25th Aug 2013

IO N SU BS CR IP T SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

Fort Hood shooter convicted, faces death penalty

Fear and grief as Lebanon buries its dead

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SHAWWAL 18, 1434 AH

Manning creates New challenges for US military

Arsenal recovers from poor start, beat Fulham 3-1

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US repositions troops in the Mediterranean Obama reviews Syria options; UN pushes for probe

AT SEA: Photo shows US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Ramage (DDG 61) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) transiting through the Suez Canal. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel yesterday strongly suggested the Pentagon is moving forces into place ahead of possible military action against Syria, even as President Barack Obama voiced caution. (Inset) Canisters and other material that the Syrian military says it uncovered in a raid on a rebel hideout are lined up in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus yesterday. Syrian state media accused rebels of using chemical arms yesterday against government troops — Agencies

Qaeda blames Hezbollah for Tripoli blasts DUBAI: Al-Qaeda’s North African branch blamed Lebanese Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah for twin bombs that hit the northern city of Tripoli on Friday and threatened retribution, a US-based intelligence monitoring website reported yesterday.

Although Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, is not operational in Lebanon, its statement shows a growing regional hatred against Hezbollah by radical Sunni Muslim groups and a wider, deepening sectarian divide in the Middle East.

AQIM said in tweets it knew “with certainty” that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah was responsible for the attack that killed more than 42 people in Tripoli.

“That vile party... should know that it will meet retribution soon,” AQIM said, according to the SITE monitoring service. Hezbollah, which was once lauded by both Sunnis and Shiites for its battles against Israel, has lost support from many Sunnis since it joined Continued on Page 13

WASHINGTON: The United States is repositioning naval forces in the Mediterranean to give President Barack Obama the option for an armed strike on Syria, although officials cautioned that Obama had made no decision on military action. A defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US Navy would expand its presence in the Mediterranean to four destroyers from three.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, en route to Asia, said Obama had asked the Pentagon for options on Syria, where an apparent chemical weapons attack that killed as many as 1,000 civilians has upped pressure on Washington to respond. “The Defense Department has responsibility to provide the president with options for all contingencies,” Hagel said. “And that requires positioning our forces, positioning our assets, to be able to carry out different options - whatever options the president might choose.” He did not elaborate.

The defense official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the USS Mahan, a destroyer armed with cruise missiles, had finished its deployment and was due to head back to its home base in Norfolk, Virginia. But the commander of the US Sixth Fleet has decided to keep the ship in the region, the defense official said. The official stressed the Navy had received no orders to prepare for any military operations regarding Syria.

Obama’s senior national security advisers will convene at the White House this weekend to discuss US options, including possible military action, against the Syrian government, another US official said on Friday. A senior State Department official said no final decisions were expected from the meeting, pending a further review of intelligence on the attack. Secretary of State John Kerry planned to attend via videoconference. The meeting was expected to take place yesterday.

The US president has been hesitant to intervene in Syria’s 2 1/2-year-old civil war, sentiments he repeated earlier on Friday. But, in a development that could increase the pressure on Obama, American and European security sources said that US and allied intelligence agencies had made a preliminary assessment Continued on Page 13

Is Martin Luther dream a reality?

BIRMINGHAM: When he boarded a Greyhound bus on his way to Princeton University, Glennon Threatt promised himself he’d never come back here. As a young black man, he saw no chance to fulfill his dreams in a city burdened by the ghosts of its segregated past. Helen Shores Lee left Birmingham years earlier, making the same pledge not to return.

A daughter of a prominent civil rights lawyer, she wanted to escape a city tarnished by Jim Crow laws - the “white” and “colored” fountains, the segregated bus seating, the daily indignities she rebelled against as a child. Both changed their minds. They returned from their selfimposed exile and built successful careers - he as an assistant federal public defender, she as a judge - in a Birmingham transformed by a revolution a half century ago.

This week, as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the Rev Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech, there may be no better place than Birmingham to measure the progress that followed the civil rights leader’s historic call for racial and economic equality. This city, after all,

is hallowed ground in civil rights history. It was here where children marching for equal rights were jailed, where protesters were attacked by snarling police dogs and battered by high-pressure fire hoses.

And it was here where four little girls in their Sunday finest were killed when dynamite planted by Ku Klux Klan members ripped through their church in an unspeakable act of evil. That was the Birmingham of the past. The city that King condemned for its “ugly record of brutality.” The city where he wrote his impassioned “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” declaring the “moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” The city where the movement came together, found its voice and set the stage for landmark civil rights legislation.

The Birmingham of the present is a far different place. The airport is named after a fearless civil rights champion, the late Rev Fred Shuttlesworth. The city’s website features a ‘Fifty Years Forward’ campaign, forthrightly displaying photos of shameful events in 1963.

Continued on Page13

Kuwait credit card users on the rise

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Brotherhood and Mubarak in court

TRIPOLI: A Lebanese gunman fires his weapon during the funeral of a man who was killed in a car bomb attack, in the northern city of Tripoli yesterday. — AP

Max 45º Min 28º High Tide 02:18 & 14:44 Low Tide 08:44 & 21:03

CAIRO: Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak returns to court today to face charges over protester deaths, as Muslim Brotherhood leaders make their first appearances in court on similar but unrelated charges. Separate hearings in different parts of the capital come against the backdrop of continued tension in the country, which has been rocked by political turmoil since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in a July 3 coup.

Mubarak, who left prison for house arrest this week, is scheduled to appear at a hearing in his retrial on charges of complicity in the deaths of protesters during

the 2011 uprising that force him to resign.

The case is one of several against the former president, who was granted pre-trial release this week by a court. Mubarak was placed under house arrest by interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi, acting on the basis of special powers granted to him under the country’s state of emergency.

The 85-year-old former president is being held at a military hospital in Cairo and it was not immediately clear if he would attend the morning hearing at the Police Academy.

Continued on Page 13

WASHINGTON: People arrive at the US National Mall to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr Martin Luther King, Jr’s ‘I have a Dream’ speech yesterday in Washington, DC. — AFP

Fear returns; Egypt crackdown widens

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MERS linked to bat ATLANTA: Scientists have found the mysterious MERS virus in a bat in Saudi Arabia.

An international research team said the bat virus is an exact match to the first known human case of Middle East respiratory syndrome. The sample was collected from within a few miles of that patient’s home.

The discovery is considered an important development in the search for the origin of MERS, a deadly respiratory illness that is worrying health officials around the world.

But it’s likely that something else - perhaps another animal - is spreading the virus directly to humans, said Dr Ziad Memish, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Health and lead author of the report. Since it was identified last September, the respi-

ratory illness has sickened nearly 100 people, most of them in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. About half of them died. No cases have been reported in the United States.

Bats have been a suspected carrier of the virus for some time because they are known to carry viruses similar to MERS. They also harbor other deadly viruses, including rabies and SARS. Still, discovery of a genetic match doesn’t mean bats are the direct culprit. “There is no evidence of direct exposure to bats in the majority of human cases of MERS,” Memish said in a statement. Signs of MERS-like viruses have been reported in other animals, including camels. — AP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

LOCAL

Number of credit card users increasing fast in Kuwait An ‘addiction’ for some people

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Marketing department team from Burgan Bank with Al Corniche Marketing Manager.

Burgan Bank provides new added value benefits to its customers KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday its tie up with Al-Corniche Club as part of its sponsorship that aims at providing a range of value added services and benefits to its Premier Banking Customers in the most prestigious health club in Kuwait. As part of the sponsorship, Premier Banking customers will enjoy an exclusive 10% discount at Spa AlCorniche Club as well as hosting a wide range of activities and events that are held all year long.

The bank’s latest initiative, which also includes sponsoring the kids IFIT Club and the Kids outreach program activities, aims at adding more value to its customers as well as attending club members.

Established in 1977, Burgan Bank is the youngest commercial Bank and third largest by assets in Kuwait, with a significant focus on the corporate and financial institutions sectors, as well as having a growing retail and private bank customer base.

Burgan Bank has five majority owned subsidiaries, which include Gulf Bank Algeria AGB (Algeria), Bank of Baghdad - BOB (Iraq & Lebanon), Jordan Kuwait Bank - JKB (Jordan) Tunis International Bank - TIB (Tunisia), and fully owned Burgan Bank - Turkey, (collectively known as the “Burgan Bank Group”).

The Bank has continuously improved its performance over the years through an expanded revenue structure, diversified funding sources, and a strong capital base. The adoption of state-of-the-art services and technology has positioned it as a trendsetter in the domestic market and within the MENA region.

Burgan Bank’s brand has been created on a foundation of real values - of trust, commitment, excellence and progression, to remind us of the high standards to which we aspire.

‘People come first’ is the foundation on which its products and services are developed.

Earlier this year, ‘Brand Finance’ - the international brand valuation company- rated Burgan Bank brand as AA with positive outlook. The rating places Burgan Bank Brand at 2nd amongst the most valuable banking brands in Kuwait.

Excellence is one of the Bank’s four key values and Burgan Bank continually strives to maintain the highest standards in the industry. The Bank was re-certified in 2010 with the ISO 9001:2008 certification in all its banking businesses, making it the first bank in the GCC, and the only bank in Kuwait to receive such accreditation. The Bank also has to its credit the distinction of being the only Bank in Kuwait to have won the JP Morgan Chase Quality Recognition Award for twelve consecutive years.

Burgan Bank won the prestigious “Banking Web Awards” prize in the commercial and corporate Category for Kuwait. In 2010 Burgan Bank was awarded with the “Best Internet Banking Service award” from Banker Middle East Awards. Burgan Bank was recognized in 2011 as Kuwait’s “Best Private Bank”, by World Finance. The bank also won, in 2011, the coveted “International Platinum Star for Quality” award from Business Initiative Directions, and “The Best Technical Award” from Banking Web Awards. In 2012, Global Banking and Finance Review online magazine recognized Burgan Bank as the “Best Banking Group in the MENA” as well as the “Best Corporate Bank in Kuwait”.

The bank also won the coveted “Best Bank Branding” award by the Banker Middle East.

For the second consecutive year in 2012, Burgan Bank also won World Finance’s “Best Private Bank” award, as well as the “Best Private Bank in Kuwait 2012” award from Capital Finance International. The bank also won the “Best Bank in Kuwait” award from EMEA Finance, along with the “Deal of the Year” award from Acquisition International.

In 2013, Burgan Bank Group was named “MENA - Bank of the Year” by Acquisition Finance Magazine. The bank also won the coveted “Best Domestic Retail Bank of the Year” award from the Asian Banking and Finance Magazine. Moreover, Burgan Bank also picked up the Best Employee Development in GCC’ award from World Finance.

Burgan Bank, a subsidiary of KIPCO (Kuwait Projects Company), is a strongly positioned regional Bank in the MENA region.

KUWAIT: Recently, there has been a surge of credit card users in Kuwait. Many banks are encouraging clients to apply for credit cards and use them more with various lucrative promotions and offers.

The banks stand to make double the profit as they charge both the clients as well as the store where they make the purchase. Some places even charge the clients a certain percentage for paying with their credit cards.

This magical plastic card can become an addiction for some people. “Today I can’t live without the credit card. I’m a shopaholic and this card encourages me to buy much more than I can afford at that moment. It started first when the bank gave me a card for free and said that I’m a special client. They forgot to mention that it’s free for the first year only. I was encouraged to spend more and more as I was collecting points which could be redeemed for airline tickets. Now, I am in horrible debt and can’t get rid of the card as there are many pending payments and I’ve also got used to having this card. The problem is that in some places like travel agencies, they ask me to pay additional charge when I use it. This also happened abroad where some small shops charged me more and others refused to let me pay for small items with it,” said Lulwa, a 31-year-old woman.

Joana, a 35-year-old expat is not a big fan of credit cards. “I don’t like using credit cards in general. I

would rather pay with debit cards as there are no extra fees. I can use the credit card in emergency cases only. With the debit, I can track my expenses online, and I even like it more than cash, as when I draw money, I tend to spend more,” she pointed out.

Ibtisam, a 41-year-old, uses her card when she faces a financial cri-

sis. “Under normal circumstances, I prefer the debit card as I don’t have to pay any additional surcharge, unlike the credit card. I have been using the credit card for about 10 years, to shop locally as well as online. I have two credit and also have a prepaid credit card to use for online shopping. Using a credit card is better than borrowing mon-

KUWAIT: A man using his credit card. This picture is used for illustrative purpose only.

ey,” she said.

Fatma, a 29-year-old is not a credit card user anymore. “I used to use it earlier but it put me in deep debt, as I never felt that I was spending any money when I used it. I decided to stop using the card and pay with money instead. So, today I only use the debit card and pay with cash whenever I can. I have a child now and more responsibilities, so I avoid it to save more,” she explained.

Some people don’t use a credit card at all. “I never used them. In fact I don’t need it, so why should I pay additional fees for a service I don’t even use? The only situation when I’m forced to pay with credit card is when I shop online and in this case, I ask my friends to buy it with their cards and I pay them cash,” said Jarrah, a 28-year-old Kuwaiti.

Nowadays, there are other alternatives for credit cards. “When I applied for a credit card years ago, I needed it whenever I traveled as debit cards weren’t accepted all over the world. Today I can pay with the debit card everywhere, without any additional charge. So I don’t need a credit card and can spend what is available in my bank account instead of being in debt,” said 51-year-old Fahad.

Husam, a 45-year-old, is using the same credit card for many years without affecting his budget. “I use it for shopping almost in the same way I use a debit card. My theory is that I would rather borrow money from myself when I need it than someone else,” he said.

TB cases reported in labor shelters KUWAIT: The Health Ministry asked the Foreign Ministry to ask embassies in the country, particularly the Ethiopian, to use health procedures in the crowded labor residences of the embassies. The request was made as unexpected cases of ìactive tuberculosisî in the Ethiopian Embassy labor house came to light.

The confirmed number of such cases is 15, in addition to the discovery of 167 dormant TB cases out of the 467 individuals in the house.

The Health Ministry isolated some of them

in hospital, while preventive medicine was given to the rest. The classified Health Ministry environmental inspection of the Ethiopian Embassy guest house, that cares for domestic help said the house does not meet the rules and specifications that should be available at the guest houses according to the ministerial decision 199/2010.

This is apart from the lack of space for each person, besides the lack of independent areas to prepare and eat food. There are not enough

clean toilets. It was also noticed that residents in the guest house sleep on the floor in the corridors of the waiting rooms, while mattresses are removed in the morning as the guests leave, which may lead to the spread of TB in the society.

The Health Ministr y stressed that the Foreign Ministry should force the Ethiopian Embassy guest houses to comply with the health environment rules in crowded housing places and guest houses.

Bedoon issue tops interior committee agenda KUWAIT: The government plans to hold weekly meetings with the parliament’s head office in order to discuss priorities that each parliamentary committee was assigned to report in time before sessions resume on October 29, a local daily reported yesterday quoting a source familiar with the subject.

Speaking to Al-Jarida on the condition of anonymity, the source explained that the main purpose of the meetings is to agree on a ‘joint work agenda’ between the executive and legislative authorities. Meanwhile, the Cabinet insider added that the government is willing to cooperate regarding draft laws that require increased spending “as long as their enforcement does not add heavily to the state’s budget”.

And while the source indicated that the government is open to amendments to the Family Fund to cover more beneficiaries, it rejected the notion of accepting a bill to write off bank loans. The scrapped assembly had passed the law to adopt the Family Fund as a debt relief program for defaulters who claim that irregularities on the part of banks caused for inflation of their loans beyond their financial capabilities.

The legislative and legal affairs committee is expected in the meantime to finalize its list of priorities today, and join the financial and foreign affairs panels who did the same last week. Meanwhile, the interior and defense

committee meets tomorrow (Monday) with the stateless resident’s issue topping its agenda. The panel studies a proposal from MP Ahmad Al-Azmi to naturalize 5,000 ‘bedoons’ as opposed to a maximum of 4,000 in accordance with a law passed by the scrapped assembly, to ‘compensate’ for lack of naturalizations since 2007.

The panel also studies draft laws to naturalize children of Kuwaiti martyrs who fell during the 1990-91 Iraqi Invasion or as part of Kuwaiti troops that participated in Arab wars, in addition to a draft law for conscription.

In other news, Al-Watan daily reported that a group of MPs are working on a draft law to grant citizenship instantly to 34,000 stateless residents who the Central Apparatus of Stateless Residents identified earlier this year as people who meet conditions for naturalization.

There are 105,000 people living in Kuwait without a nationality; only 93,000 are reportedly registered in the Central Apparatus’ records, and the government body claims it has proof that 67,000 are of Arab origins.

The Apparatus was established three years ago to sort out the stateless residents’ community and find those who meet conditions of naturalization, including residents whose bedoon ancestors failed to register for citizenship following Kuwait’s independence more than 50 years ago.

Cancerous asbestos in ceilings of slaughter halls KUWAIT: Environment Public Authority (EPA) warned against the presence of the dangerous carcinogenic asbestos in the ceilings of slaughter halls in Kuwait’s slaughter houses. EPA said a sample was analysed in its laboratories and it was contained asbestos fibers, adding that this material causes cancer.

EPA recommended removing the ceilings and getting rid of them in an environmentally-safe way, while complying with all environmental conditions to dismantle and wrap it. It called for taking it to the asbestos land fill in Mina Abdallah area, behind the gas station on King Fahad Road.

A form must be filled with the quantity of the material in the presence of a representative from left-overs control depart-

ment at EPA to supervise the dismantling and transport.

The majority of the halls were found unfit to be used for slaughtering as they lacked safety conditions for slaughter. The general scenery makes the visitor think the place is abandoned and not for slaughtering animals because of the surrounding garbage and filth.

The report stated that State Minister for Municipal Affairs Salem Al-Othaina should visit the capital’s slaughter house without any of the officials to see the catastrophic conditions there, so that he can take the right decisions to protect human health which is the main goal of the municipality.

The buildings in Kuwait slaughter house are 50 years old.

KUWAIT: A fire broke out in a garbage store area in Doha yesterday. A Kuwait Fire Services Directorate team rushed to the area and brought the fire under control. No injuries were reported. —By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Pop-culture: Kuwait’s passport to the world KUWAIT: Using tools such as music, food, comic books, clothing, and so on, popular culture has proven to be such a dominant force that has helped in shaping how people interact with one another.

Popular culture, a term coined around the 19th century, is loosely defined by the Random House Dictionary as “cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses.”

On the surface, popular culture, or “pop-culture”, might look superficial and sometimes downright misguiding, but there is no denying that it could be used as a rough-guide to spread understanding amongst people.

Considering that Americans are generally known for their apple pie and kindness, the Japanese for their efficacy and technology, and the Italians for their food and cars, it seems that popular culture helped in formulating these general notions.

Similar to other nations, Kuwait has much to offer despite what the naysayers claim.

Imagine a Kuwaiti themed restaurant at Times Square in New York, a Kuwaiti shop selling traditional and folklore products in London, a Kuwaiti cartoon series aimed at the international audience.

Suffice it to say, the possibilities are endless.

Putting such goal into perspective, some Kuwaitis and expatriates took initial steps to use what Kuwait had to offer to reach out to the global crowd. You might have heard about this man, he was praised by none other than the President of the United State of America Barack Obama for his work on the 99 comic book.

Series creator and founder of Teskeel Media Group Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa was interviewed by several international media outlets for his efforts in bridging the gap between cultures through the popularity of comic books.

In an interview with Kuwait News Agency, AlMutawa said that the comic book’s concept came when he was 32. “I knew that it was now or never especially after finishing my formal education and earning my college degrees.” “I was able to communicate the idea in a way to attract investors. I was able to raise KD 10 million over the last 10 years,” he said, adding that the characters in his comic book were built on Islamic archetypes.

Al-Mutawa asserted that he faced many challenges from the get-go, saying “it was tough in the beginning trying to get people to work with me 18 months after 9/11 in New York. They (the investors) had to see that my agenda was more cultural versus religious.” He indicated that the people working on the 99 were from comic book giants such as Marvel and DC Comics. Initially, Al-Mutawa’s financial backers were from Kuwait who provided him with assistance to get the 99 off the ground.

“I showed them how western comic books heroes were developed based on deconstructing them because they were mostly built on biblical archetypes,” Al-Mutawa argued.

The main concept was to promote good values that Muslims and other people around the globe shared in common, said Al-Mutawa.

Since 2006, the biggest accomplishments that the 99 had achieved were the animated series broadcasting in 70 countries and the crossover with American comic books moguls DC Comics featuring heroes from the 99 uniting with the likes of Superman and Batman to battle evil.

The mission to promote pop-culture from Kuwait is not something exclusive to Kuwaitis; expatriates also are playing a role.

Born and raised in Kuwait, Indian national Caesar Fernandes, founder of website Kuwait-music.com, said that after spending around 10 years in the US, he returned to Kuwait in 2007 and then launched this ambitious project in December 2010.

“I could have called it music ... world-music ... global-music ... But my purpose was to serve local musicians and that’s what Kuwait-music is all about.

I wanted to focus on music here so what better word to use other than Kuwait,” he said.

“I grew up here and calling it Kuwait-music had a special meaning to me,” reiterated Fernandes, adding that the website is not only aimed at promoting local music but rather educating and informing others of what is happening in Kuwait.

He said that “We are able to get the musician and the music lover and connect them together.”

Speaking about his perspective as an expatriate running this project, Fernandes said that he was familiar with the old Kuwaiti folklore music groups and Arabic music in general.

On exporting local music to the world, he said that “As a Kuwait musicians’ community, we need to believe that we can create music and not just copy music. “The only chance for original music to be exported from Kuwait would come through strong musical infrastructure on the educational level, insisted the Kuwait-Music founder.

With more than 33,000 followers on facebook and garnering international attention from media outlets such as the BBC, Kuwait-music seems to be on the right track. The website will soon morph to Engage, a medium targeting international audience but still opened for local musicians.

When considering food and nationality, it is wellknown that Sushi, for a fact, is Japanese delicacy and the same rule applies to Spaghetti which is very much Italian; therefore, it is not strange to attach a similar connection between Kuwait and Machboos, chicken or meat over a rice plate with salad or gravy-like soup on the side.

In recent years, several Kuwaiti-food restaurants have opened in different locations around the country.

Abu Wael, a Syrian national and employed to manage a traditional restaurant, said that the Kuwaiti owners came up with the idea of opening this style of cuisine as an attempt to provide a glimpse into the country’s past.

He added that the owners, preferred not to be named, started the restaurant eight years ago to allow everyone to experience Kuwaiti food.

Asked whether the owners were thinking about going global, Abu Wael replied that such step was all left for the owners to decide, but not entirely impossible.

It might be a long stretch for Kuwaiti culture, or pop-culture for that matter, to reach the global audience. It would be “mind-blowing” to see someone in France sporting a t-shirt featuring a theme for one of the most well-known Kuwaiti comedydramas Darb El-Zalag (slippery road), but who knows? If countries like Japan and Germany came out from devastating wars to building strong economies and exporting their culture to the world, then surely Kuwait, with its vast resources and youth-dominated society, could become global. — KUNA

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

LOCAL

Kuwaiti group provides help, advice to women ‘Project Human’ campaign

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Women around the world and especially in the Arab countries are subjected to violence. In our society, many of them just suffer silently as norms and traditions don’t allow them to complain or raise their voice against it. These women need help and advice unofficially and the Kuwait Association of the Basic Evaluators of Human Rights (KABEHR) is providing this help.

KABEHR provides legal and social consultation for women who are subjected to violence. They also organized an awareness campaign called ‘Project Human’ in cooperation with four governmental authorities including the Ministr y of Awqaf, Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, the Cabinet, and the Ministry of Justice.

This pro-women safety campaign was launched in March 2011 and lasted for less than a year.

“This campaign was aimed to cover all the women including daughters, wives, mothers, students, employees and others.

We got the idea and realized it by launching this project. We conducted field visits to schools and university to host lectures on different fields related to violence against women and addressed by legal, medical, psychological, and interior volunteer professionals. We also distributed different brochures and publications in the shopping malls and the press. These brochures were based on a complex legal study done by a legal advisor on violence, its kinds, and their protection,” Mona AlWuheib, Secretary General of the Woman and Child Committee at the KABEHR told the Kuwait Times.

The distributed brochures are still effective. “Many women are still calling us because of the brochures, which they have kept. The idea of holding this project or campaign was born after we surveyed that many women don’t know their rights completely. It included different categories of women: single, widowed, and divorced.

The survey showed that only 2.5 percent of the questioned women had some knowledge about it, including some who just

heard about it, while the 97.5 percent didn’t even know it exists,” added AlWuheib.

“We need such kind of awareness. So this campaign was an awareness campaign rather than a kind of treatment. We need to make women aware, as most of them who are subjected to violence are either ready to lose their rights or don’t know they have their rights. Although the campaign ran for just a few months, it received good feedback.” Al-Wuheib added.

This help and service is provided to all women. “We provide our assistance to women from all nationalities and religions, and we in fact had many cases of expat women. We didn’t receive any non-Arab woman seeking our help yet, but our legal consultant and some members of the board speak English so it won’t be a problem. The women can come personally to the headquarters of KABEHR or can just consult over the phone. In fact the majority of women preferred to talk over the phone. Also many women are not really seeking a solution but only want to talk to

somebody about their case,” said AlWuheib. The campaign was based on different studies and researches. “For instance in 2010, a study done locally showed that 35 percent of women in Kuwait were subjected to violence, and these include women occupying leading positions in their career, while at home they were subjected to violence. We still keep some brochures and receive visits from in and around Kuwait,” she pointed out.

The consultation provided by KABEHR is free of charge. “All the consultants working with us are volunteers so we don’t charge women for our consultation, although there are some public institutions charging symbolic fees for their consultation. Most private consulting centers are commercial and patients or clients can’t take an appointment before two weeks when in fact, they need help urgently. This is where we come in. Women who need our consultation can call on 25321377/88 at the headquarters of KABEHR, which is available from 8:00 am-12:30 pm, and from 4:30 pm-8:30 pm,” concluded Al-Wuheib.

KUWAIT: Some photographs from the pearl diving expedition which concluded here last week.

Kuwaitis practiced pearl diving despite dangers, hardships KUWAIT: Old Kuwaitis had occupied numerous occupations for livelihood and survival during Pre-Oil Kuwait period, notably pearl diving, an act of hunting oysters in the sea to recover pearls, which used to be considered as the most rigorous profession at that time due to the dangers, obstacles, and health issues that encountered divers during their hunt for pearls.

The pearl diving profession in Kuwait prospered under the reign of Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah, aka Mubarak Al-Kabir, who ruled the country between 1895 and 1915, and it went on afterwards for periods of time until it ended with the outbreak of World War II in the 1940s, followed by emergence of cultured pearl and discovery of oil. In ancient Kuwaiti society, divers, with all their different ethnic backgrounds, gained high social standard and reputation as they were also looked at with admiration and respect among people.

Beside from their extensive knowledge on marine matters such as sailing, navigation, and fishing, Kuwaiti divers also

showed determination, desire, and confidence during sailing seasons, as well as strength and stamina in their hunt for pearl.

They used to dive during specific sailing seasons and with different number of sailors onboard local wooden dhows, which varied in types and names depending on their sizes and shapes such as “Boom”, “Baghlah”, “Sanbouk”, “Shoaai”, and “Jalboot”, and sailed across various diving sites in the Gulf depending of depth of water and type of soil.

The main diving season used to start the month of May of each year, and finished by end of September. Also, there were short seasons known as “Khanja” and “Bakoora” in April, “Radda” in October, and “Radida” in November.

Divers depended on following the stars in the sky and compass to know pathways.

They also used an oblong piece of lead, known as “Beld”, which was marked with horizontal lines to identify the type of the soil in the sea before descending into the water. They worked for an approximate 12

to 16 hours daily, in which the diver descends several times into seabed without using breathing equipment, oxygen, or eye protective glasses, depending only on holding his breath and stamina.

Some of the difficulties that a Kuwaiti diver faced during his search for pearl oysters included running out of breath underneath the sea, coming out from the water in a coma situation, known as “Sanna”, forcing his mates to descend into the water to pull him out of the water and carry him onboard the ship to rest, or to die in some sever cases, especially if the diver was unconscious of the depth of seabed.

Other burdens faced by divers included getting as eardrum rapture due to strong pressure underneath the water, leading to a severe pain and blood coming out of the ear with unavailability of necessary medical treatment onboard of the ship. Also, divers would get skin infection due to staying under the water for a long time, as well as cramps, rashes, and sores.

They had also endangered their lives by facing off with sea predators such as sharks, which attacked many divers and caused them some severe injuries, leaving them handicapped for the rest of their lives and bitter memories. — KUNA

Iraqi MP accuses lawmakers of selling property to Kuwait

By A Saleh KUWAIT: A political group in Iraq accused Iraqi lawmakers of ‘selling Iraqi territorial waters to Kuwait’ by approving an agreement with Kuwait to organize traffic in a joint strip of water shared by the two neighboring states. “The Council of Representatives of Iraq voted the agreement with Kuwait to regulate traffic in Khor Abdullah based on which Iraqi territorial waters were given to Kuwait free of charge”, said Free Iraqi Coalition Bloc spokesperson Aliya Nusaiyef

in a recent statements. She further argued that Khor Abdullah is “an exclusive Iraqi property ”, referred to this argument as “indisputable fact”, and claimed that some of her colleagues pushed the agreement to be approved in order to ser ve “unknown reasons”. “The agreement is not included in the United Nations Resolutions, and [approving it in the Iraqi parliament] indicates that there is a true desire to divide Iraq and sell it to other countries”, she added. 108 Iraqi lawmakers approved the agree-

ment last Thursday, while 74 refused it and 14 abstained.

No citizenship Kuwait does not have plans to naturalize spouses of Kuwaiti men; at least for the time being, according to informed sources who indicated that rumors about a list of candidates ready to be approved are ‘not true’. “This door is closed until further notice pending discussions on new measures to handle the status of women married to Kuwaiti nationals”, said the sources who spoke on the condition of

anonymity. They indicated that the discussions include proposals to grant them “service privileges” that do not include qualification for citizenship. However, the sources explained that Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid AlSabah can still approve naturalization based on his judgment on cases referred to his office.

Electricity companies A legal team in the Ministry of Electricity and Water finished preparing regulations to establish a

shareholding company to produce electricity and desalinated water in accordance with a law passed in the parliament as part of the state’s efforts to privatize energy production. According to sources, the government plans to start the project during the first quarter of 2014 starting with an initial public offering on 50 percent of the company’s shares. 24 percent of the shares will be owned by the government through the Kuwait Investment Authority, while the remaining 26 percent will be put up for foreign investors.

KUWAIT: A team from the board of secretariats for the Journey of Hope campaign met recently with Kuwait Naval Force officials to discuss the latest preparations for the trip that sets sail later this year carrying people with mental disabilities on an adventure to several countries. The two sides agreed to form a joint team deployed at the Mohammad Al-Ahmad Naval Base where the boat is set to embark on its journey, and supervise the trip until its return to Kuwait. The Journey of Hope is an initiative aimed to showcase Kuwait’s efforts in taking care of people with special needs including those with mental disabilities.— Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Ministries join hands to pursue cable thieves KUWAIT: Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) officials meet with their Interior Ministry counterparts this week with the hope of reaching an agreement to adopt tougher penalties against gangs specialized in stealing high voltage cables in transformers.

The MEW had previously announced plans to hire a security firm in order to secure transformers around Kuwait, but a recent report quoting a ministry insider suggested that the ministry also seeks cooperation with the Interior Ministry who can prosecute thieves on the basis that their actions are committed on state property and affects public service.

A State Audit Bureau report released three weeks ago indicated that 600 main and secondary transformers in addition to 150 water wells were subjected to theft between 2007 and 2013, identifying ‘organized gangs’ as the culprits. It also noted that the MEW loses KD 15 million each year to repair damage resulted from these thefts. According to the source, at least 50 cable thefts have so far been reported this year, which resulted in blackouts that changed an otherwise successful campaign in which the ministry boosted production capacity to cope with the growing demand in summer. “The MEW looks to coordinate with the Interior Ministry during their meeting on Wednesday on ways to pursue suspects behind the systematic thefts targeting its facilities”, the source explained.

Meanwhile, a senior Interior Ministry official said the MEW is ‘partially blamed’ for the thefts according to latest investigations results. “The investigations revealed that the MEW has subcontracts with dozens of companies, and also have failed to report cases in time while instead waiting for up to three months before reporting the thefts”, Criminal Investigations Department Director, Brig Gen Mohamoud Al-Tabbakh told Al-Rai. He also indicated that assigning one police officer at every transformer in Kuwait requires an estimated 3,000 police officials which is “illogical”.

In other news, Al-Jarida daily quoted MEW sources who indicated that the Cabinet received a recommendation to alter energy prices in Kuwait as the current average costs the state KD 3.2 billion annually. According to official estimations, a consumer pays an average of 2 fils for a kilowatt that costs the state 40 fils to generate, and 1 fils for every 12 fils that the government pays to produce desalinated water. The sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity indicated that the average costs are set to reach KD 4 billion this year.

Kuwait improved the daily electricity production to 14,000 megawatts before the beginning of the summer this year. Most electricity generated go to power air conditioning which translates into overload in consumption in parallel with high temperatures that usually break the 50 C degrees point multiple times in July each year.

Annual reinforcement and maintenance operations at power plants, transformers and distribution networks helped the MEW cope with the yearly increase in demand, but senior ministry officials have repeatedly indicated that a new power plant is necessary to avoid shortage crises in the future.

There are seven power plants in Kuwait that produce electricity and desalinated water for a total population of 3.8 million on a daily basis, with plans to fully operate a new power plant in North Zoor by 2015. Energy production costs Kuwait an annual budget of 3 to 4 billion Kuwaiti dinars.

Three drug traders in custody

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Kuwait police arrested a citizen who was with African women near the seaside with several drugs and illicit tablets. The two women were found to be absconding, and were caught with the man trading in drugs. The citizen was sent to the narcotics department while the women were sent to immigration department.

Man found intoxicated Meanwhile, police in south Surra found a man in a parked car, under the influence of drugs. They found heroin and illicit tablets with him.

Kuwaiti citizen whacks pervert In Salmiya, a female citizen accused a young man of acting fresh with her in a mall by giving her his phone number.

She slapped him before giving him a mouthful. Police are on the lookout for him.

Gulf loans, grants to help Egypt to spur economy CAIRO: Egypt plans to avoid raising taxes or cutting spending but instead use billions of dollars in aid pledged by Gulf Arab states to spur the economy through new investments, Finance Minister Ahmed Galal has said.

After Islamist President Mohamed Morsi was deposed by the army last month, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates promised Egypt a total of $12 billion in loans, grants and fuel shipments. Of that, $5 billion has already arrived. The army-backed interim government, keen to improve conditions for a deeply polarised population battered by more than two years of political and economic turmoil, is under intense pressure to avoid unpopular austerity measures. “The best way to deal with that is by bringing in funds from outside the country, by seeking support, by counting on friends who can provide us with some injection of funds from outside,” he told a news conference.

“By doing that, you are not raising taxes and pushing the economy into contraction or reducing expenditure and tightening the belt,” said Galal, who was appointed shortly after the army ousted Mursi on July 3.

Nonetheless, it also hopes to cut energy subsidies by an annual 3.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($500 million) after it begins giving smart cards to vehicle owners next month, and would like to target more such cuts, Galal said.

In the year to June 30, Egypt ran a budget deficit equivalent to just under 14 per cent of gross domestic product, Galal said. The 2012/13 budget, when it was announced last year, projected a deficit of only 7.9 per cent of GDP, down from 8.2 per cent in 2011/12.

He expects to release the final figures for last year’s budget within days.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

LOCAL Local Spotlight

kuwait digest

The new Middle East

Rising rents cause worry

By Ahmad Al-Nabhan

A

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

A

re we about to witness a new Middle East after a long and disturbing Arab Spring? Is this region ready now to move into a new stage of confusion where every day more people of all age and gender die like flies? Are we heading towards the worst? What should we expect now?

Kuwait, like other Gulf countries, is observing and praying that it’s not next in line. What makes us an easy prey compared to others? Should we worry?

The Middle East has always been a very complicated and confused area. Think of Iraq 25 years ago and look at it now. It did not require much effort to convince some of its key former leaders and power maniacs like Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, for example, to invade its next door neighbor, with the knowledge that the Arabs will not be able to move him or his strong army out. I do believe that Saddam was not alone in this plan and there is no way he could or would do it alone. He could be greedy and crazy but not courageous enough to invade Kuwait without permission and blessings from a higher power. Now, Iraq is like an old sick man who can barely manage his day-to-day business. Where is the Iraqi army now and can it defend or protect anybody?

In Syria, when President Bashar Al-Assad came to power, a huge media and political campaign welcomed him, especially since he took the position of his late father in the presidential system. Foreign countries welcomed and supported the new young Syrian ruler. No one objected and Syria witnessed changes and peace during this time period. Inner conflicts between Sunni, Shia and Christians were not even mentioned. The army was strong and ready to combat to defend Syria then. Where is this army now? It’s also like Iraq; busy with its own day-to-day business. Similar scenario with a similar ending.

Egypt: It’s like a digital action movie, which is trying to get rid of the old and greedy and cheering for the suppressed which has been hungry for power for more than 80 years. A crowd that suffers from poverty and unemployment and is deprived of basic amenities which come with a decent life while being overpowered by extremist religious cells which is actively fueled by rich allies in the Gulf.

The Muslim Brotherhood appears to be the new power. The youth who are not a part of the Muslim Brotherhood were against the corrupted but their revolution was not to suppor t the Muslim Brotherhood, but still made one of its faithful followers as the new president. What the Muslim brothers did not understand is how to manage a large country like Egypt? How do you handle the power of the judicial system and key army leaders? For the record, former President Morsi always had trouble dealing with these two. The army has lost, but it is still strong.

This is a lesson for any idiot who thinks that he can conquer Egypt. This is something no foreign power will understand, no matter how many experts they have on this subject. Is this an evil plan to create chaos is a complicated area where people could kill or be killed over small arguments regarding their beliefs? Yes, a new Middle East will be re-born leaving a dark memory of many dead innocent people. The lesson learned here is that Middle East may be weak but it is not easy to penetrate.

kuwait digest

Nationality-based emotions

By Ali Mahmoud Khajah

O

Morsi supporters describe Defense Minister Sisi as n June 30, millions demonstrated demanding the ouster of President Morsi, a demand to a criminal and murderer. They even go as far as callwhich the army responded and deposed the ing him more lethal than Israelis, according to what president. Does this mean that the army will depose Qatari Yousif Al-Qaradawi said. What I fail to compreany future elected president if the people demon- hend is they are praising Morsi and cursing Sisi even strate against him? On what basis will the Egyptian though it was Morsi who appointed him. So, the socalled murderer and criminal army take its decision in the was appointed by the very future?

I have never written Morsi suppor ters describe same person they are praising.

Morsi supporters all over the about foreign affairs except while commenting on the Defense Minister Sisi as a criminal Arab world describe what hapIsraeli war on Lebanon in and murderer. They even go as far pened as a ‘war against Islam’ 2006. This is because I rarely as calling him more lethal than while the only Arab country that follows an Islamic rule is follow foreign affairs, owing to the fact that I am fully Israelis, according to what Qatari against Morsi. Who is applying convinced that we need to Yousif Al-Qaradawi said. What I true Islam, then?

Pro-Morsi Kuwaitis defend reform our domestic front fail to comprehend is they are him on grounds that he had before talking about foreign affairs. Nevertheless, praising Morsi and cursing Sisi been legally elected while, at the situation in Egypt com- even though it was Morsi who the same time, they brag pels me to raise a few appointed him. So, the so-called about deposing the 2009 parliament by moving public inquiries and remarks that need some answers in murderer and criminal was opinion against it. Shouldn’t order to get a full view of appointed by the very same person you describe this as a move what is happening because they are praising. Morsi supporters against legitimacy, especially since the 2009 government what happens in Egypt is clearly reflected on the all over the Arab world describe was elected by the people?

Until this day, I do not know whole region; Egypt is the what happened as a ‘war against heart of Arab as I know it.

Islam’ while the only Arab country how the state should handle continuous sit-ins in public Through my following inquiries, I am not express- that follows an Islamic rule is place, whether they are organing an opinion; rather I am against Morsi. Who is applying ized by Tamarud, MB or others.

I don’t intend to be biased or asking questions and am true Islam, then? emotional, but what if thoufinding it difficult to undersands of gays sit-in for a standing their answers.

When the Egyptian army ousted the legitimate royal month or more at one of the squares demanding the regime in 1952, both the Egyptians and all Arab peo- right to marry each other? How should we deal with ple called what happened a “revolution”. They went them? Finally, I’d like to say that people are being on celebrating its anniversary, even under President killed daily all over the Arab world while other peoMorsi’s rule. Why, then, do they call what happened ple are either sympathizing or gloating, according to with Morsi a ‘coup’ but what happened with King the nationality of the victims. This just shows that our problem is undoubtedly an ethical one! — Al-Jarida Farouq a revolution?

kuwait digest

kuwait digest

MB angels vs military

By Ibrahim Al-Mulaifi

I

n attempt to not alienate minds, which are more important than the Muslim Brotherhood and their war to restore power they had claimed to renounce, MBs cannot be removed by force in Egypt. Had this easy option been effective, they would have ended during the Egyptian monarchy. Had killing been fruitful, it would have stopped after Sayyed Qotob’s execution five decades ago. That is how we are and that how we will always be. We are easily angered, jump to conclusions and destroy everything and then forget the episode before repeating the same actions with no remorse or apology.

Responding to the incidents in Egypt, Kuwait MPs became feverishly active and some found the incidents a good platform to locally settle old scores and either joined with them or went against them. Accordingly, Egypt was ‘Kuwaitized’ in the recent parliamentary elections. With such thinking, there is no room for second opinion. It is either MBs are absolute demons and the military are absolute angels or vice versa. It is forbidden to frankly state my own opinion whereas others, namely Kuwaiti MPs, have every right to make statements, categorize, define and give orders, which is the very same mentality that cost those opposing the one-vote system their public support because they rejected diversity.

Since when have we been afraid of such thoughts or MPs themselves? Expecting credibility or justice from their side would only indicate a lack of experience in dealing with them. They are ones who taught snakes how to shed their skin effectively.

If prisons were capable of breaking anybody, Mubarak could have broken MB forever. MB only die through ideological war and our Arab minds are still absent or misled.

Tension could have been avoided before things got worse and resulted in more blood-shedding which cannot be ignored. Instead of investing public rage against MB, stages and platforms are opened to allow them to play their historic role of ‘martyrs’ and ‘victims’!

MB has always marveled in healing and regaining strength. Fascism, not necessarily in Egypt, is always to seek public support at the expense of democracy and there is nobody better than MBs to do that. However, days will go by, faces will change and you will see how MB will regain power. — Al-Jarida

MPs’ campaign against Thekra

By Saad Al-Rashidi

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eading news about MPs’ campaign against from judging the minister based on her work in office.

Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Thekra Al- It is not a secret that Thekra Al-Rashidi has perhaps Rashidi over allegations that she hired relatives been the most active of MSAL ministers in taking in her office including her sister as a consultant for a wide reform steps that included decisions to refer KD 1,250 monthly allowance, reminds me of a quote I long-standing employees to retirement in order to create job opportunities for younger staff members. once read: “An empty wagon makes the most noise”.

Complaints against appointing the minister’s sister I hope that the minister did not make the appointwith a monthly allowance ments - not because I believe would have been justified if she committed a grave misIt is not fair to address the sub- her sister was overpaid or take or killed our hope in her after she assumed office, but ject without objectivity as if it was unqualified for the job. In case, then claims of corbecause she did not pay a way to distract the people from that ruption on the part of the attention to the fact that she is struggling in an environ- judging the minister based on her minister and the Civil ment where people follow work in office. It is not a secret Service Commission would loud voices rather than the that Thekra Al-Rashidi has per- be reasonable. But the story is actually different; the minvoice of reason. haps been the most ac tive of ister’s sister meets all the What did Thekra actually do? And did the decision to MSAL ministers in taking wide qualifications of the job, hire her sister deserve all the reform steps that included deci- including being a Kuwaiti uproar that the news created? sions to refer long-standing citizen who has necessary academic qualifications and I asked myself these questions first, and tried to look for employees to retirement in order whose hiring has been an answer while predicting to create job oppor tunities for approved by the Civil Service Commission. the problems that Kuwait younger staff members.

Another important submight face as a result of this ject is the fact that many decision. First of all, we have to remember that the minister had denied appoint- political blocs in Kuwait used their influence to help ing a relative in the MSAL, but pointed out that the affiliated individuals to reach high posts that are Civil Service Commission agreed to appoint her sister more important than the post of Thekra’s consultant. as a consultant for a monthly salary. Any controversy Yet, no noise was made even after it was later regarding the minister’s actions should have been revealed that these individuals failed to provide anything to Kuwait. settled by this.

A friend of mine once told me that he once lisIn the meantime, I believe that MPs address subjects in the right manner if they actually claimed to tened to a full speech by Adolf Hitler, after which he be working to serve the general interest. The minis- almost forgot that he was a Nazi criminal who killed ter’s sister is a Kuwaiti citizen who deserves all the millions without a reason, and almost thought that privileges that any other Kuwaiti is entitled to, and it he deserved to be remembered as a commendable is not fair for her to be deprived of her constitutional hero. He only came back to his senses a while later.

This phenomenon is described by psychologists as rights just because her sister is a minister.

Moreover, it is not fair to address the subject with- ‘charisma generated by using a loud voice to garner out objectivity as if it was a way to distract the people public support’. — Al-Rai

s the holy month of Ramadan and Eid are behind us, we pray to Allah the Almighty to keep everybody healthy and preserve the bounty of security and peace, in the midst of the ever-increasing prices of basic and consumer goods which are adding to the financial burdens of citizens and expats. This has further caused a slowdown in purchasing, thereby leading to goods stagnating on the shelves.

It’s ironical that more than 70 percent of the state’s budget go into salaries, while more than 50 percent of citizens and expatriate salaries go into paying rents! Despite the spread of apartments within areas designated for private residence and its fierce competition, prices of flats are increasing day-by-day without any hope of respite. This is due to the increasing demand for them after a revision in pay scale which was approved during the last few years at the National Assembly.

Real estate in general is witnessing a dangerous and critical situation thanks to the inflated prices, in addition to the government’s silence on allocating new lands which would create new urban areas for more real estate growth.

In Saad Al-Abdallah, which is a very modern area, you will find that the rent of a government house costs KD 1,000, while the rent of a private house costs KD 3,000, despite the area being located close to a scrap yard with incomplete basic amenities. The numbers above raise many questions.

Rising rents will certainly increase the financial burden on the bread-winner of the family which will create domestic problems and break up families. This will also result in a feeling of inadequacy in the person who has to pay this rent. I was inspired to write this column because of a friend who trades in residential real estate. He used to build apartments for many years but managed to surprise us when he revealed his son was unable to get an apartment at a low price.

Everyone is responsible for finding a quick solution to this problem before it escalates to a point where the rent equals the salary of the tenant!

I always depend on numbers when I write, and the quick and unjustified rise in rents without relying on any marketing study explains the real need for an increase. The National Assembly and government need to urgently pass new legislations to define things and avoid temporary solutions and instead, rely on long-term plans.

Security is among the most important issues in the stability of any regime. Housing is considered the main pillar of security and we hope the government frees the lands from its grip. —Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

Temporary revolution?

By Mohammad Hayat

A

rab and Muslim countries are rich in tyrants who adopt totalitarian and oppressive methods in power, as well as contradict the public that said tyrants feed off of to continue with their approach. In our societies you find people who believe in people’s right to demand reforms through peaceful demonstrations, but only in accordance with sectarian or racial standards. You also find people siding with the oppressive party only because they share the same sectarian group or race with them, while disregarding humanity which is higher in value than all sectarian groups or races.

Furthermore, you find people who justify killing of a human being who share different ideologies, beliefs, or race, only because of that reason.

It is clear that the Arab Spring has exposed political groups in Kuwait which has put ideologist and sectarian accounts ahead of humanity and people’s right to demand reform. It also exposed the fact that these groups do not believe that humanity is greater than many ideologies or sectarian and racial belongings. There is no good that can come out of people who accept killing other humans over opinions cherished or expressed. Many have put aside the primary quality that all of us have in common, which is humanity, and instead found ideological, sectarian or racial reasons to justify the use of violence. If Arabs and Muslims denounced violence against human beings regardless of race or belief, no tyrant would have ever dared shed the blood of a single person. The blood of innocent civilians being shed today is not only on the hands of tyrants, but is also on the hands of those who justify killing on sectarian and racial basis. And all this bloodshed serves as a lesson to us that we must support people’s right to reject tyrants’ rule without finding justification for the oppression. If we fail to accept this truth, then this nation is destined to see victory after victory for tyrants over the people.

It is also important that we do not ignore the main reason because of which the nation is paying the heaviest of prices today: people’s tolerance with corruption and tyrants for years which has become the main reason behind the bloodshed we witness today. The picture has been the same throughout history: we remain silent towards the actions of tyrants, and once we revolt, we succeed in achieving change but fail miserably in achieving improvement because we refuse to get rid of fanaticism.

And to those who take a neutral stance while continuously repeating that the Arab and Muslim nations are burning whereas the ‘enemies’ are living in peace: we will never find peace unless we liberate ourselves from radicalism and tyranny. Taking a neutral stance does nothing but serve oppression practiced against people seeking dignity and to liberate themselves from fanaticism. We need to wake up otherwise everything happening today will eventually be called a ‘temporary revolution’. — Al-Rai

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

LOCAL

Japan PM’s visit to help cement ties with Kuwait Mutual understanding, joint interests KUWAIT: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is due to arrive in Kuwait today on a three-day visit, during which he will hold talks with senior officials designed to cement the friendly and distinctive ties between the two countries. These close relations, established 55 years ago, have been distinguished with mutual understanding and joint interests; an example to be followed at international relations’ level.

They date back to era of the late Amir, HH Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, who in 1958, granted concessions to the Arabian Oil Company to explore oil and gas in the neutral zone.

Japan was among the first states that recognized Kuwait’s independence. On Dec 8, 1961, it decided to exchange ambassadors with Kuwait. In February 1962, the first Kuwaiti ambassador, Sulaiman Mohammad Al-Sane, arrived in Japan, and the Japanese embassy was opened in Kuwait in March 1963.

However, Japanese trade expeditions have been present in Kuwait since 1961, with aim of exploring markers of the Arab Gulf states.

Bilateral ties between the two countries, for years, have been based on joint interests, particularly at the commercial level. Kuwait is a top exporter of crude and oil derivatives to Japan and the Kuwaiti markets are rich in various Japanese commodities.

Japan took an honorable stance vis a vis the blatant Iraqi aggression on the State of Kuwait in 1990, where Tokyo supported United Nations resolutions that condemned the ensuing occupation and called for reinstatement of the Kuwaiti legitimacy.

Moreover, Tokyo contributed with more than USD 13 billion for the liberation of Kuwait.

On March 23, 2012, Kuwait and Japan affirmed in a joint statement following a landmark visit by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah to the Asian nation (due on March 20-23), necessity of cementing mutual economic and economic cooperation and jointly pledged to encourage commerce, investment and businesses between them.

The Japanese-Kuwaiti business committee has

held annual meetings since 1995, in addition to the Kuwait investment seminar to address a wide range of issues in the commercial, investment and industrial investment sectors.

In 2011, Kuwait donated five million barrels of oil, worth $500 million, to Japan following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, upon instructions of HH the Amir, in addition to $3 million to renovate a marine scientific institute at Fukushima and $2mil-

Shinzo Abe lion as a personal grant by HH the Amir.

The year 1995 was distinguished with reciprocal moves from the two sides with aim of bolstering the bilateral ties, with a visit by the Japanese Heir Apparent Naruhito and his spouse to Kuwait in January, and a visit to Japan by HH the late Amir HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah-to express Kuwait’s gratitude for Japan’s support for its liberation.

During Crown Prince Naruhito’s visit to Kuwait, he was decorated by HH the Amir with the Mubarak Al-Kabeer medal in appreciation for the supportive

Kuwait to participate in e-content award KUWAIT: Kuwait is to participate with seven e-content projects in the World Summit Award which will be held in the Estonian capital Tallin at the end of this month, Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences announced yesterday.

WSA is an award that promotes smart content and awards e-content that contributes to a true knowledge society and promotes it at a global congress. The three-day event (from Aug 29 to 31) will bring together renowned multimedia experts from all parts of the world. The panel, then, will judge the best contents and most innovative applications. All nominated products from each country are evaluated in a threeround judging process, and subsequently, the 40 world’s best e-Contents and applications are selected.

Getting into the spirit of engaging in world events, Kuwait has nominated seven winning e-content projects to represent the country in this prestigious event, Kuwait Electronic Award Secretary-General Manar Al-Hashash said.

She noted that WSA has eight categories that reflect the most crucial social issues of every-day life. These categories are: e-Government and Open Data, e-Health and Environment, e-Learning and Science, e-Entertainment and Games, e-Culture and Tourism, e-Media and Journalism, ebusiness and Commerce and e-Inclusion and Empowerment.

“Zakat House” is to compete in the e-Government and Open Data categories, Al-Hashash went on saying. “Beatona” Kuwait’s official electronic environment website is to participate in the e-Health and Environment category, ‘Kuwaiti Engineer for Construction and Decoration” is nominated for the e-learning and Science category, “Majedphotos” is named for e-Entertainment and Games category, “Kuwait Dhows” is to engage in the e-Culture and Tourism list, “Sheeel.com” also is named in e-Business and Commerce group, lastly, “Directaid” website is nominated to participate in the eInclution and Empowerment section of the award.

Al-Hashash congratulated the nominees for tremendous efforts in developing their e-content that allowed them to engage in international venues. She wished them success and luck in the competition. — KUNA

UAE nationals urged to welcome Gulf visitors DUBAI: Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has issued a warm welcome to Gulf visitors to the United Arab Emirates via his Twitter account.

He encouraged UAE nationals and residents to embrace those visiting the country with an open heart.

“Visitors who come to the UAE from the Gulf are brothers and not tourists. They are family before being guests. Our hearts are their home away from home,” read a tweet by Sheikh Mohammad.

“During my last tour in the mall I met a group of Saudi families visiting the country. I welcomed them to their second country among their expanded family and had an enjoyable conversation with them,” read another of Sheikh Mohammad’s tweets.

GCC condemns twin blasts RIYADH: Abdullatif Al-Zayani, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, has condemned the terrorist attack that took place in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday, inflicting a large number of casualties.

Dr Al-Zayani, in a statement made late on Friday, described targeting worship places and innocent people as a vile criminal action, a cowardly attempt to undermine peaceful co-existence in Lebanon and embroil the people of the country in hateful sectarian sedition.

The GCC chief was alluding to two fiery car bombs that went off, almost simultaneously, outside mosques packed with worshippers during Friday prayers. The explosions killed more than 45 people, wounded more than 300 wounded and left extensive damage in residential areas, in one of the bloodiest attacks witnessed in the country since end of the civil war in early 90s.

Al-Zayani reiterated the appeal on the Lebanese to abstain from involvement in the Syrian crisis for sake of preserving the country’s security and stability, affirming the GCC stance on side of the country in face of “forces of evil and terrorism.” — KUNA

stance.

HH the late Amir, Sheikh Jaber, paid an official visit to Japan in October 1965, in his (former) capacity as the minister of finance and industry. Before the visit, he had stopped, along with his brother, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, in Japan as part of an international tour, in 1953.

HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah paid visit official visits to Japan when he served as foreign minister. They were in April 1964, October 1968 while he was en route to the UN, followed by others in October 1971, May 1984 and October 1998.

HH Sheikh Sabah inaugurated, in Tokyo in October 1998, the Kuwaiti Week (Know about Kuwait), as part of activities by the JapaneseKuwaiti commission to lure Japanese investments to Kuwait. During the visit, HH praised the Japan’s support during the blatant Iraqi aggression and its support for the liberation.

The concessions that had been granted to the Arabian Oil Company in the submerged region that lasted for 45 years was one of the cooperation manifestations with the Japanese companies. In 2003, this accord expired and a new chapter of cooperation began between the Kuwait Gulf Oil Company and the Arabian Oil Company. Several agreements were signed to provide Japan with part of the production in the zone.

Japan is a main market for the Kuwaiti oil exports. Kuwait’s exports of crude, oil derivatives and liquefied gas constituted, respectively, 28 percent, 18 percent and 66 percent of the overall Kuwaiti exports of oil in 2003. Statistics showed that the Kuwaiti exports of crude to Japan reached nearly 98 million barrels in 2012.

Kuwaiti and Japanese businessmen have been cooperating within framework of the joint commission since 1995. And, Official statistics in 1993 showed that Japan became the number-one trade partner for Kuwait. In the first half of 2001, Japan’s external trade with Kuwait rose 2.3 percent from $2.5 billion to 2.56 billion. Japanese exports to Kuwait in the first six months of 2001 rose 12.3 percent from $256 million to $287 million.—- KUNA

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

LOCAL

Ukraine celebrates its 22nd Independence anniversary

By Dr. Volodymyr Tolkach Ambassador of Ukraine KUWAIT: 22 years ago on Aug 24, 1991 the Act of Independence of Ukraine was adopted that resulted in the emergence of a new independent state on the political map of the world.

Ukrainian nationwide referendum on Dec 1, 1991 when approximately 91% of its participants expressed support for the independence of Ukraine removed away any political speculations about the future fate of the Ukrainian nation.

