements considered insulting to the Amir.

The news item quoting Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch for the Middle East Nadeem Khouri jailing politicians for criticizing the ruler contradicts official claims that Kuwait is a beacon of freedom in the Gulf. He added that the appeals court must cancel the convictions that were issued due to crimes related to the freedom of peaceful expression.”

Listen Mr Khouri: The verdicts issued by Kuwait’s clean and impartial judges were as per the Kuwaiti law based on legislations and rules issued by the parliament. The only defect was in the procedures, not with the verdicts. There are people who in whose case the procedures were applied completely and they were sent to court which pronounced its ruling. There are certain people whose statements were ignored. We Kuwaitis expect HH the Amir will cancel the verdicts against those who crossed the line with him, and he has the right to do so after the legal procedures have run their course.

What do you and your organization have to do with Kuwait’s judiciary? Your intervention reached the point of audacity when you said the appeals court must cancel the convictions awarded due to crimes related to peaceful freedom of expression. Your name indicates that you are an Arab living in America, the grandest terrorist in the world, and your organization, Khouri, is a hypocritical one. In fact, it is extremely hypocritical when it comes to the entity of Israel, the Zionist state in occupied Palestine, which commits brutal crimes against Palestinians and arrests the peaceful among them in the West Bank and Jerusalem every day and throws them in prison for no guilt or when they carry out a peaceful protest. You, Khouri, and your organization can neither criticize nor condemn the Zionists in occupied Palestine because then they will accuse you as per the racist American law.

When any thing is related with Arabs and Muslims or third world countries that is seen as anti-Semitic, this accusation makes you change from Khouri to Qandalaft. Khori, why do you have any doubt that Kuwait is the beacon of freedom in the Gulf? Your sense of wonder at the official claims that Kuwait is the beacon of freedom in the Gulf is correct because Kuwait, despite you, is a beacon of freedom not only in the Gulf but across the Arab world.

I hope that if a high ranking respected source at the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, and not “Qandalaf,” were to speak about the reason behind regression of Kuwait, which was once “the pearl of the Gulf,” it would have been beneficial. The intervention of Qandalaft and his non-sense statements are not. Yes, you could have talked about the reasons behind the slow pace of development despite our huge budgets for the last many decades, or pointed to the sad fact that our abundant income was dependent upon oil and how it could have been used in a better fashion to make Kuwait the pearl of the world again, not only of the Gulf, but your agenda is different. — Al-Watan

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

LOCAL

Granting Kuwaiti citizenship ‘a sovereign right’ of state Policy of transparency highlighted KUWAIT: Granting nationality is a state sovereign issue and external powers have no right to meddle in such internal affairs of a sovereign and independent country, affirmed the Chairman of the Central Apparatus for Illegal Residents Saleh Al-Fadhala. International law grants states legislation right and freedom of setting terms and restrictions for granting the citizenship, in harmony with the state political, economic and social interests, said Al-Fadhala.

“Citizenship is subject to the state judgment, in line with the country’s higher interests, thus external parties cannot intervene in such purely internal issues,” AlFadhala re-stressed in his statement to the national news agency of Kuwait. His statement came as a reaction to remarks made by a delegation of international organization during a recent visit to the countr y, calling to grant the Kuwaiti nationality to a segment of residents who are not legally eligi-

ble to hold the Kuwaiti identification card. Kuwait’s hosting of delegations of such organizations is part of the state policy of transparency regarding the issue of the illegal residents.

The Apparatus, he elaborated, is ready to discuss humanitarian aspect of this issue with these foreign agencies, indicating that they should not meddle in the other dimensions of this question that fall within jurisdictions of the State of Kuwait. The Ministry of Justice announced on Saturday issuing 1,023 legitimate documents of marriage, divorce and marriage counseling contracts of illegal residents in the country for the year 2012.

The Depar tment of Legal Authentication and its subsidiaries have issued 921 marriage documents, 93 divorce documents and nine marriage counseling ones for illegal residents during the period between January and December of 2012, Assistant Undersecretary for

Legal Affairs and Legislation Documentation of the Ministry of Justice, Bader Al-Zamanan, told KUNA. Al-Zamanan said “During the same year, the department also issued 306 marriage contracts, 37 divorce documents and a single marriage counseling one for Kuwaitis and their wives who are illegally residing in Kuwait.

“It also issued 134 marriage and 19 divorce documents for illegal male residents and their Kuwaiti wives.” He noted that the total number of documents issued by the department in 2012 amounted to 15,416 while the number of inheritance documents reached 315. Al-Zamanan said the Council of Ministers Resolution No. 409 of the year 2011 for the submission of a number of privileges and facilities for illegal residents encouraged those people to implement such provisions at the department.

With regard to the Department of Real Estate Registration and Authentication at the ministry, Al-

Zamanan said that the total number of authentication and ratification documents issued for the illegal residents during the past year amounted to 13488, including 183 admission documents, 3603 authorization and 1,427 power of attorney.

This department has also issued 17 documents for illegal residents owning real estate in Kuwait, which included ten documents that will be forwarded as a grant from the country to the families of martyrs and four of them will be owned by relatives of Kuwaitis. In addition, he praised the role of the central agency for addressing the situations of illegal residents and its cooperation with the Ministry of Justice in order to facilitate all documentation issuance assigned to the latter from the agency. The right of accessing those documents is guaranteed to everyone, and the ministry does not prevent anyone from obtaining them, AlZamanan concluded.—KUNA

New plans to solve housing problems KUWAIT: Head of Government Performance Follow-up Sheikh Ahmad Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah called on officials of the General Organization for Housing Welfare to expedite the implementation of housing projects, which “will reduce the number of eligible residential applications.”

This statement came during Sheikh Ahmad’s visit to the housing welfare where he was received by the Director-General Subhi Yousef Al-Mulla and Deputy Director General for Planning and Design Fahad Suleiman Al-Saeed.

Sheikh Ahmad was briefed, during his visit, about a detailed presentation by Al-Mulla on the current situation of the organization’s previous and future projects and listened to a full explanation of all the obstacles that the organization may face when implementing its projects.

Head of Government Performance Follow-up praised the role of the organization’s officials on planning and implementing urban and residential suburb projects and stressed the full keenness to follow up on them.

Sheikh Ahmad expressed his gratitude to the officials at the General Organization for Housing Welfare, urging them to continue working to accelerate the implementation of these projects. —KUNA

Kuwait seeks to bring life to quarry north of capital KUWAIT: Authorities are executing a plan to restore life to the quarry site of Liah, some 20 km north of the district of Jahra, with aim of transforming the location into a natural reserve.

Dr Ali Al-Dosari, a researcher at Kuwait I nstitute for S cientific Research (KISR), said the national project of bringing life to the quarr y of buried masonr y was also intended to expand size of the natural reserves.

Dr. Al-Dosari, the head of the venture of re-habilitating the quarry, indicated that the execution of the projec t entered its second phase, noting that the first stage ended in 2008, adding that plant-

ing of 60,000 wild plants was underway.

Up to 35,000 wild plants have already been planted during the first phase of the restoration process at the fenced site, located 20 km north of the northern region of Al-Jahraa.

As a result of burial of cement blocks at the place, solid soil developed with no signs of any life, thus killing plants in the region.

The special team assigned to the project had dug a water well and placed winds measurement instruments around the location, as part of the soil reclamation efforts.

The projec t execution is due between 2003 and 2015. —KUNA

Firemen hold exercise

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: As part of the administration’s plans of attracting new recruits, a practical training exercise about how to deal with a fire in an aircraft was carried out on Thursday for firemen working at Kuwait International Airport center and military airport fire center.

Lt General Yousuf Abdullah Al-Anjari and deputy director, Brig Khalid Al-Mirad were present during the exercise aimed at inculcating enhanced firefighting and rescue skills.

The scenario involved a make-believe fire on an airplane and also leakage of fuel from the plane which scattered around in the area and reached a parked vehicle setting it on fire. The firefighters were also to assume that there were casualties on the

plane as a result of the blaze.

The firemen’s role was to fight the fire in the vehicle and the plane with water and also control the fire on the ground due to the leaked fuel by using foam.

Simultaneously, they were also to evacuate the casualties.

The training was the practical application for what they were taught theoretically through lectures held on Sunday, Feb 3, over a period of three weeks. The lectures were delivered by Neil Cosby and Ken Brest from fire college in the United Kingdom.

Deputy Director Brig Khalid Al-Mikrad hailed the efforts of firemen in making the training project successful. The project involved four training courses namely residential fires, industrial and oil fires, airplane fires and rescue, and the dangerous materials fire course.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

LOCAL

KUWAIT: The speed boats course held at the specialized training centre from November 11, 2012 to February 14, 2013 concluded on Thursday morning. A total of 19 trainees from Qatar Coast Guards, MOD Kuwait and Kuwait Coast Guards participated in the course held under the patronage of the assistant undersecretary for border affairs, Lt General Sheikh Mohammad Al-Yousuf. The assistant director for Coast Guards, Lt General Abdullah Jassem Al-Qinae, and director of the training center, Colonel Abdul Karim Mahdi Al-Karam, besides the training officers were present as the course came to a conclusion. The course was organized in coordination with the general administration for training.

Indians ‘least problematic community in Kuwait’ NEW DELHI: Around 650,000 Indians living in Kuwait are the biggest foreign community, and the least problematic one as well, contributing immensely towards development of Kuwait, said Special Envoy of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah and Advisor at the Amir Diwan Mohammad Abdullah Abul-Hasan here on Friday. He was interacting with students/scholars at the Indo-Arab Cultural Centre situated at the world famous Jamia Millia Islamia University in the Indian Capital. Addressing the students/scholars, he said it was his seventh visit to India, and acknowledged age-old strong bilateral ties between the two nations.

“We have had very cordial relations with India all these years, and intend to build even stronger and closer ties with New Delhi in future. There are nearly 110 different communities living in Kuwait from different countries, but Indians acquire a special space. They are brilliant, least problematic, and work in different sectors like health, trade and commerce for the overall development of Kuwait,” he said, much to the encouragement of all those present on the occasion.

To a question from a student about oil exports to India, he said that his country has always stood strongly behind India as far as meeting its energy needs are concerned. “In past whenever other countries stopped oil exports to India, Kuwait always

pitched in. India has always been a prominent consumer of Kuwaiti oil. Over the past few years, Kuwaiti oil exports to India have increased from 200 million barrel to 400 million barrels.”

On role of women in Kuwaiti politics, he said that women were playing a key role in politics, business, diplomacy and overall governance. “Today, we have a lady ambassador in Chile, as many as 10 diplomats at different Kuwaiti embassies across the world, several women heading different government committees, and also Members of Parliament,” he elaborated. He further added: “We respect gender equality in Kuwaiti politics.”

Earlier in the day, Abul-Hasan met Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed at the latter’s office to deliver a letter for President of India Pranab Mukherjee. The letter sheds light on promoting bilateral ties in various fields and latest developments on regional and international arenas.

The Kuwaiti Amir’s envoy also held talks with the Indian Minister about the $2 billion Fund set up to finance projects in as many as 32 non-Arab Asian countries.

Kuwait has committed to contribute $300 million towards the Fund. Khursheed said: “today I met the Kuwaiti Amir’s envoy. We discussed how to operationalize the Fund set up for development projects in 32 nonArab Asian countries”. — KUNA

Four Kuwaiti youngsters killed in traffic accident Search for child molester KUWAIT: Four men, all Kuwaiti nationals, died when their sedan car crashed into a water tanker at the King Fahad Highway on Friday. The victims, between the ages of 16 and 22, were declared dead on the scene by paramedics, following which Criminal Evidence General Department officers were summoned to the spot. The bodies were taken to the forensic department while a case was filed for investigations to determine the circumstances that led to the accident.

Meanwhile, a 37-year-old Kuwaiti man died of fatal injuries sustained in an accident when his vehicle lost balance and overturned at the Um Safaq Road, south of the country. The body was taken to the coroner after paramedics pronounced him dead on the scene. Investigations went underway to reveal the circumstances that led to the accident.

Five members of a family were injured seriously when two cars collided at the Ghazali Road. All five Syrians, including two children, were admitted to the Sabah Hospital in a critical condition, according to the police report. An investigation was opened into the accident.

A man died when he was hit by a car late Thursday night in the Rahiya desert. The 34-yearold Kuwaiti was declared brought dead at the Jahra Hospital where he was rushed by a Kuwaiti

man who admitted that he had accidently hit him while driving out of his camp. The driver was taken into custody by the police and charged with manslaughter.

Work mishap A worker died and another injured when they fell into a hole at a construction project near the Subbiya Road recently. Paramedics and police rushed to the location where the two workers were reported trapped after landslide. The victim, a 45-year-old Egyptian man, was pronounced dead on the scene while his coworker and compatriot, was rushed to the Jahra Hospital with various injuries. A case was filed at the Jahra police station for investigations.

Sexual assault A man allegedly sexually assaulted a child in Sulaibiya recently. The child’s mother reported to the area’s police station after the boy told her that a young man, who is a next door neighbor, assaulted him. The nine-year-old was reportedly lured to an open square behind the suspect’s house where the crime was committed.

Investigations are ongoing.

Valentine date A man’s planned romantic dinner with his

girlfriend on Valentine’s Day was ruined when his wife gate crashed into the party and ended up in a slanging match with the man. Police, who were called to the Salmiya restaurant on Thursday night after the quarrel started, soon learnt that the two were a married couple. The woman explained to the officers that she decided to tail her husband after he dressed unusually nattily and went out. She followed him to a restaurant where she saw him meet another woman and hand her a supposedly Valentine’s gift. After deciding that she has had enough, the woman waded right into the lovers’ cozy date inside the restaurant. All three were taken to the Salmiya police station where the woman was charged with battery.

Thief busted A thief was arrested for stealing thousands of dinars from a car he broke into in Hawally while search is on for his three accomplices. Police used a bank’s surveillance camera to identify the Ethiopian man who was later arrested and confessed to stealing the money with three other compatriots. The four had broken the window of a car owned by a Syrian national, who had left it temporarily outside a Nugra mall after withdrawing KD30,000 from the bank and leaving the money in the car.

Gulfmart to re-launch Fahaheel branch

MEALF Chairman Saied Al-Shaheen (left) holding talks with 1st VP of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Khalfan Al-Kaabi. (Right) The KOC pavilion.

MEALF’s 7th edition witnesses widespread success MUSCAT: The Steering and Technical Committee of the 7th edition of The Middle East Artificial Lift Forum (MEALF) has announced that the biennial energy forum was a vast regional success with over 518 speakers, delegates, exhibitors and committee members. MEALF was held from Feb 5 to 7 at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi..

Inaugurated under the patronage of Khalfan Saeed Al-Kaabi, 1st VP of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the three-day knowledge sharing event witnessed the attendance of some of the world’s leading energy professionals from both the public and private sectors.

Speaking on the success of MEALF 2013, MEALF Chairman Saeed AlShaheen stated, “We are very pleased and proud with the outcome of the preforum workshops, main Forum and Exhibition as we witnessed a very large number of delegates, speakers and exhibitors come together to proactively contribute to the thriving artificial lift industry and the regional energy sector, at large.”

Al-Shaheen also mentioned that the “Going Green” concept which MEALF embraced during its 7th edition through the exclusive use of iPads was met with immense support from all parties, as it served the Forum’s objectives of working towards sustainable socio economic development on a regional level. This was achieved by using iPads for communication, information and participant certificates throughout all presentations, sessions and meetings.

The main Forum kicked off through three pre-forum training workshops, which were conducted by Weatherford International, General Electric Company and Baker Hughes and aimed at targeting participants with intermediate to advanced levels of understanding of artificial lift technologies through a number of practical and interactive exercises.

Speakers who presented 20 technical presentations were from Kuwait Oil Company, Petroleum Development Oman, PCM, Weatherford International, Zenith Oil Field Technology, Schlumberger, Novomet Group of

Companies, Kuwait University, Senergy International, Occidental Oman and Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company.

Among the key topics that were covered during the presentations were artificial lift management systems, technical challenges faced by the oil industry in relation to the application of artificial lift technologies, performance management and evaluation of key areas such as oil fields and wells, improvement in the monitoring and production optimization processes and a great emphasis on the new and innovative technologies and methods that can assist in reduced costs, power consumption levels, maximizing energy efficiency and strengthening Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) capacities.

The Forum also included a vibrant Exhibition which was held in parallel with the Forum and aimed at displaying the latest artificial lift equipment, operations, products and related services. In total, 26 corporations took part in the Exhibition and included Petroleum Development Oman, Kuwait Oil Company, vMonitor, Al Khorayef, Advanced Protection Technologies, Artificial Lift Company, Artrans S.A, BIW, Canadian Advanced ESP Inc, Delta Doha, Norris production Solutions, ESP Completion Technologies, LLC, GE Oil and Gas, Kudu Industries Inc, NOV Mono Group, Novomet Group of Companies, PCM, PFT Systems & Connectors LLC, RMSpumptools, Quick Connectors Inc, Schlumberger, Sercel GRC, Taurus Engineering, Weatherford Oil Tool ME, ZEITECS and Zenith Oilfield Technology.

The Forum commenced officially with a welcome speech by MEALF’s chairman, Saeed Al Shaheen who welcomed participants and touched on the Forum’s theme ‘Uplifting Society’, as well as its objectives and aspirations for popularizing and encouraging the artificial lift technology as a fundamental component for boosting oil production in the MENA region. He explained that these objectives will be achieved by addressing, debating and tackling the current and future needs of the business. Al Shaheen also touched on the Forum’s string of successes since its

establishment 10 years ago.

The welcome speech was followed by a speech by Sami Suheil, Chief Operating Officer of vMonitor, the recognized global leader of wireless solutions in the oil and gas industry and the Forum’s Main Sponsor, followed by an innovative and first-of-its kind keynote address by Dr. Ibrahim Al Rashdan, MD/Kuwait Ministry of Health entitled “Hydrocarbon Production Systems vs.

Human Cardio System Similarities and Opportunities for Across Discipline Collaboration”, which demonstrated and established a number of interesting correlations between the human cardiovascular system and one of the key technologies and methods used within the artificial lift industry. The Guest of Honor, His Excellency Khalfan Saeed Al Kaabi, also gave a brief speech thanking all participants and expressing his support of the Forum and his admiration of the keynote presentation by Dr. Ibrahim Al Rashdan due its unique and original concept. He also commended MEALF for introducing the “Going Green” concept in efforts to conserve the environment through such eco-friendly initiatives.

Al Shaheen added, “The pre-forum workshops were very insightful and beneficial for participants and they paved the way for the main Forum by serving as platform for practical execution. All 20 papers presented by our esteemed speakers provided updated and essential information and data as regards to the best practices, issues and concerns facing the industry, and the feedback we received to date underlines that they were both comprehensive and value-adding.”

Al Shaheen thanked all participants for making the 7th edition a regional and international success including the Guest of Honor; His Excellency Khalfan Saeed Al Kaabi, sponsors, speakers, delegates and exhibitors, and expressed that MEALF and its Steering and Technical Committees are looking forward to another successful MEALF event in 2015, as the industry would have progressed and evolved further by then, which will enable the exchange of new ideas and insights.

KUWAIT: Gulfmart, the largest and fastest growing supermarket chain in Kuwait, is continuing its rebranding and revamping initiative with the launch at 6.30pm on Monday of its fully refurbished first Fahaheel branch by Satish C. Mehta the Indian Ambassador to Kuwait.

In late November, 2012, Gulfmart announced that it had begun launching a new identity for all its existing and new supermarkets. The rebranding, which includes a new logo, lettering, livery and other marketing collateral, aims to give the brand a reinvigorated fresh image and unite all its supermarkets under a common theme. Concurrent with its rebranding exercise, Gulfmart is also engaged in a major renovation drive that will see several of its existing branches refitted and equipped to bring them on par with newer outlets being launched across the country.

“In this era of hyper-competitiveness in the retail industry, customers expect to receive a superior retail experience whenever and wherever they do their shopping,” said Dr. Remesh T.A., Country-Head of Gulfmart. He added, “By implementing modern design layouts, advanced retail techniques and equipment, as well as introducing efficient utilization of floor-space, visually appealing merchandizing and other customer amenities and facilities, we aim to boost the retail experience for our customers.”

Elaborating on the rebranding and renovations, Dr. Remesh said, “The restoration and new branding of our first Fahaheel branch, which initially opened nearly five years ago in 2008, has dramatically altered the exterior and interior of the store.

Along with refreshing new external signage, the 25,000 square feet of internal floor area has been completely done up; every aspect of the restoration process has been undertaken with the aim of enhancing customer convenience and improving overall shopping ambiance for shoppers. From wider aisles, easily accessible shelves and clearer signage to more departments stocking a greater variety of products, we have introduced a variety of changes to the shopping environment as well as product offering. A newly laid out fresh butchery fishery and an extensive fresh produce area, along with electronics, garments and household departments have added to the merchandize assortment and augment-

ed shopping at the store.”

While apologizing to customers for the inconvenience caused by the renovation work, the country manager was quick to point out, “Despite ongoing work we made sure that the store did not have to close down for even a single day, as any disruption in our normal services would have resulted in greater hardship for our patrons. Running daily retail operations and conducting renovation work simultaneously was successfully achieved due to the meticulous planning and execution by our in-

Dr. Remesh T.A. house Projects and Departments division, headed by Yusuf Bhatti. The success of this project has encouraged us to introduce the same concept when we embark on refurbishment at Jleeb Al-Shyoukh One and Jleeb Al-Shyoukh Two, as well as Salmiya One, in the near future.”

“As we stand poised on the threshold of an assertive expansion drive that will see tens of branches added to the chain, both locally in Kuwait and in the wider GCC region, I am extremely grateful to all our patrons in Kuwait whose unstinted support throughout the years has been the key to our success,” said Arif Shaikh, Managing Director of Gulfmart Group. “The ongoing success in Kuwait, as well as our optimistic outlook on retail business in the region, has prompted us to finalize plans on opening dozens of new stores in different size formats across Kuwait and the region by the end of 2015. On the regional level, we will be opening hypermarkets and supermarkets in the Kingdom of Bahrain and in UAE, added the Managing Director.

Shedding more light on Gulfmart’s rebranding exercise Dr.

Remesh added, “The previous logo, which had been in use since 1999 and had served to firmly establish the brand in the country, needed a makeover in order to mirror our assertive new expansion plans and highlight our brand pillars of freshness, variety, value and service. The entire rebranding process is also part of our strategic drive to enliven the brand image and give it a contemporary look as we embark on establishing Gulfmart not just as a major player in Kuwait, but also across the regional retail landscape.” “ The stylishly rendered new green leaf logo projects the freshness of our produce, while the elegant and modern two-toned lettering reflects the brand’s youthful verve and dynamism. The green color theme has a lot of connotations, not least of which is its association with growth, renewal, freshness and revival. Also today, green is no longer just a color, it has transformed into a verb with ecological nuances that identify it with the preservation and sustaining of environment for future generations. It is these qualities that we aim to portray with our new brand image,” concluded Dr. Remesh.

The rapid growth of Kuwait retail market in recent years, fueled by changing lifestyles and rising income, has propelled Gulfmart from a fledgling grocery retailer in 1999 to a flourishing multi-million dollar supermarket chain today.

Successfully operating sixteen strategically located branches in different retail formats across Kuwait reveals the brand’s popularity in the market, and attests to the commitment and dedication of staff and management. In the pipeline are plans to open a third mini-supermarket in Salmiya and another mini supermarket in the residential district of Mahboula. Large-format supermarkets to be launched shortly include a third branch in Fahaheel of 30,000 sq ft, a second branch in Khaitan of similar area and a 10,000 sq ft third outlet in Hawally.

On the occasion of re-launching Fahaheel One, the top management and staff of Gulfmart thanked customers for their unwavering support in the past, adding that the rebranding and revamping initiative would further help differentiate the brand from its competitors and continue to offer customers a comprehensive range of good quality products at competitive prices.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Vatican may hold early conclave for next pope

Hundreds taken in Syria kidnappings

Page 9 Page 8

TEHRAN: Iranian well-wishers attending the speech of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (inset) hold up his pictures at a mosque inside the leader’s housing compound yesterday. — AP

Khamenei: Iran not seeking nukes Supreme Leader boasts US unable to stop it, irked by officials infighting TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader said yesterday that his country was not seeking n u c l e a r we a p o n s, b u t t h a t i f Te h r a n intended to build them, the US couldn’t stop it. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, also rejected direct talks with the US over its nuclear program despite the pressure o f s a n c t i o n s. “ We b e l i e ve n u c l e a r weapons must be abolished and we have no intention of building” such weaponry, Khamenei said in remarks posted on his website, leader.ir. But he added: “If Iran h a d t h e i n te n t i o n to b u i l d n u c l e a r weapons, the US could in no way stop the Iranian nation.”

He said Tehran would hold talks with t h e U S i f Wa s h i n g to n re s p e c t s I ra n’s rights instead of resorting to bullying.

“They want to deny the Iranian nation of its definite and inalienable right to uraniu m e n r i c h m e n t a n d p e a ce f u l u s e o f nuclear energy. Of course, they won’t succeed,” Khamenei said. Addressing a group of Iranians at his home in the capit a l, Te h r a n , K h a m e n e i a l s o s co l d e d

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his conservative rivals for factional fighting, saying they should unite rather than quarrel at a time when the West was stepping up sanctions on Iran.

Iran recently has highlighted a religious decree Khamenei issued more than s e ve n ye a r s a g o t h a t b a n s n u c l e a r weapons in an effort to back up its claim that Tehran’s nuclear program is being used for peaceful purposes and medical research. Iran authorities often cite the decree to counter Western suspicions that Iran could ultimately move toward an atomic bomb.

Although Iran views Khamenei’s 2005 fatwa as a binding declaration, the West and its allies have repeatedly accused Iran of using any tactic to prolong the standoff over its nuclear program, and possibly advance its nuclear capabilities.

Iran denies such aspirations, insisting it is enriching only to make reactor fuel and to make isotopes for medical purposes.

Tehran, however, has left UN nuclear inspectors empty-handed when it comes

to addressing Western suspicions that it’s co n d u c t i n g te s t s re l a te d to n u c l e a r weapons. Three rounds of talks last year made no headway on the West’s main demand: That Iran halt its highest-level uranium enrichment. Washington and others worry that this level of nuclear fuel, at 20 percent enrichment, could be t u r n e d i n to w a r h e a d - gra d e m a te r i a l m u c h f a s te r t h a n t h e 3 . 5 p e rce n t enriched uranium needed for Iran’s lone energy-producing reactor. Moreover, the US has expressed concern that Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency had not agreed to let inspectors visit a military site, known as Parchin, where the UN agency suspects Iran might have carried out nuclear weapon trigger tests.

Moreover, Iran recently said it had begun installing a new generation of centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, a move that will allow it to vastly increase its pace of uranium enrichment in defiance of UN calls to halt such activities. Iran is living under s te p p e d - u p We s te r n s a n c t i o n s t h a t

include a total oil embargo and banking restrictions that make it increasingly difficult for Iran’s Asian customers to pay for oil deliveries. Tehran insists the sanctions won’t force it to give up its nuclear program.

“Sanctions hurt the people. But there are two options. One is to surrender and repent in the face of the bullying powers like weak nations,” Khamenei said. “The other is to activate domestic resources and capabilities like a brave nation and t r i u m p h a n t l y p a s s t h e d a n g e r zo n e.

Undoubtedly, the Iranian nation has chosen the second option.”

Khamenei also called on rival politicians to avoid quarrels, an apparent reference to a power struggle bet ween Ahmadinejad and his conservative rivals in parliament ahead of the June presidential elections during the impeachment of a minister. Khamenei was referring to a barely audible videotape showing Fazel Larijani, the brother of parliament speaker Ali Larijani, in a meeting where he allegedly sought a bribe in

Iran to avenge killing of Guard commander DUBAI: Iran will soon exact revenge on Israel for the recent killing of a Revolutionary Guards commander in Syria, an aide to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted yesterday as saying.

Iran said on Thursday that an Iranian military commander named Hessam Khoshnevis, also called Hassan Shateri in some news accounts, had been killed in Syria by rebels fighting President Bashar Al-Assad, an ally of Tehran.

Syrian rebels accuse Iran’s Revolutionary Guard of sending forces to help Assad crush their 22-month-old uprising, a charge denied by the Islamic Republic.

Details of Khoshnevis’s killing are sketchy and various accounts have emerged. But Iran’s envoy to Beirut Ghazanfar Roknabadi on Thursday drew a link between his killing and Israel. Ali Shirazi, the representative of Khamenei to the Guards’ elite Quds force, said on Friday evening Iran’s “resolve against Israel” had only grown stronger with Khoshnevis’s killing. “Our enemies should also know that we will quickly get revenge for (the

death of ) Haj Hassan (Shateri) from the Israelis, and the enemies cannot shut off the Iranian people with such stupid acts,” Shirazi was by the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) on Saturday as saying. Israel has not commented on the killing. Israel has hinted at military action against Iran if Tehran continues with a nuclear program which Israel says is aimed at developing a weapon. Iran says its program is peaceful. Israel is believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state.

The Revolutionary Guards media office said this week that Khoshnevis had been “martyred on his way from Damascus to Beirut by mercenaries”. The state news agency IRNA said Khoshnevis was a military engineer during the 1980-88 conflict between Iran and Iraq, and had later worked in Afghanistan.

Officials stressed Khoshnevis had been engaged in civilian reconstruction in Lebanon for the last seven years. Iran backs the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, which fought a brief war with Israel seven years ago and allied with Assad. — Reuters

return for ensuring the support of the speaker and another brother, who is chief of the judiciary. Ali Larijani denied the charge saying he had no business relation with his brother. He accused Ahmadinejad of having a “Mafia-type” attitude and said the president was disregarding the country’s dignity, law and ethics.

“This is bad. This is wrong and against t h e l aw a n d s h a r i a ( I s l a m i c l aw ) a n d morals, and violates the rights of people,” said Khamenei in remarks reported by state television. “One head of a branch (Ahmadinejad) uses an accusation that is unproven in court and accuses the other two branches - parliament and the judiciary.” Khamenei also criticised Larijani’s handling of the session, saying he had “g o n e to o f a r i n d e fe n d i n g h i m s e l f ” against Ahmadinejad. He criticised the impeachment itself as a “bad decision” since Ahmadinejad will leave office in the summer when his term is over. Khamenei also criticised the judiciary for “inaction” against corruption.— Agencies

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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

Syria rebels on offensive amid spate of abductions Hundreds taken in tit-for-tat kidnappings

SHAKHURAH, Bahrain: A Bahraini protester flashes the sign for victory as he holds up a scarf during an anti-government rally to demand political reforms on Friday in this village west of the capital Manama. —AFP

Bahrain police fire tear gas at protester’s funeral MANAMA: Clashes broke out yesterday at the funeral in Bahrain of a teenager killed in protests marking the second anniversary of a Shiite-led uprising, with police using tear gas against mourners, witnesses said. The security forces blocked access to Hussein Al-Jaziri’s funeral in the Shiite-populated village of Daih near the capital Manama, firing tear gas and stun grenades to disperse dozens of people trying to push their way through.

Jaziri, 16, died on Thursday after being shot in the stomach by security forces, according to Al-Wefaq, the main Shiite opposition bloc, during Shiite-led protests against the kingdom’s Sunni rulers in which a policeman was also killed.

The BNA news agency reported late Friday that two police officers had been placed in “preventive detention” in connection with Jaziri’s death. After the burial, which witnesses said was attended by thousands of people, a crowd of protesters tried to march on “Pearl Square” in Manama, the focus of the February-March 2011 uprising.

Witnesses said several people were injured when police fired tear gas to disperse them.

One was seriously wounded when hit by buckshot fired by security forces, Al-Wefaq said on Twitter.

The authorities earlier said four people were arrested after an overnight attack on

security forces that wounded four policemen. It came during unrest that began on Friday when protesters blocked a highway linking a string of Shiite villages with the capital. The interior ministry said in a statement that it had “arrested four terrorists possessing weapons with which they had fired on security forces in Karzakan,” a Shiite village southwest of Manama. A police officer and three other policemen were taken to hospital after being wounded “by buckshot fired by a terrorist group,” police chief Tareq al-Hassan said in statement.

The security forces “had to respond to the attack to defend themselves,” Hassan added, without giving further details of the attack or the police response. Bahrain has seen two years of political upheaval linked to opposition demands for a real constitutional monarchy, with the unrest claiming at least 80 lives, according to international rights groups. Thursday’s violence, in which Jaziri and police officer Mohamed Atef were killed, began with demonstrations to coincide with the actual anniversary of the start of the uprising on Feb 14, 2011. Clashes raged sporadically in Shiite villages throughout the night and into early Friday. The latest unrest comes against the background of a fresh round of a national dialogue between opposition groups and the government. - AFP

DAMASCUS: Rebels pressed an offensive in northern Syria yesterday, attacking Aleppo airport and two airbases, as a rights watchdog and residents reported hundreds of people held in a string of sectarian kidnappings.

Regime troops fended off fierce rebel onslaughts around Aleppo international airport and the adjacent Nayrab military airbase, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. East of Aleppo, rebel attacks around the Kwiyres military airbase sparked counter-strikes from regime warplanes.

The insurgents launched the “Battle of the airports” on Feb 12, and have since seized AlJarrah military airport and a military complex tasked with securing Aleppo’s civilian airport.

Rebels yesterday also overran a military police checkpoint in the Golan Heights town of Khan Arnabeh just beyond the outer ceasefire line along the demilitarised zone bordering Israel, the Observatory said. Regime forces responded by shelling Khan Arnabeh and the nearby village of Jubata al-Khashab, inside the ceasefire zone, forcing a rebel retreat.

The Israeli military said it had taken five Syrians wounded in clashes on the Golan to a hospital inside the Jewish state. An Israeli military spokeswoman said “soldiers provided medical care to five injured Syrians adjacent to the security fence” on the strategic plateau. The Golan has been tense since the near two-year Syrian uprising morphed into a bloody insurgency, at times spilling over with mortar and gunfire into the Israeli-held zone but with serious escalation so far contained.

Northwestern Syria has meanwhile fallen into a security vacuum, illustrated by reports on Saturday that more than 300 people were abducted in tit-for-tat kidnappings in 48 hours, the Britain-based Observatory and residents said. The spate of abductions, involving large numbers of women and children, began on Thursday when upwards of 40 civilians from majority-Shiite villages were kidnapped by armed groups in Idlib province. Hours later, more than 70 people from Sunni areas were seized in retaliation by gunmen from nearby Shiite villages. Subsequently, dozens more people from mostly Sunni opposition towns were captured.

Most of the rebels fighting the Damascus regime are Sunni, while the ruling clan and

many of its most fervent supporters are members of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism. Kidnappings driven by a hunger for ransom but often tinged with sectarianism have multiplied in Syria during the revolt that the United Nations says has killed more than 70,000 people.

On the diplomatic front, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at a security forum in Abu Dhabi called for urgent action to bring about a power transfer that excludes Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad. Le Drian said the change should be “a transition in which President Assad would no longer keep his place,” and accused Assad and his family “of clinging to power by multiplying the daily massacres and atrocities”. His remarks came after the umbrella opposition National Council on Friday refused to accept Assad in any talks on ending the 23-month conflict, as part of a “framework” it has drawn up for a political solu-

tion. The council singled out the regime’s most powerful backers, Russia and Iran, calling on the former to ensure there are “adequate safeguards” to make the peace process possible, together with the United States. It also urged Iran to recognise that Tehran’s support for Assad “is pushing the region towards sectarian conflict.”

The leader of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, meanwhile, said yesterday that while Syria may be weakened by its bloody conflict and unable to fight against Israel, his organisation was capable of defending Lebanon. “Those who think Syria is no longer a player and cannot help the resistance (Hezbollah)... and that the resistance is going through a period of weakness and confusion are mistaken,” key Damascus ally Hassan Nasrallah told a Beirut crowd. “We have everything we need in Lebanon. We don’t need to transport (arms) from Syria or Iran.” — AFP

ALEPPO: A dummy is displayed in a flat used by rebel fighters to fight against Syrian government forces in the Salaheddine neighbourhood yesterday. — AFP

US gun ban to protect more than 2,200 firearms

SAFED: An Israeli security guard stands in the emergency room of Ziv Medical Center in this northern Israeli city yesterday. The Israeli army evacuated Syrians wounded in clashes on the Golan Heights and took them to a hospital inside the state, where they were currently being treated. — AFP

EU tells Israel to respect rights of hunger strikers BRUSSELS: The European Union yesterday called on Israel to respect its human rights obligations towards Palestinian prisoners, saying it was concerned about the condition of four detainees on a longterm hunger strike. The European Union is “following with concern” the worsening health conditions of Samer Assawi, Jaafar Ezzedine, Ayman Sharawneh and Tareq Qaadan, who are all staging long-term hunger strikes, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement. “The EU calls on the government of Israel to allow for the immediate restoration of their family visiting rights and calls for the full respect of international

human rights obligations towards all Palestinian detainees and prisoners,” she said. Palestinian prisoner affairs minister Issa Qaraqe said in a statement yesterday that Israel was responsible for the prisoners’ well-being. Qaraqe said that president Mahmud Abbas was holding intense talks with world leaders to prevent a possible “disaster”.

“The Palestinian people will not stand by in face of what is happening in the prisons,” Qaraqe warned. The comments came a day after clashes erupted in the occupied West Bank as thousands of Palestinian demonstrators staged protests in support of the four. — AFP

Blasts kill senior Iraq intel officer, 4 others MOSUL, Iraq: Back-to-back suicide bombings in northern Iraq killed the head of the country’s intelligence academy and two of his guards yesterday, officials said, in the latest in a surge in nationwide violence. The blasts, the deadliest in a series of bombings that left five people dead across Iraq, come as the country grapples with nearly two months of anti-government protests and a political crisis. The first bomber blew himself up in front of Brigadier General Aouni Ali’s home in Tal Afar, north of Baghdad, killing two of his guards including his brother Murad and wounding four others.

A second attacker killed the general himself, according to a colonel in the town’s police force.

Ali, a Shiite Turkman, commands the Baghdad Intelligence Academy, the main school for the country’s intelligence service.

His house in his hometown of Tal Afar had minimal security, with a small guard shack at the gate, the colonel said. Though lowerranking officers and enlisted personnel are typically the victims of attacks on Iraqi security forces, senior officers including generals have also been targeted and

killed. No group claimed responsibility for the violence. But Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda often target security forces and government officials in a bid to erode confidence in the government and push Iraq back towards bloody the sectarian conflict of 2006-2007. Also north of the capital yesterday, a judge was killed by a magnetic “sticky bomb” attached to his car in the village of Sulaiman Pak, according to security and medical officials. Ahmed Al-Bayati, a Sunni Arab who is now a judge handling civil cases, had previously received threats when he worked as an anti-terror investigator, and had to pay kidnappers a $150,000 ransom after his son was snatched last year.

Elsewhere, a roadside bomb killed an army lieutenant and wounded two soldiers in Heet, northwest of the capital.

Iraq has seen a rise in attacks in recent weeks. The latest violence brings the number of people killed in the country this month to 135, according to an AFP tally based on security and medical sources.

However, levels of violence remain markedly lower than during the peak of the sectarian war in 2006 and 2007. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Congress’ latest crack at a new assault weapons ban would protect more than 2,200 specific firearms, including a semiautomatic rifle that is nearly identical to one of the guns used in the bloodiest shootout in FBI history.

One model of that firearm, the Ruger .223 caliber Mini-14, is on the proposed list to be banned, while a different model of the same gun is on a list of exempted firearms in legislation the Senate is considering. The gun that would be protected from the ban has fixed physical features and can’t be folded to be more compact. Yet the two firearms are equally deadly.

“What a joke,” said former FBI agent John Hanlon, who survived the 1986 shootout in Miami. He was shot in the head, hand, groin and hip with a Ruger Mini-14 that had a folding stock. Two FBI agents died and five others were wounded. Hanlon recalled lying on the street as brass bullet casings showered on him. He thought the shooter had an automatic weapon. Both models of the Ruger Mini-14 specified in the proposed bill can take detachable magazines that hold dozens of rounds of ammunition. “I can’t imagine what the difference is,” Hanlon said.

President Barack Obama has called for restoring a ban on military-style assault weapons and limiting the size of ammunition magazines. A bill introduced last month

by Sen Dianne Feinstein would ban 157 specific firearms designed for military and law enforcement use and exempt others made for hunting purposes. It also would ban ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Yet there are firearms that would be protected under Feinstein’s proposal that can take large capacity magazines like the ones used in mass shootings that enable a gunman to fire dozens of rounds of ammunition without reloading.

Feinstein said in a written response to questions from AP that the list of more than 2,200 exempted firearms was designed to “make crystal clear” that the bill would not affect hunting and sporting weapons. The December shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., that left 26 students and educators dead forced Washington to focus on curbing gun violence, a risky political move not tried in decades. The gun industry, which is fighting any sort of ban, says gun ownership in the US is the highest it’s ever been,

with more than 100 million firearms owners. Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden have traveled around the country in an effort to gain support for new laws.

Feinstein’s proposal is the only sweeping piece of legislation designed to ban assault weapons currently being considered.

But some gun experts say the lists of banned and exempted firearms show a lack of understanding and expertise of guns. “There’s no logic to it,” said Greg Danas, president of a Massachusetts-based expert witness business and firearms ballistic laboratory. “What kind of effect is it going to have?”

Feinstein’s bill defines an assault weapon as a semi-automatic firearm with a detachable magazine that has one of several military characteristics that are specified in her legislation. Examples of those characteristics include a pistol grip, which makes a firearm easier to hold, and a forward grip, which makes the firearm easier to stabilize to improve accuracy. The definition is similar to the one in Congress’ original ban on assault weapons, which went into effect in 1994 and was widely criticized for outlawing firearms based on cosmetic features. Feinstein was behind the 1994 law which, at the time, protected more than 600 firearms. The current bill would exempt by name and model more than 2,200 firearms by name and model. Feinstein said her staff had worked for more than a year to draft updates for the ban that expired in 2004, and it was apparent in the wake of recent mass shootings that now was the time to introduce a new bill. She said her staff consulted with law enforcement agencies and policy experts for months to create the expanded list. Naming firearms that would remain legal under an assault weapons ban is a politically motivated gesture that was used to help pass the original ban in the early 1990s, people familiar with the process said. Any firearm that does not fall within the law’s definition of an assault weapon would not be banned. As a result, the list gives vulnerable politicians cover from constituents who do not want to give up their firearms.

For example, a politician can look at the list and assure a constituent that the government would not ban the firearm he or she loves to use for deer hunting.

Under both the 1994 law and the currently proposed one, the gov-

ernment would not have the authority to take away guns people already legally own. The ban would only apply to specific firearms manufactured and sold after the law is enacted.

A list of exempted firearms was not part of Feinstein’s original assault weapons ban two decades ago, said Michael Lenett, one of the lead congressional staffers on gun control issues in 1994. A separate bill in circulation exempted far fewer hunting and sporting firearms, Lenett said. The purpose of creating such a list was to assure people that the government was not going after any legitimate hunting or sporting weapons. “The other purpose of the list was to have a high profile way of assuring certain folks - including legislators - that we would not be going after their weapons that they use for those legitimate purposes,” Lenett said. “It was a win-win situation,” Lenett recalled, because, he said, if the list could help pick up votes needed to pass the bill and temper some of the opposition, it could assuage some opponents of the ban without making the law less effective.

But gun experts say the lists in 1994 and the expanded lists of today don’t make much sense. “The bill demonstrates a shocking ignorance of the product they are purporting to regulate,” said Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association based in Newtown, Conn., that represents gun manufacturers. “I have no idea how they arrived at this list.

It would seem to be random, bordering on throwing darts at a dart board.”

For instance, Feinstein’s current proposal includes exemptions for three specific types of the M-1 Carbine, an assault rifle designed for the military that the US currently bans from being imported. A draft of the legislation, created and modified in November and early December last year, banned the M1 Carbine and didn’t exempt any models, according to a copy obtained by the AP. Feinstein said there was disagreement among firearms experts, law enforcement and gun safety organizations about whether to include the M-1 Carbine on the list of banned weapons. “It has been used in multiple police shootings, and was originally used by US soldiers on the battlefield,” Feinstein said. “On the other hand, it comes in models that would not

meet the military characteristics test.” She said she decided to limit banned weapons to those that met the definition outlined in the bill.

At a Jan 30 hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee on gun violence, National Rifle Association President Wayne LaPierre said Feinstein’s bill is “based on falsehoods to people that do not understand firearms, to convince them that the performance characteristics of guns that they are trying to ban through that bill are different than the performance characteristics that they’re not trying to ban.”

The Ruger Mini-14 is a perfect example. The model that has a fixed stock would be exempted by Feinstein’s ban; the gun was protected in the 1994 law as well. A Ruger Mini-14 with a collapsible and folding stock would be illegal.

The guns fire the same caliber bullet and can take detachable magazines that could hold dozens of rounds of ammunition. The folding stock only reduces the gun’s length by 2.75 inches, according to the manufacturer’s website. “It’s irrelevant,” Edmund Mireles, an FBI agent who survived the Miami shootout, said of the differences in features.

“They’re equally dangerous.”

Mark D Jones, a senior law enforcement adviser for the University of Chicago Crime Lab, said the folding stock does not affect the firearm’s lethal potential.

“Given that both firearms will accept a 30 round or larger magazine, it renders the differences between them entirely cosmetic,” Jones said. Kristen Rand, the legislative director at the Washingtonbased Violence Policy Center, said the Ruger Mini-14 model that would be banned under Feinstein’s legislation is easier to hold while firing because it has a pistol grip, and it’s easier to hide because it has a collapsible stock. That’s what makes it more dangerous that the Ruger Mini-14 with the fixed stock which would be exempted under the Feinstein bill, she said.

“And that’s supposed to save somebody’s life?” asked Hanlon, the FBI agent shot alongside Mireles.

Hanlon considered the differences between the two models and whether the events of April 11, 1986, would have been different if the shooter used a Ruger Mini-14 with a fixed stock.

