20th Jun 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

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on ideal date for elections

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7Cabinet7to meet 14to decide 20 Debate rages over constitutional court ruling conspiracy theories

Democracy calls for unity

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

A

s you all know, the constitutional court upheld the one-vote decree and dissolved the parliament. Of course constitutionally, we have two months to hold elections for the next parliament. But since that day, the street is full of rumors - be it on social media or in newspapers some are predicting that the 2009 Assembly will be back. Some say the return of this parliament is also unconstitutional. So we are left in a dilemma and the forecast is unclear. It’s as hazy as our weather.

Some newspapers have predicted that midRamadan may be the date for new elections. Wow! What a choice! In the heat, and people are fasting you want to hold elections? That’s a joke. On the other hand, if they wait till the end of Ramadan, it is known we are a travelling nation - we are booked and packed to leave after Eid and onwards.

Also holding elections after Eid, for many Kuwaitis, will be considered a silly joke. From now I’m predicting - unless a real relative is running, I doubt anybody will sacrifice and cancel his and his family’s holiday for the sake of the parliament. Only the candidates themselves will do this. So the only option open for everybody to agree on and not sacrifice holidays or being inconvenienced in Ramadan is the return of the 2009 Assembly.

The other topic which is occupying my mind on the elections is the opposition and their stance. In my opinion, if you want to serve Kuwait, everyone has to stand. We saw in the recently-dissolved parliament that democracy does not work this way. I call on the opposition to rethink and revise their decision and come back and participate. It doesn’t matter what the results are. I’m sure many of them will win seats.

Actually it was a chance for them that circumstances changed and this parliament was dissolved.

Now the ball in your court. Play it nicely and come back. Despite all the disputes and agendas you have, Kuwait deserves that of you.

KUWAIT: The Cabinet is expected to hold an extraordinary session today to discuss an ideal date for the parliamentary election following the constitutional court’s ruling that scrapped the National Assembly as the debate over the verdict continues among various political groups. The Cabinet may announce the election date today after approving a decree to dissolve the Assembly or postpone a final decision until the beginning of next week.

Observers believe that the most likely scenario is to hold polls during the holy month of Ramadan that will start on July 9 and specifically in the last third of the month.

Under Kuwaiti law, the polls must be held within two months after dissolving the Assembly and this deadline is mid-August, which is just one week after Ramadan-end and only about three days after the Eid Al-Fitr feast. A large number of Kuwaiti voters are expected to have already booked their trips for the summer vacation immediately after Ramadan, which if coupled with a major boycott of the election, would make the voter turnout very small.

In addition, the new Assembly must meet within two weeks after the election, giving authorities another problem to think about. On top of that, a number of constitutional experts have raised yet a new legal problem they warned that could lead to dissolving the next Assembly. Under Kuwaiti law, at least one Cabinet member must be an elected MP who is minister of social affairs and labour Thekra AlRasheedi in this Cabinet. But Rasheedi is no longer an MP after the constitutional court ruling which

makes the current Cabinet unconstitutional.

A member of the scrapped 2012 Assembly Mohammad Al-Dallal said the next Assembly is already at risk of being dissolved because the government is unconstitutional since it does not have an elected MP. This problem in addition to the problem of finding a proper date may force the government not to announce an election date until the 60day period passes off and this will automatically revive the 2009 Assembly and the election date can be postponed further.

Meanwhile, several members of the Salaf Islamic Alliance criticized the alliance leadership for announcing that they will take part in the election without consulting other members. Former Salafist MP Mohammad Al-Kandari described the move as an act of “hijacking” the group and insisted that the alliance’s decision should not have been affected by the constitutional court ruling that lacks strong evidence and should not have been impacted by the position of opportunists who only want to serve their selfish interests.

So far, only the liberal National Democratic Alliance and the Salaf alliance have announced their participation in the election, but the majority of former opposition MPs and almost all opposition groups have said they are boycotting. The liberal Kuwait Democratic Forum has not yet announced a decision but its leading member and former MP Saleh Al-Mulla said he will not contest because he believes the single-vote decree promotes autocracy in the country.

Max 44º Min 26º High Tide 08:05 & 21:50 Low Tide 01:52 & 15:27

Who enforces the law on enforcers?

KUWAIT: A high-ranking officer uses his mobile phone while driving. No comments.

Iran: ‘Jihad’ calls fuel radicalism KUWAIT: Calls by Sunni Muslim clerics for a holy war against the Syrian government and its Shiite allies are fuelling radicalism in the region, a senior Iranian official said yesterday.

Earlier this month, prominent cleric Sheikh Youssef Al-Qaradawi called for jihad in Syria after fighters from Shiite Lebanese group Hezbollah intervened to help President Bashar Al-Assad, in a move which stoked sectarian tensions.

Shiite Iran, a close ally of Assad and backer of Hezbollah, has accused Arab and Western states of fomenting terrorism in Syria by arming rebels caught up in the two-year-old revolt.

“There were steps and fatwas from clerics like Mr Qaradawi, these fatwas escalate and encourage apostasy and radicalism in the region,” Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iranian Deputy Minister for Arab and Foreign Affairs, told reporters in Kuwait. The Syrian conflict

is widening a divide in the Middle East between the two main denominations of Islam. Kuwait, which lies across the Gulf from Iran, has voiced concern that the Syrian crisis is heightening sectarian tension and becoming a battlefield for regional powers.

Abdollahian said radicals in Syria have been attacking all sects and creating rifts between communities. He called for a political solution to the crisis which has killed more than 90,000 people. Abdollahian, who was in the state to meet Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled AlSabah, denied that Iran was giving military aid to the Syrian army. “We give economic, political and media support to Syria,” he said. Hezbollah was involved only to protect the Lebanese-Syrian border and to shield Lebanese living in Syria from violence, KUWAIT: Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iranian Deputy Minister for Arab and Foreign Affairs, speaks at a press conference at the Iranian Embassy yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat he said. — Reuters

Obama urges nuke weapons cuts UAE to try 30 ‘Brotherhood’ cell members

NEW DELHI: Shopkeepers use a boat as they wade through the rising waters of the Yamuna River at the Tibetan market yesterday. — AFP

India, Nepal monsoon floods leave 160 dead DEHRADUN, India: Military helicopters dropped emergency supplies yesterday to thousands of people stranded by flash floods that tore through towns and temples in northern India and neighbouring Nepal, killing more than 160, officials said.

Thousands of pilgrims and tourists have already been evacuated after floods and landslides caused by early monsoon rains wrought devastation through India’s Himalayan foothills, they said. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the priority was rescuing those still stranded and helping the more than 10,000 people already evacuated, describing the floods as “most distressing”.

“There has been large scale devastation,” the prime minister said after flying over the flooded region late yesterday with ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi. He said the government would give $170 million to the worst-hit state of Uttarakhand for rescue and relief operations, adding “all possible resources” have been deployed to deal with the “ghastly tragedy.” Torrential rains at least three times as heavy as usual have hit Uttarakhand, often called the “land of the gods”, where Hindu shrines and temples built high in the mountains attract many pilgrims.

Continued on Page 15

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates said yesterday it would put on trial 30 Emiratis and Egyptians accused of setting up an illegal branch of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, part of a crackdown on the Islamist organisation that has soured relations with Cairo. Ties between Egypt and the UAE have been strained since the revolution that toppled veteran Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak, a long-time Gulf ally, in 2011, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s subsequent rise to power. The US-allied UAE has long been distrustful of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in the country. The UAE was openly critical when the Brotherhood helped propel Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to power last year.

A group of 94 Emiratis is on trial in the UAE for belonging to an illegal organisation and plotting to overthrow the government. A verdict is expected on July 2. Most of the defendants are members of an Islamist group called Al-Islah (Reform), which denies the government’s accusation that it is an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. A statement on the UAE’s WAM state news agency yesterday said that some in the group had “set up and operated a branch of an organisation with an international nature ... for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt without a licence”.

Continued on Page 15

BERLIN: US President Barack Obama said Russian and US nuclear weapons should be slashed by up to a third in a keynote speech in front of Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate in which he called for a world of “peace and justice”. Obama used the once divided city’s rebirth as a metaphor for progress, as he stood on the east side of the route of the Berlin Wall, and warned the “complacent” West that history did not stop with its Cold War victory. “The wall belongs to history. But we have history

to make as well,” a sweat-streaked Obama said to an invited crowd of 6,000 people standing before the majestic landmark in sweltering summer weather.

The US leader called on Russia to agree to bring the number of strategic nuclear weapons held by the former Cold War foes down to around 1,000 and to also cut stocks of tactical nuclear arms. “I’ve determined that we can ensure the security of America and our allies and maintain a Continued on Page 15

BERLIN: US President Barack Obama waves next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel before speaking on a podium in front of Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate near the US embassy yesterday. — AFP

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

LOCAL

Amir receives new anti-graft officials KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan Palace yesterday the new chief and members of the anti-corruption authority. Chief Abdulrahman Saleh Al-Nemash, Deputy Chief Riyadh Al-Hajri, in addition to members Meshari Al-Mutairi, Dawoud Al-Jarah, Hamad AlSubaie, Abdulwahab Al-Muzaini, and Luai AlSaleh all took oath in front of His Highness the Amir upon assuming their new positions. The meeting was attended by Minister of Justice and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Shareeda Abdullah Al-Muosherji, and Advisor at the Amiri Diwan, Mohammad Daifallah Sharar.

His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah also received at Bayan Palace yesterday Minister of Justice and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Shareeda Abdullah AlMousherji. During the meeting, AlMousherji presented to HH head and members of the anti-corruption authori-

ty and provisions pertinent to financial disclosure. This came on the occasion of their new appointment in their new posts. HH the Crown Prince congratulated them on the formation of the new authority which groups a number of loyal Kuwaiti men who are experts in various spheres. He also praised their role in fighting corruption and the consolidation of transparency. HH stressed that the government would continue to apply the law sternly on all and in all government institutions, calling for the simplification of the authority’s tasks so as to enable it set up a strategy to combat corruption as such is one of the means of achieving the sought reform.

The meeting was attended by HH the Crown Prince’s Diwan’s Undersecretary for Media Affairs Sheikh Mubarak AlHamoud Al-Salman Al-Sabah and HH the Crown prince Diwan’s Undersecretary for Ceremonies and Protocol Sheikh Mubarak Sabah Al-Salem Al-Hamoud AlSabah. — KUNA

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan Palace yesterday the new chief and members of the anti-corruption authority.

Kuwait, Morocco ink five key agreements KUWAIT: The seventh session of the joint higher committee between the State of Kuwait and the Kingdom of Morocco kicked off here yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid AlHamad Al-Sabah headed the Kuwaiti side while Morocco was represented by Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister Dr Saad Eddine Othmani. During the session, the two sides began official talks and reviewed the overall aspects of cooperation between them in all sectors. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid gave a speech in which he reviewed the march of brotherly close relations between the two

countries, stressing that they enjoy very generous sponsorship of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and his brother King Mohammed VI. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid recalled the visit by King Mohammed V to Kuwait in January 1960 as that historic day marked the start of the triumphant march between the two countries.

He also spoke about the role played by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development which was founded in in 1965, followed in 1976 by the start of investment partnership, which is still ongoing between the two countries and peoples.

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid AlHamad Al-Sabah and Morocco’s Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister Dr Saad Eddine Othmani sign agreements. — KUNA

The Kuwaiti Minister also touched on the positions of King Hassan II during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1990 “which reflected the authenticity of this leader”. He also recalled the official visit made by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to King Mohammed VI on October 12, 2010, and the visit by the Moroccan monarch to his second home Kuwait in October 23, 2012.

He said the visits clearly reflect the fraternal and deep-rooted ties binding the two ruling families in the two countries. He congratulated the Moroccan people for the vast development witnessed by their country and in the march of democracy. And on the work of the current session, Sheikh Sabah Khaled said it is continuation of the excellent partnership deals that entered its institutional framework through the formation of this committee in 2001. For his part, the Moroccan Minister said in his speech the convening of the joint committee was an opportunity for consultation and exchange of views on the most effective ways to enrich the process of bilateral cooperation between the two sides and coordination on issues of common concern.

He also noted the valuable contribution of the State of Kuwait in development projects in Morocco, saying the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has extended until March 2012 37 loans with a financial value of KD 392 million.” He invited businessmen and economic figures in the two countries to develop a genuine partnership and stimulate

economic cooperation, trade and investment, with an emphasis on the need to increase the volume of trade which is still below the desired level. He also expressed Morocco’s readiness to develop an effective strategic partnership that is integrated with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which would contribute to the consecration of the elements of a multi-dimensional development renaissance whose benefits are shared by everyone.

The five agreements that were signed today were: • Memorandum of Understanding in the field of exhibitions.

• An additional protocol to the Convention on mutual assistance and cooperation in customs affairs.

• Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco (Moroccan Academy for Diplomatic Studies) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the State of Kuwait (Sheikh Saud Nasser Al-Sabah Diplomatic Institute).

• The executive program for tourism cooperation agreement for the years 2013/2014/2015.

• Executive program for a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in the State of Kuwait and the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Morocco for the years 2013/2014/2015.

— KUNA (See also Page 4)

Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan jumps 26.4% TOKYO: Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan jumped 26.4 percent in May to JPY 107.7 billion ($1.1 billion) from a year earlier, expanding for the first time since February. Kuwait maintained black ink with Japan for the 64th consecutive month, the Finance Ministry said yesterday. Kuwaiti overall exports to Japan grew 28.5 percent to JPY 122.1 billion ($1.3 billion) for the first increase in three months, while imports from Japan surged 46.6 percent year-on-year to JPY 14.3 billion ($150 million), up for the first time in three months, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

Middle East’s trade surplus with Japan also widened 12.2 percent to JPY 1. 037 trillion ($10.9 billion) last month, with Japan-bound exports from the region expanding 11.5 percent from a year earlier. Crude oil, refined products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other natural resources, which accounted for 97.8 percent of the region’s total exports to Japan, grew 11.2 percent on the year. The crude alone increased 10.2 percent.

The region’s overall imports from Japan went up 8.0 percent, mainly due to robust shipments of automobile and machinery.

The world’s third-biggest economy logged a global deficit of JPY 993.9 billion ($10.4 billion) in May for the 11th month of red ink, as the weaker yen pushed up costs for imports despite a sharp rise in exports. It was the biggest trade deficit for the month of May since comparable data became available in 1979.

Exports totaled JPY 5.768 trillion ($60.6 billion), up 10.1 percent on weak shipments to Europe and Asia. Exports to China, Japan’s biggest trading partner, rose 8.3 percent on the year.

Imports also rose 10.0 percent to JPY 6.762 trillion ($71.0 billion) as crude oil imports grew 6.4 percent and LNG 8.2 percent, respectively. Japan’s currency weakened more than 20 percent against the US dollar and euro in May from a year earlier, according to the ministry.— KUNA

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

LOCAL

KUWAIT: A campaign got off on July 17 to highlight the ‘dangers of fire’ spearheaded by Kuwaiti Society for Ideal Family. (Right): The deputy director of fire department, Brig Khalid Al-Zaid, received in his office the director of Hawally Mosques administration, Dr Khalid Al-Hais.

Fire dept reviews holy month preparations Campaign focuses on ‘dangers of fire’

By Hanan Al-Saadoun K U WA I T: T h e d e p u t y d i r e c t o r o f f i r e department, Brig Khalid Al-Zaid, received in his office the director of Hawally Mosques administration, Dr K halid AlHais.

The two discussed the means to ensure cooperation to deal with the crowds and any emerging situation during the Ramadan prayers in Kuwait’s mosques in general and in the Hawally area.

Such cooperation is required to ensure smooth conduct at the mosques in particular and to ensure safety of the devout.

Also, inspection of the tents erected for the prayers during the holy month and

ensuring that all precautionar y norms have been observed was also discussed.

Brig. Al-Zaid appreciated the effor ts b e i n g m a d e by t h e Awq a f m i n i s t r y to ensure safety of the devout and the fruitful cooperation among them and said that the fire department will put all its equipment at the disposal of the Awqaf ministry to ensure the safety of the people praying during the holy month.

The fire depar tment has inspected more than 100 tents for the benefit of the Awqaf ministry last year.

The meeting was attended by Colonel Khalid Al-Ajmi, Colonel Musaad AlSarheed, engineer Suapha Al-Yaseen and Colonel Khalil Al-Amir while media con-

sultant Mohammad Abdul Aziz participated from the Ministry of Awqaf.

A campaign titled “We want it to be in every house in Kuwait” started on June 17 and will continue for three weeks at the cooperative societies under the patronage of chairperson of the Kuwaiti Society f o r I d e a l Fa m i l y, S h e i k h a Fa r e e h a A l Ahmad. The campaign aims at educating the people, the citizens as well as the expats, about the danger of fire and how to protect your house from an accident in order to reduce the instance of fire at any private residence. Brochures were distributed to the people, a gesture appreciated by the visitors to the cooperative societies.

PR awareness drive for summer season KUWAIT: Public Relations Director of the Ministry of Interior Colonel Adel Ahmad Al-Hashash said that as summer vacation approaches, an awareness plan has been prepared along with several brochures in different languages.

The brochures, which have been distributed, include advice about how to keep tiers safe, especially in summer, when heat could cause the tiers to burst. Another brochure advises the sea lovers about the right way to wear a safety jacket.

Yet another special brochure was distributed about the parking slots meant for the handicapped, which are specially designated areas since these are near the services centers.

Al-Hashash said that the campaign

was designed for people of all age groups and is being executed in all areas. He said security messages were being beamed for the benefit of the citizens and expats through television

to alert them about any exigency that can strike during the summer season, like cases of theft when houses are left unattended, instances of teenagers loafing around and traffic accidents.

KUWAIT: Officials distribute brochures to motorists

Colonel Adel Ahmad Al-Hashash

Advisory to temporary residency holders KUWAIT: “Visitors, in accordance with article 14, who still have some disputes with their sponsors or the companies that invited them, and whose cases are still being discussed at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor or in the local courts and who have been given one to three months worth temporary residency visas till they reach settlements are advised not to leave before the settlement,” MOI’s assistant undersecretary for citizenship and passports affairs, Major General Sheikh Faisal Nawaf Al-Sabah said.

He said the departure would lead to cancelation of the temporary residency and such people will not be allowed back into the country except on the basis of new visas.

Sheikh Faisal also said that several organizational measures have been taken to straighten out and solve the problems accruing due to visa violations while, at the same time, efforts are on to protect the rights of both expats and sponsors, without any exception.

49 arrested A police posse from Mina Abdullah police station of the Ahmadi governorate carried out an inspection campaign under the supervision of Colonel AbdulAziz Saleh Al-Mutairi.

The campaign resulted in the arrest of 49 persons, of whom 28 persons were found without identification or with expired residency and ten persons working as free laborers, six in violation of labor law and five in violation of residency law.

All were sent to the concerned authorities. Also, ten traffic citations were handed out.

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

LOCAL

Municipality intensifies raids ahead of Ramadan 100kg rotten cheese, olives and thyme destroyed

KUWAIT: Director General of Arab Planning Institute Bader Malallah holds talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco Dr Saad Eddin Othmani in his office yesterday. —KUNA

Moroccan FM extols Kuwait-based API KUWAIT: Kuwait-based Arab Planning Institute has a formidable regional role in boosting growth and development among Arab countries, said Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation Saad-Eddine El Othman while visiting the institute here yesterday. The minister said that it was imminent that his country would be accepted as a new member in the Institute, stressing the view that the Institute offered viable paradigms for growth and sustainable development that should be adopted by Arab economies in their long-term socio-economic planning.

While he indicated that the size of Kuwaiti investments in his country amounted to about nine billion dollars, he drove the point home that Morocco shared strategic partnerships with nations of the GCC, saying his country was working hard on concluding mutual plans with the GCC in the fields of economics, security, and defense. He said there were nine task force teams in Morocco working on these plans.

On his part, director general of the Arab Planning Institute Bader Malallah welcomed the membership of Morocco in the Institute which he said would be finalized and officially announced soon.

He indicated that his talks with the minister dealt in part with the possibility of the

Institute training Moroccan diplomats to develop skills that they would use in their official duties, particularly in addressing economic issues locally and regionally.

He stressed the point that the Institute has expanded its reach regionally and broadened its activities in offering consultations and training programs to its members.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Hamad AlSabah received Dr Saad Eddin Othmani.

The meeting came during his official visit to the country to take part in the seventh session of the Joint Kuwaiti-Moroccan committee. During the meeting, the two sides discussed regional and international political issues as well as bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen them. The meeting was attended by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Khaled Al-Jarallha, Director General of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) Abdulwahab Al-Bader, Director of the Arab world affairs in the ministry Ambassador Jamal Abdullah Al-Ghanim, Director of the Office of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ambassador Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah and Kuwait’s Ambassador to the kingdom of Morocco Shamlan Abdullaziz Al-Romi. — KUNA

Tunisia PM lauds Kuwaiti participation in Sfax fair SFAX, Tunisia: Interim Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh lauded here late Tuesday the Kuwaiti participation in the 47th Edition of Sfax International Fair which will last till July 2.

This came during Laarayedh’s visit to the Kuwaiti pavilion. Laayaredh lauded the Kuwaiti products shown at the pavilion, stressing the importance of the Kuwaiti participation in the fair.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti Embassy’s Consul Dhakeel Al-Khurainej thanked the Prime Minister for his sincere gesture and his visit to the pavilion, affirming that Kuwait was keen on participating in the fair due to the event’s international appeal.

He also indicated that his country was eager to bolster bilateral relations within the

trade and economic domains. Speaking to KUNA during the participation, head of the Kuwaiti pavilion Mohammad Al-Mutairi said that investments in Tunisia were very attractive to business personnel from around the globe due to the country’s strategic location.

He affirmed that Sfax international fair was the gateway for Kuwaiti investments in Africa, making it a matter of necessity to participate in the fair. On her part, Kuwaiti Ministry of Commerce and Industry representative Marwa Al-Judaian said that 20 Kuwaiti companies representing several sectors are partaking in the event.

She indicated that this was the fifth Kuwaiti participation in the Sfax fair which is witnessing 250 exhibitors from Tunis, Libya, and Kuwait. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Kuwait Municipality has intensified its inspection of food shops, supermarkets and stores aimed at punishing violators in various areas in Kuwaiti Governorates, ahead of incoming holy month of Ramadan. Emergency teams and regulatory bodies of the municipality of Mubarak AlKabeer continue to follow-up on itinerary of the food until they reach the consumer, in addition to checking all health requirements, Director of the Municipality Mubarak Al-Kabeer branch Sherida Al-Mutairi said yesterday.

Al-Mutairi added that the inspection campaigns carried out yesterday on supermarkets and cooperative societies were aimed at taking random samples from a number of food products.

One of the food products, after being tested at the laboratory and found unsuitable for human consumption, was taken out of the shelves. The tours resulted in closing an unlicensed food store and demolishing 100 kilograms of cheese, olives and

thyme, he said. Moreover, citations were issued against a store that was opened ahead of obtaining approval of the municipality and for unhealthy food packaging.

For his part, the head of the emergency team in the municipality of the province, Abdullah AlAmaie, said “health and safety of consumers would remain above all other consideration,” and affirmed that these missions would not be restricted to specific locations or timing.

He also stressed on commitment by all regulations and municipal laws in order to avoid legal accountability, pointing out that the teams would also look out for anyone trying to tamper with the health and safety of consumers through intensive inspection campaigns, which will include all food shops as well as vendors. The municipality called on consumers to check products’ expiry date before buying, and contact the municipal hot line (139) for any complaint.— KUNA

Sherida Al-Mutairi

KUWAIT: Municipal inspectors conduct inspections.

Electoral ads, tents to be removed: Subaih KUWAIT: The Kuwait Municipality General Director Eng Ahmad Al-Subaih warned yesterday that the Municipality teams will remove any billboards, banners, tents or any sort of election-related ads that are hoisted before the official launch of electioneering campaigns.

“Municipality teams backed by security personnel will remove any ads violating the electoral law without prior notice,” Al-Subaih said. Al-

Subaih laid it bare that the Municipality will firmly apply law on everybody. “No one is allowed to rent a place for electioneering tent before the issuance of the Amiri decree setting the date of the election and electioneering campaign,” he said.

He unveiled that the Municipality is embarking on a plan to guarantee the success of the electoral process to avoid loopholes and

problems which emerged in previous ones.

Al-Subaih warned against hoisting unlicensed billboards or installing any ads at key places which could tarnish the image of main roads, major squares and could even cause traffic jams or accidents. He asked citizenry and firms seeking to install ads at any place to get license from Municipality Council office in the related areas to avoid ads removal.— KUNA

Mazen Al-Nahedh, NBK General Manager, Consumer Banking Group, in a group photo with the Summer Internship Program students.

NBK launches first in a series of its Summer Internship Program 2013

Envoy seeks to boost ties with Australia KUALA LUMPUR: Kuwait’s Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Khaled Al-Shaibani stressed yesterday the significance of communications between Kuwaiti and Australian educational sectors to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

“Kuwait University delegation is currently touring in Australia and New Zealand, to observe new methods of academic and cultural cooperation with universities and educational institutions in both countries,” said Al-

Shaibani in a phone call with KUNA yesterday on the occasion of a luncheon hosted by the Australian National University (ANU) in honor of Kuwait University’s Rector Abdullatif AlBader and the accompanying delegation.

Ambassador Al-Shaibani praised the efforts exerted by Kuwait University rector in this regard. The luncheon was attended by Ambassador Al-Shaibani, Head of Kuwait Cultural Office in Australia Ammar Al-Husseini and Cultural Attache Fahhad Al-Ajmi.—KUNA

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has launched the first in a series of the 2013 Summer Internship Program two -week courses custom-made for high school and college students aged between 15 and 20 years.

NBK Summer I nternship Program is specially designed for high school and college students,

as an extension of NBK’s education outreach ser vices and a demonstration of the Bank’s longstanding social involvement as well as its national commitment towards providing the young generations with the appropriate opportunities to experience firsthand how the actual professional banking issues and transaction are

work procedure, in addition to helping interns to have greater exposure to daily banking work procedures.

NBK regularly organizes and designs events and packages for the youth of the country to familiarize them with the world of banking and make them responsible citizens.

Man arrested while crossing into Iraq Policeman held for reckless driving KUWAIT: Border security officers arrested a man on Tuesday when he was trying to cross into Iraq, a local newspaper reported yesterday quoting sources familiar with the case. The suspect, an Iranian man in his thirties, was reportedly caught and found in possession of “a large amount of cash in different currencies,” said the sources who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity. He was referred to the proper authorities for questioning.

Theft Investigations were onto trace a briefcase containing KD 57,000 in cash stolen from a car in Kuwait City recently. The briefcase was stolen from a car parked outside the Liberation Tower.

Police rushed to the spot while the driver explained that he was to deposit the cash in the bank account of the company he worked for. He had stopped outside the Liberation Tower on his way for an errand that took half an hour. When he returned, he found the car’s window smashed and the briefcase missing. A case was filed at the Salhiya police station.

The Kuwait University delegation currently touring Australia and New Zealand. — KUNA

handled and processed.

The 5-hour daily sessions of two-week internship featured a mixture of theoretical and practical training dedicated to providing the interns with invaluable knowledge on a variety of subjects such as; the team work, creative think ing, means of self expression and modern banking

Policeman held A police officer faces charges after he was caught driving recklessly while in uniform. The incident took place in Salmiya where traffic police pulled over a driver who was seen performing dangerous stunts with his vehicle. The officers

soon found out that the man behind the wheel sported police uniform. Regardless, the man was arrested and taken to the area’s police station where he was put behind bars after being allowed to change into civil clothes.

Teenager stabbed A teenager was hospitalized after he was brutally assaulted at a leisure park in Hawally recently.

Police and paramedics reached the scene shortly after the incident was reported, and found the Bedouin (stateless) youngster bleeding of stab wounds on his back and shoulder. He was rushed to the Mubarak Hospital while police managed to arrest the two men who attacked him. The Kuwaiti youngsters were taken to the area’s police station to face charges.

Suicide attempts A worker was hospitalized after he tried selfimmolation inside a garage in Shuwaikh Tuesday.

The Asian man was rushed in an ambulance to the Sabah Hospital where his condition was described as stable. Preliminary investigations indicated that the man tried to commit suicide by setting himself ablaze. A case was filed at the Shuwaikh police station and officers were waiting for a clearance from the doctors to question the man.

Meanwhile, a Gulf national was rushed to the hospital late Monday night after he consumed a

poisonous substance in an apparent attempt to commit suicide. The man was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance that reached his Sulaibiya house accompanied by the police shortly after the incident was reported. Police were waiting for the man’s condition to stabilize in order to question him about his motives.

Disabled driver arrested A disabled man was arrested after he tried to break through a traffic jam flashing a beacon light normally affixed atop police cars. Police reached the scene where several drivers reported a vehicle carrying a ‘disabled driver’ sticker as well as the revolving beacon light and trying to jostle its way out of the jam. The driver was intercepted and taken into custody to the Fintas police station. In addition to the charge of impersonating police, the Kuwaiti man was also charged with offending police officers on duty after he reportedly insulted policemen while being arrested.

Fugitive nabbed A convict sentenced to a jail term was arrested during a security campaign carried out recently in Farwaniya. The 34-year-old Kuwaiti was first pulled over for swerving, and then arrested after police found he was wanted to serve a five-year jail term. He was referred to the proper authorities for further action.

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

LOCAL

Assembly elections likely on July 20 Lukewarm response to boycott call KUWAIT: Elections are likely to be held on July 20, less than two weeks into Ramadan, according to a government insider, who said a decree calling for Kuwaitis to head to the polls could be issued as early as next Sunday.

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was quoted by Al-Qabas daily, which also indicated that most members of the liberal National Democratic Forum, as well as the Awazem and Ajman tribes, who boycotted last December’s polls, are expected to take part in the upcoming elections. On the other hand, members of the oppositionist Popular Action Movement and the Islamic Constitutional Movement, along with most members of the Salafist Islamic Assembly, have announced plans to boycott the upcoming elections in protest against the single-vote system that the Constitutional Court upheld on Sunday. “Our decision to boycott the elections is based on principle and reflects our belief that the constitution must be the reference, and the ruling regime must never be autocratic,” leading ICM member Mubarak Al-Duwailah told Al-Qabas.

While the constitutional court upheld HH the Amir’s right to issue emergency decrees in the absence of a parliament, based on his assessment of the state of urgency, decisions to boycott the elections are mostly based on the idea that amending the electoral system outside the parliament infringes on people’s right to determine the course of the House of their representatives.

“Former MPs Khalid Al-Sultan, Mohammad Al-Kandari and I reiterate our position to avoid taking part in an assembly that lacks decision-making powers and is subjected to the executive authority’s decisions,” said former MP Abdullah Al-Omairi, reflecting part of the Safalist movement’s opinions. Meanwhile, fellow Salafist politician and former MP Ali Al-Omair stated that running for the parliament became “necessary” after the court’s ruling.

The chief of the Awazem tribe, Falah bin Jame’a, told AlQabas that tribal leaders were planning to hold a meeting within a week in order to determine their position with regard to the upcoming elections. He pointed out that the tribesmen had “no disputes” with other sectors and were

“in harmony with the Kuwaiti people.”

In the meantime, a parliament insider told Al-Qabas that between 17 and 22 MPs of the recently annulled parliament are not planning to run again, making it almost certain that at least 50 percent of the upcoming parliament will be new members.

In a related note, Al-Rai daily reported that members of the annulled parliament have discussed the possibility of putting pressure on the prime minister to avoid a scenario that sees him provide support to former MPs Mohammad Al-Saqr and Marzouq Al-Ghanim, should any of them run for speaker. This was revealed by sources familiar with a meeting hosted by Yaqoub Al-Sane recently, which was attended by 17 members of the annulled parliament, including its speaker, Ali Al-Rashid. Meanwhile, Al-Saqr told Al-Rai that he had yet to decide whether to contest in the upcoming elections. Separately, Director of the Elections Department in the Ministry of Interior Colonel Mohammad Al-Adwani told Al-Anba that around 439,000 Kuwaitis are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections.

KUWAIT: Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah met Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Tolkach yesterday. During the meeting, Sheikh Salman discussed bilateral relations and ways to bolster cooperation between the two countries. —KUNA

Asian man found hanging in Salmiya flat

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Security sources revealed that an Asian woman informed the Salmiya police station that she found dead a relative of hers with whom she shared an apartment as he hanged himself in his room. As security men reached the apartment, they found that the 28-year-old Asian man hung himself with a rope tied to the ceiling in his room. A case of suicide was registered.

Cousins held In Salmiya, two Egyptian cousins were arrested for possessing some kind of drug. They were arrested after a citizen reported that one of them was using Hashish. After the arrest, police recovered 250 grams of Hashish, drugs pills and some money from them. Also, police found that both of them were wanted in cases of theft and forgery.

Car on fire In the Qurain area, a citizen working with the Ministry of Electricity and Water reported that an unidentified person set his Lexus car afire. A case of setting a car on purpose was filed.

Wife thief Another citizen reported to the Mubarak Al-Kabeer police station accusing his wife of stealing the house furniture and KD 5000 while he was in hospital for treatment. He was admitted at the hospital towards the end of March and was discharged recently.

KUWAIT: Under the patronage of Assistant Undersecretary Ministry of Interior General Ahmad Nawaf Al-Sabah and in the presence of Brig Khalid Al-Jinahi, Brig Mohammad Amer Al-Ajmi, Brig Abdul Aziz Al-Mutawa, Colonel Mohammad Bader Al-Roomi and Lt Colonel Osama Al-Shimmari, a graduation ceremony was held in Saad Al-Abdullah Academy yesterday to graduate Class 27 lance corporal and Class 80 police officers. Brig Khalid Al-Jinahi congratulated the graduates and conveyed the greetings of the Assistant Undersecretary. He also wished them success in their career.

Complaints about MOE reshuffles KUWAIT: Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf , recently approved and endorsed decisions to reshuffle the ministry’s assistant undersecretaries, said educational sources noting that reshuffles included the assistant undersecretaries for planning sector, for the curriculums sector and the educational constructions.

The sources added that the reshuffled officials had many complaints and considered them as intentional to force them file retirement requests, especially since they had refused retirement and preferred staying in service to benefit from the new incentives approved by the cabinet recently. “All of them were transferred to sectors beyond their specialties”, stressed the sources.

Meanwhile, well-informed sources at the health ministry said that, in view of the ministry’s need for a building readily equipped with medical devices and OPD clinics and because KOC is planning to build a new developed hospital in Ahmadi, MOH has plans to utilize the KOC hospital building in reducing pressure at the Adan hospital.

The sources added that KOC had already started building the new hospital with a total cost of KD 60 million and that the project is scheduled to be concluded within three years.

PoWs issue Follow-up and coordination director at foreign ministry ambassador Khalid Muqames revealed that a meeting was held for the technical committee concerned about POW in Iraq. Pointing that a trio committee will meet today in the presence of an Iraqi delegation headed by human rights minister.

Assault In Al-Naeem area, a citizen filed a report against unidentified occupants of a Lumina car and told officers at the Al-Jahra police station that a man in the car assaulted him physically and stole his mobile. He gave the police the plate number of the car.

Molestation In Abu Hlaifa area, an Arab woman told the police that an unknown person stopped in front of the car and forced her to note down his telephone number and sexually harassed her. A case was registered.

Kuwait for global networks to avert disasters GENEVA: Kuwait condones linking the world communications networks in such a way to prevent the occurrence of global natural disasters or assuage their impact on the populace and on property, said a Kuwaiti minister at a conference here yesterday.

Addressing a regular session of the council of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Kuwait’s minister of communications Salem Al-Uthaina also came out in favor of closing the digital technology gap between developing countries and the highly developed ones.

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

LOCAL In my view

kuwait digest

Opposition dilemma

‘Peacebook’

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

T

By Labeed Abdal

labeed@kuwaittimes.net

A

re the developments in the region over the past three years a sign of a big tsunami of change? The wrongly named Arab Spring phenomenon hardly gives a positive view of the future.

Such events must be monitored by all nations, because the people shown on TV staging peaceful demonstrations, engaging in violent protests, getting tear-gassed, or being hit by rubber bullets and water cannons belong to the young generation.

Surprisingly, most of those young people are under 30 years old, with almost no political affiliation, and a majority among them have joined a protest for the first time in their lives.

Most of that turmoil could have been avoided from the beginning with a single sincere statement: “Yes, we are listening and will fulfill your hopes.”

Everything possible must be done to save the country and its people. Instead of just talking about the national crisis and personal vendettas between Muslim sects or among people from different religions, just do what needs to be done to stop all this.

It is not logical to blame ordinary people for staging protests, when such events are initiated by superpowers, who also provide support by supplying weapons from behind. Protestors must understand that there are various kinds of competitions taking place globally, particularly among superpowers who consider themselves to be the world’s decision-makers and are supported by the media and other vague entities.

Unfortunately, keeping aside the conspiracy theories, there is also an illness within, even though there are problems existing outside. One can see the game of chess being played everywhere - on the ground as well as in cyberspace. The UN must play a more active role by using distinct and highly qualified negotiators who can find new solutions and help treat the illnesses affecting humanity and world peace. It must engage powerful players who can help those suffering from poverty, ignorance, corruption, and irresponsible regimes. Today, we can see how the social media helps people exercise their right of expression and fulfill their urge to be heard. We urgently need a social media application, that may be called Peacebook or Peacewitter, through which people across the world can network for peace, express their needs, and interact freely.

kuwait digest

The court ruling

By Saad Al-Rushaidi

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few days ago my friend was cited for stopping his car in a no-parking area. He had left his car to tend to an urgent matter before the day ended so that he did not have to postpone the subject to the following day. When I asked him if he felt upset that the officer gave him a traffic ticket, he replied with a smile on his face, saying, “Only an ignorant would be upset for a wrong he committed, while a wise man becomes upset for something right he strives to accomplish.”

Last Monday, the Constitutional Court issued its ruling that was termed ‘historic’, ‘crucial’ and similar epithets. The court dissolved the parliament and called for new elections but at the same time rejected challenges to the constitutionality of the single-vote system’s decree. The period before the ruling saw many people becoming concerned that it might lead to protests that could harm public interest. I believe that after the court issued its ruling, everyone honored the verdict while at the same time ensuring that those who oppose through undemocratic ways stop doing so.

If we consider the current situation in the country, including the problems it faces and the aspirations of

the people, we come up with the conclusion that political forces need to focus on shifting the role of the parliament towards achieving the general interest, instead of using the legislative authority is a platform to settle differences. I believe that the ruling comes in accordance with the hopes of reformists who seek more political freedom and a local policy that serves the country’s interest, especially because Kuwait requires political stability since the country that sits on more than six percent of the world’s oil reserve depends on cooperation between the cabinet and parliament. Therefore, the opposition is required to resort to peaceful tactics in order to end the aggressive attitude it has been striking against the government for years now.

Meanwhile, voters have the responsibility of electing competent politicians who can best represent them in the parliament and achieve their ambitions.

The ruling might reduce the level of hostility to some extent between the government and the opposition, but what needs to be the focus of attention today is the need to stop the feuding between the government and the lawmakers, and instead work to utilize the time to best serve the country and its people. — Al-Rai

kuwait digest

The crux of the problem

he opposition is now in an awkward position, and personally I do not wish to be in their shoes. Their choices are very limited; in fact, it has only two choices. Either it can accept to participate in the upcoming election, or it can boycott the election and land on the streets once again.

Agreeing to participate in the elections is something that the opposition can better calculate. There is no harm in it for the opposition, especially for those who announced they will boycott, to revise their decision. Their decisions are not the scriptures that it would be sinful if they decided to contest the upcoming elections. We respect all opposition members without exception, and we know that some of them alone can design 50 councils similar to the “December Council.”

But here, it is a case of reading the real political situation and not just praising someone. The reality is that if the government harbored any ill will, and wanted all decisions in its favor, as they claim, then it would have ensured any decision it wanted through the dissolved council.

All it had to do was to put across a proposal which would have been adopted by the loyal MPs and then published in the official paper and would have become a reality. But the government in its political wisdom decided that the last word should rest with the judicial authority and not come through the loyal council that cannot refuse anything. This signifies a good and clear political intention and the opposition knows this very well.

If the opposition decided to boycott elections and wanted to bet on the actions in the political street, it will face two possibilities. Either it would give out calls for rallies, demonstrations and protests, or it will depend on organizing seminars and change the mood of the street with their fiery speeches. They may try to “turn a local issue into an international one” through the media in order to embarrass the government.

Let us come back to understanding the real political scene and watch how it looks like from the far corner.

Now, after the current situation and the constitutional court verdict, all political rivals will be obliged to recalculate their strategies about whether they should support their loyalists, or those who allied with the opposition and agree with it. Some change was noticed in the attitude of these leaders, especially during the last few days. This change for sure will impact the thought of some of the opposition members and will tangibly change the next move of the opposition.

Just as the government is not totally free in taking decisions, the opposition is also not totally free and is subject to the political calculations of some of the allies. Do you know what is our problem? Simply, that neither the government is free, nor the opposition and the solution to our crisis lies in liberating both, the government as well as the opposition. Thereafter, our country will be on the path of growth and any talk other than this will be mere wishful thinking and hopes, hopes that can neither build a hospital nor pave a road or spread real democracy.

NOTE 1: The next change in the government will see more than 60 percent saying “never mind and say that I don’t know”. But there are not less than seven ministers whom you will not see again after the next elections.

Of course, that is if there are elections in the first place.

NOTE 2: The next elections, the stamp indicating a person has voted would have to be affixed on the “forehead” of the citizen instead of his citizenship book. Frankly, there is no space left in the citizenship book. —Al-Anbaa

By Dr Aseel Al-Awadhi

A

s I said in my previous article, we are morally committed to accept the constitutional court’s ruling regardless of what we think of it. As citizens, we have a duty to abide by the law and the constitution, namely article 173 of it which authorizes the constitutional court to decide on constitutional litigations and act as the only reference in constitutional conflicts. Our respect for the ruling reflects our respect for the institutions we need to fortify.

This respect shown to the constitutional court ruling does not, at all, means that we are fully convinced about it. However, it is permitted to discuss such rulings in democratic regimes, which does not mean questioning the judiciary or suspecting the judges themselves.

Different issues and cases can be seen differently by different people but eventually court rulings put an end to such controversies, leaving the verdict’s analy-

Settling the argument in court, we now have to evaluate the onevote decree as an electoral system.

It is a very bad system as it reduces the voters’ right to select their representatives as well as solidifies affiliations towards sects, families and tribes, a fact that eventually facilitates vote-buying, enhances the role played by ‘Wasta’ MPs and helps the government control parliamentary output. sis to constitutional experts. Nevertheless, reading the ruling’s details myself, I was not convinced that the one-vote decree was ever necessary.

However, I highly appreciate the constitutional court’s defense of its right to evaluate and monitor the necessity decrees and, actually, reject one of them and annul a government’s ‘rubber-stamp’ parliament, which sets an example of the need to restrict the necessity decrees even when they come as an Amiri wish. This would be a victory for the institutional state and the people’s participation in governance.

Settling the argument in court, we now have to evaluate the one-vote decree as an electoral system. It is a very bad system as it reduces the voters’ right to select their representatives as well as solidifies affiliations towards sects, families and tribes, a fact that eventually facilitates vote-buying, enhances the role played by ‘Wasta’ MPs and helps the government control parliamentary output.

Eventually, I wonder whether the problem lies with our electoral system, or is solvable by adapting a new system or whether it was much deeper. Unfortunately, it is much deeper. — Al-Jarida

kuwait digest

A letter of gratitude to the judiciary

By Dr Ahmad Al-Khateeb

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he Constitutional Court’s historic ruling on June 16, 2013 rejects there being any authority above the constitution, judiciary and representatives of the nation. Because without that, the democratic life and partnership in the decision making process would have come to an end. There is no absolute power, and no people can be driven like sheep. All are equal citizens, and the wealth of this land belongs to all.

Everyone’s rights and dignity are guaranteed.

‘The Clash of Civilizations’ theory under which the Arab people have been unable to become a civilized nation has ended. The wave of the Arab Spring has thrown away the argument that Arabs are unable to evolve after living for centuries in submission to their rulers. Everyone in Kuwait should be proud about the historic ruling that gives us a reason to hold our heads high in the middle of our pitiful Arabic surroundings.

Likewise, the verdict to abolish the National Elections Committee was a bold decision that rejected any attempts to force the judiciary into the electoral process in ways that are not in line with the independence of the judicial authority. I was hoping that the ruling would not address the single-vote subject because this system, while adopted in some democratic countries, favors the concept of having a single constituency as well. If Kuwait wanted to benefit the most from the single-vote system, constituencies should be divided into fifty with each being represented by one MP in the parliament. Also, it is necessary to enforce the electoral law strictly to prevent illegal practices indulged in by those who do not believe in democracy.

To those criticizing the judiciary’s verdicts: While some of your arguments have legal justification, you have to realize that Kuwait’s constitutional court is located in Kuwait, and not in Sweden, a democratic country that enjoys true democracy. We have not been a democratic state since 1967, and what separated us from our miserable surroundings is a margin of freedom of speech that is shrinking day after day.

The judiciary alone cannot bear the liability for the reform process. It moves along a road punctuated by many hurdles. It is everyone’s duty to cooperate and put our differences aside to engage in the battle for true reforms, and provide a suitable environment for the judiciary to carry out its required role. — Al-Qabas

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

Violence flares again in Eskisehir

Egypt’s tourism minister quits over Luxor governor Page 8

Page 9

MOGADISHU: Somalis carry an injured person after Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents shot and blasted their way into the United Nations (UN) compound yesterday. — AFP

16 dead in Somalia UN office attack Al-Shabab militants launch bombs-and-gunfire assault MOGADISHU: Seven Al-Qaeda-linked gunmen detonated a pick-up truck rigged with explosives at the gate of the UN compound in Somalia’s capital yesterday, launching a bombs-andgunfire assault that saw militants pour into the complex, killing at least nine people, including three foreigners, officials said. The seven Al-Shabab militants were from what the militia called its martyrdom, or suicide, brigade. They all died in the assault, an official said, bringing the overall death toll to at least 16.

The attack comes only six months after the United Nations expanded its presence in Mogadishu, where it had kept only a small operation because Islamic insurgents had controlled much of the capital until being pushed out in an offensive in 2011. AlShabab said on its Twitter feed shortly after the 11:30 am attack began that its fighters “are now in control of the entire compound and the battle is still ongoing.”

African Union and Somali security forces responded and took control of the compound by 12:30 pm. The UN staff who sought refuge in the compound’s secure bunker then were evacuated to the secure military base and airport complex across the street, said Ben Parker, a spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia.

Two South Africans from the company Denel Mechem who were doing demining work for the UN died in the attack, said Vuyelwa Qinga, a spokeswoman for Denel, a manufacturer of defense equipment. A UN official who insisted on anonymity because he was not an official spokesman said he believed two UN personnel from Kenya and Somalia were also killed.

“There was not very much time to get into the safe area,” said Parker. The top UN official on Somalia, Nicholas Kay,

also works out of the building but was not inside the compound when it was attacked. Kay said he was shocked and horrified by the attack. “ The United Nations Common Compound houses UN personnel working on humanitarian and development issues for the Somali people.

This was an act of blatant terrorism and a desperate attempt to knock Somalia off its path of recovery and peace building,” said Kay. A UN statement said it was verifying its casualty numbers. “There are certainly some injured and most likely worse,” it said.

Speaking to the UN Security Council yesterday, Deputy SecretaryGeneral Jan Eliasson called the attack outrageous and said the UN remains committed to achieving peace and keeping Somalia on its path to recovery. At 11:30 am the compound was rocked by the car bomb blast that blew down the compound’s front gate. At least two other blasts followed, Parker said. Dozens of staff from UN humanitarian and development agencies were in the compound and many were moved to the secure bunker, he said. Mohamed Ali, an ambulance driver, said he transported five dead civilian bodies and 10 people who were wounded.

An Associated Press reporter who went inside the UN compound after the battle saw two dead bodies of what appeared to be Al-Shabab attackers wearing Somali military uniforms. An official said seven attackers died in total. The compound’s interior walls were scarred with bullet marks.

Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said he is appalled that “our friends and partners” at the UN who are carrying out humanitarian activities would be the victims “of such barbaric violence.” An African Union official, Mahamet Saleh Annadif, condemned the “cowardly”

attack and sent condolences “to those who had lost loved ones.” The UN has had only a small presence in Mogadishu in recent years. In December, though, UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon touched down in Mogadishu wearing a bullet proof jacket to announce a return of the UN’s political office to the seaside capital. The attacked compound just across the street from the secure airport complex, where UN-backed African Union militar y forces are based. The UN compound is used by agencies like UNICEF, WHO and UNDP. Mogadishu fell into anarchy in 1991 and is just beginning to move past years of sustained conflict. The UN and foreign embassies were absent from Mogadishu for close to two decades.

African Union forces pushed AlShabab out of Mogadishu in August 2011, meaning residents didn’t have to live through daily battles for the first time in years. An international presence slowly began to return and the UN began the process of moving its personnel from the nearby capital of Nairobi, Kenya, back to Mogadishu, a process that has accelerated in recent weeks.

International embassies - from Turkey and Britain, for example - followed. Yesterday’s attack underscores the fragile security situation and will force the UN and embassies to review their safety plans and decide if they have enough defenses to withstand a sustained Al-Shabab assault. Fadumo Hussein, a shopkeeper who was sitting inside her shop near the scene of the attack, described a narrow escape. “It started with an earsplitting explosion, followed by heavy gunfire,” she said, showing holes made by bullets on her shop. “I crouched and then crawled like an animal. I am very lucky. It was a shocking moment.” —AP

Karzai suspends dialogue with US KABUL: The Afghan president yesterday suspended talks with the United States on a new security deal to protest the way his government was being left out of initial peace negotiations with the Taleban meant to find a way to end the nearly 12-year war. The move by Hamid Karzai raises tensions significantly and could derail the peace process even before it has begun. In a terse statement from his office, Karzai said negotiations with the US on what American and coalition security forces will remain in the country after 2014 have been put on hold. The deal was expected to define the future of American troops here and also pave way for billions in aid to the Afghan economy. Karzai’s statement followed an announcement Tuesday by the US and the Taleban that they would pursue bilateral talks in Qatar before the Afghan government

was brought in.

“In view of the contradiction between acts and the statements made by the United States of America in regard to the peace process, the Afghan government suspended the negotiations, currently underway in Kabul between Afghan and US delegations on the bilateral security agreement,” Karzai’s statement said. His spokesman was not immediately reachable for questions, and the US Embassy in Kabul said it had no immediate comment.

