3 Mar 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

Municipality destroys 637kg of expired food

www.kuwaittimes.net

RABI ALTHANI 21, 1434 AH

Qaeda’s top leader Zeid killed in Mali

SpaceX recovers cargo capsule control

Madrid beat Barca for the second time

NO: 15736

for crimes against Islam’

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511 ‘wanted 7 dead 27 or alive 20 Qaeda issues English-language advice magazine

Max 28º Min 12º High Tide 03:20 & 14:59 Low Tide 09:22 & 22:07

RIYADH: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Islamist movement’s most active branch, has released an English-language magazine advising would-be militants on how to torch parked cars and cause traffic accidents. The magazine, released on militant websites, also warns France to pull back from Mali and lists 11 public figures in the West, including author Salman Rushdie, who it says are “wanted dead or alive for crimes against Islam”.

AQAP, based in the impoverished, lawless state of Yemen, has previously plotted to bring down international airliners and is seen by Western governments as a danger to oil-producing Gulf states and major crude shipment routes. In a section entitled “open source jihad”, the magazine gives tips on how to set fire to parked cars, including advice such as “don’t get petrol on yourself”, and suggests spilling oil on road bends to cause crashes.

An editorial in the magazine warned France to end its military intervention in Mali, citing the US experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, which it said made “them bite their fingertips in regret”. The magazine also called on militants to attack 11 public figures in the West, including Rushdie, whose 1988 novel The Satanic Verses was seen by many Muslims as blasphemous. Among others are Dutch politician Geert Wilders and CanadianSomalian activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, both strong critics of Islam, and US pastor Terry Jones, who staged a public burning of copies of the Quran. — Reuters

KPI, Israeli oil deal angers Kuwaiti MP

By A Saleh DAKAHLIYA: The body of Hossam Eldin Abdullah Abdelazim, 14, who activists say died when an armored police vehicle crushed him, is carried for burial from the international hospital in Mansoura, in the Nile Delta province of Dakahliya, Egypt yesterday. — AP

Violent protests erupt in Egypt PORT SAID: Violent protests erupted outside Egypt’s capital yesterday as activists accused police of using excessive force in two cities and running over protesters, including one who was crushed to death by an armored vehicle.

The violence in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura and the Suez Canal city of Port Said came as US Secretary of State John

Kerry was in Cairo meeting with opposition figures.

Liberals and seculars are angry that Washington is urging them to take part in parliamentary elections and see US support for the vote as backing for President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood party. At least two of those invited said they declined to

meet Kerry. The two cities, Mansoura and Port Said, have been calling for a civil disobedience campaign to bring down Morsi.

The Interior Ministry, embattled by months of protests aimed at against its forces, called on political groups to reign in protesters in Mansoura who stormed the city’s old police headquarters yester-

day evening. Protesters and opposition parties accuse Morsi and the Brotherhood of trying to monopolize power and of reneging on promises of reform. They also want parts of a new constitution amended and are calling for the formation of a more inclusive government.

Continued on Page 12

KUWAIT: MP Saa’doun Hammad Al-Otaibi has accused Kuwait Petroleum International Co (KPI) of violating Kuwait laws that incriminate any form of transactions with the Zionists. “This was clear when IDS, a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum International, signed a partnership deal with an Israeli lady, residing in Tel Aviv, to own a company in Romania,” he said, adding that the same lady had mediated to sell gas stations in Romania to KPI. “All the 14 gas stations bought by KPI in Romania for 14 million euros in 2011 were provided by this same lady”, he said. He urged the PM to take all necessary measures to stop such violations. “The Oil Minister has one of two options - either to refute the allegation or resigns,” he underlined. — Agencies PAGE

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United go 15 points clear

Indian nurses duped

Assad eyes 2014 presidential poll Well-armed jihadists raise fear of new war SURABAYA: Indonesian dog lover Handoko Njotokusumo and Ace ride through traffic during their weekend joy ride on a motorcycle in Surabaya located in eastern Java island yesterday. Handoko, 57 a retired businessman, regularly takes Ace, a golden retriever, for a ride around the city. — AFP

Iran, Amano’s term in focus at IAEA meeting VIENNA: Deadlocked talks with Iran will be in focus at a meeting of the UN nuclear agency’s board from tomorrow, together with a possible new term for director general Yukiya Amano. Western powers, however, are expected to refrain from upping the ante against Tehran at the meeting in Vienna in order not to jeopardize parallel diplomatic efforts by six world powers, diplomats said.

“My own instinct is that there won’t be an Iran resolution,” from the 35-nation International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors, one diplomat said. “But it’s not definite yet.” This is despite the fact that Iran refuses to give the IAEA access to sites, documents and scientists involved in what the agency suspects were efforts, mostly in the past but possibly ongoing, to develop nuclear weapons.

More than a year of meetings, the latest on February 13 in Tehran, have failed to agree on a so-called “structured approach” to address these allegations. The agency also conducts regular inspections of Iran’s declared nuclear sites and its quarterly reports routinely Continued on Page 12

DEIR EZZOR: Victory in Syria’s civil war is still up for grabs, but some rebel commanders fear that even if they do oust President Bashar Al-Assad they will then have to take on Islamists they accuse of seeking to hijack their democratic revolution. Leaders of the rebel Free Syrian Army in the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor are in a quandar y, because Islamist fighters are well financed, well armed and disciplined, and their contribution to the cause is indisputable.

“There aren’t many of them, but they have financial and logistical support that we don’t have, and will certainly never have,” says one FSA commander, Abdel Al-Salam Tabsah. “They receive money from abroad and have the best arms... making them the best soldiers, and we should rely on them to be able to overthrow Assad,” he adds.

Everyone who comes to fight Assad is welcome, he declares, but quickly follows that by saying “all the foreigners joining (Syria’s jihadist) Al-Nusra Front are Islamic extremists and have an erroneous interpretation of Islam.”

Little is known about Al-Nusra Front, a group with roots in Iraq that has become a formidable fighting force in the anti-Assad war. But the International Crisis Group has said that

for Al-Nusra, overthrowing Assad represents “only half the battle; success would come only once the entire regime was replaced with an Islamic state following Salafi principles.”

The objectives of Islamists were abundantly clear on Monday, when jihadists of the Hamza unit in Deir Ezzor paraded through the streets to celebrate their upgrade to brigade from battalion. “We will fight for Syria to be controlled by Islam,” Abu Mohammed shouted through a loudspeaker, as a fellow fighter distributed pamphlets about jihad and martyrdom. “What we want is that, after the fall of Assad, Syria will be an Islamic country.”

That doesn’t set well with FSA commander Abu Ammar. “ The Islamic brigades operating in this and other Syrian cities have as their principal objective the creation of an Islamic state,” he says. “But what the FSA wants is to turn Syria into a new Turkey where moderate Islam reigns, far from the extremism of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Here we are fighting to expel one dictator, and what we are not going to permit is to have another dictator imposed on us.” Tabsah adds: “What we’re afraid of is that Al-Nusra Continued on Page 12

KFAR NUBUL: Syrian anti-government protesters hold a banner against the international community’s reluctance to arm rebel forces while waving preBaath Syrian flags adopted by the rebels during a demonstration against the regime in Kfar Nubul in the northwestern province of Idlib. — AFP

49 killed nationwide DAMASCUS: Syria’s close ally Iran said yesterday that President Bashar Al-Assad will take part in next year’s presidential election and that it is up to the Syrian people to choose their own leader. On the ground, at least 16 rebels and 10 soldiers were killed in a ferocious dawn battle on the outskirts of a strategic city near the Turkish border as the army said it had recaptured an important highway leading to second city Aleppo.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem was in Tehran yesterday for talks on the nearly two-year conflict which has killed

at least 70,000, according to UN estimates. At a news conference with Muallem, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said “in the next election, President Assad, like others, will take part, and the Syrian people will elect whomever they want.” The “official position of Iran is that... Assad will remain legitimate president until the next... election” in 2014, Salehi said.

Assad took over as president in 2000 following the death of his father Hafez who ruled Syria with an iron fist for 30 Continued on Page 12

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

LOCAL

News

in brief

New ambulances for MOH KUWAIT: Thirty-seven new ambulances have been procured and will become part of the fleet at the Ministry of Health shortly. With the new ambulances joining, the fleet will now be 60 ambulances strong. This will be the second lot of ambulances to join the fleet. The first lot of 23 ambulances was received two weeks ago. Sources said new ambulances were equipped with latest technological equipments for transporting patients and were suitable for obese patients. The new ambulances were also more conducive for the Kuwait climate.

Ministry reshuffle KUWAIT: A reshuffle among the leaders in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour was expected very soon, sources said. The reshuffle will precede any other decisions in the ministry. Sources said that the move will include various top jobs starting with assistant undersecretaries, administrations directors and heads of departments in different sections of the ministry. Sources said that those who have served 30 years will be retired as soon as the lists are announced by the Civil Service Commission.

New hospitals project KUWAIT: The central tender committee is waiting for Ministry of Public Works to finalize the award for four hospitals projects, sources said. The hospitals are Al Razi, Ibn Sina, Children and Maternity hospitals. Sources said these hospitals were aimed at improving services in health care in the country by increasing the bed capacity proportional to the current population. These hospitals will replace and support the current hospitals. The four hospitals will have a capacity of 2100 beds and also house surgery departments and out patient clinics. These will function as comprehensive services hospitals. Sources said that four international companies have submitted their offers to finalize the four hospital projects and the central tender committee has given the ministry time to finalize the venture. Sources explained that the project cost was KD 600 million, translating into KD 150 million for each hospital. The entire project is to be finalized within the next four years.

MUSCAT: Kuwait parliament speaker Ali Al-Rashed met yesterday with Deputy Prime Minister for Cabinet Affairs Fahad bin Mahmoud Al-Saeed and discussed ways of boosting bilateral relations, particularly in parliamentary domain. Al-Saeed commended level of cooperation between the Kuwaiti parliament and Omani Shura Council. Al-Rashed conveyed greetings of the Kuwaiti leadership to Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed of Oman, wishing lasting prosperity for the Omani people.

Number of Thalassemia in Gulf ‘highest in the world’ Kuwait hosts conference

By Nawara Fattahova

Drug trader held KUWAIT: Drug enforcement men arrested an African expat for possessing one kilogram of hasheesh and some cash from the proceeds of drug sales. Earlier information was received about the man being active in the drug trade.

After taking necessary legal permissions and collecting required information about his activities, he was arrested.

His residence was raided and searched which led to the discovery of one kilogram of hasheesh. He and the contraband were sent to the concerned authorities.

Stage set for 2013 Horeca Kuwait KUWAIT: The Leaders Group for Consultations and Training is all set to host the 2013 Horeca Kuwait, a catering and hospitality exhibition, at the Raya Ballroom in the Courtyard Marriott Hotel from March 18-20, 2013.

The lineup of companies which signed up for this year’s show has been completed, the group announced recently. The exhibition is likely to attract Nabila Al-Anjari large participation “following the huge success the exhibition earned during its first edition last year, and given the monumental growth expected in the hospitality and catering business in Kuwait.”

The General Manager of the Leaders Group, Nabila AlAnjari, meanwhile said 2013 Horeca Kuwait is an important opportunity for companies active in the field to communicate with their audience.

“The exhibition has become an annual forum to witness the latest developments in the hospitality and catering industries as it hosts experts from around the world,” she said.

Companies look forward to showcase their latest products during the two-day event which includes tools, accessories and other requirements of the hospitality and catering fields.

Several activities are also set to take place during the event including cooking competitions, Al-Anjari added.

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Thalassemia League organized the First Gulf Iron Summit from March 2-3, at the Kuwait Regency Hotel under the auspices of the Minister of Health, Dr. Mohammed Al-Haifi. Doctors from various GCC countries delivered lectures and organized workshops at the summit in which each participating doctor will get 16 credits.

Dr Adel Al-Asfoor, Head of the Sabah Medical Area, represented the Minister of Health in his opening speech. “Genetic diseases such as thalassemia and sickle cell anemia with its complications are considered diseases that are difficult to treat, and eventually lead to organ disorder. Current statistics show that about 900 patients are afflicted with these two diseases, and the number is increasing every year,” he said during the summit yesterday.

Kuwait is a pioneer in hosting such summits and conferences. “The government cares about the health sector and has established modern hospitals and medical centers. It has also signed agreements with best universities from all over the world, and international consultants regularly visit these centers. The Ministry of Health plans to register all cases of thalassemia and to ensure early checking for genetic blood diseases so that these could be diagnosed in early stages,” added AlAsfoor.

According to him, patients afflicted with this disease often do not complete their medical treatment. “ This summit will review a study to ensure continuous treatment, especially since patient needs sys-

tematic follow-up. Another problem is that people often insist on marrying in cases even where it is found that one of the spouses is afflicted with this disease, even when they know they may have sick children.

On her part, Dr. Maha Burisli, Head of the Kuwait Thalassemia League, wished all

Dr Adel Al-Asfoor addressing the meeting. success for the summit and hoped to receive recommendations that would help patients with thalassemia and sickle cell anemia.

“I hope this summit will help improve their quality of life, specifically in the field of pain management for the sickle cell anemia and psychotherapy for thalassemic patients with compliance problems. These recommendations will benefit patients in Kuwait and the GCC to ease their suffering.

We are hoping to see specialized clinics to treat these afflictions in Kuwait and the GCC. In this conference, we have tried to gain a holistic view of chronic hemolytic anemia and focus on other aspects that can directly affect the treatment of patients, as well as design workshops that are directed for the benefit of patients and parents,” she pointed out.

There are not less than 400 patients with thalassemia and 500 patients with sickle cell anemia who are receiving care at the governmental hospitals. “As in other Gulf countries, there are many complications associated with the original disease that affect the course of the treatment. The most important complication is iron overload. In this conference, we are trying to deliver the state of the art information regarding the diagnosis, treatment and management of iron overload, and we thank our dear lecturers who are going to do this task,” Dr. Burisli further said.

She also announced some good news.

“We recently witnessed a successful bone marrow transplant in Kuwait, performed in Sheika Badriya Al-Ahmed center by Dr Salim Alshemeri, which indicates positive prospects for our futuristic management plans. We are also embarking on a national registr y for thalassaemia, which will involve a unified treatment protocol for thalassaemia patients in Kuwait. We are hopeful to see a thalassaemia center in Kuwait, as in other countries of the region,” she explained.

Kuwait Thalassemia league was established in 1993 by treating physicians and parents. “The aim of the league is to spread awareness among the community. Now, 20

years later, we are happy to see many achievements despite many limitations.

The achievements include the premarital screening law which has prevented many unsafe marriages. In this conference, we will see the result of the screening program in Kuwait in the last four years,” stressed Burisli.

“Many new technologies have arrived in Kuwait, one of which is pre gestational diagnosis otherwise known as PGD, which will definitely help parents with children suffering from Thalassemia or SCD to have healthy children and will hopefully match bone marrow donors for their affected siblings. This will ease the suffering of the affected families and decrease the financial cost accrued to the government,” she concluded.

Dr. Essam Zuhair, representative of the Sultan Bin Khalifa International Thalassaemia Award, noted that the number of Thalassemia patients is very high in the GCC region, and is the highest in the world.

“For instance, in the United Arab Emirate, it has reached eight percent while it is about three or four percent in the world. These patients need special care and cannot be ignored. We also found that transferring blood to these patients not only gives them life but causes new complications as the percentage of iron increases in the body. Hence, we need medicines to treat it. Unfortunately many patients die as they do not have enough awareness about the excess iron in the body. We could not limit the spread of this disease till now, despite the pre-marriage compulsory test,” he stated.

Kuwait to deposit Syria donation soon KUWAIT: Kuwait is set to deposit $300 million with the United Nations in the next few days so that the amount can be distributed to Syrians affected by the ongoing struggle in their home country, a local newspaper reported yesterday quoting government insiders.

The amount forms the country’s contribution during the UN-sponsored Syria donors’ conference that Kuwait hosted in January-end. Since then, Kuwait was yet to submit its share of the donation, leading to rumors about the Gulf state possibly reconsidering its obligations. “The amount will be submitted within the next few days by the Foreign Ministry in the UN’s account,” said the sources without providing a specific date.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the sources further indicated that Kuwait was “committed to the obligation” made during the conference “regardless of the position of any country” with regards to their own obligations. The sources mentioned “administrative preparations” as the reason behind the delay in payment which they assured “will be made in full.”

Gitmo detainees on hunger strike KUWAIT: Lt Col Barry Wingard, the lawyer assigned by the Pentagon to defend Fayez Al-Kandari, the Kuwaiti detainee at Gitmo, said his client, along with the second Kuwaiti detainee, Fauzi Al-Oudah, and other prisoners, has started a hunger strike and has lost at least ten kilograms of weight. Other prisoners have also similarly lost weight. Wingard stressed that the detainees went on a strike to protest against the ill treatment received at Gitmo. “They are fully convinced that there is no way out except death,” he lamented and called for a Kuwaiti delegation to immediately visit Gitmo. He also urged the Kuwaiti authorities to take some practical steps to ensure the release of these two detainees.

On his part, lawyer Adel Abdul Hadi accused the Kuwaiti government for being so preoccupied with the national anniversaries’ celebrations that it forgot all about the two detainees.

“The funny thing is that this case has been figuring in mysterious discussions for over 11 years without making any progress,” he added, noting that both Kuwaitis were illegally detained and that they should either be tried under provable charges or immediately released.

A group photo of the organizers.— Photos by Joseph Shagra

Dr Maha Burisli (right) and Dr Sundus

Kuwait to launch Mobile Number Portability soon KUWAIT: With the imminent launch of Mobile Number Portability in Kuwait, the Kuwaiti mobile market is about to pass a major milestone in telecommunications development and liberalization. After repeated delays, the Ministry of Communications is resolutely pushing for the implementation of MNP, with a target launch in the summer of 2013. Bearing in mind that half of GCC countries and the vast majority of developed countries have already implemented MNP, Kuwait is not an early adopter. However, despite the delay, MNP will bring a much needed wave of consumer choice. Consumers will no longer have to relinquish their mobile numbers if they choose to switch among operators. In effect, this could open the door for many subscribers, who until now were staying put for fear of losing their number, to leave operators without looking back.

While MNP is clearly good news to consumers and businesses in Kuwait, its impact depends greatly on how it is implemented.

Indeed, it is important to note that the impact of MNP in the markets that have implemented it has varied greatly, depending on the fluidity and cost of the number porting process as perceived by customers.

In some markets as many as 30 percent of mobile subscribers switched providers in the wake of MNP launch, while others saw virtually none budging. For MNP to have a lasting effect in Kuwait and help take the industry to a new level of healthy competition and service innovation, the Ministry of Communications, along with all stakeholders, must insure that a straightforward and affordable porting process is in place.

As for mobile operators, the imminent launch of MNP in Kuwait signals that the name of the game going forward will be a flawless focus on the customer and the best possible customer experience. They should regard MNP as an opportunity to up their game and give customers reasons to stick around beyond attachment to numbers and a penchant for lower tariffs. The hope for operators is that they can turn subscribers from mere opportunistic or functional users into emotionally involved advocates who are attached to the brand and the services and who do not hesitate to recommend them to their social and business networks.

To get the customer experience right, mobile operators need to revamp their value proposition into a holistic experience

centered on customer needs. Granted, most operators have been trying to adapt their identities and position themselves as innovative brands that customers can relate to emotionally. However, that is only the tip of the iceberg; customer experience goes well beyond customer segmentation and branding elements. It includes all business areas, stretches into all customer touch points and covers every stage of the customer journey: from customer acquisition and service usage, to billing and customer care, and into retention. It involves intimately studying the behavior and purchasing habits of customers, and mapping their evolving needs into the operational DNA and culture of the company. During customer acquisition, this can translate into specifically tailored offerings and welcome packages; and of course a satisfactory buying experience in all direct, indirect or virtual channels. In subsequent phases of the customer lifecycle, a positive customer experience builds on a reliable network, appealing promotions to target segments, and all-important customer care. In parallel, the customer experience must be mirrored internally through the right culture, systems, processes, people and operating

structure. For culture in particular, enhancing customer experience spans putting in place the right motivators, incentive schemes, and staff development models to ensure people know what they need to focus on and are rewarded for doing so.

All in all, getting customer experience right is certainly not a simple task, but the incremental value is real and proven.

Experience shows that operators benefit by reducing churn levels and prolonging customer tenure; customer experience excellence also provides an opportunity for additional revenues through usage stimulation, leading to a higher customer willingness to consume new services, and a powerful word of mouth effect. In the US alone, the impact of customer experience enhancement on mobile operators’ revenues was estimated at $1.3 billion in 2011.With the impending implementation of MNP in Kuwait, the case for achieving customer experience excellence is particularly compelling. Unless operators in Kuwait start adapting internally and externally, they may soon start to see their subscriber bases and revenues thinning, to the advantage of those who understand the importance of customer experience.

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

LOCAL

Indian nurses duped by job rackets in Kuwait Fraudsters issue visit visas, extract huge sums

By Sajeev K Peter KUWAIT: In yet another episode in the ongoing saga of illegal job rackets in Kuwait, more than 33 Indian nurses, who were brought here on visit visas with a promise of jobs in the Ministry of Health and private hospitals, are now left in limbo without work or money.

The illegal recruitment agents, who extracted exorbitant amounts from

received any job or our money back,” said Jaison Thomas, a male nurse from Ernakulam, who paid more than 3,50,000 Indian rupees (around KD1,900) back in India for a nurse’s job in Kuwait.

A group of deceived nurses who arrived in Kuwait three months ago after paying between INR 300,000 (KD 1,600) to INR 800,000 (KD4,200) to agents here, visited Thomas Chandy, the chairman of

and other nurses, by Bilateral Construction Company for General Trading and Contracting, Kuwait and signed by Abraham Jose was obtained by Kuwait Times. The letter promises jobs to nurses in AlSabah Urology Hospital for a monthly salar y of KD400.

According to the letter, the nurses were expected to commence their work in their respective positions

by March 1, 2013. Now, with no

KUWAIT: United Indian School Chairman Thomas Chandy talking to the cheated nurses from India at his office yesterday. the nurses as employment fees, have now disowned them, forcing them to fend for themselves as their visit visas expired yesterday.

Some other job rackets, camouflaged as genuine recruiting agents, operate even more deviously. They lure hundreds of nurses with job offers into the country on a three-month visit visa on payment of KD250 per visa, who will have to eventually leave the country empty-handed on visa expiry.

“Our three-month visit visas expire today. So far, we have not

the United Indian School, Abbassiya, who is also a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, to seek a solution to their problems yesterday. Some of the nurses hail from Kuttanadu, a constituency being represented by Chandy in the Kerala assembly. The nurses said they were given fake employment offer letters by the agents promising jobs in MOH hospitals or well-reputed private hospitals in Kuwait.

A copy of such an offer letter issued to Ancy Thomas, Priyamol

jobs being offered, they have to leave the country. Some ten of their friends have already left the country on expiry of their visit visas.

A letter sent by Joby Thomas from Changanachery, Kerala to Chandy explains how vicious and deceptive these visa rackets operate. According to the letter, Thomas was hoodwinked by an Indian recruiting agent Manoj Kumar, who offered him a nursing job at one of the leading private hospitals in Kuwait. As directed by

Manoj Kumar, Thomas sent INR 500,000 into to the ICICI Bank account of Arafat Travels on Nov 25, 2012 and waited for the visa as promised. Even three months after sending the money, he did not receive the visa and whenever he tried to reach on phone, he cut the call, the letter said. Many others who met Chandy yesterday also revealed how they were cheated

by Manoj Kumar. The magnitude of such rackets can be such that these fraudsters might have already pocketed at least INR 65,000,00 so far from these hapless people.

Jayashree and Sonia, who spoke to Kuwait Times said they paid INR 4,25,000 and INR 3,50,000 respectively to the recruiting agent. “We came to Kuwait with great hopes.

But we have to go back to India tomorrow without job or money, otherwise we will become illegal residents,” Jayashree said.

In certain cases, the agents initially sent transferable visit visas taken in the name of reputed private hospitals in Kuwait to the nurses in India. However, they changed the visas after receiving the money.

“It is unfortunate that people back in India still pay such hefty amounts to such fraudsters without verifying the authenticity of the jobs and the agents,” Chandy said. Despite frequent PR offensive in India and Kuwait, visa rackets continue to trap unsuspecting jobseekers in India.

Thomas Chandy informed that the nurses have signed a joint petition which will be handed over to the Indian Embassy for further action. He also said that the matter will be raised during the upcoming session of the Kerala Assembly as a calling attention motion and brought to the attention of the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Thiruvannchoor Radhakrishnan.

Chairman of Citizen Committee Abbassiya, HiDine Thomachan, who was also present during the meeting said, the committee will take all necessar y measures to bring the culprits to justice.

Ice Skating Rink reopens

T

he main skating hall at the Ice Skating Rink resumed operations on Sunday by organizing several activities for the visitors, the Touristic Enterprises Company announced in a recent statement.

Ice Skating Rink and Fountain Park supervisor Omar Al-Sameraei said the operational hours at the facility’s main and minor halls remain unchanged.

The facility welcomes visitors every day from 8:30 am to 10:00 pm over seven separate periods for a KD1.5 fee per a pre-defined period. The facility remains open exclusively to women between 6:30 pm and 10:00 pm each Tuesday though boys up to the age of six are allowed. A discounted entrance fee of KD2 for two periods is effective on this day. The Ice Skating Rink also offers a KD40 monthly subscription, as well as four monthly training classes of one and a half hour duration every week for KD10.

Omar Al-Sameraei

Views differ on ‘working from home’

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: While working from home gained popularity after the spread of internet, particularly because it saves time and money on transportation and other incidental expenses, the regular work environment and routine continue to have their own importance and necessity.

While employees have different opinions, most of them do prefer having to go to their place of work. “I prefer to work from an office environment as I think it is more conducive for new ideas to emerge. I like being with a team and sharing creativity with them. The office environment is more prone to creativity, compared to sitting at home and teleconferencing through Skype,” Johanna, an employee in the marketing filed, told the Kuwait Times.

Ibtisam, a 32-years-old journalist, agreed with Johanna on the issue of going to office being important, and said it resulted in a better performance. “If I work from home, I will be lazy and not as completely dedicated as while working in an actual office. Also, I may not be putting in as much effort if I were not in an office. The environment at the office is different from that at home. In addition, an office is better equipped in terms of gadgetry like a fax, a land line telephone etc., which are not available at home and I do need all these for my work,” she explained.

Fatma, a 28-years-old who works in public relations and coordinates events, thinks that her new job allows her to work from home and is thus better. “I used to work from home at times during vacations. In

many cases, I had to go out in the field for outdoor work but a major chunk of it can be done from home. I also see other positive aspects of working from home. It is a relief from the traffic jams and people are not known to die in car accidents if they are working from home and only have to go to the other room,” she chuckled.

On his part, 50-year-old Nader who works in marketing, said field work was a major part of his job. “I think that working from home is more comfortable and involves lesser pressure as the employee can be at ease, a benefit that an office environment does not provide. And my office work can be done from home,” he stated.

Working from home is also possible for employees in the public sector. Amani is a translator at the Ministry of Information and does all her work from home. “I translate the news and statements from public authorities such as the Amiri Diwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other institutions from Arabic into English at home. I then send these by fax to the Ministry of Information and they read them out in news bulletins on TV. So, I do not have to attend regular office at the ministry,” she stressed.

Executing all work from home is the best choice for business owners. “I think that most of the work can be done from home, whether on phone or through internet. It saves my time, rather than it being wasted out on the road in traffic jams. I may have to go may be once or twice a week to supervise the workers and wrap up certain issues that need my personal attendance,” noted 31-year-old Salem.

13 thefts a day in Kuwait

KUWAIT: Astronomer and historian Adel Al-Sadoun has said that the early spring and accompanying rains resulted in large numbers of flowers appearing throughout Kuwait earlier than normal.

Grilling delay, loans top agenda as political work resumes KUWAIT: Kuwait’s executive and legislative authorities start the new week with a busy schedule which includes attempts to contain escalations with regards to grilling motions as well as calls to the governments to write-off the interests accrued on Kuwaitis’ loans in local banks.

The Cabinet has ‘angered’ the lawmakers backing a grilling motion against Communications Minister Salem Al-Othaina and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad AlHmoud Al-Sabah when the parliament gave its nod to its request to postpone the debate to the next parliamentary term. In a bid to avoid further tensions, parliamentary insiders told Al-Qabas newspaper that the cabinet could request that the debate on a grilling motion filed against Oil Minister Hani Husain and Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali be also delayed and postponed instead to the end of the current term.

Meanwhile, other sources revealed that an anticipated compromise between the cabinet and the parliament’s financial committee over the loans’ issue - which forms the focus of AlShamali’s grilling - is expected to be submitted to the “political leadership” sometime this

week, without giving a specific date. (Qabas) But Al-Jarida newspaper reported yesterday quoting sources within the financial committee that the proposed compromise has already failed. The panel had approved a draft law calling on the government to purchase the loans availed of prior to April 1, 2008, and then reschedule their repayments while writing off the interests. As part of the compromise, the government would have been required to pay KD1000 to every Kuwaiti who could not benefit from this stipulation. The cabinet did not favour the proposal, given its high cost estimated by the Central Bank at KD1.7 billion, excluding the KD1000 grant to each non-beneficiary in the loan waiver. Minister Al-Shamali had consistently reiterated his commitment to the defaulters’ fund, a state fund set up three years ago to provide financial help to defaulters, as the only solution to the problem.

Separately, MP Abdullah Al-Tamimi announced in recent statements to Al-Rai that he plans to open the ‘demographics’ file and focus on the negative effect of “the increase in the marginal labor forces” on Kuwait. “It is time to open the file of marginal workers whose numbers have reached unreal proportions

and turned Kuwaitis into a minority in their own country.”

Al-Tamimi quoted official statistics which indicated that the number of Kuwaitis “does not exceed 31 percent of the population” before going on to mention the disadvantages created by the “huge demographical error” including “increase in crime rates, traffic jams and added pressure on fuel, electricity, water and other services.”

While indicating that there were “excessive expatriate labor forces whose presence was affecting the country’s economic security,” AlTamimi made it clear that his comments were not to be mistaken as if he was targeting the entire expatriate community in Kuwait. “There are many expatriates with positive contributions to the country... I am not talking about our brothers and friends who contributed a lot to Kuwait, but we are only calling for measures that are followed by many countries [to achieve demographic balance],” he explained.

According to Al-Tamimi, 57 percent out of a single community “with a population of 800,000 in Kuwait” are marginal labor forces.

“This is one of the faces of demographic imbalance in Kuwait,” he said.

KUWAIT: An average of 13 thefts were reported every day in Kuwait, according to official 2012 statistics quoted by a report in a local newspaper yesterday.

Meanwhile, sources that made the statistics available to Al-Qabas attributed the large number of reported thefts to the “lack of police presence in residential areas.”

The statistics released by the Ministry of Interior ’s Criminal Evidence General Department indicated that 4664 thefts were reported last year, including 3097 cases classified as felonies and 1570 as misdemeanors. The 13 thefts a day ratio was similar to the average recorded in 2011, according to the sources.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to release official statistics to the press, the sources noted that car thefts, shop burglaries and home robberies were the most reported “which requires redistribution of security patrols in residential areas in accordance with the population density.”

Breaking into cars parked outside homes, malls and workplaces and stealing stuff from inside accounted for largest

number of theft cases in Kuwait. Such cases seemed to have become a “daily routine” and “the number one reported crime” in local police stations. “While such crimes are common around the world, what makes the situation serious in Kuwait is that the culprit in most cases remains unknown,” the sources added.

The report mentioned an incident reported a couple of weeks ago in which eight thefts were reported by car owners living in a Taima neighborhood where a police station is located. The suspects had run away with cash, credit cards and other items they found inside cars they had broken into while these were parked outside their owners’ houses. The thefts reportedly happened at dawn, according to the testimony of a neighbor who said he had witnessed thieves breaking into one car.

Meanwhile, the sources noted that the majority of suspects arrested in similar crimes were juveniles, unemployed or drug dealers. They also indicated that some crimes were committed by expatriate laborers who were in violation of labor laws.

Promising prospects for Kuwait’s economy KUWAIT: Evidence is abounding to support the argument that Kuwait’s economy has performed notably well in 2012. And prospects for 2013 are equally promising.

To begin with, the index of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) increased by 2 per cent in 2012, certainly not in parallel with outstanding performance of key stock markets of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. To be sure, the indexes for bourses of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia grew by 20 per cent, 9.5 per cent and 6 per cent in 2012, respectively.

However, the performance of KSE Price Index in 2012 compares favourably with that of 2011. The index dropped by a whopping 16 per cent in 2011. The awkward performance last year reflected the mood elsewhere in GCC, as all regional bourses except for Qatar posted negative growth rates. What’s more, the year 2013 started off on a positive note, with the index steadily continuing its upward trend, growing by almost 3.5 per cent in January.

In addition, market capitalisation amounted to $104 billion (Dh381.7 billion) in 2012, up from $101 billion in 2011. And as of endFebruary, KSE boasted market capitalisation of $106 billion, thereby confirming the positive

tendency. Understandably, the government is taking the lead for targeted economic developments. Rightly or wrongly, the public sector provides economic directions in Kuwait. In reality, the government initiated the culture of making investments abroad, a policy proved useful when the country became in need of financing the liberation war.

Undoubtedly, Kuwaiti investors are noted for embracing international outlook in their investment decisions, seeking the best possible returns for their investments. Investors from Kuwait are essentials for viability of a number of investment banks and industrial undertakings within the GCC, notably Bahrain.

And fresh signs point out to authorities committing themselves to sustained development projects, with positive implications for the economy as a whole. Amongst others, the authorities seem determined to go ahead with a new modern, environmentally friendly terminal for Kuwait International Airport at the estimated cost of $3.2 billion. As a sign of seriousness on the part of the authorities, a hired consultant has reportedly completed design works, thereby paving the way for attracting bids for the main construction work.

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

LOCAL

Two held for human trafficking KUWAIT: A man who owned 45 fake companies that he used to indulge in human trafficking was arrested along with his accomplice who helped him finalize the illegal transactions. Investigations were on ever since the migration department officials received information about a company representative being active in human trafficking by forging rent contracts.

Investigations revealed that the Arab man visited a certain labor department office almost daily to help many companies qualify for hiring new staffers. Detectives realized that major forgery operation was involved when they discovered that all the companies that the suspect represented were owned by the same man and were registered at the same address. Further probe also revealed that the Public Authority of Civil Information documents attached with the transactions were forged. Police arrested the representative following interrogation of the workers registered by the fake companies, who admitted having bought their residencies. These workers had paid representatives amounts ranging between KD700 and KD1000 per transaction. The man confessed his involvement in human trafficking and forgery, and was helped by a Gulf national who owned the licenses for the fake companies.

The employer was later arrested and eventually confessed to human trafficking after he was confronted with the results of the investigation. He also indicated that he bribed people in the labor department who in turn helped him bloat the number of labourers that his fake companies could employ and thus rig the MSAL’s database.

This scam allowed human traffickers to use the sanctioned extra job openings to issue visas that were then sold to laborers wishing to come to Kuwait. Investigations revealed that nearly 480 workers were brought to Kuwait illegally through the Gulf man’s fake companies. The suspects will remain in custody pending further action while investigations were on to determine if other accomplices could also be involved.

Drug dealers Two armed drug dealers were arrested after a car chase in Khaitan on Friday. The

duo tried to escape after patrol officers approached the vehicle when it stopped suspiciously in an open square. The duo was eventually intercepted and arrested after police found 40 bags of shabu (meth) drugs, heroin and drug paraphernalia from the vehicle. A rifle, .495 machinegun bullets, a magazine, a cleaver and some cash was also found from the suspects’ car. The two were taken to the relevant authorities for further action.

Woman killed in accident A woman died in an accident reported on Thursday night at the Sixth Ring Road.

According to the investigation report, the 32-year-old Egyptian was crossing the highway when a speeding vehicle hit her.

The impact was so much that it left her body severed in half. The remains were referred to the forensic department while the driver of the speeding vehicle was taken into custody to face legal action. A case was filed.

Officer injured A sports car hit a policeman and then sped away in Selwa on Thursday night.

The policeman, who was regulating traffic when he was hit, was taken to the Mubarak Hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured hand and multiple contusions. However, doctors described his condition as stable. Investigations are on in search of the runaway driver.

Policeman held A police officer was taken into custody after investigations revealed it was he who had stolen the car belonging to a colleague of his. The colleague had reported the car as stolen from the Saad Al-Abdullah Police Academy’s parking lot.

Officers at the Shuwaikh police station where the case was filed summoned the Kuwaiti complainant’s friend and coworker as prime suspects. The Gulf national confessed to stealing the car apart from two other vehicles that he used to carry out muggings and thefts. He was referred to the Public Prosecution General Department to face charges.

—Al-Anbaa, Al-Watan

KFH predicts growth in Gulf education sector KUWAIT: Education sector is one of the focus areas for the GCC governments with a growing share spending being channelled to build new schools, colleges, and universities, said a report by the Kuwait Finance House here yesterday. According to the report, sector data shows that the total students in GCC region is expected to grow by 1.8 percent to reach 11.3 million in 2020 from 9. 5 million in 2010. The number of tertiary students is expected to grow by 5.5 percent. The share of tertiary education students is expected to rise from 11 percent in 2010 to 15 percent in 2020, while primary education share would decline from 46 percent to 43 percent during the same period. Enrolment in private education sector is estimated to grow from 1.3 million students in 2010 to 1.9 million students in 2020, by 3.3 percent during the period.

The total number of schools that are expected to grow by 1.2 percent during 2010 to 2020. Due to its huge student population, over 80 percent of total schools are estimated to be located in Saudi Arabia. Private schools growth rate is expected to outpace that of public schools with the number of private schools in the region estimated to increase at a CAGR of 3.2 percent during 2010 to 2020, while public schools are projected to grow at a significantly lower rate

of 0.9 percent during the same period.

Although this private-school market is relatively large in absolute terms, it nonetheless comprises a small percentage of the overall GCC education system, which has roughly 6.3 million students in 35,000 schools, dominated by Saudi Arabia. By spending, private education represents about 14 percent of the USD 36 billion education market in the GCC, despite a relatively high share of private school enrolment. This discrepancy is due to public schools’ high cost of operation. Public schools spend nearly twice the amount per student of their private counterparts.

In regards to Kuwait, the report indicated that the GCC country’s population pyramid indicated that the youth population represents an overwhelmingly large share in the total population. The largest age group population is dominated by “0-25 years old’ group, equivalent to 42.2 percent of the total population.

Realising the importance of education, the Kuwaiti government has embarked on various initiatives to develop the education sector including investment in education to enhance economic growth. The Kuwait government has outlined plans to make large investments in education, healthcare, transport and energy.—- KUNA

NBK volunteers in a group photo.

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

NBK environment awareness campaign covers 150 camps KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) environmental awareness campaign “Help Keep Kuwait Clean and Safe” has already surpassed the expected coverage. Out of the set 200 camps, NBK has already covered 150 camps with the aim of covering a 100 more passing its goal. The campaign aims at helping keep Kuwait clean and safe during the winter camping season and covering more than 200 camps in different areas in Kuwait such as Bnaider, Julaia and Mina Abdullah.

“NBK is an environment-friendly bank.

Along with daily rec ycle procedures of paper, we help protect the environment as it is one of our most precious resources and this just falls under our corporate social

responsibility towards the country.” said Yaqoub Al Baqer, NBK Public Relations Officer.

“NBK staff and volunteers visited campsites, cleaned up litter and other waste and provided awareness initiatives to encourage campers to keep their areas clean.

Volunteers also spoke with campers and provided them with safety and security tips.” added Al Baqer.

NBK has launched a range of environmental initiatives including electricity conservation and paper recycling aimed at promoting environmental awareness. For more information, visit: NBK O fficial Page on Facebook or NBK Twitter account @NBKPage

Yaqoub Al-Baqer

China keen on consolidating historic relations with Kuwait Great strides in mutual trust BEIJING: China is keen to consolidate and strengthen historic ties with Kuwait in all fields, particularly political and economic ones, Vice Minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC) Liu Jieyi stressed here yesterday.

“Chinese-Kuwaiti relations have made great strides in mutual political trust and enhancing cultural and humanitarian exchange since the beginning of diplomatic relations in 1971,” said Liu during his meeting with Kuwait’s Minister of State for Planning and Development and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Dr Rola Dashti, who is currently visiting China.

The two countries share similar stances on many international issues at United Nations, as well as in the Middle East, he added, noting that Kuwait plays a positive role in the region and is working on finding solutions to end current conflicts.

“Kuwait is a significant member in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and China appreciates its effor ts and wishes to strengthen its cooperation and coordination with the GCC countries,” he noted.

He also recalled China’s and the international community’s position during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, because China “calls for justice and for the benefit of the State of Kuwait.”

In addition, he expressed China’s great appreciation to Kuwait for the aid and support it has provided over the years and continues to offer for developing countries.

“I take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to His Highness

the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah for the congratulatory cables they sent on the occasion of assigning Xi Jinping as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China,” he added.

China is working on the implementation of the 13th five-year plan for the country, he said, noting that the process of achieving the set goals in such plans in any country must include other countries’ participation.

He said there is a common need for a solid foundation between the two sides, and “we are ready” to exert efforts with Kuwait in order to move forward in all developmental aspects of cooperation.

Moreover, he revealed his country’s determination to hold the fourth session of the China-West Asia and North African Countries SME Cooperation Forum at the end of June in order to support the owners of those projects both in China and the Arab countries.

He also invited Dr. Dashti to head the Kuwaiti delegation to the forum, which seeks to study how to achieve further economic and sustainable developments, as well as discuss prospect for cooperation and development in the small and medium enterprises.

For her part, Dashti expressed her gratitude and appreciation to the great hospitality she was received with and conveyed the greetings of the Kuwaiti leadership and people to the People’s Republic of China.

She also expressed her congratulatory wishes on the Chinese Lunar New Year, hoping it may be a year filled with success and

prosperity for the country.

She said the State of Kuwait is looking with great interest to cooperate with China as it plays an important and vital role within the UN Security Council, stressing the importance of consolidating bilateral relations.

She also said Kuwait is looking forward to the Chinese leadership’s visit to the country, as well as the Chinese Prime Minister ’s upcoming visit in the summer to strengthen mutual political, economic and cultural historic ties.

The development plan of Kuwait is keen on developing small and medium projects sector due to its importance in providing job opportunities for Kuwaiti youth and embracing their innovations and abilities to support the national economy, she added.

The Kuwaiti National Assembly (parliament) has finally approved the bill of small businesses that aims at setting up a body to support SME (small and medium enterprises) in various economic, services, technological and industrial fields as it suppor ts its employees technically by providing them with training courses at low costs, said Dashti.

She added that the Kuwaiti government has allocated about $7 billion to support the project, stressing that the exchange of experiences and knowledge in this field among Kuwaiti youth who look forward to working in the private sector will promote economic cooperation between young businessmen in the two countries. The meeting was attended by Kuwaiti Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Mohammad Saleh AlThuwaikh. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Dive Team concluded its sixth annual Ushairej Beach cleaning campaign that was organized during the National Holidays. The drive witnessed the team carting away 200 tons of waste that included ship wreckage, fishing nets and debris.

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

LOCAL

Kuwaiti national celebrations continue around the world Parties at diplomatic missions CAPITALS: The Kuwaiti diplomatic missions in several countries continued celebrating the country ’s 52nd Independence Day, 22nd Liberation Day, and the seventh anniversary of His Highness the Amir’s assumption of office. In Tirana, Ambassador to Albania Najib Abulrahman Al-Bader hosted a reception that was attended by Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his wife Liri Berisha and Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli.

Al-Bader welcomed the senior guests including Albanian statesmen, MPs, public figures and intelligentsia, as well as representatives of the Arab diplomatic corps in the Balkan country. He praised the exemplary ties between his country and Albania.

Al-Bader voiced best wished for HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah as well as all the Kuwaiti people and government on this occasion.

In Sarajevo Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Mohammad Fadhel Khalaf met Bosnian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija to discuss the bilateral ties.

Lagumdzija reaffirmed desire to continue cooperation with Kuwait in all domains and consultation on all regional and international issues of common interest, Ambassador Khalaf said in a statement after the meeting.

The ambassador cited the minister and promising that Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue working for enforcing all bilateral agreements on economic and commercial cooperation.

Ambassador Khalaf added that he delivered to Lagumdzija a message from Kuwaiti Deputy

Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on ways to enhance the close ties between the two countries. Lagumdzija thanked Sheikh Sabah for the message which welcomes his visit to Kuwait.

In Singapore, Kuwait Embassy hosted a reception to mark the national days with a large number of Singaporean statesmen, MPs, public figures and intelligentsia, as well as representatives of the Arab diplomatic corps in the SouthAsian island city-state attending.

The ambassador welcomed the guests, highlighting the importance of the friendly ties between Kuwait and Singapore in all areas.

He congratulated HH the Amir, HH the Crown Prince and HH the Prime Minister well as all the Kuwaiti people and government on this occasion.

In Seoul Ambassador to South Korea Met’eb Saleh Al-Mototah hosted a reception that gathered a large number of statesmen, MPs, public figures and intelligentsia, as well as representatives of the Arab diplomatic corps in the East Asian country.

Speaking to KUNA, the ambassador conveyed, on behalf of the diplomatic staff, the best wishes for HH the Amir, HH the Crown Prince and HH the Prime Minister well as all the Kuwaiti people and government on this occasion.

In Havana, Ambassador to Cuba Bader AlAwadhi hosted a reception that gathered several Cuban statesmen, MPs, public figures and intelligentsia, as well as representatives of the Arab diplomatic corps in the Central American island state. Foremost among the dignitaries present were Cuban Minister of Water Resources Maria Chapman, the Scientific Advisor of the State Council Dr. Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart and Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno.

Ambassador Al-Awadhi welcomed the guests and lauded “the exemplary ties” between the two countries.

He repressed, on behalf of the diplomatic staff, the best wishes for HH the Amir, HH the Crown Prince and HH the Prime Minister well as all the Kuwaiti people and government on this occasion.

In Cotonou Ambassador Fayez Mishari AlJassem hosted a reception at Benin Marina Hotel with a large number of Beninese statesmen, MPs, public figures and intelligentsia, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps of Arab and other friendly countries in the West African nation attending.

Ambassador Al-Jassem welcomed the senior guests and lauded the close ties between Kuwait and Benin in all domains.

He repressed, on behalf of the diplomatic staff, the best wishes for HH the Amir, HH the Crown Prince and HH the Prime Minister well as all the Kuwaiti people and government on this occasion.

In Warsaw, Ambassador to Poland Adel Mohammad Hayyat hosted a reception at Sheraton hotel where a large number of Polish statesmen, MPs, public figures and intelligentsia, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps of Arab and other friendly countries gathered. He welcomed the senior guests and lauded the close ties between Kuwait and Poland in all domains, noting that the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic ties in May. He conveyed, on behalf of the diplomatic staff, the best wishes for HH the Amir, HH the Crown Prince and HH the Prime Minister well as all the Kuwaiti people and government on this occasion. — KUNA

Municipality destroys 637 kg of expired food

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The Ahmadi municipality branch destroyed 637 kg of rice, sugar and lentils that was found mixed with sand and could not be separated and cleaned. These materials were found stored next to other food supply items which were suitable for consumption.

These goods were found during an inspection campaign carried out by the municipality. The campaign start-

ed at 10 am and lasted for three hours. It was headed by foodstuff head department Hoya Al Ajmi in cooperation with public relations personnel in the municipality.

The campaign covered a number of cooperative societies and food ration branches in the governorate to ensure that all health conditions norms were being observed and to make sure that food material were stored properly. Al Ajmi said they dis-

covered negligence in storing food items and confiscated some quantity of rice and sugar that was found mixed with sand and contained cigarettes butts but kept besides other food items. Such stocks were destroyed immediately and all legal actions were taken to protect the health of consumers. In addition, four citations were handed out for different violations of municipality regulations.

CBK concludes ‘successful’ cultural campaign

Amani Al-Wara’a

KUWAIT: The cultural campaign organized by the Commercial Bank of Kuwait for the second consecutive year came to an end, but not without spreading significant awareness about the lifestyle of Kuwaiti ancestors and common handcrafts used in the pre-oil Kuwait.

“The campaign was part of the CBK’s commitment to revive Kuwait’s heritage, which is part of the bank’s programs by which it seeks to fulfill its social responsibility,” the CBK announced in a statement yesterday.

Meanwhile, Assistant General Manager, Public Relations and Advertisement Department, Amani Al-Wara’a, expressed his gratitude in a statement yesterday for “the huge success” that the 2nd Kuwait Heritage Campaign achieved. He said the activities, including visits to schools, colleges and shopping malls, elicited “great response.”

The campaign also featured a weekly two-hour cultural radio show for three straight weeks, as well as a three-day cultural exhibition held at the 360 Degrees Mall.

Traffic dept conducts inspection campaigns KUWAIT: The traffic department carried out several surprise inspection campaigns in the six governorates this weekend. The campaigns resulted in 7476 traffic citations while 314 vehicles were found in violation. Sixteen people were arrested.

In the capital governorate, 2109 citations were issued while 13 vehicles were detained. Farwaniya governorate saw 960 citations being handed out and 40 vehicles detained.

In Hawally governorate, 1834 citations were issued and 45 vehicles detained while in Ahmadi governorate, 717 citations were handed out and eight vehicles were detained.

In Mubarak Al Kabeer governorate, 117 citations were handed out while in Jahra governorate 382 citations were handed out and seven vehicles were detained. Operations personnel at traffic department handed out 1076 citations and detained 198 vehicles besides arresting 16 people at Kuwait Airport region.

Board members during one meeting.

WCSS celebrates 50 years of voluntary activism KUWAIT: Under the Patronage of HH the Emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah and alongside leading global activists, The Women Cultural and Social Society (WCSS) this week will commemorate Kuwaiti women’s role in rights advocacy, social and charitable work in Kuwait’s intellectual, cultural and political arena over the last 50 years.

In this golden anniversary celebration this week, WCSS is hosting 25 activists from 14 countries, who are known for their influential roles in cultural, political, human and women’s rights in countries like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, the UK, the US, Bangladesh, Palestine, and Lybia.

WCSS, that enjoys the status of a consultant in the Economical and Social Council in The United Nations was the first NGO society to be established in Kuwait by the first graduate women with an objective to defend women’s cultural, intellectual, economical and political rights in Kuwait. Since its establishment, it has worked to raise the awareness of women towards their political and social rights, and has encouraged the Kuwaiti community as a whole to recognize these rights.

WCSS has strived towards empowering women in Kuwait since its establishment in 1963, and stand as torchbearers in defending and championing women’s rights based on Kuwait’s constitution on gender equality.

Since its inception, WCSS has raised awareness of women in Kuwait on their fundamental rights, aiding them in their quest to reach their full potential and making their mark

through influential roles within the country and beyond. In the 1970s, WCSS took a more focused role in obtaining Kuwaiti women’s political rights by holding conferences and seminars, andstarting demonstrations as a call for political rights until this was achieved in 2005. Thereafter, WCSS started the “Raise Your Voice” campaign encouraging women to run for parliament and participate in the political circuit, and provided several training sessions to achieve that.

WCSS has also played a vital role in philanthropy the less fortunate in Kuwait by establishing the “Zakat Committee” and organizing several charity campaigns and exhibitions for different needy people in Kuwait, as well as neighboring Middle Eastern countries and worldwide for the victims of war, natural disasters and hunger. As an example, during the the late 1960s and early 1970s. WCSS has also supported the Palestinian cause, setting up the “Kuwaitis for Jerusalem” committee in collaboration with the Kuwait Graduates Society, as well as “Jasmine’s Call” last month to help victims in Syria. The golden anniversary will take place in Arraya Ballroom on March 5, 2013 and has been supported by giants from Kuwait’s private sector: Mohamed Naser Al Sayer& Sons, National Bank of Kuwait, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Alghanim & Sons Automotive, Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar& Sons, Salhiya Real Estate Company, Zain Telecom, Kuwait Banking Association, Ali Abdulwahab Al Mutawa, Gulf Cable & Elect., SIFCO Industries, IFA International Financial Advisors, Alghanim Express for Travel and Tourism, Kuwait Airways, and Al-Babtain Group.