“I don’t think it would have changed a damn thing,” he said. “I don’t see what makes that gun less dangerous.” — AP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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

Vatican may hold early conclave for next pope Benedict’s resignation has revealed tensions ROME: The Vatican yesterday said it could speed up the election of a new pope as lobbying for Benedict XVI’s job intensified amid speculation over who had the best chance to succeed him. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi, who earlier said the conclave would probably start on or after March 15 after the pope resigns on Feb 28, said the issue of bringing forward the date “has been raised by various cardinals”. Benedict’s decision to step down for age reasons has revealed tensions at the heart of the Church, emphasised by a battle between top cardinals over whose candidate should be appointed to head up the Vatican’s scandal-hit bank. The choice of German financier Ernst Von Freyberg on Friday was seen by some as a snub to the Vatican’s powerful number two, Secretary of

State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who had backed another candidate, religious watchers said. “The appointment is fruit of a bitter compromise,” Il Messaggero daily said. It appeared to bring to the fore a power struggle between Bertone’s allies and his rivals reminiscent of Renaissance conspiracies - a bid to shape the hierarchy within the Vatican first revealed in a leaks scandal last year.

In an interview carried out 10 weeks ago but published yesterday, Benedict spoke about the scandal, which some believe was a factor in his resignation. “I simply couldn’t understand it,” he told his biographer Peter Seewald in the interview published in Focus magazine, referring to his former butler Paolo Gabriele’s decision to leak secret memos revealing intrigue at the Vatican. “I don’t know what he

was expecting. I can’t understand his thought process,” said the 85year-old, who pardoned Gabriele just before Christmas. Seewald had also asked Benedict six months ago what people could expect from the rest of his papacy: “From me? Not much. I am an old man, running out of energy. I also think what I have done is enough,” he replied.

Yesterday, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said that once Benedict steps down, he will stay in the papal summer seat in Castel Gandolfo near Rome for around two months before moving to a monastery within the Vatican walls.

He is expected to take some of his current household to the modern monaster y, which is currently undergoing restoration works.

Thousands of faithful are expected to flock to St Peter’s Square today

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI (right) exchanges gifts with Guatemala’s President Otto Perez Molina (center) during a private audience in the pontiff’s library at the Vatican yesterday.—AFP

to pay tribute to the German pontiff in one of his last public appearances.

The Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s newspaper, yesterday printed a front-page tribute to the pope from Israeli President Shimon Peres, who hailed the resignation as an “original decision by a courageous and original man”. The secret conclave set to meet under Michelangelo’s famous frescoes in the Sistine Chapel to select a new pope had been scheduled for midMarch, but could be brought forward as long as cardinals from around the world are in Rome.

Rules laid down by John Paul II stipulate that between 15 and 20 days must pass after the end of the pontificate before the conclave meets. But a clause in the constitution allows exceptions in case of an agreement between the cardinals, who are already gathering at the Vatican. Most are expected at a final audience with Benedict on Feb 28. As speculation increased over who the next pope might be, Italian cardinal elector Velasio De Paolis called for European candidates not to be ruled out even though most believers now live in Asia, Africa and Latin America. “The conclave will vote on the basis of the person, not where they come from. Despite the crisis of faith, Europe still has a lot to give to the Church,” he said in an interview with La Stampa daily.

Of the 117 cardinals set to take par t in the conclave, 62 are European - 28 of whom are Italian while 19 come from South America, 14 from North America, 11 from Africa and 11 from Asia and one from Oceania. Whether the next pope might be one of the younger candidates or come from a par t of the world where Christianity is on the rise has fed a frenzy of conjectures in the international media over the possible front-runners. “We have to choose someone who can best guide the Church and serve the cause of the faith, not whoever has best conquered the mass media or has the most captivating external image,” said De Paolis.—AFP

ABIDJAN: Riot police disperse supporters of former president Laurent Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) party during an unauthorized protest yesterday. —AFP

Pro-Gbagbo protest dispersed in Abidjan ABIDJAN: Police fired tear gas to disperse a banned protest yesterday by supporters of former president Laurent Gbagbo, just days before the International Criminal Court is to decide whether he will go on trial for crimes against humanity.

Fifty young people shouting “Free Gbagbo” were pushed back while they tried to charge a barrier set up by police in the country’s economic capital of Abidjan. Riot police fired tear gas, sending the protestors fleeing before they could reach Yopougan square, in a part of Abidjan that has long been a proGbagbo stronghold.

Police, equipped with riot gear, sealed off the square, while a heavy contingent of the UN’s Ivory Coast operation blocked the main road leading to the demonstration with the help of four-wheel drives and armoured vehicles. The demonstration, staged by the youth wing of Gbagbo’s party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), came ahead of a Tuesday confirmation of charges hearing at the at the Hague-based ICC that will decide whether his case will proceed to trial.

The former strongman has been held by the ICC since 2011 and faces four counts of crimes against humanity - murder, rape, persecution and other inhu-

mane acts - stemming from violence after he lost presidential polls in Nov 2010.

Gbagbo made his initial appearance before the ICC in Dec 2011, but his confirmation of charges hearing has since been delayed several times. Gbagbo, who first came to power in 2000, refused a decade later to acknowledge defeat by Alassane Ouattara in a presidential election, triggering a

bloody showdown that lasted from Dec 2010 to April 2011, when Gbagbo was ousted at the cost of some 3,000 lives. In a statement broadcast on state television RTI on Friday night, Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko endorsed a ban on protests, citing the “risk of serious misbehaviour” and warning that police would be present to ensure the ban was respected. — AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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

Obama treats himself to boys’ weekend in Florida PORT ST LUCIE, Florida: Faced with a lonely weekend of rattling around the White House without his wife and daughters, President Barack Obama arranged a golf outing with some buddies. In Florida.

Immediately after a speech Friday in his hometown of Chicago on building a stronger middle class, Obama flew into the airport in West Palm Beach and was driven for nearly an hour to coastal Palm City and behind the gates of the Floridian Yacht and Golf Club, an exclusive resort that will serve as the president’s home away from home until he returns to Washington tomorrow.

It’s a weekend with the boys, presidential style. Eyebrows might have been raised at the thought of the president, any president, high-tailing it out of Washington, without his family, for some “me time” hundreds of miles away from the Oval Office. First lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha are on an annual, President’s Day weekend ski vacation out West.

As it turns out, a president going on vacation alone isn’t all that uncommon.

And, Obama has taken “vacations for one” in the past, too. During the weekend, Obama - an avid golfer - was expected to take full advantage of the club’s private, 18-hole regulation golf course, which opened in 1996 and is owned by Jim Crane, a Houston busi-

nessman who also owns Major League Baseball’s Astros, according to golfnow.com. “A quiet weekend of golf,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. The president was not expected to leave the private club, which fronts the St. Lucie River, until he heads back to Washington. Members of the club and their guests have access to one of eight cottages, a 68-slip deep water marina, the club’s 61-foot Viking yacht, a 24-foot Hurricane Deck Boat and the club’s private helicopter service with two on-site helipads.

The White House arranged for the reporters who travel with the president to stay at a hotel in Port St. Lucie, about a 20-minute drive away from Palm City.

They were not expected to see the president until it’s time for the return trip home. Obama’s longtime buddy from Chicago, Eric Whitaker, joined him aboard Air Force One for the trip from Chicago to Florida. The two have played golf together in the past. Another regular member of Obama’s golf foursomes is White House trip director Mar vin Nicholson, who also traveled with the president on Friday.

America’s presidents have been taking solo vacations for decades, according to Larry Knutson, a former White House reporter who wrote a book about presidents and their vacations. Although Bess and Margaret Truman visited him

there just a couple of times, Harr y Truman vacationed most often by himself in tropical Key West, Florida. Many aides, all men, accompanied him.

Truman enjoyed the male companionship and his wife may have stayed away out of a desire to not interrupt his cherished late afternoon and evening games of poker. Truman vacationed in Key West 11 times between November 1946 and March 1952; his wife and daughter joined him for the first time in November 1948, after his surprise win in that year’s election campaign.

Franklin D. Roosevelt often visited his cottage at Warm Springs, Georgia, alone; wife, Eleanor, didn’t much care for the place or the Southern atmosphere.

Roosevelt was at Warm Springs, on his own, when he died in April 1945. He also often traveled solo to his home in Hyde Park, New York, during World War II. The first lady often did not accompany Roosevelt on his wartime visits to Shangri-La, which is now the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, or when he traveled on the presidential yacht or on Navy warships.

In 1997, Bill Clinton was in southern Florida for fundraising and to play in a golf tournament when he stumbled on steps at the home of golf pro Greg Norman and needed surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right knee. He was treated at a hospital in West Palm Beach

WEST PALM BEACH: President Barack Obama waves from Air Force One as he arrives at Palm Beach International Airport on Friday in West Palm Beach, Florida. President Obama plans to spend the Presidents Day holiday weekend in the area. — AFP before being flown to Washington for with friends, and Malia was away at the operation. Obama’s stay at the camp. Rather than stay in the big White Floridian isn’t his first vacation without House by himself, he fled, with family dog Bo, home to Chicago for an intimate his wife and daughters.

In 2010, Obama was left alone in dinner with friends there that included Washington as his 49th birthday Oprah Winfrey, Whitaker and White approached. The first lady had taken House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, a felSasha with her to Spain for a vacation low Chicagoan.— AP

Chavez supporters rejoice after first photos release Venezuelan leader bedridden, but smiling

BIG BEAR: The cellar of a burned out cabin where the remains of multiple murder suspect and former Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner were found is seen on Friday.—AFP

Police, families cope with cop killer’s aftermath BIG BEAR LAKE, California: As soon as he heard officers were chasing the suspected cop killer in a stolen truck, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Roger Loftis was certain: His buddy Jeremiah MacKay would be there. In 15 years with the department, “Jer” had earned about a dozen and a half awards for 10851s - the California penal code for grand theft auto. Once, while heading to a bar to celebrate another award, MacKay noticed there were no keys in the ignition of the car next to him at a traffic light, and he veered off.

He waltzed into the bar two hours later, a grin stretched across that fair, freckled face, a copy of an auto recovery record in his hand.

Last week, Loftis called his fishing, drinking and golfing buddy to see how he was doing.

He knew the 35-year-old detective had been working around the clock, scouring the San Bernardino Mountains in the search for former Los Angeles Police Officer Christopher Dorner.

“If that guy’s still on this mountain,” MacKay told him, “I’m going to find him.”

When the announcer reported that two deputies had exchanged fire with the suspect, Loftis got a sick feeling in his stomach.

The 54-year-old corrections officer sent his friend a text.

“I know you’re busy,” he typed. “But let me know you’re OK. ASAP.” There was no answer.

About an hour later, a colleague called with the news: MacKay, husband and father of two, was dead. Soon, so would be his killer.

Like the Unabomber and other mass killers, the 33-year-old former cop wrote a “manifesto.” And, like so many others, Dorner’s perceptions of the world and its supposed injustices against him seem out of sync with reality.

Why now?

Was it the supposed institutional racism that cost him his LAPD badge? That was four years ago. Was it, as he once suggested, residual trauma from his military service in the

Middle East? Records show a relatively benign tour of duty, well outside the war zone.

One marriage fell apart; a second went no farther than the license application. This, too, he seemed to blame on others - anyone but himself. “I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own,” he wrote to his targets.

“I’m terminating yours.”

Even his boasts of paramilitary prowess and promise to “bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare” to southern California evaporated in a cavalcade of broken-down vehicles, failed hijackings and a botched hogtying. His weeklong stint as America’s most wanted fugitive ended in a shootout with police, and then what officials said was a selfinflicted gunshot to the head. At 6 feet and 270 pounds, Christopher Jordan Dorner looked every inch the college football player he once was.

Melinda Yates befriended Dorner when they attended Southern Utah University together in Cedar City, a small town northeast of Las Vegas. She remembers him as “kind of like a big teddy bear,” always smiling.

Apparently, behind that sweet smile there was rage.

Dorner claimed his earliest experience with racism was in first grade at a Christian school, when he punched and kicked a fellow student who’d called him a “nigger” on the playground. The principal “swatted” the other boy for the slur, then struck Dorner for failing to “turn the other cheek as Jesus did.”

“That day,” he would write in the now infamous manifesto, “I made a life decision that i will not tolerate racial derogatory terms spoken to me.” Dorner joined the Navy in July 2002, a year before he graduated from Southern Utah. He told a reporter that he wanted to fly SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk helicopters on special operations and search-andrescue missions - but later told an acquaintance that a problem with vertigo killed those dreams. — AP

Prospect of prison looms for ex-congressman, wife CHICAGO: The prospect of prison looms over former US Rep Jesse Jackson Jr and his wife after they agreed to plead guilty to charges in an alleged scheme to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items - including furs, a gold watch, a football signed by US presidents and even a hat once owned by Michael Jackson.

It wasn’t immediately clear how much time either Jackson could end up doing when the legal drama inevitably reaches its climax before a federal sentencing judge within a few months. But judges frown on brazen breeches of public trust, said one former federal prosecutor, and that may mean the former Chicago congressman will likely to have to serve at least a few years behind bars.

“It shows hubris and arrogance that a politician sees his campaign coffers as his to spend as likes,” said Jeff Cramer, who as an assistant US attorney in Chicago worked on

multiple corruption cases. “With these kinds of charges, I cannot imagine him not going to prison ... for 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 years.”

He thought Sandi Jackson, at most, would spend several months in prison. Prosecutors are reluctant to ask judges to send couples with school-age children, like the Jacksons, to prison for long terms at simultaneously - so it’s possible, Cramer said, that the government will seek to stagger their sentences in such a way that the Jacksons aren’t behind bars at the same time.

Federal prosecutors on Friday filed one charge of conspiracy against the former congressman and charged his ex-alderman wife, Sandra, with one count of filing false joint federal income tax returns for the years 2006 through 2011 that knowingly understated the income the couple received. Both agreed to plead guilty in deals with federal prosecutors. —AP

CARACAS: Supporters of President Hugo Chavez displayed new confidence yesterday after the government released the first post-surgical photos of the ailing Venezuelan leader, in which he appears bed-ridden but smiling in the company of his daughters. The pictures show the 58-year-old Chavez lying on his back in a Havana hospital and leafing through Thursday’s edition of the official Cuban newspaper Granma. Chavez supporters rejoiced at the confirmation that the president was alive. The four images broke a virtual news blackout for Venezuelans who have been living in limbo without their media-happy comandante-a populist firebrand who is the most visible face of the Latin American left and who has irked the United States by aligning himself with Iran, Syria and Cuba.

For over two months Venezuelans had not seen a photo or TV image of Chavez, nor heard the voice of a man usually omnipresent across state media. Sketchy government updates about his health fueled speculation he was actually dead.

Chavez’s absence has also enraged political opponents, who have wondered aloud who is running Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. He was last seen as he left Caracas airport on December 10 for treatment in Cuba. On Thursday night, opposition leader Henrique Capriles kept up his assertion that the government has probably been lying about Chavez’s health, suggesting the president is in worse shape than officials have said he is.

Capriles expressed fresh anger over of the release of the pictures and said they had not clarified the president’s true health condition. However the pro-Chavez camp was jubilant to see their hero, and could not resist a dig at the rumors simmering on social media that Chavez was no more.

“Wow! For a dead man you look really good, comandante,” tweeted @mormaldonado. “He’s alive, he’s alive! Thanks be to God and to the whole world. This is proof,” said Dora Salcedo, 67, one of dozens of Chavez fans who gathered in downtown Caracas after the photos came out.

But Venezuelans apparently will have to wait longer for the former commando to break his silence. He has been fitted with a breathing tube in his throat, making it hard for him to speak, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said. That’s because of a respiratory infection that emerged after the surgery. The infection has been brought under control but “the underlying disease is not without complications,” Villegas said in a televised

CARACAS: Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez celebrate after pictures of the ailing leader surrounded by his daughters in Havana were released to the public on Friday. —AFP speech to the nation. It was Chavez’s son in law Jorge Arreaza, also science minister, who showed the printed photos of Chavez on television. “We wanted to share with you now some shots from last night of our commander accompanied by his two daughters Rosa Virginia and Maria Gabriela ... yesterday on the day of friendship, on Valentine’s Day,” Arreaza said. A leading political analyst here said it was a savvy move by the government to publish the photos, even if Chavez appeared to be in a somewhat debilitated state.

“It was the right move politically,” said Luis Vicente Leon, president of the firm Datanalisis. The pictures are similar to each other, and show Chavez with the daughters, one on either side of him, looking through the Cuban newspaper.

Chavez wears a white baseball-type jacket that goes up to his neck. The breathing tube is not visible, with the leader lying back, his face puffy, but smiling.

These pictures “put us at ease,” Arreaza said in a broadcast that all radio and TV stations were ordered to carry. Chavez remains alert with all his mental faculties intact and is “in close collaboration with his government team and on top off all the issues” facing the government, Villegas said.

But Capriles reacted with scorn. He said that while

just a few days ago government officials who have been shuttling back and forth to Havana said they had spoken to Chavez “now they say he cannot speak. They are making a mockery of their own people,” Capriles tweeted.

Chavez was first diagnosed with cancer in 2011.

After surgery and treatment he declared himself free of the disease and went on to win another term in elections last October. But he suffered a relapse, and after the latest surgery he was still too sick to come back to Venezuela for his scheduled inauguration on January 10. It has been postponed indefinitely, and Vice President Nicolas Maduro has essentially been running Venezuela.

Maduro used the occasion of the pictures’ publication to accuse the opposition of “trying to confuse the public” and “destabilizing” the country, with its strident criticism of the president’s prolonged absence.

The government has never said where Chavez’s cancer is located or how serious it was or is.

Opposition parties insist Chavez’s term ended January 10 and that if he cannot start a new one in person, an interim president should be named pending a decision on whether Chavez should be declared incapacitated, in which case a new election would be called quickly.—AFP

Carnival faces new fiasco a year after Concordia NEW YORK: A year after the tragic Costa Concordia shipwreck, cruise industr y leader Carnival faces a new public relations fiasco that reveals the downsides of the sector’s recent high-speed growth.

Late Thursday, the company’s crippled Triumph limped ashore in Alabama after an engine room fire on Sunday left the ship without the power needed to operate air conditioners, prepare meals or flush toilets. It ended a miserable ordeal for some 4,000 people that had triggered days of news repor ts around the world about the disastrous hygiene conditions on board.

The incident is reminiscent of what happened to the Costa Allegra, owned by a Carnival subsidiary, in March 2012. When that ship lost power, hundreds of passengers found themselves out at sea off the Seychelles for three days in similar conditions.

Allegra belongs to the same fleet as the doomed Costa Concordia that smashed into

rocks off Tuscany in January of 2012, keeling over with 4,229 people on board in an accident that claimed 32 lives. “The current public relations headache Carnival faces from this disabled ship may remind investors of (last year’s) Concordia disaster,” said Standard and Poor’s Capital IQ. On Wednesday, Carnival-the world’s largest cruise line with a fleet of 100 ships-said it expects the Triumph incident will cost the company 8 cents to 10 cents a share in its first-half earnings.

According to 247wallst.com, the cancelation of 12 voyages aboard the Triumph in the wake of its woes would “lead to lower earnings for two different quarters, and that does not include any last-minute cancelations brought on by the negative public relations.” “ With a refund being given and discounts being given for future cruises, this may even hurt margins longer than just the period covered,” it said.

Both S&P Capital IQ and Goldman Sachs have lowered

their forecasts. Still, this week’s incident has only had a moderate effect on the company ’s stock: it dropped 4.6 percent to $36.92 in five days. In contrast, during the week after the Concordia accident, the stock slid 15 percent, falling below $30. Both the Concordia tragedy and the Allegra incident only had a temporary effect on the company’s shares, which were near $40 at the end of last year.

“We still expect more than $1 billion of Carnival share buybacks in fiscal year 13 that could include different types of Carnival shares,” said S&P Capital IQ. Carnival’s 2012 figures, which have yet to be published in their entirety, are expected to be lower due to what happened to the Concordia. Results for the first nine months of the year show that turnover was down 2.5 percent while its net profit dipped 41 percent. Carnival’s problems, which have tainted the reputation of the entire sector, weighed on Royal Caribbean Cruises, the

number two in the industr y, which saw its profit drop by nearly 30 percent in 2012 due to the Concordia incident, Europe’s economic crisis and Hurricane Sandy that hit the East Coast of the United States last fall.

Norwegian Cruise Line, however, saw its sales increase by 2.6 percent to $2.8 billion pushing profit up 33 percent. Over the past few years, the cruise market has seen strong growth with an average annual passenger increase of 7 percent since 1990, according to Cruisewatch.com.

Over time, cruise ships have truly become ocean giants, as vessels with space for 2,500 passengers have frequently been replaced by ones that can carry 4,000 passengers.

This has resulted in lower prices and opened up such vacations to a wider public. However, as the multiple incidents encountered by Carnival suggest, this rapid expansion may have impacted the quality and safety of cruises. —AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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

Helicopter scandal clouds Cameron visit to India LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron heads to India next week with an extensive trade delegation for a visit clouded by a corruption scandal over British-built helicopters. The trip to Delhi and the commercial capital Mumbai comes hot on the heels of a visit to India

by French President Francois Hollande to drum up trade, underlining the growing importance of the Indian economy.

Cameron said ahead of the visit that he wanted the relationship between Britain and India to be “one of the great partnerships of the 21st century”.

But his second trip to India as prime minister will require deft handling after the Indian government said it was cancelling a $748 million (560 million euro)

deal to buy 12 helicopters for VIPs from an Italian firm amid allegations the contract was won through kickbacks.

India took steps to scrap the contract on Friday after Italian investigators probed allegations that aerospace group Finmeccanica, the parent company of Anglo-Italian helicopter unit AgustaWestland, had broken the law by paying bribes to foreign officials. The helicopters, three of which have already been delivered, are manufactured in southwest England.

Cameron’s first overture to India was snubbed last year when Delhi selected a French fighter jet over the part-British Eurofighter in a $12 billion contract, a deal which Hollande was seeking to tie

up during his visit. The British government has taken note of the fact that the huge contract with Dassault Aviation is still not finalized, and hopes to remind the Indian government of Eurofighter’s merits in case they change their mind.

A government source told Britain’s Press Association news agency: “Hollande was in India this week and a deal has not been signed so we will want to find out from the Indians how their talks are progressing with the French.”

Aside from defence, British retailers are keen to increase their presence in India and executives from the Tesco supermarket chain, Britain’s biggest retailer which already has a joint venture in India, are expected to fill some of the

seats on Cameron’s plane.

The prime minister remains confident that he will reach of goal of doubling Britain’s trade with India from £11.5 billion ($17.8 billion, 13.4 billion euros) in 2010 to £23 billion by the time he faces the next general election in 2015.

Cameron also wants to use the trip to correct any misunderstandings about his government’s drive to bring immigration numbers under control amid concerns that young Indians could be deterred from applying to study in Britain.

Admitting that the government “haven’t perhaps communicated this properly” to would-be students, he said there was “no limit” on the numbers of Indians studying at British universities or

staying on in graduate-level jobs.

In an interview with the Londonbased Asian television and radio station Sunrise, Cameron said he was “really, really enthusiastic” about the prospects for increased trade between the two countries.

“We both want to see jobs, we want to see growth, we want to see investment,” he said. “It’s a very special partnership between Britain and India. “We’ve got these ties of history, language, culture, but really I see it as a very strong relationship about the future -huge investment from India into Britain, huge investment from Britain into India, lots of our businesses partnering, lots of trade and lots of jobs.” — AFP

Sri Lanka journalist shot and wounded Latest in string of attacks against media

HYDERABAD: Indian activists of the Communist Party of India-Marxists (CPI-M) carry an effigy representing the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government during their protest against the fuel price hike in Hyderabad yesterday. State-run fuel retailers raised petrol prices by 1.50 INR per litre and diesel by 45 paise per litre, excluding local tax, as of midnight February 15. — AFP

Strike paralyses Kashmir as India lifts curfew SRINAGAR: A curfew imposed in Kashmir after the execution of a separatist convicted over a 2001 attack on parliament was lifted yesterday but a general strike against the hanging paralyzed the region.

Authorities declared the curfew in the Indian-administered region last weekend, shut down mobile Internet services and blocked newspapers to contain unrest over the execution of Mohammed Afzal Guru.

But as the curfew was lifted, separatist groups opposed to Indian rule in the Muslim-majority region announced a twoday general strike that closed businesses,

schools and banks and kept public transport off roads. “The curfew has been lifted from all the areas and whatever restrictions you may see now are because of the (separatist) shutdown,” said Shiv Murari Sahai, a senior police official, told AFP in Kashmir’s main city Srinagar.

Much of Kashmir remained under tight security with thousands of police and paramilitary forces deployed in riot gear. Three people died during the week as demonstrators defied the curfew, including a teenaged boy shot by Indian security forces. — AFP

COLOMBO: Gunmen shot and wounded a journalist near Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, police said yesterday, the latest in a string of attacks against media in the country. Faraz Shauketaly, 54, a reporter with the privately owned Sunday Leader, whose editor was shot dead in 2009, was rushed to hospital for surgery following the midnight attack at his home, according to colleagues.

“Investigations are underway,” police said in a statement, without elaborating. At least three gunmen stormed into the reporter’s house in the tourist resort area of Mount Lavinia, a suburb of Colombo, and opened fire, a colleague said.

Doctors were operating to remove a bullet from the neck of Shauketaly, who holds dual Sri Lankan and British nationality, his editor, Shakuntala Perera, told AFP. “We are told his condition is stable but he is still in intensive care,” she said adding Shauketaly had written a series of articles on alleged corruption in the energy sector in recent months. “We believe the attack was due to his journalistic work,” she said, adding the reporter knew he was under threat and had feared for his safety.

A local media rights group, the Free Media Movement, said the attack underscored the dangerous working climate for journalists in Sri Lanka. “The government has created conditions to expose media personnel to this type of attack because the perpetrators know they will never be brought to justice,” the group’s secretary Sunil Jayasekera told AFP. He noted not a single person had been prosecuted for the killing of 17 journalists and media workers in Sri Lanka in the past

US army may extend Afghanistan deployment WASHINGTON: Soldiers deployed to Afghanistan next year may see their war tours extended because budget cuts will drastically limit training for brigades to replace them, the top Army general said Friday.

Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said the military will be able to fund training and operations for combat units in Afghanistan now and for those deploying in the summer and fall. But he says there will be delays in training for those deploying in 2014.

If those training delays can’t be made up, Odierno said he would have to send forces to war that aren’t ready or extend deployments of units already there. A number of combat brigades will be deploying later this year and next year, even as the US winds down the war. “We will try to divert money so we do not have to

extend people in Afghanistan,” Odierno told a conference at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

“That’s a very big concern of mine.”

He said that right now the Army is facing a shortfall of as much as $8 billion in operating funds for Afghanistan, and there could be an additional $5.4 billion in cuts if Congress can’t resolve a budget standoff and automatic reductions - called sequester - go into effect. Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Friday that he expects the sequester to go into effect March 1, triggering $46 billion in automatic cuts to the overall Pentagon budget through September. “I think it’s going to happen,” McKeon told reporters. “We have just not been able to get past the politics of it to really focus in on the devastating effects.” President

Barack Obama announced this week that he will cut the size of the US force roughly in half by a year from now.

There are currently about 66,000 US troops at the warfront, and he said he will withdraw about 34,000 by this time next year. Longer deployments have been a difficult issue for the Army. In 2007, the Army extended the yearlong deployments to 15 months in order to meet the demands of the Iraq war, including the surge of troops ordered by then-President George W Bush. In many cases, combat brigades returned home and were ordered to deploy again 12 months later, leading top military leaders to worry that the force was being strained almost to the breaking point. Over time, as the Iraq war ended, the Army deployment times were scaled back to a year, and most are now about nine months long. — AP

Myanmar rejects ‘white phosphorus’ claim report YANGON: Myanmar yesterday dismissed an independent report that alleged security forces used white phosphorus in a crackdown on a copper mine protest last year, which left dozens of people injured.

The pre -dawn raid on protest camps at the Chinese-backed mine in northern Myanmar in November was the toughest clampdown on demonstrators since a reformist government came to power in early 2011. A network of lawyers sent a canister discovered at the site in Monywa to a laboratory overseas which was found to contain military-issue white phosphorus

that can lead to serious injuries, their report said.

But presidential spokesman Ye Htut dismissed the report without commenting on its findings, saying the government would only recognize a separate parliamentary probe being conducted by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. “We do not study or give comment on individual inquiries,” he told AFP, adding that the report could “disturb” the work of Suu Kyi’s commission. The lawyers group, which submitted its findings to the Nobel laureate in late January, this week

YANGON: Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi unveils a signboard showing her late father General Aung San at a branch office of her National League for Democracy party as she visits Kaw-Hmu where she won her lower house parliamentary seat in April by-election. —AP

released a final draft of its report claiming government forces used “excessive force” in breaking up the mine demonstration.

It added that senior local officials acted on behalf of the mine-a joint venture between Chinese firm Wanbao and military-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings-and “misused their powers to punish villagers opposed to selling their land”.

Activists said about 100 people were injured in the crackdown. Some suffered severe burns. The government has since apologized to senior Buddhist clerics over injuries sustained by monks who were at the forefront of the protest.

President Thein Sein’s office initially said that tear gas and smoke bombs were used against the protesters, but denied allegations by local media that a form of chemical weapon was deployed.

Chinese-backed projects to tap Myanmar ’s abundant natural resources have sparked resentment among local residents. Opponents are calling for work at the mine to be suspended to allow environmental and social impact studies. Suu Kyi’s commission was originally supposed to present its findings by the end of January, but the date has been postponed, with members of the inquiry suggesting a decision would not be before late February. — AFP

decade and abductions and disappearances remained unsolved.

“We urge the authorities to investigate this shooting and bring the attackers to justice,” Jayasekera said. “If the government is serious about allowing media freedom, they must show their goodwill by ensuring a successful investigation. “As long as a culture of impunity persists, there will be no press freedom.” Presidential spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said President Mahinda Rajapakse had ordered police to carry out a thorough investigation.

Media rights groups accuse the government of trying to silence dissenting voices. In 2009, the editor of the Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge, was shot dead near his office. He had been a fierce government critic. Attacks against journalists and news outlets have continued despite the end of the decades-long war between the military and Tamil separatist rebels in 2009. There has also been a string of attacks against the main Tamil newspaper in the island’s north with employees beaten up. Sri Lanka lifted a state of emergency in 2011, but media rights groups say journalists have been forced to selfcensor their work due to fear of attacks.

The investigative Sunday Leader until mid2012 had been strongly anti-government and regularly lampooned politicians. But the newspaper was purchased by a businessman who is seen as staunchly in favor of Rajapakse’s administration. In September, the newspaper’s new owner dismissed editor at the time, Frederica Jansz, who replaced Wickrematunge. — AFP

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan journalist Faraz Shauketaly, 54, a reporter with the privatelyrun Sunday Leader is rushed to hospital in Colombo yesterday. — AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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

Asia-Pacific pact on agenda for Obama-Abe talks WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are expected to discuss Japan’s possible entry into regional free trade talks with the United States at a White House meeting late next week, US trade policy specialists said on Friday.

A nuclear test by North Korea on Tuesday that drew international condemnation is also expected to figure prominently in their talks, the first meeting of the two leaders since Abe led his party back to power in December. “The president looks forward to in-depth discussions with Prime Minister Abe on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including the

US-Japan Security Alliance, economic and trade issues, and deepening bilateral cooperation,” Obama’s press secretary, Jay Carney, said in a statement.

Japan has been considering whether to join US-led talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership since at least 2011. Its decision was put on the back burner in the face of more pressing domestic concerns and stiff opposition from Japanese farmers opposed to opening the country’s market to rice imports from the United States.

In recent weeks, Japan addressed a major US precondition for its participation in the talks by easing restrictions on American beef that date back to discovery

of several cases of mad cow disease in the US cattle herd nearly a decade ago.

A group of US senators led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus thanked Abe in a letter for that move and urged Japan to take additional steps to fully open its market to USbeef.

According to Japanese press reports, Abe is interested in joining the TransPacific Partnership if he gets reassurance from Obama that some of Japan’s politically sensitive products will be shielded from full market-openings.

That is a tough commitment for Obama to make up front since the official position of TPP negotiators is that everything is “on

the table in the talks,” said Jeffrey Schott, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

However, as a practical matter, it is not unusual for the United States to agree at the end of negotiations to less than full market opening for one or more products, Schott said. The United States did not require South Korea to open its rice market in a trade pact the two signed a few years ago. Washington also shielded US sugar producers from increased imports in a deal with Australia, Schott said. The 11 TPP countries - which include Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei -

hope to reach an agreement this year. The difficult nature of the talks makes it possible that the deadline will be missed, Clayton Yeutter, a former US trade representative, said during a panel discussion at the Peterson Institute. But the window of opportunity for Japan and others such as South Korea to join the negotiations is closing. “People need to understand, particularly folks in Japan, that this train is not going to sit in the station forever,” Yeutter said. Next week’s meeting is an opportunity for Obama and Abe to discuss how to handle Tokyo’s “sensitivities” in way that sets the stage for Japan to join in timely fashion, Yeutter added.—Reuters

Malaysia to deport Australian politician ‘Prohibited immigrant’ detained at airport

KUALA LUMPUR: A handout photo taken and received yesterday and supplied by the Office of Nick Xenaphon shows Australian Senator Nick Xenaphon being detained at Kuala Lumpur’s International Airport in Malaysia. —AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia detained an Australian politician at Kuala Lumpur airport yesterday branding him a “prohibited immigrant” ahead of his expected deportation, in a move Canberra described as “disappointing”.

Nick Xenophon, an outspoken independent senator who has been critical of Malaysia’s electoral system, was held at the international airport near the capital Kuala Lumpur upon his arrival from Melbourne.

He was expected to be deported back to Melbourne later yesterday.

He and other Australian lawmakers were planning the Malaysia trip to try to ascertain the freeness of upcoming national elections, due to take place by June.

Immigration director general Alias Ahmad said in a text message that Xenophon had “tarnished the image of the country” and been classified as a “prohibited immigrant”.

He later elaborated in a statement that Xenophon was blacklisted because he attended an “illegal street protest” in Kuala Lumpur last year. “Malaysia is a free and democratic country, but no one is above the law. Authorities will take the appropriate action against any individual deemed to have violated national laws,” Alias said.

Xenophon, who has said he attended the electoral reform mass rally last April as an observer while studying Malaysia’s poll system, told AFP that he was “shocked” by his detention.

“It seems that the government is fearful of scrutiny,” he said via telephone from the airport. “This in my

mind confirms that they (elections) won’t be” fair. Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said officials were in touch with Xenophon and were seeking his “swift release” and a “full explanation” of the incident. “Senator Xenophon’s detention is a surprising and disappointing act from a country with which Australia routinely maintains strong diplomatic relations,” he said, adding that he had been in Malaysia for “peaceful purposes”.

Xenophon and the other politicians were to meet members of electoral reform group Bersih, which organized last year’s rally, and others including opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and Election Commission officials.

The other lawmakers had now cancelled their trip, Xenophon said.

Anwar condemned Xenophon’s detention “in the strongest terms”, saying allegations that he was a security threat were “completely without foundation”. “I would like to remind Prime Minister Najib Razak that he has no right to treat visitors as enemies of the state merely because they are critical of his... administration,” he said in a statement.

The upcoming polls are expected to be the toughest ever test for Najib’s coalition, which has ruled the country since independence from Britain in 1957 but has lost support in recent years.

Najib has touted reforms to boost the economy and allow for greater civil liberties, but rights groups have dismissed the changes as windowdressing to get votes. —AFP

Rare mass rally in Singapore demands immigration curbs SINGAPORE: More than 1,000 Singaporeans attended the citystate’s biggest protest rally in recent memory yesterday, amid growing public indignation over predictions of a surging foreign population.

The peaceful rally, held at an officially designated protest zone, was staged by a civic group after the government said foreigners could account for nearly half of the densely packed island’s population in less than 20 years. Organizers estimated the crowd at 3,000, but AFP reporters on the scene said between 1,000 and 1,500 people had taken part despite afternoon downpours, making it the biggest protest in Singapore in recent years.

Rally leaders, who used Facebook and other online platforms to draw support, openly attacked the People’s Action Party (PAP), which has been in power for more than 50 years, over its immigration and other policies. “The large crowd here shows the PAP government that they are not

afraid any more, they don’t want to hide behind a moniker on Facebook to show their displeasure,” said chief organizer Gilbert Goh, a former opposition candidate for parliament.

“They are showing their deep displeasure with the white paper,” he told AFP, referring to a controversial population projection issued last month.

A spokesman for the Singapore Police told AFP that it was not monitoring the size of the crowd, which was largely clad in black, armed with clappers and clutched a sea of umbrellas.

There were no signs of riot police in or around the rally venue, a grassy park where protesters are allowed to address the public in a spot known as Speakers’ Corner.

A government policy paper last month said the population could range between 6.5 and 6.9 million by 2030, with foreigners making up 45 percent because Singaporeans are not producing enough babies to sustain economic growth.

Citizens currently make up 62 per-

SINGAPORE: People gather on a open field at the speakers corner to listen to people talk about immigration issues in Singapore yesterday. —AFP

cent of the current population of 5.3 million, of whom more than a third are foreign-born.

A banner at the rally read: “Save Singapore - Say NO to 6.9 million.”

“Stop selling memberships. We are not a country club,” read a handmade poster, referring to naturalization.

Protests are rare in Singapore, a wealthy island republic known for strict security and social controls, but Facebook, Twitter and other social media have set the tone for political debate in recent years.

Rallies of more than a few dozen people are unusual. In October 2008, about 600 angry investors gathered in the same spot, urging the Singapore central bank to help them recover money they lost from investments linked to collapsed US bank Lehman Brothers and other institutions.

Yesterday’s rally came less than two years after the general election of May 2011, when the ruling party suffered its worst ever performance, with immigration already a sensitive issue. Foreigners have been blamed for stealing Singaporeans’ jobs as well as straining housing, transport and medical services. Goh, the rally organiser, ran unsuccessfully for parliament in 2011 under the opposition National Solidarity Party. On the eve of the rally, Goh issued a public apology to foreigners living in Singapore for an earlier posting in which he listed racial profiles and social habits of various Asian nationalities as well as westerners.

“It’s rude and insensitive to their feelings,” Goh wrote, adding that he did not want to “stir up unpleasant xenophobic sentiments within the country”. —AFP

Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew in hospital SINGAPORE: Former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew is recovering in hospital after suffering from an irregular heartbeat, the government said yesterday.

Lee, 89, will remain at Singapore General Hospital for a few days, said a statement issued by the office of his son, current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The elder Lee was confined on Friday “after experiencing a suspected transient ischaemic attack (TIA) associated with a prolonged episode of atrial fibrillation”, or an irregular heartbeat, the statement said. TIA occurs when blood flow to a part of the brain stops briefly, according to the statement, which added that a person who suffers from this “will have strokelike symptoms which clear in less than 24 hours”.

“He has recovered but will

remain warded for a few days for the doctors to adjust his medications and for observation,” the statement said.

Lee Kuan Yew, who retired from the cabinet in 2011 but remains a member of parliament, is widely credited with transforming Singapore from an economic backwater to one of Asia’s fastestgrowing economies. He served as prime minister from 1959, when Singapore gained self-rule from colonial ruler Britain, until he stepped down in 1990 in favour of his deputy Goh Chok Tong, who in turn handed power to Lee’s son in 2004.

The People’s Action Party cofounded by the elder Lee has been returned to power in every election since 1959 and holds 80 of the 87 seats in parliament. —AFP

TOKYO: A pigeon flies low over temple goers at the Asakusa Sensoji Temple in Tokyo yesterday. —AP

Manila hopes to avoid launder blacklisting MANILA: The Philippines hopes to avoid being put on a blacklist of money-laundering havens after President Benigno Aquino signed a new law boosting safeguards against such crimes, his spokeswoman said yesterday.

The law brings the country up to international standards as required by the inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force which threatened to blacklist it, spokeswoman Abigail Valte said. “We’re very hopeful that, with the passage of this particular law, the FATF will see we are really serious in our commitment to fight money-laundering,” she told reporters.

Officials of the Philippine anti-money laundering council will leave soon for an FATF meeting in Paris to show that Manila was complying with their conditions, she said. The law is aimed at preventing terrorists, corrupt officials, drug syndicates and human-traffickers from using the country as a hiding place for their ill-gotten gains, Valte said.

As demanded by the FATF, it broadens the definition of crimes covered and expands the businesses to be monitored for moneylaundering beyond mere financial institu-

tions such as banks.

The FATF had previously placed the Philippines on its “dark grey list” of jurisdictions deemed not to be making sufficient progress in fighting money-laundering and threatened to blacklist it in early 2012.

It called for greater state powers to make it easier to scrutinize bank accounts, as well as casinos, foreign exchange traders and other non-bank entities.

While the Philippines previously passed two crucial anti-money laundering laws in June, it only passed the third law sought by the task force this month. The new law, signed by Aquino late Friday, also still spares casinos from coverage for fear this would scare off investors, lawmakers said.

The Philippines recently opened Entertainment City, an $4 billion Manila casino complex aimed at rivalling Macau, Las Vegas and Singapore as a gaming hub.

Asked if omitting casinos might have a negative effect, Valte said “we will make an evaluation first and then we’ll move forward from there”. An FATF blacklist would make it difficult for millions of Filipinos working abroad to remit their earnings and also affect Filipinos seeking to invest overseas. —AFP

BEIJING: Travelers exit a train station in Beijing yesterday. Lunar new year travelers were beginning to return to Beijing following an exodus of some nine million people from China’s capital prior to the annual week-long festivities. —AFP

Activist takes HK ID card database offline HONG KONG: A Hong Kong activist who posted an identity card database online in protest at a proposed law that would restrict access to information on company directors has removed the file from his website.

Corporate governance activist David Webb said he decided to take down the database of over 1,100 names, including some of the city’s leading tycoons, on Friday after authorities said they were investigating his activities. Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, said it was looking into a “possible personal data breach”.

Webb, who compiled the database from publicly available information said he was astonished at the decision, in a message on his website (www.webb-site.com).

“Our first, internal reaction was-are you serious? For information that anyone could legally have found online?” “All of this aims to increase transparency and accountability, and to reduce corruption, corporate fraud, money-laundering, identity fraud and other activities which are facilitated by a lack of transparency,” Webb said.

“This has been a dark day for transparency in Hong Kong.” The database contained the identity card numbers of the two sons of Asia’s Richest man, Li Ka-shing, as well as billionaire Sun Hung Kai Properties chairman Thomas Kwok, who is involved in the city’s biggest graft scandal. Under the proposed privacy law, corporate directors could apply to have their residential addresses and full identity card or passport numbers removed from the territory’s registry of companies.

Such details were used in recent investigative reports by the New York Times and Bloomberg that alleged that the families of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and presidentin-waiting Xi Jinping had accumulated billions in hidden assets. Nearly 1,800 reporters, students and journalism professors have urged the government to withdraw the bill, saying it would infringe on press freedom. A large number of Chinese companies are listed in the city, a financial hub that acts as a gateway for international firms seeking to tap into the booming Chinese market. —AFP

NEWS

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Slain Pistorius girlfriend leaves haunting...

Continued from Page 1 previous day, would plead not guilty to the charges against him. “We have no doubt there is no substance to the allegation and that the State’s own case, including its own forensic evidence, strongly refutes any possibility of a premeditated murder or indeed any murder at all,” Arnold Pistorius said in a statement. “We are all grieving for Reeva, her family and her friends,” he said. “Oscar - as you can imagine - is also numb with shock as well as grief.” The track star faces a life sentence if convicted of premeditated murder, as alleged by state prosecutors.

Arnold Pistorius added that the couple “had plans together”.

“Oscar was happier in his private life than he had been for a long time.”

Yesterday, television offered the world a small glimpse of the less well-known half of the doomed couple. A one minute tribute before “Tropika Island of Treasure” showed Steenkamp appearing contemplative and at ease with herself, sitting beneath a beachfront palm, dressed in a strappy top and a yellow, black and dotted bikini, with her blonde hair tied back.

Looking deep into the camera, she also offered some advice to the up to three million people who watch the show every week. “Just maintain integrity and maintain class and just always be true to yourself,” she said in what now sounds like a soliloquy on a life cut short. “I’m going to miss you all so much.”

But there were plenty of more light-hearted moments.

Steenkamp is seen swimming with dolphins and smiling broadly as she floats down the jungle-flanked Martha Brae River on a punted bamboo raft. The model blew kisses, laughed and splashed across an aquatic obstacle course with other contestants trying not to be voted off the show. The reality show, shot on location in Jamaica, featured the slain model as well as 13 other local personalities competing for one million rand ($113,500) prize money. Producers defended their decision not to shelve the show, instead painting its broadcast as a tribute to Steenkamp. “She was happy, healthy, beautiful and vibrant and that’s the way she should be remembered,” said executive producer Samantha Moon.

In an earlier statement Moon said the decision to broadcast Tropika Island of Treasure 5 was taken after “much delibera-

tion”. “This week’s episode will be dedicated to Reeva’s memory.” The show was broadcast on state television channel SABC1, which said Steenkamp’s mother had given the showing her blessing. Many more than the three million South Africans who normally watch the show were expected to tune in. Many found it bitter sweet. “It’s so painful watching Reeva smile at us on TV, while knowing she’s no longer with us” @MotsoPitsi wrote on Twitter. “Tragic loss of Reeva Steenkamp-she looked so vibrant, sweet, young and beautiful. So said for her family,” wrote Cavil Shepherd.

Born in the southern city of Port Elizabeth, Steenkamp moved to Johannesburg six years ago to pursue her modelling career. She had been dating Pistorius since at least November. Elsewhere forensics teams are still working at Pistorius’ home to try and establish what took place before and after Steenkamp was shot in the head and hand. And the medal winner was expected to receive visits from family and from members of his defence team, who are preparing for a bail hearing that will begin Tuesday ahead of what is expected to be a lengthy trial. The state is expected to strongly oppose bail.

Meanwhile unconfirmed details of Steenkamp’s last hours appeared in the South African press. Beeld, an Afrikaans newspaper which initially broke the story of the murder, reported that two hours before the shooting neighbours complained to complex security over the loud fighting at the house. Beeld had initially said Steenkamp was shot having been mistaken for an intruder, but this claim has been dismissed by police and prosecutors. The daily also reported that Steenkamp was shot through the bathroom door while on the toilet.