Though the Taleban have dismissed Karzai as an American puppet for years, they indicated Tuesday when opening a new political office in Doha, Qatar, that they would be willing to talk with the Afghan leader. But both the American side and the Taleban said they would first meet together before any talks with the Afghanistan government. In another

incident highlighting the fragile situation in Afghanistan, only hours after announcing they would hold talks with the US, the Taleban claimed responsibility yesterday for an attack on the Bagram Air Base in which four American troops were killed.

Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the insurgents fired two rockets into the base outside the Afghan capital, Kabul, late on Tuesday.

American officials confirmed the base had come under attack by indirect fire likely a mortar or rocket - and that four US troops were killed. Also Tuesday, five Afghan police officers were killed at a security outpost in Helmand province by apparent Taleban infiltrators - the latest in a string of so-called “insider attacks” that have shaken the confidence of the nascent Afghan security forces.— AP

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

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

Scorsese fan heads culture ministry in Islamist govt CAIRO: “Gangs of New York” seems a fitting favourite movie for Egypt’s new culture minister, a film studies professor who styles himself an outsider fighting to break the hold of a privileged elite over spending on the arts. Artists enraged that he fired the head of Cairo Opera, and fearing Muslim puritans may ban ballet, have barricaded Alaa Abdel Aziz from entering his own ministry.

The “culture war” has come to symbolise a wider conflict between the Islamist government and secular opponents ahead of rival mass rallies later this month to mark the first anniversary in power of President Mohamed Morsi. Speaking at the dusty state publishing house where he has set up camp, Abdel Aziz told Reuters he would ban nothing. Rather, he would support “people’s art” beyond the capital, end corruption inherited from the old regime and see that cultural spending reflects how democratic revolution has changed Egyptian society.

“My concern is providing cultural services throughout Egypt, not financial benefits for a few intellectuals,” he said in an interview, justifying high-profile dismissals that have prompted the sit-in, and occasional scuffles, at the Culture Ministry. As for his own tastes, the 52year-old academic cites films by Japanese master Akira Kurosawa, Iranian and French cinema, and the work of American director Terrence Malick.

One favourite is Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York” - perhaps appropriately, a Civil War-era tale of upstart incomers and corrupt, entrenched interests battling for power on the streets of a new country. That taste for Hollywood sets Abdel Aziz apart from some allies of Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood, who have used the power they won in elections since the 2011 revolution to urge an end to public displays of ballet or belly-dancing, or even censorship of on-screen romance.

‘Frightening and barbaric’ To his opponents, Abdel Aziz is an artistic nobody, a know-nothing pawn of the Brotherhood, bent on an Islamic morality campaign that threatens a cosmopolitan cultural scene long envied across the socially conservative Arab world. The truth, he says, has more to do with vested interests than artistic freedom. “Very simply, I am from outside the traditional cultural community which has controlled Egyptian cultural life for long decades,” he said. “That poses a kind of threat to them.”

He accused opponents of spreading lies about him and called some of the criticism “frightening and barbaric”. “The revolution took place to create change in society,” he said. “And culture also has to change to keep pace with that.” After Abdel Aziz removed the French-trained flautist who had run the Opera House complex for the past year, a performance of Verdi’s set-in-Egypt “Aida” was replaced by a protest by singers and musicians against the “Brotherhoodisation” of culture. Now the fate of ballerinas has become an unlikely rallying cry for millions who say they will join street protests to mark Mursi’s anniversary on June 30.

His year in office has been marked by complaints that the Brotherhood has leveraged its organisational muscle into dominating political institutions, and now wants to impose its social views on the less cohesive liberal factions which were its allies in toppling veteran ruler Hosni Mubarak. But Abdel Aziz, a member of a small Islamic party, laughed off fears of Islamist “colonisation” of the administration. He said anyone “competent and trustworthy” was welcome in it, “whether Muslim Brother or ... Marxist or liberal.”

Nor was he out to censor, as his opponents feared: “With the opera and ballet, this isn’t about wanting to abolish anything; we are addressing... administrative failure,” he said. “When there’s a ballet on in a theatre that seats 620 and only eight seats are booked, that’s a disaster... Yet when measures are taken to address those errors, you find yourself confronted by these ferocious, frightening, barbaric attacks.”

Budgets are still under review and it is unclear whether Abdel Aziz may divert resources beyond the big cities. “People’s art” is a priority - “art that has a public to receive it”. He would like to help Egypt’s film industry back to the heyday it last enjoyed in black and white, but takes a global view. “I care about all kinds of cinema,” he said. “I watch Hollywood cinema as much as I watch Iranian cinema, or French cinema.

“I’m very interested in cinema that critiques society, like Scorsese’s ‘Gangs of New York’ - one of the films I love.” As the army prepares to prevent rival camps shedding blood on the streets of Cairo, Abdel Aziz said protest was fine, but accused opponents in the culture war of fighting dirty. “I don’t object to protests because I was once a protester myself and took part in sit-ins,” he said of his exile from the ministry. “But the problem is when you lie.” —Reuters

Egypt’s tourism minister quits over Luxor governor Zazou proud of pharaonic temples, will protect them CAIRO: Egypt’s tourism minister resigned in protest yesterday after President Mohamed Morsi appointed a new governor for Luxor from an Islamist party linked to a massacre of holidaymakers in the temple city. Hesham Zazou said he “cannot continue in the role of tourism minister ” a day after the appointment of Adel AlKhayat, a member of the political arm of ex-Islamic militant group Gamaa Islamiya, and other Islamist governors triggered unrest in several provinces.

Gamaa Islamiya claimed responsibility for an attack on a major tourist attraction in the southern city of Luxor that killed 58 foreign tourists in 1997. Prime Minister Hesham Qandil refused to accept Zazou’s resignation and asked him to remain in his post until the situation is reviewed, ministry spokeswoman Rasha alAzaizy told the official MENA news agency. But she said Zazou insisted he would cease to work “as long as the new governor remains in his post, greatly harming tourism in Egypt generally and in Luxor specifically”.

President Morsi named Khayat along with 16 other new governors on Sunday, including seven from his Muslim Brotherhood movement. Apar t from its symbolic implications, Khayat’s appointment deals a blow to the once-lucrative tourism industr y struggling to recover after the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. Khayat belongs to the Construction and Development party, the political arm of Gamaa Islamiya which was blamed for a spate of attacks in the 1990s before it renounced violence.

In statements to the media, he said his first priority as governor would be to “ensure the return of tourists” to Luxor. But a coalition of opposition groups, trade unions and tourism workers has threatened to close down all Pharaonic temples and tourist attractions should Khayat remain in the post. The groups called for the cancellation of the appointment “of a governor with a reli-

LUXOR: An Egyptian boy burns tires during clashes between supporters and opponents of Egypt’s president and his Muslim Brotherhood yesterday. —AP gious background in a tourist city” otherwise “all historic areas and pharaonic sites will be closed down”.

On Tuesday, clashes erupted in several cities of the Nile Delta following protests against the appointments, leaving 26 people injured. In Tanta, police fired tear gas to break up clashes between protesters demanding the ouster of new governor Ahmed al-Beelya member of the Brotherhood-and his suppor ters. In Menufiya,

dozens pursued a sit-in outside the governorate headquar ters demanding the removal of governor Ahmed Shaarawy, also a member of the Islamist group.

“The governorate has always voted against the Brotherhood, in all elections and referendums, so appointing a Muslim Brotherhood governor is a provocation,” one of the protesters, Mahmud Kamal, told AFP by telephone. Similar protests took place in the canal province of Ismailiya, the northern

provinces of Damietta and Beheira against the appointment of their governors. The protests are the latest sign of polarisation in the country, pitting Morsi’s mainly Islamist suppor ters against a wide -ranging opposition that accuses the president of failing the revolution that brought him to power. The tension comes ahead of mass protests planned on June 30 seek ing to withdraw confidence from Morsi and calling for early presidential elections. —AFP

Mugabe seeks to delay polls HARARE: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has filed an urgent application with the country’s top court to push back crucial elections by two weeks, following pressure by regional leaders. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told AFP he had filed papers on Tuesday that sought “a postponement of the date for the harmonised elections from July 31, 2013 to August 14, 2013.” The announcement comes just days after Southern African leaders pressed Mugabe to delay the polls to allow more time for democratic reforms.

In setting the original election date, Mugabe had said he was complying with the constitutional court’s ruling to hold elections by July 31. The elections will choose a successor to Zimbabwe’s uncomfortable power-sharing government, which was forged four years ago as a path away from a decade of political violence. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, a long-time Mugabe rival, has called for reforms-to free the media, depoliticise the security services and make sure the electoral roll is accurate-before the vote is held.

It was not immediately clear whether the court would grant the extension, or whether two more weeks will be enough to see Tsvangirai’s demands met. Civil society groups welcomed the prospect of an extra two weeks to allow for the completion of the voter registration process.

But, they said, the extra time would do little to change deeply-ingrained attitudes or dissuade Mugabe’s supporters from voter intimidation. “Fourteen days may be enough

to change the laws... but not enough to bring really change on the ground,” Trust Mhanda a member of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human rights, told AFP in Johannesburg.

“It must not just be a legal change, but that law must be implemented on the ground, and 14 days is not enough for that.” Leaders from the Southern African Development Community had on Saturday flexed their muscles and issued an unusual rebuke of Mugabe, asking that he go back to the court and seek a delay. The SADC summit called on all parties to “create a conducive environment for the holding of peaceful, credible, free and fair elections”.

“During proceedings at the said summit, I, in particular was directed to make an urgent application before this honourable court to seek a postponement,” Chinamasa’s filing read. “In my capacity as the minister responsible for the administration of the electoral act, I pray for an order for the extension of the elections to the 14th of August.”

Activists have also expressed scepticism the application to the Constitutional Court could be an academic exercise, to be seen to be complying with the SADC’s decision. “You get the sense that their approaching the court is a compliance issue rather than anything else,” Thabani Nyoni, spokesman of the Crisis Coalition in Zimbabwe said. “There is no political will per se to really convince the courts to change its decision,” he said. “It’s a non-committal application, which is actually... setting up the court to say ‘there was no sufficient evidence to convince us of the importance of this going forward,’” said Nyoni. —AFP

Mali signs ceasefire accord with rebels OUAGADOUGOU: Mali’s government signed a ceasefire accord with Tuareg rebels Tuesday, paving the way for presidential elections in the troubled west African state next month.

The agreement, reached after 10 days of tense negotiations, will enable Malian troops to enter the Tuareg-held city of Kidal in the northeast to secure polls scheduled to take place on July 28. The two sides agreed to halt hostilities and for Tuareg rebels, who took part in an uprising last year that brought the country to its knees, to be restricted to set areas. Long-term peace talks will start after the election.

Territorial Administration Minister Moussa Sinko Coulibaly signed the accord with representatives of two Tuareg movements in Ouagadougou, capital of neighbouring Burkina Faso. Mahamadou Djeri Maiga, vice president of the Tuareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), said the accord was a chance to “turn the page of hate”. There is longstanding distrust between the government and ethnic Tuaregs, who launched an uprising with Al-Qaeda-linked militants last year. French forces intervened in January to halt an Islamist advance on the capital.

“This agreement represents a major breakthrough in exiting the crisis in Mali,” said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. “I call

on the Malian parties, now reunited around a common project, to fully implement this agreement in the best interest of the country,” he said. European Union policy chief Catherine Ashton said the agreement had “historical significance”.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon also welcomed the accord, urging both sides to begin implementing the agreement at once. But UN envoy to Mali Bert Koenders said the deal was only “a first step”. Talks over “technical details” on security and setting up an administration and essential services in Kidal had not started, he said. Robert Piper, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel region, said Mali still faced grave problems.“Warning indicators are flashing for the whole country, with people in the north being most vulnerable.” A donor conference for Mali last month raised $133 million, barely a third of the $410 million targeted. More money had to be found “...before the situations deteriorates further still”, he warned.

The Tuareg occupation of Kidal had been a major obstacle to holding the election, seen as crucial to Mali’s recovery from the conflict of the past 15 months.

Malian officers staged a coup in March 2012 in anger at the government response to the Tuareg rebellion. Flush with weapons following the return of Tuareg mercenaries

who fought alongside Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi, the MNLA overpowered the weak army. The Tuaregs seized key northern cities before being sidelined by their more powerful Al-Qaeda-linked allies, who seized control of the north and imposed a brutal form of Islamic law.

French troops and African allies have reclaimed most of the lost territory but the Islamists have launched a guerrilla campaign from desert hideouts. The United Nations last week warned that the human rights situation in northern Mali remained precarious, with both rebels and Malian troops accused of committing numerous abuses. A UN stabilising force, comprising 12,600 international troops and police, is due to start deploying on July 1. The MNLA sided with France during the worst of the fighting this year but was reluctant to allow government troops into its Kidal bastion for the vote. Arrest warrants issued by Malian authorities against MNLA chiefs were a sticking point in the negotiations, but one source said an agreement was made that the warrants would not be carried out. The accord does state, however, that international investigators will look into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the conflict. The International Criminal Court says it is already collecting evidence. —AFP

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

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

Armed gang kills 48 in raid in Nigeria Nigeria bans satellite phones

TAKSIM: People hold a Turkish national flag as they stand on the flashpoint Taksim square in Istanbul during a wave of new alternative protests. — AFP

Violence flares again in Eskisehir ISTANBUL: Turkey’s deputy prime minister said yesterday he had no objection to silent anti-government protests inspired by a symbolic “Standing Man” vigil, comments that could help draw the sting out of three weeks of often violent demonstrations. Protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government have become increasingly creative in recent days, as police and demonstrators seek to avoid the fierce clashes that have dented Turkey’s reputation for stability in the volatile Middle East.

Police fired teargas and water cannon to disperse around 5,000 demonstrators in the northern city of Eskisehir overnight, Dogan news agency said, and there were small disturbances in Ankara, but on nowhere near the scale of previous weeks. In Istanbul, the cradle of the unrest that has unsettled markets and presented Erdogan with the greatest public challenge of his 10-year rule, a sense of calm returned to streets around the central Taksim Square that saw nights of running battles.

Hundreds of protesters stood silently on squares including Taksim, as well as in Ankara and other cities, taking their lead from a performance artist whose eight-hour vigil on Monday lit up social media and made him the new face of the protests. “These kinds of protests should be encouraged,” Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told reporters in Ankara. “They involve no violence, but still are successful in conveying messages, and we should welcome these

messages.”

The silent protests could however pose a fresh challenge to Erdogan if they gather momentum, although he has moved to wrest back the political initiative with weekend rallies in Istanbul and Ankara attended by hundreds of thousands of supporters.

The government said it would differentiate between what it says are legitimate, peaceful protesters and what Erdogan has called “riff-raff” manipulated by “terrorists”, but demonstrators have complained of disproportionate use of police force. One key test will come at the weekend, when clashes between protesters and police in several major cities have been at their fiercest before dying down when the working week begins.

“Peaceful resistance” Taksim Solidarity, the protest umbrella group, called on supporters to leave shoes outside the 14th century Galata Tower, a popular tourist destination, as a symbol of solidarity for those injured or detained in the clashes.

According to the Turkish Medical Association, the protests have left four people, including one policeman, dead, and some 7,500 suffering from injuries ranging from cuts and burns to breathing difficulties from teargas inhalation.

The Istanbul Bar Association said 163 people remained in detention in the city yesterday. Only four people had been formally arrested out of all of those

detained since late May. What started as a small-scale action by environmentalists opposed to government plans to build on Gezi Park, a rare green space in Istanbul’s teeming centre, quickly became a broader expression of dissatisfaction with Erdogan and his government. The leader has adopted a defiant tone throughout the unrest, and defended police whose use of teargas and water cannon to control sometimes unruly crowds brought widespread condemnation at home and abroad.

In an amphitheatre located in Istanbul’s central Besiktas district, more than a thousand mostly young people gathered late on Tuesday to discuss where the protests were heading, and many expressed hope that there was an alternative to the violence. “On Sunday I felt a big blank. What should we do next?” said 32-year-old Ilker Gumus, an industrial engineer, referring to last weekend’s clashes around Gezi Park and Taksim Square that were among the fiercest so far.

“I was a bit pessimistic at first. I thought, ‘ This is over.’ But then the ‘Standing Man’ came along in Taksim and I said ‘Yes, we will go on!’.” Erdogan has said mass gatherings he has organised were to garner support for his ruling AK Party ahead of March municipal elections. He hits the campaign trail again on Friday, Saturday and Sunday even though the vote is some nine months away. —Reuters

Hezbollah fighters battle rebels near Syria capital BEIRUT: Syrian troops backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters clashed yesterday with rebel forces south of a Damascus suburb that is home to a major Shiite Muslim shrine, in an attempt to secure the area surrounding the revered site, activists said. State TV said government forces were able to clear rebels out of one neighborhood, AlBahdaliya, outside the suburb of Sayida Zeinab, home to the ornate, gold-domed shrine of Sayida Zeinab, the Prophet Muhammad’s granddaughter. Meanwhile, rebel forces claimed they took control of a hospital in a village south of the shrine neighborhood, from which they were battling regime forces and allied militias.

Opposition fighters control several suburbs of the capital, trying to threaten the heart of the city, seat of President Bashar Assad’s power. But the regime has largely been able to keep them at bay. The area surrounding the Sayida Zeinab suburb, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of Damascus, has seen fighting before. But the regime forces and Shiite Hezbollah fighters launched an intensified assault there on Monday, according to Rami AbdulRahman, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The assault appears aimed at decisively pushing rebels back and securing the suburb of the shrine, said AbdulRahman. The Observatory is a Britain-based group of antiregime activists that has a network of activists on the ground. Before the war, Shiite pilgrims from outside Syria regularly visited the shrine. Last year, rebels kidnapped Iranian pilgrims visiting the area, accusing them of being spies.

Now protection of the shrine has become a rallying cry for Shiite fighters backing Assad. Lebanese guerrillas from Hezbollah as well as Iraqi Shiite militiamen have been reported fighting in the area in the past weeks, though it was not clear if Iraqis were involved in the new assault. The Syrian uprising began more than two years ago with peaceful protests against Assad, but later grew into a civil

An undated picture shows Maher Sukkar, a Palestinian living in Lebanon, who belonged to a boy scout troupe, wearing fatigues and a keffiyeh scarf wrapped around his head as he holds a Kalashnikov assault rifle at an unknown location. — AFP

war that the U.N. says has killed more than 93,000 people.

In recent months, the conflict’s sectarian overtones have been growing, particularly with the overt participation of Hezbollah on the side of the regime, dominated by Alawites - an offshoot sect of Shiite Islam.

The rebels are largely Sunni Muslims, and have also been joined by Sunni fighters from countries in the region.

US officials estimate that there are 5,000 Hezbollah militiamen fighting alongside the regime, while thousands of Sunni foreign fighters are also believed to be in Syria including members of Jabhat Al-Nusra, an Al-Qaeda affiliate that is believed to be among the most effective rebel factions in Syria. —AP

KANO: An armed gang has raided a northern Nigerian village and killed 48 people in an apparent reprisal attack targeting a local vigilante group, a state official said yesterday.

The attack saw gunmen move house to house as well as take positions atop a hill and open fire, the official said.

Houses were also burnt, but it was not clear how many.

“There was an attack by armed bandits early Tuesday on Kizara village where 48 residents were killed in apparent targeted killings by cattle rustlers that have been terrorising the state for some time now,” said Ibrahim Birnin-Magaji, commissioner for information in Zamfara state, where the remote village is located. Dozens of gunmen arrived in the village before dawn on motorbikes, he told AFP. “Some of them climbed up the hill overlooking the village and opened fire indiscriminately,” he said. “They later moved house to house, telling residents that they were looking for members of local vigilante (groups) whom they said had been disturbing them.” He said those killed included the local chief, the chief imam and the head of the vigilante group in the village. “The police from nearby Keta mobilised and engaged the bandits in a shootout, but they were overwhelmed by the gunmen’s superior firepower and were forced to retreat,” said Birnin-Magaji. Many villages in Nigeria form local vigilante groups to defend themselves against violent cattle rustlers or other criminal gangs, sometimes leading to a cycle of clashes and reprisal attacks.

Zamfara state, located in Nigeria’s northwest, has seen a number of such incidents.

There was so far no sign of any link to Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, which has been waging a deadly insurgency mainly in Nigeria’s northeast. Nigeria’s military is currently engaged in an offensive seeking to end Boko Haram’s four-year insurgency. However, the raid is the latest sign of insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer, where authorities have been largely unable to stop such violence. The country includes some 250 ethnic groups and is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south. Illegal weapons are widespread.

While such clashes in central Nigeria tend to involve ethnic tensions, they are more strictly criminal further north, with attackers and victims from the same ethnic group in certain cases. “This trend of raids by bandits stealing cows and cash from villagers has become a serious menace which should be jointly tackled by the federal and state governments,” said Birnin-Magaji. Nigeria’s military banned the use of Thuraya satellite phones yesterday in northeastern Borno state, a step it said was designed to stop Islamist militants communicating.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno and two other states on May 14, ordering extra troops in to try to crush Islamist sect Boko Haram, whose insurgency against has killed thousands of people in the past three years. Authorities cut the mobile network in Borno state in the same week to disrupt Boko Haram’s operations. —Agencies

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

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

Kosovo-Serbia deal makes little headway PRISTINA: Two months since Serbia and Kosovo agreed to normalise relations, implementation of the accord has barely started just days before European leaders are due to decide whether they merit closer EU ties. According to the EU-brokered April 19 agreement, the first thaw in the diplomatic freeze between Belgrade and Pristina, they should by June 15 have completed talks on telecommunications and energy.

But both issues appear to have hit stumbling blocks, with each side blaming the other for the impasse.

Serbian trade minister Rasim Ljajic said an agreement on telecommunications had been “more-less agreed” with the EU but rejected by Pristina over the telephone dialling code for Kosovo. Kosovo’s negotiator Edita Tahiri blamed Serbia for “continuing to unilaterally interpret the accord” and “failing to show needed seriousness in negotiations”. With the negotiators unable to agree a solution, it will likely be up to Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and his Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci to hash out a deal in fresh talks in Brussels today.

Both sides are expected to speed up efforts to implement the accord to win the support of EU leaders at the summit on June 27 and 28. That is when the 27-nation bloc is expected to decide whether Serbia and Kosovo have made enough progress in normalising ties. If they think they have, Belgrade will be offered a date to start EU accession talks and Pristina a partnership accord. Negotiators have been trying for weeks to resolve a dispute over Kosovo’s telephone dialling code: it has been unable to get an international code as an independent country because of Serbia’s opposition.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but when it comes to phone lines, it is still part of Serbia, which has refused to recognise the breakaway territory’s sovereignty. Anyone calling a fixed line in Kosovo has to dial via the Serbian country code (+381). For Serbians, making a call to Kosovo is still a national call. Mobile phone operators who moved into Kosovo after Serb forces were driven out, issue Kosovo numbers with the national codes for Monaco

(+377) or Slovenia (+386).

“This is unacceptable and has to be changed,” said Zeqir Uka, a 50-year old businessman from Pristina. “I have an impression that my business partners abroad do not consider me seriously when they realise we still do not have our own international country code.” But Serbs living in Kosovo insist on keeping Belgrade-based mobile providers and the Serbian country code to maintain links with the homeland and to avoid higher costs. Talks on energy issues have also stalled. Kosovo insists on becoming fully independent from Serbia in importing and exporting electricity.

All power currently goes through Belgrade in accordance with a scheme dating back to the former Yugoslavia. Power cuts lasting for hours are still common in Kosovo, partly due to the outdated system, but also because of disputes over energy supplies.

Serbia wants its own electricity company to continue supplying Serb-dominated areas in Kosovo; Pristina insists on control over its entire territory. Even points

supposedly agreed in the April agreement have not yet been implemented.

Liaison officers from Belgrade and Pristina tasked with that job only took up their posts on Monday.

Serbian officials have begun closing their police stations in the north of Kosovo, but some 800 policemen are still employed by the Serbian interior ministry. The two sides have still to agree how many of them will join Kosovo police forces (KPS). Pristina said it only needed up to 150 Serb police officers. The Kosovo parliament was also late in adopting an amnesty law that would shelter Serbs from prosecution for crimes committed during the 1998-1999 war.

Sources in Kosovska Mitrovica, Serb-run courts in the northern Kosovo were ordered to stop taking new cases from mid-July. It is still not clear however how many of the 60 judges and several hundred employees in the judiciary will join the Pristina-administered courts. Under the terms of the agreement, ethnic Serbs should be proportionally represented in the judiciary in areas where they live. — AFP

WikiLeaks’ Assange fears US Whistleblower hails Edward Snowden as a hero

ISLAMABAD: Afghan refugee children collect items of use from a pile of garbage in Pakistan. — AP

Refugees at two-decade high: UN GENEVA: War and other crises drove one person from their home every 4.1 seconds last year, the UN refugee agency said yesterday, pushing the number of people forcibly displaced to a two-decade high of 45.2 million. Conflict in countries including Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia created millions of new refugees in 2012. The UNCHR’s annual figures showed 1.1 million people fled across international borders last year, while 6.5 million were displaced within their homelands. “This means one in each 4.1 seconds. So each time you blink, another person is forced to flee,” Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters.

The largest number of refugees still come from Afghanistan, a situation unchanged for 32 years. Worldwide, one refugee in four is Afghan. Guterres said 55 percent of the refugees were linked to conflicts in Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, and Syria. Last year did see 2.1 million internally displaced people and 526,000 refugees return home, as well as the resettlement of 88,6000 in rich nations.

However a raft of fresh crises in Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic pushed the total number of displaced to a level unseen since 1994, a year marked by the Rwandan genocide and bloodshed in former Yugoslavia. “New refugees, new internally displaced, unfortunately represent much more than those able to find an answer to their plight,” said Guterres. “We witness a multiplication of new conflicts, and it seems that old conflicts never die.” Pope Francis yesterday called for more help, hospitality and understanding for refugees families. These families “are fleeing violence, persecution, serious discrimination on the basis of their religion, their ethnicity, their political ideas,” he told some 60,000 people gathered at the Vatican.

“On top of the dangers of the voyage, these families often risk disintegration and in the countries that host them, they face cultures and societies different to their own.” Guterres said the number of people who had fled the civil war in Syria had soared from 650,000 at the end of 2012 to around 1.6 million now, surpassing last year’s total from all conflicts.

The UNHCR has warned that Syrian refugee numbers could hit 3.5 million by the end of this year. Syrian refugees have flooded into neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq, stretching their ability to cope. Guterres urged the international community to help shoulder the load, although he said UNHCR-brokered resettlement programmes for Syrians in rich countries were not yet on the cards.

With the economic crisis sharpening the asylum debate in developed nations, Guterres said it was important to keep some perspective. “Who is supporting refugees in the world?” he asked.

“Essentially, developing countries.” He said 87 percent of the world’s refugees were protected by developing countries, up from 70 percent a decade ago. “So when we see discussion sometimes that exist about refugees in many developed countries, I think it’s good to remind public opinion in those countries that refugees are not people fleeing from poor countries into rich countries in search of a better life.”

Pakistan remained the world’s top host nation in 2012, with 1.6 million refugees, mostly from Afghanistan. It was followed by I ran, with 868,200, and Germany with 589,700. Some 46 percent of the globe’s refugees are under 18.

Guterres highlighted a “highly worrying” trend of rising numbers of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum: 21,300 in 2012. They were at particular risk from smuggling gangs, he said. — AFP

Dozing prince a cult hero for disenchanted Czechs PRAGUE: It was a moment of high drama: the Czech prime minister stood up in parliament to try to salvage a political career torpedoed by the arrest of an aide, and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, sitting next to him, had dozed off. Schwarzenberg’s habit of napping has, instead of being a liability, made him popular among Czechs fed up with their political class and its endemic corruption, and desperate for someone who breaks the mould. A 75-year-old aristocrat, Schwarzenberg printed posters for the last parliamentary election campaign which deftly brought together his penchant for snoozing, his reputation as an outsider, and the distaste many Czechs feel for politicians.

The slogan read: “When they talk rubbish, I sleep.” The European Union member has embraced free speech and market reforms since emerging from Communist rule in 1989 but politics has been dominated by scandals and Czechs are tired of the fiscal austerity that has helped deepen a recession. Voters’ disillusionment with the political establishment reached new lows last week when prosecutors charged eight people, including an aide to Prime Minister Petr Necas, with bribery and unauthorised spying.

Necas resigned on Sunday, but his departure is unlikely to herald a fresh start. His own party is expected to nominate the next prime minister from among its ranks, and the leading candidates are veteran political insiders. “The public has grown increasingly disenchanted with the political class,” said Jiri Pehe, a former advisor to Vaclav Havel, the democratic activist jailed under Communism who later became Czech president. “People tend to believe that all politicians are corrupt.” Against this backdrop, Schwarzenberg feels like a breath of fresh air. He speaks his mind, he takes a breezy approach to the rules of politics, and because

of his centuries-old family wealth, many Czechs believe Schwarzenberg, a prince, is above corruption. After early years in a Czech chateau, his family emigrated to Austria to escape Communist rule. A 16th-century palace next to Prague castle has his family name carved into the stonework above the entrance.

He is the most trusted party politician, with 44 percent support, according to a poll in April

by CVVM, a Czech public opinion research centre. “He has a completely different view of things. Whenever I hear him speak I always feel better and that this country is not such a bad place to be,” said Filip Hanak, 30, the owner of a pub in the Czech capital. “I don’t know whether it’s his archaic Czech or the way he speaks about things, it feels as if he were above it all and the dreadful scandals seem digestible when he speaks about them.”

Irreverent style Schwarzenberg’s critics say he is a dilettante unsuited to governing. Others say that behind the outsider’s image, he too is part of the system. They point to people such as Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek, a veteran political insider, who is number two in Schwarzenberg’s TOP09 party. His irreverent style was on display during last week’s political crisis. At a briefing to announce whether his party would back Necas, Schwarzenberg wore a punk-style Tshirt paying homage to Ivan “Magor” Jirous, an underground poet.

Asked in a newspaper interview about the collapse of the coalition government, of which his party is a member, he said he had mixed feelings. “It’s like watching as your mother-inlaw goes over the cliff in your new Mercedes,” he said. He denied having been asleep when the prime minister spoke in parliament last Friday. —Reuters

LONDON: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will not leave the sanctuary of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London even if Sweden stops pursuing sexual assault claims against him because he fears arrest on the order of the United States. In an interview with Reuters and others to mark the first anniversary of taking refuge in the cramped diplomatic building, Assange said he remained hopeful he might be able to leave but offered little evidence to suggest he would be finding new living quarters anytime soon.

“I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t leave,” he said. “(But) my lawyers have advised me I shouldn’t leave the embassy because of the risk of arrest in relation to the risk of arrest and extradition to the United States.” When asked whether he would remain inside even if Sweden dropped the investigation against him, Assange said: “ That’s correct.”

Assange chose his words carefully in the interview, which was conducted last Friday under embargo. In a wide-ranging discussion behind drawn white net curtains, Assange hailed Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the US National Security Agency who made revelations about US surveillance programmes, as a hero.

He also railed against the United States, Britain and his native Australia and talked about his case with semi-legal expertise. Assange, 41, fled to the Ecuadorean Embassy last June to avoid extradition to Sweden, which wants to question him about allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he denies.

He says he does not want to answer the allegations in person because he believes Sweden would hand him over to the US authorities, who would try him for helping facilitate one of the largest information leaks in US history. WikiLeaks began releasing thousands of confidential US documents on the Internet in 2010, embarrassing the United States and, according to some critics, putting its national security and people’s lives at risk.

The court-martial of Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of providing reams of classified documents to WikiLeaks, is under way in Maryland. Ecuador has granted Assange political asylum, but Britain has made it clear he will be arrested if he tries to leave the building, which is heavily guarded by police. As Assange spoke, at

least four policemen ringed the embassy.

Weighing risks Assange said he initially thought he might be holed up in the embassy, a diplomatic facility in one of London’s swishest areas, for up to two years. His original timetable was still a fair estimate, he told his interviewers. When asked

LONDON: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks to the media inside the Ecuadorian Embassy ahead of the first anniversary of his arrival there yesterday. — AFP whether he was worried the situation could drag on much longer, he conceded it was a possibility.

“Left to its own devices that is a risk, left to fate that is a risk,” he said. “There have been other cases, similar deadlocks for political refugees in embassies, that have gone on for dozens of years.

However, we don’t intend to leave the situation to fate.”

Assange, who looked pale, complained of a lack of sunlight, saying there was a risk people in his circumstances could develop rickets. He said he worked 17-hour days, exercised to try to keep healthy and currently was working on a song about “the new politics that has come about as a result of the Internet and media distortion” with a popular Latin American musical group.

Assange said he never used email but had others read it for him instead. Casually dressed in jeans, an open-necked blue shirt and athletic shoes, Assange nursed a cup of tea as he spoke, becoming animated when it was suggested he had time on his hands to think about his fate.

“Where do people get this crazy idea I have time on my hands just because I’m stuck,” he said. “It takes more time to do things if you’re in an embassy, not less.”

He spoke enthusiastically about his political ambitions in Australia, whose government he said was “perverted,” and of the popularity of the WikiLeaks political party there. But it was his own case and legal predicament that Assange circled back to time and time again. It had become a “matter of prestige” for the governments concerned, he said, and had developed into a geopolitical standoff that he believed was politically motivated. “It remains the case that it is highly unlikely that Sweden or the United Kingdom will ever publicly say no to the United States in this matter,” he told his interviewers.

But he said he still held out some hope. “Like most matters of international prestige, solutions are found which appear to be technical or enforced by a third party such as an international court,” Assange said. “I expect that will happen in this matter also.” His own lawyers and the Ecuadorean government had concluded a legal challenge could be mounted against Britain in the International Court of Justice over his case, he said, but he had decided not to do so for now because it “could take years”. Talks between Britain and Ecuador on Monday about Assange’s fate ended with no breakthrough, though both countries agreed to establish a working group to try to resolve the standoff. When asked whether he had any regrets Assange said simply: “Strategically it’s been ... exactly what I had hoped for.” — Reuters

Security risk, fear cloud Libya’s tourism ambitions SABRATHA: The ruins of a grandiose Roman theatre behind them, two foreigners taking pictures in the Libyan coastal city of Sabratha make a rare sight these days. The ancient Roman city used to attract more than 20,000 foreign visitors annually before the 2011 war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi. Now the temples and mosaics overlooking the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean are usually deserted. The two European visitors touring the UNESCO World Heritage site on this quiet day are geologists on a work trip to Libya. A few Libyan families and a group of boy scouts mill around.

“The numbers are low these days, people no longer come to Libya as tourists. Our visitors are people who already work in Libya or those who travel here on business trips,” Mohammed Bujila, head of the antiquities department at Sabratha, said. “Things are different because of the problems we have but we hope that maybe next year, tourism will begin again.”

With Gaddafi’s iron-fisted rule isolating Libya for years, the tourism industry was in its infancy before the country’s “Arab Spring” uprising ground it to a halt. Now that he is gone, many hope democratic reforms will bring tourists to a country that boasts 1,700 kms (1,056 miles) of coastline, ancient treasures including five UNESCO World Heritage sites and spectacular desert views. The government hopes future tourism revenues will help diversify Libya’s income - making it less reliant on oil and gas exports - and create jobs to reduce unemployment, currently estimated at 15 percent.

But while life in the country has mainly returned to normal nearly two years after Gaddafi’s ouster, with new shops and restaurants opening regularly in Tripoli and daily flights operating to Europe, this vast country remains awash with weapons and that is keeping foreign visitors away. The country has appointed its first post-war tourism minister but with armed brigades often doing as they please, sometimes besieging state buildings or fighting in the streets, the government acknowledges that the industry is unlikely to take off until security problems are tackled. “Tourism is a mark of stability in a nation,” said Tourism Minister Ikram Abdusalam Bash Imam. “We need a very high level of security for people to come. We don’t deny that there are some problems but this is normal after a war.”

Opening up Imam, appointed last November, said she did not expect foreign holiday makers to return for another two years. Foreign visitors had been on the

rise since the lifting in 2003 of United Nations sanctions, imposed over the 1988 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland of a US passenger plane that killed 270 people. But those working in the industry - as operators or guides - say tourism was languishing because of apathy, incompetence, complex visa requirements and mercurial regulation.

The country attracted 32,038 foreign visitors from outside North Africa and the Middle East - in 2010, according to tourism ministry figures, but they do not break down how many came for holidays or work. The number was nearly 10 percent higher than in 2000 but well down from 125,480 visitors in 2006 after which passports required Arabic translations by law.

Libya’s lucrative revenues from its oil industry made tourism less of a priority than for its neighbours Egypt and Tunisia, where it was a major income contributor before uprisings in those countries. Abdulmajid Abodabous, head of the ministry’s planning department, said tourism revenues

accounted for less than 1 percent of national income. An ambitious plan initiated in 2008 aimed to increase that to 6 percent by 2025.

“Tourism depends on transport and banking and mostly security,” said Abodabous. “You feel embarrassed when you invite someone to your house and it’s in disarray.” Imam said it was too early to set new targets - her priority is to plan for infrastructure overhauls and staff training. “We need to look at the success of other countries and learn from them. This country is like a flower opening.” A survey of tourism professionals published in the World Travel Market Industry Report 2012 showed that 56 percent believed Libya had all the ingredients to become a major destination, once the country was perceived as politically stable and had better infrastructure. “Libya is already behind by four decades in this sector,” Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the UN’s World Tourism Organisation, told a news conference on a recent visit to Tripoli.

“There is no more time to waste.” —Reuters

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis kisses a child as he arrives yesterday for the weekly general audience in St Peter’s square at the Vatican. — AFP

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

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50 plots foiled by spy programs: NSA chief NSA head says plot against Wall Street foiled WASHINGTON: Secret US surveillance has foiled more than 50 terror plots since 2001, including a planned bomb attack on the New York Stock Exchange, a US spy chief said Tuesday, defending leaked programs. Since the disclosure of vast government surveillance programs targeting phone logs and Internet data, Silicon Valley firms have scrambled to respond to users angered by perceived privacy vio-

leaks of classified details. “In recent years, the information gathered from these programs provided the US government with critical leads to help prevent over 50 potential terrorist events in more than 20 countries around the world,” Alexander said, adding that at least 10 threats were “homeland-based.”

He told the House Intelligence Committee that most details were classified and would not be made

WASHINGTON: In this file photo, a woman talks on the phone outside the US Courthouse in Washington, where the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court resides. —AP lations. The government has defended the programs as fully legal and vital to preventing terror attacks.

National Security Agency Director General Keith Alexander described four thwarted plots, including a plan to bomb the New York subway he called “the first core Al-Qaeda plot since 9/11, directed from Pakistan.” Alexander, FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce and others defended the digital snooping, which they insisted has kept America safe since 2001, but which has come under global criticism following

public. But in an effort to win political support for the spy programs, details of four incidents, including the New York Stock Exchange plot, were released. Joyce said a tip from the NSA, which had traced international phone calls from terror suspects to Kansas City, led the FBI to get a court order to begin electronic surveillance on Khalid Ouazzani.

FBI agents then determined that Ouazzani had provided information and support for a “nascent” plot to bomb the NYSE, and arrested him and his co-

conspirators. In May 2010, Ouazzani pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to AlQaeda, but the FBI made no mention of a plot to bomb the stock exchange at the time. The controversy over the spying programs erupted after rogue defense contractor Edward Snowden leaked details of them to Britain’s Guardian newspaper and The Washington Post earlier this month.

According to material leaked to the Guardian, the NSA acquires the call logs of Americans from phone companies and monitors digital communications with data obtained from Internet titans like Apple, Facebook and Google. US officials insist the phone metadata includes no names or addresses, that investigators must obtain a separate order to listen in on calls, and that the Internet data searches were only carried out on foreigners residing abroad. “If you’re looking for a needle in the haystack, you have to have the haystack first,” Deputy Attorney General James Cole testified, referring to the huge amounts of raw data, which he said were only used “sparingly.”

According to Cole, the database was queried 300 times last year, and only after a secret court set up under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act determined there was reasonable suspicion to pursue a suspect. Critics have slammed the spying operations as government overreach, insisting the public has the right to know the scope of the programs and the role major Internet firms played in surrendering personal data to authorities. Google and other firms say they have received thousands of requests for information targeting tens of thousands of accounts.

But they are not allowed to provide a tally of national security and secret FISA court requests separate from ordinary criminal warrants and subpoenas.

Google, which has long published data on criminal requests in its “transparency report,” said it should be allowed to disclose separate tallies. “Lumping national security requests together with criminal requests-as some companies have been permitted to do-would be a backward step for our users,” a Google spokesperson said. In its court filing, Google said that its “reputation and business has been harmed by the false and misleading reports in the media, and Google’s users are concerned by the allegations.”The company said it was asking the court to affirm its “right” under the First Amendment of the US Constitution to publish the information. —AFP

One of US FBI’s most wanted nabbed in Mexico

COLORADO SPRINGS: Blaine Roth, 2 (left) his mother Caroline Roth, sister Macey Roth, 4, and neighbor Chloe Stevenson, 13, join a crowd lining Old Ranch Road as they cheer for the firefighters leaving the fire camp to fight the Black Forest Fire at Pine Creek High School in Colorado Springs, Colo. —AP

Colorado fire casualties named DENVER: Bob and Barbara Schmidt dashed to their home on a dirt road in a heavily wooded area northeast of Colorado Springs as smoke from what would become the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history filled the air. After quickly grabbing a few items, they spotted their neighbors. “They were sitting on their porch, watching TV,” said Bob Schmidt, adding his wife urged their neighbors to immediately flee as smoke rolled in at 4:35 p.m. on June 11. “They said they’d leave when they needed to.” Marc and Robin Herklotz told the Schmidts they hadn’t gotten automated calls from authorities ordering them to evacuate and that, while they were packing and monitoring the approaching blaze on TV, they weren’t panicking.

On Tuesday, authorities announced that the lone casualties of the Black Forest Fire were the Herklotzes, whose bodies were found in their garage on Jicarilla Drive by their car, as if they were trying to flee. The fire has destroyed more than 500 homes and charred more than 22 square miles. It was 85 percent contained Tuesday. In California, officials said it was an unattended campfire near a main route into Yosemite National Park that grew into a blaze that led to the evacuations of 1,500 people from 800 homes. Nearly half

of those people were allowed to return as firefighters gained ground late Tuesday.

A wind-whipped wildfire in Arizona grew to nearly 8 square miles by Tuesday evening and was within 400 yards of some homes west of Prescott, authorities said. Hundreds of homes and people have been evacuated by the so-called Doce Fire, which began shortly before noon Tuesday. In Colorado, Bob Schmidt said he had received a call June 11 telling him to leave immediately but that the Herklotzes said they did not get such a call.

Their homes lay just outside the mandatory evacuation boundary announced on Twitter by the El Paso County at 3:34 p.m. that day. The zone was expanded to include Jicarilla Drive at 5:36 pm.

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said that someone had spoken to the Herklotzes on the phone at about 5 pm and heard a popping sound - most likely the fire racing through the thick trees.

Marc Allen Herklotz, 52, and Robin Lauran Herklotz, 50, worked at Air Force Space Command, which operates military satellites, and were based at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, the Air Force said in a written statement.

He entered the Air Force in 1983 but most recently was working as a civilian employee, and his wife was an Air Force contractor. —AP

CANCUN: Mexican authorities have arrested a former university professor who was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in the resort city of Playa del Carmen. Prosecutor Gaspar Armando Garcia Torres said Walter Lee Williams, 64, is wanted on charges of sexual exploitation of children and traveling abroad for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with children.

Garcia said Williams was captured late Tuesday while drinking coffee near a park in the Caribbean beach town.

“This person is wanted by the FBI because he is linked to the sexual exploitation of children,” Garcia told reporters. He said it wasn’t clear how long Williams had been living in Playa del Carmen and that the fugitive also had an address in nearby Cancun, where he was taken and turned over to Mexican immigration officials. Garcia did not say whether Williams is suspected of committing any crimes in Mexico.

A federal arrest warrant was issued for the former Palm Springs, California, resident in Los Angeles in April, according to the FBI website. The indictment alleges Williams traveled from Los Angeles to the Philippines in January 2011 to engage in sex acts with two 14-year-old boys he met online in 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement Monday.

While in the Philippines, Williams allegedly engaged in sex acts with both boys and produced sexually explicit photos of one of the boys. Williams fled the Los Angeles area approximately one week after returning from the Philippines, it added.

Until 2011, Williams was a tenured professor at the University of Southern California where his field of study was gender development. Williams was also affiliated with the Buddhist Universal Association of Los Angeles, California, according to the FBI. “Williams has an extensive history of travel throughout the South East Asia region, specifically the Philippines,” the FBI said. “He has reportedly resided in Indonesia, Polynesia and Thailand.”

The FBI added Williams to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on Monday. “I analyzed the computers and the camera that belong to Williams and found child pornography,” said Special Agent Jeff Yesensky, in a video about Williams posted on the FBI’s website Monday to bring attention to the case. “He preys on the most vulnerable children,”Yesensky added. —AP

SAO PAULO: Unidentified people carry a television set during clashes against a recent rise in public bus and subway fare. —AP

Rousseff salutes Brazil protests SAO PAULO: President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday sought to defuse a massive protest movement sweeping Brazil, acknowledging the need for better public services and more responsive governance as demonstrations continued in some cities around the country.

Speaking the morning after more than 200,000 Brazilians marched in more than a half-dozen cities, Rousseff said her government remains committed to social change and is listening attentively to the many grievances expressed at the demonstrations.

“Brazil woke up stronger today,” Rousseff said in a televised speech in Brasilia. “The size of yesterday’s demonstrations shows the energy of our democracy, the strength of the voice of the streets and the civility of our population.”

Monday’s demonstrations were the latest in a flurry of protests in the past two weeks that have fed on widespread frustration with poor public services, police violence and government corruption. The protests, organized mostly by university students through snowballing social media campaigns, marked the first time that Brazilians have taken to the streets on such a large scale since economic volatility and a corruption scandal led to the toppling of a president in the early 1990s.

The demonstrations started as small protests in a few cities against an increase in bus and subway fares but quickly ballooned into a national movement after police fired rubber bullets at protesters in Sao Paulo last week in clashes that injured more than 100 people. Eager to ease tensions and prevent future protests, officials in at least five cities, including important state capitals such as Porto Alegre and Recife, announced plans on Tuesday to lower bus fares.

But demonstrations continued in a few cities, including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, where thousands gathered in front of the city’s landmark cathedral and marched on its main avenue in what protesters hoped would be a final push persuading local officials to cancel the bus fare increase. Tuesday night’s demonstrations were marred by a small group of rioters who smashed the windows of Sao Paulo’s city hall then set fire to a police security post and a TV broadcaster’s transmission van.

Protests then continued mostly peacefully,

fading before midnight, but then rioters began pelting the windows of nearby businesses with stones and burning trash in the street, TV channel O Globo reported. It said at least 20 people were arrested for looting. The Justice Ministry said in a statement it would send federal troops to the cities hosting the two-week FIFA Confederations’ Cup soccer tournament, which kicked off in Brazil on Saturday, to reinforce security. Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad, a prominent figure in Rousseff’s left-leaning Workers’ Party, said in a meeting with leaders of the protest movement on Tuesday that he is considering a cut in bus fares but needs to find ways to compensate for the loss in revenue. Even if Haddad does cede, it remains unclear if that would be enough to halt the protests, given that protesters have embraced so many other causes.

Rousseff turns to Lula Rousseff traveled to Sao Paulo on Tuesday to meet with Haddad and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, her predecessor and political mentor. A former metalworker and union boss who led massive protests in the late 1970s, Lula remains an important power broker in Brazilian politics. The unrest comes at a delicate time for Rousseff, whose administration is struggling to rein in high inflation and get the economy back on track after two years of sluggish growth. Polls show Rousseff remains widely popular, but her approval ratings have begun to slip in recent weeks for the first time since taking office in early 2011.

A leftist guerrilla in her youth who was jailed for conspiring against Brazil’s military dictatorship, Rousseff said the sight of so many young Brazilians marching for their rights moved her. She also said her government sympathizes with the many grievances expressed at the demonstrations, from calls for more spending on education and healthcare to better and more affordable public transportation. “My government hears the voices clamoring for change, my government is committed to social transformation,” Rousseff said. “Those who took to the streets yesterday sent a clear message to all of society, above all to political leaders at all levels of government.” —Reuters

FBI search for Jimmy Hoffa’s body may last two more days OAKLAND TOWNSHIP: Investigators looking for the remains of former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa in a suburban Detroit field could search the area for two more days, seeking evidence to prove an elderly mobster’s claim the labor leader was buried alive on the property shortly after his 1975 disappearance. Investigators widened the search area and brought in a cadaver-sniffing dog on Tuesday, but apparently did not find the remains of Hoffa, who is thought to have been murdered by mobsters. The site where FBI agents have been digging for Hoffa’s remains in Oakland County is about 20 miles (32 km) north of the Machus Red Fox restaurant where Hoffa was last seen alive. The FBI opened the search after a tip from reputed mobster Anthony Zerilli. FBI officials said the search had been widened but gave no details.

The search of the 40- to 50-square-yard area (33- to 40-square meter) would continue at least another 48 hours, said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. He said police and FBI officials remain optimistic but that nothing had been sent for lab analysis so far. Bouchard said investigators had discovered concrete on the site, which could corroborate Zerilli’s claim that Hoffa was buried on the site under a concrete slab. “Obviously that was part of the original information,” he said. “And it’s consistent with that” information. The FBI brought in forensic anthropologists from Michigan State University and a cadaver-sniffing dog to help search a half-acre (0.20 hectare) of the site, according to a person close to the investigation who asked not to be identified. Curious bystanders

gathered on Tuesday near the field, which was blocked off by Oakland County sheriff deputies, and peered through wavy grass and trees to see agents digging and a backhoe at work. The search for Hoffa, who was 62 when he disappeared in 1975, has spawned many theories about his final resting place, ranging from under an end zone in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to the General Motors Co headquarters in downtown Detroit and the Florida Everglades.

Tip prompted search Law enforcement officials decided to search the Michigan lot after Zerilli, 85, told the FBI that Hoffa was buried there. Zerilli’s attorney, David Chasnick, told reporters the FBI spoke to his client over the past seven or eight months and that the agency believes “100 percent” that Hoffa is buried there. “This was a guy who was intimately involved with some of the players who would be well informed as to where the body would be placed,” Chasnick said.