This historical Act allowed to keep on developing the long state-building traditions in the Ukrainian land, laid one thousand years ago in the era of the princely state of “Kyiv Rus”, which periodically revived in the mid17th and early 20th centuries, became a foundation for a peaceful, bloodless restoration of the independent Ukrainian state and a model for other nations for the civilized formation of a new state.

The recent stage of Uk rainian statehood has opened a possibility for carrying out its own foreign policy and thus set a new task to make a mechanism of interaction with other members of the international community and ensure its effective application.

European integration was declared as a key priority of the foreign policy of Ukraine, which provides for systematic reforms in all spheres of life in accordance with EU standards. The ultimate goal of European integration is Ukraine’s membership in the European Union.

The main task for today is to complete negotiations on the Association Agreement, which integral part is a creation of the free trade area.

At the bilateral level Ukraine is seeking to use the full potential of cooperation with Russian Federation, the United States and other strategic partners, based on shared values and interests, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with EU member-states, and develop friendly relations with neighbouring countries and other states on the principles of mutual benefit, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, in compliance with international law. Particular emphasis is thus placed on achieving concrete practical results, especially in the economic sphere, increasing foreign investment, creating favourable political conditions for implementation of important bilateral and multilateral economic projects.

In the area of foreign policy of its national security Uk raine as a European non-aligned state promotes its interests, based on the norms and principles of international law, develops friendly relations with all countries, especially its neighbours, carries out a policy aimed at strengthening stability and security in Europe and the world, takes an active part in solving the so-called “frozen” conflicts and other international efforts in order to overcome current challenges and threats.

Since Ukraine’s independence a new period of its activity at the UN has begun, which was declared as one of the priorities of foreign policy.

Ukraine in 1945 was one of the founding members of the UN as recognition of the contribution of the Ukrainian people to the victory over fascism and strengthening peace throughout the world. The delegation of Ukraine actively participated in the conference in San Francisco, made a significant contribution to the development of the UN Charter.

Till 1991 being a part of the then Soviet Union Ukraine had its own representation at the UN at level of the de jure independent country.

Despite implementation of the unified Soviet foreign policy for more than four decades, the UN tribune remained almost the only important international means by which the world community learned about Uk raine. The factor of long-time Uk raine’s membership in the UN helped in the process of international recognition of its independence in 1991. For more than 60-year history

of membership Uk raine strictly adheres to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, makes a significant contribution to its activities in the field of international peace and security, disarmament, economic and social development, human rights, the strengthening of international law.

During 1994-2013 fourteen meetings of the Presidents of Ukraine and the UN Secretaries-General were organized. Seven meetings of the President of Uk raine Viktor Yanukovych with Ban Ki-moon in 2010-2012 affirms exceptionally high dynamic Ukraine-UN dialogue at the highest level, creates a supportive policy framework for promoting the interests of Ukraine at the UN. Since Jan 30, 1992 Ukraine is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe the largest regional organization that brings together 56 countries from Europe, Central Asia and Nor th America.

Unanimously adopted by the OSCE Ministerial Council in November 2010 decision on Ukraine’s chairmanship in the OSCE in 2013 was recognition of the role of our country in strengthening regional security and stability as well as ability of the Ukrainian diplomacy to lead talks on improving security in region of its responsibility from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

The results of Ukraine’s chairmanship at the OSCE in 2013 have proven our state’s ability to effectively implement management functions within the organization. A balanced Ukrainian approach to the formation of the OSCE priorities in 2013 in all three dimensions provided support of participating states in their implementation and facilitated achieving concrete results in each direction.

Ukraine attaches great importance to the maintenance of international peace and security as an important factor in its foreign policy. For over two decades our citizens made a great contribution to the peaceful coexistence of humanity and became true ambassadors of peace in over twenty countries, where peacekeeping missions of UN Security Council, OSCE and NATO were deployed. By participating in operations and missions of the European Union our peacekeepers also strengthen security in Europe.

Since July 1992 Uk raine is an active contributor to the military units and personnel in UN peacekeeping operations. At the end of June 2013 518 servicemen of the armed forces and employees of the ministry for interior affairs of Ukraine take part in seven UN peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cyprus, Kosovo, CÙte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sudan and South Sudan. According to this data, Ukraine ranks the 33rd place among the UN member-states and the 4th among European countries (after Italy, France and Spain).

An important priority is strengthening the economic component of Ukraine’s foreign policy in order to create favourable international conditions for overcoming the negative effects of the global financial crisis and economic recovery of our country. For this purpose all necessary measures are taken for promoting Ukrainian goods and services in both traditional and new markets, including the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Africa.

The development of cooperation with the Gulf countries, including the State of Kuwait, is also important for Ukraine. In 2013 the official Kyiv and El-Kuwait celebrated the 20th anniversar y of establishment of diplomatic relations. Special character was recently given to cooperation in the humanitarian field (holding joint days of Ukrainian and Kuwaiti culture, participation of Kuwaiti delegation of the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs in the 12th International Children Festival “Let’s change the world for the better” in 2013, negotiation on establishing partnership between leading universities of both countries), which promotes mutual trust, knowledge and understanding between our citizens.

The second meeting of the Joint intergovernmental Ukrainian-Kuwaiti commission on economic, trade and technical cooperation is expected to be hold in September 2013 and open new possibilities to enhance interaction in financial, economic and investment spheres, offer more initiatives and projects for government and private business communities of both countries. The histor y of Ukrainian-Kuwaiti relations is daily updated by new examples of constructive and mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation at various levels that confirms the true nature of our both countries: reliability, peacefulness, openness; and the absence of any contradiction of principal character lets us be optimistic about their future.

Two police hopefuls arrested for mugging Felony charges in teen assault KUWAIT: A police academy trainee and soon-to-be recruit were arrested on charges of mugging with fake badges. The arrests were made after several people complained at Zahra’a police station that they were ordered to report there by two police officers who confiscated their money and cell phones. Each of the 17 non-Kuwaiti men gave an identical description of the two suspects who they said used a vehicle that carried a beacon similar to the one found on top of police patrols and also had police badges. Detectives were eventually able to identify two prime suspects; a police academy recruit and a person who applied for work at the Interior Ministry.

The two were arrested in Zahra’a and initially denied the accusations but later confessed after their victims identified them in police lineups. Police found fake badges carrying the letters CID, an acronym

for the Criminal Investigations Department inside one of the suspects’ homes, apart from the beacon they used on their vehicles.

They are in custody and will soon be referred to the Public Prosecution Department.

Jahra assault Search is on for a male suspect who faces criminal charges after physically assaulting a teenager in Jahra breaking his ankle. A case was filed at Jahra police station where a Kuwaiti man reported that his son who was being treated at the Jahra Hospital was beaten up over some old issue. Investigations are ongoing to arrest the suspects.

Hawally mugger held Hawally police arrested a man who has been using the same modus operandi to mug pedestrians over the past three years.

Investigations were ongoing for a

while in cases where pedestrians reported being mugged by a person who stopped them to ask for directions. When the pedestrians offered to help, the suspect would brandish a pocketknife and threaten the person to hand over his cell phone and cash before escaping.

The mugger was caught red-handed by police who were patrolling the area. During questioning at the local police station, he admitted that he was responsible for mugging people in Hawally for three years and is now cooling his heels behind bars.

Maid uses trick A domestic helper faked illness, hoping to force her employer to pay her salary which she claimed she had not received. An ambulance rushed to a Salmiya building where a housemaid reported in an emergency call that she had fallen sick at her employer’s apartment.

After paramedics reached the place, the Ethiopian woman admitted that she was not really sick but made an emergency call to make her employer think twice about withholding her monthly pay.

Police were called in to handle the situation.

Father saves the day A Kuwaiti man saved his daughter’s life by successfully performing first aid before paramedics arrived at the scene. Medical staff and police rushed to a house in Qortuba where the 10-year-old reportedly choked on a foreign object. When they reached the scene, paramedics found out that the girl’s father had successfully used the Heimlich maneuver to remove the object which had blocked her air way. The paramedics attended to the girl and determined that her condition did not require hospitalization.

Zain honors its product, services partners KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, recently held its quarterly dealers lunch event to honor a number of its authorized service providers for their outstanding performance during the second quarter of 2013.

During the event, Zain acknowledged the outstanding performance of these partners based on several key indicators. ‘ISYS’ came first in terms of driving revenue to Zain’s valueadded services, while ‘ITG’ was the first in providing “Zain Same’ni” value -added ser vice.

‘AiwaGulf’ ranked first with the best technical

support team, and ‘Media Phone Plus’ as the best seller of Adzone SMSs. This event takes place every quarter, allowing distributors to compete fairly with one another and drive more efficiency when offering the best services and products to Zain customers.

Nadia Al-Saif, Zain’s Valued Added Services Director commented by saying: “Our partners play a significant role in Zain’s success. Their consistency in providing excellent service for Zain’s customers is critical to the company’s focus on enhancing the customer experience.”

“Zain’s distributors are without a doubt, an

integral part of Zain and a significant element of success that has helped Zain reach the leading position it enjoys today. The company encourages distributors to maintain their performance and continue offering the best services and products to its loyal customers” added Al-Saif.

For more information about Zain’s numerous competitive promotions, customers are advised to visit any of Zain’s branches located in more than 76 locations across Kuwait, visit the company’s website on www.kw.zain.com, contact its 24 hour call center at 107, or visit the company’s social media channels.

KUWAIT: A car accident on Sixth Ring road resulted in the death of a young man, while another was injured. Sulaibikhat fire center and technical rescue dealt with the accident.—By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Iran expanding drone base on Arabian Gulf island DUBAI: Satellite imagery shows that Iran is expanding a drone base on the Arabian Gulf island of Qeshm that sits next to the narrow strait through which 20-percent of the world’s oil was shipped though in 2012. It’s all part of a broader effort by Tehran to beef up its military facilities around the strategic Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important waterways.

The air base’s main runway was recently doubled in length to 1,600 meters, according to Jane’s IHS, a private defense analysis firm. This new length would allow the facility to be used for launching Iran’s Shahed-129 drones that could track, and possibly attack, ships passing through the strait. Said to be able to fly for up to 24-hours, the Shahed drones are reportedly able to carry missiles capable of hitting ships and ground targets.

In addition to its freshly lengthened runway, the Qeshm site features two new hangars and what Jane’s thinks may be building where the drones are controlled remotely from.

There’s also a new mobile radar unit at the facility, that “probably provides information that helps [drone] operators avoid collisions with civilian airliners using the nearby Qeshm International Airport,” reads Jane’s analysis of the site. This radar may also be used to guide drones armed with antiaircraft missiles to targets flying over the strait, speculates Jane’s. Photos have emerged showing Iran’s new H-110 Sarir drone armed with small antiaircraft missiles, though it’s unknown if these missiles actually work.

(The US tried to shoot down an Iraqi MiG figther jet with a Predator drone armed with Stinger missiles in 2002; the engagement didn’t go well for the American drone.)

The drone base isn’t the only military site on Queshim. If you look at the island on Google Maps you can see an Iranian naval base less than two miles from the drone facility.

In addition to hosting a number of small, armed speedboats that military experts say could be deployed in a swarm to overwhelm the defenses of

large ships, the site appears have an underground dock that may hide midget submarines. These small subs could be used to try to torpedo American warships in the area.

Part of Iran’s plan for dealing with any conflict involving the United States in the Persian Gulf is to use a mix of high-speed anti-ship missiles, small UAVs, sea mines, and swarms of small boats and midget subs to make it difficult for large American ships built to fight other large ships to operate in the confined space of the gulf. Iran would also try to target nearby American air bases that sit on the shore of the Persian Gulf with its ever expanding missile arsenal. It’s already been confirmed that

Iran was operating several different small drones at the Qeshm airstrip before its expansion. As the satellite imagery analysis website OSIMINT notes, the presence of newer drones at Qeshm may have been a factor in the US Navy’s decision to equip its floating base in the gulf, the USS Ponce, with an experimental laser cannon designed to shoot tiny drones or swarms of fast moving small boats.

Still, the sites on Qeshm are pretty tiny and it would be relatively easy for the US to take them out with cruise missiles or B-2 stealth bombers.

Iran’s going to have to have quite a few such sites if it really wants to control the Strait of Hormuz for more than a few days.

KUWAIT: The National Bank of Kuwait celebrated the World Humanitarian Day by releasing a statement showcasing dozens of contributions the bank offered throughout the years, including donations to the NBK Children Hospital, training courses for Kuwaiti students, as well as support to social, environmental and athletic activities.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

Fear returns to Egypt as state crackdown widens

San Diego mayor Filner quits over sex charges Page 9

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Fort Hood shooter convicted Major Hasan faces death penalty FORT HOOD: A US Army officer who killed 13 people in a rampage on a Texas military base was found guilty of premeditated murder Friday and now faces a possible death sentence. The verdict against 42-year-old Major Nidal Hasan was handed down by a US military jury after a court martial at Fort Hood, the site of his 2009 shooting spree. Hasan sat stoically looking as the foreman, a female colonel, read the verdict in the killings of 12 service members and a civilian, as well as the attempted murder of dozens more.

There were no outbursts of emotion from family members of the victims, but some cried and wiped away tears as they left the courtroom. “So overwhelmed with joy and tears! ... God Bless the victims in their strength,” former police sergeant Kimberly Munley, who was wounded in the shooting, wrote on Twitter. The trial had heard that Hasan, a Muslim, had been in contact with a leading Al-Qaeda figure and had attacked his comrades out of opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hasan, who was serving at the time as an Army psychiatrist, chose to defend himself during the hearings and openly declared that he had carried out the killings. The trial will now move into a sentencing phase. His refusal to engage with the court-he called no witnesses and refused to make a closing statement-has fuelled suspicions that he is actively seeking the death penalty. On November 5, 2009, Hasan opened fire at a medical processing facility in the sprawling Fort Hood base that serves as a staging point for soldiers to deploy to combat zones.

Twelve of the dead and 30 of the

wounded were soldiers. Hasan was himself shot by a civilian police officer who responded to the attack and he is now partially paralyzed. Tim Hancock was mayor of the nearby town of Killeen at the time of the attack and 200 meters away attending a graduation ceremony when the first shots rang out. “It was like war, in my mind,” Hancock said. “It was like the real thing and it was the real thing for those in the processing center.” “I think justice is served and we’ll see what happens from here. It is still hard to believe and still sad,” he said of the sentencing.

Hasan’s attack raised fears that the United States could face a wave of socalled “lone wolf” killers, inspired by AlQaeda but not directly under the extremist group’s control. “I was defending my religion,” Hasan said in a letter to AFP, arguing that the United States was wrong to invade Muslim countries. “It is one thing for the United States to say ‘We don’t want sharia law to govern us,’ but it is not acceptable to have a foreign policy that tries to replace sharia law with a more secular form of government.”

Under US military law, a full trial must be held in a death penalty case, even if the defendant wants to plead guilty. But Hasan chose to defend himself and contested virtually none of the evidence presented during the two-week court martial. At the outset, he declared: “The evidence will show that I am the shooter.” The military judge, Colonel Tara Osborn, told Hasan she thought it “unwise” for him to continue to serve as his own attorney as the case moves into

Islamists slit throats of 44 in northeast Nigeria MAIDUGURI: An official says suspected Islamist extremists killed at least 44 villagers in continuing attacks in an Islamic uprising in northeast Nigeria. The official of the National Emergency Management Agency says the attackers hit Dumba village in Borno state before dawn and slit their victims’ throats - a new strategy since gunfire attracts security forces. He said the attackers gouged out the eyes of

some victims who survived. The official spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to give information to reporters. Dumba is near the fishing village of Baga where security forces in March gunned down 187 civilians in retaliation for an attack by extremists. It is difficult to get information from the area under a state of emergency, with cellphone and Internet service cut. — AP

Fear, grief as Lebanon’s Tripoli buries its dead TRIPOLI: Said Ebous bursts into tears as his wife wrapped her arms around him after they buried their three children, who were among 45 people killed by twin car bombs in Lebanon. Ebous had been praying in the Al-Taqwa mosque in the northern port city of Tripoli on Friday when a bomb exploded in the courtyard.

Minutes earlier another blast had struck outside Al-Salam mosque just a couple of kilometers (a bit more than a mile) away.

“When I came out of the mosque into the courtyard, I saw bodies everywhere. I k new my children had died,” he says between sobs. “They took me to a nearby house to calm me down. Then they told me: ‘Your children are in paradise’,” he said of his daughter aged seven, and his sons, aged four and five. The children were among seven people buried yesterday in Tripoli, a day of national mourning across Lebanon, as the usually busy streets were deser ted and shops remained closed.

Gunmen in civilian clothes attending the funerals opened fire in the air to vent their anger at the bloodshed, an AFP correspondent said. “We must avenge every drop of blood that has been spilled,” said one of the mourners, Khaled Al-Homsy.

O thers around him shouted slogans against the government in Syria whose 29-month conflict has spilled into Tripoli, triggering frequent clashes between opponents and suppor ters of the Damascus regime.

The bombings outside the two Sunni Muslim mosques also wounded hundreds, but the toll could rise as some of the injuries were horrific and because people were still searching for missing relatives. “I am looking for the husband of my sister. Here’s his car,” says Mohamed Khaled, 38, pointing to a damaged vehicle. “He is a baker, he was coming from Beirut and passing through here,” he adds nervously. “His family is devastated. If he died, may God protect his soul.” Several charred bodies are yet to be identified, a

security official said. Shock and grief grip Tripoli yesterday, and the fear of fresh attacks was palpable, the AFP correspondent said.

Soldiers patrolled the city on foot and in armored cars while armed men in civilian clothes stood guard outside the headquarters of political parties and the homes of MPs and religious dignitaries.

Security forces stopped motorists and searched cars. Merchants put metal bars across their shop windows, and the few that had opened were told to close again by armed men who said a bomb had been found on the outskirts of the city.

As with the August 15 car bombing that ripped through a densely populated neighborhood in Beirut’s mostly-Shiite southern suburbs, the Tripoli blasts killed civilians.

Mustafa al-Mussawel, who had also been at prayers in Al-Taqwa and lives nearby, says: “Since yesterday, my daughter has not stopped asking me: ‘Will we see more bodies?’” He had run home when the blasts struck. “I saw my wife and t wo young daughters had been wounded in the head... I also saw human remains on my balcony.” Yesterday soldiers were still clearing the charred cars from the sites of the attacks that struck the city centre and near the port. Shoes lay scattered across the pavement near to where the bombs detonated.

Shopkeepers inspected their wrecked stores and people wandered around the blast sites, searching for their relatives.

Friday’s attacks revived painful memories of the car bombings that marked Lebanon’s civil war (1975-1990). “I have never seen so much destruction and death in my neighborhood,” said Said Farhat, 35, who works in a clothes shop near the AlSalam mosque. “I am scared that it might happen again; I am afraid of dying buried under the rubble.” “I am thinking of emigrating. Ever ything is going badly in Lebanon, and nowhere is safe in the country any more,” he adds. — AFP

the sentencing phase.

“I want to make sure your choice is made with your eyes wide open,” Osborn said. “You’re 42 years old, you’re highly educated, you have a medical degree, but you are not legally trained.”

Hasan told the court he had switched sides in the war on terror in order to battle US soldiers he believed were being sent to make war on Muslims.

Before the shooting, Hasan had learned he would be deployed to Afghanistan.

He armed himself with two handguns before attacking the center. Witnesses described chaotic scene in which dozens of soldiers were caught off

guard.

When Hasan shouted “Allahu akbar”Arabic for “God is great”-and opened fire, many believed it was a training exercise. Hasan fired quickly, hitting some victims multiple times. One of the dead, specialist Frederick Greene, was hit 12 times while charging Hasan. The shooting ended after civilian police confronted Hasan outside the building.

Police sergeant Munley was the first on the scene and opened fire. Hasan charged her and shot her three times.

Fellow officer Sergeant Mark Todd then arrived and opened fire on Hasan, hitting him several times. — AFP

Nidal Hasan

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

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

Constitutional tweaks may empower Mubarak-era politicians Changes seen as setback for democracy, press freedom CAIRO: Changes suggested by Egypt’s army-backed rulers would scrap Islamic additions to a constitution forced through under deposed President Mohamed Morsi and revive a voting system dating back to his predecessor Hosni Mubarak. Islamists and liberals have voiced alarm about the proposals made by a constitutional committee set up by the generals who removed the Muslim Brotherhood’s Morsi on July 3 amid widespread protests against Egypt’s first freely elected leader.

The army has suspended the constitution adopted under Morsi late last year. It had been endorsed by a referendum after he grabbed extraordinary powers to ensure its passage, igniting some of the bloodiest street protests of his turbulent year in power. Now an army-installed government is revising a document faulted for embedding Islamic influence in lawmaking and for short-changing human rights, especially of women and minorities, including Christians who form some 10 percent of the population. The changes drafted by a 10-member committee - and leaked to the media on Wednesday, the same day a court ordered Mubarak freed from jail - are part of an army roadmap back to democracy.

US Secretary of State John Kerry dis-

cussed the roadmap and the constitutional process in a call with interim Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy on Friday, state news agency MENA reported. The United States has voiced concern about the army’s bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and other violence in which more than 1,000 people, about a tenth of them soldiers and police, have been killed since Morsi fell. President Barack Obama has stopped short of cutting the $1.5 billion that Washington provides each year in mostly military aid to Egypt, but has ruled out any “return to normal business”.

The constitutional amendments drafted by the committee are due to go to a diverse 50-strong assembly to be appointed by the interim government, but they are already proving contentious.

Curiously, given that popular protests helped sweep away Egypt’s last two leaders, one new article would outlaw this and would give parliament the sole right to dismiss a president. “What is the point of having an article like that?” asked rights activist Gamal Eid. “The whole world will laugh at us.”

RETURN TO OLD VOTING SYSTEM The committee is likely to propose retaining an article that exempts Egypt’s powerful military from financial or politi-

cal auditing, insiders on the body said.

Morsi, anxious not to alienate the defense establishment, had also left this alone. One of the most significant suggested changes would return Egypt to voting for individual candidates, rather than reserving some seats for party lists, in parliamentary elections. Under the current system, in which two-thirds of seats go to party lists and one-third to individuals, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties won about 80 percent of seats in the first parliamentary election after Mubarak’s overthrow in 2011.

“This change seems to target Islamists and it will be wrong and undemocratic,” Eid said. “We had complaints ... about the Brotherhood and Islamists, but that does not mean ruling them out of politics as this will only lead to more violence.”

Khaled Dawoud, a member of the liberal Dostour party, described the proposal as a return to the Mubarak era, when votes were routinely rigged to enable the president’s National Democratic Party (NDP) to maintain its dominance of parliament.

The system allowed individuals, mostly aligned with the NDP, to run as “independents” using local patronage networks to get into parliament.

Brotherhood candidates also ran candidates as independents to keep a limited

presence in the assembly. Once Mubarak was gone, the Islamist movement emerged from the shadows and used its organizational muscle to win five successive victories at the polls, gaining seats in parliament both for those on party lists and those running as individuals.

Dawoud said he was worried by plans to retain articles under which journalists risk jail for “insulting the president” and newspapers can be closed for press crimes - penalties enforced under Morsi, as well as during Mubarak’s 30-year rule.

“I want new freedoms, more freedoms and not to end up with something similar to the 1971 constitution or one worse than Morsi’s 2012 constitution,” he said.

Islamists are also up in arms, for different reasons, saying the changes amount to an assault on Egypt’s “Islamic identity”.

According to MENA, the committee has proposed scrapping articles that accorded Islam more weight in lawmaking, gave the Sunni Muslim religious authority al-Azhar a role in vetting legislation, committed the state to upholding “morals and public order” and banned insults to “prophets and religions”. To the dismay of liberals and Christians, the constitution adopted under Morsi had strengthened a provision in its 1971 predecessor that made Islamic sharia the

source of legislation.

However, the provision, due to revert to its original form in the proposed changes, was only patchily applied from 1971. “We will protest in all legal ways available against any change to the state’s Islamic identity,” said Ahmed Habashi, a leader in the ultra-orthodox Islamist Nour Party in the Delta town of Mahalla. If that effort failed, he said, “we will call for protests.” Before the new constitution is ratified, it must be approved by a referendum and signed by interim President Mansour Adly. Brotherhood leaders are mostly in jail or on the run and could not be reached for comment on the proposed changes.

Younes Makhyoun, head of the Nour Party, which initially backed the army’s removal of Morsi, has warned against any arbitrar y campaign targeting Islamists after the crackdown on the Brotherhood, and has urged the government to protect freedoms won by the anti-Mubarak revolt. The legal committee, which proposed cancelling 32 of the constitution’s 236 articles and amending 109, suggested abolishing the toothless upper house of parliament. According to the military’s roadmap, the new constitution should be adopted in about four months, with parliamentary and presidential elections to follow. — Reuters

Fear returns to Egypt as state crackdown widens Egyptians panic as govt hunts down Islamists

WASHINGTON: These two file photos show US Army Private First Class Bradley Manning (left) leaving a military court facility where he was convicted of espionage for passing secret documents to WikiLeaks; and at right in an undated photo courtesy of the US Army showing Bradley Manning in wig and make-up. — AFP

Manning creating new challenges for US army FORT MEADE: Bradley Manning created a whole new set of potential complications for the US military, asking to be known as a woman named Chelsea and to undergo hormone treatment, just one day after he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the biggest leak of classified material in American history. Manning’s gender-identity struggle - a sense of being a woman trapped in a man’s body - was brought up by the defense at the court-martial for giving more than 700,000 classified military and diplomatic documents, plus battlefield footage, to the anti-secrecy website Wikileaks.

A photo of the soldier in a blond wig and lipstick was submitted as evidence.

But the latest twist, announced the morning after Manning was sentenced, surprised many and confronted the Pentagon with questions about where and how the Army private is to be imprisoned. The former Army intelligence analyst disclosed the decision Thursday in a statement provided to NBC’s “Today” show. “As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible,” the statement read.

The statement asked people to use the feminine pronoun when referring to Manning. It was signed “Chelsea E Manning” and included a handwritten signature. The soldier’s attorney, David Coombs, told “Today” he hopes officials at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, accommodate Manning’s request for hormone treatment, which typically involves high doses of estrogen to promote breast development and other female characteristics.

The Associated Press Stylebook calls for use of the pronoun that is either an individual’s preference or is consistent with the way the person lives publicly.

The news agency said in a statement it would let that “be our guide as this story develops.” However, Leavenworth spokesman George Marcec said later Thursday that if Manning wants to go by Chelsea in prison, a name change would have to be approved in court and then a petition submitted with the Army to change its records.

The AP said it was seeking additional details from Coombs, and until then would use only gender-neutral terms in reference to Manning. Coombs did not respond to email and telephone messages. George Wright, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon, said the Army does not provide such treatment or sex-reassignment surgery. He said soldiers behind bars are given access to psychiatrists and other mental health pro-

fessionals.

A lawsuit could be in the offing.

Coombs said he will do “everything in my power” to make sure Manning gets his way. And the American Civil Liberties Union, the Human Rights Campaign and other advocates for gays, bisexuals and transgender people said Manning deserves the treatment. “In the United States, it is illegal to deny health care to prisoners. That is fairly settled law,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

“Now the Army can claim this isn’t health care, but they have the weight of the medical profession and science against them.”

A Federal Bureau of Prisons policy implemented last year requires federal prisons to develop treatment plans, including hormone treatment if necessary, for inmates diagnosed with genderidentity disorder. But the bureau oversees only civilian prisons. Manning’s case appeared to be the first time the therapy had come up for a military prisoner.

Manning, 25, was convicted of Espionage Act violations and other crimes for turning more than 700,000 classified military and diplomatic documents over to the secrets-spilling website WikiLeaks.

Coombs said the soldier could be paroled from prison in as little as seven years. After sentencing, Manning was returned Thursday to Fort Leavenworth.

Fort Leavenworth is an all-male prison.

But the staff has some leeway to separate soldiers from the other inmates based on the risk to themselves and others, prison spokesman George Marcec said. Manning would not be allowed to wear a wig or bra, and would have to meet the military standard for hair, Marcec said.

In addition, Marcec said if Manning wants to go by Chelsea in the prison, a name change would have to be approved in court and then a petition submitted with the Army to change its records. Advocates said gays and transgender people are more susceptible to sexual assault and other violence in prison. “She most likely will need to be placed with a female prison population because she identifies as female,” said Jeffrey Parsons, a psychology professor at Hunter College in New York.

Under a special agreement, the Army sends its female prisoners to a Navy women’s jail in Miramar, California. It also has an agreement under which it can send soldiers to federal civilian prisons.

Greg Rinckey, a former Army prosecutor and now a lawyer in Albany, New York, said the military is adamant about not providing hormone treatment: “You enlisted as a male, you’re a male, you’re going to be incarcerated as a male.”—AP

CAIRO: A climate of fear that kept Egyptians compliant during the 30year rule of Hosni Mubarak is creeping back into daily life, less than three years after the revolt that toppled him. Ordinary people like Mohamed, who runs a tiny Cairo shop selling mobile phone accessories, now lower their voices if they oppose the army’s overthrow last month of their first freely-elected president, Mohamed Morsi.

“It is about the principle that we stood in line and voted freely for the first time and this happens,” whispered Mohamed, who declined to give his second name. “People who speak about justice now do not dare to say it out loud, in case people accuse them of being terrorists.” While activists critical of the army-backed government are obvious targets for intimidation, now ordinary Egyptians also avoid the noisy, boisterous discussion of politics that was common between the fall of Mubarak and that of his Islamist successor on July 3.

From mass arrests of Muslim Brotherhood leaders to the reappearance of plain clothes enforcers on the streets of Cairo, a chill wind is blowing down the Nile. Many Egyptians lambasted Morsi’s Brotherhood for economic incompetence and trying to grab excessive power during his year in power. But now the language is much more serious: the government accuses the Brotherhood of “terrorism” as it tries to crush the movement by rounding up hundreds of leading members.

At least 900 people have been killed since security forces broke up two pro-Morsi camps on Aug. 14.

Allies of the Brotherhood, Egypt’s oldest and best-organized Islamist organization, put the toll at 1,400. A muted public response to Wednesday’s court ruling that Mubarak should be released from jail has added to a sense that the authoritarian order is making a comeback, threatening the freedoms that were the main dividend of the uprising that began on Jan 25, 2011.

Media are now dominated by those backing the army’s line that it removed Morsi in response to popular protests demanding his departure that began on June 30. “I can sense, smell and very much tell that these are old Mubarak people coming to take their revenge on the Muslim

RAFAH BORDER: A bus drives through the Rafah border terminal in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday. A week after Cairo closed down the passage that bypasses Israel it reopened yesterday for four hours daily, for humanitarian cases and Palestinians with foreign nationalities. —AFP Brotherhood,” said Khaled Dawoud, a liberal who backed Morsi’s overthrow but has since criticized the spread of violence. “It is so obvious with the pro-Mubarak people who are filling the TV right now. They don’t even want to consider Jan 25 a revolution.

They say June 30 is the only revolution.”

The Brotherhood, which kept large protest camps going for six weeks in Cairo to demand Morsi’s reinstatement, is now struggling to get people out. There have been no major protests for days. The marches have fizzled out since Sunday when rumors spread that government snipers were posted on rooftops. The authorities have tightened their grip with dawnto-dusk curfews. The emergency rule that lasted throughout the Mubarak era is back, at least for a month. Police who melted away in the face of public anger in 2011 appear invigorated by the new political climate, paraded as heroes on state television.

WIDENING THE NET As the authorities widen their net to include regional and lower-ranking Brotherhood members, other Islamist parties worry that their own members will be hauled in. Younes Makhyoun, leader of the Nour Party which follows the puritanical Salafi approach

to Islam, voiced concerned that the political security apparatus that once hunted religious groups and government critics will make a comeback.

Islamist movements, like any that tried to offer a serious alternative to Mubarak’s military-backed party, were outlawed for decades. Like the Brotherhood, they were among the biggest beneficiaries of the 2011 uprising that allowed them to set up political parties and campaign openly for the first time. Now, their members face citizen’s arrests at the makeshift checkpoints that have sprung up around Egypt, manned by pro-government vigilantes. Some Egyptians recognise these as the pro-Mubarak “baltagiya”, or thugs, who clashed with protesters during the 18-day revolt that ousted the former leader.

“Thugs have attacked them in the street, then handed them over to the police stations, then accusations have been fabricated against them - that they had weapons or were taking part in acts of sabotage,” Makhyoun said.

“We need guarantees from the authorities to the Egyptian people: that the gains of the Jan 25 revolution cannot be violated, especially in the field of freedoms, human rights, and freedom of expression.”

The crackdown on the Islamists has divided liberals in much the same

way that it has polarized Egypt. Loath to endure Islamist rulers, elected or not, some liberals who joined the 2011 protests now side wholeheartedly with the army. Egyptian state television has resumed its role as the mouthpiece of those in power.

Channels emblazoned with banners reading “Egypt fighting terrorism” flicker on screens in Cairo’s street cafes, in bakeries and in barber shops.

A recent poll by the Arab American Institute suggested a huge majority of Egyptians had confidence in the military. It is far from uncommon to hear Egyptians, whose economy was brought close to bankruptcy by persistent instability, hark back to Mubarak’s era as a time when they at least earned a living. “The Brotherhood were a problem for this country. God has taken revenge on them,” said Haj Abdelfattah, 71, smoking his waterpipe as he sat on a plastic chair and sold overripe fruit by the road. “They acted for themselves, not Egypt.”

LIBERAL CRITICS FEEL THE HEAT But some of the liberals who initially welcomed the army’s move against Morsi have been dismayed by the ensuing bloodshed. The army has promised fresh elections but critics fear they will pay a political price for their opposition. —Reuters

Islamist militias merge, declare jihad on France NOUAKCHOTT: An Al-Qaeda-linked militia founded by wanted Islamist commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar has announced it had joined forces with another armed group to take revenge against France for its military offensive in Mali.

Belmokhtar’s Mauritania-based Al-Mulathameen Brigade (The Brigade of the Masked Ones) and the Mali-based Movement for Oneness and Jihad in

Terrorist leader Moktar Belmoktar

West Africa (MUJAO) said they had joined forces under a single banner to unite Muslims across the region.

“Your brothers in MUJAO and Al-Mulathameen announce their union and fusion in one movement called Al-Murabitoun to unify the ranks of Muslims around the same goal, from the Nile to the Atlantic,” the groups said in a statement published

by Mauritanian news agency ANI. Belmokhtar, a one-eyed Algerian former commander of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), allegedly masterminded a siege in January of an Algerian gas plant in which 38 hostages, including three Americans, died. Branded “The Uncatchable”, Belmokhtar is also thought to have been behind twin car bombings in Niger in May that left at least 20 people dead.

The Algeria siege and the Niger assaults were said to have been carried out in retaliation for France’s military intervention launched in January against Islamist groups in Mali. Belmokhtar, who broke away from AQIM in 2012 and was involved in the fighting against Chadian forces in Mali, was reported to have been killed in action in March.

The reports, however, were never confirmed and it is believed that he remains at large. He has been designated a foreign terrorist by the United States

since 2003, with the State Department offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

MUJAO is thought to be led by Mauritanian ethnic Tuareg Ahmed Ould Amer, who goes by the nom de guerre “Ahmed Telmissi”. The group broke away from AQIM in mid-2011 with the apparent goal of spreading jihad further into areas of west Africa not within AQIM’s scope. It was one of a number of Islamist groups that occupied northern Mali last year, imposing a brutal interpretation of Islamic sharia law characterized by amputations, beatings and executions, before being ousted by the French-led military intervention.

The statement said the two men had signed a document announcing their merger and ceding command of the new movement to “another personality”, without revealing the identity of the new leader, according to ANI. The statement said the jihadist movement in the region was now “stronger than ever” and threatened France and its allies, promising “to rout their troops”. Al-Murabitoun-an Arabic phrase meaning “the sentinels”-was the name given to a Berber dynasty of Morocco which formed an empire in the 11th century. Today the name is used by a Nasserist political party in Lebanon.— AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

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

Legacy of Nixon tapes: Skepticism, distrust endure WASHINGTON: It’s a good thing Richard Nixon was such a klutz. The president’s ineptness at all things mechanical is what prompted his aides to install a voice-activated recording system that didn’t require Nixon to push an on-off button, ensuring that every word he spoke in the Oval Office and other key locations was caught on tape. With the secret taping system on autopilot - seven microphones planted in wall sconces and the president’s desk Nixon largely forgot about it, and let loose with the raw, gossipy, conniving and tooclever words that ultimately toppled his presidency and forever changed the way Americans think about their presidents and their government.

The tapes - the last installment of them released Wednesday - are like the black box in an increasingly out-of-control airplane, recording right up to the crash. In the tapes, Americans began to see their presidents as “less glorious, less heroic, less romantic - either more like us, or more like people we don’t like,” says presidential historian Julian Zelizer of Princeton University.

For more than three decades, the secrets of the tapes have trickled out, Nixon’s conspiratorial voice cutting through the clinking coffee cups, the sirens in the distance and the thumps when he plopped his feet on the desk, so much more vivid and revealing than any memo recounting selective details of a presidential meeting. Perhaps the most famous snippet: the “smoking gun” conversation recorded six days after the Watergate break-in of June 17, 1972, in which Nixon instructs chief of staff HR Haldeman to tell the FBI, “Don’t go any fur-

ther into this case, period.”

Without the tapes, the Watergate investigation could well have dried up. Instead, the tapes’ expletive-deleted revelations riveted the nation and brought down a president. And even as Watergate slips further in the rearview mirror, a legacy of distrust and cynicism endures, passed from one generation to the next in dinner-table conversation and digital clips on YouTube.

That ’s not all bad, scholars argue.

People watch more closely, demand more accountability. “We should be skeptical about our governments,” says historian Ken Hughes of the University of Virginia’s Miller Center presidential recordings program. “We should demand that our government prove itself to us.” The last 340 hours of more than 3,700 hours of Nixon tapes came from the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, Calif., covering April 9, 1973, to July 12, 1973 the day before the secret taping system was revealed.

Little more than a year later, done in by the revelations on the tapes, Nixon resigned on Aug 9, 1974. It took four decades, though, for the public to gain access to the last of the tapes. “It’s over, and I won,” says historian Stanley Kutler, whose 1992 lawsuit helped lead to the tapes’ release. “All the tapes are out, and it’s there for every historian, every generation to judge. ... Never until Nixon have we been so able to get into the mind of a president.” The Nixon tapes’ final installment, still being scoured for revelations, already offers new details from inside the White House.

On April 30, 1973, Nixon takes calls from two future presidents - Ronald

Reagan and George HW Bush - who offer private support after his first major national address about Watergate. Nixon complains about the reaction from TV pundits, telling Bush, “To hell with the commentators.” The tapes cover far more than Watergate, of course, and Wednesday’s release includes audio of Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev chatting one-onone in the Oval Office before their June 1973 summit, with only an interpreter present.

The conversation reveals remarkable camaraderie, as the two men chat about their families, Brezhnev talking about his grandson’s attempts to pass college entrance exams. “These are Cold War archenemies who are talking like old friends,” says Luke Nichter of Texas A&M UniversityCentral Texas in Killeen, who runs a website cataloging Nixon’s secret recordings.

“This is very unusual.”

While Wednesday’s release was promoted by the National Archives as the final installment of the tapes, more segments may yet trickle out. Nichter said the archives down the road may be able to release sections that have been withheld for national security reasons or to protect the privacy of a living individual. Every student of Nixon has a favorite moment from the tapes that is recalled as particularly significant or telling.

For Kutler, the most damning conversation is Nixon telling aides in August 1972 that the Watergate burglars “have to be paid” to keep them silent about the 1971 break-in at Democratic offices in the Watergate complex. “ That cuts to the whole heart of the matter of obstruction of justice,” says Kutler. For Hughes, it is Nixon

WASHINGTON: In this April 29, 1974, file photo, President Richard M Nixon points to the transcripts of the White House tapes after he announced that he would turn over the transcripts to House impeachment investigators, in Washington. The last 340 hours of tapes from Nixon’s White House were released Wednesday, Aug 21, 2013, along with more than 140,000 pages of text materials. — AP and national security adviser Henr y Kissinger strategizing about delaying troop reductions to ensure that the South Vietnamese government won’t collapse until after the president is re-elected in 1972. “We’ve got to find a formula that holds the thing together a year or two, after which ... Vietnam will be a backwater,” Kissinger tells Nixon in August 1972. “By Januar y ‘74 no one will give a damn.”

Although Nixon wasn’t the first president to secretly record his conversations, he was the last - as far as is known. Franklin Roosevelt, Harr y Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and Lyndon

Johnson all secretly taped, too, but in a much more selective manner.

For all of the cynical political calculations and maneuvers laid bare in the Nixon tapes, the president ventures a colossal misjudgment about how the Watergate scandal will play out, dismissing it as a story with no legs. “I’ve got a sneaking hunch ... it’s a Washington son-of-a-bitching story,” he tells his aides. “I don’t think you’re going to see a great, great uproar in the country about the Republican committee trying to bug the Democratic headquarters,” Nixon said four days after the breakin.—AP

Colombia peace talks suspended FARC wants peace deal enshrined in constitution BOGOTA: Colombia’s government and Marxist FARC rebels suspended their participation in peace talks in Cuba on Friday, complicating nine months of painstaking negotiations aimed at ending five decades of bloodshed.

President Juan Manuel Santos called his negotiating team home from Havana hours after the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, said it would “pause” the talks to review a government plan to put any peace deal to a popular vote.

It was the first interruption to the talks that began last November and a sudden dent to hopes the two sides would soon see the difficult talks through to the end, after recent comments from the FARC had given cause for optimism. While the halt to talks will worry Colombians, analysts said there is little reason to suspect the two sides will not resume talks again. Santos, who bet his political legacy on bringing peace to the Andean nation, sent a bill on Thursday to Congress that calls for a referendum on any peace accord during national elections in either March or May next year.

“The FARC has decided to pause the discussions at the table, to focus exclusively on analyzing the implications of the government’s proposal,” Pablo Catatumbo, one of the lead FARC negotiators, said in a statement. Santos said discussions would only resume when the govern-

ment considered it appropriate. “We are going to assess their statement, their behavior toward the government initiative (which aims) to accelerate the solution of the conflict,” Santos said in a brief statement at Bogota’s military airport. “In this process, the one who makes pauses and establishes the conditions, is not the FARC.” The FARC has said repeatedly it sees a constituent assembly as the best way to enshrine the tenets of the peace accords in the country’s constitution and does not trust that a referendum would protect agreements reached in Havana. Colombians are desperate to see an end to the war that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 1964. Santos is also eager to negotiate peace with the National Liberation Army, a smaller rebel group known as the ELN. He has said he wants the FARC peace accord by November.

In the final year of his four-year term, Santos has ruled out a constituent assembly and said the Colombian people must support any deals reached before an end to the war can be declared. Santos has not said if he will seek reelection. He accepted the FARC’s right to study the government proposal, but urged the rebel negotiators not to take too long. “The FARC has left the negotiating table to study the proposal and it’s legitimate and valid that it

should, but time is passing and the patience of the Colombian people has a limit,” Santos said earlier on Friday.

Some analysts say the unilateral decision by the government to seek a referendum goes against the spirit of the initial agreement that led to talks, in which it was clear both sides would decide jointly how to ratify any deal. “This incident weakens the peace process,” said Carlos Lozano, political analyst and editor of the left-leaning weekly magazine Voz. “But it is not at risk because it is just an incident and can be overcome.”

The FARC has battled a dozen governments since it began as an agrarian struggle against rural inequality.

Even while it has been severely weakened in the past 10 years by a heavy US-backed offensive, it remains a formidable threat to the government and civilian population.

More than three dozen FARC commanders are in Havana working through a five-point agenda involv-

San Diego mayor Filner resigns over sex charges LOS ANGELES: The mayor of the US city of San Diego resigned Friday amid a wave of sexual harassment complaints, issuing a blanket apology but also decrying the “hysteria” surrounding the case. Mayor Bob Filner, a Democrat elected mayor of the southern Californian city in November, endured weeks of calls for his resignation. Angry citizens even organized a recall effort to remove him from office. “I apologize to all of you,” said Filner, 70, as he announced his resignation after a closeddoor meeting with City Council members.

Filner, however remained defiant. “Not one allegation ... has ever been independently verified or proven in court. I have never sexually harassed anyone. But there’s a hysteria that has been created, that many of you helped to feed.

It’s the hysteria of a lynch mob.” As part of the agreement to leave office, San Diego will pay for a joint legal defense against sexual harassment lawsuits filed by employees or contractors. “I think I let you down,” said Filner, whose last day on the job is August 30. “To all the women that I offended, I had no intention to be offensive, to violate any physical or emotional space,” he said.

“I was trying to establish personal relationships, but the combination of awkwardness and hubris led to behavior that many found offensive.” Although 18 alleged victims have publicly complained about the mayor’s inappropriate behavior, only one-his former communications director, Irene McCormack-has filed a lawsuit. She is represented by high-profile attorney Gloria Allred. “Today is a day of reckoning for Mayor Filner and a day of vindication for his many alleged victims,” Allred said.

Though Filner “still continues to live in his own reality and deny responsibility for the conduct which we allege in our lawsuit,” Allred said, “the fact is that he has done what

CALIFORNIA: San Diego Mayor Bob Filner announces his mayoral resignation to the city council. — AFP

was absolutely needed. He has resigned and that is what is most important.” McCormack claims that Filner said he wanted to sleep with her, asked her to work in her underwear, and said that he would marry her. In July Filner admitted that he had engaged in “wrong and inexcusable behavior” and enrolled in two weeks of behavioral therapy starting August 5.— AFP

ing agrarian reform, reparation to victims, stemming the illegal drug trade, an end to the conflict and the FARC’s inclusion in the political system.

The disruption in talks comes on the heels of several comments from the FARC in recent days that appeared to show irritation with comments from Santos, but the group also recently expressed optimism that progress had been made. In a recent interview, Santos told Reuters the rebel leadership could face jail terms if peace were achieved. He also said FARC negotiators would need to return to Colombia’s jungle and face capture or death in battle if talks collapse.—Reuters

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

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

Counterfeit medicine trade targets Africa’s poor YAOUNDE: From Cameroon to Ivory Coast, Kenya to the DR Congo, traders in counterfeit drugs do a thriving business with the utmost cynicism and sometimes at the cost of human lives. “Street medication kills. The street is killing (safe) medication,” declares a banner outside a pharmacy in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde, where the dangerous trade is rampant.

The market is saturated with counterfeit anti-malaria drugs, painkillers, antibiotics and even rehydration serum. No domain of the pharmaceutical industry is spared by illicit manufacturers and traffickers, according to reports gathered by AFP offices across Africa. “That’s powerful Diclofenac (an antiinflammatory), which is the bestseller,” says Blaise Djomo, a street vendor at Yaounde’s central market. “And this is Viagra, which Cameroonians are really wild about.”

About 100 traders like Djomo are set up under parasols in full view of everyone, their boxes heaped with medicines. Bubble-pack strips of pills are lined up in the wooden stalls. People can even buy single pills at this market or even at some grocery stores.

Vendors often mix fake medication with the

real thing, which has either been legally acquired or stolen from supplies meant for hospitals and clinics.

At best, fake prescription drugs have no effect, acting like placebos, but at their worst, they are highly toxic. Either way they bring in vast sums of money for those behind the illicit traffic. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warned at a conference last February that counterfeit drugs are a multi-billion dollar business accounting for 30 percent of the pharmaceutical market in parts of Africa. “Fraudulent medicines have proven to be harmful and at times fatal, as well as an increasingly lucrative area for organized criminal networks,” the agency said in a press release.

“The supply routes are of two kinds.

Alongside the small-scale smugglers, there are international criminal networks that undertake the supply of drugs from distant manufacturers in China and India,” said Parfait Kouassi, who chaired the National Order of Pharmacists in Ivory Coast from 2005 to 2012. Kouassi, who made a priority of fighting the dangerous trade in fake medicines, escaped two murder bids at the

headquarters of the Order of Pharmacists.

“That’s a sign that major interests are in play and that it’s not just a matter of small-scale local traffickers,” he said.

The phenomenon is spreading and represents between 20 and 25 percent of the drug market in Ivory Coast, adds Kouassi. In Kenya, 30 percent of drugs sold in 2012 were either fake or counterfeit, according to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Kenya.

Cameroon health officials give a similar figure. However, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as in many other African countries, there are no national statistics, just records of frequent drugs seizures.

In Nigeria-once known as a major source of counterfeit medicines-phony drugs and real ones that had passed their expiry date made up 70 percent of sales in 2002, according to the World Health Organization. Since then, in the continent’s biggest market with some 160 million people, officials say that high-profile efforts have greatly reduced the number of fake or adulterated drugs, but reliable figures are hard to obtain.

“Most of these fake and adulterated drugs come from China and India, from

where we import more than 50 percent of the drugs we use in Nigeria. We don’t import much drugs from the US,” says Abubakar Jimoh, spokesman of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). “They no longer bring ... illicit drugs in large containers but in small packs. They also change the labels of the drugs from outside the country to make them look original,” Jimoh said. Health authorities have set up a service to enable consumers to check the authenticity of drugs by verifying the PIN serial number on the product label via an SMS message.

SAFE VS CHEAP The outstanding exception on the continent in fighting the illicit drug trade is South Africa, which has a strictly enforced licensing system, according to Griffith Molewa, head of law enforcement at the Medicines Control Council. “We have dedicated ports of entry for medicines, restricted to Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg,” Molewa said. “We also have a vertically integrated system, meaning only manufacturers can sell to the whole-

salers, and then the wholesaler to the retail outlets, and then the pharmacies can only serve the patients.”

“Any product found on the street is seized and given to the police for prosecution. The penalty is a fine or up to 10 years of imprisonment or both.” In most other countries, measures against the counterfeit drug trade are limited to police raids on public markets to seize fake or adulterated products, along with public information and awareness campaigns, which appear to have little effect on consumers.

For in countries where medical expenses-from drugs to hospitalization-are not even partly reimbursed by the state, the relatively cheap price of street medication trumps the risk factor for many. “I’m here to buy a worm treatment and something to protect my children from malaria,” customer Nadine Mefo said at Yaounde’s central market. “It costs less than in the pharmacy and it soothes the children. “Doctors say that street market medicines are dangerous, but since I’ve been coming, I’ve not yet had a problem,” she adds, clutching two packs of pills of unknown origin.—AFP

Ukraine president ignores Putin warning on EU path Kiev resists joining customs union with Russia

NEW YORK: Critics of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) stop-andfrisk policy celebrate after City Council members vote on whether to bring a motion to the floor to override Mayor Michael Bloombergís vetoes. — AP

Backlash for NYPD as Bloomberg era ends NEW YORK: They took responsibility for keeping New York City safe in the aftermath of Sept. 11. And for years, their approach was seen as nearly beyond question, as the threat of terror attacks was kept at bay and the crime rate fell to record lows.

Now, as Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly near the end of Bloomberg’s tenure, a backlash against the street stops and surveillance programs they call cornerstones of building “America’s safest big city” has added a tone-changing last chapter to the narrative of policing New York in the past 12 years.

A federal judge this month gave credence to years of complaints that the New York Police Department has stopped millions of people in a racially discriminatory way, ordering a monitor to oversee sizable changes. A City Council that scaled back a 2004 anti-racial profiling law this week voted to make it easier to sue over profiling claims and established a watchdog to investigate police procedures, defying Bloomberg vetoes.

Bloomberg is appealing the court ruling and signaled he will sue to try to block the profiling legislation, but those prospective challenges may not be resolved before he leaves. Is it a defining episode or a footnote in the administration’s public safety history? That will be up to the next mayor, New Yorkers’ memories and what unfolds in the courts and on the streets, observers say.

“We may have reached an historic point depending upon what happens,” said William Eimicke, a Columbia University public affairs professor who was a deputy city fire commissioner from 2007 to 2010.

Bloomberg is clear about how he sees his policing record. And he warns that the recent calls to rein in stop and frisk might only prove his policies were right. “It’s been almost 12 years now where people have walked the streets of New York City without having to look over their shoulder. I suspect that’s a pretty good legacy,” he said after the court decision. Break the NYPD’s embrace of stop and frisk, he admonished successors, and “be responsible for a lot of people dying.”

Terrorism was the top safety concern when Bloomberg took office in January 2002, reappointing Kelly to the commissioner’s job he’d held from 1992 to 1994.

They set about sculpting a muscular antiterrorism operation with more than 1,000 officers, some sent overseas to gather information. Building on a drop in street crime that started under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Bloomberg and Kelly stepped up the use of statistics to pinpoint crime hotspots and flood them with officers.

The mayor became a national voice on gun control. And they upped emphasis on stopping, questioning and sometimes frisking people seen as doing something suspicious but not plainly arrest-worthy: 97,296 stops in 2002 rose to 685,724 in 2011, dropping to 533,042 last year. There were flares of tension, including over mass arrests of demonstrators during the 2004 Republican National Convention and the 2006 shooting of an unarmed bridegroom on his wedding day.

But overall, the message many New Yorkers heard was one of foiled terror plots and America’s lowest big-city crime rate, as measured by the FBI. Killings repeatedly hit the lowest points on record and are on track for another record low this year. Kelly has enjoyed the highest approval ratings of any city official.

Still, over the last two years, long-rumbling complaints about stop and frisk became a roar amplified by the mayoral race. The extent of the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslims came to light when The Associated Press detailed tactics that included infiltrating Muslim student groups and putting informants in mosques, disclosures that partly fueled the City Council legislation. Bloomberg and Kelly went on the offensive, denouncing the practices’ critics and portraying the stakes in ominous terms. “Remember what happened here on 9/11,” Bloomberg chided in one speech. Some New Yorkers wondered at the officials’ combativeness. “It’s a shame Kelly’s been so hostile” to the court and council moves, said Karen Lalor, 38, an upper Manhattan home care worker who considers the commissioner generally “a reasonable man.” It was a fight the powerful mayor and popular police commissioner seemed not to imagine they could lose. But at least for now, they have lost their campaign to stop new checks from being imposed on the NYPD at a time when last impressions can count.

“There’s been a giant shift in the sentiment that was generally very hands-off on policing in New York City and now is very hands-on. ... Kelly and Bloomberg came in as crime fighters, and they may be going out as racial profilers,” even if the image is unfair, said Eugene O’Donnell, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor.

Besides the courts, the next mayor will shape how the push for NYPD oversight plays out, including by choosing a police commissioner.

Early in the mayoral race, criticisms of Kelly were few. But some candidates now hail plans to rein in stop and frisk and replace him. Others, though, laud him and the policy. Ultimately, Bloomberg and Kelly’s counterterror and crime rate successes may be what’s remembered, for better or worse, said police history expert Tom Reppetto. Especially if it’s for worse. “After this administration leaves, the public will say, if there’s a terrorist attack or crime starts to go up ... ‘It would never have happened if Kelly were here,’” he said.

Queens resident Eliza Irving feels the Bloomberg administration has focused too much on stop and frisk and given police too much power. “I don’t feel safer because of his policing policies. In fact, I feel less safe,” said Irving, a 23-year-old high school teacher. But John Rivera thinks back to being in the city on 9/11. The account manager lives in the suburbs but is concerned for the safety of the city where he works every day, and he still welcomes seeing the NYPD’s added presence when threat levels are raised. Bloomberg and Kelly “haven’t done the best job,” he said, “but they’ve done a fair job.”— AP

KIEV: Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich yesterday re-affirmed his commitment to signing key agreements with the European Union, including on trade, despite a threat by Russia’s Vladimir Putin of possible retaliator y measures. Russia, the exSoviet republic’s biggest trading partner, last week signaled growing alar m at K i ev ’s p o lic y of European integration by conducting laborious ex tra customs checks on imports from Ukraine, causing delays at the border.

Though Russia ended the customs checks af ter a few days, Putin last Thursday added to fears in Kiev of a possible trade war by saying that a free trade deal between Uk raine and the EU might “squeeze out ” Russian goods. He warned that members of the Eurasian Customs Union link ing Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan might have to take “protective measures” to defend their markets.

In an Independence Day speech yesterday, Yanukovich, once regarded as being more Russia-friendly than his nationalist predecessor Viktor Yushchenko, pointedly ignored Putin’s comments. While pledging to deepen relations with Russia and other customs union members, he indicated that Kiev was committed to signing agreements on political association and free trade with the EU at a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in November. “For Uk raine, association with the European Union must become an important stimulus for forming a modern European state,” he declared.

“At the same time, we must preserve and continue deepening our relations (and) processes of integration with Russia, countries of the Eurasian community, other

world leaders and new centres of economic development,” he said.

Ukraine’s economy relies heavily on exports of steel, coal, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals and grain. More than 60 percent of its exports go to other former Soviet republics, with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan the most important.

Ukrainian commentators see last week’s customs checks as a warning shot by Moscow providing a foretaste of what can be expected if Ukraine opts for turning towards Europe and away from its former Soviet ally.

Yanukovich, backed by powerful and wealthy business figures who see greater prosperity in European

markets, has resisted entreaties by Moscow to join the Customs Union - a move which would be incompatible with a free trade agreement with the EU. But with Kiev still hopeful of securing a lower price for deliveries of costly Russian gas for the Ukrainian economy, Yanukovich needs to maintain good relations with Moscow. He is sending his prime minister, Mykola Azarov, there on Monday to try to calm Russia’s fears over Ukraine’s moves towards Europe.

In an Independence Day message of congratulations to Yanukovich, Putin yesterday avoided any discord, expressing Russia’s readiness to increase cooperation

with Ukraine across the board.

It is far from a foregone conclusion that a political association agreement, including a free trade deal, will be signed in Vilnius in November even though Yanukovich wants it.