Using unnamed and unquoted sources the paper said Pistorius carried Steenkamp in his arms downstairs and tried performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. When guards arrived Steenkamp was breathing, but was gargling blood because of her injuries. The paper also reported that aside from the weapon used to kill Steenkamp, Pistorius had pending licence applications for seven other guns, including .223 semi-automatic - the same type of weapon used to kill 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the United States in December. — AFP

ABU DHABI: Child jockeys take part in the start of a traditional camel race during the Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed AlNahyan Camel Festival held at the Shweihan racecourse on the outskirts of the Emirati capital yesterday. — AFP

14

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

ANALYSIS

THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF ESTABLISHED 1961

Founder and Publisher

YOUSUF S. AL-ALYAN Editor-in-Chief

ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-ALYAN EDITORIAL : 24833199-24833358-24833432 ADVERTISING : 24835616/7 FAX : 24835620/1 CIRCULATION : 24833199 Extn. 163 ACCOUNTS : 24835619 COMMERCIAL : 24835618 P.O.Box 1301 Safat,13014 Kuwait.

E MAIL :info@kuwaittimes.net Website: www.kuwaittimes.net

Washington Watch

Definition of chutzpah: Only Blaming victim

By Dr James J Zogby n what can only be described as “chutzpah”, David Keyes, the Executive Director of a group calling itself “Advancing Human Rights”, penned “Palestine’s Democracy Deficit” a column that appeared earlier this week in the New York Times. Keyes begins his piece decrying the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) arrests, during the past few years, of activists who have been charged with criticizing the leadership. That done, he gets on to his real goal - making it clear that the Palestinians are not partners for peace, are not ready for a state of their own, and should not receive US aid. His words: “A good indicator of how committed a government is to upholding peace with its neighbors is its commitment to protecting the human rights of its own citizens. Nations that disregard the freedoms of their own people are not likely to care much about maintaining peace with their historic enemies. Palestinian human rights, in other words, are key to the peace process...A positive first step would be linking Western economic aid to the Palestinian Authority’s respect for free speech. Human rights, too often seen as a diversion from the peace process, are in fact the secret to it.”

Several observations must be made in response. First, there is the Bush/Sharansky origin of Keyes’ thesis. The rather bizarre notion that the Palestinians must first build a “practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty” before they can have a state was first articulated by George W. Bush in June of 2002. Back then, with Israeli-Palestinian tensions at a high point, the world waited for two months while Bush was framing his approach to restoring peace-making efforts. A speech had been written by State Department Middle East experts, but at the last minute the White House inserted its “democracy first” demand which instead of restarting the peace process proved to be the “nail in its coffin”.

How, I asked back then, could a people under military occupation establish a functioning democracy, without any functioning economy and their people seething in anger at the daily humiliation they were forced to endure, the denials of their rights to movement, the restrictions on their ability to engage in commerce, and the loss of their property and hopes all brought to them by their “democratic” neighbor?

State Department officials who had worked on the initial drafts of the speech were floored by the Bush insertions, which we later learned had come directly from the President after he had read a treatise on democracy by Natan Sharansky. Sharansky, the famed Soviet “refusnik” had left the Soviet Union for Israel in 1986. I remember well how when he arrived in Israel he initially criticized that government’s treatment of Palestinians. After being scolded, he never raised the subject again. Instead Sharansky joined with hardliners to become a critic of all things Palestinian.

In this context it is useful to note that Keyes for many years worked for Natan Sharansky and refers to himself as a “Sharanskyite”.

Then there is the organization which Keyes directs, Advancing Human Rights (AHR). AHR was the creation of Ben Bernstein.

Bernstein had earlier founded Human Rights Watch (HRW). But in 2009, Bernstein resigned from HRW charging that it had become too focused on criticizing Israel. Two years later he launched AHR which, from a review of its website, criticizes everyone in the Middle East but Israel. I want to be clear. I cannot condone the PA’s performance or its behavior - and I have told them so. In the 1970s I founded the Palestine Human Rights Campaign (PHRC) which defended Palestinians who had been tortured in Israeli prisons, held for prolonged periods under Administrative Detention (without being charged with any crime), whose homes had been demolished in acts of collective punishment, or who had been illegally and summarily expelled from the territories and separated from their families. We had formed the PHRC in 1976 because back then no US human rights group would adopt Palestinian cases. Even among the more progressive groups, Palestinians were a taboo topic. Some argued that it would disturb their members or supporters if they took on these issues.

Others expressed the concern that if they embraced Palestinian cases and antagonized Israel that this would impede peace-making efforts!

In the mid-1990’s, I was asked by the State Department to host a meeting for a visiting delegation of PA officials, one of whom had been an administrative detainee during the ‘80’s. I assembled a group of individuals who had signed a petition back then to the Israeli occupation authorities calling for his release. After criticizing the PA’s human rights record, we turned to that former prisoner and said “we defended your rights when they were violated, don’t force us to turn against you because you are violating human rights. Because we will”. And we have. At the same time, I am fully aware of the impossible conditions that have been imposed on the Palestinians by a persistent and corrosive occupation. They have been, in effect, required by the Israelis and the US, to manage the occupation and control their own people. Denied by the Israelis of the opportunity to grow their economy and produce a vibrant private sector, the PA has become dependent on the largess of others to pay salaries for a bloated public sector that is, for too many Palestinian families, the only available source of income. And facing resistance from a restive population, it should have been expected that they would behave as they have.

I

NOTE: Dr James J Zogby is the President of the Arab American Institute

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.

China plays by own rules while going global

By Jack Chang hen Venezuela seized billions of dollars in assets from Exxon Mobil and other foreign companies, Chinese state banks and investors didn’t blink. Over the past five years they have loaned Venezuela more than $35 billion. Elsewhere around the Caribbean, as hotels were struggling to stay afloat in the global economic slowdown, the Chinese response was to bankroll the biggest resort under construction in the Western Hemisphere - a massive hotel, condominium and casino complex in the Bahamas just a few miles from half-empty resorts.

All over the world, from Latin America to the South Pacific, a cash-flush China is funding projects that others won’t, seemingly less concerned by the conventional wisdom of credit ratings and institutions such as the World Bank. The Chinese money is breathing life into government infrastructure projects that otherwise might have died for lack of financing. For commercial projects such as the Caribbean resort, China is filling a gap left

by Western investors retrenching after the 2008 financial crisis.

But some in the Bahamas worry what will happen if the sprawling Baha Mar project fails. They picture an economy saturated with hotels, dragged down by an expensive Chinese white elephant.

Likewise, the infrastructure loans are loading financially shaky countries with more debt and letting them avoid economic reforms that other lenders would likely have demanded.

“The Chinese play by other rules,” said Kevin Gallagher, a Boston University international relations professor who has studied Chinese lending to Latin America.

“We’ll give you financing with no conditions, and we’ll finance things the International Monetary Fund won’t fund, things others won’t fund anymore, like big infrastructure projects. It allows countries to shop around, which has good and bad sides.”

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez talked up his independence last year while highlighting another $4 billion in Chinese loans, part of a wave of money that has translated into new railways, utilities and other projects. “In a few days, they’re going to deposit 4 billion little dollars more from Beijing,” Chavez told reporters, holding up four fingers for emphasis. “Fortunately, we don’t depend on the dreadful bank. What’s that one called that you mentioned? The World Bank. Poor are those countries that depend on the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund.”

Venezuela’s Oil and Mining Minister Rafael Ramirez says China has loaned his country $36 billion since 2008, and others put the figure even higher. The Spanishlanguage version of a report co-authored

by Gallagher, “The New Banks in Town: Chinese Finance in Latin America,” estimates it at $46.5 billion. The loans have added to Venezuela’s $95.7 billion in public foreign debt as of mid-2012, which has risen even as the country rakes in recordhigh oil revenue. Some analysts say the spending helped Chavez win re-election in October, despite battling cancer.

China has emerged in recent years as the largest provider of development loans not only to Venezuela but also to Ecuador and Argentina, according to the Gallagher report. All three are junk bond countries, ratings agencies say. In contrast, the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank remain larger lenders in Brazil and Mexico, both countries with

W

higher bond ratings. In cases such as the tiny South Pacific islands of Tonga, China is lending enormous sums to countries few expect will be able to repay.

What has surely given the Chinese banks courage is the trillions of dollars in reserves the country holds in US Treasury bonds, investments that pay almost nothing in interest. Making that money work harder for a return overseas has become nothing less than a national priority, part of China’s trumpeted “going out” strategy.

China’s economy is the second largest after the US, and many of the deals stipulate repayment in oil and natural gas, locking in the commodities China will need to sustain its growth for decades to come.

In 2009 and 2010 alone, the China Development Bank extended $65 billion in such loans to energy companies and government entities from Ecuador to Russia and Turkmenistan, according to a report by Erica Downs, a China expert at the Brookings Institution, a US think tank.

“If you’re lending tens of billions of dollars to a borrower ..., you want to make sure that loan is secured against something,” she said. “In the case of Venezuela, it’s the most valuable thing they can offer. It’s just one way to ensure they get paid.”

In dozens of cases, the Chinese have also demanded that their own companies build the infrastructure that will help governments extract and ship the commodities used to pay back the loans. In Argentina, that means agreements to bring in Chinese companies to revamp the country’s decrepit rail system, which would speed up shipments of soy to Chinese consumers. “The money goes from one account in the China Development Bank into the hands of small- and medium-sized businesses in China,” Gallagher said, while noting the majority involve big state companies.

The Chinese also hold a valuable trump card: They’re betting that Chavez and other financial pariahs won’t dare alienate their last source of affordable money by defaulting on Chinese loans or seizing Chinese assets. “The Chinese have the upper hand,” Downs said. “The China Development Bank sees this country that’s thumbed their nose at the IMF. And if they borrowed from the IMF and had to be subjected to IMF conditionality, the regime would fall.”

Perhaps with that in mind, more than 30 Chinese consultants toured Venezuela in 2011 and handed Chavez a thick binder with recommendations on everything from exchange rate reform to agriculture. While news cameras clicked, Chavez held up the book, thanked his Chinese benefactors and pledged to study the prescriptions. Unlike IMF loans, however, the Chinese recommendations weren’t a requirement, and Chavez has shown no sign of curbing public spending. The investments and loans have contributed to a substantial shift in commerce toward China. Venezuela, for example, saw its trade with the US drop from 26 percent of its GDP in 2006 to 18 percent in 2011, according to an AP analysis of IMF databases. Meanwhile, Chinese trade grew from virtually nothing in 2001 to nearly 6 percent a decade later, much of it in the form of oil to repay loans. But the money doesn’t necessarily save countries from their own bad financial bets. Zimbabwe, which has received generous Chinese financing, saw inflation peak at 79.6 billion percent a month in Nov 2008. At one point, a loaf of bread reportedly cost 500 million Zimbabwe dollars. Gideon Gono, governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, suggested one possible remedy: Adopt the Chinese yuan as the official currency. (Zimbabwe eventually overcame the crisis by switching to a mix of Western and African currencies.) Argentina is fighting off an economic reckoning despite receiving more than $12 billion in Chinese loans, according to the Gallagher report. In 2001, the country defaulted on some $100 billion in loans. It struck a deal with most of its lenders, but over the past year, a group of creditors is insisting on payment in full.

“It’s extremely concerning,” said Margaret Meyers, a China expert at the US think tank the Inter-American Dialogue.

“Chinese financing won’t be able to sustain these economies unless they go through substantial macroeconomic reforms. For Argentina, that means open markets, reforming institutions, reforming the banking system, fiscal accountability, ending lots of misspending.”

Some in the borrowing countries have watched with worry as the Chinese bets play out. Opposition politicians in Venezuela have slammed the deals for locking in contracts for everything from

In this June 25, 2012 file photo, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao and Argentine President Cristina Fernandez pose for a picture after signing bilateral agreements at the government house in Buenos Aires. — AP

Chinese-made refrigerators to Chinese construction workers while giving Chavez free rein to spend billions of dollars.

“There’s no doubt we’re going to need China, they are an economic powerhouse,” opposition leader Henrique Capriles said last year. “But many of the agreements the government has signed involve political loyalties that don’t interest us.” On the beaches of New Providence in the Bahamas, hundreds of Chinese construction workers are toiling around the clock to ready the Baha Mar project for a scheduled grand opening in late 2014. The project will add thousands of hotel rooms not far from the islands’ biggest resort, the Atlantis. “Going forward, we have to achieve a sustainable tourism product,” said James Smith, the former state minister of finance for the Bahamas. “If we don’t, Baha Mar could be cannibalizing Atlantis.”

Baha Mar has opened sales offices all over Asia to promote and presell hundreds of pricey condos, hoping to imprint new travel habits on a continent that’s traditionally spent beach vacations in Southeast Asia. It is also working with the Bahamian government to open more consular offices in China to issue visas. “In general, you would assume that a project of that size is generating its own demand and the idea would probably also be with Chinese money comes an influx of Chinese travelers,” said Jan Freitag, senior vice president of hospitality industry research firm STR. “The Chinese would argue that we can maybe attract a clientele that has not been with you before.”

When completed, the complex is set to boast brands such as the Grand Hyatt, Rosewood and Mondrian, and 313 $1million condos being marketed to the international elite.

Business leaders have openly questioned the investment as Baha Mar rises just blocks from storefronts left empty during the latest downturn. The Wyndham hotel was closed for all of September and most of October because of low occupancy levels, and on Feb. 8 announced the need for “substantial cutbacks,” including layoffs. “In a vibrant economy, we wouldn’t be having any concerns. The reason it comes into question is whether it’s right at this time,” said Winston Rolle, CEO of the Bahamas’ Chamber of Commerce.

The project had, in fact, been conceived in a different moment, more than six years ago, when the US housing boom and global tourism seemed unstoppable.

One of the original developers, Caesar’s Entertainment Corp, formerly Harrah’s Entertainment, backed out of the project in 2008, and Chinese financiers stepped in after reaching a deal with project CEO Sarkis Izmirlian. The agreement brought in a state-owned Chinese construction company to build the resort. “This project is essential to developing business in the Caribbean and into the U.S.,” said Tiger Wu, vice president of the construction company, to Bahamian media. “It’s only the beginning.”

All evidence indicates the Chinese are charging forward. They’ve made their $3.5 billion gamble in the Bahamas.

Elsewhere, they’ve promised tens of billions of dollars for everything from dams to railroads. Guyana has hired the stateowned Shanghai Construction Group to build a 197-room Marriott Hotel on the southern edge of the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, traditional investors in the US and Europe have been left on the sidelines. It’s China’s game now. And the rest of the world is waiting to see how the big gambles pay off. — AP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

S P ORTS

Drogba scores goal for Galatasaray on debut

IOC gives Pakistan another chance

ISTANBUL: Didier Drogba came off the bench to score on his Galatasaray debut as his new Turkish side defeated bottom-club Akhisar 2-1 on Friday.

The former Chelsea star replaced Umut Bulut in the 63rd minute before heading in his team’s opening goal just five minutes later. Buruk Yilmaz made it 2-0 in the 70th minute with Sertan Vardar cutting the deficit with five minutes left. Galatasaray now have an eight-point lead over Besiktas at the top of the Turkish first division. Ivory Coast striker Drogba, 34, signed an 18-month contract with top-flight Galatasaray at the end of January but Shanghai Shenhua, with whom he signed on a two-and-a-half year deal in June last year, opposed the move.

He is being paid 10 million euros ($13.5 million) to play in Turkey with a bonus of 15,000 euros for every match played. Galatasary are due to play German side Schalke 04 next Wednesday in the last 16 of the Champions League. Drogba-a Champions League winner with English Premier League club Chelsea last season-is looking to relaunch his career in Europe and play at a higher standard than in China, with a view to being at the next World Cup in Brazil in 2014. — AFP

LAUSANNE: The International Olympic Committee has given Pakistan another chance to resolve differences between its government and the country’s national Olympic association.

The move was announced after IOC officials held a meeting on Friday with Pakistan Olympic Association President Syed Arif Hasan and IOC member Syed Shahid Ali. Despite being invited, no representative from Pakistan’s government attended. The IOC said it still recognizes Hasan as the POA’s president and asked the former general “to establish fruitful dialogue with the government of Pakistan and find good solutions for the future which are fully compatible with the principles and rules which govern the Olympic Movement and, in particular, the principle of autonomy of the Olympic Movement.” At least 20 sports federations formed their own interim committee within the POA and, with the support of the government, called Tuesday for fresh elections within a month. The IOC has repeatedly warned Pakistan of severe consequences if the government continues to interfere in the affairs of the POA. The gulf between Hasan and the government widened last year just before the Olympic Games and Pakistan was in danger of being suspended from the London Games.—AP

Hyundai Run Kuwait 2013 KUWAIT: Head of the runners’ team of Hyundai Run Kuwait 2013 Yousuf AlQinae said the team is ready for trip months ago, because the running sport requires preparation of the body, bearing in mind that the trip which will start of Feb 23rd, will take five days covering 240km from the northern to southern borders.

Al-Qinae said the team’s members are Muna Al-Wazan, Bader Al-Failakawi, Fahad Al-Ibrahim, Reem Al-Awadhi, Mohammad Hassan and Egyptian Ahmad Mousa.

Al-Qinae said this year’s event will be different as he, along with Muna AlWazan will run the complete distance 240 km at a rate of 50 km a day, but the rest of the team will run five km alternately along the trip with a Hyundai car carrying runners and personal belongings.

Al-Qinae thanked all sponsors for their support including north Gulf Commercial Company Hyundai, Ali Abdelwahab Company through its Nike stores, Mada Internet... for more details please log on to www.runkuwait.com

Schwartzel avoids post-Masters blues PACIFIC PALISADES: Winning a first major title has often led to a drop-off in form as expectations mount but Charl Schwartzel, for the most part, has managed to avoid that pitfall. Since storming to victory by four shots at the 2011 Masters, the slender South African has been a regular fixture on tournament leaderboards and has won twice in his last six starts worldwide. On Friday, the 28-year-old from Johannesburg fired a sparkling four-under-par 67 in the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club to move into contention for yet another title.

“I thought I did pretty well,” Schwartzel told reporters about his overall form since his spectacular breakthrough at Augusta National. “I thought I played very consistent golf, competed a few times.

“2011 was a good year for me and then 2012 came and wasn’t so great. I picked up a few injuries and that sort of thing. But it is difficult. You’ve got to go through it to actually realise what it (winning a major) does to you.

“It’s a learning curve but it’s something that I would love to go through again.”

Asked if time management had been his biggest problem after being thrust into the media spotlight following his Masters win, Schwartzel replied: “I think so. And also

you’ve got so much pressure on you, a lot from yourself, too.

“Once you win something like that (the Masters), you believe you can win anything out there. It doesn’t get bigger than that.

“So when you play in a normal event, you think there’s no reason why you shouldn’t win, and that pressure comes from yourself.

In this game, you don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on yourself.”

Schwartzel, who the Thailand Golf Championship in December by 11 shots and the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Championship the following week by a staggering 12 strokes, was delighted with his form at Riviera on Friday after shaking off jet lag.

He had bogeyed his final hole for an opening 69 on Thursday, having made the long trip from South Africa to California after finishing second at last week’s Joburg Open. “I’m very happy,” Schwartzel, who became the third South African to win the Masters, grinned after mixing five birdies with a lone bogey to finish at six-under 136.

“I played some solid golf a few times where I probably should have made bogey and I made some good par saves. “At least I put myself in position for the weekend. There are still 36 holes to go and if I keep playing like I am, you know, who knows.” — Reuters

Braun, Cabrera say little on latest doping links NEW YORK: Milwaukee Brewers star outfielder Ryan Braun and Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera are cooperating with a Major League Baseball investigation into a Florida clinic and banned substances.

But other than that, neither player is saying much about his links to the Biogenesis clinic near Miami that allegedly supplied players, including New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, with performance-ehnancing drugs.

Both men have been involved with major league doping violations, with Braun having his overturned on appeal and Cabrera serving a 50-game suspension that kept him from helping San Francisco’s playoff run to a World Series title.

Cabrera, a 28-year-old Dominican, was linked to the clinic in a Miami New Times story last month based on records obtained from a former clinic worker.

“I am aware that in the past weeks, there have been news articles written about socalled patient files from a Miami clinic, and the MLB and others are investigating those allegations,” Cabrera said in a statement.

“I have told MLB I will cooperate in their investigation the best I can, just as my legal counsel has told federal investigators. I have been instructed by legal counsel not to answer questions relating to the pending investigations.”

Cabrera joined the Blue Jays after playing for World Series champion San Francisco last season but being dropped from the playoff roster after being banned for 50 games last August for a doping violation.

Cabrera was last year’s All-Star Game Most Valuable Player and led the National League in batting at .346 with 11 home runs and 60 runs batted in over 113 games before being hit with the ban.

“Last season ended for me when I admitted taking a banned substance and accepted and served my punishment of a 50-game suspension,” Cabrera said.

“Since that day, my goals have been to serve my punishment and to put that mistake behind me, and to work hard to be the best baseball player I can be.” Braun said his ties to clinic owner Tony Bosch, first reported last week by Yahoo! Sports, stem from his successful appeal of a positive doping test last year when an arbitrator ruled his urine sample had not been properly handled.

“My attorneys, who were previously familiar with Tony Bosch, used him as a consultant,” Braun said last week. “There was a dispute over compensation for Bosch’s work, which is why my lawyer and I are listed under ‘moneys owed’ and not on any other list.—AFP

PITTSBURGH: Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun warms up on deck before the first inning of the baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh. — AP

Bolt in shock over Pistorius arrest HOUSTON: Usain Bolt says he was in shock when he heard fellow Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius had been arrested and charged in the shooting death of his model girlfriend.

Born without the fibula bone in either leg, Pistorius, 26, became the first double amputee to challenge able-bodies athletes at the Olympic Games, transcending the little covered world of handicapped sport to become a global icon.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday night after the NBA’s All-Star celebrity game, the Jamaican gold medalist still couldn’t seem to believe it. He says: “I’m still just trying to process it in my head to see if this is really real.” Bolt says he doesn’t know Pistorius well, but that he has seen and spoken to him at various events.

Asked if he plans to reach out to the doubleamputee sprinter who became a star of the London Olympics, Bolt wasn’t sure. He says: “I’ve got to stand back and see what’s going on and then I’ll decide what to do.” — AP

Bae and Jacobson set Riviera pace Donald lurks just two strokes back in high-quality field PACIFIC PALISADES: South Korean Bae Sang-moon upstaged some of the game’s biggest names by charging into a tie for the lead with Swede Fredrik Jacobson in the second round of the Northern Trust Open on Friday.

Taking advantage of ideal scoring conditions on another glorious morning of sunshine at Riviera Countr y Club, the 26-year- old Korean birdied his first four holes on the way to a six-under-par 65 and a nine-under total of 133.

Bae, a rookie on the PGA Tour last year, was joined at the top late in the day by Jacobson, who fired a matching 65 after piling up four birdies in five holes around the turn. The highlight of the Swede’s round was a 55-foot birdie putt from just off the green at the parfour ninth.

“That putt was pretty spectacular,” Jacobson, whose only PGA Tour victor y came at the 2011 Travelers Championship, told repor ters. “ There were a lot of slopes and bumps along the way to get it there but I managed to trickle it over the edge, so that was a bonus.”

Americans John Merrick (66) and John Rollins (65) were tied for third at eight under but several former major winners and heavyweight players were in hot pursuit.

British world number three Luke Donald was just two shots off the pace after a 66, with 2011 Masters winner Charl Schwartzel (67), US Open champion Webb Simpson (66) and former world number one Lee Westwood (68) a further stroke back. Twice winner Phil Mickelson (67), Spaniard Sergio Garcia (73), Australian Adam Scott (67) and British Open champion Ernie Els of South Africa (68) were among eight players at four-under 138.

“I played very well today,” Bae said after mixing nine birdies with three bogeys on a challenging Riviera layout where there is little margin for error with approach

PACIFIC PALISADES: Ryo Ishikawa of Japan hits a tee shot on the 13th hole during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club on Friday in Pacific Palisades, California. — AFP shots into the teasingly small greens. “I hit a bunch of good shots and I made many good putts, but I missed a couple of short putts on holes number five and seven. But that was not a big problem. I did my best today.”

Bae was a runner-up at last year’s Transitions Championship and he knows how difficult it is to win on the PGA Tour.

“There are many good players on the PGA Tour so it’s very competitive,” he smiled. “It’s a good experience for me and I will just play my game. My goal is to win, but that’s not easy.”

Winning this week will certainly not be easy for Bae with 12 of the world’s top 20 players heading a

strong field at Riviera. Among them is former world number one Donald who has recorded three top-six finishes at the venue in the past five years.

“I’m happy with my score, obviously coming off a pretty good break,” said the Englishman who is playing his first tournament since he tied for third at the European Tour ’s DP World Tour Championship in November.

“You never know how you’re going to deal with being back in competition again but certainly a big improvement today, ball-striking wise. My short game has been very sharp.

“I’ve been excited about that.

It’s been a big key to my score so

far and I’m excited to be in the mix again.” Donald, a five-times champion on the PGA Tour, totalled only 25 putts on Friday and sank monster birdie putts from just off the fringe at the third, from 22 feet, and at the fourth, from 72 feet.

Overnight leader Matt Kuchar, who opened with a 64 to take a one -stroke lead, slipped back with a 73 to end the day four strokes off the pace, level with defending champion Bill Haas (67). The cut fell at two-over 144 with triple major winner Padraig Harrington of Ireland, Masters champion Bu bba Wats on and 2010 US Open winner Graeme McDowell among those failing to advance. — Reuters

Good omen in Oman for Froome MUSCAT: Britain’s Chris Froome laid down an early marker for the season as he beat all the major Tour de France contenders to win the Tour of Oman in style yesterday.

Team Sky’s Froome, second overall in last year’s Tour behind team mate and compatriot Bradley Wiggins, won the fifth stage ahead of double Tour champion Alberto Contador, who took second place overall.

Yesterday’s sixth and final stage was won

by French champion Nacer Bouhanni as Froome secured his first major stage race victory. “It’s been an incredibly successful week for us this week. The team has rallied around me all the way and having guys of the calibre of Bradley Wiggins helping you to win a race makes it a hell of a lot easier to be up there when the going gets tough,” Froome told reporters.

“The guys have done a sterling job this week and been around me when it’s counted.

Luckily I’ve been able to come up with the goods and finish it off at the end of the stages.

“This is still very early days at the moment and early on in the season. This was a preparation event and a good test to see how the winter training has gone so far. I’m quite confident that I’m on track at the moment and right where I need to be with my preparations in view of being ready at 100 per cent for the Tour de France.”

Team Sky principal David Brailsford added: “It’s good to get the win, especially when you look at the quality of the field here. We’re happy that the team’s been able to get off to a strong start again this year and this result allows us to build momentum.

“It’s an important result too for Chris as he’s been able to get his first major stage race victory - that will boost his confidence. He didn’t put a foot wrong all week so it’s been a good start to the year from him.”

MUSCAT: France’s Nacer Bouhanni of FDJ team celebrates after he crossed the finish line and won the sixth and last stage of the cycling Tour of Oman, yesterday, in the Omani capital Muscat. The final stage was a 144km ride from Hawit Nagam park in the south of the emirate to Muscat along the Matrah corniche. Bouhanni won the stage and Britain’s Christopher Froome (Sky Procycling) won the Tour. — AFP

Australian Cadel Evans took third place overall ahead of Spain’s Joaquim Rodriguez, winner of stage four. “Third isn’t bad,” Evans was quoted as saying in a team statement. “It was a nice race with a good level of riders. It’s hard to say something about my condition for the Tour de France, but I can say that after my first race I am feeling good and my condition is good.”

Froome’s win was reminiscent of Wiggins’s

Paris-Nice victory in 2012, when the 32-yearold rider also claimed the Tour de Romandie, the Criterium du Dauphine and the Tour.

The Kenya-born Froome went toe-to-toe with Contador, Rodriguez, Cadel Evans and Italian Vincenzo Nibali on the climbs as he snatched the leader’s red jersey after stage four. Wiggins, who started his season in Oman in a supporting role, was never in contention. — Reuters

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

S P ORTS

US, Cuba wrestling pan Olympic move to drop sport HAVANA: The US and Cuba have seen eye-to-eye on precious little for the last half century, but their wrestling federations have found common ground on at least one thing: Dropping the sport from the 2020 Olympics is a bad idea.

At a tournament in Havana on Friday, coaches and athletes from both nations told The Associated Press that they are in shock and disbelief over the decision by the International Olympics Committee’s executive board.

“It was kind of crazy to hear and think about how many hours people have put into that dream of winning an Olympic title,” said Frank Perrelli, a 23-year-old New Jersey native who was competing in the 55-kilo weight class. “And all those hours can be taken away with just a couple of votes from people who probably never wrestled in their life and have no idea what

it’s about.”

“I think it’s criminal,” added Jim Humphrey, a team USA coach from Indianapolis, Indiana. Wrestling has been a mainstay of the Olympics since the first modern Games in Athens, Greece, in 1896, but the IOC announced Tuesday that it was eliminating freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling from its list of “core” sports, making way for another to be added in 2020. A spokesman called it an effort to renew and renovate the program.

The news didn’t go over well in Havana, where six American wrestlers have been training along with athletes from Cuba, Europe and Latin America since Feb. 7 in preparation for the tournament.

“It’s a very tough blow,” said Cuban 60-kilo competitor Alejandro Vades, 24.

“My goal is to win the title in 2016, but

what happens after that? ... I have hope that our sport will receive good support and stay on the program.”

Wrestling’s Olympic demise is not yet completely sealed, as the executive board’s decision must still be confirmed at an IOC general assembly in September. On Thursday, USA Wrestling announced it had formed a group headed by former world champion Bill Scherr to fight the decision in tandem with other federations from around the world.

Humphrey expressed optimism that the outcry will be enough to save the sport, noting that almost 200 countries have freestyle or Greco-Roman wrestling and 71 nations were represented at last summer’s London Olympics, where athletes had to qualify to compete.

“Iran, Cuba, Russia, Azerbaijan, that’s their national sport. That’s the most important thing in their whole culture,”

Humphrey said. “It’s unbelievable,” he added. “I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

The Havana tournament kicked off Friday and runs through today. While the idea of U.S. athletes training and competing in Cuba might seem strange due to the 51-year-old economic embargo that bans most American travel to the island, USA Wrestling has attended the Cuba tournament every year since at least the 1980s, Humphrey said.

Similar exchanges involving baseball and other sports, plus dance, music and academic programs, are licensed by the U.S. government and have been on the rise in recent years.

Humphrey said such events can help build bridges between political rivals.

“The wrestling team was the first to go into the Soviet Union back in the early ‘70s,”

Humphrey said. “And it just opens your eyes that when you only get one side of a story, you don’t understand that these people are just the same as we are.” “We’re wrestlers before we’re anything else probably,” he said.

Past delegations have been even bigger than the six athletes and handful of coaches who made the Cuba trip in 2013. Due to a scheduling conflict, the bulk of the squad traveled to Azerbaijan and Iran for another competition.

The US and Cuban wrestlers haven’t been able to communicate much due to language difficulties, but Perrelli said they’ve been working out together twice a day for a week and a half. “We’re kind of getting to know them without talking, just through body language and wrestling and handshakes and things like that,” he said. “It’s pretty cool getting to know these guys.” —AP

US teen Mikaela Shiffrin wins world slalom title Youngest women’s world champion in 39 years

HOUSTON: Team Shaq’s Dion Waiters of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots against Team Chuck during the second half of the Rising Stars Challenge basketball game at NBA All-Star Weekend Friday, in Houston. — AP

Nowitzki’s All-Star streak ends as Mavs struggle DALLAS: The Dallas Mavericks’ German star Dirk Nowitzki alternates between frustration and resignation when discussing probably his toughest season since he was a rookie in 1999. He was deprived of a realistic chance to defend the team’s first championship last year, and then had to sit out 27 games to start his 15th season after the first knee surgery of his career.

A 12-year playoff streak is in jeopardy and Nowitzki will have plenty of time to ponder the team’s chances over All-Star weekend. The 7-foot German is missing the NBA’s midseason showcase for the first time since a baby-faced beanpole was getting a rude introduction to the league 14 years ago.

“My whole career I went,” said Nowitzki, a 3-point competition participant in 2000 and 2001 before playing in 11 straight All-Star games. “It’s the only thing I know. So this will be something different.” Nothing’s been the same since Nowitzki hoisted the trophy and later butchered the singing of ‘We are the Champions’ on a hot summer day in 2011. If it seems like more than a year and a half since Dallas beat Miami, here’s why.

The Mavericks had to wait two extra months to raise the banner because the NBA lockout delayed opening day until Christmas.

Dallas owner Mark Cuban said the new labor deal forced him to dismantle major pieces of the title team, and what was left got blown out in the opener by Miami. Nowitzki wasn’t in shape when the season started and the Mavericks got swept in the first round of the playoffs by Oklahoma City.

After free agent guard Deron Williams spurned Dallas in the offseason and Jason Kidd defected to the New York Knicks, the Mavericks had to put together another collection of potential short-timers. Nowitzki’s right knee flared up in training camp, and Dallas was in trouble when it became clear that surgery less than two weeks before the season was the only option.

“When we started this season, we also thought we’d have Dirk the whole time,” Cuban said.The losses didn’t stop when Nowitzki returned, and he eventually took a shot at his owner when he said championships can’t be built on hope. It was a reference to Cuban’s stance that the Mavericks needed financial flexibility for roster upgrades, which fans took to mean pursuing free agents such as Williams, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul. Nowitzki let the word “trade” slip when he was venting, but said later he wasn’t asking for one. Cuban made it clear to his star anyway: He wasn’t trading him, now or ever. Their relationship was too good, Cuban said, and besides, the owner said Nowitzki had to go through the tough times with him.

“Dirk crushes me every time he opens his

mouth and then he comes in the locker room and just laughs at me,” Cuban said. “It’s kind of a sport.” Whenever the 34-year-old Nowitzki frets about whether the Mavericks can be title contenders again before he retires, he reminds himself that he does have one ring and really doesn’t want to play anywhere else.

The Mavericks fell 10 games below .500 earlier this season for the first time since Nowitzki’s second year, and they’re 4 1/2 games behind the final playoff spot in the Western Conference at 23-29. Still, Nowitzki is pushing hard in practice to get himself all the way back from surgery.

It’s hard to know whether he’ll get there, and if he does, what his scoring role will be. It’s likely Nowitzki won’t be Dallas’ leading scorer for the first time since 2000 - it probably will be O.J. Mayo. Although he’s been a steady scorer, Nowitzki has led Dallas in points just six times in 23 games since returning. “Movingwise, I’m decent, I just don’t have the touch,” said Nowitzki, who had never missed more than nine games in a season. The modest recovery pace doesn’t reflect the rehabilitation work that Dallas coach Rick Carlisle sees between games.

“It’s hard to go through surgery in a season and then come back and get back to the level that you’re used to, especially if you’re a player of his magnitude,” Carlisle said. “I still think he’s going to get better and feel better.”

There were clear signs of progress for Nowitzki before the break. It took him five games to get into double figures in scoring.

His first start two games later was his first 20point outing, and he was more consistently making the one-legged fade-away shots that helped carry Dallas to a title. Then he started making big shots late in close games.

Nowitzki had a season-high 26 points late last month at Portland, but the game ended up reflecting the Mavericks’ season because they couldn’t hold a lead in the final minute and lost a game they needed in their scramble to keep postseason hopes alive.

“Of course he’s frustrated,” said Vince Carter, who joined Nowitzki last season after the championship team was broken up. “He’s used to dominating. He wants to dominate.

He feels like he has to bring it every night and he’s going to do that.”

For All-Star weekend, though, Nowitzki can play “married guy,” as Cuban put it - Nowitzki married art gallery director Jessica Olsson last summer - and maybe get in a little running and lifting.

“It’s a little bit of a disappointment not to be going there, but maybe it’s not the worst thing, to get away,” said Nowitzki, Dallas’ franchise leader in just about every category. “I’m going to enjoy a couple of days off and I’ll go back to work.” — AP

NBA results/standings Miami 110, Oklahoma City 100; LA Clippers 125, LA Lakers 101.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT NY Knicks 32 18 .640 Brooklyn 31 22 .585 Boston 28 24 .538 Philadelphia 22 29 .431 Toronto 21 32 .396 Central Division Indiana 32 21 .604 Chicago 30 22 .577 Milwaukee 26 25 .510 Detroit 21 33 .389 Cleveland 16 37 .302 Southeast Division Miami 36 14 .720 Atlanta 29 22 .569 Washington 15 36 .294 Orlando 15 37 .288 Charlotte 12 40 .231

GB 2.5 5 10.5 12.5 1.5 5 11.5 16 7.5 21.5 22 25

Western Conference Northwest Division Oklahoma City39 14 .736 Denver 33 21 .611 Utah 30 24 .556 Portland 25 28 .472 Minnesota 19 31 .380 Pacific Division LA Clippers 39 17 .696 Golden State30 22 .577 LA Lakers 25 29 .463 Sacramento 19 35 .352 Phoenix 17 36 .321 Southwest Division San Antonio 42 12 .778 Memphis 33 18 .647 Houston 29 26 .527 Dallas 23 29 .442 New Orleans19 34 .358

6.5 9.5 14 18.5 7 13 19 20.5 7.5 13.5 18 22.5

SCHLADMING: American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin became the youngest women’s slalom world champion in 39 years yesterday.

At the age of 17 years, 340 days, Shiffrin beat all of her more experienced rivals to earn the US Ski Team its fourth gold and fifth medal overall at the worlds, more than any other nation. “It’s such a crazy day,” Shiffrin said. “It’s so emotional ... I don’t know yet, I can’t feel yet. It’s amazing.”

The 17-year-old Shiffrin was third after the opening run but finished in a combined time of 1 minute, 39.85 seconds to beat Michaela Kirchgasser of Austria by 0.22 and Frida Hansdotter of Sweden by 0.26.

After the race in front of a crowd of 30,000 had ended, Shiffrin looked around in disbelief before hugging second-place Kirchgasser several times.

Shiffrin’s parents Jeff and Eileen embraced each other at the stands.

“I keep saying it, I keep thinking it. It doesn’t make sense. It’s just me,” Shiffrin said when being asked how it felt to be world champion. Shiffrin said she was inspired by teammate Ted Ligety, who won the men’s super-G, super-combined and GS titles.

“Oh yeah! For sure,” she said. “I think everyone was. That was amazing.” Julia Mancuso won the United States’ first medal by taking bronze in the event-opening super-G. Shiffrin is the youngest women’s world champion in any discipline since fellow American Diann Roffe-Steinrotter, who was 21 days younger when she won the giant slalom title in 1985. The

SCHLADMING: Gold medallist US Mikaela Shiffrin smiles during the medal awards ceremony after the women’s slalom at the 2013 Ski World Championships in Schladming, Austria yesterday. — AFP

only slalom world champions younger than Shiffrin were Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein in 1974 and Esme Mackinnon of Britain in 1931.

Shiffrin had already had a breakthrough year, winning three World Cup slaloms this season to lead the discipline standings. By winning in Zagreb, Croatia, in early January, she became the first American woman to win two World Cup races before the age of 18. In Flachau, Austria, she added a third victory to match a record set by legend Annemarie MoserProell, was in 1971 at exactly the same age of 17 years, 308 days when she won her third of 62 races.

Hansdotter led the race after the opening run but could not match Shiffrin’s pace in the final.

The Swede had finished runnerup to Shiffrin in each of the American’s World Cup wins. “I am super happy,” Hansdotter said. I had two good runs and now I have a medal. I wasn’t nervous. I have to be happy because I have got a medal.”

Kirchgasser, who was part of the Austrian team that won gold in the mixed team event Tuesday, earned her first individual medal at a major championship.”It’s just great. I thought, all or nothing,” said Kirchgasser, who just missed the podium in fourth during the super-combined last week. “I did-

n’t want to end up in fourth again.” Olympic slalom champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany, who won the super-combined world title last week, had 0.20 to make up in the final run but straddled a gate and failed to finish.

The fans cheered loudly for Schild on her return less than two months after picking up what initially appeared to be a seasonending knee injury in December.

The World Cup champion hadn’t raced since the slalom 83 days ago in Aspen, Colo., and placed ninth, 1.58 behind Shiffrin. The men’s slalom today is the final event of the world championships. — AP

Ligety faces Hirscher hurdle to fourth gold SCHLADMING: Austrian tyro Marcel Hirscher has been installed as the bookmakers’ favourite for the men’s slalom at the World Ski Championships today.

But the 23-year-old, who won a silver in the giant slalom on Friday, has a potentially monumental obstacle that could block his way to the top of the podium: American Ted Ligety.

Ligety has so far claimed three gold medals here (super-G, super combined, giant slalom), the first time a male skier has achieved that feat since France’s Jean-Claude Killy in 1968.

The 28-year-old American will now be seeking to become the first man to win the technical double at the worlds since Italian Alberto Tomba in 1996, and few would bet against him given his electric form on the snow of Schladming.

“I don’t think I have a very good chance of winning a medal today,” said a modest Ligety.

“I don’t have the speed or consistency that Marcel or Felix Neureuther or Alexis Pinturault have. If I put together two really great runs, I think I have some chance of maybe sliding onto the podium but that will take some luck.”

Ligety added: “I’d like to think I could possibly get a medal. But my expectations aren’t necessarily that high.” Hirscher, who has admitted to struggling to deal with carrying the weight of an expectant nation on his young shoulders, again tried to downplay his chances in the championships-ending slalom.

“My target has been reached. Whatever comes now is an added bonus,” said the Salzburg native who also won gold as part of the Austrian squad that claimed victory in the team event.

“My goal today is to enjoy the last race.”

France’s injury-plagued defending world champion Jean-Baptiste Grange said Hirscher’s style had left him in no doubt over his commitment. “Marcel impresses me with his capacity to go 110 percent all-out from the

first to the last gate,” said Grange.

“He’s good and very confident.” French hopes lie more with Pinturault, who enjoyed a blistering slalom run in the super-combined in which he finished sixth and was fifth in the giant slalom. He said his ambition was to be more consistent.

“I’ll first try to start the thing correctly and not do what I did in the giant slalom,” said the

21-year-old. “So I’ll try to lay down a first run and then a good second one because that’s what you need to do to get gold.”

Other contenders for the podium will be giant slalom bronze medallist Manfred Moelgg of Italy, and German duo Neureuther and Fritz Dopfer. “I think I’m in good shape and I think I’m stronger in the slalom than in giant,” warned Moelgg. — AFP

SOCHI: (L-R) US Gus Kenworthy (second place), US Torin Yater-Wallace (first place) and Canada’s Mike Riddle (third place) celebrate on the podium after the Freestyle Ski World Cup Men’s Halfpipe Test Event at the Snowboard and Freestyle Center in Rosa Khutor near the Black Sea resort of Sochi, yesterday. — AFP

MANSOORI

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

S P ORTS

N Zealand focus switches to one-day series v England AUCKLAND: New Zealand’s ability to “bounce back”, as captain Brendon McCullum described it, will be seriously put to the test in the first match of their one-day international series against England in Hamilton today.

“We expected to win the T20 series coming into it and we’re disappointed to lose it,” McCullum told reporters in Wellington on Friday after being beaten in the final Twenty20 game by 10 wickets to go down 2-1 in that series.

“I thought we bounced back strongly in the second game,” he added in reference to New Zealand’s victory by 55 runs in Hamilton. “But I expect us to bounce

back strongly in the first of the one-dayers. “That’s a characteristic of this team at the moment. Our ability to bounce back and we are going to have to do so because England will be very confident.”

The three -match one -day series against Alastair Cook’s team brings added significance to McCullum’s side as they look towards the 2015 World Cup that New Zealand will co-host with Australia.

Director of cricket John Buchanan has said the focus for the team over the next two years will be on the one-day game.

Coach Mike Hesson has also explained his selections will reduce over

the next few months for their tour of England and the Champions Trophy tournament in June as he forms a squad he expects to take the Kiwis through to 2015. New Zealand are playing their best cricket in the 50-over format, having beaten South Africa 2-1 in a series last month. “It’s less frenetic. You can play okay in parts of the game but you’re not necessarily out of it,” McCullum said when asked if the 50-over game was more suited to his team’s style.

“In one-day cricket, because it lasts a fraction longer, you are able to fight your way back into the game and I think we have a reasonable game plan especially

with our batting and obviously we welcome back Kyle Mills who’s an experienced bowler for us in that form of the game.”

Mills’s accuracy with the ball will be welcomed by New Zealand after they struggled against England in two of the Twenty20s, bowling too straight and full, unlike England’s pace attack who banged the ball in hard just back of a length. England’s Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad, who now hands over to one-day and test skipper Cook, said he felt the quick turnaround would not be a problem for the team, given the arrival of world-class players like Cook and off-

spinner Graeme Swann.

“We have not met up as a one-day group yet,” Broad said. “The guys who have had a month or three weeks off will obviously be finding their way back into cricket and it’s not easy to do in international cricket. “It’s a pretty tight schedule and it will be important we pick up where we left off (on Friday).

“I think the one-day series is over in six days or a week so there’s no time for any slipups and we will have to hit the ground running.”

The second match is on Wednesday in Napier with the final game in Auckland on Feb. 23. — Reuters

Dallas Stars rally to end Canucks’ winning streak VANCOUVER: Brenden Dillon doesn’t cheer for the Vancouver Canucks anymore.

Playing his first NHL game in his hometown, the 22-year-old defenseman scored the go-ahead goal with 3 minutes left in the third period and the Dallas Stars rallied past Vancouver 4-3 on Friday night to end the Canucks’ six-game winning streak.

“It’s awesome to (score the winner) in front of friends and family,” Dillon said. “This is my first trip here to play in front of Rogers Arena - ever. I grew up watching guys like (Daniel and Henrik Sedin), guys like (Roberto) Luongo.”

Dillon stole the show and spoiled a record-setting night for Henrik Sedin after the Vancouver captain became the club’s career scoring leader. He had two assists to give him 757 points, one more than Markus Naslund. The former teammates are from the same hometown of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden.

After he broke the mark, the crowd gave Henrik Sedin an extended standing ovation - even while he sat on the bench, then when he went back on the ice and during a TV timeout. During the break, the Canucks aired a video saluting him, with Naslund offering his congratulations.

Henrik Sedin responded by raising his stick and clapping in support of the crowd.

“I don’t know if I should be telling too many people that I’ve got (posters) of (former Canuck) Pavel Bure and the Sedins on my wall back home,” Dillon said. “But it was definitely a pretty cool experience to come in here and play these guys. It was an even better feeling to get the win tonight.”

Reilly Smith, Cody Eakin and Antoine Roussel also scored for the Stars, who overcame a 3-1 deficit to win for the fifth time in six games. Backup goalie Richard Bachman rebounded from a rough start and earned the victory in relief of injured Kari Lehtonen.