According to a 21-page manuscript that Zerilli wrote and is selling online, Hoffa was dragged out of a car, bound and gagged, hit with a shovel and then being buried alive under a cement slab in a barn on the property. FBI officials had no comment on Zerilli’s assertions. Hoffa, the father of current Teamsters President James Hoffa, led the union from 1957 to 1971 and went to prison for fraud and jury tampering. He was released in late 1971, when President Richard Nixon commuted his sentence. —Reuters

Social issues still fire up Republicans WASHINGTON: Republican lawmakers have a message for those who want the party to soften its emphasis on social conservatism in hopes of reaching a wider national audience: Not so fast.

House Republicans flexed their cultural and conservative muscles Tuesday, passing the most restrictive abortion measure in years. They also advanced legislation to crack down on immigrants living illegally in the US, even as senators pursue a plan that would offer those same millions a pathway to citizenship.

The actions reflect a roiling debate among Republicans over why they lost two elections to President Barack Obama, and how best to rebuild a winning formula. Many Republicans in Congress and elsewhere think the party’s establishment

erred in concluding the party must embrace “comprehensive immigration reform” to attract Hispanic voters. And they dismiss the notion that Republicans should soft-pedal their opposition to abortion, a subject on which they say public opinion is moving their way.

“There’s been a misleading thought as to what happened after the last election cycle,” said Louisiana Republican Rep John Fleming. “Most Americans do not support amnesty, especially without securing the borders,” he said, regarding the idea of citizenship for those here illegally. As for abortion, Fleming said, there’s growing public concern about second-trimester abortions, “so we’re actually gaining ground.” Like Democrats, Republicans often discuss ways to keep their base

loyal while attracting independent voters near the political center. The urgency rose last fall, when Mitt Romney became the fifth Republican in six presidential elections to lose the popular vote. On abortion and reproductive rights, some strategists say the greatest need is for Republicans - especially men - to steer clear of incendiary language such as “legitimate rape.” They know there’s no way the Democratic-led Senate will embrace the House bill, which would bar abortions 20 weeks after conception. Tuesday’s debate was largely symbolic but important, Republican leaders said.

Immigration’s fate in Congress is less certain. It’s increasingly clear, however, that many Republicans think party elders were hasty in saying the party won’t win future presidential elec-

tions unless it agrees to far-reaching immigration changes that include new pathways to citizenship.

“What an idiot,” Washington state Republican Chairman Kirby Wilbur said Tuesday of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s recent comments on the matter. Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said that without “immigration reform” along the lines the Senate is weighing, “we’re in a demographic death spiral as a party.” “The pathology report of the death of the Republican Party is grossly overstated,” Wilbur said. Republicans must do better jobs of messaging and finding voters, but they should not overreact to Romney’s relatively narrow loss to Obama, he said. Obama won 51 percent of the popular vote to Romney’s 47 percent but defeated the

Republican by a wide margin in the Electoral College, 332-206.

Democrats want to portray Republicans as out of step with the nation’s values on gay rights, women’s rights and common-sense solutions to illegal immigration. During Tuesday’s House debate on abortion, Democratic Rep. Ami Bera of California asked to bring up a student loan bill instead. “This is a direct attack on women’s rights,” he said after being overruled. Republicans responded by sending a parade of women to the House microphones.

“We are changing hearts and minds,” said Rep. Ann Wagner, a Missouri Republican. “We hear more and more evidence that life begins at conception.” She said she covets the day when abortion is “absolutely unthinkable.”—AP

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

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

UN’s Ban meets China’s Xi for talks on N Korea China told to push N Korea to halt nuke plans

IKATA: In this file photo, the No. 3 reactor (right) of the Ikata nuclear power plant, operated by Shikoku Electric Power Co, is seen in Ikata, western Japan. —AP

Japan finds highly toxic strontium in Fukushima Tepco says levels exceed legal limits TOKYO: High levels of a toxic substance called strontium-90 have been found in groundwater at the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, the utility that runs the facility said on yesterday.

Strontium-90 is a by-product of the fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear reactors as well as nuclear weapons, the US Environmental Protection Agency says on its website. The discovery of rising levels of such radioactive material is likely to complicate efforts by the utility, Tokyo Electric Power Co, to get approval to release into the Pacific Ocean what it calls water contaminated with low levels of radiation.

“This contaminated water should not be released to the ocean,” said Michiaki Furukawa, a nuclear chemist and professor emeritus at Nagoya University. “They have to keep it somewhere so that it can’t escape outside the plant.” Tepco is being overwhelmed with contaminated liquids as it flushes water over the three reactors at the seaside plant that had meltdowns after an earthquake and tsunami two years ago knocked out power and cooling systems.

High levels of tritium, a less harmful substance, had also been found, Toshihiko Fukuda, a general manager at Tepco, told a news conference. Tepco did not believe any of the strontium-90 found in groundwater tests had leaked into the ocean, Fukuda said.

The company has constantly revised announcements about radiation levels and other problems at the plant since the disaster. Explosions that rocked the plant at the height of the crisis discharged large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere and surrounding land and ocean.

Elevated readings Tests of groundwater outside the turbine building of reactor No. 2 showed the level of strontium-90 had increased more than 100 times between December 2012 and May this year, Fukuda said. He said it was likely that radioactive material entered the environment after water poured over the melted fuel in unit No. 2 and leaked out via the turbine building, located between the reactor and the ocean.

Testing of groundwater showed that strontium-90 increased from 8.6 becquerels

to 1,000 becquerels per litre between Dec. 8, 2012 and May 24, Fukuda said. That level is more than 30 times the legal limit of 30 becquerels per litre. “Tepco needs to carry out more regular testing in specific areas and disclose everything they find,” added Furukawa, the nuclear chemist.

Testing also showed 500,000 becquerels per litre of tritium on May 24, compared with the legal limit of 60,000 and 29,000 on Dec 8, 2012. A becquerel is a measure of radioactive decay. Tepco has struggled with the clean-up of Fukushima, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 25 years. It said in April it was running out of capacity to store the water contaminated in its stillmakeshift cooling system.

Adding to its difficulties, about 400 tonnes of groundwater flow daily into the reactor buildings only to be mixed with highly contaminated water from cooling the melted fuel. It has been trying to convince sceptical local fisherman that it is safe to dump 100 tonnes of the groundwater a day into the ocean to reduce the strain on its storage facilities.

Reversing claims Earlier this month the company reversed a claim that the groundwater flowing into the damaged basements of reactor buildings was not contaminated. Recent mishaps, including two power outages, have heightened concerns about Fukushima’s stability and called into question Tepco’s ability to decommission the plant, which may take more than 30 years. The Fukushima catastrophe highlighted failings in the oversight of the nuclear industry and prompted an overhaul of safety standards, which the country’s nuclear regulator finalized yesterday.

The rules will take effect on July 8, after Cabinet approval that is expected tomorrow. The Nuclear Regulation Authority did not make major changes to a draft released in April for public consultation. All but two of Japan’s reactors have been shut down after the disaster, forcing the country to import costly fossil fuels, keeping its trade in deficit for 11 straight months. Nuclear plant operators are expected to quickly apply to restart reactors, Japanese media have reported. Inspections will take at least six months, the NRA has said. —AP

UN, US ask Filipinos not to leave Golan Heights MANILA: The United Nations and Washington have separately asked the Philippines not to withdraw its more than 300 Filipino peacekeepers from the Golan Heights, warning of “maximum volatility” in the region after a number of countries decided to pull out their peacekeeping forces amid escalating violence, the Philippines’ top diplomat said yesterday.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry appealed to him in recent talks. He said he told them security for the Filipino forces should be bolstered for the Philippines to consider to keep them in the volatile buffer zone between Syria and Israel. Last month, del Rosario recommended the withdrawal of the Filipinos from the Golan Heights to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III following two separate abductions of Filipino peacekeepers and the wounding of another in fighting

between Syrian government and rebel forces.

Austria announced recently that it would remove its 377 peacekeepers from the 911-member UN peacekeeping force, which also includes troops from India. That will leave the Philippines as the largest single contributor. Croatia withdrew in March for fear its troops would be targeted.

Japanese forces have also withdrawn, according to del Rosario.

“This, of course, will create a vacuum in the Golan, that separation stretch which keeps Israel away from Syria,” del Rosario said in a news conference in Manila. He said Kerry and Ban told him that if the Philippines also withdraws, that would “create maximum volatility for the area.” In talks with Ban and Kerry, “I mentioned that we thought that the exposure was beyond tolerable limits for our people but we’re willing to reconsider and make a new assessment if the security and safety of our peacekeepers would be upgraded,” he said. —AP

China executes child rapist BEIJING: Authorities in central China executed a former Communist Party official for raping 11 underage girls, state media said yesterday, following an online uproar about the latest case of abuse of power. Li Xingong, who was the party’s deputy head in Yongcheng city in Henan province, was found guilty of assaulting the girls during police interrogations starting from the second half of 2011, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Li appealed against the guilty verdict, but was rejected by the Supreme Court, Xinhua said. The case was widely discussed on Weibo, China’s popular Twitter-like microblogging site, after reports about the rapes naming Li as the perpetrator began circulating online in May last year. “Yet another great example of a party cadre,” wrote one Weibo user sarcastically after the execution was announced.

“What is wrong with the party that they have animals like this in their ranks? There needs to be discussion about how to better select officials,” wrote another. While the government has encouraged people to take to the internet to expose corruption and abuse of power, especially at the grassroots, it generally keeps tight rein on what can be said about similar problems

with more senior officials.

After briefly allowing free online discussion following the sacking in March last year of former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai and the naming of his wife as a suspect in the murder of a British businessman, censors moved to block the topic. The ruling Communist Party has long pushed to eradicate corruption, underscoring a broader fear that, if left unchecked, the problem could hurt the legitimacy of one-party rule and perhaps threaten its survival.

Newly appointed President Xi Jinping has vowed to make the fight against graft and abuse of power a key policy platform, but has made little apparent progress, with few senior officials being probed and no movement towards establishing an independent anticorruption body. Xi this week reminded officials of the need for a “thorough cleanup of undesirable work styles such as formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance”, state media reported yesterday.

“These four forms of decadence are the problems most hated, and complained of, by the people, severely damaging relations between the party and ordinary people,” Xi was quoted as saying. —AP

BEIJING: Chinese president Xi Jinping and UN chief Ban Ki-moon yesterday discussed the situation on the Korean peninsula and in Syria, state media reported, as Ban’s visit to Beijing was overshadowed by a deadly attack on a UN compound.

Ban, who arrived Tuesday, met Xi in Beijing’s ornate Great Hall of the People after earlier visiting a centre which trains China’s UN peacekeepers. They exchanged views on Syria and the Korean peninsula during their talks, the China News Service reported.

Xi described China’s “principled positions” on the issues, the report said, without elaborating. The meeting comes amid ongoing tensions on the peninsula over the North’s nuclear programme and the worsening situation in Syria’s civil war. China, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has come under pressure to encourage North Korea to halt its nuclear programme after the reclusive nation in February carried out its third underground nuclear test, which brought worldwide condemnation.

China, the North’s sole ally, is seen as the country with the most influence on Pyongyang’s actions. On Syria, China has sided with Russia three times in using a veto against Western-proposed UN Security Council resolutions that would increase pressure on President Bashar Al-Assad. Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, is also scheduled to hold talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang today.

His visit was interrupted by news of an attack by Islamist insurgents on a UN compound in Somalia yesterday that killed at least eight people, excluding the attackers. “The Secretary-General is aware of the attack against the United Nations in Somalia, and he is shocked by it,”

Martin Nesirky, his spokesman, said in an e-mail, adding that Ban was “being updated regularly” on the situation.

Ban’s visit came as a high-ranking North Korean official with long experience as his country’s international nuclear negotiator held talks with

on China-DPRK relations and the situation on the Korean peninsula,” she told a regular briefing, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Kim also met Wu Dawei, China’s special envoy for Korean peninsula affairs, Hua said.

confrontation. But Pyongyang unexpectedly cancelled much-anticipated talks with the South last week, casting some doubt on its intentions.

Kim Kye-Gwan has been a key figure in international negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme in

BEIJING: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (second from left) meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping (second from right) at the Great Hall of the People yesterday. —AP Chinese officials. North Korean first vice foreign minister Kim Kye-Gwan and Chinese vice foreign minister Zhang Yesui co-chaired a “strategic dialogue” meeting between their ministries in the Chinese capital, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

“The two sides exchanged views

The meeting follows one last month between Xi and North Korean special envoy Choe Ryong-Hae, a close confidant of the North’s leader Kim Jong-Un. Tensions over the nuclear programme have waned somewhat in recent months amid expectations North Korea may be moving towards dialogue rather than

exchange for aid and security guarantees. The so-called six party talks, which began in 2003 but have been dormant since late 2008, also include South Korea, Japan, Russia, China and the United States. South Korea’s President Park Geun-Hye is due to make her first visit to China later this month. —AFP

News

in brief

2 Thai monks arrested in child sex scandal BANGKOK: Thai police said yesterday they had arrested two monks for procuring a 14-year-old boy to perform sexual acts with an abbot, in the latest scandal to shake the kingdom’s Buddhist clergy. The pair, who deny any knowledge of the alleged abuse, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted, Police Colonel Wirachon Bunthawi told AFP from the northern city of Chiang Mai.”The abbot is still at the temple and we’re waiting for an arrest warrant for him,” Wirachon said. Based on the accounts of the victim and a driver, the two monks-aged 20 and 23 — are alleged to have taken the boy to see the abbot at the temple in Chiang Dao district in the Chiang Mai Province several times since February, police said.

The case comes in the wake of recent controversy in the Buddhist-dominated nation over footage posted on YouTube of three monks flying in a private jet, wearing earphones and sunglasses and travelling with a Louis Vuitton bag. The video prompted debate over monks’ adherence to austere principles which include living without possessions, beyond a handful of robes.

Thailand’s Buddhist clergy has been hit by a series of scandals involving monks, with local media reporting cases of drug-taking, drinking, gambling and visiting prostitutes.

22 dead in Nepal floods KATHMANDU: At least 22 people have been killed in landslides and floods triggered by heavy monsoon rain in remote parts of Nepal, a government spokesman said yesterday. “So far, 22 people from across the country have been killed by landslides and floods. Eighteen more are missing,” Shankar Koirala, a spokesman in the Ministry of Home Affairs told AFP. More than 100 homes have also been damaged by the floods in mainly western Nepal, the spokesman said, as the government held an emergency meeting and agreed to step up relief efforts. “Every victim’s family will be provided with a relief package of 40,000 rupees ($425). We have also dispatched a helicopter carrying blankets and medicines to the disaster hit region,” Koirala said. Hundreds of people die every year from flooding and landslides during the monsoon season in Nepal. The annual monsoon has also struck early over the border in India, with flash floods washing away homes and roads, leaving at least 120 people dead.

Zimmerman jury selection into new phase SANFORD: Prosecutors and defense attorneys personally interviewed 58 potential jurors over seven days about their media exposure to the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman last year in Sanford, Fla. They have asked 40 jury candidates to return for the next round of questioning and dismissed scores of others. They eventually must whittle down the pool to six jurors and four alternates who will decide Zimmerman’s second-degree murder case. The case has prompted strong emotions on about race, equal justice and gun control, issues that have come to light during jury selection. Jurors’ identities are being kept confidential during the trial that is expected to last up to a month. Of the 40 potential jurors, 27 are white, seven are black, three are mixed race and three are Hispanic. Twenty-four are women and 16 are men. Below is a look at some of the more notable statements by potential jurors - identified just by number - throughout selection process that’s in its second week. “There was fault on both sides as far as I can see, two people being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” - Juror B-30, a 65year-old white man with hearing problems who wasn’t asked back. “I haven’t lived under a rock for the past year.

It’s pretty hard for people not to have gotten some information.” - Juror B-51, a white woman retiree, asked about what she knew about the high-profile case. She was told to return.

HANOI: In this file photo, dissident lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu is escorted by police out of a courtroom after being convicted of spreading propaganda against the state and sentenced to seven years in prison and three years of house arrest at the one-day trial in Hanoi, Vietnam. —AP

Vietnam’s hunger striker tests officials’ patience HANOI: Cu Huy Ha Vu’s books come with pages torn out by prison guards. Only some of his letters reach home. He is not allowed to access evidence from his trial or to see his wife alone. This treatment, described by Vu’s wife, has driven the Vietnamese legal scholar to a hunger strike that is now in its fourth week. Nguyen Thi Duong Ha says her husband told her Saturday that he hasn’t eaten since May 27, even though she brings him orange juice and chicken stock, and that he won’t until the prison officially replies to his complaints.

Now she worries the hunger strike may exacerbate Vu’s longstanding heart problems and provoke a stroke.

“I live in fear,” she said. “I can’t fall asleep because I’m afraid there may be a phone call with bad news.” Vu, the son of revolutionary poet Cu Huy Can, is among the many government critics who have been imprisoned as the Communist government, beset by economic troubles and complaints about corruption and inequality, cracks down on dissent. His hunger strike has drawn attention to the conditions dissidents face in prison and to his own 2011 conviction on charges that included conducting propaganda against the state, calling for multiparty government and demanding the abolishment of the party’s leadership.

On Tuesday the US Embassy and the Londonbased rights group Amnesty International both called for Vu’s immediate release. Bloggers have rallied to his cause on the Internet, where Vietnamese continue to express dissent despite the arrests of three prominent bloggers in the past month. “More and more, we are hearing about harsh treatment of prisoners of conscience in detention (in Vietnam), including solitary confinement, being moved from prison to prison without their families being informed, and inadequate food and health care,” said Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s researcher on Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Vu, a 55-year-old, Sorbonneeducated lawyer, is among the ruling Communist Party’s highest-profile critics. His father was not only a famous poet but the agriculture minister in the government of Vietnam’s founding president, Ho Chi Minh. Vu was arrested in 2010 after attempting to sue Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung twice - first for approving a Chinese-built bauxite mining project in Vietnam’s central high-

lands, and later for prohibiting the filing of classaction lawsuits. The first suit was rejected by a Hanoi court, and the second was ignored. In his dramatic one-day trial in April 2011, Vu’s lawyers walked out of the courthouse after a judge refused to read or distribute interviews Vu was accused of giving to foreign media, including the US government-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and three of house arrest.

Carl Thayer, a Vietnam expert at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said Vu’s case “is an illustration of the counterproductive policies of the Vietnamese Communist regime that seek to intimidate and silence critics.” He added that Vu’s revolutionary background “only serves to undermine” the regime’s legitimacy.

Ha said her husband went on a hunger strike because prison officials haven’t responded to the official complaints he has issued in recent months. Vietnamese law requires the prison to respond to petitions within 90 days. “He wants to be treated in accordance with the law,” Ha said in a Hanoi restaurant Monday. “He’s a lawyer and he knows that he hasn’t done anything wrong.” Vu and his lawyers have complained officially that prison guards have prevented him from accessing evidence from his trial and from meeting privately with his wife when she visits the prison in northern Thanh Hoa province. He also wrote that a prison guard has tormented him by repeatedly opening his door.

Ha said some aspects of prison life have improved for her husband. His 20-square meter (215-square-foot) cell, which at first had no windows and just a rudimentary toilet, has been upgraded considerably in recent months.

Vietnam’s state-run media has attempted to raise doubts that Vu is truly on a hunger strike through several recent newspaper and television reports. A doctor at the prison, for example, was quoted by People’s Police newspaper Sunday as saying that Vu’s health condition was normal.

Deputy prison chief Le Duy Sau told the online newspaper VnExpress that Vu’s complaint about the guard opening his door was “completely paranoid,” and that Vu would be allowed to see his wife privately - if he repents for his crimes. Sau added that Vu receives food from his family, but did not say whether he eats it. —AP

14

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

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Issues

EU-wariness complicates life for Hollande

By Mark John feeling in France that the European Union no longer works in its interest is fueling tensions between Paris and Brussels and adding pressure on President Francois Hollande to be more assertive in Europe.

Successive Europe-wide polls show that disenchantment with the EU is rising fastest in France, a founder member whose battle to reform its ailing economy has now become the top preoccupation of the 27-nation bloc. Sources of the malaise are many: from the rise of post-unification Germany as a political force in Europe, to the feeling that EU institutions have mishandled the economic crisis and neglected core concerns such as unemployment.

Anti-EU groups such as the National Front have latched onto the public mood of frustration to secure opinion poll gains. The mainstream French left and right are struggling to define their stances on Europe before early 2014 European Parliament elections where both fear heavy losses to populist parties. The instinctively pro-European Hollande is not about to tilt French policy in a Eurosceptic direction. But such anxieties set the stage for France’s lone stance last week to ringfence cinema and other cultural goods from talks on an EU-US free trade pact, to the dismay of Brussels and some European capitals.

“There is a sense in France of losing grip of its own destiny,” said Aurelien Renard of pollster Gallup Europe, whose June survey shows two-thirds of French believe the EU is heading in the wrong direction. “The EU-US trade question, and particularly over culture, was an opportunity to show it still had a grip.”

French officials believe that maintaining the “cultural exception” - a 20-year-old truce in trade talks preserving state subsidies to cinema and other sectors - is a national interest just as vital to it as the City of London is to Britain.

Thus Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso’s attack on the stance as showing a “reactionary” anti-globalisation agenda unleashed a volley of Gallic ire, from the Socialist Hollande saying he was shocked to French social media users clicking the ironic #jesuisreactionnaire (“I am a reactionary”) hashtag.

The episode showed once again how few French politicians of any hue subscribe wholeheartedly to the free-market agenda of the European Commission. Economic liberals in the U.S. or British sense are a tiny, largely silent minority of France. But the spat is the just latest example of Paris being too quick to clearly mark out its territory in Europe.

When the Commission last month issued a detailed list of reforms it wants from Paris in return for a two-year reprieve to narrow its budget deficit, a peeved Hollande fired back that it was not for Brussels to “dictate” to France.

While his response irked allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, it reflects a domestic French reality of which Hollande is only too aware: if he is to reform sensitive areas such as pensions, it must not be seen to be at Brussels’ bidding. An EU plan to cut air travel times and costs across Europe fell foul of French air traffic controllers last week who walked off the job to protest at moves they say threaten security and their working conditions. France, this time joined by Germany, told EU authorities to freeze the project.

The elephant in the room is the election next May to a European Parliament with a growing say in EU policy matters, and for which the French left and right are nervously bracing. Explaining the French disenchantment with Europe revealed by Gallup and a widely-watched Pew Research Center poll last month, former Commission President Jacques Delors regaled a Socialist gathering this weekend with a withering attack on what he called a “punitive and alienating” Europe. The meeting agreed a text urging a revision of EU rules on national budget deficits and for a devaluation of the euro - policies that have little chance of coming to fruition but which will keep up pressure on Hollande to avoid excess fiscal rigour.

France’s right remains in disarray on Europe, with a wide cleavage between pro-sovereignty and pro-integration wings potentially meaning the centre-right UMP struggles to go into the elections on a united platform. That would delight Marine Le Pen, whose poll ratings outdo Hollande’s in some surveys and whose anti-EU, anti-immigration National Front this weekend ousted his Socialists out of the run-off for a vacant French parliament seat in a by-election.

While the Socialist Party’s case was not helped by the fact that the rural Villeneuve-sur-Lot seat came up when one of its grandees fell to a tax fraud scandal, the other big grievance was against a Europe which many French do not trust.

“It’s not that I am anti-EU,” Nicole Ausou, a 61-year-old retired social worker said at a union-organised march against welfare spending cuts in Paris this weekend. “But I want another Europe, a Europe of French policies.” — Reuters

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US arms to Syria unlikely to harm Israel

By John Davison plans to arm Syrian rebels have raised fears in Israel that the weapons could fall into the wrong hands, but analysts played down the threat provided no big guns are involved.

Washington said last week that it would provide Syria’s rebels with military support in the form of small arms after it determined that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons. US President Barack Obama on Wednesday declined to categorise the arms the US will send to the rebels. “I cannot and will not comment on specifics on our programs related to the Syrian opposition,” Obama said, at a press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Two months ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged caution over such plans saying it “presents the question of which rebels and which weapons?” And Israel’s former deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon has repeatedly warned that such a move would be a “mistake”. Other Israeli officials have drawn parallels with Afghanistan in the 1980s, when US supplies to Mujahedeen fighting the Russians found their way years later to Al-Qaeda.

Analysts said the extent of the threat to Israel depended on what weaponry was involved and where it ended up. “If it means the provision of small arms and ammunition, such as RPGs and mortars... I don’t think that’s going to mean anything for Israel, and am not even sure it will for the rebels,” said Jonathan Spyer, senior researcher at the Global Research in International Affairs Centre in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv. Even “if some of those weapons reach the hands of extreme jihadist elements, such as Al-Nusra Front (in the Golan Heights) ... it is not a major strategic threat, but rather an irritant,” he said.

Dr Jacques Neriah, former adviser to late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, agreed that it would depend on the type of weaponry the US intends to provide to the rebels. “Anti-tank weaponry is problematic because in the past, weapons given by the US to allies farther east found themselves in Lebanon or in Gaza,” he

US

said, alluding to arms given to the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan, some of which Israel believes ended up in the hands of Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah movement and Islamist groups in the Gaza Strip. “There’s a good chance these weapons might find their way to Gaza,” he added.

Daniel Nisman, an intelligence specialist at Tel Aviv-based risk consulting firm Max Security Solutions, agreed. “Advanced weapons like anti-tank capabilities... might increase the level of concern from Israel, maybe even objection,” he said. Neriah said Syria’s rebels in any case did not need antitank weapons or small arms to gain the upper hand in the more than two-year conflict.

“They’ve plundered the depots of the Syrian army... and got their hands on weapons, tanks and armoured personnel carriers and so on.”

More useful would be strategic advantages like electronic intelligence capabilities or a no-fly zone, Neriah said, but stressed the latter was unlikely to be implemented given Damascus ally Russia’s opposition to such a move. The provision of small arms, in the meantime, would have little effect, Neriah argued: “There’s no logic in giving them these weapons.”

Nisman disagreed. “Any aid can help, even if it’s light aid,” he said. “Take the example of Qusair,” which the Syrian regime recaptured with help from its ally Hezbollah earlier in June. “The Assad regime and Hezbollah initially thought it would be a quick campaign, but it ended up taking longer and costing more casualties. This was because they encountered more resistance within an urban setting from rebels with small arms using

ambushing tactics. That kind of limited military aid can help rebels bog down Hezbollah and the Assad regime in an urban setting like say in Aleppo,” Nisman said. Analysts said victory in Syria would boil down to who receives the most foreign military aid. “Compared to the aid (the regime) is receiving from Russia and Hezbollah, (the proposed US provision) doesn’t match,” said Mike Herzog, former head of strategic planning in the Israeli army and a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Victory is a “question of international aid, and who gets more. Right now, Assad’s regime is getting more, whether from Hezbollah, Iran, or Russian drone support,” Nisman said, referring to reports Moscow was giving Assad unmanned spy aircraft. Recent rebel losses “have coincided with a drop (in aid),” he said. — AFP

Pak pushed Taleban to table

By Dan De Luce akistan likely played a crucial role in persuading a reluctant Taleban to enter into tentative peace talks with its American and Afghan government foes, experts said here. For more than two years, the United States has been promoting the idea of negotiations free of preconditions with little result, as Taliban insurgents seemed unwilling to risk talking to their adversaries, particularly Afghan leaders in Kabul. But Pakistan, which has deep links to the Afghan Taleban, appears to have forced its proteges to come to the table, clearing the way for negotiations after numerous false starts, said Scott Smith, a former UN official who worked in Afghanistan.

“One thing that changed was the Pakistani support for it (peace talks),” Smith told AFP. “At some level there’s a shift.”

The move comes from a newly-elected government in Pakistan, which faces its own battle with Islamist extremists at home and may have calculated that the Afghan Taliban needed to be reined in next door, experts said. “You have a deterioration of the situation in Pakistan,” said Smith, referring to violence from militants inside Pakistan. “Maybe they’ve made a calculation it’s getting too dicey” to fuel the Afghan Taliban’s insurgency, he said. Islamabad’s support for peace talks “may not be a change in policy, but it’s definitely a deliberate decision on their part to have the Taleban go this far,” he said.

US officials made a point of crediting Pakistan for helping to clear the way for the dialogue, which will see US and Taleban representatives meet as early this week. Not long ago Islamabad was accused

P

by Afghan officials of sabotaging an earlier reconciliation initiative with Saudi Arabia as mediator, as Pakistan reportedly felt sidelined.

“Pakistan has been very important in this because Pakistan has always been and will always be a potential deal spoiler,” said Jonah Blank, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation think tank.

“Any deal it wants to crush it can do so quite easily.”

For the Taleban, peace talks are fraught with risk, potentially sapping the morale of fighters, sowing divisions among leaders and undermining its propaganda, according to the diplomat who will be leading the US delegation, James Dobbins. “The Taleban leadership is fighting a jihad with a view to reimposing a religiously based form of government rooted in an extreme interpretation of Islam,” Dobbins wrote in a report he co-authored before he returned to the State Department. “Engaging in negotiations for something short of that goal undercuts the purity of that message,” said the report.

The talks are coinciding with the gradual withdrawal of US-led forces, which ironically poses a dilemma for the insurgents, as they risk being perceived by Afghans as merely another armed faction that threatens civilians, said Smith. “They have portrayed themselves as opponents of a foreign occupation. But with foreign troops leaving, they’re going to have to make clear what do they stand for,” he said. Peace talks from their new office in Doha may offer a way for the Taleban to adapt, offering the insurgents a means of gaining what they crave, a bit of international legitimacy. And they also will be interested in trying win the freedom of senior figures held at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. —AFP

Putin basks in isolation, Obama charm falls flat

By Guy Faulconbridge and Timothy Heritage t the end of a tense two-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama - slumped over and serious - tried to lighten the mood with a joke about their favourite sports. “And finally, we compared notes on President Putin’s expertise in judo and my declining skills in basketball,” the US president told reporters at the G8 summit, after the two men gave formal statements emphasising their common ground rather than their sharp differences on how to end the Syrian crisis. “And we both agreed that as you get older it takes more time to recover,” Obama said. Putin - who folded his hands and glowered through most of the exchange - was having none of it. He waited for the audience to finish laughing, smiled icily and stuck in his spear. “The president wants to relax me with his statement of age,” retorted Putin. Few expected any diplomatic breakthroughs from the meeting in Northern Ireland, less than a week after Obama’s administration announced it would provide military support to rebels fighting Moscow’s ally, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

But Putin - who scowled, lectured and fidgeted while resisting the forced bonhomie of the two-day summit with the leaders of world’s richest nations - seemed positively to relish his isolation. It was a vintage display of Putin’s world view forged since the Soviet Union’s fall in 1991: the United States will inevitably overreach, and Moscow must always step forward to demonstrate the limits of US power. His position won the former KGB spy plaudits at home, where he is trying to reassert his authority after protests and in the face of a stuttering economy.

“I think he got all the bonuses domestically. He held his head high, stood tall and did what he pledged to do - to be very firm but not confrontational,” said Dmitry Trenin, a political analysts at the Carnegie Moscow Center think tank. Putin clearly calculated that he had nothing to gain by making concessions over Syria, and little to lose if Russia was further alienated in a rich nations’ club where it has looked the odd-one out since it became a fully fledged

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member 15 years ago. US officials played down the rebuff, describing the Putin-Obama meeting as “businesslike” and emphasising the common ground over a sectarian civil war in which the two presidents are now both committed to arming the opposing sides. “We both want to see an end to the conflict. We both want to see stability. We don’t want to see extremists gain a foothold,” said Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security adviser. “I think both leaders went out of their way to underscore that they can work together on this issue,” Rhodes said. “If they can project a message that they have a convergence of views as it relates to a political negotiation, that keeps the possibility, the prospect of that political track alive.” But even their one joint initiative faced a setback. One source at the summit confirmed that Syrian peace talks called last month by Moscow and Washington, initially meant to be held in June, then July - were now postponed until August at least. The tense exchange between Putin and Obama marks full circle since the administration of the newly-elected Obama called for a “reset” in ties with Russia in 2009 after a row between the Cold War foes over Russia’s 2008 war against US-ally Georgia.

Obama has touted the Russia reset - in which his then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented her Russian counterpart with a big red “reset” button - as one of his signature foreign achievements. (Clinton’s aides notoriously mistranslated the button and labelled it “overload” in Russian.)

Putin arrived the night before the summit and made his unrelenting position clear at a press conference with his host, Britain’s David Cameron. Putin hammered home his point that arming Syrian rebels was reckless by zeroing in on an incident from last month in which a rebel fighter was filmed biting on the entrails of an enemy. “One does not really need to support people who not only kill their enemies but open up their bodies, eat their intestines in front of the camera,” he said as Cameron stood by.

From the outset, Putin was isolated at the summit.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper accused Putin of supporting “thugs” and said Syria would be discussed by the

other seven powers, with Russia as a “plus one”. Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov fired back, saying the Canadian’s remarks came “from the position of an outside observer”. After the bilateral meeting with Obama, Putin went to a dinner in a lodge on the shore of Lough Erne where the leaders discussed Syria over a dinner of crab, fillet of beef, and whisky-laced custard.

Putin refused to accept any public declaration that could imply Assad would go. He won: the final communique on Syria did not even mention Assad’s name. He also defended Russia’s arms shipments to Syria and suggested that more might be coming: “We are supplying weapons under legal contracts to the legal government. That is the government of President Assad. And if we are going to sign such contracts, we are going to deliver,” he said. Western officials still suggest that Moscow’s alliance with Assad is not as strong as Putin’s remarks imply. “Clearly Putin doesn’t hold back with his views,” said one Western official who tried to play down the disagreements.

“Don’t expect Vladimir Putin to pick up the phone to Damascus and say ‘the game’s over’,” he said. “The Russians have deliberately and utterly not tied themselves to him (Assad) as an individual and have always given themselves some wriggle room.” Western officials have suggested for months that Moscow might soon drop Assad, only to find Putin as staunch as ever, even when the war was going the rebels’ way. Now, with Assad’s forces having seized battlefield momentum in recent months, there seems less reason than ever for Moscow to ditch him.

Putin has another reason to want to look tough abroad, to consolidate support at home at a time when the faltering economy is hurting his standing. “Despite the emotions, the summit was in many respects a success for Russian diplomacy,” the business daily Vedomosti wrote, suggesting Russia had made no concessions and the West had shown it was not ready to act if Moscow was not on board. Moskovsky Komsomolets, a popular daily with a reputation for catching the public mood, was more uneasy: “Putin is alone again,” it wrote. “But do we need to be sorry about it?”— Reuters

NEWS

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

A woman passes by a graffiti in Sao Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos on Tuesday. Salvador is one of the largest cities on the northeast coast of Brazil and it will host games of the upcoming World Cup 2014 and presently hosts Confederation Cup games at the Arena Fonte Nova stadium. — AFP

New MERS virus spreads easily, deadlier than SARS LONDON: A mysterious new respiratory virus that originated in the Middle East spreads easily between people and appears more deadly than SARS, doctors reported yesterday after investigating the biggest outbreak in Saudi Arabia. More than 60 cases of what is now called MERS, including 38 deaths, have been recorded by the World Health Organization in the past year, mostly in Saudi Arabia. So far, illnesses haven’t spread as quickly as SARS did in 2003, ultimately triggering a global outbreak that killed about 800 people. An international team of doctors who investigated nearly two dozen cases in eastern Saudi Arabia found the new coronavirus has some striking similarities to SARS. Unlike SARS, though, scientists remain baffled as to the source of MERS. In a worrying finding, the team said MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) not only spreads easily between people, but within hospitals. That was also the case with SARS, a distant relative of the new virus. “To me, this felt a lot like SARS did,” said Dr Trish Perl, a senior hospital epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, who

was part of the team. Their report was published online Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Perl said they couldn’t nail down how it was spread in every case - through droplets from sneezing or coughing, or a more indirect route. Some of the hospital patients weren’t close to the infected person, but somehow picked up the virus. “In the right circumstances, the spread could be explosive,” said Perl, while emphasizing that the team only had a snapshot of one MERS cluster in Saudi Arabia.

Cases have continued to trickle in, and there appears to be an ongoing outbreak in Saudi Arabia. MERS cases have also been reported in Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Tunisia.

Most have had a direct connection to the Middle East region. In the Saudi cluster that was investigated, certain patients infected many more people than would be expected, Perl said. One patient who was receiving dialysis treatment spread MERS to seven others, including fellow dialysis patients at the same hospital. During SARS,

such patients were known as “superspreaders” and effectively seeded outbreaks in numerous countries.

Perl and colleagues also concluded that symptoms of both diseases are similar, with an initial fever and cough that may last for a few days before pneumonia develops. But MERS appears far more lethal. Compared to SARS’ 8 percent death rate, the fatality rate for MERS in the Saudi outbreak was about 65 percent, though the experts could be missing mild cases that might skew the figures. While SARS was traced to bats before jumping to humans via civet cats, the source of the MERS virus remains a mystery. It is most closely related to a bat virus though some experts suspect people may be getting sick from animals like camels or goats. Another hypothesis is that infected bats may be contaminating foods like dates, commonly harvested and eaten in Saudi Arabia.

Doctors around the world have struggled to treat patients. “We need more information from other countries to find out what the best treatment is,” said Dr

Clemens Wendtner, who treated a MERS patient who later died in Munich. “Our patient got everything possible and it still didn’t help him.” Other experts said there are enough worrying signs about MERS that it can’t yet be written off, despite the relatively small number of cases it has caused. “As long as it is around, it has every opportunity at the genetic roulette table to turn into something more dangerous,” said Michael Osterholm, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Minnesota.

WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan has previously called MERS the single biggest public health threat and acknowledged officials were “empty-handed” regarding prevention measures. “We understand too little about this virus when viewed against the magnitude of its potential threat,” she said last month in Geneva. At a meeting this weekend in Cairo, WHO will meet with other experts to discuss MERS and to possibly develop guidelines for next month’s Ramadan, when millions of Muslim pilgrims will be visiting Saudi Arabia. — AP

Obama urges nuke weapons cuts Continued from Page 1

Pakistanis watch as an acrobat rides his motorcycle around a circular track at an entertainment park set up outside a shrine in Rawalpindi, Pakistan yesterday. — AP

India, Nepal monsoon floods leave 160 dead Continued from Page 1 Some 65,000 people are still stranded, five days after the rains hit on Saturday, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters in New Delhi. Houses, multi-storied buildings, cars, bridges as well as roads have been swept away or damaged after rivers burst their banks, forcing authorities to deploy military as well as civilian helicopters to evacuate people and drop essential food and other supplies. “At least 110 people have died. The state government and the army are trying to rescue thousands of tourists who are stranded near the submerged valleys and Hindu shrines,” said Yashpal Arya, the disaster relief minister of Uttarakhand. At least another 28 people have been killed in the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, officials said. Prime Minister Singh said the total official death toll is 102 “but it is feared that loss of lives could be higher”.

Over the border in Nepal, at least 22 people were killed in recent days in landslides and flash floods also triggered by monsoon rains, officials said, prompting the government to step up relief efforts. In northern India, close to 10,000 soldiers along with 13 teams from the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed for the rescue and relief effort, a statement from the prime minister said. Soldiers from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have been building rope and log bridges across swollen rivers to try to reach those stranded, said Ajay Chadha, chief of the paramilitary force.

Local officials said 40 relief camps have been set up to

house evacuated locals and tourists. Some 18 air force helicopters are ferrying many of those rescued to the camps, with a control centre set up in the holy town of Badrinath.

Tourists have been travelling to Uttarakhand in recent weeks to undertake pilgrimages before some sites are shut down for the monsoon season, which does not normally start for another two weeks. State disaster relief minister Arya said portions of a revered Hindu temple have been washed away, leaving thousands of pilgrims stranded.

“The Kedarnath temple is submerged in mud and slush.

We just hope that it does not collapse,” Arya told AFP. In Uttar Pradesh, 18 people, including a family of five, were killed in rain-related accidents on Monday. A doctor and his family were driving through Saharanpur district, when their car was swept away in a flash flood, officials said. In Himachal Pradesh, flash floods destroyed more than 500 houses and government buildings and at least 10 people were killed in landslides, officials said. The monsoon, which covers the subcontinent from June to September, usually brings some flooding. But the heavy rains arrived early this year, catching many by surprise and exposing the country’s lack of preparedness.

Nilabja Ghosh, an economist working on climate change and agricultural methods in Uttarakhand, said the weather office had not issued any early warnings about the heavy rains. “If the weather office had issued an early warning then authorities would have had the time to restrict tourist movement and shift residents to safer zones,” said Ghosh who works at the Institute of Economic Growth in New Delhi. — AFP

strong deterrent while reducing our strategic weapons by up to one-third,” Obama said. “These are steps we can take to create a world of peace and justice,” he said, seeking to cement nuclear arms reductions as a key piece of his legacy.

It remains unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Obama had a frosty meeting at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland on Monday, will agree to such substantial weapons cuts. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin however poured cold water on the proposal. “How can we take seriously this idea about cuts in strategic nuclear potential while the United States is developing its potential to intercept this strategic potential?” he said, according Russia’s Itar-TASS news agency. A Kremlin spokesman said earlier that Russia had told the United States it wanted other nuclear armed states to commit to reductions.

Obama sought to conjure up the echoes of speeches by predecessors John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, though his speech lacked the historic weight and urgency of their Cold War efforts. Nearly 50 years to the day after Kennedy proclaimed “Ich bin ein Berliner” in Berlin, Obama built his conceit around another quote from the assassinated Democrat’s speech - the idea of “peace with justice”.

Obama issued a call for the equality of economic opportunity, gender, sexuality and respect for immigrants and all religious faiths, in a throwback to his own campaign rhetoric in 2008 and 2012.

And he made his firmest vow to date to make good on previous promises to tackle global warming, which have largely been derailed by resistance in the US Congress and by the fear of harming the sluggish US economy. “Peace with justice means refusing to condemn our children to a harsher, less hospitable planet,” Obama said, to applause from the crowd. “We know we have to do more. And we will do more,” Obama said, calling on the world to get to work “before it is too late”.

Obama also vowed to do more to help those living in impoverished corners of the globe and those, unlike the citizens of former East Berlin, who are still living under repression, including in the Middle East. “The heroes that came before us now call to us to live up to those highest ideals to care for the young people that can’t find a job in our own countries and the girls who aren’t allowed to go to school overseas. To be vigilant in extending a hand to those reaching for freedom abroad,” Obama said.

His speech though lacked the pomp of the soaring address in Berlin to 200,000 people he gave as a candidate in 2008, when the potential of a new political phenom seemed limitless and his call for change heady. This time, Obama spoke as a somewhat jaded leader, who has battled economic blight for five years, wielded lethal power in the US anti-terror campaign, and theoretically at least has had the power to fix the problems he invoked.

The crowd reaction was enthusiastic, but more tempered than when Obama, riding a wave of hope and change, spoke at Berlin’s Victory Column five years ago.

Germans had eagerly awaited the pageantry of Obama’s first trip to their capital as president, but his arrival had been preceded by sharp questions about the scope of National Security Agency (NSA) programs. Obama, under fire at home and abroad over the snooping, sought to assure Germans that the system was limited in scope and legal during a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“This is not a situation where we are rifling through, you know, the ordinary emails of German citizens or American citizens or French citizens or anyone else,” Obama said after meeting Merkel. He argued that “lives have been saved” because of the use of the surveillance system. “We know of at least 50 threats that have been averted - not just in the United States, but in countries around the world, including Germany,” he said. The programs, which have special resonance in a nation where snooping operations by the communist Stasi secret police are a painful memory, have triggered alarm in Berlin. — AFP

UAE to try 30 ‘Brotherhood’ cell members Continued on Page 1 Citing state prosecutor Ahmed Al-Danhani, WAM reported that the group had attempted to recruit new members and received financial support from a “secret organisation that had sought to seize power in the country”, a reference to the 94 dissidents. The statement also said the group had stolen a USB memory stick belonging to a government department which contained information about the “secret organisation” which they then disseminated and discussed at a secret meeting. The report did not say if and when the members of the purported cell were detained, nor how many of the 30 people referred to the Federal Supreme Cour t were Emiratis and how many Egyptians.

Ahmed Aref, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, said he was not aware of yesterday’s case. “A lot of these files are not dealt with in a way that protects people’s rights and the charges are trials for political opinions,” Aref said. “They are dealt with using a security mentality similar to pre-revolution times in Egypt.” The Egyptian embassy in Abu

Dhabi was not immediately available for comment.

The UAE pardoned more than 100 Egyptian prisoners in April in an apparent gesture to improve bilateral relations but did not include 11 Egyptians detained last year on suspicion of training Islamists on how to overthrow governments. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt said at the time that some detainees were its members and that they had been wrongfully arrested.

The organisation has sought to reassure Gulf states that it has no plan to push for political change beyond Egypt’s borders.

Essam Al-Erian, deputy leader of the Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood’s Egyptian political wing, criticised the UAE this week, saying authorities were “delusional” if they thought they could harm Egypt with the arrests. The Freedom and Justice Party distanced itself from Erian’s comments, which were published on the state news agency on Monday, saying they did not represent the official view of the party. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also said Cairo valued the “brotherly relations” it shared with the UAE. Prime Minister Hisham Kandil yesterday said “there was no real difference between the two states”.— Reuters

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

S P ORTS North cleared for first test

Schleck ready to lead

SYDNEY: Hulking Welsh winger George North has been declared fit for the British and Irish Lions’ first test against Australia, providing a welcome boost for the tourists after Tuesday’s shock loss to the ACT Brumbies.

North, who was nursing a hamstring strain, passed a fitness test yesterday to make himself available for the first test at the Suncorp Stadium.

“I’ve never seen him in better shape and he’s available for selection, which is a huge fillip for us,” Lions assistant coach Rob Howley told reporters in Brisbane.

“It’s a huge morale boost to have someone like George North available for us.” The return of the 110 kg winger could set the stage for a mouth-watering showdown with Wallabies’ code-hopper Israel Folau, who is expected to make his test debut in the hosts’ backline.

North’s Welsh team mate Jamie Roberts, however, is unlikely to be fit having sustained a hamstring strain in the win over the Waratahs last weekend.

Roberts and Irish winger Tommy Bowe, who underwent surgery on a broken bone in his hand, were in contention for the second test, said Howley. England centre Manu Tuilagi, nursing a shoulder injury, was “touch and go”, he added.—Reuters

PARIS: Luxembourg’s former champion Andy Schleck will lead RadioShack-Leopard on the Tour de France even though he has been struggling with his form for a year, the team said yesterday. Since he broke his pelvis in June 2012, Schleck has failed to finish most of the stage races he has entered, although he has shown improvement lately as he finished 40th overall in the Tour of Switzerland last Sunday. “Nobody in the team ever had doubts about the talent of Andy,” team manager Luca Guercilena said in a statement.

“Little by little he has come back to the level where we expect him. The Tour de Suisse encouraged and convinced us to give him the role he deserves and to give him the opportunity to have dedicated riders surrounding and supporting him.”

Schleck, however, was not aiming for a podium finish on the Champs Elysees, Guercilena said. “Of course we don’t put pressure on our champion.

After the last twelve months it would be unrealistic to expect a podium place.

On the other hand, the lack of stress and pressure can be a positive stimulus to a brilliant performance.”—Reuters

Carroll quits Liverpool LONDON: Liverpool took a huge financial hit on Andy Carroll yesterday by selling the towering England striker to fellow Premier League side West Ham, ending his disappointing 2 1/2-year spell at Anfield. Carroll joined Liverpool from Newcastle on deadline day in January 2011 for a staggering 35 million pounds (then $56 million), making him Britain’s most expensive footballer, but he struggled under the weight of expectation and didn’t fit into the club’s style of play. The striker moved to West Ham on a season-long loan last year, scoring seven goals in 24 league games and, and has completed a permanent switch to Upton Park on a six-year deal.

While West Ham said Carroll has joined for an undisclosed fee, confirming it was a “club record,” the son of co-owner David Sullivan - Jack Sullivan - tweeted that the fee was 15.5 million pounds ($24.25 million) plus 2 million pounds worth of add-ons. That is close to the figure British media had been reporting.

“Since the end of the season, I’ve had a lot of time to think, I’ve missed it and that’s why I’m back,” said Carroll, described by West Ham as its “marquee” signing. West Ham, which finished 10th in the Premier League last season, is preparing to move into the 54,000-seat Olympic Stadium in 2016. —AP

Red Sox sweep Rays

ATLANTA: Daniel Murphy No. 28 of the New York Mets slides safely into third base during game two of a doubleheader against Chris Johnson No. 23 of the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.—AFP

Mets thrash Braves ATLANTA: Zack Wheeler lived up the hype in his major league debut, pitching six scoreless innings to lead the New York Mets to a 6-1 victory over the first-place Atlanta Braves and a doubleheader sweep on Tuesday. Wheeler gave up only four hits and struck out seven while consistently reaching the upper 90s on the radar gun.

He struggled a bit with his control, walking five, but got out of every jam.

It was a long day that gave New York’s longsuffering NL fans hope for a brighter future, led by two of baseball’s most dynamic young pitchers. In Game 1 of the doubleheader, 24-year-old Matt Harvey (6-1) struck out a career-high 13 to lead the Mets past the Braves 4-3.

John Buck homered for the Mets in the first game, and Anthony Recker went deep in the second game. Bobby Parnell got four outs in the opener for his 10th save.

Recker, hitting just .158 coming into the game, broke up the scoreless duel between Wheeler and Paul Maholm (7-6) in the seventh, crushing his second homer of the season.

Atlanta rookie Alex Wood (0-1) lost his first career start in the doubleheader opener, lasting only three innings.

13-inning loss against the Los Angeles Angels.

Cincinnati’s lineup managed four hits while getting shut out for the second time in their last four games.

GIANTS 5, PADRES 4 In San Francisco, Juan Perez hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the eighth inning and San Francisco snapped San Diego’s seven-game winning streak.

Perez’s clutch swing came after pinch hitter Jesus Guzman gave San Diego a 4-3 lead with a two-run homer in the top half of the inning.

Brandon Belt finished with three hits to help the Giants move into a second-place tie with Colorado in the NL West.

Jean Machi (2-0) retired one batter for the win and Sergio Romo worked the ninth for his 17th save. Dale Thayer (0-3) took the loss.

San Francisco ace Matt Cain and Andrew Cashner each had a strong start. Cain had a season-high 10 strikeouts in seven innings and was charged with two runs. Cashner scattered 10 hits over 6 2-3 innings and allowed three runs.

DIAMONDBACKS 3, MARLINS 2 In Phoenix, Paul Goldschmidt hit a leadoff home run in the ninth inning, helping Arizona end a four-game losing streak. Goldschmidt’s drive bounced high off the batter’s backdrop in deep center field. His 17th homer of the season was his second in as many nights, and the second game-ending home run of his career.