Many EU member states are disappointed at the pace of democratic reform in Uk raine since Yanukovich was elected in February 2010 and are pressing particularly for the release from jail of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, his fiercest political adversary. Tymoshenko was jailed in late 2011 for seven years for abuse of office after what the EU says was a politically-motivated trial.— Reuters

KIEV: People hold a giant Ukrainian flag as they celebrate the Day of the National Flag in Kiev. — AFP

S Africa’s School gives hope to pregnant girls PRETORIA: Outcasts elsewhere, the schoolgirls chatter, compare homework and shuffle to class just like other teens but with one big differenceall are expectant mums in South Africa’s only school for pregnant girls.

This is Pretoria Hospital School where students, some as young as 13, are given the chance to carry on learning in a country where expectant schoolgirls and their numbers are alarmingare often expelled.

“We offer them an environment where they can learn without being prejudiced, but that does not mean that we condone early pregnancy,” said principal Rina van Niekerk. The small establishment does not promote its service and remains low-key, amid debate over how to remedy South Africa’s scholastic exclusion of pregnant teens. “ The aim of the school is to ensure that they do not miss out on education just because they are pregnant,” said Van Niekerk.

She has been at the facility for 25 years, amid a lack of clear policy on pregnant learners in other state schools where treatment varies and many just shut the girls out. Change may be afoot, however, as in July the Constitutional Court forced two state schools to end their practice of banning pregnant students from class.

Teenage pregnancy rates remain high in South Africa, despite years of campaigns against unprotected sex in a country where more than 10 percent of the population live with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. An official study in 2002 said one in every three teenage girls in South Africa had been pregnant by the age of 19, with little apparent improvement since.

The education ministry estimates that some 94,000 teenagers fell pregnant in 2011.

Poverty and other factors, like rape, have not helped. With nearly 65,000 attacks a year, South Africa has one of the highest incidences of

reported rape in the world, and the unemployment rate continues to exceed 25 percent. The Pretoria school, in the heart of the capital,

PRETORIA: Naledi Vuma, a student who gave birth in April 2013, poses in Pretoria, at the Pretoria Hospital School specialized in teenage pregnancy. The Pretoria Hospital School, a Public School opened in 1950 and originally dedicated to sick children, is the only school of its kind in South Africa. — AFP

opened in the 1950s as a school for sick children in city hospitals. The first expectant girls were enrolled in the 1980s, when pregnancy out of wedlock was taboo. It has 108 students, aged 13 to 18, following a peak in 2011 with 134 girls. After giving birth, the teens return to finish the academic year as new mothers. Van Niekerk is protective of her students, who playfully pat each others tummies under the blue uniforms. She is adamant that pregnant learners pose special challenges. “Some girls have trouble concentrating and they sometimes suffer from pregnancy related sickness,” she said. “We have to be really patient sometimes.” Not all agree, like Andile Dube, the director of LoveLife, South Africa’s largest youth-targeted HIV/AIDS campaign.

She is opposed to the idea of exclusive schooling for pregnant girls, saying it does not provide a solution to the country’s vast problem. “I think it only deals with pregnancy management rather than prevention,” she said. “I’m of the view that if you start to create those schools around the country, you are almost saying pregnancy is a condition that is actually very exclusive, it’s something that has to be treated differently,” she said. The learners at Pretoria themselves are positive.

Naledi Vuma, an 18-year-old who gave birth last year, said she was grateful to continue classes while expecting and then return to complete her studies. Being among other pregnant girls helped her “feel comfortable”, she said. According to 2012 figures by the World Health Organization, there are 16 million adolescent pregnancies around the world and 95 percent of these occur in developing countries.— AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

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

Indian PM Singh appeals against media witchhunt

WAGAH: Indian fishermen, released from Pakistani jails, kneel and touch the ground in an act of reverence after crossing over to the Indian side of the border at the India-Pakistan border post of Wagah, India yesterday.— AP

Pakistan releases Indian prisoners Pakistani militants split on talks offer WAGAH: Pakistan released 337 Indian prisoners, most of them fishermen yesterday in the latest sign that Pakistan’s new government wants to improve rocky ties between the nuclear-armed neighbors. But the push by Pakistan’s civilian government to improve relations with India has been undermined by a series of clashes that began this month along their border dividing the disputed Kashmir region.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says better relations with India are key to restoring a flagging economy but it is Pakistan’s military that traditionally sets foreign and security policies, even during periods of civilian rule. The prisoners, including fishermen detained for straying into what Pakistan sees as its waters over the past two years, were allowed to go home through the Wagah border crossing, between the Pakistani city of Lahore and India’s Amritsar.

“Pakistan and India were one country in past, they should compromise with each other and live peacefully like brothers,” said fisherman Kailash Nathu, 17, who was heading home after being arrested in January.

Another Indian fisherman, 30-yearold Shabbir Usman, said India should now release Pakistani prisoners.

“Pakistan and India should sign a treaty for not arresting innocent fishermen. If they sign such treaty, it would help strengthen friendly relations,” he said, surrounded by grinning colleagues as they approached

the border crossing. But an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said New Delhi would not make a reciprocal gesture. “Release is only of those who have completed prison terms and have been identified as nationals. This is normal process and not a reciprocal one,” the Indian spokesman said via a telephone text message ahead, of the release. Before the latest clashes along the so-called Line of Control separating Indian- and Pakistani-controlled par ts of Kashmir, the two countries had agreed to resume stalled talks on improving ties.

But many analysts doubt whether the Indian government, under pressure from the right-wing opposition, can commit to any meaningful concessions before national elections next year. Sharif is due to meet his Indian counterpar t, Manmohan Singh, at the United Nations in New York next month and yesterday’s prisoner release would appear to underline his determination to improve ties. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since becoming independent from Britain in 1947, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir.

PAKISTANI MILITANTS SPLIT In another development, a peace talk offer from Pakistan’s government has created a rift among militants as the country’s main Taleban organization ousted the head of a side-group for welcoming the offer while the leader refused to accept the main

group’s decision. The spokesman for the main Tahrik-e-Taleban Pakistan group, or TTP, said in a statement that its executive council has removed Ismatullah Muawiya from the leadership of Punjabi Taleban militants.

Shahidullah Shahid said Muawiya was not authorized to respond to the government ’s offer and said the group’s leadership will later issue their stance on talks. He said the leadership would also later name a new leader for the group in central Punjab province. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who took office in June, campaigned on a platform that included starting peace talks with the Taleban as the best way to end the group’s bloody insurgency, which has resulted in thousands of deaths in recent years. In his first national speech, Sharif reiterated his desire for peace through dialogue but said talks would be held only with those who lay down their arms.

Sharif also said the government would leave open the possibility of using force. “A decision about talks with the government should be taken after reviewing their position,” Shahid said, adding that the group didn’t appreciate the government’s “threats.”

Muawiya, however, defied the main group’s decision, telling The Associated Press that the executive council couldn’t remove him because the Punjabi Taleban is a separate group. He said his group has its own decision-making body to decide leadership and other matters.— Agencies

Potholes on airport spell trouble for Nepal tourism KATHMANDU: Nepal has asked foreign airlines not to land heavily-loaded wide-body aircraft at the Himalayan nation’s international airport, aviation authorities said yesterday, after potholes were found on the runway before the annual influx of mountaingoing tourists. More than two dozen foreign airlines operate regular flights from Asia and the Middle East to Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest.

Six airlines fly wide-body planes into the capital, Kathmandu.

Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, head of the state-owned Civil Aviation

Authority of Nepal, said a request had been sent to all foreign airlines to switch to narrow-body aircraft or to reduce payloads as authorities filled the holes. It was not immediately clear how long it would take to eliminate the potholes, discovered last week. The airline industry said the request was not mandatory and would be difficult to comply with. “It is not a binding order to the airlines,” said Saroj Kumar Kasaju, chairman of the Board of Airlines Representatives Nepal, a body of airlines operating flights to Kathmandu.

He said airlines had already booked

passengers and issued tickets as the peak tourism season begins in September. “It will, therefore, be difficult to off-load passengers now,” Kasaju said. Tourism accounts for some 30 percent of foreign currency earnings.

Kathmandu sits in a bowl surrounded by forested, rugged hills.

Its airport is known as a tricky landing spot requiring a steep descent. A propeller-driven Dornier aircraft, headed to Lukla, the gateway to Mount Everest, crashed minutes after take off from Kathmandu last September, killing 19 people and highlighting concerns about air safety.—Reuters

Child among 30 killed in Bolivian prison riot LA PAZ: A young child was among the 30 people killed Friday when a fight broke out between rival gangs at an overpopulated prison in eastern Bolivia, Interior Minister Carlos Romero said. The child, believed to be about 18 months, was living with his incarcerated parents in the maximum-security Palmasola prison in the eastern city of Santa Cruz-a facility that houses about 5,000 inmates.

Scores of prisoners were wounded in the fracas, which ended when a fire swept through the building, which

houses some 5,000 inmates. Twentynine people died in the prison and one died at a hospital, Romero said at a late Friday press conference. Prisons director Ramiro Llanos earlier said that “of those hospitalized, 35 of them have very serious injuries.”

The incident began early Friday when a group of inmates broke into a wing of the Palmasola prison to fight a rival group. The riot ended in a huge fire being set off by exploding propane gas tanks. “The motive of this unrest has to

SANTA CRUZ: Inmates’ relatives and members of the press surround an ambulance leaving the Palmasola jail in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. — AP

do with internal disputes over the control of space and leadership arguments within the prison,” Romero said late Friday. He said that inmates who started the fight are “highly dangerous criminals.” Police then presented five people they said were the main culprits.

Agents are looking at whether firearms were used, because bullet shells were found at site. Romero said that 50 prisoners linked to the fight have been placed in solitary confinement, and that he ordered a security crackdown at the country’s other prisons. At Palmasola there are 4,500 men and 500 women, said Llanos. “In the area where the fighting took place, there should have been between 150 and 200 inmates, but there were actually some 500 people there,” Llanos said.

Prisons in Bolivia suffer from serious overcrowding. Hundreds of children are forced to live with their parents in jails because they have no other relatives, or because both parents are incarcerated.

Television networks broadcast images of charred bodies and ambulances taking the dead and injured to hospitals, which were overwhelmed by the number of victims. Bodies were taken to the morgue for autopsies and identification. Authorities called on local residents to donate blood to help the wounded.— AFP

NEW DELHI: India’s embattled prime minister appealed yesterday to the media, increasingly critical of his scandal-hit government, not to launch a “witch hunt” while investigating corruption. Manmohan Singh’s call came as his Congress-led government struggles to restore order in parliament where opposition parties have stalled business in a row over allegedly illegal allocation of mining rights.

“The spirit of enquiry must not morph into a campaign of calumny,” Singh, 81, said while launching a state-built media centre in the Indian capital. “A witch hunt is no substitute for investigative journalism,” the prime minister said and urged media groups to rise above “personal prejudices”. Singh’s shaky government, which hopes to win a third consecutive term in elections that must be held by next May, has been weakened by a string of corruption scandals involving cabinet ministers and top officials.

The controversies include the awarding of mobile telephone spectrum at below-market prices and huge cost-overruns during the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. Singh’s comments came as leading news magazine India Today in its latest edi-

tion accused his government of failing to deliver at a time when the economy has slowed sharply, inflation is stubbornly high and the currency has tumbled against the dollar. “He is today the meekest head of a moribund government that has already abdicated its responsibilities,” the magazine said in lead story.

One TV station has begun lampooning the economist-turned premier and his finance minister, broad-

casting animated cartoons of the two chasing a giant rupee coin downhill.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party plan to attack Singh’s Congress party-led government over the scandals during the next election campaign. Singh’s government was reduced to a minority last September when a key ally withdrew support from the ruling coalition to protest changes aimed at liberalizing India’s still mainly closed economy.—AFP

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Bolivians dangle ‘death dolls’ to warn off thieves EL ALTO: A sinister warning dangles above the burned-out hulk of a minibus in this sprawling sister city to Bolivia’s capital: A faded effigy tied to a power line as if it had been hanged.

“Death dolls,” made of old clothes stuffed with rags, have become a common sight in this impoverished city plagued by crime. They are often accompanied by hand-scrawled signs. “ The thief who is caught will be burned,” say many. It’s not an idle threat. At least 10 people were lynched by mobs across Bolivia in the first six months of the year, four of them in El Alto.

At least one was by error. In May, a drunken police sergeant in civilian clothing stumbled into a school, where the guard took him for a thief and alerted neighbors. The man was

beaten, tied to a post and drenched with water as temperatures fell toward freezing. He was found the next morning, dead of hypothermia.

The burned-out bus was the result of another robbery attempt. Attackers who arrived in the bus managed to flee, but enraged neighbors burned it beneath a power line and hung the doll above it.

Hundreds hang from lampposts in El Alto, particularly its more precarious outlying districts, such as Villa Mercedes. “The good thing is that the thieves feel fear when they see the dolls,” said student Ivan Gonzalo Poma. “The bad thing is that the children see it. The lynchings are not good.” Street vendor German Honorio supports the use of the images to warn thieves, although he’s not sure

they heed the threat. “I don’t know if they learn, but they are warned,” he said. “It’s the way we neighbors defend ourselves.”

Mob violence erupts sporadically across Latin America in places where close-knit communities feel unprotected by police. A mob in a Guatemalan village beat, shot and stabbed to death five men and a woman they suspected of robbery in September 2011, blocking roads to police.

In December 2009, Guatemalan officials reported five vigilante killings in various incidents across the country in just three days. In 2000, villagers in Guatemala attacked a busload of Japanese tourists, killing one, when they confused the sightseers with child-stealers.—AP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

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

Despite Fukushima, IAEA sees progress on nuke safety Greenpeace disagrees, says ‘not much’ achieved VIENNA: Japan may be suffering persistent problems with its wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, but the UN atomic agency says “considerable progress” has been made globally in the past year to strengthen reactor safety. In a report prepared for its annual member state gathering, the International Atomic Energy Agency said nearly all countries with nuclear plants had carried out safety “stress tests” to assess their ability to withstand so-called extreme events.

“As a result, many member states have introduced additional safety measures including mitigation of station blackout,” said the document submitted

ahead of the IAEA’s Sept 16-20 General Conference for its 159 member states. It was posted on the Vienna-based IAEA’s website earlier this month, before Japan’s nuclear crisis this week escalated to its worst level since a massive earthquake and tsunami crippled the plant more than two years ago. Tokyo Electric Power Co, Fukushima’s operator, this week said a tank holding highly contaminated water leaked 300 tons of radioactive fluid.

ENERGY GROWTH The 2011 Fukushima disaster was the worst such nuclear accident since

Chernobyl, the 1986 Soviet reactor explosion which sent radioactive dust across much of Europe. It put a question mark over the future of nuclear energy also elsewhere in the world. In Europe, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium decided to move away from nuclear to increase their reliance on renewable energy.

The IAEA has said it believes, however, that global use of nuclear energy could increase by as much as 100 percent by 2030 thanks to growth in Asia, including in China and India. The IAEA, whose mission it is to promote “safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technolo-

gies”, said on Aug 21 it viewed the situation at Fukushima seriously and was ready to provide assistance upon request.

The UN agency’s report, evaluating the implementation of an IAEA nuclear safety action plan adopted by the General Conference in 2011 to help prevent any repeat of the Fukushima disaster, said progress had been made worldwide in key areas. These included emergency preparedness, assessments of safety vulnerabilities of nuclear plants, and the protection of people and the environment from radiation. “Since September 2012 ... considerable

progress has been made worldwide in strengthening nuclear safety through the implementation of the action plan and of national action plans in member states,” the report said.

A nuclear expert of environmental group Greenpeace - which opposes atomic energy on safety grounds - disputed the IAEA’s upbeat view, saying “not much” had been achieved and calling for a fundamental change in how risks are assessed. “As one of their (the IAEA’s) objectives they have to promote nuclear energy, they cannot be impartial,” Greenpeace International expert Rianne Teule said.— Reuters

Bo admits ‘shame’ Fallen politician denies protecting wife

FUKUSHIMA: Japan’s nuclear watchdog members, including Nuclear Regulation Authority members in radiation protection suits, inspect contaminated water tanks at the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. —AFP

After Japan nuke disaster, deadliest part - clean-up TOKYO: The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is preparing to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from a damaged reactor building, a dangerous operation that has never been attempted before on this scale. Containing radiation equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima 68 years ago, more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies packed tightly together need to be removed from a building that is vulnerable to collapse, should another large earthquake hit the area.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) is already in a losing battle to stop radioactive water overflowing from another part of the facility, and experts question whether it will be able to pull off the removal of all the assemblies successfully. “They are going to have difficulty in removing a significant number of the rods,” said Arnie Gundersen, a veteran US nuclear engineer and director of Fairewinds Energy Education, who used to build fuel assemblies.

The operation, beginning this November at the plant’s Reactor No 4, is fraught with danger, including the possibility of a large release of radiation if a fuel assembly breaks, gets stuck or gets too close to an adjacent bundle, said Gundersen and other nuclear experts. That could lead to a worse disaster than the March 2011 nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant, the world’s most serious since Chernobyl in 1986.

No one knows how bad it can get, but independent consultants Mycle Schneider and Antony Froggatt said recently in their World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013: “Full release from the Unit-4 spent fuel pool, without any containment or control, could cause by far the most serious radiological disaster to date.” Tepco has already removed two unused fuel assemblies from the pool in a test operation last year, but these rods are less dangerous than the spent bundles. Extracting spent fuel is a normal part of operations at a nuclear plant, but safely plucking them from a badly damaged reactor is unprecedented.

“To jump to the conclusion that it is going to work just fine for the rest of them is quite a leap of logic,” said Gundersen. The utility says it recognizes the operation will be difficult but

believes it can carry it out safely. Nonetheless, Tepco inspires little confidence. Sharply criticized for failing to protect the Fukushima plant against natural disasters, its handling of the crisis since then has also been lambasted.

Last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered the government to take a more active role in controlling the overflow of radioactive water being flushed over the melted reactors in Units 1, 2 and 3 at the plant.

GIANT FRAME The fuel assemblies are in the cooling pool of the No. 4 reactor, and Tepco has erected a giant steel frame over the top of the building after removing debris left behind by an explosion that rocked the unit during the 2011 disaster. The structure will house the cranes that will carry out the delicate task of extracting fuel assemblies that may be damaged by the quake, the explosion or corrosion from salt water that was poured into the pool when fresh supplies ran out during the crisis.

The process will begin in November and Tepco expects to take about a year removing the assemblies, spokesman Yoshikazu Nagai told Reuters by e-mail. It’s just one installment in the decommissioning process for the plant forecast to take about 40 years and cost $11 billion. Each fuel rod assembly weighs about 300 kilograms (660 pounds) and is 4.5 meters long. There are 1,331 of the spent fuel assemblies and a further 202 unused assemblies are also stored in the pool, Nagai said.

Almost 550 assemblies had been removed from the reactor core just before the quake and tsunami set off the crisis. These are the most dangerous because they have only been cooling in the pool for two and a half years. “The No 4 unit was not operating at the time of the accident, so its fuel had been moved to the pool from the reactor, and if you calculate the amount of caesium 137 in the pool, the amount is equivalent to 14,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs,” said Hiroaki Koide, assistant professor at Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute. Spent fuel rods also contain plutonium, one of the most toxic substances in the universe, that gets formed during the later stages of a reactor core’s operation.—Reuters

Australia’s Abbott proposes buying the ‘smuggler’ boats SYDNEY: The frontrunner for Australia’s September 7 election would pay Indonesians for unseaworthy boats to stop them ending up in the hands of people-smugglers, as part of a plan unveiled Friday. Asylum-seekers arriving by usually rickety boats, often via transit hubs in Indonesia, are a major political issue in Australia and tend to dominate election campaigns, despite coming in relatively low numbers by global standards.

Tony Abbott, who is leading Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in opinion polls, said he would step up on-the-ground operations in Indonesia with a “community outreach” scheme aimed at disrupting people-smuggling rings. The Aus$440 million ($397 million) scheme would include a capped government buy-back plan for the leaky fishing vessels as well as stipends for Indonesian “wardens” in 100 villages to provide information to Australia and bounty payments for information leading to successful smuggling prosecutions.

“The important thing is that we stop the boats,” Abbott told reporters in Darwin. “It’s much better and much more sensible to spend a few thousand dollars in Indonesia than to spend $12 million processing the people who ultimately arrive here,” he said, referring to the figure the opposition claims the government spends processing every

boat that arrives. Abbott refused to “put a figure on” how much he would be prepared to pay per boat and said allowances or bounties would be left to the discretion of “our people on the ground”.

He also pledged $67 million to deploy specialist Australian police operatives in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Abbott declined to comment on whether he had spoken to the Indonesian government about his plans, which were ridiculed as “crazy” and “bizarre” by Australia’s ruling Labor party. “It is absolutely in Indonesia’s interest to stop the boats, I have no reason to think that the Indonesians won’t be prepared to work cooperatively and constructively with us,” he said.

Teuku Faizasyah, spokesman for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, declined to comment on the buy-back plan. “Abbott and Rudd are in the middle of campaigning, so I think it’s improper to comment on their political statements as it’s part of their efforts to win over voters,” he said. Both major parties have pledged a crackdown on the issue-Rudd’s Labor government has signed an agreement with Papua New Guinea to banish boatpeople there for permanent resettlement even if found to have a valid refugee claim, effectively closing Australia’s borders to those arriving by boat.—AFP

JINAN: Ousted senior Chinese politician Bo Xilai admitted to shaming his country and poorly handling a defection attempt by his former police chief after he told Bo his wife had committed murder, but Bo denied trying to protect her from the accusation. Bo was a rising star in China’s leadership circles when his career was stopped short last year by the scandal involving his wife, Gu Kailai. Bo is now on trial charged with corruption, taking bribes and abuse of power.

Supporters of Bo’s Maoist-themed social programs say he lost out in a power struggle with capitalist-leaning reformists in Beijing, exposing divisions within the ruling Communist Party as well as society. With the evidence relating to the first two charges against Bo now apparently out of the way, the most sensitive charge was heard yesterday, the third day of a trial many expected would last just a day.

A guilty verdict for Bo is a foregone conclusion, and despite his spirited defense, published on the court’s official microblog, state media, which speaks for the party, has already all but condemned him. As police chief of Chongqing, where Bo was Communist Party chief until he was dramatically sacked early last year, Wang Lijun was known as the strong arm of the law, energetically carrying out Bo’s crackdown on crime and gangs.

But he fled to the US consulate in the nearby city of Chengdu in February last year after confronting Bo with evidence that his wife Gu, a glamorous lawyer, was involved in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. After first helping Gu evade suspicion of poisoning Heywood, Wang hushed up evidence of the murder, according to the official account of Wang’s trial. Both Wang and Gu have been jailed for the murder. When Wang told Bo of his suspicions about Gu, he was “angrily rebuked and had his ears boxed”, according to the official account of the incident related by state media.

Bo told the court that he felt “ashamed” by Wang’s flight to the US mission which had reflected badly on the image of the party and country. “I wasn’t able to behave cooly at a critical juncture and I made serious errors in judgement,” Bo said, according to a transcript provided by the court. “So I bear some responsibility for Wang Lijun’s flight and I feel very sorry for this.” “I have made mistakes and errors, I feel very sorry and I’m willing to take appropriate responsibility, but whether there was a crime or not is another matter,” Bo said. “I did not act illegally to show favoritism and protect Gu Kailai.”

Bo said he did not believe it when Wang first told him Gu was a suspect in Heywood’s murder, saying Gu had shown Bo a Chongqing police report that said Heywood died of a heart attack bought on by drinking, which Heywood’s wife had signed. “In my mind, Gu Kailai is a weak and frail woman, she could not kill someone. And she had a good relationship with Wang Lijun,” Bo said. Bo was furious with Wang when he was told that his wife was a murder suspect, and

SHANDONG: This screen grab taken from state television CCTV footage shows ousted Chinese political star Bo Xilai (center) writing in the courtroom as he stands trial at the Intermediate People’s Court in Jinan. — AFP sacked him despite not having party authority to do so, sources with knowledge of the case have said. Neither did Bo report the matter to his bosses in Beijing, all of which led to the abuse of power charge, they said.

Bo ordered his mayor, Huang Qifan, and security personnel to besiege the US mission in Chengdu and take Wang into custody, even though he had no authority to mobilize security forces to grab someone in another city, the sources also said. Wang was eventually coaxed out by officials from Beijing and taken to the capital. The Chongqing government initially explained he was worn out and emotionally spent and had taken a “vacation-style treatment”.

LACKED ALERTNESS Bo denied sacking Wang because of the murder allegations against Gu, saying he had reassigned Wang for genuine health reasons as Wang had complained of the pressure of his job.

Wang himself appeared in court to testify against Bo, saying he believed Bo sacked him to cover up the murder, adding that Bo had punched him during a confrontation over Gu’s role in the crime. “It was very dangerous at that time,” Wang said, when asked why he had fled to the US consulate. “I was the victim of violence, and my colleagues and those handling the case had disappeared.”

The court said the trial would continue on Sunday. Earlier in the day, Bo accepted responsibility for 5 million yuan ($817,000) in government funds he is accused of embezzling which ended up in his wife’s bank account, saying he had let his attention wander, in testimony read out in court. Bo said that Wang Zhenggang, for-

mer director of the urban and rural planning bureau in Dalian, where Bo once served as mayor, told him in 2002 that he suggested to Bo the money be used by Bo’s wife and son, who was studying overseas.

“I refused him. Afterwards, Wang Zhenggang came and found me again, told me why the money was difficult to deal with, and said that if I were busy he could talk to Gu Kailai about it,” Bo said, according to his testimony. Bo said he agreed to Wang speaking to Gu about the money because he “lacked alertness”, which is how the money ended up going to her. “After Gu and Wang had their discussions, I did not go and investigate, I let it slide,” Bo said.

“This money had already gone into my wife’s account, leading to the personal use of public money,” he said. “I am willing to approve the analysis of the prosecutors after their investigation, and at the same time accept legal responsibility for this. I am deeply ashamed and regretful about this incident,” Bo said. During court proceedings, Bo disputed Wang’s account of what had happened to the money as containing inconsistencies, but Bo did not dispute his earlier written deposition, according to court transcripts.

“From start to finish in this written deposition I hold that I had did not intend to embezzle this money,” he said. On the first day of the trial, Bo mounted a feisty defense of charges he received more than 20 million yuan in bribes. Bo said that he had initially admitted to anti-corruption investigators receiving the bribes as he had been “under psychological pressure”. Bo also said he been framed by one of the men accused of bribing him, businessman Tang Xiaolin, who he called a “mad dog”.— Reuters

Wanted: Jewish ex-refugee seeks lost love 70 years on SHANGHAI: It was more than 70 years ago that Gary Matzdorff, a Jewish refugee, escaped Nazi Germany for China and found love, only to lose his paramour and then have to flee the Communists. Now 92, Matzdorff returned to his former home in Shanghai hoping to find the Chinese woman he spotted across a dance hall floor again.

Then, the sophisticated city was renowned as the “Paris of the East”.

Some of Matzdorff ’s memories of Shanghai have faded over the decades, but the image of the woman in a Chinese-style dress split high up the leg remains clearly imprinted on his mind.

“She looked like a princess,” he

says. “She was just beautiful.” He scrawled a note on a napkin, asking the woman to meet him later in the evening, receiving an American “okey doke” in reply. Cleo Wong, it turned out, ran her own lace shop and was not one of the “taxi dancers” available as temporary partners for the price of a ticket at the Wing On Department Store ballroom.

At the time Matzdorff, his parents and grandmother were trying to build a new life for themselves after sailing halfway around the world to a countr y he had known only through the movies as a boy in Berlin. He experienced antiSemitism first-hand in Hitler ’s Germany, when he and members of

SHANGHAI: 92-year-old Gary Matzdorff talks to AFP in his hotel room as he looks out at the Pudong area of Shanghai. — AFP

his Jewish boy scout troop were beaten up on a camping trip, and lived through the notorious Kristallnacht, or “Cr ystal Night ”, when gangs targeted Jewish businesses and landmarks, leaving the streets of his home city strewn with broken glass.

“In the morning on the bus I already noticed roving bands smashing store windows, some others painting the word ‘Juden’ on the windows,” he told the University of Southern California’s Shoah Foundation. Within a year his fur trader father and his mother, a lampshade maker, joined tens of thousands of Jewish refugees who found safety in Shanghai from persecution in Europe. But his paternal grandparents perished in the concentration camps. Shanghai “was a haven for me”, he said, his spry demeanor and firm voice belying his years. “It saved my life from Hitler or extinction.” On arrival, his family moved to the city’s Hongkou district, which in 1943 would become the designated Jewish ghetto on orders of the occupying Japanese authorities. The 20,000 refugees living in it were never targeted for extermination despite requests from representatives of Nazi Germany, Japan’s wartime ally, but their movements were restricted.

A Japanese official known by his surname Ghoya, or sarcastically as

“King of the Jews”, who granted the travel passes, was a feared thug. “If he didn’t like your answers, he would get up from his chair and slap you in the face,” Matzdorff recalled.

But the hardships and lack of food of the later wartime years were still in the future when he met Cleo Wang in 1941.

The relationship lasted a year. He took her to meet his parents in their small rented room in Hongkou. “My Dad was apprehensive, because in those days for a foreigner to perhaps marry a Chinese girl was a little bit misunderstood. It was not customary,” he said. But any thought of marriage disappeared when she dumped him for a US Navy sailor. He only saw her once more after the war, in Nanjing Road, a busy commercial street not far from where they first met. “One day somebody tapped me on the shoulder. And she was tr ying to tell me what happened. But I was not interested anymore,” he said.

But now, after moving to the United States, becoming an American citizen, building a successful leather business and retiring, he thinks of finding her once again before he dies. Back in Shanghai earlier this summer, he was amazed at the city’s gleaming towers, part of a transformation that is putting the future of the former ghetto itself into question.— AFP

NEWS Is Martin Luther dream a reality?

Continued from Page 1 There are black judges and professors in places where segregation once reigned.

And black mayors have occupied City Hall since 1979, in part because many white residents migrated to the suburbs, a familiar pattern in urban America. So has King’s dream of equality been realized here and has Birmingham moved beyond its troubled past? For many, the answer is yes, the city has changed in ways that once seemed unthinkable - and yet, there’s also a sense Birmingham still has a long way to go.

The legal and social barriers that barred black people from schools and jobs fell long ago, but economic disparity persists.

Blacks and whites work together and dine side by side in restaurants during the day, but usually don’t mingle after 5 pm.

Racial slurs are rare, but suspicions and tensions remain. “I don’t think any of us would deny that there have been significant changes in Birmingham,” Shores Lee says. King would be proud, she adds, but “he would say there’s a lot more work to be done. I think he would tell us our task is not finished.”

“I have a dream that one day down in Alabama. ... little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers ...” - King, Aug 28, 1963. Amid the flowers and soothing fountain in Kelly Ingram Park, there are stark reminders of the ugly clashes. It was in this area, now known as the Civil Rights District, where the scenes of police brutality were captured in photos and TV footage that helped galvanize public opinion around the nation on behalf of demonstrators.

Today, the park has statues commemorating King and other leaders. There’s a sculpture of a young protester, his arms stretched back, as a policeman grabs him with one hand and holds a lunging German shepherd in the other. (An Associated Press photographer had captured a similar image.) There are other sculptures of water cannons, more dogs, and a boy and a girl standing impassively with the words “I Ain’t Afraid of your Jail” at the base.

To those who grew up here, these works are not just artistic renderings but reminders of the bravery of friends and neighbors. “It’s kind of like being in the movie ‘The Sixth Sense’ everywhere you go you see ghosts,” Threatt says of the statues.

“It’s probably like a person who served in World War II going back to Normandy. It’s a place where something very, very real, very poignant happened to people that you knew.”

Threatt was just 7 when King announced his vision of a color-blind society before hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the Washington Mall. Not long afterward, Threatt was one of three black gifted students enrolled in a white elementary school. He was spat on, beat up, called the N-word. The experience is etched in his memory. Now 57, Threatt occasionally runs into a 6th grade classmate - a bank vice president who had been among his tormenters. They always have a pleasant chat. But he never forgets.

“I like him,” he says. “I don’t think he’s a racist. He was a kid caught up in a social situation like I was. .... You’ve got to get over that in order to survive in the South. ... Otherwise you just wallow in self-pity and hatred and you don’t move forward.”

Threatt graduated from Princeton, then Howard University Law School, worked in Denver and Washington, DC, but returned to Birmingham in 1997. Both he and the city had changed, he says, with Birmingham becoming more progressive.

He joined an established law firm - something that would have been unimaginable 50 years earlier. Threatt had been inspired, in part, to be a lawyer by Arthur Shores, a Sunday

school teacher at his church and a pioneering civil rights attorney who fought to desegregate the University of Alabama.

Shores’ home was bombed twice in 1963, two weeks apart. His neighborhood was nicknamed “Dynamite Hill” for the series of bombings intended to intimidate blacks.

Shores’ daughter, Helen, grew up resisting the segregation laws, once drinking from a “white” fountain - a defiant act that resulted in a whipping when she got home. At 12, she aimed a Colt .45 at some white men driving by her family’s house, spewing racial obscenities. Her father, she says, slapped her arm, the bullet discharged into the air and he quickly grabbed the gun.

She left Birmingham for 13 years, returned in 1971, later switched careers and in 2003 became a judge, only to confront lingering remnants of racism. In her early years on the bench, she recalls, a few lawyers pointedly refused to stand as is custom when a judge enters a courtroom. And, she says, she occasionally sees lawyers who are disrespectful of their minority clients. “Racism is still very much alive and well in the South,” Shores Lee says.

“The actions of men here can be legislated but not their minds and their hearts in terms of how they think and feel about blacks and Hispanics.” The judge says the same goals her father fought for remain at the center of court battles today.

She points to the Supreme Court’s decision in June to throw out the most powerful part of the landmark Voting Rights Act that had provided federal oversight of elections in several Southern states. It was based on a challenge by Shelby County in suburban Birmingham.

The judge also says when she gives speeches about voting rights, she sometimes cites her father. “How far have we come if he talked about this 60 plus years ago and I’m still talking about it today?” she asks. Donna Lidge didn’t speak for decades about her painful past. Every morning, she’d board a school bus, pass an elderly white woman standing on a corner, cursing and making an obscene gesture. Inside the predominantly white school, she and her younger sister were ostracized. “We despised that school,” she says.

Lidge said her mother would console them, saying: “‘I want you to get an education. That’s how you will fight back.’” She now tells her daughter, Ashley, a teacher, about those days. “I talk to her about respect. I say no matter who it is, respect others.” Fifty years ago, the struggle to end racism had white supporters. It still does. James Rotch, a white lawyer, began addressing the issue in 1998 when he launched the Birmingham Pledge - a program to eliminate racism and prejudice.

The “pledge” has evolved into a foundation with conferences and a special week of events held around the September anniversary of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church that killed four girls in 1963. The program’s educational materials are used in every state and 21 countries. The pledge itself - a mission statement - has popped up in places ranging from a public bulletin board outside the Taj Mahal in India to a job training center in Connecticut.

Rotch says the intent is to inspire beyond the city. “We knew that Birmingham was known all over the world and not necessarily in a particularly good way,” he says. “We thought we could show ... that by Birmingham getting its act in order with regard to race, people might say, ‘If they can do it given their history, surely we can.’” Not everyone shares his interest in emphasizing race. “There are a lot of very good, very wellintentioned people who say, ‘Look if we stop talking about all this, it’ll all go away.’ I don’t believe that,” he says. “...If we pretend it’s not there, then we’ll never solve it.” — AP

US repositions troops in the Mediterranean Continued from Page 1 that chemical weapons were used by Syrian forces in the attack near Damascus last week.

The security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the assessment was preliminary and, at this stage, they were still seeking conclusive proof, which could take days, weeks or even longer to gather.

Opponents of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad braved the front lines around Damascus to smuggle out tissue samples from victims of Wednesday’s mass poisoning.

The Syrian government denies being responsible and has in the past accused rebels of using chemical weapons, an allegation that Western officials have dismissed.

In his first public comments since Wednesday’s attack in the Damascus suburbs, Obama called the incident a “big event of grave concern” and one that demanded US attention, but said he was in no rush to get war-weary Americans “mired” in another Middle East conflict. Members of Obama’s National Security Council, the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence agencies met at the White House late on Thursday, but made no decisions on what to recommend, officials said.

One US official acknowledged that the participants in Thursday’s White House meeting aired “differing viewpoints,” but rejected the notion that the administration, whose Syria policymaking has been marked by internal dissent in the past, was sharply divided on a response. “It’s not like people were screaming at each other,” the official said. International powers - including Russia, which has long shielded Assad from UN action - have urged Assad to cooperate with a UN inspection team that arrived on Sunday to pursue earlier allegations of chemical weapons attacks.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there was “some evidence” of chemical weapons use in the latest incident, but stopped short of saying an official conclusion was reached. While the West accused Assad of a cover-up by preventing the UN team from visiting the scene, Moscow said the rebels were impeding an investigation. The United Nations released data showing that a million children were among refugees forced to flee Syria, calling it a “shameful milestone.”

While the preliminary US assessment was that Assad loyalists carried out Wednesday’s attack with high-level authorization, one US source closely monitoring events in the region said it was also possible that a local commander decided on his own to use gas to clear the way for a ground assault. “What we’ve seen indicates that this is clearly a big event, of grave concern,” Obama said in an interview on CNN’s “New Day” program that aired on Friday.

Asked about his comment - made a year and a day before the toxic fumes hit sleeping residents of rebelheld Damascus suburbs - that chemical weapons would be a ‘red line’ for the United States, Obama expressed caution. “If the US goes in and attacks another country without a UN mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented, then there are questions in terms of whether international law supports it,” Obama said.

“The notion that the US can somehow solve what is a sectarian complex problem inside of Syria sometimes is overstated.” Obama’s caution contrasted with calls for action from NATO allies, including France,

Britain and Turkey, where leaders saw little doubt Assad’s forces had staged pre-dawn missile strikes that rebels say killed between 500 and well over 1,000 people.

But two years into a civil war that has divided the Middle East along sectarian lines, a split between Western governments and Russia again illustrated the international deadlock that has thwarted outside efforts to halt the killing. At a White House meeting, which lasted more than three hours, Obama’s aides had a “robust discussion” of the diplomatic and military options available to the president, US officials said.

Among the military options under consideration are targeted missile strikes on Syrian units believed responsible for chemical attacks or on Assad’s air force and ballistic missile sites, US officials said. Such strikes could be launched from US ships or combat aircraft capable of firing missiles from outside Syrian airspace, thereby avoiding Syrian air defenses.

Kerry, who took part in Thursday’s meeting by secure video link, advocated the use of air strikes in White House meetings in early June preceding an announcement of military aid to the rebels, a person familiar with the talks said. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey argued that such a mission would be complex and costly. The White House on Friday reiterated Obama’s position that he did not intend to put “boots on the ground” in Syria, and an administration official said Thursday’s meeting also steered clear of the idea of enforcing a “no-fly” zone there.

Another possibility would be to authorize sending heavier US weaponry, such as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft rockets, to the rebels in addition to lighter arms approved in June. But even those limited supplies have yet to star t flowing to the rebels. The top Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee urged Obama on Friday to order air strikes against Assad’s government.

Representative Eliot Engel cited Obama’s statement that the use of chemical weapons by Assad’s forces would cross a “red line” and cause the United States to act to halt such violations of international law. “If we, in concert with our allies, do not respond to Assad’s murderous uses of weapons of mass destruction, malevolent countries and bad actors around the world will see a green light where one was never intended,” Engel wrote in a letter to Obama and obtained by Reuters.

With Obama’s international prestige seen on the line, a former senior US official said the suspected chemical attack was likely to prompt Obama to use limited force, but he did not expect him to try to topple Assad. “They will feel obliged to do something because the credibility issue is very high here,” the former official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Obama’s failure to confront Assad with the serious consequences he has long threatened would likely reinforce a global perception of a president preoccupied with domestic matters and unwilling to act decisively in the volatile Middle East, a picture already set by his mixed response to the crisis in Egypt. Obama has shown no appetite for intervention. Polls by Reuters/Ipsos and others have shown that most Americans, weary of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are increasingly aware of the Syria conflict but remain opposed to US involvement there. — Reuters

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

25 years in making, Hindu encyclopedia is complete COLUMBIA: A comprehensive encyclopedia of one of the world’s major religions is set to be unveiled this week in South Carolina. The 11-volume work covers Hindu spiritual beliefs, practices and philosophy, and is the culmination of a 25-year academic effort. The encyclopedia is written in English and includes about 7,000 articles on Hinduism and its practices.

The work also deals with Indian history, languages, art, music, dance, architecture, medicine, and women’s issues. The entire encyclopedia contains more than 1,000 illustrations and photographs.

Brightly colored images of Hinduism’s deities fill entire pages, with foot-noted explanations of the forms and powers

God can take in the religion. “The goal was to have something pretty definitive not just about Hinduism, but about the whole South Asian tradition,” said University of South Carolina professor Hal French, who met with a small group of scholars in 1987 to offer academic support for the project.

“This hadn’t really been attempted before,” said French, 83, a distinguished professor emeritus of religious studies at the school and an associate editor. “It is a milestone of research that brought together both Eastern and Western scholarship.” French, who specializes in the religions of Asia and served as an associate editor of the encyclopedia, said a primary inspiration for the work is one

of India’s most revered spiritual leaders, Swami Chidanand Saraswati, who is coming to the USC conference that will celebrate the work’s launch.

Swami Chidanand founded the India Heritage Research Foundation, which became the parent organization behind the encyclopedia effort. He is president of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram spiritual retreat in Rishikesh, India, and travels to visit with Hindu followers in the United States several times a year. The encyclopedia’s volumes run from 600 to more than 700 pages. Some 3,000 copies are being issued in the first printing and will be of interest to libraries, religious institutions, and those studying Indian culture around the world, French said. — AP

Brotherhood and Mubarak in court Continued from Page 1 Mubarak was convicted last June and sentenced to life in prison, but a retrial was ordered in January after he appealed. He could face the death penalty in that case, and is also facing charges in several corruption cases.

As his hearing begins, Brotherhood supreme guide Mohamed Badie and two deputies-Rashad Bayoumi and Khairat Al-Shater-are to make their first appearance before a court on charges of inciting the murder of protesters. Badie was take into custody just last week-the first time a Brotherhood supreme guide has been arrested since 1981.

Khater and Bayoumi were rounded up earlier, following the ouster of Morsi, a fellow Brotherhood member.

They are accused of inciting the murder of protesters who died outside their Cairo headquarters on the evening of June 30, when millions of Egyptians attended anti-Morsi protests. Another three Brotherhood members will stand trial with them, accused of carrying out the murders in question. All six face the death penalty if convicted. Egyptian authorities have issued arrest warrants and detention orders for hundreds of Brotherhood members and detained several senior leaders of the group in recent days.

According to security sources, at least 2,000 have been

arrested since August 14. Morsi, who is being held at an undisclosed location, faces charges related to his escape from prison during the 2011 uprising, as well as complicity in the deaths and torture of protesters. The latter charge involves demonstrations against him outside the presidential place in late 2012. Today’s court cases come after days of relative calm in Egypt, following a week of unprecedented bloodletting in the country that began on August 14.

That was when security forces moved to break up two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo, sparking clashes that left nearly 600 people dead across the country in a single day.

Additional violence followed in the days after, raising fears of prolonged bloodshed. But authorities have mounted a fierce crackdown against the Brotherhood and its allies, that has thinned the group’s ranks and sent many members into hiding.

The arrests have also shattered the group’s structure and made it increasingly difficult for them to turn out in force at demonstrations. On Friday, just a few thousand took part in marches across Cairo-a stark drop from the hundreds of thousands that had turned out in previous demonstrations.

The government has insisted it will proceed with a roadmap, which includes a plan for a new constitution and elections, that is rejected by the Muslim Brotherhood. —AFP

Qaeda blames Hezbollah for Tripoli blasts Continued from Page 1 Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s side in his 2 1/2year-old fight against a majority Sunni uprising.

Syrian rebels, whose strongest elements are radical Sunnis, have been hosted in neighboring Lebanon by sympathetic Sunnis and there have been attacks on Hezbollah members on Lebanese soil. Both Hezbollah and radical Sunni groups in Lebanon have sent fighters into Syria to fight on opposing sides. The explosions in Tripoli, 70 km from the capital Beirut, were the biggest

and deadliest there since the end of Lebanon’s own civil war and came a week after a huge car bomb killed at least 24 people in a Shi’ite district of Beirut controlled

by Hezbollah. “We know with certainty that behind this deplorable act committed against are the hands of the vile, rafidah Hezbollah, which stands side by side with Bashar in Syria,” the AQIM tweets said, as quoted by SITE. Al-Qaeda groups follow a hardline ideology that rejects all non-Sunnis as infidels and regularly incites antagonism towards Shiites. Assad’s family is from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. — Reuters

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

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Washington Watch

Invisible victims

By Dr James J Zogby or decades now, Christians have been the “invisible or ignored victims” of conflicts in the Middle East. At best, the US has paid scant attention as once thriving communities of indigenous Christians in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt have been attacked, threatened, or forced to endure indignity and hardship. There are many reasons for this lack of attention to the situation of Arab Christians, with one principal factor being ignorance.

Most Americans have so little knowledge of the Arab World, its history and people that they are unaware that these Christian communities even exist. This must be remedied, since without an understanding of the role played by Christians in the Arab societies of the Middle East, there can be no reasoned discussion about the past, present, and future of this region.

One striking example of this ignorance comes to mind. I once hosted a press breakfast in Washington for a visiting Palestinian priest from the Galilee. Since I had invited only reporters who covered religion issues, I hoped for an informed and thoughtful exchange. A set of initial questions from the AP’s religion reporter established, early on, that the conversation would not be as productive as I had assumed.

His questions made it all too clear that he was simply unaware of the existence of a Palestinian Christian community. He began by asking, “You say that you are an Arab Christian. But how can that be - aren’t they two different groups?” He followed up by asking “When exactly did you and your family convert to Christianity?” The clergyman from the Galilee, without missing a beat or cracking a smile, replied quite simply “My relatives converted about 2000 years ago.” He went on to describe the continuous Christian presence in the Holy Land since the time of Jesus, the role they have played in the region’s history, and their shared struggle with their Palestinian Muslim brethren.

I have found that not only reporters were ignorant or dismissive about Christians in the Arab World. About two decades back, a high ranking State Department official told me that he was off to Syria and high on his agenda was his intention to challenge “Assad’s and the Ba’ath’s persecution of Christians”. I cautioned him to drop that issue from his “to-do list” informing him that, in fact, Christians had been among the founders of the Ba’ath party and, for better or worse, saw the Assad regime as supportive of their rights-a history that had to be known if one was to understand Syria’s political culture and society.

Just a few years ago, I had another disturbing conversation about Syria’s Christians with a senior official-this time from the White House. We were in agreement about the brutality of the Assad regime and the need for fundamental change in Syria. But when I raised concern about the vulnerability of Syria’s Christians, his dismissive response was “Maybe it’s time for them to just pack their bags and leave”. He said this without any sense of concern for this community or for what Syria’s future might be like were it to lose its Christian population.

Even when their presence is known, the Christian’s plight is ignored in our political discourse and press commentary either because acknowledging their situation might muddy up a simplistic story-line or conflict with what has been identified as a larger policy objective.

And so, for example, the West has been silent about the precipitous decline in the Christian population of the Palestinian West Bank and Jerusalem out of deference to Israeli sensitivities.

Pro-Israel right-wing Christian groups from the US frequently make pilgrimages to the Holy Land to show their support for Israel, while completely ignoring the existence of an indigenous community of Christians and the hardships they are forced to endure with the rest of their Palestinian brethren living under occupation. “They come”, a Palestinian cleric told me, “to look at the places where Jesus walked and don’t even see that we are here. We are invisible to them”.

Similarly, it was the Evangelical Christian president George W. Bush whose ill-conceived war in Iraq unleashed the twin demons of violent extremism and sectarianism that resulted in the near destruction of the ancient Chaldean Christian community of Iraq.

The Bush White House alternately ignored this tragedy or shrugged it off as a mere unfortunate by-product of the more important objective of removing Sadaam Hussein from power.

And even today, the impact of sectarian conflict on the two thousand year old Christian communities of Syria and Egypt is rarely factored into policy discussions and press commentary about these countries. In each instance, the dominate narrative has been determined to be of far greater consequence. And so the Syria story is “opposition versus regime”, or “al Qaeda facing off against Hizbullah”, while the Egypt story is framed as “Muslim Brothers against the military” or “democracy versus coup”.

Meanwhile, on the ground, in both Syria and Egypt, ancient Christian churches are destroyed and communities live in fear of violence incited by extremists.

On occasion some right-wing ideologues have selectively embraced the plight of one Christian community only to use it as a partisan club with which to attack a Democratic administration or as part of their on-going efforts to demonize Islam. They will never, for example, criticize Israel’s behavior toward Christians in Jerusalem or Bethlehem, just as they were silent during the uprooting of the Christians of Iraq. As a result, their advocacy has been so transparently crass and hollow, that they are easily dismissed as political posturing.

F

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

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

China investigate multiple sectors for price-fixing

By Michael Martina senior Chinese official put pressure on around 30 foreign firms including General Electric and Siemens at a recent meeting to confess to any antitrust violations and warned them against using external lawyers to fight accusations from regulators, sources said. The meeting is evidence of what many antitrust lawyers in China see as increasingly aggressive tactics to enforce a 2008 anti-monopoly law and highlight a worsening relationship between foreign companies and China’s array of regulators.

Two sources who were at the July 24-25 closed-door meeting said the senior official showed in-house lawyers how to write what they called “self-criticisms” and displayed copies of letters from companies admitting guilt in past antitrust cases.

Lawyers employed by some of those firms were in the room.

The two sources, and another source with direct knowledge of the meeting at a small hotel in Beijing, said the official who delivered the blunt remarks was Xu Xinyu, a division chief at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

One of the sources at the meeting said Xu noted, without being specific, that half of the companies in the room were either being investigated or had been probed by the NDRC. “The message was: if you put up a fight, I could double or triple your fines. This speech went way over the line,” the second source who attended the meeting said. The NDRC did not respond to questions from Reuters. Xu could not be reached for comment.

The agency has been at the forefront of a wave of investigations into how companies do business in China, especially into whether they effectively force retailers to sell their products at a minimum price. On Aug 7 it announced fines totaling a record $110 million against five foreign milk powder firms and one Chinese producer for price fixing and anti-competitive behavior. Three other milk powder makers were investigated but not fined because, among other things, they carried out “self-rectification”, the NDRC said at the time.

In-house lawyers from some 30 firms attended the July meeting, which was conducted in Chinese. It had been billed as a training session for multinationals to mark the fifth anniversary of the anti-monopoly law. Officials from the Ministry of Commerce as well as the State Administration for

A

Industry and Commerce (SAIC), a regulator in charge of market supervision, were also at the meeting, but their presentations were overshadowed by Xu’s speech.

His comments were perceived as threatening, and while other NDRC officials at the meeting may not have supported the way it was conveyed, Xu’s message was consistent with the approach taken by other officials in private conversations with companies in recent months, the two sources at the meeting said. They declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media, but word of the meeting has circulated widely in the antitrust community.

GLOBAL COMPANIES The two sources said the following companies were at the hotel: GE, Siemens, Samsung Electronics, Microsoft, Volvo, IBM Corp, Michelin; Swedish packaging giant Tetra Pak; Intel Corp; Qualcomm ; Dumex, a subsidiary of France’s Danone and US cable equipment maker Arris Group Inc. Tetra Pak confirmed it was there but declined to comment further. Siemens, Samsung and Volvo said they were not aware of any meeting. IBM, Intel, GE and Microsoft declined to comment. Arris, Michelin and Dumex did not respond to questions while Reuters was unable to immediately reach Qualcomm. Reuters does not have a full list of firms at the meeting. The government agencies held a separate training session for Chinese state-owned enterprises around the same time, one of the sources said, though it was unclear what was discussed. The two sources said Xu did not explain why he didn’t want foreign firms to hire external lawyers if they were probed. Getting an admission of guilt from companies makes it easier for the NDRC because lawyers who have dealt with it said its capacity for legal analysis was weak and that few within its antitrust bureau had a background in law. “They don’t do analysis. They just do an interview and ask for an admission,” said one lawyer from a leading antitrust firm in China who also had direct knowledge of the July meeting.

When one lawyer asked a question about the anti-monopoly law, Xu asked the executive to elaborate on his company’s practices so he could determine on the spot if it was in violation or not, the two sources said. The lawyer clammed up, they said. While Chinese regulators have said little to explain the motivations behind the various pricing investigations, state

media have accused the foreign media of exaggerating the issue.

In a commentary on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said such probes were routine in a market-oriented economy. “The battle is not targeted at foreign companies. It is aimed at creating a fairer, cleaner and better-regulated environment for economic competition,” the English language commentary said. “Probing and punishing ill-behaved companies will increase the confidence of international firms in the Chinese market, not the other way round.”

WARY OF NDRC Lawyers and sources familiar with the NDRC said Xu was elevated to the role of a division chief in its antitrust bureau after the agency, keen to keep pace with China’s two other antitrust enforcers - the Ministry of Commerce and SAIC added dozens of personnel in 2011. At the same time, the NDRC is offering leniency for some companies in return for cooperation.

In the case against the milk powder makers, Swiss giant Nestle was among the three firms spared fines because it “provided important evidence and carried out active self-rectification”, the NDRC said. “I am happy that the NDRC is actively investigating, but they can’t prohibit a company from hiring a lawyer,” said the lawyer from the antitrust firm. “The NDRC is very powerful and some companies are afraid and willing to give up counsel.” A second China-based antitrust lawyer said foreign firms were frightened of challenging the NDRC by filing a judicial review in court, which could overrule an NDRC finding. While China’s judiciary is not considered independent, experts regard it as more capable of detailed legal analysis.

“So far, no companies have challenged the NDRC for a judicial review because they are afraid of retaliation. (This) is the same reason why they would sign a confession letter,” said the lawyer. Daniel Sokol, a law professor and antitrust expert at the University of Florida, said that while Chinese firms had been targeted by the NDRC over antitrust issues, the uncertainty was making foreign investors especially jittery. “The problem is that because it has so much power and because in various forums they have been focusing on foreign enforcement, this is definitely impacting business decision-making about further FDI into China,” Sokol said.— Reuters

In small US town, a window into Egyptian general’s past

By Phil Stewart nlike today’s ubiquitous images of General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in crisp uniform decorated with medals, the US Army War College yearbook shows the officer who would one day seize power in Egypt smiling at a party in a small Pennsylvania town, looking relaxed in a yellow polo shirt. There is a picture of Sisi visiting a US Civil War battleground and another of his family taken at a Halloween party they attended, with his wife and daughter grinning next to a woman dressed like the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra.

The yearbook from the Class of 2006 is tucked away in the War College library in Carlisle. Its images offer a reminder that not that long ago, the army chief who now effectively rules Egypt spent an academic year on a military fellowship in the more peaceful surroundings of small-town America. In Carlisle, Sisi made an impression at the local mosque and at the college itself as a serious student whose writings reflected an awareness that ensuring democracy in the Middle East might be fraught with difficulties.

Since the July 3 ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, discussion of limited American influence on Egypt’s military has focused on the $1.3 billion in military aid that the United States pours into the country. But advocates of international fellowship programs say that cultural ties forged in places like Carlisle are perhaps more important in building lasting relations between the United States and Egypt.

Despite conflict with the Obama administration over his crackdown on supporters of Morsi, Sisi keeps in regular contact with Washington.

He has held an astonishing 16 calls with US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel since Morsi was toppled last month. “I’ll bet this total immersion in the West that he had for the better part of a year ... is contributing to the fact that communications lines are open,” said Major General Anthony Cucolo, the War College’s commandant.Sisi ignored warnings from Hagel and oth-

U

ers before Morsi’s ouster and, again rebuffing calls for restraint, sent in security forces on Aug 14 to smash protest camps set up by Morsi’s supporters. At least 900 people, including 100 soldiers and police, have been killed in the past week in the crackdown on Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, the bloodiest civil unrest in Egypt’s modern history. “Our ability to influence the outcome in Egypt is limited,” Hagel acknowledged on Monday. “All nations are limited in their influence in another nation’s internal issues.”

RISKS OF DEMOCRACY On a dry-erase board in a War College seminar room, instructions like “No Rank” and “Keep an Open Mind” are scribbled in blue ink - part of an effort to promote open, informal dialogue among US officers and those from other countries. The college hosts nearly 80 international fellows each year, a number that has doubled since Sisi studied there. They come from nations like Pakistan and India, as well as from traditional allies like Canada and Britain, to study with officers from across America’s armed forces and civilians from the State Department and other US agencies.

This year, Egypt sent one officer to the United States for language training before Morsi’s ouster. But the number of Egyptian military personnel participating in all US exchanges through the International Military Education and Training Program fell sharply to 22 from 53 from 2011 to 2012, according to State Department data. In 2006, Sisi appeared more reserved than many other fellows in class discussions, perhaps cautious by nature - or wary that his comments might come back to haunt him. “(It wasn’t) because he didn’t know what he thought. I think he was aware that everything you can say can be repeated,” said Sherifa Zuhur, a former professor of Sisi’s, who led a class on the Middle East. Faculty adviser Steve Gerras described him as “serious and quiet” - even at outside events, like when he attended a gathering to watch the Super Bowl at Gerras’ home. Those who knew Sisi during

his US fellowship describe someone who, at the height of Iraq’s post-invasion civil war, deeply questioned perceived US assumptions about how democracy would unfold there.