Daniel Sedin, Chris Higgins and Alex Burrows had goals for the Canucks. Dillon, from the Vancouver suburb of Surrey, B.C., toiled for Texas of the AHL during the NHL lockout and played only one game for Dallas last season. He gave the Stars the lead for the first time when he slid behind coverage from his defensive position and fired Jamie Benn’s cross-ice pass into the top corner of the net.

“It was a great play by Benn,” Dillon said.

“It was right on my stick and it was awesome.” The goal was his third of the season -

and his career - but he said it meant more than the first one. The winning goal Friday came before 15-20 friends and family members, whose tickets were purchased

by Dillon.

“Good thing we got paid today, because I was running short (of cash) after I bought those tickets,” he said. Dillon was on the ice for Higgins’ goal. Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said the rookie made up for a slow start.

“I thought that early on he was a little tentative,” Gulutzan said. “But then he settled in and scored a huge goal for us.

“When you’re talking young defensemen playing against some of the best players in the world on this ice right now, I think he did a pretty good job of settling himself in. ... I’m proud of the way he battled back in this game.”

Lehtonen left in the first period after stopping all seven shots he faced. Gulutzan said the goalie had a lower-body injury and will be re-evaluated when the team returns to Dallas.

After allowing three goals on the first six shots he faced, Bachman stopped 15 straight shots to finish with 21 saves. “It’s never fun coming in cold,” Bachman said.

“That’s a good team with a lot of skill, and they started running especially at the end of the second period, and then we started knocking.

“You just try to stay calm and forget about everything that’s going on.” Dallas outshot Vancouver 29-28. The Stars were blanked on four power plays, while the Canucks could not convert on three.

“I don’t really know what happened,” Henrik Sedin said. “We played a good game up to the halfway point and then they took over. Giving up four goals 5-on-5, that never happens with this team. Even though they had a few fortunate bounces, they took over the game.”

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said goalie Cory Schneider would have liked to have a couple of the Dallas goals back, but his teammates did not support him offensively. “He’s bailed us out so many times before that we need to find ways to be able to win those games when the opportunity is there,” Vigneault said. “The opportunity was there and we didn’t do it.”

The loss also spoiled the return of Canucks center Ryan Kesler from shoulder and wrist surgery. He had an assist in his first game since last year’s playoffs. — AP

VANCOUVER: Chris Tanev #8 of the Vancouver Canucks tries to check Ryan Garbutt #40 of the Dallas Stars during the third period in NHL action on Friday, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. —AFP

NHL results/standings Buffalo 4, Boston 2; New Jersey 5, Philadelphia 3; Pittsburgh 3, Winnipeg 1; Anaheim 5, Detroit 2; Chicago 4, San Jose 1; St. Louis 5, Calgary 2; Dallas 4, Vancouver 3; Los Angeles 2, Columbus 1.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF GA PTS New Jersey 9 2 3 40 31 21 Pittsburgh 10 5 0 48 35 20 NY Rangers 7 5 1 36 34 15 Philadelphia 6 8 1 37 45 13 NY Islanders 5 7 1 40 46 11 Northeast Division Boston 8 2 2 34 29 18 Montreal 8 4 1 36 33 17 Toronto 8 6 0 40 36 16 Ottawa 7 5 2 35 27 16 Buffalo 6 8 1 43 50 13 Southeast Division Carolina 8 4 1 41 37 17 Tampa Bay 6 6 1 49 40 13 Winnipeg 5 7 1 33 43 11 Florida 4 6 3 30 47 11 Washington 5 8 1 40 49 11

Western Conference Central Division Chicago 11 0 3 48 29 25 Nashville 7 3 4 28 26 18 St. Louis 8 5 1 48 45 17 Detroit 7 5 2 38 41 16 Columbus 4 8 2 31 43 10 Northwest Division Vancouver 8 3 2 38 29 18 Minnesota 6 6 2 30 36 14 Edmonton 5 5 3 29 34 13 Colorado 5 6 1 27 32 11 Calgary 4 5 3 35 44 11 Pacific Division Anaheim 10 2 1 47 35 21 San Jose 7 4 3 37 33 17 Dallas 8 6 1 38 39 17 Phoenix 6 6 2 35 38 14 Los Angeles 5 5 2 28 33 12 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

CAPE TOWN: Pakistani cricketer Azhar Ali (C) blocks a shot from unseen South African cricketer Jacques Kallis on day 3 of the 2nd Test between South Africa and Pakistan in Cape Town at Newlands yesterday. — AFP

S Africa fightback puts second Test on knife edge Ali, Misbah steady Pakistan CAPE TOWN: Robin Peterson and Dale Steyn led a South African fightback which left the second Test against Pakistan evenly poised at the end of the third day at Newlands yesterday.

Pakistan were 100 for three at the close, a lead of 112. Peterson hit 84 to enable South Africa to get within 12 runs of Pakistan’s first innings total of 338 and Steyn bowled at blistering pace to take two wickets as Pakistan lost their first three second innings wickets for 45 runs.

At that stage South Africa were slightly on top but Azhar Ali and captain Misbah-ul-Haq shared a largely cautious unbeaten partnership of 55 to see Pakistan through to the close without further loss.

South Africa were hampered by a recurrence of a hamstring injury to Morne Morkel, who left the field after bowling one ball in his second spell. He had to stop bowling because of the same injury in the first innings as well and seems unlikely to take the ball again in the match.

Team manager and doctor Mohammad Moosajee said he was a doubtful starter for the third and final Test starting at Centurion on Friday.

Peterson led a fighting performance by South Africa’s lower order batsmen as they recovered from an overnight 139 for five to reach 326 all out. “I had a good chat to a few people about how we were going to play Saeed Ajmal,” he said.

Off-spinner Ajmal took all five wickets on Friday and finished with six for 96. “Saeed is a genius of spin bowling,” added Peterson. “He can bowl about four different deliveries an over.

Even if you can pick all of them it is tough to have that absolute concentration all the time.

We had our hands full but the more overs he bowled the easier it became.”

Both Peterson and Pakistan bowling coach Mohammad Akram felt that a target of around 250 was a benchmark. “We don’t want to chase more than 300,” said Peterson. “Hopefully it will be under 250.”

Akram said: “Anything over 250 will be a really good total.” He said although Pakistan were disappointed that South Africa’s lower order had made so many runs the team was in a good position.

“South Africa are a good side. You expect you

will get serious resistance. We are still in the game. After (defeat in the first Test in) Johannesburg, the boys are really upbeat about where we are today,” added Akram.

Pakistan’s first innings lead of 12 runs was soon shown to be negligible as Steyn and Vernon Philander both took wickets in their first overs. Mohammad Hafeez was comprehensively trapped leg before wicket by a ball which swung into him while, in the next over, Nasir Jamshed fell in similar fashion to Philander. Azhar Ali and first innings centurion Younis Khan battled through some testing bowling against Steyn, Philander and Morkel.

Bowling downwind in his second spell, Steyn was timed at more than 146kmh and troubled both batsmen before Younis, forced on to the back foot, chopped the ball into his stumps.

After being dismissed without scoring in the first innings, Misbah took 18 balls to score his first runs in the second innings. Scoring slowed to a crawl, with left-arm spinner Peterson conceding only four runs in his first eight overs.

But Misbah gained in confidence, three times hitting Peterson for six as he reached 36 not out

while Ali was unbeaten on 45.

Overnight batsmen AB de Villiers and Dean Elgar started South Africa’s recovery when they took their sixth wicket stand to 55 before Elgar was caught at slip off Ajmal for 22.

At that stage off-spinner Ajmal had taken all six wickets. The left-handed Peterson shrugged off a poor run of batting form which had yielded just 15 runs in his previous seven international innings, including five noughts. He went to his second Test fifty off 73 balls and went on to pass his previous best score of 61 against Bangladesh in Dhaka 10 years ago.

De Villiers fell to Mohammad Irfan for 61 in the first over with the second new ball after a seventh wicket stand of 46 with Peterson. But Peterson and Philander (22) added an inningsbest 67 for the eighth wicket.

The last two wickets brought another 49 runs before Peterson was last out, caught on the long-on boundary off Hafeez. Peterson made his 84 runs off 106 balls with 15 fours.

The tall Irfan, playing in his first Test, took three for 86 and troubled the batsmen with steep bounce. — AFP

SCOREBOARD CAPE TOWN: Scoreboard on the third day of the second test between South Africa and Pakistan at Newlands yesterday.

Pakistan first innings 338 (Younus Khan 111, Asad Shafiq 111; V.Philander 5/59) South Africa first innings (139 for five overnight) G. Smith lbw Ajmal 19 A. Petersen c Azhar Ali b Ajmal 17 H. Amla lbw b Ajmal 25 F. du Plessis c Younus Khan b Ajmal 28 J. Kallis lbw b Ajmal 2 AB de Villiers c Gul b Irfan 61 D. Elgar c Younus Khan b Ajmal 23 R. Peterson c Gul b Hafeez 84 V. Philander c Jamshed b Irfan 22 D. Steyn c Sarfraz b Irfan 10 M. Morkel not out 8 Extras (b-12 lb-8 nb-7) 27 Total (all out, 102.1 overs) 326 Fall of wickets: 1-36 2-50 3-84 4-102 5-109, 6164, 7-210, 8-277, 9-303, 10-326.

Bowling: Umar Gul 20-5-74-0, Tanvir Ahmed 10-4-26-0 (2nb), Mohammad Irfan 21-1-86-3 (5nb), Saeed Ajmal 42-9-96-6, Mohammad Hafeez 9.1-1-24-1.

Pakistan second innings Mohammad Hafeez lbw Steyn 0 Nasir Jamshed lbw Philander 0 Azhar Ali not out 45 Younus Khan b Steyn 14 Misbah-ul-Haq not out 36 Extras (lb-2 w-3) 5 Total (for three wickets, 44 overs) 100 Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-7 3-45.

Bowling: Steyn 9-2-24-2, Philander 11-4-26-1, Morkel 3.1-0-8-0, Peterson 15-5-32-0, Kallis 5.5-2-8-0. South Africa won the toss and elected to field.

Pistorius sponsors in turmoil PARIS: The murder charge brought against Oscar Pistorius, whose fairytale story attracted multi-million dollar investment from various worldwide brands, has plunged his army of sponsors into turmoil.

From sports equipment giant Nike to British Telecom (BT), who made him the face of their publicity campaign for the London Paralympics last year, through to Ossur, the Icelandic-based manufacturaters of his prosthetic limbs, the response to the shocking news appears to be “wait and see”.

“Given the ongoing legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate for us to give any further comment at present. Our thoughts are with all those affected,” a BT spokesperson told AFP, adding that the six-time Paralympic champion would remain a brand ambassador for the time being.

“At this moment, it’s a matter that’s being investigated. We’re not speaking about the sponsorship,” said Nike South Africa spokeswoman Seruscka Naidoo, who said there was an “issue at hand here which is much bigger than a sponsorship”.

Pistorius’ website had featured a Nike advert with a photo of the South African accompanied by the slogan “I am the bullet in the chamber” before its removal in the wake of Thursday’s shooting.

“It’s Oscar’s website, it’s not a Nike-owned website,” clarified the American manufacturer.

Meanwhile, M-Net Movies, a subscriptionfunded TV channel in South Africa, elected to pull its “Every night is Oscar night” campaign “out of respect and sympathy to the bereaved”, it said in a tweet.

Born without the fibula bone in either leg, Pistorius, 26, became the first double amputee to challenge able-bodies athletes at the Olympic Games, transcending the little covered world of handicapped sport to become a global icon.

He also filmed an advertisement for the “A*Men” perfume by Thierry Mugler who didn’t wish to comment further on the matter-with sunglass manufacturer Oakley another of his backers. “We are shocked to hear the news and our thoughts are with their families,” said an Oakley company spokesman.

“Given that the matter is under investigation, and out of respect for all involved, we will refrain from making any further comments at this time.” The accumulative total of Pistorius’ earnings from sponsors, which accounts for much of his income, was reportedly $4.7 million (3.5 million euros), according to the Financial Times.

The next step for sponsors is unclear.

However, they haven’t been afraid to sever ties with sports stars in less tragic circumstances. At the end of last year, Nike ended a 16-year partnership with disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong following the publication of the US Anti-Doping Agency report that led to the voiding of his seven Tour de France titles.

Oakley, the makers of Trek bikes, AnheuserBusch brewery, the FRS energy drink company, sports nutrition firm (Honey Stinger) and the producers of Giro cycling helmets also quickly ceased their dealings with the American. Golfer Tiger Woods also lost several sponsors, such as consulting firm Accenture, AT&T, Gatorade and Gillette after revelations about his infidelity in 2009. — AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

S P ORTS

Chelsea stars must take blame, says Ivanovic LONDON: Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic admits his side have only themselves to blame for their spluttering form as they bid to avoid an FA Cup embarrassment in today’s fourth round replay against Brentford.

Rafael Benitez’s team were below their best again in an unconvincing 1-0 win at Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday and the lacklustre display only added to the impression that the Blues are painfully out of sorts.

Fernando Torres took the brunt of the criticism after missing two golden chances to open the scoring but, while the Spanish striker can have few complaints after scoring one goal in his last 13 appearances, he isn’t the only one to look short of motivation and inspiration in recent weeks.

With League One minnows Brentford desperate to inflict more misery on their west London neighbours, Chelsea can’t afford to underestimate a team that came close to a shock win in the 2-2 draw at Griffin Park last month.

Serbia international Ivanovic acknowledges that Chelsea’s lack of consistency over the course of the campaign is a worr ying trend which must be addressed. “We go up and down this season,” he said. “We have to look at ourselves and our performance.

“We have had a lot of games. We have played every three days for the last four months. This has made it difficult.

Sometimes you’re not recovered and don’t have a big enough squad.

“All these things affect results, but you have to be stronger. Now we have

some time, we can recover and play our games with a better per formance.”

Benitez and Torres were again subject to the fans’ ire throughout the win in Prague and Chelsea could do with a morale-boosting Cup run to lift the gloom around Stamford Bridge.

The Blues, who would face Middlesbrough in the fifth round, have often bounced back from poor starts to finish the season strongly, including last term when they won the FA Cup and Champions League under Roberto Di Matteo.

But it took a Torres equaliser to spare Chelsea’s blushes against Brentford in the first meeting between the two clubs for 63 years.

And Ivanovic, who made his 200th appearance for Chelsea in midweek,

knows Benitez’s side badly need to go on a long winning run to restore belief. He hopes the result in Prague and a victory over Brentford at the Bridge will provide the springboard to do exactly that.

“It was a very important game for us to win and to keep the momentum going,” Ivanovic said. “The lack of consistency has been very difficult for us, but we are a team that can build and we have to think about this.

“We have to improve every game, every session and we hope it will be fine in the end.” Chelsea will be boosted by the availability of key players against Brentford, with David Luiz back from suspension, Demba Ba available after being ineligible in Europe and Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel fresh after being rested following their Africa Cup of

Nations win with Nigeria.

John Terry, who has been struggling with a knee injury, could also play after being an unused substitute in the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, Brentford boss Uwe Rosler does not believe his side blew their only chance to beat the FA Cup holders when they allowed Torres to equalise.

“Obviously Chelsea will take us more seriously than the first game and I am looking forward to what will be a great test for us, for everybody involved,” Rosler said.

“I still believe it is possible. The chances are slimmer but I think it is still possible. “We need to keep it at 00 in the first half an hour, keep our options open and also be brave to attack them.” —AFP

Rovers inflict fresh FA Cup misery on Arsenal Wenger defiant after Arsenal exit

DORTMUND: Dortmund’s Serbian defender Neven Subotic (R) and Frankfurt’s Japanese midfielder Takashi Inui vie for the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match Borussia Dortmund vs Eintracht Frankfurt in Dortmund, western Germany, yesterday. — AFP

10-man Dortmund beat Frankfurt in Bundesliga BERLIN: Marco Reus scored a hat trick yesterday as 10-man Borussia Dortmund beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 at home in the Bundesliga. Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp denied Reus in the fourth minute, but the Germany winger made no mistake four minutes later when international teammate Mario Goetze sprung the offside trap with a superb pass.

Reus scored again two minutes later when Mats Hummels intercepted a loose pass and set him up to shoot inside the far post through Trapp’s legs.

Frankfurt received a lifeline in the 31st when Julian Schieber was sent off for a second yellow card for catching Bastian Oczipka’s face with his elbow. The striker had been given a rare start due to Robert Lewandowski’s three-game ban for being sent off the week before.

But Reus completed his first ever hat trick in the 65th when Goetze drew in two defenders and the goalkeeper before pulling the ball back for the 23-year-old to curl the ball to the unguarded net. Ilkay Guendogan, who was outstanding throughout, initiated the move with a perfectly times ball for Goetze.

Fourth-place Frankfurt also finished with 10 men after Takashi Inui received his second yellow in the 74th. Dortmund, which drew 22 at Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday, remains 15 points behind runaway leader Bayern Munich.

Earlier, Michel Bastos scored twice to salvage a 2-2 draw for Schalke at Mainz, offering embattled coach Jens Keller some respite before Wednesday’s Champions League game at Galatasaray.

Mainz, which knocked Schalke out of the German Cup in Keller ’s first game last December, opened the scoring through Andreas Ivanschitz in the 27th minute, when Nicolai Mueller eluded three defenders on the right to set him up.

Bastos equalized with a simple tap-in from

fellow winter signing Raffael’s cross in the 41st. Mainz defender Zdenek Pospech shot inside the far post in the 63rd, only for Bastos to do likewise to equalize again with eight minutes remaining. It was the Brazilian’s third goal in as many games since joining on loan from Lyon. Schalke, which has only one win from 14 games across all competitions, started without the injured Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Atsuto Uchida, Lars Unnerstall, Ibrahim Afellay, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Ciprian Marica and Christoph Moritz.

Keller, who took over after Huub Stevens was dismissed following a string of indifferent results, spoke before the game of “a curse” affecting his side.

Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen beat Augsburg 2-1, Freiburg held on for a 3-2 win at Werder Bremen, Rafael van der Vaart struck to give Hamburger SV a 1-0 win at home over Borussia Moenchengladbach, and Fortuna Duesseldorf beat bottom side Greuther Fuerth 1-0.

Leverkusen remained third after Stefan Kiessling scored his 15th goal of the season with a header from Gonzalo Castro’s free kick in the 26th, and then set up Lars Bender to kill off Augsburg’s spirited resistance with 15 minutes remaining.

Sascha Moelders scored a last-minute consolation for the relegation-threatened visitors.Hamburg followed last week’s win over Dortmund by moving to sixth, thanks to Van der Vaart’s spectacular 25-meter (yard) strike in the 24th against a Moenchengladbach side possibly feeling the effects from Thursday’s 33 Europa League draw at Lazio.

In Bremen, Max Kruse scored for Freiburg with a fine strike in the 36th, only for Kevin de Bruyne to set up Nils Petersen three minutes later. Bremen’s Aleksandar Ignjovski brought down Daniel Caligiuri in the 53rd, and the midfielder dusted himself off to maintain his 100 percent record from the spot with his sixth successful Bundesliga penalty.—AP

Schalke stumble again as Galatasaray loom BERLIN: Schalke 04’s poor Bundesliga form continued yesterday as the Royal Blues had to twice come from behind for a 2-2 draw at Mainz ahead of their Champions League trip to Istanbul’s Galatasaray.

While leaders Bayern Munich show no sign of releasing their iron grip on the Bundesliga after picking up their 18th win in 22 matches with a 2-0 win at VfL Wolfsburg on Friday, Schalke’s league slump continues.

Schalke face the Turkish league leaders on Wednesday in the Champions League last 16, first-leg clash having dropped from second to eighth with just one win in their last 11 games, conceding 25 goals in the process-the league’s worst record.

Brazil midfielder Michel Bastos scored both Schalke’s goals, but his team struggled again having been thumped 4-0 by Bayern last weekend. The Royal Blues fell behind when Mainz midfielder Nicolai Mueller’s run evaded three Schalke defenders before Austria’s Andreas Ivanschitz converted his pass on 27 minutes.

Bastos hit his first for Schalke 14 minutes later, but Mainz went 2-1 up on 63 minutes when Czech defender Zdenek Pospech fired home. The Brazilian again rescued his team’s blushes with an 82nd-minute equaliser for his third goal in three games since joining from Lyon in January when he calmly fired home

having been left in space.

While Schalke move up from 10th to eighth, the pressure remains on coach Jens Keller, who has just one win in his six games in charge since succeeding Huub Stevens, who was fired in December.

With Borussia Dortmund hosting Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday night, Bayer Leverkusen took the chance to claim second from the defending champions with a 2-1 win at home to relegation-threatened Augsburg.

The three points leaves Leverkusen second, but 16 points adrift of Bayern. Germany striker Stefan Kiessling scored the opening goal in the first-half to join Bayern’s Mario Mandzukic on 15 as the league’s top scorer.

Kiessling then turned provider when he set up national team-mate Lars Bender to fire home on 75 minutes for the second. Secondbottom Augsburg scored a late consolation effort, but the Bavarians remain 10 points from safety.

Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart scored his first goal for Hamburg since May 2008 with a spectacular 24th-minute thunderbolt of a strike from outside the area to secure a 1-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach to move his team up to sixth. Freiburg stay fifth, and amongst the European places, with a 3-2 win at Werder Bremen. — AFP

LONDON: Arsenal’s hopes of ending their eight-year trophy drought suffered a huge setback after they were dumped out of the FA Cup at home to second-tier Blackburn Rovers yesterday.

Colin Kazim-Richards scored the only goal in Rovers’s 1-0 victory when he followed up in the 72nd minute, with a strike that went in off the post, after Gunners goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny failed to hold Martin Olsson’s shot.

Arsenal, who haven’t won a major piece of silverware since lifting the FA Cup in 2005, must now raise their spirits for a last 16 Champions League first leg tie on Tuesday at home to German giants Bayern Munich. But this defeat can only add to the pressure on longserving Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, whose side are a massive 21 points behind Manchester United in the Premier League.

The Frenchman, who had never seen Arsenal lose to lower league opposition in the FA Cup since taking charge in 1996, said: “I couldn’t see how we could lose the game because we had a lot of the ball and they had one shot on goal but they defended well and it’s the kind of game you can lose if you make a mistake at the back like we did. “ We don’t need to think too much about the eight season (trophy drought), the players who played today didn’t play eight seasons ago and we must focus on the next game.” Wenger added he’d no problem with Arsenal fans booing their team at full-time.

“What do you expect, people to applaud when you lose a game like that? It’s absolutely normal.”

Blackburn defender Scott Dann said: “It’s obviously a great achievement to get the win. We knew we had to dig in and cut down the space we gave them. We did that very well.”

Arsenal’s defeat meant the first three sides into this term’s last eight of the FA Cup all came from the second-tier Championship.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger urged his side to focus on Tuesday’s last 16 Champions League first leg

LONDON: Arsenal’s English striker Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (R) tries an overhead kick towards goal during their English FA Cup fifth round football match against Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates Stadium in London, England yesterday. Blackburn won 1-0. — AFP clash with Bayern Munich following the Gunners’ shock FA Cup loss at home to Blackburn Rovers.

Boyhood Arsenal fan Colin Kazim-Richards scored the only goal in the 72nd minute as secondtier Blackburn advanced into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win at the Gunners’ Emirates Stadium yesterday.

Arsenal haven’t won a major trophy since last lifting the FA Cup in 2005 and the team were booed off by their own supporters at fulltime. “I couldn’t see how we could lose the game because we had a lot of the ball and they had one shot on goal but they defended well and it’s the kind of game you can lose if you make a mistake at the back like we did,” said Wenger after Arsenal’s first FA Cup defeat by lower league opponents in his 17 years as Gunners boss.

“We have just lost a game today and we don’t need to think too much about the eight season (trophy drought), the players who

played today didn’t play eight seasons ago and we must focus on the next game.” Wenger, who controversially left Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla on the bench, only for Richards to score shortly after the trio all came on, said he’d no problem with Arsenal fans’ jeers at the end of the match.

“What do you expect, people to applaud when you lose a game like that? It’s absolutely normal.”

Yesterday’s defeat was the second time this season Arsenal, a huge 21 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United, had been knocked out of a domestic cup competition by lower league opposition after losing to fourth-tier Bradford in the League Cup. Elsewhere, Barnsley won 3-1 away to third-tier Milton Keynes Dons. Chris Dagnall opened the scoring in the third minute before setting the seal on victory with his second goal just seconds before the final whistle after Marlon Harewood had doubled the

Yorkshire club’s lead in the 19th minute. Dean Bowditch pulled a goal back for the hosts just after the hour mark. Later yesterday, Oldham, who have already knocked Liverpool out, will look to claim a second Merseyside scalp when they welcome Everton to Boundary Park.

Today sees faltering FA Cup holders Chelsea taking on fellow west Londoners Brentford in a fourth round replay at Stamford Bridge after only a late equaliser by Fernando Torres prevented a mammoth Cup shock at Griffin Park.

Struggling Premier League champions Manchester City are at home to a Leeds team who ended Tottenham Hotspur’s FA Cup hopes in the previous round, while topflight Wigan travel to Championship side Huddersfield.

Manchester United, looking to win the FA Cup for the first time in nine years, face Reading in an allPremier League tie at Old Trafford tomorrow. — AFP

Malaga beat Bilbao 1-0 ahead of Porto CL match BARCELONA: Malaga edged out Athletic Bilbao 1-0 thanks to Javier Saviola’s first-half goal and Willy Caballero’s sound goalkeeping yesterday ahead of its Champions League last-16 match at Porto.

Saviola scooped Lucas Piazon’s low cross into the net to score what proved to be the winner at La Rosaleda Stadium in the 18th minute. Bilbao created more scoring chances the rest of the way, but Caballero made various stops, including back-to-back saves of close-range tries by Ibai Gomez and Aritz Aduriz in the 34th.

Malaga, which visits Portuguese champion Porto on Tuesday, pulled to within four points of third-place Real Madrid with its first victory in four Spanish league home games.

Earlier, Adrian Colunga scored one goal and set up another to lead Getafe to a 3-1 win at home over relegation-threatened Celta Vigo. The Getafe striker collected a ball lost by Celta’s Gustavo Cabral and shot into the far side of the net to give the hosts the lead 10 minutes in.

Augusto Fernandez’s header 10 minutes later leveled for Celta, but Getafe forward Diego Castro scored from a rebound in the 34th before Federico Fernandez headed Colunga’s corner into the net in the 42nd.

Mid-table Getafe remains unbeaten in seven straight games at Alfonso Perez Coliseum, while Celta recorded its 11th loss in 13 away matches. Celta coach Paco Herrera, who is under increasing pressure to turn things around, deflected the criticism

onto Iago Aspas by saying the young striker had been distracted by rumors linking him to a move to the English Premier League.

“For weeks now he isn’t the same player,” said Herrera. “He isn’t with the team. He doesn’t have his feet on the ground, his head is in the clouds. My job is to try and get him back.” Aspas is Celta’s leading scorer with

eight goals this season, but he is on a sixgame scoring drought. Later, Barcelona visits Granada, and Real Zaragoza is at Osasuna.

On Friday, Sevilla beat last-place Deportivo La Coruna 3-1. Today, it’s: Madrid vs. Rayo Vallecano, Valladolid vs. Atletico Madrid, Espanyol vs. Real Betis, Valencia vs. Mallorca, and Real Sociedad vs. Levante. —AP

MALAGA: Malaga’s midfielder Isco (L) vies for the ball with Athletic Bilbao’s defender Jon Aurtenetxe (R) during the Spanish league football match Malaga CF vs Athletic Bilbao yesterday at Rosaleda stadium in Malaga. — AFP

19

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

SPORTS

Robben opens account as Bayern go 18 points clear BERLIN: A superb Mario Mandzukic bicycle kick and Arjen Robben’s first goal of the season gave Bayern Munich a 2-0 win at VfL Wolfsburg yesterday that sent the runaway leaders 18 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.

The league’s top scorer Mandzukic, unfazed by media reports Bayern are close to signing Borussia Dortmund forward Robert Lewandowski for next season, snatched his 15th goal of the campaign in dazzling fashion in the 36th minute.

Substitute Robben then drilled the

ball in from six metres in stoppage time at the end of the game as Bayern continued their spectacular assault on a first league title since 2010.

They have won 18 of their 22 matches this season including their last five away from home. The Bavarians have also not conceded a goal since the league resumed in January following a mid-season break.

Bayern, who visit Arsenal in the Champions League last 16 next week, have 57 points. Champions Borussia Dortmund, second on 39, host

Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday when third-placed Bayer Leverkusen also entertain lowly Augsburg.

“Wolfsburg certainly battled very hard,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes told reporters. “It was tough and it is these games we must win. We did just that and showed we are a top team.”

The teams set a fierce tempo early on with Thomas Mueller heading over the bar for the visitors and Wolfsburg’s Bas Dost failing to connect with a good chance in the box. Bayern showed off their quick-passing style and took the

lead when Croatia striker Mandzukic, again preferred to Mario Gomez, headed in after Bastian Schweinsteiger set him up.

Mandzukic, who did not celebrate his goal against the club he represented from 2010-12, also had a shot cleared off the line by Naldo in the 49th minute.

Wolfsburg worked hard for an equaliser and came agonisingly close with a curling Diego free kick in the 77th minute that was expertly palmed away by Manuel Neuer as it headed for

the top corner of the net.

Unmarked Dutch winger Robben, hindered by injury this season, completed the victory late on as Wolfsburg remained in 12th place on 26 points.

“We gave it all we had and it was an evenly-balanced game in the second half,” said Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking.

“Bayern are more efficient. We need to continue working as we have but we have become more stable as a team,” added Hecking who took charge in December. — Reuters

Messi scores 300th Barcelona goals Barca come from behind to beat Granada 2-1

LUTON: Luton Town’s English striker Andre Gray (L) has this shot saved by Millwall’s Irish goalkeeper David Forde during the English FA Cup fifth round football match between Luton Town and Millwall at Kenilworth Road Stadium, Luton, north of London yesterday. Millwall won 3-0. — AFP

Millwall end Luton giant-killing run LUTON: Millwall ended Luton’s giantkilling run in the FA Cup as the Lions eased into the quarter-finals for the first time in nine years after a 3-0 win over the nonleague club yesterday.

Luton had hoped to become the first non-league team to reach the quarterfinals since QPR in 1914, but first half goals from James Henry and Rob Hulse and a late strike from Dany N’Guessan shattered their hopes of a fifth round upset in front of a 10,000 sell-out crowd at Kenilworth Road. Paul Buckle’s National Conference team made history in the previous round when they beat Norwich 1-0 to become the first non-league team to eliminate a top-flight side for 24 years.

But the Hatters, only the seventh team from outside England’s Football League to have made it this far in the competition since the Second World War, were unable to unsettle Kenny Jackett’s Championship outfit, whose previous appearance in the last eight came in 2004 when they went on to reach the final. Much of the pre-match focus had been on the potential for crowd trouble, given that Millwall’s last FA Cup trip to Luton in 1985 ended in an infamous riot that saw visiting fans ransack Kenilworth Road.

But the game passed off peacefully, with Millwall always in control despite their recent poor form in the Championship.

The south Londoners had been giantkillers in the fourth round when they knocked out Aston Villa and Hulse, on loan from QPR, should have put Jackett’s team ahead in the opening moments, but he dragged his shot wide of the far post.

Luton striker Andre Gray threatened when

he cleverly worked his way into the penalty area and forced goalkeeper David Forde into a good save. But, just as the hosts were beginning to hit their stride, a woeful piece of defending from Janos Kovacs gifted Millwall the lead in the 12th minute.

Kovacs made a hash of controlling a routine long ball and then hesitated as former Reading winger Henry nipped in front of the centre-back, rounded goalkeeper Mark Tyler and slotted into the empty net.

Luton could have been level within minutes when Ronnie Henry lofted a freekick into the box and Arnaud Mendy pounced on the knock-down to drive in a close-range strike that Forde kept out with a brave save.

That proved a crucial moment as Millwall doubled their lead in the 36th minute. When Henry looped in a cross from the right touchline, Hulse rose highest to keep the ball in play and then showed tremendous agility to hook his volley back over Tyler and into the far corner of the net.

Kovacs’s personal nightmare continued when a corner fell invitingly for him just before half-time, but instead of testing Forde he managed to do the Millwall defenders’ job for them and accidently headed clear.

Gray’s pace offered Luton’s most likely route back into the match and early in the second half he sprinted clear of Shane Lowry, only to see Forde race off his line and save with his chest.

Andy Keogh wasted two chances to put the result beyond doubt and it was left to substitute N’Guessan to seal the win with an 86th minute tap-in after Tyler spilled a John Marquis shot. — AFP

Today’s matches on TV English Premier League Liverpool v Swansea 18:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD FA Cup Chelsea v Brentford Aljazeera Sport +6 Aljazeera Sport +3

15:00

Man City v Leeds United Aljazeera Sport +5 Aljazeera Sport +3 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD

17:00

Huddersfield v Wigan Aljazeera Sport +3

18:55

Spanish League Osasuna v Zaragoza 0:00 Aljazeera Sport +8

Aljazeera Sport 2 HD Italian League Genoa v Udinese 17:00 Aljazeera Sport +7 Napoli v Sampdoria Aljazeera Sport +1

17:00

Torino FC v Atalanta Aljazeera Sport +2

17:00

Catania v Bologna Aljazeera Sport +9

17:00

Fiorentina v Internaionale Aljazeera Sport +1 Aljazeera Sport 1 HD

22:45

Sociedad v Levante Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD

14:00

German League Nuremberg v Hannover 17:30 Dubai Sports 1

Valencia v Mallorca Aljazeera Sport +1

19:00

Hoffenheim v Stuttgart Dubai Sports 1

Valladolid v Atletivo Aljazeera Sport +2 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD

21:00

French League Girondins v Lyonnais 16:00 Aljazeera Sport +4

Espanyol v Real Betis Aljazeera Sport +8

23:00

Stade Reims v Etienne Aljazeera Sport +4

19:00

Real Madrid v Valecano Aljazeera Sport +2

23:00

Sochaux v Saint-Germain Aljazeera Sport +4

23:00

19:30

MADRID: Lionel Messi led Barcelona to a 2-1 comeback victory with a double strike at lowly Granada in La Liga yesterday taking his tally for the club to 301 goals.

The World Player of the Year pounced on a loose ball to level in the 50th minute and netted a superb free kick for the winner in the 73rd, his 37th league goal of the campaign.

Only a last-minute save from Granada’s Tono in a one-on-one situation denied Messi a hat-trick.

The victory moved Barca 15 points clear at the top of the table with second-placed Atletico Madrid playing at Real Valladolid today.

Barca, who visit AC Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday, are 19 points in front of third-placed Real Madrid with the champions hosting city rivals Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

Javier Saviola scored the only goal as Malaga warmed up for their midweek Champions League tie with a 1-0 home win over misfiring Athletic Bilbao.

The Qatari-owned club from the Costa del Sol, in their debut Champions League venture, visit Porto in a first-leg tie on Tuesday.

Argentine Saviola’s seventh league goal of the season gave the hosts an 18th-minute advantage.

The safe hands of compatriot, goalkeeper Willy Caballero, then helped preserve the lead as fourthplaced Malaga moved on to 42 points, four behind Real.

Earlier, Getafe made light work of La Liga’s worst travellers Celta Vigo, romping to a 3-1 victory with all the goals coming in the first

GRANADA: FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi from Argentina, right, duels for the ball against Granada’s Diego Mainz, center, during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at Los Carmenes stadium in Granada, Spain, yesterday. — AP in front from close range after 26 bled to the byline and pulled the half.

Barca travelled to Granada minutes and they held Barca at ball back for the striker to score.

Piazon and Isco were a constant without Xavi and David Villa and bay until just after the restart started with Andres Iniesta, Jordi when Messi reacted quickly after threat in midfield but Malaga were Alba and Carles Puyol on the Tono could only parry a Cesc sloppy in defence at times and Fabregas shot. The Argentine Caballero had to make a number bench.

The hosts have been lifted by added a second goal when his free of sharp saves to deny Bilbao. The Argentine the arrival of new coach Lucas kick over the wall was too strong shaven-headed Alcaraz, winning their first two for Tono who got a hand to the launched a counter-attack at the games under him without conced- ball. Barca then had to endure a end with a punched clearance and shaky last few minutes with Victor Joaquin fired just wide of the post ing a goal.

Granada defeated Real 1-0 two Valdes pulling off two important after sprinting the length of the pitch. Last year’s Europa League weeks ago, when Cristiano late saves.

Malaga took the game to Bilbao and King’s Cup finalists Bilbao Ronaldo headed an own goal, and downed Deportivo La Coruna 3-0 at the Rosaleda and loan signing stayed sixth from bottom on 26 from Chelsea, Lucas Piazon, set up points, behind Granada on goal last time out.

Striker Odion Ighalo put them the goal for Saviola when he drib- difference. — Reuters

Everton frustrated as Oldham cause more FA Cup drama OLDHAM: Oldham’s Matt Smith caused more FA Cup drama as the League One giant-killers snatched a late equaliser to hold Everton to a 2-2 draw in the fifth round yesterday.

Smith had scored twice in Oldham’s surprise win over Liverpool in the previous round and he came off the bench to frustrate the blue half of Merseyside in a thrilling tie at Boundary Park.

Jordan Obita shocked Everton with the opening goal early in the first half, yet Everton looked on course for the quarter-finals when Victor Anichebe netted the equaliser and Phil Jagielka headed the Premier League team in front soon after half-time.

But there was a sting in the tale for David Moyes’ men as Smith, a former shelf stacker in a supermarket, headed the equaliser with virtually the last touch of the game to set up a replay at Goodison Park. Since their win over Liverpool, Oldham had dropped into the League One relegation zone and dismissed boss Paul Dickov, leaving Tony Philliskirk in charge on a caretaker basis, but their ability to trouble more illustrious opponents remains intact.

Everton were at full strength and England defender Leighton Baines went close to opening the scoring early on when his free-kick clipped off former Everton player Jose Baxter’s head and flashed just wide. Yet just hours after Arsenal’s shock defeat against Blackburn, another upset was on the cards as Obita, a 19-year-old making his first appearance in the FA Cup, threatened to write his own chapter in the competition’s rich history.

Lee Croft broke clear down the left in the 13th minute and drilled a low cross to the far post, where on-loan Reading forward Obita was just onside as he escaped his marker and slotted home for his first Oldham goal.

However, Oldham’s advantage was short-lived. In the 24th minute, Nikica Jelavic flicked on a long ball and Nigerian striker Anichebe showed great strength to power past Jean-Yves M’voto and hammer his shot past the exposed Dean Bouzanis.

Obita almost produced the perfect response to that setback as the teenager’s shot from the left side of the penalty area was pushed onto the far post by a fingertip save from Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Moyes was forced to send on Kevin Mirallas in place of the injured Anichebe at half-time and the substitute made an immediate impact.

Mirallas whipped in a 48th minute corner that picked out Jagielka just six yards from goal and the England defender directed his header past Oldham goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis in emphatic fashion.

But Smith came on with half an hour remaining and, together with fellow substitute Robbie Simpson, he dragged the hosts back into the match. Smith had a sight of goal when Simpson’s pass found him on the edge of the area, yet although his shot was well struck Howard plunged to his right to make a save.

Howard then denied Simpson with a terrific save as the Oldham midfielder fired goalwards from no more than eight yards out.

However, Howard’s heroics were in vain. Oldham got their reward in the last minute of stoppage-time thanks to Smith, who took advantage of confusion caused by Bouzanis, sent up for the last-gasp corner, to power home a towering header from close-range. — AFP

MARSEILLE: Marseille’s Cameroonian defender Nicolas Nkoulou (L) vies for the ball with Valenciennes’ forward Anthony Le Tallec (R) during the French L1 football match yesterday. — AFP

Fanni puts Marseille back in the hunt PARIS: An injury-time Rod Fanni goal gave Marseille a barely-deserved 1-0 win over Valenciennes yesterday to move the former champions within five points of leaders Paris Saint Germain. With PSG fans drooling over the prospect of David Beckham making his debut for the club against longtime rivals Marseille next Sunday the latter, whose last league crown came in 2010, were determined to set themselves up as realistic title challengers. The southerners laboured for much of the game but Fanni took the hosts onto 46 points from 25 games, five shy of PSG ahead of the Parisians’ encounter Sunday at Sochaux, but one ahead of Lyon, who travel to Bordeaux.

Marseille fans will hope their side produce rather more scintillating football in next week’s French ‘clasico’ than they did for long periods against a Valenciennes side destined to spend the season comfortably ensconced in midtable. But defender Fanni insisted his side were good value for their win. “We deserved it as we had more chances than Valenciennes. We gave it a real go in the first half and I said in the dressing room at half-time we had to calm things down-we couldn’t risk losing this chance to get back on track,” said Fanni.

“We were able to go back out and get the result.” For much of the second half the fare at the Stade Velodrome bordered on the soporific and minds appeared to be elsewhere, as suggested by the J-8 slogan Marseille had on their kit-that is, eight days to go to the game which really matters. PSG, with Beckham on board to boost their profile and buoyed by an away success in Valencia which means they have one foot in the Champions League quarterfinals, insist this will be their year. They have not won the French title since 1994 and their only European trophy was a Cup Winners Cup success two years later.

But they have been bankrolled the past two summers by their Qatari owners and their jigsaw is now taking shape as they bid to become only the second French club to taste European Cup glory since Marseille lifted the trophy 20 years ago. Fanni’s late winner, a right-footed strike dispatching a Jeremy Morel cross, ensured Marseille enjoyed their first league win bonus in a month after it seemed they would drop vital home points. Marseille did show their combative nature prior to the goal, though not in the manner that coach Elie Baup might have hoped as Morgan Amalfitano was booked and could have seen red for a foul on Lindsay Rose. Minutes earlier, English midfielder Joey Barton also had his name taken after catching David Ducourtioux with an elbow. — AFP

US teen Mikaela Shiffrin wins world slalom title

16

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Rovers inflict fresh FA Cup misery on Arsenal

18

Messi nets 301st goals in Barcelona win

Page 19

DOHA: Belarus Victoria Azarenka returns the ball to Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during their WTA Qatar Open semi-final tennis match yesterday in the Qatari capital, Doha. — AFP

Serena faces Azarenka in Qatar final DOHA: Serena Williams downed Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-2 to reach the Qatar Open final yesterday and will tackle defending champion Victoria Azarenka for the title.

Williams needed just 73 minutes to defeat Sharapova, five minutes fewer than it took top seeded Azarenka to beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-3 in her semi-final.

Williams, 31, is already assured of becoming the oldest world number one when the new rankings are released tomorrow, taking the place of Australian Open champion Azarenka. Williams, who made sure of the accolade by reaching the Qatar Open semi-finals yesterday, is at 31 years and five months, already six months older than the previous record-holder Chris Evert, and has plans to continue indefinitely.

The 15 times Grand Slam tournament winner believes she knows why her body feels younger than it is, and may have her coach Patrick Mouratoglou, the director of the well-known tennis academy in Paris, on tour with her full-time this year.

Del Potro in finals ROTTERDAM: Juan Martin del Potro dispatched Bulgarian youngster Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4 yesterday to move into his second straight Rotterdam World Tennis event final.

The Argentine winner, seeded second and now the top-ranked player left after Friday’s shock elimination of Roger Federer by Julien Benneteau, will play either the Swiss star’s conqueror or fifth seed Gilles Simon.

Del Potro, who lost the final to Federer here a year ago, lifted a pair of indoor titles last autumn in Vienna and Basel.

“Anything can happen in the finals, I have to play at my best and not give my opponent any chance to break,” the Del Potro. “I’m a little surprised not to see Federer in the final, But Benneteau plays well on hardcourt and Roger can have a bad day like anyone.

“Benneteau deserved to win the match. Playing someone like Roger is always a pleasure but I’m focused on the match in front of me.

“This is my second final here, so I’ll try to win it for the first time.” The Argentine fired six aces in his 75minute win, breaking once per set in his tidy victory in a first meeting with the 21year-old Dimitrov. “I’m glad I was able to beat him, he’s a newcomer with a lot of potential,” said the winner, bidding for his 14th career title as he plays Rotterdam for the second time. — AFP

“It’s very important for me (to stay number one),” Williams said. “I think it’s important for everyone at the top. And it’s not so lonely as it looks at the top.”

There was also congratulatory advert from Nike, a sponsor, depicting her with a slogan “Age is Just a Number.” Questioned if that was what she thought, and asked how her body feels on court now, she replied: “Fine. “Honestly, I have been saying that I feel really young, like I’m 22 or something,” she added.

“So I don’t know if it’s because I don’t play every week, but I feel great. Hopefully I can keep it going.” A key to future longevity almost certainly lies in not playing too many tournaments. “I have never played 30 tournaments in a year,” Williams pointed out. “I didn’t play juniors, so I didn’t travel the world and get burned out early. “I went to school. I also had a couple of unfortunate injuries that put me out for a year, and maybe that helped at the end of the day.”

Meanwhile, Victoria Azarenka, the only leading player in the world who remains unbeaten this year, impressively

achieved her 13th successive win of 2013 yesterday to carry her defence of the Qatar Open title into the final.

The top-seeded Belarussian did that with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, a thumping result against the fourth best player in the world and one which could lead to back-to-back defence of titles.

Azarenka successfully defended the Australian Open last month. It also indicated how much Azarenka has improved since winning that first Grand Slam title just over a year ago.

On this evidence she is the world’s best player right now, even though she will lose the world number one ranking to Serena Williams tomorrow.

Once ahead against Radwanska there was no suggestion that she might falter. Asked what had brought such improvement, Azarenka replied: “I’ve grown up a little bit. It’s maturity and a little more experience.”

From the start that looked likely. Azarenka broke Radwanska in the opening game, and although she lost the

advantage she made the second, more crucial break soon afterwards. By then she had got into her powerfully rhythmic stride and it opened a door to a period of dominance in which she took seven out of eight games.