Martin Prado also homered for the Diamondbacks. David Hernandez (3-4) threw a perfect top of the ninth for the win.

Chad Qualls (2-1) lost for the first time in 27 appearances, with Goldschmidt connecting on his second pitch.

PHILLIES 4, NATIONALS 2 In Philadelphia, Cliff Lee struck out nine in eight impressive innings for Philadelphia, and Michael Young tied a career high with three doubles. Lee (9-2) allowed two runs and five hits to win his fifth straight decision. The three-time AllStar left-hander lowered his ERA to 2.53 and helped the Phillies move into a second-place tie with the defending NL East champion Nationals.

Jayson Werth and Jeff Kobernus hit homered for Washington. Ross Detwiler (2-5) took the loss in a game that started one hour, 10 minutes late because of rain. He allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings. Jonathan Papelbon worked the ninth for his 14th save a night after blowing his first of the season and then getting the win.

PIRATES 4, REDS 0 In Cincinnati, Pedro Alvarez singled home a pair of runs in the first inning as Pittsburgh ended Mat Latos’ streak of 21 regular-season starts without a loss.

Latos (6-1) hadn’t lost a regular-season game since last August, setting a club-record streak of avoiding defeat. He couldn’t overcome Pittsburgh’s three-run first inning.

Charlie Morton (1-1) was better during his second start since returning from elbow surgery.

He gave up three singles and threw 61 pitches in 5 1-3 innings, starting the Pirates toward their NL-leading 12th shutout. Latos had nine of Cincinnati’s 17 strikeouts, which matched the club’s nine-inning record. The Reds also had 17 strikeouts on opening day, but that came in a

CUBS 4, CARDINALS 2 In St. Louis, Ryan Sweeney and Cody Ransom hit back-to-back homers in a four-run first inning and that was plenty for Jeff Samardzija, who pitched the Cubs to the victory.

Chicago started fast against Adam Wainwright (10-4) and broke a five-game losing streak in St. Louis. Pinch-runner Shane Robinson was called out for interference while trying to break up a double play to end the game.

Carlos Beltran hit his team-high 17th homer for the Cardinals, who lost for the third time in five games but still lead the majors with a 45-26 record. Samardzija (4-7) gave up two runs and seven hits in 8 1-3 innings. Kevin Gregg got David Freese to ground into a game-ending double play for his 10th save.—AP

MLB results/standings Boston 5, Tampa Bay 1; NY Mets 4, Atlanta 3; Cleveland 4, Kansas City 3; Baltimore 5, Detroit 2; Philadelphia 4, Washington 2; Toronto 8, Colorado 3; Boston 3, Tampa Bay 1; NY Mets 6, Atlanta 1; Pittsburgh 4, Cincinnati 0; Oakland 6, Texas 2; Minnesota 7, Chicago White Sox 5; Houston 10, Milwaukee 1; Chicago Cubs 4, St. Louis 2; Arizona 3, Miami 2; Seattle 3, LA Angels 2 (10 innings); San Francisco 5, San Diego 4.

Boston Baltimore NY Yankees Tampa Bay Toronto Detroit Cleveland Kansas City Minnesota Chicago W Sox Oakland Texas Seattle LA Angels Houston

American League Eastern Division W L PCT 44 29 .603 41 31 .569 38 31 .551 36 35 .507 34 36 .486 Central Division 39 30 .565 35 35 .500 34 35 .493 31 36 .463 29 39 .426 Western Division 43 30 .589 39 32 .549 32 40 .444 31 40 .437 27 45 .375

GB 2.5 4 7 8.5

Atlanta Philadelphia Washington NY Mets Miami

4.5 5 7 9.5

St. Louis Cincinnati Pittsburgh Chicago Cubs Milwaukee

3 10.5 11 15.5

Arizona San Francisco Colorado San Diego LA Dodgers

National League Eastern Division 42 30 .583 35 37 .486 34 36 .486 27 40 .403 22 48 .314 Central Division 45 26 .634 43 29 .597 42 29 .592 29 40 .420 28 41 .406 Western Division 38 33 .535 36 34 .514 37 35 .514 36 35 .507 29 39 .426

7 7 12.5 19 2.5 3 15 16 1.5 1.5 2 7.5

BOSTON: Jonny Gomes hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night, completing a doubleheader sweep.

Daniel Nava was aboard on a leadoff walk when Gomes followed with a towering shot off Joel Peralta (1-3) that cleared the Green Monster and bounced off the sign just to the right of the foul pole.

It was a dramatic ending to a very long day, which started at 1 p.m. with Boston’s 5-1 win in the opener, which was delayed almost three hours by rain.

Nava also homered in the second and Felix Doubront pitched eight shutout innings for Boston in the night game. Doubront struck out six and held the Rays to three singles.

Andrew Bailey (3-0) gave up Kelly Johnson’s tying homer in the ninth, but was bailed out by Gomes’ fifth homer. David Ortiz drove in three runs in the doubleheader opener, and Alfredo Aceves (4-1) pitched five solid innings for his third straight win.

The first game was marked by a rain delay in the fifth inning of 2 hours, 59 minutes, extending the makeup of an April 12 rainout.

Highly touted Rays prospect Wil Myers made his major league debut and picked up his first career hit in the second game. He went 1 for 7 on the day.

Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer (1-3) was charged with four runs, three earned, and five hits in 4 2-3 innings in the first game.

ORIOLES 5, TIGERS 2 In Detroit, JJ Hardy and Adam Jones homered off Justin Verlander, and Manny Machado added a double and two sparkling plays at third base for Baltimore.

Hardy hit his third homer off Verlander (8-5) this month, connecting for a two-run shot in the fourth inning, and Jones added a three-run drive in the fifth. Orioles starter Zach Britton (1-1) allowed a run and five hits in 5 1-3 innings after being called up earlier in the day from the minors.

Four Baltimore relievers finished.

Detroit put two on in the ninth for Miguel Cabrera, but the Triple Crown winner bounced into a game-ending double play on the first pitch from Jim Johnson, who got his 26th save in 30 chances. Verlander gave up five runs and seven hits in five innings.

Matt Tuiasosopo homered for the Tigers.

MARINERS 3, ANGELS 2 In Anaheim, Kendrys Morales hit an RBI single in the 10th inning against his former team, leading Seattle to a victory against Los Angeles.

Charlie Furbush (1-3) faced only one batter to get the victory, striking out Josh Hamilton with runners at first and second to end the ninth.

Yoervis Medina got three outs for his first save.

Kyle Seager sparked the winning rally with a two-out double in the 10th against Garrett Richards (2-4).

a month. Moss put the A’s ahead to stay when his 13th homer led off the second. Jaso led off the next inning with his third homer and a 3-0 lead.

The Rangers got within 3-2 in the third when Ian Kinsler scored on a vicious collision at the plate, his face slamming into the mask of catcher Jaso while sliding feet-first. Kinsler

BOSTON: Jonny Gomes No. 5 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates at home plate after hitting the game-winning two-run home run in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays.—AFP Morales, who struck out his previous three times up, then lined a 3-2 pitch off the glove of shortstop Erick Aybar to give Seattle the lead.

It was only the third RBI for Morales in 30 at-bats against the Angels since he was traded to the Mariners in December for pitcher Jason Vargas.

ATHLETICS 6, RANGERS 2 In Arlington, Brandon Moss and John Jaso homered off Yu Darvish, helping AL West-leading Oakland get the victory. Jarrod Parker (6-6) limited the Rangers to two runs and three hits over seven innings to improve to 4-0 his last five starts.

Darvish (7-3) struck out 10, increasing his majors-best total to 137, but still hasn’t won in more than

needed three stitches near his left jaw and had blood on his jersey when he returned to the field to play second base.

INDIANS 4, ROYALS 3 In Cleveland, Michael Brantley’s sacrifice fly capped Cleveland’s threerun eighth inning, rallying the Indians to the victory. Held to one run and three hits over seven innings by Ervin Santana, the Indians finally strung something together in the eighth off Kelvin Herrera (3-5) and Tim Collins.

Michael Bourn and Jason Kipnis delivered RBI hits before Brantley drove in Mike Aviles with the goahead run.

Cody Allen (2-0), whose throwing error in the eighth helped the Royals take a 3-1 lead, got the win. Vinnie

Pestano gave up three singles and a walk in the ninth but held on for his second save.

The Royals lost for just the third time in 14 games and missed a chance to move over .500 for the first time since May 18.

TWINS 7, WHITE SOX 5 In Minneapolis, Ryan Doumit hit a go-ahead double in the eighth inning, leading Minnesota to the win.

Joe Mauer homered and Trevor Plouffe had an RBI single in Minnesota’s four-run first inning off Dylan Axelrod. The White Sox came back to tie it at 5 in the eighth when Alex Rios worked a leadoff walk against Jared Burton (1-4), stole second and scored on Paul Konerko’s single that bounced off the pitcher’s mound and into center field.

Clete Thomas walked with two outs against Ramon Troncoso (0-2) in the eighth. Mauer followed with a single - his third hit of the game - and Doumit drove a double to left center that gave the Twins the lead. Glen Perkins pitched the ninth for his 17th save.

INTERLEAGUE BLUE JAYS 8, ROCKIES 3 In Toronto, Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer, J.P. Arencibia and Maicer Izturis added back-to-back shots and the Blue Jays won their seventh straight game.

It’s the longest winning streak for Toronto since a 10-game run in late 2008. Esmil Rogers (3-2) worked 6 2-3 innings to beat his former team and win his second straight start. Rogers didn’t allow a hit until Jonathan Herrera singled with one out in the sixth.

The Rockies lost for the fifth time in seven games and dropped to 0-8 at Rogers Centre. Jeff Francis (2-5) allowed season highs of eight runs and 10 hits in six innings, losing for the first time in four career starts against Toronto.

ASTROS 10, BREWERS 1 In Houston, Matt Dominguez hit a grand slam and drove in a careerhigh five runs to back another solid performance by Jordan Lyles, and Houston rolled to the victory.

Carlos Pena had a three-run homer and Chris Carter had two hits and drove in a run as the Astros won for the fifth time in six games. The 22year-old Lyles (4-1) yielded seven hits and one run over seven innings. The Astros were up by one in the fifth when Pena launched his home run to chase Milwaukee starter Alfredo Figaro (1-1) and extend the lead to 51. Dominguez’s first career grand slam came in Houston’s five-run seventh.—AP

Brawn needs brains to avoid tyre trouble LONDON: Mercedes principal Ross Brawn, a past master at finding Formula One loopholes, may need to pull another rabbit from his magician’s hat today if his team are to escape potentially heavy sanctions. The burly Englishman will explain to an International Tribunal hearing in Paris why the team of 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton and Germany’s Nico Rosberg should escape punishment for apparently breaking strict rules on testing.

The possible penalties range from a reprimand, through fines and points deductions, to the nuclear option of exclusion from the championship.

Brawn — winner of multiple championships with Benetton, Ferrari and the Brawn GP team that became Mercedes — is the team’s leading witness and has considerable experience of appearing before the governing International Automobile Federation and coming out in the clear.

Benetton’s 1994 traction control furore, Ferrari’s ‘bargeboard’ controversy of 1999 and the Brawn double diffuser row of 2009 all ended with the Briton emerging from an FIA hearing at least on the winning side if not the entirely righteous one.

Brawn and Mercedes - winners in Monaco in May have said they welcome the chance to explain the facts “in an open and transparent manner” at the FIA’s Place de la Concorde headquarters.

The Tribunal must decide whether the team broke the rules in using their 2013 car at the test conducted

by Pirelli and, if so, whether they deserve to be punished for it. Courtroom drama cannot be ruled out, nor can explosive consequences in one of the biggest controversies faced by the sport in the last few years.

Expectations are that the German-registered team will produce evidence - possibly an email or letter conveying the approval of FIA technical head Charlie Whiting

- to support their position that they acted in good faith.

“I am comfortable and confident that once we get to the tribunal, the facts will become apparent and people can make a better judgement,” Brawn said at the last Canadian Grand Prix.

Ross Brawn “We would not have done the Pirelli test unless we believed we could do the Pirelli test. When we get to the tribunal, you will have your answers.”

The stakes may be higher than ever this time, however. Although Mercedes have said Brawn will not be made the fall guy if they are found guilty, the owlish Briton has said he took the decision to do the private 1,000km test with the sport’s sole tyre supplier Pirelli

in Barcelona last month.

Brawn’s position, already questioned with the arrival of former McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe, could become untenable.

So too could that of Whiting, who is close to the sport’s commercial supremo and fellow-Briton Bernie Ecclestone but seemingly less so to FIA president Jean Todt.

There have been rumors in Italy already that former Ferrari man Giorgio Ascanelli could replace him.

There have been suggestions that Mercedes, major players in the sport, could even pull out, although that would seem unlikely given how much they have invested in developing their new V6 engine for 2014.

Pirelli have also been summoned, although it is unclear what charges or sanctions they might be facing given that they are not competitors and therefore not subject to the sporting regulations.

If Pirelli are punished in any way - and clearly sanctions such as a points deduction or race ban cannot apply to the Italian company - then the sport could be heading into very choppy waters.

The tyre supplier does not yet have a contract for 2014 and it is getting too late to find an alternative.

The main accusation levelled against Mercedes by their protesting rivals is that they gained an unfair advantage by testing with their 2013 car and drivers over what amounts to more than three race distances.

In-season testing by teams with current cars is banned in Formula One, except for limited mileage in specific circumstances such as filming or straight-line aerodynamic evaluation.

Pirelli are allowed to carry out tyre tests using representative equipment and Ferrari were cleared after they took part in a Pirelli test in April with their 2011 car.—Reuters

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

S P ORTS

Former NBA player’s son seen as slam dunk for big NHL career BOSTON: Given the genes and sporting pedigree it is not unusual that Seth Jones, son of former NBA journeyman Ronald ‘Popeye’ Jones, would one day follow in his father’s athletic footsteps.

The sporting world, after all, has an orchard of family trees bearing familiar fruit. In the NFL there is Archie Manning and his quarterbacking sons Peyton and Eli while Bobby Bonds and his home run king son Barry terrorized Major League Baseball pitchers.

The Hockey Hall of Fame could dedicate an entire wing to father and sons with the likes of Bobby Hull and his boy Brett and Gordie Howe and Mark enshrined side-by-side.

But Popeye and Seth Jones are a father/son sporting story with a twist.

When growing up around ballparks and arenas kids often tend to gravitate towards what dad does best.

But it was the ice rink, not the basketball court, that held a fascination for Seth Jones, who developed a better slap shot than a slam dunk and enters the NHL draft

later this month as the consensus number one pick.

“It’s been a really cool experience but it has been a hectic season media wise and hockey wise,” Jones told reporters ahead of Monday’s Game Three of the Stanley Cup final in Boston.

“I’m just trying to enjoy it and looking forward to the (June) 30th, it’s going to be an awesome experience I get to share with my family.” The Colorado Avalanche, owners of the first pick, are widely expected to use the selection on the 18-year-old defenseman.

Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy has not committed to Jones but the 6-foot-4, 206-pound blueliner would appear to be the perfect fit for the Mile High City.

It was in Denver where Popeye Jones spent one of his 11 NBA seasons (19992000) with the Nuggets and started his son down the unlikely path to hockey stardom.

Jones learned to skate in Colorado, prompting his father to approach Avalanche captain Joe Sakic, now the

club’s executive vice-president of hockey operations, for advice about what to do with two a young son fascinated by hockey.

The next season, seven-year-old Seth Jones sat rinkside as the Avalanche hoisted the Stanley Cup. That night Seth Jones was hooked. “I saw that game I knew I wanted to be a hockey player and I knew that one day I wanted to lift the Stanley Cup,” said Jones. “The intensity, the speed of the game and you don’t get more passion than Game Seven of a Stanley Cup final.

“You just see the look on guys faces, the determination to win one game and take it all.” Jones has also worn a determined look this season.

He was a leader on the US team that won gold at the World Junior Ice Hockey championships and helped the Portland Winterhawks to the final of the Memorial Cup, that goes to the top junior club in the Canadian Hockey League.

With size, slick skating ability, a big shot and NHL caliber hockey smarts, Jones

is seen by scouts as the complete package possessing all the skills to become a franchise player.

But with great talent comes great expectations. A team pinning a good part of its future on a calculated roll of dice.

“Wherever you get drafted that team is going to have expectations and you want to make those expectations as much as you can,” said Jones. “My goal is to play next year and I’m going to do whatever I can to make that happen.”

Unlike other first round picks Jones carries with him an added responsibility if he is taken number one. Jones could be the first black player ever taken number one breaking down another small barrier in a white dominated sport. He would also become the seventh American taken with the number one pick and just the second defenseman chosen since 1997.

Jones reflected on the responsibility on Monday, sitting in the same site where Willie O’Ree broke the NHL color barrier with the Boston Bruins in 1958 against the Montreal Canadiens.

“He was the first African-American to play hockey, I don’t know much but obviously it was tough time for him back then but I’m looking forward to meeting him and hearing about his experiences,” said Jones, whose character has received nearly as much praise as his skills. “Hopefully I can be a role model.” It is clear by the tone of questions that much will be expected of Jones. He is asked to peer deep into an uncertain future and provide details about what it will feel like to be the face of U.S. hockey as well as role model.

For a young man who has not yet been drafted or played a single minute in the NHL these are impossible questions to answer yet Jones has a clear idea of how he wants life to unfold.

“It definitely is surreal, I haven’t really accomplished anything yet,” said Jones.

“But hopefully I can go in and live up to the expectations and hype that has been given to me.

“As an 18-year-old you want to know what the future holds for you but you just can’t see it. “You have to wait.”—Reuters

Preview

Resurgent India impress Jayawardene CARDIFF: Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene is under no illusions about the scale of the task confronting his side when they face India in a Champions Trophy semi-final in Cardiff today.

The latest high-profile one-day international contest between the teams is a repeat of the 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai. That clash saw the 36-year-old Jayawardene make unwanted history by becoming the first man to score a century in a World Cup final yet finish on the losing side, with India victorious by six wickets.

On Monday, Jayawardene was in the runs again, but on the winning side, with his unbeaten 84 helping secure a 20-run victory over defending champions Australia at The Oval that booked Sri Lanka’s place in the last four. Jayawardene saw India beat Sri Lanka in a warm-up match at Edgbaston earlier this month and has been impressed by their form in the tournament proper. “I think they’re playing some really good cricket,” he said. “Their batting looks really strong, so that’s a key area we need to focus a bit on.”

The India team set to take the field in Cardiff has been transformed so dramatically in the past two years it will likely feature just three players-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni plus batsmen Suresh Raina and Virat Kohliwho appeared in the World Cup final.

India were the only side in the group stage of this Champions Trophy with a perfect record following wins over South Africa, the West Indies and arch-rivals Pakistan.

Hard-hitting opener Shikhar Dhawan, the mainstay of the India batting praised by Jayawardene, is the tournament’s leading scorer so far with 264 runs including two hundreds.

The influx of youth has also seen a marked improvement in India’s fielding and this has backed up a well-balanced attack featuring

left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and seamers Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav. However, with yorker specialist Lasith Malinga leading the way, Sri Lanka can tame any top order.

Jayawardene, who in the course of his innings against Australia became the eighth player to score 11,000 ODI runs, added: “Warm-up games, or whatever, don’t count right now.

“We are playing hard and passionate cricket. That has been the mantra of our success in the past and I hope it continues in the future also.”

India’s recent results have been a tonic for fans at home reeling from a spot-fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League that led to the arrest of three players, including Test fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. But, regardless of India’s off-field problems, the national side’s prospects look bright.

“This is the team of the future,” Kapil Dev, India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain, told AFP. “They are playing fearless cricket.”

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni, demonstrated the calm approach admired by Kumar, among others, when he said: “There are, hopefully, still two more matches to go and we must play with the same intensity that we have shown so far.”

The one thing that could spoil an intriguing match is rain. Bad weather in Cardiff saw South Africa knock out the West Indies on a Duckworth/Lewis tie and cut England’s eventual 10-run win over New Zealand to a 24 overs per side contest.

There is provision for a ‘super over’ in the event of a tie today but if rain causes a noresult, India will go through to face England in Sunday’s final at Edgbaston on account of having won Group B, with Sri Lanka runnersup in Group A.—AFP

Sunny Jamaica cast into shadow after drugs bust LONDON: Jamaica, sunlit home of the world’s finest sprinters, was cast into shadow on Tuesday after confirmation that the Caribbean island’s most successful female sprinter has failed a drugs test.

Twice Olympic 200 metres champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, the first Jamaican to win a global 100 metres title, was provisionally suspended by the national federation after a positive test for a possible masking agent.

The news followed Jamaican 400 metres runner Dominique Blake’s six-year ban last week for a second doping offence and world 4x100 m

Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown relay gold medallist Steve Mullings losing his appeal in March against a lifetime ban from athletics. Officials said a dozen Jamaican athletes had received sanctions ranging from three months to life for doping violation in the past five years.

Campbell-Brown was at the forefront of Jamaica’s transformation into a sprinting powerhouse when in 2004 she became the first woman from the Caribbean to win an Olympic gold medal with her victory over 200 metres at

Athens. Four years later, she became only the second woman to retain the title after East Germany’s Barbel Woeckel (1976 and 1980) when finishing first in Beijing.

Suspicion over the island’s sprint dominance has grown since the 2008 Beijing Olympics when Jamaica won five golds and Usain Bolt stole the show with his dazzling world records in the 100 and 200 metres. Jamaicans have won 18 Olympic and world championship gold medals since 2008 over 100, 200 and 4x100 metres relay out of a possible 24. “There is a perception that perhaps the Jamaicans are too good to be true, especially after their domination of both men’s and women’s sprinting,” former World AntiDoping Agency(WADA) chief Dick Pound told Reuters via email.

“A positive test on the part of any star athlete will tend to reinforce that perception,” he said, adding the recent positives “undoubtedly” called into question Jamaica’s anti-doping programme.

“If there is a problem, it should be identified by more positives and it may be that the Jamaican testers are doing a more thorough job.

“I do not know if the IAAF has increased its own testing of them,” he added referring to the sport’s world governing body. Pound, the WADA president from 1999 to 2007, felt performances from other Jamaican sprinters could now attract more scrutiny. “I do not think anyone will proceed automatically from suspicion to declaration of guilt in the absence of evidence against any particular athlete, but it will sharpen the focus on their accomplishments and probably lead to far more testing of them,” he said.

Six-times Olympic champion Bolt has never failed a drugs test and has vehemently spoken out in defence of his country’s outstanding performances. “We work hard, we get injuries, we have to take ice baths, we lay on the track, so I see the work we put in to be the best that we are,” Bolt said during last year’s London Olympics at which he won the 100, 200 and relay gold medals.

“When people doubt us it’s really hard, but we’re trying our best to show the world that we are running clean.” Bolt’s coach Glen Mills has called on the Jamaican government to set up an accredited anti-doping laboratory to protect its world-class athletes from taking contaminated substances.Mills, who mentors Bolt and world 100 metres champion Yohan Blake, said Jamaican athletes faced a minefield of substances and had little way of checking their validity. —Reuters

LONDON: South Africa’s Ryan McLaren (left) plays a shot as England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler (second left) looks on during the One Day International (ODI) ICC Champions Trophy Semi-final cricket match.—AFP

England storms into final Champions Trophy

LONDON: England eased into the Champions Trophy final after finishing off South Africa in a semifinal at The Oval yesterday that had all the tension of a practice session.

Tasked with 176 for victory, England could afford to take its time before a subdued, nearcapacity crowd to bag the runs in 37.3 overs with seven wickets to spare.

Jonathan Trott and Joe Root combined for 105 from 126 balls to steer England to the brink of the victory. Trott, indispensable to England, hit the winning runs with his 11th boundary in 82 not out off 84 balls. Title favorite India or Sri Lanka will join England in the final on Sunday at Birmingham, where the hosts will try to win their first major one-day international title.

England’s only previous Trophy final was also on home soil in 2004, when West Indies came from behind to win.

All the drama yesterday was enacted in the morning, when England won the toss, threw the bowlers at South Africa in ideal overcast and muggy conditions, and watched them tear apart the Proteas to be 80-8. Only a South Africa-record, ninth-wicket stand of 95 between David Miller and Rory Kleinveldt spared them from utter humiliation. A battery without the fearsome but injured Dale Steyn couldn’t defend 175 in better batting conditions in the afternoon.

In South Africa’s post-apartheid history of major events, it was another scar to add to chokes in the World Cup semifinals in 1999 and 2007, the quarterfinals in 2011, and the Champions Trophy semis in 2000 and 2002.

This was South Africa’s and England’s first major semi since the 1992 World Cup, the infamous, rain-affected match in which the Proteas needed 21 off the last ball. “I was crying that night,” de Villiers said this week. He wouldn’t have cried on Wednesday as he had longer to digest the inevitable result at The Oval.

Fast bowler James Anderson started the rout in the day’s first over and took 2-14, while offspinner James Tredwell, the backup for the injured Graeme Swann, tied up the middle order in claiming 3-19 and an assist in a run out.

Pacemen Stuart Broad and Steven Finn were relatively expensive, but their first wickets were the biggest prizes; de Villiers and Hashim Amla respectively, the world’s two leading batsmen in one-day internationals, and out for one run between them.

Both Proteas openers were gone within the first 10 deliveries. Colin Ingram was undone by Anderson in the first over before he’d scored, then the great Amla, with an average of 56, made only 1 before he nicked Steven Finn off the toe of his bat and gave wicketkeeper Jos Buttler the first of his six catches. Finn, who rose to No. 2 in the ODI bowler rankings without playing in the tournament, was brought in for Tim Bresnan and was seen off by Robin Peterson, who struck three successive boundaries off the fast bowler.

But Peterson, dropped on 25 off Broad, made 30 before he was trapped by Anderson, who set up his fall impressively.

De Villiers lasted nine balls without scoring before he edged behind off Broad, who almost had replacement batsman JP Duminy on the next ball. But Duminy had the lbw decision against him reversed on review. When he was still to get off the mark, Duminy backed up to Tredwell and was hit middle and leg, confirmed by TV replay. But England didn’t review.

The damage was minimal. Duminy was bowled for 3, third time unlucky, to Tredwell at 63-5 in the

17th over. Du Plessis edged Tredwell behind for 26, Ryan McLaren was run out for 1 by a smart Trott, and when Chris Morris gave another caughtbehind off Tredwell, who had 3-8 off 17 balls, the Proteas were eight down for 80.

Without pressure, Miller and Kleinveldt slogged sensibly for 16 overs. Kleinveldt’s best ODI score of 43 was ended by Broad, who also claimed last man Lonwabo Tsotsobe off the next ball to leave Miller stranded on 56 not out.—AP

LONDON: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler (right) appeals for the dismissal of South Africa’s Jean-Paul Duminy during the One Day International (ODI) ICC Champions Trophy Semi-final cricket match.—AFP

SCOREBOARD LONDON: Full scoreboard of the Champions Trophy semi-final between England and South Africa at the Oval in London yesterday: South Africa C. Ingram lbw b Anderson 0 Hashim Amla c Buttler b Finn 1 R. Peterson lbw b Anderson 30 F. du Plessis c Buttler b Tredwell 26 AB de Villiers c Buttler b Broad 0 JP Duminy b Tredwell 3 D. Miller not out 56 R. McLaren run out 1 C. Morris c Buttler b Tredwell 3 R. Kleinveldt c Buttler b Broad 43 L. Tsotsobe c Buttler b Broad 0 Extras: (lb6, w6) 12 Total (all out, 38.4 overs) 175 Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Ingram), 2-4 (Amla), 3-45 (Peterson), 4-50 (de Villiers), 5-63 (Duminy), 670 (du Plessis), 7-76 (McLaren), 8-80 (Morris), 9-175 (Kleinveldt), 10-175 (Tsotsobe).

Bowling: Anderson 8-1-14-2 (w3), Finn 8-1-

45-1 (w1), Broad 8.4-0-50-3 (w2), Tredwell 7-1-19-3, Root 3-0-22-0, Bopara 4-019-0.

England A. Cook c de Villiers b Morris 6 I. Bell c de Villiers b Kleinveldt 20 J. Trott not out 82 J. Root b Duminy 48 E. Morgan not out 15 Extras: (lb4, w4) 8 Total (for three wickets, 37.3 overs) 179 Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Cook), 2-41 (Bell), 3-146 (Root).

Bowling: Morris 8-1-38-1 (w3), Peterson 9.31-49-0, Duminy 5-0-27-1, Tsotsobe 5-0-26-0, Kleinveldt 4-0-10-1, McLaren 6-0-25-0 (w1).

England won by seven wickets Man of the match: James Tredwell (ENG)

Blake to run just 100m at Worlds KINGSTON: Olympic double sprint silver medallist Yohan Blake will only run in the 100 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow after he withdrew from this weekend’s Jamaican national championships, his manager said on Tuesday. Blake suffered a hamstring injury in April and due to fitness issues was withdrawn from

the Jamaican championships, his manager Cubie Seegobin said.

“Yohan’s coach is not satisfied with the progress of his injury and hence his level of fitness will not allow him to compete at (the nationals) this time,” Seegobin told Reuters.

“We will continue to assess the situation and re-evaluate as we approach the World

Championships,” he added of the Aug. 10-18 meeting in the Russian capital.

Blake automatically qualified for the 100m at the World Championships because he was the defending champion having won the 2011 title in Daegu, South Korea. Blake has run the second-fastest time in the 200, clock ing 19.26 seconds, just

behind his Jamaican compatriot Usain Bolt’s world record of 19.19 seconds that the six-time Olympic champion ran at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.

Blake has only returned to competition in the last two weeks and ran a pedestrian 20.72 seconds for the longer distance at a low-key development meeting in the Jamaican capital.—Reuters

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

S P ORTS

Forgotten man Bastl revelling in ‘new career’ LONDON: Scraping around the fringes of professional tennis, at tournaments in unglamorous locations, without umpires and ball boys and against players not old enough to remember his golden moment, George Bastl is determined for one last hurrah.

At 38, the tennis journeyman who beat seven-times Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras in the second round in 2002 - still one of the greatest shocks of all time in grand slams - is not yet ready to bow out.

When Wimbledon starts next week, the American-born Swiss will be taking the latest steps on a comeback trail - far from the All England Club’s manicured lush green lawns, champagne and strawberries and cream - that he hopes will lead him back to a tournament that made him famous for 15 minutes.

Due to a persistent knee injury that has robbed him of full fitness for the last three years, Bastl has fallen so far off the tennis radar that he now finds himself in the game’s backwaters, where the costs of travel outweigh the prize money on offer.

The barren years have not dampened his spirit. “Age is not an issue for me,” a now healthy Bastl, without a ranking since 2011, told Reuters in an interview.

“Everyone has his own career path. I started later stage in my life. I turned pro at 24 after I did my studies in the US. “It’s important to be in good physical shape and have the passion for the game. It’s very much there and stronger than before. I don’t look at what careers other players had.”

Bastl’s “new career”, as he puts it, is proving an eye-opener for a player who reached a careerhigh ranking of 71 in 2000. “The tough times and injury made me also think differently about the game so I feel like a 16-year-old starting again,” he said. In seven Futures events, the third and lowest tier of professional tennis, this year in Turkey, Bastl has yet to win a singles match in the main draw. “I was not expecting anything easy,” he candidly admitted. “The competition is very eager and hungry.” For his efforts, including doubles matches, he has accrued the princely sum of $1057, small change for a player with

career earnings of $1.2 million.

“It’s a great challenge and an opportunity to still be able to play,” he said. “Of course, I have to start from the very bottom but that doesn’t scare me at all. It’s the only way I can come back.

“My aim is to be able to play for one or two years and get back to my best ranking and I still feel I can make some results on the circuit.”

Professional sport, be it tennis, boxing, or soccer, is littered with tales of ignominious and ill-fated comebacks by athletes long past their best.

After 10 years away from tennis, Bjorn Borg, one of the all-time greats, returned in 1991 using a wooden racket and failed to win a single match. While their stories and talents differ, Bastl is aware that the odds are stacked against him.

“The bigger the challenge the bigger the satisfaction and personal reward. I’m aware of that and if it was something I didn’t want to go through I wouldn’t consider it,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter who is across the other side of the net, you have to find a way to win and this challenge and competitiveness that drives me is what I want to pursue.”

For Bastl, his epic five-set win over the great Sampras came “in another life”. Only in the main Wimbledon draw as a lucky loser, few gave Bastl a sniff against Sampras on the now defunct Court Two, once the notorious graveyard of seeds.

Bastl won the first two sets 6-3 6-2 before Sampras fought back to force a decider, only for the Swiss to refocus and pull off a sensational victory.

“You have to be a tennis historian or someone who follows tennis closely to come up with that match - for me it was a long time ago,” he said. “I won one match - I didn’t win the tournament.”

Bastl bowed out tamely to Argentine David Nalbandian in the next round and three years later became Andy Murray’s first grand slam main draw victim. The Briton, then 18, won in straight sets in the first round at Wimbledon.

That was to be Bastl’s last appearance in the main draw of the grasscourt slam but he has not given up hope of returning.—Reuters

Nadal seeded fifth for Wimbledon LONDON: Rafa Nadal could face world number one Novak Djokovic, defending champion Roger Federer or home favorite Andy Murray as early as the Wimbledon quarter-finals after he was seeded fifth for the grasscourt major yesterday.

Friday’s draw for the tournament, which begins at the All England Club on Monday, could now produce a nightmare scenario for

Rafael Nadal top three seeds Djokovic, Murray and Federer if any of them end up being in the same quarter as 2008 and 2010 winner Nadal.

The Wimbledon seeding reflects Nadal’s current ranking, with the Mallorcan behind fourth-ranked Spanish compatriot David Ferrer whom he beat to win an eighth French Open title this month.

Wimbledon is the only grand slam that does not automatically follow the men’s rankings when seedings are decided. Instead, officials rely on a three-stage formula which also

takes into account grass-court performances of the past two seasons.

As Nadal suffered a shock second-round exit in southwest London 12 months ago, after which his ranking slipped as he spent seven months on the sidelines with a knee injury, Wimbledon’s seeding formula failed to bump him above Ferrer, who reached the quarter-finals last year.

John McEnroe, the retired three-times Wimbledon champion, said on Tuesday that it would be ‘totally wrong’ for 12-times grand slam champion Nadal to be seeded outside the top four.

“In my opinion there is no doubt he should be in the top four,” American McEnroe said in a conference call. “If he ran into Ferrer in the quarter-finals it would be the same old, same old because Ferrer is used to running into one of the big four in the last eight.

“But if Nadal played Djokovic in the quarters, or possibly Murray or Federer, that would be a big difference, and absolutely wrong for that to happen, in my opinion.” US Open champion Murray had already resigned himself to a possible last-eight clash with Nadal.

“I know there will be a lot of interest in the draw this year as Rafael Nadal looks like being seeded fifth but as a player you can’t get too obsessed about the draw,” Murray had said in a column for the BBC website on Monday.

“I’d sign up to be in the quarter-finals against Rafa tomorrow if someone offered me that.” The Wimbledon seedings by and large reflected the current ATP rankings, with Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bumped up a place to sixth and Queen’s Club runnerup Marin Cilic profiting from two spots to 10th. There were no surprises among the women after five-times champion Serena Williams was named top seed ahead of Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova in second and third in accordance with the rankings.—Reuters

Li Na relaxed after early French exit EASTBOURNE: Who can a woman turn to when everything falls apart? Her mother, of course even if, in Li Na’s case, it necessitated a 12-hour flight from Paris to China after her early exit from the French Open.

Wimbledon might not be her most successful tournament but Li says she is feeling “totally relaxed” ahead of next week’s grasscourt grand slam, thanks to the flying visit home.

“I had one week off, I was feeling in need of having time to myself to relax. I couldn’t stress all the time, so I went back to China to see my mum and to see friends,” the world number six told Reuters in an interview.

“I really inside myself was feeling I had to go back,” added Li, who would not normally return to Wuhan until after Wimbledon. “I really wanted to go back to see my mum.

“When I unlocked the door my mum was

Li Na

like: ‘What are you doing here?’ So I said: ‘Mum, I just wanted to see you, say hi, have dinner, blah blah...” Li left Paris berating herself for losing in the second round to American Bethanie MattekSands at a tournament where she became Asia’s first grand-slam champion in 2011.

The defeat included a seven-game losing streak, and Li departed Roland Garros vowing to “talk to myself and my team to see what happened”. So what did happen? The 31-year-old shrugged as she stood in Eastbourne’s sunshine.

“I was giving her the chance to play well,” she said, clearly having moved on from the Paris heartbreak.

Lying in bed until 1030 in the morning, enjoying home cooking and spending time with friends in coffee shops allowed her to recharge, and Li was all smiles in Eastbourne, where she was seeded second. Tennis was not even a subject of discussion with her mother, she said. “She doesn’t like to watch my matches because she says it make her nervous. I think she watches but she will never tell me. “She was pretty happy (to see me), it doesn’t matter to her if I am doing well or doing badly.” Twice an Australian Open finalist, Li has never done better than the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, in 2006 and 2010, and lost in the second round last year.

“Grass is a good challenge,” she said. “And when the tournament starts, everyone is the same. I will really try as much as I can.” “Big Sister Na”, as she is known at home, has long cut a lonely figure in Chinese tennis, with only Peng Shuai, ranked 24th, and Zheng Jie, 47th, also in the world’s top 110 women players.—Reuters

Photo of the day

Magdalena Schwertl performs at the Red Bull Ordinul Smaranda 2013 in Bucharest, Romania. www.redbullcontentpool.com

Heat force Game 7 decider MIAMI: The Miami Heat forced an already absorbing NBA Finals to a deciding Game Seven af ter a thrilling 103-100 overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday tied the series at 3-3.

Miami trailed by 13 points in the third quar ter but LeBron James, ditching his trademark headband, turned on the afterburners to spark a Heat fightback.

San Antonio were not about to roll over under the weight of the onslaught, however, rallying to eke out a five-point lead with 28.2 seconds remaining as the championship ribbons were being prepared for them courtside.

James cut the deficit with a vital three -pointer and San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard could only sink one of his two free throws to give Miami a glimmer of hope as they trailed by just three points in the closing seconds.

R ay Allen then took centre stage, finding the basket with his first successful three -point attempt of the night with five seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

“It’s going to be a shot that I remember for a long time. This will go high up in the ranks because of that situation,” Allen told reporters.

Then, with the Heat trailing 100-97 in over time, Allen and James were again decisive, sinking jump shots before San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili turned the ball over while driving towards the basket.

Former Boston Celtics Allen guard then completed a memorable performance by keeping his cool to drain two free throws to give Miami a three-point lead they would not relinquish. “It was by far the best game I’ve ever been a part of,” said four-time MVP James.

“I’m blessed to be a part of this.”

The contest had been nip-and-

tuck throughout the first two quar ters with 37-year- old Tim Duncan showing the consistency and accuracy that has helped carry the Spurs to four titles since 1999 as he shot 11-of-13 from the floor to tally 25 points by halftime.

The Spurs ended the half with a crowd-silencing run to lead by six at the inter val with Duncan outscoring the entire Miami Big Three of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who had combined for just 21 first-half points.

The game started to drift away from Miami in the third and the Spurs ended the quarter with a 10-point lead as they closed in on a potential fifth NBA title.

With their season and some might say legac y on the line, Miami battled back in the fourth, with a brilliant block from James on Duncan, which the MVP immediately followed up with a basket to bring the game level at 82-82.

But James was so nearly the villain with two costly turnovers in the final stages of the fourth quarter, allowing the Spurs to get back in front as some fans began to leave the arena, convinced Miami’s season was over.

Those fans were soon rushing back to their seats though ,as James and Allen forced overtime and Miami kept alive their hope

of winning back-to-back titles.

“It was a hell of a game... a hell of game,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “It was an over time game. I t ’s a game of mistakes and they ended up on the winning side.”

Game Seven will be played in Miami today and a drained Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was clearly thrilled at the prospect of a title showdown. “If you said when we started our (pre-season) trip to China if we could decide this season with a Game Seven in our building, every single one of us take it. “ They are the best two words in team spor ts — Game Seven.”—Reuters

MIAMI: San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) and Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) collide during the second half of Game 6 of their NBA Finals basketball series. —AP

Spurs’ collapse starts at top with Pop NEW YORK: The sly smile on Erik Spoelstra’s lips said it all. If only this once, the Miami coach couldn’t wait to field questions.

This was just minutes after a magical Game 6, when the memories of how his Heat defied the longest of odds to steal a win in overtime were still fresh: Down five points with just under 30 seconds left in regulation, against a San Antonio team and a coach, Gregg Popovich, who never lose their composure or cool.

The championship trophy was on a platform being rolled toward the court, yellow tape stretched on either side of its path, clearing a route through a fast-departing home crowd determined to flee rather than watch the hardware be handed to the Spurs.

In the midst of all that, someone asked Spoelstra, how does a coach keep his team focused?

He was too smart to claim any credit for what happened next. Strategy, at least the strategy hatched on his bench for the closing seconds, had nothing to do with the outcome.

“At that time, I don’t think anybody noticed,” Spoelstra began. “That is probably the best way to live,” he added, then paused.

“In the moment.” Of course, he could afford to be philosophical.

Before LeBron James made an improbable 3-pointer at the end of a wild scramble, and Ray Allen made an even more improbable 3 to force overtime, Spoelstra was almost certainly thinking about how to explain losing their second NBA Final in the last three years.

That, despite having the best player in the game, and a complementary package assembled to do the few tasks - rebound, pass and sink the occasional 3 to open up space on the floor - that James couldn’t manage by himself. But someone had flipped the script.

Long regarded as one of the two or three best coaches currently working in the NBA, it

was Popovich instead who wound up on the hot seat. He had to answer for pulling his two best players, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, at the start of the fourth quarter, when the Spurs led by 10 and one more surge might have put the game out of reach.

And why he played a cat-and-mouse substitution game with both over the final few possessions, when Duncan’s presence inside might have stopped Miami from snagging the rebounds that set up those 3-pointers, and how Parker’s absence left Manu Ginobili playing erratically, in one of his worst playoff efforts ever - trying to make the big plays down the stretch. With hindsight, all of those moves proved too clever by half. So Popovich simply ignored them.

“It was a helluva game, a helluva game. It was a game of mistakes,” he said, glossing over all the ones the Spurs made on the court and the bench, “and they ended up on the winning side.”

Instead of answering why he didn’t foul on Miami’s final possession in regulation when two foul shots - instead of Allen’s corner 3 wouldn’t have been enough, Popovich deflected that question, too.

“That’s a European question, right?” he said. “ They usually do in Italy. We don’t.”

Asked next about how he’d ready his team for Game 7 in Miami after the devastating loss, Popovich didn’t even pretend to try. “I get them on the bus. It arrives at the ramp over here. We get off the bus. We go on the court, and we play,” Popovich replied. “That’s how we get ready.”

The Spurs tried to follow their coach’s lead, but it only worked so well. Duncan, who scored 25 of his 30 points in the first half and none after the third quarter, shrugged off the odd end-of-the-game substitutions, saying the Spurs have done it that way countless times in the past.

“I don’t know what happened in the fourth

(quarter) and overtime. It was just - the opportunities weren’t there.” Parker, who had 19 points, said he was “cramping a little bit at the end of the game,” referring to a hamstring injury that’s dogged him the last few games.

“But,” he quickly added, “I’ll go with whatever Pop decides.” Ultimately, it was left to Ginobili to present a defense, and the quick summary was Popovich is so many moves ahead that even questioning his decisions only makes the rest of us look foolish. To his credit, Ginobili took full blame for his own mistakes, including the last two of eight crippling turnovers that proved decisive.

“I had a very good game last game, and today I just couldn’t maintain it,” he said. “I was very insecure (with the ball). I had a career high in turnovers, and in a really bad moment. It really helps to make me feel terrible.” No doubt the rest of the Spurs feel the same, standing just seconds from a fifth title that would have removed any doubts about which franchise was the smartest in the NBA. Instead of chasing stars, the preferred route since Michael Jordan walked away, the Spurs built patiently through the draft, made a number of shrewd acquisitions, and let Popovich scheme how to blend and maximize their talents.

One thing that Game 6 proved beyond a doubt is that James, despite all the pressure and criticism, is an unstoppable force when he sets his mind to the task. The other is when a team collapses as completely as San Antonio did, there’s plenty enough blame to go around, but the first sign of a crack almost always surfaces at the top.

Popovich is a great coach who suffers fools poorly, and after listening to a rambling question about how his team “had it in the bag,” he cut a reporter off.

“What’s your question,” he interjected finally. “You want to know how angry we’ll be?” We’ll take that one for him: Plenty.—AP

19

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

SPORTS

United to begin title defence at Swansea

Choi Kang-hee

Korea coach Choi exits SEOUL: Hong Myung-bo, who coached South Korea’s Olympic side to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Games, is one of the “strongest candidates” to replace Choi Kang-hee as national team coach, the Korean FA said yesterday.

South Korea reached an eighth consecutive World Cup finals by finishing runners-up in Group A of Asian qualifying on Tuesday but only secured their place on goal difference after a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Iran.

Choi took over in December 2011 and said at the time his only mission was to get the team to Brazil and that he would step aside after qualification.

There was little chance of him being asked to reconsider after an unimpressive end to qualifying, where the Koreans lost twice to Iran, drew with Lebanon and scored lacklustre wins over Qatar and Uzbekistan. “The KFA has decided to accept Choi’s wish to resign at the end of his contract after having completed the team’s qualification for Brazil in 2014,” the KFA said in a statement.

“We thank him for his efforts and wish him well.” Huh Jung-moo, vice president of the KFA, told a news conference they would hold discussions and make a formal announcement about a new coach early next week.

In addition to Hong, who also captained South Korea to fourth place at the 2002 World Cup on home soil, at least one foreign coach was being considered, Huh said, adding that the KFA were looking for someone with solid World Cup experience.

“Hong participated in the World Cup four times, both as a player and a coach,” he said. “He did well at the last Olympics as well.

“Most of the players who will be playing in Brazil next year have experience with Hong as a coach, so he is one of the strongest candidates.”

Huh dismissed reports the KFA had already decided on Hong and said that a foreign candidate, or candidates, had already been contacted, though he would not reveal any identities.

Local media speculated Argentine Marcelo Bielsa, who left Athletic Bilbao earlier this month, and Turkish coach Senol Gunes, who managed Korean team FC Seoul between 2007-09, were possible candidates.—Reuters

LONDON: Champions Manchester United will travel to Swansea City for their first Premier League match under new manager David Moyes, while Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City are at home to Newcastle United on Aug. 17.

United, kicking off their league campaign without Alex Ferguson in charge for the first time since 1986, were handed a tricky opening five matches in fixture lists published yesterday.

They host Chelsea, with Jose Mourinho back in charge for the second time, on Aug. 24 before Moyes makes a return to Merseyside with a game at Anfield against old foes Liverpool on Aug. 31.

The champions then take on promoted Crystal Palace before making the short journey to the Etihad Stadium for the first Manchester derby against last year’s runnersup with their new Chilean manager on Sept.

22.

The return Manchester derby at Old Trafford is scheduled for March 21. “Lively start to the season! Let us at them,” declared United defender Rio Ferdinand on Twitter.

Chelsea, third last season behind the Manchester clubs, start at Stamford Bridge against newly promoted Hull City with Frank Lampard hoping to make a record 18th appearance in an opening fixture of a Premier League season.

The west Londoners then host Aston Villa after their trip north to United. Everton, with Roberto Martinez stepping into Moyes’s shoes, start out at Norwich City before host-

David Moyes ing Chelsea as their fourth match of the season. They visit Manchester United on Dec. 3.

Liverpool start the season at home to Stoke City, now under the leadership of Mark Hughes, while Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal are at home to Aston Villa at the Emirates.

Promoted Cardiff City travel to West Ham United while Crystal Palace mark their return to the top flight with a home match against Tottenham Hotspur.

The first Welsh Premier league derby

between Cardiff and Swansea is due on Nov. 2 at the Cardiff City Stadium with the return fixture on Feb. 8.

The season ends on May 11, when Manchester United are at Southampton, Chelsea travel to Cardiff, Arsenal visit Norwich, and Manchester City host West Ham. The FA Cup final has been moved back to after the end of the league season with the match scheduled for May 17.—Reuters

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

FIFA Confederations Cup Spain v Tahiti Al Jazeera Sport 1 HD Al Jazeera Sport +9 Al Jazeera Sport +10 Al Jazeera Sport 2 HD

22:00

Friday 21 June 2013 Nigeria v Uruguay 1:01 Al Jazeera Sport 1 HD Al Jazeera Sport +9 Al Jazeera Sport +10 Al Jazeera Sport 2 HD

Blatter: World Cup legacy for Brazil goes beyond soccer RECIFE: Brazil will benefit with more than just new soccer stadiums from hosting the 2014 World Cup, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said as unrest in the country continued to overshadow the Confederations Cup. “In football, the whole country gets the legacy,” Blatter said in an interview with Rio’s O Globo newspaper. “Football involves the whole country. The country improves airports, hotels, highways, telecommunications, sustainability programs.”

The eight-team Confederations Cup, the test event for the World Cup, is taking place against a backdrop of street protests that have swept across Brazil.

Although demonstrators originally focused their demands on a reduction in bus fares, their gripes have grown and many are aiming their anger at what they see as too much investment in sport and not enough in essential services like health, transport and education.

“I can understand that people are unhappy,” Blatter added. “But football is here to unite people. Football is here to build bridges, to generate excitement, to bring hope.

“Brazil asked to host the World Cup. We didn’t force it on them. It’s obvious that stadiums need to be built but that isn’t the only thing in a World Cup: there are highways, hotels, airports and a lot of other items that remain as a legacy.”

Blatter and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff were booed by a capacity

Sepp Blatter

crowd at the Confederations Cup opener on Saturday and other matches have provided a rallying point for protests.

In Brasilia, police fired tear gas at protesters who tried to reach Brazil’s first game and they also fought running battles with demonstrators outside the Maracana stadium in Rio and the Mineirao arena in Belo Horizonte.

The Brazilian government has pledged to spend at least 26.6 billion reais (7.8 billion pounds) on the World Cup, which will take place in 12 Brazilian venues starting next June.

But with the stadiums the only obvious gain so far, and many of them destined to be white elephants, protesters made their anger known with placards reading: “Teachers are worth more than (Brazil striker) Neymar” and “We want schools and hospitals, not stadiums”.

Blatter said he was in contact with Aldo Rebelo, Brazil’s Communist Party Sports Minister, and was confident authorities have the situation under control.

“We’ve spoken, of course,” Blatter said. “This is something for the Brazilian government and regional governments to deal with. It’s up to them to resolve it.