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

LOCAL

Local Spotlight

kuwait digest

We have seen enough

It’s all about Accomplishments

By Dr Aliya Shuwaib

M

any of us have visited other countries on their national days and witnessed the beautiful and well-organized pageantry and celebratory events where the locals showcase their best. The story is completely different here in Kuwait where we showcase the worst that we can offer. It seems as if everyone suffering from some psychological complex takes to street to do whatever he or she feels like, making a fool of themselves and annoying innocent people. Many are visual representations of how to emotionally harm the people around.

All of this was clearly visible in rather generous proportions during this year’s National Holidays celebrations. This year’s events saw notable participation of women with many taking part in the water gun parades, or seen standing up through the sunroofs of their cars singing along and dancing to the music blasting off their cars’ loudspeakers. Someone even told me that he saw some women dressed in men’s clothes and riding with young men with only God knowing what the rest of that story was.

I have seen enough during this year’s Independence Day and Liberation Day celebrations, including a video showing a group of youngsters suddenly jumping up on a man and beating him up before bystanders stepped in to save the hapless reveler. Another video that a friend shared with me showed youngsters taking off their clothes in front of families who looked annoyed by the unpleasant show. Yet another video showed a group of young men forcing open the car doors to see the look on the faces of intimidated women inside.

Some people believe that disrespectful, uncivil and impudent celebration is the only way to prove that one is patriotic. This is a tragedy we have to live through year after year as chaos, lawlessness and aggression spills out in public spaces for everyone to see, including police officers. Why do some people become barbaric to this extent? Why have our national holidays become a symbol for chaos to a point that people drive in from other Gulf States - some to share our celebrations and others to take part in the bedlam?

It is time to say that enough is enough. You have become an embarrassment to yourself and to your country. Many people, including myself, have come to believe that the cleaning worker who cleans after you the next day is more patriotic. This is not the way to celebrate. Our national celebrations have become occasions for chaos, immorality, and a place where we are forced to suffer the dirty water from revelers’ water cannons and the dirty behavior that comes with it. We need our lawmakers and higher authorities to take a strong stand and ask the police to stop lawlessness.

They do not deserve freedom simply because they do not know how to manage it. —- Al-Rai

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

I kuwait digest

No Gulf vision to deal with Jihadis

By Dr Shamlan Al-Essa

L

ocal newspapers in Kuwait published news reports about more that 39 young men being killed during Jihadi activities in Syria. Kuwait’s Al-Siyassa on Saturday published the names of Martyrs of the Syrian revolution, most of them people who were too young to die. Some of them had recently graduated from universities. The paper said there were also jihadis from the Gulf countries among those killed but no one knew their number. The question that we must deal with in the Gulf is how come the Gulf youth became involved with jihad in the first place? Particularly, since they lived in an economically prosperous country and had all the means of comfort available to them.

Who was responsible for brain washing our youth? Who got them involved into jihad and volunteer for it? Were the families negligent in the way they raised their children and that was why they became sitting ducks for jihadi parties and movements who poached upon them? Or was the state responsible as its education project failed and instead started to produce terrorists? Or did the responsibility lie with the places of worship that were used by Islamist groups?

We must underline that carrying arms, killing innocents and resorting to terrorism are all deliberate violations of the basic rules of human behavior and are religiously and morally untenable actions, no matter what the reason.

What pulls our youth towards jihadi action? Some people blame the nature of the political system and the question marks over their legitimacy. They say the extent of their success or failure in providing freedom, fulfilling the aspirations of the people and ensuring economic and social justice determines the behaviour of our youth.

Gulf countries in general are stable and revenue oriented.

They provide all services to their citizens almost free of charge.

While the margin of freedom varies from one country to another, it is ironical that Kuwaiti jihadis came from a country that had all kinds of freedom. Why did they opt for jihad?

Was it due to the growing religious and sectarian strife in the

region? Or was it linked to a feeling of void among the youth?

After all, the psychological state of the youth was also a major factor. Did it happen because of the swift social changes in the gulf societies? Was the reason the restraints on expression and personal freedoms? Regardless of the reason, there is no justification in resorting to violence, killings and terrorism. Now, as the Syrian civil war is becoming worse and violence is on the increase and the gulf youth are rushing for jihadi action despite the warnings from the Gulf countries which are monitoring the volunteering youth, what should be done to pull them back from the jihad in Syria, Iraq or other countries?

We are sure that the Gulf countries are weary of repeating the Arab Afghan Mujahideen experience as those fighters later only returned to their Arab and Gulf countries to lead the jihadi activities in their homelands.

It is regrettable that the Gulf countries do not have a common and unified vision about how to deal with the jihadis.

Some Gulf countries including Qatar support the Free Syrian Army morally and materially. There are other gulf countries that collect donations for military action in Syria. Some Islamic societies work hard to collect money and humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees. Among the biggest mistakes being committed

by Gulf countries in their war against terrorists is to focus only on the security aspect. They are not considering the other more important aspects apart from security, which include cultural activities. The youth need alternatives where they can gainfully spend their energies so that they stay away from extremism.

The Gulf Countries are keen on how to induce more religious teachings in their media, schools and places of worship places than focussing on other aspects. No wonder, these countries are becoming the largest incubator of terrorists and major sources of funds. The issue of terror requires the Gulf countries to address the way minorities are treated and care for them as their own citizens. We need to instill the values of citizenry and national unity. —- Al-Watan

kuwait digest

A historical perspective

By Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Habib

S

o much discussion about ‘National Unity’ in Kuwait and now listening to calls by so many lawmakers and political activists about bringing in a bill to enforce this undefined value give an impression that our Kuwaiti society is riven by sectarianism, segregation and tribalism since decades.

Although it is difficult to formulate one, all-encompassing definition of National Unity in view of multiple perspectives, varying experiences and different academic backgrounds, I think we can agree in all humility that any so-called National Unity law or code should be aimed at uniting Kuwaitis of different origins, sects, races and tribes under one larger umbrella of Citizenship.

Also, such a law will help us hold legally accountable anyone who makes irresponsible remarks or statements or publishes anything over any of the modern social media networks, print or audiovisual media. Whilst one cannot deny that the current sectarian tensions have been, negatively impacting our body polity and general public opinion, creating a situation where passing a National Unity law has become our prime goal, one should never undermine the fact that the Sunni-Shiite bonds have remained historically strong ever since the emergence of the modern state of Kuwait. Without such unity, a modern Kuwait could not have been envisaged or established. Kuwaitis of all sects have contributed towards building our new Kuwait under the Al-Sabahs without the state ever feeling the need for any national unity law.

Unlike other Gulf fiefdoms or the Emirates, Kuwait has a unique political history that witnessed no real racial, sectarian or tribal conflicts. Kuwaitis never needed to define words or terms like ‘nation’, ‘citizenship’, or ‘national unity.’ They were happy being governed by a kind of social contract and a moral code that ensured mutual respect between the rulers and the subjects on the one hand, and amongst all citizens on the other. These citizens included people from all families, tribes and sects with different views. The social values that our fathers and forefathers possessed and valued helped them focus more on ensuring that Kuwait progressed from being an Emirate to become a prosperous modern state. Our country could come this far because people were not preoccupied by futile nonsense. Kuwait’s history is full of example of Sunni-Shiite stories of unity recorded in British documents or local family archives all through the twentieth century. Relations among the people and those among the rulers, between the rulers and the merchants or among the merchants themselves, are all proof of that. Such a historical narrative also underlines that the so-called ‘National Unity’ is not a new concept or term. It has always been an integral part of Kuwaitis’ social values and culture. It is part of the deep-rooted tradition set by our ancestors long ago.

For example, the brotherly relations between Sheikh Khaz’al and Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah and his sons were a role model for social cohesion. It is also known that, despite his friendly relations with most Gulf rulers, Sheikh Mubarak’s ties with Sheikh Khaz’al were the strongest ever. The annual visits exchanged between Kuwait and Mohammarah prove this. Sheikh Mubarak also allowed Sheikh Khaz’al alone, of all the Gulf rulers, to own houses and property in Kuwait, which indicates how close they were.

Commercially speaking, the more than 40 year long partnership between businessmen Mohammed Abdullah Al-Matrouk and Abdul Mohsen Al-Kharafi is yet another example of there being no sectarianism when it came to forging social or commercial relations amongst the old Kuwaitis. Therefore, irrespective of how important it is to punish those who are impudent enough to show disrespect towards any sect, tribe or family, we Kuwaitis should follow in the footsteps of our ancestors by respecting our social contract, traditions and moral codes. We must learn our lessons from Kuwait’s history and avoid the negative impact of politics over our society. This, and nothing else, is the true essence of National Unity. Will we be able to do that? —- Al-Qabas

am one of those who believe that anyone should be judged by his or her achievements. A judgment formed on any other grounds could be more like a speculation as it could be informed by a wrong idea or a misperception or, at times, even due to someone misguiding us.

If you want to adjudge any person or project, you need to look at what others have done. Appearances can be deceptive. Many had a different idea about the current National Assembly when it began its session. The opposition tried to damage its reputation among the public because it did not suit them that this parliament survives its entire term or is seen as successful. Also, sections of the local media supported the opposition in what I believe was a wrong pursuit. I also need to clarify something here. When we talk about something that the opposition did, it does not mean that whatever it does is fair and in the interest of the justice. In Kuwait, many MPs have been involved in crimes such as breaking the law, including indulging in violence at the National Assembly itself. Right now, some of them are awaiting judgment that could see them sentenced to jail for several years. So, this so-called opposition has not done anything for the public and the country. I really believe so and challenge anyone who thinks otherwise.

Here is what the current National Assembly accomplished in a short period of nearly two months.

First, the Amiri decrees such as national unity law, sport law, privatization of Kuwait Airways, housing law, anti-corruption law etc were issued. It was up to this National Assembly whether to pass these laws yet or not.

It did.

I must also underline that it has also approved 92 agreements which were kept on the shelf since 2003.

Yes, 92 international agreements did not come into effect because the former MPs were busy with everything except national achievements.

For those who still support this alleged opposition, let me tell you something. How would you feel if you knew that the incumbent National Assembly has approved and passed the trafficking of humans agreement which was proposed by the UN in 2006?

Does that tell you something? To me, it means that there were some MPs in the earlier Assembly who supported trafficking of humans in this country and deliberately delayed the agreement? That would such MPs done for us, the Kuwaitis?

The incumbent Assembly has also approved another crucial piece of legislation, the anti-terror agreement.

Finally, it took the new MPs to see that it was a mistake not to be a part of the international terror agreement.

When any country stands against such an agreement, it simply means that it supports terrorism as an instrument of statecraft. Is there any other interpretation? Not as per me, and I leave it to your own good sense and judgment to form your own view.

We are not living in an isolated country; we are a part of the global village, a world that is integrated. We are impacted by whatever happens in the rest of the world, good or bad.

So these are the accomplishments of the incumbent National Assembly. And what has the opposition done?

That should be an eye opener.

kuwait digest

Opposition needs to revisit strategy

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

S

ome of the political discussions in the country are naive to the extent that they almost seem inane.

Take this question: “Who is better - the president of America or the president of the US?” When you tell the curious fellow that he is talking about one and the same person, he comes back with another one that will confound you altogether: “How come one person rules two countries at the same time? That is not possible.”

You can choose to explain to him that America and US are two different names often employed in popular parlance for the same country, but take my advice and do not bother about such explanations. He will always view politics as per his perceived understanding and not the reality that you may be trying to explain. Eventually, you will be entering into a rather complex and sophisticated argument with him, and will find that you are unable to reach anywhere.

Such people are common. They are so good at arguing about any aspect of politics without knowing anything about it. Such instances have unfortunately increased lately. People like that are on both sides of the opposition-government divide. They know nothing about political reality, or the balance of power within the opposition or without. They know nothing about various groups or political streams in Kuwait, and yet they confidently peddle theories and assumptions.

The most dangerous of among this army of the naive are those who mix politics with religious and sectarians concerns. Some of them are MPs. Sometimes, the youth fall for such a heady cocktail of religion and politics. So politics becomes the path through which sectarian feelings take over the mind space.

Imagine a person abusing a particular sect, and when you ask him any detail about that sect in Kuwait or its history, he will say, “I don’t know.”

How do you abuse a sect you know nothing about except its name? Is it logical to abuse a person you know nothing about except his name? Do you reject a person or his opinion simply because he is from another sect?

Opposition today needs to revisit its strategy and standing, instead of trying to expand its circle of influence. No doubt the opposition today has acceptability and a certain base, but efforts to expand beyond this base an impact negatively. —Al-Anbaa

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

Bangladesh students held for murder of anti-Islam blogger

Thousands rally in Moscow over US adoption row Page 9

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GAO: This file photos shows Chadian soldiers securing Gao airport, north of Mali. —AP

Al-Qaeda’s top leader in Mali killed Zeid’s death ‘significant blow’ to Qaeda BAMAKO: Al-Qaeda’s top commander in Mali has been killed, Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno said, signalling a significant blow to the rebels in the seven-week French-led intervention against Islamist insurgents.

Several newspapers in Abou Zeid’s native Algeria had reported his death and Washington had described the reports as “very credible”. Deby on Friday said Abou Zeid, the Mali-based operative of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was killed in fighting between Chadian troops and Islamist fighters on February 22.

“On February 22, we lost several soldiers in the Ifogha mountains after destroying the jihadists’ base. This was the first time there was a direct confrontation with the jihadists,” he said.

“Our soldiers killed two jihadist chiefs including Abou Zeid,” said Deby, whose elite forces are among the best desert troops on the continent and have played a key role in the offensive to liberate northern Mali.

Algeria’s independent Ennahar TV reported earlier this week that Abou Zeid was killed in northern Mali along with 40 other Islamist militants. In Washington, a US official speaking on condition of anonymity said reports of his death seemed “very credible” and that if Abou Zeid was indeed slain “it would be a significant blow to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb”. French officials have so far reacted with caution, with President Francois

Hollande saying Friday: “Reports are circulating, it is not up to me to confirm them.” The killing of Abou Zeid, a ruthless militant linked to kidnappings and executions of Westerners, would be a major success for French forces, who intervened in Mali in mid-January to help oust Islamist rebels then in control of the north. The presidential election meant to haul Mali out of crisis will take place in July, the prime minister’s chief of staff said Friday, without giving a precise date. “Measures have been taken to respect the deadline,” Boubacar Sow, chief of staff for Prime Minister Diango Cissoko, told AFP, a month after interim president Dioncounda Traore promised a vote by July 31. “The security situation on the ground, a return to government in the north and of refugees and displaced residents are the prerequisites for which we are trying to find quick solutions,” Sow said. The elections are part of a roadmap adopted unanimously by parliament in January to restore constitutional rule in what was once considered one of west Africa’s most stable democracies. Critics have said July is too soon to organise the presidential and parliamentary polls given the problems Mali faces. The French-led offensive continues to battle ongoing insurgent attacks in a nation weakened by a deeply divided military and where hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes. Algeria’s El Khabar newspaper reported Friday

that authorities there had carried out DNA tests to try to confirm Abou Zeid’s death. “The security services are comparing DNA taken from two close relatives of Abou Zeid with samples taken from the remains of a body supplied by French forces”, it said. French and west African troops have been hunting down rebels they dislodged from northern Mali’s main cities following a lightning advance against the Islamists.

Abou Zeid, 46, whose real name is Mohamed Ghedir, was often seen in the cities of Timbuktu and Gao after the Islamists took control of northern Mali last year and sparked fears the region could become a haven for extremists. An Algerian born near the border with Libya, Abou Zeid was a former smuggler who embraced radical Islam in the 1990s and became one of AQIM’s key leaders.

He was suspected of being behind a series of brutal kidnappings in several countries, including of British national Edwin Dyer, who was abducted in Niger and killed in 2009, and of 78-year-old French aid worker Michel Germaneau, who was killed in 2010. Abou Zeid was believed to be holding a number of Western hostages, including four French citizens kidnapped in Niger in 2010.

He was thought to have about 200 seasoned fighters under his command, mainly Algerians, Mauritanians

West Bank clash over fasting prisoner

GAZA CITY: A Palestinian supporter of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist and revolutionary leftist organization founded in 1967, shouts as he celebrates the 46th anniversary of its foundation yesterday. — AFP

HAWWARA: Hundreds of Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine supporters clashed with Israeli forces yesterday and expressed support Palestinians held in Israel prisons. An AFP correspondent said some 300 Palestinians threw stones at soldiers and blocked streets in Hawwara, south of Nablus, at the end of a rally marking the DFLP’s 44th anniversary. Demonstrators held pictures of Samer Issawi, a DFLP member, who is held in an Israeli prison and has been on an intermittent hunger strike since August. A military spokeswoman said some 200 Palestinians had been throwing stones at soldiers, who responded with riot-dispersal methods.

She added that two Palestinians had been detained at the site, but the army had not yet decided whether to arrest them.

Meanwhile, a delegation of European lawmakers paid a visit to Issawi’s home in the Arab east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya. Six of them are in the region in a show of support for Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons. Issawi was a long-term security prisoners released by Israel under a prisoner swap deal in October 2011, then re-arrested last year following allegations he violated the terms of the agreement. Israel has ordered that he serve out the remainder of his original sentence.

The European delegation was protesting last week’s sudden death of imprisoned militant Arafat Jaradat in an Israeli cell, which prompted Palestinian allegations of torture and several days of violent protest in the occupied West Bank. — AFP

and Malians, who were well-equipped and highly mobile. An Algiers court last year sentenced Abou Zeid in absentia to life in prison for having formed an international armed group involved in the kidnapping of foreigners. On the ground in Mali Friday, Malian troops arrested about 50 people near Gao on an island in the Niger river that was used as a hideout by armed Islamists, military sources told AFP. — AFP

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Old families keep secret of Timbuktu’s manuscripts BAMAKO: Though armed Islamists have left their town, the grand old families of Timbuktu are still wary of revealing the secret of how they safeguarded thousands of ancient manuscripts from destruction by extremists. Before they fled the fabled desert town in northern Mali at the end of January, the Islamists sacked part of the public Ahmed Baba Centre library, burning some 3,000 documents they considered sacrilegious. It was their second attempt to harm Timbuktu’s rich cultural heritage, after destroying the mausoleums of 11 saints there in April last year.

In mid-February, the UN cultural body UNESCO announced an action plan worth 10 million dollars (7.5 million euros) to restore the cultural heritage of northern Mali and preserve manuscripts that attest to the intellectual and spiritual flourishing of Timbuktu-listed a world heritage site-in the 15th and 16th centuries. Unlike the

Ahmed Baba Centre, about 30 private libraries in the ancient town were spared by the Islamists. For several months, their owners had dispersed their collections to put them in safe places, as their ancestors did in the past.

When the Islamists entered Timbuktu last April, Ismael Diadie Haidara al-Quti, a descendant of Mali’s imperial Askia family and of Ali Al-Quti, a Visigoth from Toledo in Spain who converted to Islam, fled with his family and took a dozen manuscripts with him. “We hid them among clothes and embarked on a boat to head down the river towards the south,” said his wife Hawa Toure, manager of the Mahmud Kati (Al-Quti) Fund, the main private library in Timbuktu, which keeps almost 13,000 recorded manuscripts.

“Afterwards, we looked for people who could help us, ordinary people who were not being watched. They bought caskets and keys. Some of them fled with

the caskets by boat, others buried them in the sand.” Hawa added that her husband, who has been in Spain for several months, was the only person to know “who hid the manuscripts and how to get them back”. ‘Back in the time of secrecy’ It is not the first time Ismael Al-Quti’s precious collection has had to be smuggled to safety.”Our library has already suffered four dispersals in five centuries, since my ancestor fled Toledo in 1467 until the last dispersal in the 19th century to protect manuscripts from the fundamentalists of the Peul kingdom of Massina” in central Mali, he told AFP by telephone. “Unfortunately in 2012, we again found ourselves forced to disperse them. It’s like pushing a stone up a mountain and watching it roll down again,” he added.

At 55, Ismael, a renowned historian, poet and philosopher, has spent almost a third of his life looking to retrieve these

scattered treasures to bring them together in a library that opened in 2003, with the help of Spanish government aid. “Our manuscripts are mostly Qurans, but there are also legal and scientific texts on mathematics, astronomy and medicine... The special feature of these writings-in Arabic, in Peul, in English or in French-is the annotations made in the margins,” Al-Quti said.

Some of these notes are even concealed within the covers of the texts.

“They are family secrets, rulings, but also sometimes indications that enable ‘the keeper of the secret’ to find hidden manuscripts again,” said his wife Hawa, now a refugee with her children in a working class district of the capital, Bamako.

“Today, nobody will tell you where he has hidden manuscripts”, the 45-year-old added in a gentle voice.

“If families had agreed, like the ministry and aid donors wanted, to put the

manuscripts at the disposal of the Ahmed Baba Centre, they would all be lost.”

“We’re back in the time of secrecy,” her husband said. “When I decided to create this library, a part of the family said ‘No, it’s dangerous.’

But as a historian, I felt they should be displayed. Alas, now I ask myself if my family wasn’t right.” Funds alone will not save the manuscripts from being destroyed or trafficked abroad in the future and sold, said Al-Quti, who was sceptical of the UN action plan. “UNESCO should rethink its heritage policy.” “It’s not just money that is needed.

UNESCO should directly involve the librarians and define a legal, administrative and security framework. If they don’t do that, they will fail again,” he warned. In the meantime, Al-Quti will keep the location of his manuscripts secret. “For five centuries our library has faced upheavals.

We’re in no hurry.” — AFP

Leftist leader seeks deal to break Italy deadlock Grillo lists conditions for backing govt

VATICAN CITY: In this file picture taken at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI (left) shakes hands with Vienna’s archbishop, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn during their private meeting. — AP

Benedict’s obedience to new pope part of culture VATICAN CITY: He slipped it in at the end of his speech, and said it so quickly and softly it almost sounded like an afterthought. But in pledging his “unconditional reverence and obedience” to the next pope, Benedict XVI took a critical step toward ensuring that his decision to break with 600 years of tradition and retire as pope doesn’t create a schism within the church. It was also a very personal expression of one of the tenets of Christian tradition that dates back to Jesus’ crucifixion: obedience to a higher authority.

In the two weeks since Benedict announced he would resign, questions have mounted about how much influence he would still wield and exert over the new pope. Benedict will continue to live inside the Vatican, wear the white cassock of the papacy, call himself “emeritus pope” and “Your Holiness” and even have his trusted aide continue living with him while keeping his day job as head of the new pope’s household.

The Vatican has insisted there should be no problem with a reigning and a retired pope living side-by-side, that Benedict has no plans to interfere and that as of 8 pm Thursday, Benedict was no longer pope.

But the real concern isn’t so much about Benedict’s intentions as it is about how others might use him to undermine the new pope’s agenda or authority.

“There is the risk that Benedict is aware of that some people could claim in the future that they want allegiance to Benedict and not the next pope,” said the Rev Robert Gahl, a moral theologian at Rome’s Pontifical Holy Cross University. “He wants to preclude any division in the church.” One needs only to look at the last time a pope abdicated to understand how real that risk was, at least in history: Pope Gregory XII stepped down in 1415 as part of a deal to end the Great Western Schism, when dueling papal claimants split the church.

Gregory and all the cardinals who elected him pope in 1406 had pledged to abdicate if the rival Pope Benedict XIII in Avignon, France, did the same. While the endgame didn’t work out exactly as planned, Gregory did step down and the split was eventually healed. The “shock” of that schism “certainly influenced the collective mentality of the church of Rome” and

contributed to the tradition of popes reigning until death, church historian Giovanni Maria Vian, editor of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, said.

Today, the Catholic Church already has fringe groups not in full communion with Rome, such as the ultra-traditionalist Society of St Pius X, with whom Benedict took extraordinary measures to reconcile during his eight years as pope. If the next pope were to roll back some of Benedict’s overtures toward the group, which included allowing greater use of the pre-Vatican II Mass in Latin, some of its members could try to pressure the new pope by saying “‘We want to be in full communion, but only if Benedict accepts us,’” noted Gahl.

By pledging his own obedience to the new pope, Benedict has undercut any such scenario. Benedict also took measures to ensure that the election of his successor was free of any possible claims of illegitimacy, in another bid to thwart those who might still claim him as pope. He issued a final legal document giving the College of Cardinals the right to move up the start date of the conclave. The cardinals could have interpreted the previous rules as giving them that right, but Benedict made it crystal clear to avoid any suggestion that the election itself wasn’t valid.

In that same document, Benedict also moved to ensure that his successor is viewed as the only legitimate pope by requiring the cardinals who elected him to make a public pledge of obedience to him during one of his first Masses as pope.

Under previous rules, the cardinals only make that pledge in the privacy of the Sistine Chapel immediately after the election. “They represent the whole church, the universal church,” Gahl said of the cardinals, adding that such a public show of deference to the new pope’s authority was a powerful message to all believers. But while his primary aim may have been to ensure a smooth transition to the next pope, Benedict was also voicing his own expression of submission to authority that that underlies Christian tradition dating from Jesus’ act of obedience to God in dying on the cross. Christians believe that Jesus died to save them from their sins.

“Christ’s obedience isn’t just the most sublime example of obedience, it’s the fundamental one,” the Rev. — AP

CAIRO: An Egyptian protester shouts slogans as she holds an anti-Muslim brotherhood poster showing what she said was victims of overnight clashes in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura during a protest yesterday. — AP

ROME: Italy was locked in a damaging political impasse yesterday as rival party leaders attempt to form a coalition government following inconclusive elections, with the rest of Europe looking anxiously on. An initiative by Italian leftist Pier Luigi Bersani on Friday to form a minority government was swiftly turned down by the rogue party whose votes he most needs. The Democratic Party leader said he wanted to form “a government of change” that would focus on key reforms and issues that the party has in common with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement.

“I am calling it a government of change, which I would take the responsibility of leading,” the Democratic Party leader told La Repubblica daily after his party won the most votes but failed to win a majority in elections earlier in the week. “The country needs a government. We cannot be adrift in front of Europe and the markets,” he said. But in a post on his popular blog, Five Star Movement leader Beppe Grillo insisted that his party would not take part in any “horsetrading”.

“This is the usual way of doing politics,” said the comedian-turned-populist firebrand, whose party won a quarter of the votes in the lower house of parliament. Not everyone in Grillo’s movement agrees with him, however, and the idea of a loose kind of alliance with the Democratic Party is being debated. Italy’s new parliament has to meet by March 15 at the lat-

est, after which formal talks with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano are scheduled to begin on the formation of a new government.

Bersani said his government would have key aims, including easing austerity, creating jobs, helping the poorest and cutting government costs-echoing at least some of the demands made by the grassroots, Internet-based Five Star Movement. But since the centre-left coalition did not gain majorities in both houses of parliament, a new government of this type would depend on the support of other parties in the upper house-an arrangement analysts warn would prove unstable at a time of acute economic crisis for Italy. New official figures out on Thursday showed Italy’s economy shrank by 2.4 percent last year and public debt rose to 127 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from 120.8 percent in 2011 — the highest level in the euro-zone after Greece. The Fitch ratings agency warned that the political deadlock was adding downward pressure on Italy’s sovereign credit rating. “It has the potential to disrupt policy making and reduce policy continuity, and to weigh further on an already weakening economy,” it said in a statement.

Markets were jittery in trading on Friday, with the Milan index plunging 1.54 percent-the worst performer among major European stock markets. The euro also dropped, down to $1.3027 from $1.3062 late Thursday after momentarily dipping on Friday below the $1.30 barrier for the

first time since December. Another possibility mooted on the political front in recent days is a technocratic government like the outgoing one led by former European commissioner Mario Monti, who won praise abroad but became increasingly unpopular in Italy because of austerity cuts.

A centrist coalition led by Monti came in fourth place at the polls, garnering far too little support to be able to cobble a majority in alliance with the left. Bersani meanwhile ruled out another possibility-the formation of an emergency coalition with his long-time archrival Silvio Berlusconi-saying: “The hypothesis of a grand understanding does not exist and will never exist”.

Most analysts say there will have to be new elections within months to resolve the impasse.

Former premier Berlusconi, who came a very close second after the centre-left in the elections, held out the prospect of a short-term alliance with the left in order to reform an electoral law widely seen as unfair and then having new elections. “I would not be against continuing the election campaign and going immediately to new elections after changing the election law,” Berlusconi told news channel SkyTG24.

Berlusconi featured on the front cover of British weekly, The Economist, which portrayed him and Grillo under the headline: “Send in the clowns: How Italy’s disastrous election threatens the future of the euro”. — AFP

US releases more than 2,000 immigrants

KISORO: Refugees displaced from the Democratic Republic of Congo take shelter from the rain at an IDP camp at Kisoro in this file photo. — AFP

Congolese troops reclaim territory left by rebels KINSHASA: Congolese government troops have re-occupied eastern towns for the first time in eight months after rebels weakened by an internal power struggle withdrew and turned their weapons on each other. The advance is the first significant progress by Congo’s army since a series of defeats last year, but raises fears of fresh clashes with M23 fighters who are intent on reclaiming the same areas after peace talks stalled. Government troops moved into the towns of Rutshuru and Kiwanja on Friday night to protect the population from bandits and armed groups who had taken advantage of the M23 rebel pullout to prey on civilians, a spokesman for the army said.

“Since last night, those areas are under government control. (M23) left those areas and it is for us, the regular forces to take our responsibilities and secure them ... against the pillaging, rape and killings,” Colonel Olivier Hamuli told Reuters by telephone. Hamuli said there were no immediate plans to move against nearby M23 positions but the rebels accused the government of “pure provocation” and said their forces were en route to re-occupy the same zones.

“There is a risk (of clashes) because the government has left its positions and come to provoke us. M23 warns Kinshasa and the international community that anything that happens now is the government’s responsibility,” said Colonel Vianney Kazarama, M23 spokesman. Eastern Congo has been ravaged by war and banditry for two decades, leaving millions dead through violence and disease. Civilians are

regularly caught in the crossfire between armed groups and the country’s notoriously ill-disciplined army.

Power struggle Until internal divisions manifested themselves this week in violent clashes between different factions, M23 controlled vast swathes of territor y and last November briefly seized Goma, capital of North Kivu province. The split reflects a power struggle between the group’s military high command and the renegade general Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes. Ntaganda defected from the Congolese army to M23 last April, taking hundreds of fighters with him and helping fuel the eastern rebellion.

In a separate communique late on Friday, M23 said Ntaganda and the movement’s ousted political head were hiding in the dense forests of Virunga National Park after a failed attack on M23 positions. “Firm and precise instructions have been given to our forces to capture (them) so that they can answer for their acts,” said the communique, signed by M23’s military commander Sultani Makenga.

A spokesman for the faction loyal to Ntaganda, Colonel Seraphin Mirindi, denied they had fled into the forest, saying they were just north of Goma. He also accused Makenga of planning a deal with the Congolese army, something Kinshasa has repeatedly said it would not consider.

“If they’re going to make an alliance and attack us we will defend ourselves, and we know how to do that, we’re used to it,” he added. — Reuters

WASHINGTON: The Homeland Security Department released from its jails more than 2,000 illegal immigrants facing deportation in recent weeks due to looming budget cuts and planned to release 3,000 more during March, The Associated Press has learned.

The newly disclosed figures, cited in internal budget documents reviewed by the AP, are significantly higher than the “few hundred” illegal immigrants the Obama administration acknowledged this week had been released under the budget-savings process.

The government documents show that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement released roughly 1,000 illegal immigrants from its jails around the US each week since at least Feb 15. The agency’s field offices have reported more than 2,000 immigrants released before intense criticism this week led to a temporary shutdown of the plan, according to the documents. The states where immigrants were released include Arizona, California, Georgia and Texas.

The White House has said it was not consulted about the releases, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has acknowledged they occurred in a manner she regrets. White House spokesman Jay Carney on Wednesday said the government had released “a few hundred” of the roughly 30,000 illegal immigrants held in federal detention pending deportation proceedings. Carney said the immigrants released were “low-risk, noncriminal detainees,” and the decision was made by career ICE officials.

As of last week, the agency held an average daily population of 30,733 in its jails. The internal budget documents reviewed by the AP show the Obama administration had intended to reduce those figures to 25,748 by March 31. The White House did not comment immediately Friday on the higher number of immigrants released. ICE spokesman Brian Hale said Friday the numbers of immigration detainees fluctuate daily, but he reiterated only several hundred illegal immigrants had been released. “Beyond that normal movement, and as fiscal uncertainty remains over the continuing resolution and possible sequestration, ICE reviewed its detained population to ensure detention levels stay within ICE’s current budget and placed several hundred individuals on methods of supervision less costly than detention,” Hale said in a statement. “At this point, we don’t anticipate additional releases, but that could change.” — AP

WASHINGTON: In this file photo, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano briefs reporters at the White House in Washington. — AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

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

Rise of UKIP spooks out Britain’s Conservatives

MOSCOW: Activists from pro-Kremlin children’s advocacy groups march through Moscow yesterday carrying the portrait of the Russian Kolya Yemelyantsev, who has died in Utah, USA on March 3, 2008 after being adopted there. — AFP

Thousands rally in Moscow US, Russia adoption row flares MOSCOW: Russia yesterday said it was concerned by a US ruling that the death of an adopted Russian boy in Texas was an accident, fuelling a diplomatic row as thousands marched in Moscow demanding an end to all foreign adoptions. Russia’s foreign ministry said it had learned of the US coroner’s findings, which clear the boy’s parents of wrongdoing, “with concern” and called on US officials to provide Moscow with the necessary documents, including the death certificate of three-year-old Max Shatto (born Maxim Kuzmin), to help shed light on the case. “Only an examination of these documents will enable meaningful conclusions to be reached about the circumstances surrounding the Russian child’s death and determine our possible future steps,” the ministry’s rights representative Konstantin Dolgov said in a statement. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman added that efforts were

under way to try to bring home Max’s two-year-old brother, whose Russian name is Kirill and who is also being raised by the Shatto couple. “Certain steps are being taken to bring back (Kirill),” Dmitry Peskov told Dozhd, a private television channel. “There are very complicated legal circumstances related to the possibility of such a return.”

According to the autopsy results, the boy died from a lacerated artery in his bowel due to blunt force trauma in his abdomen. The coroner’s report also noted that the child had a mental disorder that caused him to hurt himself. Officials in the US cleared the boy’s adoptive parents Laura and Allen Shatto of homicide but the couple could still face negligence charges for leaving the boy alone in their backyard, where he was found unconscious in January.

The Kremlin children’s rights envoy Pavel Astakhov reacted to the US findings with scepticism.

“The triumph of justice?” he wrote on Twitter, adding that the boy had become a “victim of big politics.”

Meanwhile, thousands of people, including activists from proKremlin children’s advocacy groups, braved a temperature of minus eight degrees Celsius to march through Moscow urging authorities to ban all foreign adoptions and demanding the return of Max’s brother. “Our children are not a commodity,” one demonstrator chanted through a loudspeaker as crowds carried national flags and pictures of children who died after being adopted in the West. “Our main demand is to bring Kirill home and ban Western adoptions,” said Irina Bergset from the Russian Mothers movement, who helped organise the march.

Bergset earlier told AFP she considered the results of the US autopsy to be “American propaganda”, and said Russian children were being treated in the West like “cats

and dogs”. “Until we ban them (foreign adoptions), our people will be putting their hopes in foreign adopters and good Samaritans,” Oxana Garnayeva, head of the charity group Russian Birch, told AFP before the march.

Moscow police said around 12,000 people had participated in the march, while an AFP photographer estimated the turnout at around 10,000. Late last year, Russia introduced a ban on all American adoptions in retaliation for a US bill targeting Russian officials with sanctions over the prison death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. In January, at least 20,000 Russians led by the anti-Kremlin opposition marched through Moscow to protest the Kremlin ban they dubbed the “law of scoundrels”.

According to official estimates, US families have adopted more than 60,000 Russian children over the past two decades, 21 of whom have died. — AFP

Diaspora Kenyans, unable to vote abroad, feel deceived Govt cites logistical, financial constraints JOHANNESBURG: Kenyans living abroad say they feel cheated about not being able to vote in tomorrow’s closely contested election, even though the millions of dollars in remittances they send back home each year are a major fillip to east Africa’s biggest economy. There are an estimated 2.5 million Kenyans in the diaspora, many living in the United States and Britain, but also in Germany and Kenya’s east African neighbours.

Kenya’s government concluded in November that its citizens abroad would not be able to exercise their constitutional right to vote because of logistical and financial constraints impeding their registration in time for tomorrow’s presidential election.

Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa told parliament in November that voting outside of Kenya, allowed by a 2010 constitution, was “not practical” for the moment given the challenges already facing electoral authorities in enrolling voters at home.

This was “like a slap in the face,” said Erastus Mong’are, a Kenyan living in Delaware in the United States, where the biggest Kenyan community

overseas numbers up to 400,000.

Kenya’s March 4 vote will be one of the most closely watched in Africa after a tense campaign that has divided the nation and raised fears of a repeat of the bloodshed that followed disputed 2007 elections. All the more reason why Kenyans overseas think they should have a say in it. The diaspora community sent home nearly $1.2 billion in remittances last year, according to the Central Bank of Kenya, up 31 percent from a year earlier. Remittances rank as the fourthlargest source of foreign exchange in Kenya, after revenue from tea, horticulture and tourism, and the hard currency sent home offers much-needed support to the shilling against the dollar. “People are disappointed because they wanted to participate,” said Gakuru Macharia, secretary general of the British branch of CORD, the alliance supporting Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is a leading contender in tomorrow’s election.

“Every year we are sending billions of Kenyan shillings to Kenya to support our families. The property boom that you see in Kenya is fuelled by Kenyans in the diaspora,” Macharia

NAIROBI: A supporter of Kenyan Prime Minister and Presidential candidate, Raila Odinga jumps a fence to get into Nyayo National Stadium, yesterday for the final day of the campaign for the election. — AP

said. In recent years, following the new 2010 constitution that gave Kenyans abroad the right to vote for the first time, politicians like Odinga have made trips to court the diaspora, recognising their economic clout and ability to mobilise funds. On the world’s poorest continent, South Africa allows its citizens abroad to vote, but many African states find it hard to organise such external voting, even if they do permit it.

“Taxation without representation” Kefa Otiso, president of the Ohiobased Kenyan Students and Scholars Association, said some diaspora members believed they were being kept from voting because politicians back home feared their independence and questions about graft and incompetence. “Any time these people come out here they get some pretty tough questions from the diaspora about how the government is conducting itself, using resources,” Otiso told Reuters.

“If you raise these questions at home, somebody can interfere with your bank loan, your salary,” he added.

“Many of us know that ideally people in power would like the diaspora to send money and keep quiet ... We like to joke that it’s a form of taxation without representation.” Kenya’s ambassador to the United States, Elkanah Odembo, said Kenyans in America had been keen to vote. “In my travels around the country talking about this possibility, I sensed they were really excited,” he said.

Odembo said overseas voters could have had an impact in a close election. “The contested election of 2007 had a margin of just about 400,000. This is just (the number of ) the US diaspora. We’re not talking about the other large diaspora in the UK,” he said. Britain is home to an estimated 130,000 Kenyans. Despite not being able to vote this time, Kenyans abroad have still played an active role in the campaign, by raising funds for candidates and sponsoring advertisements on Kenyan radio and television and in newspapers. “What they’re doing is encouraging their kin back home to vote for their candidates,” said Macharia, adding a significant number had also gone back home to vote and monitor the polls. But for those not able to travel, the sense of being left out of determining the country’s future is strong and bitter.

“We’re not being treated with respect,” Otiso said. — Reuters

LONDON: Once a marginal group of antiEuropeans, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) is now a force to be reckoned with after its best-ever national election result spooked Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives. UKIP took 28 percent of the vote in Thursday’s by-election in the southern English seat of Eastleigh, coming second behind junior coalition partners the Liberal Democrats and pushing the Tories into a humiliating third place. Although the anti-Brussels party has yet to win a seat in the British parliament, the result is its best in a string of good performances in midterm votes in recent months.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said it was part of a trend. “ What happened here in Eastleigh was not a freak result. Something is changing. People are sick and tired of having three social democrat parties that are frankly indistinguishable from each other,” he said. The reasons for UKIP’s success in Eastleigh are manifold, and not limited to the anti-European cause around which it was created. Immigration, the economy and general dissatisfaction with the government all played a part.

But the result has hit the Tories hard, not just because they should have done better in Eastleigh, where the vote was sparked by a Lib Dem scandal, but because it feeds into growing fears that UKIP is eating away at its support. The Tories have not won a parliamentary majority since 1992 and many in the party fear UKIP is syphoning off the anti-European, anti-immigration vote that they will need to ditch their Lib Dem coalition partners and win outright in 2015’s general election.

Cameron’s promise in January to renegotiate Britain’s membership of the European Union and put it to a referendum by 2017 was widely seen as an attempt to calm eurosceptics in his party and fend off the threat from UKIP. After the result in Eastleigh, outraged senior Tories lined up to warn Cameronwho once described UKIP as full of “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists”-that they must reach out to traditional voters.

Cameron described the by-election as a protest vote, but vowed to try to “win those people back”, although he insisted he would not change his policies.

However, academic research suggests that while UKIP and the Conservatives share many of the same policy goals, it is too simplistic to say that UKIP is simply taking away disaffected Tories. In Eastleigh, the Tory candidate Maria Hutchings was described as “more UKIP than UKIP”. She is a eurosceptic who said she would vote for Britain to leave the EU and who opposes Cameron’s plans to legalise gay marriage.

Robert Ford, an academic at the University

of Manchester who has done extensive research on UKIP’s support, said the party’s voters hail from across the political spectrum, but are often working class and economically insecure. “The primary issue for those supporting UKIP is immigration”, an issue on which the government has talked tough but is often powerless to change, he told AFP. “The broader outlook is a disgruntlement with modern Britain. They want to turn back the clock. These are older voters who don’t like the face of Britain today.”

While UKIP is likely to do very well in next year’s European Parliament elections, he said their support is too disparate-a “coalition of the disgruntled”-to make a real dent in national elections.

EASTLEIGH: UK Independent Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage speaks during a press conference. — AFP Critics also warn that UKIP’s populist policies are impractical, while the party lacks structure and any big names beyond the oddly charismatic Farage. Peter Kellner, the president of opinion polling firm YouGov, agreed that UKIP belonged to a “long tradition of mid-term insurgents” who would not have a lasting impactunless the Conservatives overreact. “If enough of them panic and engage in internecine strife, then the party really could destroy its chances of victory in the 2015 general election,” Kellner said in an online commentary. “They should hold their nerve and wait for the UKIP bubble to collapse in 2015, when it struggles to compete under a first-past-the-post system in an election to choose the nation’s government.” —AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

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

Chavez in chemotherapy but in ‘good spirits’ Venezuela rejects ‘absurd’ rumors over Chavez’s death

SEFFNER: Police tape surrounds the house of Jeff Bush, who was consumed by a sinkhole while lying in his bed last night in Seffner, Florida. — AFP

Florida sinkhole that killed man gets bigger SEFFNER: Engineers worked gingerly to find out more about a slowly growing sinkhole that swallowed a Florida man in his bedroom, believing the entire house could eventually succumb to the unstable ground. Jeff Bush, 37, was in his bedroom Thursday night when the earth opened and took him and everything else in his room. Five other people were in the house but managed to escape unharmed. Bush’s brother jumped into the hole to try to help, but he had to be rescued himself by a sheriff’s deputy.

Engineers were expected at the home to do more tests after sunrise yesterday. They spent the previous day on the property, taking soil samples and running various tests - while acknowledging that the entire lot was dangerous. No one was allowed in the home. “I cannot tell you why it has not collapsed yet,” Bill Bracken, the owner of an engineering company called to assess the sinkhole, said of the home. He described the earth below as a “very large, very fluid mass.”

“This is not your typical sinkhole,” said Hillsborough County administrator Mike Merrill. “This is a chasm. For that reason, we’re being very deliberate.” Officials delicately addressed another sad reality: Bush was likely dead and the family wanted his body. Merrill, though, said they didn’t want to jeopardize any more lives. “They would like us to go in quickly and locate Mr Bush,” Merrill said.

Two adjacent houses were evacuated and officials were considering further evacuations. Even the media was moved from a lawn across the street to a safer area a few hundred feet away. “This is a very complex situation,” said Hillsborough County Fire Chief Ron Rogers. “It’s continuing to evolve and the ground is continuing to collapse.”

Sinkholes are so common in Florida that state law requires home insurers to provide coverage against the danger. While some cars, homes and other buildings have been devoured, it’s extremely rare for them to swallow a person.

Florida is highly prone to sinkholes because there are caverns below ground of limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water. “You can almost envision a piece of Swiss cheese,” said Taylor Yarkosky, a sinkhole expert from Brooksville, Fla, said while gesturing to the ground and the sky

blue home where the earth opened in Seffner. “Any house in Florida could be in that same situation.”

A sinkhole near Orlando grew to 400 feet across in 1981 and devoured five sports cars, most of two businesses, a three-bedroom house and the deep end of an Olympic-size swimming pool. More than 500 sinkholes have been reported in Hillsborough County alone since the government started keeping track in 1954, according to the state’s environmental agency.

The sinkhole, estimated at 20 feet across and 20 feet deep, caused the home’s concrete floor to cave in around 11 pm Thursday as everyone in the Tampa-area house was turning in for the night. It gave way with a loud crash that sounded like a car hitting the house and brought Bush’s brother running. Jeremy Bush said he jumped into the hole but couldn’t see his brother and had to be rescued himself by a sheriff ’s deputy who reached out and pulled him to safety as the ground crumbled around him.

“The floor was still giving in and the dirt was still going down, but I didn’t care. I wanted to save my brother,” Jeremy Bush said through tears Friday in a neighbor’s yard. “But I just couldn’t do nothing.” He added: “I could swear I heard him hollering my name to help him.” A dresser and the TV set had vanished down the hole, along with most of Bush’s bed. A sheriff’s deputy who was the first to respond to a frantic 911 call said when he arrived, he saw Jeremy Bush. Deputy Douglas Duvall said he reached down as if he was “sticking his hand into the floor” to help Jeremy Bush.

Duvall said he didn’t see anyone else in the hole.

As he pulled Bush out, “everything was sinking,” Duvall said. Engineers said they may have to demolish the small house, even though from the outside there appeared to be nothing wrong with the four-bedroom, concrete-wall structure, built in 1974. Jeremy Bush said someone came out to the home a couple of months ago to check for sinkholes and other things, apparently for insurance purposes.

“He said there was nothing wrong with the house. Nothing. And a couple of months later, my brother dies. In a sinkhole,” Bush said. — AP

NY cop says cannibalism online chats hurt his life NEW YORK: A police officer told investigators after his arrest that his online chats about cannibalism set him on a downward spiral that was wrecking his personal life, an FBI agent testified Friday. Gilberto Valle “claimed he did not enjoy it and he did not know why he was doing it,” agent Anthony Foto told jurors at Valle’s federal trial in Manhattan. Foto testified that Valle, after his October arrest, acknowledged talking to people about a fetish of kidnapping, killing and eating women. However, he “claimed he would not have gone through with it,” the agent added.

The testimony came as the government winds down its case against the 28-yearold officer. Valle contends it was all fantasy and he intended no harm. The trial’s first week concluded Friday afternoon. Jurors were to return Monday. The government called agent Foto on Friday to recount the arrest and initial interview of Valle last fall on kidnapping conspiracy charges. When agents arrived to pick up Valle at his Queens home and told him to stay calm and everything would be fine, Valle responded: “I don’t think so,” the agent said.

Under interrogation at FBI headquarters, Valle lamented that his chats and emails with others on the Internet about cannibalism were leaving him exhausted and uninterested in sex with his wife. He never said he harmed anyone, and he offered to help the FBI distinguish between which people on the Internet were real threats and which were not, Foto said. The agent said that when he asked Valle why he thought he was being arrested, the officer said he believed it was for conspiracy to commit murder or attempted murder. But Foto later conceded that Valle made the remark an hour into an interview that lasted several hours. On cross-examination, defense attorney Robert Baum drew the jury’s attention to moments when the FBI tricked his client, including when the FBI told him

he been under investigation for more than a year. “That was a lie, right? Baum asked.

“Of course,” Foto responded, acknowledging that Valle had been under investigation for only a few weeks. He said the ruse was investigative technique aimed at getting the defendant to speak.

After the testimony, US District Judge Paul Gardephe sent the jury home for the day. He spent the afternoon hearing proposed testimony from an FBI expert who studied Valle’s computer history, finding numerous gruesome images and some videos. Defense lawyers are opposing the presentation of as many as 34 ghastly exhibits of images, including women being tortured, dead bodies and body parts.

Gardephe put off a ruling on Friday on whether jurors would see the pictures, which defense lawyers say may have been saved automatically without him ever seeing them when he went on certain websites. The government says the exhibits include a picture of a dead body with feet unattached, an image Valle’s wife testified she saw when she went to one of his favorite sites and discovered why he stayed up late online.

Valle has been held without bail since his October arrest. Throughout the trial, which began Monday, Valle’s lawyers have attacked government evidence as nothing more than the reflection of a man engaging in extreme sexual fantasies with likeminded people around the world. The government has conceded that Valle never met the purported Internet co-conspirators and that no women were harmed. Jurors have heard testimony from Valle’s estranged wife and from former classmates and other women who testified they knew Valle on a casual basis and never considered him dangerous. Their testimony was followed by evidence that all of them were the subjects of emails and chats describing how they could be snatched away and eaten. — AP

CARACAS: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in “good spirits” but fighting for his life as he undergoes chemotherapy in a Caracas military hospital, the vice president said, revealing new details about the leftist leader’s treatment. Nicolas Maduro, the leftist leader’s political heir, rejected Friday a wave of rumors about Chavez’s health and lashed out at the opposition, which accused him of lying about the president’s condition.

Maduro disclosed for the first time that Chavez began chemotherapy following his fourth round of cancer surgery in Cuba in December and decided to continue the treatment in Caracas on February 18. “He has strength that is superior to the treatments that he is receiving and he is in good spirits, battling, receiving his treatments,” he told reporters after a mass for Chavez in a new chapel on the hospital grounds named “hope.”

When he went into the operating room in Havana on December 11, Maduro recalled, Chavez told his aides that there was a “possibility that he would not come out” alive, but he survived it. At the end of the year, the 58-year-old leader’s condition “worsened” due to a respiratory infection. A tracheal tube was inserted later to assist his breathing. But after a “general improvement” of his vital organs in January, the firebrand leader and his doctors in Cuba decided to begin “complementary treatments, which is chemotherapy,” the vice president said.

Maduro said that Chavez decided last month to return to Venezuela and told his aides: “I am going to enter a new phase with the complementary treatments, more intense and very difficult, and I want to be in Caracas, so do everything that must be done to return to Caracas in safe conditions.” On Thursday, the vice president said that Chavez was “battling for his health, for his life, and we are accompanying him,” adding later that the president was in a “complex and difficult” stage. But he did not offer any details.

Senior officials and one of Chavez’s daughters, Maria Gabriela, attended a mass in the new hospi-

CARACAS: Handout picture released by the Presidential press office shows Venezuelan Vice President, Nicolas Maduro (right) and daughter of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Maria Gabriela (second right) during the inauguration of a chapel that is inside the hospital where the Venezuelan President is being treated. — AFP tal chapel late Friday after spending flanked by two daughters, three country will know the truth in a few the day rebuffing rumors that days before he returned to Caracas days,” opposition leader Henrique Capriles wrote on Twitter. “We will Chavez may be dead or on his in the dead of night.

The normally garrulous and see how they explain to the coundeathbed. Maduro singled out the conservative Spanish newspaper omnipresent leader’s prolonged try in the coming days all the lies ABC and Colombian radio Caracol, absence from public view has that they have said about the presicalling them “fascist” news organi- fueled a slew of rumors on social dent’s situation,” said the Miranda zations that are part of a “campaign media and the streets of Caracas. state governor, who lost to Chavez against the stability of Venezuela, He was first diagnosed with cancer in the October presidential elecin the pelvic region in June 2011. tion. lying about Chavez.”

Around 40 university students ABC reported on Friday that “There is psychological warfare to Chavez was transferred to the presi- confuse the Venezuelan people,” have spent four straight nights dential retreat in the island of La said Science Minister Jorge Arreaza, chained to each other in the middle of a Caracas street, vowing to stay Orchilada days ago to spend his Chavez’s son-in-law.