In comments foreshadowing the current crisis gripping Egypt, Sisi, in his research project, wrote that emerging democracies would likely have a stronger religious cast than in the West.

“History has shown that in the first ten years of a new democracy, conflict is likely to occur either externally or internally as the new democracy matures,” he wrote. “Simply changing the political systems from autocratic rule to democratic rule will not be enough to build a new democracy,” he wrote.

Some of Sisi’s writings seem ironic today, given that he led the overthrow of an avowedly Islamist, but popularly elected, leader. Critics of Morsi’s leadership say he failed to build an inclusive government and did not govern democratically. In his research, Sisi pointed to the 2006 Palestinian election victory of Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and advocated that “legitimately elected parties be given the opportunity to govern.” “The world cannot demand democracy in the Middle East, yet denounce what it looks like because a less than pro-Western party legitimately assumes office,” he wrote. Sisi had requested that his research project not be publicly disclosed. But it has circulated widely, something that Cucolo, the college commandant, said he regretted.

WEDDING RING Sisi lived on a picturesque street in Carlisle’s historic center with American flags draped from front porches. His former home, which has a porch swing and a hanging basket of flowers, is a short walk from a local college that Sisi’s son attended, and a short drive from the mosque often frequented by Muslim fellows at the War College and their families. Sisi is warmly remembered there as a devout man who sometimes led prayers. “He used to pray with us. Now he is a big guy,” said worshipper Abdul Majid Ayud.

Carlisle wasn’t Sisi’s first experience in the United

States. In 1981, he took an infantry basic training course at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Frank Phillips, a retired US Army officer who befriended Sisi there, says Sisi served as an imam for the Muslim students on the course. “He was religious, but not fanatical,” said Phillips, describing him as a “strong patriot.” One day, Sisi accompanied the American to look for an engagement ring in Columbus, Georgia. When Phillips put the ring on layaway - a practice not generally known in Egypt - Sisi offered to help him pay for it so he could take it home right away.

Phillips gently declined, but deeply appreciated the offer. “He’s a solid guy,” Phillips said.

People who knew Sisi during his time in the United States generally declined to take a position on Egypt’s political turmoil. But Phillips says he takes comfort in believing that Sisi will do what is right for Egypt, and likely weigh US views because of his experiences in America. “Is he more predisposed now to consider the US view of things? I’d say yes,” Phillips said.

HALL OF FAME? Sisi’s name is inscribed along with others from the Class of 2006 on a bronze-colored plaque that dominates a wall of Root Hall, the War College’s main building. But the college’s top honor still awaits him. Inside is a “Hall of Fame” with portraits of fellowship graduates who, like Sisi, went on to lead their respective militaries.

General Tibor Benko, who became chief of the general staff of Hungary’s armed forces, is the most recent inductee and, as such, his portrait is larger, positioned at the center of dozens of others hailing from Germany, Italy and elsewhere. Although the ultimate decision on whether to include Sisi is up to the US ambassador to Egypt and senior Army officials, Cucolo said the slow process toward Sisi’s induction would begin to advance. “He meets the criteria and I will be moving forward with the process at some point here,” Cucolo said. “What’s going on right now isn’t affecting my opinion about that.”—Reuters

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

S P ORTS

Crutchlow takes pole spot

Trezeguet nets for Newell’s

Kaneria’s spot-fixing scandal

BRNO: Britain’s Cal Crutchlow took his second pole position of the MotoGP season at the Czech Republic Grand Prix in Brno yesterday.

The Yamaha Tech3 rider, whose other pole came at the Dutch TT in Assen in June, was joined on the front row by Honda Gresini’s Spanish rider Alvaro Bautista and works Honda championship leader Marc Marquez.

Spain’s world champion Jorge Lorenzo, on the works Yamaha, qualified fifth with Honda’s Dani Pedrosa fourth. Crutchlow grabbed the top slot with a record qualifying lap time of one minute 55.527 seconds and he could say he had done it with all of the top riders present.

Lorenzo was absent for the Dutch round. “It is going to be a long, tough race tomorrow,” the Briton, who is switching to Ducati next season, told the BBC. “In all honesty the last couple of races haven’t gone to plan... but everyone seems to be struggling a bit and we seem to be getting there slowly,” he added.

Crutchlow had been unhappy after Friday’s practice with a new fuel tank fitted to his bike but was fastest in yesterday’s practice. —Reuters

ARGENTINA: Former France striker David Trezeguet, discarded this season

by River Plate, scored a brilliant goal for Argentine champions Newell’s Old Boys in their 2-0 win at Atletico Rafaela.

Meanwhile, with three matches already played, River were still waiting for Colombia striker Teofilo Gutierrez’s papers in a transfer from Cruz Azul of Mexico to come through so he can finally make his debut at home to Colon today. The 35-year-old Trezeguet traded several passes with Argentina winger Maxi Rodriguez before volleying the ball into the top corner to seal the victory in the final minute of Friday night’s match.

Paraguay right back Marcos Caceres had given Newell’s the lead early in the second half of the match in the “Inicial” championship, first of two in the season.

“This is a team who don’t lose their values, they like to control the ball, enjoy themselves, for the forwards it’s a pleasure to play with these players,” Trezeguet said of the side built by former coach Gerardo Martino before he departed for Barcelona last month. Newell’s, now under coach Jorge Berti, are third in the standings with seven points from three matches. They are two points behind promoted leaders Gimnsia, who won 2-1 at Belgrano and visit Newell’s in Rosario on Tuesday. Racing Club, who enjoyed a strong finish to last season, are bottom of the 19-team league on one point after crashing to their third defeat in four matches, 2-0 at home to Arsenal, who are second on eight points. —Reuters

KARACHI: Former captain Rashid Latif yesterday said Pakistan cricket authorities should not force leg-spinner Danish Kaneria to plead guilty to spot-fixing until he has exhausted all legal options available to him. A disciplinary panel of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) banned Kaneria for life last year after he was convicted of luring Essex team-mate Mervyn Westfield in to conceding a set number of runs in exchange for money during a 2009 country match. Kaneria last week launched another appeal in a London commercial court against the ban after earlier appeals to the ECB, first to overturn, then to reduce the punishment, were rejected. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), possibly mindful of its reputation in the wake of a series of fixing scandals, has urged Kaneria to end his legal battle and confess.

But Latif said questions remained over Kaneria’s conviction. “I request the PCB not to force Kaneria to accept his guilt until his appeal at all forums is not decided,” the former wicketkeeper said at a press conference. During the British proceedings against Kaneria, it was alleged that an Indian bookmaker named Anu Bhatt paid 6000 pounds to Westfield in a deal brokered by the leg-spinner. But Latif contested the allegations and said Bhatt and was hosted as a guest of the PCB in 2005 and 2006, a claim rejected by the body. On Friday the PCB sent Latif a notice to either prove his allegations or apologise within three days.—AFP

Cardinals pound Braves

BALTIMORE: Third basemen Josh Donaldson No. 20 of the Oakland Athletics cannot throw out Matt Wieters of the Baltimore Orioles (not pictured) in the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. —AFP

Orioles down Athletics BALTIMORE: Brian Roberts hit a grand slam, Adam Jones homered and had three RBIs as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics 9-7 Friday to gain ground in the wild-card race.

Roberts and Jones connected in a sixrun fourth inning that put Baltimore up 6-3. After Oakland rallied to take the lead, Jones drove in the go-ahead run during a three-run seventh.

The victory moved the Orioles past Cleveland into third place in the wildcard hunt. Tampa Bay is on top and Baltimore now stands two games behind Oakland. The top two teams make the playoffs.

Coco Crisp homered, had a career high-tying four hits and scored three runs for the A’s, who have lost four of six.

Ryan Cook (5-3) was the loser and Francisco Rodriguez (2-0) got the win.

Jim Johnson worked a perfect ninth for his 40th save.

ANGELS 2, MARINERS 0 In Seattle, Chris Nelson hit a two-run homer off Felix Hernandez as the Angels spoiled Eric Wedge’s return to the dugout with a victory over the Mariners.

Wedge managed the Mariners for the first time since he had a mild stroke a month ago. He acknowledged being anxious about getting back on the bench and called his ailment “a heads up.”

Garrett Richards (4-5) allowed four hits in 7 1-3 innings and two relievers finished the five-hitter for Los Angeles.

Nelson snapped an 0-for-17 slide when he connected in the second for his third homer. Josh Hamilton scored on Nelson’s long ball after leading off the inning with a single, and it was the only time Hernandez (12-7) was touched all night.

RANGERS 11, WHITE SOX 5 In Chicago, Ian Kinsler raced around the bases for a bizarre inside-the-park homer and Adam Rosales had a conventional two-run shot, helping Texas beat the White Sox. The AL West-leading Rangers (75-53) had five homers in all while winning for the 19th time in 23 games. Jeff Baker and pinch hitter Mitch Moreland each had two-run shot, and Adrian Beltre belted a solo drive. The White Sox were unable to overcome a shaky outing by ace Chris Sale, ending a season-high sixgame winning streak. Sale (9-12) allowed eight runs and eight hits in seven innings. Kinsler hit a line drive in the third that rolled into a drainage track under the left field wall. By the time

Dayan Viciedo was able to find the ball, Kinsler was on his way to the plate standing up for his 11th homer.

RAYS 7, YANKEES 2 In St. Petersburg, rookie Chris Archer beat the Yankees for the third time, and Evan Longoria hit one of four homers off Hiroki Kuroda as the Rays topped their AL East rival.

Jose Lobaton homered and drove in four runs in support of Archer (7-5), a 24year-old right-hander who won twice earlier this season at Yankee Stadium, including a two-hit shutout on July 27.

He gave up four hits over seven innings this time.

Matt Joyce and Ben Zobrist also went deep for Tampa Bay, hitting solo shots off Kuroda (11-9), who tied a career high for homers allowed - the first given up by the Yankees starter in nearly two months.

The loss stopped a five-game winning streak for New York, which had won 10 of 12 to climb back into the AL playoff race.

TWINS 5, INDIANS 1 In Cleveland, Samuel Deduno pitched six solid innings and Josh Willingham busted out of a slump with a two-run double in the seventh, leading the Twins to a win over Cleveland, slowing the Indians’ climb toward a wild-card spot.

Deduno (8-7) allowed just one run and three hits for his first win since July 27 as the Twins continued to befuddle the Indians. Minnesota is 14-7 against Cleveland since last September.

Willingham was in an 0-for-15 slide before his double off Cody Allen put the Twins ahead 4-1. Ubaldo Jimenez (9-8) struck out 10 in six innings.

ASTROS 12, BLUE JAYS 4 In Houston, rookie Robbie Grossman homered and drove in four runs, Matt Dominguez had a solo shot as the Astros used a big fourth inning in cruising to a win over the Blue Jays.

Houston led by one before adding five runs in the fourth inning behind a two RBI triple by Jonathan Villar and a runscoring triple by Jason Castro to make it 8-2.

Jordan Lyles (6-6) allowed 10 hits and four runs in 7 1-3 innings for the win.

Blue Jays starter Todd Redmond (1-2) allowed eight hits and seven runs - both career highs - in 3 1-3 innings, which was the shortest start of his career. JP Arencibia, Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Lawrie all homered for the Blue Jays, who have lost six straight. —AP

ST. LOUIS: Adam Wainwright earned his National League-leading 15th win with his fifth complete game and had a key sacrifice fly to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday. Matt Holliday’s 432-foot home run off Kris Medlen (10-12) snapped a sixth-inning tie for St. Louis, which took the first two games of a four-game set against the NL East leaders.

Having already thrown 101 pitches, Wainwright was allowed to bat with the one out and the bases loaded in the seventh inning. He hit a long fly ball to center off Scott Downs for his third RBI of the season, making it 3-1.

Medlen singled to lead off the sixth and scored on Freddie Freeman’s second hit of the game. Medlen also retired 12 in a row at one point, but he allowed Holliday’s 17th homer on a liner deep into the left field stands. He’s lost his last two times out, including a relief appearance in a 15-inning game.

PIRATES 3, GIANTS 1 In San Francisco, Clint Barmes hit a three-run homer, Charlie Morton pitched eight strong innings as Pittsburgh won for the fourth time in five games.

Andrew McCutchen and Josh Harrison each had two hits for the Pirates, who maintained their onegame lead over St. Louis in the NL Central.

Morton (5-3) allowed one run and seven hits over 7 2-3 innings. Mark Melancon pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 11 chances.

San Francisco left-hander Madison Bumgarner (118) took a shutout into the seventh and wound up allowing three runs and seven hits over eight innings.

Roger Kieschnick drove in a run for the Giants, who have lost three straight and five of six overall.

BREWERS 6, REDS 4 In Cincinnati, Khris Davis hit a pair of two-run homers in consecutive at-bats for the first multihomer game of his career, powering Milwaukee to the win.

Scooter Gennett also homered for the Brewers, who won at Great American Ball Park for only the second time in seven games this season.

The Reds lost for only the fifth time in their last 17 games, a surge that has tightened the NL Central race.

They came in a season-high 18 games over .500.

Davis connected in the sixth off Homer Bailey and again in the eighth off Alfredo Simon (5-4), who had a rough inning. He also gave up Gennett’s solo homer, which was upheld on review.

Rob Wooten (2-0) hit a batter during his one inning in relief. Jim Henderson gave up a hit in the ninth while getting his 20th save in 23 chances.

Brandon Phillips homered for Cincinnati.

PHILLIES 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3 In Philadelphia, Chase Utley walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting Philadelphia to the comeback victory.

Cody Asche led off the ninth with a single and went to third on Jimmy Rollins’ single. Heath Bell (4-2) intentionally walked Michael Young to load the bases for Kevin Frandsen. After striking out Frandsen, Bell was lifted for left-hander Eury De La Rosa.

De La Rosa ran the count to 3-2 and Utley walked when the final pitch appeared to be a bit inside. It was the fifth win in six games for the Phillies, who have won four of those contests in their last at-bat, including the last three.

Darin Ruf homered for the second straight game for Philadelphia, which improved to 5-3 under interim manager Ryne Sandberg. Jonathan Papelbon (4-1) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.

ROCKIES 3, MARLINS 2 In Miami, Ryan Wheeler hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth to help Colorado get the win. Jhoulys Chacin (12-7) allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings for the Rockies. Adam Ottavino pitched the eighth and Lex Brothers finished for his 12th save in 13 opportunities.

Ed Lucas homered and Tom Koehler allowed one run in seven innings for Miami, which has lost four in a row. With the Rockies trailing 2-1 in the eighth, Tulowitzki got the rally started with a one-out double off Chad Qualls (4-2). Michael Cuddyer followed with a tying RBI single.

After Rosario grounded out, Wheeler gave the Rockies a 3-2 lead with a double to center for his first RBI of the season.

PADRES 8, CUBS 6 In San Diego, Will Venable had three hits and three RBIs, including a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning as the San Diego Padres rallied to beat the Chicago Cubs.

ST. LOUIS: Yadier Molina No. 4 of the St. Louis Cardinals is tagged out by Chris Johnson No. 23 of the Atlanta Braves trying to stretch out a double in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. —AFP Jedd Gyorko homered twice and drove in a careerhigh four runs as the Padres stormed back after a terrible start. Chase Headley and Logan Forsythe had two hits apiece. Nate Schierholtz hit a three-run homer in Chicago’s six-run first inning, but that was all the scoring for the Cubs.

INTERLEAGUE DODGERS 2, RED SOX 0 In Los Angeles, Ricky Nolasco pitched eight innings of two-hit ball and Hanley Ramirez hit a tworun homer as the Dodgers defeated the Red Sox in the opener of an interleague series between playoff contenders. The Dodgers won their fourth in a row, while the Red Sox lost for the sixth time in eight games. With the loss, Boston fell percentage points behind Tampa Bay in the AL East standings.

The Dodgers opened a 101/2-game lead in the NL West, their biggest margin since holding a 101/2game advantage on Sept. 28, 1977.

Nolasco and John Lackey dueled through eight innings of Boston’s first visit to Dodger Stadium since 2002. They combined for just five hits in a game that lasted 2 hours, 7 minutes.

Nolasco (10-9) struck out six and walked none in tying his longest outing of the season. Lackey (8-11) gave up two runs and three hits, struck out six and walked none. Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for his 22nd save.

TIGERS 6, METS 1 In New York, Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homer, Torii Hunter also connected as the Tigers tagged Daisuke Matsuzaka early on in his return to the majors.

Hunter added a long RBI double and Doug Fister (11-6) pitched into the seventh inning to help Detroit win the interleague series opener. Austin Jackson went deep for the second straight day for the AL Central leaders. The series resumes with a rematch of All-Star game starters at Citi Field: Max Scherzer puts his 18-1 record on the line against New York ace Matt Harvey in a nationally televised game.

Minus two injured starters, the Mets signed Matsuzaka (0-1) on Thursday to fill a hole in the rotation and immediately handed him a difficult assignment. The Japanese right-hander allowed five runs all coming in the first two frames - and six hits in five innings.

NATIONALS 11, ROYALS 10 In Kansas City, Jayson Werth hit a two-run homer, Bryce Harper drove in three runs as Washington rallied from a six-run deficit to the get the win.

Harper also made a terrific catch in the ninth for Washington, which scored seven times in the fourth inning of its fourth consecutive win. Ian Desmond had a pair of hits during the outburst.

Denard Span, Ryan Zimmerman, Tyler Moore and Anthony Rendon also had RBIs as the Nationals piled up 11 runs for the second time in three games - they beat the Cubs 11-6 on Tuesday night.

Just like in that one, Tyler Roark (4-0) came in to spell some sloppy starting pitching for the Nationals.

He earned the win by allowing one hit and one walk in 4 2-3 innings. Bruce Chen (5-2) was tagged for the second straight time for Kansas City. He allowed seven runs and six hits with five walks in 3 2-3 innings in his shortest outing of the year. Rafael Soriano got three outs for his 33rd save. —AP

MLB results/standings Baltimore 9, Oakland 7; Minnesota 5, Cleveland 1; Philadelphia 4, Arizona 3; Milwaukee 6, Cincinnati 4; Detroit 6, NY Mets 1; Colorado 3, Miami 2; Tampa Bay 7, NY Yankees 2; Texas 11, Chicago White Sox 5; Washington 11, Kansas City 10; Houston 12, Toronto 4; St. Louis 3, Atlanta 1; LA Angels 2, Seattle 0; LA Dodgers 2, Boston 0; San Diego 8, Chicago Cubs 6; Pittsburgh 3, San Francisco 1.

Tampa Bay Boston Baltimore NY Yankees Toronto

American League Eastern Division W L PCT 73 53 .579 75 55 .577 69 58 .543 68 60 .531 57 72 .442

Central Division Detroit 75 53 .586 Cleveland 69 59 .539 Kansas City 64 63 .504 Minnesota 57 70 .449 Chicago White Sox 52 75 .409 Texas Oakland Seattle LA Angels Houston

Western Division 75 53 .586 71 56 .559 59 68 .465 56 71 .441 42 85 .331

GB 4.5 6 17.5

National League Eastern Division Atlanta 77 51 .602 Washington 64 64 .500 NY Mets 58 68 .460 Philadelphia 58 70 .453 Miami 48 79 .378

13 18 19 28.5

6 10.5 17.5 22.5

Pittsburgh St. Louis Cincinnati Milwaukee Chicago Cubs

Central Division 76 52 .594 75 53 .586 73 56 .566 56 72 .438 54 74 .422

1 3.5 20 22

3.5 15.5 18.5 32.5

LA Dodgers Arizona Colorado San Diego San Francisco

Western Division 76 52 .594 65 62 .512 60 70 .462 58 70 .453 56 72 .438

10.5 17 18 20

Sheikh Salman hails Al-Hamly’s success

KUWAIT: Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud (second right) welcoming Al-Hamly.

KUWAIT: President of the Asian and Kuwait Shooting Federations, Vice-president of the ISSF Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem AlSabah, accompanied by President of the Arab Shooting Federation, Vice-president of Kuwait Shooting Federation Engr Duaij Khalaf Al-Otaibi and secretary general of Arab and Kuwait Shooting Federation Obaid Al-Osaimi welcomed Kuwaiti Shooter Mohammad Al-Hamly who won the gold

medal during the Asian Youth Games in China.

Sheikh Salman was pleased with AlHamly’s achievement, and is honored to dedicate the medal to HH the Amir, HH the Crown Prince and HH the Prime Minister. He also congratulated the President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad on the success of the second Asian Youth Games. Sheikh Salman

appreciated the outstanding performance of Kuwait Shooting during the games, and thanked shooter Al-Hamly who confirmed that Kuwait Shooting Sport is outstanding.

Eng Duaij Al-Otaibi said KSSC preparations for the games proved successful, and showed that Kuwaiti youth are exceptional despite the strong competition with major countries like China, Japan and Korea along with 20 other participating countries.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

S P ORTS

Busch dominates Bristol race BRISTOL: The crowd showered Kyle Busch with boos Friday night as he celebrated yet another Bristol Motor Speedway win in Victory Lane.

“Whether you’re booing or cheering, glad you’re here,” Busch said over the public address system. “Hope you’re booing more tomorrow when we take home another trophy.”

It wouldn’t be out of the question for Busch, who will be going for a Bristol sweep late yesterday night’s Sprint Cup Series race. He won Wednesday night’s Truck Series race and dominated Friday night’s Nationwide Series race, starting from the pole and leading 228 of the 250 laps. “You’ve got to win two to go for three, so here’s two,” said Busch, who has 15 career national wins at Bristol and swept the week in August 2010.

His win Friday night was his 60th Nationwide series win of his career, and 120th spanning NASCAR’s three national series. It was also his 15th of the season after winning just one race in all three series last season. “It comes from preparation, it comes from the shop, it comes from practice here,” said Busch, who also praised crew chief Adam Stevens. “Adam and I, we work real well together.”

Brad Keselowski was second, followed

by Austin Dillon, Justin Allgaier, Kyle Larson, Trevor Bayne, Ty Dillon, Kasey

Kahne, Brian Scott and Elliott Sadler.

Sam Hornish Jr. entered the race as the Nationwide Series points leader but had a spark plug wire problem and finished 12th.

He has a six-point lead over Austin Dillon, who gained two spots in the standings. “It’s unfortunate we let them close back in again, but Bristol really isn’t one of my strongest tracks,” Hornish said. “I don’t know if I jinxed myself, but I said over the last couple of weeks that if we can get through these races and do what we need to do and minimize our bad days to be a 15th-place finish instead of a 35th that we’ll be all right, and low and behold, we get ourselves into a 12th-place.

“But it was a hard-fought 12th and I feel like we did what we could do with having our problem for almost 200 laps of the race. It turned out pretty good for us.”

Busch, meanwhile, won’t have such an easy go of it in Saturday night’s Cup race after a spin in qualifying prevented him from making a lap. He’ll start last in the 43-car field and have to fight hard to avoid being lapped early on the .533-mile bullring.

“It’s a whole different ball game tomorrow, for sure,” he said. “In qualifying, I just overstepped it, got too high, I was a little loose and I just screwed up. It’s not like I haven’t come from deep in the field before, but it’s going to be a tall order.”—AP

BELGIUM: Lotus F1 Team’s French driver Romain Grosjean (left) and Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton drives during the qualifying session at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.—AFP

Hamilton seizes pole at Belgian Grand Prix

BRISTOL: Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, leads Drew Herring, driver of the No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota, during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Food City 250. —AFP

Kuchar edges into lead JERSEY CITY: Matt Kuchar joined the birdie brigade at Liberty National to overtake clubhouse leaders Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland by a stroke late in the second round of The Barclays on Friday. Kuchar registered five birdies without a bogey to reach 10 under par after 13 holes on the scenic layout perched at the edge of New York harbor before play was halted due to darkness.

“I’m really pleased with how I’m playing,” said 35-year-old Kuchar, who felt it could be a positive to be one of the 40 players coming back late yesterday to finish the round. “Right now the greens are getting a little bit worn.

There’s just been a lot of traffic on them. I feel like in the morning, they will be perfect greens.”

World number one Tiger Woods, playing in the same group as Kuchar, reached seven under after six holes but began missing fairways and greens and posted three bogeys before stopping the bleeding with a birdie at 13 to stand five under par.

A stretch of four birdies in five holes from the sixth lifted Kuchar level into a tie for the lead and a tap-in birdie at the par-five 13th put him ahead.

Simpson, the 2012 US Open champion, shot a second-round 66 after playing 12 holes Friday morning to complete an opening 67 as 63 golfers had to return early to finish a first round hit by more than six hours of delays due to thunderstorms.

The 28-year-old American had a feeling his score might not stand up given ideal scoring conditions on greens softened by rain storms that caused over six hours of delays on Thursday. “A lot of guys are playing good golf and my guess is at the end of two rounds, I won’t be leading because there are a lot of birdie holes,” predicted Simpson.

Woodland closed with a furious charge, collecting birdies on four of his last five holes for a seven-under-par 64 to join Simpson on nine-under-par 133.

“I played great today,” said long-hitting Woodland. “I played great today, gave myself a lot of opportunities and I drove the ball phenomenally.” Masters champion Adam Scott (66), 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler were all in

the clubhouse with seven-under-par 135 totals.

U.S. Open winner Justin Rose of England birdied four-of-five holes before turning for the inward half and was seven-under through 14.

The crowded leaderboard had seven players bunched at six under par, including Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (through 14 holes) and American Jim Furyk (14).

Spaniard Sergio Garcia (66), England’s David Lynn (65) and Freddie Jacobson of Sweden (68) were in the clubhouse at 136.

Scott, like Simpson and many others, feasted on the front nine after beginning his second round at the 10th.

The Australian was five under for six holes after making the turn, capping the stretch with a 15-foot eagle putt at the par-five sixth.

Posting the lowest round of all was Bradley, who favored neither side in carding four birdies on each nine for his blistering, course-record 63.

“I really started to putt awesome on that second 18,” said 2011 PGA winner Bradley, who has had seven top 10s this season but is still looking for his first victory of 2013.

Bradley said generous pin positions might have contributed to Friday’s low scoring.

“They put some of the pins in some bowls (on the greens) and I know they want to get us around the course and finish up as early as possible, but this is not an easy golf course,” he said.

Woods admitted that his back, aggravated by sleeping on a soft hotel bed this week, was bothering him late in the round. “I got off to a great start today and then lost it in the middle part of the round and made too many mistakes,” he said.

“I’m a little sore right now. I’m going to get treatment as soon as I get done here with you guys and be ready for tomorrow morning.”

British Open winner Phil Mickelson, a Barclays spokesman and member of Liberty National, looked in danger of missing the cut in the elite 123-man field when he stood one over par before joining the birdie parade to post a 69 for two-under 140. The projected cut for the low 70 players plus ties was put at even par.—Reuters

BELGIUM: Lewis Hamilton snatched his fourth pole position in a row for Mercedes yesterday with a last-gasp flying lap after a dramatic rain-hit qualifying session at the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.

The 2008 world champion, the last man across the line on a drying track after running the gamut of Spa’s fickle weather, will be joined on the front row by Red Bull’s championship leader Sebastian Vettel. Australian Mark Webber, preparing for the final Belgian Grand Prix of his career, qualified third for Red Bull with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg fourth. Ferrari’s title contender Fernando Alonso could qualify only ninth.

Vettel is 38 points clear of Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen at the top of the standings with nine races remaining but Hamilton, a further 10 adrift, showed why many believe he is the German’s biggest rival.

The Briton had not figured in

the top 10 in any of the three practice sessions and scraped into the final phase of qualifying in 10th place by just 0.21 of a second and with his hopes of success looking forlorn. Hamilton celebrated his 31st career pole with a wild whoop of delight over the radio and seemed as surprised as anyone after crossing the line with a fastest time of two minutes 01.012 seconds compared to Vettel’s 2:01.200.

“I went wide in Turn One and my dashboard told me I was three seconds down and then it was four seconds and then six so I didn’t know what was going on but I kept pushing,” he told reporters at the post-qualifying news conference.

“It’s a blessing I am up here.

Generally I feel comfortable in changing conditions. I can find the limit and I pushed through the middle sector and really caned it.”

Team principal Ross Brawn let out a sigh of relief. “We were just on the limit of being the last car. It did work out for us and with the track

drying, Lewis did a great job. He really is settling in well to the team,” he told the BBC. Before that it had looked as if Hamilton’s compatriot, Force India driver Paul di Resta, was heading for the first pole of his career after making an inspired call on the Pirelli tyres.

While the nine others queued up at the pit lane exit on slicks at the start of the third phase, the Scot waited and went out on intermediate tyres.

He soon had the track to himself as the rest pitted to change tyres and managed to get in a lap before the rain began to fall.

The weather eased towards the end of the session, allowing others to go faster. Di Resta ended up a still creditable fifth on the grid ahead of compatriot Jenson Button in the McLaren and the Lotus pairing of Romain Grosjean and Raikkonen.

“I thought the rain was going to stay. It was quite a ballsy decision by myself. I saw umbrellas coming

up so I made the right choice,” said Di Resta. “I think it was the right time but our car is not that quick in the wet. It was unfortunate, but P5 is not so bad. In the dry, we’re looking good for the race. If it’s wet, I’d be a bit more nervous.”

The notoriously capricious Spa climate made merry with the pecking order in the first part of qualifying with Caterham’s Dutch driver Giedo van der Garde, who usually brings up the rear, ending up as third fastest.

Both Marussias, perennial backmarkers, made it through to the second phase while both Williams and Toro Rosso drivers, including Australian Daniel Ricciardo who is tipped to graduate to Red Bull next season, missed the cut.

“As far as I am aware, we went out with the second set of intermediates too early. We should have waited but I trust the guys in the pit to make the best call. I am disappointed but tomorrow’s another day,” said Ricciardo.—Reuters

Mendez, Usmanee bout ends in draw VERONA: Mike Tyson’s first promotional fight card went about the same way as his boxing career.

Dramatic, memorable and controversial.

Argenis Mendez of the Dominican Republic and Afghan fighter Arash Usmanee battled to a rare 12round draw Friday night at the Turning Stone Resort Casino. Mendez (21-2-1) retained his IBF junior lightweight belt in the marquee attraction of Tyson’s marketing debut.

The embattled Tyson, a member of the Boxing Hall of Fame, has organized an outfit called “Iron Mike Productions,” and his aim is to be a full-service agency for up-and-coming fighters, who can learn the sport, in and out of the ring, from one of the greatest.

Usmanee improved to 20-1-1 in the event, which was tabbed “Tyson Is Back,” and featured some disappointed fans who felt Mendez won the bout. Iron Mike was one of them.

“I’m very grateful,” Tyson said. “We had two sensational championship fights. I thought my fighter (Mendez) won his fight. It was a sensational fight, good for boxing, but horrible for my boxer. He’s a great boxer.”

In another bout, Jesus Andres Cueller (23-1) outlasted previously undefeated Claudio Marrero (14-1) to win the vacant World WBA interim featherweight championship.

But the story of the night was MendezUsmanee. Neither was knocked down in the bout, which was nationally televised.

“I’m really disappointed in the decision,” said Mendez, whose nickname is “La Tormenta.” “I’m the champion and I thought I won.”

“It was a very close fight,” Usmanee said. “It depends on how you judge a fight. I was the aggressor. It could have gone either way.”

In other bouts, Eddie Paredes (34-3-1) posted his 12th consecutive victory, defeating Noe

Bolanos (24-9-1); Alexei Collado (17-0) beat Guillermo Sanchez (13-10-1); Dorsett Barnwell (100) stopped Marlon Hayes (23-13) in the third round; and Antoine Douglas (9-0) recorded a win over Edgar Perez (5-6).

Tyson says he’s ecstatic to be back in the sport.

He says his fighters - like Mendez - won’t be subjected to what he went through in his heyday, and that you can expect more cards like his first.

“When I first got involved, I just didn’t know,” Tyson said. “Never in a thousand years did I plan on doing it. I’m just happy to be back involved in box-

ing. It’s a dream come true. I’m a little nervous.”

Tyson, 47, who has battled addiction and depression, and has lost millions of dollars through the years, hopes to provide his fighters with a structured environment for success, and to be able to help them learn from his mistakes.

“You’re never going to hear them say ‘Mike Tyson stole from me.’ Hopefully, they’ll never end up like me,” he said. “I’m not a magician. The only thing I can do is suggest - go in the right direction.

We have to look for happiness within. “I can’t stop somebody from hurting themselves.”—AP

Arash Usmanee

Hirano, Clark take WCup halfpipe gold medals

JERSEY CITY: Matt Kuchar of the United States putts on the 12th hole during the second round of The Barclays at Liberty National Golf Club.—AFP

QUEENSTOWN: Fourteen-year-old Japanese snowboarder Ayumo Hirano won the men’s halfpipe event at the New Zealand Winter Games yesterday in his first appearance in a world cup competition.

Hirano used his speed to land some of the biggest jumps attempted by the finalists, posting a best score of 92.25 points on his first run.

That score was only threatened by his countryman Taku Hiraoka, whose second run included the only 1260 of the competition and earned 91.75 points to take the silver medal. American veteran Kelly Clark won the women’s event, claiming her 61st World Cup title.

The 2002 Olympic gold medalist, regarded as the most successful snowboard of all-time, was 11th out of 12 competitors after the first run but scored 89.50 on her second run to take gold

from China’s Cai Xuetong. Xuetong, who won the semifinal earlier in the day at the Cardrona ski field, scored 85.50 points to edge American Gretchen Bleiler, with 85.25 points, for the silver medal. Clark’s winning run included a frontside air, backside 540 mute, frontside 1080 lien, cab 720 mute, frontside stalefish. She said she had not lost hope of winning the gold medal after failing to nail a jump on her first run.

“You think of it as an opportunity,” Clark said.

“It’s easy to have things not go right and all of a sudden change your plans.

“For me it’s more important to be internally motivated, to stick to the plan regardless of what goes on around me,” she added. “ Today I thought, well hey, this is exactly what can happen at the Olympics - it is what happened to me at the Olympics last time.

“I just thought I could be conservative today and go for a podium finish, or I could rally and think of it as an opportunity and that’s exactly what I was able to do.”

Hirano claimed gold in the men’s event with a run that began with a backside tail into frontside 1080 double cork tail, cab 1080 mute, frontside 1080 double cork and cab 720 indy. Hiraoka took silver from Christian Haller of Switzerland who prevented a Japanese clean sweep, edging Ayumu Nedefuji for bronze with his second run of 82.50. Hirano was stunned to have won a World Cup event at his first event. “I was aiming to be on the podium in this competition so I’m really happy about being in first place,” he said.

“This is my first World Cup and I still need to compete well this season to qualify for the Japanese team.”—AP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

S P ORTS Shehzad leads Pakistan to victory HARARE: Ahmed Shehzad hit the highest international Twenty20 score by a Pakistani to lead his country to a second win in two days over Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club yesterday. Shehzad smashed 98 to follow on from his 70 on Friday which had set Pakistan up for a 25-run victory in the first game of the tour.

On Saturday, he followed that up with 98 not out as the tourists clinched a 19-run win and 2-0 series sweep.

The right-hander struck six sixes en route to the highest score by a Pakistani batsman in the Twenty20 format, but missed an opportunity to reach three figures when he could only manage a single from the final ball of the innings.

After Pakistan finished on 179 for one, with skipper Mohammad Hafeez unbeaten on 54 from 40 balls, Zimbabwe mustered 160 for six in reply.

Although Pakistan made a circumspect start after being put in to bat, scoring 37 for one in the opening six overs as Nasir Jamshed was dismissed for 23, Shehzad opened up beautifully from the ninth over and regularly found the boundary.

At the other end Hafeez rotated the strike effectively as the pair built an unbroken 143run stand, and then went to his half-century with a huge six over midwicket off Shingirai

Masakadza. “It’s important to be consistent I think so I’ve been trying very hard to achieve that and it’s paid off,” Shehzad said.

“In the first six overs I didn’t get much strike and I could easily have had a panic attack, but as soon as the captain came in that changed.”

In reply, Zimbabwe raced to 44 without loss in the first five overs, but the introduction of the spinners saw the home side strangled as the next five overs yielded just 21 runs for the loss of Vusi Sibanda and captain Brendan Taylor. Both batsmen fell to Hafeez, who then had Hamilton Masakadza caught in the deep for 41 to finish with figures of 3 for 30.

Once Zulfiqar Babar had removed both Sean Williams and Timycen Maruma in the following over, Zimbabwe’s chase was dead in the water as they were left needing 71 from the final five overs.

Elton Chigumbura and Malcolm Waller hit three sixes to narrow the margin of defeat, but as in the first match, Zimbabwe were unable to threaten the Pakistani total. “ They got about 20 too many as our bowlers missed their mark a few too many times,” said Taylor. “They just outplayed us and they showed why they’re a world-class team.”

The two sides begin a three-match one-day series at the same venue on Tuesday.—AFP

SCOREBOARD HARARE: Scoreboard in the second Twenty20 international between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Harare Sports Club yesterday: Pakistan Ahmed Shehzad not out 98 Jamshed c Cíbura b S. Míkadza 23 Mohammad Hafeez not out 54 Extras (3w, 1nb) 4 Total (1 wkt, 20 overs) 179 Fall of wickets: 1-36 (Nasir Jamshed).

Did not bat: Umar Amin, Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Zulfiqar Babar, Sohail Tanvir, Asad Ali. Bowling: Utseya 4-0-35-0, Vitori 4-0-41-0, Panyangara 4-0-29-0, S. Masakadza 4-0-42-1, Williams 2-0-15-0, Chigumbura 1-0-13-0, Waller 1-0-4-0.

Zimbabwe Sibanda c Tanvir b Hafeez

23

Masakadza c Umar b Hafeez 41 Taylor c Sarfraz b Hafeez 3 Williams st Sarfraz b Zulfiqar 25 Chigumbura not out 35 Maruma c Hafeez b Zulfiqar 0 Waller c Afridi b Anwar 20 S. Masakadza not out 0 Extras (7lb, 5w, 1nb) 13 Total (6 wkts, 20 overs) 160 Fall of wickets: 1-50 (Sibanda), 2-57 (Taylor), 3-95 (H. Masakadza), 4-109 ( Williams), 5-109 (Maruma), 6-146 (Waller).

Did not bat: P. Utseya, T. Panyangara, B. Vitori.

Bowling: Sohail Tanvir 4-0-28-0, Asad Ali 3-0-260, Anwar Ali 2-0-24-1, Zulfiqar Babar 4-1-21-2, Shahid Afridi 3-0-24-0, Mohammad Hafeez 4-130-3.

HARARE: Pakistan players walk off the pitch after defeating Zimbabwe on the second day of the T20 series international. Pakistan is in Zimbabwe for a month long tour. —AP

Rain washes Australia’s victory hopes LONDON: Australia’s hopes of forcing a consolation win in their Ashes finale against England were left hanging by a thread after rain washed out the whole of the fourth day’s play at The Oval yesterday.

Conditions worsened throughout the day and, with rain pelting down under increasingly dark skies, the umpires finally abandoned play for the day at 4.06pm local time (1506GMT ) with only a handful of hardy spectators, some sheltering under umbrellas, still in the ground.

The bad weather was especially frustrating for Australia, who were seeking a first win in nine Tests and trying to avoid their first Ashes series without a Test victory since 1977. England, who at 3-0 up had already won the five-match series and retained the Ashes, were 246 for four at

stumps on the third day in reply to Australia’s first innings 492 for nine declared. That left England 245 runs behind and still requiring a further 46 runs to avoid the follow-on. Ian Bell, who came into this match having scored exactly 500 runs in the series with three hundreds, was 29 not out and Test debutant Chris Woakes unbeaten on 15. The way England batted on Friday, scoring at barely two runs per an over, suggested they were in no mood to give arch-rivals Australia a sniff of victory.

Australia now face the improbable task of having to take 16 wickets for victory on Sunday’s final day-if the weather allows.

However, England did take nine Australia wickets in under a session as they won the fourth Test in Durham by 74 runs with more than a day to spare.—AFP

SCOREBOARD LONDON: Scoreboard after play on the fourth day of the fifth Ashes Test between England and Australia at The Oval was abandoned for the day without a ball bowled yesterday: Australia 1st Innings 492-9 dec (S Watson 176, S Smith 138 no; J Anderson 4-95) England 1st Innings (overnight: 247-4) A. Cook c Haddin b Harris 25 J. Root c Watson b Lyon 68 J. Trott lbw b Starc 40 K. Pietersen c Watson b Starc 50 I. Bell not out 29 C. Woakes not out 15 Extras (b9, lb5, w4, nb2) 20 Total (4 wkts, 116 overs, 486 mins) 247 Fall of wickets: 1-68 (Cook), 2-118 (Root), 3-176

(Trott), 4-217 (Pietersen) To bat: M Prior, S Broad, G Swann, S Kerrigan, J Anderson Bowling: Starc 26-5-60-2 (1nb, 1w); Harris 239-41-1 (1nb); Faulkner 12-3-29-0; Siddle 21-646-0 (3w); Lyon 26-8-41-1; Smith 8-3-16-0.

Australia: Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Steven Smith, Brad Haddin (wkt), James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon Match position: England are 245 runs behind Australia with six first-innings wickets standing.

LONDON: Umpires Aleem Dar (right) Kumar Dharmasena (left) and Reserve Umpire Richard Kettleborough inspect the pitch as rain delays the fourth day’s play of the fifth Ashes cricket Test match between England and Australia. —AFP

WELLINGTON: The All Blacks team pose with the Bledisloe Cup after the 2nd Bledisloe Cup game rugby union match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Australia at the Westpac Stadium. —AFP

All Blacks retain Bledisloe Cup WELLINGTON: New Zealand winger Ben Smith followed up last week’s hat-trick of tries in Sydney with two more as the All Blacks capitalised on their opportunities to beat Australia 27-16 in their Rugby Championship clash yesterday and retain the Bledisloe Cup. Debutant flyhalf Tom Taylor put on an assured display with 14 points and a composed performance in general play, while Israel Dagg added a penalty when his Crusaders team mate was receiving medical treatment for a rib injury late in the game.

“He was outstanding considering the circumstances that he is in to come into the team,” All Blacks coach Steve Hansen told reporters of Taylor’s impressive debut after injury ruled out Daniel Carter, Aaron Cruden and Beauden Barrett.

“Everyone knows he’s the fourth choice, he comes with a lot of pressure because he is the son of an All Black (Warwick Taylor). I thought he coped tremendously well all week.”

Christian Leali’ifano kicked three penalties for the Wallabies and converted Israel Folau’s late intercept try but the script followed a

regular pattern for the visitors, who have not beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2001.

The All Blacks have held the Bledisloe Cup, the symbol of trans-Tasman supremacy since 2003, and the third match in the series in Dunedin on Oct. 19, which is not part of the Rugby Championship, is now a dead rubber.

The first half was reminiscent of the tournament opener in Sydney with the Wallabies making much of the early play, though unlike last week, Australia retained possession better inside the All Blacks half with scrumhalf Will Genia kicking more.

The world champions, however, again soaked up the pressure and the Wallabies were only able to convert their dominance into two Leali’ifano penalties.

“We didn’t get the points on the board that I thought we deserved for different reasons,” Australia coach Ewen McKenzie said.

“We got six points and should have got more.

We let them off the hook just before halftime.” New Zealand scored 15 points in that period just before the break after soaking up intense Wallabies pressure for the first 30 minutes, with Smith grabbing both tries

before the break after some superb counter attacks. Taylor slotted his first test points by converting the opening try and added a penalty to give the All Blacks a 10-6 lead before Steven Luatua set up another attacking opportunity, with Smith finishing off in the corner to secure a nine-point lead at the break. “For long periods of the game they (Australia) won the moments,” Hansen said. “I was very proud of our team with the way they fought back and in the end got on top.”

The All Blacks forwards took over in the second half and put the Wallabies under immense pressure, particularly at the scrum, as Taylor slotted three more penalties to pad the advantage while Leali’ifano responded with his third successful kick.

Folau scored a consolation try from an intercepted pass deep inside his own half with less than 10 minutes remaining but it was not enough to spark a remarkable turnaround and Dagg completed the scoring with a routine penalty from close range.

New Zealand’s next Rugby Championship match is against Argentina in Hamilton while the Wallabies host South Africa in Brisbane.

Both games are on Sept. 7.—Reuters

Wigan lift Challenge Cup LONDON: Pat Richards led the way with the boot for Wigan as he and the Warriors beat Hull FC 16-0 and claimed the Challenge Cup at Wembley.

The 31-year-old is set to return to Wests Tigers at the end of the campaign after eight years in Lancashire but he marked his last Wembley appearance with silverware — adding to his 2011 success.

Aside from Richards’ hurrah, all the pre-match talk was about the memorable 1985 final between the two sides that the Warriors won 2824.

This clash may not live as long in the memory as that showpiece 28 years ago which featured greats such as Peter Sterling and Brett Kenny, but it was equally absorbing for the 78,137 in attendance.

Iain Thornley crossed in the first half, Richards added eight points from the kicking tee and Sam Tomkins notched a late score to secure Wigan’s 19th Challenge Cup. Richards’ day started ominously, his kick-off drifted in the Wembley wind and straight out of

play, putting Hull FC onto the front foot.

Danny Tickle almost made his way through on their first set of six but the Warriors stood firm on their own try line. Moments later though it was Hull breathing a sigh of relief as Richards was held up by Jason Crookes when a try looked certain.

Defences were on top and bruising tackles were aplenty typified by Tickle and Tomkins locking horns mid-air after 15 minutes that ended with the Warrior crumpled on the turf.

It took until midway through the first half but eventually one side relented-Blake Green’s pass allowed Thornley to cross over in the corner to put Wigan in front and Richards extended the lead to 6-0 with a touchline goal.

Wigan were camped in Hull’s half for most of the next ten minutes but the Black and Whites refused to lie down. The introduction of Aaron Heremaia from the bench helped, the 30-yearold New Zealand international broke a few tackles towards the end of the first half but they still went in behind at half-time. The heavens opened during the break, but Wigan started

where they left off and Scott Taylor drove towards the posts and won a penalty that Richards duly converted .

The Warriors were battering their way at Hull but they-and Jamie Shaul almost made them pay with a stunning 90-metre break.

The young full-back intercepted a kick destined for Tomkins on his own try-line, evaded three tackles but was eventually caught by Josh Charnley just ten metres short of a memorable solo try.

Errors were costing Hull and a spear tackle on Sean O’Loughlin allowed Richards to add his third kick of the day handing Wigan a 10-0 advantage on the hour mark.

Hull began to throw their all at Wigan as the game entered its final stages, Tom Briscoe almost latched onto a loose ball with ten minutes to go before another set of six was ended when Richards ushered the ball out.

To add insult to Hull’s misery Tomkins went over in the dying stages and Richards added another goal, taking his points tally in the competition this season to 100.—AFP

Kvitova to face Halep in New Haven final NEW HAVEN: Reigning champion Petra Kvitova breezed into her second straight New Haven WTA final on Friday, where she’ll face red-hot Romanian Simona Halep.

Kvitova didn’t put a foot wrong in a 6-0, 6-1 semi-final victory over her Czech FedCup teammate Klara Zakopalova. Halep defeated fourthseeded Caroline Wozniacki-a former world number one and four-time winner of this event — 62, 7-5.

Halep broke Wozniacki three times in each set to claim the victory in one hour and 20 minutes. Kvitova, seeded third, needed just 50 minutes to get past unseeded Zakopalova in the semi-finals of this US Open tuneup on the hardcourts at Yale University.

“I think the beginning of the match was pretty close,” Kvitova said. “Klara had chances to win the first game and the next game when she was serving. I think that was the turning point.

“I was saying to myself, I need to stay focused in the first set and play really well because I know she can come back anytime and I need to be ready for it,” added Kvitova, who had been taken to three sets in her previous three matches.

“Well, she just played fantastic tennis today without any mistakes,” said Zakopalova, ranked 33rd in the world. “I think everything was working for her, so I have to just congratulate her, wish her good luck because she was the better player today, for sure. She can beat anybody with this game.”

Kvitova, who beat Russia’s Maria Kirilenko in last year’s final, will be trying to defend a title for

the first time. The 23-year-old Czech claimed the 11th title of her career in Dubai in February. She has never before played Halep, a 21-year-old who is enjoying a breakout season that has included her first three WTA titles.

She gained a further measure of notoriety this month when her second-round victory over Marion Bartoli at Cincinnati was quickly followed by the French Wimbledon champion’s abrupt retirement from the sport.—AFP

NEW HAVEN: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic returns a shot to Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic during Day Six of the New Haven Open. —AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

S P ORTS

Ribery, Robben strike as Bayern win again BERLIN: Bayern Munich earned their third straight win at the start of the season, beating Nuremberg 2-0 yesterday, but still found themselves third in the Bundesliga on goal difference.

French winger Franck Ribery ’s header on 69 minutes broke the deadlock before Dutch star Arjen Robben scored for Pep Guardiola’s European champions, who earlier had a first-half penalty saved. “We allowed them only a few chances, which I liked, and we played better in the second-half,” said

Guardiola started with a star-studded midfield featuring wingers Robben and Ribery either side of Spain’s Thiago Alcantara and Germany playmaker Mario Goetze, who made his competitive debut for Bayern after joining from Borussia Dortmund.

The hosts rode their luck in the first half as only the crossbar denied Nuremberg when striker Daniel Ginczek’s shot clattered off the underside of the bar with Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer beaten on 15 minutes.

GERMANY: Bayern’s Arjen Robben of the Netherlands jumps over Nuremberg’s Javier Pinola of Argentina during the German First Division Bundesliga soccer match. —AP Guardiola as Bayern set a new club record of 28 league games without defeat.

“We attacked fast through Ribery and Robben and I am happy with how we controlled the game.” “Nuremberg were very compact and organised, it’s always hard to play against a team like that.”

The win in front of 71,000 fans at Munich’s sold-out Allianz Arena marks the start of a busy seven-day period for Bayern who are away to Freiburg in the league on Tuesday, then travel to Prague for Friday’s showdown with Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup.

Bayern were awarded a penalty on 33 minutes by referee Christian Dingert when Robben was brought down by Sweden defender Per Nilsson, although the replay showed the Dutchman used his hand to keep the ball from going out.

Justice was served when David Alaba’s spot-kick was saved by Nuremberg goalkeeper Raphael Schaefer. With time running out, Ribery headed home before a fine solo effort from Robben, cutting in from the right, on 78 minutes ensured that Bayern would maintain their 100 percent league record this season. Only goal

difference leaves Bayern third behind leaders Borussia Dortmund, who beat Werder Bremen 1-0 at home on Friday, and second-placed Bayer Leverkusen.

Schalke, who need to win at Greece’s PAOK on Tuesday to progress to the Champions League group stage after drawing 1-1 in Wednesday’s playoff first leg, suffered another confidence-sapping defeat as they lost 2-1 at Hanover 96 and finished with nine men.

The visitors had defender Benedikt Hoewedes sent off on 14 minutes for bringing down Hanover striker Mame Diouf with only the goalkeeper to beat and Hungary midfielder Szabolcs Huszti drilled home the penalty.

Diouf then headed home three minutes from the break to leave Schalke reeling before striker Adam Szalai pulled one back for Schalke in the second-half.

There was a flurry of cards in the last 15 minutes as Hanover’s Huszti was sent off for fouling Schalke’s Tim Hoogland, then Schalke left-back Christian Fuchs was dismissed five minutes from time for a second yellow card.

Having also been hammered 4-0 at Wolfsburg last Saturday, Schalke have just one point from their first three games and lie 14th in the table.

Another defeat at PAOK will leave coach Jens Keller in a precarious position. “Obviously, we haven’t got much to shout about at the moment, but we played well in the second half despite the numerical disadvantage,” said Keller. “It’s not a pleasant situation to be in, but we have to win in Greece on Wednesday.”

Leverkusen earned their third straight win with a 4-2 victory at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach with Germany winger Sidney Sam scoring twice in front of national coach Joachim Loew.

Mainz are the fourth team to maintain a 100 percent record after they enjoyed a 2-0 win at home to Wolfsburg, who had new signing Luiz Gustavo sent off for a second yellow card on just his second appearance since signing from Bayern.

Hoffenheim were held to a 3-3 draw at home by Freiburg in an actionpacked game which saw each side finish with 10 men and Freiburg coach Christian Streich banished to the stands. Late yesterday, Hamburg desperately need a win at Hertha Berlin in the capital after Thorsten Fink’s side were pounded 5-1 at home by Hoffenheim last weekend. —AFP

Photo of the day

Participant performs during Sandro Dias' Bowl Opening in Joanopolis, Brazil.

—www.redbullcontentpool.com

Toni’s double sinks Milan MILAN: Veteran striker Luca Toni scored twice in a shock 2-1 home win over AC Milan to hand newly-promoted Verona a dream start to life back in Serie A after an 11-year absence.

Milan opened the scoring inside the opening quarter of an hour when midfielder Andrea Poli finished off a smart pass from Italy striker Mario Balotelli.

But the visitors were pegged back by Toni on the half hour, and left stunned when the former Fiorentina striker scored with his second header eight minutes after the restart.

It means Verona are the first leaders of the new Serie A season before champions Juventus go to Sampdoria late yesterday.

Milan started the brightest and in the opening minutes Balotelli was given time to unleash a curling shot from the edge of the area which Brazilian ‘keeper Rafael dived to parry.

M’Baye Niang then saw his shot hit traffic from the right of goal when he was set up by fellow forward Stephan El Shaarawy.

And Poli finally gave Milan the breakthrough when he latched on to Balotelli’s delightful through ball to dance past two defenders and beat Rafael at his far post.

Verona had enjoyed only brief spells of possession in Milan’s final third before Toni levelled with half an hour on the clock when headed a corner past Christian Abbiati at

the ‘keeper’s near post.

The hosts finished the first half the stronger of the two sides and the began the second in the same fashion. First Bosko Jankovic, a recent signing from Genoa, came close with a bullet header from 10 metres out which came off both ‘keeper and bar.

The Serbian midfielder then found a virtually unmarked Toni at the far post and the 36-year-old sent his second header past Abbiati to give the hosts a shock 2-1 lead.

Verona even came close to scoring their third on a surging counter-attack but, despite an unmarked Toni calling for a far-post delivery, Martinho opted to shoot, forcing a fine save from Abbiati.

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri reacted by making a double substitution, with Dutchman Urby Emanuelson and 18-year-old Andrea Petagna, making his debut, replacing El Shaarawy and Niang.

Brazilian forward Robinho was then sent on in place of left-back Kevin Constant and the former Real Madrid man had an immediate impact with an inviting ball across goal that found no takers.

A swerving long-range effort from Milan captain Riccardo Montolivo that Rafel blocked was the last real chance for Milan, who after battling to finish third last season had pledged to become a more consistent threat in this campaign. —AFP

Marseille maintain strong start PARIS: Marseille continued their excellent start to the Ligue 1 season yesterday with a hard-earned 1-0 win away to Valenciennes in France’s far north.

OM needed another goal from Andre-Pierre Gignac to finally break down the home defence, as the in-form striker turned in the loose ball with just five minutes remaining after Valenciennes goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau had failed to hold Andre Ayew’s header.

The result left Elie Baup’s side provisionally two points clear at the top of the table with a maximum nine points from three games, although Lyon could join them later if they beat Reims at the Stade de Gerland. “At the start of the season it is important to get points on the board and it also helps us prepare for a difficult month of September when the games will come thick and fast,” said Marseille coach Elie Baup, whose side entertain Monaco in a potential cracker next weekend.

“We got a spanking here last year and we didn’t want a repeat of that.” Marseille have struggled regularly in Valenciennes recent campaigns and saw their run of six straight victories at the start of last season ended with a comprehensive 4-1 loss at the Stade du Hainaut.

A repeat of such a defeat never looked on the cards, as

Marseille created the most of what chances there were.

Gignac chipped wide with Penneteau off his line in the 20th minute, while Mathieu Valbuena volleyed just over shortly before the interval.

Baup threw on recent signing Saber Khalifa for his debut for the final 11 minutes and the game finally came to life.

There was a huge escape for the visitors when Steve Mandanda saved from Mathieu Dossevi before Aurelian Chitu somehow failed to net the follow-up, and Gignac made Valenciennes pay moments later when he netted his third goal in as many games. Opa Nguette then squandered another glorious chance for the hosts as OM hung on for the win.

On Friday, Monaco were held to a goalless draw by Toulouse at the Stade Louis II in a match played behind closed doors as a punishment for incidents at the end of Monaco’s last home game of last season, when fans set off flares and invaded the pitch. Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, who have drawn their opening two matches, will be aiming to register their first victory of the fledgling campaign when they travel to promoted Nantes today. —AFP

ITALY: AC Milan’s French defender Philippe Mexes controls the ball during the Serie A football match Hellas Verona vs. AC Milan at Bentegodi Stadium. —AFP

Leicester late show stuns Birmingham

FRANCE: Marseille’s forward Andre Ayew celebrates after scoring a goal for his team during their French League One soccer match against Valenciennes. —AP

LONDON: Leicester scored three times in the last 12 minutes to move joint top of the Championship with a dramatic 32 win against Birmingham yesterday.

Nigel Pearson’s team trailed to a 12th minute goal from Matt Green and Leicester had to wait until the 78th minute before equalising with a fine strike by Jamie Vardy.

Andy King put the hosts in front in the 82nd minute and David Nugent netted a stoppage-time penalty before outplayed Birmingham grabbed a lastminute consolation from Chris Burke.

Leicester’s hard-fought win left them second on goal difference behind leaders Blackpool.

A 75th-minute strike from substitute Tom Barkhuizen earned Blackpool a 1-0 home win over relegated Reading, who suffered their first loss since returning to the second tier.