Azarenka was more powerful off the ground than Radwanska, which too often required the Pole to move out of her comfort zone to counter it. When Radwanska tried to hit a little harder or closer to the lines, her error ratio, usually so low, went up. A game later, trailing 0-3, Radwanska called for her coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, and at least it gave her a brief chance to pause and re-think. It was also followed by three successive holds of serve, and sensible attempts to project ground strokes from positions slightly further up the court. But the damage had been done. Azarenka continued the bombardment behind a heavily reliable serve, and never looked like dropping it. She conceded only three points in the next three service games. She will be a tough act to better. — Agencies

Business

Kuwait’s 2013 Inflation may average at 3.5% Page 22 Wataniya Telecom posts KD 75.5m net profit for 2012 Page 23

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Al Mazaya wins ‘Super brand Kuwait Page 25 Page 26

Al Mulla, Behbehani Motor celebrate National and Liberation Days

MOSCOW: Participants of G20 states finance ministers and central bank governors meeting pose for family picture in Moscow yesterday. —AFP

G20 defuses talk of ‘currency war’ No accord on debt Japan escapes direct flak ●

MOSCOW: The Group of 20 nations declared yesterday there would be no ‘currency war’ and deferred plans to set new debt-cutting targets in an indication of concern about the fragile state of the world economy.

Japan’s expansive policies, which have driven down the yen, escaped criticism in a statement thrashed out in Moscow by financial policymakers from the G20, which groups developed and emerging markets and accounts for 90 percent of the world economy.

After late night talks, finance ministers and central bankers agreed on wording closer than expected to a joint statement issued last Tuesday by the Group of Seven rich nations backing market-determined exchange rates. A draft communique seen by delegates on Friday had steered clear of the G7’s call for economic policy not to be targeted at exchange rates. But the final version included a G20 commitment to refrain from competitive devaluations and stated monetary policy would be directed at price stability and growth.

“The language has been strengthened since our discussions last night,” Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters. “It’s stronger than it was, but it was quite clear last night that everyone around the table wants to avoid any sort of currency disputes.”

The communique did not single out Japan for aggressive monetary and fiscal policies that have seen the yen drop 20 percent, a trend that may now continue. “The market will take the G20 statement as an approval for what it has been doingselling of the yen,” said Neil Mellor, currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon in London. “No censure of Japan means they will be off to the money printing presses.”

The statement reflected a substantial, but not

MOSCOW: Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf (right) and Central Bank Governor Fahad Al-Mubarak (left) touch their faces as they pose for family picture after a meeting of G20 states finance ministers and central bank governors in Moscow yesterday. —AFP complete, endorsement of Tuesday’s statement by the G7 nations - the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Italy.

“We all agreed on the fact that we refuse to enter any currency war,” French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici told reporters.

The text also contained a commitment to credible medium-term fiscal strategy, but stopped short of setting specific goals.

A debt-cutting pact struck in Toronto in 2010 will expire this year if leaders fail to agree to extend it at a G20 summit of leaders in St Petersburg in

September.

European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said he expected concrete debt targets to be agreed at the September meeting. “We have a common view on the need to have a credible medium-term plans for fiscal consolidation, which is also essential so we have foundation for sustainable growth,” he told Reuters.

The United States says it is on track to meet its Toronto pledge but argues that the pace of future fiscal consolidation must not snuff out demand.

Germany and others are pressing for another

round of binding debt-cutting goals.

Backing in the communique for the use of domestic monetary policy to support economic recovery reflected the US Federal Reserve’s commitment to monetary stimulus through quantitative easing, or QE, to promote recovery and jobs.

QE entails large-scale bond buying — $85 billion a month in the Fed’s case-that helps economic growth but creates money, much of which has leaked into emerging markets, threatening to destabilize them.

That was offset in the communique by a com-

mitment to minimize “negative spillovers” of the resulting financial flows that emerging markets fear may pump up asset bubbles and ruin their export competitiveness. “Major developed nations (should) pay attention to their monetary policy spillover,” Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying in Moscow.

“Major developed countries’ implementation of excessively relaxed currency policy has an influence on the world economy.”

Russia, this year’s chair of the G20, said the group had failed to reach agreement on mediumterm budget deficit levels and also expressed concern about ultra-loose policies that it and other big emerging economies say could store up trouble for later. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said a rebalancing of global growth required more than an adjustment of exchange rates. “Structural reforms in all countries, either with a positive or negative balance of payments, should play a bigger role,” he said in an address to Saturday’s talks.

The G20 put together a huge financial backstop to halt a market meltdown in 2009 but has failed to reach those heights since. At successive meetings, Germany has pressed the United States and others to do more to tackle their debts. Washington in turn has urged Berlin to do more to increase demand.

On currencies, the G20 text reiterated its commitment last November, “to move more rapidly toward mores market-determined exchange rate systems and exchange rate flexibility to reflect underlying fundamentals, and avoid persistent exchange rate misalignments”.

It said disorderly exchange rate movements and excess volatility in financial flows could harm economic and financial stability. —Reuters

Obama bypasses Congress with public economic pitch WASHINGTON: Weeks before President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, White House aides were locking down a plan for the sales pitch that would follow during three days of travel focused on his main themes. The effort to promote Obama’s proposals on jobs, wages and education involved visits to Asheville, North Carolina, Decatur Georgia, and Chicago, participating in a Google+ chat and mobilizing the president’s formidable former campaign apparatus. One thing it didn’t include? Congress.

For the White House, this is a campaign for public opinion, not one to write specific legislation. When it comes to broadening early education or raising the minimum wage, Obama is not ready to make lawmakers a part of the process yet. Instead, Obama is trying to change an economic debate that has been focused on deficits and on managing the national debt to one about middle-class opportunities and economic growth. Just into his second term, Obama and his aides want to move away from the type of budget confrontations that have defined the past two years and take advantage of his re-election to pressure Republicans.

“If the Republicans reflexively oppose every-

thing the president does, we have to go directly to the American people to marshal their support to get things done,” Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said. “The metric we’re looking at is whether you start to see fissures in the Republican coalition.”

This president, like recent ones before him, has gone to the public before in hopes of persuading lawmakers. It hasn’t always proved a winning tactic. President Bill Clinton failed to use the public to win support for his health care overhaul. President George W. Bush was unable to make changes to Social Security in his second term. Obama tried to muster public support to fight climate change but the legislative effort came up short. Even Obama’s all-out effort on behalf of sweeping health care changes only succeeded in keeping Democrats unified, not in winning over Republicans. But Obama and White House aides are heartened by what they believe were successful public appeals for extending a payroll tax cut in 2010 and for preventing a doubling of interest rates on federal student loans last summer.

What made those different was that they addressed pressing issues: The payroll tax cut

was expiring at year’s end and interest rates on student loans were set to double last July 1.

Expanding preschools and raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour by the end of 2015, on the other hand, are policy ideas just sprung on Congress during last Tuesday’s prime-time speech. “When there is no clear path between what he called for in the State of the Union and then going on the road, and there’s no road map about exactly when we’re going to get into these issues, it’s a little bit like shouting in the forest,” said Patrick Griffin, the White House legislative director under Clinton.

“Something has to be queued up in order to make these visits work.”

David Winston, a Republican pollster and strategist who advises House Republicans, said the key to a successful policy campaign is twofold. “The first and central is how important is solving whatever problem is being defined,” he said. “The second one is does the defined benefit solve the problem.” He argues that even though Obama in 2010 won the health care fight in a partisan showdown, the public didn’t judge health care to be as important as dealing with the economy. As a result, Republicans won

control of the House in elections that year.

The White House strategy now in part recognizes that the economy remains the No. 1 public concern even as the president engages Congress on issues such as immigration and gun violence.

It was finally on Friday, his last road trip of the week, when Obama brought his message back to guns. But even then, like in his State of the Union speech, he connected it to his main economic themes. Speaking not far from his Hyde Park home on Chicago’s South Side, Obama linked the near-daily violence to communities where there is little economic hope.

At the White House, Pfeiffer argues that it would be pointless to present Congress with legislation on preschools and minimum wage increases now when the president is just raising the profile of the two issues and when he’s already working with Congress on other matters. “There’s a lot of traffic in the legislative process right now,” he said. “If we were to send a bill up on some of these things tomorrow, you guys would all write that the president has overloaded the system.” In pushing his agenda, Obama is wielding extra muscle that he didn’t

employ before, relying on his reconfigured reelection campaign operation. The organization has reappeared as a nonprofit group ready to engage in legislative fights and grass-roots mobilization to supplement the White House.

The group, Organizing for Action, planned a tele-town hall Saturday hosted by Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago mayor who was Obama’s White House chief of staff. The event was intended to press the same themes Obama has pushed for the past four days. Another expected participant was Austan Goolsbee, former chairman of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. The group’s board of directors includes former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and top campaign officials such as Stephanie Cutter and Julianna Smoot. Obama senior campaign adviser David Axelrod will serve as a consultant. All retain strong ties to the White House; Axelrod and Emanuel were in the West Wing last week. Griffin, the former Clinton aide, said such an organization would introduce a brand new element to White House outreach.

He recalled Clinton’s failed effort on health care and his attempt to go over the head of Congress in 1993. —AP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

BUSINESS

Kuwait’s 2013 Inflation may average at 3.5% NBK ECONOMIC REPORT

Scandal-hit Kabul bank draws just one bidder KABUL: An Afghan consortium has bid to buy New Kabul Bank, the remnants of Afghanistan’s largest private bank which collapsed in a fraud scandal, after four others withdrew, officials said yesterday.

Three domestic and two international groups had expressed interest in the bank, but by deadline Saturday only one-Ali Akbar Zhawandal consortium-had stepped forward, central bank governor Norullah Delawari said. The value of the offer was not disclosed at a news conference.

Delawari said a government evaluation committee will examine the merits of the bid and a decision can be expected in April.

Kabul Bank was seized by the government in 2010 after the exposure of a staggering $900 million fraud, which led the International Monetary Fund to temporarily halt its hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to the country. Renamed New Kabul

Bank, the institution was bailed out by the government. In November last year a foreign-funded inquiry found a sophisticated network of corruption that saw vast sums of money smuggled abroad as well as political interference in criminal proceedings.

Twenty-two people have been charged with causing the bank’s collapse through fraud and corruption, and a special tribunal is expected to deliver its verdict this month.

A number of well-connected people allegedly implicated in the scandal as shareholders, including a brother of President Hamid Karzai, have not been charged.

Western donors have pledged billions of dollars in aid after NATO combat troops withdraw from insurgency-racked Afghanistan in 2014, but have conditioned payment on corruption being brought under control. — AFP

Gulf Bank winners of Al-Danah daily draws KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah daily draws on February 10th, 2013, announcing the names of its winners for the week of February 3rd to 7th. The AlDanah daily draws include draws each working day for two prizes of KD1000 per winner.

The Al-Danah daily winners are: Sunday: Dalal Khaled Bader Al-Omar, Adel Yousef Al-Nafisi Monday: Ali Raza Abdulrasheed, Faisal Mohammed Faleh Al-Dosari Tuesday: Redha Ali Abdulrazag AlSairafi, Ahmed Ibrahim Rayyan Wednesday: Beskals Eskarous Beskals Eskarous, Hassan Mustafa Shkora Thursday: Iftekhar Ali Safar Ashkanani, Ahmed Saleh Ahmed Mohammed Ali AlShawaf Gulf Bank’s new Al-Danah 2013 draw lineup includes daily draws (2 winners per working day each receive KD1000), as well as two additional prizes per quarter.

Al Danah’s 1st Quarterly draw will be held on 28 March (KD200,000,

KD125,000, and KD25,000), 2nd Quarter 27 June (KD250,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000), 3rd Quarter - 26 September (KD500,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000) and the final draw held on 9 January, 2014 announcing winners of KD50,000, KD250,000 and the Al Danah millionaire.

Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah allows customers to win cash prizes and simultaneously encourages them to save money.

Chances increase the more money is deposited and the longer it is kept in the account.

Al-Danah also offers a number of unique services including the Al-Danah Deposit Only ATM card which helps account holders deposit their money at their convenience; as well as the AlDanah calculator to help customers calculate their chances of becoming an AlDanah winner. To be part of the Al-Danah draws, customers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches, transfer on line, or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and guidance.

KUWAIT: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded a 2.6% year-on-year (y/y) increase in December, slightly up from 2.3% in November. The uptick in December came on the back of price increases in the housing and household goods and services segments, but was partly offset by a m/m decrease in food prices.

Inflation also averaged 2.9% y/y in 2012, down from 4.8% in 2011.

Core inflation, which excludes food and beverage prices, went up by 2.7% y/y. This was the first time in recent history where inflation in the core measure outpaced inflation in the general index. This highlights the changing makeup of the sources of inflationary pressure, as inflation in food prices had decelerated in 2012, while other components saw more potent increases.

Food prices were up 2.1% y/y in December, their smallest such increase since late 2009. Prices were also down 0.7% m/m, largely thanks to price decreases in some major sub-components such as meat, poultry, and fish as well as cereals and bread.

Inflation in food prices averaged 5.6% in 2012, with smaller increments in the second half of the year. The 2012 average was also noticeably lower than the 2011 average of 9.7%.

Prices for clothing and footwear increased by 3.9% y/y in December, similar to their 4.0% y/y average for 2012. Also similar to the general trend in 2012, the December increase was largely pushed by prices of readymade garments (i.e. store-bought clothing), which went up by 5.6% in December. Clothing and footwear prices have occasionally been a source of upward pressure on general inflation during 2012, but these prices are often determined by international factors (clothing and footwear being primarily imports), rather than local

ones. The housing services component, which makes up almost 27% of the general index and is made up almost wholly of rent, saw a 2.4% y/y increase, the first and only rise in that rate in 2012. Rental inflation could prove to be a source of upward pressure in the future, having dipped as low as 0.7% y/y in September last year.

Price inflation in household goods and services recorded a 2.9% y/y increase, alongside a 1.3% m/m uptick. Domestic services, a subcomponent that had remained unchanged throughout 2011 and

2012, went up in December by 7.8% y/y.

Overall, inflation in 2012 was more subdued than initially anticipated at the start of the year, largely thanks to the sharp deceleration in food price inflation.

A modest pick-up in rents and food inflation - combined with a robust consumer sector in general could see inflation move higher in 2013.

Nonetheless, given the low starting point, we expect inflation to remain modest in 2013, averaging 3.5% for the year as a whole.

Britain urges rethink of lending scheme COVENTRY, England: Britain’s business minister called on the Bank of England yesterday to consider new ways to unblock the flow of credit to small companies in order to help the country’s sluggish economy.

Vince Cable said he had written to the number two at the central bank, Paul Tucker, seeking a discussion of possible changes to the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) which was launched last year. The FLS is central to efforts by the British government and the Bank of England to snap the UK economy out of two years of stagnant growth after the financial crisis enfeebled many banks.

So far, the scheme has boosted mortgage lending but has not been a big help for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). “One of the questions for the immediate future is how Funding for Lending perhaps could be adapted to deal with the needs of SMEs,” Cable said.

“It’s quite a tricky technical issue and I have written to the deputy governor of the Bank of England to seek a meeting to see how we can address that, if we can.”

The scheme allows banks and building societies to access more than 80 billion pounds ($124.19 billion) in cheap finance if they maintain or increase net lending to households and businesses. Cable, speaking to reporters after delivering a speech at an economics conference organized by the University of Warwick in the English Midlands, said any changes would have to be compatible with European Union rules that prohibit unfair state aid.

Cable said ideas proposed by former top BoE policymaker Adam Posen should be looked at, including the possibility of the central bank buy-

ing bundles of corporate loans which could help revive lending to companies, and not just government bonds. “The governor has taken the view that anything other than rock-solid gilts are not appropriate to have as part of the balance sheet of the Bank of England,” said Cable, who is a senior member of the Liberal Democrats, which forms Britain’s ruling alliance with the Conservatives.

“I understand where he is coming from but that’s quite a rigorous - some critics might say

rigid - view. More open-minded thinking about that would be helpful.” King is due to retire in June and he will be replaced as governor of the Bank of England by Mark Carney, who is currently head of the Bank of Canada.

“Many people are looking forward to the advent of the new Canadian governor for possibly injecting some creativity into this currently log-jammed discussion,” Cable said, referring to the debate about what assets the Bank of England should hold. — Reuters

WB sees ‘enormous potential’ in Myanmar WASHINGTON: A World Bank official said Friday that Myanmar has “enormous potential” as it undergoes reforms, which have led the Washington-based lender to launch a drive to bring electricity to millions. World Bank East Asia and Pacific vice president Axel van Trotsenburg, who visited this month to open the bank’s first office in Yangon since 1987, said he was “very, very encouraged” and sensed a feeling of optimism in Myanmar.

“All in all, we believe the country has enormous potential, provided the reforms are sustained,” van Trotsenburg told reporters. “We see that they will require a lot of hard work, but also there will be solid support by the international community when those reforms are happening,” he said. The World Bank has announced $245 million in assistance for priori-

ty needs of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, once the “rice bowl” of Asia, but which remains desperately poor after decades under military rule. In a project announced during van Trotsenburg’s visit to Myanmar, the World Bank is supporting the installation of gas turbines that aim to boost electricity production by two and a half compared to with the aging current sites. Van Trotsenburg expected the effort to bring power to an additional five million people, lifting health, education and economic growth in a country where only one-quarter of the population now has access to electricity.

The World Bank last month also approved a $440 million zero-interest loan to Myanmar that will help the country improve its finances and pay back a bridge loan from Japan that allowed Yangon to clear its international arrears. — AFP

EXCHANGE RATES Irani Riyal - cash

Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds

.2740000 .4380000 .3750000 .3040000 .2780000 .2870000 .0040000 .0020000 .0763790 .7441390 .3900000 .0720000 .7294960 .0420000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2816000 GB Pound/KD .4408730 Euro .3770340 Swiss francs .3059540 Canadian dollars .2798090 Danish Kroner .0505280 Swedish Kroner .0439950 Australian dlr .2885410 Hong Kong dlr .0363090 Singapore dlr .2264480 Japanese yen .0029910 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0766990 Bahraini dinars .7472470 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0751130 Omani riyals .7317140 Philippine Peso .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - transfer

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.025 5.214 2.880 2.229 3.284 230.480 36.471 3.567 6.958 9.477 0.271

.2840000 .4540000 .3850000 .3150000 .2890000 .3000000 .0067500 .0035000 .0771470 .7516170 .4050000 .0760000 .7368270 .0470000 .2837000 .4441610 .3798460 .3082360 .2818960 .0509050 .0443230 .2906930 .0365800 .2281370 .0030130 .0052950 .0022520 .0029050 .0036480 .0772710 .7528190 .4012730 .0756740 .7371700 .0070230

0.273

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

GCC COUNTRIES 75.444 77.735 734.830 751.430 77.036

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 42.100 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 41.929 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.320 Tunisian Dinar 182.330 Jordanian Dinar 399.520 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.898 Syrian Lier 3.073 Morocco Dirham 34.320 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 282.800 Euro 380.650 Sterling Pound 441.880 Canadian dollar 283.940 Swiss Franc 310.430 US Dollar Buying 281.600 GOLD 311.000 157.000 81.500

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

SELL DRAFT 294.08 285.33 312.08 381.76 282.40 445.79 3.08 3.586 5.238 2.237 3.287 2.884 76.96 751.93 42.03 402.32 734.97 77.98 75.52

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

Bahrain Exchange Company CURRENCY

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

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

SELL CASH 296.000 286.000 313.000 385.800 282.000 445.000 3.750 3.800 5.350 2.520 3.450 2.933 77.000 747.000 46.750 398.000 733.000 78.500 75.400

British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Scottish Pound Swedish Krona Swiss Franc

BUY Europe 0.431440 0.006035 0.046556 0.372817 0.046921 0.430845 0.040707 0.301797

SELL 0.440440 0.018035 0.051556 0.380317 0.052121 0.438345 0.045707 0.308797

Australasia 0.281268 0.231080 0.000110

0.293268 0.241080 0.000110

Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars

America 0.274397 0.000147 0.280450

0.283397 0.000165 0.282600

Bangladesh Taka Cape Vrde Escudo Chinese Yuan Eritrea-Nakfa

Asia 0.003531 0.003134 0.044500 0.016307

0.033586 0.003364 0.049500 0.019407

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar Uganda Shilling

Guinea Franc Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Jamaican Dollars Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar Sri Lankan Rupee Thai Baht

0.000044 0.033888 0.005160 0.000024 0.002819 0.002940 0.003171 0.087492 0.003127 0.002850 0.006503 0.000072 0.224421 0.001932 0.009068

0.000050 0.038988 0.005230 0.000029 0.003819 0.003120 0.003401 0.094492 0.003327 0.002890 0.006973 0.000075 0.230421 0.002237 0.009666

Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Ethiopeanbirr Ghanaian Cedi Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Sudanese Pounds Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

Arab 0.743177 0.039917 0.012917 0.147094 0.000079 0.000184 0.393010 1.000000 0.000 173 0.022228 0.001196 0.723013 0.076968 0.074827 0.049629 0.003153 0.181379 0.075514 0.001274

0.751677 0.041947 0.019417 0.148884 0.000079 0.000244 0.400510 1.000000 0.000193 0.046228 0.001831 0.734013 0.077751 0.075467 0.050179 0.003373 0.187379 0.016964 0001374

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 282.400 380.800 444.300 283.100 3.025 5.239 42.015 2.235 3.568 6.939 2.885 752.000 76.950 75.450

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

BUSINESS

Wataniya Telecom announces KD 75.5m net profit for 2012 Revenue and customer growth continue KUWAIT: Wataniya Telecom (National Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC) yesterday announced its financial results for the year2012: Financial Highlights: In 2011 a fair value gain (non-cash) of KD 265.3 million ($943.5 million) was recorded due to a revaluation of the existing interest in Tunisiana following the increase in the shareholding from 50% to 75%.

Operational Highlights Total customer base increased to 19.2 million at the close of 2012, versus 17.8 million at the same period in 2011, amounting to growth of 7.8%. Revenues for the year 2012 amounted to KD 742.5 million ($2.64 billion), compared with KD 726.6 million ($2.58 billion) for the same period in 2011, amounting to growth of 2.2%.

EBITDA for the year 2012 was KD 299.4 million ($1.06 billion), compared to EBITDA of KD 314.2 million ($1.12billion) for the same period in 2011.

The consolidated net profit was at KD 75.5 million ($268.5million), compared to net profit for the same period in 2011 of KD 362.1 million ($1.29 billion). Net Profit for the year 2011 includes a fair value gain of KD 265.3 million ($943.5 million) recorded due to revaluation of existing held interest in Tunisiana following the increase in the shareholding from 50% to 75%. The net profit for the year 2011 without the fair value gain was KD 96.8 million ($344.2 million).

Net Profit for 2012 was adversely impacted by various factors including competitive pressure in Kuwait, foreign exchange movements in Algeria and Tunisia and an impairment charge for a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT ) operation in 2012.

The consolidated Earnings per Share was

151fils ($54 cents), compared to723fils ($2.6) per share earned for the same period last year.

Excluding revaluation gain the Earnings per Share in 2011 was 193 fils (69 cents) a decrease in 2012 by 21.8% compared with 2011.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, Chairman of Wataniya Telecom commented: “From a strategic standpoint, 2012 has been a successful year as we position ourselves for the future. Wataniya Telecom increased our stake in Tunisiana from 50% to 75% and we have seen continued efforts of network modernization across our markets with LTE planned for Kuwait and 3G and fixed services roll-out in Tunisia.” He added: “While operationally during this period, Wataniya Telecom has seen stable revenue growth of2.2%, foreign exchange impacts again impacted profitability and competitive dynamics in Kuwait remain challenging. I look forward to 2013 as efforts already underway in our markets will begin to drive positive and sustainable results for Wataniya Telecom.”

Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani also declared that that after a board meeting last Thursday, 14 Feb, the Board recommended a cash dividend increase of 125% of the nominal value of shares, of which one hundred and twenty-five fils (125%) per share for one, putting into consideration that this recommendation is subject to the approval of the shareholders and the competent authorities.

Review of Operations Wataniya - Kuwait Wataniya Kuwait’s customer base increased to 2.03 million customers at the end of 2012, an increase of 3.8% in the same period 2011.

Revenues for the year 2012 were KD 220.8 million ($785.3 million), decrease of 9.4% compared to revenues for the same period in 2011 of KD 243.6 million ($866.4 million). EBITDA for the year 2012 was KD 84.4 million ($300.2million) compared to EBITDA for the same period in 2011 of KD 111.1 million ($394.9 million), a decrease by 24.0%. Net profit was at KD 46.4 million ($164.9million), compared to net profit for the same period in 2011 of KD 328.1 million ($1.2billion).

Net profit for the year 2011 includes a fair value gain of KD 265.3 million ($943.5 million) recorded due to revaluation of existing 50% held interest in Tunisiana following the increase in the shareholding from 50% to 75%. The net profit for 2011 without the fair value gain, and after amortization of intangibles arising from the Tunisiana acquisition was KD 62.8.million ($223.2 million).

Tunisiana - Tunisia The Tunisiana customer base at the end of2012 stood at 7.19million customers, an increase of 8.6% on the same period in 2011.

Revenues for the year2012 were KD 201.9 million ($718.1 million), compared to revenues for the same period in 2011 of KD 210.0 million ($746.7 million). EBITDA for the year 2012was KD 108.0 million ($384.2 million) from KD118.8 million ($422.5 million) for the same period last year representing a decrease of 9.1%.

The total net profit stood at KD 46.7 million ($166.2 million) a decrease of 11.4% when compared with KD 52.7million ($187.6 million) for the same period in 2011. The Net Attributable Profit to Wataniya Telecom for theyear2012 was KD 35.2 million ($125.1 million), compared to KD 39.6 million ($140.7 mil-

lion) for the same period in 2011.Foreign exchange movement in 2012 had an adverse impact on Tunisiana’s performance with the TND/USD rate 11.1% unfavourable compared to 2011.

Nedjma-Algeria The Nedjma customer base at the end of 2012 was 9.06 million customers, an increase of 6.5% compared to the same period last year. Revenues for the year 2012 were KD266.9 million ($949.1 million), an increase of 19.3% compared with revenues of KD 223.7 million ($795.6 million) for the same period in 2011.

EBITDA for the year 2012 was KD 105.4 million ($374.7 million), an increase of 26.7% on KD 83.2 million ($295.8 million) for the same period in 2011.

The total Net Profit for the year 2012 was KD 27.6 million ($98.1 million) compared to a total net profit of KD 14.4 million ($51.4 million) for the same period in 2011. The Net Attributable Profit to Wataniya Telecom for 2012 was KD 19.6 million ($69.6 million) compared to a Net Attributable Profit of KD 10.3 million ($36.5million) for the same period in 2011.Foreign exchange movements in 2012 impacted Nedjma’s performance with the DZD/USD rate 6.5% unfavorable compared to 2011.

Wataniya - Palestine The total customer base at end of 2012 was 0.61 million, an increase of 31.2% from the same period of 2011. Revenues for the year 2012 were KD 23.5 million ($ 83.6 million),an increase of 13.9% compared to the revenues of KD 20.6 million ($73.4 million) in the year 2011. EBITDA for 2012 was KD 1.7 million ($6.2 million) in the year 2012, compared to an EBITDA of KD 1.0 million ($3.7 million) for the same period in 2011.

The total Net Loss for the year 2012 was KD 6.7 million ($23.7 million) compared to a total Net Loss of KD 7.2 million ($25.6 million) for the same period in 2011. The Net Attributable Loss for the year 2012 was KD 3.2 million ($11.5 million) compared to a Net Attributable Loss of KD 3.5 million ($12.4 million) for the same period in 2011, Bravo - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Bravo’s customer basewas 0.16 million at the end of 2012, 5.2%increase from the same period of 2011. Revenues for the year2012 decreased to KD 18.2 million ($64.6 million) from KD 19.3 million ($68.6 million) for the same period in 2011.

The total Net Profit for the year 2012 was KD 0.6 million ($2.1 million) compared to the total Net Loss of KD 10.7 million ($38.2 million) for the same period in 2011.The Net Attributable Profit to Wataniya Telecom for 2012 was KD 1.3 million ($4.6 million),compared to a Net Attributable Loss of KD 6.0 million ($21.3 million) for the same period in 2011.

Wataniya - Maldives The total customer base at end of 2012 was0.18 million, an increase of 22.5% from the same period of 2011. Revenues were KD 11.2 million ($39.8 million) for the year 2012 compared to KD 9.4 million ($33.4 million) for the same period 2011. EBITDA for the year 2012 was KD 2.6 million ($9.2 million) compared to an EBITDA of KD 1.6 million ($5.8 million) for the same period in 2011. The Net Attributable Loss for 2012 was KD 2.2 million ($7.9 million) compared to the Net Attributable Loss of KD 2.7 million (USD 9.7 million) for the same period in 2011. l The KD to USD conversion rate used is 0.28120 as of 31st December 2012

Japan PM guru defends monetary ‘independence’ WASHINGTON: An economic adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday defended a policy of monetary “independence” as Tokyo fends off charges that it is manipulating the yen. The yen’s value has fallen sharply since Abe was elected in December, a depreciation that has come

MOSCOW: Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso speaks during a press conference at the summit of financial ministers and heads of central banks of the G20 group of nations ahead of their meeting in Moscow yesterday. —AP

under scrutiny as finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 major economies meet in Moscow.

Koichi Hamada, a Yale University professor who helped craft the premier’s “Abenomics” philosophy, stood by his advocacy of “international monetary independence” in which top priorities include job growth-not exchange rates. “Monetary policy should be assigned to its own price level, not the exchange rate, but the price level and unemployment, and then the world will be led to a kind of better state,” Hamada said at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

“Monetary policy of one country is assigned to its own country and not for others,” he said, warning against the so-called “beggar thy neighbor” effect in which one nation’s economic policy hurts other countries.

Under pressure from Abe, the Bank of Japan has aggressively expanded buying of assets, a policy of “monetary easing” that has led to a fall in the yen’s value. A weaker yen benefits Japanese exporters by making their products less expensive overseas.

The International Monetary Fund has said that fears of a global currency war were overblown, but some European officials are expected to take Tokyo to task during the two-day meeting in Moscow over what they see as manipulation. — AFP

The 15th Xerox corporate golf challenge tees off DUBAI: In celebration of the launch of the 15th anniversary of the Xerox Corporate Golf Challenge, key sponsors and regional media yesterday descended upon the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai for a sponsors and media briefing, followed by a ninehole round of golf and lunch.

The Xerox Corporate Golf Challenge (XCGC) was first launched in 1997 in the UAE with the key objectives of providing corporations with a platform for business networking in a leisurely environment and enable like-minded individuals to forge new business relationships. The tournament is an 18-hole two person best ball medal event open to all male and female golfers who hold an official handicap.It has proven to be a success for Xerox since its inception and has twice won the esteemed title of ‘Best Corporate Golf Event in the Middle East’, due to its unique mix of business and pleasure.

The tournament is supported by main sponsors Avis Rent a Car and ABB, who

have been associated with XCGC for two years. Co-sponsors also supporting the tournament include ECCO, the ‘nearest the pin’ and ‘longest drive’ sponsor, Crystal Gallery, the trophy sponsor, and Khaleej Times as media sponsor, who have been associated with the tournament for more than 10 years.

The Xerox Corporate Golf Challenge is also supported by Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas as Hotel Sponsor and Golf Digest, the Official Magazine Sponsor for two years.

New additions to this year’s competition are Dubai Golf as event organisers and VPAR, who is providing the UAE qualifying rounds and grand final with live golf scoring technology.

Abeer Safa, Marketing Manager, Xerox Emirates, said: “We’re looking forward to hosting another successful year of the Xerox Corporate Golf Challenge, and we would like to thank our sponsors for making this all possible.”

MOSCOW: G20 states finance ministers and central bank governors’ deputies attend their meeting in Moscow yesterday. —AFP

EU states want ‘fair tax share’ from big business MOSCOW: The finance ministers of Britain, France and Germany yesterday launched a new drive to force big business to pay its fair share of tax and halt the schemes of top firms to keep payments to a minimum.

Britain’s George Osborne, France’s Pierre Moscovici and Germany’s Wolfgang Schaeuble said it was time for internationally-coordinated action to clamp down on the practice of shifting profits from the company’s home country to pay less tax under another jurisdiction. The drive -which is backed by a study by the Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD) on the consequences of the so-called profit shifting-comes as cashstrapped governments try to use every means to inject new funds into their budgets.

“We are talking about something that is fundamentally legal. We need to modify the law,” admitted the OECD secretary general Angel Gurria. “Avoiding double taxation has become a way of having double non-taxation.”

“No single country can go by itself,” he said at a news conference on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Moscow, insisting that the drive was not aimed at “bashing” individual corporate giants.

Schaeuble said it was “unfair that multinational companies should be able to use globalisation as a tool” not to pay their fair share of taxes while Moscovici described the issue as a “matter of fairness for our citizens”.

Osborne said that current global tax rules had been developed almost 100 years agoalong principles set out by the League of Nations in the 1920s-and few changes had been made since.

“This means that the tax system does not reflect how international companies do business.” “We want businesses to pay the taxes that we set in our countries. And this cannot be achieved by one country alone.

No one country can create an international tax system by itself.” The ministers emphasised that their proposal was supported by the Russian presidency of the G20.

Online retailer Amazon, Internet giant Google as well as coffee shop chain Starbucks have been under the spotlight for their tax strategies in Britain and other EU countries in recent months.

Starbucks came under particular pressure in Britain following the revelation last year that it has paid just £8.6 million ($13.8 million) in British corporation tax since 1998, despite generating £3 billion in revenues. It has now pledged to voluntarily pay back millions in extra tax.

A person familiar with the OECD’s report said it was essential to move rapidly, especially with the United States apparently not sharing Europe’s wholehearted enthusiasm for the anti-tax avoidance drive.

“The timetable is going to be very tight-

otherwise the (OECD) report will be buried,” the person said.

According to the OECD, some multinational companies use avoidance strategies that allow them to pay just five percent in corporate taxes while smaller businesses are paying 30 percent.

It says that practices have become more aggressive in the past decade, with some multinationals creating offshore subsidiaries or shell companies and taking advantage of the tax breaks offered in the countries where these are registered.

This has led to absurdities like the tax havens of Barbados, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands in 2010 together receiving together more foreign direct investment than either Germany or Japan, the OECD said.

In 2010, the creation of offshores meant the British Virgin Islands was the second largest investor in China, it noted.

The three EU states and the OECD warned that it would be smaller businesses that paid their taxes in full who risked bearing the brunt of the multinationals’ complex schemes to avoid tax. “In times of difficulty when you need to increase revenues, when the large multinationals are not making a contribution, you go for (taxes from) the small and medium enterprises or the middle classes,” said Gurria. “This is something that is quite undesirable.” — AFP

Devaluation of bolivar expensive for US firms NEW YORK: The recent devaluation of the Venezuelan bolivar was a blow to some major US companies, highlighting the importance of financial ties between the two nations despite their political disagreements. Venezuela devalued the bolivar by 32 percent against the US dollar earlier this month, feeding public fears that prices would rise further amid already soaring infla-

tion. The change in the official exchange rate from 4.3 bolivars to the dollar to 6.3, was published in the Official Gazette. Economist Jose Luis Saboin of the consultancy Econalitica said consumers’ purchasing power will likely erode by 7.2 percent this year.

Devaluation will make imports more expensive in Venezuela, where inflation stands at 20.1 percent-the

highest in Latin America, based on official data. President Hugo Chavez’s government put in place an exchange rate control mechanism in 2003 seeking to throw the brakes on capital flight. In January 2011 it set the rate at 4.3. But the hunger for dollars and euros fuels a black market with a much higher exchange rate which by law cannot be published. The United States is the main

purchaser of Venezuelan oil and thus its largest trading partner.

Despite political disagreements between the two countries’ governments, trade relations between the United States and Venezuela have blossomed in recent years, thanks to rising oil prices over the past 10 years. Some 500 US companies operate in the country, according to the US State Department. — AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

BUSINESS

BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT

KSE indices remain under pressure KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week with variance on its indices. The price index ended last week with an increase amounted to 1.73%, while the weighted index increased by 0.11% compared to the closings of the week before, whereas KSX-15 Index decreased by 0.30%.

Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover decreased by 13.20%, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD 36.33 million, whereas trading volume average was 532.06 million shares, recording decrease of 19.89%.

Last week, Kuwait Stock Exchange indices continued to fluctuate for the third consecutive week, as small-cap stocks kept its support to the Price Index, which in turn closed the week at its highest level since May 2012, supported by the purchasing power executed on such stocks.

Moreover, quick speculative operations continued to control the market trading activity during last week, which explains the indices unstable state witnessed in some trading sessions, as operations concentrated on small-cap stocks, especially in real estate and financial services sectors, thus positively reflected on the Price Index to close the week in the green zone.

On the contrary, the KSX-15 Index could not match the Price Index, and closed in the red zone especially after the profit collection

operations per formed on the large - cap stocks. In addition, the market is currently living a watch and cautious states to the listed companies’ financial results, which did not announce its financial data for the 2012 financial year, especially after passing half of the authorized legal period for companies to announce its results, where many traders are expected to build on their investment decisions for the next period.

For the annual performance, the price index ended last week recording 7.81% annual gain compared to its closing in 2012, while the weighted index increased by 2.85%, and the KSX-15 recorded 2.23% increase. By the end of the week, the price index closed at 6,397.64 points, up by 1.73% from the week before closing, whereas the weighted index registered a 0.11% weekly gain after closing at 429.55 points. Moreover, the KSX-15 index closed at 1,031.60 points, decreasing with 0.30%.

The Insurance companies sector came in third as its index achieved 4.15% growth, ending the week at 986.30 points. The Consumer Goods sector was the least growing as its index closed at 985.49 points with a 0.15% increase. On the other hand, the Oil & Gas sector was last week’s only loser as its index declined by 4.79% to end the week’s activity at 1,062.14 points.

Sectors’ activity The Real Estate sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 1.08 billion shares changing hands, representing 40.53% of the total market trading volume. The Financial Services sector was second in terms of trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 32.98% of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 877.41 million shares. On the other

hand, the Financial Services sector’s stocks were the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD 52.27 million or 28.78% of last week’s total market trading value. The Real Estate sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of KD 44.97 million represented 24.76% of the total market trading value. - Prepared by the Studies & Research Department Bayan Investment Co.

Sectors’ Indices All of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the green zone except for one sector. Last week’s highest gainer was the Technology sector, achieving 12.46% growth rate as its index closed at 1,050.02 points. Whereas, in the second place, the Health Care sector’s index closed at 990.18 points recording 7.94% increase.

Working together for a batter future

By Nadeem Shafi

D

ear Readers; As I continue to share our thought leadership material with you, I hope you enjoyed reading the article “Working for a better future” last week.

“Working together” is the theme that I am going to share with you over the next few weeks in recognition of the enduring value of collaboration but it also reflects the new reality facing you, our government and public/private sectors around the world, where few of the myriad challenges you face can be solved by working alone.

From the teetering euro-zone to stubbornly high unemployment in the US to stalling growth in the emerging markets, the legacy of the financial crisis continues to send toxic shock waves across borders. But now is not the time to close ranks. Ours remains a deeply scarred global economy and, as a result, policy-makers have little option but to cooperate anew. Governments need to look up, learn from and work with the best and brightest, wherever they may be.

If they do so, then the growth, jobs and prosperity so urgently required will surely follow. Certainly, one of the key repercussions of the financial tumult of recent years is that governments are now working together in a more interconnected way. A nation’s economic policy is no longer confined within its own borders but instead forms one link of a larger chain.

The G20 Summit in Mexico held last year, for example, showcased how leaders from all over the world are pooling their knowledge and resources. One issue discussed

Ernst & Young Weekly at this event was the importance of entrepreneurs to global recovery. These engines of growth are integral to new jobs and we consider how governments can enable them to gain better access to finance as they nurture their businesses. The importance of working together is also a recurring premise in Ernst & Young’s new report on government and innovation in the European Union. A simpler and more streamlined innovation policy, we contend, would accelerate the drive for much needed economic growth.

It seems a long time since any gathering of world leaders occurred without a backdrop of economic gloom.

And sure enough, the last year G20 summit in Mexico took place as concerns mounted that the global economy is, once again, poised for more uncertainty. With even the emerging markets showing some signs of stalling, the collective hunt for jobs and growth is growing even more intense. Little wonder, then, that policy-makers are turning to entrepreneurs to deliver a much-needed boost to their economies. The importance of entrepreneurs is well established. They increase productivity, introduce new demand, stimulate competition and create new employment all by acting on previously unnoticed opportunities and developing innovative, new products, services or processes.

High-growth entrepreneurial companies will play a particularly important role in rebalancing the global economy. Their rapid rate of expansion means that they have greater potential to create jobs at a time when many G20 countries are facing stubbornly high rates of unemployment. Entrepreneurship is also vital to the future of rapid-growth markets. Although many of these economies have enjoyed high rates of GDP growth for the past decade, their strong performance has often depended on low-cost exports, a commodity price boom

and large-scale investment in infrastructure. In the coming years, these markets must rebalance their economies toward greater domestic consumption, import demand and higher value business activity. The creation of an environment in which entrepreneurship can flourish will be an important step in achieving these objectives.

The financing landscape Across every G20 country, a crucial factor that will determine the success of entrepreneurship is access to finance. Without the ability to secure funding, entrepreneurial companies will be unable to reach their growth potential and may not survive at all. One of the crucial requirements for an environment in which entrepreneurship can flourish is a financial system that supports entrepreneurs by expanding both traditional and innovative forms of lending.

Although the supply of funds has been greater in rapid-growth markets, and although there has been some progress in new sources of funding, such as small scale equity investments, in mature markets, the global situation for fundraising remains considerably weaker than it was in 2007. Access to funding continues to be one of the most significant challenges for the creation, growth and survival of SMEs, particularly innovative ones. Young entrepreneurs however, face even greater challenges, and countries burgeoning with youth unemployment need entrepreneurship to stimulate job creation.

Pre-seed and seed stage At the pre-seed and seed stage of growth, the entrepreneurial business is just being established. It is likely to be focusing on research and development to determine its product or service, or working on a prototype model to assess the viability of the venture. In many cases,

financing needs will still be reasonably small and are possibly even lower than they were a few years ago, thanks to the reduced cost of technology and new innovations, such as cloud computing. How can governments help?

One area would be by putting in place appropriate regulatory frameworks that can enable innovative funding mechanisms, such as crowd funding, to flourish. Crowd funding is a way of attracting small amounts of funding or donations directly from multiple investors using social media and internet channels.

In the past few years, it has become increasingly popular, particularly in creative industries, such as film and publishing, and in social enterprises. At the same time, however, investors need protection, and crowd funding must not become a channel through which fraudsters can extract money from unsuspecting participants.

Policy-makers therefore need to consider the regulatory dimension and put in place appropriate safeguards without stifling the potential of these new channels.

Governments also need to ensure that investors in preseed companies can benefit from tax advantage, as entrepreneurs often need an initial investment from friends, families or employees to get their business off the ground. And given that a robust infrastructure to support small businesses can be a vital ingredient in fostering a climate for entrepreneurship, governments should consider easing rules for office rentals and leases and reducing the complexity of tax and new business registration.

Next week we will be looking into the further stages of the entrepreneurs work cycle.

With this let me conclude today that as 2013 begins to take shape, many of us will make and break resolutions.

But for those looking to raise, invest, preserve or optimize capital, we feel that there is one resolution that none of us can afford to break: we must adapt to a changing world and encourage the spirit of “working together”. — Nadeem Shafi is Partner Assurance, Ernst & Young Training Center, MENA.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

BUSINESS

Al Mazaya wins ‘Super brand Kuwait Company launches new corporate mission for 2013 KUWAIT: Al Mazaya Holding Co for the second time has won the “Super brand Kuwait” award, that enhance outstanding niche which reached it by its own brand name. The winning of this underlines the company’s success in reaching recognition on the local and international levels, but also recognizes its superiority over many other brands. This winning also reflects the level of credibility enjoyed by the brand and its market reputation among various circles of customers, partners, shareholders and suppliers.

On the occasion, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Property Management Salwa Malhas said: “This success is recognition of the value of the brand name and we are proud of this new achievement, and that gives us a new incentive to do more in order to accomplish new achievements in the future, for the company and its stakeholders”.

She also added that Al Mazaya, since its inception in 2003, has sought to ensure a prestigious market niche so it can expand its work and projects locally, regionally and globally. Within this field Al Mazaya has registered its trade mark and ensured its intellectual property rights in Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia Lebanon,

Morocco and Bahrain, while working intensively to ensure the registration of the brand in the rest of the Arab world and beyond.

Sheadded that it is widely known that this is not the first award won by Al Mazaya, which has won this very award before, in addition to winning the Oscar for Best Developer issued by Arabian Business,2007 Best Real Estate Company

by Finance Company, an award for valuable companies in the Gulf in Construction Week, and ranked 34 by Arabian Business Magazine for the 50 glamorous and successful companies, in addition to receiving a certificate of quality and outstanding service ISO 9001:2000.

Malhas adds as well that Al Mazaya’s trademark derives its strength from the reality of the company’s performance and years of hard work and diligence. All projects launched byAl Mazaya are the real impetus behind this success, she argues, which have led to market confidence and respect in the Kuwaiti and Middle East real estate market, recognizing quality and professionalism throughout.

Al Mazaya Holding Co has had a dedicated marketing budget since inception, enabling it to strengthen the image of the company and its brand, and have

After decent rally, time for a pause?

WALL STREET WEEKLY OUTLOOK NEW YORK: US stocks could struggle to extend their sevenweek winning streak as the quarterly earnings period draws to a close and the market bumps into strong technical resistance.

Many analysts say the market could spend the next few weeks consolidating gains that have lifted the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 by 6.6 percent since the start of the year. The S&P 500 ended up 0.1 percent for the week, recovering from a late selloff on Friday after a Bloomberg report about slow February sales at Wal-Mart triggered a slide in the retailer’s shares. It was the index’s seventh week of gains. Odds of a pullback are increasing, with the market in slightly overbought territory, said Bruce Zaro, chief technical strategist at Delta Global Asset Management in Boston. “I do suspect the closing of the earnings season will lead to at least a pause and possibly a pullback,” Zaro said. The S&P 500 could shave 3 to 5 percent between now and early April, he said.

Fourth-quarter earnings have mostly beaten expectations.

Year-over-year profit growth for S&P 500 companies is now estimated at 5.6 percent, up from a Jan. 1 forecast for 2.9 percent growth, and 70 percent of companies are exceeding analyst profit expectations, above the 62 percent long-term average, according to Thomson Reuters data. On Thursday, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is due to report results, unofficially closing out the earnings period. Investors will be keen to see its quarterly numbers, especially after the Friday’s news report that rattled investors. The S&P 500 has gained 4.3 percent since Alcoa kicked off the earnings season on Jan. 8.