“The only thing that FIFA can do is offer wonderful football in beautiful stadiums so people can enjoy themselves. I don’t know what the government is doing. But I am confident the demonstrations won’t hit the Confederations Cup.”—Reuters

JERUSALEM: Spain’s players celebrate after beating Italy in their UEFA U-21 Championship final football match at Teddy Stadium. —AFP

Spain lift Euro Under-21 crown JERUSALEM: Captain Thiago Alcantara scored a first-half hat-trick to inspire Spain to a 4-2 win over Italy in the European Under-21 championship final on Tuesday.

The defending champions had little difficulty in breaking down Italy’s unusually hesitant defence as Barcelona’s Thiago scored with an easy header in the sixth minute, a close-range drive in the 31st and a penalty in the 38th. Spain added the under-21 title to their collection of international crowns, the World Cup and the European Championship at senior level and the European under-19 championship.

Thiago became the first player to score a hat-trick in the final since the format was changed to a one-off match in 1994. The

event began in 1976 and the first finals were held two years later.

Italy briefly lived in hope when Genoa forward Ciro Immobile chipped calmly over Spain goalkeeper David De Gea in the ninth minute to equalise at 1-1. It was the first goal the Manchester United keeper had conceded in the tournament.

Spain’s Isco of Malaga added a fourth Spanish goal from another penalty in the 66th minute when he sent Italy goalkeeper Francesco Bardi the wrong way.

Striker Fabio Borini added a second Italian goal in the 80th minute with a powerful low strike from the edge of the area after a deft one-two with Lorenzo Insigne, but it came too late against the superior Spaniards.

Spain coach Julen Lopetegui was most pleased with the manner of his team’s performances throughout the tournament.

“We are happy, not only for the victory but for the personality the team showed,” he told a news conference. “I think the players decided that individual talent without the strength of the group is wasted. I believe that was the key.”

Italy coach Devis Mangia said his team lacked experience on such a big occasion.

“Perhaps the only shortcoming for my players was their lack of experience because in matches like this you need to have experience,” Mangia said. “They have less experience than the Spanish players. My players also have great qualities.” —Reuters

World Cup success a lift for troubled Egypt MAPUTO: The impressive run of Egypt in World Cup qualifying over the last fortnight has much more significance for the country than just moving the tournament dream a step closer, coach Bob Bradley told Reuters.

“At a time when the country is looking for things that are good, this is very important,” he said of Egypt’s seamless progress to the last phase of African qualifiers for next year’s tournament in Brazil.

Victories in Zimbabwe and Mozambique over the last fortnight in preliminary competition ensure Egypt kept up a 100 percent record in their group, the only African side with five wins from five matches. They have one

more to play but are guaranteed top place in their section and will take part in the playoffs in October and November which determine places for Brazil.

“This team has a strong belief, we have finished the group and now we begin to think about how to be ready for the playoffs because the goal for everyone in Egypt is of course the World Cup,” Bradley said. “To finish the group early was very important.

To come away on the road and take six points says a lot about the mentality of the group,” said the American after the latest triumph, a 1-0 win over Mozambique in Maputo on Sunday. They also beat

Zimbabwe 4-2 in Harare.

“We have a lot of belief in what we are doing, it showed that we can win at home and on the road and now we only think about how to be ready for the playoffs,” Bradley added.

Egypt’s political and social upheaval in the wake of the Arab spring, has impacted dramatically on football in the country where the league only restarted six months ago after a year-long hiatus and where most matches are still played behind closed doors for security concerns.

Bradley, coach of the United States team at the last World Cup in South Africa, was an unusual choice as Egypt coach when he

took the job in October 2011.

But has made a good impression in Cairo with his decision to stay on despite the turmoil of the last 18 months since a stadium riot in Port Said caused 74 deaths and led to the near shutdown of the game in the north African country.

Egypt has been increasingly obsessed by the team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup since their last appearance in Italy in 1990, despite record-breaking dominance in the African Nations Cup finals over the last decade.

“Brazil is two games away. We must keep focus. One game at a time,” Bradley said.—Reuters

England storms into final

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

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Heat force Game 7 decider

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United to begin title defence at Swansea

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FORTALEZA: Brazil’s forward Neymar (right) is marked by Mexico’s midfielder Gerardo Torrado during their FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 Group A football match, at the Castelao Stadium. — AFP

Neymar sends Brazil into semis Protests get Brazilian players’ support FORTALEZA: Brazil superstar Neymar scored one goal and set up the other to give hosts Brazil a 2-0 win over Mexico in their Group A game and all but assure them of a place in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup in Fortaleza yesterday.

The 21-year-old took his tally to 13 goals in his last 15 games for his country with a superb leftfooted volley early in the first-half, and then produced a brilliant shimmy between two Mexican defenders in second-half stoppage time to set up Jo for the second goal.

While Brazil — who had lost six of their last seven meetings with the Mexicans — are all but in the semis, Mexico’s hopes hang by a thread after two defeats as Japan, who lost 3-0 to Brazil in their opener, must beat Euro 2012 finalists Italy later on Wednesday to give them any hope of reaching the last four.

For Brazil it was a much cheerier occasion than the last time they played in Fortaleza in 2002 as their celebrations at winning the World Cup in

South Korea and Japan fell flat as Mexico beat them 1-0.

Neymar confirmed Brazil’s early dominance with a stunning left-footed volley in the ninth minute after Mexico defender Francisco Rodriguez’s header fell to him.

Dani Alves, who had provided the cross which Rodriguez failed to clear properly, then went close with a shot towards the far right corner but Mexico goalkeeper Jose Corona did well to tip it over the bar.

The signs had been there right from the start that Brazil were intent on sealing their place in the last four as Chelsea star Oscar scored after a flowing move only for it to be ruled out by English referee Howard Webb for offside.

Neymar went close to doubling his tally in the 23rd minute as he chested the ball down outside the area and let fly with his shot going just over the bar.

Brazil went slightly off the boil after that and

weren’t helped when Oscar’s Chelsea clubmate David Luiz had to go off for lengthy treatment after injuring his nose in a clash with one of his teammates.

However, not even with the hosts down to 10 men could Mexico press home the advantage, as they produced lots of pretty football, stemming from Mallorca’s Giovanni dos Santos, but failed to round it off with the killer touch.

The Brazilians had the ball in the net early in the second-half as Thiago Silva headed home, but once again it was ruled out for offside.

Brazil had several chances after that as they looked to seal the win but Hulk hit a shot into the side netting, after being set up by Neymar, while the goalscorer also went close.

Luiz, fully rehabilitated after his nose bleed, produced probably a goal saving clearance on the hour mark as he slid in to turn behind a dangerous ball played across goal with Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez lurking just behind him.

The pace of the game slowed dramatically in the second-half as the high humidity had an inevitable effect on the players.

However, it didn’t stop Neymar from one last moment of brilliance to set up Jo and send the home fans into ecstasy.

Meanwhile, the historic wave of protests that has swept across Brazil in recent days has gained some important allies - the players of the Brazilian national football team.

Brazil is hosting the Confederations Cup, a tournament of continental champions which serves as a warm-up for next year’s World Cup, but the Brazilian players’ focus has turned to the demonstrations which have taken over a country fighting for improvements in basic services such as public transportation, schools and hospitals.

The Brazilian players had been trying to avoid the subject, but it became impossible not to talk about it after hundreds of thousands of countrymen took to the streets to show their displeasure

with politicians, authorities and local government.

“After seeing the people on the streets claiming for improvements, it makes me feel like joining them,” Brazil striker Hulk said. “They are doing the right thing, what they are saying makes sense and we have to hear them. Brazil needs to improve, we all know that.”

“The people have the right to express their opinions and to protest when they are not happy with what is happening in their country. That’s the only way to call attention to what is wrong,” said Brazil defender David Luiz, who plays for Chelsea in England. “I don’t live in Brazil but I love my country. The Brazilians love their country and that’s why these protests are happening.”

The players got behind the demonstrators even though part of the complaints is directly related to the high costs of hosting the Confederations Cup and the World Cup in a country in dire need of better public services to its population in general.—Agencies

Preview

Nigeria and Uruguay set for decisive showdown SALVADOR: Despite contrasting results in their opening games, Uruguay and Nigeria both approach today’s encounter between the sides in Salvador knowing defeat could spell the end of their Confederations Cup ambitions.

Uruguay lost 2-1 to Spain on Sunday, before Nigeria surged to the Group B summit with a 6-1 demolition of minnows Tahiti, but the meeting of the South American and African champions was always destined to be pivotal.

With both teams expected to lose to world champions Spain and beat Tahiti, a win at Arena Fonte Nova would leave the victors in a very strong position to progress to the last four.

Speaking prior to the Spain defeat, Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez had described the Nigeria fixture as “our key match”, while captain Diego Lugano said the game was “our final”.

Striker Diego Forlan echoed their sentiments, although a draw would leave the qualification situation in the balance ahead of Uruguay’s final group game against Tahiti.

“Losing to Spain is something normal. Now we must forget that match and prepare ourselves to play against Nigeria,” said the talismanic striker, who now plays for Brazilian club side Internacional.

“We knew before coming to Brazil that our most important game was against Nigeria and nothing has changed because we lost to Spain.”

Nigeria’s preparations for the tournament were dogged by controversy after the squad initially missed their scheduled flights to Brazil in protest at a row over bonus payments.

Coach Stephen Keshi said he was relieved to put the furore behind him with the one-sided victory over Tahiti, although he was critical of his forward players for not putting the game to bed more quickly.

“I wouldn’t say I was annoyed, but I was worried when we did not take our chances because it gave our opponents hope,” he said.

“We had clear chances, 100 percent chances, and you need to bury the goals.”

Keshi hopes to have Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi available, after he missed the Tahiti game in order to undergo treatment on a knee injury in Nigeria.

Although Uruguay’s players were made to look statuesque by Spain’s passing carousel during their opening match in Recife, Luis Suarez did give the South Americans’ fans a moment to cherish with a fine late free-kick.

The talented Liverpool striker will be central to Uruguay’s hopes of success in Salvador, and he is confident that his countrymen will rise to the occasion. —AFP

Torres intends to give Spain selection dilemma

RIO DE JANEIRO: Spain’s goalkeeper Iker Casillas takes part in a training session at Maracana stadium on the eve of their Confederation Cup 2013 match against Tahiti.— AFP

SALVADOR: Uruguay’s footballer Luis Suarez (second right) eyes the ball during an official training session. Uruguay will face Nigeria in their second FIFA 2013 Confederation Cup football match today. —AFP

RECIFE: Spain forward Fernando Torres was on the outside looking in as his compatriots made a winning start in the Confederations Cup against Uruguay, but the Chelsea forward says he intends to give coach Vicente Del Bosque a selection dilemma if he can get some game time for the world champions against minnows Tahiti today.

Torres has found himself relegated to the status of a squad player since Euro 2012, when Del Bosque decided he wanted to try to dispense with a designated centre forward, but has accepted his fate knowing that he still scored three goals from the bench in Poland and Ukraine as the Furia Roja became the first country to land three consecutive major senior tournaments.

“I just hope I do get the chance to impress coach Del Bosque so that I can give him a bit of a selection dilemma,” Torres told Onda Cero radio.

“I thought we played really well against Uruguay and I think it is certainly very difficult for any side to play against us.

“We always want to win of course, but we want to do so with style,” said Torres, who is aiming help Spain land a first Confederations title after their shock loss to the United States in the 2009 semi-final. Del Bosque is likely to ring the changes for today’s game meaning that Torres’ chances of starting are good despite the fine form of both Pedro Rodriguez, 11 goals for his country this season, and fellow scorer against the Uruguayans Roberto Soldado.

“Of course we are clear favorites, but you

still have to turn up and do the job and we must respect Tahiti,” said Pedro. “We will try to play our game and keep on winning.”

Del Bosque has acknowledged he would like to see Spain kill off games and be more ruthless having seen Uruguay come back and pinch a late goal to go down 2-1 in a game in which they should have been dead and buried by half-time.

And against amateur rivals the Spanish have the chance to show they are about much more than pretty passing patterns and fluid movement.

Spain have earned widespread praise in host country Brazil for their showing against Uruguay, and former Brazil star Roberto Rivelino lauded Andres Iniesta in particular.

“Iniesta is different, he is a Brazilian.”

Pedro, who says he feels that “the first half against Uruguay is the best I have seen us play,” agrees. “He is a real pleasure to play with,” said the 25-year-old. Del Bosque meanwhile insisted that his decision to field goalkeeper Iker Casillas against Uruguay was not down to favoritism after the Real Madrid custodian endured a miserable second half of the season owing first to a hand injury and then to his being left out even when fit again by then Real coach Jose Mourinho.

“It is nothing to do with favoritism or personal issues but all to do with sporting criteria. There are certain details which speak in favor of plumping for him,” Del Bosque told Spanish media, though he conceded that he might give a run out to either Pepe Reina or Victor Valdes against Tahiti. — AFP

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CURRIMAO, Philippines: Children sort tobacco leaves at a farm in Currimao town, Ilocos norte province, northern Philippines. Tobacco enriches and corrupts in the dry, sun-drenched northern Philippines, where family fortunes as well as political empires are built on the golden leaf. —AFP

Palestinian tobacco faces threat Cash-strapped Palestinian Authority keen to tax WEST BANK: Palestinian farmers sow tobacco sprouts in the rocky earth of the northern West Bank, reaping a harvest that provides a reliable livelihood in the struggling occupied territory. From planting, drying and rolling, the local cottage industry has put dozens of whole families to work and has defied high levels of unemployment and poverty.

But pressures on their business are growing. Tobacco production and other parts of the rural economy, which have long eluded formal government regulation, are coming under the radar of the Palestinian Authority (PA) as it seeks to bolster its revenues and alleviate a massive debt burden. In recent months the PA has begun clamping down on farmers who package and sell hand-rolled cigarettes around the villages, accusing them of smuggling and has even begun arresting some workers.

While the government maintains that building a modern economy depends on the rule of law, its critics say the moves to stamp out black market trading is another example of the state-in-waiting’s failure to implement policies that protect jobs and help pull Palestinians out of poverty. “We’ve triumphed over joblessness,” said farmer Mohammed Amarnih, 65, adding that tobacco cultivation had brought unemployment in several local villages down to near zero. “The government has given us no alternative to this work, so (this is the only way) we can live a normal life in dignity,” he complains.

Former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who left office this month, struggled to counter rising poverty and unemployment rates, which are both now at around 25 percent. He

resigned after widespread complaints over his handling of the economy and soaring costs of living. A new government is now in place, and in a meeting with reporters last week, Mohammed Mustafa, the deputy prime minister in charge of financial affairs, called the social challenges “very scary”. “We are reviewing the economic policies of the last government to improve our citizens’ situation and lighten the burden they’re carrying,” Mustafa said.

The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank under interim peace accords with Israel, will boost revenue by ensuring countries deliver pledged aid money - and enforcing tax collection, Mustafa said. But he acknowledged that 70 percent of PA revenues come from sources it cannot control, whether from abroad or at its own borders where Israel collects customs duties on the PA’s behalf. Israel has withheld the transfers during times of dispute with the Palestinian government.

ISRAELI CURBS For years, the PA has sought to put in place political and economic institutions ready for a long-sought independent Palestinian state, but has run up against Israeli control over land, water, internal movement of people and foreign trade. The curbs, along with unpaid utility bills at refugee camps and often uncollected customs duties at borders beyond PA control, have added to a government debt of $4.2 billion. That equals 40 percent of gross domestic product and dwarfs the annual budget of $3.8 billion.

Palestinian youth unemployment stands at 40

percent. Outside his native village of Ya’abad, 22-year-old Nouredeen Atatra and his fellow tobacco farmers form a row of four following behind a tractor towing a home-made tiller digging holes and sprinkling water into the dry earth. They bend down, scooping soil around feeble new plants. “I have a university degree in political science, but there are no jobs out there,” said Atatra, a slim man with a mud-spattered red-and-white checked scarf wrapped around his head. On the road, lined with concrete Israeli watch towers, a gleaming new bus carrying Israelis to the nearby Jewish settlement of Mevo Dotan whizzes past, escorted by an army jeep.

“For generations my family worked this land and there’s no shame in being a farmer.

But if the government doesn’t even allow us to do this, then we’re afraid the land will be abandoned, and the settlers will someday take it,” Atatra said. The PA has said the tobacco must be sold only through legitimate channels. Farmers claim the PA is trying to curb their sales even to legitimate companies because it wants cigarette companies to import more tobacco as that would boost customs revenues. The poor economic situation only enhances the appeal of cheap local tobacco. Around a quarter of Palestinian adults smoke, according to official statistics, and many find 25 shekels ($7) per pack for international brands like Marlboro far too pricey. At just 4 shekels ($1.10) a pack, cigarettes from Ya’abad and the surrounding villages are much more affordable. Analysts say officials could do more to ease the financial strain on ordinary Palestinians. “Yes, the government lacks sovereignty and control over

trade and monetary policy. But it does have some power in fiscal policy, over whom to tax and where to spend.

It has not properly protected the most vulnerable citizens while income inequality rises,” independent economic analyst Nasser Abdul Kareem said. “The (Fayyad) government deserved some blame for this situation.

It should have helped redistribute wealth and combat the marginalization of farmers and manufacturers,” he said. A boom in the services and construction sector fuelled by foreign aid saw GDP surge 9 percent in 2010. But the World Bank projects growth in 2013 of just 5 percent as government debts to private companies pile up.

‘ARAB SPRING’ FROM CIGAR Sitting on a patio draped in purple bougainvillea, farmers roll up cigarettes in hands calloused by a lifetime of hard work, and grumble at officialdom. “They’re so used to getting foreign aid that they forgot what we can achieve by ourselves,” said Abu Ayman, puffing a pungent cloud of smoke into the crisp village air.

“What else can you expect from the Oslo gang?” another chimes in, referring to the interim peace deals signed with Israel in the 1990s. Many Palestinians blame the accords’ economic annexes for their hamstrung growth. The Jerusalem Cigarette Co, a publicly traded firm operating out of an industrial zone east of Jerusalem, is a leader in the Palestinian tobacco sector and endures heavy taxes on cigarette sales, which are as high as 9.5 shekels ($2.6 dollars) per pack, almost two-thirds their retail cost.—Reuters

New Airbus takes off with big orders LE BOURGET: The Airbus next-generation A350 plane took off commercially at the Paris Air Show yesterday, winning multi-billiondollar deals and the European manufacturer said that more deals were in the air. The news comes just days after the new plane took to the skies in its first ever test flight on Friday, stealing the limelight before the start of the air show-a key event where Airbus and Boeing compete fiercely for plane orders.

The two rivals are currently head-to-head - $44.6 billion in new plane orders or agreements for Airbus versus $44.8 billion for Boeing-after Ryanair boosted a lagging Boeing by confirming a huge order for 175 medium-haul 737 planes. Airbus-side, Air France-KLM also confirmed an order for 25 A350 planes-which make extensive use of lighter composite materials to reduce fuel costs-in a deal worth $7.2 billion at catalogue prices. “Despite the difficulties that Air France-KLM is facing, we are in significant good shape to be able to plan for the renewal of our long-haul fleet for the long term,” said Alexandre de Juniac, head of the airline group. The agreement comes with an option

for a further 25 planes, and the aircraft will come into service in 2017, he told reporters.

The airline group had first announced its intention to buy the planes in September 2011. SriLankan Airlines, meanwhile, took an option to buy four of the new planes an option expected to be exercised within two weeks-and placed six firm orders for Airbus’s popular A330 aircraft in a deal worth $2.6 billion at list prices.

Airbus boss Fabrice Bregier promised more deals to come for the A350. Asked by a journalist whether further orders could be expected at the show, he replied: “before the end of the day.” The A350 is due to take off on its second test flight in the southwestern French city of Toulouse, where Airbus is headquarterd, and if all goes well again could fly over the Paris Air Show on Friday.

The plane pushed Boeing out of the limelight yesterday, but the US firm had stole the thunder on Tuesday with the launch of a long version of its next-generation Dreamliner-the 787-10.

Intended as a message that it is firmly back on track after a slew of technical prob-

lems forced the grounding of its entire Dreamliner fleet worldwide earlier this year, Boeing announced more than 100 orders for its newest plane. Yesterday, it said plane leasing firm CIT Aerospace had ordered 30 of its new, medium-haul 737 MAX planes in a deal worth $3 billion at catalogue prices. The 737 MAX is a modernised version of Boeing’s older 737 and has yet to come into service. It is part of a new generation of planes emerging onto the market which consume less fuel and enable airlines to reduce costs.

Other smaller competitors have also made a mark at the air show-the world’s biggest-with ATR, a joint venture between European aerospace giant EADS and Italy’s Finmeccanica, announcing one of its biggest orders this week. Brazil’s Embraer has also come up trumps with the launch of a new family of regional jets and 100 orders, with 215 other intentions to purchase the aircraft.

But the Paris air show, in its 50th edition this year, is not just about commercial battles, with the long-awaited A400M military transport plane taking to the skies as well as Russia’s Su-35 fighter jet.—AFP

LE BOURGET: A French Airbus A 400 M takes off on Le Bourget airport, near Paris yesterday during the 50th International Paris Air show. — AFP

Reckless bankers risk prison in UK LONDON: Bankers found guilty of “reckless misconduct” in Britain could end up in prison and be stripped of bonuses, under draconian proposals yesterday to clean up London’s scandal-hit financial sector. The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, established by the government after the Libor rate-rigging scandal last year, made the recommendations in a final report that amounted to a blunt indictment of malpractice.

The scandals have besmirched the old and worldwide reputation of the City of London and made some bankers the target of public anger. The Treasury welcomed the review, describing it as an “impressive piece of work”, adding that it would help the government “create a stronger and safer banking system”.

The Commission was formed last year after revelations that Barclays bank tried to manipulate the Libor rate, which is used as a benchmark for global financial contracts worth about $300 trillion. “Under our recommendations, senior bankers who seriously damage their banks or put taxpayers’ money at risk can expect to be fined, banned from the industry, or, in the worst cases, go to jail,” Commission chairman and Conservative lawmaker Andrew Tyrie said in a report.

The report added: “A criminal offence will be established applying to senior persons carrying out their professional responsibilities in a reckless manner, which may carry a prison sentence. The Commission, which included Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the Church of England’s spiritual leader, as well as lawmakers from across British political parties, recommended also that the staterescued Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) should be split into a so-called good bank and a bad bank. It also criticized the government for “political interference” in both RBS and fellow bailed-out lender Lloyds Banking Group.

The review was published ahead of finance minister George Osborne’s annual Mansion House speech to business leaders later, when he is expected to address the government’s privatization plans for RBS and Lloyds.

Lawmakers and Welby additionally called for “much more (of bankers’) remuneration to be deferred and, in many cases, for much longer periods of up to 10 years” to “reflect the longer run balance between business risks and rewards”.

Tyrie said that “recent scandals, not least the fixing of the Libor rate...have exposed shocking and widespread malpractice” within Britain’s banking sector. “Taxpayers and customers have lost out. The economy has suffered. The reputation of the financial sector has been gravely damaged. Trust in banking has fallen to a new low,” he added.

The reputation of Britain’s banking sector has been damaged in recent years by a string of scandals, including also credit insurance mis-selling and ongoing controversy over staff behavior in the run-up to the 2008 global financial crisis.

Industry body the British Bankers’ Association yesterday said that it would work alongside the government to implement the report’s recommendations. “This is the most significant report into banking for a generation,” said BBA chief executive Anthony Browne in a statement. “We look forward to working with government and regulators to take forward the constructive proposals contained in the report.”—AFP

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

BUSINESS

Zain Group CEO discusses plans with global analysts

Gold edges higher LONDON: Gold edged higher yesterday as stock markets retreated ahead of a Federal Reserve policy statement, but uncertainty over the future of US central bank’s quantitative easing program kept it in a narrow range.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month the bank could scale back its $85 billion monthly bond purchases if the US economy strengthens, but a lack of clarity on the timing has unsettled markets.

Policymakers will likely announce later that they will keep buying bonds at the same pace, while keeping their options open to scale back the program later this year if the US labor market continues to improve. Spot gold was at $1,371.99 an ounce at 1148 GMT, up 0.3 percent, while US gold futures for August delivery were up $4.60 an ounce at $1,371.50. Gold broke below its recent trading range on Tuesday to slide 1.2 percent, its biggest one-day loss in nearly two weeks.

“Bottom line, we expect no tapering on the basis that current economic data don’t support such a move,” Saxo Bank vice president Ole Hansen said. “But the Fed is now responsible for market regulation and stability and the sell-off in bonds over the past months may have rattled them a bit.” “Ahead of (the Fed) I see gold potentially retracing some of its losses from yesterday,” he added.

“If $1,371 gives way, we could see a 10 dollar upside.”

European shares fell 0.3 percent in light and volatile trade as investors looked to the Fed for clues on the duration of its equityfriendly stimulus program. The dollar index held steady as uncertainty kept traders on the sidelines. “The FOMC statement is still likely to highlight recent improvements in the labor market, potentially once again suggesting a gradual reduction to the QE3 pace in the very near future,” VTB Capital said in a note. “Any hints at this time frame will be one of the most eagerly awaited insights for the currency markets and, eventually, for gold.”

PHYSICAL DEMAND SLUGGISH Buying in India and China, the top two gold consumers, remained sluggish as demand eased from peak levels seen in April and May. Shanghai gold futures fell more than 1 percent, while Indian gold futures edged lower. Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.2 percent to 1,001.67 tons on Tuesday, their lowest in more than four years.

Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.6 percent at $21.76 an ounce, while spot platinum was flat at $1,439.49 an ounce and spot palladium was down 0.4 percent at $705.47 an ounce. Platinum and palladium have underperformed this month to fall 1.5 percent and 5.5 percent respectively, although palladium remains the best performer of the major precious metals this year.

“Industrial interest has somewhat helped to protect the downside in PGMs, but with the entire precious metals complex under pressure at the moment, prospects for a recovery in the near term appear limited for now,” UBS said in a note. “Yet, despite the correction, underlying sentiment towards PGMs has not soured. In a sense the washout has actually been welcomed and is deemed healthy,” it added. “Those who have caught the move lower are keeping a very close eye out for opportunities to close out shorts or re-establish longs.”— Reuters

Zain targets data related strategic partnerships, acquisitions KUWAIT: At the end of May 2013, Scott Gegenheimer completed his first six months as Zain Group CEO and recently held a conference call with 30 global banking and telecom analyst to discuss Zain’s issues and focus going forward. Expectations for him to turn the Middle East player around are high, and the company’s operational results for the first three months of the year clearly identify areas that require Gegenheimer’s attention. The Group CEO is aware of the many different challenges across several operations that is necessary to raise Zain’s key financial indicators.

Zain Group reported a decline in its first-quarter net profit to end-March, attributable to steep devaluation in the Sudanese pound as the main contributing factors for the fall.

Sudan accounted for nearly a third of Zain’s customer base and a fifth of group revenue in 2012, but the country faced a number of economic challenges following South Sudan’s succession in 2011. Zain noted that the devaluation of the Sudanese pound against the dollar, by 53 per cent in the 12 months to end-March, predominantly reduced group revenue by $179 million, EBITDA by $76 million, and net profit by $44 million.

Group revenue for the quarter reached KD299 million ($1.06 billion), while the operator added 1.386 million subscribers in Q1, 13, and 3.9 million over the past 12 months and Zain reported 44.1 million active subscribers as of end-March.

Despite several key performance indicators showing signs of being under pressure, it is clear that Scott Gegenheimer’s arrival at Zain Group last December has brought with it an acknowledgement that work needs to be done, and more importantly, a resolve on the part of the company’s executive management to work at turning things around in an active and determined fashion.

One example of Gegenheimer’s impact on the operator’s outlook is that for the first time in numerous years, the Zain Group’s management opened itself up to scrutiny from the analyst community by hosting a conference call and offering more details and insight into the company’s strategic direction. This included referencing a number of problem areas and discussing what plans are afoot to resolve them.

“I’m genuinely enthusiastic to be at the helm of such a great company,” Gegenheimer said to the 30 international analysts that dialed in before identifying what he believes to be some of Zain Group’s strategic assets including its regional footprint; its market leading positions in six out of the eight markets in which it operates; and the company’s willingness to use technology as a tool to work more efficiently and to deliver cutting-edge products and services to end-users.

Gegenheimer says Zain is now executing strategies that will address the challenges that it faces. “Having had an opportunity to assess the businesses, I have reshaped the strategy of the group to focus on several key areas, including customer experience, operational excellence and synergies, human resources, and new business areas,” Gegenheimer said.

The main aim of Gegenheimer’s strategy is to continue to grow the company in terms of revenue and profitability, and like operators the world over, look to new services and delivery systems to drive incremental income. Interestingly for a business in which size and scale is an important success factor, Gegenheimer has chosen not to focus on subscriber acquisition and subscriber growth as one of the company’s driving priorities.

“From a group perspective, we have not really focused specifically on the growth of the customer base as we want to be careful about flooding the market with multiple SIM cards,” Gegenheimer said.” We don’t particularly want to give a forecast for that [customer growth] because it is not one of the KPIs that we want to drive the market with, as we are more focused on value share,” he added.

Mobile broadband is a definite area of interest to Gegenheimer and Zain, and with commercial LTE deployments in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain, the company is staking its claim to being one of the leading regional innovators. Zain Group’s data revenues increased 14 per cent yearon-year during the first quarter with data now accounting for 12 per cent of overall service revenue, without the inclusion of value added services and SMS revenues included. With these other non-voice services included, data would account for 21 per cent of Zain’s overall service revenue as at the end of March.

“We expect data revenue growth to continue, in line with industry trends worldwide” said Gegenheimer also noting, “that the percentage growth in data revenues is all the more significant and promising for Zain when one considers that a large number of the Group’s customers do not yet have smartphones nor 3G services that are widely available, such as in Iraq..” “We will make strategic acquisitions and partnerships in computer-based industries this year to exploit rising demand for data and help offset falling conventional call and sms income, this will bolster our value and customer experience proposition,” added Gegenheimer.

On a country-level, there is work to be done across much of Zain Group’s footprint. In its home market of Kuwait where the company is celebrating 30th anniversary, competition is squeezing the operator’s margins, and generating incremental revenues from the subscriber base is proving challenging, yet Gegenheimer is optimistic. Revenues in Zain’s Kuwait operation were slightly down in Q1 13, Gegenheimer attributed this decline mainly to the cannibalisation of voice revenues due to the increased use of VoIP and over-the-top solutions, as well as the heightened level of competition in the market.

Nevertheless, with a $39 ARPU, Kuwait remains Zain’s and one of the region’s most lucrative markets.

Zain Group CEO Scott Gegenheimer “Clearly Kuwait is a very competitive and challenging market for us. We have been undertaking a number of measures to improve results here,” Gegenheimer said. With number portability just being introduced, the state of the art nationwide LTE network and many other marketing activities being rolled out, Gegenheimer believes Zain Kuwait will show growth in the years ahead.

Saudi Arabia continues to be a loss making entity, though losses are narrowing year-on-year. What investors will be most pleased to learn about with respect to Zain Group’s exposure to Zain Saudi Arabia, is that the group does not expect to inject any more cash into the operator beyond what it had already committed to in last year’s capital restructuring arrangement. Zain Group management is also confident an agreement is imminent between Zain Saudi Arabia and creditor banks over a Murabaha loan.

Recently Zain Saudi Arabia signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance agreeing to postpone payments of the government’s entitlements due from the Company for the next seven years. These payments are estimated to add up to SR 800 million per year, representing a total amount of SR 5.6 billion for the entire period. Since the announcement of this deal, the Zain Saudi Arabia share price has risen over 15%.

Regarding Zain’s operations in Sudan, there is limited proactive action that Zain can take with respect to the macroeconomic and political issues adversely affecting its operations in Sudan. The significant depreciation of the Sudanese pound against the dollar has adversely affected the country operations as well as denting the group’s metrics, and Gegenheimer is hopeful that a measure of stability will return to the region soon, allowing for more predictable performances from both Sudan and South Sudan.

The shortage of foreign currency in Sudan has resulted in unpredictable remittances of cash from the local operations, another area of concern that is beyond the group’s immediate influence. In local SDG currency terms, Sudan performed surprisingly well with revenues growing by 25% year-on-year and net income by 57%.

Initial public offerings are also on the horizon for Zain’s operating companies in Iraq and Bahrain. The requirement to list in Iraq, and in the process comply with its licence conditions, has loomed since the latter part of 2011, and finally seems to have kicked into high gear. The goal is to float 25 per cent of Zain Iraq before year-end or by the first quarter of 2014 at the latest, which in turn is expected to generate in excess of US$ 1 billion which proceeds Gegenheimer said will be used for capital expenditure, acquisitions /partnerships and general corporate purposes.

Zain also awaits the licensing of 3G spectrum in Iraq, and given the emphasis the company places on driving new revenue streams through mobile data applications, is keen to have 3G networks operational as soon as possible. The company has recently spent heavily in expanding its network in the northern regions of Iraq and expects healthy customer and revenue growth from this investment.

In preparation for its own listing, Zain Iraq is undergoing the final stages of forming the requisite joint stock company, with the company initially in possession of the operating licence having been an offshore entity, which has now been brought onshore. With respect to Bahrain, the regulatory requirement is for Zain to float 15 per cent of the issued share capital of the business, and the operator expects to accomplish this before the end of the year.

Notably, global operator Vodafone has a small equity stake in Bahrain and the offer structure of the IPO has not yet been finalised according to Gegenheimer. In late 2012, Zain entered into a non-equity partnership agreement with Vodafone for its operations Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia whereby Zain will have access to Vodafone’s devices and services in its home markets and become the preferred partner of Vodafone in respect of the agreed areas of cooperation. Zain and Vodafone will work together to provide customers with enhanced network coverage, harmonised roaming rates across multiple countries with greater cost efficiencies and Zain will be able to use the Vodafone brand.

Benefits of the Vodafone agreement are immediately evident as recently Zain Saudi Arabia launched an international roaming service through Vodafone’s Passport program, the Group announced it is piloting the ‘joyn’ Rich Communications Services initiative formulated by the GSM Association. The service will allow the company to compete more effectively against OTT players by providing customers access to leadingedge technology and services in a shorter period of time. The Zain brand was also exposed to a global motor racing audience as the Vodafone Mercedes McLaren cars and team were branded Zain during the recent Bahrain Grand Prix.

“I am confident that in the years ahead the Group will continue to deliver value for our shareholders,” Gegenheimer predicted. In Kuwait for example, Zain intends to push actively into the small and medium size business sector, believing this to be a prime area for growth. The expectation is that other segments and niches across its areas of operation shall continue to be tapped and developed, with Zain expected to articulate a Group-wide corporate strategy in the coming months.

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso

.2770000 .4310000 .3680000 .3020000 .2780000 .2940000 .0040000 .0020000 .0771240 .7513970 .3930000 .0720000 .7366120 .0370000 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2841000 .4338920 .3707360 .3043390 .2795430 .0497330 .0443660 .2963730 .0365940 .2291130 .0029600 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0773800 .7538810 .0000000 .0757800 .7382100 .0000000

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso

ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.985 4.856 2.874 2.205 3.075 226.110 36.604 3.641 6.566

.2880000 .4470000 .3760000 .3170000 .2920000 .3020000 .0069000 .0035000 .0778990 .7589480 .4110000 .0770000 .7440150 .0440000 .2862000 .4370990 .3734770 .3065880 .2816100 .0501010 .0446940 .2985640 .0368650 .2308060 .0028810 .0052870 .0022880 .0029190 .0036810 .0779520 .7594530 .4048090 .0763400 .7436660 .0069870

Thai Baht Malaysian ringgit Irani Riyal Irani Riyal

9.241 94.271 0.271 0.273

Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for 1000 Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for 1000 Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

748.000 79.500 76.000

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

GCC COUNTRIES 75.764 78.065 737.950 754.620 77.374

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

737.02 78.26 75.70

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

ARAB COUNTRIES 39.450 39.934 1.325 176.180 401.210 1.906 3.087 34.634

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 284.000 Euro 381.270 Sterling Pound 446.590 Canadian dollar 279.250 Turkish lira 151.710 Swiss Franc 308.190 Australian Dollar 270.080 US Dollar Buying 282.800

Selling Rate 283.750 280.895 445.920 380.130 300.705 751.230 77.230 77.885 75.630 399.990 39.942 2.223 4.857 2.877 3.643 6.561 696.050 4.000 9.785 4.055 3.325 95.150

Bahrain Exchange Company 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

GOLD 261.000 131.500 68.25

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

SELL DRAFT 273.98 282.09 313.30 383.66 283.40 447.72 3.05 3.655 4.828 2.206 3.026 2.877 77.23 754.29 39.91 403.34

SELL CASH 274.000 282.000 312.000 380.000 284.500 448.500 3.300 3.670 5.050 2.550 3.250 2.900 78.000 753.000 38.800 410.000

BUY Europe 0.4385459 0.0067169 0.0467706 0.3737158 0.0457018 0.4341150 0.0400591 0.3034377

0.4475459 0.0187169 0.0517706 0.3812154 0.0509018 0.4416150 0.0450591 0.3104377

Australasia 0.2621097 0.2207648 0.0001113

0.2741097 0.2307648 0.0001113

Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars

America 0.2723886 0.0001443 0.2816500

0.2813886 0.0001623 0.2838000

Bangladesh Taka Cape Vrde Escudo

Asia 0.0035991 0.0031476

0.0036541 0.0033776

British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Scottish Pound Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar Uganda Shilling

SELL

Chinese Yuan Eritrea-Nakfa Guinea Franc Hg 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

0.0452909 0.0163867 0.0000440 0.0340195 0.0048687 0.0000238 0.0028329 0.0029338 0.0032678 0.0863871 0.0029300 0.0028520 0.0061723 0.0000725 0.2230032 0.0021664 0.0089038

0.0502909 0.0194867 0.0000500 0.0371195 0.0049337 0.0000289 0.0038329 0.0031138 0.0034978 0.0933871 0.0031300 0.0028920 0.0066423 0.0000755 0.2290032 0.0022084 0.0095038

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 0.7463592 0.0379239 0.0127229 0.1442921 0.0000789 0.0001724 0.3947072 1.0000000 0.0001740 0.0223261 0.0012034 0.7261310 0.0772976 0.0751467 0.0461426 0.0027430 0.1740625 0.0758409 0.0012801

0.7548592 0.0399539 0.0192229 0.1460821 0.0000794 0.0002324 0.4022072 1.0000000 0.0001940 0.0463261 0.0018384 0.7371310 0.0780806 0.0757867 0.0466926 0.0029630 0.1800625 0.0772909 0.0013801

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 283.400 382.450 445.450 279.650 3.000 4.827 39.920 2.202 3.641 6.565 2.875 754.800 77.200 75.700

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

BUSINESS

We can’t find skilled carpenters, US builders complain

WASHINGTON: Where have all the carpenters gone? Home builders across the United States are scratching their heads for an answer as they struggle to assemble crews to keep up with growing demand. In some parts of the country, the shortage of skilled carpenters - especially framers - is so bad that builders cannot get projects off the ground and it is taking as much as two months longer than normal to complete a project. “Right now I have framing material sitting on the job site with the foundation on the ground,” said Stephen Paul, executive vice president at Mid-Atlantic Builders in Rockville, Maryland. “It’s been sitting there a week because I have not been able to get a framer to start the house.”

According to a National Association of Home Builders survey published last month, 48 percent of single-family home builders could not find framing crews in the first three months of this year, and builders in all four regions struggled. In the middle of last year, that figure stood at just 30 percent. The demand for labor has been driven by the decisive recovery the housing sector is finally mounting. According to industry figures released on Monday, a majority of US homebuilders view conditions for new construction as favorable for the first time since the housing crisis began seven years ago, and home prices have been climbing.

To be sure, it’s hard to explain a labor shortage when unemployment in the sector is over 10 percent, and some argue that builders just need to pay more. Still, a labor shortage and pricey materials may hold back new home construction and help push prices higher as demand outstrips supply, realtors and economists say.

Government data on Tuesday showed housing starts rose less than expected in May, an indication that supply constraints might be starting to impact on home building. Builders say costs have risen between 10 percent and 15 percent over the last year.

Although the nation’s unemployment

rate stands at a lofty 7.6 percent, and is much higher in construction, builders say that is not translating into the availability of framers - the carpenters with mid-level skills who create the skeletal wooden framework of new houses and who serve as the backbone of home construction. And it is not only framers who are in short supply, according to builders. The dearth extends to roofers, masons, sheet rockers, electricians and air conditioning technicians, and it is affecting apartment building contractors as well as homebuilders.

“Although we are very busy and have work lined up for the next 12 to 18 months,

Now, builders are trying to meet the recovering demand, but many of the workers they let go are no longer available.

Given the industry’s volatility, many, like Omar Lisak, will probably never come back.

The 46-year-old from Lincoln, Nebraska, left in May 2008 after an 18-year career as a framer. He is now a truck driver. “I need something less risky. People are offering me jobs, they want me to go back, but I won’t,” said Lisak. “I have no need to. I am working with no stress, less headaches and I sleep well at night and don’t have to worry about paying my bills.” Similar sentiments are shared by Fernando Pages and Pat

CALIFORNIA: Construction workers are seen atop a building of new apartments for sale in Alhambra, east of downtown Los Angeles, California. — AFP we could be busier if I was confident that I could obtain the proper help,” said Anthony Zarrilli, principal at Zarrilli Homes in Brick, New Jersey. When the housing market collapsed in 2006, contractors downsized and the industry continued to shrink well after the 2007-09 recession ended. Between April 2006 and January 2011, the homebuilding sector shed 466,700 jobs, about half of its total.

Quinn, who also quit after decades of building homes.

Pages, 57, has moved into telecommunications and also teaches home-building classes and writes a blog. “It was a terrible experience to want to go through again.

Right now I am driving to Kansas, where I will teach an eight-hour class tomorrow on foundations,” said Pages. After frequent bouts of unemployment, the 57-year-old

BoE, still divided, flags market impact of US Fed uncertainty BoE’s King outvoted again at final MPC meeting LONDON: Bank of England policymakers acknowledged earlier this month that further market volatility could be on the way because of

LONDON: A man uses an automated teller machine (ATM) outside a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in the City of London. — AFP

uncertainty about the direction of US monetary policy, but came no closer to shifting their own stance. Minutes of its latest policy meeting, released yesterday, show the BoE remained deadlocked over whether to restart its own asset-buying stimulus, with outgoing Governor Mervyn King again in a minority voting for another 25 billion pounds ($39 billion) of asset purchases.

The June 5-6 Monetar y Policy Committee meeting, King’s last, decided economic developments in Britain had been generally positive in the past month and consistent with the bank’s May forecast of a slow but sustained recovery this year. However, the MPC said markets were less calm about expected actions by the Fed and the Bank of Japan, and that there was “potential for continued volatility”.

Some among those MPC members who oppose more asset purchases, or quantitative easing (QE), saw market reaction to speculation that the Fed might slow its bond buying as evidence that another round of stimulus in Britain could be effective. “Although an expansion in asset purchases was not warranted at this meeting, those events illustrated the likely effectiveness of asset purchases should they be needed in the future,” the minutes said.

Economists said this, combined with calls for the increase in stimulus

by King and two others of the nine MPC members, suggested that the committee on the whole was warming to the idea of another cash boost for the economy, just before the new governor, Mark Carney, arrives next month. “ The minutes serve as a reminder the MPC retains a dovish bias,” said Ross Walker, economist at

RBS. “The on-hold majority noted the rise in bond yields in response to Fed tapering concerns and hinted more QE could be done in response to that.”

But other policymakers thought the market movements showed the difficulty of unwinding further monetary stimulus and that the costs outweighed the benefits. “The benefits of further asset purchases were likely to be small relative to their potential costs,” the minutes said of those members’ views.

“In particular, further purchases could ... complicate the transition to a more normal monetary policy stance at some point in the future.”

Paul Fisher and David Miles again sided with King, warning of euro zone risks and weak wage growth in Britain.

Data out on Tuesday showed a bigger than expected 2.7 percent annual rise in British consumer prices in May, though the outlook for inflation remains more benign than a few months ago. Last month the central bank forecast that inflation would peak at just over 3 percent later this year before falling to the 2 percent target by early 2015 - a view still broadly shared by the MPC and external economists.

Carney’s arrival may lead to the introduction of policies other than QE in Britain. He has promoted long-term public commitments to low interest rates during his time as Canada’s central bank chief, and Britain’s finance minister has asked him to assess the viability of this strategy in Britain.

Economists polled by Reuters earlier this month predicted that Carney will indeed give markets a steer on policy.

As for more quantitative easing this year, they only saw a 45 percent chance of a top-up.— Reuters

KKR among bidders for Saudi fast food chain DUBAI: A majority stake in Saudi fast food chain Kudu has been put up for sale and private equity firm KKR is among the bidders, four banking and industry sources said yesterday. Saudi Arabia is the largest Gulf Arab economy and there has been increasing interest among international investors in the kingdom’s booming consumer sector. Riyadh-based Kudu, which operates more than 200 restaurants in the kingdom, is owned by four individual shareholders, including chairman and chief executive Abdulmohsen Bin Abdulaziz Al Yahya, according to data from Zaw ya, a Thomson Reuters unit.

The company, founded in 1988, has grown rapidly in recent years and is expected to record a net income of nearly 100 million riyals ($26.7 million) this year, one of the sources said. Based on a valuation of 10-15 times earnings, Kudu may be valued at between 1 billion riyals to 1.5 billion riyals, a second source said. Kudu officials were not immediately available to com-

ment. Several calls to the company ’s Riyadh headquar ters went unanswered.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the information is not public. The long-term outlook for the Saudi food and agriculture sec tor remains strong, with growth supported by a young and growing population and the expansion of firms into new segments, a June 19 repor t from Saudi-based NCB Capital said.

Coca-Cola Co paid $980 million in December 2011 for a 50 percent stake in Aujan Industries, one of the largest beverage companies in the Middle East. Citigroup Inc’s venture capital arm and Dubaibased Levant Capital bought a $100 million controlling stake in Saudi Arabian supermarket chain Al-Raya For Foodstuff Co last year.

The sale of the Kudu stake was triggered by strategic differences between the shareholders, three of the sources said. About 30-40 percent of the company is owned by two brothers Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Al-Modeimegh and

Mohammed Abdulrahman AlModeimegh, who are not selling their stake, the sources said. “It’s a stable business now and valuations are expected to be high. The advisors have reached out to a wide number of parties and it will be interesting to see if the sale goes through,” said one of the sources, a senior Saudi-based private equity executive. A bidding process for the stake has been initiated, with HSBC Holdings arranging the sale, all four sources said. The bank declined to comment. The lender reached out to more than 40 interested parties for the stake sale, including private equity firms including KKR, Carlyle Group and strategic investors, said two of the sources, who are familiar with the plan. KKR and Carlyle both declined to comment. Washingtonbased Carlyle has decided not to bid for the stake, the Saudi-based source said. In 2011, Carlyle bought a 42 percent stake in a Saudi-based food franchise operator that runs Domino’s Pizza and Wendy’s restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa.—Reuters

Quinn called it quits in 2012 and became a home inspector in St. Augustine, Florida, ending a 30-year career building homes. “I was always getting laid off every year,” said Quinn. “I would never consider going back even if things get much better in the housing market.”

A tightening of immigration rules in states like Arizona is also cited as a factor behind the labor shortage. With police in the state required to check the immigration status of people they stop and suspect of being in the country illegally, many undocumented immigrants left the state, drying up a source of labor for the building industry there. According to the NAHB about 22 percent of the workforce in the single-family home building industry are immigrants, though it does not say how many of those are undocumented. Another factor, according to unions and former framers like Lisak, is the reluctance by builders to pay contractors more.

“Our contractors are underbid,” said Bill Luddy, head of special projects at the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. “Our people provide a wage that people can live on, compared to contractors who are paying piece rates, who are paying low or cash wages.” Builders would not be drawn into discussing financial issues. However, Lisak, said they generally paid framers between $4-$5 per square foot, depending on the region and the size of the house. That translated to wages of less than $1,000 per week, he said. They would need to pay at least $6 per square foot to attract people like him, Lisak added.

“Labor is getting very scarce. We have actually turned a few jobs away because labor is unavailable,” said Johnny Yates, vice president at Rampart Construction in Dallas. Yates said an apartment building job that would normally run between 18 to 24 months was now taking at least an additional two months to complete. In Oklahoma, urban developer Grant Humphreys is also having labor headaches

for his new community project, Carlton Landing. “I have 27 homes that have not yet started construction,” said Humphreys. “Our people are working six days a week. We can’t ask more from them. We just need more workers.”

Humphreys said his firm would not break ground until year end on projects for which the contracts were signed in May. Seven years ago, as the housing boom reached its apex, residential construction payrolls peaked at 1.02 million workers.

While they bottomed out in January 2011, they are still down about 42 percent. At 10.8 percent, unemployment among construction workers is higher than for any other group. But this rate includes workers in non-residential construction, which has lagged home building and where workers are more likely to be unionized.

Some economists like Heidi Shierholz of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute doubt talk of a labor shortage given the slack in the overall industry. “Unemployed construction workers outnumber job openings in construction by nearly 12-to-1,” said Shierholz. Part of the seeming discrepancy could reflect the uneven nature of the housing recovery, other economists say.

Housing has not rebounded as quickly in areas like Michigan and the rest of the Rust Belt as in places like Arizona, California and much of the Northeast.

Labor Department data on wages seems to indicate some tightening in labor availability. Average weekly earnings in the home-building sector, unadjusted for seasonal fluctuations, jumped by $12.56 to $872.14 in April, the highest level since the series started in 2006. In the 12 months through April, they were up 6.1 percent.

“You still have quite a bit of displaced workers that are unemployed in construction because their area hasn’t turned around just yet and they are not willing to move to where the jobs are,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Hanley Wood in Washington.—Reuters

Swiss House wants tax dodgers exposed GENEVA: Switzerland’s upper house yesterday again backed a deal with Washington to expose US tax dodgers and fine Swiss banks which helped hide their money, a day after G8 leaders agreed to chase cheats and corporate fiddles. The upper and lower houses are taking different lines on the tax agreement in the midst of controversy in advanced nations about tax evasion and low tax bills by some big companies. A total of 26 members of the upper Council of States voted in favor of the controversial “Lex USA” bill, which aims

to lift Switzerland’s long-sacrosanct banking secrecy for one year for Americans.

Eighteen lawmakers opposed the deal proposed by the United States, which has angered many in Switzerland by insisting it is non-negotiable and must be in force by July 1. The Council of States, which voted 24-15 in favor last week in an initial debate, was unswayed by a lower house refusal to hold the emergency vote needed to have the deal in place by Washington’s deadline.