QPR, who came down alongside Reading, were 1-0 victors in the day’s early game at Bolton thanks to a 54thminute goal from former England striker Andrew Johnson.

The three leaders are a point clear of Nottingham Forest, who will look to go back to the top and continue the division’s only 100 per cent record when they go to promotion rivals Watford on Sunday.

Leeds are on eight points after they recovered from an early deficit to defeat Ipswich 2-1.

James Vaughan scored a hat-trick as Huddersfield cruised to a 5-1 home win over promoted Bournemouth.

Blackburn romped to a 5-2 win over 10man Barnsley at Ewood Park to secure their first three points of the campaign.

Chris Dagnall put the visitors ahead in the 13th minute but they were reduced to 10 men in the 16th minute when Jean Yves Mvoto was sent off.

Rovers scored through Tom Cairney, a Jordan Rhodes double, Joshua King and Todd Kane before Barnsley netted through Tomasz Cywka. Rock-bottom Barnsley remain on one point, the same as Millwall and Charlton.

Millwall picked up their first point after Andy Keogh’s late penalty rescued

a 2-2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

Millwall, who lined up in Wednesday’s yellow away strip from last season in the first half after forgetting their kit, took a fifth-minute lead through Kamil Zayatte’s own goal but they trailed at the break following goals from Jeremy Helan and Reda Johnson.

The south London team, back in their own kit for the second half, ended a run of three successive defeats for new boss Steve Lomas when Republic of Ireland forward Keogh slotted home an 87th minute spot-kick.

Charlton were trailing 3-1 at home to 10-man Doncaster at The Valley when the match was abandoned at half-time as heavy rain left the pitch unplayable.

Newly-promoted Yeovil’s struggles continued as they suffered their third successive loss as goals from Johnny Russell, Craig Bryson and Chris Martin earned Derby a 3-0 win at Huish Park.

Brighton made it back-to-back wins with a 2-0 victor y over 10-man Burnley. —AFP

19

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

SPORTS

Soccer results/standings English Premier League results Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 1 (Sturridge 21); Everton 0 West Brom 0; Fulham 1 (Bent 77) Arsenal 3 (Giroud 14, Podolski 41, 68); Hull 1 (Brady 22-pen) Norwich 0; Newcastle 0 West Ham 0; Southampton 1 (Fonte 88) Sunderland 1 (Giaccherini 3); Stoke 2 (Adam 58, Shawcross 62) Crystal Palace 1 (Chamakh 31).

Playing today Cardiff v Manchester City, Tottenham v Swansea Playing tomorrow Manchester Utd v Chelsea English Football League result Championship Blackburn 5 Barnsley 2; Blackpool 1 Reading 0; Bolton 0 QPR 1; Brighton 2 Burnley 0; Charlton v Doncaster - match abandoned at half-time due to a waterlogged pitch with Doncaster leading 3-1; Huddersfield 5 Bournemouth 1; Ipswich 1 Leeds 2; Leicester 3 Birmingham 2; Sheffield Wednesday 2 Millwall 2; Yeovil 0 Derby 3.

Playing today Watford v Nottingham Forest, Wigan v Middlesbrough Division One Bradford 2 Sheffield Utd 0; Brentford 1 Walsall 0; Leyton Orient 2 Crewe 0; Milton Keynes Dons 2 Bristol City 2; Notts County 0 Stevenage 1; Oldham 3 Port Vale 1; Rotherham 2 Shrewsbury 2; Swindon 2 Gillingham 2; Tranmere 0 Peterborough 5.

English Premier League English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Chelsea Liverpool West Ham Southampton Man City Man Utd Tottenham Arsenal Aston Villa Stoke Fulham Hull Everton Norwich Sunderland West Brom Newcastle Crystal Palace Cardiff Swansea

2 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1

2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 2 1 1

4 2 2 2 4 4 1 4 4 2 2 1 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 1

1 0 0 1 0 1 0 4 4 2 3 2 2 3 2 1 4 3 2 4

English Football League tables Championship Blackpool 4 3 1 0 6 2 Leicester 4 3 1 0 6 3 QPR 4 3 1 0 5 2 Nottingham 3 3 0 0 5 0 Leeds 4 2 2 0 5 3 Watford 3 2 1 0 10 4 Huddersfield 4 2 1 1 7 3 Derby 4 2 1 1 6 3 Burnley 4 2 1 1 5 4 Brighton 4 2 0 2 5 4 Bournemouth 4 2 0 2 5 12 Reading 4 1 2 1 6 6 Wigan 3 1 1 1 6 3 Blackburn 4 1 1 2 6 6 Doncaster 3 1 1 1 5 5

6 6 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0

10 10 10 9 8 7 7 7 7 6 6 5 4 4 4

Matches on TV (Local Timings) Italian League Internazionale v Genoa Aljazeera Sport +7 Aljazeera Sport +3 Aljazeera Sport 3 HD

19:00

SS Lazio v Udinese Aljazeera Sport +4

21:45

Parma v Chievo Verona Aljazeera Sport +2

21:45

Napoli v Bologna Aljazeera Sport +7 Aljazeera Sport 3 HD

21:45

Cagliari v Atalanta Aljazeera Sport +1

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Livorno v AS Roma Aljazeera Sport 1 HD Aljazeera Sport +7\9

21:45

Spanish League Atletico de Madrid v Vallecano Aljazeera Sport +7 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD

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Levante v Sevilla FC Aljazeera Sport +5 Aljazeera Sport 4 HD

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Malaga CF v FC Barcelona Aljazeera Sport +3 Aljazeera Sport +8 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD

22:00

Real Betis v Celta de Vigo Aljazeera Sport +5 Aljazeera Sport 4 HD

0:00

Playing today Coventry v Preston Division Two Accrington 0 Cheltenham 1; AFC Wimbledon 3 Scunthorpe 2; Bristol Rovers 3 York 2; Burton 2 Bury 2; Chesterfield 2 Southend 1; Dagenham and Redbridge 1 Newport 1; Hartlepool 0 Fleetwood 1; Mansfield 2 Portsmouth 2; Morecambe 2 Exeter 0; Northampton 1 Torquay 2; Oxford 2 Wycombe 2; Plymouth 1 Rochdale 0.

Scottish Premier League results Celtic 2 (Mulgrew 42, Matthews 82) Inverness CT 2 (Doran 14, Foran 35); Dundee Utd 4 (Watson 4, Goodwillie 25, Mackay-Steven 40, Armstrong 53) St Johnstone 0; Hearts 2 (Walker 18, McGhee 88) Aberdeen 1 (McGinn 68-pen); Kilmarnock 1 (Nicholson 23) Hibernian 2 (Craig 47, 80); Motherwell 1 (Sutton 21) Partick 0; Ross County 3 (Kettlewell 9, Brittain 24, 57) St Mirren 0.

Scottish Football League results Championship Alloa 3 Cowdenbeath 1 Dumbarton 3 Morton 1 Hamilton 2 Queen of the South 0 Livingston 0 Falkirk 3 Raith 0 Dundee 0 Division One Brechin 2 Forfar 1; East Fife 2 Arbroath 1; Stenhousemuir 4 Dunfermline 5; Stranraer 1 Ayr 1.

Division Two Annan Athletic 1 Albion 1; Clyde 3 Queen’s Park 0; Montrose 1 Berwick 1; Peterhead 2 Elgin 2; Stirling 1 East Stirling 3.

Middlesbrough Ipswich Birmingham Yeovil Sheffield Bolton Charlton Millwall Barnsley

3 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4

1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 1

1 3 3 3 2 2 2 3 3

3 5 3 1 5 2 3 2 4

3 5 5 6 7 6 5 7 12

4 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1

Division One Leyton Orient 4 4 0 0 11 1 12 Peterborough 4 4 0 0 12 3 12 Wolves 4 3 1 0 8 2 10 Brentford 4 2 2 0 6 3 8 Colchester 4 2 2 0 4 2 8 Bradford 4 2 1 1 9 4 7 Walsall 4 2 1 1 5 3 7 Oldham 4 2 0 2 8 7 6 Rotherham 4 1 3 0 7 6 6 Keynes Dons 4 1 3 0 5 4 6 Shrewsbury 4 1 2 1 4 5 5 Crawley Town 4 1 1 2 8 9 4 Crewe 4 1 1 2 5 7 4 Port Vale 4 1 1 2 4 6 4 Swindon 4 1 1 2 3 5 4 Sheff Utd 4 1 1 2 4 7 4 Preston 3 0 3 0 2 2 3 Stevenage 4 1 0 3 4 6 3 Bristol City 4 0 2 2 9 11 2 Gillingham 4 0 2 2 3 8 2 Notts County 4 0 1 3 4 8 1 Tranmere 4 0 1 3 5 13 1 Carlisle 4 0 1 3 2 14 1 Coventry 3 2 0 1 11 7 -4 Note: Coventry deducted 10 points for entering administration Division Two Oxford Utd 4 3 1 Chesterfield 4 3 1 Fleetwood Town 4 3 0 Southend 4 3 0 Burton Albion 4 2 2 Newport County 4 2 1 Exeter 4 2 1 AFC Wimbledon 4 2 1 Plymouth 4 2 0 Scunthorpe 4 1 2 Portsmouth 4 1 2 Redbridge 4 1 2 Torquay 4 1 2 Mansfield 4 1 2 Rochdale 4 1 1 Bury 4 1 1 Bristol Rovers 4 1 1 Wycombe 4 1 1 Morecambe 4 1 1 York 4 1 1 Cheltenham 4 1 1 Northampton 4 1 0 Hartlepool 4 0 1 Accrington 4 0 1

0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3

11 8 8 5 8 7 4 5 4 5 8 5 5 3 5 6 4 3 3 3 4 4 0 3

5 3 4 2 6 5 3 5 4 4 8 5 6 4 4 6 5 4 5 5 7 6 5 10

10 10 9 9 8 7 7 7 6 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 1 1

Scottish Premier League table Inverness CT 4 3 1 0 8 2 10 Celtic 3 2 1 0 6 3 7 St Johnstone 4 2 1 1 5 4 7 Aberdeen 4 2 0 2 6 6 6 Motherwell 4 2 0 2 3 5 6 Dundee Utd 4 1 2 1 5 2 5 Partick 4 1 2 1 4 3 5 Hibernian 4 1 1 2 3 4 4 Ross County 4 1 0 3 5 9 3 Kilmarnock 4 0 2 2 3 5 2 St Mirren 3 0 1 2 1 7 1 Hearts 4 2 1 1 4 3 -8 Note: Hearts deducted 15 points for entering administration

Martinez’s home debut ends in goalless draw Everton 0

West Brom 0

LIVERPOOL: Roberto Martinez’s home debut in charge of Everton proved a frustrating experience as the Toffees were held to a goalless draw

by West Bromwich Albion at Goodison Park yesterday.

Marouane Fellaini came closest to scoring when his late effort came back off the post, while a Seamus Coleman cross also struck the woodwork as Everton were forced to settle for a second consecutive draw. West Brom will be the happier of the two sides with the point, as they enjoyed fewer openings but still held on for a result that sees them open their account after last weekend’s 1-0 home reverse at the hands of Southampton.

Visiting manager Steve Clarke brought Swedish striker Marcus Rosenberg into his starting line-up to replace Frenchman Nicolas Anelka, who was missing after being given compassionate leave following the death of his agent. Everton, meanwhile, were unchanged from the side that drew 2-2 at Norwich City on the opening day.

They lacked a killer instinct this time, though, and older fans must have wished that legendary striker Dave Hickson, who was remembered by the Goodison crowd after passing away in July at the age of 83, could have been present to unlock the Albion rearguard. Belgian interna-

LIVERPOOL: Everton’s French defender Sylvain Distin (left) vies with West Bromwich Albion’s Swedish defender Jonas Olsson (second left) during the English Premier League football match. — AFP tional Kevin Mirallas came up with the best Brom were left hanging on when their goalchance of the first period when his shot was keeper was forced off injured in the 78th tipped over by Foster, while a James Morrison minute, with Luke Daniels coming on for his half-volley that rose over Tim Howard’s bar was Premier League debut in his place. as close as the Baggies came to scoring. West Everton cranked up the pressure, and Fellaini Brom have won just once at Goodison in 34 took down a long Phil Jagielka ball in the box years and they rarely looked like improving that before stabbing it past Daniels. However, his record this time, even if Howard had to save effort rebounded to safety off the post. Daniels well from a Shane Long snapshot in the second then saved from Coleman after the Irishman half. had cut in from the right and tried to beat him Playing in front of watching England boss at his near post, and the same player then saw Roy Hodgson, Foster had to save well from his cross come back off the bar in stoppage time Mirallas again after the hour mark, but West with the ‘keeper beaten. —AFP

Hull hang on to sink Norwich Hull 1

Norwich 0

HULL: Hull City clinched their first win of the season as the Tigers held on for a 1-0 victory over Norwich despite the dismissal of Ivory Coast striker Yannick Sagbo.

Steve Bruce’s side took the lead through Robbie Brady’s first half penalty, but they had to play with 10 men for more than an hour after

Sagbo was sent off for an apparent head-butt. After last week’s loss at Chelsea, Hull’s rearguard action was enough to seal their first points since their promotion from the Championship, while Norwich are still waiting for their opening win of the campaign. Norwich had started brightly and Leroy Fer, who was suspended for the Canaries’ opening day draw with Everton, rose high at the far post to meet Steven Whittaker’s cross.

It looked as though his header might creep in, but Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor was relieved to see it flash wide. McGregor then pulled off a full-length diving save to deny Norwich winger Nathan Redmond.

But Hull gradually began to threaten and Sone Aluko pulled off a deft backheel which wrong-footed the Norwich defence and left Robert Koren clear on goal, only for the Slovenian to shoot over. Bruce’s team went ahead in the 22nd minute when Norwich’s former Hull defender Michael Turner was penalised for a shove on Sagbo as the Ivorian attempted to reach a deep cross.

The contact looked minimal but referee Mike Jones pointed to the spot and Irish midfielder Brady made no mistake as he sent John Ruddy the wrong way. Yet having won the spot-kick, within five minutes Sagbo found himself shown

the red card for an off-the-ball clash with Russell Martin.

Words were exchanged between the pair before Sagbo advanced on his opponent and made contact with his forehead, with Jones wasting no time sending him off for violent conduct.

However, Hull midfielder Tom Huddlestone, a recent arrival from Tottenham, was able to stop the visitors generating any momentum with his tireless work-rate.

It was only in the closing stages that Norwich finally pushed forward, but McGregor produced a save of real quality to keep out Ricky van Wolfswinkel’s towering header. — AFP

Stoke rally for victory Stoke 2

Crystal Palace 1

STOKE-ON-TRENT: Stoke City stormed back from behind to beat Premier League new boys Crystal Palace 2-1 yesterday and earn manager Mark Hughes victory in his first home game.

Palace’s new signing Marouane Chamakh put the visitors ahead with a slickly taken goal in the first half, but Stoke scored twice in four second-half minutes to claim their first points of the season.

Charlie Adam converted a Jon Walters lay-off in the 58th minute, with Ryan Shawcross drilling home the winner in the 62nd minute after Palace failed to clear a corner.

Palace remain without a point after two games, having lost 1-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on their return to the top flight, while Stoke got off the mark at the second attempt following their opening-day defeat at Liverpool.

For his bow at the Britannia Stadium, Hughes made one change to the team beaten 1-0 at Anfield, with Adam coming into the starting line-up at the expense of Glenn Whelan.

Palace manager Ian Holloway, meanwhile, awarded full debuts to new signings Chamakh, midfielder Jose Campana and winger Jason Puncheon, who has joined the club on a season-long loan from Southampton. Chamakh has had a torrid experience in England since leaving Bordeaux for Arsenal in 2010, but his 31st-minute opener provided a reminder of his ability.

After chasing down a bouncing ball, the Moroccan striker outmuscled the imposing Shawcross and then cut inside Robert Huth

LONDON: Crystal Palace’s Danny Gabbidon (left) challenges Stoke City’s Peter Crouch, during their English Premier League match, at the Britannia Stadium. — AP before beating goalkeeper Asmir tom-left corner.

Begovic at his near post with a The comeback was complete low shot. four minutes later, as Shawcross In reply, Peter Crouch hit the slammed a low shot past Julian bar for Stoke with a header, but Speroni after a tame attempted he had a hand in the equaliser, clearance from Chamakh. helping on a left-wing cross to Steven Nzonzi could have Walters, whose touch presented added a third for the home side, Adam with an opportunity to but his powerful shot cannoned sweep a low shot into the bot- back off an upright. — AFP

Fonte late show rescues Southampton

Scottish Football League tables

German League Braunschweig v Eintracht Frankfurt Dubai Sports

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FC Augsburg v VfB Stuttgart Dubai Sports

18:30

French League Lille OSC v Saint Etienne Aljazeera Sport +6 Aljazeera Sport 5 HD

15:00

AC Ajaccio v OGC Nice Aljazeera Sport +6 Aljazeera Sport 5 HD

18:00

Nantes v Paris Saint-Germain Aljazeera Sport +6

22:00

Championship Hamilton Falkirk Alloa Dundee Raith Queen of South Dumbarton Morton Livingston Cowdenbeath

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0

0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0

0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3

7 7 4 4 4 7 5 4 3 4

1 2 2 4 4 8 6 6 7 9

9 7 6 4 4 4 4 3 1 0

Division One Rangers Ayr Stenhousemuir Brechin Dunfermline East Fife Arbroath Forfar Stranraer Airdrie

3 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 3

3 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1

0 0 0 1 1 2 2 2 2 2

13 6 2 5 3 2 4 4 1 3

1 1 0 5 3 4 7 7 5 10

9 7 6 6 3 3 3 1 1 1

Division Two East Stirling Albion Stirling Clyde Annan Athletic Berwick Peterhead Montrose Elgin Queen’s Park

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

3 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0

0 1 0 0 2 1 2 1 1 0

0 0 1 1 0 1 1 2 2 3

9 6 5 4 5 5 4 3 3 1

2 2 4 3 4 2 6 5 7 10

9 7 6 6 5 4 2 1 1 0

Southampton 1

Sunderland 1

SOUTHAMPTON: Portuguese centre-back Jose Fonte scored an 88th-minute equaliser to earn Southampton a 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland in the Premier League yesterday.

Sunderland had taken an early lead through new signing Emanuele Giaccherini and Paolo Di Canio’s side looked set to claim their first win of the season until Fonte met James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick with a downward header that goalkeeper Keiren Westwood could not keep out.

Southampton started with record signing Dani Osvaldo on the bench, after the Italy striker signed from Roma for a fee that could rise to £14.5 million ($22.6 million, 16.9 million euros).

The home side were unchanged from the team that won 1-0 at West Bromwich Albion on the opening weekend, while Sunderland manager Di Canio brought Craig Gardner and Modibo Diakite into his starting line-up.

Sunderland were beaten 1-0 by Fulham in their opening game despite dominating the match and they seemed determined to learn

LONDON: Southampton’s Rickie Lambert (left) is challenged by Sunderland’s Jack Colback in the penalty area during the English Premier League soccer match. — AP from their mistakes, with Giaccherini putting them ahead in the third minute by heading home a Sebastian Larsson corner.Southampton were quick to apply pressure at the other end, however, and Jay Rodriguez was only denied an equaliser by the assistant referee’s flag after converting a through-ball from Rickie Lambert.

Lambert also forced Westwood into a fine save with a header from a Ward-Prowse cross, while the Saints felt they should have been awarded a penalty shortly prior to half-time after Adam Lallana tangled with John O’Shea.

Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino

added Osvaldo to the mix at half-time and the hosts continued to force the issue, with Rodriguez slamming a half-volley narrowly wide early in the second half. Rodriguez then saw a header caught by Westwood from Osvaldo’s clipped pass, before Sunderland raced down to the other end and Jozy Altidore was thwarted by Artur Boruc.

With Sunderland holding firm, Pochettino rolled the dice one last time by introducing Gaston Ramirez for Lallana, and their persistence paid off with two minutes to play when Fonte claimed the equaliser. — AFP

All Blacks retain Bledisloe Cup

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

17

Ribery, Robben strike as Bayern win again

18

Rain washes Australia’s victory hopes

Page 17

LONDON: Arsenal’s Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla (left) vies with Fulham’s Moroccan midfielder Adel Taarabt (right) during the English Premier League football match.—AFP

Podolski’s brace sees Arsenal through Fulham 1

Arsenal 3

LONDON: Arsenal answered their critics in style yesterday as a clinical display of finishing from Lukas Podolski saw them beat Fulham 3-1 at Craven Cottage in the Premier League.

The German produced two classy strikes either side of the break to add to Olivier Giroud’s opener as Arsene Wenger’s side picked up their first points of the new Premier League campaign.

It was the perfect end to a difficult week for

the Gunners, who have recovered from their opening-day defeat by Aston Villa to record successive victories on the road.

After their 3-0 win at Fenerbahce in Wednesday’s Champions League play-off first leg, England midfielder Jack Wilshere was surprisingly named as a substitute by Wenger, with Tomas Rosicky drafted into a three-man midfield alongside Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla.

Bacary Sagna started in central defence alongside captain Per Mertesacker in place of the suspended Laurent Koscielny, with Carl Jenkinson brought in at right-back.

Fulham manager Martin Jol handed debuts to new signing Scott Parker after he completed his move from Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the week.

Adel Taarabt was also given a chance to impress on the left flank, but Darren Bent had

to settle for a place on the bench following his loan switch from Aston Villa.

It has been a summer of change at Craven Cottage and new owner Shahid Khan was introduced to the home supporters before kick-off amid soggy conditions by the River Thames.

The Pakistan-born businessman was given a rapturous welcome as Fulham looked to build on last weekend’s opening victory over Sunderland.

A deluge of rain as the game kicked off made for a frenetic start and it was Arsenal who settled first, with an effort from Podolski being deflected wide for a corner.

In the 10th minute, Theo Walcott served further warning when he beat the offside trap to collect Rosicky’s pass, but David Stockdale in the Fulham goal reacted quickly to block his shot.

More pressure in the 14th minute saw John Arne Riise make a last-ditch clearance with his head, but Arsenal kept possession and worked the ball to Ramsey. His shot from distance lacked power, but it struck Giroud on the heel and fell perfectly for the Frenchman to finish coolly.

Fulham’s response was almost instant as Taarabt forced Wojciech Szczesny into a smart save and the goalkeeper also did well to deny Damien Duff at the second attempt.

Left-back Sascha Riether almost created a chance to equalise seven minutes before the break, but Mertesacker’s outstretched left foot denied Fulham.

From the break, Walcott set up Kieran Gibbs but the defender could not follow his goal in Turkey on Wednesday as he dragged wide.

Once again, though, that was only a warning of what was to come as another quick break

Sturridge sends Reds past Villa Aston Villa 0

Liverpool 1

BIRMINGHAM: Daniel Sturridge was Liverpool’s match-winner for the second successive weekend as they continued their strong start to the Premier League season by winning 1-0 at Aston Villa yesterday.

Just as he did against Stoke City last Saturday, the England international scored the only goal of the game to make it eight strikes in his last seven league appearances.

Whether victories over Villa and the Potters are sufficient evidence to suggest Brendan Rodgers’s team can be Champions League contenders this term remains to be seen.

Next weekend’s meeting with Manchester United will provide a better benchmark, but all the signs point towards continuing improvement under the Northern Irishman.

After their stunning opening-day win at Arsenal and unfortunate defeat at Chelsea on Wednesday, this appeared one game too many for a jaded-looking Villa, however, in what has been a taxing start to the campaign.

Paul Lambert’s side improved hugely after the interval and were left to rue missed opportunities late on. They have, though, still done enough this week to suggest they can avoid another relegation skirmish. Liverpool manager Rodgers named the same side that defeated Stoke last weekend, while there was a debut for Netherlands Under-21 midfielder Leandro Bacuna and a first start for Denmark defender Jores Okore as Lambert made two changes to the Villa side narrowly beaten 2-1 at Chelsea.

Liverpool soon began to take charge with the sort of patient, possession passing that has become a hallmark of Rodgers’s sides.

In the 10th minute Antonio Luna did well to block a Sturridge shot after the forward neatly interchanged passes with Jordan Henderson.

By the 21st minute he had made his mark, however, and in some style. Sturridge had Philippe Coutinho at least partially to thank after the Brazilian cleverly dummied Jose Enrique’s low cross, yet he still had much to do, jinking around two defenders and Brad Guzan, the goalkeeper, before firing into the roof of the net.

It was no more than the Reds deserved for their dominance and, given this was their opening home match of the season, there was a disappointing sluggishness about Villa, despite the mitigating circumstances of their mid-week exploits. — AFP

saw Stockdale save well from Walcott and the ball fell for Podolski to hammer into the unguarded net four minutes before the interval.

Fulham had reason to feel hard done-by and they began the second half with real purpose, with Taarabt forcing Szczesny into a smart save at his near post.

Ramsey almost put the game beyond Fulham when his effort was deflected wide and with the game running away from the hosts, Jol threw on Bent alongside Dimitar Berbatov.

However, it was not long before his side found themselves 3-0 down as Podolski rounded off a flowing move by picking his spot from Cazorla’s pass. Bent did manage to pull one back with 13 minutes to play after he tapped home a cross-shot from Berbatov, but by then it was too late. — AFP

Newcastle hold out against Hammers Newcastle 0

West Ham 0

BIRMINGHAM: Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard (right) and Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor (left) battle for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match. — AP

NEWCASTLE: Newcastle secured their first point of the season yesterday but their 0-0 home draw with West Ham will have given manager Alan Pardew little reason for optimism.

The Magpies, whose lack of activity in the transfer market during the close season had already alarmed the fans with their opening 4-0 walloping by Manchester City last Monday confirming their worst fears, were outplayed for large parts of the match by West Ham. The only mild satisfaction for the home fans will be that it halted former manager Sam Allardyce’s run of three successive wins on his trips back there since he was sacked after just 24 games in 2008.

Pardew, who was without injured loan signing Loic Remy, left Yohan Cabaye, a transfer target for French champions Paris Saint Germain and Premier League giants Arsenal, out of the side again having not picked the France international for the City game.

The hosts, who have taken just six points from their last eight Premier League games, went close to opening the scoring in the 17th minute but it was not of their own making.

West Ham’s New Zealand international defender Winston Reid panicked under pressure from Papiss Cisse and overhit his backpass to Jussi Jaaskelainen which beat the ‘keeper but fortunately for him rolled the other side of the post.

Reid, though, nearly scored at the other end when he drifted in past Argentinian defender Fabricio Coloccini but just failed to make contact with James Collins’s long freekick.

Any chance of the match becoming more of a spectacle in the second-half were wiped out when rain poured down and it was West Ham who produced the best chances of the half.

Kevin Nolan, who scored the winner in the corresponding fixture against his former club last season, should have done better when well set up by Stewart Downing while Joe Cole, the man who replaced Downing when he was taken off, fired just over with a smart shot on the turn five minutes from time.

The visitors had the ball in the net two minutes from time but Modibo Maiga was adjudged to be offside. Newcastle could have stolen the points in time added on as Jaaskelainen was beaten by the flight of Shola Ameobi’s cross shot which came back off the post but Yoann Gouffran hooked it over the bar. — AFP

Zombie borrowers haunt Chinese shadow banks Page 22

Business

India tycoon’s wife tells court she’s a housewife Page 23

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

NBK among 50 safest banks in the world

Manufacturing firms awake to deals again as economy stirs Page 25

Page 26

MANILA: Employees work at a construction site in Manila yesterday. The Philippine central bank sees inflation staying low over the coming years even as economic growth picks up, its deputy governor Diwa Guinigundo said. — AFP

SocGen plans $300m sukuk in Malaysia Cheaper costs of credit draw Western banks to sukuk KUALA LUMPUR: Societe Generale will launch a 1 billion ringgit ($300 million) Islamic bond program in Malaysia, two sources familiar with the deal told Reuters, becoming the second major European bank to issue sukuk and the first to do so in Asia.

SocGen, France’s second-largest listed bank, is planning to issue the first tranche of the sukuk by the year-end, said one of the sources, who declined to be identified as he was not authorized to speak on the matter. Western banks looking to raise capital are increasingly drawn to the Islamic bond market as the cost of credit is lower than in conventional markets.

The Middle East unit of HSBC Holdings tapped the market in 2011 with a five-year $500 million issuance.

The growing popularity of Islamic debt as a choice of investment among Muslim banks and

funds is also buoying the outlook for sukuk, as Islamic bonds are known. Issuers of sukuk do not pay interest, a practice forbidden in Islam.

Instead, buyers of sukuk become co-owners of the debt and receive annual profits from the issuer. Global sukuk issuance grew 54 percent to $131.2 billion last year, with Malaysia accounting for 74 percent of primary market issuances.

Saudi Arabia followed with a 8 percent market share, and the United Arab Emirates with 4.7 percent and Indonesia with 4.6 percent, according to KFH Research, an Islamic investment research firm.Malaysia has emerged as the world’s No.1 market for primary sukuk issuances, with its strong regulatory framework, low taxes and geographical proximity to expanding Asian wealth.

The Malaysian central bank last month

implemented new laws to stress compliance with Islamic laws, introducing higher penalties and making sharia advisors legally liable for the first time. Hong Leong Islamic Bank is advising the SocGen deal, according to the source.

SocGen will soon seek approval for its issuance plans from Malaysia’s Securities Commission, having already received the green light to become a bond issuer from the central bank, the source said. The central bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while a Hong Kong-based spokesperson for SocGen declined to comment. The funds raised will go towards buying assets in Dubai, where SocGen’s Middle East private banking operations are headquartered, said the source.

“Everything is in place,” the source said.

The issuance will help SocGen diversify its funding sources while benefiting from attrac-

tive premiums. In the past year, three-year AAArated sukuk have offered yields of 3.65 to 3.72 percent, while conventional bonds with a comparable tenor and rating have yielded 3.69 to 3.76 percent. The lower yield range for sukuk translates into higher savings for issuers.

SocGen’s sukuk in Malaysia will carry tenors of up to 15 years, according to the second source.

“For European countries that have yet to develop a regulatory framework for Islamic finance, Malaysia is an attractive destination,” said Baljeet Kaur Grewal, managing director and vice chairman of KFH Research. The large number of industry players in Malaysia, including foreign institutions mandated to invest in Islamic instruments, creates a ready market with significant demand for sukuk, said Kaur.

“There are a number of corporations planning

India finance minister seeks relief for rupee

Central Europe sheltered from market sell-off LONDON: The currencies of emerging European countries such as Poland and Hungary have dodged the giant selloffs hitting other emerging markets, and their links to a steadily recovering euro-zone are likely to keep them insulated. For years, Europe’s slump and cautious monetary rules have dragged down economic growth in the region, making these countries less exciting for investors than destinations in Asia and Latin America. Now that curse is turning into a blessing.

Former investor darlings such as Brazil and India have seen currencies tumble as investors flee their stocks and bond markets in fear of a sharp growth slowdown.

Their peers in central Europe, however, are largely holding steady. Hit by the US Federal Reserve’s plans to reduce the flow of cheap money it pumps into the global economy, currencies such as South Africa’s rand, India’s rupee and Brazil’s real have fallen 15-18 percent against the dollar this year.

By contrast, Poland’s zloty has eased 3 percent against the dollar since January, while Hungary’s forint, considered the riskiest regional bet because of Prime Minister Victor Orban’s unorthodox policies, is down 2 percent. “This is due to a combination of a better outlook for core Europe, where the economy seems to be recovering, and an improvement in the underlying fundamentals of most of these countries,” said Thanasis Petronikolos, head of emerging debt at Baring Asset Management in London.

He said his investment portfolio was

factoring in that central Europe would perform better than emerging markets in Asia and some in Latin America. No doubt, there are some clouds on central Europe’s horizon uncertainty about the impact of upcoming Fed measures and political instability ahead of elections next year. But barring surprises and as long as the euro recovery stays on course, the region could stay stable for currency investors. “We expect CEE currencies to continue to outperform other emerging markets until the end of next year,” says Commerzbank currency strategist Lutz Karpowitz.

Euro-zone orbit Germany, the powerhouse of the eurozone and the source of most of emerging Europe’s investment, posted forecastbeating business sentiment data on Thursday, leading improvements across the single currency bloc. As the eurozone starts to emerge from recession, that translates into more growth for its central European neighbors, and therefore stable currencies.

Carmaker Daimler’s plant in Hungary, which makes the Mercedes CLA coupe, illustrates the link: it is estimated to account for nearly one percent of Hungary’s economic output, and its sales helped pull the country out of recession. As European Union members, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic are bound by the bloc’s rules on fiscal consolidation. For the past several years, that has constrained their governments from running big deficits to boost growth. — Reuters

to raise funds in the Malaysian Islamic capital market, from Australia to the Middle East, and this trend looks set to continue.”

Other foreign companies such as the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Singaporebased palm oil producer Golden Agri-Resources Ltd have in the past year tapped Malaysia’s sukuk market.

In the first seven months of this year, issuers in Malaysia raised 19.8 billion ringgit through 47 sukuk, according to Thomson Reuters data.

That was a decline of nearly a third from a year earlier due to uncertainties surrounding a May election in Malaysia and a dip in external demand.

However, demand from Malaysia’s public institutional funds such as the Employees Provident Fund and Lembaga Tabung Haji has remained resilient. — Reuters

BANGALORE: An Indian customer at a foreign exchange outlet speaks on a phone in front of a poster of US dollars in Bangalore yesterday. The rupee, staged a sharp recovery against the dollar as state-run banks, at the behest of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), reportedly sold dollars to take the pressure off the rupee. — AFP

MUMBAI: India’s finance minister P Chidambaram met with top bankers yesterday to discuss ways to boost the weak rupee and bring in more foreign capital to bridge a trade gap that has put pressure on the currenc y.

Chidambaram was accompanied by top officials at the meeting in India’s financial hub of Mumbai with representatives of leading private and public sector banks. As the US economy picks up, the Federal Reserve is expected to start winding down its bond-buying stimulus scheme which has helped fuel an investment splurge in Asia’s emerging markets. “The meeting was mainly to seek ideas and suggestions on what can be done about capital inflows. It was a very good and positive meeting,” ICICI Bank’s chief executive Chanda Kochhar told reporters.

India’s large current account deficitthe broadest measure of trade-must be funded with foreign capital, and the country is seen as one of the most vulnerable among emerging market nations whose currencies are under pressure globally.

India’s rupee recovered from historic lows against the dollar Friday, marking its biggest single-day gain in nearly a year, but analysts warned the currency’s overall trend was still bearish. The rupee, one of Asia’s worst performing currencies, bounced back 2.09 percent-its biggest one-day gain since

September 2012 — to end trade at 63.20 Friday, up from its record closing low of 64.55 the previous day.

The Indian unit, which had hit a new lifetime intraday low of 65.56 Thursday, was boosted Friday by comments by Chidambaram and the Reserve Bank of India. Chidambaram said the currency panic was “unwarranted” and the rupee had “overshot” its “appropriate level”.

He added there was no plan to impose more capital controls on top of ones announced this month, and that reviving growth, which hit a decade low of five percent last year, would be the government’s focus. The central bank governor Duvvuri Subbarao, meanwhile, dismissed investor fears India is hurtling towards a balance of payments crisis similar to one in 1991.

Ten-year government bonds also posted their biggest weekly gain in four-and-a-half-years, of 62 paise ($0.01) to 8.26 percent, while shares rebounded by 1.13 percent to 18,519.44 points.

But analysts said the relief might be only temporary and the rupee could soften further, with Deutsche Bank suggesting it could fall to 70 to the dollar.

“There is a slight change in sentiment after the finance minister’s statements but the overall trend is still bearish,” said Param Sarma, chief executive at consultancy NSP Forex. — AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

BUSINESS

Zombie borrowers haunt Chinese shadow banks

Behbehani watches join ABK Advantage KUWAIT: ABK is now proud to announce a new alliance with Behbehani watches. Our cardholders will be offered up to 30 percent discount if they use their ABK cards for purchases at any Behbehani watches showroom around Kuwait.

Stewart Lockie, General Manager, Retail Banking Division at ABK explained that, “It is with great pleasure that we announce an alliance with such a prestigious company.

Behbehani watches joining our directory as part of the ABK Advantage Program is a great way to reward our customers on their purchased items.”

Behbehani’s luxurious showrooms are conveniently located all over Kuwait, namely at The Avenues, Al-Hamra Mall, Marina Mall, Souk Sharq, Salhiya Complex, Laila Gallery, Behbehani Complex, Al-Kout Mall and the 360 Mall.

Lockie further elaborated, “Behbehani watches joins a wide and varied selection of companies that are part of the ABK Advantage Program. Many companies offer our customers up to a massive 45 percent discount on their purchases if they use their ABK cards as the preferred choice of payment. Hotels and resorts, fashion, jewelry and watches, furniture, restaurants and cafes, health and beauty, gifts and services, lifestyle and so much more are all offered at discounted prices but only to ABK customers. That’s a great advantage to banking with ABK! “ For more information on how to join the ABK Advantage Program please visit www.eahli.com to talk directly with one of our Account Managers through Al Ahli Chat Service or call Ahlan Ahli on 1899899.

Concerns over disconnect between lending, growth SHANGHAI: Call it the new China Syndrome: Although Asia’s biggest economy is slowing down markedly, credit continues to surge. Deadend projects and dying industries are sucking up an ever-larger portion of new credit, while more productive borrowers are starved for funds.

Nowhere is this more evident than in China’s shadow banking sector, the non-bank financiers that have pumped credit into the economy at a spectacular rate.

Trust companies - firms that sell investment products to Chinese savers and use the proceeds to make loans or buy other types of assets - have posted the fastest growth. A Reuters examination of proprietary data shows that as little as half of trust loans issued in 2012 were used to finance current economic activity, such as a new investment project or increased production at an existing factory.

The other half may have been used for refinancing old debt that funded past projects but is no longer contributing to economic growth.

The finding offers a possible explanation for the growing disconnect between lending and growth in China. Many analysts have expressed concern that the so-called “credit intensity” of Chinese growth is increasing. Ever more borrowing is required to produce the same amount of economic output. But no one is sure why.

Rising credit intensity is exacerbating the huge buildup of debt in China’s financial system since Beijing launched its credit-fueled 4 trillion yuan ($650 billion) stimulus plan in 2008. Much of that money flowed into infrastructure, real estate, and new manufacturing capacity. Reuters found that local governments, property developers, and industries suffering from surplus capacity together account for about 70 percent of trust loans granted in 2012.

The 1979 movie “China Syndrome” was about a cataclysmic nuclear reactor meltdown. And some see excessive debt as a ticking time bomb that will eventually produce a wave of defaults and an economic meltdown. But the Reuters examination of the trust data points to a differ-

ent, though equally worrying scenario: slow and debilitating atrophy. The risk of pervasive debt rollovers is that China could follow the path of Japan in the “Lost Decades”, creating a permanent class of “zombie borrowers” who have little hope of turning a profit but survive through continual injections of fresh credit.

Such perpetual refinancing avoids short-term economic pain by keeping factories humming and workers employed at infrastructure construction sites. But in the long run, zombies suck the lifeblood from the economy. That is an especially big problem for China, where small-and medium-sized enterprises account for 60 percent of gross domestic product and around 75 percent of new jobs but have long struggled to get access to credit.

China’s economic growth has slowed for 12 of the last 14 quarters, and 2013 is likely to be the slowest full-year growth since 1990, with the official 7.5 percent target seen ambitious and double-digit growth rates now considered firmly a thing of the past. “(China’s) economic growth since 2009 has been fueled disproportionately by a credit binge that left local governments and their state enterprises with a lot of debt they cannot repay,” Arthur Kroeber, managing director of GK Dragonomics, a Beijing-based research firm, wrote in a recent research note. “The risk of Japan-style rot is substantial.”

Reuters analyzed 1,166 trust loans issued in 2012, using data purchased from Use-Trust Studio, a research firm based in Jiangxi province that has compiled the most comprehensive public database of trust and wealth-management products. Trusts surpassed insurance companies last year to become the second-largest sector of China’s financial system by assets, behind commercial banks. The trusts Reuters analyzed totaled 234 billion yuan, or roughly 8 percent of 3 trillion yuan in trust loans issued in 2012, Reuters estimates. Trusts also comprise the largest component of China’s shadow banking sector, which includes a range of non-bank lenders from securities brokerages to curbside

Blackstone eyes Europe, Asia for investment NEW YORK CITY: Global investment giant Blackstone is reshuffling its vast real estate portfolio, shedding US assets to buy new ones in Europe and Asia.

The New York-based firm has plenty of firepower, with $64 billion in real estate assets under management, the world’s largest portfolio in the sector.

Blackstone recently has been lining up its strategy with an eye on juicier investment prospects outside the United States. That includes a slew of asset sales and IPOs of units to generate cash for other acquisitions.

“We are in a period of time where you can expect to see real-estate realization growing,” Tony James, Blackstone’s president and chief operating officer, said in a July conference call.

Overall, the company raised $14 billion in the second quarter alone, mostly from its real estate and credit businesses, Blackstone chief executive Steve Schwarzman said in the same call.

In the US, Blackstone, the country’s leading hotel owner, is working on an initial public offering of Hilton Worldwide, its biggest real estate asset, bought in 2007 for $25 billion including debt.

Blackstone also appears to be seeking a disposal of La Quinta Inns & Suites hotels, acquired in 2006 and valued at about $4.5 billion. It also is planning IPOs for Brixmor Property Group, a grocery-anchored shopping center owner that is the company’s third-largest real estate investment, and Extended Stay Hotels, which it co-owns.

The company, meanwhile, is going ahead with several acquisitions, including the purchase of 30,0000 apartments from US industrial conglomerate General Electric for about $2.7 billion, a source close to

the situation told AFP last week.

In last month’s conference call, Schwarzman said that “in the US, markets are healthier, properties are doing better and credit markets are very accommodating.”

“In Europe though... to the contrary there’s been a lot of distress,” the CEO said.

“But the spigots are starting to loosen up and people are starting to face that and want to sell assets.”

Blackstone itself is selling its 50 percent stake in Broadgate office complex in London to GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, AFP learned from sources familiar with the situation on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Blackstone has targeted a $5 billion European real-estate investment fund, a person close to the matter said. And elsewhere in Europe, Blackstone teamed up with Caisse de Depot du Quebec to buy debt secured by equity in French realestate investment company Gecina.

Asia also was beckoning Blackstone, which has $230 billion in total assets under management. “In real estate, we had our first Asia fund closing of $1.5 billion, marking strong investor reception to our first dedicated fund in the region,” Schwarzman told analysts in the July earning call.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the privateequity firm also is in negotiations to buy Chinese property developer Tysan Holdings, based in Hong Kong, for $2.5 billion. Emerging-market countries were proving attractive for investment opportunities.

Blackstone announced in June that it had acquired, along with Brazilian partner Patria Investments, a 70 percent stake in Brazilian homebuilder Gafisa for about $1 billion. The deal marked Blackstone’s biggest

loan sharks.

Trust loans offer a useful window into China’s debt problems. Unlike banks, trusts typically disclose the identity of their borrowers in the marketing materials they use to attract investors, along with some detail on how the funds will supposedly be used.

But because trusts cater to borrowers who can’t access credit from traditional banks or the bond and equity markets, the Use-Trust data also sheds light on the normally opaque world of shadow banking, where analysts fear the riskiest debt is hiding.

Trust loans represent the riskiest category of Chinese credit for which any significant data is available. Just beyond lies the murky world of informal lending. “Right now trust financing is the financing method with the lowest barriers to entry in China. Of course, the cost will be higher,” said Fan Jie, analyst at CN Benefit, a research firm that tracks China’s trust and wealth-management industries.

The trust products that Reuters analyzed offer investors returns of 9-12 percent annually. That is even higher than the wealth management products that banks sell, which offer rates of 5-7 percent. By the time the trust company takes its fee, typically worth 1-2 percent of the loan value, the local government or firm may pay up to 15 percent interest for a one- to two-year loan, more than double the bank rate of around 7 percent for similar loans. The crippling interest rates make it even more difficult for borrowers to reduce their debt, laying the groundwork for future rollovers.

Only 4 percent of trust loans by value are explicitly intended for re-financing, Reuters found. But an additional 37 percent of trust loans specify the use of funds as “working capital”, “liquid funding” or similarly vague terms that experts say sound like a rollover. For 8 percent of loans, disclosures offer no significant detail on the use of funds. Local governments have ways to disguise the fact they are using new loans to repay old ones, said a Beijing-based trust company executive, who asked for anonymity.

“When you’re doing due diligence, you can figure it out, but no one will say it explicitly.”

DEBT CITY Tianjin, China’s fifth-largest city, offers a glimpse into the plight of thousands of loss-making local governments and industrial firms that have turned to trust companies and other institutions that make up China’s shadow banking system. Reuters’ analysis of the trust data, along with Tianjin’s own disclosures about the financial condition of the city’s largest financing vehicle, show how the city relied on high-interest funding to repay old debts. About a half hour by highspeed train southeast of Beijing on the east coast, Tianjin was a lively trade centre in preCommunist days, before becoming a grubby backwater overshadowed by the Chinese capital.

But since 2009, Tianjin has invested more than $160 billion in an effort to create a financial centre that would be China’s answer to Manhattan - almost three times the amount spent on China’s Three Gorges Dam, one of China’s costliest projects. The glitter and growth - 16.4 percent in 2011 - helped propel Tianjin’s former Communist Party secretary, Zhang Gaoli, to a coveted seat on the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s elite seven-member ruling body.

But the Yujiapu financial district, where 47 skyscrapers are being built, may prove to be China’s biggest white elephant yet. It is not clear why major financial institutions, which already have offices in Beijing, would need to establish a large presence in Tianjin as well. Indeed, at the start of 2012, Tianjin’s main local government financing vehicle for infrastructure projects faced debt repayments of 56 billion yuan for the year, the city’s public disclosures show. But the financing vehicle suffered negative cash flows every year since at least 2008, including a loss of 28 billion in 2011. —Reuters

Gulf Bank announces winners of Al-Danah daily draws 9 January, 2014 announcing winners of KD50,000, KD250,000 and the Al-Danah Millionaire.

Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah allows customers to win cash prizes and simultaneously encourages them to save money. Chances increase the more money is deposited and the longer it is kept in the account.

Al-Danah also offers a number of unique services including the Al-Danah Deposit Only ATM card which helps account holders deposit their money at their convenience; as well as the Al-Danah calculator to help customers calculate their chances of becoming an Al-Danah winner.

To be part of the Al-Danah draws, customers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches, transfer on line, or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and guidance. Customers can also log on to www.e-gulfbank.com/aldanahwinners, to find out more about Al-Danah and who the winners are.

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah daily draws on August 18, 2013, announcing the names of its winners for the week of August 12 to August 15. The Al-Danah daily draws include draws each working day for two prizes of KD1000 per winner.

The winners were: (Monday 12/8): Eyad Fawzy Asaad Atteia, Bader Saleh Haji Kamal (Tuesday 13/8): Elham Wajih Hussein AlMadani, Mohammed Ali Hassan (Wednesday 14/8): Jaber Mohammed Ghuloum Husain, Majdah Mahmoud Mahmoud Awadheen (Thursday 15/8): Fouad Abdulrahman AlBahar, Yaseen Mohammed Hassan Bloushi Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah 2013 draw lineup includes daily draws (2 winners per working day each receive KD1000), as well as three draw prizes per quarter. Al-Danah’s 3rd Quarterly draw will be held on - 26 September (KD500,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000) and the final draw will be held on

JAKARTA: A stack of rupiah banknotes are seen on the desk at a money changer in Jakarta. —AP

Indonesia curbs luxury car imports as rupiah dives export quotas and streamline the investment permit process.

He said the government will increase the import tax on luxury cars and some branded products, provide tax incentives for investment in agriculture and metal industries and seek to reduce oil imports. The moves aim to shore up Indonesia’s currency and bolster confidence that the country can pay its bills by limiting outflows of money and encouraging inflows. That in theor y should reduce Indonesia’s current account deficit, which largely reflects that it is importing more than it exports. —AP

JAKARTA: Indonesia said that it would curb imports of luxury cars and take other steps to bolster national finances as Southeast Asia’s largest economy suffers a slumping currency and stock market.

Indonesia, along with countries such as India, Malaysia and Thailand, has been buffeted by an exodus of cash from its financial markets as improving economic prospects in the US and Europe reverse the tide of money that swept into developing nations the past few years. Among the measures announced Friday, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said the government will relax mineral

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal Irani Riyal Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

2.887 4.435 2.747 2.148 2.762 223.680 36.721 3.655 6.428 8.919 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 75.964 78.271 739.900 756.610 77.578

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 41.950 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.670 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.329 Tunisian Dinar 174.850 Jordanian Dinar 402.270 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.911 Syrian Lier 3.095 Morocco Dirham 34.641 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 284.750 Euro 383.990 Sterling Pound 446.630 Canadian dollar 273.930 Turkish lira 143.490 Swiss Franc 310.350 Australian Dollar 259.120 US Dollar Buying 283.550 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

GOLD 258.000 130.000 67.500

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

SELL DRAFT 262.13 278.37 313.69 384.12 283.95 448.84 2.98 3.667 4.466 2.158 2.819 2.769 77.38 755.76 40.62 404.13 738.45 78.41 75.85

SELL CASH 263.000 282.000 311.000 384.000 287.400 443.000 3.000 3.800 5.150 2.700 3.600 2.920 78.000 759.500 41.100 416.200 746.400 79.000 76.300

Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Scottish Pound Swedish Krona Swiss Franc

Selling Rate 284.000 275.980 445.890 381.745 309.996 751.890 77.800 77.955 76.595 400.345 40.590 2.150 4.489 2.742 3.651 6.477 696.660 3.910

SELL CASH Europe 0.4369558 0.0065515 0.0467961 0.3737893 0.0441271 0.4351225 0.0396846 0.3023052

SELLDRAFT 0.4459558 0.0185615 0.0517961 0.3812893 0.0493271 0.4426225 0.0446846 0.3093052

Australasia 0.2522278 0.2232773 0.0001127

0.2642278 0.2332773 0.0001127

Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars

America 0.2685459 0.0001447 0.2823000

0.2775459 0.0001627 0.2844500

Bangladesh Taka Cape Vrde Escudo 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

Asia 0.0036070 0.0031505 0.0454075 0.0164033 0.0000441 0.0340753 0.0044365 0.0000220 0.0028359 0.0028402 0.0031816 0.0814482 0.0026608 0.0027176 0.0060415

0.0036620 0.0033805 0.0504075 0.0195033 0.0000501 0.0371753 0.0045015 0.0000272 0.0038359 0.0030202 0.0034116 0.0884482 0.0028608 0.0027576 0.0065115

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar Uganda Shilling

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd 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

9.165 4.055 3.885 86.405

Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar Sri Lankan Rupee Thai Baht

0.0000725 0.2183922 0.0021130 0.0085731

0.0000755 0.2243922 0.0021550 0.0091731

Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Ethiopeanbirr Ghanaian Cedi Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Sudanese Pounds Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

Arab 0.7470223 0.0385825 0.0126263 0.1444203 0.0000790 0.0001834 0.3950608 1.0000000 0.0001742 0.0224390 0.0012050 0.7267806 0.0773663 0.0752133 0.0461836 0.0019354 0.1720309 0.0759090 0.0012812

0.7555223 0.0405975 0.0191263 0.1462103 0.0000795 0.0002434 0.4025608 1.0000000 0.0001942 0.0464390 0.0018400 0.7377806 0.0781493 0.0758533 0.0467336 0.0021554 0.1780309 0.0773590 0.0013812

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 284.200 382.000 445.400 272.450 4.435 40.655 2.151 3.652 6.423 2.745 756.750 77.350 75.850

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

BUSINESS

Why it’s time to revisit European stocks NEW YORK: It’s time for US investors to revisit Europe. Last summer, much of the continent was mired in recession and the euro currency looked like a failed experiment.

Now, Europe is healing. The 17 countries that use the euro posted economic growth of 0.3 percent from April to June compared with the previous quarter, the first expansion since late 2011. Industrial production is up, consumer spending is stable and stock markets are rising as people and businesses gain confidence. Fund managers and market strategists say the last several months of better economic news and higher stock prices could signal the start a long-term rally for the continent.

“There are now clear signs that Europe is turning,” says Jurrien Timmer, a portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments. Timmer recommends that investors move part of their US investments into Europe.

In France, the CAC 40 stock index has risen 12 percent this year. Germany’s DAX

index is up 11 percent. Even more troubled economies like Spain and Italy aren’t discouraging investors: Italy’s FTSE MIB has climbed 7 percent and Spain’s IBEX is up 6 percent. European stocks appear to be less expensive than their US counterparts, based on their price-earnings ratio, or P/E Low P/Es signal that stocks are cheap relative to their earnings; high ones signal they are expensive.

The Stoxx Euro 600, Europe’s equivalent of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, is trading at 13.1 times earnings over the next 12 months. That is slightly cheaper than the 14.1 times for the S&P 500.

Europe’s nascent recovery can be traced back to a year ago. On July 26, 2012, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to do “whatever it takes” to save the currency union. Later, the ECB calmed fears of state bankruptcies in countries like Spain and Italy by promising to buy back government debt, if needed.

The improving fortunes of the euro-zone can be seen in the borrowing costs of gov-

ernments. The yield on Spain’s 10-year bond, for example, is now 4.44 percent, down from 6.83 percent at the end of last August.

“Even this slight stabilization will help lead to renewed confidence in the eurozone,” says Sean Lynch, global investment strategist for Wells Fargo Private Bank.

Europe’s recovery is still patchy, but enough encouraging trends have emerged. France exited its 18-month recession last quarter. Germany’s economy, Europe’s biggest, grew at a 0.7 percent annual rate, more than economists expected. Investor confidence there also hit a sixmonth high in August, according to the Centre for European Economic Research.

And while Spain’s unemployment rate is 26.3 percent and its economy contracted by 0.1 percent in the second quarter, unemployment is at a five-month low.

Economists expect Spain to pull out of its recession by year-end. “The news out of Europe is encouraging,” Lynch says. “It’s too early to ring the ‘all-clear’ button, though.”

In a conference call with investors on Aug. 14, Cisco CEO John Chambers said that business across Europe, particularly Britain and Northern Europe, was showing “very positive progress.” “We remain cautious, however, given the instability of the southern region,” Chambers said.

That compares with a more skeptical view last month from McDonald’s CEO Donald Thomson, who said the European economy had not yet turned the corner. “I think the economists may be a bit ahead of themselves,” Thomson said. “Some markets may have bottomed out. I would tell you some of the larger markets are still having some challenges.” Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, says Europe looks attractive partly because the economy still has challenges.

“The stock market is a leading indicator. It moves before the economic data catches up with it,” Sonders says. March 2009, for example, was a good time to get into U.S. stocks, she says, even though things were “terrible economically.”

The market was at its recession low back then and stocks were cheap. The S&P 500 has climbed 146 percent since then, helped by a recovery in the employment and housing markets, and the Federal Reserve’s stimulus program. This year alone, the index is up 17 percent.

While Sonders believes investors should continue to focus on the US stock market, Schwab has an “outperform” rating on European stocks. Still, it’s probably too early for risk-averse investors to put money into Europe, says Alberto Gallo, head of European macro credit research for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC. If people want to invest there, they should focus on corporate or high-yield bonds from the healthier eurozone countries such as Germany and France, Gallo says. “The large institutional investors are not coming back to the euro-zone’s (struggling) countries yet,” Gallo say. “The interest has been mainly (from) hedge funds.

The institutional investors still see parts of Europe as too risky.” — AP

India tycoon’s wife tells court she’s a housewife Tina denies knowledge of corruption in Reliance

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde

Weak nations still need central-bank aid: IMF JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming: The head of the International Monetary Fund cautioned the world’s major central banks not to withdraw their unconventional support for weak economies too soon.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said stimulative policies are still needed in key regions, especially Europe and Japan, which have struggled with prolonged weakness. She spoke at an annual economics conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., sponsored by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank.

Lagarde said central banks must carefully develop strategies for scaling back their efforts to keep borrowing rates low. Any pullback should be determined by the strength of individual economies, she said.

Her comments come as the Fed is signaling that it could slow its bond purchases later this year if the US economy continues to improve. The Fed’s bond buying has helped keep U.S. interest rates near record lows.

“Unconventional monetary policy is still needed in all places it is being used, albeit longer for some than for others,” Lagarde said in her speech to the conference.

The anticipation of a slowdown in Fed bond buying has unsettled US stock and bond markets and sent interest rates up.

Rising US rates have, in turn, triggered turmoil in some emerging economies, such as Turkey, India and Indonesia. Officials in those countries have tried to halt declines in the value of their currencies as investors have shifted money into higher-yielding investments elsewhere.

Lagarde noted the market declines that have followed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s signal in June that the Fed could begin slowing its bond purchases later this year if the US economy strengthens further.

She said finance officials should prepare contingency plans in case market turbulence worsens. Some investors think the Fed could announce at its next meeting in September that it’s reducing its bond purchases. But comments from Fed officials at Jackson Hole suggested some disagreement within the central bank over the proper timing for a slowdown to begin. Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, suggested in an interview with CNBC that he might be ready to endorse a bond-buying

slowdown in September. But James Bullard, president of the St. Louis Fed, said he thought the economy remains too uncertain for a pullback next month. “I don’t think we have to be in any hurry,” Bullard said in a separate interview with CNBC. “I think we want to take our time and assess what is going on.”

In a separate interview, Bullard said the decision on whether to start tapering could well come into focus just a few days before the Sept 17-18 meeting if Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke decides at that time to provide the other policymakers with a recommendation.

“That’s probably the kind of thing that it would come down to just a few days before the meeting, he’d kind of lay out some options,” Bullard said in an interview with Fox Business News.