“Comandante Chavez is fight- there until the “de facto” governfinal moments with his family there.

Radio Caracol interviewed ing,” he said, adding that the fire- ment “tells the truth” about Panama’s former ambassador to the brand leader was “at the military Chavez. Under the constitution, an Organization of American States, hospital, very calm with his doctors election would have to be held Guillermo Cochez, who claims that and his family.” After the opposition within 30 days if Chavez is Chavez was taken off life support accused him of lying about a meet- declared unfit to return to power. days ago after being declared brain ing with Chavez, Maduro repeated An opposition alliance is holding that the president had held a meet- talks to name a unity candidate in dead.

Chavez, whose nation sits on the ing of more than five hours with case a snap election is called. In world’s largest proven oil reserve, aides at the hospital on February power for 14 years, Chavez was has not come out or spoken in pub- 22, writing and using other “cre- supposed to be sworn in to a new six year term on January 10, but lic in almost three months. The gov- ative” ways to communicate.

“Maduro has lied about the his inauguration was delayed ernment has only released a set of pictures on February 15, showing health of the president. It is a lie indefinitely, a decision backed by him smiling in his sickbed and that he met him for five hours. The the Supreme Court. —AFP

Governor denies parole to ex-Manson follower LOS ANGELES: The enduring mystery of why young people joined Charles Manson’s murderous family appeared to be at the heart of Gov Jerry Brown’s decision Friday to reverse a parole board’s recommendation and keep Bruce Davis in prison. Brown said he wants Davis, who has been behind bars for 42 years, to come clean about all the details of his involvement with Manson’s cult and the two gruesome killings of a stuntman and a musician. It was the second time in less than three years that a California governor has rejected a parole board ruling in Davis’ case. Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger refused his release in 2010, citing the heinous nature of Davis’ crimes and his efforts to minimize his involvement. Brown repeated those reasons in a six-page decision but added his belief that Davis still has more to disclose about the killings.

“Until Davis can acknowledge and explain why he actively championed the Family’s interests and shed more light on the nature of his involvement, I am not prepared to release him,” Brown said. “After 42 years of incarceration, it is encouraging that Davis is beginning to reveal the actual details of what happened. But it is clear that he continues to withhold information about these events,” Brown said.

The state parole board, citing the prisoner’s positive progress, approved release of the 70year-old Davis, but the Democratic governor had the last word. Brown gave his decision to The Associated Press at the downtown Los Angeles County courthouse after a meeting with District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who had recommended that Davis not be paroled.

Davis’ attorney, Michael Beckman, called the

governor’s decision “horrible” and contrary to the findings of parole commissioners who conducted hearings for Davis and found him eminently suitable for parole. He said Davis has told everything he knows.

“I have represented over 700 life prisoners and of all of them, Bruce Davis is the most rehabilitated and qualified,” the attorney said. He said Brown’s “paper review” of the case was insufficient to understand who Davis is today.

Brown said, “I find the evidence ... shows why he currently poses a danger to society if released from prison. Therefore, I reverse the decision to parole Mr Davis.”

But Beckman said that the governor failed to articulate any reason why Davis might pose a danger now. If the problem is association with the Manson family, Beckman said, “They should pass a law saying if you were involved with these people you can’t get out. But there is no such law. “ Brown’s decision focused on Davis’ role in the murderous Manson Family in the late 1960s. “The record indicates that Davis fully embraced and championed the family’s distorted values and goals, and was willing to protect the family’s interests at all costs,” the decision said.

Davis would have been only the second Manson-related murder defendant to be granted parole since the killing spree began in 1969.

Davis was not involved in the notorious Sharon Tate-LaBianca killings but was convicted with Manson and others in the murders of musician Gary Hinman and stuntman ranch hand Donald “Shorty” Shea. Manson was a direct participant in both killings, according to witnesses.

Steve Grogan, another participant in those

murders, was released in 1985 after he led police to where the bodies were buried in the San Fernando Valley. Beckman noted that Grogan, a central figure in the killings, has lived as an upstanding citizen for 27 years with no problems since his release. Davis was 30 when he was sentenced to life in prison in 1972 in the case, which was a postscript to Manson’s notorious reign as leader of the murderous communal cult.

Davis long maintained that he was a bystander in the killing of the two men. But in recent years, he has acknowledged his shared responsibility. He said his presence may have emboldened others to take action because he was an elder of the group. Brown said Davis’ refusal to fully acknowledge his responsibility for the killings was central to his decision.

“I do not believe that Davis was just a reluctant follower who passively went along with the violence,” he said. “Davis was older, more experienced, he knew what the Manson Family was capable of, and he knowingly and willingly took part in these crimes.” Davis became a born-again Christian in prison and ministered to other inmates, married a woman he met through the prison ministry, and has a grown daughter. The couple recently divorced.

Davis also earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in philosophy of religion. Brown commended him for his self-help efforts but said the work was outweighed by other factors.

Manson and three of his followers, Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel and Charles “Tex” Watson, remain in prison for life in the Tate killings. Their co-defendant, Susan Atkins, died of cancer behind bars in 2009. —AP

‘Jedi mind-meld’: Obama flubs ‘Star Trek’ jargon WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama couldn’t bring two battling political parties together to forestall steep budget cuts Friday, but he did manage a feat of more cosmic proportions. The president brought two

universes together, and he did it by boldly going where no politician should ever go: confusing “Star Wars” and “Star Trek.” Obama’s mixing of science-fiction metaphors crossed a final frontier, setting the nerdiest cor-

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks to reporters in the White House briefing room, Friday, March 1, 2013. —AP

ners of the Internet ablaze. The president was answering reporters’ questions Friday in the White House briefing room, shortly after a last-minute meeting with the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate. The meeting failed to ward off automatic budget cuts that will begin carving $85 billion of government spending by day’s end.

Obama rejected the idea of using burly Secret Service agents to keep lawmakers from leaving until everyone agreed on a budget. “I am not a dictator. I’m the president,” he said, explaining that he wouldn’t do a “Jedi mind meld” with Congress’ top two Republicans to persuade them “to do what’s right.” Jedis are from “Star Wars,” while mind-melds happened on “Star Trek.” Obama might as well have joined the Dark Side. The reaction from Yoda-quoting nerds, Washington insiders and even Hollywood heroes was swift, as the

presidential mishmash of sci-fi references went viral. Obama turned off geeks who had considered the president to be one of them with a slip of the tongue that was almost as bad as confusing Klingons and Ewoks, or even Democrats and Republicans.

Even Mister Spock of “Star Trek” weighed in. “Only a Vulcan mind meld would be effective on this Congress. LLAP,” Leonard Nimoy emailed after The Associated Press sought his reaction. Nimoy signed off with the abbreviation for his “Live long and prosper.” As for the situation that led Obama to the briefing room in the first place, the president tried to downplay the epic battle that has gripped Washington, saying it was no “apocalypse.” He could have mentioned the kinds of deals that Republicans and Democrats were able to reach in the past, when Washington was a less partisan place.

But that was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. — AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

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

Bangladesh students held for murder of anti-Islam blogger

HAMPSHIRE: UK Independent Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage speaks during a press conference. — AFP

Albanian blood feud kids spend entire lives hiding SHKODER: Throughout her short life, Marsela has lived in hiding. Few people ever visit. Her mother won’t let her go to school or play outside with other kids. She can’t even stray from the yard of her rundown home. If she does, she risks being gunned down in the street.

The 9-year-old is the child of a blood feud family. In 1995, long before she was born, her father killed a friend in a drunken rage sparking a series of retaliatory killings that have left five people dead so far. Her 40-yearold mother, Marie, is taking no chances that any of her four children, aged 7 to 19, will be next. Marsela has left the house less than 10 times in her life. She doesn’t even really own shoes, a pointless luxury since she can get by indoors with knitted booties.

Under a centuries-old Albanian code of conduct known as the Kanun that regulates many aspects of life, killings must be avenged with blood. Grieving relatives are duty-bound to target the culprit and the culprit’s family.

Now, however, the justice minister is pledging the strongest laws in a generation to end the cycle of killing: Eduard Halimi said this month that new laws currently being drafted would carry a minimum sentence of 40 years to life imprisonment for anyone convicted of a blood feud killing, up from 25 years to life.

“Blood feud, this unique phenomenon in Europe, is the most absurd behavior of a civilized society,” Halimi said in a recent Facebook post. Albania’s blood feuds are carried on through generations. Traditionally only men could be targeted in the vendettas, and only they could exact revenge. But the code is loosely interpreted these days, and nobody is safe. That leaves entire families living in extreme isolation for years, struggling through abject poverty as nobody can leave the house to earn a living. “Everybody speaks about the men who can be killed, but they forget those men have children. And look at their lives,” said Liljana Luani, a teacher who operates through a charity to give home lessons to Marsela and other blood feud children. Blood feuds were largely eradicated under Albania’s 46-year communist rule. But they made a strong comeback after the regime’s 1990 collapse, and are particularly deep-rooted in Albania’s rugged north. Police figures show 225 feud killings over the past 14 years, though charities advocating an end to the practice say the true number is much higher, with many slayings misreported as

ordinary murders. The Interior Ministry says 67 families, accounting for 155 people, are currently living in hiding across the country.

Charities say the actual number is closer 6,000 people, including hundreds of women and children living in isolation in this country of 3.2 million. In the northern district of Shkoder alone, Luani counts 120 children living in hiding. Authorities put the official figure at 33.

Marsela’s family lives off her mother’s meager monthly social assistance of $79. Food comes mostly from a vegetable patch in the 100 square meter yard, and from livestock - a cow, two calves, a sheep and a lamb that live in the humidity-ridden front room. Her mother asked that the family’s surname and exact location be withheld because of the death threat that hangs over them.

Marie and her four surviving children have been fending for themselves since the death last year of Marie’s husband Mirash, a violent man who drank and often beat his wife and children. It wasn’t the feud that got him: He killed himself after shooting dead his 14-yearold daughter in a dispute. His suicide didn’t expunge the vendetta, which endures, blighting the lives of his widow and surviving children. Cooped up in a small house, their whole world centers on four rooms and the yard.

The family’s two boys have little to look forward to except one thing: Revenge.

A boy is considered a man - and old enough to participate in a feud - when he turns 15. Marsela’s 12-year-old brother, Zef, is biding his time. Over the years the other family involved in the feud tried repeatedly - and failed - to kill their father, uncles and cousins.

Their cousins, on the other hand, were far more successful - killing four people in the opposing family. In Zef’s world, he will have to kill those who come after his people first.

“A few days ago, he told me he would take the rifle and take revenge in three years’ time, when he became an adult,” said Marie, her brow furrowed as she stirred a pot of beans on a hand-made stove that doubles as a heater. A quiet boy with tousled brown hair, Zef glowers when asked his age. “I’m still not a man,” he retorts before running away into the yard.

Blood feud children, particularly boys, have a preordained, bleak future, says Mentor Kikia, a journalist who runs the Alternative Civile, a non-governmental organization advocating a government crackdown on vendettas.—AP

Australian troops kill 2 Afghan kids KANDAHAR: Australian soldiers in southern Afghanistan shot dead two children tending cattle, officials said yesterday, in an incident likely to escalate tensions over the conduct of international troops. Civilian casualties caused by NATO-led forces have been one of the most contentious issues in the campaign against Taleban insurgents, often triggering widespread public anger and harsh criticism from President Hamid Karzai. The two children, aged seven and eight, were killed on Thursday morning as Australian soldiers fought back after a Taleban attack in Uruzgan province, provincial governor Amir Mohammad Akhundzada told AFP. “The children were killed by Australian troops, it was a mistaken incident, not a deliberate one,” Akhundzada said, adding that insurgents had first shot at a helicopter carrying Australian soldiers. NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) expressed its “deep regret” over the children’s deaths and said it remained committed to minimising civilian casualties. “I offer my personal apology and condolences to the family of the boys who were killed,” General Joseph Dunford, commander of ISAF, said in a statement.

“I am committed to ensuring we do the right thing for the families of those we harmed, as well as for the community in

which they lived. We take full responsibility for this tragedy.” ISAF said the troops had opened fire at what they believed were insurgent forces. It added that a joint Afghan-ISAF team visited the district of Shahidi Hassas in Uruzgan on Saturday to investigate and meet with local leaders.

Last month, 10 Afghan civilians, including five children, were killed by a NATO airstrike in Kunar province. Following the attack, Karzai barred Afghan forces from seeking air support from foreign troops in a bid to curb civilian casualties. Karzai has regularly lashed out at senior ISAF leaders, demanding that civilian deaths must be avoided and saying the killings have worsened relations between his government and the international coalition.

Previous civilian deaths caused by ISAF forces, especially those involving children, have brought protesters onto the streets of Kabul chanting slogans against the presence of international troops in Afghanistan.

Security responsibility for Uruzgan, a restive province where Taleban insurgents have been holding sway, is being handed over to Afghan forces. The bulk of Australia’s 1,550 troops are based in the province, and are focused on training and mentoring Afghan soldiers ahead of the withdrawal of NATO combat troops by the end of next year.— AFP

DHAKA: Police arrested five students yesterday on charges of murdering an anti-Islamist blogger, as four people were killed in fresh protests over the sentencing to death of an Islamic party leader for war crimes. The students allegedly confessed to hacking to death blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider after he helped organise protests against leaders of the biggest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, who are being tried by a war crimes court, police said. The students, all enrolled at the elite private North South University, targeted Haider, 35, “because of his allegedly blasphemous writings against Islam and the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH),” Dhaka police deputy commissioner Masudur Rahman said. “ They tracked him by his Facebook account” and “on the day of the murder they played cricket in front of his home and waited for his return”, he told AFP. The arrests came as police firing claimed four lives during street protests over the sentencing of Islamist leaders for crimes committed in the 1971 independence war. The deaths bring the total toll of those killed since the tribunal delivered its first verdict on January 21 to 57, according to police.

The trials of a dozen Jamaat and main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders have opened old wounds and divided the nation. More unrest looms on Sunday in the impoverished South Asian nation, when Jamaat is due to hold a nationwide general strike to protest against the trials. In yesterday’s violence police said they killed three people outside the port

4 dead in fresh protests

DHAKA: Bangladeshi Hindus wave black flags as they march through a street to protest against alleged attacks by Jamaat-e-Islami activists yesterday.— AP city of Chittagong when they opened fire on Islamists protesting against the death penalty given earlier in the week to Jamaat vice president Delwar Hossain Sayedee.

The 73-year-old firebrand preacher was the third person to be convicted by the tribunal, whose verdicts have been met by outrage from Islamists who say the process is more about settling scores than delivering justice. Another protester was shot dead when border guards fired on more than 1,000

Jamaat demonstrators in northern Joldhaka town, police said. Police and media reported clashes between Jamaat supporters and police in at least half a dozen towns and cities, while in Dhaka police said they fired rubber bullets and gas at protesters.

The government, which says the 1971 independence war claimed three million lives, accuses Jamaat leaders of being part of proPakistani militias blamed for much of the carnage-charges they deny.

Independent estimates put the death toll from the war in which Bangladesh won its independence from Pakistan at a much lower 300,000 to 500,000. The fresh violence came a day after the United States called for calm. “ While engaging in a peaceful protest is a fundamental democratic right, we believe violence is never the answer,” US State Department deputy acting spokesman Patrick Ventrell told reporters in Washington. — AFP

Documentary accuses Lanka of war crimes GENEVA: The Sri Lankan military committed numerous war crimes during the final months of the country’s 26-year civil war, according to a documentary aired for the first time Friday, amid vigorous protests from Colombo. Using graphic video and pictures taken both by retreating Tamil Tiger rebels, civilians and victorious Sri Lankan troops, “No Fire Zone-The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka” presents a chilling picture of the final 138 days of the conflict that ended in May 2009.

Filmmaker Callum Macrae insisted before the screening that the film at the UN headquarters in Geneva that it should be seen as “evidence” of the “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed by government troops. “The real truth is coming out,” he said. Sri Lanka’s ambassador in Geneva, Ravinatha Aryasinha, strongly protested the screening of the film on the sidelines of the ongoing UN Human Rights Council. He described it as “part of a cynical, concerted and orchestrated campaign” to influence the debate in the council about his country. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which hosted the screening, are calling for the council to order an international probe.

They charge that Sri Lanka’s domestic Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) has glossed over the military’s role. The film for instance alleges that a “no fire zone” set up by the government in January, 2009, basically functioned as a trap for the hundreds of thousands of civilians who flooded into it in the hope of finding safety.

The area was heavily shelled, and in the film maimed and bloodied bodies, of men, women and children, lay strewn. The UN has estimated that some 40,000 people were killed in the final months of the war, most of them due to indiscriminate shelling by the Sri Lankan military. Peter Mackay, a UN worker who was trapped inside the zone for two weeks, questioned in the film why the government would set up the “no fire zone” within range of all of their artillery. “Either you don’t care if you kill the people in that safe zone or you are actively

In this undated photograph, reportedly taken from a recovered family photo album of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran shows the Tiger leader (left) and his wife Mathivathani (right), with their son Balachandran at an undisclosed location. — AFP targeting them,” he said, adding that he believed the latter was true. He and others describe how aid-centres and make-shift hospitals were shelled soon after UN or Red Cross workers informed the government of their coordinates, which is ironically standard practice to ensure that such places are spared in bombing campaigns.

The footage provided by the retreating Tamil Tigers and civilians is devastating, showing parents wailing over their dying and dead children, but the images provided by the government forces are perhaps even more shocking. Video of a Tamil commander first being interrogated, and then a picture of his mutilated body in the dirt; naked and bound prisoners coldly executed; dead, naked women,

who have clearly been sexually abused filmed amid degrading comments by onlooking soldiers.

And then there is footage of the 12-year-old son of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, Balachandran, whose body is seen with five bullet holes in his chest. He was not caught in cross-fire: a separate video shot two hours earlier, shows him sitting in military custody in a bunker eating a biscuit. The Sri Lankan government has cast doubt on the authenticity of the footage, with Aryasinha insisting Friday it was of “dubious origin”. Macrae however insisted that all the footage had been carefully checked and analysed to ensure none of it had been tampered with.”All of it is, I’m afraid, genuine,” he said. — AFP

2 Indian policemen killed in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Leaders and activists of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) participate in a candle light protest yesterday. — AP

SRINAGAR: Suspected militants yesterday shot dead two policemen in Indian Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan region which has been tense since the hanging of a separatist last month, police said. The assailants fired at two paramilitary policemen from close range in the attack carried out near a bus stop in Kupwara district, north of the region’s main city Srinagar, police said. “Militants fired at policemen who were discharging their duties near Handwara bus stand this morning. They were shifted to hospital where they were declared dead,” a police spokesman told AFP. The Kashmir valley has been tense since Mohammed Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri separatist, was hanged in February at a jail in New Delhi for his

involvement in a 2001 attack on India’s parliament which killed 10 people. A curfew was temporarily imposed in major towns of Indianadministered Kashmir following his execution to contain unrest which claimed three lives, including that of a teenage boy shot by security forces.

Many in the Muslim-majority region believe Guru did not receive a fair trial and there are fears his hanging could fuel fresh violence in Kashmir, where a separatist conflic t has claimed an estimated 100,000 lives over the last 20 years.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir. Each administers part of the territor y but claims the whole area. — AFP

Taleban threaten to bomb mobile phone shops PESHAWAR: Pakistani Taleban have threatened to bomb a mobile phone market in the nor thwestern city of Peshawar for the “shameless” selling of video clips, ring tones and accessories, officials said yesterday. Some 60 shopkeepers received letters in the post ordering them to burn the offending stock, including memor y cards and speakers for MP3 players, and stick to selling only mobile phones and essen-

tial accessories.

DVD and CD shops have in the past been bombed by militants who deemed the businesses “un-Islamic”. In one of the letters, seen by AFP, militants wrote: “Do not compel us to send a bomber... stop this shameless business in one week and burn the shameful stuff. Just sell mobile phones, batteries and chargers. “Your markets have become centers of shamelessness... Our mission is to

stop this shameless business and if you do not stop it yourself then we will make an example of you and your market.” Officials and police acted quickly to minimise the threat from would-be bombers. “We have immediately closed down the shops doing ring tones and video clips business, after about 60 shopkeepers received threatening letters from Taleban by mail,” local market association secretary general Shakil

Ahmed told AFP. He said parking spots for motorcycles-which are sometimes packed with explosives and detonated-had been moved away from the market and police had been asked to increase security. Senior police official Faisal Murad said patrols had been stepped up around the market in Peshawar, which sits on the edge of Pakistan’s tribal region-a haven for Taleban and Al-

Qaeda-linked militants. The Taleban has increased its campaign of violence in recent months, leading to fears that violence could mar a general election scheduled to take place by mid-May. Last month the group proposed talks with Islamabad but the government insists the militants must declare a ceasefire before coming to the negotiating table — a condition militants have rejected. — AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

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

Proposed Myanmar media law draws flak YANGON: Media groups reacted with dismay yesterday over a proposed law to regulate the press that has raised fears the government could be rolling back on promises to loosen its grip on the longshackled industry. The printing and publishing bill, drafted by the ministry of information, has listed a number of restrictions-including reporting on clashes between ethnic groups and producing articles that “violate” the junta-drafted constitution. The proposed legislation, which also laid out strict penalties of up

to six months in jail for those operating without valid accreditation, came as a shock for the country’s interim press council, which is drafting a separate media law.

“It’s an annoyance for us. We think the penalties are much harsher than necessary,” council member Zaw Thet Htwe told AFP. Myanmar has surprised observers with a raft of reforms under a quasi-civilian government that replaced outright military rule in 2011, including holding elections that swept democracy

Violent protests erupt in Egypt Continued from Page 1 The US State Department said Kerry had a telephone conversation with opposition figurehead and Nobel laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, who heads the opposition National Salvation Front. Kerry also met with Amr Moussa, a longtime diplomat and prominent figure in the group. Kerry was scheduled to meet with Morsi today.

Calls for strikes coincide with a diesel crisis that has caused microbuses, taxi and truck drivers to wait in fuel lines for hours every day across Egypt. The political turmoil has rocked the country’s economy and the government is struggling to contain a rush on the US dollar by worried residents as well as a decline in foreign reserves, which threatens to affect the government’s ability to provide subsidies that millions of Egyptians rely on for survival.

ElBaradei’s Salvation Front says the vote, slated to begin next month, will only further polarize the nation and that elections should not take place during the current climate of violence. Since the second anniversary of Egypt’s uprising in late January, more than 70 people have been killed in clashes with police. Despite calls by some to delay the vote, the elections commission yesterday announced procedures, including an eight-day window starting March 9 for candidates to register to run for the 546 seat legislature.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry, which oversees the country’s police force, said a protester died and dozens were wounded before dawn yesterday in Mansoura where about 400 people protested outside the local council office. The ministry said protesters were chanting anti-government slogans before they cut off a main road and threw firebombs at the building.

Activists there said that a protester, Hossam Eldin Abdullah Abdelazim, was killed when an armored police vehicle crushed him to death during the clashes. A funeral was held for him later in the day.

An initial autopsy said he was 35 years old. The Interior Ministry suggested Abdelazim’s death was an accident.

Mansoura activists say a teenager also was

shot in the head and critically wounded during the protests. By nightfall, demonstrators were still clashing with police, who fired tear gas and bird shot, according to activist Abdullah el-Nikeety. “All of Mansoura will not allow this death to be in vain,” he said. “I am seeing people who are protesting for the first time.”

Abdel-Rahman Saad, a law student in Mansoura, likened yesterday’s violence to what happened on Jan 28, 2011, the bloodiest day of the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak that led to his ouster. The office of the opposition “Tayar al-Shaabi” was turned into a field hospital to treat the wounded, he said. Saad was among around 100 protesters who had been demonstrating on Monday along a main road in Mansoura, convincing some government employees on their way home from work to join the strike.

He and others there said proBrotherhood residents assaulted their sitin, and that both sides threw rocks at one another. Police moved in to try to stop the violence. Clashes have continued between protesters and security forces since. Activists uploaded videos of the violence online. One video purported to show an armored police vehicle rushing protesters at high speed on Thursday.

Another video showed a protester from the overnight clashes yesterday with what appeared to be a crushed skull. The videos could not be independently verified.

Tayar Al-Shaabi released a statement, saying police violence is unjustified and accused security forces of deliberately running over the protester who died. It accused Morsi and his Brotherhood backers of tyranny and said the violence in Mansoura and other cities is evidence of “people’s rejection of the current regime.”

Also yesterday, a police car in the restive Suez Canal city of Port Said hit five protesters along a main road and sped off, according to an AP reporter at the scene. The protesters were blocking traffic during an anti-government march.

The reporter said that when the protesters refused to allow a police car passage, the driver fired warning shots into the air and rammed into the crowd, hitting five people. — AP

Well-armed jihadists raise fears...

Continued from Page 1

will take over the country after the fall of the Assads. I hope that they will head off to another country looking for jihad but, if not, I’m afraid we will have to fight to expel them.” Ironically, nonIslamist rebels in Deir Ezzor might end up fighting some of their own neighbors if it comes to that. Locals are signing on with Al-Nusra because it is offering them a wage, something the FSA is unable to do.

Abu Ammar said the “jihadists from abroad come seeking martyrdom, whereas the locals (fight) for money.

Many of them have families to feed, and they will join whoever pays them a wage.” On Thursday, the United States announced it would provide direct aid to

the rebel fighters in the form of food and medical assistance, but not the weapons they hoped for, as well as $60 million in funding for the political opposition.

Opposition National Coalition leader Ahmed Moaz Al-Khatib took a jibe at the West when he spoke of fears weapons might fall into the hands of extremists. “A lot of people, particularly the media, pay more attention to the length of fighters’ beards (an allusion to jihadists) than to the shedding of children’s blood and regime bombardments,” he said. Whether any of the aid will make a difference in Deir Ezzor is still to be seen, but one thing seems certain: FSA commanders are very much concerned by the scale of death and destruction, and they are also nervous about the beards. — AFP

champion Aung San Suu Kyi into parliament. Pre-publication censorship rules were scrapped in August-ending draconian controls that applied to everything from newspapers to song lyrics-and the country recently announced it would allow private newspapers to publish daily for the first time in decades from April.

But a notice in the state-run New Light of Myanmar yesterday said only eight out of 17 applications for daily licences had so far been approved.

Eleven Media Group, one of the country’s

Continued from Page 1

outline advances in its atomic program in spite of UN Security Council resolutions calling for a suspension.

The latest report, issued February 21, said that Iran had begun installing at its Natanz plant more advanced centrifuges to speed up uranium enrichment, a process at the heart of the international community’s concerns. Enriched uranium can be used for peaceful purposes but also, in highly purified form, in a nuclear weapon. Iran denies this is its aim. Tehran says that the IAEA’s conclusions about the “possible military dimensions” of its program are based on flawed information from Western and Israeli spy agencies, information that it says it has not been allowed to see.

At a stormy IAEA board meeting in November, Iran’s envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh said that no “smoking gun” had ever been found and that the West wants to hijack the IAEA for its own ends. The US envoy shot back that Washington would seek in March to convince the IAEA board to report Iran to the UN Security Council if no “substantive cooperation” had begun over the IAEA’s probe. But in view of apparent tentative progress made at talks in Kazakhstan last Tuesday and Wednesday between Iran and six world powers, the United States and its allies in Vienna appear to have rowed back from this threat.

Those talks saw the P5+1 - the US, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germanysweeten an offer made to Iran last year, scaling back some of their demands and offering more relief from sanctions.

Technical experts from both sides are meant to begin thrashing out the details on March 17-18 in Istanbul before chief negotiators return to Almaty on April 5-6.

‘Solidly in the US court’? -Western countries were meanwhile hoping that in the closed-door meeting, scheduled to last four days, the IAEA board would approve Amano being given a second four-year term. The 65-year-old Japanese is the only candidate but formal board approval might be delayed until June or even September-his current term runs to December-if any countries have misgivings. US diplomatic cables from 2009 published by WikiLeaks said Amano was “solidly in the US court on every key strategic decision” and “DG of all states, but in agreement with us.”

This irked some countries who feared Amano was a US stooge, as did his decision to publish in November 2011 a detailed analysis of the IAEA’s information on Iran’s suspected past weaponisation work. His predecessor Mohamed ElBaradei, who had a distinctly less cosy relationship with Washington, said in his autobiography that he resisted for years “behind-the-scenes” US, French, British and German pressure to publish such a summary. — AFP

published in Burmese language state media on Wednesday, also drew criticism from media freedom campaigners.

I t would “essentially replace (Myanmar’s) old censorship regime with a similarly repressive new one”, said Shawn Crispin of the Committee to Protect Journalists. “Banning news topics and legalising the jailing of journalists is utterly inconsistent with the press freedom guarantees that authorities vowed the new law would promote,” he said. —AFP

Malaysia warns of ‘drastic’ action Philippines urges Filipinos in Malaysia to give up LAHAD DATU: Malaysia threatened yesterday to take “drastic action” against intruding followers of a self-proclaimed Filipino sultan who have vowed to dig in following a shootout that killed 14 people. Twelve followers of the littleknown sultan of Sulu and two Malaysian security personnel were killed in Friday’s firefight, police said, as the more than two-weekold siege in a remote corner of Malaysia turned deadly.

Dozens of Filipinos have been holed up on Borneo island, surrounded by a massive Malaysian police and military cordon, since landing by boat from the nearby Philippines to insist the area belongs to their Islamic leader. “We want them to surrender immediately. If they don’t, they will face drastic action,” Hamza Taib, police chief of the Malaysian state of Sabah where the drama was taking place, told AFP. He declined to provide details of what security forces had in store but his comments echoed growing Malaysian impatience with the situation. The Filipinos, who are estimated to number between 100 and 300, sailed from their remote islands to press Jamalul Kiram III’s claim to Sabah. Kiram, 74, claims to be the heir to the Islamic sultanate of Sulu, which once controlled parts of the southern Philippines and a portion of Borneo.

In an immediate response to President Aquino’s appeal, Kiram’s spokesman Abraham Idjirani said the gunmen would remain in Sabah. “We have spoken: It’s honour over lives,” he said, adding that the deaths of the sultan’s followers have “only strengthened our resolve to defend the rights of the Filipino people over Sabah”.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose government has been embarrassed by the security breach, said doors for negotiation are closed and urged the gunmen to surrender.

“The Sulu rebels have to surrender or they will face the action of our security forces,” he was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.

While it is not clear how the firefight erupted, Najib said the two police officers were gunned down after walking into a trap. “I was told some Sulu gunmen had waved the white flag but when the Malaysian forces moved in, they were fired upon instead,” he said.

SUBANG: Malaysian police officers salute the coffins of two commandoes who were killed in a mortar attack after an exchange of fire between Malaysian security forces and the Sulu sultanate intruders as they arrived at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base yesterday.—AP Muslim-majority Malaysia had previously avoided tough talk, expressing hope the intruders would leave peacefully. But now even if they give up, they will face Malaysian prosecution, Hamza said, after he met with Malaysia’s home minister and other top security officials. Local residents were staying indoors and the usually bustling coastal town of Lahad Datu-the area’s only major town, about 150 kilometres from the standoff site-was quiet with most shops closed yesterday. The Sulu sultanate’s power faded about a century ago but it has continued to receive nominal payments from Malaysia for Sabah under a historical lease arrangement passed down from European colonial powers. Meanwhile, the Philippine president yesterday urged members of a Muslim royal clan from the southern Philippines who occupied a village in eastern Malaysia three weeks ago to surrender. About 200 clan members landed in the coastal village of Lahad Datu in Sabah state on Feb 9 to claim the territory as their own, citing ownership documents from the late 1800s. After the Filipinos arrived in the village, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said they should leave immediately or would face prosecution at home on charges of triggering an armed

conflict, but the appeals were ignored. On Friday, Malaysian authorities trying to end the standoff clashed with clan members, leaving 12 Filipinos and two Malaysian police commandos dead, Sabah Police Chief Hamza Taib said. Malaysian authorities said two other commandos were wounded, while the clan said four Filipinos were injured.

In a message to the group yesterday, Aquino said the clan members should “surrender now without conditions.” He said he had sought to avoid bloodshed from the beginning. “However, you did not join us in this objective.

Because of the path you have taken, what we have been trying to avoid has come to pass,” Aquino said. “If you have grievances, the path you chose was wrong. The just and, indeed, the only correct thing for you to do is to surrender.”

Malaysia’s home minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, and national police chief, Ismail Omar, were in Sabah yesterday to oversee security operations. Ismail also urged the Filipinos to turn themselves in, saying “we have no other options but to take the necessary action to detain them.” Malaysian officials declined to say when they might move in or to elaborate on their plans. The Filipino group is led by a brother of Sultan Jamalul

Assad eyes 2014 presidential...

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Iran, Amano’s term in focus at...

larger newspaper publishers, said its application had been rejected on technical grounds. “We cannot accept any pressure put on us in connection with the publishing of a daily newspaper,” said the group’s chief Than Htut Aung in an editorial dated Friday.

“If the recently published printing bill by the ministry of information is enacted, the independent news media will surely face similar difficulties,” he said, vowing to “categorically oppose this media bill”.

The draft printing legislation, which was

years, and has repeatedly rejected opposition, Western and Arab calls to step down. A new constitution adopted in February 2012 stipulates that he can run for the presidency twice from 2014, which means he could stay at the helm until 2028 if re-elected.

In January, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad told the BBC that Assad should be allowed to stand in 2014 like any other candidate, and that it is up to the Syrians themselves to decide their future leadership. “We are opening the way for democracy, or deeper democracy.

In a democracy you don’t tell somebody not to run,” Muqdad said. Salehi yesterday also backed a call by Damascus for talks with the armed opposition, calling the initiative a “positive step,” but reiterated that Assad’s regime has “no choice” but to keep fighting rebels.

“We believe that the crisis has no military solution and only a Syrian political one,” he said. “Iran firstly wants a stop to the bloodshed but the Syrian government has no choice but to fight against the terrorists and we cannot ask the Syrian government not to do so and leave them alone.” Muallem’s visit comes after a week of intense international diplomacy aimed at ending the bloodshed. He condemned the announcement by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday that Washington would provide $60 million in “non-lethal” assistance to support the Syrian political opposition.

“When the US (says it has) allocated $60 million to the opposition and this opposition is killing people, I don’t understand this initiative... Are there any weapons that do not kill people? Who are you kidding?”

Muallem asked. He repeated calls for pressure to be exerted on Turkey and Qatar, among the main supporters of the rebels alongside Western countries.

Damascus has repeatedly blamed foreign-backed “terrorists” for the violence, using the term to refer both to rebels and peaceful opponents ever since the outbreak of a popular revolt against Assad in March 2011. The army said yesterday it seized control of a key road linking the central province of Hama to Aleppo international airport, the scene of fierce battles since mid-February.

The Syrian Obser vator y for Human Rights confirmed the report, calling the road significant because it will allow new troop deployments and supplies to reach the area surrounding Aleppo international airport and nearby Nayrab military airport.

Last month, rebels launched an all-out assault on several airpor ts in Aleppo province. Since dawn yesterday, fierce clashes also raged in the northern city of Raqa between rebels and troops, killing at least 26 fighters - 16 rebels and 10 soldiers, Obser vator y chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Britain-based Observatory and activists said military helicopters strafed rebels in some parts of Raqa, which Abdel Rahman said was home to about 800,000 people displaced by violence elsewhere in Syria. The official SANA news agency said the battle began after rebels attacked several army checkpoints. At least 49 people were killed nationwide yesterday, the Observatory said. In Baghdad, meanwhile, the defense ministry said that four Syrian soldiers wounded in clashes with rebels just across the border were admitted to a north Iraq hospital for treatment. —AFP

Kiram III of the southern Philippine province of Sulu. Jacel Kiram, a daughter of the sultan, indicated that her uncle, Agbimuddin Kiram, who is still in Lahad Datu, would not surrender.

“The decision remains the same - they will not return here because honor is above life,” she told DZBB radio in Manila. “What is life without honor?” Abraham Idjirani, a spokesman for the sultan, said he and the council of the sultanate still had to study Aquino’s statement. Idjirani said the sultan’s brother was unharmed in Friday’s clash. He said among those killed on the clan’s side were a 33-yearold woman and her 18-year-old son. The standoff elevated the Sabah territorial issue, which has been a thorn in Philippine Malaysian relations for decades, to a Philippine national security concern. The crisis erupted at a crucial stage of peace negotiations - brokered by Malaysia - between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines. Aquino has said the standoff may have been an attempt to undermine his government on the par t of those opposing the peace deal, including politicians and warlords who fear being left out in any power sharing arrangements.—Agencies

News

in brief

Japan’s high-speed bullet train derails TOKYO: A Japanese bullet train carrying about 130 passengers and crew derailed in heavy snow in northern Japan yesterday, although there were no reports of injuries, media reports said. The first car of the “Komachi” No. 25 bullet train came off the rails on the high-speed Akita Shinkansen line in Akita, Japan’s national broadcaster NHK and other media said. But there were no reports of injuries or casualties following the accident, NHK said, showing footage of railway officials checking the wheels of the train bound for Akita station. NHK said the driver had brought the train to an emergency stop after hearing a loud noise. The cause of the derailment has yet to be confirmed, but heavy snow may have resulted in the accident, local media said. Immediate confirmation of the reports was not available. East Japan Railway, which operates the line, said on its website that bullet train services in the area had been suspended due to heavy snow.

Ban appeals for calm in Guinea UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon called on Friday for calm in the West African nation of Guinea, where political violence has left about 130 people wounded. “The Secretary-General is concerned about reports of ongoing violent clashes in Guinea, which started in Conakry on Thursday,” said a statement released by a UN spokesman. “The Secretary-General calls for calm and urges Guineans to refrain from all acts likely to undermine the ongoing peaceful and democratic process in the country,” the statement went on to say. “He urges all political actors to pursue the path of dialogue in order to address outstanding issues related to the electoral process and create the conditions for the holding of peaceful and democratic legislative elections.”

Violence broke out during a Guinean opposition demonstration in Conakry Wednesday.

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

14

ANALYSIS

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

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Issues

Morocco: Emerging model for Muslim, Jewish relations

By Adina Friedman t a ceremony marking the end of the restoration of a 17th Century synagogue in Fez’s Old City, in a message read by Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, King Mohammed hailed Morocco’s “spiritual wealth and diversity” and its “values of coexistence, tolerance and harmony between the different components of the nation.”

These statements were reassuring for a regional political climate that is often turbulent, and suggest that Morocco offers a new - yet in fact very old - paradigm for inter-communal relations, and particularly Arab/MuslimJewish relations. In the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, “Jewishness” and “Arabness” are often positioned as mutually exclusive; Morocco seems to exemplify important ways of reconciling these identities.

I received this impression too when I travelled to Morocco this winter with a group of students, consisting of Americans, Israelis, Amazigh (a non-Arab ethnic group from North Africa) and Arab Moroccans, Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Not only did Morocco offer a fascinating mosaic of religions and cultures, languages and landscapes. But for me, as a Jewish Israeli, it offered important insights and renewed hope.

Jews have lived in Morocco continuously for more than 2000 years, and have played a vital role in the country’s social, political, cultural and economic life. Most Jews had left by the 1960s after the founding of Israel, but a few thousand still remain, occupying various niches in society.

Throughout history many were merchants or local craftsmen, while others served as government ministers and advisers to the King.

Most Moroccans we met - from taxi drivers in cities to camel riders in the Sahara, and from academicians to tour guides - were welcoming, and unashamedly highlighted Jews’ positive role in Moroccan society. Jewish cemeteries and places of worship were well kept and protected.

Morocco’s new constitution, adopted in 2011 against the backdrop of the Arab Spring, recognises the country’s Jewish heritage as part of Morocco’s national identity.

Importantly, we met with members of Mimouna Club, an NGO founded by Muslim Moroccan students dedicated to learning about the history of Judaism and Jews in Morocco. Such an organisation is rare in the Arab world.

All these were encouraging examples that highlight the acceptance of Jews as integral to Morocco.

Einat, an Israeli Jewish participant in our group, was the first from her family to visit Morocco since her grandparents’ departure in 1952. She was welcomed in “her country” by most everyone she met. As she uncovered layers of her family’s past and of her own identity, she shared her personal journey with the group and with friends and family in Israel. Her story, while unique, reflects experiences of many Jewish Israelis from the Arab world.

Einat’s family’s documented history in Morocco dates back to the 5th Century. When her grandparents departed Morocco for Israel, they left behind their homes and belongings, and the graves of their ancestors. In Israel, Einat’s family spent their first few years living in “transitory camps” as refugees. Like most Jews who immigrated to Israel from Arab and Muslim-majority countries, they were marginalized and disenfranchised by the state’s structures and hegemonic culture, which were mostly European and Ashkenazi, Jews who trace their origins to the Middle East via Europe. Moreover, they often had to suppress the “Arabness” of their identities.

As an Ashkenazi Jew growing up in Israel, the predicaments and nuances of Moroccan Jewish identity were largely invisible to me, as their experiences were largely marginalized by, or absent from the local narrative.

Morocco enabled me to see and better understand some of these. Though things have changed in the last several decades, in Israel, being an Arab-Jew came to be viewed by most as a contradiction in terms. Yet, Jews in Morocco saw little, if any, contradiction between the Arab, Amazigh, and Jewish dimensions of their identity.

Positive attitudes towards Jews do not necessarily imply acceptance of Israeli policies. Nevertheless, as Israel struggles to define its identity and its place in the region, and as its neighbors challenge its existence and legitimacy, Morocco offers a pertinent example that defies traditional “East-West” categories, and re-contextualises the Jewish experience in the region.

By embodying possibilities for reconciling “Jewishness” and “Arabness,” Morocco offers ways for Arab-Jews to understand their own identities in a new light. And as the Arab-Israeli conflict persists, Morocco reaffirms historical examples of coexistence. — CGNews

A

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 Tests Japanese and US patience

By Rodger Baker apanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has warned Beijing that Tokyo is losing patience with China’s assertive maritime behavior in the East and South China seas, suggesting China consider the economic and military consequences of its actions. His warning followed similar statements from Washington that its patience with China is wearing thin, in this case over continued Chinese cyberespionage and the likelihood that Beijing is developing and testing cybersabotage and cyberwarfare capabilities.

Together, the warnings are meant to signal to China that the thus-far relatively passive response to China’s military actions may be nearing an end.

In an interview The Washington Post published just prior to Abe’s meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington, Abe said China’s actions around the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands and its overall increasing military assertiveness have already resulted in a major increase in funding for the Japan Self-Defense Forces and coast guard.

He also reiterated the centrality of the Japan-US alliance for Asian security and warned that China could lose Japanese and other foreign investment if it continued to use “coercion or intimidation” toward its neighbors along the East and South China seas. Abe’s interview came amid warnings on Chinese cyberactivity from Washington. Though not mentioning China by name in his 2013 State of the Union address, Obama said, “We know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate secrets. Now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, our air traffic control systems.” Obama’s comments, and the subsequent release of a new strategy on mitigating cybertheft of trade secrets, coincided with a series of reports highlighting China’s People’s Liberation Army backing for hacking activities in the United States, including a report by Mandiant that traced the activities to a specific People’s Liberation Army unit and facility.

The timing of the private sector reports and Obama’s announcement were not coincidental. Although Washington has taken a slightly more restrained stance on the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute, reportedly urging Tokyo not to

J

release proof that a Chinese ship locked its fire-control radar on a Japanese naval vessel, clearly Washington and Tokyo hold the common view that China’s actions are nearing the limits of tolerance. Given its proximity to China, Japan is focusing on Chinese maritime activity, which has accelerated in the past two to three years around the disputed islands, in the South China Sea and in the Western Pacific east of Japan.

The United States in turn is highlighting cyberespionage and the potential for cyberwarfare. Both are drawing attention to well-known Chinese behavior and warning that it is nearing a point where it can no longer be tolerated. The message is clear: China can alter its behavior or begin to face the consequences from the United States and Japan.?

Abe drew a sharp response from Beijing, though less from his interview than from another Washington Post article based on the interview that interpreted Abe as saying, “China has a ‘deeply ingrained’ need to spar with Japan and other Asian neighbors over territory, because the ruling Communist Party uses the disputes to maintain strong domestic support.” Tokyo responded to China’s complaints by saying the second Post article was misleading but that the transcript of Abe’s interview was accurate.

Although the Japanese government did not elaborate on this point, by “ingrained” Abe did not mean Chinese behavior per se, but rather the anti-Japanese undercurrents of China’s education system and the use of anti-Japanese sentiment as the basis of Chinese patriotism. In addition to being Beijing’s standard knee-jerk reaction to any less-than-flattering comments by a foreign leader, the Chinese government and media response represented an attempt to shift attention from Chinese actions toward the “hawkish” Abe as the source of rising tensions in East Asia. A follow-up Xinhua article published after the Abe-Obama meeting cautioned the United States to be “vigilant against the rightist tendency in Tokyo” and said the first- and second-largest economies, the United States and China, should work together “to safeguard the peace and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and contribute to global development.” Other Chinese media reports suggested that Abe failed to gain support from Obama during the visit for his Senkaku/Diaoyu policies or for a unified stance against China. The undertones of China’s response,

however, reflect less confidence.??

What Abe said in his interview apart from the Chinese media spin is instructive. According to Abe, relations between China and Japan have been suffering due to unintended consequences of moves by the Communist Party of China to retain its legitimacy. China’s economic opening led to unequal prosperity, eliminating the Party’s main pillar of support, equality.

To counter that, the Chinese government pursued a twoprong strategy of economic growth and patriotism.

Economic growth required Beijing to expand its sourcing of commodities, moving China naturally onto the sea.

Meanwhile, patriotism, tinged with anti-Japanese teaching, has come to pervade the educational system and society.??

Abe argued that China is pursuing a path of coercion or intimidation, particularly in the East and South China seas, as part of its resource-acquisition strategy. Anti-Japanese undercurrents in Chinese society due to the inculcation of patriotism have won domestic support for the assertive Chinese actions. But this has strained Japanese-Chinese economic relations, thus undercutting China’s own rapid economic growth. And without continued economic growth, Abe cautioned, China’s single-party leadership would be unable to control its population of 1.3 billion.

Within this context, Abe cautioned that it is important to make Beijing realize it cannot take another country’s territory or territorial water or change the rules of international engagement. He raised the defense budget and emphasized that the Japanese-U.S. alliance is critical for regional security, as is a continued U.S. presence in the region. He also warned that China’s assertive behavior would have economic consequences and that although Japanese companies profit in China, they are responsible for 10 million Chinese jobs. If the risk of doing business in China rises, then “Japanese investments will start to drop sharply,” he added.

Abe’s warnings were designed to strike at the core Chinese government fears of economic and social instability and military encroachment by the United States and a reinvigorated Japan. On the economic front, Japan is one of the top sources of actual foreign direct investment in China and a major trading partner.—Stratfor

Fire: The overlooked threat

By Scott Stewart eople sometimes obsess over the potential threat posed by terrorist attacks that use things such as chemical weapons, electromagnetic pulses or dirty bombs. Yet they tend to discount the less exciting but very real threat posed by fire, even though fire kills thousands of people every year. The World Health Organization estimates that 195,000 people die each year from fire, while according to the Global Terrorism Database an average of 7,258 people die annually from terrorism, and that includes deaths in conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

There are also instances in which fire is used as a weapon in a terrorist attack. US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and embassy communications officer Sean Smith, the two diplomats killed in the attack on the US office in Benghazi on Sept 11, 2012, did not die from gunfire or even rocket-propelled grenade strikes but from smoke inhalation. This fact was not lost on the US Department of State Accountability Review Board that investigated the Benghazi attack.

In an interview published by Reuters on Feb 24, former Ambassador Thomas Pickering, the head of the Accountability Review Board, said more attention should be paid to the threat fire poses to diplomatic posts. Fire can be deadly and destructive. But whether a fire is intentionally set, as in the Benghazi example above, or is the result of an accident or negligence, there are some practical steps individuals can take to protect themselves.

P

FIRE AS A WEAPON The use of fire as a weapon, especially against diplomatic facilities, is not new. It was seen in the November 1979 sacking and burning of the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, and in the April 1988 mob and arson attack against the US Embassy annex in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In February 2008, the US Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, was heavily damaged when a mob lit its lobby on fire. More recently, on Sept 14, 2012, three days after the Benghazi attack, millions of dollars’ worth of damage was done at the US Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia, after a mob set outbuildings and vehicles ablaze. Fires set by demonstrators also caused extensive damage to the adjacent American school.

Fire has been used to attack non-diplomatic facilities as well. During the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, the group of attackers holed up in the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel started fires in various parts of the hotel. Anarchists and radical environmental and animal rights activists have also conducted

arson attacks against a variety of targets, including banks, department stores, the homes and vehicles of research scientists and even a ski resort.

Fire has also been a weapon frequently mentioned by AlQaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in its longstanding efforts to encourage Muslims living in the West to conduct simple attacks. In an interview featured in the first edition of Inspire magazine, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Nasir AlWahayshi encouraged would-be jihadists to burn down forests and buildings as a way to strike terror into the hearts of their adversaries. This theme was expanded upon in Inspire magazine’s ninth edition, which actually contained a photo tutorial on how to construct timed incendiary devices as well as a fatwa noting that it was religiously permissible to light forest fires as an act of war. It is suspected that Palestinian groups have also been responsible for a number of fires in Israel and the West Bank.

But fire is not a weapon to be used against only buildings and forests-it can also be used to attack transportation targets. In March 2008, a Uighur separatist attempted to light a fire in the restroom of a China Southern Airlines flight from Urumqi to Beijing using two soft drink cans filled with gasoline that she had smuggled onto the flight. Fire is extremely dangerous aboard aircraft because of the oxygen-rich environment, the sensitive nature of avionic controls, the presence of thousands of gallons of jet fuel and the toxic smoke that results from burning plastics and other materials that make up a plane. Examples of deadly fires aboard aircraft include the September 1998 incident involving Swissair Flight 111, in which all 229 people aboard were killed after the crew was overcome by smoke, and the May 1996 ValuJet crash in the Florida Everglades. In a case similar to the one at hand, a June 1983 fire that started in the restroom of Air Canada Flight 797 resulted in the deaths of 23 of the 46 passengers on board.

Autopsies showed that most of them died as a result of smoke inhalation.

Trains have also been targeted for arson. In August 2006, an attack against two German trains failed when the timed incendiary devices placed onboard failed to ignite. A February 2007 attack against a train in India proved far more deadly.

Two timed incendiary devices placed aboard the Samjhauta Express killed 68 people and injured another 50. Two additional unignited devices were later found in other cars aboard the train. Had they functioned properly, the death toll would have been much higher.

Incendiary devices are not only quite deadly if properly employed, they also have an advantage over explosive

devices in that they can be constructed from readily available materials such as gasoline and kerosene. Even the aluminum powder and iron oxide required to manufacture a more advanced incendiary compound such as thermite can be easily obtained or even produced at home. Another consideration is that quite often other forms of attacks, such as those using explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades or even tracer ammunition, can spark fires. Many of the victims of the July 7, 2005, London subway bombings were affected not by the bombs’ blast effect but by the smoke from the resultant fires.

PRECAUTIONS In addition to the threat of fire as a weapon or resulting from another form of attack, many deadly fires result each year from accidents or negligence. Such fires are deadly enough in the United States and Europe, where there are strict fire codes, but their impact is often magnified in less-developed countries, where fire codes are nonexistent or poorly enforced. For example, while sprinkler systems are mandatory for hotels in the United States, in many parts of the world they are not required.

When I was working on protective details overseas, I learned that it is not uncommon to find items stored in emergency stairwells, leaving them obstructed or sometimes impassable. It is also not unusual to find fire doors that have been chained shut due to the criminal threat.

One thing that can be done to mitigate the threat from fire is to check emergency exits to ensure that they are passable.

This applies not only to hotels but also to apartment and even office buildings. In the August 2011 Casino Royale attack in Monterrey, Mexico, the attackers ordered the occupants out of the building before dousing it with gasoline and lighting it on fire, but 52 people died in the incident because they were trapped inside a building by a fire exit that had been chained and locked shut.

While we recommend that travelers staying at hotels overseas should attempt to stay above the second floor for security reasons, we also recommend that they not stay above the sixth floor so that they will be within range of most fire department rescue ladders. We also recommend checking that functional and tested fire extinguishers and fire hoses are present. In fires, smoke inhalation is a huge problem.