The approaching March 1 deadline for across-the-board federal budget cuts unless Congress reaches a compromise adds another reason for caution, especially with recent economic data indicating the recovery remains bumpy. Manufacturing output fell 0.4 percent last month, the Federal Reserve said on Friday, but production in November and December was much stronger than previously thought. The S&P 500 has been trading near five-year highs, and it notched its highest level since November 2007 this week. But the gains have pushed the benchmark index almost as far as it is likely to go in the near term, with strong resistance hovering around 1,525 and 1,540, one analyst said. As a result, the index is set to move sideways, said Dave Chojnacki, market technician at Street One Financial in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania. “We just don’t have the volume or the catalyst right now” to go above those levels, he said.

At the same time, other analysts say, the market has not shown significant signs of slowing, including a break below 15and 30-day moving averages. Such moves would be needed to show that momentum is slowing or that the market is at risk of a correction, said Todd Salamone, director of research for Schaeffer’s Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio. The S&P 500’s 14-day moving average is at 1,511 while the 30-day is at 1,494. The index closed Friday at 1,519.

Recent M&A activity, including news this week of a merger between American Airlines and US Airways Group, helped provide some strength for the market this week and optimism that more deals may be on the way. In the coming days, the market will focus on minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, due to be released on Wednesday, which could provide support if they suggest the Fed will remain on its current course of aggressive monetary easing.

The Fed minutes released in January spooked markets a bit when they revealed that some Fed officials thought it would be appropriate to consider ending asset purchases later in 2013. US Treasury yields rose on that news, though market worries about a near-term end to quantitative easing have since faded. —Reuters

been using modern marketing tools alongside practical action plans and innovative methods to promote the brand in local and regional markets and

rate mission for 2013, “achieving system success”, as four years on from the global economic crisis, Al Mazaya Holding has come to demonstrate that this crisis

continue to follow bespoke marketing strategies, allowing the company access to the largest possible audience base.

Meanwhile Al Mazaya Holding Co. has announced the slogan of its new corpo-

instilled in the company insistence, strength and determination.

Al Mazaya says that it sought to move towards generating projects with a few risks during the past four years, by follow-

ing a new strategy based on the principle of protecting the ultimate beneficiary of the projects whether by lease or sale, drawing on in-depth research, and interviews with investors in various sectors such as retail, restaurants and cafes, health and educational. As a valuable result of the studies, interviews and research, this has and will continue to “achieve system success”. According to Malhas, the intensive studies carried out by the company during the past few years revealed a real need in the local market for new products that are not usually focused on during boom years, during which real estate companies sell land and property to achieve quick profits, without paying attention to the products that have quietly stimulated key demand in the local market at that moment.

Malhas concludes by saying that the management and staff of Al Mazaya feel proud and honored about this award victory, although not surprised because of the prudent strategic policy followed by the management of the company, which is based on fixed principles and is the foundation that enabled it to win the confidence of customers and investors inside and outside Kuwait.

US budget cut warnings may prove harsher than reality No progress yet on heading off $85bn cuts WASHINGTON: Get ready for two weeks of intensifying warnings about how crucial, popular government services are about to wither including many threats that could eventually come true.

President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans made no progress last week in heading off $85 billion in budget-wide cuts that automatically start taking effect March 1 Lacking a bipartisan deal to avoid them and hoping to heap blame and pressure on GOP lawmakers, the administration is offering vivid details about the cuts’ consequences: trimmed defense contracts, less secure US embassies, furloughed air traffic controllers.

Past administrations have seldom hesitated to spotlight how budget standoffs would wilt programs the public values. When a budget fight between President Bill Clinton and congressional Republicans led to two government shutdowns, in 1995 and 1996, some threats came true, like padlocked national parks.

Others did not.

Clinton warned that Medicare recipients might lose medical treatment, feeding programs for the low-income elderly could end and treatment at veterans hospitals could be curtailed. All continued, thanks to contractors working for IOUs, local governments and charities stepping in and the budget impasse ending before serious damage occurred.

This time, at stake is not a federal shutdown but a so-called sequester.

Between March 1 and Sept. 30 - the remainder of the government’s budget year - it would mean reductions of 13 percent for defense programs and 9 percent for other programs, according to the White House budget office.

The cuts, plus nearly $1 trillion more over the coming decade, were concocted two years ago.

Administration and congressional bargainers purposely made them so painful that everyone would be forced to reach a grand deficit-cutting compromise to avoid them.

Hasn’t happened.

A look at the sequester and the chilling impact the administration

says it would have, based on letters and testimony to Congress: A key reminder: Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ benefits, Medicaid and a host of other benefit programs are exempted. The cuts take effect over a seven-month period; they don’t all crash ashore on March 1.

And if a bipartisan deal to ease them is ever reached, lawmakers could restore some or all of the money retroactively. On the other

Health would lose $1.6 billion, trimming cancer research and drying up funds for hundreds of other research projects. Health departments would give 424,000 fewer tests for the AIDS virus. More than 373,000 people may not receive mental health services.

Food and agriculture: About 600,000 low-income pregnant women and new mothers would lose food aid and nutrition education. Meat inspectors could be fur-

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama waves as he leaves the White House in Washington. Obama and congressional Republicans made no progress last week in heading off $85 billion in budget-wide cuts that automatically start taking effect March 1. —AP hand: Left in effect, these cuts are real even though their program-byprogram impact is unclear. The law limits the administration’s flexibility to protect favored initiatives, but the White House has told agencies to avoid cuts presenting “risks to life, safety or health” and to minimize harm to crucial services.

Defense: Troops at war would be protected, but there’d be fewer Air Force flying hours, less training for some Army units and cuts in naval forces. A $3 billion cut in the military’s Tricare health care system could diminish elective care for military families and retirees. And, in a warning to the private defense industry, the Pentagon said it would be “restructuring contracts to reduce their scope and cost.”

Health: The National Institutes of

loughed up to 15 days, shutting meatpacking plants intermittently and costing up to $10 billion in production losses.

Homeland Security: Fewer border agents and facilities for detained illegal immigrants.

Reduced Coast Guard air and sea operations, furloughed Secret Service agents and weakened efforts against cyberthreats to computer networks. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund would lose more than $1 billion.

Education: Seventy thousand Head Start pupils would be removed from the pre-kindergarten program. Layoffs of 10,000 teachers and thousands of other staffers because of cuts in federal dollars that state and local governments

use for schools. Cuts for programs for disabled and other specialneeds students.

Transportation: Most of the Federal Aviation Administration’s 47,000 employees would face furloughs, including air traffic controllers, for an average of 11 days.

Environment: Diminished Environmental Protection Agency monitoring of oil spills, air pollution and hazardous waste. The colorcoded air quality forecasting system

Interior Department: Hours and service would be trimmed at all 398 national parks, and up to 128 wildlife refuges could be shuttered. Oil, gas and coal development on public lands and offshore waters would be diminished because the agency would be less able to issue permits, conduct environmental reviews and inspect facilities.

Labor: More than 3.8 million people jobless for six months or

House Speaker John Boehner speaks during an interview. —AP

that keeps schoolchildren and others inside on bad-air days would be curtailed or eliminated. New models of cars and trucks could take longer to reach consumers because the EPA couldn’t quickly validate that they meet emissions standards.

State Department: Slow security improvements at overseas facilities, cuts in economic aid in Afghanistan and malaria control in Africa. Internal Revenue Service: Furloughed workers would reduce the IRS’ ability to review returns, detect fraud and answer taxpayers’ questions. It offered no specifics.

FBI: Furloughs and a hiring freeze would have the equivalent impact of cutting 2,285 employees, including 775 agents. Every FBI employee would be furloughed 14 workdays.

longer could see their unemployment benefits reduced by as much as 9.4 percent. Thousands of veterans would lose job counseling.

Fewer Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors could mean 1,200 fewer visits to work sites. One million fewer people would get help finding or preparing for new jobs.

NASA: Nearly $900 million in cuts, including funds to help private companies build capsules to send astronauts to the International Space Station.

Housing: The Department of Housing and Urban Development said about 125,000 poor households could lose benefits from the agency’s Housing Choice Voucher program and risk becoming homeless. —AP

US alleges insider trading ahead of Heinz deal WASHINGTON: US federal regulators have alleged that a brokerage account in Switzerland was used for illegal insider trading ahead of the H J Heinz acquisition.

The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a court order Friday to freeze the account and prevent the assets from being moved. The account was used for trades placed Wednesday that netted $1.7 million after the deal was announced. The SEC says it doesn’t know the identity of the traders but said they “took risky bets” that Heinz’s stock price would increase. On Thursday, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and the Brazilian firm 3G announced they agreed to buy Heinz. Heinz’s stock rose nearly 20 percent after the announcement.

The SEC is alleging that the traders must have known in advance about the pending transaction based on inside information. The traders bought call options to make a huge profit of roughly 1,700 percent after the acquisition was announced.

Call options let investors place a bet on a stock without committing to buy the shares. Investors instead have the option to buy the shares later for a set price. The Swiss account hadn’t traded securities related to Heinz for nearly six months before purchasing the options, the SEC said in a complaint filed in federal court in New York. “Irregular and highly suspicious options trading immediately in front of a merger or acquisition

announcement is a serious red flag that traders may be improperly acting on confidential nonpublic information,” Daniel Hawke, an SEC official, said in a statement. Representatives for Berkshire Hathaway and the public relations agency representing 3G and Berkshire in the deal did not immediately return messages for comment. A spokesman for Heinz said the company hadn’t been contacted by the SEC and therefore did not have any comment.

The SEC’s complaint does not allege any wrongdoing by Heinz or the company’s new owners.

The account was held at a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs in Zurich. Tiffany Galvin, a spokeswoman at Goldman, said the company is “cooperating with the SEC’s investigation.”

Heinz has long been a subject of takeover speculation. 3G is best known for its acquisition of Burger King and its role in the deal that created Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s biggest beer maker. 3G is owned by Jorge Lemann, one of Brazil’s richest men. The acquisition is intended to help Heinz accelerate its expansion from a dominant American name into a presence on grocery shelves worldwide. In addition to ketchup, the Pittsburgh-based company also makes baked beans, pickles, vinegar, Classico pasta sauces and Ore-Ida potatoes, as well as a growing stable of sauces suited to regional tastes around the world. —AP

MOSCOW: Brokers working inside Russia’s Micex-RTS stock exchange in Moscow. The Moscow Exchange was set for a relatively disappointing flotation after Russia’s main trading platform was valued at $4.2 billion, well below its own valuation estimates. —AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

BUSINESS

Great offers throughout February Al Mulla, Behbehani Motor celebrate National and Liberation Days KUWAIT: By way of a special celebration of National and Liberation Days, Al Mulla and Behbehani Motor Company (MBMC), the official distributor for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles in Kuwait is offering a range of stunning offers across its entire model range, with super savings on Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands.

These fantastic offers, which are only available during the month of February, include the ultra-luxurious, rear-wheel drive Chrysler 300C, the flagship of the Chrysler brand at just KD 10,999 - incredible value for money compared to its European and Japanese competitors - when you take into account the Chrysler 300C’s luxurious standard specifications, then the added value makes it a natural choice.

Other similarly exciting offers are available on the highly adaptable and capacious 7-seat Dodge Durango SUV, the sporty Dodge Charger sedan and the retro-styled but thoroughly modern coupe, the Dodge Challenger.

All of these now can be yours from a starting price of only KD 7,999 for the 3.6-litre

Pentastar powered versions.

Likewise, the legendary, 100% authentic, 4wheel-drive Jeep(r) brand is also available with substantial savings. The ‘go anywhere, do anything’ Jeep(r) Wrangler with its 285hp 3.6-litre Pentastar, now starts at KD 8799, while the similarly powered Jeep Grand Cherokee, the most awarded SUV in automotive history, starts at just KD 10,999.

These extra special National and Liberation Day deals underline MBMC’s determination to deliver more automotive value money this month as Kuwait celebrates these momentous events.

“Nationalistic pride drives us to perform better and what better way to honour the National and Liberation Days than by offering our customers really special prices on Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models? We’ve devised these offers to very clearly underline the already impressive proposition our cars make to private buyers.”

“Our reputation for exceptionally high levels of specification, our commitment to the

highest build quality, consistently strong residual values and our determination to deliver exceptional customer service means we’re perfectly placed for a very strong performance in 2013.”

In-line with the central pillars of the company’s long-term objectives, which are built around total customer satisfaction, MBMC continues to work hard to instil the mindset that the customer is king to every single one of its employee, enabling it to deliver worldclass customer service excellence and add real value to customer relationships.

About Chrysler Group LLC: Chrysler Group LLC, formed in 2009 from a global strategic alliance with Fiat Group, produces Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep(r), Ram and Mopar(r) brand vehicles and products.

With the resources, technology and worldwide distribution network required to compete on a global scale, the alliance builds on Chrysler’s culture of innovation first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925 - and Fiat’s complementary technology -

from a company whose heritage dates back to 1899. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA, Chrysler Group’s product line-up features some of the world’s most recognisable vehicles, including the Chrysler 300, Jeep(r) Wrangler, Dodge Charger and

Ram trucks. Fiat will contribute world-class technology, platforms and powertrains for small- and medium-size cars, allowing Chrysler Group to offer an expanded product line up including environmentally friendly vehicles.

BlackBerry Z10 launch celebrated at exclusive VIP event in Kuwait

Geely (Al Shaya & Al Sagar), Honest Group join hands KUWAIT: Honest Group of Companies and Kuwait Automotive Imports Co WLL (Al Shaya & Al Sagar) recently entered into a promotional tie-up to mark the commencement of celebrations of Kuwait National Day, Liberation Day and Hala February. The new promotion will give to customers of Honest Center Supermarkets the chance to win a brand new Geely Emgrand EC8 luxury car.

Spearheaded by Navin Thakkar Managing Director of Honest Group, Salim Mulla - General Manager of Honest Group, Santan Dias - CEO of Medico Technology and Rexzcy Williams - Geely Brand Manager, Anish Joy - Fleet Sales Consultant, Ashraf Abu Obead - Asst. Manager Sales & Marketing and Zhana Yordanova - Asst Marketing Manager, the tie up has generated a lot of enthusiasm from customers of Honest Center. The supermarket business units are running a Hala Kuwait Festival where the main prize is an Emgrand EC8 2.4L car and also various other consolation prizes for its customers.

When asked what was in store for its customers, Salim Mulla had this to say, “This is just the beginning of the excitement, Honest Center Supermarkets are prepared to go the extra mile in providing benefits through best price practices and activities that involve their customers directly.”

Expansion plans notwithstanding, the group aims to take its business on bigger and better prospects by diversifying its core businesses. Honest Center Supermarket is about the people behind the scenes and its customers.

Rexzcy Williams, Brand Manager Geely thanked Honest Group of Companies management for their support and trust in KAICO products and especially the Geely range.

He added, “Geely cars are renowned for their up-to-date technology, great performance and superb quality and were developed in accordance with European standards”. EC8

is positioned as a “new competitive cross-class luxury car”, targeting at the intermediate and senior auto market which needs higher requirements for quality.

It has been manufactured according to the most stringent European standards and designed according to European regulations in terms of safety, environmental protection, quality and other standards. ● Length 4,905 mm, Width 1,830 mm, Height 1,495 mm, Wheelbase 2,805 mm ● Centralized control of multi-function steering wheel ● Cruise control system ● Full-range audio and video entertainment broadcast system ● GPS global satellite navigation system ● Bluetooth mobile communication system ● Intelligent lighting system ● Automatic zoned air conditioning ● Built-in power sunroof; sunshade ● Front and rear reversing sensors etc. ● EC8 has also adopted Mitsubishi’s 2.4L and 2.0L engine, and Mitsubishi 4AT transmission Geely Holding Group completed the full ownership of Volvo Car Corporation from Ford Motor Company in August 2010. Ford bought the Swedish Volvo car business in 1999. So Geely has adopted the Swedish as well as the US car technologies into its own cars. Geely Holding Group has also acquired DSI the second largest automatic transmission company in Australia.

The group has collaboration with Johnson Controls - US & Dayee - South Korea for spare parts. With six car assembly & powertrain manufacturing plants all over China, 900 dealers, 1000 service outlets and over 19,000 employees in China, the company is planning to sell about 2 million units by the year 2015, with a 5.8% market share in China.

KUWAIT: BlackBerry hosted an exclusive VIP event in Kuwait in celebration of the BlackBerry 10 platform and the recently launched BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. The new BlackBerry Z10 is the first smartphone based on the re-designed, re-engineered and re-invented BlackBerry 10 platform, giving customers a powerful and unique new mobile computing experience. The BlackBerry Z10 smartphone is the fastest and most advanced BlackBerry smartphone yet, and offers customers a smarter experience that continuously adapts to their needs. By exclusive invitation only, the VIP red carpet event took place on the 13th of February at the Sahara Kuwait Resort, celebrating an evening of lifestyle and technology excellence.

The event also showcased local Kuwaiti businesses and developers who have designed apps specifically for the BlackBerry 10 platform, including Kuwait News, Anghami, Apps2U, and Marina FM. Ahmad Olaywan, Country Director, Kuwait, BlackBerry, said: “We are excited to be introducing our customers in Kuwait to a new era of mobile computing. The BlackBerry Z10 smartphone delivers a powerful new platform for BlackBerry customers and we are excited to be bringing BlackBerry 10 to the people of Kuwait.”

“BlackBerry 10 is designed to learn and adapt to each user, thus making every BlackBerry 10 experience unique. Our customers in Kuwait appreciate the latest technology innovations and we are confident that the BlackBerry Z10 will keep them connected while on the move.”

“Kuwait News has become a very influential news service in the lives of Kuwaitis. As we have grown over the years, we understand the importance of being on the BlackBerry platform which is used by people all over the country. We are delighted to be launching an app for the revolutionary new BlackBerry Z10, which we believe will change the way readers can engage with us and share important news with their connections anytime, anywhere,î said Bashar Al-Sayegh, CEO

Kuwait News. Some key features customers will be able to experience on the new BlackBerry 10 platform include: ● Peek and Flow into the BlackBerry Hub — A new mobile computing paradigm where what matters to customers is only always one swipe away? Keyboard — Understands and adapts to customers, so they can type faster and more accurately ● BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) — Allows customers to share things with the people that matter to them in an instant ● BlackBerry Balance technology — Protects what is important to customers and the businesses they work for.

The BlackBerry Z10 is available in Kuwait through Viva, Wataniya, and Zain telecom along with retail partners.

Tunisia’s largest Sharia-compliant investment fund launched TUNIS: United Gulf Financial Services - North Africa has announced the launch of its ‘Themar Investment Fund’, the Islamic Sharia law compliant

fund. It has a capital of TND 50 million (approximately $32 million), to be financed by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private

KIPCO CEO-Banking and UGFS-NA Board Member Masaud Hayat (far left) and Vice Chairman & MD of TIB and Chairman of UGFS-NA, Mohamed Fekih (second from left) at the launch ceremony.

Sector and the Deposits and Securities Fund of Tunisia. UGFS - North Africa is an investment company based in Tunisia. It is a subsidiary of the Bahrain-based United Gulf Bank, a member of the KIPCO Group.

Themar is the largest Sharia-compliant Tunisian investment fund under the Tunisian Monetary Authority. The fund targets small and medium Tunisian institutions seeking financing in different business sectors that support the Tunisian economy. Priority is given to existing and restructured projects in urban areas.

The fund will provide financial resources to institutions with high growth potential, through enhancing their financial sustainability, as well as their human and operational resources.

Mr Mohamed Fekih, Chairman of UGFS North Africa, said: “Themar Investment Fund will contribute to boosting the Tunisian economy and diversifying it. It will also help create up to 1000 new job.

The success of the fund will serve to increase Foreign Direct Investment and further develop Islamic banking in the country.”

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

technology

Facebook gets unwelcome look at hackers’ dark side SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook is getting an unwelcome look at the shady side of the hacking culture that CEO Mark Zuckerberg celebrates.

Intruders recently infiltrated the systems running the world’s largest online social network but did not steal any sensitive information about Facebook’s more than 1 billion users, according to a blog posting Friday by the company’s security team. The unsettling revelation is the latest breach to expose the digital cracks in a society and an economy that is storing an ever-growing volume of personal and business data online.

The news didn’t seem to faze investors. Facebook Inc.’s stock dipped 10 cents to $28.22 in Friday’s extended trading. The main building at Facebook’s Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters lists its address as 1 Hacker Way. From there,

Facebook serves as the gatekeeper for billions of potentially embarrassing photos and messages that get posted each month.

This time, at least, that material didn’t get swept up in the digital break-in that Facebook said it discovered last month.

The company didn’t say why it waited until the afternoon before a holiday weekend to inform its users about the hack. It was a sophisticated attack that also hit other companies, according to Facebook, which didn’t identify the targets. “As part of our ongoing investigation, we are working continuously and closely with our own internal engineering teams, with security teams at other companies, and with law enforcement authorities to learn everything we can about the attack, and how to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Facebook

wrote on the blog. Online short-messaging service Twitter acknowledged being hacked earlier this month. In that security breakdown, Twitter warned that the attackers may have stolen user names, email addresses and encrypted passwords belonging to 250,000 of the more than 200 million accounts set up on its service. Late last month, both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal two of the three largest U.S. newspapers - said they were hit by China-based hackers believed to be interested in monitoring media coverage of topics that the Chinese government deemed important. Facebook didn’t identify a suspected origin of its hacking incident, but provided a few details about how it apparently happened.

The security lapse was traced to a handful of employees who visited a

mobile software developer’s website that had been compromised, which led to malware being installed on the workers’ laptops. The PCs were infected even though they were supposed to be protected by the latest anti-virus software and were equipped with other up-todate protection. Facebook linked part of the problem to a security hole in the Java software that triggered a safety alert from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last month. The government agency advised computer users to disable Java on their machines because of a weakness that could be exploited by hackers.

Oracle Corp., the owner of Java, has since issued a security patch that it says has fixed the problem. In its post, Facebook said it received the Java fix two weeks ago. Facebook never men-

tioned the word “hack” in describing the breach. That, no doubt, was by design because hacking is a good thing in Zuckerberg’s vernacular.

To most people, hacking conjures images of malevolent behavior by intruders listening to private voicemails and villains crippling websites or breaking into email accounts.

Zuckerberg provided his interpretation of the word in a manifesto titled “The Hacker Way” that he included in the documents that the company filed for its initial public offering of stock last year.

“The word ‘hacker’ has an unfairly negative connotation from being portrayed in the media as people who break into computers,” Zuckerberg wrote. “In reality, hacking just means building something quickly or testing the boundaries of what can be done.” — AP

New self-driving car system tested on British roads ‘No obvious legal barrier’

EL SOMBRERO: A man walks past a satellite dish station in El Sombrero, Venezuela.

The Venezuelan government said a satellite developed and launched in China for Venezuela will guarantee the South American country’s autonomy in telecommunications. Chinese money is breathing life into government infrastructure projects that otherwise might have died for lack of financing. — AP

Full speed ahead STANFORD: Leonard Susskind believes that scientists should spend as much time as possible explaining things.

You teach physics at Stanford University’s continuing studies programme. Who are the people that attend your classes?

They are in their 40s to 90s, and I mean that literally. There’s a lady in a wheelchair who was close to 95, and she was following the technical lectures. They are people who had other careers and I think are a little sorry that they never became physicists.

Are these the type of people you’ve written your new book for?- which is not really popular science nor a physics textbook?

Over the years, I began to understand that there were a lot of people out there reading physics in popular literature that they could not understand?- not because it was too advanced, but because it wasn’t advanced enough.

At the same time, they were not about to plough through a big fat textbook. I wanted to give them a book from which they could learn easily and efficiently. It’s not for complete beginners; it represents the bare minimum you need to know to honestly and truly learn the subject, and move on to the next step.

Hence the title The Theoretical Minimum?

Yes. The title goes back to Russian physicist Lev Landau, who did not suffer fools gladly. To him, the theoretical minimum was what a young physicist had to know to work with him, which was everything. That name stuck with me.

You are now in your 70s yourself. How did you get into physics as a young man?

I did not come from an academic background. My father was a smart man, but he had a 5th-grade education. He and all his friends were plumbers. They were all born around 1905, in great poverty in New York City, and had to go to work when they were 12 or 13 years old. But sitting around the kitchen in our house, they had all sorts of interesting conversations. There was a funny intellectuality to them.

I went to college because my father thought that I should learn engineering, because he wanted to go into the heating business with me. There I realised I wanted to be a physicist. I had to tell him, which was a somewhat traumatic experience.

What happened when you told your father?

For months I had been trying to figure out how to tell him. One day I drove over to his house. This is emblazoned in my memory: it was a terrible, terrible feeling.

He had a plumbing shop in the basement, and was there cutting pipe for the next day’s job. I went down and said, “I’m not going to be an engineer.” He got upset.

Though he almost never used bad language, he said, “What the fuck are you going to be?

A ballet dancer?”

I said, “No, I want to be a physicist.” He said, “No, you ain’t gonna work in no drugstore.” I said, “No, no, a physicist, not a pharmacist.” And then I can’t remember the exact conversation, but I do remember the magic word was “Einstein”. I said I wanted to do what Einstein did. That just shocked him.

Something snapped, and he decided right then and there that that is what I had to do.

That was the end of it. From then on, my father tried very hard to learn a little about physics.

Did the experience of watching your father learn physics lead you to teaching older people and to write The Theoretical Minimum?

That’s an interesting question. I have some sympathy for people like that. And there is some similarity between my father’s friends who would sit around the kitchen

table talking about everything and the people who come to my classes to learn physics.

So, maybe an unconscious influence.

Most people, if they struggle with physics in school, give up on it. That’s not true of literature?- people often come to enjoy reading later in life. Why is that?

The language of physics is mathematics, and it cannot be done honestly without mathematics. That makes it inaccessible. The language of literature is English or Chinese or whatever, and that makes it accessible.

And literature is about the human condition.

Physics is about the non-human condition.

It’s not a taste that all human beings have.

People are also social creatures, and literature fits in with that. Physics is perceived as a lonesome, nerdy kind of enterprise that has very little to do with human feelings and the things that excite people day-to-day about each other. Yet physicists in their own working environment are very social creatures.

How would you compare teaching physics with doing it?

I have a funny mental framework when I do physics. I create an imaginary audience in my head to explain things to?- it is part of the way I think. For me, teaching and explaining, even to my imaginary audience, is part of the process. I’m a great believer that scientists should spend as much time as possible explaining, and you do explain in the process of teaching.

As a founder of string theory, you have spent a lot of time explaining the idea of a multiverse. Critics argue that the idea cannot be falsified experimentally, and say you have abandoned the scientific method in your theorising. You cannot stop thinking about something because somebody has a philosophical prejudice about the way science should be done. What constitutes good science will ultimately be decided by the scientists doing the work, and not by philosophers or kibitzers?- which is Yiddish for people who stand around yakking when they don’t really have anything to say.

The multiverse idea could be falsified if someone came up with a solid mathematical argument for the value of dark energy that does not rely on the existence of a multiverse.

Given that we are grappling with far-out ideas like the multiverse, is doing physics different now than it was in the 60s and 70s?

I don’t think so. But it’s true that we have moved into a situation where much of the physics I and my friends do is so removed from observation that it’s a little scary. I don’t think this has to do with the quality of thought or the nature of the people who are doing it. It’s simply because, as you move forward, experiments get harder and harder.

But what do you do about it? Do you stop yourself from thinking about it?

No, you go ahead, assuming that at some point, observation will catch up. It was always that way for me. I’m doing physics because I’m curious about how it works?- full speed ahead, damn the torpedoes, don’t worry about whether somebody is going to be able to do an experiment next week, just figure it out.

Are you optimistic for the future of physics?

I believe you simply have to keep asking questions. If I have any worry or fear, it’s that the things we think about these days are so remote that experiments for some of them are simply unfeasible. You are not going to build an accelerator to probe string theory directly, or create a black hole in the lab. It’s conceivable that no matter how clever and creative the human mind is, we will come up against a blank wall because there are empirical things that we just can’t find out.

LONDON: Move over into the slow lane, Google.

Scientists at Oxford University have developed a self-driving car that can cope with snow, rain and other weather conditions not found in the search giant’s home in California. The system can be fitted to existing cars and could one day cost just £100. Developed by a team led by professor Paul Newman at Oxford University, the new system has been installed in a Nissan Leaf electric car and tested on private roads around the university, will halt for pedestrians, and could take over the tedious parts of driving such as negotiating traffic jams or regular commutes. The car alerts the driver when it is ready to take over - and by pressing a button on a screen, the driver can let the computer take the strain.

The search giant Google has been working on self-driving cars for years, and has now won approval for their use in the US states of Nevada and California. But so far it hasn’t shown them off in the UK. By contrast, the Oxford system has been demonstrated on public roads - and as long as there is a licenced driver in the driver’s seat, “there’s no obvious legal barrier to using it on roads now,” professor Newman told the Guardian.

“It’s essentially an advanced driver assistance system.”

Dr Martin Spring from Lancaster University, who co-authored a paper on the potential of driverless cars, said that in time they could radically transform how we think of road transport: “As with many technologies, the early implementation will try to mimic what has gone before. But once you shake off the constraint of it having to look like a car, you can envisage a very different vehicle: it could look like a small room where people do what they want while the car is moving.

And if you don’t need lights to navigate, you don’t need streetlights. Or headlights.”

Newman thinks that it could be only 15 years before self-driving systems become commonplace in cities as the price of installing the systems drops: “At present it costs about £5,000, but we’re working to reduce that to £100,” he said.

The car has been tested running at up to 40mph, said Newman.

Rather than using the GPS navigation system, which can be unreliable in cities where “urban canyons” caused by buildings block signals, and only accurate to a few metres, the British-developed system uses 3D laser scanning allied to computer storage to build up a map of its surroundings - which is accurate to a few centimetres. The auto-drive system works by recognising where it is, based on a laser scanner on the front

of the car, comparing its surroundings to its stored data. That’s different from Google’s system, which uses a combination of GPS, laser guidance from a roof-mounted laser - and mapping to determine its location and route.

The Oxford system, developed through funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, could be extended so that each car downloads data from passing cars, or over the internet via 3G and 4G connections to a central system. That would mean that the car wouldn’t have to store data for the entire country at any time: “You don’t go from London to Glasgow in a single hop. So as you’re driving along, the car could download the new maps from the internet for the journey ahead.”

Larry Page, Google’s chief executive, believes self-driving cars have enormous economic and health implications: they should cut the number of road deaths, either through drivers’ attention wandering, or through driving too close to other cars and being unable to react. Traffic would flow with fewer interruptions - people might even prefer to send their car to drive around for a while rather than trying to find a parking place.

The technology giant already uses a self-driving car to impress guests: last year when Martin Sorrell of WPP Group was visiting the company, he was picked up from his hotel and delivered to Google’s Mountain View headquarters 20 miles

away by one of the cars. “It was pretty incredible,” Sorrell told Fortune.

By contrast Newman’s team has only been working on the scheme for two years, and only received the Nissan Leaf car in September. Yet it has been able to connect the computer control systems to its steering wheel, brakes and other systems. “Cars these days are pretty much fly-bywire - the computer controls it all,” Newman said.

The computational power required to navigate is already cheaply available, as is the storage for the 3D maps that the car would use to figure out its location. “Our cities don’t change very much, so robotic vehicles will see familiar structures and say ‘I know this route - want me to drive?’”

But he emphasises that “it’s not total autonomy for the car. It knows when things are good, and when the risks are reasonable, and then it will offer to take over.” If the car can’t make a match, it won’t offer to drive - and the decision is always the driver’s, Newman emphasised.

“What I’m really proud of is that this is British technology and British intellectual property,” he said. “It shows what a British university group can do when we put our minds to it.”

Self-driving cars could save thousands of lives per year: in the UK, more than 2,000 people and in the US more than 30,000 people died in vehicle accidents last year. — MCT

The self-driving car halts for pedestrians and could take over tedious parts of driving.

PlayStation 4 joins shifting battle for games market NEW YORK: Sony set to launch next-generation console at a time when sales of boxed games are falling and smart phones and tablets offer cheap gaming to a new demographic of players.

On Feb 21 at the 2,800-seater Hammerstein venue in New York, Sony is expected to kickstart the next generation of video game consoles. The company has not officially confirmed anything, but pundits are certain this is where the world will get its first glimpse of the long-awaited PlayStation 4.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is working on the sequel to its Xbox 360 console, expected to be unveiled at this summer’s E3 exhibition in Los Angeles.

New games platforms are usually welcomed with excitement by tech fans, but this time things are a little different. Since PlayStation 2 dominated the world of gaming in

the early 2000s, the industry has been transformed by the arrival of smart phones and tablets.

These devices offer cheap, convenient gaming experiences to a new demographic of players who do not necessarily want to pay GBP60 a game and then sit in front of their TVs for hours playing it. “ Why would I want another noisy black box sitting under my TV when the phone or tablet I have can do almost everything such a console can?” says the games analyst Oscar Clark. “In a couple of years that console will be out of date compared with my other devices. At the same time, my relationship with my TV is changing. It is no longer the first screen, it’s just the shared screen where I consume content with the other members of my household. My primary screen is my tablet or mobile, so where does the console hardware fit?”

Retail sales of games are falling worldwide. In the US, according to the market analysts NPD Group, sales of physical games fell 22 per cent in 2012, to $13.26bn; in the UK the market was down 17 per cent to GBP1.59bn. Demand for hardware is also falling: console sales were down 37 per cent in 2012, NPD said, and newcomers such as Nintendo’s Wii U and the handheld PlayStation Vita have so far fared poorly.

Of course, decline is natural at the end of a console cycle, but this time the market lethargy could cost Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft dearly because there are new challengers on the horizon. The US games developer Valve plans to launch its own console, Steam Box, a cheap, tiny PC that plugs into the TV and offers hundreds of downloadable games. This year will also see the launch of at least two new sub-$100 consoles based on Google’s Android technology: Ouya and GameStick.

Hovering in the background are Apple and Google, both of which have online app stores and TV services. Apple is rumoured to be working on a new version of its Apple TV set-top box, or even a dedicated Apple television set, that will give access to thousands of cheap games via the App Store, without the need for a dedicated console.

But Sony and Microsoft may have a few new weapons to bring to the battle. Both are creating cross-platform ecosystems: PS4 is likely to integrate with Sony’s Xperia mobile phones and the Vita handheld console; the next Xbox will doubtless

be compatible with Windows 8 PCs and Windows mobiles.

Last year Sony spent $380m on the California-based company Gaikai, which has developed a cloud-based technology that lets users play as games are streamed over the internet. Microsoft has hinted that the new Xbox will support cloud-based gaming.

It is likely, then, that both nextgen consoles will offer something akin to Spotify for games, allowing players to stream or download new titles in exchange for a monthly subscription. In the US, Microsoft has toyed with a smartphone-style subsidised price model where buyers get the Xbox 360 for a lower price if they sign up for a two-year online gaming subscription. This could well be used to keep the cost of the next-gen machines down.

All this is not great news for retailers who depend on selling boxed games, but it fits in with new consumer purchasing habits. “I am convinced that smart, scalable cloud technology is going to be critically important,” says Clark. “But we mustn’t forget that it depends on the reliability of the connection, bandwidth and latency. The challenge [is] how much to rely on the device and how much on the server.” It is possible that a new device will come in to disrupt the marketand that few will see it coming.

Games were an afterthought on the iPhone and Facebook, but these platforms spawned huge new markets. This could also be the point at which the industry breaks away from its reliance on genres such as sports sims and military shooters.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Islands want UN to see climate as security threat UNITED NATIONS: The Marshall Islands and other low-lying island nations appealed to the UN Security Council to recognize climate change as an international security threat that jeopardizes their very survival.

Tony deBrum, a minister and assistant to the Marshall Islands president, said Friday the island nations are facing opposition from Security Council permanent members Russia and China and a group of more than 130 mainly developing nations, which argue that the UN’s most powerful body is the wrong place to address climate change.

DeBrum told reporters after a closed Security Council meeting on the “Security Dimensions of Climate Change,” organized by Britain and Pakistan, that he hopes more council members will be convinced that “this is a security issue and not just an economic-political-social issue.”

The low-lying islands, which are

already being inundated with sea water, want the council to bring its “political weight” to the issue and help their countries survive, for example, by harnessing new technologies and ensuring alternative energy supplies, he said.

DeBrum said it was “ironic, bizarre perhaps” that 35 years after he went before the Security Council to seek the independence of the Marshall Islands he was back again “to appeal for the survival of my country.”

He said climate change has already taken a toll on the Marshall Islands. Wells have filled with salt water, making drinking water scarce and in turn affecting food production. One small island in a lagoon is now under water, and coastlines are being eroded.

The impact of climate change is also causing migration to other islands, as well as to Australia and the United States, he said.

In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Rachel Kyte, the World Bank’s vice-president for sustainable development, said that since the council’s last discussion of climate change “the sense of immediacy and urgency has increased.”

“The question is: Do you want to keep on cataloguing all of the terrible things that are going to happen if we continue on a business as usual track, or are we actually going to start doing anything about it?” she said.

Kyte said she explained to the council on Friday that “it is possible to stop the worst from happening but it will require real, concerted policy action globally at every country level.”

“Economically we know what to do, but politically it’s going to take leadership,” she said.

“And every day we don’t act we make the job more difficult for ourselves.”

“What the Security Council has to do is understand that everything has to be seen through this lens. Climate change is changing the future scenarios for every country,” Kyte said. “It’s framing decisions on security, economic security, food security.”

Germany’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Miguel Berger recalled that in July 2011, at his country’s initiative, the Security Council discussed the security implications of climate change at a formal meeting and adopted a presidential statement expressing the council’s concern about the possible adverse effects of climate change on international peace and security.

Berger told the council that Germany was happy to see the council taking up the issue again and stressed that all U.N. entities, including the Security Council, need to intensify their efforts to combat climate change and its security implica-

Divers scour Russian lake after meteor strike injures 1,200 Thousands of homes damaged MOSCOW: Divers scoured the bottom of a Russian lake yesterday for fragments of a meteorite that plunged to Earth in a blinding fireball whose shockwave injured 1,200 people and damaged thousands of homes.

The 10-tonnes meteor streaked across the Urals region on Friday just as the world braced for a close

tained more serious wounds from doors that were blasted off hinges and ceiling collapses. About 50 people were recovering in hospitals early Saturday.

Officials counted 2,962 buildings ranging from hospitals and schools to regular households suffering from shattered glass and cracked walls.

frozen Lake Chebarkul.

But the six divers who searched its waters for three hours yesterday were able to finding nothing but mud and silt.

“They immediately discovered that the water’s visibility was zero and that the bottom was covered with 1.5 metres (five feet) of sticky mud,” a recovery team member told

CHELYABINSK: Accompanied by officials and journalists Russia’s Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov visits a local sport centre in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk yesterday as he inspected the damage caused by a shockwave from a meteor. The unpredicted meteor strike in central Russia that left hundreds of people injured, left some Russian officials calling for the creation of a global system of space object defence. —AFP encounter with a large asteroid that left some Russian officials calling for the creation of a global system of space object defence.

The unpredicted meteor strike ground traffic to a halt in the industrial city of Chelyabinsk as residents poured out on the streets to watch the light show before hovering for safety when a sonic boom rang out directly overhead.

Shattered glass caused most of the injuries. Doctors said some sus-

“We have a special team working... that is now assessing the seismic stability of buildings,” Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov told residents as he inspected the damage in the central Russian city.

“We will be especially careful about switching the gas back on,” he said in televised remarks.

A piece of the meteor-called a meteorite once it hits the groundwas believed to have plunged into the Chelyabinsk region’s

Russian media.

The emergencies minister stressed that no meteorite fragments had been discovered anywhere in the region so far despite some 20,000 rescuers and recovery workers being dispatched to the region on Friday.

The meteor explosion appears to be one of the most stunning cosmic events above Russia since the 1908 Tunguska Event in which a massive blast most scientists blame on an

New York wraps up five years of handing out free condoms NEW YORK: New York City this week marked the fifth anniversary of a groundbreaking free condom program that has distributed tens of millions free rubbers, under the racy slogan “NYC Condoms-Get Some!”

NYC brand Condoms, launched on Valentine’s Day 2007 by the city’s health department, were the first to be produced by a municipality.

The program started out by handing out condoms throughout the city’s subway, in what was hailed as a bold initiative to try to conquer sexually-transmitted illnesses.

Officials say the widely-imitated program has been a great success at helping reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted disease and AIDS and HIV. “Since 2007 launch, the NYC Condom has helped pave the way for other cities to brand their own condoms, cities like Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Vancouver to name just a few,” said Monica Sweeney, Assistant Commissioner of the New York City Health Department.

Sweeney said that while NYC brand condoms have only been in existence a halfdecade, the city has been giving out the

prophylactics for much longer.

“I’m very proud to say that the Health Department has been distributing free male condoms since 1971,” she said.

For half a decade, New York has doled out packages of premium, lubricated latex condoms at some 3,500 distribution points, from hospitals to bars, designated stores, businesses, community organizations bars, night clubs and health clinics.

The eye-catching design on each condom package riffs on the city’s iconic subway system, using an instantly-recognizable design borrowed from the city’s iconic subway map.

And the free rubbers program has continued to break ground, with a smartphone app that helps New Yorkers determine the closest place to get theirs.

The anniversary of the program fell this week on February 14, Valentine’s Day, a holiday which has been re-purposed by some Americans as “National Condom Day.” The initiative distributes not only conventional rubbers, but female condoms, as well as water-based personal lubricants. —AFP

Synthetic marijuana linked to kidney damage NEW YORK: Health officials say synthetic marijuana has been linked to kidney damage in some teens and young adults. Sixteen people who smoked synthetic marijuana were hospitalized with kidney problems last year in six states.

All recovered but five of them needed dialysis.

Synthetic marijuana is plant material sprayed with chemicals that can mimic the high from marijuana. It’s been tied to such health problems

as a rapid heartbeat and seizures. This is the first report of kidney problems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it’s not known exactly what caused the kidney damage.

Federal and state laws ban some of the chemicals used for synthetic marijuana. A CDC report Thursday details the 16 cases in Oregon, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, New York and Rhode Island. —AP

asteroid or a comet ripped through Siberia.

Scientists at the US space agency NASA estimated that the amount of energy released in the atmosphere was about 30 times greater than the force of the nuclear bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War II. “We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years on average,” said Paul Chodas of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office.

“When you have a fireball of this size we would expect a large number of meteorites to reach the surface and in this case there were probably some large ones,” he said in a statement published on the NASA website.

The drama in Russia developed just hours before an asteroid-a space object similar to a tiny planet orbiting the sun-whizzed safely past Earth at the unprecedented distance of 17,200 miles (27,000 kilometers).

That put it closer to the ground then some distant satellites and sent off alarm bells ringing in some Russian circles about this being the time for joint global action on the space safety front.

“Instead of fighting on Earth, people should be creating a joint system of asteroid defence,” the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee chief Alexei Pushkov wrote on his Twitter account late Friday.

“Instead of creating a (military) European space defence system, the United States should join us and China in creating the AADS-the Anti-Asteroid Defence System,” the close ally of President Vladimir Putin wrote.

The US space agency said the 2012 DA 14 asteroid’s passing was “the closest-ever predicted approach to Earth for an object this large.”

NASA estimates that a smallish asteroid such as the 2012 DA 14 flies close to Earth every 40 years on average while only hitting the planet once every 1,200 years. —AFP

Is hormone therapy safe again?

NEW YORK: Several authoritative organizations have issued new guidelines about hormone therapy (HT)-an area that has led to confusion and conflicting guidelines for the past decade.

From around 1960 until 2002, doctors often prescribed HT both to treat symptoms of menopause and to protect women from the condition that kills more women than any other: heart disease. Beginning in 2002, reports from a large, well-designed study called the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) suggested that HT increased the risks of heart attack, stroke, dementia, breast cancer, and blood clots in the lungs and legs.

These results understandably led many doctors to discourage HT. “Nobody expected the results of the WHI, and in some ways we overreacted,” says Dr. Mar tha Richardson, assistant clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School. However, new evidence has emerged in the past decade that is leading to a more nuanced view.

There is no doubt that HT helps women deal with the unpleasant symptoms of menopause. But does it protect against heart disease, as doctors believed before 2002, or increase the risk of heart disease, as the WHI found?

The women who participated in the WHI had an average age of 63. For women that age, the risks of heart attack and stroke from HT are real. However, recent studies indicate that HT is protective in women under age 60.

For example, a Danish study published in October 2012 in the journal BMJ concluded that women who take HT for 10 years following menopause have a significantly reduced risk of death, heart failure, and heart attack without any increased risk of cancer, blood clots, or stroke. * Usually involves a combination of estrogen and progesterone (or a synthetic version called progestin). If you’ve had a hysterectomy, you won’t need progesterone, which helps prevent abnormal buildup of the uterine lining, which can lead to cancer. * Can help relieve many menopausal symptoms, especially hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal irritation, dry skin, and possibly fuzzy thinking, low libido, and mood swings. * Is available in pills, skin patches, creams, gels, vaginal rings, and intrauterine devices. —MCT

tions. He called for these implications to be included in Secretary-General Ban Kimoon’s reports to the council on climate change.

“Let us not forget: Climate change and its security implications will shape tomorrow’s world in a way that is almost impossible to overestimate,” Wittig said. “We should also consider whether a U.N. special envoy on climate and security could help us to tackle the foreign and security policy implications of climate change.”

Pakistan’s U.N. Ambassador Masood Khan said the meeting would galvanize actions in all U.N. forums to combat climate change.

“Our response should not be anchored only in politics; it should also be guided by science and technology,” Khan said.

“Our response should not just counter immediate threats; it should forewarn and prepare us for the impending threats that impinge on our security.” —AP

What’s on your plate?

LONDON: Eaten many burgers lately?

Horsemeat has been masquerading as beef for at least a few months— probably longer— in the UK, and the scandal is spreading, as European governments point the finger at each other.

These problems are not new— food fraud is rife in the fishing industry, and rice, olive oil and other products have been plagued by substitution issues. Yet there are easy solutions. DNA databases and the falling cost of sequencing can close the holes in our food chain. And this may be a prime time to reconsider our prejudices about what is palatable and what’s not.

After tests in Ireland found horsemeat in “beef” burgers sold in several supermarket chains, the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) last week demanded that all food businesses test their beef products by 15 February, to give an idea of how widespread the problem is. “I highly suspect there will be more horsemeat discovered,” says Liz Moran, president of the Association of Public Analysts, whose scientists will be doing much of the analysis.