On Tuesday, 126 members of the lower

house, or National Council, refused to consider the deal, while 67 were in favor.

Wednesday’s upper house decision puts the ball squarely in the National Council’s court, and it is set to hold a new debate today, leaving the accord on a knife-edge. The deal is seen as crucial if Swiss banks are to escape the threat of a raft of lawsuits in the United States on charges of abetting tax evasion-with massive fines the price of legal peace-as well as being barred from the big and profitable American market. —AFP

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

BUSINESS

Shares choppy, dollar steady as Fed meets European shares dip in jittery trade LONDON: European shares turned lower but major currencies and commodities stuck within recent ranges yesterday as investors awaited clarity on the US Federal Reserve’s next policy move.

Mixed reports on the strength of the US economic recovery are expected to encourage the Fed to leave its ultra-loose policy unchanged, but concern it may hint at when it will wind back its bond buying is making all markets skittish.

“The market is very nervous,” said Oliver Roth, head trader at Close Brothers Seydler. “For investors, I would say that they should be careful and set their limits - especially stop limits - very carefully, because if there is some change coming up for the Fed policy then there could be a dramatic drop for the market,” he said.

The policy setting Federal Open Market Committee will announce its decision at 1800 GMT, followed 30 minutes later by a news conference with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Expectations for a scaling back of the Fed’s massive bond buying program has supported the dollar, especially against emerging market currencies, though uncertainty over the impact of any policy shift has led some investors to prefer the yen.

It shed 0.4 percent to under 95 yen yesterday, although the dollar was steady against the euro at around $1.34 after the single currency touched a

four-month high on Tuesday. Against a basket of major currencies the greenback was flat at around 80.50. “The general elements for a stronger dollar are in place, on the back of the prospect of tighter US monetary policies. Maybe it will get another shot in the arm (from the Fed), may be it won’t, but rushing to judgment is probably going to be a mistake,” said Ned Rumpeltin, head of G10 FX strategy at Standard Chartered Bank.

SHARES EXPOSED Trading was choppier in equity markets as investors have seen strong gains this year on the back of the liquidity injections from major central banks. Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index gave up earlier gains to dip 0.25 percent, tracking a softer session in Asia outside Japan, where mainland Chinese stocks were hit by dampened hopes for a local policy easing.

“The Fed’s tone will clearly influence the action. If Bernanke indicates that tapering is quite a bit of a distance off, investors will feel relieved and equities can revisit their recent highs,” Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets, said. Japanese stocks bucked the softer trend in Asia, closing up 1.8 percent to reach a one-week high as data showed Japan’s exports rose in May at their fastest annual

rate in more than two years. The MSCI world equity index, tracking shares in 45 countries, added 0.15 percent to bring its gains this week to 1.2 percent, but with activity expected to be limited ahead of the Fed statement.

Bund futures were also little changed ahead of the Fed and a sale of 5 billion euros of new 10year German bonds later in the session. Ten-year German bonds yielded 1.55 percent, up around 40 basis points since the beginning of May, mirroring a rise of about 50 bps in equivalent US Treasury yields over the same period. In cautious commodity markets, growth-linked metals like copper, as well as safe-haven and inflation-linked assets such as gold, were restricted to minor moves.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 rose 0.1 percent to $7,013.25 a tonne, but this was not far off its lowest price since early May. “Base metals have been struggling as portfolio managers and investors have been cutting their exposure to commodities,” said Victor Thianpiriya, commodities strategist at ANZ Bank. Brent crude held above $106 a barrel, near an 11-week high, as hopes for ongoing Fed stimulus underpinned prices. US crude for July delivery touched a nine-month high of $99.01, before easing to $98.81, still up 37 cents. —Reuters

All-new Pathfinder enjoys high levels of popularity DUBAI: The all-new Nissan Pathfinder has enjoyed high levels of popularity since its launch in February with more than 1,600 unit sales in the Gulf region in March and April. Pathfinder sales have increased by 204% vs March/April 2012 across the Middle East as the ‘Next generation SUV’ gathers acclaim in the showroom and from the automotive industry with strong demand anticipated to maintain sales momentum.

“It is very evident that, with its fresh design and improved levels of standard technology, the all-new Nissan Pathfinder is not only positioned to appeal to the existing customers in the region, but is also attracting a new range of Middle East buyers looking for a stylish, premium and authentic SUV,” said Samir Cherfan, Managing Director, Nissan Middle East. “We are very pleased with the growing demand that the allnew Pathfinder is experiencing across our dealerships in the region. Our goal is for the new model not only to be the best in class but also to advance the whole SUV segment forward into the future,” concluded Samir.

All-new Nissan Pathfinder defines the ‘Next generation SUV’ with a modern balance of offroad capabilities with on-road refinement delivering ‘innovation that excites’ to meet the needs of today’s modern families with unmatched technologies and features. It also offers dynamic design, class-leading comfort, thoughtful technology, and a rewarding driving experience. SUV sales across the Middle East rose 29% in FY2012 and its mid-size class is highly competitive with 31 models in the segment. The All-new Pathfinder entered the Nissan range at a time when demand for SUVs/Crossovers in the Middle

DUBAI: Dubai-based flydubai yesterday announced the launch of business class services, based on feedback from its passengers, across its network of 60 destinations.

Commenting on the launch of the airline’s Business Class services, Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, stated, “We are very pleased to announce the evolution of our passenger offering as we continue to meet the travel needs of our customers.

The introduction of Business Class will provide greater choice for our passengers, who will have access to faster check-in services, comfortable and spacious seating and can enjoy a variety of internationally -inspired menus during their journey.” “Both our business and leisure travelers can now benefit from a more personal flying experience. flydubai is ready for business and we look forward to continuing to offer our passengers reliable and accessible travel services, whether in Economy or Business Class.”

IN THE AIR flydubai’s Business Class cabin is configured with12 seats finished in soft Italian leather with lumbar support and a seat pitch of 42 inches. The in-flight entertainment system will offer a high definition touchscreen of 12.1 inches with over 900 hours of movies, music and games. In addition, Business Class passengers will benefit from having their own dedicated cabin crew. Travellers will be offered a selection of coldlight food and accompaniments on short flightsand the choice of a three-course meal from aspecially designed Halal menu on flights of 90 minutes and above.

East continues to show considerable growth (29% in GCC).

Nissan will now use the strong initial response from the region’s SUV and cross-over buyers as a platform on which to build towards an ambitious sales target of 8,200 Pathfinder sales per year in the GCC region in the next three years. All-new Pathfinder recognized for its balance of style, affordability, safety and technology has recently been awarded by one of the Middle East’s respected automotive media, Automobile TV, as ‘Best mid-size SUV’, as ‘Best family car’ by Kelly

Blue Book in the United States and among the ‘10 Best family cars’ by Edmund.com and Parents magazine in United States.

It is also one of the nominees for the Middle East Motoring Award’s title of ‘Best mid-size SUV’.

MEMA is the most prestigious awards of its kind for the Middle East, judged by 19 independent jury members from 10 Middle Eastern countries, including Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The jury members are among the most influential automotive writers in the region.

US auto giant GM plans to invest $11 billion in China Japan trade deficit climbs to $10.5bn TOKYO: Japan’s trade deficit rose nearly 10 percent in May to 993.9 billion yen (nearly $10.5 billion) as rising costs for imports due to the cheaper yen matched a rebound in exports, the Ministry of Finance reported yesterday. Exports rose 10.1 percent in May over a year earlier to 5.77 trillion yen ($60.7 billion) while imports also surged 10 percent, to 6.76 trillion yen ($71.1 billion), the ministry said. Japan’s trade deficit in May 2012 was 907.93 billion yen.

A weakening in the yen’s value has pushed up costs for imports of crude oil, natural gas and other commodities for this resource scarce nation, but the deficit in May was bigger than most economists’ estimates. The figures show strong growth in exports to the US, China and the rest of Asia. The deficit for May compared with a deficit of 879.9 billion yen ($8.6 billion) in April. Japan’s trade deficit rose to a record $83.4 billion in the fiscal year that ended in March, as imports climbed and a surge in exports to the US failed to offset the impact from territorial tensions with China and weak demand from crisis-stricken Europe.

The yen has slid in value by more than 20 percent against the US dollar and euro, in turn pushing up other currencies in relative value. Its decline, due to expectations among market speculators and also monetary policies that are injecting huge sums of cash into the economy, has contributed to a recovery

flydubai launches its business class

in exports. Stronger growth in the US and some other major markets has also helped boost demand for Japanese products. Exports to China rose 8.3 percent in May from a year earlier to 1.05 trillion yen ($11 billion) while imports jumped 15 percent to 1.46 trillion yen ($15.4 billion), leaving a deficit of 410 billion yen ($4.3 billion).

Japan’s efforts to boost trade with the rest of Asia appeared to be yielding results, with exports rising 11 percent to 3.2 trillion yen ($33.7 billion), as imports climbed nearly 10 percent to 2.98 trillion yen ($31.4 billion). Japan’s trade surplus with the United States jumped 26 percent over the year before to 427.1 billion yen ($4.5 billion). Exports surged 16.3 percent year-on-year to 1.04 trillion yen ($10.9 billion) and imports rose 10 percent to 614 billion yen ($6.5 billion).

But exports to the EU fell 5 percent, while imports jumped nearly 9 percent, boosting Japan’s deficit by nearly 650 percent, to 88.7 billion yen ($933.7 million). Imports from the Middle East, primarily of crude oil and gas, jumped 11.5 percent from a year earlier to 1.23 trillion yen ($12.9 billion). Japan’s demand for natural gas has ballooned since most of its nuclear power plants remain closed following the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, and the deterioration in the trade balance is adding to pressure from the pro-nuclear government to restart more plants. —AP

SHANGHAI: General Motors will invest $11 billion in China through 2016, executives said yesterday, as the US car giant broke ground on a plant to produce luxury Cadillacs for the world’s biggest auto market. The figure includes four new plants, including the $1.3 billion Cadillac factory in Shanghai, GM officials told a media briefing. “China is a critical market for General Motors today and General Motors tomorrow,” GM chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said.

GM is already the largest foreign auto maker in China by sales, but it has lagged behind in the country’s luxury segment, in which German companies hold an estimated 80 percent share. GM sold a record 1.33 million vehicles in China for the first five months of this year, up 10.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the company. The Cadillac plant will have annual output capacity of 160,000 vehicles, with production to start in two years, GM officials said. “We’re going to bring our high-end, premium product here and we’re going to see how we run against the competitors from Europe and Japan,” Akerson said.

GM has already announced plans to introduce one new Cadillac model a year in China through 2016 to boost annual sales of the brand from around 30,000 vehicles last year to 100,000 by 2015. The US company hopes to capture 10 percent of China’s luxury car market by 2020, up from the current 2.5 percent, GM officials said yesterday. They declined to say what Cadillac models will be produced at the new plant. GM launched a locally produced Cadillac sedan, the XTS, in China earlier this year and also imports the Cadillac SRX, a sport utility vehicle, for sale in the country.

“There are generous profits in the luxury car market,” Cui Dongshu, deputy head of industry group the China Passenger Car Association said. “GM has to make an investment targeted at the segment and build this plant in Shanghai to localize its products, in order to effectively seize a place in the high-end segment,” he said. Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony, Akerson forecast China would eventually become the world’s largest luxury car market with sales of 3.0 million vehicles.

Consultancy McKinsey has put the Chinese premium auto market at 1.25 million vehicles last year, second only to the United States. Other GM plants planned for the next three years include one for mini-commercial vehicles in Chongqing city, as well as others in the cities of Wuhan and Shenyang, officials said, but they did not give details. China’s overall auto market would grow eight to 12 percent over the next four to five years, eventually reaching 30 million vehicles by the end of the decade, Akerson said. —AFP

ON THE GROUND Business Class passengers will be able to take advantage of flydubai’s priority check-in, conveniently located just 120 paces from the car park, as well as the new facilities at the recently upgraded and expanded Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport. Later this year, passengers will be able to relax in flydubai’s Business Class lounge ahead of their flight and will have access to priority baggage collection upon arrival at their destination.

A dedicated business team will also be available 24 hours a day to attend to queries and assist in ticket booking, meal selection and telephone check-in. The airline will receive delivery of the first aircraft with a business class cabin in August 2013. All new aircraft subsequently delivered will include business and economy classes. Business class tickets will be available for purchase on selected flights from August 2013, and the inaugural flight is scheduled to take off in October 2013. “flydubai’s agility and flexibility has been an integral part of our young airline’s journey since its launch four years ago. We are committed to innovation and expanding the

range of services on offer for both our business and leisure travelers. We have provided easier access for our passengers to 44 previously underserved markets, creating free flows of trade and tourism, to support Dubai’s economic development. Passengers will now be able to enjoy these services on destinations across our network including some that have never offered business class air travel before,” Al Ghaith continued. flydubaioffers passengers reliable high

quality travel services and strives to listen to its passengers to meet theirtravel requirements. Not only is the airline the launch customer for this newly developed reclining seat but it was the first to introduce high definition films on its flights as well as introduce Boeing’s Sky interior, designed to increase passenger comfort and reduce jetlag. The airline will launch a new catering option for Economy Class customers, in the near future.

Passengers can pre-select their meal and order online up to 48 hours before departure. flydubai’s Business Class offering includes: Business class fare includes a comfortable spacious seat, a generous checked baggage allowance, its award winning in-flight entertainment system and a choice of internationally-inspired menus and refreshments; An exception customer experience; 12 soft Italian leather seats with lumbar support; Seat pitch of 42 inches; In-flight entertainment system with a high definition 12.1 inch touchscreen; A dedicated and highly-trained cabin crew member; Premium catering services including cold food and accompaniments on short flights, and the option of a three-course meal on flights of 90 minutes and above Priority check-in located one minute or just 120 paces from the car park at Terminal 2, Dubai International Airport; Priority baggage collection upon arrival at destination; Dedicated customer service team to attend to enquiries and assist with bookings and Access to flydubai’s Business Class lounge later this year. flydubai aims to make travel more convenient for its passengers through services such as visa facilitation for select destinations, a mobile website, car hire and insurance services. Most recently, the airline has made holiday packages available to its passengers.

US billionaire tries light touch in Sony shakeup TOKYO: A US billionaire’s gentle bid to convince Sony to spin off part of its entertainment arm could mark a dramatic shift from previous, mostly unsuccessful, forays by foreign investors into Japan’s cloistered corporate landscape, analysts say. The electronics giant is holding its annual shareholders meeting today in Tokyo where the break-up plan devised by Daniel Loeb, head of hedge fund Third Point, was expected to feature. But rather than seeking a public showdown with Sony’s board, Loeb has opted for the soft touch with a hand-delivered letter that lauded Sony chief Kazuo Hirai’s efforts at dragging Sony back to profitability.

The letter also suggested the board take a serious look at his proposal. A further polite letter was delivered to Hirai this week. Sony said it was reviewing the idea to sell off part of its entertainment unit, which includes a major Hollywood movie studio and a music label. Hirai has resisted previous calls to break up the electronics behemoth which has struggled for years as it bled money from its television unit.

Loeb has a reputation for aggressively trying to force change at target companies. But he appears to be making a break from past investor confrontations with management, something which is rarely seen in Japan. Shareholder activism in Japan is not firmly entrenched like it is in Europe and the United States. “Their (Third Point’s) style seems different from socalled vulture funds in the past,” said Hiroshi Sakai, chief economist with SMBC Friend Research Center in Tokyo. “Third Point appears to be taking a long-term approach to gradually change Sony.”

The Sony bid and a growing appetite for change among even some Japanese

investors is setting off more constructive dialogue with management, said Tetsuyuki Kagaya, an associate professor at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. “This is a quite flexible approach. Sony will have difficulty ignoring it,” he said. Londonbased The Children’s Investment Fund has also been employing a methodical, multiyear effort to help boost shareholder returns at Japan Tobacco instead of rushing in aggressively. “It is getting more difficult for firms to have a management that completely ignores shareholders,” Kagaya said. “The era of activist shareholders is coming.”

Foreign investors have long found stoking change in Japanese companies to be an uphill battle. Among high-profile clashes was a failed effort by US fund Steel Partners to oust top executives at brewer Sapporo Holdings. Meanwhile US private equity fund Cerberus Capital Management is locked in a battle with management at hotel and railway operator Seibu Holdings over a proposed corporate governance overhaul and other issues.

A huge accounting scandal at camera giant Olympus saw its whistleblowing Britain-born former chief fail to win support from institutional Japanese shareholders to run the firm, despite the backing of foreign investors. Part of the cultural clash stretches back to Japan’s post-war economic boom when firms were given leeway to focus on growing the company rather than shareholder needs. Hostile takeovers are rare in corporate Japan and companies tend to be deeply suspicious of foreign private equity firms. Companies also own large stakes in each other, a system of mutual security known as “keiretsu” that can prevent unwanted takeovers. —AFP

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

BUSINESS The Business Class check in.

First class lounge.

Emirates

E

mirates, which already operates daily flights to Tokyo Narita and Osaka Kansai has added Tokyo Haneda (HND) as its third destination. On 3rd of June, Emirates celebrated the start of its daily, non-stop service from Dubai to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) with the launch of its inaugural flight. It is not the first time that Emirates actually beats all its competitors to be number one in every aspect, and operating to Haneda as a new destination is only a mark on its upcoming goals and targets.

“Emirates has been operating to Japan since 2002 when we introduced non-stop flights to Osaka; our commitment continued when we launched flights to Narita International Airport in 2010.We value our partnership with Tokyo International Airport; it is one that helps to connect two global hubs of development and growth Japan and the UAE. We know that Haneda will play an integral role in our route network and the launch of services demonstrates Emirates’ commitment to Japan,” said Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President, Passenger Sales Worldwide.

“Since the commencement of Emirates’ flights to Osaka in 2002, trade relations between Japan and UAE have flourished.

According to JETRO (Japan External Trade Organisation), two-way trade between UAE and Japan rose to $53.1 billion in 2012, up by 5.4 per cent compared to previous year,” continued Antinori.

“Haneda is our third gateway in Japan and we are confident that the demand in terms of both passengers and cargo is strong enough to warrant Emirates operating non-stop, daily flights to both of Tokyo’s airports, offering our passengers more flexibility on the route to Dubai and onwards to over 70 destinations in the Indian Ocean, Middle East, Africa and Europe,” concluded Antinori.

Haneda Airport is located in Ota-ku, Tokyo and handles the majority of domestic flights to and from Tokyo; it opened its doors to international carriers following the opening of the fourth runway and the international terminal in October 2010.

Haneda is currently ranked as the second busiest airport in Asia.

On board Emirates’ first flight to Haneda was Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operation Far East & Australasia; His Excellency Daisuke Matsunaga, Consul General of Japan; RavishankarMirle, Emirates’ Vice President Cargo Commercial; media representatives from the United Arab Emirates and connecting passengers from 17 destinations on Emirates’ global network. In the cockpit of the Boeing 777-200LR was Captain Ahmad Al-Shamsi from the UAE and First Officers Tsuyoshi Mikami from Japan and Hermes Guzman from the USA. With the new daily flight to Haneda, Emirates SkyCargo is able to add about 23 tonnes per flight, which accounts for about 160 tonnes of additional cargo capacity per week, further supporting Japanese exports

makes

Tokyo Haneda

its third Japanese route of mechanical components, electronic goods and automobile parts, and its imports of gas and oil products. Dubai is an important hub for the re-export of Japanese manufactured products to the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

Together with the new Haneda flight service, Emirates has launched a complimentary airport transfer services for its passengers from Haneda Airport directly to a location of their choice in the Greater Tokyo area. This service is available to First Class and Business Class passengers travelling on Emirates flight EK312 (Dubai to Haneda) or EK313 (Haneda to Dubai). Emirates’ flight EK312 departed Dubai at 0935hrs, touching down at Haneda 0001hrs the following day.

The return flight, EK313, departed Haneda at 0130hrs and arrived at Dubai at 0705hrs the same day.

The Boeing 777-200LR aircraft operating the route is equipped with eight luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 of its latest lie-flat seats in Business, and generous space for 216 passengers in Economy, along with gourmet cuisine in all cabins which has been tailored to Japanese passengers, served by Emirates’ multinational cabin crew. The aircraft also features ice, Emirates’ award-winning in flight entertainment system which offers over 1,500 channels showing the latest Japanese blockbusters, subtitled Hollywood films and Japanese music and TV. Emirates now operates services to 134 destinations in 77 countries from Dubai, earlier this year Emirates launched services to Warsaw and Algiers on 6th February and 1st March respectively. In addition to Haneda, Emirates has announced plans to launch services to Stockholm starting 4

A First class seat in the Emirates A340.

A play area for kids at the first class lounge.

September, Clark International Airport (Philippines) beginning on 1 October; the same day as it begins its transatlantic route between Milan and New York.

Emirates’ longstanding partnership with Japan Airlines has been expanded to include a code share on the new DubaiHaneda-Dubai services. The flights will be identified with the Emirates ‘EK’ code as well as with Japan Airlines ‘JL’ code.

Emirates Holidays, the airline’s tour operating arm, offers holidays to Japan, with itineraries that highlight attractions in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Emirates Holidays provides holiday options that take travellers from Tokyo - the modern capital city; to the majestic Mount Fuji and the natural beauty of Hakone; to Nagoya and Kyoto, the cultural heart of Japan; and to Osaka, gateway to the Kansai region.

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

BUSINESS

American Mattress Summer Sale - up to 60% KUWAIT: Staying true to its annual tradition, American Mattress has started the summer season off with a bang with its special summer promotion that reaches up to 60% off on the store’s mattresses and accessories. The sale also comprises world-renowned brands including Adjustables, Natura, Visco Pro, Kluft, Luxury Latex, Aireloom, Stylution and other high quality brands. The sale started on May 20 and will end on June 28, 2013.

American Mattress has always been committed to providing its client base in Kuwait with the highest quality by carefully selecting leading global brands. One of the quality brands that the company carries is Aireloom, an American brand that provides a wide range of luxurious, hand made mattresses that are created with natural cotton, silk and latex so as to comfortably cushion its users’ times of slumber.

Another brand, Kluft, provides mattresses that lie on the exact point where luxury merges with elegance. Made with durable and high quality New Zealand wool and natural Egyptian cotton, Kluft has become a highly favored choice for all due to its attention to detail and delivering comfort with every stitch. American Mattress also carries other globally known brands that have been chosen by many luxury hotels, resorts as well as homes.

Apart from the wide range of natural and luxurious mattresses, American Mattress also provides a selection of medical mattresses including Aristocrat Mattress, Doctor’s Choice, Dreamer, Health Care and other orthopedic mattresses including adjustable ones that provide the spinal cord the essential support it needs and balances the body ’s position during sleep. When it comes to pillows, American Mattress provides a vast assortment of accessories as well as the chance for customers to touch, feel and use the pillows inside American Mattress’ showroom. Due to the many services it provides such as its delivery and warrantee services, American Mattress has grown to become the store of choice for many hotels, resorts, chalets as well as homeowners who all seek the truest forms of luxurious comfort.

Discover the many features and offers that American Mattress provides including globally renowned mattress brands that are all offered at a discounted price. Benefit from this limited time offer by visiting the stores that supplies American Mattress’ products including Good Night in Shuwaikh’s Pepsi Street, Kids Mattress located in the Creative Design Center in Shuwaikh, block 2, American Mattress’ showroom in Tunis Street and Boland Mall in Farwaniya.

BC Partners buys Springer Science for 3.3bn euros Dual track approach helped push price

Jazeera Airways No 1 in ‘On-Time Performance’ KUWAIT: Jazeera Airways yesterday released its April 2013 Operational Performance Report showing a continued lead in On-Time Performance (OTP) against all other airlines in the Middle East during the month with a performance of 91%, as ranked by the independent US-based OTP tracker FlightStats. The April report, which presents market share figures based on official statistics from Kuwait’s Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA), also showed that Jazeera Airways grabbed significant market shares on routes serving Amman, Beirut, Bahrain, Dubai, Sharm El Sheikh, Assiut, Luxor, and Sohag.

Jazeera Airways grabbed a 38% market share on the Kuwait-Beirut route, a 15% market share on the Kuwait-Dubai route, and a 10% market share on the Kuwait-

Bahrain route. The airline also saw an increase in passenger numbers on the Kuwait-Dubai and Kuwait-Jeddah routes, with a 6% and 8% increase respectively compared to April 2012. Jazeera Airways was also the leading airline on the KuwaitAmman route capturing a 44% market share, with an increase of 20% in passenger numbers on the route compared to last year.

On the Egyptian routes, the airline saw an increase of 27% in passenger numbers on the Kuwait-Sharm El Sheikh route compared to the same period last year, 6% on the Kuwait-Assiut route, 47% on the KuwaitLuxor route, and 39% on the Kuwait-Sohag route. Jazeera Airways was the leading airline serving Sharm El Sheikh, Assiut, Luxor, and Sohag with a 62%, 53%, 72% and 54% market share respectively.

The Airport’s shopping mall chooses FASTtelco KUWAIT: As part of its social responsibility and commitment to the community, FASTtelco, the leading Telecom Service Provider in Kuwait, has recently signed an agreement with United Project Company to power the Kuwait International Airport with free fast Wi-Fi. The agreement cites that FASTtelco and United Project Company will provide free Wi-Fi of speeds reaching up to 100Mbps across the Airport’s shopping mall at both Departure and Arrival areas.

Abdulwahab Al-Nakib In this regard, Abdulwahab Ahmad AlNakib, Chairman and Managing Director of Al-Deera Holding, and CEO of FASTtelco announced that FASTtelco today considers the deal to provide Wi-Fi access across Kuwait International airport as a tremendous leap forward for such a vibrant facility as the airport shopping mall, providing one of the most frequently-requested enhancements by an ever increasing amount of airport travelers and visitors reaching over a million each year.

This initiative plays an important role in improving internet services offered at the airport’s shopping mall, allowing users to connect to the Internet in a fast, effective, and convenient manner. With this new achievement, FASTtelco has proven its

commitment to continuously introduce the latest in the field of communication technology and to deliver sustainable and innovative solutions that contribute to the community’s development and success.

Al-Nakib added: “FASTtelco is proud to have succeeded in meeting travelers and visitors main requirements and expectations at Kuwait’s International Airport’s shopping mall by signing a new agreement with United Project Company providing the fastest and most innovative Internet connections through its fast Wi-Fi service.”

Al-Nakib further added that “FASTtelco has accomplished major achievements by offering internet and data communication services at one of the most vibrant facilities in a country that caters to the largest number of internet users.

FASTtelco is the first company that has worked towards developing the Internet and data communication fields that benefit Kuwait in general”. On the other hand, Chief Operations Officer at United Projects Company, Hamad Malallah commented: “FASTtelco has been chosen to offer its service at the airport’s mall because it has been placed among the leading Internet and Wi-Fi Service Providers in Kuwait according to research and various studies that assessed FASTtelco’s Wi-Fi services in terms of speed, efficiency and technical support.”

Malallah added that United Project Company aims at providing the best services available on the market to all its customers, whether visitors or travelers, so they can easily accomplish their operations whilst visiting the airport’s mall. This agreement reflects the development of FASTtelco that recently won the Bizz International Award of 2012 for being the most inspirational company as well as the Annual GCC HR Excellence Award for Best Change Management Strategy of 2012.

FRANKFURT: Buyout firm BC Partners has agreed to take over German publisher Springer Science+Business Media for about 3.3 billion euros ($4.4 billion) in the largest private-equity acquisition in Germany in seven years. One of Springer Science owners, Swedish private equity firm EQT said in a statement yesterday the closing of the transaction was expected in August.

The dual track approach of EQT and co-owner Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, which prepared both a direct sale and a flotation, appears to have paid off.

Sources told Reuters earlier this week that the owners entered fresh negotiations with BC Partners after last week rejecting the private equity firm’s 3.1 billion euro ($4.1 billion) bid as too low. People familiar with the negotiations had said EQT and GIC had previously aborted sale talks to focus on a stock market listing, after which BP Partners topped up its bid. The deal is the largest takeover of a German company by a private equity group since the 4 billion euro acquisition of forklift truck maker Kion by KKR and Goldman Sachs in 2006.

Springer, which competes with Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier and Dutch company Wolters Kluwer, publishes 2,200 English-language journals and more than 8,000 new book titles every year. British private equity investors Candover and Cinven created Springer Science in 2004 by merging Dutch group Kluwer Academic Publishers with German firm BertelsmannSpringer. In December 2009, EQT and GIC bought 82 percent and 18 percent of the company, respectively, from Candover and Cinven. — Reuters

Keep cool this summer with BMW driving tips KUWAIT: Summertime is travel time. So whether you’re going back and forth from work, or planning a road trip to visit friends and family, then BMW has a whole host of top summer travel tips to help keep you safe on the roads during the hottest months of the year.

SERVICING The high summer temperatures put excessive strain on mechanical components like cooling systems, batteries and tyre pressure, so if you have not yet had time to book your car in for a service this summer, here are a few self-check tips you can do at home to at least make sure your car is in top working condition. Before you pull out of the driveway you should check the owner manual in your vehicle for guidance on how best to check that your vehicle has: Correct level of engine coolant; Oil is at the correct levels; The air conditioning works efficiently; A full tank of fuel. Never leave it until you reach your reserve!; Tyres have sufficient and correct air pressure; Tyres have tread depth of at least 3mm, the recommended depth CHECK THE PRESSURE Never underestimate the importance of checking the pressure once a month at any BMW Group showroom or leading gas station. Something as simple as a burst tyre can cause a terrible accident.

OIL CHANGE Oil is the lifeblood of your car. It keeps hardworking engine parts running clean, smooth and most importantly, cool. All service information including when the oil needs changing or topping up is projected on to the onboard computer in all BMWs making it easy and efficient for owners to receive service information.

summer, it is an important point to note at all times.

BMW recommends that this isn’t just necessary as the driver, but for every passenger in your vehicle too. Seat belts really do save lives, and being caught without one can cost you on your insurance too!

INSURANCE & ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE If you are planning road trips across the region this summer, make sure that you have adequate motor insurance to cover you on the road or if you are involved in a collision. Also check with your insurance company what your road side assistance

entitles you to.

IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY As well as offering a whole host of 24-hour roadside assistance options and top notch insurance packages, BMW also recommends that you stay calm and follow the below steps in the case of an emergency: Turn your hazard lights on and park on the far right lane of the road out of the way from other drivers. Keep your boot open and use your red-emergency triangle to warn other motorists that you are stationary.

BRAKE EASY Your brakes are the single most important safety feature on your car, especially in the summer when the roads can become slippery and overheated. So you need to make checking your brake linings a priority. Here are some signs that your brakes need to be checked: Your brake pedal is very hard and resistant; Your brake pedal rests too low or too high; Indication or warning lights on the dashboard; Loud scraping and grinding sounds coming from the brakes. If you have any doubt about whether or not your brakes are working in tip top condition, you should contact your authorized agency partner’s service centre.

BUCKLE UP Be it summer or really anytime of the year, safety is paramount and the easiest way to increase your chances of survival in the case of an accident is to wear your seat belt. While this is not only for just

Middle East should nurture CSR for economic prosperity

By Ramez Shehadi KUWAIT: For many years the approach to achieving long-term prosperity and stability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has been economic growth. That approach has to change. Instead, governments should be pursuing sustainable development. Unlike previous policies, sustainable development is a strategy for economic progress that aims to create jobs, alleviate poverty, provide education, and carefully manage the environment.

Companies have a particularly important role to play in the sustainable development through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Many MENA companies are increasing the scale and range of their CSR projects, part of a global trend and an extension of longstanding cultural traditions.

Unfortunately, too many companies conduct these initiatives on an ad hoc basis that limits their effectiveness. For maximum impact, companies need to align CSR projects with national development goals and coordinate with governments, academia, and civil society.

Such a coordinated effort is critical to tackle regional sustainable development, including the main challenge of train-

ing and educating young people for jobs. Just keeping employment at 2011 levels will require an additional 75 million jobs by 2020-a 43 percent increase on the number of jobs in 2011, according to the World Economic Forum.

Until recently, too many MENA companies consider CSR initiatives an optional extra and define such work too narrowly, and too few governments fully comprehend how CSR can dovetail with national development. One sign that the tide is turning is the number of regional companies that have joined the UN Global Compact-a strategic policy initiative for businesses committed to ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. The list of signatories from the MENA region has grown from just three in 2003 to 262 by the end of 2012.

As more companies conduct CSR projects, they are establishing best practices that other companies can follow. These best practices include ensuring high-profile support and engagement of senior leaders, and practicing more transparent corporate governance to encourage candid discussions and create clear guidelines for tackling CSR issues. These CSR leaders also integrate CSR with their operating model by, at the very least, coordinating the activities of their company’s

businesses, functional units, and partners. They also focus on a few CSR themes that leverage the company’s expertise; and they tap the credibility and expertise of civil society organizations, public-private partnerships and social business ventures. Finally, these CSR pioneers measure CSR results to assess and refine their initiatives.

In tandem with companies aligning their CSR projects with national development goals, governments need to help define these goals and create an environment in which CSR is encouraged and, indeed, expected from companies.

Encouragingly, MENA governments have become more active in their promotion of CSR. Almost all Gulf Cooperation Council members now have corporate governance codes or guidelines in place for publicly listed companies.

Eventually, when the CSR environment is mature, MENA governments may not need to intervene, except to offer encouragement. For the time being, however, given the region’s substantial development needs and the undeveloped nature of CSR, governments need to play a more active role in setting CSR priorities. At the very least, governments can define and mandate minimum standards for business performance through legislation. Governments can also facilitate

CSR by naming a ministry or department to coordinate CSR strategies and policy making. The authorities can also offer incentives for companies to pursue CSR. Governments can provide funding and research around CSR, and can spearhead training and promotional campaigns.

The education sector also has an important role to play in shaping the attitudes of future business leaders. Universities and business schools can influence the mindset of tomorrow’s managers and entrepreneurs by introducing CSR-related concepts into the curriculum. Civil society organizations, for their part, can form partnerships with private companies to lend credibility to CSR initiatives, and can monitor the performance of the private sector on issues ranging from child labor, to fair trade, to community involvement, and environmental protection.

While there is an important role for government, and to an extent civil society and academia, the main burden of CSR and sustainable development falls on companies. By aligning their CSR work with national development goals, MENA companies can be good corporate citizens, and by supporting sustainable development can contribute to the betterment of the societies in which they operate.

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

technology

NZ emerges as guinea pig for global tech companies WELLINGTON: When Google chose New Zealand to unveil secret plans for a balloon-driven wi-fi network last weekend, it cemented the country’s reputation as a test bed for global tech companies looking to trial their latest innovations, industry experts say. They said New Zealand, tucked away deep in the southern hemisphere, offers a tech-savvy, English-speaking population where firms such as Google and Facebook can quietly test new products without risking major fallout if anything goes wrong.” We tend to be early adopters, any technology that reduces the tyranny of distance we’re keen on,” said Malcolm Fraser, chief executive of the Auckland-based Future Cities Institute, who has researched the trend.

“We’re a small market, which means it doesn’t cost that much to test something here and if anything screws up we’re far enough from major markets for it not to have a spillover effect.” Facebook

has enthusiastically used New Zealanders as guinea pigs, last year trialling a scheme where users can pay to make their posts more prominent on friends’ newsfeeds. It also rolled out its timeline feature first in New Zealand in 2011, saying at the time: “As a global company, we need to gain perspective and insights from outside the US. “New Zealand is a good place to start because it’s English speaking, so we can read the feedback and make improvements quickly.”

The LinkedIn social network also tested its endorsement feature in New Zealand last year, but Fraser said the country had been a laboratory for experimental technology since the mid-1980s, when the world’s first electronic payments system was introduced. In the early 2000s, telecoms giant Vodafone debugged the GPRS network which replaced dial-up Internet connections for Kiwis before releasing it internationally. “It comes down

to the fact that (New Zealand) is a perfect microcosm of a global community,” said Candace Kinser from technology industry group NZITC. “Auckland has immigrants as more than 50 percent of its population, from nearly every country in the world (and) Kiwis take up technology rapidly and use it well.” Fraser said hosting leading-edge projects helped boost New Zealand’s IT sector, which boasts world leaders in sectors such as computer gaming and digital special effects.

“When these organisations come along, they don’t bring their whole R&D (research and development) department, they just bring one or two key people, along with the new product or technology,” he said. “So we get quite a lot of benefit from that, in terms of people in our technology getting trained up to fill the void.” The Google foray into New Zealand, dubbed Project Loon, is perhaps the most ambitious high-tech test carried out in the

country, aiming to bring Internet to the two-thirds of the global population currently without web access.

It involved sending 30 helium-filled balloons to the edge of space above the South Island last Saturday, each carrying transmitters capable of beaming wi-fi Internet access down to antennae on properties below.

The ultimate goal, which Google admits remains a distant dream, is a network of thousands of such balloons creating a network that provides online access anywhere in the world.

The first person to access the web under the scheme was dairy farmer Charles Nimmo, who said he appreciated the chance to work with one of the world’s largest companies to push the frontiers of technology. “It’s been weird,” he told the New Zealand Herald. “But it’s been exciting to be part of something new.” — AFP

Internet balloons to help small businesses: Google Google expects half a billion people to have Internet access

OSAKA: Osaka Mayor and co-leader of the Japan Restoration Party Toru Hashimoto (foreground center) along with Shingo Nishimura (foreground right) a former member of the House of Representatives, waves to supporters during their party’s election campaign in Japan. — AP

Online gaffes plague Japanese politicians TOKYO: On the Internet, no one can save you from yourself. That is a lesson many Japanese politicians have learned recently in painful, awkward and at times costly fashion. In the latest flap, a senior reconstruction official in charge of helping victims of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear crisis was dismissed last week after he used a scatological insult on Twitter to deride civil activists. Another official’s loss of composure at a United Nations committee meeting might have gone unnoticed in another time, but today it’s on YouTube. Even Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been reproached for remarks on Facebook that some deemed disrespectful to his opponents.

Japan only began allowing use of social media in political campaigns in April. As campaigning heats up for a pivotal July 21 election for the upper house of parliament, this relatively new tool for reaching the public appears as much a liability as it is a blessing. Japanese politicians and government agencies control access to information through a system of press clubs, and to keep their memberships, traditional Japanese media often have overlooked politicians’ gaffes. Politicians’ aides also help them avoid making embarrassing comments on TV and in print media. But those filters disappear when a politician posts a comment online.

“It takes only one emotional sentence. Once you hit the comment or tweet button, it’s too late. You’re caught by gaffe watchers on the net, with your true nature exposed,” said Junichiro Nakagawa, an editor at the Internet news site Shunkan Research News. Yasuhisa Mizuno, the former Reconstruction Agency official for Fukushima-Dai-ichi victims, was fired over this tweet: “Attended a meeting where I was merely yelled at by leftist (vulgarity). Surprisingly, I’m not outraged. I only have pity for their lack of intelligence.”

He posted the comment March 7, but it was overlooked for several weeks before “gaffe watchers” discovered it and made it more widely known. In late May, Hideaki Ueda, Japan’s representative to the United Nations’ committee on torture, shouted while defending Japan’s judicial system against criticism by an envoy from Mauritius who said its lack of protections for suspects’ rights was “medieval.”

Speaking in somewhat broken English in footage shown on YouTube and an official website, Ueda said, “Certainly Japan is not the Middle Age. We are one of the most advanced country in the field.” To giggles from the audi-

ence, he shouted, “Don’t laugh! Why you are laughing?” “Shut up! Shut up!” he said. By Wednesday the video had been viewed on YouTube more than 200,000 times. The footage was also repeatedly shown on mainstream Japanese T V and in newspapers until the Foreign Ministry reprimanded him last week.

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto said and tweeted that sex slavery by Japan’s Imperial Army before and during World War II was a “necessary” wartime evil. He also used Twitter to post his suggestion that the US military patronize adult entertainment to help reduce sex crimes committed by American troops.

US officials characterized the comments as “outrageous and offensive.” Hashimoto, a cofounder of the nationalist Japan Restoration Party, apologized, but only for his adult entertainment remark. He has continued tweeting his assertions about the Imperial Army’s use of prostitutes. Sophia University political science professor Koichi Nakano said gaffes by politicians and others spotlight a lack of sensitivity to a variety of issues, and to opposing views. “ The society that leaves such problems unchecked could become one that is insensitive,” Nakano said. “People gradually lose sensitivity and then think nothing of it anymore.” One label that has drawn attention is the word “leftist,” which appears to be a catch-all term for liberals supportive of minority rights and pacifism, and who sometimes challenge conservative values.

The media and the political opposition are taking Abe to task for using the term too casually. Abe has also called former Prime Minister Naoto Kan a leftist, criticizing his civil activist background and relatively lenient stance toward North Korea. Abe, who is known for his nationalist and hawkish views, complained in a recent Facebook entry about hecklers at a public rally.

“A group of leftists came into the crowd, intensely trying to interfere with my speech by shouting into a loudspeaker and banging drums, full of hatred,” he wrote “Mr. Abe, what do you mean by ‘leftists?’” asked Hideo Matsushita, senior editor at the liberal-leaning Asahi newspaper, in a commentary published Sunday.

Many of the hundreds of comments attached to Abe’s Facebook entry expressed support for his remark, along with hatred of the political left, ethnic Koreans and China. But others questioned for using the word “leftists” to describe hecklers who were apparently opposing Abe’s plans to join a US led trans-Pacific trade bloc. —AP

SINGAPORE: A promoter displays Huawei’s Ascend P6 phone, billed as the world’s thinnest smartphone, at the CommunicAsia telecom and broadcast event yesterday just hours after its global launch in London. — AFP

SINGAPORE: Google’s plans to beam the Internet from giant balloons sent to the stratosphere could boost small businesses in rural parts of Asia by connecting them online, the company said yesterday. Karim Temsamani, Google’s head of Asia Pacific, said in a speech at the Communicasia conference in Singapore, that the Internet balloons might also facilitate communication during disasters.

Google last week revealed top secret plans to launch thousands of balloons to provide Internet connections to remote parts of the world, allowing the more than four billion people with no access to get online. Its scientists on Saturday released up to 30 helium-filled test balloons flying 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) above Christchurch in New Zealand, carrying antennae linked to ground base stations.

“What’s devastating is that only a tiny fraction of SMEs (small-medium enterprises) all across Asia are online right now,” Temsamani told the conference. He said India, one of the region’s emerging economies, has 47 million small businesses, but only one percent are online. “Getting more businesses online is crucial to every single country in the region,” he said.

The experimental balloon project, called Project Loon, is one way to provide affordable Internet access to “rural, remote and underserved” regions, Temsamani said. “For farmers in remote rural areas, this would bring market information that allows them to get better prices from merchants,” he added.

The balloons, which once in the stratosphere will be twice as high as commercial airliners and barely visible to the naked eye, will also help in disasters when communication infrastructure is down, Temsamani said. “For places with few doctors, this could help relay drug information. In dis-

CHRISTCHURCH: This file photo shows visitors standing next to a high altitude WiFi internet hub, a Google Project Loonballoon, on display at the Airforce Museum in Christchurch. — AFP asters, this could help coordinate supplies,” he said.

The balloon network is controlled by ground stations connecting to the local Internet infrastructure and beaming signals to the balloons, which are self-powered by solar panels. Users below have an Internet antennae they attach the side of their house which can send and receive data signals from the balloons passing overhead. Some 50 people were chosen to take part in the trial in New Zealand and were able to link to the Internet.

Temsamani cautioned that the project

remained in an experimental stage, and would require a lot of work from participating nations.

“These balloons need networks’ co-operation to function, we’re all going to have to work together on this,” he said. He said Google expects half a billion people in emerging markets worldwide, most of them in Asia, to have Internet access “between now and 2015”.

“These people will drive this transformation even faster. They will not have all the desktopbased habits we’ve developed over the past 10 years,” he added. — AFP

Google asks US court to allow data query release Google settles suit WASHINGTON: Google said Tuesday it asked a special US court handling national security investigations for permission to publish the number of government requests for data to the Internet giant. The court filing in Washington came amid a firestorm of protests over revelations that the National Security Agency had accessed vast amounts of data in a surveillance program under the supervision of the special court, which operates in secret. Google said it already publishes in its “transparency report” data on requests from law enforcement and so-called National Security Letters from the FBI. “However, greater transparency is needed, so today we have petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to allow us to publish aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures, separately,” a Google spokesperson said. “Lumping national security requests together with criminal requests-as some companies have been permitted to do-would be a backward step for our users.”

FISA refers to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which authorized the secret court.

Google said it was seeking a court ruling to allow it to publish “limited, aggregate statistics” on orders for the company to hand over data. “Google’s reputation and business has been harmed by the false and misleading reports in the media, and Google’s users are concerned by the allegations,” the petition said. The company said it was asking the court to affirm its “right” under the First Amendment of the US Constitution to publish the information.

Google’s legal move came as the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) ramped up a campaign to pressure Congress to put an end to online snooping and come clean about what has been done to date.

More than 215,000 signatures have been logged in support of a petition at a stopwatching.us website launched last week by the EFF. “This type of blanket data collection by the government strikes at bedrock American values of freedom and privacy,” the petition contends, arguing that dragnet online surveillance violates Constitutional protections.

“We are calling on Congress to take immediate action to halt this surveillance and provide a full public accounting of the NSA’s and the FBI’s data collection programs.” The EFF on Tuesday teamed with Fight for the Future to launch CallDay.org website and provide a telephone number that automatically routes callers to US legislators.

“We’re asking everyone concerned about their privacy to call Congress today and throughout the rest of the week,” the EFF said in a message at its website. Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and several other top Internet and technology companies have come under heightened scrutiny since word leaked

of a vast, covert Internet surveillance program US authorities insist targets only foreign terror suspects and has helped thwart attacks.

Google chief Larry Page and Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg have publicly condemned online spying and called for governments to be more revealing about snooping on the Internet. “We understand that the US and other governments need to take action to protect their citizens’ safety-including sometimes by using surveillance,” Google chief and co-founder Larry Page said in a blog post.

“But the level of secrecy around the current legal procedures undermines the freedoms we all cher-

new class of non-voting shares later this year. The settlement announced Monday came on the eve of a scheduled Delaware chancery court trial that threatened to cast an unflattering light on Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The classaction by the Brockton Retirement Board in Massachusetts and another Google shareholder, Philip Skidmore, alleged that Page and Brin engineered the stock split in a way that unfairly benefits them while shortchanging the rest of the company’s shareholders.

Google denied the allegations and maintained that the proposed stock split announced 14 months ago would benefit shareholders by ensuring that

MOUNTAIN VIEW: In this file photo, a Google sign is seen inside Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. — AP ish.” Google, Facebook and other technology firms have vehemently denied that they knowingly took part in a secret program called PRISM that gave the National Security Agency (NSA) and the FBI backdoors into servers.

The program was reportedly set up in 2007 and has grown to become the most prolific contributor to President Barack Obama’s Daily Brief, the US leader’s top-secret daily intelligence briefing. Some of the biggest firms in Silicon Valley were involved in the program, including Apple, AOL, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, PalTalk, Skype, Yahoo and YouTube, reports said. Internet titans contacted by AFP denied providing intelligence agencies with backdoors to networks and held firm that they only cooperated with legal “frontdoor” requests for information.

Meanwhile, Google has resolved a shareholder lawsuit blocking a long-delayed stock split, clearing the way for the Internet search leader to issue a

Page and Brin would preserve the power that has enabled them to make the same kinds of bold bets on technology that has helped increase the company’s market value by more than $260 billion during the past nine years. The split calls for a new class of “C” stock with no voting power to be issued for each share of an existing category of “A” voting stock. The structure is designed to ensure that Page and Brin retain control over the company, even though they only currently own about 15 percent of Google’s outstanding stock, combined.

Page, Google’s CEO, and Brin, an executive who oversees special projects in the company’s secret X Lab, hold 56 percent of Google’s voting power through a “B” class of stock that gives them 10 votes per share. By creating a new class of non-voting shares, Google will be able to keep rewarding other employees with more stock and financing potential acquisitions of stock without undermining the voting power of Page and Brin. —Agencies

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Study: Wiser medication use could cut health costs TRENTON: If doctors and patients used prescription drugs more wisely, they could save the US health care system at least $213 billion a year, by reducing medication overuse, underuse and other flaws in care that cause complications and longer, more-expensive treatments, researchers conclude. The new findings by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics improve on numerous prior efforts to quantify the dollars wasted on health care. Numerous experts previously have estimated that tens of billions, perhaps hundreds of billions of dollars, could be better used each year to improve patient care and outcomes and to slow down spending by government health programs, insurers and consumers.

The institute, part of data analysis and consulting firm IMS Health, used its proprietary data on prescriptions written by doctors - many of which patients never fill - plus other information to produce a current, more reliable estimate of avoidable costs solely related to medication use. IMS arrived at the $213 billion figure based on six categories in which doctors, patients or both could be making better use of medication, from getting a prompt diag-

nosis when new symptoms arise to taking medicines as directed by the doctor. Across the six categories, the researchers generally focused on spending on a handful of very common or very expensive diseases - from high cholesterol and blood pressure to HIV and diabetes - for which costs of care and complications are well documented.

“There’s even larger avoidable costs if we were to look at all disease areas” where patients aren’t getting optimal care, Murray Aitken, the institute’s executive director, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. “There’s a big opportunity for improvement.” The $213 billion equals nearly 8 percent of the more than $2.7 trillion the US spent on health care last year. Those billions could pay for the health care of more than 24 million Americans currently uninsured, according to IMS. And Aitken said moreappropriate use of medication - taking it exactly as prescribed, not taking antibiotics for viral illnesses, preventing medication errors and the like - could prevent 6 million hospitalizations, 4 million trips to the emergency room and 78 million visits to doctors and other outpatient care

providers each year. “ Those are staggering numbers,” Aitken said. The report, titled “Avoidable Costs in Healthcare,” found the biggest area of waste is patients not taking medicines prescribed by their doctor, either at all or as directed. IMS estimates the cost of such “non-adherence” at about $105 billion a year. Reasons for the longstanding problem include patients fearing drug side effects, not understanding complications that can occur without treatment, having mental health issues and not being able to afford their medicines. Price has become less of a factor, though, as there are now relatively inexpensive generic versions of drugs for most diseases.

“I think there’s really good, solid evidence that if you adhere to medications, that keeps you out of the hospital,” said M. Christopher Roebuck, president of health policy consultants Rx Economics LLC. Roebuck, who was not involved in the study, said it’s well done. But he said the estimates of potential savings are “quite conservative” for medication non-adherence and treatment delays. Those delays are blamed for racking up about $39 bil-

lion a year in avoidable care costs - due to patients putting off doctor visits and not getting medications they’re prescribed, or doctors not promptly starting treatments proven to prevent expensive complications. “We’ve got a lot of people without insurance who are not routinely going to the doctor, and even some with insurance aren’t,” Aitken said.