According to studies, it is the primary cause of fire deaths and accounts for some 50-80 percent of all deaths from indoor fires. While this is somewhat obvious in confined spaces such as an aircraft fuselage or a subway tunnel, it also applies to buildings.— Stratfor

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

S P ORTS Serena gets in trouble for trying to photograph Woods PALM BEACH GARDENS: Tennis world number one Serena Williams found herself in trouble with security officials at the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic on Friday after she tried to photograph Tiger Woods. Under PGA Tour rules, spectators are not allowed to take pictures or video of players on competition days. A short video posted on CBSSports.com shows a tournament official pulling Williams’s phone down as she was about to snap a photograph with her phone during the second round of the Honda Classic and she then tweeted about the episode.

“Apparently you can’t take pictures of golfers. In my defense peeps always take pics of tennis players,” Williams tweeted. Williams, who did manage to post a picture of Woods driving from the tee on her Twitter account, although it was not clear if she herself had taken the picture, also said the security was “mad” and “yelled” at her during the episode. —Reuters

St. Louis 4, Edmonton 2; Chicago 4, Columbus 3 (OT); Anaheim 3, Minnesota 2.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF 13 8 0 70 Pittsburgh New Jersey 10 6 4 49 Philadelphia 10 11 1 64 NY Rangers 9 8 2 48 NY Islanders 8 11 2 61

GA 58 52 67 49 73

Northeast Division 13 4 3 58 13 2 2 51 12 6 3 49 13 9 0 64 8 12 1 54

43 36 39 55 67

29 28 27 26 17

PTS 26 24 21 20 18

55 61 64 73 59

21 21 19 17 15

Chicago St. Louis Detroit Nashville Columbus

Southeast Division 10 8 1 54 10 9 1 55 9 10 1 71 6 9 5 51 7 11 1 52 Western Conference Central Division 18 0 3 68 11 7 2 59 10 8 3 60 9 7 5 45 5 12 4 47

40 57 57 52 65

39 24 23 23 14

Vancouver Minnesota Edmonton Colorado Calgary

Northwest Division 10 5 4 54 10 8 2 45 8 8 4 49 8 8 3 49 7 8 4 53

52 49 54 58 66

24 22 20 19 18

Carolina Winnipeg Tampa Bay Florida Washington

QUEENSTOWN: England’s bowlers have plenty to ponder ahead of the first Test after a New Zealand XI chased down a steep target for a three-wicket win in the tourists’ only warmup match in Queenstown yesterday.

Wicketkeeper BJ Watling was unbeaten on 89, with eight fours and two sixes, as the home side reached 334 for seven with eight deliveries to spare, after England declared on their overnight score of 256 for nine. England had looked strong with their opponents reeling on 154 for five at one stage, but a sixth-wicket stand of 82 between Watling and Corey Anderson (44) stopped the rot.

Watling also found good support in left-arm paceman Neil Wagner (28 not out), who was handed a spot in the New Zealand test squad earlier in the day, and the duo saw their team home with an unbeaten stand of 52 for the eighth wicket.

England paceman Graham Onions once again struggled, bowling five no-balls, and the batsmen took particular liking to him as he bled 82 runs off his 16 overs without any reward. Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Joe Root picked up two wickets each for England while Graeme Swann took one. New Zealand take on England in the first of the threetest series at Dunedin’s University Oval starting on Wednesday — Reuters

Pliskova defeats Morita to sail into first career final KUALA LUMPUR: Karolina Pliskova qualified for her first ever WTA final by crushing fourth seed Ayumi Morita of Japan 6-0, 6-2 in just 47 minutes yesterday.

The world No. 127, who has not dropped a set in the tournament, said she was surprised by the ease of the victory and by how well she has been playing in the BMW Malaysian Open. “I expected a tough match but and I’m surprised it wasn’t,” said Pliskova, who turns 21 on March 21. “I’ve been better in other tournaments but the results were not as good as this. I’m excited to play in my first final and can’t wait to see who I’ll be playing.

“I’m quite surprised I have yet to drop a set but I did tell myself I must finish the matches off quickly as the weather is really tough,” the Czech Republic player added. Asked if she would prefer to meet third seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or American wildcard Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Pliskova replied: “They both will be tough. I’ve played Bethanie once before and lost but have never met Anastasia. “I would prefer to meet Anastasia as it will be different challenge.” World number 55 Morita, meanwhile, said she had been nervous and tired. —AFP

Blackhawks and Blues roll

NHL results/standings

Montreal Boston Ottawa Toronto Buffalo

England lose warm-up match

Pacific Division Anaheim 15 3 1 67 50 31 2 47 42 22 Los Angeles 10 6 San Jose 9 6 4 45 43 22 Dallas 10 9 2 57 62 22 Phoenix 9 8 3 57 55 21 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

CHICAGO: Brent Seabrook scored on a 2on-1 break at 3:23 of overtime and the Chicago Blackhawks extended their NHLrecord, season-opening point streak to 21 games with a 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night.

Patrick Sharp and Bryan Bickell scored 59 seconds apart late in the second period, and Viktor Stalberg also connected in regulation for Chicago (18-0-3), which won its eighth straight overall and has earned 39 out of a possible 42 points this season. Ray Emery made 19 saves for the win.

Ryan Johansen scored with 7:37 left in regulation to tie it at 3 for Columbus, snapping his 37-game goal drought. Vinny Prospal and Artem Anisimov also had goals for injury-depleted Columbus (5-12-4), which has a league-low 14 points. The Blackhawks posted their 10th consecutive win against the Blue Jackets, dating to Feb. 18, 2011. Chicago also has a point in its last 26 regular-season games since a regulation loss on March 25, 2012, to Nashville.

Columbus has lost seven of eight, with all but one of the defeats by one goal.

Blues 4, Oilers 2 In St Louis, Vladmir Sobotka put St. Louis ahead early in the third period and added an assist for the Blues, who rallied from two goals down to beat Edmonton.

David Backes added an insurance tally with 5:20 to go, and Jaroslav Halak was strong throughout in net for the Blues, who trailed 2-0 after the first period. They had been 1-5-1 in their previous seven at home while getting outscored 26-11. The Blues totaled just three goals the previous four games and were shut out twice.

Kevin Shattenkirk scored the tying goal late in the second to snap St. Louis’ 0-for14, power-play drought. Jaden Schwartz also scored for the Blues, who lost six home games in regulation last season but are 5-51 there this year.

Taylor Hall and Ryan Whitney scored in a span of 23 seconds late in the first period for Edmonton, which played the third game of a nine-game trip. The Oilers, who ended a six-game losing streak against Dallas on Thursday, have lost six in a row in St. Louis.

Halak made his fourth straight start with

CHICAGO: Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason (1) blocks a shot by Chicago Blackhawksí Patrick Kane (88) during the second period of an NHL hockey game. —AP slumping Brian Elliott on the bench for the eighth straight game. Halak made just 15 saves in the win after losing to Chicago on Thursday.

Ducks 3, Wild 2 In Anaheim, Teemu Selanne scored his 669th NHL goal, Jonas Hiller made 31 saves, and Anaheim held off Minnesota’s late surge for the Ducks’ eighth straight win at

home. Captain Ryan Getzlaf and Matt Beleskey also scored for the streaking Ducks, who have won eight of nine and 12 of 14 despite barely holding on to their 3-0 lead over Minnesota after two periods.

Anaheim (15-3-1) has the NHL’s secondbest record behind Chicago, and hasn’t lost at Honda Center since its home opener on Jan. 25.

The Ducks are off to the best start in

franchise history, surpassing their 13-2-4 start during their only Stanley Cup championship season in 2006-07. Kyle Brodziak and Devin Setoguchi scored third-period goals for Minnesota, which lost for just the second time in six games. Darcy Kuemper stopped 26 shots in his third NHL start for the Wild. The 42-year-old Selanne broke a tie with Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille for 11th place in NHL goal-scoring history. —AP

Japan shock Brazil in WBC FUKUOKA: Two-time defending champion Japan beat a surprisingly resilient Brazilian team 5-3 on Saturday in its opening game of the World Baseball Classic.

Japan, playing without its top players from Major League Baseball, had to rally from a 3-2 deficit with three runs in the top of the eighth inning before a crowd of 28,181 at Fukuoka Dome.

Pinch hitter Hirokazu Ibata came off the bench to tie the game with a single to right that scored Seiichi Uchikawa from second.

Japan took a 4-3 lead when Ibata scored from third on a fielder’s choice and added an insurance run on Nobuhiro Matsuda’s single to center that scored Hisayoshi Chono. “This was a very difficult game for us,” Japan manager Koji Yamamoto said.

“Brazil put up a very good fight but we got some timely hits in the eighth and were able to make a comeback.”

Brazil, managed by Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, looked set to pull off a major upset when the tournament debutantes took a 32 lead in the fifth inning on a double by Leonardo Reginatto that scored Paulo Orlando from second.

Brazil shocked the baseball world when it ousted Panama in qualifying on its home turf. “These players love to compete,” Larkin said. “They love a challenge and this was a challenge similar to the qualifiers when we

beat Panama. I’m extremely proud of the way my players performed in this game.”

Japan is in Group A, which also includes 2006 runner-up Cuba and China. Two teams from the group will advance to the March 8-12 second round at Tokyo Dome with a chance to move on to the March 1719 championship round in San Francisco.

Japan pitcher Tadashi Settsu, who gave up one run on two hits over three innings of relief, picked up the win. Oscar Nakaoshi took the loss after giving up two runs in the eighth. Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh, who managed the Japan team that won the first WBC, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Brazil silenced the near-capacity crowd at Fukuoka Dome by taking the lead in the bottom of the first inning when Reginatto hit a sharp single to left that scored Orlando.

Japan tied the game in the top of the third when Yoshio Itoi singled to right to score Hayato Sakamoto from second. The hosts took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Sakamoto that scored Ryoji Aikawa from third.

Brazil showed its determination by tying the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth.

Reginatto doubled and then scored on a close play at the plate on a single to center

by Reinaldo Sato. —AP

Kuwait’s jet ski team

Kuwaiti jet skiers shine in UAE Kuwaiti jet skier Mohammad Burabei finished second in the fourth round of the UAE Jet Ski Championship, which enabled him to keep his position at the top of the overall standings for the pro stock class. Burabei joins other Kuwaiti jet skiers who scored

good results in the competition, including Khalid Burabei who finished third in the pro stock class, Abdul-Aziz Al-Omar who finished third in the rookie stock class, and Mohammad Al-Baz who finished fourth in the pro open class.

Mohammad Burabei

Fury over Zhang’s shock election pull-out

FUKUOKA: Japan’s reliever Kazuhisa Makita pitches against Brazil in the ninth inning of their World Baseball Classic first round game. Japan won 5-3. —AP

BEIJING: Chinese football fans expressed fury yesterday over reports that the man once tipped to head the sport’s top body in Asia may have been “sacrificed” by Beijing in its drive to dominate the Olympics.

China’s Zhang Jilong, the current caretaker chief of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and presumed next president, surprisingly pulled out of upcoming leadership elections due in early May, a source told AFP on Thursday.

“It was not a decision that I could make,” Titan Sports quoted the 61-year-old as saying on Friday. The Chinese newspaper said the move

could have been instructed by China’s sport governing body in a bid to curr y favour with Olympic chiefs in Asia who support alternative candidates for the position.

China needs support from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to preserve the Olympic status of its dominant sports, such as badminton and table tennis, the paper said.

Chinese news website Sina.com predicted that the Chinese Football Association would support a candidate who is openly backed by OCA president Sheikh Fahad Al-Sabah.

“The act of sacrificing football and sacrificing

an opportunity for Zhang” in exchange for “a deal” with OCA “reflects that Chinese sports authorities still see winning medals as the number one priority”, said Yan Qiang, vice-president of Titan Media group which publishes Titan Sports. “Sport appears to have no relationship with what the public wants in China, as football has been treated like a discarded toy,” he added on Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter.

Football fans across China backed the comments on Saturday, with thousands offering support for Zhang and for the development of Chinese football. — AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

S P ORTS

Heat scorch Grizzlies 3-3 since the All-Star break despite playing much of the second half without their starting backcourt. Point guard Avery Bradley went to the bench early in the third quarter with his fifth foul and Courtney Lee picked up his fourth late in the third.

MIAMI: Dwyane Wade scored 22 points, LeBron James shook off his worst shooting night of the season to hit a key 3-pointer in the final halfminute, and the Miami Heat extended their winning streak to 13 games by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 98-91 on Friday night.

capped a 25-point, nine-assist performance by hitting a running floater off the backboard with 12 seconds left, and New Orleans snapped a twogame skid.

Eric Gordon added 21 points and Ryan Anderson 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets, who were

best season in franchise history, won their fourth in a row. After Griffin scored on a monster dunk - off a lob from Crawford - to put Los Angeles ahead by 23, Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro pulled his starters with 4:19 left.

Rookie Dion Waiters scored 17 for the Cavs, who played their third straight game without injured All-Star Kyrie Irving.

Pacers 93, Raptors 81 In Toronto, Paul George had 22 points and 10 rebounds, David West had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Indiana beat Toronto. Roy Hibbert returned from a one-game suspension to score 18 points as the Central Division leaders won for the sixth time in seven games.

Rudy Gay scored 21 points and Alan Anderson had 14 for the Raptors, who have lost three straight and four of five. George scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, nine of them on 3pointers, including one with 9:56 left that put the Pacers up 72-53, their biggest lead of the game. This was the first time in four meetings between the teams this season that the margin of victory was more than two points.

PHOENIX: Suns’ Wesley Johnson (2) tries to pass the ball as Atlanta Hawks’ Zaza Pachulia, of Georgia, defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game. —AP Mavericks 98, Nets 90 In New York, Dirk Nowitzki and former Nets guard Vince Carter each scored 20 points, and Dallas avoided another late collapse. Dallas led by as many as 20 points, then looked as if it might repeat its performance from its previous game, when it blew a 25point lead against Memphis. But OJ Mayo added 17 points as the Mavericks ended their three-game losing streak.

Deron Williams scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half in his first game against Dallas since deciding to remain with the Nets instead of signing with the Mavericks last summer.

Brook Lopez had 19 points and Joe Johnson added 11 as he returned to the Nets after missing the last three games with a foot injury.

James scored 18 points on a season-worst 4 for 14 shooting, plus added 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Shane Battier scored 14, Chris Bosh added 13 and Ray Allen had 10 for Miami, which snapped Memphis’ eight-game winning streak. Marc Gasol scored 24 for the Grizzlies, who got 14 points apiece from Zach Randolph and Mike Conley, and 10 more from Quincy Pondexter.

Celtics 94, Warriors 86 In Boston, Paul Pierce had 26 points, Jeff Green scored 14 of his 18 in the second half and Boston Celtics overcame foul trouble and some erratic free-throw shooting to beat Golden State. Warriors guard Stephen Curry, coming off a 54-point performance Wednesday in a loss at New York, was held to 25 on 6-of-22 shooting.

Kevin Garnett pulled down 13 rebounds as the Celtics improved to

Hornets 100, Pistons 95 In New Orleans, Greivis Vasquez

short-handed in the front court with starting forward Anthony Davis sitting out his second straight game because of a sprained left shoulder. New Orleans native Greg Monroe had 27 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit, while Brandon Knight added 22 points, including a 3-pointer that tied the score at 91. Vasquez’s final basket made it 98-95, and Rodney Stuckey missed a 3-point attempt that could have tied it in the final seconds.

Clippers 105, Cavaliers 89 In Cleveland, Jamal Crawford scored 24 points, making a pair of 3pointers in the fourth quarter, and Chris Paul had 15 assists as the Clippers ran away in the final period for their first win in Cleveland since 2002. The Clippers had lost 10 straight at Quicken Loans Arena.

Blake Griffin had 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Clippers, having their

NBA results/standings Indiana 93, Toronto 81; NY Knicks 96, Washington 88; Houston 118, Orlando 110; Boston 94, Golden State 86; Miami 98, Memphis 91; LA Clippers 105, Cleveland 89; Dallas 98, Brooklyn 90; New Orleans 100, Detroit 95; San Antonio 130, Sacramento 102; Utah 98, Charlotte 68; Phoenix 92, Atlanta 87; Denver 105 Oklahoma City 103.

NY Knicks Brooklyn Boston Philadelphia Toronto

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L 35 20 34 25 31 27 22 34 23 36

PCT .636 .576 .534 .393 .390

Indiana Chicago Milwaukee Detroit Cleveland

Central Division 37 22 33 25 28 28 23 38 20 39

.627 .569 .500 .377 .339

Miami Atlanta Washington Orlando Charlotte

Southeast Division 42 14 33 24 18 39 16 43 13 45

.750 .579 .316 .271 .224

GB 3 5.5 13.5 14

Western Conference Northwest Division Oklahoma City 42 16 Denver 38 22 Utah 32 27 Portland 26 31 Minnesota 20 35

.724 .633 .542 .456 .364

5 10.5 15.5 20.5

3.5 7.5 15 17

LA Clippers Golden State LA Lakers Phoenix Sacramento

Pacific Division 43 18 33 26 29 30 21 39 20 40

.705 .559 .492 .350 .333

9 13 21.5 22.5

9.5 24.5 27.5 30

San Antonio Memphis Houston Dallas New Orleans

Southwest Division 46 14 38 19 32 28 26 32 21 39

.767 .667 .533 .448 .350

6.5 14 19 25

Knicks 96, Wizards 88 In Washington, Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points, Raymond Felton added 23, J.R. Smith chipped in with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and New York used some strong defense to beat Washington.

Rookie Bradley Beal led the Wizards with a career-high 29 points, falling just short of giving the team its first 30-point performance this season. But after his 3-pointer with about 4 minutes left pulled Washington within 87-86, the Knicks held the Wizards without a field goal the rest of the way. Anthony’s 3-pointer with under 21/2 minutes remaining gave the Knicks a 92-87 cushion, and they held on. The Knicks won their third game in a row following a seasonworst, four-game losing streak, getting back in gear right in time to host LeBron James and reigning NBA champion Miami today.

Rockets 118, Magic 110 In Orlando, James Harden had 24 points, and Chandler Parsons and Carlos Delfino added 21 apiece as Houston rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Orlando.

The Rockets stopped a two-game skid and ended a five-game losing streak to the Magic. Houston trailed by two late in the game, before using an 11-0 run to seize control.

The Rockets return home to host Dallas today as they try to stay in the Western Conference playoff picture.

Tobias Harris scored a career-high 27 points to lead Orlando, followed by Arron Afflalo with 19 and Niklola Vucevic with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Magic have dropped two in a row and 30 of their last 34.

Spurs 130, Kings 102 In San Antonio, DeJuan Blair scored 16 points off the bench to pace eight players in double figures, and San Antonio overcame the loss of Tony Parker to beat Sacramento.

The Spurs rebounded from their first home loss in 18 games two nights earlier against Phoenix, but it may have been a costly victory. Parker, the Spurs’ leading scorer, went down with a left ankle sprain with 4:40 left in the third quarter after a drive to the basket and scooping bucket. Parker immediately fell to the ground grabbing his leg and was helped off the court and straight to the locker room.

He did not return. Parker finished with 13 points and seven assists. Marcus Thornton scored 25 points to lead the Kings. —AP

MINI adds to the excitement at the Kuwait Riders 2013 Bike Show

BMW Group importer Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive and Team MINI Kuwait join bikers for unique experience KUWAIT: Hundreds of motorcycle fans from across the region rocked Kuwait last week as they took part in the third edition of the Kuwait Riders 2013 Bike Show - the largest biker gathering in the Middle East.

Taking place at the Safir International Hotel over three days, visitors enjoyed a variety of activities, including: competitions, classic and new bike parades; accessory and customising exhibits, and shopping. MINI, together with its sporting sub-brand John Cooper Works, added its own flavor to the event by showcasing the new MINI John Cooper Works and MINI Cooper S Coupé. It also highlighted its competitive streak

by taking home the trophy for best booth with its fun and cheeky stand. In addition, visitors had the opportunity to meet two of this year’s most exciting rally stars, Meshal Al Nejadi and Ali Al Shamali, otherwise known as Team MINI Kuwait.

On display was the MINI John Cooper Works Countryman S2000 that helped Team MINI Kuwait secure a podium finish in the first three rounds of the Kuwait Rally Championship 2013.

At the heart of this powerful racing car is a 1.6litre, four-cylinder turbo-charged engine from MINI Motorsport, producing 275 horsepower.

For Yousef Al Qatami, General Manager of Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, MINI is the ideal

partner for events such as the Kuwait Riders 2013 Bike Show. “MINI and sporting sub-brand John Cooper Works are all about making pulses race. This participation was therefore the perfect fit for Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive and we were therefore delighted to join visitors and Kuwait Riders at this high octane show,” says Al Qatami.

Organised by the Kuwait Riders, the largest motorcycle riding club in Kuwait and an affiliate of the Riders International Network spanning the GCC, Levant and North Africa, the 2013 Bike Show took place from Wednesday 13 to Friday 15 February, 2013.

GERMANY: First placed Slovenia’s Tina Maze speeds down the course of an alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. —AP

Maze tops perfect season GERMANY: Tina Maze topped an extraordinary season with a new World Cup points record of 2,024 after her victory in the women’s downhill yesterday gave her wins in all five disciplines this season.

The dominant Slovenian - now the first woman to have broken the 2,000 points barrier - did even better than Austria’s Hermann Maier, who totalled 2,000 points exactly when he won the men’s overall World Cup in 2000.

In one minute and 40.46 seconds, Maze bagged her ninth World Cup victory of the season and became only the second woman in modern skiing to win in all five disciplines in the same season after Croatia’s Janica Kostelic in 2006.

“I’ve already been very happy but rarely as much as today,” World Cup champion Maze told reporters as she sported a T-shirt with 2,000 written on. “I don’t know what I’m happiest about. So many things are happening to me today,” added the 29year-old, who had only won once previously in the downhill in St Moritz in 2008.

“There’s the 2,000 points but I really needed to prove myself that I could win a downhill again. In St Moritz, I was lucky. “I could not miss a chance like this. I love the course and the conditions were perfect today,” she said. Kostelic told Reuters: “Her season has just been perfect.”

American Laurenne Ross confirmed the brilliant form of the U.S. team in speed events this season by finishing second, 0.39 adrift. However, her team mate Alice McKennis crashed heavily on the tricky and icy Kandahar piste.

McKennis, the unexpected winner of a downhill in St Anton this season, had to be flown away from the course and no details on her condition were immediately available. Ross was the sixth member of the US women’s ski team on the podium of a speed event in the World Cup this season but Maze’s runaway overall success and injury last month to previous all-conquering American Lindsey Vonn has overshadowed them.

In her home resort, Maria Hoefl-Riesch earned a solid third place, 0.50 off the pace.

Maze, who also won the super-G gold medal at the world championships in Schladming last month, should add more points to her record tally in Sunday’s superG on the same piste.

“To break Hermann Maier’s record is of course nice too, but it was not my main goal at the start of this season,” Maze added. “I have achieved so much but there was also so much hard work involved in all these successes.”The World Cup season ends in Switzerland’s Lenzerheide on March 17. —Reuters

Theaux overcomes wind and favorites

KVITFJELL: France’s Adrien Theaux overcame the wind and the favorites to snatch his second victory in a World Cup downhill in Kvitfjell yesterday. The Frenchman, who won a downhill in Lenzerheide two seasons ago, took advantage of the changing conditions to clock the fastest time of one minute 29.10 seconds on a course shortened because of gale-force winds at the top.

“I had a good start with a podium in Lake Louise but otherwise my downhill season had been very frustrating,” the 28year-old said. “Luck was on my side today but why not? I had good feelings in training and that’s a course that suits me, on which you have to ski clean.”

Theaux denied local favourite Aksel Lund Svindal his first victory on the

downhill course of the 1994 Olympics.

The downhill world champion finished second but is now within 129 points of Austria’s Marcel Hirscher in the overall World Cup standings.

Should he win today’s super-G on home snow, Svindal would be back on Hirscher’s heels with only seven races remaining before the end of the season.

“You can’t talk of bad luck when you’re on the podium. I had the right confidence, the right approach but things like that happen,” he said. “The most important thing for me was to be ahead of Klaus Kroell for the downhill globe. As for the big globe, I always said Hirscher remained my favorite.” Kroell, the downhill World Cup holder, was third, half a second adrift. —Reuters

Na snatches joint lead SINGAPORE: World number two Choi NaYeon emerged from a two-and-a-half-hour storm delay to birdie the last hole and dramatically snatch a share of the HSBC Women’s Champions lead alongside Stacy Lewis yesterday.

Choi, who is eyeing the number one ranking of Taiwan’s Tseng Yani, holed a 10-footer in front of a big gallery on the damp 18th green to card five-under-par 67 for a total of 14-under 202 at Singapore’s par-72 Sentosa Golf Club.

The putt ended an engrossing day-long duel between Choi and America’s Lewis, who was incensed when play was halted with the final group already on the 18th fairway and with her narrow one-shot lead in the balance.

When they finally resumed, after a torrential downpour, Choi fired closest to the flag and steadied herself to drain the psychologically important birdie, which left her beaming ahead of today’s final round.

“I think that frees me up for tomorrow. I think I can remember that feeling for tomorrow,” she said. “I mean, I finished strong and that putt, I hit it pretty solid. “I was a little nervous for the third shot, I don’t know why.

A lot of people were waiting, I didn’t expect that. But I made it really well and I feel great.”

Lewis, the world number four, had remonstrated with officials when play was suspended and bemoaned a “very frustrating” day after she gave up a two-shot overnight lead, finishing with a 69.

“It was very frustrating. We waited all day, the pace of play was not very good, and it’s frustrating,” she said. “Three fast players are in the back there, and we had to sit there and wait.”

Choi and Lewis will play the last round

with America’s Paula Creamer, who continued to make light of whiplash injuries from a car crash in Thailand last week when she scored 69 to lie two shots back from the leaders.

Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, 17, Danielle Kang, Yoo Sun-Young and Azahara Munoz are the closest challengers to the top trio, lying three strokes behind Creamer on nine-underpar 207.

Tseng’s 107-week reign as world number one cannot end in Singapore, and it was just as well as the frowning “Pride of Taiwan” bogeyed four out of eight holes around the turn before finishing with 71 for 212, 10 shots off the lead.

Tseng, now into her third year at the top of women’s golf, started the season positively with top-three finishes in Australia and Thailand but a poor final position today will put her number one ranking in serious jeopardy.

Lewis started the day two shots clear, but two bogeys in her first three holes immediately plunged her into a dogfight with Choi, who opened with two birdies to go top.

Lewis hit back with birdies on seven, eight and nine and another on 12 as she twice pulled level with Choi, only for the South Korean to retake the lead with birdies on 10 and 14.

But on the next hole, the par-four 15th, Lewis stormed back into the lead with a snaking birdie putt, while Na left herself too much to do for par and took bogey.

As they teed off on 18, Lewis looked certain to claim the clubhouse lead-until the siren sounded to halt play, as dark clouds loomed. Creamer, playing one group ahead, finished her round with a sizzling birdie, and in the nick of time. —AFP

Gulf Bank leads KBC soccer tourney KUWAIT: After defeating Al-Ahli Bank 6-0 on the sixth week of the competition played at the Kazma Sports Club fields, The Gulf Bank soccer team continued leading the soccer league organized by the Kuwaiti Banks Club (KBC) for bankers by 16 points followed

by NBK with 15 points and Boubyan Bank in third position with 13 points.

Fawzi Al-Thnayyan

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

S P ORTS

Fierce competition expected as men and women aim for medals HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Second International Grand Prix

DUBAI: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic receives his trophy after beating Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych 7-5, 6-4 in the ATP Dubai Open tennis final match. —AFP

Djokovic wins Dubai Open DUBAI: Novak Djokovic won his fifth title in six tournaments and his 36th altogether, and extended his unbeaten run to 18 matches as he regained the Dubai Open title with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Tomas Berdych.

The world number one from Serbia underlined his pre-eminence in the world game with a thoughtful as well as athletically aggressive performance against the world number six from the Czech Republic, who the night before had knocked out Roger Federer, the titleholder.

Berdych made the first break and had chances to take control of the first set but Djokovic often provoked errors by subtlely

making Berdych generate his own pace, and counter-attacked brilliantly.

Perhaps Djokovic’s worst moment was when he was given a time warning by the umpire at deuce when he was serving for the match, but the incident hinted at the strength of his temperament which was a major factor in the triumph.

“It’s a thrilling feeling to prevail in the end in a great tournament like this,” said Australian Open champion Djokovic after claiming a fourth Dubai title.

“Tomas is a fantastic player and he beat Federer in an incredible match. It was very close today and could have gone either way.” —AFP

Nadal in Mexican Open final ACAPULCO: Rafa Nadal advanced to the final of the Mexican Open early yesterday morning, beating fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-5 6-4 in a clay-court slugfest.

Second seed Nadal, who is on the comeback trail after missing seven months due to a left knee injury, will face another Spaniard, three-time defending champion and top seed David Ferrer, in the final scheduled for later yesterday.

Ferrer defeated Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-7 6-1 earlier on Friday. “I moved well today,” Nadal said in a news conference. “I can’t say that (my knee) didn’t trouble me sometimes, but the troubles are normal.

What is most important is I didn’t have any limitations.” Ranked 12th in the world, Almagro, the tournament’s third seed, is the highest-ranked opponent Nadal has

faced in his comeback so far. While the former world number one appeared to move well throughout the match, he did visibly limp on his left leg after losing the first game of the second set.

But moments later the limp was gone and Nadal, now ranked fifth in the world, jogged to the opposite side of the court as the players changed sides.

Nadal, an 11-times grand slam champion, staved off all four break points he faced while breaking Almagro once each set.

That proved the difference and secured him a place in the final against Ferrer. Last month, Nadal reached the final of the Chilean Open, and followed that up by winning the Brazil Open. Acapulco marks his third clay-court tournament in four weeks. —Reuters

KUWAIT: Competitions in HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Second International Grand Prix as well as the Arab Shotgun Championship continue for both men and women today and will witness some fierce competition for the Skeet gold medal, and the 50 meter prone rifle for women.

Meanwhile the General Assembly of the Arab Shooting Federation will hold it meeting tonight at the Regency Hotel with all members in attendance. The meeting will elect the president and executive board for the next four years. The meeting will also discuss future plans for the development of the Arab shooting sport.

The Grand Prix will see 600 shooters competing, along with Olympic medals winners including Kuwait’s Fuhaid Al-Daihani who won the trap bronze, Serbia’s Giovanni Cernogoraz who took the gold, Sweden’s Dhalby Hakan who took the double trap silver, Russia’s Vasily Mosin who took the bronze, France’s D. Reau, winner of the women trap Bronze,serbia’s Ivana maksimovie who got the 50m 3 positions silver, Belgium’s Lionel Cox who bagged the 50 meter prone silver, Slovenia’s Rejmond Debevec the bronze , Serbia’s Zlatic and India’s Gagan Narang who took the 10m rifle bronze.

President of the Higher Organizing Committee Engr.

Duaij Khalaf Al-Otaibi lauded the role of the President of the Asian and Kuwait Shooting Federations, Vice President of the ISSF Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud AlSabah and his efforts to develop the sport in Kuwait in particular and in Asia in general through plans, programs and the support of the sports academies along with training camps.

Al-Otaibi said KSSC is looking forward for the success of this Grand Prix as it carries the name of HH the Amir, and to show the outstanding technical preparations along with good results.

He said that both the Grand Prix and the Arab championship will be carried out according to the new rules of the ISSF, especially during the final rounds and calculation of points.

Meanwhile Arab and Kuwait Shooting Federations Secretary General Obaid Al-Osaimi said the organizing committee provided all the necessary facilities to ensure this major event come out in a satisfactory fashion, especially that this the second Grand Prix in Kuwait.

He said the committee approved the international and specialized referees to officiate its activities besides the Kuwaiti officials who are highly experienced through their participation in many tournaments around the world.

Al-Osaimi said that Kuwait’s shooters are ready for competition as shooting officials organized several camps both in and out of Kuwait in order to polish their skills and get into the Grand Prix while they are at their best.

Al-Osaimi expressed confidence in Kuwait’s shooters and their ability to excel with outstanding achievements, despite the strong competition expected from world and Olympic champions participating.

Adnan Al-Ibrahim, Duaij Al-Otaibi, Colonel Dawood Al-Rashid

Qatar World Cup should be in winter and shared with neighbors —Platini BERLIN: The Champions League has “killed off” other competitions but UEFA has no plans for change, European soccer boss Michel Platini said yesterday as he also again criticised Qatar over the 2022 World Cup. The wealth generated by the prestigious Champions League in Europe has meant the Europa League, UEFA’s second continent-wide club competition, has struggled to grab the headlines while smaller domestic championships have also become overshadowed.

“The Champions League has killed off, annihilated other competition because of the huge interest it attracts,” the UEFA president told Germany’s Bild newspaper. “But we want to boost the Europa League again. At the moment however there is a will from almost everyone not to change things.”

Platini also repeated his call for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be held in winter in Rafael Nafal of Spain

Defending champions Chiefs tame Cheetahs HAMILTON: Waikato Chiefs showed the resilience and explosive talent that took them to last season’s Super Rugby title by weathering a Cheetahs storm and running in six tries to beat the South African side 45-3 in Hamilton yesterday.

The Cheetahs dominated first-half territor y and possession but Johan Goosen missed three shots at goal and the Chiefs led 10-3 at the interval through Liam Messam’s try.

The Chiefs stretched their lead early in the second period through Ben Afeaki before Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Gareth Anscombe, Rhys Marshall and Ben Tameifuna touched down against the tiring Cheetahs to secure a second bonuspoint win from two matches.

Anscombe finished with 20 points, also kicking six conversions and a penalty. “There’s nothing like a good telling off at half-time,” Messam said. “We got our backs some clean quick ball.” It was not all good news for the Chiefs, however, as they could be without Bundee Aki for next week’s match against the Stormers in Cape Town after the centre limped off following a blow to his left thigh.

A six-try bonus-point win was a distant prospect for the Chiefs when they conceded three penalties in the first eight minutes and trailed 3-0 to a place kick from Goosen. Cheetahs open side Pieter Labuschagne was especially prominent in the loose as the

Bloemfontein-based side, beaten by the Sharks in their opener, dominated on all fronts.

But when the Chiefs finally got their hands on the ball, some sparkling back line play carried them up the other end and earned a penalty. The home side opted for a lineout and worked the ball across to the other side, where Augustine Pulu was brought down just short of the line. Messam was picked up and shoved over from close range.

Afeaki stretched the lead following great work from Brodie Retallick, who charged down a clearing kick from Goosen and then raced to get to the loose ball ahead of the visiting defence.

The lock just managed to fingertip the ball toward the left touchline, where Afeaki scooped up and went over from a couple of yards. Anscombe’s conversion made it 17-3 and the Chiefs were firmly in control despite conceding 69 percent of territory up to that point.

Tikoirotuma scored off Aaron Cruden’s composed pass behind his own back and the All Blacks scrum-half also created a half-gap for Anscombe to exploit and go over.

Marshall pumped his legs to propel two opponents back over the line and touch down before Tameifuna charged and rolled through two challenges to claim the final try in the closing minutes. —Reuters

order to protect players and fans from searing desert heat. The former France forward, considered by many as a potential successor to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, added that the World Cup in Qatar should involve other countries from the region.

“I am in favour of Qatar under two conditions,” he said. “Because of the heat the World Cup will need to be held in the winter. With over 40 degrees (Celsius), playing football is impossible and for the fans it would also be unbearable.

“Also, the neighboring emirates must be included so that the World Cup is staged throughout the entire region.”

The finals were awarded to Qatar by world governing body FIFA in 2010 and are due to be held in the country’s summer months when the temperature can reach more than 40 degrees Celsius.

In December and January the average is a far less intense 17 degrees. Saudi Arabia shares a border with Qatar while the United Arab Emirates is also near, as is Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

Platini voted for Qatar to be awarded the world’s top soccer tournament and was also in favour of Russia’s winning bid to host the event in 2018.Qatar’s winning bid caused a major stir in world soccer but critics argue it would be impossible to halt European soccer leagues mid-season to stage a World Cup in December or January.

They also questioned the choice of a tiny state that lacked the necessary existing infrastructure and soccer enthusiasm to stage such an event. “I was the only one who prior to the vote had said how he will vote. Both countries (Russia and Qatar) have never staged a World Cup,” Platini said. —Reuters

Bjoergen clinches 30K classic VAL DI FIEMME: Marit Bjoergen secured her 12th world title yesterday by beating Olympic champion Justyna Kowalczyk in a sprint finish to win the 30-kilometer classical event at the Nordic skiing world championships.

Bjoergen, who won three Olympic golds in Vancouver and has dominated these championships as well, sped past Kowalczyk with 200 meters to go to win in 1 hour, 27 minutes, 19.9 seconds. Kowalczyk, who beat Bjoergen in an even tighter sprint to win the 30K race in Vancouver, was 3.7 seconds behind.

“I’m really happy, I really wanted this gold medal in this race,” Bjoergen said. “It was not that good conditions today, it was warmer so it was really tough and not so easy to be in front.

“I tried to attack in the last climb and I knew I had to be at least second in the downhill and then attack in the last meters. And I did a good attack, I was using the speed behind her and managed to pass her.”

Therese Johaug, who won the 10K freestyle on Tuesday, was third, 8.7 seconds behind her Norwegian compatriot. “ They were much stronger than me in the last hill and I won the bronze medal,” Johaug said. “I must go home and train on that final hill for Sochi.

“This world championships has been a dream for me, I leave with one gold, one silver, one bronze (individually) as well as the gold of the relay. I could never have dreamed of that before and I’m so happy.” It was Bjoergen’s first major title in a 30K-race in eight years.

“It makes the win even more special,”Bjoergen said. “I lost in Vancouver, so this year I really wanted the gold in the 30K. My teammates knew this was one of my biggest goals this season so they’re really happy for me.”

The trio skied alone up front for much of the race and their nearest competitor, Heidi Weng, finished 1:38.3 behind.

It was Bjoergen’s fourth gold medal in Val di

Fiemme, putting her two victories away from matching Yelena Velbe’s record of 14 world championship titles.

Bjoergen, Kowalczyk and Johaug were the favorites and they pulled away early in the race along with Weng and Nicole Fessel of Germany.

Fessel and Weng dropped off with more than a third of the race to go, leaving the remaining three to battle for the medals.

Bjoergen lost time when she struggled with a ski change, but she swiftly caught up to her rivals. Fully aware of Bjoergen’s sprinting skills, Kowalczyk tried to attack on the penultimate

hill, but her rivals increased their pace too.

Kowalczyk and Bjoergen pulled clear on the final climb to battle out for gold, leaving Johaug behind. “It was a really good day for me,” Kowalczyk said. “I was skiing really good. I’m maybe not so satisfied, but I’m tired, and this is the most important thing. I tried but today the Norwegians skied really good.”

Norway tops the medal table with 19, including eight golds. The women have won 10 of those medals. “We’ve taken so many medals and we haven’t had a chance to celebrate so tonight is going to be a big party,” Bjoergen said. —AP

ITALY: (From left) second placed Polish Justina Kowalczyk, first placed Norway’s Marit Bjoergen and third placed Norway’s Therese Johaug celebrate on the podium at the end of the Women’s Cross Country 30 km Classic race of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. —AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

S P ORT S

Preview

‘World-class’ Bale can pile on misery for Arsenal LONDON: Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has warned Arsenal that Gareth Bale will use today ’s crucial nor th London derby to prove he deserves to be ranked as one of the world’s top three players.

Bale will be firmly in the spotlight when Arsenal arrive at White Hart Lane for a potentially decisive moment in the battle to qualify for the Champions League.

Villas-Boas’s third placed team are already four points clear of Arsenal, who lie fifth, and a victory over their bitter rivals would be a major blow to the Gunners’ hopes of finishing in the Premier League’s top four.

If Tottenham are to add to spluttering Arsenal’s woes, they will need another dominant display from Bale, who underlined his remarkable talent

by inspiring Spurs to a 3-2 win at West Ham on Monday.

Bale scored twice at Upton Park, including a sublime last-minute winner, to take his goal tally to 23 for club and country this season.

The 23-year-old’s superb form in recent months has led to claims that the Wales winger is now as influential as Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona playmaker Lionel Messi.

Villas-Boas has no doubts about Bale’s brilliance and he believes this weekend’s marquee match-up is the perfect stage for the winger to showcase the electric pace and lethal finishing that has the likes of Real and Barcelona contemplating blockbuster bids in the close-season.

“He is world class and those two players (Messi and Ronaldo) are,” Villas-

Boas said. “Gareth at the moment is showing the form to be at the level of those two players, who have won so much throughout their careers, including European trophies.

“He still has to achieve that and we hope he can achieve it with us. I think he is very down to earth.” Although victory for Villas-Boas’s side will move them seven points ahead of Arsenal with 10 games to go, the Portuguese coach believes that will still not guarantee Champions League qualification.

“We are on a good run of form and extremely confident, but I don’t think (Champions League qualification) is going to be on whatever result happens this weekend,” said Villas-Boas, whose side are unbeaten in the league since December 9.

“Seven points is still recoverable for a

team like Arsenal. It’s all very tight still, but obviously we know the importance of the fixture and the way it can impact on both clubs moving forward.”

While Bale clearly poses the greatest threat to Arsenal’s bid to win at White Har t Lane for the first time since September 2007, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is adamant his side won’t just focus on stopping the Welshman.

Wenger, who considering buying Bale from Southampton before his eventual move to Spurs, said: “We don’t plan for anybody. It is always the same, focus on our strengths and forget about your opponent.

“There is nobody special that you least like to face. All players have different qualities.” Wenger, whose club have gone eight years without a trophy, can ill-afford another chastening defeat

today as he looks to rescue a traumatic campaign that has seen subjected to more criticism than ever before.

After crashing out of both domestic cup competitions against Bradford and Blackburn, and with their Champions League campaign all but over after a 3-1 last 16 first leg defeat against Bayern Munich, Arsenal’s only remaining goal is to finish in the top four.

In the circumstances, Wenger concedes a defeat would be a significant setback given his team’s fragile morale.

“There are still 10 games to go after Tottenham and a lot can happen,” said Wenger, whose side won 5-2 in the last north London derby in November. “Let’s not forget Chelsea are involved as well.

However, the game on Sunday will have a psychological importance for the rest of the season.”—AFP

Dortmund down Hanover

SWANSEA: Swansea City’s Spanish midfielder Miguel Michu (left) vies with Newcastle United’s Ivorian midfielder Cheick Tiote during the English Premier League football match. —AFP

Swans floor Newcastle with late Moore show Swansea 1

Newcastle 0

SWANSEA: A late goal from substitute Luke Moore underpinned Sawnsea’s status in the top half of the English Premier League yesterday, a 1-0 win pushing victims Newcastle back towards the danger zone.

Moore had barely tasted ten minutes of the action after replacing Leon Britton when he bundled in from close range to take Swansea up to seventh and again leave Newcastle looking over their shoulders at the inhabitants of the bottom five.

Newcastle had several half chances in a game whose pace was decidedly pedestrian for the most part, but Moore’s sucker punch means the Magpies are only six points from safety and in the bottom six.

With their first ever major honour, the League Cup, on the sideboard after last week’s final win over minnows Bradford and with the “safety” threshold of 40 points almost

reached, the pressure was off Swansea and on another day the Welsh outfit could have paid a price.

Newcastle came into the game having briefly moved away from the danger zone after a run of three wins in four league outings, though still needing to improve on wretched away form which has brought just one win all season.

After a quiet opening, Newcastle’s centre back Steven Taylor brought a save out of home keeper Michel Vorm with a speculative effort, but the remainder of the opening period brought little to cheer either set of supporters. Newcastle did seek belatedly to force the pace after the restart with Yoann Gouffran, their recent acquisition from Bordeaux, twice trying his luck-Vorm fielded one confidently with the other sailing off target. Papisse Cisse then fired over before Moussa Sissoko made Vorm earn his money once more as Swansea seemed content to soak up the pressure. Just when the game appeared set to peter out in a stalemate Moore made his grand entrance.

Taylor blocked an initial effort but Moore slammed in at the second attempt past reserve keeper Rob Elliot, again replacing the injured Tim Krul, out for a month with ankle trouble.—AFP

Celtic stay on course for domestic double GLASGOW: Celtic remain on course for a domestic league and cup double as they progressed to the last four of the Scottish Cup with a narrow 2-1 quarter-final win away to St Mirren yesterday.

The Hoops made a flying start as James Forrest crossed for Joe Ledley to head past Craig Samson in the fifth minute, but a mistake from Emilio Izaguirre gifted St Mirren an equaliser in the 11th minute as Esmael Goncalves nodded home from close range.

A move direct from the training ground restored Celtic’s lead in the 21st minute, however, with Forrest once again the supplier for Anthony Stokes to bullet a header past Samson at the far post.

A superb save from Samson denied Gary Hooper after the break while Fraser Forster produced heroics to keep out substitute Graham Carey’s fierce free-kick as Celtic held off a late St Mirren rally to gain revenge for January’s League Cup semi-final defeat by the Buddies. Celtic manager Neil Lennon said the win would give his side a boost heading into the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Juventus in midweek.

“It is another semi-final to look forward to. I think that’s five or six in a row now and obviously we want to improve on our record in the cups,” he said. “It is a huge win and keeps the season very much alive and competitive.” Even in defeat, his St Mirren counterpart Danny Lennon was proud of how his players went about their task. “I was disappointed in the manner we lost the second goal. I thought we had got ourselves back in it at 1-1,” he said.

“But we had a great response from the lads in the second half and once again we have run them very close and caused them problems.”

At New St Mirren Park, Neil Lennon had demanded a response from his side after their

midweek defeat to Motherwell and he would have been delighted with their quick-fire start as they took the lead with just over four minutes played. Forrest scampered down the right wing and delivered a dangerous cross into the six-yard box where Ledley stooped to angle a header past Samson. St Mirren slowly found their feet though and a terrible mistake from Izaguirre gifted the hosts an equaliser.

When John McGinn’s diagonal long ball looking for Steven Thompson caused consternation in the Celtic defence, Izaguirre’s attempt to head it back to Forster sailed past the ‘keeper and looked to be heading in before Goncalves made sure as he nodded it over the line from a couple of yards out.

Goncalves looked in the mood to add more for the Paisley side after that, and he jinked away from challenges by Efe Ambrose and Adam Matthews before firing just wide.

However, it was the Hoops who restored their lead with a well-worked goal. Forrest played a short corner to Hooper before collecting the return and chipping a ball to the back post where the unmarked Stokes bulleted a header past Samson.

Midway through the second half, Mair was beaten by the bounce of the ball allowing Hooper to nip in behind him and bare down on goal but his fierce strike was superbly tipped on to the bar by Samson with Forrest firing the rebound wide. A minute later Forster had to rush out of his box to intercept a Goncalves pass to Thompson as the striker beat the offside trap. Only a fabulous save from Forster kept the scores level in the 80th minute as he stopped substitute Graham Carey’s fiercely-struck free-kick from 20 yards with one hand, and Mair fired into the side netting from a corner in stoppage time as St Mirren came close to forcing a replay—AFP

BERLIN: Hosts Borussia Dortmund warmed up for their looming Champions League clash at home to Shakhtar Donetsk with a 3-1 win over Hanover 96 to stay second in the Bundesliga.

With runaway league leaders Bayern Munich at relegationthreatened Hoffenheim today, Dortmund’s victory provisionally trims the Bavarians’ lead to 14 points ahead of Tuesday’s home European match against the Ukrainian champions.

“We started well and we were really up for it,” said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp, whose team drew 2-2 at Donetsk in the away leg a fortnight ago. “After we went 3-1 up, the game was over, but it was an attacking spectacle and a good match to watch.”

Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, who had only been allowed to play on Friday after the German Football Association (DFB) reduced his three-match ban, scored twice in the first-half as the hosts raced into a 2-0 lead after 21 minutes.

Norway striker Mohammed Abdellaoue pulled a goal back for Hanover on 40 minutes after a mistake in the Dortmund defence, but Lewandowski’s back-up, Julian Schieber made sure of the win when he drilled his shot home on 72 minutes.

“That was clearly a deserved win from Dortmund,” said Hanover coach Mirko Slomka, whose team were trounced 5-1 at Dortmund in the German Cup in December on the previous meeting. “We wanted a different result after the cup defeat, but we didn’t get a grip on the game.”

Schalke, who host Dortmund in next Saturday’s Ruhr derby, are up to sixth after they beat Wolfsburg 4-1 with teenage midfielder Julian Draxler, 19, involved in the first three goals. “That was an outstanding performance and thoroughly derserved win,” said coach Jens Keller, who enjoyed his first away win since taking charge in December.

“We got into the game from the first minute and created a string of chances, we could have taken the lead much earlier.”

Schalke are still in Champions League contention after their last 16, first leg draw at Galatasaray with the return leg in Gelsenkirchen on March 12.

Draxler opened the scoring on 33 minutes, then hit the post with Wolves goalkeeper Diego Benaglio beaten before scoring the third despite the attention of four defenders on 63 minutes.

US midfielder Jermaine Jones picked up his fifth yellow card, meaning he will miss next Saturday’s Dortmund clash before Draxler then set up the fourth on 79 for Peru’s Jefferson Farfan to slam his shot home.

Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar hit the fourth on 86 minutes for his first goal in eight games. Bremen suffered their third straight defeat, dropping to 13th, after they suffered a 1-0 win at home to Augsburg, who remain third from bottom, while Nuremberg moved up to 12th with a 1-1 draw at home against Freiburg.

Hamburg drop to seventh after their 1-1 draw at home against bottom side Greuther Fuerth while third-placed Bayer Leverkusen host mid-table Stuttgart at home on Saturday night. On Friday, Moechengladbach went eighth after picking up their first win in seven games thanks to Luuk de Jong’s goal with a 1-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, who remain fourth despite having now gone five games without scoring.—AFP

NUREMBERG: Nuremberg’s Czech striker Tomas Pekhart (center) goes for a header during the German First Division Bundesliga football match against SC Freiburg.—AFP

PSG slump to shock defeat PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain suffered another shock away defeat yesterday, going down 1-0 away to struggling Reims despite the hosts having to play with 10 men for the final half an hour.

Polish midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak was the star for the home side, netting the all-important goal just six minutes after Christopher Glombard had been sent-off. The introduction of David Beckham for the final 26 minutes could not prevent the capital club slipping to their fifth Ligue 1 defeat this season, and their second in three outings following a 3-2 reverse at Sochaux last month.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side remain three points clear at the top of the table, but Lyon will join them at the summit by beating Brest in Brittany today. The result also gives a glimmer of renewed hope to thirdplaced Marseille, who entertain Troyes today.

PSG made the short trip to Champagne country fresh from beating bitter rivals Marseille twice in the last week, once in the league and once in the Round of 16 of the French Cup. Ancelotti made seven changes to his team from the Cup tie, with Javier Pastore, Lucas and Ezequiel Lavezzi among those returning along with the suspen-

sion-free Marco Verratti. His return in central midfield meant that Beckham was back on the bench at kick-off at a packed Stade AugusteDelaune.

Even with one eye on the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Valencia next Wednesday, PSG should have been strong enough to see off the challenge of a Reims side with just one win in their previous 19 matches in all competitions.

The fact that 22-goal Zlatan Ibrahimovic had scored as many times in Ligue 1 this season as Reims indicated the size of task awaiting the home side, and the

FRANCE: Paris Saint-Germain’s Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (left) vies with Reims’ French defender Franck Signorino during the French L1 football match.—AFP

Swede was first to try his luck, fizzing in a low strike that Kossi Agassa helds at the second attempt. Moments later, PSG ‘keeper Salvatore Sirigu had to turn a deflected Antoine Devaux strike from range around the post, but that was a rare moment of respite for the home side.

Lavezzi missed a glorious chance to open the scoring 10 minutes before the interval, slotting wide after finding himself clean through on goal at the end of a quick counterattack.

Agassa then beat away an Ibrahimovic free-kick from 35 yards, before the Swede was denied the opening goal by the assistant referee’s flag three minutes into the second period.

The big centre-forward beautifully volleyed in a long ball from Verratti, only for an incorrect offside decision to deny him his 23rd of the season. Nevertheless, Reims appeared to be right up against it when Glombard was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Pastore in the 58th minute.