Bullard is a voting member of the Fed’s interest rate panel this year. Lockhart takes part in discussions but doesn’t have a vote this year. Their remarks mirrored the divided opinion that was evident in the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting released this week.

In her speech, Lagarde said the support being provided by major central banks is buying time for nations to implement key economic reforms. “Push ahead with deeper reforms to lay the foundation for durable and lasting growth,” Lagarde said. “Do not waste the space provided by unconventional monetary policies.” For example, she said troubled nations in Europe must repair their financial systems before credit can start flowing normally again. Lagarde said some emerging market countries have taken steps to prepare for the shocks that could occur as the United States and other major economies withdraw their extraordinary support and borrowing rates rise to historically normal levels. But she said more work would be needed.

She said the IMF will provide support where possible, including emergency loans to countries that need them. After her speech, Lagarde said she hoped leaders of the Group of 20 major economies will seek to complete financial reforms that have been drafted to try to avoid another crisis like the one that erupted in 2008. The G-20 leaders will meet next month in St. Petersburg, Russia.

“As the level of the crisis has abated, the level of urgency has waned a bit,” Lagarde said in response to a question. — AP

MUMBAI: Mumbai City civic staff work to repair a burst underground pipeline which resulted in the cave-in of a portion of the city’s Marine Drive dubbed the Queen’s Necklace road in Mumbai yesterday. The infrastructure of Mumbai - the financial capital of India and an oasis for job-seekers and migrant work force attracting hundreds of un-employed youth from all the country, is in desperate need of an overhaul. — AFP

NEW DELHI: Tina Ambani, a former Bollywood star wed to one of India’s top tycoons, has told a court hearing a massive corruption case she had no knowledge of the companies allegedly involved as she is a “housewife”.

Her testimony came after prosecutors asked the judge to declare her husband Anil Ambani, chairman of industrial group Reliance ADAG, a hostile witness in the caseone of the biggest corruption scandals in India’s history-after he repeatedly told the court he had no recollection of many of the events.

Tina Ambani was summoned as a witness because her name appears on documents relating to the case involving alleged rigging of the Indian government’s 2008 licensing of mobile spectrum.

The former actress was shown in court on Friday documents she signed and told of meetings she chaired. But, like her husband the previous day, she told the court she could not remember many of the events.

“I chaired the meeting if it is so minuted... but I do not recall it,” the 1980s film star told the trial court, according to The Business Standard newspaper and other Indian media.

“I have no role in the running of Reliance ADA group as I am a housewife,” she said, adding she was briefed by company officials about what to do before chairing any meetings.

After her court appearance, lawyers thronged the actress for her autograph. Three telecom firms-Reliance Telecom, Unitech Wireless and Swan-have been charged with corruption in the scandal, as well as more than a dozen individuals, including three who worked in Anil Ambani’s company.

All have pleaded not guilty.

Swan Telecom is alleged by the prosecution to have been a shell company of Reliance ADAG and ineligible to receive mobile spectrum.

Prosecutors allege that the thentelecom minister A Raja, also on trial, sold licenses at giveaway prices to favored companies which paid bribes to secure sought-after second-generation (2G) bandwidth.

The auditor calculated losses to the state as high as $40 billion, but the government disputes the fig-

ure. The so-called “2G scam” has been hugely damaging for the ruling Congress party-led coalition, which has been ensnared in a string of corruption scandals since its re-election in 2009.

Anil Ambani lost a legal bid to postpone his and his wife’s appearances as prosecution witnesses in the case. Asked about meetings and links between his company, Reliance Telecom, and others accused of wrongdoing, Anil Ambani testified frequently Thursday he either did “not recall”

or was “not aware” of events. His testimony drew a warning from the judge, who said: “You are forgetting too much... it can go against youthat you don’t even recall the names of your companies,” according to Business Standard.

Indian prosecutors asked the court to declare Anil Ambani a “hostile” witness. The federal Central Bureau of Investigation also remarked in court Friday on Tina Ambani’s “adverseness” stemming from her inability to remember events. — AFP

MUMBAI: Indian socialite Tina Ambani (left) and industrialist Anil Ambani attend the opening ceremony for the 14th Mumbai Film Festival in Mumbai. Tina Ambani, a former Bollywood star wed to one of India’s top tycoons, has told a court hearing a massive corruption case she had no knowledge of the companies allegedly involved as she is a “housewife”. —AFP

Intern’s death raises questions over workaholic race to wealth LONDON: The death of an intern working at the London offices of Bank of America Merrill Lynch has prompted calls for city firms to take more responsibility for the ambitious graduates who push themselves to the limit to secure jobs at the world’s top banks.

Attracted to the glass towers of finance in London, New York and Singapore by the prospect of securing a full-time job and hefty wage, future “masters of the universe” often face 20-hour days in some of the most adrenaline-soaked offices on earth. Weekends at work and meals in the office are par for the course with anecdotal reports of the “magic roundabout” where interns get a taxi home after dawn and leave it waiting while they have a quick shower and then return to work.

But serious concerns about interns working long hours and even through the night were raised on Wednesday after the death of Moritz Erhardt, 21, who was found dead late last week at his London accommodation towards the end of a seven-week internship. The German intern allegedly worked for 72 hours without sleep in the Bank of America’s investment banking division. The cause of his death was unknown pending post-mortem tests. A Bank of America spokesman said the bank was waiting for the facts about Erhardt’s death before deciding whether to review its internship program.

Some politicians and an intern campaign group condemned the workload on interns dubbed “slavery in the city” by one British newspaper, calling on the banks to take measures to ensure their staff were not worked to exhaustion. “Exploitation of youth is unacceptable,” tweeted European Employment Commissioner Laszlo Andor. Ben Lyons, co-founder of Intern Aware that campaigns for fair, paid internships, criticized a 100-hour-aweek culture at investment banks, saying HR professionals, particularly those in the City, needed to ensure young people were cared for.

But interns doubted it would be possible to change the culture, saying they were never explicitly told to work such long hours but imposed this on themselves in their desperation for a job. “People push themselves because they want an offer with the bank and the chance of a great career and great money,” said one former intern from a major US

bank who secured a job after the summer. “This is a golden path.”

GOLDEN WAGES The pressure to succeed can take its toll on some interns who have about eight weeks over the summer to prove themselves and dare not leave the office before their superiors. Working around the clock was seen as part of the job which can be brutal for years with young bankers swapping stories about trying to get a weekend off a month, working three days without sleep, and negotiating to be freed up for their wedding. But while some burn out and quit the industry, the financial rewards are a major incentive, with new recruits at investment banks starting on a salary of about 50,000 pounds ($80,000) which is about 20 percent higher than other corporate graduates.

“There’s the sense of face time and even if you

don’t have any urgent work you are required to stay late. The culture feeds itself,” said an intern from Merrill Lynch who secured a job but quit after a year with work-related repetitive strain injury. “It takes you about a year to 18 months to realize that it just isn’t worth it. You need to have a life,” said the intern who is now a project manager in the fashion industry. A former intern at HSBC in London, who no longer works at the bank or in the industry, said interns got the worst projects, spending days ploughing through data without argument. “If you can follow instructions then they will like you and that often means staying very, very late doing ridiculous things. It’s partly a culture of intern trying to impress,” said the former intern. With interns unlikely to rebel against working “all-nighters”, Professor Andre Spicer from London’s Cass Business School said the banks themselves needed to impose limits and question just how productive and healthy long hours are.— Reuters

Food worth $6.8 billion rots in India each year NEW DELHI: Food grains, fruits and vegetables worth $6.8 billion go to waste every year in India because of inadequate storage facilities, a minister said. Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said the country’s storage requirement was 61.3 million tons against the current capacity of around 29 million tons, citing a report commissioned last year.

“The present gap is around 32 million tons,” he said in the upper house of the parliament, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. The total wastage of cereals, fruits and vegetables would add up to 440 billion rupees ($6.8 billion) a year, the minister said.

Pawar said the government had initiated various steps to encourage the creation of new storage capacity, which is in focus as the ruling Congress party rolls out a massive new food program to feed the poor. The Food Security law, which the government is attempting to steer through parliament, will offer subsidized grains to nearly 70 percent of the population, or more than 800 million people. Nearly two-thirds of India’s 1.2 billion population still depends on agriculture for their livelihood and the government is the country’s biggest purchaser of produce through its centralized procurement system.

Food grain production during the agricultural year 2012-13 is estimated to have touched a record 255.4 million tons but analysts say the government does not have the warehousing facilities to store the produce. Despite two decades of fast economic growth, India still struggles with endemic malnutrition which affects more than 40 percent of children, prompting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to describe it as a “national shame”.

Cold storage facilities, or refrigerated warehouses, are particularly lacking in India.—AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

BUSINESS

Kuwait bourse remains buoyant BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week in the green zone. The price index closed at 8,104.19 points, up by 0.15 percent from the week before closing, the weighted index increased by 0.46 percent after closing at 463.93 points, whereas the KSX-15 index closed at 1,072.51 points up by 0.49 percent. Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover decreased by 7.02 percent, compared to the preceding week, reaching KD 22.73 million, whereas trading volume average was 233.56 million shares, recording decrease of 11.10 percent.

Kuwait Stock Exchange continued to fluctuate as a result to the speculative operations on the trading activity, which formed a strong pressure factor on the market indices during the week, especially the Price Index, that recorded losses in most of the daily sessions of the week due to the profit collection operations performed on some small-cap stocks.

On the other hand, the stock market witnessed random purchasing operations on few large-cap stocks, which gave some balance and stability to the market indices.

Moreover, the stock market is still suffering from the lower than normal liquidity levels, due to many negative reasons; absence of the real supportive purchasing incentives are on top of the reasons. In addition, the weak investment environment surrounding the listed companies, pushed some investors to a conservative position waiting for companies’ recovery, and pushed some others to perform speculative operations for quick profits.

For the annual performance, the price index ended last week recording 36.57 percent annual gain compared to its closing in 2012, while the

second on the losers’ list, which index declined by 2.18 percent, closing at 1,139.20 points, whereas the Banking sector came in the last losers list, as its index closed at 1,110.43 points at a loss of 0.33 percent.

weighted index increased by 11.08 percent, and the KSX-15 recorded 6.28 percent increase.

Sectors’ Indices Six of KSE’s sectors ended last

week in the green zone, six recorded declines. Last week’s highest gainer was the Industrial sector, achieving 1.80 percent growth rate as its index closed at 1,220.80 points. Whereas, in the second place, the Technology

Connectivity issue between Nasdaq, Arca preceded outage NEW YORK: The vague “connectivity issue” that Nasdaq said triggered the outage that paralyzed a large part of the US stock market on Thursday originated as a problem between Nasdaq and rival NYSE Arca, a source familiar with the matter said Friday.

Nasdaq said the problem started shortly before midday Thursday and quickly cascaded through its Securities Information Processor, or SIP, the system that receives all traffic on quotes and orders for stocks on the exchange, preventing it from disseminating quotes.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said brief outages between exchanges occur from time to time but are short-lived. In such instances, traders receive alerts from an exchange that essentially tell them to rout their order flow elsewhere for a period. Most of these episodes, which may occur several times a week, are resolved quickly. Nasdaq did not respond to requests for additional information beyond a statement issued to traders on Friday. A spokesman for NYSE Euronext, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange and its NYSE Arca platform, denied Arca was involved.

Nasdaq Chief Executive Robert Greifeld, in television interviews on Friday, declined to identify the source of the connectivity problem. The precise nature of the breakdown remains unclear. But the outage, first flagged at 11:48 am EDT (1548 GMT), quickly spiraled out of control and soon left $5.9 trillion of US equities - more than a third of the US stock market - idle for more than three hours. Shares of three of the five largest companies by market value, Apple Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp, typically also among the most active in any session, were unavailable.

A number of market participants and others criticized Nasdaq’s lack of an early public statement on the outage. Nasdaq did not issue a formal press release until late Thursday afternoon, well after the trading

day had ended. “As usual the communication could have been a little bit better. They could improve the communication and the amount of communication,” said Mark Turner, managing director and head of sales trading at Instinet in New York.

Nasdaq CEO Greifeld said the exchange sent messages through its trader alert system and was involved in direct communication with clients.

Nasdaq’s first responsibility was to assure “fair and orderly markets,” Greifeld said on Friday on Fox Business Network, and exchange officials worked first to understand and fix the problem and then to communicate with the securities industry to ensure a smooth restart.

“There was active communication going on,” Greifeld said. “It has shown how horrible the crisis management side is.

Communication was horrid. There is no backup. So we have to focus on the crisis management side,” Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive and co-chief investment officer of Pimco, said Friday on CNBC. In the end, even those who criticized Nasdaq for the pace of its communications, agreed the reopening of trading did go well.

Trading on Friday transpired with no apparent hiccups. Shares of Nasdaq itself, which fell 3.4 percent once trading resumed on Thursday, gained about 1.2 percent.

While worst-case outcomes may have been averted, the outage still was among the most serious in a series of recent technological failures to hit the US securities business, including a software issue at the Chicago Board Options Exchange this spring that delayed the start of trading there for half a day. It was also the latest black eye for Nasdaq, which in May agreed to pay $10 million, the largest penalty ever against a stock exchange, to settle US Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges over its mishandling of Facebook’s initial public offering in 2012.— Reuters

sector ’s index closed at 1,135.69 points recording 1.12 percent increase.

The Financial Services sector was the least gainer as its index achieved 0.47 percent growth, ending the

week at 1,172.55 points.

On the other hand, the Oil and Gas sector headed the losers list as its index declined by 2.48 percent to end the week’s activity at 1,237.05 points. The Health Care sector was

Sectors’ Activity The Financial Services sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 423.96 million shares changing hands, representing 36.30 percent of the total market trading volume. The Real Estate sector was second in terms of trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 31.25 percent of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 364.95 million shares.

On the other hand, the Real Estate sector’s stocks were the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD 31.18 million or 27.44 percent of last week’s total market trading value. The Financial Services sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover was KD 29.34 million represented 25.82 percent of the total market trading value. — Prepared by the Studies & Research Department Bayan Investment Co.

Nasdaq breakdown puts pressure on crisis work WASHINGTON: The latest high-tech disruption in the financial markets increases the pressure on Nasdaq and other electronic exchanges to take steps to avoid future breakdowns and manage them better if they do occur.

The three-hour trading outage on the Nasdaq stock exchange Thursday also can be expected to trigger new rounds of regulatory scrutiny on computer-driven trading. Investors’ shaky confidence in the markets also took another hit.

The exchange returned to a normal trading day Friday, with the Nasdaq composite rising 19 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3,657. Thursday’s outage though “puts a lot more wind in the sails” of regulators’ actions, said James Cox, a Duke University law professor and expert on the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC plans to finalize rules that would put stricter oversight on exchanges, requiring them to routinely test their trading systems, for example. And the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is moving toward reining in high-speed trading.

For Nasdaq, the apparent system failure brings “a gigantic reputation loss,” Cox said. “Three hours without a market: that’s crazy.” The SEC could end up fining Nasdaq over the incident, and the exchange might be put under supervision by an outside monitor, Cox suggested.

Questions about potential dangers of the super-fast electronic trading systems that now dominate the U.S. stock markets ripple again through Wall Street and Washington. Stock trading now relies heavily on comput-

er systems that exploit split-penny price differences. Stocks can be traded in fractions of a second, often by automated programs. That makes the markets more vulnerable to technical failures. The CFTC expects to put forward next week possible approaches for new restrictions and oversight on high-speed trading, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Friday. They said it was a first step toward action by the agency, presenting possible options for new regulations to spark public debate. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the CFTC commissioners haven’t yet voted to open the proposal to public comment.

The Nasdaq episode cracked the midday calm of a quiet summer trading day on Wall Street. Brokers and traders scrambled to figure out what

went wrong. Nasdaq-OMX CEO Robert Greifeld told CNBC on Friday that unspecified, external factors caused the glitch, and that the exchange followed all the proper procedures to correct the problem.

“We all have to be aware of the other person not acting always in the proper way, and you have to have your system be able to handle defensive driving,” Greifeld said. “We’re deeply disappointed with what happened yesterday. We aspire to perfection. We want to get to 100 percent up time.” The shutdown appeared to occur in an orderly fashion and didn’t upset other parts of the stock market.

But it was a major embarrassment.

While hardly as stunning as the “flash crash” that set off a steep and sudden stock-market plunge in May 2010, the Nasdaq disruption some are dubbing

NEW YORK: A television displays news about the Nasdaq on the Nasdaq building in New York. —AP

the “flash freeze” did stir memories of it. After the 2010 market break, regulators “never really developed a fix for it, and these kinds of things are going to continue to happen,” said Michael Greenberger, a law professor at the University of Maryland who was the top market oversight official at the CFTC in the late 1990s. High-speed trading commanded by mathematical formulas rather than people brings “the possibility of a calamity,” Greenberger said.

Regulators need to slow down automated trading by requiring trades to be placed “with human input,” he said. On Thursday, only a few hours after trading ended for the day, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said she will work to finalize SEC rules that would subject US exchanges to tighter oversight of automated trading. “Today’s interruption in trading, while resolved before the end of the day, was nonetheless serious and should reinforce our collective commitment to addressing technological vulnerabilities of exchanges and other market participants,” SEC Chairman Mary Jo White said. The actions Nasdaq takes, or should take, will be closely watched.

Those range from improved testing and backup of its systems to ramping up its crisis management and communicating more clearly with the investing public. The Nasdaq exchange was born of technology and is dominated by the biggest names in the field like Microsoft, Apple and Google.

Thursday’s breakdown followed a series of tech-rooted disasters involving various exchanges.—AP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

BUSINESS

Ahead-Economic data to steer bets on Fed move NEW YORK: Wall Street just went through its weakest three-week period since November, not to mention a panicky spell when the Nasdaq stock market ground to a halt. But that doesn’t mean the pain is over. Next week is unlikely to bring much clarity to the primary issue facing markets: when and by how much will the US Federal Reserve slow its accommodative monetary policy.

Uncertainty, along with what is expected to be anemic trading heading into the Labor Day holiday on Sept 2, could make for a volatile week.

“We’re cautious about the next few weeks, so we’re taking gains now,” said Michael Mullaney, who helps oversee about $9.5 billion as chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust Co in Boston. “It’s not like we’re on the precipice of recession, but there’s not much for investors to get excited about and we’re expecting volatility to pick

T-

up.” Traders had hoped that the Fed’s meeting minutes issued on Wednesday would provide direction about whether the Fed would begin to reduce its $85 billion-amonth of bond-buying in September. Instead, the minutes painted a mixed picture, with some members advocating patience.

The mixed signals create a double-edged sword. While the stimulus has fueled the market’s solid gains in 2013, for the Fed to continue its cheap money policy would signal the economy is too weak to advance without intervention. The CBOE Volatility index, a measure of investor anxiety, is up 16.7 percent over the past three weeks. The Fed has said that the policy change depends on whether the economy meets growth targets, making markets even more sensitive than usual to financial data. Next week will see a report every day. July durable

WALL STREET WEEKLY OULTOOK goods orders are due on Monday while the final reading for the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index will come on Friday. Perhaps the most important will be Thursday’s latest estimate of U.S. gross domestic product for the second quarter. The data is expected to show the economy grew a revised 2.2 percent annualized rate last quarter compared with a 1.7 percent reading last month.

While a weak report would be a bearish sign for the economy, some analysts speculated that a strong reading could have negative implications for the market.

“If GDP comes in above 2.5 percent, that could be problematic because it will suggest that the Fed could take a bigger bite out of stimulus than we are currently expecting,” said Bruce Bittles, chief

Bayt.com weekly report

Self-assessment helps to become a better manager

By Lama Ataya

I

t is said that when an employee quits, they sometimes do not quit the company but their manager. The latest Bayt.com Job Index Survey, August 2013, reveals that one of the most coveted skills employers in the Middle East and North Africa look for in prospective employees is the ability to manage a team (42 percent). The survey results also indicate that apart from junior executives and executive positions, managerial positions make up the third largest type of jobs employers will be hiring for in the next three months.

Moreover, results from previous surveys show demand for talented managers. According to the Bayt.com ‘Workplace Dynamics in the MENA’ poll, June 2013, 43 percent of polled professionals in the region believe that the ideal manager has to be a visionary, a mentor, and a life coach who leads by example. Respondents said that a good manager had to be a team player, but also an assertive commander and a democratic consensus builder.

Managing a team has never been an easy task. While some micro-manage and others macro-manage, some are caught in the middle and are not quite sure which technique to opt for. Experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading job site, believe that there are basics that set apart successful managers from the rest, and the basics start with selfassessment.

Below are the top five elements by the career experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, to help you become a better manager: 1. Vision, mission and values: In order to evaluate yourself, you should first be

clear on your vision, mission and values.

Make sure your personal values are inline with the company’s and that they are well communicated to your team.

Holding informal quarterly meetings with your team is a great way to make sure everyone is aligned with shared values.

2. Goals: Measure your success by setting daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals to you and your team.

Make sure you are all working towards the same objectives and monitor your progress based on pre-set deadlines.

This will help you know how effective your work is.

3. Time management: Remember that time management is key to your own success and that of your team.

Make sure that you split tasks among team members, and perform regular follow-ups to help them manage their time effectively and to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

4. Regular appraisals: Do not wait for formal end-of-year appraisals. Perform them on a regular basis; assess your team and do not shy away from asking for their feedback on your own management techniques. Open channels of communication and honesty are necessary for your team’s success and your own.

5. Leading under pressure: Leading under pressure is one of the main traits of a successful manager. How do you deal with pressure? It is essential to stay calm under all circumstances. You lead a team that looks up to you, so inspire them and guide them especially through difficult times. Working under pressure is not easy but you should be able to get your team and work to safe shore no matter how windy it is.

Microsoft’s stock slumped under Ballmer NEW YORK: When Steve Ballmer took over as CEO in January 2000, Microsoft was the titan of tech and the world’s most valuable company.

Now things have changed.

In the 13 years since Bill Gates handed over the CEO spot, the technology landscape has seen seismic shifts. The Internet bubble popped, erasing paper fortunes built on dot.com companies. Apple’s iPods, iPhones and iPads became ubiquitous. Google became a verb. And Facebook turned social networking into something you do by yourself, instead of surrounded by people at happy hour.

The years have been less kind to Microsoft.

“Complacency and a lack of innovation caught up to them,” said Yun Kim, an analyst at Janney Capital Markets. “It’s their inability to stay relevant beyond the PC.” When Ballmer became CEO, Microsoft had a market value of $604 billion. That heft meant it accounted for nearly 5 percent of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, according to Howard Silverblatt, an analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Now, Microsoft’s market value is $269 billion, less than half of its value when Ballmer came to power. It makes up less than 2 percent of the S&P 500. When Microsoft announced on Friday that Ballmer would step down within

the next year, the company’s shares shot up as much as 9 percent shortly after the markets opened. They came within two dollars of their 52-week high. Microsoft rose $2.36, or 7 percent, to close at $34.75.

Under Gates, Microsoft dominated the software industry throughout the 1990s, and the company’s soaring stock had far-reaching effects. Newly minted “Microsoft millionaires” left to launch tech companies, venture-capital firms and charities. Paul Allen, a boyhood buddy of Gates’ who co-founded the company, bought the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers, and opened a pop culture museum. Gates used his billions to launch the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has influenced national and international policy on health and education.

But under Ballmer, Microsoft’s stock has been a dud, losing 44 percent during his tenure. Still, dividend payments have compensated for some of the slump. An investment of $1,000 in January 2000 would now be worth just $767 after reinvesting dividends, according to data from FactSet. The same investment in Apple would be worth $20,120. From the beginning, Ballmer faced some daunting challenges. —AP

BHUBANESWAR: A village farmer sprinkles fertilizer in a paddy field on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, India, yesterday. The Indian economy, Asia’s third largest, grew 5 percent in the financial year ended March, its slowest in a decade and well off the 8 percent pace it had averaged over those 10 years. —AP

investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co in Nashville. “That would put the stock market in jeopardy.”

The S&P 500 lost 2.7 percent over the past three weeks, taking the benchmark index below its 50day moving average for several sessions. The index closed above the technical measure on Friday, but the light volume may be blurring the technical signal and the S&P may find a floor at its 100-day moving average, now at 1,635.81.

“That should serve as pretty decent support,” said Douglas DePietro, managing director at Evercore Partners in New York, adding that markets would be range-bound between that level and the S&P’s all-time high of 1,709.67, reached earlier this month. “We’ll see a lot of listless trading until the September Fed

meeting,” he said. “We’re in a bit of an information void until then.

There aren’t a lot of catalysts to look forward to and most of Wall Street is on holiday.”

For this week the Dow fell 0.5 percent, the S&P gained 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq added 1.5 percent. Daily trading volume has been among the lightest of the year in recent sessions, as is typical at this time of year. Light volume can amplify market moves, resulting in dramatic intraday swings.

Low volume was dramatically exacerbated on Thursday after a technical issue shut down trading on all Nasdaq issues, equivalent to $5.9 trillion in market capitalization, for more than three hours.

Friday trading was smooth and the day’s gains helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite end a twoweek losing streak, but the Dow posted its third consecutive weekly decline. A few notable companies will report earnings next

week, including Tiffany & Co, Campbell Soup Co and Joy Global Inc. Salesforce.com Inc is also due to report, and investors will scour the results to see if the maker of online sales software can justify its outsized valuation. The stock has a P/E ratio of 99.47, compared with the 15.57 ratio of its peers.

Warnings for third-quarter US earnings are below second-quarter levels but are rising, Thomson Reuters data showed. Negative outlooks are outpacing positive ones for the third quarter by 5.1 to 1, up from a little more than 4 to 1 a week ago. The negative-to-positive ratio for the second quarter was 6.3 to 1. As a result, estimates for third-quarter earnings are down. Growth is estimated at 5.1 percent from a year ago, down from a July 1 estimate of 8.5 percent growth and close to secondquarter’s growth of 4.8 percent, with results in from most companies. — Reuters

Manufacturing firms awake to deals again as economy stirs Firms wary of big takeovers, eye deals under $5bn LONDON: Manufacturers looking for modest bolt-on deals giving them a technical edge are forecast to keep up a steady pace of acquisitions in Europe’s engineering industry this year, with recent cost-cutting meaning plenty of assets are up for grabs. Hints of an economic recovery are encouraging the likes of engineering and auto firms to think about buying technology, components or skills that will grow or complement their core businesses, bankers say, and some are acting now before interest rates rise and make debt more expensive.

However, with global growth projections still fragile and costs under scrutiny, companies will be steering clear of deals with a big price-tag or global scale. “Most transactions are likely to focus on very specific product and customer markets as opposed to large, transformational deals,” said Ben Story, head of UK investment banking and broking at Citi.

“Industrial M&A is largely based around utilising existing capabilities, bundling products and services, gaining access in new geographies and leveraging existing technology to lower costs.”

Thanks to the financial crisis, many firms are restructuring to survive. German engineering group

Siemens is mid-way through a 6 billion euro program of cost cuts.

German steel giant ThyssenKrupp has sold off a number of assets and targeted cost cuts of 2 billion euros.

Swiss engineer ABB has vowed to pull out of low-margin engineering in favor of higher-margin software and systems activities - sending its shares soaring. “The picture is not bright but to stand still would be to step back,” said Christof-Ulrich Goldschmidt, a partner at law firm Clifford Chance.

While the value of industrial deals is down 10.5 percent to $50.8 billion so far this year in Europe - less than half the amount racked up in the pre-crisis days of 2007 - a recent flurry of activity suggests more to come.

France’s Schneider Electric bought British engineer Invensys for 3.4 billion pounds late last month to strengthen its high-margin industrial automation business. Sweden’s Atlas Copco said this week it was buying British vacuum pump specialist Edwards Group in a deal designed to offset deteriorating profits from its mining engineering business. “Companies are focused on doing reasonably sized deals around $1-5 billion that relate directly to their core business or are a very logical extension,” said Reid

Marsh, vice chairman of Barclays investment banking division.

Overall the industrials sector, which includes carmakers and defense companies as well as manufacturers, is still a big earner for bankers, generating the secondbiggest fees, after financials, with a near 15 percent share of the M&A market. After hunkering down for several years, industrial companies now have plenty of money to play with. According to data from Thomson Reuters DataStream, industrial firms are sitting on cash balances of $775 billion globally and $252 billion in Europe. Meanwhile, the prices being paid for industrial companies have dropped. The average deal value to EBITDA multiple the standard industry comparison so far this year stands at 10.1 globally, compared to 12.8 in 2007.

Family-owned German engineering firms are particularly sought after for their expertise and technology. Private equity firm Carlyle said on Friday it had bought Klenk Holz, a German manufacturer of wood products, but did not disclose the price.

Chinese firms are especially keen on the German-speaking market.

Last year, investment group Jinsheng purchased the fibres and textiles unit of Switzerland’s

Oerlikon while Shandong Heavy Industry bought a stake in German fork lift truck maker Kion. However, prying these companies loose from their owners can very tough because many German firms, which contributed to the country’s economic resilience throughout the financial crisis, do not want to give up control.

“There is great interest from our Asian clients in continental European companies, especially in the German speaking world, but the issue is more about availability of targets than anything else,” said Piero Novelli, Chairman of global M&A at UBS. Thus buyers are looking more widely. Bankers say British firms are often second choice after Germany because of the perception they are tightly-run with a flexible working culture.

Among companies being circled right now, British car and plane parts maker GKN and French power and transport engineering firm Alstom are considered cheap and therefore attractive for potential buyers, bankers said. GKN has a price-earnings ratio of about 11.5 times compared to 14 times for its peers, according to Thomson Reuters data while Alstom has a price-earnings ratio of around 6.7 times compared to 10.9 times for peers. —Reuters

Argentina loses appeal in US bond debt case NEW YORK: A US appeals court gave Argentina’s spurned bondholders a substantial $1.4 billion victory on Friday in their lengthy legal battle to collect debts unpaid since the country’s world-record 2001 default. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan unanimously rejected every Argentine argument, saying the country had failed to provide any proof that “cataclysmic repercussions” could result if it’s forced to keep the promises it made in its 1990s bond contracts.

“What the consequences predicted by Argentina have in common is that they are speculative, hyperbolic and almost entirely of the Republic’s own making,” the three-judge panel wrote.

The only good news for Argentina was that the judges stayed payment pending a US Supreme Court appeal. The high court rarely accepts such cases, but the stay probably puts off any final decision until next year, well after Argentina’s congressional elections in October. President Cristina Fernandez has publicly vowed to pay “not one dollar to the ‘vulture funds’,” led by New York billionaire Paul Singer and other US investors, whom she accused of preying on countries in crisis. Argentina’s lawyers even told the judges that her government won’t pay no matter how they rule.

Argentina also made a point backed by the Obama administration and the International Monetary Fund: That the court’s method of forcing payment, by stopping other bond payments if it doesn’t comply, could destabilize the global financial system and make future debt relief much more difficult worldwide.

But the judges said “such cases are unlikely to occur in the future” because “Argentina has been a uniquely recalcitrant debtor.”

“Our role is not to craft a resolution that will solve all the problems that might arise in hypothetical future litigation involving other bonds and other nations,” the judges added.

Argentine officials have warned that the impact of a ruling against the country could be severe, since a novel payment formula already generally upheld by the appellate court last year could prompt the South American government to default again if it doesn’t comply.

But the judges essentially said the Fernandez government would only have itself to blame if that happens. Activists who believe that powerful lenders should take a backseat to a country’s citizens during sovereign debt crises criticized the ruling.

“The religious community is saddened by today’s decision as it hurts poor people around the globe,” Eric LeCompte said in a statement from the Jubilee USA Network, a religious anti-poverty campaign.

“Our eyes are on the US Supreme Court. We pray the court will not forget the world’s poor as they consider taking the case.”

But Theodore B Olson, a lawyer for bondholder Elliot Management Corp., said the decision was sound. “Today’s unanimous, well-reasoned decision appropriately condemns Argentina’s persistent violation of its obligations and its extraordinary defi-

ance of the laws of the United States and the orders of U.S. courts,” Olsen said in a statement. “It confirms that Argentina is not above the law.”

Fernandez made no immediate comment about the ruling, which came down as she met privately with top ministers inside her official residence in

gested by NML: He would hold the Bank of New York and other US financial institutions in contempt if they don’t become the court’s enforcers, blocking Argentina’s efforts to pay other bondholders if it hasn’t first paid the plaintiffs an equal amount.

The proposed formula sent shudders through

BUENOS AIRIES: A woman walks in front of Argentina’s Central Bank in Buenos Aires.

A US appeals court dealt Argentina a blow Friday in the lengthy legal battle over the country’s massive 2001 default, upholding a ruling ordering it to pay $1.4 billion to bondholders. — AP suburban Buenos Aires. The US case stems from Argentina’s financial crisis a dozen years ago, when the government defaulted on $100 billion in debts, and some investors scooped up nearly worthless Argentine bonds. Fernandez’s late husband, President Nestor Kirchner, eventually offered creditors new bonds that initially paid less than 30 cents for each dollar of bad debt. More than 90 percent of bondholders agreed; the rest sued.

This small fraction of bondholders, many of whom bought the debt securities at cut-rate prices, demanded that Argentina make good on its promises to pay 100 percent plus interest in the event of a default. US District Judge Thomas Griesa agreed, and ordered payment in cash of $1.3 billion, plus interest to Singer’s NML Capital Ltd. and 18 other holdout creditors.

When Argentina issued the bonds in 1994, it promised to treat them “at least equally with its other external indebtedness,” the appeals court wrote.

“As we have held, by defaulting on the bonds, enacting legislation specifically forbidding future payment on them, and continuing to pay interest on subsequently issued debt, Argentina breached its promise of equal treatment.”

Exasperated with Fernandez’s refusal to pay, Griesa finally agreed with the drastic approach sug-

the international bond business last year and prompted dozens of friend-of-court objections, including warnings from the US Treasury, the US Federal Reserve and the nation’s leading banks that the judge’s remedy mustn’t do anything to slow down the system that smoothly handles electronic transfers of trillions of dollars in transactions every day. The judges countered that their ruling “affirms a proposition essential to the integrity of the capital markets: borrowers and lenders may, under New York law, negotiate mutually agreeable terms for their transactions, but they will be held to those terms.” Economist Arturo Porzecanski, an emerging markets specialist at American University in Washington, said no other country in modern history has so stubbornly refused to honor its commitments, not only to repay sovereign debts but also to comply with arbitration rulings and pay membership fees to international lending organizations. For all these reasons, he said it’s not likely that the ruling will harm any country other than Argentina. “We’ve never seen such a rogue sovereign debtor like we’ve had in Argentina. Thanks to that, we’ve now seen the limits of what’s possible, what’s the meaning of all those financial contracts, what’s the potential for collecting,” Porzecanski said. “This is legal history in the making.”—AP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

BUSINESS

Wataniya Telecom partners with Landmark Group Wataniya Telecom provides its ‘Nojoom’ Rewards Program customers with 20% discount at Centrepoint and Home Centre at ‘The Avenues’ KUWAIT: Wataniya Telecom has recently announced that Landmark Group is one of the newest additions to its Wataniya Rewards Program “Nojoom”. This partnership stems from Wataniya’s mission to expand and enrich its network of partners as part of the best loyalty program in Kuwait and in an effort to maintain cus-

tomer satisfaction and meet customer expectations.

Now, and for a limited time only, “Nojoom” members will be able to get a 20% discount on all items at Centrepoint and Home Centre located in the basement of “The Mall” (Phase 3) at the Avenues. The customer would only need to show their

membership details by calling *5## to avail the benefits and the offer will be valid until 10th of September, 2013.

Wataniya Telecom proudly expressed its delight again regarding the partnership with Landmark: “Wataniya’s efforts continue to find new ways to provide members with a wide range of choices on rewards

because they deserve to be appreciated and valued for their loyalty and dedication.”

All Wataniya customers can enroll in the Wataniya Rewards Program “Nojoom” for free by sending an SMS with the letter R to 129 or by visiting the website www.wataniya.com/nojoom and start earning points on every service they use.

NBK among 50 safest banks in the world Recognition eighth time in a row KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), for the eighth consecutive

time, has been listed among the 50 safest banks in the world. NBK

ranked 37 on the list, illustrating the success of the bank’s conservative

strategy, prudent risk management and dedication to service excellence.

NBK is the only Arab bank to be listed among the 50 safest banks in the world for the eighth consecutive time. NBK ranked above several international financial heavyweights including US Bancorp and Bank Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. The rankings, compiled by international finance magazine, Global Finance, are based on evaluations of longterm credit ratings-from Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratingsand total assets of the 500 largest banks worldwide. Global Finance’s annual ranking of World’s 50 Safest Banks has been a recognized and trusted standard of creditworthiness for the entire financial world for more than 20 years.

NBK continues to enjoy collectively the highest ratings among all banks in the Middle East from the three international rating agencies Moody’s, Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor’s. The Bank’s ratings are supported by its high capitalization, prudent lending policies, and its disciplined approach to risk management, in addition to its highly recognized and very stable management team.

Qatar Airways raises baggage allowance Check-in up to 30kg in economy, 40kg in business and 50kg in first Class DOHA: Effective 1 September 2013, passengers flying Qatar Airways routes worldwide will have enhanced baggage allowances with additional baggage weight allowed per person.

Economy weight allowances have increased from 23kg to 30kg while Business and First Class have each increased from 30kg and 40kg to 40kg and 50kg respectively. The number of bags remains the same and dependent on the type of ticket purchased. The increased weight allowance does not apply when travelling to

points that are regulated by per-piece allowance.

“Revising our standard baggage allowance comes at a time whereby the number of destinations we fly is increasing and our global reach is broadening,” said Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker. “The number of customers we see travelling for longer periods of time, whether for busi-

ness or on holiday, reflects the necessity for increased baggage allowance no matter their destination.

Those passengers who have travelled prior to 1st September will be able to take advantage of the increased baggage allowance on their return trip if travel is on 1st September or later. The Company will also publish new Excess Baggage rates in September which will also see an increase. Passengers will be able to purchase Excess Baggage at discounted rates of up to 20%

on qatarairways.com. Privilege Club members will continue to enjoy excess baggage allowance in addition to the new increased baggage allowance.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 129 aircraft to 128 key business and

leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas.

Qatar Airways has so far launched six destinations - Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman), Basra (Iraq) and now Sulaymaniyah (Iraq).

Over the next few weeks and months, the network will grow further with Chengdu, China (September 3), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (September 18), Clark International Airport, Philippines (October 28) and Philadelphia, USA (2 April 2014).

Notes to Editors: Qatar Airways was presented with three honors at the annual Skytrax 2013 World Airline Awards held during the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, France in June. The airline was awarded World’s Best Business Class, World’s Best Business Class Lounge and, for the second consecutive year, Best Airline Staff Service in the Middle East. The airline has also been named Best Airline in the Middle East for the seventh year in a row, and its Premium Terminal at Doha International Airport named Best Premium Service Airport for the third consecutive year in 2013. Qatar Airways has also twice been recipient of the prestigious Skytrax Airline of the Year Award in 2011 and 2012.

Skytrax is the only global independent passenger survey monitoring airline standards and is considered the ultimate benchmark for excellence in the airline industry.

Qatar Airways currently has orders worth over $50 billion for more than 250 aircraft, including Boeing 787s, 777s, Airbus A350s, A380s and A320 family of aircraft. Qatar Airways will become the first of the major Gulf carriers to join a global alliance having been invited into the one world group. For more information, visit www.qatarairways.com

For more information on Wataniya’s services and products, please visit www.wataniya.com , or follow them on Twitter www.twitter.com/wataniyatelecom , or check latest updates on www.facebook.com/wataniya or get the latest news on Wataniya’s blog www.wataniya.com/blog.

3 KD5,000 winners in NBK’s Al-Jawhara weekly draws KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announces the three lucky winners in AlJawhara weekly draws during the month of August.

NBK has re -launched Al-Jawhara account by offering customers more chances to win bigger prizes; KD 5,000 weekly, KD 125,000 monthly and a grand prize of KD 250,000 quarterly.

Salwa Ali Mohamad, Jamal Ismaeel Ibraheem and Abdullah Rashed Alhajri each won KD 5,000. The winners expressed their gratitude and thanked NBK for its great services and promotions.

Al-Jawhara is one of Kuwait’s leading cash prize accounts offering numerous benefits to its customers. Not only is it an interest-free account with regular deposit and withdrawal privileges, it also entitles account holders to enter the weekly, monthly and quarterly Al-Jawhara draws.

Each KD 50 in an Al-Jawhara account entitles the customer to one chance in any of the draws. All prizes are automatically credited to the winners’ accounts the day after the draw.

The more money held in Al-Jawhara account, the greater the chances of win-

ning. Al-Jawhara account is available to both Kuwaitis and expats and can be opened at any of NBK’s branches in Kuwait.

For further information visit www.nbk.com, or call Hala Watani at 1801801.

Chevrolet’s golden prices from Yusuf A Alghanim & Sons Automotive KUWAIT: Yusuf A Alghanim & Sons, the exclusive distributor of Chevrolet vehicles in Kuwait, has introduced golden Chevrolet offers throughout the month of August on 2013 Chevrolet vehicles that was launched at the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. The offer includes a wide range of Chevrolet vehicles, Tahoe, Silverado, Traverse, Malibu, Cruze, Captiva, TrailBlazer and Camaro.

Yusuf A Alghanim & Sons Automotive offers Kuwaitis and all who resides in the country with its best wishes on the occasion of the blessed Eid Al Fitr. The company offers a wide range of Chevrolet vehicles at reasonable prices, providing all the opportunity to own a Chevrolet of their choice. Visit any of Yusuf A Alghanim & Sons Automotive’s showrooms and choose any Chevrolet model that suits your lifestyle including the Chevrolet Tahoe starting at KD9,777, the powerful Silverado starting at KD5,777, the family-friendly and advanced Traverse starting at KD8,222, Chevrolet Malibu starting at KD5,444, the elegant Cruze starting at KD4,444 and the stylish sporty Captiva starting at KD5,999, and the rugged Trailblazer starting at KD6,999 as well as the sporty and sleek Camaro that starts at KD9,999.

A beloved choice amongst the youth in Kuwait, the high-powered Silverado which proves to be the ultimate answer for any terrain, be it rough rides in the desert or leisurely outings.

Available in two and four-wheel-drive configurations, the Silverado is powered by a 4.8, 5.3 or 6.0liter engine that generates 360 hp on three Silverado models which are the 1500, 2500 and the 3500. The Silverado comes in regular, extended or crew cab, all of which merge smart technology and features an independent air conditioning unit and Stabilitrak. The Tahoe is the ideal SUV that contains features sought by the youth, fans of powerful cars, top executives as well as families who seek spacious, solid cars that conveniently and comfortably transport them downtown or carry them through the great outdoors. Tahoe is equipped with an 8-cylinder, 5.3-liter V8 engine with 6-speed automatic transmission with overdrive and reaches up to 320 hp. The Tahoe has proven to be the ultimate vehicle of choice for any need or want due to its rich features and security measures that comprise of eight airbags, ABS, Stabilitrak, Cruise Control and remote engine starter.

The offer also includes the elegant Chevrolet Cruze, a car that continues to evolve into one of Chevrolet’s most impressive vehicles in its segment, offering competitive amenities, quietness, safety features and space expected of a larger

sedan, but still providing the efficiency and value of a compact car. Now available with the new infotainment system ‘MyLink’, the sleek and sporty 2013 Cruze offers more value for customers than ever. Chevrolet MyLink is the brandnew and sophisticated infotainment system, which brings smartphone capabilities into the vehicle. Chevrolet MyLink aggregates content from a smartphone onto the seven-inch, high resolution, full color touch-screen display. Apart from its large sunroof, the Cruze is equipped with ABS, Stabilitrak, USB connectivity, airbags, Bluetooth, rearview camera, Cruise Control and remote engine starter plus 16-inch alloy wheels and fog lamps. The Cruze also proves to be the

economical luxury 4-wheel drive as it is powered with a 1.8-liter engine that generates an impressive 140 hp.

Apart from the remarkable features and the attractive prices, customers will enjoy excellent customer service, quality maintenance options and competitive prices on spare parts, all of which are provided to you by a team of professional and skilled technicians and team members.

An element that further enhances customers’ peace of mind is Yusuf A. Alghanim & Sons Automotive’s service center that is distinguished by its continuous and successful efforts in providing the highest quality of services. 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.

Visit any of Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons Automotive’s four showrooms and choose your favorite Chevrolet car to benefit from this limited time offer.

Palm Utilities honored as key investor partner by Dubai Quality Group DUBAI: Palm Utilities (PU), a Dubai World company, has recently entered into an agreement with Dubai Quality Group (DQG) by which PU will be an Investor Partner of DQG for the first time. The agreement was signed by Marwan Al-Naqi, CEO of Palm Utilities and Dr Yousef AlAkraf, Chairman of DQG, in the presence of Badriya Al-Tamimi, Managing Director of DQG. Under the partnership, both parties will collaborate on promoting excellence and quality performance in business. PU will have access to the various workshops, trainings, seminars, conferences and other special events organized by DQG annually to provide networking, information exchange, workplace and professional development opportunities across all types of businesses. It will also be able to participate in various DQG-initiated benchmarking activities and site visits. DQG, on the other hand, will benefit from PU’s invaluable joint support in organizing qualityfocused initiatives and spreading a culture of

business excellence in Dubai and across the UAE. Palm Utilities is an ideal addition to DQG’s membership. PU was founded to provide world-class solutions that address the cooling and water requirements of residential communities and business establishments in the

region. Aside from being acknowledged as a technology innovator, PU is also acclaimed for adhering to the highest performance, safety and environmental sustainability standards in all of its services.

Marwan Al-Naqi, CEO of Palm Utilities, said: “Dubai Quality Group has proven time and

again its exceptional ability to incorporate the highest levels of quality and excellence within an organization, regardless of size or nature.

Being a DQG member will positively impact our operations and business by giving us access to dedicated resources and knowledge that will not only complement but improve

further on our own quality-related programs in critical areas such as innovation, sustainability and strategic planning. Our inclusion as an Investor Partner in DQG will enable us to sustain our achievements in setting quality standards and benchmarks within our organization.”

“The Middle East has one of the most competitive business landscapes in the world. Our partnership with DQG will enable us to not only thrive and excel in this kind of environment but benefit as well from the various business opportunities it holds. We thank DQG for accepting us into its fold and assure them of a very fruitful collaboration with our organization,” he added.

Dr Yousef Al-Akraf, Chairman of DQG, said: “We look forward to maintaining a highly productive and mutually beneficial partnership with Palm Utilities. The various projects we shall jointly engage in will significantly impact our continuing efforts to promote quality and excel-

lence in business. We are committed to expanding our cooperation and helping Palm Utilities achieve its own strategic objectives as a qualitydriven business organization.”

Palm Utilities was founded in January 2007 as a subsidiary of Dubai World. It offers integrated services in the utility domain, with a base comprising 15,200 end users and 388 towers owned by 180 developers. It ranks among the world’s major private utility companies with an asset portfolio of 14 district cooling plants and an extensive suite of customers care services.

Dubai Quality Group (DQG) is a non-profit business organization established by the Dubai Department of Economic Development in 1993 under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum. Guided by the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, DQG develops and promotes Quality and Business Excellence practices throughout the UAE.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

technology

Mothballed telescope gets new life as asteroid hunter Targets for new robotic relocation mission also eyed CAPE CANAVERAL: NASA will reactivate a mothballed infrared space telescope for a threeyear mission to search for potentially dangerous asteroids on a collision course with Earth, officials said on Wednesday. The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, telescope also will hunt for targets for a future mission to send a robotic spacecraft to rendezvous with a small asteroid and relocate all or part of it into a high orbit around the moon.

Astronauts would then visit the relocated asteroid during a test flight of NASA’s deepspace Orion capsule, scheduled for launch around 2021. Orion and a heavy-lift rocket called the Space Launch System are slated for an unmanned debut test flight in 2017. NASA is spending about $3 billion a year for Orion and Space Launch System development.

Launched in December 2009, the WISE telescope spent 13 months scouting for telltale infrared signs of asteroids, stars, distant galaxies and other celestial objects, especially those too

dim to radiate in visible light. As part of its all-sky mapping mission, WISE observed more than 34,000 asteroids in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and another 135 asteroids in orbits that come close to Earth.

Overall, scientists cataloged more than 560 million objects with WISE. Most of the telescope’s instruments were turned off when its primary mission was completed in February 2011.

NASA plans to bring WISE out of hibernation next month and operate it for another three years, at a cost of about $5 million per year, said NASA spokesman Dwayne Brown. “After a quick checkout, we’re going to hit the ground running,” WISE astronomer Amy Mainzer, with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement.

NASA already has found about 95 percent of the near-Earth asteroids that are .62 miles (1 km) or larger in diameter. The agency is about halfway through a 15-year effort to find 90 percent of all near-Earth objects that are as small as

about 459 feet (140 meters) in diameter.

The search took on a note of urgency after a small asteroid blasted through the skies above Chelyabinsk, Russia, in February 2013 and exploded with 20- to 30 times the force of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. More than 1,500 people were injured by flying glass and debris. Later that same day, a much larger but unrelated asteroid soared closer to Earth than the networks of communication satellites that ring the planet.

The events prompted Congressional hearings and new calls for NASA and other agencies to step up their asteroid detection initiatives. The Obama administration proposes to double NASA’s $20 million Near-Earth Objects detection programs for the 2014 fiscal year beginning Oct 1. About 66 million years ago, an object 6 miles (10 km) in diameter smashed into what is now the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, leading to the demise of the dinosaurs, as well as most plant and animal life on Earth. —Reuters

Canon spies opportunity as camera growth cools

FREMONT: In this file photo, Tesla CEO Elon Musk waves during a rally at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif. —AP

Hyperloop travel idea gains fans LOS ANGELES: Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk released rough plans last week for a “Hyperloop” that would shoot capsules full of people at the speed of sound through elevated tubes connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Then he urged the public to improve on them.

Now the race is on.

A US firm hustled out a model using a 3-D printer. Another company is testing a virtual Hyperloop with sophisticated computer software. In San Francisco, enthusiasts interested in “making Hyperloop a reality” will meet over beers. Meanwhile, Musk himself has put aside the project and returned to his established transportation ventures: luxury electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. and the rocket-building company SpaceX. In principle, the Hyperloop is possible.

The concept pulls together several proven technologies: Capsules would float on a thin cushion of air and draw on magnetic attraction and solar power to zoom through a nearly airfree tube. Because there would be so little wind resistance, they could top 700 mph (1,125 kph) and make the nearly 400-mile (643-kilometer) trip in about half an hour.

Actual construction would hinge on chal-

lenges far more complex than advanced engineering - those involving money and politics.

Musk projected a $6 billion cost, but some say that’s too low. Others suggested his timeframe of a decade to completion was naive - that getting political backing and environmental clearances, much less land to build the tubes on, would be hugely time-consuming.

Conspicuously absent was a commitment that Musk would sink substantial money into the project anytime soon - if ever. On a call with reporters, Musk suggested he might build a “subscale” test version in a few years if the idea was floundering.

One thing Musk was clear about: The public should participate in questioning, modifying and, ultimately, perfecting his proposal (http://www.spacex.com/hyperloop). And in that respect, there has been no lack of enthusiasm. At the computer simulation software firm ANSYS, engineers are designing and testing a virtual model. Sandeep Sovani, the company’s director of Global Automotive Industry, said he has long been intrigued by tube travel (an idea that predates the Hyperloop by a century) and wanted to do a model both out of intellectual curiosity. —AP

At a Glance: Microsoft CEO Ballmer’s ups and downs Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced on Friday that he plans to retire from the world’s biggest software company after more than 13 years at its helm. Here’s a look at the ups and downs of his tenure: 1980: Ballmer joins the company cofounded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975.

July 21, 1998: Widely seen as the successor to chairman and longtime friend Gates, Ballmer is named president of the software company. He’d previously led Microsoft’s sales and marketing.

Sept 23, 1999: Ballmer warns that technology stocks are overvalued, including those of his own company, in public remarks that help accelerate a sharp selloff on Wall Street. He blames a “gold rush” mentality for the stock price increases.

Jan 13, 2000: Gates promotes Ballmer to CEO of Microsoft while staying on as chairman and chief software architect.

Nov 15, 2001: Microsoft releases its Xbox video game system, one of the company’s most successful products.

March 26, 2004: At a conference for online advertisers, Ballmer says Microsoft’s biggest mistake was failing to develop its own search engine, which caused it to fall behind rivals Google and Yahoo in the space. “That’s probably the thing I feel worst about over the last few years,” says Ballmer. Ballmer vows to put more money into research and development of search technology at Microsoft.

May 4, 2006: Ballmer says MSN Search, Microsoft’s search engine, is gaining steam against rivals, but still trails Google and Yahoo.

November 13, 2006: Microsoft launches the Zune music player, its answer to Apple’s iPod. The company discontinues the Zune five years later, in 2011.

Feb 1, 2008: Microsoft makes unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo for $44.6 billion. Microsoft withdraws its offer months later due to resistance from Yahoo.

April 12, 2010: Microsoft unveils the Kin phone, an attempt to compete with Apple’s iPhone. The phone was discontinued two months later.

May 10, 2011: Microsoft announces it will buy Internet phone service Skype for $8.5 billion.

Oct 25, 2012: Microsoft holds a launch event in New York for Windows 8, a major overhaul of its ubiquitous computer operating system.

May 7, 2013: Microsoft says it will retool Windows 8 to address complaints and confusion. Microsoft also discloses that it has sold more than 100 million Windows 8 licenses.

July 11, 2013: Ballmer announces a sweeping restructuring of the company to cope with the quickening pace of technological change and competitive challenges presented by Apple and Google.

July 18, 2013: Microsoft books a $900 million write-down for slashing the price of its Surface RT tablet. Its revenue and earnings come short of Wall Street forecasts in the April-June quarter.

Aug 23, 2013: Microsoft says Ballmer will retire in the next 12 months after 33 years with the company. —AP

TOKYO: Nosy governments and nervous homeowners, among other drivers of the surveillance society, may soon upstage amateur photographers as the focus for big camera makers such as Canon Inc who spot growing opportunities in the security market. Canon, the industry leader, has been hit with a sudden downturn in shipments of its top-end digital cameras, an increasingly saturated market sensitive to the recent slowdown in emerging economies and with a receding pace of innovation.

Add to that a compact camera market that has been battered by smartphones with increasingly high-resolution cameras, and companies like Canon have been left scrambling for new markets. “A major focus for the next phase is increasing our business-to-business (B2B) sales, and of course security cameras - which is a huge market is part of that,” Canon President and CEO Fujio Mitarai said in an interview.

Canon is looking beyond digital cameras - the last consumer gadget industry still dominated by Japan Inc - and targeting industrial and corporate clients, much like Japanese peers such as Panasonic Corp which fell prey to foreign competition in TVs and other consumer electronics. Canon sees surveillance cameras, which research firm IHS forecasts will swell by two-thirds to a global market of $23 billion by 2017, as a wide-open playing field with no dominant suppliers and an ideal target for its B2B ambitions.

The company, which counts the U.S. Secret Service as a customer, aims to reach annual sales from the sector of about $1 billion during its next five-year plan from 2016, Mitarai said. Panasonic said its security camera division posted sales of 13.4 billion yen ($136 million) in the latest quarter and it was aiming for annual growth of 15 percent. Sony Corp said it was also aiming to leverage its image sensor technology to become a major player in the sector.

B2B, or not to be?

The market is booming as concerns mount over crime and security, even as headlines stir worries about covert governmental and corporate surveillance operations.

Japan is the third-biggest market for security cameras behind China and the United States, with the switch to networked digital systems from analogue CCTV devices stimulating demand even in saturated markets such as Britain, which had one surveillance camera for every 16 people in 2012, according to IHS. “The market is growing quite quickly, and is forecast to grow the most in Asia,” said Jon Cropley, principal analyst for video surveillance at IHS. “But it’s a highly fragmented and competitive market with lots of companies involved.

Coming up with a unique selling point can be difficult.”

Canon says its lens and sensor technology will position it well to shoot to the top of the sector, which is packed with smaller firms but few major players besides Sweden’s Axis AB. It faced a similar challenge when it targeted the thenfledgling digital camera market more than a decade ago: a fast-growing, fragmented market that was just beginning to mature, when it marched in with a broad product line and proceeded to dominate it. Canon claimed more than a fifth of the total digital camera market in 2012, and 43 percent of the high-end market for interchangeablelens cameras.

But this year their reliable high-end camera business has turned unexpectedly sour, with analysts reversing a double-digit growth forecast to a double-digit decline.

Worldwide shipments of Canon’s interchangeable-lens cameras fell 6.7 percent in the first six months of this year, a sharper decline than the industry average of 5 percent, according to data from the Camera and Imaging Products Association of Japan.

“It appears over the past nine months the interchangeable market has entered a new phase of maturity,” said Chris Chute, research director of digital imaging at International Data Corp, which last week reversed its forecast for the market of an 11.9 percent increase to an 11.3 percent drop. “A strategy that camera companies have to take is to diversify away from one of their traditional reliably profitable markets,” Chute said. “If anything, I see Canon being one of the leaders moving away from the consumer sector.”