For now, the FSA is only looking for horsemeat, but other animals may be out there, says Moran. Donkeys and rabbits are more likely than rodents and pets, she says. “Many local authorities don’t do meat testing from year to year. By law, companies have an obligation of due diligence that their food is what they say it is, but some companies will do as little as they can get away with.”

It is not yet clear where the horsemeat came from or why Ireland’s Food Safety Authority decided to test for horsemeat since this is not routine. “It may have been a tip-off,” says Moran.

Tests do take place in the UK, but only when local authorities ask, or companies undertake the process themselves. Such tests look for proteins specific to beef, pork, poultry and lamb. They are relatively cheap, at about £50 per sample, but do not identify other animal sources. That is done by DNA analysis, which costs between £200 and £500 per sample. “The vast majority of companies will rely on their suppliers’ paperwork and their suppliers will rely on their suppliers’ paperwork,” says Moran. “This can pass through eight or nine organisations. Anyone can produce good paperwork but unless you test every batch, slip-ups happen.”

Retired racehorses Difficulties in pinning down the exact source of the horsemeat make it difficult to say how safe it is to eat. The FSA says there are no known safety issues at present, but have ordered tests for the antiinflammatory drug phenylbutazone, or “bute”. “We consume foods with low levels of drug residues all the time,” says Christopher Elliott, director of the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Bute is an exception. It is banned in food for human consumption in Europe and the US because of a rare but nasty side effect that can cause a bone marrow disorder called aplastic anaemia. “This drug cannot be used in food-producing animals as there is a risk, albeit very small, of severe adverse reactions,” says Elliot.

As New Scientist went to press, the FSA had not ordered tests for any other drug. But with allegations flying around that meat may have come from retired

racehorses, tests for drugs like steroids— used illegally to boost growth— could be around the corner.

Still, Moran thinks the health risks associated with this are likely to be low. “If drugs such as steroids were present in a high level in a wide range of products that people had been feeding to their kids for 10 years, then I would be concerned,” she says. “But that’s fairly unlikely.”

Other industries may offer solutions for the meat sector. “Food substitution is rife in the fish industry,” says Paul Bentzen at Dalhousie University, in Nova Scotia, Canada. Once fish is filleted and skinned, species can be difficult to distinguish. Last December, Oceana, a conservation organisation based in Washington DC, published a report detailing seafood substitution in New York City. Of 142 samples from 81 retail outlets, it found 39 per cent were not what they claimed to be. Similar results came from Boston, Los Angeles and Miami.

The US Food and Drug Administration is taking action. It has published a DNA database for about 250 commonly eaten species of fish, which can be used to authenticate a sample at any point in the food chain. Other projects are in the pipeline. The “barcode of life” being developed at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, for example, has collected sequences for over 8000 fish species.

While fish substitution may not evoke as much of the “yuck” factor as horsemeat of dubious origin, it can have serious consequences. Efforts to conserve fish stocks rely on a fully traceable food chain. And Oceana’s study revealed that 94 per cent of “white tuna” was not tuna at all, but escolar (Lepidocybium flavobrunneum).

Consumption of more than 100 grams or so of this species causes severe diarrhoea.

DNA databases could be developed for meat too, says Bentzen. He says it costs just a few dollars to sequence a fish sample’s “genomic barcode” to identify its species. “I can’t see any excuse,” he says.

“For a widely distributed product there should be enough routine sampling that this flagrant and widespread substitution should simply not occur.”

Genetic testing can even make it possible to trace not only the country and farm a piece of beef comes from, but the individual animal. Given samples from every animal in a herd, Israeli company Autentica can create genetic barcodes for each one using a relatively cheap analysis of 25 single nucleotide polymorphisms?small variations in the genome sequence that are unique to each animal. The barcodes can then be used to track animals through the food chain.

While the FSA made a commitment this week to work with the food industry to identify the best points in the supply chain to test authenticity of meat products, it remains to be seen whether companies will be willing to accept new regulation. “In the short term, the FSA is likely to demand that meat suppliers do more DNA testing, but companies will be against that in the long term because it will push up the price of their product,” says Moran. “For low-grade foods, this just won’t happen.”

The technology to help solve the problem is available and getting cheaper.

Whether it is used is in the hands of industry and consumers. —- MCT

Bisphenol A may not be negatively affecting humans BOSTON: A total of 150 scientific studies have shown that bisphenol A (BPA), a controversial component of plastic bottles and canned food linings, may be used in quantities too small to negatively affect human health.

The analysis, presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting here by toxicologist Justin Teeguarden of the Department of Energy, shows that BPA in the blood of the general population is many times lower than blood levels that consistently cause toxicity in animals.

The result suggests that animal studies might not reflect the human BPA experience appropriately, the study said.

“Looking at all the studies together reveals a remarkably consistent picture of

human exposure to BPA with implications for how the risk of human exposure is interpreted,” said Teeguarden. “At these exposure levels, exposure to BPA can’t be compared to giving a baby the massive dose of estrogens found in a birth control pill, a comparison made by others.”

Teeguarden also analyzed another set of BPA studies that looked at the chemical’s toxicity in animals and cells in the lab.

According to his analysis, the “low doses” actually span an immense range of concentrations, a billion-fold.

“The term low-dose cannot be understood to mean either relevant to human exposures or in the range of human exposures,” said Teeguarden. “However, this is in fact what it has come to mean to the public, as well as many in the media.” —AFP

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Can we detect cancer earlier?

HARVARD: A fundamental strategy in the war against cancer is to catch it early-before it has spread, when it’s easiest to remove.

Unfortunately, some cancers, such as brain cancer and ovarian cancer, remain difficult to detect until the end stages. But that’s changing. A Harvard team has discovered a simple, noninvasive way of catching cancer early-by looking at a blood component that’s been ignored by the medical community for decades.

Traditionally, doctors have tried to detect cancer early with high-tech imaging, tissue samples, and surgical exploration.

Unfortunately, these techniques often catch cancer too late to achieve a cure, and they can be invasive.

A less invasive approach is to look for signs of cancer in the blood. For example, tumors shed cancerous cells into the blood, but in such small numbers that finding them “becomes a needle-in-a-haystack problem,” says Dr. Ralph Weissleder, director of the Center for Systems Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

Very early tumors also shed proteins, like prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which can be detected in blood to catch the tumor early.

But finding tumor proteins in the blood has not, so far, provided major advances in catching cancer early.

The new approach to early diagnosis involves something else in the blood: tiny particles or microvesicles. Many kinds of cells

shed microvesicles, but the amount shed by tumors is quite substantial. “So you would easily find a million to several billion tumor microvesicles per milliliter of blood,” says Dr. Weissleder. Why haven’t scientists looked at these before? The microvesicles are larger than proteins but smaller than circulating cancer cells, and because they fall in between the two, they’ve been discarded as debris for decades, says Dr. Weissleder. “It wasn’t until the last few years that people have paid more attention to them and discovered they contain not only imprints of originating cells, but also DNA from tumors and other molecules,” he explains. Finding particles that tiny would require a powerful device able to sift needles in any haystack.

The usual way to find cancer-related microvesicles requires a complicated lab process that can take days. But at MGH’s Center for Systems Biology, which Dr. Weissleder directs, he and his team developed a hand-held device that uses a nanotechnology sensor to detect the tumor microvesicles in a drop of blood in about two hours.

In a recent study in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers were able to detect these microvesicles reliably in blood samples from both mice and from people with the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma.

The technology has the potential to diagnose cancer early, which Dr. Weissleder says is groundbreaking. “It’s opening new fron-

tiers in diagnostics that can save lives. We’re trying to figure out how useful it is for other cancers and diseases.”

The technology also has the ability to measure how effective a person’s cancer treatments are before the results can be seen with imaging. This is because the device measures not only the number but also the composition of microvesicles, which changes with cancer treatment. “Within a few hours or days of treatment, you sample the blood and measure how the microvesicle numbers and composition have changed, which indicates treatment response. In the study for brain cancer, the microvesicles went down within 24 hours of treatment,” says Dr. Weissleder. —MCT

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

W

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

More than just a weekend at Al Manshar Rotana

A

l Manshar Rotana is delighted to provide you with the best package to unwind and enjoy a five-star relaxing weekend after a week of busy work schedule, featuring everything you need for a memorable break at great rates including the below: From every Thursday to Saturday, treat yourself to the true meaning of luxury as you check into Al Manshar Rotana Hotel.

Book your weekend nights in rooms furnished with only the best, to make sure you get that good night’s sleep and benefit from the below: ● A stay in one of our luxurious rooms ● Friday brunch buffet at Failaka Restaurant ● Mini Bar ● Late check-out till 4 pm ● Kids Corner ● 25% discount on Food and Beverage ● 25% discount on all massage treatments at Bodylines ● 50% discount on laundry services ● Complimentary Internet Access Have the option to dine at any of our several outlets for a hearty and fulfilling meal starting from Failaka Restaurant, our all-day-dining restaurant, located on the first floor, offering extensive breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets in a pleasant atmosphere in addition to three theme nights throughout the week And for a get together afternoon coffee, you can visit The Library Lounge, our lobby café, offering light snacks and desserts, and variety of selected fine tea from around the world.

If relaxation is your thing, then book into the Bodylines Health and Leisure Club for a journey of fitness and tranquility, or just take it easy and relax by our rooftop pool with a breathtaking view.

What more could you really ask for in a weekend!

Al Manshar Rotana, Kuwait is part of Al Manshar shopping and entertainment complex. The 5 Star Fahaheel Hotel offers 200 luxurious rooms and suites, a variety of Food and Beverage outlets, Sports and Health Facilities in addition to extensive and flexible meeting rooms.

Coaches from Glasgow Celtic F.C. are visiting the Premier Goal Academy this week to deliver coaching sessions and coach education programmes here in Kuwait. The visit is under the patronage of the Minister of Education, Dr. Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf and H. E. the British Ambassador Mr. Frank Baker and is sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Go Sport, Wrigleys Extra and Aquafina.

Pictured are players from the P.G.A. participating in the weekend coaching sessions.

GUST Media Club host Marina FM ‘Dewaniya’

T

he Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) associated with the Media Club was proud to host a visit from the radio announcers that broadcast the popular radio show “Al-Dewaniya” on Marina FM. The visit was sponsored by Mama Noga.

The guests of the event were: Khaled Al-Ansari, Hussain Al-Shaya, Hunood Adel and Eftikar and was introduced by the Media Club President Fatma AlQanai. The event started with a series of questions from Khaled Al-Ansari regarding the latest trends among the average university student today. The answers differed from the types of clothes, sports and the up-to-date social media available to the public. For example, one of the announcers mentioned the new trend of the phone application known as KeeK, which rose to popularity among Kuwaitis.

During the seminar, Al-Ansari allowed the audience to ask their own questions. One of the audience members asked him about the most emotional call he

faced during his working years, and the funniest. AlAnsari’s stories touched the audience’s hearts and made them laugh.

Another student asked him about what the role of director entails in a radio show. Al-Ansari illustrated that the role of the director changed over the years to be producer and a part of the team instead of being a

“one man show.” The show hosts then asked the audience for the strengths and weaknesses of their show “Al-Dewaniya” and took their suggestions for improving the show.

Following the Q&A, the crew members talked aboutthe new methodsused to organize and broadcast songs during the day where the audience votes on the top 5 songs they want to hear on the show.

Another question was about their biggest competition in the market,”Al-Gaaylaa Show” by Talal Al-Yaqoot. AlAnsari emphasized that the competition in the market gives the audience a variety of choices, and it will ensure that the audience will get the best quality.

All in all, the visit was successful and both of the crew of “Al-Dewaniya” and the students enjoyed it.

The hosts exchanged feedback and opinions from the audience while the audience learned about what goes on behind the scenes of radio broadcasting. It was truly a valuable and educational experience for both parties.

AUK Campus Services Receives Award on Energy Conservation

F

or the 5th consecutive year, the American University of Kuwait (AUK) receives the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) Award for Energy Conservation. AUK has been receiving MEW awards since 2008 on their collaborative efforts with the ministry on energy conservation.

Abolghasem Alavinejad, Director of Campus Services at AUK, commented on this achievement saying “It is a great professional pleasure to be in line with MEW guidelines of energy conservation”.

The MEW relationship with AUK started when a team of ministry representatives visited the AUK campus in 2007 to inspect and provide advice on their energy conservation campaign. The visitors were impressed by how the Campus Services Department at AUK had already been applying energy conservation practices including, using light-emitting diodes, controlling the usage, and preventing energy loss.

In continuation of its energy conservation efforts, the campus services Department at AUK maintains collaboration with MEW by sharing experience, data, and information on energy conservation methods.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

BSK students experience life as ‘Aggies’ at the Texas A&M University, Qatar

K

UWAIT: The choice of university is a very complex decision depending upon factors such as predicted grades in the Sixth Form, chosen degree course, university facilities and extra-curricular activities offered; preferred country for study and financial status, to mention but a few. Pouring over university prospectuses or websites, the advice from teachers, conversation with family members and friends are the best starting points.

However, there is no substitute once you have narrowed your choices down for actually visiting the universities in question.

Students in Year 11 at The British School of Kuwait had just such an opportunity when they were invited by the Student Engineers’ Council of the

Texas A&M University, Education City, Doha, Qatar (TAMUQ) to attend the Future A&M Engineers (FAME ‘13) conference recently. Graduate students from TAMUQ are affectionately known as “Aggies” which dates back to the agricultural origins of the founding university in 1876 in the Lone Star State of Texas, USA. Students from Kuwait, Dubai, Jordan and Qatar spent an action-packed weekend getting a feel for life at one of the region’s top universities. With the welcoming greeting of “howdy” from the organising committee the two days’ events were underway, carefully planned to encourage team building, cooperation and problem solving.Highlights included a team treasure hunt that involved solving

clues related to landmarks around the campus and a quiz, Jeopardy,with questions on engineering, the liberal arts and sport. I think for all students though the best was saved for the last day; how do you design an apparatus from paper, parcel tape and pencils that will catch and egg dropped from ten feet without it breaking? The solutions were as varied as the teams themselves; however the most successful mimicked that of the resting place most eggs initially find themselves in....a nest. A cone shaped device lined with shredded paper and supported by a pencil framework proved perfect. We were told by current students at the university that in its optimal form such a device can safely catch an egg dropped from 25 feet.

As the conference drew to a close students had the opportunity to question university alumni and current students on life at TAMUQ. It is without doubt that this weekend will have helped inform decisions and for some, decide upon starting their higher education in Doha as an Aggie. Students from BSK returned to Kuwait with a different perspective of what it might be like to study abroad and for that opportunity extend their sincere thanks to the organising FAME’13 Committee, the Dean,Dr. Mark H. Weicholdand Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, Dr Todd Kent.Once an Aggie, always an Aggie and for participating students from BSK they understand why graduates of Texas A&M are so loyal. Howdy!

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department.

All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

■■■■■■■

President of Kuwait Asian Journalists Association Javaid Ahmad presents a memento to outgoing colleague and News Editor of Arab Times Yawar Maqsood at a farewell. (L-R) NS Das, Jinse Jose, Reaven D’Souza, Yawar Maqsood, Javaid Ahmad and Tony Coelho.

Magical Potpourri at Loa

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of 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, UAE Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-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.

■■■■■■■

“T

ell me I will forget; show me I may remember; involve me I will understand.”

The famous Chinese proverb was depicted elegantly, beautifully and indescribably on the stage while the tiny tots of Indian Learners Own Academy celebrated their highly anticipated open day in two lovely segments on 30th and 31st of January 2013.

Children see magic because they look for it. The purest and the most thoughtful minds are those who possess a love for colours. It was a magical potpourri of talents displayed in a way that the whole show took the audience to a fanciful world of fantasia and rhythmic gyration.

The whole show was a commemoration to Friedrich Froebel, the great German educator who started the first kindergarten in the history of education.

The function took off to a flying start

with the verses from the Holy Quran and the national anthems of both the homeland and the home away from home. The occasion was graced by the benign presence of the chief guest, Mr. Abdul Jabbar Ghanjr, the principal of Al Fazzar School.

He drew no boundary while appreciating the entire team of LOA that renders a quality education which helps in the holistic development of a child. He wished all the best to the school which is always in the forefront to venture into new frontiers enabling the students to prepare for a bright tomorrow.

The school principal Mrs. Asha Sharma through the annual report paid a glance to the significant school events dotting the 2012 calendar. Learning how to learn is the trump card for a successful student of 21st century. Mrs. Sharma emphasized the inevitability of change, the need to provide apt avenues to develop the latent

skills of the students and the importance of the emotional engagement in the deeds and the tasks undertaken. The junior KG children have already learnt to express themselves freely and confidently under the proper guidance of their dedicated and industrious teachers. She added that the credit goes to the all time supportive management, parent community and the hardworking teachers; a team that works.

The resonant regards for the institution pulsated in the parent community as the principal expressed her thoughts.

The audience, the highly spirited parents relished a pageantry of exceptional talents displayed by their loved ones. The children charmed the audience with an array of music and dance filled with action, poise, grace and beauty. The mÈlange of dishes like “chocolate song”, “monkey dance”, “butterfly song”, “sailor

Announcements

Celebrate ‘Hala February’ at Marina Hotel

M

arina Hotel Kuwait invites guests to take advantage of a host of special promotion coinciding with Kuwait commemorating the National Day and Liberation Day. With the onset of the festivities, the hotel invites you to celebrate “Hala February” and is ready with its best offer and guarantees that all guests have an enjoyable time with their friends and family.

Guests can avail of an exclusive package starting from KD 77 for a minimum of three nights for two persons that include a delicious breakfast buffet. The special offers commence from 21st February 2013 right up to 2nd March 2013.

Marina Hotel’s stunning coastal setting provides a broad range of leisure options with free access to the hotel’s various facilities, gym, private beach and three swimming pools. The hotel’s robust Wi-Fi connection ensures that guest’s communication needs are duly met during their stay throughout the fes-

tive period.

Overlooking the azure waters of the Arabian Gulf, Marina Hotel features an excellent choice of dining options. Unwind in the finest ambiance at the hotel and enjoy with your family and friends a delightful dining experience. Start your morning with steaming coffee and a delicious breakfast buffet at Six Palms restaurant followed by a delectable lunch and dinner buffet at the Atlantis Restaurant with a magnificent sea view.

These exclusive offers combined with the hotel’s attractive features provide an exciting getaway. The hotel is located near the shopping areas, where “Hala February” promotions and entertainment is at a high point.

“Hala February” is the prime time to experience true Arabian hospitality, Marina Hotel’s facilities, friendly staff and family touch create the perfect holiday atmosphere.

song”, “fruit song”, “ body song”, “touch the star action song”, “gummy bear song”, “colors colors”, “sing the bobbin up” and “if you are happy” portrayed disparate areas of knowledge and communication rating creativity, composure and rendition. Each team outshone the other when they breathed life into the characters. In resplendent costumes they came clad uniquely as fairies, fruits and flowers.

Oblivious to the concept of winning or losing these innocent minds did their best and serve a sumptuous feast to their loving parents and teachers. It was endearing to watch them presenting themselves confidently on the stage.

The unparalleled support from the teachers and parents has undoubtedly buoyed the resilient spirit of the budding artists. The elated parents left with contentment when the panoramic presentation came to an end.

ECC organizes Omra trip for Egyptians 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.

S

EMBASSY OF CYPRUS In its capacity as EU Local Presidency in the State of Kuwait, the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, on behalf of the Member States of the EU and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, would like to announce that as from 2nd October 2012 all Schengen States’ Consulates in Kuwait will use the Visa Information System (VIS). The VIS is a central database for the exchange of data on short-stay (up to three months) visas between Schengen States. The main objectives of the VIS are to facilitate visa application procedures and checks at external border as well as to enhance security. The VIS will contain all the Schengen visa applications lodged by an applicant over five years and the decisions taken by any Schengen State’s consulate. This will allow applicants to establish more easily the lawful use of previous visas and their bona fide status. For the purpose of the VIS, applicants will be required to provide their biometric data (fingerprints and digital photos) when applying for a Schengen visa. It is a simple and discreet procedure that only takes a few minutes. Biometric data, along with the data provided in the Schengen visa application form, will be recorded in the VIS central database. Therefore, as from 2nd October 2012, first-time applicants will have to appear in person when lodging the application, in order to provide their fingerprints. For subsequent applications within 5 years the fingerprints can be copied from the previous application file in the VIS. The Cypriot Presidency would like to assure the people of Kuwait and all its permanent citizens that the Member States and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, have taken all necessary technical measures to facilitate the rapid examination and the efficient processing of visa applications and to ensure a quick and discreet procedure for the implementation of the new VIS. ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the Kenyan community residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that the Embassy has acquired new office telephone numbers as follows: 25353982, 25353985 - Consular’s enquiries 25353987 - Fax Our Email address: info@kenyaembkuwait.com.

■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, Al-Salaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, email:myankuwait11@gmai1.com.

■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk.

■■■■■■■

Goan Culinary Club

T

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.

EMBASSY OF PERU The Embassy of Peru is located in Sharq, Ahmed Al Jaber Street, Al Arabiya Tower, 6th Floor. Working days / hours: SundayThursday /9 am - 4 pm. Residents in Kuwait interested in getting a visa to travel to Peru and companies attracted to invest in Peru are invited to visit the permanent exposition room located in the Embassy. For more information, please contact: (+965) 22267250/1.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

00:20 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 00:50 Untamed & Uncut 01:45 How Sharks Hunt 02:35 Animal Cops Houston 03:25 Wildest Arctic 04:15 My Cat From Hell 05:05 Karina: Wild On Safari 05:30 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 05:55 Animal Cops Houston 06:45 Wildest Arctic 07:35 Wildlife SOS 08:00 Meerkat Manor 08:25 Dogs 101: Specials 09:15 Crocodile Hunter 10:10 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip 11:05 Monkey Life 11:30 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 12:00 Extraordinary Dogs 12:25 The Really Wild Show 12:55 Wildest India 13:50 Wild France 14:45 Wild France 15:40 Shamwari: A Wild Life 16:05 Shamwari: A Wild Life 16:35 Wildlife SOS 17:30 Too Cute!

18:25 My Cat From Hell 19:20 Call Of The Wildman 19:45 Call Of The Wildman 20:15 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 21:10 Into The Dragon’s Lair 22:05 Wildest India 23:00 Amba The Russian Tiger 23:55 Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan

00:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 01:20 Homes Under The Hammer 02:10 Homes Under The Hammer 03:00 Homes Under The Hammer 03:50 Homes Under The Hammer 04:45 Homes Under The Hammer 05:35 Rick Stein’s Spain 06:25 New Scandinavian Cooking 06:55 The Hairy Bikers USA 07:20 The Hairy Bikers USA 07:45 MasterChef 08:35 MasterChef 09:00 MasterChef 09:55 MasterChef 10:50 Rick Stein’s Spain 11:45 New Scandinavian Cooking 12:10 The Hairy Bikers USA 12:40 The Hairy Bikers USA 13:05 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 14:40 Come Dine With Me: South Africa 15:35 Antiques Roadshow 16:30 Bargain Hunt 17:15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 18:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 20:00 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 21:30 Gok’s Fashion Fix 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 23:15 Bargain Hunt

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:10 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:30 06:00 06:10 06:30 07:00 07:10 07:30 08:00 08:10

BBC World News Dateline London BBC World News My Country BBC World News Newsnight BBC World News Click BBC World News India Business Report BBC World News Fast Track BBC World News World Features Equestrian World BBC World News World Features Dateline London BBC World News World Features

08:30 09:00 09:10 09:30 10:00 10:10 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:15 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:10 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:15 18:30 19:00 19:10 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 22:45 23:00 23:30

Changing Fortunes BBC World News World Features BBC World News BBC World News World Features Newsnight BBC World News The Bottom Line BBC World News Sport Today Click BBC World News Horizons BBC World News My Country BBC World News India Business Report BBC World News BBC World News BBC World News The Ideas Exchange BBC World News Sport Today Equestrian World BBC World News World Features Changing Fortunes BBC World News Horizons BBC World News Our World Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday India Business Report

00:20 Yogi’s Treasure Hunt 00:45 Duck Dodgers 01:10 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 01:35 Dastardly And Muttley 02:00 Popeye 02:25 Wacky Races 02:50 Scooby Doo Where Are You! 03:15 The Flintstones 03:40 The Jetsons 04:00 What’s New Scooby Doo? 04:20 Taz-Mania 04:45 The Looney Tunes Show 05:10 Tom & Jerry Tales 05:35 Johnny Bravo 06:00 Bananas In Pyjamas 06:25 Jelly Jamm 07:00 Ha Ha Hairies 07:20 Baby Looney Tunes 07:45 Cartoonito Tales 08:10 Gerald McBoing Boing 08:35 Lazy Town 09:00 Krypto The Superdog 09:25 Bananas In Pyjamas 09:40 Cartoonito Tales 09:55 Ha Ha Hairies 10:10 Jelly Jamm 10:25 Gerald McBoing Boing 10:45 Lazy Town 11:05 Krypto The Superdog 11:30 Baby Looney Tunes 11:55 Ha Ha Hairies 12:20 Jelly Jamm 12:45 Gerald McBoing Boing 13:10 Lazy Town 13:35 Krypto The Superdog 14:00 The Garfield Show 14:50 Pink Panther And Pals 15:15 Pink Panther And Pals 15:40 Tom And Jerry Tales 16:30 Taz-Mania 16:55 Taz-Mania 17:20 Johnny Bravo 18:10 Dexter’s Laboratory 19:00 Looney Tunes 19:30 Sylvester And Tweety Mysteries 19:55 Taz-Mania 20:20 The Looney Tunes Show 20:45 Tom & Jerry 21:00 The Garfield Show 21:25 Pink Panther And Pals 21:50 What’s New Scooby-Doo? 22:15 Sylvester And Tweety Mysteries 22:40 Puppy In My Pocket 23:05 The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop 23:30 The Addams Family 23:55 Droopy: Master Detective

00:40 Chowder 01:30 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 01:55 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 02:20 Foster’s Home For...

02:45 Foster’s Home For...

03:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 04:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 04:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 04:50 Adventure Time 05:15 The Powerpuff Girls 05:40 Generator Rex 06:05 Ben 10 06:30 Ben 10 06:55 Angelo Rules 07:00 Casper’s Scare School 07:30 Casper’s Scare School 08:00 Grim Adventures Of...

08:45 Total Drama Action 09:10 Total Drama Action 09:35 Ben 10: Ultimate Challenge 09:55 Level Up 10:15 Transformers Prime 10:35 Ben 10: Omniverse 11:00 Thundercats 11:25 Mucha Lucha 11:50 Adventure Time 12:40 Regular Show 13:35 The Amazing World Of Gumball 14:20 Johnny Test 15:10 Total Drama Island 15:35 Total Drama Island 16:00 Level Up 16:25 Level Up 16:50 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 17:15 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 17:40 Transformers Prime 18:30 Hero 108 18:55 Hero 108 19:20 The Amazing World Of Gumball 19:45 Adventure Time 20:35 Regular Show 21:00 Mucha Lucha 21:25 Total Drama Action 21:50 Total Drama Action 22:15 Grim Adventures Of...

23:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:50 The Powerpuff Girls

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:15 04:30 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:15 09:30 10:00 10:15 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:15 19:30 19:45 20:00 20:30 21:00

THE RITE ON OSN ACTION HD

World Report News Special Mainsail World Sport World Report Talk Asia World Report Amanpour CNN Marketplace Europe CNN Marketplace Africa The Brief CNN Presents CNN Newsroom Business Traveller Inside Africa World Sport Inside The Middle East World Report CNN Marketplace Middle East Talk Asia World Report CNN Marketplace Europe Eco Solutions World Sport Living Golf African Voices The Brief CNN Presents World Report News Special Fareed Zakaria GPS World Report Cnngo State Of The Union International Desk Backstory Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Africa Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Middle East World Sport Mainsail International Desk

21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00

African Voices International Desk Inside The Middle East Fareed Zakaria GPS

00:15 00:40 01:10 01:35 02:05 02:30 03:00 03:25 03:55 04:20 04:50 05:15 05:40 06:05 06:35 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:40 10:30 11:25 12:20 12:45 13:40 14:10 14:35 15:05 16:00 16:25 16:55 17:20 18:15 18:45 19:10 20:05 21:00 21:30 21:55 22:50 23:45

Auction Kings Auction Kings Auction Kings Auction Kings How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Fast N’ Loud Jesse James Outlaw Garage American Chopper Gold Rush Gold Divers Around The World In 80 Ways How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made Auction Kings Auction Kings Auction Kings Auction Kings Border Security Border Security Border Security Border Security Mythbusters Mythbusters Magic Of Science Time Warp How We Invented The World Protecting Washington DC Mythbusters

00:40 The X-Testers 01:05 The X-Testers 01:35 Finding Bigfoot 02:25 Dark Matters 03:15 Sci-Fi Science 03:45 Finding Bigfoot 04:35 The X-Testers 05:00 The X-Testers 05:25 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 06:20 Weird Connections 06:45 Weird Connections 07:10 Weird Or What?

08:00 Meteorite Men 08:50 Stunt Junkies 09:15 Stunt Junkies 09:40 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 10:30 Mighty Ships 11:25 Da Vinci’s Machines 12:15 Tech Toys 360 12:40 Tech Toys 360 13:10 Food Factory 13:35 Food Factory 14:00 Moon Machines 14:50 Sci-Fi Science 15:20 Da Vinci’s Machines 16:10 Weird Or What?

17:00 Tech Toys 360 17:25 Tech Toys 360 17:55 Superships 18:45 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 19:35 Da Vinci’s Machines 20:30 Meteorite Men 21:20 Finding Bigfoot 22:10 Tech Toys 360 22:35 Tech Toys 360 23:00 Meteorite Men 23:50 Dark Matters

00:10 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:05 03:30 03:55 04:20 04:45 05:10 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:40 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:05 08:20 08:30 08:45 09:10 09:35 10:00 10:25 10:50 11:15 12:55 13:20 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:10 15:25 15:50 16:15 16:40 17:00 18:30 18:45 18:55 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:25 20:35 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:05 22:30 22:55 Cody 23:20 Cody 23:45

Stitch A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School A Kind Of Magic Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm Wizards Of Waverly Place Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Prank Stars Prank Stars Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Jessie Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm Gravity Falls High School Musical 2 Wizards Of Waverly Place Suite Life On Deck Good Luck Charlie Gravity Falls Phineas And Ferb Prank Stars Prank Stars Shake It Up Austin And Ally Jessie A.N.T. Farm Geek Charming Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Wizards Of Waverly Place Shake It Up Austin And Ally Prank Stars Prank Stars A.N.T. Farm Jessie Jessie Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie The Suite Life Of Zack And The Suite Life Of Zack And Stitch

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 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:25 Minnie’s Bow Toons 08:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:00 Minnie’s Bow Toons 09:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:40 Minnie’s Bow Toons 09:45 Timmy Time 09:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 10:20 The Hive 10:30 Doc McStuffins 10:45 Zou 11:00 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 11:15 Cars Toons 11:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 11:45 Art Attack 12:10 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 12:35 Lilo And Stitch 13:10 Timmy Time 13:20 The Hive 13:30 Doc McStuffins 13:45 Doc McStuffins 14:00 Zou 14:15 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 14:30 Mouk 14:45 Lilo And Stitch 15:15 Cars Toons 15:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 15:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 16:05 The Hive 16:20 Mouk 16:35 Zou 16:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 17:20 Doc McStuffins 17:45 Art Attack 18:10 Lazytown 18:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:05 Mouk 19:20 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 19:35 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 20:00 Cars Toons 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 21:30 Mouk 21:45 Handy Manny 22:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:25 The Hive 22:35 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 23:00 Timmy Time 23:10 Animated Stories 23:15 A Poem Is...

23:20 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 23:30 Jungle Junction 23:45 Handy Manny 23:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

00:15 00:40 01:30 02:20 03:05 03:55 04:20 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 14:40 15:30 Jones 16:20 16:45 17:10 18:00 18:50 19:40 Jones 20:30 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:25 23:50

I Married A Mobster Evil, I Ghost Lab Dr G: Medical Examiner Blood Relatives I Married A Mobster I Married A Mobster Evil, I Ghost Lab Dr G: Medical Examiner Disappeared Killer Outbreaks Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite Murder Shift Disappeared Killer Outbreaks 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 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Fatal Encounters

00:00 Dirty Soap 00:55 Style Star 01:25 E! Investigates 02:20 E! Investigates 04:10 THS 05:05 Extreme Close-Up 05:30 Extreme Close-Up 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Extreme Close-Up 09:45 Extreme Close-Up 10:15 E!es 11:10 Opening Act 12:05 E! News 13:05 Married To Jonas 13:35 Married To Jonas 14:05 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 15:00 THS 16:00 Fashion Police 17:00 Behind The Scenes 17:30 Behind The Scenes 18:00 E! News 19:00 Married To Jonas 19:30 Giuliana & Bill 20:30 Giuliana & Bill 21:30 Ice Loves Coco 22:00 Ice Loves Coco 22:30 Opening Act 23:30 Opening Act

SOMETHING BORROWED ON OSN CINEMA

00:45 Market Values 01:10 Market Values 01:40 Into The Drink 02:05 Into The Drink 02:35 Ultimate Traveller 03:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 03:55 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 04:25 One Man & His Campervan 04:50 Street Food Around The World 05:20 Amish: Out of Order 06:15 On Surfari 06:40 On Surfari 07:10 Don’t Tell My Mother 08:05 Don’t Tell My Mother 09:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 09:55 By Any Means 10:50 Market Values 11:15 Market Values 11:45 Into The Drink 12:10 Into The Drink 12:40 Ultimate Traveller 13:35 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 14:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 14:30 One Man & His Campervan 14:55 Street Food Around The World 15:25 Cruise Ship Diaries 15:50 Destination Extreme 16:20 Don’t Tell My Mother 17:15 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 18:10 By Any Means 19:05 Amish: Out of Order 20:00 On Surfari 20:30 On Surfari 21:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 22:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 22:55 David Rocco‚Äôs Dolce Vita 3 23:20 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 23:50 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 1

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 PG15 10:00 12:00 14:00 PG15 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Dread-18 Get Rich Or Die Tryin’-18 True Justice: Street Wars-PG15 Goal!-PG15 True Justice: Lethal Justice-

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 14:00 15:30 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Something Borrowed-PG15 Eva-PG15 A Dog Named Duke-PG15 33 Postcards-PG15 Something Borrowed-PG15 Golden Christmas 3-PG15 Muhammad And Larry-PG15 Once Brothers-PG15 Kung Fu Dunk-PG15 Win Win-PG15 S. Darko-PG15 30 Minutes Or Less-18 Martha Marcy May Marlene-18

Biker Boyz-PG15 Metro-PG15 True Justice: Lethal JusticeBurden Of Evil-PG15 Metro-PG15 AVP: Alien vs Predator-PG15 The Rite-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Saturday Night Live 02:30 Veep 03:00 Parks And Recreation 03:30 Baby Daddy 04:00 Less Than Perfect 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Less Than Perfect 06:00 Seinfeld 06:30 Hope & Faith 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Less Than Perfect 08:30 Less Than Perfect 09:00 Parks And Recreation 09:30 The Neighbors 10:00 Modern Family 10:30 Hope & Faith 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Seinfeld 12:30 Less Than Perfect 13:00 Less Than Perfect 13:30 Hope & Faith 14:00 Baby Daddy 14:30 Modern Family

15:00 The Neighbors 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 The Simpsons 18:30 Baby Daddy 19:00 Two And A Half Men 19:30 Modern Family 20:00 The Cleveland Show 20:30 Breaking In 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Saturday Night Live 23:00 Veep 23:30 The Cleveland Show

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 12:00 12:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 18:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 PG15 10:00 12:00 14:00 PG15 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Castle Strike Back C.S.I. Miami Justified C.S.I. Miami Castle Emmerdale Coronation Street One Tree Hill C.S.I. Miami Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street One Tree Hill Castle Emmerdale Coronation Street One Tree Hill Eureka Grimm Scandal Justified

Dread-18 Get Rich Or Die Tryin’-18 True Justice: Street Wars-PG15 Goal!-PG15 True Justice: Lethal JusticeBiker Boyz-PG15 Metro-PG15 True Justice: Lethal JusticeBurden Of Evil-PG15 Metro-PG15 AVP: Alien vs Predator-PG15 The Rite-18

00:00 MacGruber-18 02:00 The Dilemma-PG15 04:00 Morning Glory-PG15 06:00 Desperately Seeking SantaPG15 08:00 The Tooth Fairy 2-PG15 10:00 Baby Geniuses-PG 12:00 Morning Glory-PG15 14:00 Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate-PG 16:00 Baby Geniuses-PG 18:00 Good Boy!-PG 20:00 Tamara Drewe-18 22:00 The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou-PG15

01:15 03:15 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

The Last Gamble-18 Black Swan-18 The King’s Speech-PG15 Restless-PG15 Relative Stranger-PG15 Boy-PG15 The Game Of Their Lives-PG15 Relative Stranger-PG15 Page Eight-PG15 Resolution 819-PG15 The Fighter-PG15 The Butcher Boy-PG15

00:00 A Little Bit Of Heaven-18 02:00 Source Code-PG15 04:00 Jane Eyre-PG15 06:00 Unmatched-PG15 07:00 Backwash-PG15 09:00 Every Jack Has A Jill-PG15 11:00 Source Code-PG15 13:00 The Dragon Chronicles: Fire & Ice-PG15 15:00 Kung Fu Panda 2-PG 17:00 Every Jack Has A Jill-PG15

18:30 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol-PG15 21:00 Moneyball-PG15 23:15 Straw Dogs-18

00:00 Nomads-PG15 02:00 Rising Stars-PG15 04:00 12 Dates Of Christmas-PG15 06:00 Three Inches-PG15 08:00 Miles From Nowhere-PG 10:00 Hitch-PG15 12:00 Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes-PG15 14:00 Rio-FAM 16:00 Miles From Nowhere-PG 18:00 Big Miracle-PG 20:00 Never Let Me Go-PG15 22:00 Extract-PG15

01:00 Maroons-FAM 02:45 The Adventures Of Don Quixote-FAM 04:30 Olentzero Christmas Tale-FAM 06:00 Princess Lillifee-FAM 08:00 A Very Fairy Christmas-FAM 10:00 Despicable Me-FAM 11:45 Olentzero Christmas Tale-FAM 13:15 Emilie Jolie-PG 14:30 The Adventures Of Don Quixote-FAM 16:00 Ploddy Police Car-FAM 18:00 Despicable Me-FAM 20:00 The Search For Santa Paws-PG 22:00 Emilie Jolie-PG 23:30 Ploddy Police Car-FAM

01:00 European PGA Tour 05:30 ICC Cricket 360 06:00 Trans World Sport 07:00 Snooker The Welsh Open 10:00 Super League 12:00 ICC Cricket 360 12:30 Trans World Sport 13:30 Super Rugby 15:30 Futbol Mundial 16:00 Live Snooker The Welsh Open 19:30 ICC Cricket 360 20:00 HSBC Sevens World Series Highlights 20:30 Trans World Sport 21:30 Futbol Mundial 22:00 Live Snooker The Welsh Open

02:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 14:00 18:00 20:30 23:30

UFC The Ultimate Fighter Super Rugby Super League Top 14 Super Rugby Snooker Live PGA European Tour UFC Prelims UFC UFC The Ultimate Fighter

01:00 01:30 03:30 07:00 11:30 13:30 14:30 15:00 17:00 19:00 20:00

Total Rugby Pro 12 Premier League Darts European PGA Tour Pro 12 Trans World Sport Total Rugby Super League Top 14 Trans World Sport European PGA Tour

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 13:00 16:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 21:30 23:30

WWE Vintage Collection NHL UFC TUF UFC On Fuel WWE Bottom Line WWE NXT WWE Experience WWE This Week Mobil 1 The Grid NHL Prizefighter WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line WWE Vintage Collection WWE Experience WWE This Week NHL WWE Bottom Line

Classifieds SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Kuwait SHARQIA-1 BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) SAFE HAVEN (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) SAFE HAVEN (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-2 THE SNOW QUEEN (DIG-3D) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) THE SNOW QUEEN (DIG-3D) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-1 BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) SAFE HAVEN (DIG) SAFE HAVEN (DIG) SAFE HAVEN (DIG) BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

MUHALAB-2 MAMA (DIG) BROKEN CITY (DIG) SAVE YOUR LEGS! (DIG) MAMA (DIG) BROKEN CITY (DIG) MAMA (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

FANAR-1 GAMBIT (DIG) THE GUILT TRIP (DIG) BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-2 MAMA (DIG) BROKEN CITY (DIG) MAMA (DIG) BROKEN CITY (DIG) MAMA (DIG) BROKEN CITY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

MARINA-1 MAMA (DIG) THE GUILT TRIP (DIG) SAFE HAVEN (DIG) SAVE YOUR LEGS! (DIG) SAFE HAVEN (DIG) MAMA (DIG) MAMA (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

MARINA-2 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

AVENUES-1 BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) THE GUILT TRIP (DIG) BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) THE GUILT TRIP (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (14/02/2013 TO 20/02/2013)

BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

9:45 PM 12:05 AM

AVENUES-2 GAMBIT (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 3:15 PM 5:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:15 PM 11:15 PM 1:15 AM

360ยบ- 1 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM

360ยบ- 2 GAMBIT (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

360ยบ- 3 SNOWFLAKE, THE WHITE GORILLA 1:00 PM SNOWFLAKE, THE WHITE GORILLA 3:00 PM SNOWFLAKE, THE WHITE GORILLA (DIG) 5:00 PM SNOWFLAKE, THE WHITE GORILLA 7:00 PM HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS 9:00 PM HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS 11:00 PM AL-KOUT.1 THE SNOW QUEEN (DIG-3D) THE SNOW QUEEN (DIG-3D) THE SNOW QUEEN (DIG-3D) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) MAMA (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) MAMA (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:30 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

AL-KOUT.2 A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) THE GUILT TRIP (DIG) SAVE YOUR LEGS! (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

AL-KOUT.3 GAMBIT (DIG) BROKEN CITY (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) BROKEN CITY (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) BROKEN CITY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.4 SAFE HAVEN (DIG) SNOWFLAKE, THE WHITE GORILLA SAFE HAVEN (DIG) BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) SAFE HAVEN (DIG) BULLET TO THE HEAD (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED BAIRAQ-1 THE SNOW QUEEN (DIG-3D)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

12:30 PM

THE SNOW QUEEN (DIG-3D) THE SNOW QUEEN (DIG-3D) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 4:00 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

BAIRAQ-2 A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) SAFE HAVEN (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) SAFE HAVEN (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

BAIRAQ-3 GAMBIT (DIG) SNOWFLAKE, THE WHITE GORILLA GAMBIT (DIG) MAMA (DIG) GAMBIT (DIG) MAMA (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 11:45 PM

PLAZA 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) MIRCHI (DIG) (TELUGU) MIRCHI (DIG) (TELUGU) THU+FRI+MON 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) NO THU+FRI+MON LAILA A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) BROKEN CITY (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG)

3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:45 PM 9:45 PM

4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM

AJIAL.1 MIRCHI (DIG) (TELUGU) MIRCHI (DIG) (TELUGU) MIRCHI (DIG) (TELUGU)

3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM

AJIAL.2 SNOWFLAKE, THE WHITE GORILLA SNOWFLAKE, THE WHITE GORILLA 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG)

4:00 PM 6:00 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM

AJIAL.3 SPECIAL 26 (DIG) (Hindi) SPECIAL 26 (DIG) (Hindi) SPECIAL 26 (DIG) (Hindi)

4:00 PM 7:00 PM 10:00 PM

AJIAL.4 LOKPAL (DIG) (MALAYALAM) LOKPAL (DIG) (MALAYALAM) LOKPAL (DIG) (MALAYALAM)

3:45 PM 6:45 PM 9:45 PM

METRO-1 LOKPAL (DIG) (MALAYALAM) LOKPAL (DIG) (MALAYALAM) LOKPAL (DIG) (MALAYALAM) METRO-2 MIRCHI (DIG) (TELUGU) MIRCHI (DIG) (TELUGU) MIRCHI (DIG) (TELUGU) NO SUN+TUE+WED MIRCHI (DIG) (TELUGU) SUN+TUE+WED

3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM

3:45 PM 6:45 PM 10:00 PM 9:45 PM

FOR SALE

MATRIMONIAL

Mitsubishi Lancer - 2010, silver color, 4 cylinder, engine, gear, chasis very good condition, interior & exterior neat and clean, original paint, no accident, 1,05,000 km run, price KD 2,300. Contact: 99072651.

(C 4311)

Proposals invited for an Orthodox Syrina Christian boy (29 years, 155cm, Btech) from Central Travancore, working as Engineer in Kuwait. gheevarhese@gmail.com (C 4314)

Toyota Corolla 2003, red color, excellent condition, passing one year. KD 1,100.

Tel: 99792546. (C 4312) 16-2-2013 Nissan Altima Sept 2009, V4 2.5cc, silver 43,000 kms full options and spoiler, executive single owner, price KD 4,000. Contact: 97786118.

(C 4307) Toyota Camry GLX, model 2012 white metalic color, 6000km done, alloy rim, wooden interior, screen dish Lang R. sensor + camera fog lamb, cruise control etc. Price KD 5,400/-.

Contact: 66507741.

(C 4310) 14-2-2013 Furnished flat in Farwaniya for transfer with household items including furniture, 300L fridge, washing machine. Contact: 97786118.

(C 4308)

Arab national, residing in Kuwait well established seeking matrimonial with a woman of any nationality who value family life, age between 20 - 30y. Email: noor99969@yahoo.com (C 4318) 17-2-2013 Alliance invited for a M.Sc nurse, Marthomite boy born and brought up in Kuwait, currently in Kuwait, invites proposals from God fearing well educated/employed girls.

Email: dnte121@hotmail.com (C 4313) 16-2-2013

SITUATION WANTED Indian male MBA Finance having 7 years experience in Finance/Accounting in Kuwait is seeking a suitable placement. Proficient on Excel, Word, Powerpoint.

Fluent in English, Arabic and Hindi. Visa #18, transferable. Call: 66765077.