And yet the hosts went on take the lead when Mohamed Fofana headed down a corner for Kr ychowiak-who had wriggled away from his marker Alex-to convert at the far post fir only his second career goal in the top flight.

Beckham was unable to change the game PSG’s way after that, and Odair Fortes almost made it 2-0 from a winding solo run before Reims hung on through nearly seven minutes from injury time for a vital win.

There are five matches late yesterday, including fourth-placed Nice’s trip to fifth-placed SaintEtienne and a Corsican derby between Bastia and Ajaccio.—AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

S P ORT S Soccer Results / standings Chelsea 1 (Ba 28) West Brom 0; Everton 3 (Fellaini 42, Pienaar 59, Mirallas 66) Reading 1 (Robson-Kanu 84); Manchester Utd 4 (Kagawa 45, 76, 87, Rooney 90) Norwich 0; Southampton 1 (Ramirez 45) QPR 2 (Remy 14, Bothroyd 77); Stoke 0 West Ham 1 (Collison 45); Sunderland 2 (Gardner 37pen, Sessegnon 70) Fulham 2 (Berbatov 16pen, Riether 35); Swansea 1 (Moore 85) Newcastle 0.

Playing today Tottenham v Arsenal Playing tomorrow Aston Villa v Manchester City English Football League results Championship Barnsley 2 Bolton 3; Blackburn 2 Peterborough 3; Blackpool 0 Bristol City 0; Brighton 4 Huddersfield 1; Charlton 0 Burnley 1; Hull 5 Birmingham 2; Ipswich 1 Leicester 0; Leeds 1 Millwall 0; Middlesbrough 2 Cardiff 1.

Played Friday Derby 0 Crystal Palace 1; Wolves 1 Watford 1 Division One Brentford 1 Scunthorpe 0; Bury 0 Crawley 2; Coventry 1 Swindon 2; Crewe 1 Portsmouth 2; Doncaster 3 Hartlepool 0; Leyton Orient 3 Bournemouth 1; Milton Keynes Dons 1 Preston 1; Notts County 1 Carlisle 0;

Oldham 0 Sheffield Utd 2; Stevenage 0 Colchester 2; Walsall 3 Shrewsbury 1; Yeovil 1 Tranmere 0.

Division Two Accrington 0 Torquay 0; Aldershot 1 Gillingham 1; Bristol Rovers 3 Burton 0; Cheltenham 2 AFC Wimbledon 1; Dagenham and Redbridge 0 Chesterfield 1; Exeter 3 Northampton 0; Morecambe 3 Rochdale 0; Oxford 2 Port Vale 1; Plymouth 2 Barnet 1; Southend 1 Rotherham 1; Wycombe 1 Fleetwood 0; York 0 Bradford 2.

Scottish Premier League results Hearts 1 (Sutton 59) Motherwell 2 (Higdon 3, McGowan 8-og); Ross County 0 Inverness CT 0.

Scottish Football League results First Division Dumbarton 2 Cowdenbeath 2; Dunfermline 0 Partick 4; Livingston 4 Airdrie 1.

Second Division Albion 1 Alloa 5; Arbroath 1 Ayr 4; East Fife 2 Queen of the South 3; Forfar 3 Stranraer 1; Stenhousemuir 3 Brechin 3.

Third Division Annan Athletic 2 Berwick 2; Clyde 2 Peterhead 0; Elgin City 1 Stirling 2; Queen’s Park 1 Montrose 2; Rangers 3 East Stirling 1.

English Premier League table after yesterday’s afternoon matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Man United Man City Chelsea Tottenham Arsenal Everton Swansea City West Bromwich Liverpool Fulham Stoke City West Ham Norwich City Sunderland Newcastle Southampton Wigan Athletic Aston Villa Reading QPR

28 27 28 27 27 28 28 28 27 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 27 27 28 28

23 16 15 15 13 11 10 12 10 8 7 9 7 7 8 6 6 5 5 3

2 8 7 6 8 12 10 4 9 9 12 6 11 9 6 9 6 9 8 11

3 3 6 6 6 5 8 12 8 11 9 13 10 12 14 13 15 13 15 14

68 50 56 47 52 44 39 38 49 39 26 32 27 31 38 39 33 26 34 21

31 24 30 32 30 35 34 37 34 44 33 41 45 38 49 51 51 52 54 44

71 56 52 51 47 45 40 40 39 33 33 33 32 30 30 27 24 24 23 20

English Football League tables Championship Cardiff 34 22 4 8 56 Hull 35 20 5 10 51 Watford 35 19 6 10 69 Crystal Palace 35 17 10 8 61 Leicester 34 17 6 11 56 Brighton 34 14 13 7 50 M’brough 35 17 3 15 54 Leeds 34 14 7 13 44 Bolton 35 12 12 11 53 Nottingham 34 12 12 10 49 Burnley 35 13 8 14 48 Blackburn 35 11 12 12 44 Derby 35 11 11 13 50 Millwall 34 12 8 14 44 Charlton 35 11 10 14 43 Blackpool 35 10 12 13 50 Birmingham 35 10 12 13 45 Ipswich 35 11 9 15 35 Huddersfield 35 10 11 14 36 Sheffield 33 11 7 15 39 Barnsley 34 10 7 17 43 Peterborough 34 11 3 20 51 Wolves 35 9 9 17 40 Bristol City 35 10 5 20 51

36 39 44 42 29 35 53 48 49 46 48 46 49 50 48 49 57 54 61 47 56 61 50 65

70 65 63 61 57 55 54 49 48 48 47 45 44 44 43 42 42 42 41 40 37 36 36 35

Division One Doncaster Sheffield Utd Swindon Brentford Yeovil Tranmere Bournemouth Walsall Coventry Notts County Leyton Orient Crawley Town Milton Keynes Crewe Stevenage Carlisle Preston Shrewsbury Colchester Scunthorpe Oldham Bury Hartlepool Portsmouth

35 35 35 34 35 36 36 36 36 35 35 33 33 34 34 35 34 36 35 36 34 35 35 36

19 17 17 16 19 17 16 15 15 13 15 14 12 13 12 11 9 9 11 10 10 6 7 6

8 8 13 5 11 7 13 5 4 12 9 10 10 10 10 11 8 13 13 9 5 15 7 12 11 10 8 13 7 15 8 16 13 12 13 14 5 19 8 18 6 18 12 17 9 19 9 21

51 50 58 48 57 54 58 52 57 50 39 43 43 41 39 41 43 40 36 38 35 33 33 37

32 29 25 33 43 37 48 49 44 37 41 45 37 46 48 60 44 46 55 58 48 54 57 60

65 64 62 61 61 60 58 55 53 52 50 49 47 47 43 41 40 40 38 38 36 30 30 27

Division Two Gillingham 35 Port Vale 35 Burton Albion 36 Exeter 35 Northampton 36 Cheltenham 36 Rotherham 34 Southend 35 Fleetwood 35 Morecambe 36 Oxford Utd 35 Bradford 33 Wycombe 35 Chesterfield 35 Dagenham 36 Rochdale 35 Bristol Rovers 35 York 36 Aldershot 36 Torquay 35 Barnet 35 Accrington 35 Plymouth 35 AFC Wimbledon35

19 18 17 17 17 15 17 14 13 13 14 13 14 12 11 11 11 8 9 9 9 9 8 9

9 9 8 7 7 13 6 9 12 10 7 9 6 11 9 9 9 16 12 11 10 10 12 9

53 66 55 55 55 48 54 49 43 48 46 47 42 41 46 49 45 39 33 38 35 36 36 39

28 37 48 44 48 43 47 38 39 46 49 39 47 35 49 57 56 51 46 44 47 53 46 61

66 63 59 58 58 58 57 51 51 49 49 48 48 47 42 42 42 40 39 38 37 37 36 36

7 8 11 11 12 8 11 12 10 13 14 11 15 12 16 15 15 12 15 15 16 16 15 17

Scottish Premier League table Celtic 29 19 5 5 68 23 62

Motherwell Inverness CT Ross County St Johnstone Hibernian Kilmarnock Dundee Utd Aberdeen St Mirren Hearts Dundee

29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 28 29 28

13 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 8 7 3

7 13 12 11 9 11 11 10 8 9 6

9 6 7 8 10 9 9 10 12 13 19

47 53 36 36 38 44 45 33 35 28 16

40 46 34 35 38 38 50 36 45 41 53

46 43 42 41 39 38 38 37 32 30 15

Scottish Football League tables First Division Morton 25 15 7 3 54 Partick 24 15 5 4 52 Livingston 25 11 7 7 43 Dunfermline 26 12 3 11 45 Falkirk 25 10 6 9 37 Raith 23 7 8 8 32 Hamilton 23 6 7 10 27 Cowdenbeath 25 5 10 10 36 Dumbarton 24 7 3 14 35 Airdrie Utd 26 4 6 16 29

31 22 36 39 36 32 32 42 59 61

52 50 40 39 36 29 25 25 24 18

Second Division Queen of South 26 Alloa 27 Brechin 22 Forfar 27 Arbroath 27 Stenhousemuir 26 Ayr 26 East Fife 26 Stranraer 26 Albion 25

22 3 1 69 16 69 15 6 6 49 27 51 12 3 7 44 35 39 12 2 13 48 55 38 10 5 12 37 50 35 8 10 8 41 45 34 9 5 12 43 47 32 7 5 14 40 43 26 7 5 14 30 53 26 4 2 19 30 60 14

Third Division Rangers Queen’s Park Montrose Peterhead Elgin Berwick Stirling Annan Athletic East Stirling Clyde

20 12 11 9 8 8 8 7 8 8

27 25 27 27 26 25 26 27 27 27

6 7 8 8 8 7 5 8 5 4

1 6 8 10 10 10 13 12 14 15

73 41 52 27 48 42 41 43 41 31

22 29 48 26 52 45 49 56 61 51

66 43 41 35 32 31 29 29 29 28

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

Ba downs Baggies to silence Benitez critics Chelsea 1

West Brom 0

LONDON: Demba Ba eased the pressure on Rafael Benitez as the Senegal striker fired Chelsea to a 10 win over West Bromwich Albion yesterday in the first game since the Blues’ interim manager criticised his club’s supporters and hierarchy. Benitez had been widely condemned after launching into a passionate defence of his own position directly after victory at Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on Wednesday.

The former Liverpool and Inter Milan manager had claimed the club should never have gone public with the fact that he was only there in an ‘interim’ capacity until the end of the season, and insisted the fans who have been barracking him from the moment he succeeded Roberto di Matteo in November were not helping the team.

But those who were expecting a volatile afternoon at Stamford Bridge were disappointed as Chelsea dominated and the supporters only occasionally turned on Benitez, who saw his team climb up to third place above Tottenham in the Premier League table.

Benitez had timed his emergence from the tunnel perfectly, arriving when Albion manager Steve Clarke’s name was announced. The Scot was a popular figure at Chelsea as a player, making 421 appearances until leaving in 1998, and was also assistant manager for a while. Benitez was certainly quick to shake Clarke’s hand.

The anti-Benitez faction at the Bridge did manage to poke fun at him via banners however. One read ‘Rafa - we’re just not that inter im’

LONDON: Chelsea’s David Luiz (left) vies for the ball with West Bromwich Albion’s goalkeeper Ben Foster during the English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge Stadium.—AP while another made a disparaging comparison with former manager Jose Mourinho by describing the Spaniard as ‘the interim one’.

The game was only a few minutes old before the first derogatory chant began, telling the former Liverpool manager that he was ‘not wanted here’. England manager Roy Hodgson was in the stands to watch Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster, who has made it known that he is now willing to be considered for his country once again.

Foster made two saves to deny Oscar in between a free-kick from Steven Reid at the other end that was tipped over by Petr Cech, and saw an effort from Juan Mata fly narrowly wide.

He was also behind efforts from Ba and made an excellent reaction

19:00

Spanish League Granada v Real Mallorca Aljazeera Sport +2 Espanyol v Real Valladolid Aljazeera Sport +2 Malaga v Atletico de Madrid Aljazeera Sport +2 Real Sociedad v Real Betis Aljazeera Sport +7

LONDON: Sunderland’s Sebastian Larsson (left) vies for the ball with Fulham’s Urby Emanuelson (right) during their English Premier League soccer match at the Stadium of Light.—AP

Sunderland fight back to frustrate Fulham Fulham 2

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Italian League Torino FC v Palermo Aljazeera Sport +1 Siena v Atalanta Aljazeera Sport +2 Bologna v Cagliari Aljazeera Sport +5 Fiorentina v Chievo Verona Aljazeera Sport +7 Catania v Internazionale Aljazeera Sport +1 Sampdoria v Parma Aljazeera Sport +9 Pescara v Udinese Aljazeera Sport +8 AS Roma v Genoa Aljazeera Sport +1

Sunderland 2

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21:00

14:30 17:00 17:00 17:00 17:00 17:00 17:00 22:45

SUNDERLAND: Sunderland inched closer to Premier League survival as the Black Cats fought back from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 draw against Fulham yesterday.

Martin O’Neill’s team looked set for a disappointing defeat at the Stadium of Light after Fulham raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to Dimitar Berbatov’s penalty and a Sascha Riether strike.

But Sunderland reduced the deficit before the break through Craig Gardner’s penalty and Stephane Sessegnon’s second half goal salvaged a potentially valuable point in the battle to avoid relegation.

The Black Cats, who ended a run of three successive defeats, are now six points above the bottom three, while Fulham remain in relative safety in mid-table. Sunderland desperately needed a win after taking just one point from their last four games, but they found themselves in deep trouble by the time 35

Southampton 1

French League Brest v Lyonnais Aljazeera Sport +4 De Marseille v ES Troyes Aljazeera Sport +4 Lille OSC v de Bordeaux Aljazeera Sport +4

16:00

QPR 2

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minutes had elapsed.

Martin Jol’s side took the lead with 16 minutes gone when Gardner was adjudged to have tripped Ashkan Dejagah inside the box.

Referee Mark Halsey pointing to the spot to the fury of the home team and former Manchester United striker Berbatov calmly steered the spot-kick past Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

Fulham increased their lead in the 35th minute, breaking at pace from a Sunderland corner. Mignolet could only parry Dejagah’s shot from a tight angle and Riether pounced on the rebound to fire home.

Just as the game was spinning out of their control, Sunderland were handed a lifeline in the 37th minute.

Philippe Senderos pulled Sunderland striker Danny Graham as the pair challenged for a ball over the top and Halsey once again pointed to the spot. Gardner smashed the penalty past Mark Schwarzer to set up a tense second half.

The Cottagers had a chance to put the game beyond doubt midway through the second half, but Mignolet raced from his line to block Berbatov’s effort after Bryan Ruiz had played him in with a lofted pass. That proved crucial as Sessegnon drilled home from 15 yards in the 70th minute after the ball broke invitingly for him.—AFP

STOKE: Jack Collison gave West Stoke 0 Ham United a 1-0 win at Stoke City yesterday as the home side sank to West Ham 1 only their second defeat at the Britannia Stadium in the Premier League this season.

The Wales international, an early replacement for the injured Matthew Taylor, struck in first-half stoppage time to give West Ham their first away win since November 11. Victory left Sam Allardyce’s side a healthy nine points clear of the relegation zone in 12th place, level on points with Tony Pulis’ Stoke.

There were two early blows for West Ham, who lost both Taylor and Joe Cole to injury within the first 11 minutes. Taylor was unable to continue after being inadvertently kicked in the face by Peter Crouch, while Cole appeared to succumb to a hamstring injury.

Crouch had a volley saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen but West Ham did not appear unduly inconvenienced by their two early departures and saw James Collins flick a header onto the top of the crossbar in the 25th minute.

If anything, the changes gave the visitors new momentum and it was the two substitutes who combined to break the deadlock in the fourth-minute of injury time at the conclusion of the first period.

Ricardo Vaz Te darted towards goal and when an attempted ball to Andy Carroll came back to him, he released Collison with a clever reverse pass that the Welshman stroked into the bottom-left corner.

Stoke striker Cameron Jerome had a penalty appeal turned down early in the second half after going down under a challenge from Joey O’Brien.

At the other end, goalkeeper Asmir Begovic did well to save from Matt Jarvis after Vaz Te teed up the former Wolverhampton Wanderers winger inside the penalty area.

The visitors managed to avoid any ner vous moments until the very last minute, when Charlie Adam’s 25-yard volley cannoned back off the West Ham crossbar.

Stoke then had a strong appeal for a penalty turned down in injury time when the ball appeared to strike West Ham defender Guy Demel’s hand inside the visiting penalty area.—AFP

Bothroyd winner gives QPR hope

German Bundesliga Hoffenheim v Bayern Munich 17:30 Dubai Sports

call on the hour mark when Eden Hazard went down in the box under Jonas Olsson’s challenge, ruling that the Belgian had gone down too easily to merit a penalty.

Chelsea’s one-goal lead was put in jeopardy by James Morrison’s free-kick to the back post but the danger was eventually averted and, at the other end, Foster was required to make another save to deny Oscar, who had been given a clear sight of goal by Ba’s knockdown. Cech was required to keep his side ahead however, with two saves in quick succession.

First he palmed a fierce free-kick

by Peter Odenwingie over the bar and then had to react when the corner was deflected his way, but Chelsea held on to record a narrow victory.—AFP

Collison strike topples Stoke

English Premier League Tottenham v Arsenal Abu Dhabi Sports HD 3 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 5

save when David Luiz’s powerful free-kick took a deflection off the Albion wall. He was caught out for Ba’s 28th-minute opener however, moving to his back post but failing to get there as Luiz stole in and headed the ball across the six-yard box for Ba to apply a simple finish.

Benitez hardly reacted to the goal but will have been satisfied by the way his side had imposed themselves. The second half saw Frank Lampard find the net early on but Mata had already been flagged offside in the build-up.

Branislav Ivanovic did the same from a free-kick move minutes later but that had been taken too early for referee Kevin Friend’s liking and was also disallowed. Foster also made a close-range save to deny Ba before referee Friend made a big

SOUTHAMPTON: Loic Remy and Jay Bothroyd struck as Queens Park Rangers kick-started their fight to avoid relegation from the Premier

League with a 2-1 win at fellow strugglers Southampton yesterday.

Rangers’ preparations for the game had been overshadowed by media reports a recent training trip to Dubai was marked by drinking and a lack of professionalism. And to add to the tension surrounding a game between two sides in trouble, QPR manager Harry Redknapp received an icy reception on his return to his former club.

But it was Redknapp who was celebrating in front of the visiting sup-

porters after his side-still rooted to the foot of the division-claimed only their third league win of the season.

Remy put Rangers ahead in the 14th minute but Southampton levelled when Gaston Ramirez capitalised on a mistake by QPR goalkeeper Julio Cesar. Then, with 13 minutes remaining, Bothroyd-who was making his first Premier League appearance of the season-scored the winner from close range.

Both Redknapp and opposite number Mauricio Pochettino were

celebrating their birthday, but while Redknapp was left with plenty to cheer, Pochettino could only reflect on a missed chance for Southampton to extend the three-point gap between themselves and the relegation places.

Redknapp has made the side harder to beat since he succeeded Mark Hughes but a return of just four goals in their last 10 Premier League games illustrates why they have failed to turn a series of draws into wins.—AFP

Djokovic wins Dubai Open

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SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

Ba downs Baggies to silence Benitez critics

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Qatar World Cup should be in winter and shared with neighbors —Platini Page 17

Ramos heads Real to Clasico victory

SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal (right) in action with Barcelonaís Daniel Alves from Brazil during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.—AP

MADRID: Barcelona’s recent slump continued as Sergio Ramos’ header nine minutes from time handed Real Madrid their second win over the Catalans in five days.

Karim Benzema had given the hosts the perfect start as he stabbed home Alvaro Morata’s cross after just six minutes, but Barca were level just 12 minutes later when Lionel Messi equalled Alfredo di Stefano’s record for goals scored in Clasicos as he rifled in his 18th strike in clashes between the two.

The rest of the first half was then played out at a rather pedestrian pace but the introduction of Cristiano Ronaldo from the Madrid bench livened up matters after the break and Madrid eventually found the winner when Ramos rose highest to power home Luka Modric’s corner. Jose Mourinho had signalled that Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Manchester United was clearly his priority as he made seven changes to the side that started the 3-1 win over Barca in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg in midweek with Ronaldo’s absence being the most striking. However, even without their talisman Madrid made the perfect start as Barca’s defensive woes of late continued when Morata swung in a delightful cross from the left and Benzema was on hand to prod the ball home from close range. Barca weren’t just slow to start at the back as their play going forward was also decidedly predictable until they quickened the pace and equalised with their first effort on goal 12 minutes later.

A nice through ball from Dani Alves put Messi in behind the Madrid defence and he turned onto his favourite left foot to score for the 16th consecutive league game.

The game then settled down into a familiar pattern with Barca happy to pass the ball around without overly threatening, but Messi did have a good chance when Raphael Varane failed to cut out a pass from David Villa on the edge of the box just after the half hour. This time, on his right side, he couldn’t generate the power needed to trouble Diego Lopez. Six minutes later and Madrid could have been back in front as a lovely cross by Luka Modric to the back post found Morata in acres of space but he could only head into the side-netting.

The visitors started brighter after the break and nearly found their way through with a trademark move as Messi picked out Alves on the right and then just failed to get on the end of the Brazilian’s dangerous cross. Another moment of magic from Messi then played in Villa moments later but a wonderful recovering challenge from Varane denied the Spanish international a clear effort on goal.

Mourinho then unleashed Ronaldo along with Sami Khedira with just over half an hour to play and the Portuguese was soon involved as he fired a rasping 30 yard free-kick towards goal that Victor Valdes did well to turn behind for a corner.

Ronaldo came close again as he fired into the side-netting at the end of a solo run past three Barca players, before Morata had an excellent chance to win the game 15 minutes from time as he controlled a wonderful ball over the top from Pepe but couldn’t beat Valdes. However, the youngster’s miss mattered little six minutes later when Ramos outjumped Gerard Pique to leave Valdes helpless. And the score could have been even more flattering to the home side as Ronaldo then fired a wicked free-kick off the angle of post and bar.

However, Barca were left furious in stoppage time as referee Miguel Perez Lasa didn’t award a penalty from what appeared to be a trip by Ramos on Adriano and Valdes was sent-off after the final whistle for his protestations.—AFP

United sound Madrid warning MANCHESTER: Shinji Kagawa scored an impressive hat-trick as Man United 4 Manchester United opened a 15-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 4-0 victory Norwich 0 at home to Norwich City yesterday.

With an eye firmly on Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 second leg against Real Madrid, United manager Alex Ferguson must have been delighted with a comfortable victory that places more pressure on reigning champions Manchester City, who play Aston Villa on Monday. And the performance of Kagawa, who had scored just twice before this latest victory, was particularly noteworthy.

The Japan star struck in the first minute of first-half injury time as the visitors undid what had been, until that point, a thoroughly sound defensive performance that had begun to frustrate the home team and their support.

Antonio Valencia’s cross was touched on by Robin van Persie to the unmarked Kagawa, who mis-hit a shot from eight yards with the outside of his right boot. The attempt should have given only minor trouble to goalkeeper Mark Bunn, but he was off-balance and the ball squirmed away from him at the foot of his near post. Even if there were few moments of real concern, it took until the 76th minute for United to put the game to bed as Wayne Rooney chased a through ball from Michael Carrick into the area, checked past his defender and squared for the unmarked Kagawa.

The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder cleverly shimmied to wrong-foot the goalkeeper and had the relatively straightforward task of rolling the ball past Bunn for his, and United’s, second goal.

Three minutes from time, Kagawa started a move on the halfway line and passed to Danny Welbeck, who advanced to the edge of the Norwich area and found Rooney. A swift exchange of passes then allowed Kagawa to sprint in the area and lift his hat-trick goal over Bunn and into the net. Still, United were not finished. There looked little danger in the 90th minute when Rooney had the ball at his feet 25 yards from goal, but the England man produced an inch-perfect drive that flew into the top-left corner.

Norwich were the last team to defeat United in the league, in November, since when the leaders have won 13 and drawn two of their 15 fixtures, and there was little sign of the Canaries being able to repeat that feat in the opening period. After 15 minutes, van Persie and Rooney exchanged quick passes and Bunn was injured as he raced from his line to beat the Dutch forward to the through ball that followed. Kagawa set up Carrick, who switched feet tidily in the area but could only follow that manoeuvre with a tame shot easily that was stopped by Bunn, while Nemanja Vidic powered a header over from a van Persie corner. Rooney adopted a more direct approach, coming up with long-distance shots, but Norwich opened the second half in much more committed fashion, at least as far as the attacking part of their game was concerned.

Finally, after 62 minutes, United were made to look vulnerable for the first time as Anthony Pilkington punted in a long ball for Grant Holt to head across goal, where Russell Martin managed to miss an open target. To spare his blushes, however, Holt was penalised for a push on Patrice Evra.

In response, Rooney shot wide from a promising position, with van Persie far better placed to receive a pass, and that proved to be the Dutchman’s last involvement in the game as Ferguson removed him with 25 minutes still to play.—AFP

Business

Buffett firm’s Q4 up 49% on paper gains Page 22 Britain’s Rolls, Bentley fight luxury battle Page 23

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

Wataniya Telecom announces major network modernization

Nissan Sunny achieves record growth in Gulf

Page 26

Page 25

KARACHI: Pakistani fishermen unload their catch on returning to port after fishing in the Arabian sea in Karachi yesterday. The European Union is to resume imports of seafood from Pakistan, officials said, ending a six-year suspension imposed over hygiene fears. — AFP

These cuts are not smart: Obama Congress pressed for deal to end US spending cuts WASHINGTON: Just hours after across-the-board spending cuts officially took effect, President Barack Obama pressed Congress yesterday to work with him on a compromise to halt a fiscal crisis he said was starting to “inflict pain” on communities across the United States.

Obama and a bipartisan group of congressional leaders failed on Friday to avoid the deep spending reductions known as the “sequester,” which automatically kicked in overnight in the latest sign of dysfunction in a divided Washington. If left in place without legislative remedy, government agencies will have to hack a total of $85 billion from their budgets between yesterday and Oct 1, cuts that over time could cause economic harm, slash jobs and curb military readiness. “These cuts are not smart,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. “They will hurt our economy and cost us jobs. And Congress can turn them off at any time - as soon as both sides are willing to compromise.”

Obama signed an order on Friday night that started putting the cuts into effect. At the heart of Washington’s persistent fiscal showdowns is disagreement over how to slash the budget deficit and the $16 trillion national debt, bloated over the years by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and government stimulus for the ailing economy. The Democratic president wants to close the fiscal gap with spending cuts and tax hikes - what he calls a “balanced approach.” But Republicans do not want to concede again on taxes after doing so in negotiations over the “fiscal cliff” at the New Year.

“The discussion about revenue, in my view, is over. It’s about taking on the spending problem,” John Boehner, the Republican House of Representatives speaker, said on leaving the talks between Obama and congressional leaders on Friday. As Obama and his aides have done for weeks, the president in his radio address offered a litany of hardships he said would flow from the sequester, saying, “Severe budget

cuts ... have already started to inflict pain on communities across the country.” “Beginning this week, businesses that work with the military will have to lay folks off. Communities near military bases will take a serious blow. Hundreds of thousands of Americans who serve their country - Border Patrol agents, FBI agents, civilians who work for the Defense Department - will see their wages cut and their hours reduced,” he said. “The longer these cuts remain in place, the greater the damage,” he said. “Economists estimate they could eventually cost us more than 750,000 jobs and slow our economy by over one-half of one percent.” Despite that, financial markets shrugged off the stalemate on Friday.

While Obama has put the blame for the cuts on Republicans’ intransigence and their determination to protect tax breaks for the wealthy, Republicans insist he is responsible for the fiscal predicament. They also accuse him of exaggerating the expected impact.

Obama appealed for Republicans to work with Democrats on a deal, saying Americans were weary of seeing Washington “careen from one manufactured crisis to another.” But he offered no new ideas to resolve the situation, and there was no immediate sign of any negotiations planned over the weekend. “There’s a caucus of common sense (in Congress),” Obama said. “And I’m going to keep reaching out to them to fix this for good.”

One reason for the inaction in Washington is that both parties still hope the other will either be blamed by voters for the cuts or cave in before the worst effects predicted by Democrats come into effect. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday showed 28 percent of Americans blamed congressional Republicans for the sequestration mess, 18 percent thought Obama was responsible and 4 percent blamed congressional Democrats. Thirty-seven percent blamed them all, according the online poll. — Reuters

China ‘fully prepared’ for currency war: banker BEIJING: A top Chinese banker said Beijing is “fully prepared” for a currency war as he urged the world to abide by a consensus reached by the G20 to avert confrontation, state media reported yesterday.

Yi Gang, deputy governor of China’s central bank, issued the call after G20 finance ministers last month moved to calm fears of a looming war on the currency markets at a meeting in Moscow.

Those fears have largely been fuelled by the recent steep decline in the Japanese yen, which critics have accused Tokyo of manipulating to give its manufacturers a competitive edge in key export markets over Asian rivals. Yi said a

currency war could be avoided if major countries observed the G20 consensus that monetary policy should primarily serve as a tool for domestic economy, the Xinhua report said. But China “is fully prepared”, he added.

“In terms of both monetary policies and other mechanism arrangement, China will take into full account the quantitative easing policies implemented by central banks of foreign countries.”

South Korea’s incoming president Park Geun-Hye has also signaled her willingness to step in to stabilize the won and protect exporters battling a stronger Korean currency and a weaker yen. — AFP

WASHINGTON: This combination of photos show US President Barack Obama pausing as he answers questions about sequestration at the White House in Washington, DC following a meeting with US Speaker of the House John Boehner and Congressional leaders. Obama on Friday branded the automatic budget cuts about to slam into the US economy as “dumb” and “unnecessary” but blamed Republicans for the failure to avert them. — AFP

Kerry to stress for Egypt consensus for IMF deal CAIRO: US Secretary of State John Kerry will stress the importance Egypt achieves political consensus for painful economic reforms needed to secure an IMF loan, a senior US official said yesterday.

Kerry arrived in Egypt on his first visit to the Arab world since taking office for talks with the leaders of a country mired in political and economic crisis two years after the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. With Egypt’s pound and foreign currency reserves sliding, the official said that if Cairo could agree on a $4.8 billion loan from the IMF, this would bring in

other funds from the United States, European Union and Arab countries.

However, the official said the United States believed Egypt needed to increase tax revenues and reduce energy subsidies - measures likely to prove highly unpopular.

“His basic message is it’s very important to the new Egypt for there to be a firm economic foundation,” the official told reporters as Kerry flew to Cairo.

“In order for there to be agreement on doing the kinds of economic reforms that would be required under an IMF deal

there has to be a basic political ... agreement among all of the various players in Egypt,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Egypt said on Thursday it would invite a team from the International Monetary Fund to reopen talks on the loan and the investment minister expressed hope that a deal could be done by the end of April.

The loan was agreed in principle last November but put on hold at Cairo’s request during street violence the following month that flared in protest at a planned rise in taxes. — Reuters

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

BUSINESS

Buffett firm’s Q4 up 49% on paper gains

Bayt.com wekkly report

How to maximize employe engagement

By Lama Ataya

Warren calls year ‘subpar’ OMAHA: Warren Buffett’s company reported a 49 percent surge in fourth-quarter profit because of a big paper gain on its investments and derivative contracts, but the investor called the year “subpar” as Berkshire’s results lagged the S&P 500. Buffett recounted the fourth quarter and Berkshire Hathaway’s 2012 performance Friday in his annual letter to shareholders.

The Omaha-based company reported $4.55 billion net income, or $2,757 per Class A share, in the fourth quarter on $44.72 billion revenue. That’s up from $3.05 billion net income, or $1,846 per share, on $37.96 billion revenue the year before. Jeff Matthews, who wrote “Warren Buffett’s Successor: Who It Is and Why It Matters,” said there were few surprises in Buffett’s annual report because the com-

pany is doing well. “I thought it was pretty boring, and that’s good news,” Matthews said. The paper value of Berkshire’s investments and derivatives soared to $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $382 million the year before. Buffett has said Berkshire’s investment and derivative gains or losses can be misleading because the company rarely sells its investments, and the derivatives don’t mature until about eight years from now.

Buffett says Berkshire’s operating earnings, which exclude the value of derivatives and investments, are a better measure of performance. They improved 5.5 percent to $2.8 billion in the quarter. The biggest improvement in Berkshire’s operating businesses came in its insurance unit, which posted an underwriting loss $19 million in the fourth quarter versus

the previous year’s $107 million underwriting loss.

Buffett praised Berkshire’s insurance managers at Geico, General Reinsurance and other companies for increasing the amount of money Berkshire gets to invest in exchange for writing insurance to 73billion.

“Our insurance operations shot the lights out last year,” Buffett said. Altogether Berkshire’s five mostprofitable non-insurance businesses contributed $10.1 billion of pre-tax earnings.

Berkshire owns roughly 80 subsidiaries, including railroad, clothing, furniture and jewelry firms. Its insurance and utility businesses typically account for more than half of the company’s net income. The Omaha, Neb., company also has major investments in such companies as Coca-Cola Co., IBM and Wells Fargo & Co. — AP

Colombia’s commodity sector gets respite BOGOTA: Colombia’s troubled coal sector received a respite on Friday after a regulator lifted suspensions on the country’s No. 2 exporter, Drummond Ltd , and on the main railway.

But Colombia’s top coal miner was still on strike and coffee farmers entered a fifth day of stoppages. The two commodities are the top foreign currency earners after oil and key drivers for economic growth, which is slowing.

President Juan Manuel Santos is under increasing pressure and attacks by rivals for his handling of the myriad problems in the coal sector, which shut down nearly all output, as well as angry coffee farmers demanding more government aid.

The coal sector in the world’s fourth-largest exporter of the material has been reeling from a series of stoppages since early February. The lifting of suspensions on the rail line and Drummond is seen as a relief to both producers and end users. Luz Helena Sarmiento, general director of the National Environmental Licenses Authority, known as ANLA, said that the body had approved Drummond’s updated contingency plan and would end a loading suspension at its port.

ANLA halted coal loading at Drummond’s harbor on Feb. 6 after bad weather caused a coal spill into the nearby waters. “The reopening of loading activity with barges does not mean the end of this investigation. It is an ongoing punitive process that will determine whether it was an accident or negligence,” Sarmiento told journalists.

“It is possible it is a serious offense and, if applicable, the penalty shall be proportionate to the damage and exemplary.” Sarmiento also said a ban will be lifted on overnight transport on Colombia’s main coal railway, known as Fenoco.

A regional environmental body ordered Fenoco to stop running trains near populated areas overnight so residents would not be disturbed. The company has complied with the order since early February, cutting train shipments by 25 percent.

Located in the northern province of Cesar, Fenoco shareholders include Drummond, the Prodeco unit of Glencore International Plc and a Goldman Sachs Group Inc affiliate. After the announcements, physical coal registered its first trade of the day on the GLOBALcoal platform since traders had been waiting for more clarity on the situation in Colombia.

European physical coal for delivery in April traded at $89.50 a tonne, down around $0.50.

Meanwhile, workers at Colombia’s biggest coal exporter, Cerrejon, have been on strike since Feb. 7. The labor union and the company restarted talks this week to try to end the walkout. Cerrejon is a joint venture between Anglo American Plc , BHP Billiton Ltd and Xstrata Plc and accounts for nearly 40 percent, or 34 million tonnes, of Colombia’s annual output. It supplies power generators mainly in Europe. — Reuters

E

mployee engagement is a topic worth discussing in today ’s workplace. Leading organizations recognize the vested interest they have in actively measuring, monitoring and maximizing the level of engagement amongst their employees is extremely essential for overall performance. Bayt.com’s poll on Reward Programs and Employee Engagement in the Middle East (November, 2011) showed that 77% of Middle East employees feel engaged at work, despite 62.9% of companies offering no incentives.

What is the secret behind employees’ engagement and how do some employers succeed in gaining the loyalty of their staff while others fail?

Career experts from Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 Job Site, present an overview of employees’ engagement at work, its importance and the methods a company can follow to promote it.

What is Employee Engagement?

Employees can be broadly classified into three categories: l Engaged: Engaged employees are enthusiastic about their jobs, loyal, motivated, committed and productive. They have a strong emotional allegiance to their workplace and are driven to succeed. l Not engaged: Not engaged employees are not totally psychologically connected to their company. They work hard and contribute but are less driven to succeed than their engaged counterparts and are more likely to engage in absentee behaviour and/or leave the company. l Actively disengaged: Actively disengaged employees are emotionally and cognitively divorced from their work, they have in a sense “checked out” although they are physically there. They are disgruntled, unhappy to be there and their negativity is palpable, infectious and disruptive for the organisation.

Why is Employee Engagement important?

Repeated research has shown that there is a direct correlation between the level of employee engagement in a company and the company’s overall financial and operational performance. Specifically, higher levels of engagement are associated with more productivity, better client servicing and happier customers, less absenteeism, lower turnover and more retention. Add to that, on a more personal level for employees, engagement reflects on higher job satisfaction, higher work morale, and higher levels of motivation.

KARACHI: A Pakistani fisherman hangs fish to dry in the sun in Karachi yesterday. The European Union is to resume imports of seafood from Pakistan, officials said, ending a six-year suspension imposed over hygiene fears. —AFP

Iranian farmers hold talks on water dispute DUBAI: Farmers from a drought-stricken Iranian province who clashed with security forces in a protest over water supply have met officials in an attempt to settle the dispute, local media reported.

The farmers in central Isfahan province have for years protested against what they say is the unfair diversion of water from the Zayandeh Rud river to supply other areas, leaving their farms dry and threatening their livelihoods. A pipeline transporting water to Yazd province was smashed in February, the opposition website Kaleme said. A demonstration by farmers near the pipeline on Wednesday led to clashes with security forces and three police buses were set on fire, Kaleme reported.

Demonstrations against authorities are rare in Iran, but there have been isolated protests by labour groups and consumers against delays in payment of wages and high food prices in the past year.

Fifty-five farmers met local officials to air their

grievances, Isfahan provincial governor Alireza Zaker-Isfahani was quoted as saying yesterday by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.

“During the meeting the farmers expressed their viewpoints and the provincial executive agencies also shared their issues with the farmers, and both sides were looking to solve the problems,” Zaker-Isfahani said. “The issues of the last few days caused problems both for the farmers and for the executive agencies, and we believe that we cannot respond to demands in a volatile environment.”

Isfahan’s Friday prayer leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Yousef Tabatabaei-Nejad, said the smashing of the pipeline to Yazd was against Islamic law, but expressed sympathy for the farmers’ plight.

“The livelihood of the people of east Isfahan is dependent on farming and provincial officials must help them in other ways in the current drought conditions,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr yesterday. —Reuters

How does a Company Increase Employee Engagement?

Bayt.com’s poll on Reward Programs and Employee Engagement in the Middle East showed that 77% of Middle East employees feel engaged at work, with 68.4% knowing what is expected from them at work. The poll revealed that the companies that are attempting to boost engagement levels are doing so by showing more recognition (25.3%), giving more rewards (22.5%), encouraging open communication (24.5%), increasing transparency (13.3%), and empowering staff (14.5%).

Below are some of Bayt.com’s top tips to increase staff engagement: 1. Giving employees an open forum to voice complaints, suggestions and questions 2. Adequately responding to employee grievances, issues and queries 3. Equipping employees with all the resources they need to perform their job well 4. Including employees in the problem-solving and decision-making process 5. Frequently enlisting employees opinions in important issues 6. Setting the highest standards of trust, integrity and ethics employees can be proud of and emulate 7. Recognizing employees for their effort and performance publicly and privately 8. Rewarding employees for their efforts and contributions 9. Generating in employees a sense of ownership and pride 10. Providing a stimulating and challenging work environment 11. Demonstrating that management really values/ cares about employees’ wellbeing 12. Communicating how individual roles contribute to the organizational future 13. Providing opportunities for employees to grow and develop their full potential It is clear that an environment where employees are valued, respected, involved, challenged, have opportunities to grow and are clear about their roles and their contributions to the company’s goals and performance, is much more conducive to feelings of commitment and corporate citizenship amongst the workforce.

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

.275000 .425000 .367000 .301000 .274000 .2870000 .0040000 .0020000 .0767850 .7480970 .3900000 .0720000 .7333770 .0420000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2828500 GB Pound/KD .4272170 Euro .3694590 Swiss francs .3031780 Canadian dollars .2756550 Danish Kroner .0495470 Swedish Kroner .0437450 Australian dlr .2889600 Hong Kong dlr .0364600 Singapore dlr .2284730 Japanese yen .0030770 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0770390 Bahraini dinars .7505640 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0754470 Omani riyals .7349620 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 3.093 5.293 2.892 2.225 3.303 230.350 36.643 3.589 6.971 9.532 0.271

.2850000 .441000 .382000 .3140000 .288000 .2990000 .0067500 .0035000 .0775570 .7556160 .4070000 .0760000 .7407480 .0470000 .2849500 .4303880 .3722020 .3054290 .2777020 .0499150 .0440700 .2911050 .0367310 .2301700 .0031000 .0053140 .0022420 .0029140 .0036280 .0776110 .7561360 .4030410 .0760070 .7404180 .0070470

0.273

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

GCC COUNTRIES 75.830 78.134 735.280 755.280 77.431

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 42.200 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 41.599 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.327 Tunisian Dinar 180.940 Jordanian Dinar 401.570 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.908 Syrian Lier 3.089 Morocco Dirham 34.124 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 284.250 Euro 373.220 Sterling Pound 430.500 Canadian dollar 278.000 Swiss Franc 305.650 US Dollar Buying 283.050 GOLD 304.000 153.000 80.500

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

SELL DRAFT 293.68 280.86 310.10 375.32 283.65 433.27 3.17 3.611 5.263 2.228 3.303 2.895 77.30 755.26 41.56 404.10 738.22 78.33 75.84

Selling Rate 284.000 280.310 432.705 371.680 304.925 751.890 77.300 77.955 75.695 400.345 41.537 2.224 5.266 2.889 3.594 6.967 696.660 4.090 9.605 3.995 3.370 91.570

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 295.000 288.000 311.000 379.800 283.500 445.000 3.150 3.750 5.350 2.520 3.450 2.860 77.500 750.800 42.500 409.500 734.000 78.500 75.900

British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Scottish Pound Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar Uganda Shilling Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars Bangladesh Taka Cape Vrde Escudo Chinese Yuan Eritrea-Nakfa

BUY Europe 0.4201114 0.0061070 0.0455717 0.3651746 0.0453990 0.4217428 0.0401667 0.2960085

SELL 0.4291114 0.0181070 0.0505717 0.3726745 0.0505990 0.4292428 0.0451667 0.3030085

Australasia 0.2799299 0.2263541 0.0001093

0.292213 0.2363541 0.0001093

America 0.2694993 0.0001479 0.2819000

0.2784993 0.0001659 0.2840500

Asia 0.0035538 0.0031505 0.0446235 0.0164033

0.0036088 0.0033805 0.0496235 0.0195033

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

0.0000441 0.0340753 0.0051218 0.0000244 0.0028359 0.0029575 0.0032357 0.0877543 0.0031006 0.0028648 0.0065220 0.0000725 0.2250388 0.0019265 0.0091311

0.0000501 0.0371753 0.0051918 0.000295 0.0038359 0.0031375 0.0034657 0.0947543 0.0033006 0.0029048 0.0069920 0.0000755 0.2310388 0.0022315 0.0097311

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 0.7470223 0.0395458 0.0129688 0.1478551 0.0000790 0.0001854 0.3950608 1.0000000 0.0001742 0.0218944 0.0012050 0.7267806 0.0773663 0.0752133 0.0498858 0.0031692 0.1793473 0.0759090 0.0012812

0.7555223 0.0415758 0.0194688 0.1496451 0.0000795 0.0002454 0.4025608 1.000000 0.0001942 0.0458944 0.0018400 0.7377806 0.0781493 O.0758533 0.0504358 0.0033892 0.1853473 0.0773590 0.0013812

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) 283.600 374.000 431.000 278.750 3.125 5.274 41.575 2.223 3.598 6.965 2.891 755.400 77.150 75.750

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

BUSINESS

Britain’s Rolls, Bentley fight luxury battle GENEVA MOTOR SHOW LONDON: British carmakers Rolls-Royce and Bentley will unveil new vehicles at the Geneva Motor Show next week, joining battle in the fast-growing luxury end of the market on behalf of their German owners. BMW’s Rolls-Royce will debut a two-door coupÈ version of its Ghost model, known as the Wraith, which the company says will be its most powerful vehicle yet.

Meanwhile Bentley, part of the Volkswagen empire, will unveil its updated Flying Spur, its speediest ever four-door model. The two German-owned brands hope the new launches will extend an upturn in their markets, which has been boosted by recovering demand in the United States and strong growth in Asia, where customers are increasingly attracted by the history and status of brands such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley. The United States and China have traded positions as Rolls and Bentley’s largest markets in recent quarters.

“The Wraith, along with the Ghost, is there to compete with Bentley’s Continental GT, which at a slightly lower price has been a huge success,” said IHS automotive analyst Christoph St¸rmer. “Bentley is looking for success with its Flying Spur, which is an all-new vehicle, because the predecessor didn’t deliver the sales they were looking for.”

“Rolls and Bentley are direct competitors and are like the last men standing in the ultra-luxury, highend segment so the fight for attention of the superrich in Geneva will be fierce,” he added.

Company insiders say the Wraith, a name first used by Rolls in 1938, will produce as much as 600 horse power from a twin-turbo 6.6-litre V12 engine.

So far only two “teaser” images of the Wraith have been released, showing a shallow-sloping “fastback” design similar to that seen on smaller sports cars, while the rear appears similar to the Ghost, with the addition of large exhaust tailpipes at either side of the vehicle. Torsten M¸ller-÷tvˆs, chief executive of

south east England-based Rolls, is confident the new model will “draw superlatives” when it is unveiled in Geneva. Bentley claims its redesigned Flying Spur, which has a 6-litre, 12-cylinder engine generating 616 horsepower and capable of reaching a top speed of 200 miles per hour, will set “a new luxury performance sedan benchmark”.

The Spur has a lower, wider appearance than its predecessor with sharp lines and gently curvaceous

surfaces, according to Crewe, north west Englandbased Bentley.

Bentley was owned by Rolls-Royce for some 70 years, during which time the pair offered similar models. However, since the two parted ways in 1998 they have ruled different segments of the ultra-luxury car market.

Rolls had tended to focus on making larger, more luxurious cars such as the Phantom. But with the

2009 launch of the Ghost, Rolls has looked to take a slice of the market for sportier luxury cars, which Bentley dominates with its Continental range.

Some critics say the German influence has led Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars to lose their British character. Yet sales have flourished - Rolls sold a record 3,575 cars last year, up from 1,002 in 2009.

Bentley, meanwhile, delivered 8,510 cars in 2012, 22 percent more than the year before. — Reuters

How budget cuts could affect you WASHINGTON: Automatic spending cuts that took effect Friday are expected to touch a vast range of government services. Some examples:

Jaguar Land Rover studying full production in India MUMBAI/LONDON: Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is investigating the potential of manufacturing cars in India, company sources said, as the British luxury carmaker looks to build on its growth in emerging markets with the help of Indian parent Tata Motors. JLR, which has ridden a wave of surging demand in China and other emerging markets to post record profits over the past year, is “actively exploring the possibility” of building cars from scratch in India, said one company source. “The idea is being looked into, with the (Jaguar) XF and (Land Rover) Freelander the obvious candidates,” said another source with knowledge of the matter. The British brands, which already assemble two models in India using parts and engines shipped from factories in the UK, will also begin assembling its popular Range Rover Evoque in the country soon, the first source said without providing details. Building cars in India, which has developed into an emerging market export hub for many global carmakers, would allow JLR to skirt high import taxes on luxury cars, which the country’s finance minister proposed raising to 100 percent from 75 percent in his budget speech last week.

“Jaguar Land Rover has ambitious plans to expand its manufacturing footprint and increase production in markets outside Britain,” Del Sehmar, a Mumbai-based spokesman for the company, told Reuters. “We continue to examine options to expand our range of locally assembled products,” he said, referring to India. JLR will exhibit a new 9-speed automatic Evoque and an electric-powered version of its Land Rover Defender at the Geneva Motor Show next week.

Bought by Tata for $2.3 billion from Ford in 2008, JLR has defied those sceptical of its future under

Indian ownership to roar back into profit over the past three years as the main growth driver for its now-struggling parent.

Continued growth in emerging markets such as India and China, which accounted for 22.3 percent of its sales in the December quarter, is key for JLR as it embarks on an expensive overhaul of its production and product clout. The carmaker is investing $1.7 billion with local partner Chery Automobile Co in a factory in China.

JLR lags rivals BMW AG, Volkswagen AG’s Audi and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz in assembling cars in India, where the luxury market is expected to swell by around six times by 2020 to 300,000 cars a year, according to business consultancy Frost & Sullivan. JLR, with sleek saloons favoured

by British prime ministers and luxury SUVs born of desert and jungle combat, has factories working around the clock in England to meet demand, bucking the trend of sluggish demand for European automakers. The company has repeatedly stressed that its overseas ambitions will not lead to job losses in Britain. JLR employed close to 24,000 people at the end of March last year.Earlier this year JLR started the assembly of the 2.2-litre diesel version of the Jaguar XF saloon at a plant in Pune, west India, tucked away in a corner of a sprawling production site where Tata builds its heavy duty trucks and hatchbacks. Screwed together using engines and components shipped from JLR’s Castle Bromwich plant in Birmingham, central England, the company has also been assembling its Land Rover Freelander 2 in Pune since May 2011. The XF and the Freelander 2 are JLR’s best-selling models in India, where it sold 2,288 cars in the year to March 2012, up 157 percent from the previous year.—Reuters

A soap-maker cuts bars of Marseille Soap (Savon de Marseille) in Salon-de-Provence, southern France. The four remaining Marseille soap-makers, who estimate that their product is too often victim to unfair competition by inathentenic products, are cleaning up the market to defend their product, firstly with a collective brand, and soon, they hope, with a ‘geographic indication’. — AFP

DEFENSE One of the Navy’s premiere warships, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman, sits pier-side in Norfolk, Va., its deployment to the Persian Gulf delayed. The carrier and its 5,000-person crew were to leave Feb. 8, along with the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg.

The Navy also began plans to gradually shut down four of its air wings - which include 50 to 60 aircraft each and are assigned to the carriers - and delay and cancel the deployments of several other ships.

Furlough notices will begin going out later this month to about 800,000 defense department civilians, who will lose a day’s pay each week for more than five months. The Army will let go more than 3,000 temporary and contract employees and beginning in April, it will cancel maintenance at depots which will force 5,000 more layoffs. The Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy’s Blue Angels will cancel air show appearances.

Veterans’ funerals at Arlington National Cemetery could be cut to 24 a day from 31, meaning delays in burials for troops from past wars. Troops killed in action in Afghanistan will be the priority - they are usually laid to rest within two weeks, Army spokesman George Wright said. But overall funerals would be reduced by about 160 a month because of furloughs among civilian employees who work with families to schedule services as well as furloughs among crews that dig the graves and do other grounds work.

Pentagon investments in countering cyberthreats and nuclear proliferation will be at risk, says Michael Vickers, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence.

And the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, says the agency could be hit hard because it depends heavily on military and civilian personnel to accomplish its mission.

Coast Guard rescue aircraft will fly fewer hours and cutters will patrol the seas for fewer hours, says Commandant Adm. Robert J. Papp. Emergencies will be a priority and interdictions of illegal immigrants, drugs and illegal fishing could decline.

HOMELAND SECURITY Hundreds of illegal immigrants have been freed from jail across the country. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say they had reviewed several hundred cases of immigrants and decided to put them on an “appropriate, more cost-effective form of supervised release” in a moved started Tuesday.

FOOD SAFETY There could be an estimated 2,100 fewer food safety inspections and increased risks to consumers because of the cuts and the fact that lack of a new 2013 budget means the Food and Drug Administration is held at last year’s spending level.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg says most of the effects wouldn’t be felt for a while, and the agency won’t have to furlough workers.

HEALTH CARE Hospitals, doctors and other Medicare providers will see a 2 percent cut in government reimbursements because once the cutback takes effect, Medicare will reimburse them at 98 cents on the dollar. But they aren’t complaining because the pain could be a lot worse if President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans actually did reach a sweeping agreement to reduce federal deficits. Automatic cuts taking effect Friday would reduce Medicare spending by about $100 billion over a decade. But Obama had put on the table $400 billion in health care cuts, mainly from Medicare. And Republicans wanted more.