Mitarai, who returned to the helm last year to help turn around a slide in profit, says he is already steering the company in that direction in the hope of reducing its dependence on the consumer market for 70 percent of its sales. He also said the company is constantly on the lookout to spend some of its 700 billion yen ($7.1 billion) cash pile on an M&A deal to achieve that - whether in security cameras or in another of the cutting-edge technologies it is exploring. “Security cameras are going to become an important pillar for us,” Mitarai said. “We’ve already made it a separate division, and think that the global market has limitless possibilities for growth.” —Reuters

MIAMI: VA Community Living Center resident Chuck Rivenvurgh III uses the new Getwell Network using an assistive adaptor, also called a sip and puff device, to change the television channel on the bed side all in one system in Miami, Florida. —MCT

High-tech hospital room monitors tap medical care TVs in your hospital room are so yesterday. In the near future, flat-screen terminals mounted on the wall or near your bedside may offer a lot more than entertainment. Patients will be able to surf the Internet, order their meals, communicate with nurses and view their latest X-rays - all through interactive patient care systems. Educational videos on managing medical conditions, prescription orders and medical records all can be flashed on the same screen where patients view dozens of television channels and just-released movies.

“The nice thing is it really puts the patient in the driver’s seat,” said Gary Harper, a registered nurse specializing in information management and communication at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center in Riviera Beach, Fla., where 259 high-tech terminals should arrive by year’s end. “And it will help the nurses give even better care.” West Palm Beach VA is one of six veterans hospitals in Florida that are scheduled to have systems installed in the next year, according to GetWellNetwork Inc., the Maryland technology company handling the project.

Hospital technology experts predict interactive systems, which have been around for more than a decade, will start taking off for one simple reason: They make patients happier. And that could make a big difference to a hospital’s bottom line. Medicare now collects patient satisfaction data and cuts reimbursements for facilities performing poorly, said Nathan Larmore, a principle and practice leader at Sparling, a Seattle-based technology consulting firm advising the health care industry.

And using interactive tools to get patients more involved in their care also should reduce hospital readmissions, Larmore said, which is another factor affecting reimbursements. “In the past, hospitals looked at bedside technologies that improved a patient’s experiences as luxuries. But once they were mandated to focus on patient satisfaction, there was renewed interest,” Larmore said.

“Hospitals being built in the last eight years are starting to look more like hotels, which is the industry where some of this technology has come from.”

Larmore estimates about 10 percent to 15 percent of acute care hospitals nationwide currently have interactive patient terminals. Cost has been the reason many have held back, he said, as systems can run “several hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars” per room.

“Project managers are used to spending millions of dollars on a fancy lobby, but not several hundred dollars on a television system,” Larmore said. Many of the early adopters have been children’s hospitals, he said, “because kids focus on their environment and adapt to the technology.” Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Fla., has replaced televisions with interactive monitors. The GetWell Town system, a pediatric product from

GetWellNetwork, was part of the new Joe DiMaggio building construction in 2011, then later was expanded into the original hospital.

“When we were doing the new building, we talked to the kids about what they wanted and they said a computer in their room,” said Michelle Barone, director of patient and family centered care for Joe DiMaggio and Memorial Regional Hospital, also in south Florida. “They wanted to be able to get on the Internet and watch movies without waiting for a volunteer to bring them a DVD.” GetWell Town does all that - plus has medical education videos, a hospital-wide game show, and an interface that lets young patients bring in their own Xbox or Wii games.

Barone said Memorial has discussed bringing interactive systems to the adult hospitals, “but right now, it’s all about the numbers,” she said. “When kids are in the hospital, we go above and beyond to cheer them up. We forget that when you’re an adult, you want to be coddled a little, too.”

The VA, which has its own federal health care funding, believes the monitoring systems will greatly improve life for veterans residing in their Community Living Centers, which will be the among the first units to get the terminals. The Miami VA, the first Florida veterans hospital to receive its systems, started the $2.4 million project in June, installing 230 units in the living center and some in-patient rooms.

Chuck Rivenburgh III, 43, is one of four paralyzed vets in Miami’s living center who got a “sip and puff” adapter, allowing him to flip through 48 television channels and pick from among 30 recently released movies by blowing through what looks like a double-pronged straw. The monitor is mounted on a flexible arm attached to the wall, allowing it to be pulled close to Rivenburgh’s bedside.

Rivenburgh, who served in the Army during Desert Storm but was injured after returning home, has lived at the VA hospital for 14 years. Before the GetWell system, he said he was limited to 14 TV channels, none of which included NFL football. He is thinking of adding a keyboard to his tray table so he can access the Internet through his bedside monitor rather than at the computer on the other side of his crowded room.

“My TV is on pretty much all day long, so all these functions are a huge improvement,” he said.

Louis Marcus, GetWell’s interactive patient care manager for the South Florida VA installations, said the system will be upgraded so that doctors and nurses can leave notes, check pain levels and allow patients to order meals. Such terminals will become even more valuable as medical records go electronic, Marcus said. As for the veterans: “The feedback has been great,” Marcus said. “I had one family who was visiting sit down with me for half an hour and tell me how grateful they were.” —MCT

Nokia says committed to India despite difficulties NEW DELHI: Finnish telecom giant Nokia said yesterday it is in talks with India’s government about how to create a better business climate and remains “committed” to its manufacturing plant in the country. The statement followed an Indian Express newspaper report Friday that said the mobile maker had told New Delhi the country is now its “least favourable market” in which to operate and it made better sense to export its products from China.

“Nokia can confirm that it has been in discussions with the central government and state government over ways to bring greater clarity to the business environment in India,” the company said in an emailed statement to AFP. “These discussions have been both constructive and productive, and both sides have worked in a true spirit of cooperation,” the company added.

Foreign direct investment in India has slowed sharply amid mounting domestic economic woes including a plunging rupee, a huge current

account deficit, slowing growth and perceived government policy paralysis. A string of tax disputes embroiling Nokia and other multinationals including Cadbury Royal Dutch Shell and Vodafone has also deterred investors. Nokia, fighting a 20-billion rupee ($311 million) tax demand from Indian authorities, did not elaborate on the contents of its talks with the government.

The Indian Express report Friday said Nokia had urged the government to “act quickly to correct the wrong perception of India as a place for business”. It quoted the phonemaker as saying “the political risk of operating in India” has become “suddenly substantially higher and may inevitably influence future decisions to develop one’s operations in India”. But Nokia said in its statement it remained “committed” to India which remains a “priority market” and its Chennai plant plays an “integral part in our global manufacturing strategy”. —AFP

Apple’s grip on China tablet market loosens SEOUL: Apple’s grip on China’s tablet market has loosened as Asian tech companies increase sales with cheaper Android tablet computers, a market report showed yesterday. Dickie Chang, senior market analyst at research firm IDC, said Apple supplied 28 percent of tablet computers in China during the April-June quarter, down from 49 percent dominance a year earlier. The iPad maker was still the biggest tablet supplier in China, its key growth engine, but its momentum has slowed.

Apple sold 1.48 million iPads in the period, up 28 percent over a year earlier, but sales of Galaxy tablets made by Samsung Electronics Co. quadrupled to 571,000 units. Samsung claimed 11 percent tablet market share, up from 6 percent. Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, said earlier this year that it

aims to double its annual sales of tablet computers, hoping to close the gap with Apple.

China’s Lenovo and Taiwan’s ASUS and Acer also had a surge in their market share.

Chang said these companies benefited from offering cheaper tablets and from consumer familiarity with the Android operating system that is used in many smartphone models. “If Apple cuts the price of previous generations of product like it did in phones, then more consumers would love to buy Apple’s iPad,” he said in an email. China is a key market for consumer technology companies as growth in sales of smartphones and tablets slows in developed countries. Apple CEO Tim Cook told the official Xinhua News Agency in January that China will become the company’s biggest market. —AP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Fluids, cool air key to avoiding heat stroke A medical emergency

CALIFORNIA: Ninety four year-old Taiwanese Miao Kuei Chu signs autographs for fans at a theater in Monterey Park, California yesterday, where he was one from a group of octogenarian bikers who were featured in a Taiwan film ‘Go Grandriders’ who arrived at the theater to greet fans. The group of some seventeen motorcycle-riding Taiwanese octogenarians, some of whom were battling arthritis, cancer and heart disease, first completed a 730 mile journey in 2007 around Taiwan in 13 days, and part of that group has been in California since mid-August touring the state with American counterparts as part of the release of the documentary ‘Go Grandriders’ with hopes to inspire others t follow. —AFP

Get the facts on cystic fibrosis WASHINGTON: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease characterized by an abnormality in the glands that produce sweat and mucus.

It is chronic, progressive, and is usually fatal.

Due to improved treatments, people with CF, on average, live into their mid to late 30s.

Cystic fibrosis affects various systems in children and young adults, including the following: Respiratory system, Digestive system and Reproductive system About 30,000 people in the US are affected with the disease, and about 1,000 babies are diagnosed with it each year. It occurs mainly in Caucasians, who have a northern European heredity, although it also occurs in AfricanAmericans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans.

Approximately one in 31 people in the US are carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene. These people are not affected by the disease and usually do not know that they are carriers.

How does CF affect the respiratory system?

The basis for the problem with CF lies in an abnormal gene. The result of this gene defect is an atypical electrolyte transport system within the cells of the body. The abnormal transport system causes the cells in the respiratory system, especially the lungs, to absorb too much sodium and water. This causes the normal thin secretions in our lungs to become very thick and hard to remove. These thick secretions put the child with CF at risk for constant infection.

The high risk of infection in the respiratory system leads to damage in the lungs, lungs that do not work properly, and eventually death of the cells in the lungs.

Due to the high rate of infection in the lower respiratory tract, people with CF may develop a chronic cough, blood in the sputum, and sometimes can even have a collapsed lung.

The cough is usually worse in the morning or after activity.

People with CF also have involvement of the upper respiratory tract. Some patients have nasal polyps that need surgical removal.

Nasal polyps are small protrusions of tissue from the lining of the nose that go into the nasal cavity. Children also have a high rate of sinus infections.

How does CF affect the gastrointestinal (GI) system?

The organ primarily affected is the pancreas, which secretes substances that aid digestion and help control blood-glucose levels.

As a result of the abnormal electrolyte transport system in the cells, the secretions from the pancreas become thick and lead to an obstruction of the ducts of the pancreas.

This obstruction then causes a decrease in the secretion of enzymes from the pancreas that normally help to digest food. A person with CF has difficulty absorbing proteins, fats, and vitamins A, D, E, and K. The problems with the pancreas can become so severe that some of the cells in the pancreas can become destroyed. This may lead to glucose intolerance and insulindependent diabetes.

About 35 percent of CF patients develop this type of diabetes in their 20s, and 43 percent develop the disease after 30 years of age.

Symptoms that may be present due to the involvement with the GI tract include: bulky, greasy stools; rectal prolapsed (a condition in which the end part of the bowels comes out of the anus); delayed puberty, fat in the stools, stomach pain, bloody diarrhea.

The liver may also be affected. A small number of patients may actually develop liver disease. Symptoms of liver disease may include: enlarged liver, swollen abdomen, yellow color to the skin, vomiting of blood.

How does CF affect the reproductive system?

Most males with CF have obstruction of the sperm canal known as congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD). This results from the abnormal electrolyte transport system in the cells, causing the secretions to become thick and lead to an obstruction and infertility. Women also have an increase in thick cervical mucus that may lead to a decrease in fertility, although many women with CF have children.

Symptoms may include: 1. Abnormalities in the glands that produce sweat and mucus. This may cause a loss of salt. A loss of salt may cause an upset in the balance of minerals in the blood, abnormal heart rhythms, and, possibly, shock.

2. Thick mucus that accumulates in the lungs and intestines. This may cause malnutrition, poor growth, frequent respiratory infections, breathing difficulties, and/or lung disease.

3. Other medical problems, such as: sinusitis, nasal polyps, clubbing of fingers and toes, pneumothorax (the presence of air or gas in the pleural cavity causing the lung to collapse), hemoptysis (coughing blood), Cor pulmonale (enlargement of right side of heart), abdominal pain, gas in the intestines, rectal prolapsed, liver disease, diabetes, pancreatitis , gallstones The symptoms of CF differ for each person.

Infants born with CF usually show symptoms by age two. Some children may not show symptoms until later in life.

The symptoms of cystic fibrosis may resemble other conditions or medical problems.

Therefore it’s always best to consult a physician for a diagnosis to be sure.

Most cases of cystic fibrosis are now identified with newborn screening. In addition to a complete medical history and physical examination, diagnostic procedures for cystic fibrosis include a sweat test to measure the amount of sodium chloride (salt) present. Higher than normal amounts of sodium and chloride suggest cystic fibrosis.

Other diagnostic procedures include: chemical tests, chest X-rays, lung function tests, sputum cultures, stool evaluations.

A cure would call for gene therapy at an early age and this has not been developed yet, although research is being done in this direction. The gene that causes CF has been identified and there are hopes that this will lead to an increased understanding of the disease.

Also being researched are different drug regimens to help stop CF. Goals of treatment are to ease severity of symptoms and slow the progress of the disease.

Treatment may include: Management of problems that cause lung obstruction, which may involve: Physical therapy, Exercise to loosen mucus, stimulate coughing, and improve overall physical condition, Medications to reduce mucus and help breathing, Antibiotics to treat infections, Antiinflammatories, Management of digestive problems, which may involve: Appropriate diet, Pancreatic enzymes to aid digestion, Vitamin supplements, Treatments for intestinal obstructions Newer therapies include lung transplantation for patients with end-stage lung disease.

The type of transplant done is usually a heartlung transplant, or a double lung transplant.

Not everyone is a candidate for a lung transplant. Discuss this with your physician.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease, which means it is inherited. A person will be born with CF only if two CF genes are inherited-one from the mother and one from the father. A person who has only one CF gene is healthy and said to be a “carrier” of the disease.

A carrier has an increased chance of having a child with CF. This type of inheritance is called “autosomal recessive.” “Autosomal” means that the gene is on one of the first 22 pairs of chromosomes which do not determine gender, so that the disease equally affects males and females.

The birth of a child with CF is often a total surprise to a family, since most of the time (in eight out of 10 families) there is no previous family history of CF. Many autosomal recessive conditions occur this way. Since both parents are healthy, they had no prior knowledge that they carried the gene, nor that they passed the gene to the pregnancy at the same time. Testing for the CF gene can be done from a small blood sample or from a cheek swab, which is a brush rubbed against the inside of your cheek to obtain cells for testing. Laboratories generally test for the most common mutations. (There are many people with CF whose mutations have not been identified.) —MCT

HARVARD: Summer’s heat is as predictable as winter’s chill. Heat-related illnesses-and even deaths-are also predictable. But they aren’t inevitable. In fact, most are preventable. Staying hydrated is the key.

No matter what the season, your body functions like a furnace. It burns food to generate chemical energy and heat. Some of the heat is used to keep your body temperature in the high 90s. The rest you have to get rid of. The body has two main ways of getting rid of excess heat: Radiation. When the air around you is cooler than your body, you radiate heat to the air. But this heat transfer stops when the air temperature approaches body temperature.

Evaporation. Every molecule of sweat that evaporates from your skin whisks away heat. But as the humidity creeps above 75 percent or so, there’s so much water vapor in the air that evaporation becomes increasingly difficult.

Most healthy people tolerate the heat without missing a beat. It’s not so easy for people with damaged or weakened hearts, or for older people whose bodies don’t respond as readily to stress as they once did. Damage from a heart attack can keep the heart from pumping enough blood to get rid of heat.

A number of medications can limit the body’s ability to get rid of excess heat. These include beta blockers, which slow the heartbeat; diuretics (water pills), which can make dehydration worse by increasing urine output; and some antidepressants and antihistamines, which can block sweating. A stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and other conditions can dull the brain’s response to dehydration.

There are three different levels of heart-related illness: Heat cramps. These painful muscle spasms are usually triggered by heavy exercise in a hot environment. Inadequate fluid intake is usually the culprit. The remedy: slow down, tank up with

water, stretch and gently massage the tight muscle, and get out of the heat.

Heat exhaustion. When body temperature begins to climb, physical symptoms such as weakness, headache, nausea, muscle cramps, profuse sweating, and flushed, clammy skin may appear.

Heat exhaustion also affects mental clarity and judgment, which may appear as confusion or lethargy. Drinking water is essential. A cool shower or bath, ice packs to the skin, or other strategies to lower body temperature are also important.

Heat stroke. There are two distinct forms of heat stroke. Classic heat stroke tends to affect people who can’t escape the heat, or can’t physically cope with it. Exertional heat stroke strikes individuals who do vigorous physical activity in the heat, such as youthful football players at a summer training camp, firefighters battling a summer blaze, Marine recruits, and weekend warriors.

Heat stroke is a medical emergency. It starts out looking like heat exhaustion, but its symptoms are more severe, and they progress more quickly, as lethargy, weakness, and confusion evolve into delirium, stupor, coma, and seizures.

Body temperature rises drastically, often exceeding 105 degrees or 106 degrees.

Heat stroke is a killer because it damages the heart, liver, kidneys, brain, and blood clotting system. Survival depends on prompt transfer to a hospital for aggressive treatment.

It can be hard to tell where heat exhaustion ends and heat stroke begins. Both can be mistaken for a summer “flu,” at least at first. Be on the lookout for: Nausea or vomiting, Fatigue, Headache, Disorientation or confusion, Muscle twitches If you think you are having heat-related problems, or if you see signs of them in someone else, getting to an air-conditioned space and drinking

cool water are the most important things to do. If these don’t help or the symptoms persist, call your doctor or go to a hospital with an emergency department.

Even during the nastiest heat wave, the numbers are in your favor; relatively few people have heat strokes, and fewer die. Some simple choices can help you weather the weather. An ounce of prevention will go a long way, but for heat-related illnesses, a quart is even better.

Drink to your health. The lower your coolant level, the greater your chances of overheating.

Unfortunately, staying hydrated isn’t always easy.

Stomach or bowel problems, diuretics, a faulty thirst signal, or low fluid intake can all interfere.

On dangerously hot and humid days, try downing a glass of water every hour.

Go easy on sugary soda and juice, since they slow the passage of water from the digestive system to the bloodstream. And don’t rely on caffeinated beverages or alcohol for fluid because they can cause or amplify dehydration.

Take it easy. Turn procrastination from a vice to a virtue by putting off exercise or other physical activity until things cool down. Evening and early morning are the best times to get out. If you do exercise, drink more than you usually do.

Cool is cool. Chilled air is the best way to beat the heat. Fans work, but only to a point-when the air is as warm as you are, sitting in front of a fan is about as helpful as sitting in front of a blow dryer.

If you don’t have an air conditioner, spending an hour or two in an air-conditioned movie theater or store, or with an air-conditioned neighbor, can help. So can a cool shower or bath, or putting a cold, wet cloth or ice pack under your arm or at your groin.

Eat light. Stick with smaller meals that don’t overload your stomach. Cold soups, salads, and fruits can satisfy your hunger and give you extra fluid.

Revolutionary cataract surgery yielding better results NEW YORK: Cataract surgery is one of the most common medical procedures conducted in the United States, and as Baby Boomers continue to age, they are flooding procedure rooms and surgical centers in droves.

Ever y year, nearly a million cataract operations are conducted, and usually with overwhelming success, but a revolutionary new procedure is yielding even better results.

Cataracts can be exacerbated by overexposure to ultraviolet light, diabetes, or hypertension, but the most common cause is good, oldfashioned aging.

People begin to see the affects of clouding at around age 55. Some who suffer from cataracts notice a “veiled glare” as light is scattered by the cataract into the eye. People suffering from this report: Difficulty reading, Difficulty seeing close objects, Difficulty seeing to drive, especially at night, Changing glasses prescriptions, .

Needing bifocals Cataracts develop slowly, they are painless, and many patients report not even noticing a decrease in the quality of their vision until they visit an eye doctor.

During traditional cataract surgery, the crystalline lens is removed and a plastic implant replaces it.

The new lens becomes part of your eye and you can’t see or feel it. For people suffering from this clouding, the surgery is safe, quick and is like a miracle cure, restoring vision to people who have lived much of their fifties and sixties in an ocular cloud.

Although the results for the traditional procedure are generally very good, the old way and the materials associated with it are not perfect.

In the past, plastic lens implants were only monofocal, providing visual clarity at one distance, usually far away, but seeing things up close, like reading a book, maga-

zine or street sign, could still require glasses.

Now available in many doctor’s offices is a miraculous advancement in the way surgeons treat cataracts. It is called multi-focal intraocular cataract surgery. The surger y, about 15 minutes in length, is even quicker, and safer than traditional cataract surgery.

The best part is, patients can see equally as well, far away, at intermediate distances and close up.

The new lens mimics the young eyes we used to have.

A doctor removes the cataract and then implants the multi-focal Intraocular Lens behind the iris where the cataract used to be.

Unlike the old procedure, which includes a 10 millimeter incision in the eye, the new operation is done

with a laser and the incision is a fraction of the size of the old one.

Using a procedure called phacoemulsification or phaco, the doctor will make a microscopic incision in the eye, and insert a phaco probe to break up the cloudy lens and remove it.

The new method is quick-healing, patients do not need stitches and can be back on the golf course or at the bowling alley within 24 hours. Patients have reported some minor haloing, or rings around street and headlights while driving at night, but as the eyes begin to eventually adjust to the surgically implanted lenses, patients may see this haloing diminish, or completely disappear, over time.

Patients do have to use eye drops for several weeks after the

operation, but compared to the old procedures, which included stitches which remained in the eye for days or even weeks, intraocular lenses are a marked improvement.

This is an out-patient procedure, conducted using only a local anesthetic, and clients are usually able to leave the doctor’s office within an hour, and they will likely not need to return to an optometrist for this problem for the rest of their lives.

The price is reasonable, and insurance companies usually pay for the surgery, but patients may, in some cases, have to dig into their own pockets for the cost of the lenses, but that might be a small price to pay for the ability to see the world the way it was meant to be viewed. —MCT

Russian spacewalkers encounter faulty equipment CAPE CANAVERAL: A pair of spacewalking cosmonauts installed a new telescope mount on the International Space Station on Thursday despite a flaw in the device.

Russians Fyodor Yurchikhin and Aleksandr Misurkin - making their second spacewalk in under a week - initially were told to give up trying to plug in the 6-foot platform for a yet-tobe-launched telescope.

But after more than an hour of discussion at Russian Mission Control outside Moscow, the decision was reversed and the cosmonauts installed it.

Yurchikhin and Misurkin reported that the base of the platform appeared to be misaligned because it wasn’t assembled properly on the ground. The problem could prevent the future telescope from pointing in the right direction.

“We cannot spend a lot of time here,” one of the cosmonauts complained as they struggled with the equipment.

They hauled the platform back to the hatch and went to work inspecting antenna covers; one of the protective shields came loose

Monday and floated off.

But engineers determined the 90-degree misalignment could be overcome at a later date.

So the cosmonauts lugged the telescope platform back to the work site and secured it.

They had removed a laser communication experiment from that spot earlier, even though it was tough working in that location.

“Tight quarters up here as far as anything to grab onto,” one of the cosmonauts commented in Russian. “You got that right,” replied the other.

(The English translation does not identify the speakers.)

The spacewalkers also unfurled and waved a Russian flag that they took out in honor of Russia’s Flag Day. “Now we can see the flag of our Motherland,” one of the cosmonauts said in an impromptu speech.

Earlier, the cosmonauts ran into some difficulty tightening the antenna covers.

Because of the flyaway cover, the cosmonauts double-checked the remaining protective shields to make sure they were secure. At least two were loose, one by a lot. NASA said the lost

cover posed no risk to the 260-mile-high outpost.

NASA, meanwhile, has suspended all U.S. spacewalks while the investigation into last month’s near-drowning continues. An Italian astronaut’s helmet filled with water during a spacewalk on July 16. He barely made it back inside. The water is believed to have originated from the suit’s cooling system.

The spacesuits used by the Russians are different.

The two cosmonauts had smoother sailing during last Friday’s spacewalk, performing cable hookups for a new Russian lab that is supposed to lift off from Kazakhstan sometime next year. The launch had been targeted for December, but recently was delayed until at least spring.

Several times during Thursday’s six-hour spacewalk, the radio lines screeched so loudly that the cosmonauts’ voices could not be heard

by Russian Mission Control. “We should be wearing ear plugs here,” someone commented in Russian. —AFP

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E “We are physicians from different specialties with a specific interest in public health advocacy and promotion. We, also, aim to increase awareness among the Kuwaiti public regarding a variety of diseases and conditions and to rectify the misconceptions they may have. Since our group consists of multiple physicians we decided to write under the pen name of L’homme en Blanc.”

Social Admission

“F

awaz! Fawaz?” the despaired calls of a frail, blind old man lying bed ridden in a hospital bed, for his absent son, go unanswered.

The phenomenon of “social admission” is not new in Kuwait; it is the act of admitting patients into the hospital that have no new medical ailment. At times, when the stress of taking care of loved ones suffering from a lifelong condtion becomes too great, there is an increasing tendency to deliver them to the nearest hospital, reciting vague complaints as the reason for referral. It seems that many are under the false belief that if they hand over the responsibility of nurturing and caring for our family to medical professionals, then they must be receiving better care.

However, that is not the case, since in a hospital setting, only ongoing medical issues are dealt with, and once any patient is deemed fit for discharge home, that is where they ought to be. For in a medical institute, our grandfathers, our mothers, our family, will not find what they need most: some tender loving care. If we are unable to provide the love, care, and compassion that our blood relatives need, why are we expecting overworked strangers to do so?

Additionally, anyone exposed to the hospital environment is at risk of developing a hospital-acquired (or nosocomial) infection. These infections are especially dangerous since they tend to be resistant to multiple medications. For the elderly, it will be exponentially difficult to fight off these super bugs as their immunities are weakened. Persons with a weakened immunity are not always successful in their attempt to combat strong pathogens. Data from the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance system for the period 1986-1990 indicated that persons over the age of 65 accounted for 54% of all nosocomial infections.

Furthermore, these admissions are depriving actual patients of their rights for adequate and thorough medical care, as time, effort, and resources are split between the ill and the bed-keepers. Therefore, it is recommended to only admit patients into the hospital if it absolutely necessary. Stay healthy, Kuwait!

L’Homme en Blanc

Better sleep without pills Try lifestyle changes NEW YORK: The world looks very different at 3 am when you’re lying in bed staring at the ceiling-or worse, the clock. All you do is worry, “How will I make it through tomorrow without any sleep?” If you often have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, you might have thought about trying sleeping pills. Although these medicines can help you drift off to sleep, they also can have side effects, including an increased risk for falls and morning drowsiness that can make next-day driving dangerous. That’s why in January, the US Food and Drug Administration began requiring manufacturers to lower the recommended dosage of hypnotic sleep aids containing zolpidem (such as Ambien).

Before turning to medication, it’s important to identify whether you even have a sleep problem.

“Some people are bothered that they wake up at all, but they wake up, go to the bathroom, and go right back to sleep. There’s nothing wrong with that,” explains Dr Hadine Joffe, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Taking 20 minutes to fall asleep also doesn’t necessarily mean you have a sleep issue, she says.

If you regularly can’t get to sleep or stay asleep and it’s affecting you during the day, then you may have insomnia. But before you take medicine to help you sleep, Dr Joffe recommends trying lifestyle interventions-such as avoiding caffeine and sticking to a regular sleep schedule. It can also be helpful to see a doctor so you can find out whether a medical condition is causing your sleep troubles.

There are several reasons why sleep problems are especially com-

mon in women, says Dr. Julia Schlam Edelman, clinical instructor in obstetrics and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and author of “Harvard’s Successful Sleep Strategies for Women.”

“One is the obesity rate. Sixtyfive percent of women are overweight. And overweight women are more likely to have sleep-disordered breathing,” she says. Sleep-

severe that you want to try medicine to help you sleep. Before grabbing a bottle of sleeping pills off the drugstore shelf however, try following the steps outlined in “Sleep Problems and Solutions” (below). If these steps don’t work, see your doctor, who can rule out any medical causes for your sleep issues.

You can start by trying a natural

disordered breathing often refers to obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the airway becomes periodically blocked during the night. This blockage temporarily cuts off airflow, leading to snoring and frequent sleep interruptions.

Health issues such as a thyroid condition, anemia, menopausal hot flashes, heartburn, incontinence, and depression can also affect both the quality and quantity of sleep. And the medicines you take to treat health conditionsincluding beta blockers for high blood pressure, cold remedies containing alcohol, and migraine remedies with caffeine-can all disrupt sleep.

Sometimes insomnia is so

sleep aid, such as melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycle.

“Melatonin tends to be effective for women over 55,” Dr. Edelman says. It’s also safe, with few side effects. Valerian root is another herbal sleep remedy. It can have side effects, though, including headaches.

You may need to turn to overthe-counter or prescription sleep medicines if insomnia is having a real impact on your health and daily function, says Dr Joffe. Check with your doctor before taking any sleep aid-even ones you purchase without a prescription.

“Over-the-counter sleep aids can be addictive, and they can interact with other medications,”

Dr. Edelman says.

Only use prescription sleep aids such as eszopiclone (Lunesta), ramelteon (Rozerem), zaleplon (Sonata), or zolpidem (Ambien) as a last resort when other treatments haven’t worked. Because these medicines can worsen sleep apnea, discuss with your doctor whether you might have sleep apnea.

To take prescription sleep aids safely, “You always need to be cautious about dosing,” Dr Joffe says.

Ask your doctor whether you can start on the lowest-dose, shortestacting sleep aid possible. As you get older, your body processes and removes medicine more slowly than it did when you were younger. Also make sure you have the number of hours recommended on the package available to sleep, so you’re not groggy the next morning.

Here are some common sleep problems and how to treat them: Problem: I’m tired, but I just can’t fall asleep.

Solution: Try lifestyle changes, avoiding factors that might be keeping you awake. Limit caffeine and alcohol (especially before bedtime); make sure your bedroom is cool, dark, and comfortable; and turn off all electronics (including the book you’re reading on your tablet computer) one hour before bed.

Problem: I get seven or eight hours of sleep a night, but when I wake up I’m exhausted. Also, my partner says I snore.

Solution: See your doctor, who might order a sleep study to test you for sleep apnea.

Problem: My joints ache so much that I can’t fall asleep.

Solution: Ask your doctor about arthritis pain relievers, such as non-

steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids.

Problem: I’m too stressed out to sleep.

Solution: Try stress-relieving techniques, such as meditating, taking a warm bath, or listening to music. Before you go to bed, Dr Joffe suggests writing down a “worry list” of everything that’s on your mind. Once the worries are on paper, it can be easier to put them aside. “It’s such a simple thing but it’s very effective,” she says.

Problem: My legs twitch, tingle, and itch so uncontrollably that I can’t fall asleep, and once I do fall asleep I keep waking up.

Solution: You could have restless legs syndrome (RLS). Your doctor might suggest stretching or massaging your legs before bed.

You can also take a warm bath. If lifestyle interventions don’t work, there are medicines available to treat RLS. Problem: I keep waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

Solution: Limit caffeine and alcohol, which can increase the urge to urinate. Stop drinking fluids a few hours before bedtime.

And use the bathroom right before you get into bed. If you’re taking diuretic medicines, talk to your doctor, because they could be contributing to the problem.

Problem: My heartburn is keeping me awake.

Solution: Try raising the head of the bed 4 to 6 inches. Eat dinner at least two to three hours before bedtime, and don’t eat anything too heavy. Avoid foods that can trigger heartburn, such as chocolate, coffee, caffeinated drinks, spicy foods, and fatty foods. —-MCT

W H AT ’ S O N

KD 770 donated to KRCS

by Build-A-Bear Workshop

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

Greetings

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ongratulations to Aslam and his wife Thabassum on their wedding day! Best wishes from brother Anwar Basha, Sajida Begum, Parvez, Faiz, Ashraf, Ayaan, Father Mohd Khasim, Mother Khatun Bee and Kalesha (Chotu), Shahida, Shajia and near and dear ones from Kuwait and India.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

B

uild-A-Bear Workshop, the brand where children make their very own stuffed toys, has raised KWD 770 for autism in partnership with charitable organisations in the local community.

This GCC-wide initiative has seen Build-ABear Workshop tie up with the Kuwait Red Crescent Society and generated donations through the sales of its Champ Bear.

“The Build-A-Bear Workshop creed is to make a difference in all the communities in where we operate. Through the kindness of our Guests, and our partnerships with local charities, we always aim to operate as a socially responsible entity that engages with society and gives as well as receives,” said Paul Marks, Build-A-Bear Workshop General Manager.

A percentage of proceeds from sales, and in particular Champ Bear, has been donated to Charitable Organisations involved with autism research, and care and intervention for those with autism throughout the Holy Month of Ramadan.

“Autism is a very important issue that is as relevant in the GCC as it is worldwide, and we are delighted to be able to contribute towards fund raising and support through our partners and Guests. The holy month of Ramadan was a particularly fitting time for this drive as it encourages charity, reflection, kindness and community-mindedness,” he said.

Shaima of Kuwait Red Crescent Society expresses her gratitude to The Build-A-Bear Workshop(r). “We sincerely appreciate the support and compassion from Build-A-Bear Workshop. It has been a profound experience to work with them and we hope to maintain this relationship in the future. A big thank you from our team!” said Shaima. Build-A-Bear Workshop(r) is the world’s only global company that offers an interactive make-your-own stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience. In fifteen years of operation, it has focused on creating unique and memorable experiences for children and adults alike, while also engaging with communities through charitable works and social initiatives.

Najla Al-Naqqi Forum hosts poet Al-Rashid

Announcements 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 above-mentioned purpose only.

T

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 ww.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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Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

The Najla Al-Naqqi Forum hosted poet Al-Nana Al-Rashid from the Western Sahara in a recent event, attended by Kuwaiti social figures including Sheikha Nawal AlSabah, Kuwait Journalists Association Consultant Dr Ayed Al-Manna’a, and Kuwait Human Rights Society member Samira Al-Manna’a.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information

‘Cross Cultural Diwaniya’ held

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ocal youth groups Equait and Global Aid Kuwait organized their first monthly Cross Cultural Diwaniya in Rawdha, in an effort to bridge the gap between the Kuwaiti and expat community through progressive discussion on certain issues within Kuwaiti society. The Diwaniya was moderated by Equait Founders Faisal Al-Fuhaid and Leanah AlAwadhi along with Global Aid Kuwait Founder Abir AlMutawa.

Equait is a youth-driven organization founded and run by Faisal Al-Fuhaid and Leanah Al-Awadhi and is associated with the We Are Family Foundation’s Three Dot Dash program, where Al-Fuhaid is an official Global Teen Leader. Equait works to promote social equality and respect towards Kuwaiti residents from all walks of life. Through events like Model United Nations, food rallies and walkathons, Equait aims to

make Kuwait a more open and accepting environment.

Global-Aid Kuwait is an organization founded by Abir Al-Mutawa and run by her along with the Global Aid interns. Their main purpose is to give voices to those who are not able to speak for themselves, whether it is because of status or because of conditions, which may be war, poverty or the lack of resources.

The Diwaniya was organized to promote progressive dialogue; the main goal was to encourage acceptance of different views and to overcome any prejudice or bias as well as allow people to converse and learn something regarding Kuwait that they may not already know.

The Diwaniya was a big success as the organizers managed to draw a full house of 35-40 people, which included diplomats, political experts, students and

young activists. Topics ranged from how women are portrayed in Kuwaiti society to comparing certain situations between Kuwait and other countries.

What was unique about the cross-cultural Diwaniya was that it encouraged the idea of safe space environment, where the attendees are not judged regardless of looks, gender, race, religion, nationality and, most importantly, opinion.

With the success of the first Diwaniya, Equait and Global Aid Kuwait will continue organizing the event monthly with their next Cross Cultural Diwaniya due to be hosted on September 2 from 6:30 pm-9:00 pm.

Judging from the first turnout, there is no doubt that this Diwaniya will bridge many gaps between various members of Kuwait’s society.

EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Embassy of Australia has announced that Kuwait citizens can apply for and receive visit visas in 10 working days through www.immi.gov.au. All other processing of visas and Immigration matters are handled by the Australian Visa Application Centre located in Al Banwan Building, 4B, 1st Floor, Al Qibla Area, Ali Al Salem Street, Kuwait City. Visit. www.vfs-augcc.com for more info. The Embassy of Australia does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters is conducted by the Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: Info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VIS), immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office), Tel: +971 4 205 5900 (VFS), Fax: + 971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). Notary and passport services are available by appointment. Appointments can be made by calling the Embassy on 22322422. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-imenquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE For the Argentinean citizens who had not already enlisted in the embassy’s electoral register, and taking in consideration the elections which was held on Sunday 11/08/2013, it is necessary to justify they no vote by presence at our embassy which located in (Mishref - Block 6 - Street 42 - Villa 51) and should present the DNI and/or the Argentinean Passport. The Embassy of the Argentine Republic in the State of Kuwait avails itself of this opportunity to renew the assurances of its highest consideration. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF 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, Al-Qibla 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 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 I-20.

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 OF UKRAINE The Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait would like to inform that submission of the documents for tourist visa is temporary closed (from August 26 till September 26). Within the above-mentioned period, the visa will be issued only in the case of emergency. In the case of planning travel to Ukraine, please apply for visa before August 20. 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

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 In Search Of The Giant Anaconda 01:35 Animal Cops Houston 02:25 Charles & Jessica: A Chimp Tale 03:15 My Cat From Hell 04:05 My Pet’s Gone Viral 04:30 My Pet’s Gone Viral 04:55 Animal Cops Houston 05:45 Wild Appalachia 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Meerkat Manor 07:25 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 08:15 Venom Hunter With Donald Schultz 09:10 Austin Stevens: Most Dangerous...

10:05 Escape To Chimp Eden 10:30 Dick‘n’Dom Go Wild 11:00 The Most Extreme 11:55 Wild Hawaii 12:50 Kingdom Of The Elephants 13:45 Investigation Earth With Jeff Corwin 14:40 Lion Man: One World African Safari 15:05 Lion Man: One World African Safari 15:35 Bondi Vet 16:30 Talk To The Animals 16:55 Talk To The Animals 17:25 My Cat From Hell 18:20 Call Of The Wildman 18:45 Call Of The Wildman 19:15 Austin Stevens Adventures 20:10 In Search Of The King Cobra 21:05 Charles & Jessica: A Chimp Tale 22:00 The Animals’Guide To Survival 22:55 Lion Man: One World African Safari 23:20 Lion Man: One World African Safari 23:50 Untamed & Uncut

00:05 00:55 01:45 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:05 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:15 13:40 14:05 14:30 14:55 15:20 15:45 16:10 16:35 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:15 18:40 19:05 19:30 19:55 20:45 21:35 22:25 23:15

World’s Scariest Kidnap And Rescue First Week In How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? Fast N’Loud Fantom Works Driven To Extremes Gold Divers Alaska: The Last Frontier Ice Cold Gold Aircrash Confidential Destroyed In Seconds Destroyed In Seconds How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made How It’s Made Auction Hunters Auction Hunters Auction Hunters Auction Hunters Auction Hunters Border Security Border Security Border Security Border Security Border Security Mythbusters Head Games Dynamo: Magician Impossible Derren Brown: Fear And Faith Head Games

00:05 00:30 01:00 01:50 02:45 03:35 04:25 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00

The Tech Show Mean Green Machines Mega World Mega World Mega World Mega World Mega World The Gadget Show The Tech Show Alien Mysteries Extreme Bodies

07:50 Curiosity 08:40 The Gadget Show 09:05 The Tech Show 09:30 How Tech Works 13:50 Mean Green Machines 14:20 The Gadget Show 14:45 The Tech Show 15:10 Extreme Bodies 16:00 Mighty Ships 16:55 Junk Men 17:20 Junk Men 17:45 The Science Of Star Wars 18:35 Nextworld 19:30 Extreme Bodies 20:20 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Tech Show 22:00 Curiosity 22:50 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 23:40 The Gadget Show

00:45 01:35 02:30 03:25 04:20 05:10 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:35 10:30 11:20 11:45 12:10 12:35 13:05 13:55 14:50 15:45 16:40 17:35 18:00 18:25 19:20 20:10 21:05 22:00 22:55 23:50

00:00 00:20 00:45 01:05 01:30 01:50 02:15 02:35 03:00 03:20 03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:30 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:15 10:35 10:40 12:15 12:35 13:00 13:25 13:45 13:50 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50

Crime Scene Wild Crime Scene Wild Mummy Autopsy Mummy Autopsy Mummy Autopsy Empire Empire 3 Men Go To New England 3 Men Go To New England Prehistoric Disasters Prehistoric Disasters The Neanderthal In U.S. Ultimate Cars A Racing Car Is Born Ultimate Cars A Racing Car Is Born I Shouldn’t Be Alive I Shouldn’t Be Alive...

I Shouldn’t Be Alive...

Delta Divers Treasure Quest The Aviators The Aviators Secrets Of...

Bombay Railway Bombay Railway Delta Divers Bombay Railway Bombay Railway The Aviators

Stitch Stitch A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Replacements Replacements A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Replacements Replacements A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Jessie That’s So Raven That’s So Raven Jessie A.N.T Farm Shake It Up Austin And Ally Dog With A Blog Teen Beach Movie First Look Johnny Kapahala: Back On Board A.N.T Farm Good Luck Charlie Dog With A Blog Austin And Ally Teen Beach Movie First Look That’s So Raven That’s So Raven A.N.T Farm Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Jessie

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 23:10 23:35

Dog With A Blog A.N.T Farm Shake It Up Shake It Up Shake It Up A.N.T Farm A.N.T Farm A.N.T Farm A.N.T Farm Dog With A Blog Austin And Ally Jessie Shake It Up That’s So Raven Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up A.N.T Farm Austin And Ally Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place

00:05 Special Agent Oso 00:15 Imagination Movers 00:40 Jungle Junction 00:55 Jungle Junction 01:10 Handy Manny 01:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 02:00 Little Einsteins 02:25 Special Agent Oso 02:40 Special Agent Oso 02:50 Imagination Movers 03:20 Handy Manny 03:40 Special Agent Oso 03:50 Special Agent Oso 04:00 Timmy Time 04:10 Imagination Movers 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Jungle Junction 05:15 Jungle Junction 05:30 Little Einsteins 05:50 Special Agent Oso 06:00 Special Agent Oso 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Jungle Junction 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:30 Higglytown Heroes 07:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:10 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 08:35 The Little Mermaid 09:00 The Hive 09:10 Doc McStuffins 09:20 Zou 09:35 Henry Hugglemonster 09:50 Henry Hugglemonster 10:00 Sofia The First 10:25 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 10:45 Sofia The First 11:15 Sofia The First 11:40 Sofia The First 12:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 12:05 Higglytown Heroes 12:20 The Hive 12:30 Doc McStuffins 12:45 Doc McStuffins 13:00 Zou 13:15 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 13:30 Henry Hugglemonster 13:45 Henry Hugglemonster 13:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 14:45 Higglytown Heroes 14:55 The Hive 15:05 Sofia The First 15:35 Sofia The First 16:00 Sofia The First 16:25 Sofia The First 16:45 Art Attack 17:10 Lilo And Stitch 17:35 The Little Mermaid 18:00 The Hive 18:10 Henry Hugglemonster 18:25 Henry Hugglemonster 18:35 Sofia The First 19:00 Timmy Time 19:10 Pajanimals 19:25 Doc McStuffins 19:35 Zou 19:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:05 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:20 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 20:25 Pajanimals 20:35 Doc McStuffins 20:45 Mouk

PROWL ON OSN ACTION HD

06:00 Kid vs Kat 06:10 American Dragon 06:35 Kickin It 07:00 Phineas And Ferb 07:20 Phineas And Ferb 07:45 Lab Rats 08:10 Lab Rats 08:35 Phineas And Ferb 09:00 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 09:30 Max Steel 09:55 Slugterra 10:20 Crash & Bernstein 10:45 Kickin It 11:10 Lab Rats 11:35 Pair Of Kings 12:00 Phineas And Ferb 12:10 Phineas And Ferb 12:30 Scaredy Squirrel 13:00 The Suite Life Movie 14:35 Phineas And Ferb 14:45 Phineas And Ferb 15:00 Phineas And Ferb 15:10 Phineas And Ferb 15:25 Lab Rats 15:50 Slugterra 16:15 Max Steel 16:40 Kickin It 17:05 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 17:15 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 17:30 Crash & Bernstein 17:55 Pair Of Kings 18:20 Lab Rats 18:45 Phineas And Ferb 19:10 Scaredy Squirrel 19:35 I’m In The Band 20:00 Crash & Bernstein 20:25 Zeke & Luther 20:50 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 21:15 Phineas And Ferb 21:25 Phineas And Ferb 21:40 Almost Naked Animals 22:05 Rekkit Rabbit 22:35 Scaredy Squirrel 23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00am KSA

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:55 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:20 Unwrapped 01:45 Food Wars 02:10 Food Wars 02:35 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:25 Unique Eats 03:50 Food Crafters 04:15 United Tastes Of America 04:40 Chopped 05:30 Amazing Wedding Cakes 06:10 Unwrapped 06:35 Unwrapped 07:00 Everyday Italian 07:25 Everyday Italian 07:50 Everyday Italian 08:15 Everyday Italian 08:40 Extra Virgin 09:05 Extra Virgin 09:30 Extra Virgin 09:55 Extra Virgin 10:20 Symon’s Suppers 10:45 Symon’s Suppers 11:10 Symon’s Suppers 11:35 Symon’s Suppers 12:00 Amazing Wedding Cakes 12:50 Barefoot Contessa 13:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 13:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:05 Jonathan Phang’s Caribbean Cookbook 14:30 Jonathan Phang’s Caribbean Cookbook 14:55 Amazing Wedding Cakes 15:40 Amazing Wedding Cakes 16:25 Charly’s Cake Angels 16:55 Charly’s Cake Angels 17:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 17:50 Chopped 18:40 Chopped 19:30 Chopped 20:20 Chopped 21:10 Chopped 22:00 Amazing Wedding Cakes 22:50 Amazing Wedding Cakes 23:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

00:15 Kimchi Chronicles 00:45 Travel Madness 01:10 Don’t Tell My Mother 01:40 Scam City 02:35 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 03:30 The Witch Doctor Will See You Now 04:25 Eat Street 04:50 Earth Tripping 05:20 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 05:45 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 06:15 Exploring The Vine 06:40 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 07:10 Danger Beach 07:35 Bondi Rescue 08:05 Bondi Rescue 08:30 Bondi Rescue 09:00 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 09:25 Market Values 09:55 Eat Street 10:20 Kimchi Chronicles 10:50 Travel Madness 11:15 Don’t Tell My Mother 11:45 Scam City 12:40 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 13:35 The Witch Doctor Will See You Now 14:30 Eat Street 14:55 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 15:25 Earth Tripping 15:50 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 16:20 Bondi Rescue 16:45 Bondi Rescue 17:15 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 17:40 Market Values 18:10 Eat Street 18:35 Kimchi Chronicles 19:05 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 19:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 20:00 Exploring The Vine 20:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The

CHERNOBYL DIARIES ON OSN PREMIERE Planet 21:00 Danger Beach 21:30 Bondi Rescue 22:00 Somewhere In China 22:55 Market Values 23:20 Eat Street 23:50 Kimchi Chronicles

00:00 Pirate Patrol 01:00 Air Crash Investigation 02:00 Air Crash Investigation 03:00 Naked Science 04:00 Alaska Wing Men 05:00 Nazi Temple Of Doom 06:00 Banged Up Abroad 07:00 Lockdown 08:00 Pirate Patrol 09:00 Air Crash Investigation 10:00 Air Crash Investigation 11:00 Clash Of The Continents 12:00 Alaska Wing Men 13:00 Human Lampshade: Holocaust Mystery 14:00 Banged Up Abroad 15:00 Lockdown 16:00 Pirate Patrol 17:00 Air Crash Investigation 18:00 Air Crash Investigation 19:00 Salvage Code Red 20:00 One Ocean 21:00 Dangerous Encounters 22:00 Salvage Code Red 23:00 Storm Worlds

00:20 01:10 02:00 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:05 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 12:55 13:50 14:45 15:40 16:35 17:30 18:25 19:20 20:10 21:00 21:50 22:40 23:30

A

The Incredible Dr. Pol When Sharks Attack Dangerous Encounters Built For The Kill Ragged Tooth Alpha Dogs Alpha Dogs The Incredible Dr. Pol Search For The Ultimate Bear Man vs Monster Street Monkeys When Crocs Ate Dinosaurs Wild Wild West Dangerous Encounters Kingdom Of The Oceans Sumatra’s Last Tiger Dangerous Encounters Shark Attack Experiment Bears Of Fear Island World’s Deadliest Killer Three Dead Or Alive Monster Croc Hunt Kingdom Of The Oceans Sumatra’s Last Tiger Dangerous Encounters Shark Attack Experiment Bears Of Fear Island World’s Deadliest Killer Three

00:00 Amphibious-18 02:00 Starship Troopers: Invasion-18 04:00 Arctic Blast-PG15 06:00 Ice Road Terror-PG15 07:45 Constantine-PG15 10:00 Courageous-PG15 12:15 Captain America: The First Avenger-PG15 14:30 Constantine-PG15 16:45 Twister-PG15 18:45 Captain America: The First Avenger-PG15 21:00 51-PG15 22:45 Prowl-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 10:45 14:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Will-PG Blue Lagoon: The Awakening The Perfect Man-PG What’s Wrong With Virginia Will-PG Gandhi-PG Neverland-PG Interview With A Hitman Drew Peterson: Untouchable A Dangerous Method-18 Liars All-18

00:30 01:00 01:30 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 Leno 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 Leno 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

The Daily Show The Colbert Report Saturday Night Live Friends Ben And Kate Ben And Kate Hope & Faith The Tonight Show With Jay

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00

Touch Supernatural Good Morning America American Idol Glee Supernatural Good Morning America Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Once Upon A Time Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Touch The Carrie Diaries Supernatural Live Good Morning America Touch Once Upon A Time The Carrie Diaries Touch

Hope & Faith The War At Home Brothers Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Hope & Faith Hope & Faith Ben And Kate Community Hot In Cleveland Brothers The Tonight Show With Jay The War At Home Hope & Faith Hope & Faith Brothers Ben And Kate Community Hot In Cleveland The Daily Show The Colbert Report The War At Home Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Guys With Kids The Mindy Project The Mindy Project Hot In Cleveland Parks And Recreation The Cleveland Show The Daily Show The Colbert Report Saturday Night Live The Ricky Gervais Show

20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Once Upon A Time The Carrie Diaries Glee American Idol

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

24 White Collar Sons Of Anarchy Homeland Body Of Proof C.S.I. New York 24 Eureka Alphas C.S.I. New York White Collar Body Of Proof Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Alphas 24 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Alphas Psych Top Gear (UK) C.S.I. Defiance Banshee

00:00 Bait 02:00 Amphibious 04:00 Starship Troopers: Invasion 06:00 Arctic Blast 08:00 Ice Road Terror 09:45 Constantine 12:00 Courageous 14:15 Captain America: The First Avenger 16:30 Constantine 18:45 Twister 20:45 Captain America: The First Avenger 23:00 51

00:00 A Very Harold And Kumar Christmas-18 02:00 American Cowslip-PG15 04:00 Ernest Goes To Jail-PG 06:00 Shark Tale-PG 08:00 Tin Cup-PG15 10:15 Adventures In Babysitting 12:00 Ernest Goes To Jail-PG 14:00 A Kiss For Jed Wood-PG15 16:00 Adventures In Babysitting 18:00 Jack And Jill-PG15 20:00 The Hangover 2-18 22:00 A Very Harold And Kumar Christmas-18

00:45 03:00 05:15 06:45 09:15 11:30 13:15 15:00 17:00 19:00 20:30 23:15

Across The Universe-PG15 Dreamgirls-PG15 Glee: The Concert MovieWar Horse-PG15 Dreamgirls-PG15 Courage-PG15 A Kiss At Midnight-PG15 Dead Again-PG15 Joyful Noise-PG15 Ceremony-PG15 Troy-18 Final Analysis-18

01:30 The Iron Lady-PG15 03:30 Into The Wind-PG15 05:00 Mary & Martha-PG15 06:45 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close-PG 09:00 Dating Coach-PG15 11:00 Ring Of Deceit-PG15 13:00 The Wild Girl-PG15 15:00 A Better Life-PG15 17:00 Dating Coach-PG15 19:00 Jeff, Who Lives At Home-PG15 21:00 The Five Year Engagement-18 23:15 Martha Marcy May Marlene-

01:00 Kong Return To The Jungle 02:45 Battle For Terra 04:30 Dragon Hunters 06:00 Kong Return To The Jungle 08:00 Alex & Alexis 10:00 Three Investigators And The Secret Of Terror...

11:45 Winx 13:15 Ice Age: Continental Drift 14:45 Back To The Sea 16:30 The Search For Santa Paws 18:15 Three Investigators And The Secret Of Terror...

20:00 The Missing Lynx 21:45 Back To The Sea 23:30 The Search For Santa Paws

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 17:45 20:00 22:00

Today’s Special-PG15 Stuck On You-PG15 Gnomeo & Juliet-PG15 The Three Stooges-PG15 Brave-PG A View From Here-PG15 Phil Spector-PG15 Project Nim-PG15 Brave-PG Think Like A Man-PG15 Outlaw Country-PG15 Chernobyl Diaries-18

01:45 Rogue Cop-PG 03:15 Somebody Up There Likes Me-PG 05:10 The Sandpiper-PG 07:00 Hot Millions-FAM 08:45 High Society-FAM 10:30 Show Boat-FAM 12:15 Mildred Pierce-PG 14:15 The Train Robbers-U 16:00 Rio Bravo-U 18:20 Reunion In France-FAM 20:05 3 Godfathers-FAM

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 Rides 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00

Bert The Conqueror Bert The Conqueror Xtreme Waterparks Xtreme Waterparks World’s Greatest Motorcycle Globe Trekker Bizarre Foods America Bizarre Foods America Eden Eats Globe Trekker Off Limits

Classifieds SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

Kuwait SHARQIA-1 KILLING SEASON (DIG) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) JOBS (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) JOBS (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM

SHARQIA-2 THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) Special Show “THE SMURFS 2 (DIG)” THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

SHARQIA-3 THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) Special Show “THE SMURFS 2 (DIG)” CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:15 PM 6:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

MUHALAB-1 JOBS (DIG) RED 2 (DIG) CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) JOBS (DIG)

1:30 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM

MUHALAB-2 KILLING SEASON (DIG) FRI THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG)

1:30 PM 1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM

MUHALAB-3 THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:45 PM

FANAR-1 RED 2 (DIG) RED 2 (DIG) JOBS (DIG) JOBS (DIG) JOBS (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM

FANAR-2 DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) STREET DANCE ALL STARS (DIG) DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) FANAR-3 CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) THE LONE RANGER (DIG) CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM 12:30 PM 3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (22/08/2013 TO 28/08/2013) THE LONE RANGER (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 AM

FANAR-4 THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:15 PM 12:45 AM

FANAR-5 THE CONJURING THE CONJURING THE CONJURING EL7ARAMY & EL3ABIET THE CONJURING THE CONJURING NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

MARINA-1 DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) HAMMER OF G’S (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) JOBS (DIG) JOBS (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

MARINA-2 THE WOLVERINE (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) EL7ARAMY & EL3ABIET (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) RED 2 (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

MARINA-3 THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-1 KILLING SEASON (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) KILLING SEASON (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

AVENUES-2 CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI)

12:30 PM 3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-3 RED 2 (DIG) THE LONE RANGER (DIG) RED 2 (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 6:30 PM

RED 2 (DIG) RED 2 (DIG)

9:00 PM 11:30 PM

AVENUES-4 THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

360º- 1 THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

360º- 2 RED 2 (DIG) RED 2 (DIG) RED 2 (DIG) RED 2 (DIG) RED 2 (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:30 PM 5:00 PM 7:30 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM

360º- 3 DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG-3D) DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG-3D) DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

360º- 4 THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) EL7ARAMY & EL3ABIET (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

CHANGE OF NAME I, Hareesha, Indian Passport No. E 6534426, have changed my name to Hareesha Rama Moolya. (C 4489) I, Muruganandham Asokan, Indian Passport No. E6570385, have changed my name to Sam Ashok M. Anand. (C 4490) 25-8-2013 I, Thottakath Abu, holder of Indian Passport No. G9943123 issued at Kuwait on 28/10/2008, have changed my name to Aboobacker Thottakath.

(C 4488) 21-8-2013 I, Thamer Medhat Moh. Khattab holder of Filipino Passport No. T T0990386 hereby change my name to Tamer Medhat Moh. Khattab, hereafter all dealings in my new name.

20-8-2013 SITUATION VACANT For a family of two adults, a live-in house boy and home care. Good English and Arabic is preferred, transferable visa. Contact: 99060969.

20-8-2013 ACCOMMODATION

AL-KOUT.1 EL7ARAMY & EL3ABIET (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) JOBS (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) EL7ARAMY & EL3ABIET (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 5:00 PM 7:30 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.2 DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) JOBS (DIG) JOBS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM

AL-KOUT.3 THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

For ladies or bachelor Filipino only near big Jamiya Farwaniya. Available August 25, 2013. Contact 66158188 or 66826412.