(C 4316) India based experienced female accountant seeking job in Kuwait as accountant or secretary, interested please contact: +91 7798292363. Email: amalaprem@yahoo.com (C 4315) 17-2-2013

CHANGE OF NAME I, Rachaveeti Prameela holder Indian Passport No: E6134736 hereby change my name to Rayachoty Prameela. (C 4317) 17-2-2013 Abdul Kader Buhari, s/o, Ahamed Abdul Kader, holder of Indian Passport No. K3651873 hereby change my name to Seyed Muhammad Buhari.

(C 4309)

Prayer timings Fajr:

05:07

Shorook

06:27

Duhr:

12:02

Asr:

15:13

Maghrib:

17:38

Isha:

18:55

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JAI THY JZR JZR QTR RJA GFA CLX UAE ETD JZR FDB MSR QTR KAC DHX THY JZR ETH BAW FDB KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC THY KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB ETD GFA IRA IRC JZR MEA MSR UAE SYR KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KNE SVA QTR

Arrival Flights on Sunday 17/2/2013 Flt Route 574 MUMBAI 772 ISTANBUL 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 148 DOHA 642 AMMAN 211 BAHRAIN 870 LUXEMBOURG 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 1777 JEDDAH 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 544 CAIRO 170 BAHRAIN 770 ISTANBUL 555 ALEXANDRIA 620 ADDIS ABABA 157 LONDON 8055 DUBAI 412 MANILA 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 382 DELHI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 5596 ISTANBUL 352 COCHIN 855 DUBAI 121 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 603 SHIRAZ 6666 AHWAZ 165 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 610 CAIRO 871 DUBAI 341 DAMASCUS 742 DAMMAM 284 DHAKA 774 RIYADH 57 DUBAI 672 DUBAI 472 JEDDAH 500 JEDDAH 140 DOHA

Time 0:05 0:35 0:45 0:50 1:00 1:10 1:50 2:20 2:35 2:45 2:50 3:05 3:10 3:45 4:20 5:15 5:30 6:00 6:25 6:40 6:45 6:45 7:40 7:45 7:45 7:55 8:15 8:20 8:25 8:40 9:05 9:10 9:15 9:20 9:55 10:40 11:10 11:20 11:55 12:45 12:50 12:50 12:55 12:55 13:30 13:50 14:10 14:15 14:30 14:35

FDB JZR JZR QTR JZR UAE ETD FDB RJA GFA SVA JZR QTR ABY UAL KAC JZR RBG KAC FDB AFG KAC KAC KAC KAC OMA KAC FDB JAI AXB MSR ABY QTR ALK KAC MEA QTR GFA ETD UAE KAC JZR DHX FDB KAC KLM AIC JZR GFA JZR UAL DLH

8055 561 257 134 787 857 303 8063 640 215 510 777 144 127 982 542 177 3553 786 63 415 166 618 102 674 647 562 61 572 393 606 129 146 229 502 402 136 221 307 859 172 135 372 59 514 417 981 239 217 185 981 636

DUBAI SOHAG BEIRUT DOHA RIYADH DUBAI ABU DHABI DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH DOHA SHARJAH WASHINGTON DC DULLES CAIRO DUBAI ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH DUBAI KABUL PARIS DOHA NEW YORK DUBAI MUSCAT AMMAN DUBAI MUMBAI KOZHIKODE LUXOR SHARJAH DOHA COLOMBO BEIRUT BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI FRANKFURT BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI TEHRAN AMSTERDAM CHENNAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN FRANKFURT

14:50 14:50 15:05 15:30 16:10 16:40 16:50 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:45 17:50 17:55 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:45 19:00 19:10 19:20 19:35 19:35 19:55 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:35 20:55 20:55 21:10 21:20 21:25 21:30 21:35 21:40 21:45 21:50 22:00 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:30 22:45 22:50 23:05 23:25 23:55

Airlines AIC KAC AXB DHX BBC JAI UAL DLH THY FDB UAE ETD MSR QTR QTR JZR GFA RJA ETH FDB THY JZR FDB BAW JZR KAC KAC ABY UAE KAC KAC FDB ETD KAC QTR THY GFA KAC IRA IRC JZR KAC JZR MEA KAC MSR SYR JZR UAE FDB

Departure Flights on Sunday 17/2/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA 283 DHAKA 390 MANGALORE 371 BAHRAIN 44 CHITTAGONG 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 637 FRANKFURT 773 ISTANBUL 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 613 CAIRO 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 643 AMMAN 621 ADDIS ABABA 8056 DUBAI 771 ISTANBUL 560 SOHAG 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 256 BEIRUT 171 FRANKFURT 671 DUBAI 122 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 741 DAMMAM 117 NEW YORK 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 773 RIYADH 133 DOHA 5427 ISTANBUL 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 602 SHIRAZ 6667 AHWAZ 776 JEDDAH 103 LONDON 786 RIYADH 405 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 611 CAIRO 342 LATAKIA 176 DUBAI 872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI

Time 0:05 0:10 0:15 0:40 1:00 1:05 1:10 1:20 2:55 3:45 3:50 4:00 4:10 4:50 6:05 6:55 7:00 7:05 7:10 7:30 7:35 8:15 8:25 8:45 9:05 9:10 9:35 9:45 9:55 9:55 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:05 10:10 10:20 10:40 11:30 11:40 12:10 12:15 12:20 12:55 12:55 13:00 13:45 13:50 13:50 14:15 14:30

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

KAC KAC KNE KAC FDB SVA KAC CLX QTR JZR FDB ETD JZR KAC QTR UAE RJA GFA JZR SVA ABY JZR QTR RBG JZR UAL FDB AFG FDB OMA JAI AXB ABY MSR DHX ALK MEA ETD QTR GFA KAC FDB UAE KAC KAC DHX KLM QTR KAC JZR GFA KAC KAC

561 673 473 501 8058 503 617 792 141 238 8064 304 538 513 135 858 641 216 184 511 128 266 145 3554 134 982 64 415 62 648 571 394 120 619 171 230 403 308 137 222 301 60 860 351 205 373 417 147 343 502 218 411 415

AMMAN DUBAI JEDDAH BEIRUT DUBAI MADINAH DOHA NAIROBI DOHA AMMAN DUBAI ABU DHABI CAIRO TEHRAN DOHA DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI RIYADH SHARJAH BEIRUT DOHA ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI JEDDAH DUBAI MUSCAT MUMBAI KOZHIKODE SHARJAH ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI DUBAI KOCHI ISLAMABAD BAHRAIN DAMMAM DOHA CHENNAI LUXOR BAHRAIN BANGKOK KUALA LUMPUR

14:30 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:30 15:45 15:45 15:50 16:15 17:15 17:30 17:35 17:40 17:40 17:45 17:50 17:55 18:15 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:45 18:50 19:00 19:05 19:10 19:25 20:00 20:40 20:55 21:10 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:50 21:55 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:50 22:55 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:15 23:35 23:50 23:55 23:55

34

stars CROSSWORD 103

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19)

Someone at work may be upset, Aries, and not inclined to communicate their feelings to anyone else. This might cast a pall over the atmosphere. You may wonder if this person is upset with you, but chances are it has a lot more to do with the job than you. Make use of your ability to concentrate, and don’t let this get in your way. It isn’t worth the trouble.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Some unsettling news from far away could have you stressed out, Taurus. This might affect your work if you aren’t careful. Your mind may stray back and forth from work to the news and its implications. Stay focused. All signs are that whatever you’ve heard is likely to be far less troublesome than it appears right now. Don’t fly off the handle until you know the facts.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. British dominion over India (1757-1947).

4. A fibrous amphibole.

12. A trivial lie.

15. Being one more than two.

16. Marrow squash plant whose fruit are eaten when small.

17. Any of various systems of units for measuring electricity and magnetism.

18. A severe or trying experience.

19. A fabric woven with fibers from the flax plant.

20. A room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter.

21. (Brit) A tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing Edwardian style clothes.

22. Goods (or wreckage) on the sea bed that is attached to a buoy so that it can be recovered.

24. (Greek mythology) Son of Daedalus.

26. African antelopes.

28. The Fate who determines the length of the thread of life.

29. A state in north central United States.

31. Having undesirable or negative qualities.

33. Czechoslovakian religious reformer who anticipated the Reformation.

35. Jordan's port.

38. Suggestive of the supernatural.

41. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

43. Clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion.

45. Flemish painter who was a founder of the Flemish school of painting and to have pioneered modern techniques of oil painting (1390-1441).

46. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

48. Before noon.

49. Hard strong durable yellowish-brown wood of teak trees.

50. A city in central Georgia southeast of Atlanta.

53. Antibacterial drug (trade name Nydrazid) used to treat tuberculosis.

56. A republic on the west coast of Africa.

59. Small voraciously carnivorous freshwater fishes of South America that attack and destroy living animals.

62. Of or relating to or characteristic of the Republic of Chad or its people or language.

67. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.

68. American filmmaker and comic actor (1935- ).

71. A sheet or band of fibrous connective tissue separating or binding together muscles and organs etc.

72. (the feminine of raja) A Hindu princess or the wife of a raja.

73. Type genus of the Coerebidae.

75. The ball-shaped capsule containing the vertebrate eye.

76. A Kwa language spoken in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

77. Widely separated especially in space.

78. Inflammation of the urethra of unknown cause.

DOWN 1. A public act of violence by an unruly mob.

2. A river in northern England that flows southeast through West Yorkshire.

3. Port city in western Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea.

4. Any of numerous ornamental shrubs grown for their showy flowers of various colors.

5. A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (trade name Clinoril).

6. Date used in reckoning dates before the supposed year Christ was born.

7. Enthusiastic approval.

8. A Dardic language spoken in northern Kashmir.

9. A silvery malleable metallic element that resists corrosion.

10. A member of the Iroquoian people formerly living east of Lake Ontario.

11. Open and genuine.

12. The month following January and preceding March.

13. (Islam) The man who leads prayers in a mosque.

14. A city in northwestern Turkey.

23. Functioning correctly and ready for action.

25. Red pear-shaped tropical fruit with poisonous seeds.

27. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity.

30. A clay pipe with a short stem.

32. Any of a group of viruses containing DNA in an icosahedral protein shell and causing disease in dogs and cattle.

34. A region of Malaysia in northeastern Borneo.

36. (Greek mythology) One of the three Graces.

37. The Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan.

39. Small tropical American tree bearing edible plumlike fruit.

40. Swedish oceanographer who recognized the role of the Coriolis effect on ocean currents (1874-1954).

42. East Indian tree bearing a profusion of intense vermilion velvet-textured blooms and yielding a yellow dye.

44. (in Scotland or Ireland) A mountain or tall hill.

47. Scar where the umbilical cord was attached.

51. A genus of Ploceidae.

52. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

54. Of a light yellowish-brown color n 1.

55. A college town in central New York on Lake Cayuga.

57. Small room on a ship or boat where people sleep.

58. (of complexion) Blemished by imperfections of the skin.

60. A republic in the Middle East in western Asia.

61. Type genus of the Ranidae.

63. (old-fashioned) At or from or to a great distance.

64. (computer science) A graphic symbol (usually a simple picture) that denotes a program or a command or a data file or a concept in a graphical user interface.

65. Affected manners intended to impress others.

66. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agriculture and patron of scribes and schools.

69. The basic unit of money in Romania.

70. Bulky grayish-brown eagle with a short wedge-shaped white tail.

74. A light strong brittle gray toxic bivalent metallic element.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

You’re likely to be in a good space right now, Gemini. If you’re single, you’re in no hurry to change that. If you’re involved, you and your partner should be getting along very well. However, you might experience a little doubt when a current or potential partner becomes uncommunicative. Your friend probably has money worries. Let him or her know you’re there to listen, then back off.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

A visitor may come over today, Cancer, but you might wonder why this person bothered. He or she may seem distracted and more inclined to listen to what you say than offer any conversation.

Chances are that your friend felt lonely and needed some company.

Be flattered. Don’t be afraid to launch into a monologue about something you find fascinating. It may be just what your friend needs.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

A phone call may come from someone you know is prone to gossip, Leo. This person may have a lot to say, but be sure you take it with a grain of salt, if not the whole shaker. Your skepticism could prove invaluable in this respect. If what this person says is important, check out the facts before passing it on or taking any action. Chances are it’s exaggerated or completely false.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

The desire to make a major purchase of some kind, perhaps a luxury item, might have you counting your pennies today, Virgo. Once they’re all counted, you might doubt the wisdom of buying it now. This isn’t the day to make a decision either way. Wait a few days and you should see things more clearly and have a better grasp of the situation.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Worries about a household member could plague you today, Libra. This person might have gone away without telling anyone, or seem upset. Your friend is probably OK but at odds with someone outside the household rather than in it. Let this person work it out in whatever way they see fit. Your companion will share with you when the time is right.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

A sibling or neighbor may tell you one thing, Scorpio, while your intuition tells you the opposite. This isn’t a vindictive deception. The person is probably trying to spare your feelings. Perhaps it’s better not to challenge this person. Wait until you know more before bringing up the subject. You don’t want to cause a rift between the two of you.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

A friend who’s having money problems might dump all their woes on you today, Sagittarius. Your inclination isn’t to be very sympathetic, but hold back that tendency. The situation is real, and your friend is very worried and needs solutions more than criticism or sympathy. Your common sense and practical nature could be invaluable right now. Offer to listen.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Have you been given a task to do at work that hasn’t been explained properly, Capricorn? If so, you may feel at a loss. What to do? It’s best to go back to the person who assigned the work and ask for more details. This could be temporarily humbling, but remember, it’s better to ask a stupid question than to make a stupid mistake.

Don’t move ahead until you know exactly what you need to do.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

You’re probably excited about a forthcoming journey, Aquarius, but you may be unclear about the arrangements.

Don’t let this situation persist or your trip might not work out the way you hope. Get in touch with people who know what’s what and get as much information as you can. Then you will know it all before you get on that plane.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

A dream or insight might find you questioning one of your long-held goals, Pisces. Perhaps you’ve formulated another goal you like better, or you’re beginning to doubt the workability of the old one. This probably isn’t a good day to make a decision of any sort. Your thinking may not be as rational as it usually is. Write down your options and return to it in a day or two.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 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

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

ST TATE T OF KUW K WA AIT

Tel.: e 161

DIRECTORA AT TE GENE GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIA V AT TION METEOROLOGICAL DEP PA ARTMENT DA AY: Y Saturday

Issue Time

BY Y DA AY:

Partly cloudy with light to moderate freshening gradually at times south easterly changing to north westerly later on wind, with speed of 15 - 40 km/h causing raising dust over open areas with a chance for scattered light rain

BY Y NIGHT:

Partly cloudy with moderate freshening at times north westerly wind, with speed of 20 - 40 km/h

No Current Waarnings arnin

WA ARNING MAX. EXP P.

MIN. REC.

KUW WA AIT CITY

24 °C

16 °C

KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

26 °C

14 °C

NUW WA AISEEB

25 °C

10 °C

WA AFRA

29 °C

13 °C

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

SALMI

26 °C

14 °C

Salmiya

25746401

ABDAL LY

27 °C

16 °C

Jabriya

25316254

JAL ALIY YA AH

26 °C

14 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FA AILAKA

22 °C

15 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

20 °C

16 °C

Mishref

25381200

QARUH ISLAND

22 °C

18 °C

W Hawally

22630786

UMM AL-MARADEM

21 °C

17 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

SFC. CHART

Temperatures DA AT TE

WEA AT THER

MAX.

Sunday

17/02

partly cloudy

23 °C

West Jahra

24772608

Monday

18/02

sunny

23 °C

South Jahra

24775066

Tuesday

19/02

partly cloudy

24 °C

Wednesday e

20/02

sunny

26 °C

24311795

Ardhiya Firdous

PRA RA AYER Y TIMES

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

11 °C

NW

20 - 38 km/h

12 °C

NW-N

06 - 26 km/h

13 °C

NW-VRB

06 - 22 km/h

13 °C

VRB-NE

06 - 26 km/h

MIN.

24575755

North Jleeb

16/02/2013 0000 UTC

4 DA AY YS FORECAST

New Jahra

24775992

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WA AIT AIRPORT

Fajr

05:07

MAX. Temp.

25 °C

24884079

Sunrise

06:27

MIN. Temp.

07 °C

24892674

Zuhr

12:02

MAX. RH

82 %

Asr

15:13

MIN. RH

13 % S 25 km/h

Omariya

24719048

Sunset

17:38

MAX. Wind

N Khaitan

24710044

Isha

18:55

TOT TA AL L RAIINF FA ALL L IN 24 HR.

Fintas

23900322

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

00 mm

16/02/13 02:00 UTC

V1.00

T1.06

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

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

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

07:00

Expected Weeather for the Next 24 Hours

DA AY

Al-Shuhada

WWW.MET.GOV V.KW .

16/02/2013

ST TATION T

22418714

Fax: 24348714

Qibla

North Jahra

Ext.: 262 2627 - 2630

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

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

lifest yle G o s s i p

he contested divorce of reality television star Kim Kardashian and NBA basketball player Kris Humphries will head to trial in May, more than a year and a half after the couple separated, a judge in Los Angeles ruled on Friday. The couple, who broke up after just 72 days of marriage, have been unable to agree on the terms for a divorce. Humphries instead has demanded an annulment, alleging that Kardashian had no intention of keeping the marriage.

Kardashian, 32, and Humphries, 28, were married in a made-for-TV wedding in August 2011. Kardashian filed for divorce 72 days later citing irreconcilable differences. Kardashian started dating rapper Kanye West in April last year and is now pregnant with her first child.

Hollywood celebrities usually settle their divorces through negotiation rather than at a trial that can fuel publicity. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes took less than two weeks to settle their divorce last

T

File photo shows Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries attending a party thrown in their honor at Capitale in New York. — AP photos

apper 2 Chainz has been arrested on drug charges in Maryland where he was performing at a college homecoming event.

Maryland State Police spokesman Sgt Marc Black said troopers stopped a van Thursday night about 9:15 pm for speeding near Easton, Md, and smelled a strong odor of burnt marijuana in the van. A backpack in the van had a marijuana grinder and trace amounts of marijuana, police said. The rapper, whose real name is Tauheed Epps, claimed possession of the backpack and was arrested, police said.

Epps was cited for having drug paraphernalia and

R hese are boom times for mainstream, family-friendly animation; over the last year or so, audiences have been treated to smart and visually compelling films like “ParaNorman,” “Frankenweenie,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “The Secret World of Arrietty” and “A Cat in Paris,” to name just a few. Even the generic “Madagascar” series mustered up a smart script and some visual pizzazz for its third entry.

Alas, even in the era of Pixar and Studio Ghibli and Laika, there are still thoroughly forgettable movies, designed to smoothly course through young viewers’ nervous systems with 90 minutes’ worth of uninteresting characters, rote stories and the occasional shiny object. Which brings us to “Escape from Planet Earth.” To call this sci-fi adventure awful would be to credit it with more personality than it has. The production is competent, the voice cast is talented, but there’s absolutely nothing to it. It’s a bowl of warm water into which no one has bothered to place a bouillon cube. The kids in the theater with me never mustered a single laugh or gasp of excitement.

It’s plenty o’ nuttin’.

The all-too-familiar story takes place on the planet Baab, where intergalactic hero Scorch Supernova (voiced by Brendan Fraser) gets all the glory for his derring-do, even though the brains of the operation is Scorch’s soft-spoken older brother Gary (Rob Corddry), who runs things back at Mission Control. Following another of Scorch’s successful jaunts, space agency boss Lena (Jessica Alba) wants to send the star astronaut on a rescue mission to “the Dark Planet,” also known as Earth.

Gary objects, since hundreds of beings from various planets have ventured there, never to return, but the vain Scorch ignores his brother’s warnings. Gary quits, and without his guidance, Scorch is quickly captured

by General Shanker (William Shatner). Gary soon follows in a rescue pod, crash-landing at the general’s secret base at Area 51, while Gary’s wife Kira (Sarah Jessica Parker) and son Kip (Jonathan Morgan Heit) uncover a conspiracy at home.

Nothing else that happens will feel remotely surprising: Not the comic alien sidekicks (voiced by Jane Lynch, Craig Robinson and George Lopez), not Gary and Scorch’s eventual understanding of each other’s strengths and the power of teamwork, not Kip’s newly-found respect for the dad he shrugged off as dull and cowardly, not the last-minute cliffhanger and foiling of the villain’s diabolical plans.

If anything does stand out, it’s the truly shameless product placement for 7-Eleven. Not only is there a store adjacent to Area 51 and thus prominently featured in several key sequences, there’s an entire scene devoted to Gary befriending the shop’s two employees (Steve Zahn and Chris Parnell) over a Slurpee that’s the same shade of blue as Gary.

“He likes it,” exclaims one clerk, and his partner replies, “Of course he likes it! Where’s your brand loyalty?” It’s bland loyalty that keeps “Escape from Planet Earth” gravity-bound. This movie is a black hole of entertainment, from which no joy can escape.

— Reuters

T

File photo shows rap artist 2 Chainz at the 55th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

rammy performers did not go home with just trophies last weekend. Winning bands likeindie-pop trio FUN. and British folk band Mumford & Sons saw sales of their singles and albums more than double after appearing on the music industry honors show. Sales figures released on Friday by Nielsen showed a 182 percent increase in sales of FUN.’s hit single “We Are Young” following their Song of the Year and Best New Artist Grammy victories on Sunday.

Album of the Year winner’s Mumford & Sons saw sales of its “I Will Wait” single shoot up 116 percent, while Australian artist Gotye’s “Making Mirrors” album from 2011 increased 124 percent from the week before the annual music telecast. Rising R&B star Frank Ocean, who took home two Grammys, saw sales of his album “Channel Orange” climb 140 percent.

The numbers mostly reflect a single night of sales increases from the prior week, predominantly digital downloads, immediately following the Grammy Awards show in Los Angeles on Feb. 10.

Sales figures for the full week will be released as usual by Nielsen SoundScan on Wednesday and will include both digital and physical album sales.

G

year, and kept the personal and financial details of their marriage under wraps.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephen Moloney set a May 6 trial date. Both Kardashian and Humphries will be required to attend and they must also be present for an April 12 pretrial hearing. The divorce will be Kardashian’s second. She was married to music producer Damon Thomas for four years, separating in 2004. Kardashian, who stars with her sisters in reality show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” also has a clothing line and several product endorsements, and was the mostsearched person on the Yahoo! website in 2012. — Reuters

File photo shows singer Kanye West, left, talking to his girlfriend Kim Kardashian.

marijuana and was released. The citation carries up to a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

Agents representing Epps did not respond to requests for comment. Last year, 2 Chainz released his solo debut, “Based on a T.R.U. Story,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Charts and has achieved gold status. He also has several Top 10 hits on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts as both a lead and featured artist. After the arrest, 2 Chainz’ website tweeted a photograph that appears to show him posing with two police officers. Black said the Maryland State Police could not confirm the

authenticity of the photograph but is investigating.

“Locked me up and then Wanted pictures smh,” read one tweet, using the abbreviation for shaking my head. Epps was scheduled to perform Thursday evening at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. His website later tweeted a photo from the stage and wrote the “show must go on.”His manager declined to comment or confirm the tweets were from 2 Chainz himself. — AP

Grammy winners were not the only ones to benefit from the annual music industry showcase.

Veteran rockers The Band saw its greatest hits package climb 203 percent after a multi-artist tribute at the show to late drummer Levon Helm.

Sales of “Take Five,” the distinctive 1959 tune by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck who died in December, shot up 248 percent after a tribute by fellow jazz musicians Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Kenny Garrett, according to Nielsen. The Grammys also proved a boost for the blossoming career of 26 year-old southern California artist Miguel. After performing his single “Adorn” on the show, sales rose 229 percent compared with the week prior.

Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean, Gotye and The Band record on labels owned by Universal Music Group ; the music of Miguel and the late Dave Brubeck is released by units of Sony Music, and FUN. is signed to record label Fueled by Ramen, a unit of privately-held Warner Music. — Reuters (From left) Festival director Dieter Kosslick, Australian paralympic athlete Kurt Fearnly, German paralympic athlete Kirsten Bruhn, blind Kenyan marathon runner and protagonist Henry Wanyoike and his running guide Joseph Kibunja poses prior to the screening of the documentary “Gold - You Can Do More Than You Think” presented at the Berlinale Special at the 63rd Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin. — AFP

he inspirational story of how three athletes turned their individual disabilities into Paralympic gold won over the audience at the world premiere of “Gold You Can Do More Than You Think” on Friday.

But despite the stirring narrative, it was impossible to escape the shadow cast by probably the world’s best known Paralympian, the South African Oscar Pistorius, accused of the Valentine’s Day killing of his girlfriend.

One of the stars of “Gold” admitted he had been shocked by the Pretoria tragedy.

“It’s just incredible,” Australian wheelchair Paralympian Kurt Fearnley told AFP. “I met him a couple of times; he seemed like a gentle, kind person. That’s someone’s daughter, someone’s son. It’s tragic.”With German president Joachim Gauck and the documentary’s three stars in the audience at the 63rd Berlinale, South African director Michael Hammon insisted “It’s time for opportunities, not sympathy” for the disabled in our society.

“I’ve never had an ovation like that for any of my work before,” he admitted, clearly moved by the thundering applause for the film and its three stars. While the backdrop to “Gold” is how Kenyan runner Henry Wanyoike, German swimmer Kirsten Bruhn and wheelchair racer Fearnley prepared for the 2012 London Paralympics, the focus is on their personal stories. “You can forget about walking,” Bruhn recalls being told by a doctor as a 22-year-old in 1991 after being left paralyzed following a motorbike accident while on holiday in Greece.

“I looked out the window at the clouds and wanted to be on one. There were moments when you wanted to close your eyes forever, but you have to go on.” Having started competing in 2002, Bruhn won the first of her three 100m breaststroke Paralympic gold medals just two years later in Athens. “Getting the medal and hearing the anthem was very emotional. The best day of my life was a result of the worst day of my life,” she admitted. Blind since losing his sight as the result of a stroke when aged just 21, Wanyoike recalls how life in his Kenyan village changed forever after he

T

Mexican band Mana’s lead singer Fher Olvera, center, and drummer Alex Gonzalez, behind right, perform with Brazilian singer Thiaguinho during the filming of Mana’s video “Labios Divididos” in Veracruz, Mexico, Friday. — AP

Singer Marc Anthony, left, performs with guest artist Tito “El Bambino” during a concert at the Barclays Center New York. — AP

woke up one morning having lost 95 percent of his vision.

“Friends left me as they thought I was cursed. They thought it must have been because of alcohol or drugs, but I have never touched either,” said the 38-year-old. “I thought the best thing would be to die and forget everything.” Having rebuilt his confidence at an rehabilitation clinic, Wanyoike made his Paralympic debut at Sydney 2000, where he won 5,000m gold, only just missing the world record despite virtually dragging his able-sighted guide over the line.

A significant problem later emerged as none of his guides could keep up with him as he went on to run in able-bodied races and became one of the world’s fastest longdistance runners. “He’s more than a friend or a brother,” Wanyoike said of current guide Joseph Kibunja, who was by his side when they set the 5000m T11 world record on their way to gold at the 2004 Paralympics.

“Since the moment he first won gold, he has never stopped smiling,” said Kibunja.

Whether surfing at a local beach or scaling a barbed wire fence using just his body and hands on his parent’s New South Wales farm, Fearnley, who was born without the lower part of his back, refuses to let his disability hinder him. “I’ve built a life about being independent and strong,” said the 31year-old wheelchair racer who won a marathon gold at both the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

“My main fear is being told I can’t do something because I am in a wheelchair.”

The trio encountered highs and lows in London, but while Bruhn, 42, admits feeling daunted with retirement looming, Fearnley is focused on the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro and is mentoring promising wheelchair athletes. Wanyoike is working with young Kenyan long-distance runners and has set up several local initiatives including the Cows 4 Kenya farming project, funded by the Boris Becker Foundation. “I have lost my sight, but not my vision,” he said. —AFP

37

LIFESTYLE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Sequence shot

he first ever Red Bull X-Fighters Jams in Kuwait saw 15,000 people entertained with mind-blowing, jaw-dropping and gravity-defying stunts in front of Kuwait’s most famous landmark, Kuwait Towers.

Red Bull X-Fighters Jams, sponsored by Nissan and held under the cooperation of Quarter Mile Club included top international riders Martin Koren from the Czech Republic, Nick Franklin from New Zealand, Daniel Boudin from Sweden and Chris Brock from the United Kingdom.

T

Red Bull X-Fighters Jams rider performing

Hours before Red Bull X-Fighters Jams began; Kuwait’s Arabian Gulf Road was slowly being invaded by thousands of adrenaline-seeking fans.

The show started at 7:30pm and the crowd got bigger and louder as they could hear the riders warming up their bikes and getting ready to hit the ramp. Famous Lebanese TV presenter Michel Azzi, better known as Micho introduced the event and energized the audience. The riders started to warm up the ramps, making a few long jumps to cheer the people, but they actually didn’t need more incentives to arouse.

The riders delighted the crowd performing some impressive tricks and combos such as Backflips, Supermans and Cliffhangers; showing off their powerful machines with leaps of up to 10 meters high.

“It was super exciting, the audience was just amazing. I could hear their loud cheering while performing. I’m happy that they enjoyed the show.” said Red Bull athlete Nick Franklin.

Sheikh Ali Fawaz Al Sabah, CEO of Quarter Mile Club of Kuwait attended the event and praised the show.

The show also included the participation of Chris Pfeiffer (Germany), one of the world’s best motorbike stunt riders.

Pfeiffer a four-time World Stunt Riding Champion gave an amazing performance and showed the best of his tricks and took the breath of the audience away as they were experiencing such action live for the first time.

“I’m happy to be here in Kuwait, the hospitality was great, and people were friendly and excited as they filled the location hours before we started. The crowd was fantastic and interacted with my shows especially when I performed some of my signature tricks.

Red Bull X-Fighters Jams proved to be the biggest motorsport event hosted in Kuwait as it attracted a large number of audiences and the biggest names in freestyle motocross.

MC Michel Azzi introducing the event

Saluting the Audience with MC Michel Azzi

Chris Pfeiffer performing stunts

Mohammed Al Attar jumping over the motocross

Back Flip

Chris Pfeiffer performing while holding the Kuwait Flag

Free-running show on the ramp performed

by Red Bull Athlete Mohammed Al-Attar

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

lifestyle F e a t u r e s

An owner holds her Oriental Shorthair cat during a cat exhibition in the Kyrgyzstanís capital Bishkek yesterday. Cats owners from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan gathered yesterday in Bishkek to show off their pets. — AFP photos

A woman and her Sphynx cat pose during a cat exhibition.

Photo shows a woman and her Scottish Fold cat.

Wearing a hat a Highland Straight cat looks on during a cat exhibition.

Photo shows a woman and her Maine Coon cat.

Photo shows a Canadian Sphynx cat.

Remy plays in the pool at the Lauderdale Pet Lodge.

Dog handler Lorna Laramee plays with Princess and Joker at the Lauderdale Pet Lodge. — MCT photos

S

Bernie and Grady lodge in their kennel suite.

pigots spew chlorine-free purified water as guests scurry and splash inside two gleaming pools. Air-conditioned suites cool visitors kicking back in their rooms with flatscreen TVs and cable. Grilled quarter-pounder hamburgers are made to order. It’s all fun under the sun at this retreat near Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, but this isn’t the Hyatt or Hilton. This is a haute dog hotel: the Lauderdale Pet Lodge, one of the newest South Florida resorts providing canines and felines high-end accommodations and amenities mimicking the finer tastes of their two-legged owners. Yes, South Florida is increasingly becoming a “pupscale place” for pets needing day and overnight stays, with features such as one-on-one cuddle time, acupuncture and Skype sessions.

The Lauderdale Pet Lodge, which starts at $55 a night for a room for a dog and $25 for a room for a cat, joins D.O.G. (Daycare, Obedience and Grooming), a luxury hotel that opened in November in Miami’s artsy Wynwood neighborhood.

Boarding prices for the 15,000-square-foot facility range from $30 to $120 for its biggest suite, which is 11 by 12 feet. The price includes 15 minutes of individual playtime, Skype video sessions with the owner and Instagram photo updates.

In Delray Beach, Fla, PetsHotel, part of the PetSmart chain, offers a “Pawsidential Suite” for $81 a night, with add-ons such as a hypoallergenic, elevated bed, self-serve ice cream sundaes with biscuits, and a TV that plays pet-themed programs. And Chateau Poochie in Pompano Beach, Fla-one of the pioneers in the doggone suite life-offers lodging for $47 to $87 a night. The suites are painted in jewel-tone hues and fitted with customized bed linens. The lobby rivals those of human hotels, complete with chandelier and a mirrored check-in counter. The resort’s tagline: “Welcome to luxury unleashed!”

It’s an industry that has been barking louder in recent years.

The American Pet Products Association estimates that boarding facilities are one of the fastest-growing areas of the $52 billion

The Lauderdale Pet Lodge.

US pet industry. Last year, pet owners spent $4 billion on grooming and boarding, up from $3.8 billion the year before.

Jeffery Davis, a public relations manager for PetSmart, said that’s because people see themselves as “pet parents” and their dogs and cats as members of the family. In fact, one 2011 study commissioned by Milo’s Kitchen dog treats found that 81 percent of Americans view their dogs as equal members of their households. “Pet parents want the best for their pets and want to know their pets are in the best care when they board them,” Davis said. “We created our PetsHotel to give pets a personalized, hotel-style experience that is safe, comfortable and fun.”

But can these places be too posh, or too much for Spot and Fifi? Cherie Wachter, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of Florida’s Broward County, said it’s all about moderation. “We all love our pets and we want the best for them, but if your dog isn’t used to having a hamburger at night, we don’t want them to go to the pet lodges and end up with an upset tummy.” Some local lodge owners say they consulted with veterinarians about the food and extras when planning their services to ensure the health and safety of furry guests. Wachter said she knows dogs that have benefited from high-end massages. She suggested that pet owners should visit the places first to have a good understanding of the facility and costs. “Make sure you check the prices so there aren’t any surprises when you get the final bill.”

Fort Lauderdale, Fla resident Kelley Binder can’t resist virtually checking up on her two dogs-Nate, an apricot goldendoodle, and Ellie, a cream-colored golden retriever-when they spend the day at the Lauderdale Pet Lodge. A smartphone application allows her to keep tabs on them at the pet resort in real-time, no matter where she is.

“I get to peek at them when they are in playtime and swimming,” said Binder, who has been lodging her dogs there for the past week so they can socialize and swim. “(The app) is just fun, and it can be quite addicting.” As Binder’s dogs lounged nearby,

resort owner John Glorieux pointed to one of the bigger pools, which has 2,500 gallons of water: “This is what you find in a kiddie pool in Disney World,” said Glorieux, who with his wife, Laurie, owns a larger facility in Pompano Beach.

Looking to expand to Fort Lauderdale, the couple spent $4 million to transform the former Gold Coast Roller Rink into a sprawling canine-and-feline complex that caters to clients who live off Las Olas Boulevard and Rio Vista, as well as travelers who need to drop off pets while heading to the airport or Port Everglades. The couple’s philosophy: “No cages, no crates, no kidding.”

“We built and designed this without any kind of compromises at all,” said Glorieux as he strolled the complex, which has the feel of a school campus. Separate buildings can hold up to six dogs in individual suites kept at a cool 73 degrees. At the front of the center, where windows face the zooming traffic on Federal Highway, there is feline lodging, where cats have “luxury floorto-ceiling multilevel condos” with soothing music playing in the background.

“Even though this seems crazy to have for dogs ... everything about this place is built knowing the dogs and knowing how comfortable we need the dogs to be,” Glorieux said. “We want this to be about fun for the dogs.” Just don’t use the “K word” when referring to these posh lodges. Owners say people tend to associate kennels with animals stuffed in crates on top of each other.

“It’s not a kennel,” said Hector Antunez, owner of D.O.G. in Wynwood, as an employee towed a cleaning cart to wipe down the glass doors of the enclosures. “We have rooms, and each room gets cleaned every day like a regular hotel.” — MCT

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

lifestyle T r a v e l

‘Spirit and Vision’ at the Suquamish Museum has a mystical Tamanowas Stick, a personal-spirit symbol usually buried with a person, and a cedar mask with wild eyebrows and blushing cheeks.— MCT photos

A

nybody new to Seattle might wonder about the city’s name. It’s not like New York, named after a place in the “old country,” or Madison, named for a dead president. Seattle is named for a peace-loving Indian chief-a little classier than Chicago, derived from a native word for wild garlic.

When you’ve been here long enough to be settled in and have a favorite coffee order, it’s time to learn more about your hometown’s heritage. Make a ferry-ride pilgrimage to the Kitsap Peninsula, to the winter home and final resting place of the city’s namesake, Chief Seattle.

And now’s a good time to go, because the chief’s tribe, the Suquamish, has opened a handsome new museum where you can learn all about Chief Seattle’s people and their culture.

One surprise: The chief himself gets a conspicuously modest mention. The 9,000-square-foot, $6 million tribal museum, which opened in September a few hundred feet from the chief’s grave in the village of Suquamish, replaces a well-respected museum dating to the 1980s.

The Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort is just west of the Agate Passage Bridge along Highway 305.

In part with newfound wealth from its Clearwater Casino, the tribe hired Storyline Studio of Seattle to design new exhibits, and Mithun Architects created a stained-wood building surrounded by native plantings of sword fern, wild currant and cedar.

Inside, it’s a gleaming example of modern museum concepts with a topical “less is more” orientation that doesn’t overwhelm. A single, compact hall showcases artifacts from tribal archives, or even from contemporary tribal members’ attics or family rooms (giving the sense that this is truly “living history”).

In the permanent exhibit, “Ancient Shores-Changing Tides,” simple island-like displays communicate large

Take in a stunning panorama of the Cascade Mountains from the Suquamish, Washington, waterfront.

A Red Hat Society group from Poulsbo learns about a 300-year-old canoe hoisted by sculpted figures of tribal people at the new Washington’s Suquamish Museum.

themes: • ”Teachings of Ancestors” includes a bone sewing needle and a cedar-root basket from the site of Old Man House, the longhouse on a nearby beach where Chief Seattle spent much of his life.

• ”Spirit and Vision” has a mystical Tamanowas Stick, a personal-spirit symbol usually buried with a person, and a cedar mask with wild eyebrows and blushing cheeks.

• ”Gifts from Land and Water” includes, among other things, a utilitarian clam-digging stick and a meanlooking wooden club used to kill salmon.

• ”Shelter, Clothing and Tools” displays old and new, such as a dress astoundingly made of shredded cedar alongside a championship jacket from the 1984 national Indian Slo-Pitch Tournament.

• ”Opportunity and Enterprise” are represented by 21 baskets of cedar bark, historically used for gathering clams and berries. (The modern representation of enterprise might be the tribal casino, which collects many “clams” from its patrons.)

• ”Wisdom and Understanding” gives a puzzlingly brief nod to Chief Seattle. Context comes from this narrative: “(He) is perhaps the most famous of tribal leaders from the Salish Sea. But for the Suquamish people he was just one of many admired leaders throughout our history, each celebrated for their own unique skills.”

Six other leaders from across the years get the spotlight, with artifacts such as the gavel of Grace Duggan, the tribe’s first judge.

Why not dedicate more space to the leader for whom the big city is named?

“I think that the tribe is consciously trying to move away from (Chief Seattle) being the beginning, middle and end of the tribe,” explained museum director Janet Smoak. “It’s in no way a reflection of less esteem or less respect.”

Exhibits briefly reference Chief Seattle’s famous 1854 speech when he played a key role in treaty negotiations as his people were moved to reservations (see the speech’s full text on the tribe’s website at www.suquamish.nsn.us; search for “speech”). A peaceable man in tune with the Earth, he noted with melancholy that “my people are ebbing away like a fast receding tide that will never flow again.” Yet he also delivered a burning message that his people’s spirits will forever inhabit this land.

Something the museum does well: a historical multimedia production, creatively projected from above onto three child-level platforms, showing happy times _ oldtime salmon roasts _ and less happy, when tribal children forcibly attended military-type schools after Teddy Roosevelt declared America “would make good citizens of all the Indians.”

The museum’s trumping centerpiece is a carved canoe, more than 300 years old, used in the 1989 Paddle to Seattle, the first of a now-annual series of intertribalcanoe journeys around the Salish Sea. Hoisting it are six sculpted figures representing the Suquamish from ancient times to present, including two sea otters “from before the great changer came and made people into people and animals into animals,” Smoak explained, citing the kind of beliefs that defined the tribe.

If you want to feel closer to the man Seattle, head a short ways down South Street to the cemetery adjacent to St Peter’s Catholic Mission, circa 1904. Reflecting varying spellings of both his name and that of his tribe, based on changing interpretations of the native language, a white marble marker is inscribed “Seattle, Chief of the Suguampsh and Allied tribes, died June 7, 1866, The firm friend of the whites, and for him the City of Seattle was

At Chief Seattle’s gravesite in Suquamish, Washington, recent improvements include carved story poles depicting significant events from his lifetime. named by its founders.” Below that, the other name by which he was commonly known: “Sealth.”

Here you’ll see more plainly how the tribe honors him, in the form of significant improvements made to the gravesite in 2009 with $200,000 plus in grants split between the tribe and the city of Seattle. Flanking the stone are beautifully carved 12-foot cedar “story posts” that highlight moments from the chief’s life, such as his childhood sighting of Capt. George Vancouver’s exploration ships in1792.

Also added was a retaining wall etched in the native Lushootseed language and in English with messages such as “The soil is rich with the life of our kindred.” A wheelchair-friendly path connects to the parking lot, and visitors may rest on benches shaped like Suquamish canoes. Walk through the village to see more changes new money has brought to Suquamish, such as the charmingly named House of Awakened Culture, a waterfront community center devoted to such activities as classes in language, weaving and carving.

Browse native art at Rain Bear Studio or grab lunch at Bella Luna Pizzeria, a rub-elbows nine-table eatery perched on pilings over the waterfront. Better yet, on a sunny day, pack a lunch to Old Man House Park, historic site of the chief’s longhouse, five minutes away. Sit on a log and take in the view that Chief Seattle’s people still love: narrow and scenic Agate Passage on one side, and on the other a panorama of snowy mountains across diamond-glinting waves of the salty sound. In its day, this beach was where a native leader could take in all of his world, or all of it that mattered.—MCT

At Bella Luna Pizzeria in Suquamish, Washington, Jenn Miranda serves a hot pizza right out of the oven.

Red Bull X-Fighters Jams thrills Kuwait

37

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

This undated photo provided by the Fashion Institute of Technology shows a Keith Haring character supporting a Nicholas Kirkwood designed pump. The shoe is on display at the ‘Shoe Obsession’ exhibit at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum in New York. The exhibition, showing off 153 specimens, runs through April 13. — AP photos

A shoe decorated with a miniature tea set and a lock titled ‘Alice,’ and designed by Nicholas Kirkwood.

E

“Aida” at the Royal Opera in London in 2010. Yes, wear them ... while singing.

ven the Old Testament talks about shoes. The writers weren’t clear on just what kind of sandal Judith wore that so enticed Holofernes — but this Biblical tale ends badly for the dude.

(Judith seduces, then beheads him.) “This shoe obsession goes way back for men and women,” says Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at FIT, where a new exhibit on the seductive nature of shoes just opened.

“Shoe Obsession,” running in the Special Exhibitions Gallery through April 13, explores our fascination with footwear — high heels, in particular, from Manolo Blahnik to Christian Louboutin to Alexander McQueen. The show offers more than 150 stunning pairs, from the spikiest stilettos to the wackiest, most gravity-defying platforms.

“Shoes and accessories have moved center-stage in fashion,” says Steele. “Maybe it’s because shoes are sculptural. Clothing, when not worn, just lies there flat, lifeless. But shoes seem to have an autonomous quality, which may explain why our obsession with shoes seems to have reached new heights.” Don’t miss these high-heeled jaw-droppers.

MANOLO BLAHNIK: Check out his rhinestone-buckled, silver d’Orsay shoes, a version of which figured prominently in a 2003 “Sex and the City” episode titled “A Woman’s Right to Shoes.”

A pair of silver shoes designed by Chanel with guns as heels.

A colorful mod shoe ‘Cruise’ by Nicholas Kirkwood.

Photo shows a shoe designed by Nicholas Kirkwood for the Rodarte spring 2011 fashion show that has the appearance of antique ceramic.

RUPERT SANDERSON: He designed a simple pair of gold gladiator sandals (simple if you’re not impressed by the two gold, crouched figures that serve as the platform and heel) for Verdi’s

THE DAPHNE GUINNESS CASE: This style icon and beer heiress has a major shoe jones. She’s donated a few faves from her closet, including sparkly Louboutins, pony-haired Nina Riccis that look like you’re wearing the shoe upside down, and an Alexander McQueen marvel (from his Spring 2008 collection) that suggests an embroidered pink and black bridge.

NICHOLAS KIRKWOOD: A relatively new, young, upstart designer, his Alice shoe comes complete with wee dangling teacups and a brass key. Good luck running to catch the train in these.

Photo shows Roger Vivier’s Eyelash Heel pump.

MASAYA KUSHINO: Keep an eye on your pulse when checking out “Lung-ta” (aka, “The Wind Horse”), a sculptural masterpiece by this young Japanese artist who crafted a shoe out of leather, lace, polished wood and a fine ponytail of silky golden human (yes, human) hair. “This is not a shoe you wear in the subway,” said his translator at the exhibit opening. “You don’t wear these at all.

This is fine art.” Hey, we’re not arguing.

When/ where: Through April 13, closed Sundays and Mondays.

The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Seventh Avenue at 27th Street.— http://www.newsday.com

A pair of shoes designed by Tom Ford in 2012.

Photo shows a shoe, made of mirror fragments titled ‘Invisible’, designed by Andreia Chaves.

Photo shows a shoe designed by Masaya Kushino, and made with lacquered Japanese cypress wood, human hair, and lace.

Photo shows a Kei Kagami’s oxidized metal and leather footwear.

Photo shows a pair of shoes designed by Noritake Tatehana for Lady Gaga.

Photo shows a Masaya Kushino’s ‘Storm Horse’ shoe, which features strands of a horse’s mane.

Photo shows a Christian Louboutin’s shoe with googly-eye decorations.

A model sporting fur boots.

Christian Louboutin’s ‘Fetish Ballerine’ pump.

A thigh-high boot designed by Nicholas Kirkwood.

Christian Louboutin’s ‘Fetish Ballerine’ pump.

A model wearing high boots during the Rebecca Minkoff.

Photo shows a Janina Alleyne’s ‘Exoskeleton’ shoe.