On the other hand, Obama’s health overhaul law is expected to roll out on time and largely unscathed by the cuts. Part of the reason is that the law’s major subsidies to help uninsured people buy private health

coverage are structured as tax credits. So is the Affordable Care Act’s assistance for small businesses.

Tax credits have traditionally been exempted from automatic cuts.

TRANSPORTATION The nation’s busiest airports could be forced to close some of their runways, causing widespread flight delays and cancellations. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood predicts flights to cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco could have delays of up to 90 minutes during peak hours because fewer controllers will be on duty.

Though the spending cuts are scheduled to go into effect on Friday, furloughs of controllers won’t kick in until April because the Federal Aviation Administration is required by law to give its employees advance notice. In addition to furloughs, the FAA is planning to eliminate midnight shifts for air traffic controllers at 60 airport towers, close over 100 control towers at smaller airports and reduce preventative maintenance of equipment.

NATIONAL PARKS Visiting hours at all 398 national parks are likely to be cut and sensitive areas would be blocked off to the public. Thousands of seasonal workers looking for jobs would not be hired, according to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. Salazar and National Park Service director Jon Jarvis said visitors would encounter locked restrooms, fewer rangers and trash cans emptied less frequently.

FEDERAL WORKERS More than half of the nation’s 2.1 million government workers may be required to take furloughs if agencies are forced to trim budgets. At the Pentagon alone that could mean 800,000 civilian workers would be off for 22 days each, spread across more than five months - and lose 20 percent of their pay over that period. Other federal agencies are likely to furlough several hundred thousand more workers.

EDUCATION Some 70,000 students enrolled in pre-kindergarten Head Start would be cut from the program and 14,000 teachers would lose their jobs. For students with special needs, the cuts would eliminate some 7,200 teachers and aides. The Education Department is also warning that the cuts will impact up to 29 mil-

lion student loan borrowers and that some lenders may have to lay off staff or even close. Some of the 15 million college students who receive grants or workstudy assignments at some 6,000 colleges would also see changes.

CONGRESS Congressional trips overseas likely will take a hit.

House Speaker John Boehner told Republican members in a closed-door meeting that he’s suspending the use of military aircraft for official trips by House members. Lawmakers typically travel on military planes for fact-finding trips to Afghanistan or Pakistan, or other congressional excursions to foreign locales.

NUCLEAR SECURITY Cleanup of radioactive waste at nuclear sites across the country would be delayed. The Energy Department says the cuts would postpone work at the department’s highest-risk sites, including the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Wash., where six tanks are leaking radioactive waste left over from decades of plutonium production for nuclear weapons. Other high-risk sites facing work delays are the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Idaho National Laboratory.

TAX COLLECTION Any furloughs at the Internal Revenue Service will be delayed until summer, after the tax filing season ends, so the agency says it shouldn’t delay tax refunds.

But other IRS services will be affected. Millions of taxpayers may not be able get responses from IRS call centers and taxpayer assistance centers. The cuts would delay IRS responses to taxpayer letters and force the agency to complete fewer tax return reviews, reducing its ability to detect and prevent fraud. The IRS says this could result in billions of dollars in lost revenue to the government, complicating deficit reduction efforts.

LABOR More than 3.8 million people jobless for six months or longer could see their unemployment benefits reduced by as much as 9.4 percent. Thousands of veterans would not receive job counseling.

Fewer Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors could mean 1,200 fewer inspections of dangerous work sites. — AP

US auto sales post modest gains in Feb CHICAGO: US auto sales grew four percent in February amid rising fuel prices, snowbound dealerships and uncertainty over the impact of looming government budget cuts on a fragile economy, data showed Friday. The modest gains were weaker than the double-digit growth reported in recent months as the auto industry recovers from the 2008 crash and credit crunch that triggered a deep and painful recession. But they were nonetheless a significant improvement.

The sales pace came in at an adjusted, annualized rate of 15.38 million vehicles, up from 15.29 million in January and 14.5 million in February 2012, according to Autodata. Carmakers said the results boded well for continued growth this year.

“Despite rising gas prices, severe winter storms and concerns about the federal budget, February was a good indication of the overall strength of the market,” said Toyota sales chief Bill Fay. Toyota sales increased four percent to 166,377 vehicles, but Fay said rising fuel prices should favor the Japanese automaker’s efficient vehicles in the coming months. “Clearly, 2013 is off to a very

good start for both General Motors and the industry as a whole,” GM sales chief Kurt McNeil said in a conference call.

While concerns over the budget impasse may be having “some degree” of impact on consumer confidence, McNeil said that “quite frankly, we think that most of America is getting a little tired of hearing about some of this dysfunction.” “We think that the fundamentals are strong, and that is what is important and that is what is driving the economy,” he added.

GM’s sales rose seven percent to 224,314 vehicles to its best February since 2008, but the automaker said demand was somewhat constrained by major new vehicle launches in the coming months. Ford led the pack with a nine percent gain to its best February performance since 2007 with 195,822 vehicles sold.

“As more new vehicle buyers continue returning to the marketplace, our fresh new product portfolio of fuel-efficient vehicles is winning over customers,” Ford sales chief Ken Czubay said in a statement.—AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

BUSINESS

KSE ends February trading on quiet note BAYAN WEKLY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended the month of February with variance on its indices. The price index ended the month with an increase amounted to 3.50%, the weighted index declined by 0.10%, and KSX-15 Index decreased by 0.85% compared to the closings of January.

Furthermore, last month’s average turnover increased by 5.46%, compared to the preceding month, reaching KD 34.89 million, whereas trading volume average was 507.33 million shares, recording increase of 56.89%.

The Price Index was able to close the month in the green zone supported by the activity that accompanied the performance of many listed small-cap stocks, which witnessed purchasing and quick speculative operations, and was positively reflected on the index performance during most of the trading sessions, causing the index to close at its highest since May 2012. On the other hand, both Weighted Index and KSX-15 Index recorded limited decline by the end of the month, due to the quick profit collection operations on large-cap and leading stocks, in addition to the slow performance of the other stocks.

Moreover, the average trading activity during the month of February was higher than the previous month, despite the fewer trading days in February compared to January, on both value and volume levels.

Furthermore, the market is currently witnessing a watch and cautious state, waiting for the remaining listed companies to announce its financial results, although two months have already passed of the legal

the green zone except for tow sector. Last week’s highest gainer was the Technology sector, achieving 17.93% growth rate as its index closed at 1,051.95 points. Whereas, in the second place, the Health Care sector’s index closed at 1,022.93 points recording 10.05% increase. The Oil & Gas companies sector came in third as its index achieved 9.45% growth, ending the week at 1,176.76 points. The Real Estate sector was the least growing as its index closed at 1,048.03 points with a 1.10% increase.

On the other hand, the Telecommunications sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 1.22% to end the week’s activity at 932.10 points. The Banks sector was second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 1.03%, closing at 1,021.29 points.

period, which will end by this March, and it is expected to crowd with announcements of financial results.

For the annual performance, the price index ended last week recording 8.92% annual gain compared to its closing in 2012,

while the weighted index increased by 3.38%, and the KSX-15 recorded 2.83% increase. By the end of the month, the price index closed at 6,463.47 points, up by 3.50% from the month before closing, whereas the weighted index registered a 0.10%, monthly

loss after closing at 431.75 points. Moreover, the KSX-15 index closed at 1,037.64 points, decreasing with 0.85%.

Sectors’ Indices All of KSE’s sectors ended last month in

Sectors’ Activity The Real Estate sector dominated total trade volume during last month with 3.53 billion shares changing hands, representing 40.95% of the total market trading volume.

The Financial Services sector was second in terms of trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 33.80% of last month’s total trading volume, with a total of 2.92 billion shares.

On the other hand, the Financial Services sector’s stocks where the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD 176.60 million or 29.78% of last month’s total market trading value. The Real Estate sector took the second place as the sectors last month Turnover of KD 147.88 million represented 24.94% of the total market trading value.

Accounting for better Government!

By Nadeem Shafi

I

n continuation of sharing our thought leadership material with you, this week I am sharing some comments from Ernst & Young Global Chairman and CEO James S Turley.

Incentives have consequences, good and bad.

The latter are often unintended. That, to me, is the key lesson of the economic episodes that have punctuated the bumpy path from dot com boom and bust to the banking crisis to the sovereign debt crisis we face today. In the US, at least three industry sectors have gone bankrupt during my lifetime: the steel industry in the 1970s, the airline industry in the 1980s and 1990s, and the car industry just a few years ago.

To these three sectors, I think we are perilously close to adding a fourth - not just in the US, but also in Europe, and that’s the public sector.

Many put the blame for these sector failures squarely on the labor unions, for demanding too much. But in my view, the unions were just doing their job. When they asked for better pay, the management chose to reward workers through pensions and welfare provisions, because these didn’t hit the current profit and loss. The accounting rules of the time incentivized management to essentially sweep these costs under the carpet. That bulge under the

carpet continued to grow, until eventually entire industries tripped over it. What this illustrates, in my view, is that rules create incentives that directly influence behavior. And that accounting rules and budgetary policies create definite incentives. So, how is this relevant to the sovereign debt crisis? Fast-forward and switch the scene to government, and I think we face a similar situation, whereby rules are incentivizing the wrong kind of behavior.

Today’s governments are incentivized to mortgage their long-term future for short-term benefit. Election and budgetary cycles encourage governments to concentrate on short-term reporting cycles. Consequently, many are still accounting for pensions, post-retirement health benefits and other entitlements on a cash basis.

They don’t have the processes or systems in place to take stock of the assets and liabilities they hold. And this is at a time when the need for governments to be accountable for their decisions around resource allocation is more important than ever before. The sovereign debt crisis exposed the seriousness of poor financial management and sub-standard reporting by the public sector. It exposed the problems of archaic accounting and the need for modernizing control systems and financial infrastructure.

Yet today, governments are still taking farreaching decisions, which will affect their countries for years to come, with limited discussion and almost no disclosure of the long-term consequences. Poor government accounting alone did not get us where we are today. But accounting can help lower the risk of decisions being made that burden future generations, and I think that this can be done in three ways.

Improve transparency in government accounting Over a generation or so, the private sector has had to incorporate measures that address the transparency and usability of financial statements. In my view, the public sector urgently needs to do the same. We have to go into this with our eyes open with improved transparency, the financial situation of many governments might well look worse before it looks better. But I firmly believe that better quality financial information is a must for governments to perform efficiently and effectively.

More widespread adoption of accrual accounting is an important step. Of course, there are hurdles to change. The link between financial accounting and budgetary accounting and appropriations is one. A lack of resources to fund these reforms and to develop internal expertise is another. But these are not insurmountable challenges. And organizations such as the World Bank and IMF are very active in funding capacity building, conversion and implementation. In addition, governments need to provide more comprehensive reporting. It’s no longer enough to judge governmental performance limited to the financial perspective, based on a single balance sheet date.

Governments across the Globe need to move beyond the typical four-year election window and take a longer-term view, say over 40, 50 or even 75 years, and consider general purpose financial reports such as “reporting on the longterm sustainability of public finances” or “service performance reporting Improve consistency and comparability My profession has long argued that today’s complex and interconnected world demands a single set of high-quality accounting standards to provide the comparability that cross-border companies, cross-border investors and global capital markets need. The same holds true for the public sector. Yet, unlike government financial statistics, governmental accounting and financial reporting standards are still largely inconsistent. As governments increasingly work together on coordinated rescue efforts and as such share a common liability it becomes more unacceptable for differences between accounting standards and levels of transparency to be continued. In fact, global financial regulatory convergence is something that the G20 and many other countries have called for to create stability for capital markets and investors. We think International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) are a large part of the answer, but few countries are applying them in their entirety.

There have been some encouraging signs, however. While the rejection of the European Parliament monetary and economic affairs committee’s proposal to mandate IPSAS for its Member States was disappointing, although not surprising, the proposal itself is positive. And

we’re pleased that a study is being conducted on the average gap between current governmental accounting and IPSAS. Based on these results, Eurostat will assess the feasibility of an EU-wide conversion before the end of the year.

Improving clarity of communications Our Toward transparency study found that few governments see essential stakeholders as key users of governmental financial statements.

When asked who their key users were, around two-thirds of governmental financial officials across 33 countries did not mention international financial institutions and ratings agencies.

And only half mentioned their own citizens, who presumably have a great, and growing, interest in how their taxes are being spent. As governments come under increasing scrutiny from stakeholders questioning their response to the current economic situation they will be forced to change their approach. Presenting information to a broader range of stakeholders, in a clear and digestible form, helps to improve stakeholder understanding. Just as importantly, it helps to foster a culture of accountability, which aids better decision-making. But in demanding clearer communications and accountability, there are fundamental cultural issues that need to be addressed. Politicians need a framework that incentivizes them to take decisions that better align to the long-term public interest not the electoral or annual budgeting cycle. As a profession, and indeed as Global citizens, we must call for institutional arrangements that change politicians’ incentives and effectively constrain their behavior.

From a more global perspective, some governments in the past adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the accounting of their Government Owned Entities or even for the governmental accounts itself. Having experienced burdensome conversion, these countries might have concerns about a potential conversion to IPSAS. Next week we will discuss in detail a GAAP comparison between IPSAS and IFRS; there are fewer differences between the two sets of standards than you might expect.

— Nadeem Shafi, Partner Assurance, MENA Leader, Ernst & Young.

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

BUSINESS

Nissan Sunny achieves record growth in Gulf Nissan Sunny voted ‘Best small sedan’ by ‘Wheels’ magazine DUBAI: Sales of the Nissan Sunny in the Gulf Region jumped a remarkable 50%for the first three quarters of the 2012 financial year compared with the same period in 2011. In total, an impressive 18,000 were sold. In arguably the most competitive of segments, in which there are 24 models from 15 manufacturers, Nissan Sunny now commands 22% market share.

To crown its 2012 achievements, Nissan’s compact sedan has also recently been voted ‘Best small sedan’ by Wheels magazine, one of the Middle East’s most respected automotive titles.

Commenting on the outstanding sales performance, Samir Cherfan, Director, Sales & Marketing Nissan Middle East, said: “Nissan has long been the market leader in the B/C segment, thanks in large part to the strong offering which Nissan Sunny represents. Its tremendous spaciousness, innovative features, and high value proposition have, for many years, found resonance with the people of the Middle East. Its selection as ‘Best small sedan’ by one of the region’s most respected automotive magazines is a valued accolade for this versatile and durable compact sedan.”

“Sunny has reached a momentous milestone,” he concluded. Small on the outside yet big on the inside Sunny breaks new ground for entry-level compact sedans with its blend of smart technology, next-generation efficiency and generous cabin space.

The all-new Sunny’s interior volume of 90.0 cubic feet and trunk volume of 14.8 cubic feet (104.8 cubic feet total) offers more rear

US airports misery to follow sequestration: Industry NEW YORK: Long lines, fewer X-ray machines, planes stuck on US runways and doubts about air traffic control: look forward to travel misery this summer if budget-slashing sequestration took effect Friday.

Industry experts say passengers won’t notice immediate change if President Barack Obama signs off on $85 billion of cuts to the federal budget, because labor laws mean furloughed airport workers have to be given 30 days notice. But don’t get too comfortable. By mid-April staffing gaps will appear, with employees laid off an estimated one day every other week through the end of the fiscal year in September, said Dan Stohr, spokesman for the Aerospace Industries Association, a trade group.

“By late May, early June, when the travel season really kicks off, that’s when you’re going to see the impacts,” Stohr told AFP. Cuts will eat into the ranks of all the people who make airports tick: TSA inspectors manning those X-ray machines, customs officers at passport desks, and FAA employees like those in the control towers. Control towers at about 100 smaller regional airports, ranging from Mobile, Alabama, to Niagara Falls, New York, are likely to be shut down altogether. Another 60 in mid-sized cities such as Jacksonville, Florida, and Sacramento, California, could have their overnight shifts eliminated.

Although the nation’s biggest hubs are likely to be protected as far as possible, an ongoing sequestration means they won’t be spared, with monster lines at customs and other grief for already hassled travelers.

“At our busiest airports..., peak wait times, which can reach over two hours, could easily grow to four hours or more,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.

Experts fear there could be wider implications. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association issued a stark warning, calling the budget cuts “detrimental to the

National Airspace System, as well as to the nation’s fragile economy.”

“All users and operators of the NAS (air travel system), including travelers, general aviation pilots, airlines, businesses and the military will feel the effects.” Stohr said that a shortage of inspectors means new planes can’t be certified and delivered, which “impacts our industry directly.” Even longer term, Stohr warned of putting the brakes on a huge, ongoing reform of the country’s air traffic control system from a ground based to satellite system. Lengthy sequestration conditions could “set it back by several years,” he said. Some argue that the dire predictions are more the result of politics than anything else. While Obama accuses Republicans of refusing to hash out a deal, they in turn claim the furloughs are being targeted at the wrong places.

Senator John Thune and Representatives Bill Schuster and Frank LoBiondo issued a joint statement accusing the administration of “creating alarm” and exaggerating the need for cutting air traffic controllers. Boyd Group International, an aviation consultancy, attacked the government for being ready to “torpedo the US economy if they don’t get their way.” They’ll “close control towers at dozens of other airports, too. And they will slash the air transportation infrastructure on which the nation’s economy depends.” Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst with the Hudson Crossing consultancy, said “a massive amount of uncertainty” is the rule for now. “The politicians have been very good about stirring up the drama, but less helpful about providing specifics about what will happen and what to expect,” he told AFP. “What’s really unfortunate about this is that in the next couple weeks you start to have schools and universities go into spring break and you have people starting to plan their summer vacation,” he said. — AFP

ATHENS: Greek teachers and students march behind a banner during a protest in central Athens yesterday against cutbacks in the public education system due to the government’s austerity measures. — AFP

legroom than some mid-size sedans, trumping even some luxury cars.

“Nissan Sunny attracts individuals who are looking to meet their families’ daily needs. It also satisfies the needs of corporate businessmen who are looking for a comfortable and practical drive. It is the perfect combination for fleet cars as it blends durability with elegance.” Joe Thomas, CFO Avis, explained. Sunny combines five-passenger practicality with a high degree of comfort and refinement, and the trunk design focuses on useable space, taking into consideration everything from the size of the hinges to the shape of the sidewalls. Combining the proven Nissan 1.5-liter HR15DE engine with dual injectors newly introduced in the Middle East, all-New Sunny delivers ease in handling for city driving where there’s frequent acceleration and deceleration, and superior environmental performance as a projected class leader in fuel economy. The car’s exterior shape has a strong sense of volume with wide ‘shoulders’, flowing curves and a smooth silhouette. The front end blends smoothly into the cabin, while design elements such as the shape of the trunk-lid help give the Sunny excellent aerodynamics, as seen by its low drag coefficient of just 0.31.

The interior is further enhanced with a range of advanced and innovative features including available: Bluetooth(r) hands-free phone capability with steering wheel control, rear comfort fan (first in class), integrated LED turn signals, in-door mirror and rear parking sensor.

Household help harder to find in booming Brazil SAO PAULO: Brazil’s rising economic prosperity is transforming the lives of millions of domestic workers, who are abandoning jobs cooking and cleaning in homes to find other employment. In this huge South American country, 6.1 million women are domestic helpers, representing about 15 percent of the country’s female labor force, according to a 2011 survey by the country’s National Statistics Bureau IBGE. Domestic work today is the third main occupation for women. But just two years ago, it was the number one job, employing 6.7 million women, or 18 percent of the total female labor force in Brazil.

Jacinta Gois’s story is fairly typical. Twenty years ago, she left the poverty of her native Salvador, capital of the northeastern state of Bahia, in search of work. She arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s economic capital and the country’s wealthiest city at the tender age of 17, with only a basic education. “First, I worked as a full-time maid. But I left my employers when they began to mistreat me,” the AfroBrazilian woman told AFP. “Now I work for five different households. It’s harder but I earn more.”

IBGE’s Cimar Azevedo told the O Globo newspaper last week that domestic work was practically a default occupation for many poor women.

“These women are not born with the dream of becoming maids, but they have no training, no options on the labor market,” Azevedo told the dai-

ly. Working eight hours a day, five days a week in five different households, Gois earns $700, in a country where the minimum monthly wage is just $315. But she has no work contract, medical coverage or retirement benefits. “Domestic work is generally very precarious,” said Natalia Fontoura, a labor expert at the Applied Research Institute, or IPEA. “It is done mostly by black women and is undeclared in 70 percent of cases, which means no maternity leave, no job security, no retirement benefits.”

Demand for maids outstrips supply The harsh work conditions associated with domestic labor, combined with brighter prospects in other areas of employment, have led to an exodus from the field. Over the past decade, more than 50 million Brazilians have moved out of poverty thanks to government social programs, and have joined a middle class that today represents 55 percent of the total population of 194 million. “I was a maid, but I wanted to do something else,” said 47-year-old Maria Rodrigues. “Now I am an assistant cook in a hospital. I don’t earn a lot more, but I am taking classes to become a nurse’s aide.” Even those who stay in domestic work can expect better pay, as demand for home cooks and house cleaners is gradually outstripping supply.

“There is increasing demand for domestic help.

Salaries are rising and the profession is slowly but

increasingly being regulated,” said Jose Pastore, a labor expert at the University of Sao Paulo.

Luciana Regan, who runs a training course for domestic workers noted that the maturing Brazilian economy is seeing changes to the structure of domestic help. “It will become harder to find and more expensive,” she added.

Legacy of Slavery Brazil, a nation where about half the population is of African descent, was the last country in the world to abolish slavery in 1888. Some say the reliance on domestic help stems directly from Brazil’s slave history. “The Brazilian elite is used to being served, and this is a legacy of slavery.

These are things that cannot be dissociated,” said Fontoura. “Former slaves turned to domestic work, because as poor women this was a form of integration.” Fernando Barbosa Filho, of the private Getulio Vargas Foundation, said Brazil’s booming labor market and a burgeoning service and unskilled trade sector, provides new opportunities for those disinclined to work as domestic workers. “The stronger the labor market, the less interest workers there have in domestic work, and the more people will have to pay to keep their maids,” he told O Globo. Other workers are moving into better paid segments of the household help market. — AFP

Bernanke defends Fed’s low-interest-rate policies WASHINGTON: Chairman Ben Bernanke is defending the Federal Reserve’s low-interest rate policies and seeking to calm fears that superlow rates risk igniting inflation or rattling investors.

Bernanke said Friday that any Fed move to raise rates prematurely could derail what is still a modest US economic recovery. The central bank’s low-rate policies are intended to encourage borrowing and spending to boost the economy. Higher rates would make borrowing more expensive. Bernanke said the Fed’s policies mirror what other central banks around the world are doing.

“Long-term interest rates in the major industrial countries are low for a good reason: Inflation is low and stable and, given expectations of weak growth, expected real short rates are low,” he said.

“Premature rate increases would carry a high risk of short-circuiting the recovery, possibly leading - ironically enough - to an even longer period of low long-term rates,” he

said. His comments, which amplified testimony he gave to Congress this week, were delivered in San Francisco to an economic conference sponsored by the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank.

Critics, including some Fed regional bank presidents, have expressed concerns that the Fed may be raising the risk of financial instability by pursuing its current program of purchasing $85 billion per month in Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities to drive long-term interest rates down farther. These bond purchases represent the third round of a program known as quantitative easing. They have driven the size of the Fed’s asset holdings above $3 trillion and raised fears that by inflating the money supply, the Fed is raising the risk of future runaway inflation.

There are also worries that by keeping interest rates at ultra-low levels the Fed could create bubbles in assets such as stocks. As he did in his appearance before House and

Senate committees this week, Bernanke sought to provide reassurance that the central bank is closely monitoring developments in financial markets to guard against such risks. He said the Dodd-Frank Act that was passed in 2010 in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis has boosted the required capital that banks must have on hand to cushion them against losses.

He said the Fed also conducts annual stress tests to make sure that the nation’s largest financial institutions have sufficient resources to survive in seriously adverse economic conditions. “We pay special attention to developments at the largest, most complex financial firms, making use of information gathered in our supervision of the institutions,” Bernanke said.

Bernanke, who specialized as a college professor in researching mistakes made by the Federal Reserve during the Great Depression, was asked during a question period what he believed scholars would determine

WASHINGTON: Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. — AP were the most significant lessons learned from the financial crisis of 2008. Bernanke said among the key lessons were the need for much better oversight of the financial system and the quickness with which assets such as housing can become significantly overpriced. But he said in many ways, the 2008 crisis had all the elements of a typical bank run. “It was analogous to things that happened in the 19th century” Bernanke said.

“It is just that it is a much more complex framework” today. — AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

BUSINESS

KAICO (Al Shaya & Al Sagar) hosts MOBIL dealers meeting KUWAIT: Kuwait Automotive Imports Co WLL (Al Shaya & Al Sagar) KAICO, the exclusive M obil distributor in Kuwait for over 62 years, recently hosted Mobil dealers meeting in Mobil office in Ardiya industrial area. Major Mobil dealers/ business partners of KAICO graced the occasion.

Sadiq Ali, Divisional M anager Lubricants welcomed the guests and introduced the new members of Mobil team. Further, he announced new and attractive schemes for the dealers with the slogan “Sell More, Earn More”. A special scheme for Mobil 1, KAICO’s flagship product was also announced.

Sadiq Ali highlighted Mobil’s recent expansion - two new Mobil1 centers for oil change and car wash, and Mobil’s collaboration with KidZania at the Avenues mall which will bring awareness among the future generation in Kuwait. In line with Mobil’s innovation strategy, the dealers were briefed on the benefits of using Mobil Delvac MX 15W-40 which is high quality multi-grade diesel engine oil. The opening of Mobil Delvac Express for commercial vehicles oil change in Ardiya and the recent successful oil & gas seminar conducted by Mobil team

with 150 guests from oil and gas sector were also mentioned in the presentation.

KAICO’s General Manager Ashish Tandon thanked the business partners for their support in the challenging

2012. He emphasized the win-win scenario in which KAICO and its business partners work hand in hand as one

In this picture Ashish Tandon (GM), Sadiq Ali (DM), KAICO Sales Team and Business partners are seen.

Wataniya Telecom announces major network modernization Partners with Huawei for cooperation in Barcelona WMC 2013 BARCELONA: Wataniya Telecom, a leading mobile telecom operator in Kuwait, and Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, announced the successful contractual signature for a portion of Wataniya’s nationwide 2G/3G network upgrade as well as the deployment of its advanced 4Gnetwork. The

partnership is the largest of its kind in the history of Wataniya Telecom and marks a major step for the development of the company’s broadband network. The partnership includes agreements on a series of products as well as Managed Services. With both 2G and 3G and the new 4G networks, Wataniya’s customers will experience a superior cutting-edge mobile

2012 successful year for MENA hotel industry Ernst & Young Survey Commenting on the survey, Yousef Wahbeh, MENA Head of Transaction Real Estate at Ernst & Young said: “2012 has been a successful year for hotels in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and occupancy rates have shown a marked improvement. Dubai hotels, in particular, have made remarkable progress over the past year, with their occupancy rates notably higher than those in 2011. In addition, room yield (RevPAR) and average room rates in Dubai have increased - a significant achievement considering the substantial additions to the total available rooms in the past year. Despite the typical slow season during the summer months and a slight decline in numbers during the Ramadan season, Dubai hotels have increased their efficiency, profitability, and occupancy levels and we have seen some of these same positive progressions across the region.

In December 2012, the overall occupancy rate in Dubai was at 81.0% year-todate, rising by 3.0% from the same period of last year. In terms of monthly performance, Dubai’s overall occupancy rate was at 83.6%. In addition, RevPAR increased by 10.4% year-to-date and 6.8% in terms of monthly performance, as average room rate also increased by 7.3% year-todate and 6.4% in terms of monthly performance.

December has also been a successful month for hotel occupancy in other parts of the UAE. Abu Dhabi saw overall occupancy rise to 76.0% year-to-date, while Al Ain saw a 3.0% increase in its overall occupancy rate year-to-date. In terms of monthly performance, Abu Dubai had an overall occupancy rate of 80.0%, a 2.0% rise year-to-date and Al Ain’s overall occupancy rose by a notable 8.0% yearto-date. Egypt witnessed very positive changes in December, with overall yearto-date occupancy rates increasing in Cairo, by 8.0%, Hurghada, by 8.0%, and most notably in Sharm El Shaikh, by

12.0%, bringing its overall occupancy to 70.0%. In terms of monthly performance, these three cities also increased in overall occupancy, Cairo by 8.7%, Hurghada by 8.0%, and Sharm El Shaikh by 5.0%.

Additionally, Cairo had a RevPAR increase of 5.7%, Hurghada increased by 4.0%, and Sharm El Shaikh had a notable increase of 15.5% year-to-date. The prominent increases for Sharm El Shaikh may be due to a typical increase in tourists during the holiday period, as well as the welcoming climate in the area in December. In addition, the recent developments in Egypt may also be a factor in these increases.

Saudi Arabia did not see significant changes in terms of occupancy rates, however the cities of Jeddah, Madina, Makkah and Riyadh all remained at a stable incline across the board. Most notably, Jeddah, with an overall occupancy rate of 80.0% year-to-date, rose by 7.0% compared to this time last year.

Additionally, overall occupancy in Madina increased by 3.0%, with Makkah and Riyadh both increasing by 2.0% year-todate. In terms of monthly performance, Makkah stood out, increasing by 13.0% to an overall occupancy rate of 70.0%.

The improving economic climate in the UAE has spurned new tourist attractions and has further enhanced the country’s reputation as a key holiday destination. The increasing influx of tourists has boosted hotel performance in Dubai in particular, due to the steady stream of events, festivals and conferences across the year. The MENA region is setting up for a successful 2013 in terms of hotel occupancy due to increased political and economic stability. 2012 ended with a strong performance and we anticipate this to continue into 2013 where the upcoming months will play host to several high-level conferences, exhibitions, events and expos throughout the MENA region, especially in the first few months of the year.”

broadband experience. In December 2012, WataniyaTelecom invited all of its customers to experience its new 4G network and to share their usage experience. The experience feedback received was incorporated in the modernization plan to ensure that the evolved 4G technology conforms to the highest international standards.

At the eventful signing ceremony in Barcelona during the World Mobile Congress 2013, Dr. Bassam Hannoun, WataniyaTelecom CEO, said: “We are going through a full transformation of our mobile (2G/3G)networks, and the deployment of4G networks to offer our customers substantially enhanced network coverage and data speed.”“We have selected Huawei as our long-term strategic partner and we believe that their innovative solutions and extensive experience will enable our customers to enjoy a unique mobile experience.”Hannoun added.

Huawei will provide WataniyaTelecom with its latest cutting-edge Single RAN solution, capable of providingmultiple network standards including GSM, HSPA+, and 4G into a single network. The innovative CME (Civil Mechanical Electric) solution and state-of-art RRU (Remote Radio Unit) technology will be adopted in this project. This will enhance the quality of its mobile service offerings to assure the best usage experience as well as lowering its TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) as well.

“We are committed to being the best business partner for our customers worldwide, and will remain focused on customer-centric innovation moving forward with Wataniya Kuwait in this latest agreement” noted Dr Liang, SeniorVice President of Huawei. The ceremony was attended by representatives from both Wataniya Telecom and Huawei including DCEO of Wataniya Eng AbdulazizFakhroo and CTO HishamSiblini, and Huawei’s MENA VP Mr.Xiachaojie, GM Pan En and DGM Xu Hu.

team to enhance the brand and sales.

Appreciation certificates were distributed to the guests by KAICO management. The event concluded with an open discussion, group photo and lunch. Mobil lubricants sales grow year on year due to the excellent performance and quality backed by superior technical support. The principal’s suppor t and constant involvement in Kuwait market has helped the brand grow further. Mobil lubricants have a huge product line that caters to all sectors - passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, industrial, marine and aviation products.

KAICO was established in 1936 and is jointly owned by Al-Shaya and AlSagar families with over 75 years of collective automotive experience in marketing, sales, parts and service and has integrated all its operations to maximize market penetration. KAICO is also the exclusive distributor in Kuwait for numerous other automotive brands including Mazda, Peugeot, Geely, Michelin, BF Goodrich & Apollo Tyres, Sherwin Williams Automotive Paints & VR-12 the Vitamin for Radiator. KAICO’s business activities also cover a leasing and tender division and used cars.

Gulf Bank announces winners of Al Danah daily draws KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al Danah daily draws on February 27th, 2013, announcing the names of its winners for the week of February 17th to 21st. The Al Danah daily draws include draws each working day for two prizes of KD1000 per winner.

The Al Danah daily winners are: (Sunday 17/2): Hassan Hamed Mahmoud Taqi, Yousef Salem Farhan Al-Salem (Monday 18/2): Mahmoud Mustafa Bzah, Samer Mesbah Mahmoud Nabtiti (Tuesday 19/2): Abdullah Al-Qattan, Mohammed Fadhil Abbas (Wednesday 20/2) Makiyah Abdulredha Hussain AlMeel, Eman Noury Sulaiman Al-Qenae (Thursday 21/2) Nadiyah Abdulsalam Mohammed, Ali Mohammed Ibrahim 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 Al Danah calculator to help customers calculate their chances of becoming an Al Danah winner.

To be part of the Al Danah draws, customers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches, transfer on line, or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and guidance.

New HTC One scoops global mobile award Best new mobile handset device or tablet at MWC 2013 BARCELONA: HTC’s newly launched HTC One was yesterday presented with the GSMA award for the best new mobile handset, device or tablet.

Voted for by a panel of industry experts from the media and analyst communities, the award recognizes the mobile device that the judges believe holds the most promise for success in the market this year, providing gamechanging features, design or functionality. With its sleek design, revolutionary home screen experience, superior audio and breakthrough camera technology, the HTC One has made a significant impact at this year’s Mobile World Congress, impressing judges and delegates alike.

Benjamin Ho, Chief Marketing Officer for HTC accepted the award commenting, “We are delighted by the reactions from both consumers and the industry to the new HTC One. It is a device that has been years in the making

and is one of which we are incredibly proud. With exciting features like BlinkFeed, BoomSound, UltraPixel camera combined with the zero gap aluminium body design, we believe that the HTC One will really change the way that people use their phones, revolutionising the overall mobile experience.”

The GSMA accolade concludes an award-winning event for HTC, with the HTC One also receiving recognition from both Tech Radar (“Best Phone” and “Best in Show”) and Mobile Geeks (“Best Smartphone”).

Founded in 1997, HTC Corp.

(HTC) is the creator of many awardwinning mobile devices and industry firsts. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC pushes the boundaries of design and technology to create innovative and personal experiences for consumers around the globe. HTC’s portfolio includes smartphones and tablets powered by the HTC Sense(r) user experience.

Ben Ho and Graham Wheeler accepts award.

HTC One Global Mobile Award 2013

Russian ex-banker granted asylum in Britain LONDON: A Russian former bank chief who fled to London in 2011, after being accused of an alleged multi-million pound fraud, said he has been granted political asylum in Britain. Andrei Borodin, the former president of the Bank of Moscow, welcomed the decision in a statement seen in London, saying the charges brought against him were “politically motivated”.

Borodin, 45, is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice international arrest warrant which states that he is wanted by the Russian authorities over

an alleged fraudulent loan. The charges followed the $14 billion (9 billion pounds, 10.8 billion euros) bailout of the Bank of Moscow in 2011, the biggest in Russian history. State-owned bank VTB, which mounted a hostile takeover bid for the Bank of Moscow, said it uncovered bad loans totalling $9 billion (6 million pounds, 6.9 billion euros) — a third of the bank’s assets. No one could be reached for comment immediately at Britain’s Home Office.

In his statement, which he sent the Russian

business newspaper Vedomosti and also posted on his official website, Borodin said he believed the decision to grant him asylum reflected the British authorities’ belief that the charges against him were groundless. “I welcome the British government’s decision to grant me political asylum,” he said in Friday’s statement. “I have always maintained that the allegation made against me and the charges brought by the Russian Federation are without foundation and are politically motivated. —AFP

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

technology

SpaceX recovers cargo capsule control after glitch CAPE CANAVERAL: A rocket built by Space Exploration Technologies has blasted off on a supply run to the International Space Station, but a thruster problem with the cargo ship will cause it to miss its scheduled docking, officials said. The 157-foot tall Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo ship lifted off at 10:10 am from the company’s leased launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, just south of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket delivered the Dragon capsule into its intended orbit, but within minutes engineers discovered three of the spacecraft’s four rocket thruster pods were not working.

Engineers believe the problem most likely stemmed from a blockage in a pressurization system or a stuck valve, according to Elon Musk, chief executive and chief technical officer of privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX as the company is known.

Engineers were later able to get all four of the rocket thruster pods working. The first order of business then was to raise the capsule’s obit to a higher altitude so it would not re-enter Earth’s atmosphere within a day or two.

“Orbit raising burn successful. Dragon back on track,” Musk posted on Twitter.

NASA requires at least three thruster

pods to be working before it will clear Dragon to approach the station.

The Dragon capsule, which carries more than 2,300 pounds (1,043 kg) of science equipment, spare parts, food and supplies, had been scheduled to reach the station on Saturday morning.

NASA had not yet cleared SpaceX for a docking attempt. The next opportunity is today.

“We have quite a bit of flexibility,” NASA space station program manager Mike Suffredini said. The cargo run is the second of 12 missions for SpaceX under a $1.6 billion NASA contract. Following a successful test flight to the space station in May 2012, SpaceX conducted its first supply run to the orbital outpost in October.

‘TWO OPTIONS’ During launch of that mission, one of the Falcon’s nine engines shut down early, but the other motors compensated for the power shortfall. The problem was traced to an engine material flaw, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said on Thursday. NASA’s Suffredini said of that finding: “The conclusions they came to, we agree with.” “Our role as NASA is to sit next to them and work with them and understand the anomaly so that we’re

comfortable. We have two options as the customer: We can either put our hardware on that vehicle or not,” he said. A second space freighter, built by Orbital Sciences Corp , is expected to debut this year. NASA turned to private companies to ferry supplies to the Space Station, a $100 billion project of 15 nations, following the retirement of the US space agency’s shuttle fleet in 2011. Staffed by rotating crews of six, the orbiting laborator y flies about 250 miles (400 km) above the Earth.

With the shuttles grounded, NASA plans to hire private firms to fly astronauts as well as cargo, breaking Russia’s monopoly on crew transportation that costs more than $60 million per trip.

Across-the-board automatic US government spending cuts going into effect late on Friday do not impact space station operations or supply runs, Suffredini said. But the cuts will slow development of privately owned space taxis, NASA said. NASA has partnership agreements worth more than $1.1 billion through May 2014 with SpaceX, Boeing Co and privately owned Sierra Nevada Corp to develop passenger spacecraft.

Due to the cuts, NASA would effectively halt space taxi development work this summer, agency planning docu-

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA: This NASA photo shows the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with its Dragon spacecraft onboard, seen shortly after it was erected at Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. — AFP ments show. Under the spending cuts, the agency expects its $17.8 billion spending plan for the current fiscal year to drop to $16.9 billion, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden wrote in a letter last month to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman

Barbara Mikulski. “Overall availability of commercial crew transportation services would be significantly delayed, thereby extending our reliance on foreign providers for crew transportation to the International Space Station,” Bolden wrote. — Reuters

Bling comes to smartphones as makers target China’s wealthy ‘It’s not selling a phone, it’s selling a lifestyle’

NORTH CHARLESTON: A new Boeing 787 Dreamliner being built for Air India is seen on the production line at Boeing’s new production facilities in North Charleston, South Carolina. US air-safety regulators said they were reviewing a Boeing proposal to fix battery problems on the 787 Dreamliner that have kept the aircraft grounded worldwide since mid-January. — AFP

Will Dreamliner drama affect self-inspection?

SAN FRANCISCO: Eight years ago, US regulators substantially increased their dependence on the aircraft industry to help keep flying safe. The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said it would no longer directly manage routine inspection of design and manufacturing. Instead, it would focus on overseeing a self-policing program executed by the manufacturers themselves through more than 3,000 of their employees assigned to review safety on behalf of the FAA. These so-called designees had existed for decades, but the FAA had vetted and controlled them. Under the new system, companies chose and managed them, to the point where the FAA even had trouble rejecting those they felt were unsuitable for the job, according to one government watchdog. As the drama of the overheating lithium-ion batteries on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner unfolds, that relationship is coming under intense scrutiny.

No evidence has surfaced that the designee system is responsible for the battery problem that has prompted regulators to temporarily ban the plane from the skies.

The story has raised the question, however, whether the regulator hands over too much power to the industry. “This is an occupation with a built-in conflict of interest,” said Gordon Mandell, a retired FAA certification engineer. With Boeing doing about 95 percent of its own inspections, adds Mary Schiavo, former Department of Transportation inspector general, “it’s kind of do-it-yourself.” The situation was not unique to Boeing, she said. “There are places around the world that saw an FAA inspector once, maybe five years ago, and that’s it.”

HOW WERE TESTS VERIFIED? Boeing’s new ultra-modern carbon-composite jet has been grounded around the world for six weeks as the National Transportation Safety Board leads an investigation into two battery incidents, joined by the FAA. Both agencies are also looking into the 787 certification process. “We need to understand what tests were done and who was certifying those tests, and again how they were verified - not just by Boeing, but by the regulator as well,” NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said on Feb 8, referring to the battery and other key parts made in a long, global supply chain.

At the broadest level, even some supporters of the designee process are asking whether the FAA is up to the task of effectively overseeing the system. Among them is Ken Mead, another former DOT inspector general and a veteran of investigating the FAA. “The questions I’d want answers to are: Does the FAA have the right people with the right expertise to make sure the FAA is in a position to critically second-guess? And have they critically reviewed the approval process so this does not happen again?” he said.

The FAA’s defense of its abilities and approach is unwavering. “Some have asked the question whether the FAA has the expertise needed to oversee the Dreamliner’s cutting edge technology. The answer is yes, we have the ability to establish rigorous safety standards and to make sure that aircraft meet them,” FAA

Administrator Michael Huerta said in an industry speech on Jan 23. “The way to enhance safety is to keep the lines of communication open between business and government.”

The FAA and Boeing both say the FAA is better off managing the system and picking out high-risk areas on which to concentrate.

It lacks the resources to manage every individual and inspect every part, they say, and industry has a strong incentive to cooperate - unsafe products jeopardize business. They point out that FAA staff invested more than 200,000 hours over eight years certifying the 787 on top of work done by designees.

Perhaps their biggest defense is that there have been no fatal crashes of scheduled commercial flights in the United States for four years.

BIG JOB, NOT-SO-BIG BUDGET The FAA’s inability to expand its budget in line with an increasingly large, complex and global aviation industry played a major role in the 2005 decision to expand the delegation system. Certification work increased fivefold between the 1940s and 1990s and has only become more complex since. “By shifting our inspection focus from reviewing test results to overseeing the designation program, we will be able to more efficiently use our resources while extending our oversight coverage, thereby increasing safety,” the FAA said in the official announcement of the program, printed in the Federal Register on Oct 13, 2005.

It added, however, that “More than one commenter states that the FAA should be hiring more inspectors, not spending its limited resources creating an organizational designee system.” Public comments from opponents of the new system outnumbered supporters 14 to 11, it noted. While the agency still signs off on a new plane and key steps along the way, the bulk of the interim work - often 90 percent or more - is done by the designees at the manufacturers. As of 2010 there were about 1,000 FAA engineers and inspectors devoted to design review and inspection, compared with 3,655 designees working for companies on the FAA’s behalf, according to government data.

Boeing has set up a separate group within the company to do the FAA work. Those employees approve the design of the planes except for the key steps and the final “type certificate” for new aircraft, which needs a stamp from FAA officials. The jobs command respect and draw veterans who are more likely to stand up to pressure from their employers and won’t risk losing their “ticket” - the FAA designee status - by cutting corners, people in the industry say.

Candidates choose specializations and typically must pass written and oral exams meant to check their understanding of what a designee, also known as a “designated engineering representative” (DER), does and the limits of their powers. “I’ve never seen it where a company’s pressure on the DER was strong enough for them to bend from their loyalty to the FAA,” said Richard Lukso, the former president of Securaplane, the company that made the chargers for the 787 batteries. They have unique insight into how companies work, he added, since they come from the inside. — Reuters

HONG KONG: Fancy a smartphone with a sapphire crystal screen, or one encrusted with precious stones? Taking aim at consumers with deep pockets, Vertu - a former unit of Finland’s Nokia Oyj - is among just a few of the companies that have come up with niche handsets with swanky features to help customers stand out from crowds of more plebeian phones.

Vertu, whose phones are said by the media to be popular with celebrities like Madonna and David Beckham, rolled out the leather-clad TI in Hong Kong on Friday. Costing as much as HK$167,000 ($21,410), the TI - which is cased in titanium - runs Google’s Android operating system and has a ruby key for access to concierge services. “It’s not selling a phone. It’s selling a lifestyle for Vertu, so there will be people who get hooked to it, especially for people who want to feel privileged,” said Teck Zhung Wong, an IDC analyst in Singapore.

With the demand for smartphones rising

sharply globally, traditional makers of networking and connectivity equipment have been hoping to bank on the booming market.

Major markets for luxury phones include China, Japan, Russia and the United States, Euromonitor said. In China, the world’s largest mobile phone market, the market size for luxury phones alone is expected to grow to 1.64 billion yuan ($260 million) in 2017, up nearly 60 percent from 1.05 billion yuan in 2012. The TI joins earlier Vertu offerings, such as a handset created with French jeweler Boucheron that is made from gold and encrusted with precious stones.

While not as heavy on the bling, Russia’s Yota Devices will also plunge into the Asian smartphone fray with the YotaPhone, which has an LCD screen on one side and an e-reader display on the other, in the hopes of appealing to readers on the road. “If you look at the big brands, in the last six years, there was not much innovation in the user experience space,” Vlad Martynov,

CEO of Yota Devices, told Reuters in Hong Kong.

Yota plans to launch the phone in the third quarter in Russia initially and to global markets after that, with pricing not yet set but likely to run to several hundred US dollars. The target is to sell about one million units in the first 10 months after its global launch.

Vertu and Yota Devices join more established vendors such as the France-based Atelier Haute Communications, which works with TAG Heuer and other luxury firms to create bespoke handsets. Yet how well the new phones will sell in their target Asian market remains to be seen.

The YotaPhone, for example, may sell well in certain nations, but for China, it could be tough, analysts said.

“I think it might prove a bit more difficult to sell because there are a lot of cheap e-readers around,” Wong said. “So I’m not sure whether people want a phone that mimics an e-reader functionality.” — Reuters

1st Polaroid-branded photo store unveiled DELRAY BEACH: The first in a chain of Polaroidbranded photo shops opened here Friday, with its backers hoping to reinvigorate the digital world’s interest in printed images by capitalizing on an iconic name. Polaroid Fotobar aims to tap into unprecedented interest in photography with its inaugural 2,000-square-foot store. The trick will be to coax consumers who snap pictures on cellphones and other devices to give their memories new life on paper.

“Maybe it’s on a smartphone, maybe it’s on Instagram, maybe it’s on Facebook,” said Warren Struhl, the founder and CEO of Fotobar. “But digital is not permanent. Physical is permanent.” In the glistening new store, customers can pay a visit to the bar where “fototenders” will assist in wireless uploads of photos. From there, a visitor can purchase prints made on-site, or order products sporting their images on canvas, metal,

bamboo and other materials. The cheapest item is a $1 print replicating a traditional Polaroid, though the purchase requires a minimum of six.

The priciest product is a 7-foot-by-4-foot, 150-pound slab of acrylic with a customer’s image on it, running $2,500. All of the prints made on-site take the form of the original Polaroid, in varying sizes, with its familiar white border. It is thicker, at 1.2 millimeters, and sturdier, but is instantly recognizable. Struhl says he has heard time and again that photography’s transition to digital has brought “a pain point” for people, who feel a sense of guilt that their images may reside on a hard drive but not in a frame. “It makes them sad,” he contends. “Most people are afraid they’re going to lose that favorite picture on top of the fact that they wish it was up on a shelf.” Whether that is true, and whether it drives people into Struhl’s stores will

FLORIDA: Photo shows the Polaroid Foto Bar store in Delray Beach, Fla. — AP

determine the fate of the Fotobar. But even some with deep nostalgia for the Polaroid brand wonder how the business will fare in a digital world. Phillip Block of the International Center of Photography said he grew up with Polaroids and is “thrilled that anyone is interested in picturemaking and the physical print.” But he said digital cameras have replicated the immediate gratification and emotional impact people experienced when their Polaroid camera spit out a floppy print. Polaroid cameras were the ultimate in convenience, he said, and “anything other than that is a step backwards.” But as customers began to file in, there was no sign of discontent.

Among the first to take a seat at the Fotobar was Jami Bloch, 12, who was uploading photos from her Facebook and Instagram accounts. She frequently takes photos on her iPhone but never has them printed.

“You can actually like see them,” she said of the prints, “it’s actually like real.” Besides offering a sleek, sparkling white atmosphere, the store also has a studio that will offer free classes, host parties and allow customers to come in for portraits with local photographers. Struhl says he’s negotiating at least 10 leases for other Fotobar sites and expects new locations may open elsewhere in Florida, in New York, Boston and Las Vegas, in the next year. Customers can also find refurbished Polaroid cameras selling for $159.95 and eight-packs of film for $29.95.

Polaroid itself, which pioneered instant photography, ultimately went bankrupt and doesn’t produce its iconic cameras or film anymore. Film compatible with old Polaroid cameras is now manufactured by The Impossible Project.

Polaroid is paid for the use of its name on the stores through a licensing agreement. Fotobar is owned by Struhl and other investors. Fotobar faces competition from chain drugstores and other retail sites that allow customers to print their digital pictures, not to mention an array of websites that will deliver prints without someone ever having to leave their computer. Struhl insists Fotobar is different, though. “Four-by-six prints are available lots of places,” he said. “We’re the only place that makes Polaroids.” — AP

Tablet advertising leaves smartphones in the dust BARCELONA: Mobile advertising is soaring and growing in sophistication, industry analysts say, but the money is pouring into tablets at a much faster rate than their smaller smartphone rivals. The days when mobile advertising was restricted to SMS text messages are long past, and an array of advanced solutions was on offer at the world’s biggest mobile fair, the Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona this week.

Now, mobile owners are being targeted by interactive videos and offers that are tailored to users depending on their tastes and whereabouts as revealed by their online activity.

Tablets, which offer greater screen space, are racing ahead of smartphones in the battle for adver-

tising money, observers say.

According to a forecast by international consultants Deloitte, in 2013 tablets will generate $4.9 billion (3.7 billion euros) in advertising revenue compared to nearly $3.4 billion for smartphones-and the gap is only expected to widen. Advertising on tablets is set to grow 50-55 percent in 2014, compared to 30-35 percent for smartphones, Deloitte said.

The big change is that the devices can now identify and locate the customer, allowing advertisers to make personalized offers using existing data and information flowing in from the smartphone or tablet. “If you tap ‘beauty products’ on a smartphone in the afternoon while you are in the street it is not the same query as tapping it on a tablet while

sitting on the sofa in the evening,” said Philippe Leclerc, one of the founders of Ad4screen, which operates in about 50 countries. “In one case you will be sent to the nearest beauty shop, in the other to an online store,” he said.