20-8-2013

MATRIMONIAL Marthomite parents in Kuwait, invites proposals for their daughter (28/160/fair), BB Kuwait, Masters UK, well employed in Kuwait, from well qualified and employed

Marthoma/CSI/Orthodox/Ja cobite boys preferably in Kuwait/Dubai/USA/Australi a/Canada with good family background and clean habits. Email: jacobthomask3@yahoo.com (C 4485) 20-8-2013

FOR SALE Mitsubishi Jeep Nativa model 2011 white color, 6 cylinder engine, alloy rim excellent condition, 4 wheel drive (installment possible), cash price KD 3,400 negotiable. Tel: 99194874. (C 4487) 20-8-2013

Prayer timings Fajr:

03:56

Shorook

05:20

Duhr:

11:51

Asr:

15:26

Maghrib:

18:22

Isha:

19:43

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines BBC QTR JZR JZR RJA THY THY ETH GFA MEA UAE ETD THY CLX FDB MSR QTR KAC THY DHX FDB KAC JZR JZR BAW JZR KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY FDB IRA QTR IZG ETD IRC GFA MEA JZR JZR JZR UAE MSR THY KAC QTR KAC FDB IRC SVA KNE OMA JZR

Arrival Flights on Sunday 25/8/2013 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 642 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 5464 SABIHA 764 SABIHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 408 BEIRUT 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 768 ISTANBUL 610 LUXEMBOURG 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 544 CAIRO 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 412 MANILA 555 ALEXANDRIA 1541 CAIRO 157 LONDON 529 ASYUT 382 DELHI 53 DUBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 284 DHAKA 302 MUMBAI 206 ISLAMABAD 352 COCHIN 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 55 DUBAI 603 SHIRAZ 132 DOHA 4161 MASHAD 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 6666 AHWAZ 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 241 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 561 SOHAG 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 766 ISTANBUL 672 DUBAI 140 DOHA 774 RIYADH 57 DUBAI 6507 SHIRAZ 500 JEDDAH 472 JEDDAH 645 MUSCAT 257 BEIRUT

Time 00:05 00:05 00:20 00:40 01:25 00:10 01:40 01:45 01:55 02:10 02:25 02:30 02:50 03:10 03:10 03:15 03:30 04:10 04:35 05:10 05:50 06:15 06:20 06:25 06:30 06:40 07:30 07:45 07:55 08:15 07:50 07:25 08:05 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:20 09:25 09:25 09:30 10:10 10:40 10:55 11:35 12:35 12:00 12:45 13:00 13:10 13:40 13:45 13:45 13:50 14:10 14:30 14:35 14:40 14:30

RJA JZR JZR QTR ETD JZR SYR KAC UAE ABY UAL GFA SVA JZR NIA QTR FDB GFA AXB MSR JAI AFG FDB OMA ABY JZR JZR MEA AZG KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KLM ALK UAE ETD QTR GFA JZR JZR QTR JAI FDB AIC UAL JZR DLH JAI MSR PIA THY

640 535 787 134 303 177 341 1802 857 127 982 215 510 777 251 144 63 219 393 606 572 415 61 647 129 189 481 402 417 742 562 786 166 102 502 542 618 674 514 172 417 229 859 307 136 217 185 239 146 576 59 981 981 135 636 574 614 205 772

AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA CAIRO RIYADH DOHA ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI LATAKIA CAIRO DUBAI SHARJAH WASHINGTON DC DULLES BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN KOZHIKODE LUXOR MUMBAI KABUL DUBAI MUSCAT SHARJAH DUBAI SABIHA BEIRUT BAKU DAMMAM AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA JEDDAH PARIS NEW YORK BEIRUT CAIRO DOHA DUBAI TEHRAN FRANKFURT AMSTERDAM COLOMBO DUBAI ABU DHABI-INTL DOHA BAHRAIN DUBAI AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA DOHA COCHIN DUBAI CHENNAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN FRANKFURT MUMBAI CAIRO LAHORE ISTANBUL

15:55 16:10 16:15 16:15 16:35 17:30 17:05 16:40 16:55 17:10 17:15 17:20 17:20 17:50 18:00 18:25 18:55 19:05 19:15 19:30 19:35 19:45 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:10 20:10 20:15 20:00 13:30 20:45 18:30 18:40 19:35 18:50 18:15 19:10 19:25 20:50 21:15 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:35 21:45 22:40 22:30 22:00 22:05 22:20 22:25 22:40 23:00 23:10 23:20 23:30 23:40 23:45

Airlines AIC MSC AXB JAI UAL DLH MSR THY BBC THY THY ETH MEA THY UAE FDB MSR ETD QTR CLX QTR JZR FDB RJA GFA JZR THY KAC JZR BAW FDB JZR KAC JZR KAC ABY UAE FDB KAC ETD IRA KAC IZG QTR KAC KAC IRC GFA KAC MEA JZR JZR KAC JZR KAC JZR MSR THY

Departure Flights on Sunday 25/8/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA 2404 ALEXANDRIA 490 MANGALORE 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 5465 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 44 CHITTAGONG 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 621 ADDIS ABABA 409 BEIRUT 769 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 613 CAIRO 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 852 HONG KONG 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 70 DUBAI 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 240 AMMAN 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 171 FRANKFURT 164 DUBAI 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 117 NEW YORK 534 CAIRO 671 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 1801 CAIRO 302 ABU DHABI 602 SHIRAZ 773 RIYADH 4162 MASHHAD 133 DOHA 741 DAMMAM 501 BEIRUT 6667 AHWAZ 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 405 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 480 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 103 LONDON 786 RIYADH 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 767 ISTANBUL-ATATURK

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:10 00:15 00:20 00:25 00:30 00:30 01:10 01:30 02:20 02:40 02:45 03:10 03:40 03:45 03:50 04:15 04:20 04:25 04:40 05:15 05:35 06:30 06:35 07:00 07:10 07:10 07:15 07:25 08:25 08:25 08:50 09:05 09:10 09:25 09:30 09:50 09:55 10:05 10:15 10:20 10:20 10:25 10:25 10:30 11:10 11:10 11:25 11:30 11:55 12:25 12:30 12:30 12:50 13:00 13:20 14:00 14:10

UAE FDB QTR KAC IRC KNE KAC OMA SVA KAC JZR KAC RJA JZR QTR ETD JZR ABY SYR UAE GFA SVA UAL JZR JZR NIA QTR FDB GFA JZR AXB KAC MSR JAI FDB AFG ABY OMA MEA DHX KLM ETD ALK UAE KAC QTR KAC GFA KAC AZG FDB QTR JAI KAC JZR JZR KAC KAC JZR

872 58 141 673 6508 473 561 646 503 617 188 513 641 238 135 304 538 128 342 858 216 511 982 184 266 252 145 64 220 134 394 283 619 571 62 415 120 648 403 171 417 308 230 860 343 137 301 218 205 418 60 147 575 351 554 1540 411 415 528

DUBAI DUBAI DOHA DUBAI SHIRAZ JEDDAH AMMAN MUSCAT MADINAH DOHA DUBAI TEHRAN AMMAN AMMAN DOHA ABU DHABI CAIRO SHARJAH LATAKIA DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN KOZHIKODE DHAKA ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI DUBAI JEDDAH SHARJAH MUSCAT BEIRUT BAHRAIN DAMMAM ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI CHENNAI DOHA MUMBAI BAHRAIN ISLAMABAD AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL DUBAI DOHA ABU DHABI KOCHI ALEXANDRIA CAIRO BANGKOK KUALA LUMPUR ASYUT

14:15 14:30 14:55 15:05 15:10 15:30 15:30 15:40 15:45 15:45 16:00 16:20 16:55 17:05 17:20 17:20 17:40 17:50 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:30 18:30 18:40 19:00 19:25 19:35 19:50 20:05 20:15 20:15 20:30 20:35 20:40 20:45 20:45 20:55 21:15 21:50 22:05 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:05 23:10 23:20 23:25 23:40 23:50 23:55

34

stars CROSSWORD 290

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) Thank goodness for a day off—emotions seem to be clear and in balance.

Your home environment, friends and surroundings are accented and receive attention.

Perhaps it is rest that you have needed lately—whatever the case, you enjoy this time to rest and visit with friends and loved ones. You could gain insight from young people today. Just being with all that energy is electrifying. Guiding, advising as well as just having a plain old good time is in order now. A sports activity out-of-doors can be enjoyed as things cool down later today and may even involve some play in water. This could include water ball games, skiing or some other activity. Love, ideals and a strong sense of your own worth are vital to your wellbeing and ability to function.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Some sort of temporary obstacle may appear today but if you can look beyond the situation you will get through the problem quickly. You will find the afternoon full of opportunities to be creative. Expressing yourself with a flair comes to mean a lot to you.

Adding your name to an invention is quite a mark of accomplishment. A get-together with friends can prove rewarding this evening. You work with real imagination and understanding in areas of the mind that are the most personal or private: in-depth psychology. You are like a midwife of the spirit, assisting at the birth of each individual going through a spiritual or rebirth process. You accept the natural process of birth, spiritual and physical, and have dedicated yourself to helping it along.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. A gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number).

4. Germanic barbarian leader who ended the western Roman Empire in 476 and became the first barbarian ruler of Italy (434-493).

12. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.

15. A state of southwestern India.

16. A great rani.

17. Come into the possession of something concrete or abstract.

18. Involving the entire earth.

20. (Sumerian and Babylonian) A solar deity.

21. Imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy.

22. A region of Malaysia in northeastern Borneo.

25. An anti-TNF compound (trade name Arava) that is given orally.

26. Fragrant resin obtain from trees of the family Burseraceae and used as incense.

28. English writer and a central member of the Fabian Society (1858-1943).

30. A metric unit of volume equal to one tenth of a liter.

31. American Revolutionary patriot.

35. An associate degree in nursing.

36. A member of a Turkic people of Uzbekistan and neighboring areas.

40. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

42. Being or occurring in fact or actuality.

43. The smallest multiple that is exactly divisible by every member of a set of numbers.

45. A language unit by which a person or thing is known.

46. Someone who leaves one country to settle in another.

48. Concerning those not members of the clergy.

50. A light touch or stroke.

52. A very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic forms.

53. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

55. In a murderous frenzy as if possessed by a demon.

57. A legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body.

58. Having a heading or course in a certain direction.

61. A decree that prohibits something.

64. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (19021984).

66. The immature free-living form of most invertebrates and amphibians and fish which at hatching from the egg is fundamentally unlike its parent and must metamorphose.

68. Portuguese explorer who in 1488 was the first European to get round the Cape of Good Hope (thus establishing a sea route from the Atlantic to Asia) (1450-1500).

70. An impure form of quartz consisting of banded chalcedony.

72. A city of central China.

76. A lipoprotein that transports cholesterol in the blood.

79. A dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon.

80. American prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942).

81. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

83. The lean flesh of a fish that is often farmed.

84. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

85. The great hall in ancient Persian palaces.

86. Widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions for its fragrant flowers and colorful fruits.

DOWN 1. Oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food.

2. A cord fastened around the neck with an ornamental clasp and worn as a necktie.

3. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

4. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

5. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters.

6. A midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region.

7. Flat surface that rotates and pushes against air or water.

8. (botany) Of some seeds.

9. Highly aromatic inner bark of the Canella winterana used as a condiment and a tonic.

10. Native to Egypt but cultivated widely for its aromatic seeds and the oil from them used medicinally and as a flavoring in cookery.

11. Support resembling the rib of an animal.

12. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

13. Lacking or deprive of the sense of hearing wholly or in part.

14. An inactive volcano in Sicily.

19. Found along western Atlantic coast.

23. A mountain peak in the Andes in Bolivia (21,391 feet high).

24. The vein in the center of a leaf.

27. Informal terms for a mother.

29. Enclose in, or as if in, a case "my feet were encased in mud.".

32. Of or relating to or characteristic of the prehistoric Aegean civilization.

33. A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance.

34. A detective who follows a trail.

37. A bluish-white lustrous metallic element.

38. Having undesirable or negative qualities.

39. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

41. An accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape.

44. Destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle.

47. A metric unit of length equal to one thousandth of a meter.

49. An ancient port city in southwestern Spain.

51. Red late-ripening apple.

54. An emotional response that has been acquired by conditioning.

56. Stem of the rattan palm used for making canes and umbrella handles.

59. A port city in southwestern Turkey on the Gulf of Antalya.

60. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

62. A college or university team that competes at a level below the varsity team.

63. A city of southeastern Mexico.

65. Any taillike structure.

67. A rare heavy polyvalent metallic element that resembles manganese chemically and is used in some alloys.

69. Not in action or at work.

71. A system of high tension cables by which electrical power is distributed throughout a region.

73. A republic in the Middle East in western Asia.

74. A river in northern England that flows southeast through West Yorkshire.

75. The back side of the neck.

77. An accountant certified by the state.

78. (informal) Informed about the latest trends.

82. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group..

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

It’s a sleep late, catch up on chores and a goof off type of day. Someone may want your help today but unless they really need it you may find yourself moving away from any stressful activity for now. It is important to take the time to refurbish your energies. Why not just express that point now others will understand. Later today, you will have an opportunity to have a special time with someone you love. You have new insight into home, possessions and the whole domestic scene. Financial independence gains your attention and future plans are in the making. You get away from it all with gardening, building and family life.

You discover freedom in steady, predictable growth—like a growing plant. There are good feelings and harmony.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Questions of freedom and independence are absolutely essential to your way of life—you are quick to revolt when anything is distracting. Activities with young people, neighbors or friends add to those feelings of wellbeing today. Getting to know a distant cousin, half-sister or brother may bring a great deal of joy your way. This is a great time to be with others in an atmosphere of work or play. You love attention and somehow you manage to gravitate to the center of almost any group or happening. Others accept you—they sense you are a leader and admire your regal manner. All parts of your life are touched by your sense of originality and spontaneity.

Everything hangs on the innovative approach to things and people that mark your style.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You need to be part of a group that will lend you strength and encouragement and allow you to input your own experience and creative talent. Perhaps this would entail a club for writers or artists. Working with others, especially as a community or humanitarian effort, works well for you. This is what you may find yourself involved with today—some form of group give-and-take. You may be advising groups of people in financial or business matters this afternoon—but not for long. You have a special affinity for seniors and for children, plus an innate love of animals, the helpless and the underdog. An inner vision coupled with the ability to see the bigger picture often finds you working as a go-between with others.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Learning and knowing a little about a lot of things, staying in touch and on top of the latest developments satisfy a need for mental stimulation. Catching up on your reading and enjoying the neighbors and perhaps your relatives may play a role in this—young people figure more prominently in your life today. This is a time to take risks and dare to be a little unconventional. You will prosper through new insights, inventions and an independent point of view. This afternoon would be a good time to take in a good movie. Ideas and thoughts will have greater meaning. That creative project you have been working on will get a big boost tonight. Sharpening these creative skills of yours may also help you to develop your psychic insights.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) You are very sensitive to the slightest emotional change today. You have all the artistic traits and talents to retire to a room and be creative. Putting effort into a small amount of time will bring you some great results. Writing, music and cooking are just some of the areas in which you excel for now. This could mean writing, poetry, computer software, games, robotics, etc. General good feeling and a sense of support make this a good day. This afternoon you might consider some physical pursuits. Friends may want to take you to their favorite bowling rink or you may be brave enough to move out-of-doors and skate the afternoon away. Whatever the case, all this activity brings your energies back into balance nicely.

Just in time for a special date.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) This is a good day to solve problems and make important decisions—at work or at home. You find your way around almost any obstacle and are in control and able to guide yourself with ease. Your sense of inner direction is good and should lead to opportunities. Quantum physics, anti-gravity and many other expanded thinking or scientific news items are fun pastimes for you and you may spend your time away from work looking forward to the next convention of new inventions. You may encourage others to think outside the realm of what they think is possible and dream about what could be. Here is an opportunity to get some insight into some future educational and professional possibilities. Life is certainly getting to be an exciting event.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) A lighter workload of late leaves you with a better forecast this weekend.

You actually have the time to attend a party or just lie on the beach somewhere.

This afternoon could prove a bit confusing when you find that one of your friends gave you the wrong directions, or you could not read someone’s writing. You will not be misguided for long however, especially when you see that instead of going where you wanted to go, you could make a u-turn near what could become a favorite hobby store. This is a day of surprises—good ones. Party plans go without a problem and you leave everyone laughing. Possessing good common sense, you are very down-to-earth—nurturing and protective to all. Others appreciate you more than you realize.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) CAPRICORN There could be levels of existence as well as technology that are far beyond our current status here on this earth. Enjoying some current-day invention you may remember a past science fiction story or movie that used the same invention. You have ideas of your own and they fit quite nicely on paper inside a hard cover called a book! You have a knack for always finding assistance in your interests. A book club or an editor in your own family may have some very helpful advice toward creating this book. You may want to write science fiction or perhaps record your thoughts on some new technology. Handicapped people need new technology and this is an area about which you may want to write; there is success.

You may be working on the next great idea.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Your community spirit may come into play today. There is a drive to work with others on projects that concern humanitarian interest. There is an urge to find a way to make your dreams a reality and this keeps you moving in a forward direction. There is a feeling of being a part of the bigger picture and that encourages you to make your forward energies in some area of politics. You are very communicative, not just a little curious—conversations come easily. Study, research and investigations of all kinds may come into play today. You are always searching out some answer or another. Family is important to you and you may find yourself planning a get-together for the evening or setting aside some time for a backyard cookout tonight or tomorrow.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Your common sense is called for today when someone wants to involve you in a fantastic deal! Considering you may have a young person that could learn from your insights—you find a clever way to disclose the real truth of what really sounds like a fantastic deal. A push to finish chores could find you at a most interesting fruit and vegetable stand this afternoon. You may find plants and a variety of herbs for your picking as well. Later, you may decide an animal needs a bath and the activity around this chore can end with much laughter and lighthearted fun. If you have an idea for a story or a poem, you may find the antics of your animal a perfect fit for your story. Loved ones that surround you this evening gain from your presence. You are amused tonight.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 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

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Salem soso

22618787 General Surgeons

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

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 Anil Thomas

3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

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

Neurologists 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

Endocrinologist Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

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

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Katy Perry sells LA marital home he ‘Roar’ singer has rid herself of the Mediterranean-style mansion in West Hollywood, California, she bought in June 2011 for $6.5 million six months after she and Russell tied the knot in India. The pop star had intended to make it the couple’s main home but they split in December 2011 after being wed for just 14 months. According to RadarOnline.com, the luxurious property is kitted out with ornate tiles, rod iron fixtures, curved ceilings and art glass windows and spans over 8,835 square feet. The sale of the seven-bedroom and nine-bathroom home, which is based near the famous Sunset Strip, comes after reports Katy slashed the price to attract a buyer. Katy - who is now dating John Mayer - reportedly had her three-acre property inspected by supermodel Heidi Klum, who was house-hunting in Los Angeles with her boyfriend Martin Kristen for a “family home” to house the couple and her four children - Leni, nine, Henry, seven, Johan, six, and Lou, three. The couple - who got together last year following Heidi’s split from husband Seal - were believed to be interested in the property because the children’s bedrooms would be on the same floor as the master bedroom enabling them to keep a close eye on their brood. It is not known if Heidi was the eventual buyer.

T

Ellie Goulding to send Prince George gift he ‘Explosions’ hitmaker is keen to give the onemonth-old tot - the son of Prince William and Duchess Catherine, who is third-in-line to the British throne - a gift to commemorate his birth, but she admits she’s still pondering over what to buy him because he already has everything he could possibly need. Speaking to the Daily Mail newspaper, she said: “I fully intend to send William and Kate a gift for him, but I have no idea what to get. What do you give someone who has everything? Still, they’re truly lovely people so I’d imagine they’d be grateful for anything.” The 26-year-old singer hasn’t seen Prince William and Duchess Catherine - who was formerly known as Kate Middleton - since she performed at their wedding reception at Buckingham Palace in 2011, but she insists they regularly send her letters and stay in touch. She explained: “I’ve always been a fan of the royal family and I love that we have that huge history. It’s really special. “I haven’t seen William and Kate since, but they’ve sent letters and their best wishes. I saw Harry, though, three months ago when I performed at a charity event of his. I played quite late in the evening so everyone was a bit drunk!” Ellie admits she’s been blown away by her chart success around the world and sometimes prefers to think of it as a joke because it doesn’t feel like reality. She said: “It’s easier to pretend my life’s a comedy show. That’s how I deal with things sometimes, because some of it just doesn’t seem real.”

T

Eva Longoria splits from Ernesto Arguello

he former ‘Desperate Housewives’ star and the Miami-based entrepreneur - who met when he starred on ‘Ready For Love’, the ill-fated reality TV show she produced - called time on their relationship this week after she decided it wasn’t working out.

A source told Us Weekly: “It wasn’t that serious. He was fun.” The news will come as a shock to friends, who believed Ernesto, 34, was so serious about the 38-year-old beauty that he was already considering marriage. A friend previously revealed: “Eva is a firm believer in marriage.

Ernie may be a player when he is single, but he’s never cheated on anyone and is very religious. I think the fact that he’s so family oriented is what got her. “My guess would be they’ll be married within the next year. “It’s very real - they’re both in love, which is rare for him.

They’re always together.

His family likes her a lot ... they’ve never seen him so taken by someone. “Eva is so down to earth, she doesn’t ‘act famous’ at all.

He is definitely not dating her because she is famous ... they’re not a Hollywood couple. They’re very real and very in love.”

T

Beckhams at Disneyland

Brad Pitt, Angelina’s

daughter to be maid of honour The couple are reportedly in the final planning stages for their big day and are set to tie the knot in Los Angeles in the next few weeks. Zahara, eight, has her heart set on having a major role and her parents seem happy to fulfil her wish and the couple’s other kids, Maddox, 12, Pax, nine, Shiloh, seven, and five-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, will also be part of the ceremony. A source told the new US issue of OK! magazine: “Zahara wants to be maid of honour and knowing Angelina she’ll let her. Shiloh wants to be an usher and Pax and Maddox have said they’ll help Brad’s brother Doug be best man. The wedding is mainly for their children and they want it to happen at home in LA.” The wedding was originally supposed to take place at their Chateau Miraval estate in Provence, France, but Brad and Angelina chose LA so that all of their friends and family can attend. The source added: “Angie has said that a destination wedding would be hard on most people. A wedding at their home in LA would make it fun and easy for guests to attend. “She wants to exchange vows in a registry office with immediate family and the six kids and then host a huge party at their place.”

Since her double mastectomy operation to prevent breast cancer earlier this year, Angelina has wanted to bring all of her relatives and Brad’s relations together as she has realised the importance of family.

avid and Victoria treated their four children - sons Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 10, Cruz, eight, and two-year-old daughter Harper - to a fun-filled trip to the world-famous theme park in California on Thursday as part of their extended summer holiday in Los Angeles. The clan were seen racing around the park to make the most of the attractions, with David pushing his adorable denim-clad daughter along in a buggy. All eyes were on Harper as she enjoyed a spin on the merry-goround sitting on a horse alone as the former soccer star looked on proudly, armed with a digital SLR camera to take snapshots. The kids who were also accompanied by minders - were seen tucking into ice-

D

cream and enjoying family-friendly rides including Dumbo the Flying Elephant, but steered clear of the faster attractions such as Space Mountain. The Beckhams relocated back to their native Britain earlier this year, but have been staying in LA - where they lived for years when David played for Los Angeles Galaxy - for the summer after David announced his retirement from professional soccer. The family have been making the most of the Stateside sunshine, and Victoria recently shared a photo on Twitter of her walking hand-in-hand with Harper on a hike. She added the caption: “Love hiking with my babies! X vb”.

Rochelle

hates when husband shows off his cleavage he ‘Roar’ singer has rid herself of the Mediterranean-style mansion in West Hollywood, California, she bought in June 2011 for $6.5 million six months after she and Russell tied the knot in India. The pop star had intended to make it the couple’s main home but they split in December 2011 after being wed for just 14 months. According to RadarOnline.com, the luxurious property is kitted out with ornate tiles, rod iron fixtures, curved ceilings and art glass windows and spans over 8,835 square feet.

The sale of the seven-bedroom and nine-bathroom home, which is based near the famous Sunset Strip, comes after reports Katy slashed the price to attract a buyer. Katy - who is now dating John Mayer - reportedly had her three-acre property inspected by supermodel Heidi Klum, who was househunting in Los Angeles with her boyfriend Martin Kristen for a “family home” to house the couple and her four children - Leni, nine, Henry, seven, Johan, six, and Lou, three. The couple - who got together last year following Heidi’s split from husband Seal - were believed to be interested in the property because the children’s bedrooms would be on the same floor as the master bedroom enabling them to keep a close eye on their brood. It is not known if Heidi was the eventual buyer.

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 25 2013

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Kanye West

reveals picture of daughter

Paris Jackson happy at boarding school he 15-year-old aspiring actress is living under a false name at the $14,000-permonth therapeutic private school, located just outside California, and is said to be doing really well and on the road to recovery following her alleged suicidal attempt in June.

A source told RadarOnline.com: “Paris is absolutely thriving and happy at the boarding school. She is making friends, and it’s wonderful to see, given the darkness that had taken over her life.” The troubled teen - the daughter of the late Michael Jackson - has been enjoying catching up with her family by regularly taking part in video calls via the internet.

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The source explained: “Paris regularly video chats with grandmother Katherine, biological mom Debbie Rowe, and her brothers. “Her access to the Internet is strictly monitored.

The students at the school come from very diverse backgrounds, and Paris is treated just like everyone else, which she truly loves.” Paris will continue to stay at the boarding school, which specialises in teaching troubled teenagers, for another month to ensure that her recovery remains permanent. An insider said: “Paris will remain at the school for the next term. The most important thing for Paris is to have stability, a routine, and be in a safe

environment so she can deal with her issues.”

However, her mother Debbie recently revealed her outrage after snaps of her offspring at the school’s graduation ceremony surrounded by a new bunch of friends - along with highly private information about Paris were sold by someone linked to the school.

She told pals: “These people, including some websites, are screwing with my daughter’s ability to get better.”

Ashton Kutcher is suspicious of everyone

uring an appearance on his girlfriend Kim Kardashian’s mother’s chat show, he showed a photograph of North, who was born two months ago, explaining to Kris Jenner that they didn’t want to sell the first pictures and he thought Kris’ show was the perfect place to introduce her. He said: “It’s all this talk about baby pictures and ‘can you get paid for the baby picture or do you want to put it on a magazine.’ “And for me and your daughter we have not attempted to get paid for anything, we have not attempted to put it on a magazine. “You just stop all of the noise and I thought it would be really cool on her grandmother’s season finale to bring a picture of North.” Kanye, 36, also insisted he doesn’t care what North chooses to be when she grows up but he and Kim, 32, will support her in everything she does. He said: “I am going to give her the opportunity to develop her different skill sets and then decide what she is the best at and we will give her the support and let her follow what she loves the most.” Meanwhile, Kanye revealed becoming a father has made him regret his infamous interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, four years ago. He said: “The last thing I would want to happen to my daughter is some crazy drunk black guy in a leather shirt to come up and cut her off at an awards show. That’s the last thing I’d want.”

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Liam Payne decides to ‘let loose’

he ‘Jobs’ actor is notoriously secretive about his relationship with Mila Kunis following his highly-publicised split from Demi Moore last year, and regrets that fame has left him so distrustful of others. Speaking to French magazine Madame Figaro, he said: “I’ve finally learnt that some things in life have more merit when they’re kept secret.

Relationships are one of those things. When you become a celebrity, you start being suspicious in every new circumstance. But I’d like to relate more to other people, be able to help them even...” The 35-year-old star doesn’t think fans should be envious of him because he’s suffered the same personal struggles as everyone else. He explained: “I’m just like any other guy. The difference is that people think my life is better than theirs. It’s not completely false, but I’ve also been down and had to pick up the pieces. But being an actor has definitely made me mature as a person.” The comic actor majored in Biochemistry at university and believes his geeky science background has helped him perfect his acting craft.

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and enjoy life in One Direction

he 19-year-old star - who is one fifth of the chart-topping boy band along with Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson - admits he was tightly wound when he first joined the band in 2010 but has now opted to go with the flow and make the most of the unique experiences the group is presented. He explained to The Sun newspaper: “It’s a new dawn for Liam. I’m having a laugh now. I’ve let loose in the sense that I haven’t got that much to worry about any more. I’m still quite mature but whether I’m sensible I’m not so sure. “The first year or so, I used to just get up, go to work, go to the hotel and go to the gym and that was it. But I’m up for it now. Like his ‘Best Song Ever’ bandmates, Liam has found it difficult to adjust to his global fame and says constantly being recognised has made it difficult to do normal things like go shopping. He said of a recent incident in the United States: “We decided to go shopping. We went in two shops and suddenly there were literally 300 people outside. They were pushing so much that a girl fell through the window. So I sat down out of sight as I thought that would calm the situation. Yeah, that was just a bit much.”

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Nathan Sykes dating Ariana Grande

Hilaria Baldwin to give birth he 29-year-old yoga instructor checked into New York’s Mount Sinai hospital where she is expected to have her first child with 55-old husband Alec Baldwin at any time. A source told the New York Post’s Page Six: “The baby hasn’t arrived yet, but it could be any moment.” Hilaria previously revealed plans for a natural childbirth, although she isn’t adverse to having an epidural if the pain gets too bad. She said: “Right now, I want to do it naturally. That’s not to say there’s something wrong with the epidural, but that’s the way I was raised I’m a pretty natural person.

But if it does get to the point where I am screaming for the epidural, I have no problems with that. We’ll see where it goes.” The couple have also been reading the pregnancy self-help book ‘What To Expect When You’re Expecting’ so they know that everything is progressing normally. Hilaria explained: “We read parts of ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ together every day.

He’ll point things out and ask ‘How are you feeling? Are you having that?’” Alec already has a 17-year-old daughter from his previous marriage to Kim Baldwin.

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he duo - who share a manager, Scooter Braun - recently collaborated on the song ‘Almost Is Never Enough’ for ‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’ soundtrack which reportedly led to a romance. A source told Us Weekly: “It’s very, very new. Nate sends her flowers everyday.” Ariana, 20, recently gushed about Nathan in an interview, praising his work on

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their duet. She said: “Nathan just sang the hell out of it. I thought it was Brian McKnight. I’m like, ‘Who is this?’ Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t know he had that in him. I saw him perform live on one of the radio shows that we were at together, and I was like, ‘Damn, he can sing.’

This song I think will pleasantly surprise a lot of people. It’s very beautiful and very emotional

and I love, love, love what Nathan did to it. It was a great, great, great surprise.” The ‘Sam & Cat’ actress previously dated YouTube star Jai Brooks of the Janoskians and was recently linked to Justin Bieber.

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

LIFESTYLE F a s h i o n

Bravo, OWN, Nickelodeon among interactive Media Emmy winners I

n a year that saw Netflix competing with broadcast and cable for primetime Emmys, the Television Academy continues its bid to recognize content in non-traditional and second-screen medias.

Bravo, OWN and Nickelodeon are among the networks whose work was recognized by special juries in the Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media category, which covers four separate fields: Multiplatform Storytelling, Original Interactive Program, Social TV Experience, as well as User Experience and Visual Design.

The juries, composed of members of the Academy’s Interactive Media peer group, were able to choose one winner, multiple winners or no winners in each field. In all four cases, they opted for a single winnere.

“More than ever before, Television has become an interactive medium in which the audience has a role in driving the storytelling, participating as a fan and engaging in community and sponsorship activities,” said Interactive Media peer group governor Lori H. Schwartz.

The Emmys will be presented during the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 15 at the Nokia Theatre in L.A. Live. An edited version of the ceremony will air on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 9/8c on FXX. The interactive media winners, with descriptions from the ATAS press release: Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media - Multiplatform Storytelling Top Chef’s Last Chance Kitchen BravoTV.com Bravo Media, Magical Elves Bravo Production Team, Magical Elves

Production Team, Bravo Digital/Social Team, Bravo Creative Team Top Chef’s award-winning linear series was expanded into a comprehensive digital “buffet” and tantalizing interactive experience for foodies with the companion Last Chance Kitchen series. This component, available on web and mobile platforms, Bravo’s Now app, VOD and EST, required active input from the viewing audience, which in turn influenced and impacted events on the linear series. Each week, as Top Chef Competitors were eliminated, they got a second chance to battle that week’s winner on this digital series. Fans interacted with the contestants and judges, and even got cooking themselves to determine which of the dismissed chefs would be the last one standing in the digital series and would have a chance to appear on the Top Chef finale. 52% of Top Chef’s on-air audience engaged in Last Chance Kitchen and experienced the series in a collaborative way.

Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media - Original Interactive Program The Lizzie Bennet Diaries youtube.com/lizziebennet Pemberley Digital, Jay Bushman, Transmedia Producer, Bernie Su, Executive Producer, Alexandra Edwards, Transmedia Editor The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is the awardwinning, record-breaking, modern multiplatform adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” based around a fictional vlog kept by Lizzie Bennet, a 24-year-old grad student with an uncertain future, a mountain of debt and her best friend Charlotte behind the camera. When the LBD began in

April of 2012 with two videos a week posted at Lizzie’s YouTube channel (http://youtube.com/lizziebennet), there were only four characters appearing on screen. Unbeknownst to the audience, several other characters were conversing with each other over social media which kicked off a rapidly coruscating expansion of the LBD storyworld. Characters that only existed on Twitter soon began appearing on camera and even started their own channels, with one of them posting song recommendations and movie check-ins a full 10 months before they were to ever appear on camera. Throughout the entire process, the LBD characters used their social media presence to interact with the audience, creating an addictive world of engagement, while driving important plot points for the main video through their separate channels.

Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media - Social TV Experience Oprah’s Lifeclass Oprah.com/Lifeclass, OWN Digital The award-winning series Oprah’s Lifeclass is a richly interactive, worldwide social experience for millions of students who participate in inspiring conversations with Oprah Winfrey on-air, online and via social media. For each class, Oprah is joined by a hand-picked expert, and together they interact with viewers to share principles and tools that can help people live more meaningful and fulfilling lives. Prior to the scheduled airing of Lifeclass on OWN, key influencers in the social sphere on that topic are given a sneak peek of the episode, and invited to participate in the Sunday night social dialogue. Lifeclass consistently ranks in the top ten “most social shows” in prime-

time, according to Blue Fin Labs. After airing, the conversations continue throughout the social space and in a digital classroom at Oprah.com, where tools are provided to help viewers reach their own “Aha” Moments via an extensive companion curriculum, including class notes (thanks to Storify) and assessments, and Life Work questions that can be saved in their custom profile.

Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media - User Experience And Visual Design The Nick App Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Digital The Nick App is a branded experience that allows kids to watch and play Nick in unprecedented ways. This free App features a moveable tile layout that can be swiped in any direction, promoting discovery and exploration and offering kids instant and on-demand access to more than 1,000 pieces of Nickelodeon-themed content. It includes short-form videos of original skits, sketch and comedic bits, behind-the-scenes clips and photos from Nick stars and animated characters, full episodes, polls, new games, and surprising random hilarity. The Nick App supports the full Nickelodeon on-air line up as well as specials such as the annual Kids’ Choice Awards. The App boasts new content daily and includes fun and funny interactive elements such as the “Do Not Touch” button that triggers an array of disruptive comedy and surprises. Nickelodeon’s goal was to go beyond a typical app that offers free video viewing and instead offer more interactive content, games, and video not seen on television - whenever and wherever the user wants it. —Reuters

Review

‘Short Term 12’ explores love amid the turmoil of foster care

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merica’s foster care system is the unlikely setting for a love story in “Short Term 12,” an independent film that examines a young couple’s relationship amid the troubles, trauma and camaraderie of teenagers in foster care.

Written and directed by filmmaker Destin Cretton, “Short Term 12,” which opened in U.S. theaters on Friday, follows social workers at a foster care facility as they confront the everyday challenges of working with abandoned and abused children.

The film is centered on Grace, played by Brie Larson, a social worker who finds her own trauma from sexual abuse creeping up as she connects with the adolescents in her care.

Cretton, 34, told Reuters that he wanted a central character who shared not just a similar background to that of the children, but “something so intense that she has not even come close to dealing with it.”

“All the ancillary storylines all serve one single purpose, to see how they affect Grace and to see how she reacts to them. Every scene with a kid is either pushing Grace to feel that she can do this, or causing her to feel she can’t,” Cretton said.

The director, who was inspired to write “Short Term 12” from his experiences of working in a California group home facility in his first job after college, told Reuters he wanted to avoid casting judgement on foster homes.

“This movie is not meant to be an umbrella statement on the current state of the foster care system.

There are definitely highlights of certain complications there, but our hope is that anybody can connect to this movie and relate it to their own life,” the director said.

Larson, 23, and John Gallagher Jr., 29, who is best known as Jim Harper on HBO drama “The Newsroom,” form the couple, Grace and Mason, who fall in love while working together at the foster care facility.

“At the center of this film was a really beautiful, honest, deep relationship between these two people that care about each other very deeply but are up against some very intense odds,” Gallagher said.

“Short Term 12” premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas, this year and won the grand jury narrative feature award and the narrative audience award.

It has drawn positive reviews, earning a score of 84 out of 100 on review aggregator Metaritic.com.

Wall Street Journal critic Joe Morgenstern said the film is “a big deal on a small scale” for showcasing Cretton’s narrative and filmmaking skills and “Larson’s abundant talent.”

Larson, who has supporting roles in this year’s “The Spectacular Now” and “Don Jon,” said she did intense research into the rules of foster care and the traumas suffered by the teenagers to form her understanding of Grace.

“The complexity of Grace was really exciting to me,” Larson said. “There was so much to work with and a lot of room for me to add in my own interpretation and create this whole internal life in her.” —Reuters

French actor Gerard Depardieu attends a ceremony held in his honor at the Chateau Bourgogne in Estaimpuis yesterday. Authorities in the Belgian municipality of Estaimpuis made their most famous resident, Gerard Depardieu, an honorary citizen yesterday ahead of a housewarming barbecue the French actor is due to host. —AFP

Harassment lawsuit against chef Paula Deen dismissed

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federal judge on Friday dismissed the final component of a racial discrimination and sexual harassment case against celebrity chef Paula Deen that has cost the Southern culinary star a big chunk of her multimilliondollar enterprise.

In dismissing the sexual harassment aspect of the case, US District Judge William Moore wrote that no fees were awarded to either party, according to court documents. The two parties reached a settlement, said a person familiar with the case, and Moore’s dismissal did not address the merits.

The lawsuit against Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, was brought by Lisa Jackson, a five-year employee of Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House, a restaurant owned by the siblings in Savannah, Georgia.

Jackson claimed she had been the victim of sexual harassment. Jackson, who is white, also alleged there was a pattern of racial discrimination against black employees at the restaurant.

Earlier this month, Moore dismissed the racial discrimination allegations because any racially offensive remarks

Celebrity chef Paula Deen

were not directed at Jackson or intended to harass Jackson.

Deen, 66, said in a deposition in the case that she had used a racial slur, an admission that prompted Scripps Networks Interactive Inc to drop her cooking show from its cable television channel, the Food Network.

Other companies, including Smithfield Foods Inc, pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Home Depot Inc and Target Corp, also rushed to cut their ties with Deen, dropping her as a celebrity endorser and announcing they would no longer carry the cookbooks, housewares and other products that helped Deen build a multimillion-dollar enterprise.

In a statement, Deen said she believes in “kindness and fairness for everyone.”

“While this has been a difficult time for both my family and myself, I am pleased that the judge dismissed the race claims and I am looking forward to getting this behind me, now that the remaining claims have been resolved,” Deen said. “I am confident that those who truly know how I live my life know that I believe in kindness and fairness for everyone.” —Reuters

Review

Is It the Next Great Bloody Slasher Flick, or Just Plain Sick?

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irector Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett’s slasher flick “You’re Next” has been hailed as an instant classic by the horror community since debuting at the Toronto Film Festival in 2011, and Lionsgate is finally handing the movie over to mainstream audiences today. So does it live up to the hype?

According the majority of critics who have reviewed the film so far, yes. A day before its release, “You’re Next” has garnered a “fresh” rating on critic aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with 80 percent of 60 reviews applauding the film for paying homage to horror classics, while putting a fresh spin on an often-disappointing genre.

TheWrap’s Alonso Duralde called the gory home-invasion thriller “exquisitely tense” while noting its exceptional wit and steady stream of shocks.

“Part of what makes ‘You’re Next’ so effective is its balance of outrageous carnage with the thoroughly believable responses of its characters,” Duralde wrote. “No one sits around analyzing the action ‘Scream’-style, but these people are at least smart enough to debate whether or not it’s such a hot idea to go into the basement. And as slasher-movie Last Persons Standing go, this movie delivers a doozy.”

New York Post critic Kyle Smith was also impressed by the balance of horror and humor Wingard was able to maintain throughout. “‘You’re Next’ is the kind of movie that somewhat plays the gore for laughs,” Smith wrote. “But the comedy isn’t camp or annoyingly self-referential, and though the laughs defuse tension, they don’t completely replace it either.”

Los Angeles Times critic Robert Abele echoed those sentiments, giving props to Wingard and Barrett for injecting much-needed fresh blood into a premise that has been done to death.

The surprisingly adept mixture of tones - naturalism, dysfunctional family satire, winking slasher nostalgia, twisty vengeance thriller - is offbeat enough to keep even hardened connoisseurs of body-count entertainment on their toes,” Abele wrote. “Even more remarkable is Wingard’s understanding that answering horrific, seemingly senseless carnage with a second half that reveals a smart, tough, resourceful hero is the shrewdest way to keep an ongoing bloodbath cathartically enjoyable.”

Not everyone, however, was impressed with Wingard’s first major release. USA Today critic Scott Bowles faulted the film for being a tad too repetitious in his half-star review. “‘Next’ is a film of repetition, a bloody dance consisting of three steps: stab, scream, repeat,” Bowles wrote. “That’s about all there is to this wretched exercise in corpse stacking.”

While the Miami Herald’s Rene Rodriguez gave the film props for giving the masked murderers a reason for their rampage, the negative review concludes the elaborate explanation isn’t worth the audience’s time.

“There’s an elaborate reason these psychos have targeted the Davison family. You just have to endure lots of gratingly bad acting, preposterous coincidences and hackneyed situations before learning the truth, “ Rodriguez wrote. “The movie is not worth the effort.”

Despite a few naysayers, it looks like Wingard - who previously directed segments in horror anthologies “The ABCs of Death” and “V/H/S” - should be proud of his first wide theatrical release. In fact, Empire Magazine’s David Hughes bestowed one of the greatest compliments a budding horror director can recieve, by comparing him to the filmmaker behind the 1981 cult classic “Evil Dead.”

“For a film whose title has such a sense of urgency, it’s surprising it’s taken two years to be released,” Hughes wrote. “Don’t be put off: Wingard is on his way to becoming the next Sam Raimi, and ‘You’re Next’ may well be your next favourite horror film.” —Reuters

Linda Ronstadt has Parkinson’s disease

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rammy-winning singer Linda Ronstadt is suffering from Parkinson’s disease and says she can no longer “sing a note,” the group AARP said on Friday.

In an interview with AARP to be published next week, Ronstadt, 67, said the Parkinson’s diagnosis she received eight months ago had given her an answer to why she couldn’t sing.

“No one can sing with Parkinson’s disease,” she is quoted as saying in her interview with the lobbying group for older Americans. “No matter how hard you try.”

AARP said she has poles to help her walk on uneven ground and uses a wheelchair when traveling.

“Parkinson’s is very hard to diagnose, so when I finally went to a neurologist and he said, ‘Oh, you have Parkinson’s disease,’ I was completely shocked. I wouldn’t have suspected that in a million, billion years,” she says in the interview.

Ronstadt has won nearly a dozen Grammy awards and sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, according to Simon & Schuster, which is due to publish her memoir this year.

The Arizona-born singer’s 1974 record, “Heart Like a Wheel,” yielded hits including “You’re No Good,” “When Will I Be Loved” and “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore.”

The soft rock album soared to No. 1, selling more than 2 million copies, according to the AllMusic reference website. —Reuters

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

LIFESTYLE F e a t u r e s

Deadly Delhi gang-rape inspires award-winning play

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ward-winning playwright Yael Farber, whose new work focuses on the fatal gang-rape of an Indian student last December, was inspired by the protests that erupted across the country after the attack.

“I remember feeling this extraordinary sense of envy when I looked at India... I mean-who takes to the streets anywhere else in the world to speak for a young single woman?” the South African said in an interview with AFP. Shocked by the attack, she posted about it on Facebook. Bollywood actress Poorna

Festival Fringe and ends its run Monday.

“Nirbhaya”, or “fearless”, opened to rave reviews and won the Scotsman Fringe First award for outstanding new plays. Faber now has won the award three times.

The 42-year-old writer-director, raised in Johannesburg, told AFP from Edinburgh she was struck by the public reaction to the rape. “I remember wondering what it would take for us South Africans to get on to the streets like this, what it would take to penetrate the numbnesswhat it would take to care,” she said.

NEW DELHI: In this photograph taken on December 22, 2012 Indian demonstrators shout slogans during a protest calling for better safety for women following the rape of a student last week, in front of the Government Secretariat and Presidential Palace in New Delhi. Award-winning playwright Yael Farber, whose new work focuses on the fatal gang-rape of an Indian student, was inspired by the protests that erupted across the country after the attack. —AFP Jagannathan saw the post and invited her to India where the idea for a play about sexual violence began to take shape.

“Stories stay in public consciousness for a limited time, you have to grab that window,” Farber said, explaining how she chose to write and stage the play just eight months after the assault.

The show premiered at the Edinburgh

The name of the play, enacted in Hindi and English, comes from the pseudonym of the 23year-old who was gang-raped and sexually assaulted with an iron rod, and whose fight for life captured the world’s attention.

“Everyone was rooting for her to live. She testified twice (in hospital) despite her grave injuries, she demanded accountability from the system,” Farber said.

“She challenged ideas the world over that rape victims should be quiet and feel a sense of shame about what they have endured. That’s why her spirit ignited people.”

Farber, who has won a string of best director awards in South Africa and whose work has been honoured elsewhere, is no stranger to visceral drama. Her plays often include personal testimonies from her cast.

Her 2001 work “Amajuba” is based on the stories of five South African cast members who came of age during the final years of apartheid.

The December 16 attack, which saw the victim’s male friend badly beaten by the six alleged assailants, is at the heart of “Nirbhaya”, which features five other storylines.

The cast includes Jagannathan, as well as two other actresses and two more women who make their stage debuts. All five relate personal experiences dealing with sexual abuse and assaults as children and adults.

Astrologer Sneha Jawale’s monologue recounts her marriage to a man who doused her in kerosene and lit a match, leaving her with facial scars-all in an effort to extort a higher dowry from her parents. A single actor performs all male roles in the play, including the part of the Delhi rape victim’s friend as well as the main accused, who hanged himself in jail in March.

The young woman is played by popular actor-singer-songwriter Japjit Kaur, who sings but doesn’t speak on stage. “I didn’t want to put words into her mouth. We may never know who she really was so I presented her as an icon, an archetype,” Farber said. The victim’s family know of the play, she added.

The attack fuelled a furious debate about the status and safety of women in India, an issue that exploded again when five men gang-raped a 23-year-old photographer Thursday in financial hub Mumbai.

“It would be a grave mistake to just dump the problem of sexual violence onto India and leave it at that,” Farber said. “Sexual violence isn’t limited to a single country. Rape happens in South Africa, it happens in Italy, it’s not just about India.” The playwright, who suffered sexual harassment in Mumbai while researching, said she was eager to bring the show to India.

“It’s an Indian production in many ways. I am the only non-Indian person involved with it. I hope we can stage it in Delhi on the first anniversary of the attack.” —AFP

‘Dog & Cat’ pet fair

MUMBAI: Indian Tamils and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) supporters carry placards as they shout slogans during a protest against the release of the Bollywood movie ‘Madras Cafe’ outside a movie hall in Mumbai on Friday.

Bollywood is foraying into controversial terrain with new spy thriller, “Madras Cafe”, whose depiction of rebels in the Sri Lankan civil war has raised concerns among India’s large Tamil population. The movie, which opened in India, features John Abraham as an Indian secret agent sent to Sri Lanka during its bloody civil conflict. —AFP

Bollywood, Sri Lanka war film pulled in UK, south India

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Bollywood spy thriller set against the backdrop of the Sri Lankan civil war has been pulled from British and some Indian theatres after protests over its depiction of rebel fighters, the movie’s distributors said yesterday.

Madras Cafe, which opened Friday, features John Abraham as an Indian secret agent sent to Sri Lanka during the island’s decades-long conflict between the government and separatist Tamil rebels.

But the film has failed to reach a number of cinema halls after ethnic Tamil populations in India and in Britain complained that they were unfairly portrayed.

“Our UK exhibitors, Cineworld, decided to hold back the film after protesters gathered outside their UK offices,” said Rudrarup Datta, marketing head at the film’s Indian co-producer and distributor Viacom18 Motion Pictures.

“Exhibitors do not want to take a risk and withdrawing screenings of the film is their prerogative,” Datta said. No British cinemas are currently showing the film although they were still hopeful of a release at a later date, he added.

A full release has gone ahead in the United States, Canada and the United Arab Emirates. Indian media reports said theatres also refused to show the film in southern Tamil Nadu state after protests from its large Tamil population.

Activist group Naam Tamilar (We Tamils) asked the state government to block the

film’s release, unhappy that rebels were depicted as “terrorists”, according to media reports.

In Britain, an online petition was launched calling for a halt to the film’s release there because it was believed to portray Tamils “in a poor light”. Nearly 2,000 people have given their support to the petition.

The film passed India’s censors with no cuts and a parental guidance certificate, and was classified for those aged over 15 in Britain, while director Shoojit Sircar has insisted the movie does not take sides.

“Since the release, so many Tamil people have tweeted that there is nothing antiTamil about the film. People have the right to protest but you cannot stop cinemalovers from watching a film and deciding for themselves,” Sircar told AFP. The bloody conflict in Sri Lanka, which cost up to 100,000 lives, erupted between government forces and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who were fighting for an independent Tamil state.

Both sides are accused of human rights violations.

Sri Lankan troops declared an end to 37 years of ethnic war after wiping out the leadership of the Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009. Sri Lanka has resisted international pressure for an independent investigation into war crimes despite what the UN calls “credible allegations” of up to 40,000 civilians killed in the final battles in 2009. —

TAIPEI: This undated handout photograph released by the Taipei City Zoo yesterday shows giant panda Yuan Yuan sleeping next to her baby panda at the Taipei City Zoo. The cub, the first panda born in Taiwan, was delivered on July 7 following a series of artificial insemination sessions after her parents Yuan Yuan and her partner Tuan Tuan — failed to conceive naturally. —AFP

Dog owner Elke Raschke prepares her poodle for a competition during the “Dog & Cat” pet fair in Leipzig, eastern Germany, yesterday. —AFP

Dog owner Eva Schmidt prepares her poodle

A poodle sits in a buggy during the “Dog & Cat” pet fair.

A sphynx cat is pictured during the “Dog & Cat” pet fair.

Panda gives birth to her third cub at National Zoo

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giant panda gave birth at Washington’s National Zoo on Friday, causing a buzz among fans as they flocked to a panda cam’s live feed to hear the cub squeal and watch the mother immediately start caring for it.

The zoo said Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) gave birth at 5:32 p.m. Friday, two hours after her water broke. Zoo officials said the panda team heard the cub vocalize and that the mother picked it up immediately and began cradling and caring for it.

“WE HAVE A CUB!! Born at 5:32 p.m. this evening,” the zoo tweeted. “I’m glued to the new panda cams and thrilled to hear the squeals, which appear healthy, of our newborn cub,” said Dennis Kelly, director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Fans of the 15year-old panda who had been tracking her suspected pregnancy on a Giant Panda Cam flocked to the live feed.

With the zoo heralding the cub’s birth on Twitter, the pandas’ excited fans responded in kind. Congratulations poured in under the hashtag “cubwatch,” including hopes that this year’s cub would survive. “Last year was so heartbreaking,” as one person tweeted, while another said, “Good luck, little Butterstick 2 !!!”

Mei Xiang had previously given birth to two cubs. Tai Shan was born in 2005 and a week-old cub died last September.

Panda cubs are especially delicate and vul-

nerable to infection and other illness. They are about the size of a stick of butter at birth. The first weeks of life are critical for the cubs as mothers have to make sure they stay warm and get enough to eat.

Zookeepers said at a news conference on Friday night that giant pandas give birth to twins 50 percent of the time, so they will continue to keep an eye on Mei Xiang for 24 hours.

Brandie Smith, curator of mammals at the zoo, said Friday night that mindful of last year’s loss, zookeepers will be more hands-on with this cub. “We know that Mei Xiang is an excellent mother,” Smith said. “When she has a cub, she will take care of it.”

Smith said that will zookeepers don’t want to disturb the bonding between the mother and cub, but they will take the risk and do an assessment of the cub within the first 48 hours.

The biggest concern is the cub’s weight, Smith said, and that it continues to gain weight. Zookeepers will also be listening for healthy squeals from the cub, and signs and sounds that it is nursing.

The panda team will perform health checks every few days. Its gender was not immediately known.

Mei Xiang is expected to spend almost all of her time in her den for the next two weeks with her new cub.—AP

Deadly Delhi gang-rape inspires award-winning play

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013

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Patricia Azarcoya Schneider, Eugenio Derbez, Rob Schneider and Alessandra Rosaldo attend Pantelion Films’ “Instructions Not Included” Los Angeles Premiere After Party, on Thursday in Los Angeles. — AP

at China school of rock W

ith neat ponytails and immaculate grades, the four eight-year-olds who bounded on stage would make any Chinese parent proud-but wielding electric guitars, these schoolgirls were ready to add another brick in the wall of rock history.

Dressed in blue-sequinned jackets, their band Cool blasted out a song by British pop-rockers McFly in a heavy style echoing 1970s megastars Led Zeppelin, complete with rock star jumps and fist pumps.

“I like to play loud music which annoys old people,” said lead singer Zhou Zi, whose favourite toy is a big white teddy bear. “We like rock songs because they’re crazy.”

Cool’s members lead parallel lives as students at a chain of music schools hoping to create a new generation of Chinese rock stars, and the band were one of more than two dozen child outfits battling for honours at a competition in the northern port city of Tianjin earlier this month.

The event-where bands offered a mix of for-

eign covers and original tunes is a symbol of rock music’s move into the mainstream of China’s entertainment industry since it met opposition from authorities when it arrived in the country in the 1980s.

A band named Rock Fairytale-the eventual winners-played the Guns N’ Roses classic “Sweet Child O’ Mine” before the 10-year-old leader of another group, dressed in a spangly black shirt and leather boots, gave an impressive rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”.

Boom, from China’s poor Henan province, covered the Beatles’ “Twist and Shout”.

Asked what he knew about the British foursome, the band’s eight-year-old lead singer Jia Tianyi responded: “They’re probably from the US.” In defiance of rock cliche, irresponsible backstage behaviour at the competition was limited to impromptu games of hide and seek between band members, while Cool’s post-performance routine included eating peaches bought along by the bass player’s father.

Zhou Zi of Cool (front) rehearsing at a music school before a kid’s rock competition in Tianjin. —AFP

As well as attending normal classes, the band members also go to the Nine Beats music school in Tianjin, whose founder Li Hongyu says has more than 150 branches across China, and thousands of students in total.

“In the past, if parents wanted to children to study music, they would think of classical musical instruments... but few kids studying classical music are happy,” Li said.

“I believe that China’s future rock stars can be found at our school,” he added. “We are changing the direction of Chinese contemporary music.”

China’s first homegrown rock acts began to perform in the 1980s when the ruling Communist party relaxed cultural controls-only to be condemned by officials who shut down concerts and banned some songs from broadcast.

The student protestors in Tiananmen Square repeatedly sang “Nothing to my name” by Cui Jian, renowned as the father of Chinese rock, in 1989, and the song became a musical symbol of their defiance.

Cui was banned from playing large-scale concerts following the crackdown on the demonstrators in which hundreds, perhaps thousands of people were killed.

But Jonathan Campbell, the author of Red Rock, a history of the genre in China, told AFP: “Rock is not as dangerous as it used to be... I really do think there is a sense that it is OK now.

“The kids who grew up with Cui Jian are now parents... so priorities change and so do understandings and feelings about things like rock music,” he said.

China has played host to an increasing number of foreign rockers, with the Sex Pistols’ John Lydon playing earlier this year and Metallica appearing in Shanghai last week.

But some acts still face restrictions-Shanghai band Top Floor Circus, whose satirical lyrics poked fun at government projects in the city, had concerts banned by police in 2009.

“Rock as entertainment is totally safe, but there are limits. Some things are OK but suddenly you bump up against the wall,” said Campbell.

And while rock fans were once seen as rebellious youths hoping to alienate their parents, wannabe stars at the school have their families’ full support.

“Children are under a lot of pressure,” said Qi Yue, the mother of Cool’s lead singer. “Rock allows them to blow off steam.”

This picture taken on August 11, 2013 shows members of a young rock band preparing backstage during a kid’s rock competition in Tianjin. Electric guitar riffs and booming drum rolls filled a theater in northern China for a battle of the bands competition with a difference: all the musicians are school-aged children. — AFP

Zhou Zi of Cool (2nd L) chatting with her mother (R) before her performance during a kid’s rock competition. — AFP “Music brings them happiness,” father Zhou Hongxin said. “We only have one child in each family, but by being in a band, it’s as if they have sisters.”

Weeks before the competition, Cool met at the school for a weekly rehearsal as their parents sat outside-part of a regime which sees the children practice their instruments for up to two hours every evening.

Drummer Ma Ruisheng beat her sticks together before lead guitarist Wang Jiajun launched into the thumping riff from “I Love Rock And Roll” and the group erupted into giggles, drawing a frown from their teacher.

The school’s fees-about 200 yuan ($32) for an hour’s lesson, plus the costs of equipment-mean that most of Nine Beats’ graduates are members of China’s comfortably-off middle class, and have aspirations to match.

“Our dream is to release our own record, and travel the world performing in huge stadiums,” said Wang-as long as it does not interfere with their education. “Homework comes first,” said lead singer Zhou. “Not only has playing music not influenced our studies, it’s actually improved our results.” —AFP