Other areas of waste noted in the report include: Prescribing antibiotics inappropriately, as for patients with the flu or another viral infection, costing about $35 billion annually. This can contribute to bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, resulting in more expensive treatment and even hospitalization with a future infection.

Medication errors, costing about $20 billion annually. Those include sloppy handwriting leading to the wrong drug or dose being dispensed and doctors not checking to see that the patient is getting better, meaning they’ve been getting the right medicine. Those errors are on the decline due to more doctors using electronic

prescriptions and other changes.

Not using generic drugs when they are available, costing about $12 billion annually. That’s a decreasing problem, as strategies of health plans and pharmacies encourage patients to choose generics by setting copayments for brand-name drugs a few times higher than for the generics. Without insurance, generics can cost 90 percent less than brand-name drugs. Today, when a generic is available, it’s dispensed about 95 percent of the time.

Multiple medication confusion, costing about $1.3 billion annually. For elderly patients taking five or more medicines, it’s easy to mix up which pills should be taken when, and for those who are frail, those mistakes can cause serious harm.

That problem likely will grow significantly with our aging population.

The report will be shared with government, medical and policy groups and other stakeholders in the health system, Aitken said. The institute, whose clients include major drugmakers, noted that its report was prepared without funding from government or the pharmaceutical industry. —AFP

Frigid hospitals cloud N Korea’s picture of health PYONGYANG: In the lobby of Pyongyang’s maternity hospital, a government guide pauses during a tour, pointing down to an elaborate flower pattern glowing in buffed red and green marble. “One hundred and sixty-five tons of rare stones were used on the floor,” Mun Chang Un proudly tells the foreign visitors being offered an unusual glimpse inside. He walks toward a row of tiny booths with mounted TVs, video cameras and ‘70s-style phones, explaining that the “high-tech” video conferencing stations are used to protect mothers and newborns from visitors’ germs. Just a few floors upstairs, he says, a wellequipped breast cancer center was recently opened under new North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. It’s a rehearsed picture of health the reclusive government wants the outside world to see, complete with spotless granite corridors. But the real-

back to another time. Hulking machines and antiquated equipment in exam rooms could have arrived decades ago, when there was still a steady flow of medical supplies from the former Soviet Union.

The government also typically collects and analyzes health data, raising questions about accuracy and sampling methods. Some prominent foreign aid workers in Pyongyang say they were initially skeptical, but now trust the numbers after independent attempts to check their accuracy revealed similar results. Yet even the Ministry of Public Health’s own recent reports reveal glimpses into a system where all is not well. More than one in four children under 5 years old suffer from stunted growth due to a chronic lack of food; tuberculosis is raging within the country; infant death rates have jumped to levels higher than in the 1990s. Foreign doctors, aid work-

NORTH KOREA: Photo shows a doctor measures the head of a child during an exam at the Kaeson Clinic in Pyongyang’s Moranbong District. —AP

NORTH KOREA: A nurse sits inside a laboratory at the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital. ity of that image is clouded every time Mun takes a breath that explodes into icy wisps. The hospital is so cold during this February visit, patients remain bundled in thick coats, gloves and scarves during exams, while nurses swish with every step as they hustle through the halls in white snow pants and matching puffer jackets. Mun himself wears big, furry teddy bear slippers.

The contrast raises one fundamental question: If there’s no heat in many parts of one of the country’s best showcase hospitals in Pyongyang where temperatures can plummet well below zero - what type of health care exists at small clinics in the rugged mountainous countryside where even government officials say electricity and running water are sometimes hard to find?

As with so much in North Korea, it’s difficult to know what the true overall picture of health really looks like beyond the face presented. Only a handful of foreign aid groups and UN agencies operate in the country, and none of them can move around freely.

Some areas remain totally off limits.

Even in the gleaming capital, some health facilities appear to be a throw-

ers, North Korean defectors and various reports, such as a scathing 2010 assessment by Amnesty International, paint an even darker picture.

They describe beer bottles used as IV drips and broken legs splinted with sticks instead of plaster. Amputations performed without anesthesia. Dirty needles reused. A husband holding up a candle while a doctor removes a fetus from his hemorrhaging wife.

Surgeons operating with Soviet-era instruments with no heat or running water.

The health system has crumbled and languished over the past few decades amid deepening poverty and desolation. Government health spending ranks among the world’s lowest, with one World Health Organization estimate putting it at less than $1 per person in 2006.

Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions have resulted in further isolation and years of crushing international sanctions, with the toughest-ever restrictions coming after the country’s third nuclear test in February. Humanitarian aid is not supposed to be affected, but health officials say the sanctions have made it difficult to import medicine and supplies. Donors have also been

reluctant to offer support amid rising tensions. The United Nations recently reported a desperate shortage of funds for its North Korea operation, resulting in a scarcity of drugs and vaccines for children and pregnant women. The country also lacks the basic health infrastructure and hygiene to reduce diarrhea and pneumonia, the two biggest child killers worldwide.

“Overall, it’s a stark contrast between Pyongyang - which is the window to the world for North Korea and the rest of the country,” says Katharina Zellweger, who has traveled to every province during nearly two decades of humanitarian work. She routinely found clean facilities with old equipment, limited drugs and intermittent supplies of water and electricity. “There is an extended health infrastructure across the whole country. The question is really how well does it function?” Back at the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital, Mun, the facility’s director of foreign affairs, steps off an elevator with flickering lights and begins spitting facts about the newly built Breast Cancer Research Center.

Here, it’s like being transported to a heated exam room in the US or Europe equipped with high-tech machines for mammograms, radiation and ultrasound. Mun refuses to say how much this new addition cost, adding only that one X-ray machine totaled 700,000 euros, or $910,630, and that the late leader Kim Jong Il and his successor son spared no expense. (Young Kim’s mother is rumored to have died from breast cancer, but when asked, a hospital official declined to answer). There was just one thing missing from the model health center: patients. A waiting room with rows of shiny chrome benches is deserted, while a lone nurse sits almost hidden behind a towering work station. Mun says 80 of the hospital’s 100 beds are full, but only one room shared by three women is shown.

“This morning there were many patients,” says Pak Hyang Sim, director of the hospital’s diagnostic imaging.

“They were all diagnosed. That’s why it’s so empty now.” Defectors and aid workers say hospitals everywhere are often eerily vacant. Bad roads, a lack of transportation and no money make it impossible for many to access health centers. Medicine and care are supposed to be free. But in reality, everything has a price. “There’s a saying in North Korea: If your relative has cancer then your entire family is ruined because everything will go to getting that medicine,” says Jeon, a 24-year-old defector in Seoul who fled North Korea five years ago and asked that only one name be used to safeguard her father still living across the border. “Some families who can’t afford the medicine have no choice but to watch their loved ones die.”

Despite the new center, breast cancer is far from the top of the list of health problems gripping the country, revealing a disconnect between where the government spends and what the people really need. Hunger remains perhaps the biggest health concern, with 16 million North Koreans - two-thirds of the population - not getting enough to eat. The resulting malnutrition exacerbates a range of health issues, from hijacking child brain development to maternal death. In the famine of the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are believed to have died.

The government launched a “let’s eat two meals a day” campaign, and people foraged for bark, roots and grasses, according to the Amnesty International report.

The period, known inside the country as the “arduous march,” left a devastating mark on its overall health despite food aid from the internation-

al community that continues today.

Child stunting rates remain high, at 28 percent nationally and 40 percent in the worst-hit isolated province of Ryanggang. North Korean men are up to 3 inches shorter than their South Korean counterparts, according to findings published two years ago by Daniel Schwekendiek, an economist at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea. North Koreans also can expect to die around 12 years earlier than their southern neighbors.

However, some say the outside world’s perceived picture of health may also be skewed. North Korea, for instance, has lower stunting rates than Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal. “We think it’s a constant situation where you find malnutrition or you find undernutrition or you find people not well fed,” says Gerhard Uhrmacher, program manager for the German humanitarian aid organization Welthungerhilfe, who has traveled extensively in North Korea over the past decade. “This is generally almost all over the country, but it’s not to the extent where hundreds of thousands of people are dying. We don’t believe that.” He says the government’s propaganda machine also twists reality to fit its needs. He recalls foreign journalists a year and a half ago being shown a hospital “where they took children who were in very, very bad shape to reinforce their request for food aid.”

At the Kyongsang Clinic in Pyongyang, the impact of donor money is on display, along with pageantry and a heavy dose of propaganda. Plump children in pouffy bright traditional dresses and military uniforms howl in their mothers’ arms, as nurses force crushed Vitamin A tablets and chalky deworming pills into their mouths. In a nearby nursery, children take the medicine and then go onstage to sing traditional songs praising the leaders. The campaign, supported by UNICEF, reaches 1.7 million children twice a year. Eliminating parasites helps combat malnutrition, but it’s clear none of these children are going to bed with empty bellies.

The clinic does, however, showcase one of the bright spots in a generally bleak scene: A focus on prevention, which is central to the overall health system. In the early years, North Korea set up an army of household doctors, each responsible for overseeing basic health within their communities. Tens of thousands of these physicians still exist today, with one doctor responsible for about 130 households. North Korea has been applauded by the WHO and others for its mass mobilization, successful child immunization programs and health promotion - systematic approaches commonly deployed in top-down socialist countries.

These programs are among the few reminders left of a free universal health system that in the 1960s boasted more hospital beds and a lower infant death rate than the South. Now, it’s mostly Pyongyang that benefits. At the new breast cancer center, guide Mun stops on the stairs to show off a wide strip of jade colored marble that “looks like a waterfall flowing down.”

He explains that the wooden railing was replaced with stone because Kim Jong Un thought anything less would cheapen the facility. A female doctor later stops to point out shimmering prisms dangling from a golden chandelier before leaning in to whisper: “Look closely, doesn’t it look like a breast?” At the end of the tour, in a room with photos of founding leader Kim Il Sung and son Kim Jong Il looming overhead, Mun hands visitors a large guest book filled with pages of messages scrawled in many languages. Please write your impression of the hospital, he says smiling, handing over a pen. —AP

MANILA: This photo taken on June 5, 2013, shows children playing dice, using freshly-made charcoals as their bets at an unregulated charcoal factory locally known as “Ulingan” in the slums of Manila. —AFP photos

Blackened lives in Philippine charcoal field MANILA: A sinewy man covered in thick soot stands in a grey cloud of smoke, watching over a slow-burning pile of wood that sustains his life but may also eventually kill him.

Nearby, emaciated children with their bones visible through their skin bet over a game of dice using charcoal instead of money. More than 1,500 people live in this makeshift charcoal factory in one of the sprawling slums that dominate large chunks of the Philippine capital of Manila. They mine a neighboring garbage dump for scraps of wood, which they place into crude furnaces. After a week the charcoal is placed into sacks and hauled off to market.

While the country’s rich enjoy electricity and gas delivered into their homes, charcoal remains a vital source of fuel for the poor masses. The Philippines, for decades one of the Asia’s economic laggards, has attracted global attention for remarkable growth since President Benigno Aquino came to power in 2010. The stock market has hit record highs, credit agencies have upgraded the country’s risk ratings and new skyscrapers are being built with speed reminiscent of China’s construction boom. Yet that has done little to change a huge rich-poor divide that sees roughly a quarter of Manila’s 12 million people surviving on a dollar a day or less.

Nowhere can the chasm be felt as deeply as in Ulingan, the squatter community whose residents make their living from charcoal.

Among them is 34-year-old Rose Mingote, the creases in her tired face filled with black powder after a night of filling sacks. “I am not sure if I can bring a child into this kind of world,” says Mingote, who has been married for four years. “This is as good as it gets for me.” On a nearby broken bench that alternates as a sleeping space, a mother and her three children share a single plate of rice.

The youngest of the three stares blankly into the distance, with only a ripped tarpaulin providing shade. Everyone is forced to inhale the smoke that billows from the charcoal pits, turning the dire landscape into an eerie monochrome. Those who toil here risk contracting a range of health problems,

from respiratory illness to skin disease. Juan Villa, an outreach worker with local charity group Project Pearls, says asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer are major problems at Ulingan. Project Pearls has helped some of the slum dwellers relocate, but most are reluctant to go.

Despite the daily torture, making charcoal can return up to 2,000 pesos ($50) a week, providing a better existence than for many others in the slums. “To everyone else, this is

MANILA: This photo shows a boy sorting out freshly-made charcoal at an unregulated charcoal factory locally known as “Ulingan” in the slums of Manila. dirty, but to poor people like me, it’s our source of life,” says mother-of-three Madelyn Rosales, 33. “We’ve had different jobs and different homes but it’s only through working here that my children have been able to taste meat and hotdogs.” For gap-toothed 13-yearold Biboy Amores, money earned here goes to his education. “It’s hard but I need to pay for school,” he says. —AP

MANILA: This photo shows a worker and a child taking a rest at an unregulated charcoal factory locally known as “Ulingan” in the slums of Manila.

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Mumbai fights for ailing elephant’s life MUMBAI: An overworked and overweight Indian elephant called Bijlee is fighting for her life in Mumbai after collapsing in the street, sparking anguish among animal activists and Bollywood stars. Bijlee, aged 58 and weighing five tons, was found lying in pain in a northeastern suburb last week after decades of alleged overwork and neglect. Local reports said she was used by her owners to beg on the streets and entertain at weddings without a break for more than 50 years. On Tuesday, elephant specialist K.K. Sharma was flown in from northeastern India to treat Bijlee, and who now has helpers caring for her around the clock and a crane to help her stand up.

“Everybody shows their concerns but unfortunately the prospects are very bad,” Sharma told AFP. He said Bijlee, whose name means “lightning” in Hindi, is 1.5 tons overweight and suffering degenerative joint disease, but even a strict diet many not help much. Vets say Bijlee’s owners have been feeding her junk food for years, including popular Indian snacks such as the “vada pav”, a spicy potato pattie. Indian elephants’ usually live off grass and tree bark. “The damage has been done already. We’re trying to control the pain and supplement the vitamin deficiency, give fluid and strengthen her nerves and muscles.”

On Tuesday, the #savebijlee hashtag began trending on Twitter and she appeared on the the front page of Wednesday’s Mumbai Mirror. Bollywood’s veteran superstar Amitabh Bachchan is among those moved by her plight, posting pictures and appealing for help on his blog. “A compassionate appeal to all animal lovers,” he wrote on Twitter, asking them to support the “Animals Matter To Me” charity that is caring for Bijlee. Elephants are a common sight on the streets of many Indian cities although their movements are officially restricted in Mumbai, the country’s largest city. —AFP

EU fines Denmark’s Lundbeck 94m euros in generic drugs case

MUMBAI: An Indian vet give medical assistance to Bijlee, an elephant aged 58 and weighing five tones, lying inside the temporary shelter in Mumbai yesterday. —AFP

BRUSSELS: The EU executive yesterday imposed a fine of 93.8 million euros on Danish pharma firm Lundbeck for colluding with generics producers a decade ago to delay the sale of a cheap version of a popular antidepressant. The generics producers were also fined 52.2 million euros for breaching antitrust rules by agreeing in 2002 to delay the sale of generic versions of Lundbeck’s branded citalopram, a widely selling antidepressant. “It is unacceptable that a company pays off its competitors to stay out of its market and delay the entry of cheaper medicines,” said Joaquin Almunia, the EU’s Competition Commissioner.

“Agreements of this type directly harm patients and national health systems, which are already under tight budgetary constraints.

The Commission will not tolerate such anticompetitive practices”. The generics firms involved include notably Alpharma (now part of Zoetis), Merck KGaA/Generics UK (Generics UK is now part of Mylan), Arrow (now part of Actavis), and Ranbaxy. Citalopram, a blockbuster antidepressant, was Lundbeck’s bestselling product at the time. —AFP

W H AT ’ S O N

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

AUK graduates a new class 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

Announcement Issue of online visa

by Indian embassy oreigners requiring visas for India need to apply it online from 16th June 2013. Applicants may log on to the Public portal at www.indianvisaonline.gov.in. After successful online submission, the hard copy, so generated, has to be signed by the applicant and submitted with supporting documents in accordance with the type of visa along with the applicable fee in cash at any of the two outsource centres at Sharq or Fahaheel. It is essential that applicants fill in their personal details as exactly available in their passports. Mismatch of any of the personal details would lead to non-acceptance of the application. Fees once paid are non-refundable.

All children would have to obtain separate visa on their respective passports.

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Indian Embassy sets up helpline he Indian Embassy in Kuwait has set up helpline in order to assist Indian expatriates in registering any complaint regarding the government’s ongoing campaign to stamp out illegal residents from the country. The embassy said in press release yesterday that it amended its previous statement and stated if there is any complaint, the same could be conveyed at the following (as amended): Operations Department, Ministry of Interior, Kuwait. Fax: 22435580, Tel: 24768146/25200334. It said the embassy has been in regular contact with local authorities regarding the ongoing checking of expatriates. The embassy has also conveyed to them the concerns, fears and apprehensions of the community in this regard. The authorities in Kuwait have conveyed that strict instructions have been issued to ensure that there is no harassment or improper treatment of expatriates by those undertaking checking. “The embassy would like to request Indian expatriates to ensure that they abide by all local laws, rules and regulations regarding residency, traffic and other matters,” the release read. It would be prudent to always carry the Civil ID and other relevant documents such as driving license, etc. In case an Indian expatriate encounters any improper treatment during checking, it may be conveyed immediately with full details and contact particulars to the embassy at the following phone number 67623639.

These contact details are exclusively for the abovementioned purpose only.

T

IMAX IMAX film program Thursday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 5:30pm, 8:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 11:30am Tornado Alley 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm, 9:30pm To The Arctic 3D 6:30pm Friday: Fires of Kuwait 2:30pm Tornado Alley 3D 3:30pm, 5:30pm, 8:30pm To The Arctic 3D 4:30pm, 7:30pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 6:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 9:30pm Saturday: ** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 1:30pm, 8:30pm Tornado Alley 3D 11:30am, 2:30pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm, 9:30pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 6:30pm Born to be Wild 3D 3:30pm Journey to Mecca 4:30pm Notes: All films are in Arabic. For English, headsets are available upon request.

“Fires of Kuwait” is in English. Arabic headsets are available upon request.

Film schedule is subject to changes without notice.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

“M

y message to you today is a simple one. Have a plan for your life, but be alert to new opportunities as they arise and be open to altering your path. And then, most importantly, be mindful that your successes are seldom, if ever, solely your own. Be aware of the role that others play in your success, and thank them. And, be sure to call your parents,” said the American University of Kuwait (AUK)Interim President and Provost, Dr Nizar Hamzeh in the AUK 2013 Commencement Ceremony held on June 13th at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds (KIF).

The ceremony, which celebrated the graduation of 350students,was attended by the AUK Chair of the Board of Trustees Shaikha Dana N Al-Sabah, board members, parents and families, and numerous dignitaries and diplomats.

The keynote address of the commencement was delivered

by Dr Dale F Eickelman, Ralph & Richard Lazarus Professor of Anthropology & Human Relations, Chair of the Department of Anthropology at Dartmouth College, and Dartmouth-AUK Program Relationship Coordinator.

After the Kuwait national anthem and a recitation of the Holy Quran, the event commenced with the student processional, long awaited by the parents and families. Led by the AUK President’s party, deans, and faculty members, the graduating class marched through the central aisleof the hall in a ceremonial atmosphere marking the official start of the event.

Delivering his opening speech to hundreds of students, parents, and guests, Interim President Hamzeh urged the

graduating class to use their education wisely, believe in the future, and pay gratitude to those who contributed to their success. “As you walk the stage out into the world, I hope you will carry forward the spirit of AUK and the liberal arts education you have received. The future is now in your hands,” Said Dr. Hamzeh “For our faculty and staff, this is a day of accomplishment, of knowing you have mentored tomorrow’s leaders. And we thank you for your hard work and dedication.”

The keynote speaker, Dr Eickelman, was next invited to the podium, where he spoke to the graduating class about the value of liberal arts education, referring to the historical background of the liberal arts philosophy that contributed to America’s “unprecedented growth and expansion” in the early 20th century. “In a like manner to the US, Kuwait entered a period of massive and rapid growthincluding in education-since the mid-20th century.

Training in the liberal arts and critical thinking, analyzing the unexpected and assessing alternative solutions, offers a critical edge in thinking and acting in both local and global environments,” said Dr Dr Eickelman.

Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Carol Ross-Scott then introduced the Class of 2013 Valedictorians, Huda AlRashid and Nada El-Badry who have earned a cumulative grade point average of 4.0 Summa Cum Laude (with the greatest honor). On behalf of the valedictorians and the Class of 2013, Al-Rashid delivered a speech calling on her fellow graduates to be “altruistically compassionate,” to “treasure the gift of knowledge,” and to use it “for passion-

ate innovation and enthusiastic development.”

The event proceeded with the main highlight of the ceremony, where the graduates walked on stage to receive their degrees, greeted with cheers and applause of families and friends. Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dr Rawda Awwad recommended the conferral of degrees for the graduates of the College of Arts & Sciences, while Dean of the College of Business and Economics, Dr Doug Munro recommended the conferral of degrees for the graduates of the College of Business and Economy, to Interim President Hamzeh, who then conferred upon the 350 graduates their respective degrees. Graduates were then awarded their bachelor’s degree diplomas by Dr Hamzeh, Dr Doug Munro and Dr Rawda Awwad.

In keeping with the academic tradition, the graduates were then asked to move their tassels from right to left, thereby marking their official graduation from AUK. As the ceremony drew to a close, the graduating class celebrated the traditional cutting of the Class of 2013 cake, and took photos with their families and friends.

The AUK 2013Commencement coincides with important milestones in the history of AUK as it overlaps with the 10th Anniversary of AUK and the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding between AUK and Dartmouth College, the USA affiliate of AUK. Building on its academic excellence and leadership, the American University of Kuwait has introduced academic expansion plans for the year 2013-2014, including the initiation of an academic degree in Electronic Engineering.

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Yusuf A Alghanim Automotive sponsors Kuwaiti Camaro Club contest

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait.

Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcccom for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

I

n an effort to strengthen the relationship with the youth, Yusuf A Alghanim Automotive sponsored the Kuwaiti Camaro Club’s ‘Best Looking Camaro’ contest on Thursday (13, June 2013) at the Historical, Vintage & Classic Cars Museum in Shuwaikh. The Kuwaiti Camaro Club displayed a range of Camaros at the contest where the audience voted on the ‘Best Looking Camaro’ (based on design and added accessories) in each of the following categories: • 1st generation Camaro (1966-1969) • 4th generation Camaro (1993-2002) • 5th generation Camaro RS (2010- present) • 5th generation Camaro SS (2010- present) • Modified Camaro Yusuf A Alghanim Automotive awarded the 5 wining Camaro owners in each category with certificates and vouchers from Alghanim Automotive Service Center. The event attracted many Camaro and sports car enthusiasts in Kuwait who were excited to be part of this fun and thrilling contest.

The contest created a great platform Yusuf A. Alghanim Automotive to present

the new 2013 Camaro ZL1 to the youth market and true Camaro fans across Kuwait.

Apart from having a long and rich history, the Chevrolet Camaro has been the ultimate drive that won over the hearts of thrill-seeking youth ever since it was introduced back in 2010. The Chevrolet Camaro is equipped with three engines: a V8, 6.2liter engine that has a massive 426 hp,, a V6, 3.6-liter engine with an impressive 323 hp. And the latest addition is the 580horsepower Camaro ZL1 which is the fastest Camaro ever built. The ZL1 is equipped with a 6.2L supercharged V8 engine and 556 lb.-ft. of torque, this Camaro goes beyond raw power. The Camaro ZL1 performance and precision is supported with a Magnetic Ride Control, world-class braking and 4-wheel independent suspension. The Camaro ZL1 is the kind of vehicle that engineers dream of designing and speed lovers crave to drive.

Apart from providing the youth with their dream car, Alghanim Automotive goes beyond a driver’s experience on the road with its quality maintenance options and competitive prices on spare parts, all

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of that is provided by a team of professional and skilled team members and technicians. An element that further enhances customers’ peace of mind is Alghanim Automotive’s service center that is distinguished by its continuous and successful efforts in providing the highest quality of services that have set an interna-

tional standard. The largest in the world, the service center is equipped with a large variety of the most advanced equipment operated by a team of skilled professionals and effective consultants who ensure timely service.

Movenpick Hotel Kuwait celebrates the Go Healthy Menu

A

s the world becomes more conscious about health and the environment, making the right choices has become a priority for most. In response, our culinary team at Movenpick Hotel Kuwait has combined all that’s good about going green, healthy and sustainable in one delicious program “Go Healthy”.

At MovenpickHotel Kuwait, we use the finest selection of seasonal fruits, fresh-cut vegetables, and superb kinds of sea-fruits from the Arabian Gulf in addi-

tion to dairies delivered from trustworthy private farms, all to provide splendid healthy meals and support the sustainability of the local market. From the chef special Caesar salad and the Pepper Crusted Salmon Steaks to the Aromatic Rice Pudding with Pistachio, all are definite must tries.

“Go healthy” dishes are available seven days a week during the operating hours at Bays restaurant for lunch and dinner.

KKMA to hold DDA training, awareness program Friday

K

uwait Kerala Muslim Association (KKMA), a leading social welfare organization of Indian nationals in Kuwait, will conduct a Defensive Driving Awareness (DDA) Training and Awareness Program on Friday, ( June 21, 2013) at Indian Community School, Salmiya (Senior).

Addressing a press conference, KKMA officebearers, said the program would be held as part of KKMA’s skill development programs for its members and well wishers. “It is a community outreach program by KKMA organized in association with American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Kuwait Chapter to provide local drivers sensible advice for choosing safe, responsible, and lawful driving behaviors and habits.”

The program will be conducted in two parts. A defensive driving awareness training program held earlier in the afternoon will be attended by nearly 200 expatriate drivers working at local companies and households who already have registered for the program. The organization will continue organizing similar free of cost program in

coming days.

The second part of the program is a Public Awareness Seminar on Defensive Driving, Causes and Costs. The event will begin at 7 pm in which Indian ambassador Satish C Mehta, Major Abdul Fattah Al Ali, Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs of Kuwait along with subject experts will participate.

KKMA chairman Sageer Trikarpur, Vice chairmen Akbar Siddique and NA Muneer, President Abdul Fathah Thayyil, general secretary K Basheer, treasurer Sayed Rafeeque, working presidents Ibrahim Kunnil, A P Abdul Salam and Iqbal B M and organizing secretary Hamza Payyanur, admin secretary KC Rafeeque and vice president for skill development SM Basheer attended the press meet.

American Society of Safety Engineers - Kuwait Chapter is a non-profit organization of professionals committed to the advancement of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) practices among the Industrial sectors and social groups in Kuwait.

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-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah.

Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca.

The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF US Parents of Kuwaiti citizen children may drop off their sons’ and daughters’ visa applications - completely free of an interview or a trip inside the Embassy. The children must be under 14 years of age, and additional requirements do apply, but the service means parents will no longer have to schedule individual appointments for their children, nor come inside the Embassy (unless they are applying for themselves). The service is only available for children holding Kuwaiti passports. To take advantage, parents must drop off the following documents: Child Visa Drop-off cover sheet, available on the Embassy website (http://kuwait.usembassy.gov/child_visas.htm) - Child’s passport; The Child’s previous passport, if it contains a valid US visa; 5x5cm photo of child with eyes open (if uploaded into DS160, photos must be a .jpg between 600x600 and 1200x1200 pixels, less than 240kb, and cannot be digitally altered); A completed DS160 form; Visa Fee Receipt from Burgan Bank; A copy of the valid visa of at least one parent. If one parent will not travel, provide a visa copy for the traveling parent, and a passport copy from the non-traveling parent with a letter stating no objection to the child’s travel. - For children of students (F2): a copy of the child’s I20.

Children born in the US (with very few exceptions) are US citizens and would not be eligible for a visa. Parents may drop off the application packet at Window 2 at the Embassy from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, Monday to Wednesday, excluding holidays. More information is available on the U.S. Embassy website: kuwait.usembassy.gov/child_visas.html nnnnnnn

EMBASSY GREECE The Embassy of Greece in Kuwait has the pleasure to announce that visa applications must be submitted to Schengen Visa Application Centre (VFS office) located at 12th floor, Al-Naser Tower, Fahad Al-Salem Street, AlQibla area, Kuwait City, (Parking at Souk Watia). For information please call 22281046 from 08:30 to 17:00 (Sunday to Thursday). Working hours: Submission from 08:30 to 15:30. Passport collection from 16:00 to 17:00. For visa applications please visit the following website www.mfa.gr/kuwait. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF VATICAN The Apostolic Nunciature Embassy of the Holy See, Vatican in Kuwait has moved to a new location in Kuwait City.

Please find below the new address: Yarmouk, Block 1, Street 2, Villa No: 1. P.O.Box 29724, Safat 13158, Kuwait. Tel: 965 25337767, Fax: 965 25342066.

Email: nuntiuskuwait@gmail.com

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THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

14:35 15:05 15:30 16:00 16:55 17:50 18:45 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:25 23:20 00:15 01:10

Border Security Auction Hunters Auction Kings Fast N’ Loud Yukon Men: Last Chance Mythbusters Sons Of Guns Industrial Junkie How It’s Made Auction Hunters Storage Hunters Sons Of Guns Amish Mafia Hellriders Sons Of Guns Amish Mafia

14:50 15:45 16:40 17:35 18:00 18:25 19:20 20:10 21:05 22:00 22:55 23:50 00:45 01:10 01:35

Combat Countdown Clash Of The Dinosaurs Great Planes Mystery Cars Mystery Cars I Shouldn’t Be Alive American Car Prospector Living With The Kombai Tribe Why Ancient Egypt Fell American Car Prospector Legend Detectives Most Evil Mystery Cars Mystery Cars American Car Prospector

14:20 14:45 15:10 16:00 16:55 17:45 18:35 19:00 19:30 19:55 20:20 21:10 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:40 00:05 00:30

Food Factory Food Factory Thunder Races Nextworld Mega World Joao Magueijo’s Big Bang The Gadget Show The Tech Show Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger Finding Bigfoot Food Factory Food Factory Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger The Science Of Fear And Lust Food Factory Food Factory How Do They Do It?

14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 22:30

Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Storage Wars Ax Men Pawn Stars Storage Wars Ancient Aliens Counting Cars Counting Cars

14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00 01:00 02:00

C.S.I. Glee Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show C.S.I. Switched At Birth Fairly Legal Suits The Hollow Crown Greek Glee The Hollow Crown Switched At Birth

03:00 Ben And Kate 03:30 The Simpsons 04:00 Seinfeld 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Two And A Half Men 06:00 All Of Us 06:30 Til Death 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Seinfeld 08:30 Two And A Half Men 09:00 Ben And Kate 09:30 Modern Family 10:00 The Mindy Project 10:30 Til Death 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 All Of Us 12:30 Seinfeld 13:00 Two And A Half Men 13:30 Til Death 14:00 The Simpsons 14:30 The Mindy Project 15:00 Modern Family 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 All Of Us 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 New Girl 18:30 Family Tools 19:00 Community 19:30 Parks And Recreation 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The League 22:30 Entourage 23:00 The Ricky Gervais Show 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The League 02:00 Entourage 02:30 The Ricky Gervais Show

05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:25 11:50 12:15 12:35 13:00 13:25 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:10 16:35 17:00 17:20 17:45 18:10 18:30 18:55 19:20 19:40 20:05 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:00 22:25 22:50

Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Prankstars Suite Life On Deck Shake It Up A.N.T Farm Jessie Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Doc McStuffins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse A.N.T Farm A.N.T Farm Jessie Jessie Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Shake It Up Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm Jessie Shake It Up Suite Life On Deck Gravity Falls Good Luck Charlie Jessie Shake It Up A.N.T. Farm Austin And Ally Gravity Falls Suite Life On Deck Good Luck Charlie That’s So Raven Austin And Ally Jessie Gravity Falls A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Suite Life On Deck Austin And Ally That’s So Raven Shake It Up A.N.T. Farm Austin And Ally

23:10 23:35 00:00 00:20 00:45 01:05 01:30 01:50 02:15 02:35

Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Hannah Montana Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Replacements Replacements

14:30 15:00 York 16:00 York 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:30 23:30 00:00 00:55 01:25

Style Star Kourtney & Kim Take New Kourtney & Kim Take New Ice Loves Coco What Would Ryan Lochte Do? E! News THS Kourtney And Kim Take Miami Married To Jonas Fashion Police E! News Chelsea Lately Opening Act Style Star E!es

03:05 Coastal Kitchen 03:30 Food Poker 04:15 Bargain Hunt 05:00 To Build Or Not To Build?

05:25 To Build Or Not To Build?

05:50 Cash In The Attic 06:35 Coastal Kitchen 07:00 Food Poker 07:45 Planet Cake 08:15 Phil Spencer - Secret Agent 09:05 Bargain Hunt 09:50 Antiques Roadshow 10:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 11:25 MasterChef Australia 11:50 Food & Drink 12:15 Come Dine With Me 13:05 Planet Cake 13:30 New Scandinavian Cooking With Claus Meyer 13:55 Bargain Hunt 14:40 Cash In The Attic 15:25 Antiques Roadshow 16:15 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 17:00 Phil Spencer - Secret Agent 17:55 The Good Cook 18:25 The Roux Legacy 19:00 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 19:25 New Scandinavian Cooking With Claus Meyer 19:50 Come Dine With Me 20:35 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Phil Spencer - Secret Agent 23:55 Food Poker 00:40 Come Dine With Me

03:00 Unique Sweets 03:25 Food Wars 03:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:15 Unique Eats 04:40 Chopped 05:30 Iron Chef America 06:10 Food Network Challenge 07:00 Guy’s Big Bite 07:25 Guy’s Big Bite 07:50 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 08:15 Unique Sweets 08:40 United Tastes Of America 09:05 Barefoot Contessa 09:30 Food Network Challenge 10:20 Extra Virgin 10:45 Kid In A Candy Store 11:10 Charly’s Cake Angels 11:35 Unique Sweets 12:00 Amazing Wedding Cakes 12:50 Have Cake, Will Travel 13:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To

Basics 13:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:05 Food Wars 14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 14:55 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 15:20 Guy’s Big Bite 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Food Wars 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:40 Charly’s Cake Angels 19:05 Unique Sweets 19:30 Amazing Wedding Cakes 20:20 Chopped 21:10 Chopped 22:00 Food Network Challenge 22:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:40 Food Wars 00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:55 Unwrapped 01:20 Unwrapped 01:45 Food Network Challenge

03:00 The Muppets-PG 04:45 The Way-PG15 07:00 Flicka 3-FAM 09:00 New Year’s Eve-PG15 11:00 Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows-PG15 13:15 Outlaw Country-PG15 15:00 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island-PG 17:00 New Year’s Eve-PG15 19:00 Safe House-PG15 21:00 Prometheus-PG15 23:15 Cedar Rapids-18 01:00 Ondine-PG15

07:00 The Winning Season-PG15 09:00 John Carter-PG15 11:15 This Means War-PG15 13:00 A Dog Named Duke-PG15 14:45 The Way-PG15 17:00 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close-PG 19:15 How I Spent My Summer Vacation-PG15 21:00 Powder Blue-18 23:00 Wanderlust-R 01:00 How I Spent My Summer Vacation-PG15

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 00:00 02:00

Flypaper-PG15 Every Jack Has A Jill-PG15 People Like Us-PG15 A Thousand Words-PG15 Flypaper-PG15 Treasure Buddies-PG People Like Us-PG15 The Makeover-PG15 Seeking Justice-PG15 Peacock-18 Failure To Launch-PG15 People Like Us-PG15

04:00 The Man Inside-PG15 06:00 Iron Sky-PG15 08:00 Mission To Mars-PG15 10:00 X-Men: First Class-PG15 12:15 True Justice: One Shot, One Life-PG15 14:00 Mission To Mars-PG15 16:00 Superman vs. The Elite-PG15 18:00 True Justice: One Shot, One Life-PG15 20:00 Saving Private Ryan-18 23:00 Scream Of The Banshee-18 01:00 Saving Private Ryan-18

08:00 Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol-PG15 10:00 Good Boy!-PG 12:00 The Wish List-PG15 14:00 Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach-PG15 16:00 Good Boy!-PG 18:00 Turner & Hooch-PG15 20:00 Detention-18 22:00 Spread-R 00:00 Venus And Vegas-PG15 02:00 Detention-18

09:45 11:30 13:30 15:15 17:15 19:15 21:15 23:00 01:15

Cinderella PT 1-PG15 Cinderella PT 2-PG15 Page Eight-PG15 I’ve Loved You So Long-PG15 Dolphin Tale-PG The Terminal-PG15 Mad Bastards-18 7 Days In Havana-18 Coriolanus-PG15

00:30 International Rugby League 02:30 NRL Full Time 03:00 IRB Junior World Championship 05:00 IRB Junior World Championship 07:00 Trans World Sport 08:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 08:30 Inside The PGA Tour 09:00 International Rugby Union 11:00 AFL Highlights 12:00 NRL Full Time 12:30 ATP Tennis 14:30 Inside The PGA Tour 15:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 15:30 Live PGA European Tour 19:30 AFL Highlights 20:30 Futbol Mundial 21:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 21:30 Inside The PGA Tour

ONDINE ON OSN MOVIES HD

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Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial NRL Full Time ATP Tennis AFL Premiership Highlights European Tour Weekly Inside The PGA Tour Trans World Sport Super Rugby Highlights

08:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 19:00 20:00 22:00

UK Open Darts IRB Junior Championship IRB Junior Championship Futbol Mundial NRL Full Time International Rugby Union WWE NXT ATP Tennis Trans World Sport

00:00 NRL Full Time 00:30 ICC Cricket 360 01:00 European Senior Tour Highlights 02:00 Asian Tour Highlights 03:00 Ladies European Tour Highlights 04:00 World Pool Masters 05:00 World Cup Of Pool 06:00 Trans World Sport 07:00 Asian Tour Highlights 08:00 Golfing World 09:00 NRL Full Time 09:30 ICC Cricket 360 10:00 Asian Tour Golf Show 10:30 Asian Tour Highlights 11:30 Total Rugby 12:00 World Pool Masters 13:00 World Cup Of Pool 14:00 Super League 16:00 Trans World Sport 17:00 International Rugby Union 19:00 International Rugby Union 21:00 Golfing World 22:00 UK Open Darts

00:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:30 17:30 18:30 19:00 20:00 22:00

NHL Motor Sports 2013 Mass Participation Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing NHL WWE Smackdown Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing NHL WWE Vintage Collection WWE Bottom Line Motor Sports 2013 Motor Sports 2013 UIM Powerboat Champs UIM Powerboat Champs Mass Participation UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC Prelims UFC

H

WANDERLUST

ollywood’s gamble on a crowded summer movie season chockablock with pricey tentpoles is paying off, with the box office running 12.7 percent ahead of last summer and on track to possibly break the all time summer record. That $4.4 billion record was set in 2011; last summer the box office dipped back down to $4.29 billion. If the box office continues on this torrid pace, this summer will easily top last year.

Last month was the biggest ever at the box office, and June is tracking to be record-breaker, too, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. “Man of Steel” debuted to $128 million last weekend for the biggest June opening ever, and this weekend, with Disney’s “Monsters University” and Paramount’s “World War Z” opening and “Man of Steel” returning, could be the year’s biggest so far.

Before the season began, studio executives expressed concerns that the summer schedule was too crowded with pricey tentpoles. But those concerns have so far proved unfounded: The booming box-office numbers say moviegoers are welcoming the more-is-better approach. With a crowded end of summer looming, the question now is how many big movies can thrive in the popcorn movie season. “If things keep going, it’s going to be a record, and this will be how summers are going to look for the next few years, with a ton of big-budget franchise movies,” Exhibitor Relations vice-president and senior analyst Jeff Bock told The Wrap. “Moviegoers are telling the studios what they want, and they’re going to give it to them.”

Indeed, Sony on Monday announced 2015 and 2016 dates for the third and fourth Spider-Man movies on Monday. Disney had “Avengers 2” next year and has dated Marvel projects in May on 2016 and 2017. It has also set dates for several major animation projects from its own animation unit and Pixar, as has Fox with its DreamWorks Animation and Blue Sky Studios projects.

There are 20 movies with production budgets around $100 million or above this summer, compared to 14 last year. The rest of this summer’s box-office season is just as jammed as the front half.

The summer got off to a robust start with the $175 million opening of Disney’s “Iron Man 3’ on the first weekend in May. “Iron Man 3” remains the highestgrossing movie of the season - and year - with more than $400 million domestically. That’s nearly double the take of the summer’s No 2 and 3 movies, “Fast & Furious 6” ($219 million) and Paramount’s “Star Trek Into Darkness” ($211 million).

But this summer is a departure from last summer, when superhero movies “The Avengers,” “Dark Knight Rises” and “The Amazing Spider-Man” went 1-2-3 and left little room in market for other fare. There’s not just

ON OSN CINEMA

more diversity in terms of subject matter this year, there’s more overall depth.

Last year at this time, four summer movies had hit the $100 million mark at the domestic box office. This year, six have done it already and a seventh will soon.

Besides the top three, the biggest movies of the summer so far are Warner Bros.’ “The Great Gatsby” ($140 million), “Man of Steel” ($128 million) and “The Hangover Part III” ($108 million). Fox’s animated kids film “Epic” is at $96 million.

“I think moviegoing can create more moviegoing, because people come back to work Monday and talk about what they’ve seen and get other people excited,” Bock said, “and that ends up helping the overall market.”

He said a weekend with two, or possibly three, new wide releases is idea in terms of fostering business.

“When you get people talking and thinking about movies, they take note of some films that they normally might not. Both ‘The Purge’ and ‘Now You See Me,’ for example, both benefited from being something different in the market.”

The box-office smashups that some feared due to the crowded slates haven’t materialized, at least not yet.

“Hangover III” underwhelmed domestically but Sony’s $130 million Will and Jaden Smith sci-fi adventure “After Earth” has been the season’s only real dud so far. But the market can only expand so much, and the rest of summer looks as if it will test those limits. August in particular looks jammed, with 15 wide releases scheduled on the last four weekends.

“They’ve gotten away with it so far,” Bock said,” but at some point it’s just too many movies.” While this year is especially crowded, studios typically jam their biggestbudget releases, particularly superhero and franchise movies that skew young, into the summer when kids are out of school, the weather is good and there is a history of successful launches. At some point, Bock said, Hollywood is going to have to look at releasing some of these big-budget franchise movies in April or September. “They may not want to do it, and it would be a risk, but at some point things will get so crowded that if you don’t expand the summer, you’ll be making bombs,” he said. — Reuters

Classifieds THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1 WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) SHARQIA-2 THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG-3D) MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG-3D) MAN OF STEEL (DIG-3D) MAN OF STEEL (DIG-3D) MAN OF STEEL (DIG-3D) SHARQIA-3 TATTAH (DIG) SCENARIO (DIG) TATTAH (DIG) SCENARIO (DIG) TATTAH (DIG)

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MUHALAB-3 MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG-3D) THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG-3D) TATTAH (DIG) TATTAH (DIG) FANAR-1 WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) FANAR-2 MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG)

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KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (20/06/2013 TO 26/06/2013) MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG) MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG) SCENARIO (DIG) SCENARIO (DIG) TATTAH (DIG)

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FANAR-3 LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) NOW YOU SEE ME (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG)

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MARINA-1 LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) SCENARIO (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) SCENARIO (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) SCENARIO (DIG)

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MARINA-2 WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) MAN OF STEEL (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) MAN OF STEEL (DIG) NO SUN+ TUE+WED

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SCENARIO (DIG) SCENARIO (DIG)

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AVENUES-3 WORLD WAR Z (DIG-3D) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG-3D) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG)

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360ยบ- 1 WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG) WORLD WAR Z (DIG)

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360ยบ- 3 THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) WORLD WAR Z (DIG-3D) WORLD WAR Z (DIG-3D) WORLD WAR Z (DIG-3D)

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AL-KOUT.1 MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG-3D) MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG-3D) MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG-3D) WORLD WAR Z (DIG-3D) WORLD WAR Z (DIG-3D) WORLD WAR Z (DIG-3D)

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MARINA-3 THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG-3D) THE LEGEND OF SARILA (DIG-3D) MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DIG-3D) TATTAH (DIG) TATTAH (DIG) TATTAH (DIG)

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AVENUES-1 LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG) LAY THE FAVORITE (DIG)

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Prayer timings

MATRIMONIAL Invited for a Roman Catholic girl, 25/155cm, BSc Nurse working in Kuwait, ( Thrissur Dist.) proposals from God fearing, suitably educated and employed boys. Email: lindatp7@gmail.com (C 4444) 18-6-2013

Fajr:

03:13

Shorook

04:48

Duhr:

11:49

Asr:

15:23

Maghrib:

18:50

Isha:

20:23

Inviting marriage proposal for Tamil Christian girl age 30, working in Kuwait, qualifications B.P.T + M Sc (UK).

Contact Email:

No: 15845

proposal.groom2013@gmail.com (C 4441)

12-6-2013

CHANGE OF NAME I, NSE OKON AKPAN holder of Nigerian passport Number A01448202 do hereby change my name to NSE SAMUEL KASALI. 18-6-2013 I, Kamasani Damodaram holder of Indian passport No. E6147415 issued at Hyderabad on 26-08-2003, I wish to change my name Kamasani Damodar Reddy.

(C 4443) 15-6-2013

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines BBC QTR RJA SAI JZR JZR THY ETH GFA UAE ETD THY FDB RJA RBG MSR QTR THY DHX FDB BAW JZR JZR JZR KAC KAC FDB UAE IRA IZG ABY QTR IRA FDB ETD SYR GFA MEA MSC UAE MSR THY KAC KAC JZR JZR JZR JZR UAE KAC KAC KAC KAC KNE QTR FDB ABY SVA KNE OMA KNE NIA RJA QTR

Arrival Flights on Thursday 20/6/2013 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 148 DOHA 644 AMMAN 441 LAHORE 539 CAIRO 267 BEIRUT 764 SABIHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI 768 ISTANBUL 67 DUBAI 642 AMMAN 555 ALEXANDRIA 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 157 LONDON 1541 CAIRO 555 ALEXANDRIA 529 ASSIUT 412 MANILA 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 855 DUBAI 605 ISFAHAN 4161 MASHAD 125 SHARJAH 132 DOHA 617 AHWAZ 55 DUBAI 301 ABU DHABI 341 DAMASCUS 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 403 ASSIUT 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 766 ISTANBUL 362 COLOMBO 332 TRIVANDRUM 561 SOHAG 165 DUBAI 241 AMMAN 503 LUXOR 4987 DUBAI 382 DELHI 302 MUMBAI 284 DHAKA 352 COCHIN 480 TAIF 140 DOHA 57 DUBAI 121 SHARJAH 500 JEDDAH 472 JEDDAH 645 MUSCAT 470 JEDDAH 251 ALEXANDRIA 640 AMMAN 134 DOHA

Time 00:05 00:05 00:30 01:30 00:40 00:20 01:40 01:45 01:55 02:25 02:30 02:50 03:10 03:10 03:15 03:15 03:30 04:35 05:10 05:50 06:30 06:25 06:20 06:40 06:15 07:25 07:45 08:25 08:40 08:45 08:50 09:00 09:10 09:15 09:30 10:10 10:40 10:55 12:40 12:45 13:00 13:10 08:45 07:55 12:20 11:35 12:35 07:40 10:35 07:30 07:50 08:15 08:05 13:20 13:45 13:50 14:25 14:30 14:35 14:40 15:05 15:50 15:55 16:15

ETD UAE ABY UAL GFA SVA TAR QTR FDB GFA AXB JAI KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR JZR JZR JZR JZR JZR JZR RBG OMA FDB ABY RBG KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR JZR JZR JZR JZR MEA AFG MSC MSR KNE MSC ALK UAE ETD QTR GFA QTR JAI THY FDB AIC UAL DLH JAI MSR KLM THY FDB

303 857 127 982 215 510 327 144 63 219 393 572 672 774 542 674 614 502 118 618 787 177 777 535 125 257 269 553 647 61 129 557 546 786 788 104 562 176 239 185 135 513 189 402 415 405 618 474 401 229 859 307 136 217 146 576 6512 59 981 981 636 574 614 411 772 8053

ABU DHABI DUBAI SHARJAH WASHINGTON DC DULLES BAHRAIN RIYADH TUNIS DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN KOZHIKODE MUMBAI DUBAI RIYADH CAIRO DUBAI BAHRAIN BEIRUT NEW YORK DOHA RIYADH DUBAI JEDDAH CAIRO BAHRAIN BEIRUT BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA MUSCAT DUBAI SHARJAH ALEXANDRIA ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH JEDDAH LONDON AMMAN GENEVA AMMAN DUBAI BAHRAIN SHARM EL SHEIKH DUBAI BEIRUT KABUL SOHAG ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA COLOMBO DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA BAHRAIN DOHA COCHIN ISTANBUL DUBAI CHENNAI BAHRAIN FRANKFURT MUMBAI CAIRO AMSTERDAM ISTANBUL DUBAI

16:35 16:55 17:10 17:15 17:20 17:20 18:00 18:25 18:55 19:05 19:15 19:35 13:40 19:25 18:15 19:25 19:35 18:50 16:00 19:10 16:15 17:30 17:50 16:10 16:25 14:30 19:15 19:40 20:00 20:00 20:05 18:20 14:15 18:30 15:00 18:45 14:40 17:45 22:30 22:40 23:00 23:20 20:10 20:15 20:20 20:25 20:30 20:50 21:00 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:45 22:00 22:05 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:40 23:10 23:20 23:30 23:40 23:45 21:30

Airlines AIC AXB JAI UAL DLH MSR BBC JZR THY SAI THY ETH RJA THY UAE FDB RBG MSR ETD QTR QTR JZR FDB RJA GFA THY JZR KAC JZR BAW FDB JZR JZR KAC KAC ABY KAC IRA IZG UAE FDB QTR IRA ETD KAC SYR KAC UAE GFA KAC KAC MEA JZR JZR KAC JZR JZR JZR MSC MSR THY KNE UAE FDB

Departure Flights on Thursday 20/6/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA/CHENNAI 490 MANGALORE 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 44 DHAKA 502 LUXOR 773 ISTANBUL 442 LAHORE 765 ISTANBUL 621 ADDIS ABABA 645 AMMAN 769 ISTANBUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 556 ALEXANDRIA 613 CAIRO 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 70 DUBAI 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 240 AMMAN 545 ALEXANDRIA 164 DUBAI 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 534 CAIRO 561 AMMAN 671 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 787 JEDDAH 606 MASHHAD 4162 MASHHAD 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 133 DOHA 616 AHWAZ 302 ABU DHABI 101 LONDON 342 DAMASCUS 501 BEIRUT 4987 BEIRUT 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 405 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 786 RIYADH 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 124 BAHRAIN 268 BEIRUT 406 SOHAG 611 CAIRO 767 ISTANBUL 481 TAIF 872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:15 00:20 00:25 00:30 00:30 01:30 01:30 02:20 02:30 02:40 02:45 03:05 03:40 03:45 03:50 03:55 04:15 04:20 04:25 05:15 05:55 06:30 06:35 07:00 07:10 07:10 07:20 07:25 08:25 08:25 08:50 09:10 09:25 09:25 09:30 09:35 09:40 09:45 09:50 09:55 10:00 10:10 10:15 10:25 11:10 11:10 11:20 11:25 11:30 11:45 11:55 12:25 12:50 13:00 13:20 13:30 13:35 13:40 14:00 14:10 14:10 14:15 14:30

QTR ABY KAC KNE OMA KAC KAC JZR KNE SVA KAC NIA RJA JZR JZR QTR ETD JZR ABY UAE GFA SVA JZR UAL JZR TAR RBG QTR FDB GFA JZR AXB KAC RBG JAI FDB ABY KAC KAC OMA KAC MEA AFG MSC MSR KAC KNE DHX MSC FDB ETD ALK UAE QTR KAC GFA FDB KAC QTR JAI JZR JZR KAC KAC JZR

141 122 673 473 646 617 773 188 471 505 613 252 641 238 512 135 304 538 128 858 216 511 184 982 266 328 558 145 64 220 134 394 283 554 571 62 120 331 343 648 351 403 415 404 619 543 475 171 402 8054 308 230 860 137 301 218 60 205 147 575 554 1540 411 415 528

DOHA SHARJAH DUBAI JEDDAH MUSCAT DOHA RIYADH DUBAI JEDDAH JEDDAH BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA AMMAN AMMAN SHARM EL SHEIKH DOHA ABU DHABI CAIRO SHARJAH DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH DUBAI BAHRAIN BEIRUT TUNIS ALEXANDRIA DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN KOZHIKODE DHAKA ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH TRIVANDRUM CHENNAI MUSCAT KOCHI BEIRUT JEDDAH ASSIUT ALEXANDRIA CAIRO JEDDAH BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA DUBAI ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA MUMBAI BAHRAIN DUBAI ISLAMABAD DOHA ABU DHABI ALEXANDRIA CAIRO BANGKOK KUALA LUMPUR ASSIUT

14:55 15:05 15:05 15:30 15:40 15:45 16:00 16:00 16:00 16:00 16:35 16:50 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:20 17:20 17:40 17:50 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:30 18:30 18:40 18:50 19:00 19:25 19:35 19:50 20:05 20:15 20:15 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:45 20:50 20:55 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:20 21:25 21:30 21:30 21:45 21:50 22:00 22:10 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:05 23:20 23:25 23:40 23:50 23:55

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 226

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) ARIES These next years are ones in which you should plan to work hard to bring out and give shape to the ideas you have had recently. You are beginning to really move forward now and can expect rewards. There is an increase in self-confidence. A growing sense of direction and self-worth will find you reaching out and establishing yourself.