But tablets and smartphones are much more than just a new advertising platform, said Forrester Research analyst Thomas Husson. “We are seeing a change in consumer behaviour with the mobile which is moving into shopping, banking and travel,” Husson said.Brands have to adapt to the new environment, he said, optimizing websites for portable devices and learning to interact with consumers in real time. “All advertisers are putting money into their websites but they don’t decide what

device people will use to connect to it,” said Leclerc. Tablets and smartphones are increasingly able to detect the user’s position, the speed at which he or she is moving and even the height, paving the way to new services. “If you arrive in a shopping centre car park we can offer you information about available parking spaces. When you are on another floor we won’t offer the same type of service,” Husson said. The new, interactive possibilities opening up to advertisers require a change in culture and specific skills, which mean substantial investments, Husson said. Importantly, customers must perceive the service as a beneficial, and not as an invasion of privacy, if they are to willingly share their data, he stressed. — AP

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Teen decides on amputation ‘I can do whatever I want with this leg. It’s getting cut off’

NORTH CAROLINA: Sarah Baumeister, left, general manager at Jill’s Beach Luxury Tanningm shows Lindsy Weeks, 16, how to use a tanning bed. —MCT

Skeptics shine sunlight on tanning industry’s safety claims WASHINGTON: A new association of tanning salon owners is trying to salvage the reputation of sun beds despite a broad consensus among doctors and researchers that the devices can cause cancer. The American Suntanning Association, which represents about 14,000 salon owners nationwide, formed in December to correct “misinformation about sunlight and sun beds” and “to promote the many benefits of moderate indoor tanning,” according to the group’s website. The association joined other industry groups to lobby against legislation introduced this year in 17 states-including Illinois, Washington, North Carolina and Texas-that would ban children under 18 from tanning salons. So far, only California and Vermont have passed such bans. As the fledgling association gears up to defend the $5 billion indoor tanning industry, however, a state senator from California, Democrat Ted Lieu, has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the group for allegedly deceiving consumers about the skin cancer risks of sun beds. “They are in complete denial that their tanning beds are killing people,” Lieu said.

In two letters to the FTC, Lieu argued that the American Suntanning Association should be bound by a 2010 FTC order that prohibited a similar group called the Indoor Tanning Association from making “false health and safety claims about indoor tanning,” such as denying the skin cancer risks of tanning or declaring that indoor tanning is safer than tanning outdoors. In a settlement with the federal agency, the Indoor Tanning Association agreed to stop misrepresenting tests or studies and to halt deceptive advertisements.

Lieu says the newly established American Suntanning Association is composed of many of the same members as the Indoor Tanning Association and shouldn’t be allowed to make statements that the FTC already has ruled false or misleading. Lieu said this week that he now had “concrete evidence” that the new group was a successor organization to the Indoor Tanning Association, and therefore in direct violation of the federal settlement.

He sent the FTC a copy of an article in an industry magazine in which American Suntanning Association board member Diane Lucas thanks the Indoor Tanning Association “for making such a smooth transition by getting us all the state lobbying history and contact information for the state lobbying battles.” “It’s just very clear to

me that it’s simply the same industry trade group with a different name,” Lieu said in an interview. FTC spokeswoman Betsy Lordan said the agency couldn’t comment on whether any investigation was under way.

The Indoor Tanning Association, which still appears to be an active organization in Washington, DC, didn’t respond to requests for comment. On its website, the group says it represents tanning manufacturers, distributors and members of support industries, as well as facility owners. The new American Suntanning Association, which represents only salon owners, disputes Lieu’s allegations.

“It’s untrue,” said Tracie Cunningham, the executive director of the association, which is based in Michigan. “The senator’s understanding of the science is a perfect example of why both sides of the story need to be heard. He’s very one-sided in his beliefs, so to me that just means we need to have a balanced conversation about UV light.”

The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies ultraviolet radiation from sun beds as carcinogenic to humans, alongside tobacco and asbestos. A 2007 study by the agency determined that people who start tanning regularly before age 30 have a 75 percent higher risk of developing melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer.

Other studies have reached similar conclusions. The suntanning organization argues that the WHO study focused primarily on tanning devices in people’s homes and in doctors’ offices, not sun beds in professional salons.The association plans to fund its own scientific research and studies. It’s hired the Washington lobbying firm mCapitol Management and New York public relations firm Global Strategy Group to make the case for indoor tanning to lawmakers and the public.

Total “sun abstinence” isn’t practical, said Cunningham, who said she tanned indoors twice a week herself and wasn’t worried about developing cancer. “When you develop a tan, it’s like developing a natural sunscreen,” she said. “The issue, really, with the risk revolves around sunburn, and that’s something a professional salon doesn’t do.”

But dermatologists say there’s no such thing as a safe tan. “A sunburn means you’re actually destroying cells, but certainly a tan means you’re getting enough sun to induce mutations,” said Sandra Lee, a dermatologist in Upland, Calif., and a member of the American Academy of Dermatology. — MCT

This illustration released by NASA, shows a supermassive black hole in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 1365.

Black holes in galaxies rotate fast, study finds LOS ANGELES: There’s a new spin on supermassive black holes: They’re incredibly fast, astronomers say. It’s long been suspected that gigantic black holes lurking in the heart of galaxies rotate faster and grow larger as they feast on gas, dust, stars and matter. But there hasn’t been a reliable measurement of the spin rate of a black hole until now. While black holes are difficult to detect, the region around them gives off telltale X-rays. Using NASA’s newly launched NuStar telescope and the European Space Agency’s workhorse XMM-Newton, an international team observed high-energy X-rays released by a supermassive black hole in the middle of a nearby galaxy.

They calculated its spin at close to the speed of light - 670 million mph. This is the first “unambiguous measurement of the spin rate” of a supermassive black hole, University of Maryland astronomer Christopher Reynolds, who had no role in the research, wrote in an accompanying editorial.

Behemoth black holes - with masses millions to billions times that of the sun - are thought to reside in every galactic center. They’re extremely dense and possess such powerful gravitational tug that not even light can

escape. Scientists are able to pinpoint these monstrous objects from the streams of X-rays emitted during a feeding frenzy.

Knowing how fast - or slow - supermassive black holes swirl can help shed light on their growth. For several days last summer, the two telescopes simultaneously tracked an immense black hole in a spiral galaxy called NGC 1365. The galaxy was chosen because it was 60 million light years away - relatively close by astronomical standards. Results were published in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature.

So how fast is the black hole at the center of our Milky Way spinning? It’s tough to know because our galaxy’s supermassive black hole isn’t as active as the observed one, said lead researcher Guido Risaliti of Italy’s Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory. Aside from occasional flares, hardly any radiation flows from our black hole, making it difficult to calculate its spin, Risaliti said. Maryland’s Reynolds said it’s clear that some supermassive black holes rotate very rapidly and there’s a need for more powerful X-ray space telescopes. “We are learning about some of the most exotic and powerful objects in the universe,” he said in an email. “This is cool science.” —AP

CHICAGO: After some inner turmoil and much self-reflection, 15-year-old Seth Melvin says he’s ready to lose his right leg. His words make his parents cringe. “I just want to get it chopped off,” he says occasionally. It’s a decision that’s been looming for much of his life. Doctors recommended amputation in infancy, when Seth was born with a deformed leg and foot. But his father refused, in part because he felt the decision wasn’t theirs to make. Because it was Seth’s leg, his dad reasoned, the choice to keep or lose the limb rightfully belonged to Seth. The condition worsened over the years until the teen had to face the dilemma anticipated since his birth. At an age when most weighty decisions involve class schedules and after-school sports, Seth had to pick between rounds of surgery to elongate his leg or having the lower portion cut off and replaced with a prosthesis.

He sought advice from other amputees and read first-person accounts to learn what to expect after a limb is gone. He touched samples of the sleek, modern prostheses that could one day serve as his new leg. And he began to emotionally detach from his own flesh.

Though more than 2 million Americans have lost a leg or arm, it’s rarer for a teen to have to decide whether to keep or lose a limb, said Dr. Terrence Sheehan, medical director of the Amputee Coalition in Virginia. Often the choice is made by doctors and parents when the patient is too young to have a say, or amputation comes suddenly and without much choice through illness or trauma. But Sheehan said the opportunity to make such an intimate and permanent decision can be empowering, even in the midst of such a great loss. “I want it gone, honestly,” Seth said matter-of-factly, anticipating his March 6 surgery in Springfield, Ill. “I get to choose. I feel bad for people who didn’t want to lose their leg.”

Dave Melvin joyfully wept when Seth was born on Jan. 22, 1998. He was so in awe of holding his first child he didn’t initially notice two toes missing from Seth’s tiny foot, the first indication that something wasn’t right.

Seth-who lives in Cornell, Ill., about 90 miles southwest of Chicago-was born with fibular hemimelia, a condition in which the small bone in the lower leg is either shorter or entirely missing.

In Seth’s case, the fibula is absent and causes instability at his ankle. The rare condition is present at birth, though no one knows exactly what causes it. Sometimes it is accompanied by other foot and leg deformities.

It’s the same condition that afflicted South African runner Oscar Pistorius, who competed on two prosthetic legs in the 2012 Olympics before he made international headlines this month after being charged in his girlfriend’s slaying. Seth’s right leg is about 2 inches shorter than his left leg.

His right foot bears only three toes and is curved like a “C,” similar in shape to a golf club. The shaggy-haired, introspective teen with an acute sense of humor sometimes refers to his appendage in jest as “Putter.”

Doctors at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago wanted to amputate when he was about 6 months old, stressing the condition would likely degenerate and cause pain. Dad said no. “He was my first kid; I wanted to protect him,” said 36-yearold Dave Melvin. “My thought was, I’m not going to take away something from him that he’s never been able to use. I was worried if I had it amputated, he would resent me later in life, because I took away his leg before we knew what it could do.” But Dave began second-guessing himself as Seth

approached his teens and the condition worsened, his leg growing outward and his foot slipping farther out of place. At about 13, Seth began wearing a brace on his leg and a 1-inch lift on his shoe to even his height, but his walk remained stilted and uneven. He could run and play baseball, but the brace slowed him down and he’d feel pain after too much exertion, which was tough for a kid who loves to win. Soon his ankle was nearly touching the floor. The leg and foot could get worse, further limiting his abilities. Choices had to be made. And they had to be made by Seth.

“It’s all his decision,” said 34-year-old Sarah Melvin, his stepmother. “We’re just supporting him. Because he’s the one who has to live with it.”

Seth initially favored reconstruction, clinging to the leg that’s always been a part of him. “You want to keep it, because it’s part of your body,” he said.

“You can’t go back.” But elongating the limb would involve multiple surgeries, breaking his bone and inserting a rod. And there was no guarantee he would walk evenly or his foot wouldn’t continue to slip, said his podiatrist, Dr. Brian Hamm of Bloomington, Ill. Seth met 64-year-old Gale “Woody” Hardester

leg could be elongated. He chose amputation. He said he was grateful the choice was his, that his dad delayed amputation when he was a baby. His father said he was a little relieved after carrying the burden for so many years. But then Seth faced a second weighty decision. He could have opted to cut at the ankle, but learned he could actually gain mobility and prosthetic options by losing more of his own body. So he settled on a belowthe-knee amputation and will part with an extra 7 inches of his leg.

Seth often talks about his leg as though it’s no longer a part of him. As his sister took pictures of it for a school paper, he and his dad joked that postamputation, they can put the photo on a milk carton under the headline “Missing.” He recently commented blithely, “I can do whatever I want with this leg. It’s getting cut off. I can eat off my leg if I want to.” Then he flipped the highly flexible limb up near his shoulder and set pieces of cheese across his pale skin, as though it were a makeshift counter. His friends want to sign his stump after the operation. He laughs as he repeats the word “stump.” “It’s just a funny word,” he said, chuckling.

“Stump. I’m going to have a stump.” The surgery

CHICAGO: Seth Melvin changes into a cougar costume, the mascot of Cornell Grade School, prior to a volleyball game. for the first time last summer at a Bloomington cafe. The man rolled up the leg of his jeans. Seth touched the spongy material covering his prosthesis, marveling at how lifelike it appeared and how naturally the man moved. Hardester, who was born with the same disorder as Seth, got his nickname after his leg was amputated below the knee at age 4 and replaced with a wooden one.

While careful not to try to sway Seth in any direction, Hardester did rave about advancements in prostheses over the last six decades and compared the ease of wearing one to putting on a slipper or a pair of eyeglasses.

He talked about swimming varsity in high school and college, getting married and having children. He planned to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding. “The handicap is in other peoples’ minds,” Hardester said in a phone interview. As he researched his decision, Seth began envisioning a more full life without his leg. He’ll likely be able to run and play sports better with a prosthetic leg. He wouldn’t have to suffer through foot pain. And there were no guarantees that his

was originally scheduled for early January. His parents were scared. Seth was not. Although he worried about phantom sensations, that his brain would be tricked into sensing a leg that’s no longer there, he said he was ready.

“Honestly, I was more scared about why I wasn’t freaked out,” he said. “I was at peace, really.”

Then he caught a cold and the operation was canceled the day before, leaving Seth angry and depressed. During announcements at school the next morning, he said he went on the intercom and declared, “Hi, this is Seth Melvin, and I still have two legs.” He awaits the rescheduled surgery next month and could be ready for a new leg made of titanium and carbon fiber around six to eight weeks later, said Robin McRae, his certified prosthetist in Bloomington. Seth plans to walk across the stage to accept a diploma at his eighthgrade graduation in May. He wants to take drivers education this summer and run high school track next year, faster and for longer distances than he can on two legs. Hardester said he’ll be cheering from the stands. — MCT

What happens when blood clots strike healthy and active people?

DALLAS: Blood clots don’t tend to grab headlines. Most, after all, are caused by trauma or recent surgery, says Dr. James Kohn, a vascular surgeon on the medical staff at Doctors Hospital at White Rock Lake in Dallas. So if you’ve had neither surgery nor trauma, you might assume you’re safe. Blood clots, which made news recently when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hospitalized, also occur in otherwise healthy people who have none of the traditional risks.

When they do, they can be life-threatening.

Doctors say that problems for Clinton, 65, were related to dehydration and a fall, but not all cases are so understandable.

“Some form, and we never have a reason,” says Dr Robin Novakovic, assistant professor in radiology, neurology and neurotherapeutics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Such was true for Dallas-area residents Mary Campise and Mike Mignardi. Both are runners; both take phenomenal care of themselves.

Both had potentially fatal blood clots-technically known as deep vein thrombosis, or DVT-within the last two years.

Although the two are now running again, their experiences have made Campise and Mignardi especially aware of what can go wrong and turned them into crusaders to keep others from experiencing what they did. “I’ve become one of those people who, whenever I have a chance, warn others about the dangers,” says Campise, who lives in Dallas and is assistant dean of students at Ursuline Academy.

Last year, a few weeks shy of her 48th birthday, she was healthy, “running, biking, doing everything,” she says. She had never smoked, never used oral contraceptives-two common risk factors for blood clots. She began having trouble keeping pace with her husband and other people she runs with. They all joked about it, but when she began struggling for breath walking up stairs, she went to her doctor.

He said she might have allergies or exerciseinduced asthma. Two weeks later, she woke up, and her left leg was twice the size of her right. Her husband drove her straight to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, where doctors diagnosed a blood clot.

“You think of a clot being the size of a pea,” Campise says. “It turned out once they did the sonogram, mine ran from my belly button to my ankle. It was completely occluded. No blood was coming up or going down.” The danger of a blood clot is what can-and in her case did-happen next.

“Pulmonary embolism is the dreaded complication,” Novakovic says. “That’s when the clot breaks off and travels back to the heart and lodges in the lung,” she says. “If it’s not treated or it’s big

enough, it can lead to heart failure, compromise in heart function, and it can lead to death.”

When doctors told Campise she had a PE, or pulmonary embolism, “I asked, ‘Isn’t that what can kill you?’” she says. “He said the good news is that I had survived the hard part, which is the clot going from the heart to the lungs.” Still, she needed surgery. “Do I have to?” she asked. “If not,” he told her, “you’ll never be able to use that leg again. It will be damaged forever.”

Surgery lasted five hours and was followed by bed rest and blood thinners. Doctors told her there was a “95 percent chance” her blood clot was caused by May-Thurner syndrome, in which a vein on the left side is compressed by an artery on the right. So last April, she underwent a procedure to insert a stent into that vein.

“I started walking, then walking farther, then biking,” she says. But, she adds, “I was terrified to try. You always worry. I would feel what anybody probably feels when they’re running and think, ‘Is it a tight muscle or a blood clot?’” About 18 months after having a blood clot, Mignardi still stands in front of the mirror sometimes, looking at his legs. “You definitely become a hypochondriac,” he says, although he’s finished a marathon and runs 20 miles on weekends. “I think, ‘Is my left calf larger than my right?’” It was much larger dur-

TEXAS: Mike Mignardi poses for a portrait in his running attire outside of his home. —MCT

ing late summer of 2011, when Mignardi, an engineering manager who lives in Richardson, Texas, was training for the White Rock Marathon. His leg got to the point where he couldn’t run a quartermile without feeling like it “would explode,” he says. Even walking hurt.

One weekend, he skipped his training runs.

Two days later, though, his leg was still swollen.

So he drove himself to the emergency room, where doctors found that his entire leg, from the top of his thigh down, was clotted. He didn’t have surgery; instead, he was put on blood thinners and confined to bed for a week.

“They knew how to treat it, but they didn’t know what caused it,” says Mignardi, 53. “I’m all about the root cause. I wanted to know why it occurred to prevent it from happening again.” He did extensive research and learned that clotting occurs when blood is more stagnant and when you’re dehydrated. Mignardi travels overseas regularly, thus being immobile for long periods of time. He had never thought much about drinking water, and his pulse rate is low because of all his exercise. Mignardi began to see how he might be a candidate for a blood clot.

During a long flight, Novakovic explains, “we’re immobile. The type of circulation in our venous system needs muscle contraction to help the blood move.” Mignardi recently traveled to the Netherlands on business and says he’s now “especially cautious” when he flies. “I wear compression socks and drink lots of fluid. I spend more time in the restroom than I used to do. I do little exercises on the plane, things to keep me from being stagnant.” Such incidents even have a name-”economy-class syndrome.” He’s written two papers on what he learned, which he’s shared with co-workers and friends. Many now wear compression socks when they travel, he says. Six weeks after he left the hospital, he was running again, but four months passed before his left leg looked like the right again. Neither he nor Campise take blood thinners anymore, and their lives are pretty much back to normal. Still, says Campise, “needless to say, it was shocking to run one week and almost lose my life the next.”

What causes them?

Dr Robin Novakovic of the University of TexasSouthwestern says that in general, blood clots are caused by three factors: Poor blood flow.”If blood is stagnant, it wants to form a clot,” she says. “It’s not flowing like it should.” Hypercoagulativity.”You have a predisposition to form a clot more than normal,” she says. “Your blood is stickier and wants to form clots.” There can be underlying disorders like autoimmune diseases, she says. Some cancers and medications can cause it, too. — MCT

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

Closest Earth-like planet ‘stroll across park’ CAPE CANAVERAL: Earth-like worlds may be closer and more plentiful than anyone imagined. Astronomers reported Wednesday that the nearest Earth-like planet may be just 13 light-years away - or some 77 trillion miles.

That planet hasn’t been found yet, but should be there based on the team’s study of red dwarf stars. Galactically speaking, that’s right next door.

If our Milky Way galaxy were shrunk to the size of the United States, the distance between Earth and its closest Earth-like neighbor would be the span of New York’s Central Park, said Harvard University graduate student Courtney Dressing, the study’s lead author.

“The nearest Earth-like planet is simply a stroll across the park away,” she said at a news

conference in Cambridge, Mass. Small, cool red dwarfs are the most common stars in our galaxy, numbering at least 75 billion. The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics team estimates 6 percent of red dwarf stars have Earth-like planets. To qualify, the planet must be roughly the size of Earth and get as much light from its star, as Earth does from the sun. This high rate of occurrence should simplify the search for extraterrestrial life. As the report’s co-author, David Charbonneau, noted, he’s an astronomer, but hopes to become a biologist if that search succeeds. These planetary candidates are quite different than Earth because of the differences between their red dwarf stars and the sun, Charbonneau told reporters.

Because the red dwarfs are so much smaller, potentially habitable planets would need to orbit much closer than the Earth does to the sun. They likely would be rocky, the astronomers said, but different types of atmospheres could lead to different types of life. Red dwarf stars also can be old - far older than our sun - which means their planets could be much older than Earth and their potential life forms much more evolved.

Our solar system is 4.5 billion years old, for instance, while some red dwarf stars are 12 billion years old. One of these target planets could be 12 billion years old as well, the scientists said. Future spacecraft should be able to locate these planets and provide environmental clues. —AP

This artist’s conception provided by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics shows a hypothetical planet with two moons orbiting in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star. —AP

W H AT ’ S O N

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! Let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

11 thousand visit Scientific Center during National Holidays

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early 11 thousand people visited the Scientific Center during the National Holidays, the center announced in a statement yesterday. “The large number of attendance is a testimony to the Scientific Center’s status among people in Kuwait who come to enjoy an educational atmosphere combined with fun that the facility provides to the whole family”, said Chairman and Managing Director Mejbel Al-Mutawa’a.

The large attendance came simultaneously with the premier of the Twister movie on the facility’s iMAX theater, Al-Mutawa’a added.

Blessen George volleyball tournament

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lessen George Foundation, Kuwait is to hold the second Blessen George Memorial Ever Rolling Trophy Volleyball Tournament in Kuwait from April 25 till May 3 2013 at Abbassiya Indian Central School Court involving Indian and Nepali Clubs in Kuwait, and School Volleyball Teams for Boys and Girls from among Indian Schools in Kuwait. The Tournament for Clubs will be on League cum Knock-out format and the Tournament for Schools Teams will be on Knock-out format. The League matches for the Clubs and the matches for the School Teams will be held on 25th, 26th and 27th April, Semi-Finals on 2nd May, which will be on knock-out basis, and the Final on 3rd May. The Blessen George Memorial Volleyball Tournament is held in memory of late Blessen George, who was one of the greatest all rounders in the Volleyball game and who played for Kerala University Team, Kerala State Team, Kerala Electricity Board Team, Kerala Police Team, Indian National Team and Abu Dhabi Police Team in the seventies and eighties as well as to revive the interest in the once most popular game of Volleyball among Indian expatriates and their children residing in Kuwait.

A Tournament Organizing Committee has been formed with BGF Chairman Oommen George, and Vice Chairmen Aby George, and Sam George as Heads of the Committee, George Thomas and Benny Pathanamthitta as General Convenors, Raju Zacharias as the Media and Publicity Convener, Sharafuddeen Kanneth as the Head of Public Relations and Sponsorships, Reghunathan Nair and Somu Mathew as Reception Committee Convenors, PT Samuelkutty as Finance Committee Convenor, and Babuji Bathery as the Programme Committee Convener, and Alexander Mathew as Court Management Committee Convenor.

BGF members, Thomas K. Thomas (Hi-Dine), Abraham Daniel, John Daniel, and Mathew Daniel have been assigned the responsibility to oversee all arrangements and facilities at the venue of the Tournament including security.

The Organizing Committee has decided to complete registrations of the Teams before 20th March 2013 and to give preference to Club Teams, which has minimum two Players who have played at State / National levels.

In addition to the Trophies and Prize Money for the Winners and the losing Finalist, Prizes will be awarded to the best Sportsman and Sportswoman from every Indian School in Kuwait nominated by the respective School Management. A celebrity / a former Indian Volleyball Player will be available for Prize presentations on the final day of the Tournament.

Al Mulla Exchange treats customers to Janak Khendry’s ‘Ganga’

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ustomers of Al Mulla International Exchange were treated, Thursday, February 28, to an evening of theatrical dance at Safir International’s Pearl Tent.

H.E. Satish Mehta, the Ambassador of India to Kuwait joined Al Mulla Exchange in hosting Indian classical dance veteran Janak Khendry and his dance troupe in their unique performance ‘Ganga’.

‘Ganga’ based on the sacred river in India is a performance in traditional Indian dance covering the birth,

life and present state of the Ganges.

With rapt attention the audience tried not to miss a beat as dancers, in perfect rhythm unfurled the vibrant epic tale of one of India’s lifelines. As ankle bells resounded over pronounced, purposeful and skilled feet, the troupe conveyed the legend with apt facial expressions that impressed the audience.

Based in Canada and with over 40 years in the field of dance and choreography, Janak Khendry mesmerizes

crowds with wonder. Special guests in attendance included members of the diplomatic core along with several dignitaries. Appreciation was extended to H.E. Douglas George, Canadian Ambassador to Kuwait for his contribution in getting the team to Kuwait.

Al Mulla International Exchange, as a thank-you to its valued patrons continues to bring them family centric events that are both entertaining and culturally inspiring.

Announcements St Patrick Day Kuwait Irish Society presents our St Patrick’s Day celebration at Hilton Hotel, Al-Dorra Ballroom, Friday March 15, 2013. Dress Code: Black tie.

Musical extravaganza with Dr Yesudas

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rend setter Udupi Restaurant, Kuwait proudly present “Gandharva Nadamritham”, a live classical musical extravaganza featuring the living legend & maestro Padmabooshan Award winner Dr. K.J. Yesudas with his troupe from India, on March 22 at American International School, Maidan Hawally, Kuwait.

Al Mulla Exchange presents ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhas

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l Mulla International Exchange, the premier money remittance company in Kuwait, organized an evening of live concert, ‘Shaam-e-Ghazal’ by ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhas on Sunday, 24th February, 2013, at the American International School auditorium in Hawally.

His Excellency Satish C. Mehta, Indian Ambassador to Kuwait, was the Chief Guest of the musical evening that

saw a large gathering of dignitaries and patrons of Al Mulla Exchange sit mesmerized as evocative songs emanated from the magical vocals of the ghazal maestro. The spell-bound audience expressed their appreciation with a resounding applause at the end of the performance.

In his second appearance in Kuwait in as many years,

and hosted by Al Mulla International Exchange on both occasions, Padma Shri Pankaj Udhas expressed his pleasure at the response and appreciation of his ghazals by audiences in the country. The maestro especially thanked organizers for their initiative in helping to promote and popularize ghazal music among music lovers in Kuwait.

Goan Culinary Club

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he Goan Culinary Club - Goa encourages you to log on to their website where you can find a video of Odette and Joe Mascarenhas sharing their thoughts on Goan cuisine. These videos were recorded at the launch of the Goan Culinary Club in Goa on March 3, 2012. Thanks to support from all at the Goan Culinary Club, we have made great progress in six months.

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he Early Years children recently had a Costume Day where they could dress up as their favourite fictional character or maybe as what they might want to be when they grow up. At KNES we encourage all children to use their imagination and develop the creative skills needed to become responsible citizens who can contribute to our Global Village.

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information

Pierre Merhej, Michael Coth and Monjed Salha

Pierre Merhej, Michael Coth, Monjed Salha and Majed Hanna cut the cake.

EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department.

All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

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Monjed Salha, Pierre Merhej and Majed Hanna with ambassadors.

Monjed Salha, Pierre Merhej, Michael Coth and Majed Hanna with the US Ambassador.

Farewell & welcoming gathering for Holiday Inn Kuwait’s general managers

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Monjed Salha, Pierre Merhej and Michael Coth with Abbas Taqqi and the Holiday Inn’s sales team.

he Holiday Inn Kuwait - Salmiya hotel arranged a Farewell Gathering for it’s General Manager Pierre Merhej as part of appreciation to his notable efforts and achievements to the Hotel. and also welcoming Monjed Salha , the new General Manager of the Holiday Inn Kuwait, Salmiyah The preparations started at Al Diwan Restaurant where all the Hotel Head of Departments and their assistants gathered together headed by Michael Koth , the Regional Director of Operation of Holiday Inn Hotels Chain whom also introduced Monjed Salha to everyone.

In the evening, a memorable farewell reception was hosted at the Tang Chao Chinese restaurant where a notable number of Ambassadors attended alongside the top media personalities and key accounts. The Dinner

started with a speech by Michael Coth, who thanked all attendees for their presence & he thanked Pierre Merhej for all his efforts and the remarkable achievements with the Holiday Inn Kuwait and wished him the best of luck and then he announced the appointment of Monjed Salha as the new general manager.in his farewell speech, Pierre Merhej he greeted all the guests and expressed his delightness for having them attending his farewell gathering. finally the mic was handed over to Monjed Salha who expressed his sincere honor to be introduced to all attendees and expressed his happiness to return to Kuwait once again. this was followed by cutting the cake & then all the invitees enjoyed an exclusive and artful buffet prepared by the Chef Ashek the Holiday Inn executive chef and his team.

International Seminar on EU-GCC relations held at GUST

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nder the patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister SheikhJaberAl-Mubarak Al-Sabah, the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST)in collaboration with the Gulf Research Center, Fundaci?nparalasRelacionesInternacionales y el Di?logo Exterior (FRIDE), and Center for Gulf Knowledge, are hosting a 2-day international seminar entitled: “Political Transformation in the Arab world and its relevance for EU-GCC relations,” under the Project “Promoting Deeper EU-GCC relations,” funded by the European Commission starting today.

This workshop will serve several objectives: to promote a better understanding of current political trends in the region; to focus more specifically on the role the EU can play to support positive developments; to place these developments within the proper context and to promote cooperative relations among the wider region for only through a proper understanding of Gulf dynamics can productive ties with the EU be enhanced.

Dr. Haila Al-Mekaimi from Center for Gulf Knowledge, Dr. Robert Cook, Vice President for Academic Affairs at GUST, Director of the Gulf Research Center Foundation Chrisitan Koch, and Richard Youngs, Director of FRIDE will be giving the welcoming remarks at the event.

The sessions will consisted of two main speakers and a chair for the discussions. The session topics included: Geopolitical implications of the Arab uprisings, Domestic implications of the Arab uprisings,Beyond identity politics: a role for civil society,Political actors in the Gulf: the role of youth, and EU Policy towards. The sessions will be given by prominent leaders in the political and educational fields in the GCC and the EU among of which will be Ambassadors and Professors.

Each session will include a discussion and review of the topic. The organizers and delegates look forward to a vital, exploratory interaction to dig deep and create a solid foundation for stronger relationships looking forward.

Sri Lankan Ambassador honors Sanath Jayasuriya

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ri Lankan Ambassador CAHM Wijeratne has hosted a lunch banquet on honor of Sanath Teran Jayasuriya (former Sri Lankan cricketer) at his residence on Friday.

It was attended by a number of diplomats and other dignitaries.

Sanath Teran Jayasuriya is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and a politician. Jayasuriya was an allrounder, who had an international cricket career that spread over two decades.

He made his One Day International debut against Australia at Melbourne on Boxing Day of 1989 and his Test debut against New Zealand at Hamilton in February 1991. Jayasuriya is the only player to score more than 13,000 runs and capture more than 300 wickets in One Day Internationals and he is regarded as one of the best all rounders in the history of Limited overs cricket. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1996 Cricket World Cup and Wisden Cricketers Almanack broke an age

old tradition by naming him one of Five Cricketers’ of the Year 1997 despite not playing the previous season in England. Jayasuriya was also

June 2011.Sanath Jayasuriya has the distinction of playing in third most ODI matches in which his team was on winning side, just behind Sachin

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.

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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 shortstay (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, firsttime 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.

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the captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1999 to 2003. He retired from test cricket in December 2007 and from limited overs cricket in

Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. Sri Lanka Cricket appointed him as the chairman of cricket selecting committee on 28 January 2013.

EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, Al-Salaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, email:myankuwait11@gmai1.com.

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EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk.

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EMBASSY OF TURKEY The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey announces that a new classes of Turkish language for beginners will start at the Embassy’s Tourism, Culture and Information Office on 17 February 2013. The lessons will be two times in a week for six weeks, for further details and registration please contact. Or fill the application form on http://kuveyt.bemfa.gov.tr and send it to the email: embassy.Kuwait@mfa.gov.tr —Photos by Joseph Shagraa

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 Into The Lion’s Den 01:35 Untamed & Uncut 02:25 Wildest Latin America 03:15 My Cat From Hell 04:05 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 04:30 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 04:55 Animal Cops Houston 05:45 Wildest Latin America 06:35 The Really Wild Show 07:00 Cats Of Claw Hill 07:25 Cats Of Claw Hill 07:50 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 08:40 Breed All About It 09:10 Breed All About It 09:35 Ocean Odyssey 10:30 Mutant Planet 11:25 Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan 12:20 The Really Wild Show 12:50 Wild France 13:45 Wild France 14:40 Wildlife SOS 15:35 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 16:30 Ray Mears’ Wild Britain 17:25 My Cat From Hell 18:20 Rescue Vet 18:45 Rescue Vet 19:15 Cats Of Claw Hill 19:40 Cats Of Claw Hill 20:10 Into The Lion’s Den 21:05 Wildest Latin America 22:00 Mutant Planet 22:55 Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan 23:50 Animal Cops Houston

00:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 01:15 Homes Under The Hammer 02:05 Homes Under The Hammer 02:55 Homes Under The Hammer 03:50 Homes Under The Hammer 04:40 Homes Under The Hammer 05:35 Rick Stein’s Spain 06:25 New Scandinavian Cooking 06:50 Bargain Hunt 07:35 The Hairy Bikers USA 08:00 The Hairy Bikers USA 08:25 MasterChef 09:20 MasterChef 09:50 MasterChef 10:45 MasterChef 11:35 Rick Stein’s Spain 12:30 New Scandinavian Cooking 13:00 The Hairy Bikers USA 13:25 The Hairy Bikers USA 13:50 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 15:25 Come Dine With Me: South Africa 16:20 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 17:05 Bargain Hunt 17:50 Bargain Hunt 18:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 19:15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 20:00 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 21:30 Gok’s Fashion Fix 22:15 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 23:00 Bargain Hunt 23:45 Bargain Hunt

00:20 00:45 01:10 01:35 02:00 02:25 02:50 03:15 03:40 04:00 04:20 04:45 05:10 05:35 06:00 06:25

Yogi’s Treasure Hunt Duck Dodgers Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Dastardly And Muttley Popeye Wacky Races Scooby Doo Where Are You! The Flintstones The Jetsons What’s New Scooby Doo? Taz-Mania The Looney Tunes Show Tom & Jerry Tales Johnny Bravo Bananas In Pyjamas 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

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:15 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 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 16:45 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:15 19:30 19:45 20:00 20:30 20:45 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00

World Report News Special Winning Post The Gateway World Sport World Report Talk Asia World Report Amanpour CNN Marketplace Europe CNN Marketplace Africa The Brief CNN Presents CNN Newsroom Sanjay Gupta MD Inside Africa World Sport On China World Report CNN Marketplace Middle East Talk Asia World Report CNN Marketplace Europe I Report For CNN World Sport Open Court African Voices The Brief World Report News Special CNN Presents Fareed Zakaria GPS World Report Leading Women Future Cities State Of The Union International Desk Backstory Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Africa Global Exchange CNN Marketplace Middle East World Sport Winning Post The Gateway International Desk African Voices International Desk On China Fareed Zakaria GPS

00:15 Auction Kings 00:45 Auction Kings

01:10 Auction Kings 01:35 Auction Kings 02:05 How Do They Do It? 02:30 How It’s Made 03:00 How Do They Do It? 03:25 How It’s Made 03:55 Factory Line 04:20 How It’s Made 04:50 Factory Line 05:15 How It’s Made 05:40 Factory Line 06:05 How It’s Made 06:30 How Do They Do It? 07:00 Fast N’ Loud 07:50 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior 08:45 American Chopper 09:40 Gold Rush 10:30 Gold Divers 11:25 Around The World In 80 Ways 12:20 How It’s Made 12:45 How It’s Made 13:15 How It’s Made 13:40 How It’s Made 14:10 How It’s Made 14:35 Auction Hunters 15:05 Auction Hunters 15:30 Auction Hunters 16:00 Auction Hunters 16:25 Auction Hunters 16:55 Border Security 17:20 Border Security 17:50 Border Security 18:15 Border Security 18:45 Border Security 19:10 Mythbusters 20:05 Mythbusters 21:00 Magic Of Science 21:30 Time Warp 21:55 Curiosity 22:50 Inside The Gangsters’ Code 23:45 Magic Of Science

00:40 Investigation X 01:35 The Loch Ness Monster Revealed 02:25 Dark Matters: Twisted But True 03:15 Mean Green Machines 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 Engineering Ground Zero 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 Bad Universe 14:50 Mean Green Machines 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 The Loch Ness Monster Revealed 22:10 Tech Toys 360 22:35 Tech Toys 360 23:00 Meteorite Men 23:50 Dark Matters: Twisted But True

00:10 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:05 03:30 03:55 04:20

THE CRAZIES ON OSN ACTION HD

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

04:45 05:10 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:40 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:05 08:20 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 15:25 15:50 16:15 16:40 17:00 18:35 18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:25 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:05 22:30 22:55 Cody 23:20 Cody 23:45

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 Fish Hooks Fish Hooks That’s So Raven Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Jessie Austin And Ally A.N.T Farm Gravity Falls Cheetah Girls Wizards Of Waverly Place Suite Life On Deck Austin And Ally Austin And Ally Austin And Ally Austin And Ally Shake It Up Austin And Ally Jessie A.N.T Farm Cheetah Girls 2 Cars Toons Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Shake It Up Austin And Ally My Babysitter’s A Vampire 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 01:05 Special Agent Oso 01:15 Lazytown 01:40 Jungle Junction 01:55 Jungle Junction 02:10 Handy Manny 02:20 Handy Manny 02:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 03:00 Lazytown 03:25 Special Agent Oso 03:40 Special Agent Oso 03:50 Imagination Movers 04:20 Handy Manny 04:30 Handy Manny 04:40 Special Agent Oso 04:50 Special Agent Oso 05:00 Timmy Time 05:10 Lazytown 05:35 Little Einsteins 06:00 Jungle Junction 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Little Einsteins 06:50 Special Agent Oso 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:30 Jungle Junction 07:45 Handy Manny 08:00 Special Agent Oso 08:15 Jungle Junction 08:30 Little Einsteins 08:55 Lazytown 09:20 Imagination Movers 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 Toy Story Toons 11:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 11:45 Doc McStuffins 12:00 Handy Manny 12:10 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 12:25 Mouk 12:35 Lilo And Stitch 13:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 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 17:05 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 17:20 Doc McStuffins 17:35 Doc McStuffins 17:45 Art Attack 18:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 18:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:20 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 19:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:00 Animated Stories 20:05 Timmy Time 20:15 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 20:25 Doc McStuffins 20:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:55 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 21:10 The Hive 21:20 Timmy Time 21:30 Mouk 21:45 Handy Manny 22:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:25 The Hive 22:35 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 23:00 Timmy Time 23:10 Animated Stories 23:15 A Poem Is...

23:20 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 23:30 Jungle Junction 23:45 Handy Manny 23:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

00:00 00:55 01:25 02:20 04:10 05:05 05:30 06:00 07:50 08:20 09:15

Opening Act Style Star THS Too Young To Kill THS Extreme Close-Up Extreme Close-Up THS Style Star E! News Extreme Close-Up

09:45 Extreme Close-Up 10:15 THS 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 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 16:00 THS 17:00 E!es 17:30 E! News Special 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

00:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:30 Heat Seekers 01:55 Outrageous Food 02:20 Unwrapped 02:45 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:10 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:35 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:25 Unique Eats 04:50 Food Crafters 05:15 Charly’s Cake Angels 05:40 Chopped 06:30 Iron Chef America 07:10 Unwrapped 07:35 Unwrapped 08:00 Everyday Italian 08:25 Everyday Italian 08:50 Everyday Italian 09:15 Everyday Italian 09:40 Mexican Made Easy 10:05 Mexican Made Easy 10:30 Mexican Made Easy 10:55 Mexican Made Easy 11:20 Unwrapped 11:45 Unwrapped 12:10 Unwrapped 12:35 Unwrapped 13:00 Iron Chef America 13:50 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 15:05 Kid In A Candy Store 15:30 Kid In A Candy Store 15:55 Kid In A Candy Store 16:20 Kid In A Candy Store 16:45 Chopped 17:35 Charly’s Cake Angels 18:00 Charly’s Cake Angels 18:25 Charly’s Cake Angels 18:50 Charly’s Cake Angels 19:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 20:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 20:30 Chopped 21:20 Chopped 22:10 Iron Chef America 23:00 Iron Chef America 23:50 Iron Chef America

00:15 00:40 01:05 01:30 02:20 03:05 03:55 04:20 04:45 05:10 05:30 06:20 07:10 08:00 08:50 09:15 09:40 10:05 10:30 Jones 11:20 12:10 13:00 13:50 14:15 14:40 15:30 Jones 16:20 16:45 17:10 18:00 18:50 19:40 Jones 20:30 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:25 23:50

I Was Murdered Evil, I Evil, I A Haunting Dr G: Medical Examiner Deadly Sins I Was Murdered I Was Murdered Evil, I Evil, I A Haunting Dr G: Medical Examiner Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

True Crime With Aphrodite

00:45 01:10 01:40 02:05 02:35 03:30 03:55 04:25 04:50 05:20 06:15 06:40 07:10 08:05 09:00 09:55 10:50 11:15 11:45 12:10 12:40 13:35 14:00 14:30 14:55 15:25 15:50 16:20 17:15 18:10 19:05 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00

Market Values Market Values Into The Drink Into The Drink Warrior Road Trip David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 2 One Man & His Campervan Street Food Around The World Living With The Amish Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Don’t Tell My Mother Don’t Tell My Mother Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy

By Any Means Maverick Chef Into The Drink Into The Drink Into The Drink Somewhere In China Kimchi Chronicles Kimchi Chronicles One Man & His Campervan Street Food Around The World Cruise Ship Diaries Destination Extreme Don’t Tell My Mother Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy

By Any Means Living With The Amish Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue Don’t Tell My Mother Ultimate Traveller

Murder Shift Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Disappeared Murder Shift Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite Disappeared Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Fatal Encounters

THE WAY ON OSN CINEMA 22:55 One Man & His Campervan 23:20 Food School 23:50 David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway

00:00 Burning Bright-18 02:00 Hustle And Flow-18 04:00 Time Machine: Rise Of The Morlocks-PG15 06:00 True Justice: Deadly CrossingPG15 08:00 Barricade-PG15 10:00 Deadly Hope-PG15 12:00 Charlie’s Angels: Full ThrottlePG15 14:00 Barricade-PG15 16:00 Do No Harm-PG15 18:00 Charlie’s Angels: Full ThrottlePG15 20:00 Street Kings 2: Motor City-18 22:00 The Crazies-18

18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Perception Top Gear (UK) Eureka Grimm Scandal Boardwalk Empire

00:00 Burning Bright 02:00 Hustle And Flow 04:00 Time Machine: Rise Of The Morlocks 06:00 True Justice: Deadly Crossing 08:00 Barricade 10:00 Deadly Hope 12:00 Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle 14:00 Barricade 16:00 Do No Harm 18:00 Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle 20:00 Street Kings 2: Motor City 22:00 The Crazies

01:00 The Way-PG15 03:15 Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back-PG 05:00 No Surrender-PG15 07:00 When Love Is Not EnoughPG15 09:00 The Way-PG15 11:30 Happiness Is A Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown-PG 13:00 Second Chances-PG15 15:00 Hidden Crimes-PG15 17:00 Ip Man 2-PG15 19:00 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close-PG 21:15 Twelve-18 23:00 Scream 4-18

01:00 Witness-PG15 03:00 Dying Young-PG15 05:00 Terms Of Endearment-PG15 07:15 The LXD: The Uprising BeginsPG15 09:00 The Chorus-PG15 10:45 My Enemy’s Enemy-PG15 12:15 The LXD: Secrets Of The RaPG15 14:00 The Chorus-PG15 15:45 Gandhi-PG 19:00 The Memory Keeper’s Daughter-PG15 21:00 Fear-18 23:00 Gardens Of The Night-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Saturday Night Live 02:30 Family Guy 03:00 Parks And Recreation 03:30 Happy Endings 04:00 Gary Unmarried 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Brothers 06:00 Seinfeld 06:30 Less Than Perfect 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Gary Unmarried 08:30 Brothers 09:00 Parks And Recreation 09:30 The Neighbors 10:30 Last Man Standing 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Seinfeld 12:30 Gary Unmarried 13:00 Brothers 13:30 Less Than Perfect 14:00 Happy Endings 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 Raising Hope 19:00 Two And A Half Men 19:30 Don’t Trust The B In Apartment 23 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 Family Guy 23:30 The Cleveland Show

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 PG15 07:00 09:00 PG15 11:00 13:00 15:15 17:00 PG15 19:00 21:00 23:00

00:00 01:00 02:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00

Royal Pains Sons Of Anarchy The Mob Doctor Royal Pains Emmerdale Coronation Street Alphas Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Alphas Royal Pains Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Your Highness-18 This Means War-PG15 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax-PG Tim Richmond: To The LimitGreen Lantern-PG15 Glee: The Concert MovieMean Girls 2-PG15 Courageous-PG15 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2-PG Glee: The Concert MovieVampires Suck-PG15 33 Postcards-PG15 Hall Pass-18

01:00 The Great Bear 02:45 The Hairy Tooth Fairy 2 04:30 Arthur’s Missing Pal 06:00 Shark Tale 08:00 Tommy & Oscar 10:00 Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl 11:30 Arthur’s Missing Pal 13:00 The Tooth Fairy 2 14:30 The Hairy Tooth Fairy 2 16:00 Rh+ The Vampire Of Seville 18:00 Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl 20:00 Marco Macaco 21:45 The Tooth Fairy 2 23:30 Rh+ The Vampire Of Seville

00:00 MSNBC News 02:00 ABC World News Now With David Muir 02:30 Live NBC Nightly News (SatSun) 03:00 ABC World News Now With David Muir 03:30 Live NBC Nightly News (SatSun) 04:00 Live NBC Saturday Today Show 06:00 Live ABC 20/20 07:00 ABC World News Now With David Muir 07:30 Live NBC Nightly News (SatSun) 08:00 ABC World News Now With David Muir 08:30 Live NBC Nightly News (SatSun) 09:00 MSNBC Investigates 10:00 ABC World News Now With David Muir 10:30 Live NBC Nightly News (SatSun)

11:00 MSNBC Martin Bashir 12:00 MSNBC Hardball With Chris Matthews 13:00 MSNBC The Ed Show 14:00 Live ABC 20/20 15:00 MSNBC Hardball Weekend 15:30 MSNBC Your Business 16:00 Live NBC Sunday Today Show 17:00 Live NBC Meet The Press 18:00 ABC This Week With G Stephanopoulos 19:00 MSNBC Melissa Harris-Perry 20:00 Live NBC Meet The Press 21:00 ABC This Week With G Stephanopoulos 22:00 MSNBC Weekends With Alex Witt Sunday 23:00 MSNBC News

00:00 Johnny English Reborn-PG15 01:45 Captain America: The First Avenger-PG15 04:00 Star Trek: First Contact-PG 06:00 The Eagle-PG15 08:00 A Mother’s Choice-PG15 10:00 Kuffs-PG 11:45 Captain America: The First Avenger-PG15 14:00 The Birth Of Big Air-PG15 15:00 Tim Richmond: To The LimitPG15 16:00 A Mother’s Choice-PG15 17:45 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Pt.2-PG15 20:00 Nomads-PG15 22:00 Seeking Justice-PG15

01:00 01:30 02:00 07:00 09:00 12:00 13:30 17:30 19:30 20:30 21:00

Futbol Mundial ICC Cricket 360 Dubai World Cup Carnival Top 14 Live AFL Premiership Super League Live PGA European Tour Super League Trans World Sport Inside The PGA Tour Live PGA Tour

02:00 02:45 03:45 06:00 09:00 09:30 11:30 14:30 15:30 17:30 18:00 20:00 23:00

Futbol Mundial UFC The Ultimate Fighter Live UFC Prelims Live UFC Futbol Mundial Super Rugby Live AFL Premiership Trans World Sport Super Rugby Futbol Mundial UFC Prelims UFC UFC The Ultimate Fighter

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 09:30 11:00 13:00 13:30 15:30 16:30 20:00 22:00 22:30 23:00

Top 14 Top 14 PRO 12 Super Rugby Total Rugby Super League PRO 12 Total Rugby Top 14 Trans World Sport Premier League Darts Super Rugby Total Rugby ICC Cricket 360 PRO 12

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 13:00 16:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 23:00

WWE Bottom Line WWE SmackDown WWE NXT US Bass Fishing NHL 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 NHL WWE Bottom Line

Classifieds SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

Kuwait SHARQIA-1 PARKER (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) PARKER (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) PARKER (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

SHARQIA-2 SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) APARTMENT 1303 (DIG-3D) SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) APARTMENT 1303 (DIG-3D) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-3 VEHICLE 19 (DIG) 12:30 PM FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (DIG) 2:15 PM BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 4:15 PM VEHICLE 19 (DIG) 6:15 PM BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 8:00 PM A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) 10:15 PM VEHICLE 19 (DIG) 12:15 AM NO SUN+ TUE+WED MUHALAB-1 PARKER (DIG) 12:45 PM PARKER (DIG) 3:00 PM PARKER (DIG) 2:00 PM MR. PELLIKODUKKU (DIG) (TELUGU) 4:15 PM PARKER (DIG) 5:15 PM 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 7:30 PM PARKER (DIG) 9:45 PM PARKER (DIG) 12:05 AM NO SUN+ TUE+WED MUHALAB-2 MAMA (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED FANAR-1 PARKER (DIG) PARKER (DIG) PARKER (DIG) PARKER (DIG) PARKER (DIG) PARKER (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED FANAR-2 VEHICLE 19 (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) MAMA (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:00 PM 11:45 PM

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (28/02/2013 TO 06/03/2013)

MARINA-1 MAMA (DIG) PARKER (DIG) MAMA (DIG) PARKER (DIG) PARKER (DIG) PARKER (DIG) PARKER (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

1:30 PM 1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

MARINA-2 A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) 1:45 PM 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3:45 PM BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 6:00 PM 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 8:00 PM BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 10:15 PM A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) 12:15 AM NO SUN+ TUE+WED AVENUES-1 FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (DIG) FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (DIG) FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

2:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-2 BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 1:15 PM BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 3:30 PM BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 5:45 PM BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 8:00 PM PARKER (DIG) 6:00 PM PARKER (DIG) 8:15 PM PARKER (DIG) 10:30 PM PARKER (DIG) 12:45 AM 360ยบ- 1 SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

360ยบ- 2 MAMA (DIG) MAMA (DIG) MAMA (DIG) MAMA (DIG) MAMA (DIG) MAMA (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.1 PARKER (DIG) APARTMENT 1303 (DIG-3D) PARKER (DIG) APARTMENT 1303 (DIG-3D) PARKER (DIG)

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM

PARKER (DIG)

12:45 AM

AL-KOUT.2 A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:05 AM

BAIRAQ-1 BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 12:45 PM BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 2:45 PM BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 4:45 PM BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (DIG) 6:45 PM 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 9:00 PM MAMA (DIG) 11:30 PM BAIRAQ-2 SNITCH (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) VEHICLE 19 (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

PLAZA 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 3:30 PM FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (DIG) 5:45 PM MR. PELLIKODUKKU (DIG) (TELUGU) 6:30 PM NO THU 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 7:45 PM MR. PELLIKODUKKU (DIG) (TELUGU) 9:30 PM NO THU 3ALA GOSETY (DIG) 10:00 PM LAILA SNITCH (DIG) PARKER (DIG) SNITCH (DIG) PARKER (DIG)

4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM

AJIAL.1 FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (DIG) JABARDASTH (DIG) (TELUGU) 3ALA GOSETY (DIG)

4:45 PM 6:45 PM 9:45 PM

AJIAL.2 AADHIBHAGAVAN (DIG) (TAMIL) 4:00 PM AADHIBHAGAVAN (DIG) (TAMIL) 7:00 PM AADHIBHAGAVAN (DIG) (TAMIL) 10:00 PM METRO-1 MR. PELLIKODUKKU (DIG) (TELUGU) 3:30 PM MR. PELLIKODUKKU (DIG) (TELUGU) 6:30 PM MR. PELLIKODUKKU (DIG) (TELUGU) 10:00 PM METRO-2 AADHIBHAGAVAN (DIG) (TAMIL) 3:45 PM AADHIBHAGAVAN (DIG) (TAMIL) 6:45 PM JABARDASTH (DIG) (TELUGU) 9:45 PM

MATRIMONIAL Proposals invited for a RC boy 32/180 cm, graduate, Pala Diocese, currently working in an Insurance Company in Kuwait. Invites proposals from girls working in Kuwait. Email: proposalskwt81@gmail.com (C 4333) 3-3-2013 Alliance invited for a Marthomite boy, age 29 years/182cms graduate born and bought up in Kuwait, currently working in Kuwait for American Drilling Company as a Logistic Controller. Invites proposal from God fearing well educated/employed girls. Email: proposal1984@ymail.com (C 4326) 23-2-2013

Financially sound Ex. NRI Orthodox parents invites proposal for their daughter 29/152, ME+MBA, from parents of God fearing professionals with good family backgrounds.

Email: gracegeevar@gmail.com

SITUATION VACANT Required cook for local family, know both international and local dishes, transferable residence, males only, full time.

Contact: 94088822.

(C 4332) A lady maid is needed to work for 2 to 3 days a week in a flat located in Salmiya.

Working hours is between 12 pm to 6 pm and the salary is negotiable. Please call 66417504. (C 4330)

CHANGE OF NAME I Patricia GEORGINA NGOZI CHALOKWU, holder of Nigerian passport number A00889231, do hereby change name to PATRICIA GEORGINA NGOZI WILLIAMS. 3-3-2013

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Airlines JAI MEA THY JZR JZR QTR RJA MEA GFA UAE ETD FDB MSR ETH MSC THY QTR KAC CLX DHX THY JZR BAW KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR FDB ETD GFA IRA IRC MSC JZR MEA MSR SYR UAE KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KNE SVA QTR

Arrival Flights on Sunday 3/3/2013 Flt Route 574 MUMBAI 406 BEIRUT 772 ISTANBUL 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 148 DOHA 642 AMMAN 408 BEIRUT 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 620 ADDIS ABABA 2403 ASSIUT 5430 ISTANBUL 138 DOHA 544 CAIRO 792 LUXEMBOURG 170 BAHRAIN 770 ISTANBUL 555 ALEXANDRIA 157 LONDON 412 MANILA 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 382 DELHI 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 855 DUBAI 121 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 603 SHIRAZ 6666 AHWAZ 2403 ASSIUT 165 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 610 CAIRO 341 DAMASCUS 871 DUBAI 742 DAMMAM 284 DHAKA 774 RIYADH 57 DUBAI 672 DUBAI 472 JEDDAH 500 JEDDAH 140 DOHA

Time 00:05 00:15 00:35 00:45 00:50 01:00 01:10 01:40 01:50 02:35 02:45 03:05 03:10 03:25 03:30 03:30 03:45 04:20 04:55 05:15 05:30 06:00 06:40 06:45 07:40 07:45 07:45 07:55 08:15 08:25 08:40 09:05 09:10 09:15 09:20 09:55 10:40 11:10 11:30 11:45 11:55 12:45 12:50 12:50 12:55 12:55 13:30 13:50 14:10 14:15 14:30 14:35

JZR JZR QTR JZR UAE ETD JZR RJA GFA SVA JZR QTR ABY UAL KAC JZR RBG KAC FDB AFG KAC MSC KAC KAC KAC OMA KAC FDB JAI AXB MSR JZR ABY QTR ALK KAC MEA QTR GFA ETD UAE KAC JZR DHX FDB KAC KLM AIC JZR GFA JZR UAL DLH

561 257 134 787 857 303 241 640 215 510 777 144 127 982 542 177 3553 786 63 415 166 2405 618 102 674 647 562 61 572 393 606 175 129 146 229 502 402 136 221 307 859 172 135 372 59 514 417 981 239 217 185 981 636

SOHAG BEIRUT DOHA RIYADH DUBAI ABU DHABI AMMAN AMMAN BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH DOHA SHARJAH WASHINGTON DC DULLES CAIRO DUBAI ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH DUBAI KABUL PARIS SOHAG DOHA NEW YORK DUBAI MUSCAT AMMAN DUBAI MUMBAI KOZHIKODE LUXOR DUBAI SHARJAH DOHA COLOMBO BEIRUT BEIRUT DOHA BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI FRANKFURT BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI TEHRAN AMSTERDAM CHENNAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN FRANKFURT

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 19:15 19:20 19:35 19:35 19:55 19:55 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:30 20:35 20:45 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 THY DHX BBC JAI UAL MEA DLH MEA THY FDB UAE ETD ETH MSR MSC THY QTR QTR JZR GFA RJA THY CLX JZR FDB BAW JZR KAC KAC ABY UAE KAC KAC FDB ETD KAC QTR GFA JZR KAC IRA IRC JZR KAC MSC MEA JZR KAC MSR

Departure Flights on Sunday 3/3/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA 283 DHAKA 390 MANGALORE 5599 ISTANBUL 371 BAHRAIN 44 CHITTAGONG 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 407 BEIRUT 637 FRANKFURT 409 BEIRUT 773 ISTANBUL 68 DUBAI 854 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 621 ADDIS ABABA 613 CAIRO 2404 ASSIUT 5595 ISTANBUL 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 643 AMMAN 771 ISTANBUL 713 NAIROBI 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 214 BAHRAIN 240 AMMAN 541 CAIRO 602 SHIRAZ 6667 AHWAZ 776 JEDDAH 103 LONDON 2406 SOHAG 405 BEIRUT 786 RIYADH 785 JEDDAH 611 CAIRO

Time 00:05 00:10 00:15 00:20 00:40 01:00 01:05 01:10 01:15 01:20 02:40 02:55 03:45 03:50 04:00 04:10 04:10 04:30 04:45 04:50 06:05 06:55 07:00 07:05 07:35 08:15 08:15 08:25 08:45 09:05 09:10 09:35 09:45 09:55 09:55 10:00 10:00 10:05 10:05 10:10 10:40 11:20 11:30 11:40 12:10 12:15 12:20 12:30 12:55 12:55 13:00 13:45

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

SYR JZR UAE FDB KAC KAC KNE KAC KAC SVA JZR QTR JZR ETD KAC JZR QTR UAE RJA GFA JZR SVA ABY JZR QTR RBG JZR UAL FDB AFG MSC FDB OMA JAI AXB ABY MSR DHX ALK JZR MEA ETD QTR GFA KAC FDB UAE KAC KAC DHX KLM QTR KAC JZR

342 176 872 58 561 673 473 501 617 503 174 141 238 304 513 538 135 858 641 216 184 511 128 266 145 3554 134 982 64 415 2404 62 648 571 394 120 619 171 230 540 403 308 137 222 301 60 860 351 205 373 417 147 343 502

LATAKIA DUBAI DUBAI DUBAI AMMAN DUBAI JEDDAH BEIRUT DOHA MADINAH DUBAI DOHA AMMAN ABU DHABI TEHRAN CAIRO DOHA DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN DUBAI RIYADH SHARJAH BEIRUT DOHA ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI JEDDAH ASSIUT DUBAI MUSCAT MUMBAI KOZHIKODE SHARJAH ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN COLOMBO CAIRO BEIRUT ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI DUBAI KOCHI ISLAMABAD BAHRAIN DAMMAM DOHA CHENNAI LUXOR

13:50 13:50 14:15 14:30 14:30 15:05 15:10 15:15 15:45 15:45 16:05 16:15 17:15 17:35 17:40 17:40 17:45 17:50 17:55 18:15 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:45 18:50 19:00 19:05 19:10 19:25 20:00 20:15 20:40 20:55 21:10 21:15 21:15 21:25 21:50 21:55 22:00 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

34

stars CROSSWORD 117

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19)

If long-overdue work has piled up, Aries, today is the day to dig in. Added strength and mental acuity are in the air, and the projects that you couldn’t get to before will be readily accomplished.

Make the most of the energy provided by the planetary aspects.

Don’t put anything off. If you procrastinate, the pile will just get bigger. Do what needs to be done and you will feel great afterward.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Don’t worry about being productive today, Taurus.

Thanks to the high energy provided by the planetary aspects, it might be one of the most efficient days you’ve had for a long time. Dig in your heels and go, go, go. Things will be accomplished in no time flat, with some to spare at that. If you have a creative hobby, enjoy working on it. You will find it rewarding.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS

1. Being one hundred more than two hundred.

4. A language spoken by the Atakapa people of the Gulf coast of Louisiana and Texas.

12. A workplace for the conduct of scientific research.

15. The syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization.

16. Leader of a group or festival.

17. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

18. A self-funded retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement.

19. The state of being ripe.

20. The part of the nervous system of vertebrates that controls involuntary actions of the smooth muscles and heart and glands.

21. Bulldog ants.

23. Small striped semiterrestrial eastern American squirrel with cheek pouches.

25. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

27. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

28. Tropical starchy tuberous root.

31. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agriculture and patron of scribes and schools.

33. A fraudulent business scheme.

36. A yellow quartz.

38. A lake in northwestern Russia.

41. Relating to the deepest parts of the ocean (below 6000 meters).

43. Half the width of an em.

45. A Spanish river.

46. (Hindu) A manner of sitting (as in the practice of Yoga).

49. An implement used to propel or steer a boat.

50. Liveliness and energy.

54. A complete metric system of units of measurement for scientists.

55. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls.

58. Indigo bush.

59. Relating to the blood vessels or blood.

61. The food served and eaten at one time.

64. An inactive volcano in Sicily.

65. A port city in southwestern Iran.

70. A seducer who ruins a woman.

71. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

73. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

74. A cleansing agent made from the salts of vegetable or animal fats.

75. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

77. Having leadership guidance.

78. Voluntary contributions to aid the poor.

79. Extreme mental retardation.

80. An agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank.

DOWN 1. An upward slope or grade (as in a road).

2. Genus of large deciduous nut-bearing trees.

3. A visual display of information.

4. A unit of area (4840 square yards) used in English-speaking countries.

5. A dense growth of bushes.

6. A light-weight hat worn in tropical countries for protection from the sun.

7. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

8. Airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc..

9. How long something has existed.

10. Celestial shepherd god.

11. The slender spear of the Bantu-speaking people of Africa.

12. An accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape.

13. Transient cessation of respiration.

14. A city in northwestern Switzerland.

22. An insane person.

24. A telegram sent abroad.

26. The cry made by sheep.

29. A licensed medical practitioner.

30. A person forced to flee from home or country.

32. A slight rounded elevation where the malleus attaches to the eardrum.

34. Covered or protected with or as if with a case.

35. (Babylonian) A demigod or first man.

37. Use of a word to govern two or more words though appropriate to only one.

39. Remove from memory or existence.

40. A water wheel with buckets attached to the rim.

42. The act of slowing down or falling behind.

44. Resonance of protons to radiation in a magnetic field.

47. A musical composition in several movements.

48. An anticoagulant (trade name Coumadin) use to prevent and treat a thrombus or embolus.

51. (informal) Very tired.

52. A public promotion of some product or service.

53. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

56. (computer science) A unit for measuring computing power.

57. A member of the Himalayan people living in Nepal and Tibet who are famous for their skill as mountaineers.

60. An island of central Hawaii.

62. An organic compound that contains a hydroxyl group bonded to a carbon atom which in turn is doubly bonded to another carbon atom.

63. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.

66. A small cake leavened with yeast.

67. Surrealist Spanish painter (1904-1989).

68. In bed.

69. A quantity of no importance.

72. A legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body.

76. The square of a body of any size of type.

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

Expect an added boost to your physical energy today, Gemini. It’s an excellent day to clean out closets and storage rooms.

Some exercise like biking or walking will be most enjoyable. It may also prove to be well worth your while to sit down and look at your goals.

Are you where you wanted to be at this stage of your life? Are there changes that need to be made? Exercise both your brain and body.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

If certain projects or tasks have seemed difficult to finish, take advantage of the energy provided by today’s planetary aspects. This energy will give you all the zip you need, Cancer. It’s a good time to meet with others to discuss important matters. Your communication and cooperation skills will be increased. You can make decisions much more quickly than usual. Have a productive day!

Leo (July 23-August 22)

You might feel more energetic than you have in a long time, Leo. The day’s planetary aspects offer a powerful energy that will increase your mental acuity and physical strength, and this can really help you tackle and finish any tasks that have been piling up. If you manage to accomplish so much that you have time to spare, help others lighten their load. Tend to your own first, however.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

If there’s something you want to take on, Virgo, today’s the day. The celestial aspects will see an increase in physical and mental strength that can work wonders for you. Put any insecurity or lack of confidence in the trash, and take the steps you need to tackle your project or goal. You have the ability to make sound judgments, so put your trust in this talent. Take steps to get what you want.

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Libra (September 23-October 22)

If you’ve been feeling sluggish lately, Libra, today will see a surge in energy that will greatly increase your creativity and physical strength. Seize the opportunity to get into the fresh air for a sports activity or long walk. Exercise can direct your physical energy and give your mind a chance to clear. Don’t be surprised if you discover more clarity and focus afterward. Make the most of it.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Scorpio, if there’s something interesting that you want to try, go for it. Adventure brings excitement, creative flow, and energy, and these are essential to you. Yours is a highly artistic nature. Continual stimulation is required to keep your psyche healthy. Experience something new today. Even if it’s just a walk to a place you’ve never been, it will give you the adrenaline you need.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Today’s energy will help you take steps toward getting things in order, Sagittarius. Tackle the drawers, closets, storage rooms, and cabinets. Organization is a good activity for today.

Creating order brings a sense of peace and personal control. Mental organization like goal setting, budgeting, or scheduling will add to this feeling. Sift through and clean out as many corners as you can.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

The energy of the day makes you ready for almost anything, Capricorn. Given your sometimes radical approach to whatever you do, you may need to rein yourself in. You also have a humanitarian approach to life. If the pursuit of your wants hurts others, it could create serious internal conflict. With this high energy, think your plans through before taking action to remain true to your values.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

Today may be an excellent time to take a second shot at something that didn’t work out the first time, Aquarius. Falling flat on your face can damage your confidence and self-esteem. But failure and rejection are parts of life, and they really do add character. By going back into the ring, you ensure that the character you’re adding to is courageous, and through perseverance, successful.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Your ability to find innovative approaches to tasks may serve you well today, Pisces. Today is full of added energy and mental acuity. You will find that most things come easily. With detail-oriented projects, take extra time to think of the possibilities.

Try to see things from all angles. There may be far more choices than you thought. Make the most of this by jotting down your random ideas.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya Jabriya

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

ST TAT TE OF KUW K WA AIT

Tel.: e 161

DIRECTORA ATE T GENERAL GENE OF CIVIL AVIA V AT TION METEOROLOGICAL DEP PARTMENT A

Ext.: 262 2627 - 2630

BY Y NIGHT:

Partly cloudy with light to moderate easterly to north easterly wind, with speed of 12 - 35 km/h with a chance for rain that might be thundery at times No Current Waarnings arnin

WARNING A MAX. EXP P.

MIN. REC.

KUW WA AIT CITY

26 °C

20 °C

KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

27 °C

19 °C

NUW WA AISEEB

27 °C

18 °C

WAFRA A

30 °C

17 °C

SALMI

29 °C

15 °C

25746401

ABDAL LY

26 °C

17 °C

25316254

JAL ALIY YA AH

28 °C

18 °C

Maidan Hawally

25623444

FAILAKA A

24 °C

19 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

22 °C

19 °C

Mishref

25381200

QARUH ISLAND

22 °C

19 °C

W Hawally

22630786

UMM AL-MARADEM

22 °C

19 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

SFC. CHART

02/03/2013 0000 UTC

4 DA AY YS FORECAST Temperatures DA ATE T

WEA ATHER T

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

New Jahra

24575755

Sunday

03/03

visibility will improve

26 °C

18 °C

NE-SE

12 - 32 km/h

West Jahra

24772608

Monday

04/03

sunny + raising dust

28 °C

18 °C

SE

20 - 45 km/h

South Jahra

24775066

Tuesday

05/03

clouds to increase

29 °C

19 °C

N-NE

06 - 26 km/h

Wednesday e

06/03

partly cloudy + scattered rain

25 °C

16 °C

N-NE

15 - 40 km/h

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WAIT A AIRPORT

RA AY YER TIMES PRA

MAX. Temp.

25 °C

Ardhiya

24884079

Sunrise

06:12

MIN. Temp.

18 °C

Firdous

24892674

Zuhr

12:00

MAX. RH

76 %

Asr

15:19

MIN. RH

Sunset

17:48

MAX. Wind i

Isha

19:05

TOT TAL AL RAIINF FA ALL L IN 24 HR.

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

04:53

25 % SE 64 km/h .06 mm

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

Fintas

23900322

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

Partly cloudy with light to moderate freshening gradually south easterly changing to north westerly wind, with speed of 15 - 40 km/h causing raising dust with a chance for rain that might be thundery at times

Fajr

Al-Shuhada

WWW.MET.GOV V.KW .

BY Y DA AY:

DA AY

22418714

Fax: 24348714

Expected Weeather for the Next 24 Hours

ST TATION T

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, MARCH 3, 2013

LIFESTYLE M o v i e s

&

M u s i c

From eggs to film: A Japanese-American studio head

T

here isn’t much “Hollywood” about Kevin Tsujihara. He spends most of his time in back-room meetings, away from the red carpets and spotlights for which the city is known. There are few photos of him online, and a few weeks ago, someone created the first page for him on Wikipedia. But, on Friday, the 48-year-old father of two, who grew up making deliveries as the son of egg distributors, will become the CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment. The third-generation Japanese-American will be the first AsianAmerican to head a Hollywood studio. And Warner Bros isn’t just any studio. It is one of the world’s largest entertainment companies and the fount from which recent Oscar winner “Argo” sprang. Sprawled over 35 sound stages and other buildings, the studio got its start in 1923. It’s the home of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, whose modern hits include the multibillion-dollar franchises “Harry Potter” and “The Dark Knight.”

Tsujihara’s rise at Warner Bros., and his appointment as CEO, is a testament to his hard work, humility and willingness to take risks. It’s also a sign of the progress JapaneseAmericans have made in the last 70 years.

During World War II, Tsujihara’s parents, like thousands of Japanese families living in the US, were branded by the federal government as traitors and forced to live in internment camps. They had their property confiscated and had to rebuild from scratch when the war was over. The Tsujihara family’s struggle lends deeper meaning to Kevin’s accomplishments.

“The one thing I kind of regret and am sad about is that I couldn’t share this with my

dad,” Tsujihara said during an emotional moment in his office on the studio lot. “He would be shocked. I think my dad would think it’s not even in the realm of possibility.

Not because he didn’t think I was great. But I don’t think he thought these opportunities would exist for us.” Last month’s appointment of Tsujihara came as a surprise. Although he was in the running to replace Barry Meyer as chief executive, he wasn’t exactly the frontrunner. Most observers believed the job would go to one of two colleagues with whom Tsujihara shared the office of the president - Warner Bros. Pictures president Jeff Robinov or Warner Bros. Television Group president Bruce Rosenblum. Robinov had overseen production of the hugely successful “Dark Knight” series. Rosenblum helped turn the studio into Hollywood’s largest producer of TV shows. Meanwhile, Tsujihara had been in charge of driving consumption of movies on disc and in digital formats during a difficult transition period for the film industry.

Hollywood trade publications suggest that Tsujihara was the top choice in the end because he maintained a humble demeanor and didn’t campaign for the job. It also didn’t hurt that he gets along well with Jeff Bewkes, the CEO of parent Time Warner Inc. With the parent company increasingly betting its future on the value of its content, rather than the way it’s delivered, a digital strategist would seem logical anywhere but in Hollywood, where relationships with directors and actors are given primacy. Tsujihara said his relative status as an outsider helped him challenge the status quo at a time when

the industry began suffering from the collapse of DVD sales. His kind of out-of-the-box thinking is apparent in some of Warner Bros.’ recent experiments.

Kevin Tsujihara poses for photos in a screening room at the Warner Bros.—AP The company began selling “Argo” by way of digital download while Oscar buzz was at its hottest, weeks before the movie’s release on DVD. Warner Bros also took the lead in holding back rentals at $1.20-per-night kiosks like Redbox until a month after DVDs went on

sale, in order to nudge people toward purchasing downloads, discs, or movie tickets. “I think part of what was really helpful was I never came from this industry, I never had aspirations to work in this industry. And so I questioned everything,” Tsujihara said. “I had a perspective that I wasn’t afraid to speak my mind because I didn’t think this was where I’d end up.”

Tsujihara grew up making deliveries for his parents’ egg distribution business in Petaluma, Calif, a community of 58,000 north of San Francisco that once was known as “The Egg Capital of the World.” One summer his father made him take a job on a farm where he had to clean up chicken excrement and sort eggs on a conveyor belt. The youngest of five siblings - all with American-sounding first names like Phyllis and Sidney Tsujihara grew up speaking English at home, even though his parents could speak Japanese. His father Shizuo was on the phone working around the clock, sometimes playing host to egg farmers and buyers at a home office equipped with an egg shed.

“You get a lot of your work ethic more from watching people versus them telling you how to work,” he said. Apart from the work, Tsujihara had a relatively carefree childhood. His junior high school history teacher, Stephen Lamb, remembers him being a smart student who could concern himself with things other than school. The young Tsujihara wrote in Lamb’s yearbook, “Number one, the Giants are going to win the pennant, number two, pro wrestling is real, and number three, roller derby is real.”“He told me he

was going to come and collect his $20 when the Giants won,” said Lamb, a lifetime Cardinals fan. “He was a neat kid to have around. Everybody liked him.”

In high school, his father urged him to take up golf, even though the luxury came later in life for him. “My parents wanted me to feel as American and to fit in with everyone else as much as possible,” he said.

It was only later in life that Tsujihara realized the sacrifices his parents had made. His father, who died in 2003, served as a translator helping the US military during the war, while his family lived in an internment camp.

His uncle Kazuo enlisted in the famous 442nd regiment of Japanese American soldiers who fought for the U.S. in Europe. Although the family had been farming peaches, grapes and olives in the Fresno, Calif., area before the war, they resettled in Petaluma after leaving the internment camps.

After Tsujihara graduated from the University of Southern California with an accounting degree in 1986, he got a job as a manager at Ernst & Young’s entertainment division working on audits, mergers and acquisitions. One of his major clients was Warner Bros. After a few years, he was admitted into the MBA program at Stanford. It was then that he decided to learn more about his Japanese roots. He studied Japanese for a year, and took a summer internship at the Long Term Credit Bank of Japan in Tokyo.

Looking Japanese but lacking fluency in the language led to some awkward moments for Tsujihara, convincing him he’d be better off making a living in America. —AP

Keep up censorship fight, urges acclaimed Chinese filmmaker C

hinese filmmakers must fight censorship even if it means removing their name from their own work, one-time banned Chinese director Lou Ye told AFP in an interview ahead of this month’s Asian Film Awards in which his crime thriller “Mystery” has been nominated in six categories. Banned in 2006 from filming in China for five years, Lou’s latest picture tackles the subject of a new breed of wealthy and middle income men in post-socialist China for whom taking a mistress is the norm, in a practice that harks back to imperial China. With nominations including best film, best director and best actress for Hao Lei’s portrayal of a betrayed wife, “Mystery” begins with a violent death and tells the story of one man’s double life. “The film is about a very small group of people. It is about what happens between two women, the double life that this man leads, but through this I get to talk This image released by Starpix shows Ryan Seacrest during a news confer- about things that happen in wider society,” he said in ence for “American Idol”, to kick of the “Idol Across America,” a promotion in Paris where the film was shown as part of a China program at the city’s Forum des Images in February. “What is New York. —AP important to me is the way in which we see that all the protagonists are linked to the death of this young girl, the way that no-one can say this has nothing to do with me,” he said. According to Lou, having a mistress is now commonplace in China for anyone with sufficient means.

“Currently we see this way of life in particular among people who have money,” he said adding that it was seen as a status symbol for men while a woman acting in the same few playful rounds of “Are you?” banter yan Seacrest can tell you lot about on the subject, he decided to call it a day. way would be stigmatized. The film is his second since the evolution of “American Idol” the end of the ban imposed after he took his love story Seacrest made the comments Friday over the last twelve seasons, but “Summer Palace”, set around the taboo subject of the while promoting “Idol Across America,” a the host is a bit more reluctant to discuss 1989 pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests, to relay of the “American Idol” microphone the evolution of his relationship with Cannes without official approval. across the country, taking a page from actress Julianne Hough. When asked by Lou responded by continuing to work, filming his the Olympic torch relay. As for the The Associated Press if there was a wednext feature “Spring Fever” in secret using a handheld prospect of the microphone making it in ding date in his future, Seacrest casually camera as well as “Love and Bruises” which came out after one piece, Seacrest says if not, “I’m sure responded: “Are you getting married?” the ban expired. Although now able to film in China there’s one in a holster standing by if it Seacrest and Hough have been again, Lou remains the subject of unwanted attention breaks.” —AP together since the spring of 2010. After a

Seacrest dodges wedding question at ‘Idol’ event

R

O

(From left) Chinese actor Qin Hao, Chinese film director Lou Ye and Chinese actress Qi Xi posing during the photocall of the movie “Mystery” presented in the “Un Certain Regard” selection at the 65th Cannes film festival in Cannes. —AFP from censors. After submitting the script for “Mystery”, Lou waited for five months for a response. Authorization was given but demands for last minute changes followed. Although described as “minimal” by Lou, he still regards them as unacceptable. “I used social networks in China to tell everyone that they were demanding modifications and I entered into a dialogue with the censors and in the end came up with something that was satisfactory,” he said.

“The very existence of censors is a worry for all film

directors. In China it is a reality,” he said. Lou urges all filmmakers to play their part in ensuring an end to the power of the censor. “All directors have a responsibility for the fact that censorship continues today in China,” he said, adding that there had been some progress in recent years “considering the situation before”. In the meantime, his next film is an adaptation of a novel by Bi Feiyu about blind masseurs which he hopes to finish this year. “I hope that for my next film my name will be on the screen,” he said. —AFP

You always see it first on OSN

SN, the leading pay-TV network in the Middle East and North Africa, brings viewers two months of action packed entertainment from the biggest and latest multi award-winning movies to exclusive premieres of returning series so viewers always see it first on OSN. OSN is the only place you can watch the best and latest blockbusters within months of its cinema release. The movie that’s got everyone talking and winner of Best Picture at the recent Academy Awards, Argo, makes it TV premier in the region exclusively on OSN. Based on true events, Argo chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis-the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. Argo is now showing on OSN Box Office HD until 18th March.

From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes The Hobbit:

An Unexpected Journey which soared to the top of the global box office in a record-breaking opening. The movie makes its TV premiere exclusively on

OSN Box Office 1 on March 15th just months after its grand cinema release in the region.

Skyfall is one of the best blockbusters

we’ve seen in a year that included The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hunger Games. Viewers can start to suitup for the 23rd adventure in the longestrunning film franchise of all time as Daniel Craig returns as the dazzling and audacious 007 super-spy smashing box office records in the award-winning Skyfall which will grace OSN screens this April. Also making its first TV appearance this April is the award-winning multi-starrer musical, Les Miserables - uncut, uninterrupted and in superb HD only on OSN. In addition to the best movies, OSN is also home to the biggest and latest award-winning series. OSN First HD/OSN First’s March line-up is unmatched as the latest seasons of our favorite series return. Sons of Anarchy kicked off Season 5 on March 2nd which sees Jax, the club’s new king, protecting the club from a new faced potent enemy. The excitement continues with Downton Abbey returning to your screens on

March 14th with Season 3. And, Top Gear UK is back with Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond thrashing hypercars, rusty estates and homemade microcars across Europe, the USA and Africa in Season 19 showing every Sunday at 8pm on OSN First HD/OSN First.

With 8 Emmys, a Golden Globe plus numerous other awards, the adventure fantasy series based on George R. R. Martin’s novel series, Game of Thrones is back. Right away it’s obvious Game of Thrones Season 3 will be bigger and better as the men in charge, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss describe it as the season they’ve “been anticipating from the very beginning.” It’s the season the show has been building up to, and now it’s here from 1st April just hours after the US exclusively on OSN- you’re home for the latest and biggest award-winning series.

Make sure you tune in to OSN to see it first, before anyone else!

37

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

LIFESTYLE M o v i e s

&

M u s i c

Review

‘21 & Over’ when an ‘Animal House’ wants to be a ‘Breakfast Club’

T

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio poses for a photo call before the show of his new film “DJango Unchained” at a movie theatre in Tokyo, yesterday. DiCaprio is here to promote the film which was released on March 1, 2013 at theatre across Japan. —AP

Jackie Chan’s China

he clown always longs to play “Hamlet” and, apparently, the guys who wrote “The Hangover” want to end the beer blast with an honest talk about feelings and adult responsibilities. At least that’s what happens in “21 & Over,” the directorial debut of “Hangover” writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who prove themselves masters of on-screen debauchery while still facing a steep learning curve on poignancy. If you want to make “Animal House,” make “Animal House,” and if you want to make “The Breakfast Club,” make “The Breakfast Club.” Trying to do both is no easy feat, and it’s one that these two first-timers fall short of accomplishing. Still, “21 & Over” is a blast while the party’s on. Miller (Miles Teller, “Footloose”) and Casey (Skylar Astin, “Pitch Perfect”) surprise their high-school pal Jeff Chang (Justin Chon, “Twilight”) on his 21st birthday for a wild night of debauchery.

Jeff Chang (the use of his first and last names is a running gag in the movie) initially begs off since he has a med-school interview at 8 am the next morning, arranged by his ultra-strict Tiger Dad Dr Chang (FranÁois Chau) — but it doesn’t take much to talk him into just one beer.

One beer becomes two becomes shots, and soon the trio are burning up the town (the film was shot in and around the University of Washington) with a spree that eventually includes vengeanceminded sorority girls; irate pep squad captain Randy (Jonathan Keltz); seize-the-day sorority girl Nicole (Sarah Wright), who catches Casey’s eye; an out-of-control buffalo; and some of the most prodigious projectile vomiting seen outside of the oeuvre of John Waters.

So far, so good, and “21 & Over” distinguishes itself from many of its gross-out peers by giving us compelling characters (the friction between the

appointment draws Hong Kong ire

H

ong Kong action star Jackie Chan this week joins China’s top political advisory body in a move analysts say highlights Beijing’s growing “soft power” efforts to project unity between itself and the former British colony.

But the 58-year-old actor, famous in the West for “Rush Hour” and “Police Story”, faces a backlash in his hometown where the mainland is viewed with increasing suspicion. According to professor Sonny Ho, co-director at the Centre for Greater China Studies, Chan was selected to appear at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) because his stardom could help promote ties.

“Jackie Chan is acting under the soft power and united front of the PRC (mainland) government,” he said. The “united front” strategy, he said, was a campaign to promote a strong and peaceful homeland, unified with Taiwan. China’s growing clout over the past decade has seen actors from Hong Kong and Macau drafted into patriotic movies that glorify the country’s past, from the mighty Han Dynasty to the early Communist Party era, Ho added. The appointment of the martial arts star however was met with derision online in Hong Kong where Chan’s reputation has taken a nosedive in recent years over his pro-Beijing stances such as calling for limits on the right to protest.

Dissatisfaction towards Beijing has risen in recent years over a range of issues from alleged political interference to an influx of mainlanders blamed for driving up property prices and for shortages of baby formula. The announcement of Chan’s appointment was greeted with online derision. “Yet another movie star turns into a CPPCC member.

Since when did this negative social trend become so popular?” one user posted on the Sina Weibo microblog site.

“Sure, add another big dope to a veritable congregation of big dopes,”‘ianson’ commented on the website of the South China Morning Post newspaper. The CPPCC is a 2,000-strong

This file photo shows Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan speaking during a photo call in Hong Kong. —AFP

advisory body which includes China’s other token political parties and a few celebrities, including former NBA basketball star Yao Ming.

The conference, which convenes on Sunday, functions as a high-profile organization but it is more toothless than China’s essentially rubber-stamp legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), which opens its annual session on Tuesday. However the NPC, with nearly 3,000 delegates, has a higher profile this year as it will confirm the completion of China’s once-a-decade power transfer. At the meeting, new Communist Party boss Xi Jinping will be installed as Chinese president, taking over from Hu Jintao. Chan, who is known for his martial arts skills and daring comedic stunt work, provoked a furious fight-back last December after reportedly suggesting in a Chinese magazine interview that protests in his native city should be restricted.

And in 2009, he landed in hot water for telling a forum that “we Chinese need to be controlled”. Pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker Emily Lau said his appointment was more evidence that Beijing was not prepared to take the city’s concerns seriously. “Maybe he represents a certain segment of the population but he has also upset quite a number of people. So if Beijing decides to appoint him, it shows you what kind of views they want to listen to, which is quite unfortunate.”

But while increasing numbers of entertainers have allowed themselves to be co-opted by Beijing, Lau was not hopeful many would be willing to voice dissent. “The last time Hong Kong artists came together was on June 4, 1989 (after the Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protests),” she said. “Now, many of them are very frightened of upsetting Beijing. The mainland is also now the biggest market so they cannot afford to let go of those commercial opportunities.” —AFP

rambunctious Miller and the buttoned-down Casey provides much of the comedy) and by allowing the occasional victims of our heroes’ bacchanal the chance to get their revenge. Most male-privilege farces never give the other side a chance for rebuttal, but Lucas and Moore are savvy enough to give us both outrageous acts and legitimate consequences without being wet blankets about it.

Things do get sodden when Miller and Casey realize that Jeff Chang is perhaps more troubled than they realized, which leads them to contemplate that their friendship isn’t as close as it once was, and that in turn prompts conversations about their lives after college and whether or not they’ll all stay in touch. There’s a movie to be made about such subjects, to be sure, but “21 & Over” twists itself into knots trying to be wild and sweet at the same time. The parts that work, however, work very well, thanks mostly to the three engaging leads (all of whom are subjected to full dorsal and mostly frontal nudity over the course of their adventures).

There are plenty of hilarious recurring jokes involving minor characters, particularly Randy’s unctuous yes-men. “21 & Over” provides lots of fun while the beer flows. Too bad the R.A. felt like he had to come in and ask everyone about their major. —Reuters

Actress Bonnie Franklin of TV’s ‘One Day at a Time’ dies at 69 A

Final ‘Hobbit’ moves to December 2014

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he final installment of “The Hobbit” film trilogy will be released on Dec. 17, 2014, five months later than planned, Warner Bros said on Thursday.

“The Hobbit: There and Back Again” had been set to debut in July 2014. It will follow “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which came out in December 2012, and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” is scheduled to be released on December 13, 2013.

“We’re excited to complete the trilogy the same way we started it, as a holiday

treat for moviegoers everywhere,” said Dan Fellman, president of distribution for Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc. “The Hobbit” series is a prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy “The Lord of the Rings,” which director Peter Jackson made into three Oscar-winning films about a decade ago. The first “Hobbit” film was a blockbuster with global sales of $981 million, according to the Box Office Mojo website. The trilogy is financed by Warner Bros. New Line Cinema and MGM. —Reuters

ctress Bonnie Franklin, best known for her starring role as a single, working mother on the hit CBS comedy “One Day at a Time,” in an era when US television was redefining families in pop culture, died on Friday at age 69. She died at her Los Angeles home of complications from pancreatic cancer, surrounded by relatives and friends, according to a statement issued by the CBS network on behalf of her family.

Franklin, a petite redhead, had acted on Broadway before being cast as the harried divorcee Ann Romano in “One Day at a Time,” which debuted in December 1975 and ran for nine seasons on CBS. It co-starred Valerie Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips as her two headstrong daughters. “My heart is breaking,” Bertinelli, who played the younger daughter, Barbara, said in a statement.

“Bonnie has always been one of the most important women in my life and was a second mother to me.”“She taught me how to navigate this business and life itself with grace and humor, and to always be true to myself. I will miss her terribly,” Bertinelli added.

Franklin’s performance on the series garnered her an Emmy nomination in 1982. She previously earned a Theatre World Award and a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut work in the 1970 musical “Applause,” in which she sang the title song. During a career spanning six decades, she starred in more than 30 television series and made-for-TV movies while continuing her work in live theater.

But she was best remembered for her

work on the Norman Lear-produced sitcom “One Day at a Time.”

The show was an instant ratings success and became a cultural landmark for its portrait of a family that departed from the idealized sitcom households of earlier

Portrayed single, working mother Franklin played a divorced mother - a rarity on US TV at the time - who was struggling to raise her daughters in an Indianapolis apartment with little help from their father, while striving for a ful-

File photo shows, from left, Bonnie Franklin, MacKenzie Phillips, Valerie Bertinelli and Pat Harrington of the 1970’s television sitcom “One Day at a Time, “ on the NBC “Today” television program in New York. —AP decades, like those on “Leave It to Beaver” (1957-1963) and “Father Knows Best” (1954-1960). By the time “One Day at a Time” premiered at the end of 1975, even the happy blended family of “The Brady Bunch” (1969-1974) had become obsolete.

filling personal life of her own. “Ms Franklin helped define and illuminate the role of single, working mothers within the cultural landscape,” CBS said in its statement. The show delved into drama as it followed their day-to-day lives, dealing with teen sex, suicide, runaways, sex-

ual harassment and other contemporary topics that never would have come up at the Cleavers’ dinner table on “Leave It to Beaver.”

Adding comic relief was the meddlesome building superintendent, Dwayne Schneider - his first name was almost never mentioned - played by Pat Harrington Jr., who becomes virtually part of the family. Unlike the character she played, Franklin had no children of her own. Born in Santa Monica, she was the fourth of five children of immigrant parents - a Romanian mother and Italian father - and made her television debut at age 9 on “The Colgate Comedy Hour,” an NBC variety show in the 1950s.

“To my mother, getting married and having kids were synonymous with security,” Franklin said in a 1977 interview with Family Weekly. “I used to tell her that was not always so, but I couldn’t convince her. Then I got married, divorced, the series came along, it was a hit, and something remarkable happened: She came around to my point of view.”

“She said to me, ‘It’s wonderful. You can have a personal life and earn money for your old age,’” Franklin recalled.

Franklin helped hold the “One Day at a Time” cast together amid off-camera tensions. Phillips, who played older daughter Julie, battled serious drug problems during the show’s run and was fired after getting arrested on cocaine charges, showing up late and incoherent, and undergoing drug rehab. —Reuters

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

lifestyle F a s h i o n

Models present creations for Christian Dior during the Fall/Winter 2013-2014 ready-to-wear collection show in Paris. — AFP photos

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he fourth day of Paris fashion week saw Raf Simons unveil the latest chapter of his journey after nearly a year at the design helm of Christian Dior. Following his acclaimed debut last year, the pressure has been stacked on the Belgian designer to deliver again in what is only his second ready-to-wear show in one of the most influential jobs in fashion. At Paris’ Hotel des Invalides, fashion editors fought through swelling crowds to take a glimpse into the storied house’s future. They saw Simons live up to their expectations. Other shows of the day expressed fall fashions through vivid color, like in the strong showings from Issey Miyake and Roland Mouret. Some like Isabel Marant got into the wintry mood through muted palettes, serving up some great comfy knitwear.

CHRISTIAN DIOR Raf Simons confidently evolved the angular portions of previous seasons’ work into softer, more saleable silhouettes. The new Bar jacket, looser and in trendy wool denim, seemed to point to a man who’s finally settled in to his role. This season was the supplest fusion so far of his minimalism and the house’s ultra-femininity and curves. Fall-winter saw a parade of “memory dresses,” some 48 looks that delved into the iconic houndstooth, peplums, and the original ‘40s designs of Monsieur Dior himself. They hit the catwalk reimagined, sometimes asymmetrically, alongside enormous mirror ball decor.

Like thought bubbles, the silver spheres set the tone for the musing, which included an

ISSEY MIYAKE Issey Miyake cast a few minutes of sunshine over a gray Paris sky on Friday with a show brimming with color. Checkered patterns added to the fun, and it was invigorating to see them on models, who actually smiled as they walked. The show’s inspiration, said designer Yoshiyuke Miyamae, “comes from landscape seen from the sky.” Optical crisscrosses of varying thickness created great dynamic movements on stretch fabric, as he imagined an aerial view of a dense forest.

Not all of the 42 looks worked. Some came across as busy, especially toward the end. But the mastery of tonal color really stole the show. Tops in rich ultramarine, vivid jade and vermilion saw colors blocked together in changing intensities. And discords such as green with bright turquoise made pockets stand out.

embroidered tulle bustier A-line dress - an archive piece called “Miss Dior 1949” - reworked in hip embroidered black leather. Elsewhere, blown-up houndstooth had a surreal quality, in vertical slices down column silhouettes. It was a great re-working of the classic pattern first used by the house in the late ‘50s. Apart from one burst of vermillion, the muted palette of black, navy, white and pale pink was further proof of his evolution. After all, while at Jil Sander, it was Simons who started the bright color trend that’s now spread across the world. There was plenty of imagination with silhouettes delving into the fashions of the ‘50s and even ‘60s. And prints and embroideries of surreal eyes and tears that resembled ants, gave the show a surrealistic edge, reminiscent of Salvador Dali. However, the show could have done without the motifs by Andy Warhol, such as a sparking stiletto print, which sometimes jarred as overly adolescent, and a tad tacky. Overall, the show was a success; one step further on in Dior’s mission statement for the designer, to “propel its iconic style into the 21st century.”

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

lifestyle F a s h i o n

ROLAND MOURET The most Parisienne of the silver screen icons, Catherine Deneuve, was the inspiration behind Roland Mouret’s playful, colorful and womanly show. But this was not the shy Deneuve of New Wave classic “Belle de Jour,” but the actress of the glamorous 1983 film “The Hunger”- with sharp ‘80s shoulders and garish eye makeup. The bold palette popular of that era - with its blue marine, russet, beige, black and dark red - worked with panache here in setting off the saleable va-vavoom silhouettes. As ever, Mouret’s derrieres were the most flattering seen this season. But the most interesting feature was his square details and paneling.

Sometimes softly asymmetrical, three-dimensional fabric folds gave the collection the feeling of being slightly off-kilter. Sublime statement coats hung down from an incredibly strong retro shoulder-frame - with the best look in ultramarine.

ISABEL MARANT “The starting point was that in winter you just don’t want to dress up,” said Isabel Marant of her relaxed Paris show that played with layers and featured some great cosy knitware in off-white and black. The loungy attitude was a neat contrast to the show venue: Paris’ monumental Place Vendome, which is steeped in grand history. Gone were the signature Marant motifs; as were the embellishments, apart from the odd set of studs on a belt or a black jacket. In their place: comfy silhouettes - for an uncomplicated fall. Elongated T-shirts were mixed and matched with vests, truncated sweaters and some menswear pieces. On-trend peekaboo slits near the bust were a reminder, though, that Marant may have forgotten to get complicated, but she hasn’t forgotten to be sexy. Saturday’s shows include Viktor & Rolf, Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier. — AP

DUBAI: Following the massive success of the Lion Polo, Giordano is launching its all-new design this spring featuring a Griffin logo in polo shirts for men and women. The new polos are envisioned to become a new favourite for Giordano customers in the Middle East.

Both legend and fantasy, the lion-eagle design stands out as a crest on the polo shirt which comes in a variety of exciting colours such as white, black, metal grey and navy blue to the brightest orange, gold medal, raspberry and summer green. In addition to the embroidered Griffin logo, the new polo shirt also bears a crest and the number eight applique on the right sleeve.

“The Lion Polo, which has been Giordano most instantly recognisable piece and one of the best sellers is evolving into an exciting design” said Ishwar Chugani, Managing Director of Giordano Middle East FZE and recently appointed Executive Director of Giordano International. “We are confident that the new Griffin Polo will be as popular among our customers.”

Made of 97% cotton and 3% lycra pique, the Griffin Polo is available in taper fit for men and in the slim fit for ladies, with sizes ranging from small to double extra-large.

More options are available in store for customer as the new polo shirts collection also features Tipping and Stripe

short sleeves cotton polo’s in plenty of bold and bright colours; Giordano Polo shirts are perfect to pair with Giordano denim trousers- available in both straight and tapered fit with stretch to accentuate the silhouette - giving customers plenty of options for their spring casual outfit.

And of course, Giordano is still the place to go for your everyday clothing essentials including a wide variety of 100 per cent cotton plain and printed t-shirts, wrinkle free shirts and jeans.

The new collection is available in all 240 Giordano stores starting March 1st.

For those customers who cannot visit the store, all pieces of the new polo shirt collection along with Giordano’s regular range of merchandise can also be purchased online at www.giordano-me.com and will be delivered at customer’s door (United Arab Emirates only) within 48 hours. Cash on Delivery option is now available for this service.

Giordano rolls out a new range of Polo’s for Spring

SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

39

A 12m rice paper boat art installation

by Chinese artist Zhu Jinshi is pictured at the Art13 London art fair in central London. The boat is made from 10,000 sheets of rice paper which took 14 skilled workers around 50 days to make. TheArt13 London art fair takes place from March 1-3, 2013. — AFP

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he story goes that in 2011 a holy man saved the “Gathering of the Tribes” longboard contest at Trestles beach. The day was cloudy and breezy. The waves small.

Then an elderly man in a robe and sandals stepped onto the beach.”He blesses the waves and the sun pops through the clouds,” says surfing legend Chuck Linnen, 76, of Huntington Beach, Calif. “And then the waves come up.”People looked at each other like: Who is this guy? It’s a question often asked about Fr. Christian Mondor-a Franciscan friar and Catholic priest at Sts Simon & Jude Parish in Huntington Beach. Not because of miracles. But because of his accepting, non-judgmental and, some say, enlightened ways.

“How many 87-year-old Catholic priests do you know who play banjo and surf?” asks the Rev. Peggy Price, a minister at the Center for Spiritual Living, in Seal Beach, Calif. You might also ask: How many 87-year-old Catholic priests call God “the Great Kahuna?” Or pray in public for “righteous and tubular” waves? Or sing songs like this on banjo: “Sometimes I have an old whiskey and I fall asleep in my chair, and I dream that I’m a man much younger than I am.” The answer is: One. Which is why word recently spread of a surprise honor for this man. The surfing priest of Surf City.

Richard Mondor was born in Hollywood in the Roaring ‘20s.

When the family got too big, Dad sold their Clinton Street home to a vaudeville couple desperate to get their daughter into the movies. “She eventually landed the lead role in ‘The Wizard of Oz’-Judy Garland,” FrChristian says.

The Mondors moved to Westwood where two influences altered the course of young Richard’s life. One was the ocean where he bodysurfed every day of the summer. The other was St. Paul the Apostle Church, where he biked each Sunday to hear the sermons of a charismatic young priest favored by celebrities like Bing Crosby and Loretta Young. “Fr Fitzgerald was my idol,” says Christian, who became an altar boy, “and one of the reasons I became a priest.”

The influence was so strong that by 9th grade, Richard was attending the Los Angeles Day Seminary and by 10th grade he’d joined a Franciscan monastery in Santa Barbara. It was a few years later, while teaching at St Francis Boarding Seminary, in Oregon, that he discovered another life-altering influence (get ready for this) ... Banjo.

It was 1962. The nation was astir with civil rights, rebellion

and a new social consciousness. Folk music gave it voice.

Christian wanted to get his students involved. “I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve got a banjo at home.’ So I asked the kids, ‘Anyone know how to play guitar?’”

No. But that hardly mattered. Soon, he had a folk band with three guitars, a bass and banjo, which he learned to play in the barn, “so I wouldn’t drive people crazy.” It started as fun, but they got better and better. They played in downtown Portland, Ore; won music competitions in Vancouver, Wash.; and cut a record that got radio play. He named them the Troubadours of St Francis-after the founder of his order.

“St Francis was a poet who called himself a troubadour of the Lord because he loved to sing and pray aloud,” Christian says. But Francis of Assisi was more than that. He also was a rebel-a “gentle rebel,” Fr Christian puts it-who vigorously opposed the Church’s military crusade to retake holy shrines in the Holy Land, saying violence went against the teachings of the Bible. St Francis eschewed wealth and power, choosing to live among the common people.

In his own way, Christian was doing the same, growing into a bit of a gentle rebel himself. On his 70th birthday, Fr Christian bought himself a gift-a $100 surfboard. “I thought, my gosh, I’m in Surf City, I’ve got to learn how to ride a board.”Like his experience with the banjo, he took to it right away, loving the thrill of the sport and its innate spirituality. “Water is a powerful symbol of life,” he says. “We know life originated in the water millions of years ago. We cannot live without water. And Jesus chose water as a symbol of life that would come from baptism.”

He began surfing Bolsa Chica, then San Onofre with parishioners. He had his share of scares, wipeouts and getting hit by the board. “One of the first things you learn surfing is to respect the power of the ocean,” he says. “But it can be very contemplative. When you’re out alone, between waves, you experience a beautiful calm. (At least), I do.”

When he speaks of the tranquility, the pelicans swooping low, the dolphins rising high, he almost sounds like St. Francis, who so rejoiced in all of God’s creatures and nature that he now is called the Patron Saint of the Environment.

“I know a lot of surfers,” Christian says. “This is their way of praying. They don’t come to church, but they’re out on the sea thanking God for the great gift of the ocean.” Over the years word spread that there was an 80-year-old priest who didn’t

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entrepoint, the popular shopping destination in Kuwait celebrates Spring Summer this year with a wonderful collection of products across Juniors, Splash, Shoe Mart and Lifestyle. Be it fashion clothing, shoes or accessories, kidswear or toys, or products that you’ll love to adorn your home with; Centrepoint has it all!

With the dipping temperatures giving way to pleasant days and evenings, Junior’s makes sure your kids are dressed for the part with its latest Spring collection 2013 that promises to lift the mood with its mix of pastels and bright colours and a burst of floral prints. Inspired by global trends, Junior’s stylish clothing makes the cut in the sleekest of designs and fabrics that exude elements of bohemian chic to nautical sophistication. Junior’s new line-up comes in soft comfort-feel fabrics, as well as all-time favorites such as cord, poplin, denim, crochet, voile, and cotton lace. To add to the drama, kids are encouraged to accessorize these outfits with layered necklaces, colorful scarves, belts and even rosettes.

As Spring Summer’13 sets in high street maven Splash interprets the hottest trends, inspired by the sweltering summer. All about contrasts the season sports an overwhelming feeling of lightness and softness where looks are bound by eclectic styling and a willingness to experiment. With some cracking fashion

criticize you for skipping church. Who didn’t act offended if a bad word slipped from your mouth. Who didn’t mind if you simply called him, “Mondor.”

By 2008, the Dioceses of Orange heard about all this and asked to have a word with this surfing priest of Surf City. The Diocese wanted him to try a bold experiment, called “The Blessing of the Waves.” It was a way to reach out to those who

fun and a sense of joy that comes through,” Christian says. That much is obvious in his own prayer, which gives thanks for the smallest-to-largest creatures in the ocean before adding: “But keep the Great Whites always in their space and not ours.”

—MCT

Father Christian Mondor, a Franciscan brother at Sts Simon & Jude Parish in Huntington Beach, California, carries his surfboard near the Huntington Beach.

— MCT photos

surf, swim and love the ocean. It started small. But over the past five years it has gained international press and now attracts more than 2,000 people each October, with leaders of several faiths giving prayers and blessings. “There’s a sense of

trends to wear the brand houses looks from ‘City Warrior’ to ‘Clarity’ to ‘Preppy Riot’ and ‘Ashen’ for women while men flaunt ‘Preppy Resort’, ‘Great Gatsby’, ‘Azure Paradise’ and ‘Mystical Diaries’. Taking cue from these trends ‘Fashion 365’, the brand’s campaign moves forward to reveal an all category based imagery. A combination of the best high-street trends the Splash SS’13 wardrobe offers solutions in terms of safe separates, accessories to covet or the colours and fabrics you surely need to have.

Shoe Mart’s Spring Summer 2013 men’s array brings you the unconventional styles focusing on key trends comprising of smart casual, colorful moccasins, trendy checks, sophisticated formals, extra light soles and after sports. The leading retailer in footwear and accessories bring in a bright collection this season for every fashionable man. For women the new collection promises a celebration of colours, and of shimmer and sparkle. Simple styling of leather and patent are the key elements of the outfit this season. With the new Spring/Summer season on the horizon, the new and exciting range of Kids Footwear at Shoe Mart will captivate you with an eclectic mix of styles, colours and trend led designs. This collection features fun prints and vibrant colors capture the essence of the range. The highlight of the collection includes contrast detailing and mixed prints along with vivid colors.

Lifestyle couldn’t be far behind with its offerings! It is rightly said that handbags are a woman’s best friend! Whether it’s a casual outing, a social gathering or a formal meeting, a classy handbag reflects a woman’s sense of fashion and style! Aimed at today’s fashion-conscious woman, the exclusive Brand for Lifestyle Dee London launches spring 2013 range of desirable handbags & wallets across all the Lifestyle stores. Made from luxuriant genuine leathers and teamed with intricate metal charms, the bags are contemporary classics that add an instant touch of style to any outfit. The fabulous collection includes an assortment of hobos, totes, satchels bags & a variety of wallets but the highlight of the new range are the bags & wallets in quilted pattern that are in vogue this season.

Your favorite shopping destination - Centrepoint once again has it all this season to surprise you and yet fulfill all your shopping needs! So stop by at any of our stores located at Al Rai, Hawally, Salmiya, Kuwait City, Fahaheel, Fintas, Sulaibikhat and Jahra for an experience that will leave you spell bound!