You have plenty of enthusiasm and warm up to things and people quickly. You have an inner self-confidence that is obvious but very positive and contagious. Lovers, children and other people or things dear to your heart are emphasized this evening. Eat foods high in fiber to avoid water retention and a clogged body. This also brings to mind that it would be good to exercise in some forward-moving activity.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Work, school or just life in general is a bit more relaxed today. You are gregarious, even to the point of bringing out the performer in others. You somehow always manage to find a creative environment or the creative in any environment. You are great with kids and big on animals, sports and the out-of-doors. You are an instant umbrella of warmth, friendship and self-expression. This afternoon will present opportunities for group sports. Your friends, partners and relationships mean a lot to you. They are a primary source of strength and you always look to them for support and encouragement.

You are indeed a social being and will happily weave this fact into your lifestyle. A variety of entertainment choices will be tempting you.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. A unit of pressure.

4. Resistor for regulating current.

12. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

15. The cry made by sheep.

16. The range within which a voice can be heard.

17. Step on it.

18. United States architect (born in England) (1802-1878).

19. Cook and make edible by putting in a hot oven.

21. A beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water.

22. A doctor's degree in education.

24. Small translucent lancet-shaped burrowing marine animal.

27. A car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money.

28. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.

35. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.

36. 1,000,000,000 periods per second.

37. A religious belief of African origin involving witchcraft and sorcery.

38. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

40. Obvious and dull.

43. The 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

44. (prefix) Opposite or opposing or neutralizing.

45. An interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open.

50. Worthy of high praise.

53. An isogram connecting points having equal barometric pressure at a given time.

55. A severe or trying experience.

56. A shop where a variety of goods are sold.

59. American dramatist (1928- ).

61. A translucent mineral consisting of hydrated silica of variable color.

64. An informal term for a father.

68. Thigh of a hog (usually smoked).

72. An anxiety disorder characterized by chronic free-floating anxiety and such symptoms as tension or sweating or trembling of light-headedness or irritability etc that has lasted for more than six months.

73. The use of nuclear magnetic resonance of protons to produce proton density images.

74. Any plant of the genus Alocasia having large showy basal leaves and boat-shaped spathe and reddish berries.

75. A benevolent aspect of Devi.

76. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet.

77. A long Turkish knife with a curved blade having a single edge.

78. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

DOWN 1. Lie adjacent to another.

2. A long thin piece of cloth or paper as used for binding or fastening.

3. Type genus of the Majidae.

4. Put a new heel on.

5. A bag used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women).

6. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

7. The ball-shaped capsule containing the vertebrate eye.

8. Fastener consisting of a resinous composition that is plastic when warm.

9. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh.

10. Lacking a centromere.

11. The fifth day of the week.

12. (Mexican) Ground beef and chili peppers or chili powder often with tomatoes and kidney beans.

13. An officer who acts as military assistant to a more senior officer.

14. Biennial Eurasian plant usually having a swollen edible root.

20. The cardinal number that is the sum of five and one.

23. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

25. A coral reef off the southern coast of Florida.

26. God of love and erotic desire.

29. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

30. Of or relating to the African people who speak one of the Bantoid languages or to their culture.

31. (informal) Uncomplimentary terms for a policeman.

32. In bed.

33. Any of various deciduous or evergreen ornamental shrubs of the genus Abelia having opposite simple leaves and cymes of small white or pink or purplish flowers.

34. A young unmarried woman.

39. Any organic compound containing the group -CONH2.

41. The sacred city of Lamaism.

42. Evergreen trees and shrubs having oily one-seeded fruits.

46. Little known Kamarupan languages.

47. A three-year law degree.

48. Not widely known.

49. Combined or joined to increase in size or quantity or scope.

51. The face of a timepiece.

52. Any plant or flower of the genus Lobelia.

54. A motley assortment of things.

57. Remote and separate physically or socially.

58. Any of various cycads of the genus Zamia.

60. Restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal.

62. A public act of violence by an unruly mob.

63. Type genus of the family Arcidae.

65. Largest known toad species.

66. Fallow deer.

67. The sixth month of the civil year.

69. Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.

70. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

71. A local computer network for communication between computers.

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

You feel like being different, trying something new and unusual. This is a perfect time for new ideas, a breakthrough in thinking, a novel approach.

You have the mind of a lawyer, always able to size up a problem and come up with a solution. However, do not go against tradition or become too independent for group approval. You could become carried away and make mistakes you might regret. Using your mind to negotiate obstacles is a great talent. You have an innate ability to guide and lead others through the hurdles and hassles of life. You could be very much in demand as a counselor just now. Your problem-solving abilities are excellent and your best results now will come from a slow and patient attitude. Group involvement is positive.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Marriage and other close relationships give rise to great expectations. This is a time to enjoy and appreciate your ties to others and to seek and promote harmony in the interaction between people. You are happy in most settings and can do without the extras in life that others seem to think are necessities. You enjoy making do with the basics. Your love of simplicity is good for politics too. It brings out the truth and a sense of honesty in a group. Religion, truth and the world of philosophy and ideas are of interest to you. You may become involved in some interesting subjects during the lunchtime. Perhaps an adventure is in order. Long distance travel for your work is possible if you let the right people know that you want to be included in the plans.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You are very much a creature of habit and the encircling network of friends and relationships is crucial to your success or lack thereof. You are nourished in great measure by the atmosphere and conditions you are able to arrange. You may have trouble controlling your urge to rush through things today. You may tend to fluctuate between uninspired routine and crazy binges. Your sense of responsibility and the way you go about organizing your life sometimes seems like a prison sentence. You could find yourself rebelling against the ordinary. You get set in your ways, so much so that you revolt and break away. Neurolinguistic programming and learning to organize your time may help. Relax, drop the expectations and flow with the energies.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) It is easy for you to convey yourself to others and you manage to make a good appearance. You have an easy manner and find it easy to relate to just about anyone. This can be an incredible time. In fact, you have rarely been in a better position to be in control. You will inspire yourself and others to new accomplishments. Something from which you have been excluded is now opening up for you. This could mean a new seat at important meetings or a new position that is more suited to your talents. You like beautiful surroundings, everything that is calm, tasteful and harmonious. You may be planning a water garden for those hot summer days—maybe some goldfish. You discover new and flattering things about a loved one this evening.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) Your comprehension of issues is broadened today and your inner peace makes you tolerant of dissenting views. You realize that this is part of life and the process of elimination that is needed to find good results. This workday brings insight as well as accomplishments your way. While visiting with friends this afternoon, you may be surprised to find strong support for certain issues that you feel enthusiastic about these days. This could mean air emission controls or the study of the impact that some government decision has on society, etc. You enjoy working in the garden or the yard this afternoon. There are thoughts running around in your head of becoming a famous photographer until you remember, or discover, freelancing costs.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Things are fast and furious today—you may not remain calm for long.

There is, however, that feeling that anything is possible. Your thirst for experience and growth keeps you always on the move. You work through an enormous amount of change compared to an average person. You are quite lucky today and may find that you magically get green lights, parking places, etc. This is a great day for making money.

This evening you enjoy your family and friends in some social type of get-together. A strong need for nurturing is a bigger than usual element in your life. After a busy day, you can really enjoy the company of family and friends. You are a natural guide and counselor, when others need help, you will probably be the first to know.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You have a great gift for sensing the limits and truth of any matter. Your sense of responsibility is clear and requires no training or education. There is a sign of clarity and competence in practical and business matters today. There may be some small loose ends to tie together before you see any end results—but the end to some long-time project is in sight. You are able to change your way of thinking when it comes to what you believe in; however, you may be in a struggle this afternoon over how not to become carried away with some new vision. Make an effort to stay to the main idea and positive results will happen. The world of your imagination is a major focus of change. Relationships are the keys to emotional satisfaction for you now.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) A difficult time schedule can be put behind you now. Hopefully, you have learned to always leave a space open each day for relaxation time and to reorganize—or to organize your thoughts. Government or community issues come to your attention. Perhaps during the noon break, you will talk about change. You dream of that perfect relationship—one that is sensational. You wish for a kindred soul—a sunny relationship filled with light, power, energy and strength. Good news yesterday, today and tomorrow has the potential to enhance, renew or strengthen your faith in love. Someone new or the resurgence of an old love will put a sparkle back in your eyes and that extra zest in your step. Key players to some future goal of yours are falling into place.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Your mind runs to domestic issues; home and family are always on your mind. This trait could work against your career interests, especially if your job requires managerial and organizational skills. Perhaps a home business would be good. Work within a system and schedule in which you can enjoy, achieve and excel. You will be able to create this for yourself soon. You have a fine sense of appreciation and are very attentive to others’ needs. You love to help take care of others, expressing a first-rate sense of compassion. You possess an almost infinite ability to respond to the unsaid request. In looking for a bit of quiet time for yourself, look for ways to enjoy a hobby or talent you may have forgotten you had.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Work-related decisions need your guiding hand. You seem to have luck on your side today for moving ahead in great leaps. You may feel blocked in a group situation, however. Easy does it—perhaps the listening attitude will help you get your thoughts together. You could say things you might regret—think through your thoughts a moment and ask yourself if you can make a positive difference. Your inborn love of law and order helps you find the answers you could be seeking. Any problems or obstacles do not put you off today. You have a large circle of friends and tonight several of you might be out enjoying a dinner together and decide to make plans for a big summer party. Perhaps some grilled food, drinks and music.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

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. 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

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

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

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

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

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

lifestyle M u s i c

&

M o v i e s

B

File photo shows Katy Perry and Russell Brand arriving for the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) at the Noika Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, California. — AFP

R

apper Kanye West pushes the boundaries of hip hop with his latest album “Yeezus,” usingaggressive electro-dance music beats to channel his anger and win over critics, who have called the record “daring” and “ambitious.” “Yeezus,” the 36-year-old rapper’s seventh solo studio album, has also sped to the top of the iTunes digital music chart upon its release on Tuesday, led by the single “Black Skinhead.” The album’s release coincides with the birth of West and reality star girlfriend Kim Kardashian’s first child

together, a baby girl born over the weekend.

But on the album the famously ironic and self-referential West avoids mentioning Kardashian and their high-profile romance, which has been heavily tracked by paparazzi and the Kardashian clan’s plethora of reality shows on the E! Network. Instead, he lets his anger out against critics, the public and “haters” on tracks such as “I Am a God,” “Send It Up” and “Black Skinhead,” a scathing message on modern day racism.

While West rages against the world, critics have been taken aback with the new sounds that West explores, moving away from the traditional hip hop of his earlier albums and fusing electro-dance and synthesizers with thumping beats. “Yeezus” has so far earned a score of 87 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic.com.

Jon Pareles at the New York Times called the album “an aggressive demand for attention” while Rolling Stone’s Jon Dolan said, “‘Yeezus’ is the darkest, most extreme music Kanye has ever cooked up, an abrasive album.” USA Today’s Steve Jones called the album “daring and infectious,” while the New Yorker’s Sasha Frere-Jones labeled it “ambitious” and West’s “most satisfyingly narcissistic record.”

“Yeezus” features collaborations with French DJ duo Daft Punk - who provide beats on four songs, including “I Am God” and “Black Skinhead” - folk singer Justin Vernon from Bon Iver on “Hold My Liquor,” and rappers Chief Keef, Kid Cudi and King L. Billboard magazine, which compiles the weekly U.S. music charts based on Nielsen SoundScan sales figures, projected that “Yeezus” could sell 500,000 copies in its first week, making it one of 2013’s big debuts along with Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience.”—Reuters

Kanye West

ritish comic Russell Brand told Katy Perry he was divorcing her by text message, the US pop star said in a new magazine interview, adding that she hasn’t heard from him since. Brand issued a statement in December 2011 announcing that he had filed for divorce 14 months after the pair were wed in India, saying that “I’ll always adore her and I know we’ll remain friends.” Perry, in an interview in the latest edition of Vogue magazine, which features her as its cover story, tells it differently.

“He’s a very smart man, and I was in love with him when I married him,” she told the magazine, adding: “Let’s just say I haven’t heard from him since he texted me saying he was divorcing me December 31, 2011.” In court documents filed in Los Angeles, the British actor and comedian cited “irreconcilable differences” as a reason for divorce. The couple, married on October 23, 2010, after a whirlwind romance, had no children.

Perry said Brand’s in-your-face humor was “hysterical in some ways. Until he started making jokes about me and he didn’t know I was in the audience, because I had come to surprise him at one of his shows. She added: “At first when I met him, he wanted an equal, and I think a lot of times strong men

This film publicity image released by The Weinstein Company shows Gemma Arterton, left, and Terrence Stamp in ‘Unfinished Song.’—AP

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ritish actress Gemma Arterton does not need to worry about typecasting with roles ranging froma fairy tale character and literary heroines to MI6 agent Strawberry Fields in the 2008 James Bond film “Quantum of Solace.”

In “Unfinished Song,” a comedy-drama that opens in US theaters on Friday, Arterton, 27, stars as Elizabeth, a music teacher in a boys’ school. She also directs a choir for seniors, which includes Marion, played by Vanessa Redgrave, and forges a special friendship with her cantankerous retired husband, played by Terence Stamp. The following week Arterton will be seen in US theaters as a sexy vampire in Neil Jordan’s film “Byzantium.” Arterton spoke to Reuters about her choice of characters, sharing the big screen with Redgrave and Stamp, and her first French-speaking role in the upcoming film “Gemma Bovery.”

Q: You have some interesting films coming out. Two are opening in the space of a week. How did you manage that?

A: It’s weird that it happened that way. I made them about three months apart. It’s nice. I remember when the Bond film came out in the UK I also made the TV show called “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” and they were so different and it was really good that it happened. It’s nice when people can see the range.

Q: “Unfinished Song” is a small British film that is about as far away as you can get from a Bond film.

What attracted you to the role?

A: The script. I was making an action-comedy at the time and it was a long shoot, a four- or five-month shoot, and I thought I just want to do something real, something close to home. My agent sent me the script and I read it and I was crying.

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elissa Etheridge believes Angelina Jolie jumped the gun with her double mastectomy. The singer, a breast cancer survivor, told The Washington Blade that she has the same BRCA gene mutation as Jolie. When asked about Jolie’s choice to undergo a preventative double mastectomy, Etheridge called Jolie’s decision “the most fearful choice you can make when confronting anything with cancer.” “I wouldn’t call it the brave choice,” the singer said. Invoking her own experience with cancer, Etheridge suggested stress reduction and proper nutrition as better preventative steps.

Melissa Etheridge

“My belief is that cancer comes from inside you and so much of it has to do with the environment of your body,” she told the Blade. “It’s the stress that will turn that gene on or not.” Jolie announced her elective surgery in a May 14 Op-Ed for The New York Times titled, “My Medical Choice.” In the piece, she revealed that her doctors told her she would otherwise be at an 87 percent risk of getting breast cancer. Here’s the entire Blade/Etheridge exchange: Blade: As a breast cancer survivor yourself, what did you think of Angelina Jolie’s announcement?

Etheridge: I have to say I feel a little differently. I have that gene mutation too and it’s not something I would believe in for myself. I wouldn’t call it the brave choice. I actually think it’s the most fearful choice you can make when confronting anything with cancer. My belief is that cancer comes from inside you and so much of it has to do with the environment of your body. It’s the stress that will turn that gene on or not.

Plenty of people have the gene mutation and everything but it never comes to cancer so I would say to anybody faced with that, that choice is way down the line on the spectrum of what you can do and to really consider the advancements we’ve made in things like nutrition and stress levels. I’ve been cancer free for nine years now and looking back, I completely understand why I got cancer.

There was so much acidity in everything. I really encourage people to go a lot longer and further before coming to that conclusion. — Reuters

do want an equal, but then they get that equal and they’re like, I can’t handle the equalness. “He didn’t like the atmosphere of me being the boss on tour. So that was really hurtful, and it was very controlling, which was upsetting.

“I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending, but then I found out the real truth, which I can’t necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day. “I let go and I was like: This isn’t because of me; this is beyond me. So I have moved on from that.” Brand, 38, a former drug addict with a reputation as a womanizer, found fame as a comedian and later as a TV and radio presenter in Britain before starring in hit Hollywood films “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek.” Perry, 28, is best known for hit songs, “Teenage Dream,” California Gurls,” and “I Kissed a Girl.” Her debut album “One of the Boys” garnered two Grammy nominations, and her second record “Teenage Dream” was given six Grammy nods.—AFP

Q: In the film you develop a special relationship with Terence Stamp. What was that like?

A: Everyone thinks that Terence Stamp is a very serious, stern Englishman. I was thinking he was going to be a very grumpy guy but for some reason we just got on really well and we brought out the best in each other and we’re friends now ...

In the film we warmed to each other and ended up helping each other in certain ways. He is such a lovely guy.

It was so lovely to see him play that kind of role. Usually he

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ariah Carey and Nicki Minaj will take the stage at the BET Awards. BET announced Tuesday that India.Arie and Ciara will join the former ‘American Idol’ judges as performers at the June 30 awards show.

Previously announced performers include Chris Brown, Miguel, R Kelly and Kendrick Lamar. Rapper-singer Drake

plays these gangsters or villains and for him to take on that role was a real decision because he is playing an old man.

He was nervous about it but it was beautiful and he did such a good job.

Q: How intimidating was it working with Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp, both highly acclaimed British actors?

A: It was incredible. Vanessa is one of my all-time theater idols. For me she just represents the ultimate in strength and dignity. She can do anything. Working with her made me quite nervous and I was fascinated by the way she was working. This film was really, really important to do. It was a love letter to her sister (Lynn Redgrave), who died of cancer. You could feel it was a special thing for her.

Q: How do you choose your roles?

A: At first I was quite mindless. I didn’t really think about it. I was pleased I was being offered stuff ... And then I realized I’m not happy with what is going on and had to be a bit more thoughtful. Now I think about what I want to do in relation to what I have just done.

Q: What projects do you have coming up?

A: I am just preparing now for my next film, which is my first French film. It is called “Gemma Bovery” and Anne Fontaine is directing it. She directed “Coco Before Chanel.”

It is my first French-speaking movie so I am a bit nervous about it.

Q: Are you fluent in French?

A: I started learning French in January and then in February this script came through called “Gemma Bovery,” based on “Madame Bovary” ... For me it’s a really big challenge but I feel if I can do it then I have opened another door. I love French cinema and some of my favorite actors are French. It would be something I would really be proud of doing. I start filming that in August.—Reuters

leads with 12 nominations, while Lamar and 2 Chainz are up for eight awards each. Chris Tucker will host the BET Awards live from the Nokia Theatre LA Live. Presenters include Paula Patton, LaLa Anthony, Angela Bassett and Gabrielle Union.

— AP

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File photo shows Brad Pitt posing for a portrait in New York. — AP

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This publicity image released by Paramount Pictures shows, from left, Mireille Enos as Karin Lane, Sterling Jerins as Constance Lane, Abigail Hargrove as Rachel Lane, and Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane in a scene from ‘World War Z.’ — AP

rad Pitt wanted to build a better blockbuster. During the years Hollywood shifted toward increasingly bigger spectacles and superhero tentpoles, one of the movies’ biggest stars largely stayed on the sidelines, focusing instead on ambitious ensembles (“The Tree of Life,” “Inglourious Basterds”) and unlikely dramas (“Moneyball”). But the zombie apocalypse “World War Z,” which opens Friday, is Pitt’s bold, long-gestating, big-budget effort to enter the franchise fray. It’s his attempt to engineer not just a disaster thrill ride like 1974’s “The Towering Inferno” (a beloved film to Pitt, who saw it repeatedly as a kid growing up in Missouri), but to make a thought-provoking action flick filled with geopolitical questions.

It’s been a humbling crusade. “These films are much more difficult than I realized,” Pitt said in a recent interview over coffee at a restaurant off Times Square. Based on the 2006 sci-fi novel “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War” by Max Brooks (son of Mel), the $200 million-plus film has had a rocky path to theaters.

It’s gone through a swarm of screenwriters, several key crew changes, a postponed release date and, most notably, a reshot ending. But most moviegoers that make it to the film - far from the flop many predicted - will likely wonder what all the fuss was about. As Pitt’s producing partner Dede Gardner points out, no one ever says: “Honey, let’s go to this movie this Friday. I swear it was on-budget and on-schedule.”

The reviews have largely been positive for “World War Z,” a riveting, brisk thriller with a refreshingly - and, for summer movies, atypically - human protagonist who relies purely on his intellect and experience as he shuttles around the world trying to solve the zombie pandemic that’s engulfed most of the planet. Pitt’s

former United Nations investigator has no superpowers, no gun, and as Pitt says, “can’t even run that fast.” It may sound paradoxical, but though “World War Z” is awash with gruesome hordes of snarling zombies, it is - alongside Superman and Godzilla-sized sea monsters - one of the most human-scaled blockbusters of the summer.

While Hollywood awaits the film’s box office performance with bated breath, Pitt is confident. He’s shaped the film as a producer since his production company, Plan B, acquired the book rights in 2006. “I know it works,” the 49-year-old actor says. “I know everyone involved is going to be happy. It’s just a question of how happy. We’re proud of it. When you get involved with a film like this at this scale, at this cost, there’s more responsibility to meet that number immediately.” Not unlike his character, Pitt has been flying around the world to promote “World War Z.” He spent Father’s Day with his family, but at 40,000 feet, he says. “I’ve got a few countries to go,” he says with a grin.

Though he acknowledges the film has been “a learning experience,” he’s upbeat, repeatedly citing the “good fun” of making a big movie for the multiplexes. Adapting the book - a series of first-person dispatches from around the globe - required not just finding a narrative drive to the story, but capturing the novel’s theorizing of how self-interested nations would fare in a global catastrophe. (Faring well, for example, is walled-off Israel, the location of the film’s most extreme set piece, shot in Malta with some 900 extras.)

But in the end, the principles of making a popcorn-friendly movie often bested the filmmakers’ higher ambitions. Much of the allegory had to be cut. “It got too dense,” Pitt says. “We got too

weighed down on it. We spent a couple years on it. We couldn’t get it into one movie. We had to walk a line between using the film as a Trojan horse for some of that, but these things have to be fun. And we were bored, ourselves.” Instead, the filmmakers, including director Marc Forster (“Quantum of Solace,” “Stranger Than Fiction”), wrestled with finding what Pitt calls “the pace of the summer action film, the cadence it needs.” “Movies have a DNA,” says Gardner. “They have their own identity. This one just fought back. It fought back, ultimately, in a way that I really appreciate because it sort of met our ambitions for it with its own ambitions.”

The most painful part of taming “World War Z” was deciding that the third act - a large-scale battle with the zombies in Moscow’s Red Square, filmed in Budapest - didn’t work. It was a gut-wrenching realization, made after the filmmakers and Paramount executives screened the film. “It was abysmal,” says Pitt. “It was really painful. What it means is that after you’ve put in that much work, you go, ‘Oh, we’re so far away.’ It just means we got a lot more to go. You go home, you have one too many beers and you get up the next day and you go, ‘OK. This is what we got to do.’”

While tinkering with a movie in post-production is normal, hiring screenwriters (Damon Lindelof, Drew Goddard) to write an entirely new ending is quite uncommon. Instead, a more quietly tense sequence set in Wales was constructed, with production resuming for a $20 million reshoot. “We just decided it wasn’t good enough,” says Gardner. “I see that as a good thing. We were very fortunate to have partners at Paramount who were interested in doubling down. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that.”

The need for such a reshoot, though, contributed heavily to early perceptions of the film. While Pitt admits the production was initially difficult, he says once solutions were found, the process was “really fun.” (Forster was not made available for this article.)

Gardner, too, chafes at what she calls the unfair over-scrutinizing of the film.

“You often hear of the artists in a studio not getting along,” says Pitt. “This was absolutely a really nice experience.

(Paramount) has been so supportive and came to the table with great creative ideas.” Whether “World War Z” will spawn sequels, as was the initial hope, will have to wait for the box-office response. In a packed summer schedule, the film will have to compete with “Man of Steel” in its second week of release. After a long battle with “World War Z,” Pitt (who’ll this fall star in David Ayer’s World War II thriller “Fury”) says he’s just “not really the franchise kind of guy.” “We spent so much time on this,” he says.

“We’ve got so many good story lines stemming from the book or inspired by the book and then just generated from our own powwows. It might still be fun. We’ve got enough material, that’s for sure. We’ll see, we’ll see how this works, we’ll see how everyone feels afterward.”— AP

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il Wayne says he wasn’t intentionally stepping on the American flag when shooting his latest video. Video of the rapper from his music video shoot for the song “God Bless Amerika” hit the Web on Monday. In it, he appears to be stepping on top of the American flag. But he said in a Facebook post Tuesday the flag on the ground will not appear in the clip.

He writes it was never his intention “to desecrate the flag of the United States of America.” He says the flag will reveal a group of people behind him in the video. The New Orleans-based rapper says in the statement his environment helped shape the way he views America and his song and video represent the people he grew up with. — AP

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her is no stranger to tabloid fodder. The 67-year-old singer who has spent most of her life in the spotlight offered this advice to young artists on navigating the world of paparazzi attention: “You’re screwed.

That’s my advice.” “You don’t deal with it. You just try to get a place where no one can find you and that’s your little sanctuary,” continued the “Believe” singer in an interview Tuesday. “I have a fabulous house that I love and it’s my sanctuary.” Looking ever the rock star in leather and studs, Cher took the stage Tuesday for the season finale of NBC’s “The Voice.” She performed “Woman’s World,” the first single off her upcoming album of the same name - her 26th album since she began recording in the 1960s.

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Cher said reality singing competitions are simply a modern incarnation of classic starmakers like “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts.” “It’s just another vehicle, you know what I mean? Talent is talent,” she said on the red carpet following the finale which crowned 16-year-old country singer Danielle Bradbery the winner. The young powerhouse from Blake Shelton’s team beat out indie rocker Michelle Chamuel and country duo the Swon Brothers for the season four title.

Photo shows Danielle Bradbery and Cher, right, pose after Bradbery won season-four of ‘The Voice’ Tuesday. —AP

trapped in an orange suit in his spaceship, Yuri Gagarin smiles as the rockets roar and chirpily tells mission control: “Let’s go!” A new Russian film-”Gagarin. First Man in Space”-is the first full biopic on the pioneering cosmonaut ever to be released in Russia or the Soviet Union. Until now, Gagarin’s 108minute orbit of the Earth in 1961 appeared almost too hallowed a subject to be tackled in drama. But the state-subsidized film has been made amid a new drive for patriotic cinema as post-Soviet Russia looks for heroes.

It recreates Gagarin’s pioneering space voyage in detail and also tries to reveal something of the man who became a Soviet legend: his childhood, family life in the cosmonaut training centre at Star City and his rivals for the number one role. But critics have complained the film failed to portray a rounded fleshand-blood figure, instead portraying a person so perfect that Gagarin loses all traces of human character.

“Any humanity is carefully hidden from us. We stop believing at all in the existence of the person named Gagarin,” wrote Ogonyok weekly magazine.

The cosmonaut is shown as a virtually flawless figure: he thoughtfully buys his wife flowers, he carefully swaddles his baby daughter and he flashes a whitetoothed smile after being tested with G-forces at Star City. The director Pavel Parkhomenko “made a deadly retro film as if he was turning a feature from (Soviet mouthpiece daily) Pravda into a film”, said one reviewer on the TV channel Rain.

The film received state funding as part of a drive for patriotic cinema and has been supported by Gagarin’s family-his widow and two daughters, Yelena and Galina. The family has previously vetoed a Gagarin musical and legally forced the makers of a fictional film drama to cut all references to Gagarin, even changing its title which had included his name.

“At first the Gagarin family were suspicious because before there were attempts to make films and it somehow didn’t work out. For them this is a delicate topic and there have always been a lot of unnecessary rumours and sensation around it,” producer Oleg Kapanets said at a Moscow presentation.

“They had even stopped believing that it was possible to make honest cinema. But time passed and they were OK with it all.” He said he asked Gagarin’s daughters to check with their mother Valentina who is still alive but rarely seen in public-on details such as what flowers Gagarin used to give her (in the film it is chrysanthemums). The film ends as Gagarin parachutes back to Earth, without touching on his later years of hobnobbing with Soviet pop stars and world leaders such as Queen Elizabeth II. Neither does it refer to his death at 34 in a plane crash, an incident whose circumstances have never been fully explained. Archive footage shown at the end of the film of the real Gagarin depicts a man with

A file picture taken on April 12, 1961 shows Yuri Gagarin, 27, wearing spacesuit inside the Vostok 1 command capsule at the Baikonur cosmodrome. — AFP a swagger and cheeky grin who seems very different from his portrayal in the film. “Flashing past in a second, he absolutely repudiates the acting performance of Yaroslav Zhalnin” who plays Gagarin, wrote critic Mikhail Trofimenkov in Kommersant business daily.

From untouchable god to metaphor for modern life The film’s strength is its careful recreation of Gagarin’s training and flight showing the bizarre endurance tests-such as reading out poetry in a steam room-and the cramped and basic spacecraft. Despite its critical

drubbing, the film won praise from Russian Space Agency officials who watched it in Moscow. “It got through to me, I’ll be honest, it was great. We still know how to make films-not just rockets,” said head of manned flight programs at Roscosmos, Alexei Krasnov. The film is the first biopic of Gagarin ever made, although several post-Soviet films have shown him as a symbolic figure.

“Soviet film treated Gagarin as a god whom it was a sin to depict, while in post-Soviet film he is a kind of metaphor for all of Soviet life,” wrote Ogonyok. The film came out as the Kremlin aims to boost patriotism among the young with the help of locally grown heroes-preferably Soviet ones. A film about hockey star Valery Kharlamov and his Soviet teammates beating Canada in 1972, called “Legend Number 17”, has made 920 million rubles ($28.5 million, 21.5 million euros) after significant state funding. It was hailed as the highest grossing Russian feature film in five years.

Another recent success was a portrayal of Vladimir Vysotsky, a cult singer and actor of the 1970s,that also had state funding. But other films have struggled to replicate the formula and as “Gagarin” launched, many expressed doubts it would recoup its budget of around $10 million. In its first weekend it made 15.75 million rubles ($497,606). Last month President Vladimir Putin dressed down a group of top film directors including Oscar-winner Nikita Mikhalkov for failing to persuade people to watch local cinema. This year, the Kremlin will finance films to the tune of 6.61 billion rubles ($204.4 million). However Russian films only account for 15 percent of cinema tickets, Putin complained. — AFP

A handout file picture provided by Russian film producer and distributor Central Partnership and taken shows Russian actor Yaroslav Zhalnin playing Yuri Gagarin and Vadim Michman as German Titov while shooting the film, ‘Gagarin.—AFP photos

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

lifestyle

The Meiji Jingu Shrine.

By Sahar Moussa

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apan was a place I always dreamt about visiting, it was on my to do list, and I guess I was lucky that Emirates airlines started its non-stop service from Dubai to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) to make my dream come true.

Although Emirates already operates a daily flight to Tokyo Narita and Osaka Kansai but I was the lucky one this time to witness the launch of its inaugural flight as a journalist from Kuwait.

When I used to dream about Japan, I used to visualize myself walking under the cherry blossom trees, which is a centuries-old practice of picnicking under a blooming Sakura or Ume tree, a practice called “Hanami”.

The waterfall at the Gajoen Kanko hotel.

I used to think that one can enjoy this blissful sight any time of the year, only to be disappointed by the fact that the blossoming in Tokyo starts at the end of March or in the beginning of April, and unfortunately I was there in June. Although I didn’t see the cherries blossoming, I was more than satisfied to touch and smell the trees that carry that soft, pinkish flower which flourishes like thousands of fairies in their pink and white attire celebrating and welcoming the next season.

Emirates First Class Lounge My journey to Japan started when I reached Dubai airport from Kuwait on an Emirates airlines, ensconced in a business class seat and was led to the Emirates first class lounge at the Dubai’s airport; a welcoming and generous gesture on the part of the Emirates staff in order to make the hours-long flight as comfortable as possible.

Here, I can confidently say that my voyage started throughout which I was spoilt. The Emirates first class lounge is located on the fourth floor. There is a reception area and the receptionists behind the counter at the welcome desk check your boarding passes before entering the lounge.

I was really impressed by how huge the first class lounge is.

On top of it, they have not missed the smaller details to make the first class passenger as satisfied as possible in every aspect.

There is a private duty-free shopping area, and it made me feel like a Hollywood star to have my own shopping center. As a matter of fact, the entire floor is an integrated first class lounge and a departure gate area. You can board the flights directly from the lounge.

The lounge’s design is so elegant and its warm colors make you feel relaxed. There are a lot of seating areas with different buffets at each individual gate. The lounge offers an a la carte menu as well as a cold buffet and light appetizers to suit all tastes. What I appreciated the most were two things other than the high quality of food and the spacious areas; the quiet room and the swank toilets. The room has a daybed and lounge chairs that come with pillows, and trust me, you can take a nap or fall asleep like a baby in a second.

As for the toilets, these are highly maintained, well designed with marble stone and wood frames on the mirrors with big shower rooms. But the most relaxing experience that I had was the 15 minutes free back massage at the Timeless Spa that is complimentary for the first and business class passengers.

As I have mentioned before, the first class lounge has a gate for each flight exclusively for first class passengers. You don’t have to stand in queues and once your documents are checked, you can easily and smoothly walk down the hallway towards the elevator to the jet bridge. Before proceeding to

the airplane, I was introduced to Hatem K Omar, the Public Relations Manager of Corporate Communications for Emirates Airlines.

I finally met the person with who I was communicating over the phone for a week in order to prepare the right documents.

He greeted me with his friendly looks, a welcoming face and a smile. Omar’s professionalism, punctuality and kindly ways helped make my journey to Japan a memorable experience.

My second voyage on board Emirates began with warm smiles of the cabin crew right from the moment I stepped on the EK312 which departed Dubai at 09:35hrs. The seats were spacious and comfortable; the cabin attendants were dynamic, friendly and empathetic. The food was delicious and I felt I was in heaven. Honestly, I think that Emirates airlines flights are for people who want to be treated special. Depending on how much you pay, you are treated accordingly. Even if you choose to travel economy, and have to pay a bit more than other airlines, I bet you will not find such quality in any other airlines.

Reaching Japan Shangri-La Hotel Tokyo: Making the world feel at home We reached Haneda 00:01hrs the following day. I personally didn’t feel so much exhausted after all those long flying hours.

At the airport, there was a Japanese representative from the tourism agency that welcomed us and was scheduled to accompany us throughout our Tokyo visit. She took us to the Shangri-La Hotel.

If you are searching for a place that combines comfort, luxury and warmth, Shangri-La Hotel in Tokyo is your first choice.

Shangri-La Hotel is the place where you want to be after a long flight or a long day discovering Tokyo. The hotel’s modern outer design that is reflected imperially on the river’s glossy surface with a park nearby, hides inside secrets of the culture’s hospitality that you feel from the moment you enter the lobby.

You cannot ignore the smallest details in this hotel - the warm earthly colors, the elevator and the furniture that embraces your mood for a calming effect - to the huge chandeliers made up of thousands of crystal teardrops.

One of the main hallmarks of Shangri-La is its grand chandelier features. There are more than 50 chandeliers adorning the Shangri-La Hotel, of which more than 20 were designed specifically for the hotel. Paying homage to the city of Tokyo, the hotel showcases a series of chandeliers with intricately carved crystal pieces in the shape of ginkgo leaves - a symbol of Tokyo.

As for the rooms, if it is your first time to check in at the Shangri- La Hotel, I guarantee that you will find your room a thrilling and exciting experience. I have personally spent more than an hour discovering the hidden technological treasures found in every corner of the room, and the genius-designed electronic toilet.

In the room, you can find every single facility that one would consider a basic amenity which guarantees convenience for both leisure and business travelers. Anything that can make your life easier, you will definitely find in the room. And to my surprise, I even found a copy of the Holy Quran in the drawer next to the bed, a prayer carpet and a qibla that marks the prayer destination; it was a very unique gesture.

After I finished surveying the room, I decided to draw aside the curtains for the view. It was dark when I reached Tokyo, so you can imagine how the night view would have been from the 32nd floor. It was as if one was residing in the sky and watching the stars twinkling above. As for the day view, it is like living it up while thinking how lucky you are.

The hotel offers views of the Marunouchi business area, the Imperial Palace, Shinjuku’s skyscrapers as well as Mount Fuji, if the weather is fine and clear. From another side of the hotel, one is able to view the soaring Tokyo Sky Tree tower, Tokyo’s

newest landmark, and Tokyo Bay in the distance.

The 200-room Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo opened on March 2, 2009 as Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts’ first property in Japan.

The hotel occupies the top 11 floors of the 37-floor, mixed-use Marunouchi Trust Tower Main building, located adjacent to and with direct access to the Tokyo Station, which serves as the terminus for the Shinkansen bullet train network that extends nationwide as well as the city’s railway hub that connects the local train and subway lines with regional services.

The hotel’s dining facilities include Piacere, a signature Italian restaurant; Nadaman, which serves authentic Japanese kaiseki cuisine and The Lobby Lounge. CHI, The Spa at ShangriLa Hotel, Tokyo features ancient Chinese healing therapies and is the first CHI spa to open in Japan. CHI offers six treatment rooms that form the largest self-contained spa suites in Tokyo.

Talking about hospitality, I really appreciated the welcoming hand-written card with my name from the General Manager, Jens Moesker. I can’t hide the fact that it made me feel at home. Moesker has 23 years of experience in the hospitality industry, and has been with the Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts since 2000. I was really lucky to meet the tall, elegant and well-spoken man the day I had to leave the hotel. We met at the breathtaking presidential suite. With just a few words, well-articulated phrases and his warm and deep voice, he made me feel not only welcome and special in this exceptional hotel but also made me understand for a fact that the next time I will visit Tokyo, I would without hesitation know which hotel I will stay in.

Mount Fuji

Emirates’ press conference My first day in Japan was pretty exciting. From the bus you could see the well organized streets, well structured buildings and neat streets. The air was so fresh that you could actually breathe clean air and everything around you appears so clear, the colors appearing richer and more vibrant.

We were scheduled to attend a press conference for Emirates’ launch of its inaugural flight from Dubai to Haneda.

The press conference was held at the Palace Hotel Tokyo. At the conference, there was Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operation Far East & Australasia; Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President, Passenger Sales Worldwide; Shigeyuki Taguchi, Managing Director of Tokyo International Air Terminal Corporation and Richard Engelmann, Emirates’ Manager Japan. They delightfully answered the journalists’ questions.

Wall paintings at the Meguro Gajoen.

Tokyo Tower

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

lifestyle

paintings and carved ceilings in each and every room.

Climbing the 100 steps was like climbing the stairways to heaven, discovering an artistic treasure with each step.

(From left) Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operation Far East & Australasia; Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President, Passenger Sales Worldwide; Shigeyuki Taguchi, Managing Director of Tokyo International Air Terminal Corporation and Richard Engelmann, Emiratesí Manager Japan at the press conference.

At the conference, Antinori stressed the importance of the geographical advantage that Dubai offers to connect the world together, facilitate business and trade mentioning the growth in revenue by two percent which proves good business. He also talked about the extraordinary services that Emirates offers to its passengers, from the on board entertainment with 150 channels running, Japanese cuisine, the arrival premium pass and the On Air-Wi-Fi in the sky.

While Obdaidalla expressed his gratitude to the wonderful and long relationship between Dubai and Japan, he was grateful for Japan to allow them the route.

Japan, old and new Meguro Gajoen For dinner, we went to the Gajoen Kanko hotel which turned out to be a very interesting hotel, offering a real taste of Japan. From the minute you step in, you will enjoy the embodiment of beauty and technology, especially the marvelous view of a gallery type corridor on your right and a Japanese garden planted with seasonal flowers in full bloom on your left. But the most impressive sight was the atrium garden with a waterfall, full of light surrounded by water and covered with trees.

If you go to the Gajoen Kanko Hotel, visiting Meguro Gajoen or the older parts of the premises which became a museum is a must. The old Gajoen is often called a ‘department store’ of ornamentation, or a Showa era version of the fairy tale

Imperial Palace Plaza Imperial Palace Plaza was our second trip on our second day in Tokyo. The Imperial Palace is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. In order to see the palace, you have to cross a large park-like area. I have never seen greener and well arranged pine trees than the ones I have seen in that park.

There is a big statue of Masashige Kusunoki at the entrance, which is one of the three major statues in Tokyo. The Masashige Kusunoki was a royal Samurai who fought for the emperor against Kamakura government.

If you pass the park you can see Nijubashi which means the ‘Double Bridge’ which is also the most well-known bridge in Japan. The bridge only opens on special occasions and people are allowed to enter the East Palace twice a year, on January 2 which is called “People’s visit to the Palace for New Year Greetings” and on December 23, which is the Emperor’s official birthday.

Meiji Jingu Shrine Our quest to discover Japan’s treasures, we went to the Meiji Jingu Shrine. Meiji Jingu Shrine is a piece of old Tokyo you don’t want to miss. It is a Shinto shrine built in 1920 to honor Emperor Meiji, who reigned as Japan opened to the rest of the world after centuries of isolation. The shrine is surrounded by man-made tree forest. It is covered by an evergreen forest of 120,000 trees of 365 different species, which were donated by people from all parts of Japan when the shrine was established.

Passing the entrance, the first thing to see on your right are the huge barrels of sake wrapped in straw. If you keep walking, you will be stunned by the nation’s largest wooden “torii” gate which is 40-foot-high (12 meters). There is a second one like it closer to the shrine itself. Crossing the “torrii” gate is like crossing a spiritual gate to the other world, letting the spirits of the old ancestors see your naked spirit without the barriers of the body. You can stop at the cleansing station where you can dip into a communal water tank and purify your hands and mouth before offering a prayer. By doing this cleansing ritual, you only wish to wash some of your sins leaving them to disappear in the running water.

You can also write wishes on little pieces of paper or wooden plates and tie them onto the prayer wall, or do as the locals do - toss some yen into the offering box, bow your head twice, clap twice, so the spirits can hear you, say your name, where are you from and pray with a sincere heart and bow once more.

Tokyo Tower Tokyo Tower was our next stop. It is one of the best-known towers in the world, made of prefabricated steel. It is still called light because it weighs only 4,000 metric tons. At a height of 1,092 feet (333 meters), it is the world’s tallest selfsupporting steel tower.

Since its opening in 1958, it has become well known to visitors around the world, not only as one of Tokyo’s popular sightseeing attractions, but also as the symbol of Tokyo as an international city. You can see a big part of Tokyo from above, the view is really outstanding.

Nijubashi or the ‘Double Bridge’ at the Imperial Palace Plaza.

The Masashige Kusunoki statue at the entrance of the Imperial Palace Plaza. ly the return flight to Dubai was by Emirates EK313 which departed Haneda at 01:30hrs and arrived at Dubai at 07:05hrs the same day. I can describe no more my luxurious experience on the First class while heading back to Dubai because it was exceptional, especially in my private suite on the plane.

Japan is a squeaky clean and extremely organized country where they smartly use every inch of their land to their favor.

The Japanese people are very friendly, humble and hospitable.

The young generation has an amazing sense of fashion and is very polite with tourists with the minor problem being the English language that at times becomes a barrier. It was kind of a purifying and thrilling journey for me, where I left my impurities in the Shinto temple, felt free and tall in Tokyo Tower, defied my fears at the Owakudani Volcano and reinforced my inner strength by the Samurai’s voices that I heard, their echoes coming from Mount Fuji.

Geisha How can you visit Japan without meeting a real geisha? At night, we went to an authentic Japanese restaurant called ‘Hisago-an’ restaurant. Taking off your shoes at the entrance before entering the restaurant is a must and part of the Japanese traditional experience. The room where we were to dine had a simple and relaxing atmosphere. They offer amazing Japanese food accompanied with a performance of two geishas wearing kimonos with their faces painted white.

During dinner, they danced, sang and taught us games to keep us entertained.

The cleansing ritual area at the Meiji Jingu Shrine.

TheTorrii gate at the Meiji Jingu Shrine.

palace of the Sea God. Established in 1931, the Old Gajoen comprises seven rooms, to access which you have to climb a stairway of 100 steps. I was asked to remove my shoes while climbing the stairs, and by touching the floor with my bare foot I was transferred back in time in the flash of a second as if I was in the presence of great painters drawing the stunning

A geisha playing music at the Japanese restaurant ‘Hisago-an’.

Mount Fuji, Lake Ashi and Owakudani Volcano Our third and last day in Japan was spent visiting Mount Fuji. Mount Fuji is considered to be the inspiration of artists for its magical, captivating and secretive shape. At 3776 meters, it is Japan’s highest mountain. It is not surprising that the nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been worshipped as a sacred mountain and has enjoyed huge popularity among artists and common people throughout the centuries.

Mount Fuji is an active volcano, which most recently erupted in 1708. It is located on the Honshu Island and it took us at least two hours by bus to reach Fuji visitors center from our hotel. We were lucky that it was a clear sunny day and we had a clear view of the mountain. In order to have a better view of Mount Fuji, we traversed Lake Ashi using a big ferry where we were blessed to enjoy the captivating views.

From there we went to the Owakudani Volcano, which is an active volcanic zone. The place is filled with sulfuric smell due to the sulfurous fumes. You can also experience the hot springs and hot rivers. Passing by the souvenir shop, I bought boiled eggs cooked in the naturally hot water where its shells had gone black from the sulfur. The legend says that if you eat one egg, it can prolong one’s life by seven years. I ate three.

A geisha dancing at the Japanese restaurant ‘Hisago-an’.

Japan, the never ending story On our way back to the hotel, we took the train due to our tight schedule. We packed and went to the airport and natural-

The exterior view of Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo.

The presidential suite at ShangriLa Hotel.

The Deluxe Room at Shangri-La Hotel.

Japan: A spiritual journey in the land of the rising sun

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

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A man walks past a 3D wall portrait of British musician David Bowie, created by Australian street artist James Cochran, also known as Jimmy C, in Brixton, South London, yesterday. The artwork is based on the iconic cover for Bowie’s 1973 album, Aladdin Sane. — AFP

A

fter an absence of 10 years, the Miss Algeria beauty contest is to resume on Friday in the western city of Oran, organizers said. A total of 20 women aged between 18 and 26 have been carefully selected from Algeria’s main cities to line up for the beauty pageant, coorganizer and jury member Hamza Ameziane told AFP yesterday.

The women must be “at least 1.7 meters tall with classic (bust, waist, hip) measurements of 90, 60, 90 centimeters,” and are expected to have had French language training, he

said. The competition was suspended in 2003 after the death of Cheradi Hamdad, who launched the beauty contest in 1996 during Algeria’s devastating civil war and whose son Faycal Hamdad has now taken up the mantle.

“This first edition was difficult to organize because of a lack of sponsors,” Hamdad told the French-language newspaper Liberte, adding that with this show he hoped to “restore the image of Algeria.”

The judges include stars of Algerian cinema, notably the actress Bahia Rachedi, as well as Genevieve de Fontenay, an

81-year Frenchwoman who has presided over the Miss France contest for more than 50 years. It is too late for the winner to participate in this year’s Miss World contest, due to be held in Bali in September, but Ameziane says she will vie for the “Best model of the world” title in Brussels later in 2013. — AFP

Models showcases a creation by Malaysian designer Tom Abang Saufi during the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week 2013, yesterday. — AFP photos