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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

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US backs off imminent action against Syria Taking a huge gamble, US President seeks Congress approval

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama yesterday backed away from an imminent military strike against Syria to seek the approval of the US Congress, in a decision that likely delays US action for at least 10 days.

Obama, in a statement from the White House Rose Garden, said he had authorized the use of military force to punish Syria for a chemical weapons attack Aug 21 that US officials say killed 1,429 people.

Military assets to carry out a strike are in place and ready to move on his order, he said. But in an acknowledgement of protests from US lawmakers and concerns from war-weary Americans, Obama added an important caveat: he wants Congress to approve. Congress is currently in recess and not scheduled to return to work until Sept 9. “Today I’m asking Congress to send a message to the world that we are ready to move as one nation,” Obama said.

Obama’s decision was a big gamble that he can gain approval from Congress in order to launch a limited strike against Syria to safeguard an international ban on chemical weapons usage, guard US national security interests and protect regional allies like Turkey, Jordan and Israel. “I have long believed that our power is rooted not just in our military might, but in our example as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” Obama said.

His decision was also a significant shift away from what was perceived to be a strike fairly soon against Syrian targets. He had been prepared to act unilaterally after the British parliament refused to go along with American plans. Protracted and expensive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have left Americans reluctant to get involved in Middle Eastern conflicts.

Most Americans do not want the United States to intervene in Syria. A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken last week Continued on Page 13

Syrian soldiers kneel next to a multiple rocket launcher as they fire missiles during a maneuver at an unknown location, in Syria. — AP

Islamist rebels go into hiding BEIRUT: An anticipated US-led strike on Syria has not only put government forces on alert, it has also alarmed rebels, in particular Islamist groups linked to Al-Qaeda who worry they too are targets. The United States said on Friday it was planning a limited response to punish Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad for a “brutal and flagrant” chemical weapons attack it says killed more than 1,400 people in Damascus two weeks ago.

But Islamist rebels are wary, particularly experienced foreign militants who have joined their ranks and may have seen at first-hand US military campaigns and drone strikes on Al-Qaeda fighters across the region. Islamist forces have cleared many of their bases of fighters, vehicles and weaponry, according to rebels and sources close to Al-Qaedalinked fighters.

“Of course we’ve been moving our fighters and equipment. Do you think we trust the Americans?” said a fighter from the moderate Islamist rebel group

called Liwa Al-Islam, speaking by Skype from a suburb outside the capital Damascus. “They gave Assad two weeks’ notice to clear his bases. We know we’re the real target.”

Al Qaeda-linked groups such as the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) appear to be taking even more extensive and secretive measures. “ISIL has evacuated many of its centres, mainly in northern and eastern Syria. They’ve increased security for the emirs (leaders), changing their locations and their cars - they fear homing chips could have been placed in the cars,” said a source in Lebanon who is close Qaeda-linked groups in Syria.

Charles Lister, an analyst at IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency centre, said there was nothing to indicate Western plans for an attack on such groups in Syria right now. “But they are essentially hedging their bets. There’s too much to lose if no precautions are taken,” he said.

“Syria has provided jihadists with an Continued on Page 13

Iraq war haunts Obama

A combination of two file pictures shows US President Barack Obama (left) and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. — AFP

Kuwaitis urged to leave Lebanon ‘immediately’

Qaeda urges attacks on Egypt army CAIRO: A leader of Al-Qaeda’s Iraqi branch called yesterday on Egyptians to fight their army and derided the Muslim Brotherhood as “evil” for seeking power through democracy.

The audio message by Abu Mohammed Al-Adnani highlights the militant movement’s attempt to use Egypt’s July 3 coup, which toppled the country’s first freely elected president, to bolster a hard-line ideology favoring armed struggle over peaceful politics.

In the 32-minute audio, Al-Adnani derided the Brotherhood, from which ousted President Mohammed Morsi hails, as “a secular party with an Islamic cloak, worshipping power and parliaments, and their jihad is for democracy and not for God’s sake.” It is “more evil and malevolent than the secularists, and if seizing power necessitates bowing to the Devil, they will bow without hesitation,” he said.

Al-Adnani is official spokesman of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is battling Baghdad’s Shiite-led government.

The audio could not be independently verified but appeared on a website commonly used by militants. The Egyptian army overthrew Morsi after millions took to the streets demanding his removal. On Aug 14 the militarybacked government moved to break up sit-ins of his supporters, leaving hundreds dead. The Brotherhood has called for protests that it said should be non-violent, although some have turned into clashes with police or civilians.

Continued on Page 13

Max 44º Min 29º High Tide 07:31 & 22:31 Low Tide 01:55 & 16:16

RAFAH: Smoke rises following an explosion at a smuggling tunnel dug beneath the Gaza-Egypt border in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah yesterday.

Egyptian security forces have stepped up a crackdown campaign on smuggling tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. — AFP

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WASHINGTON: The painful legacy of the Iraq war has complicated President Barack Obama’s efforts to muster support for military action against Syria. As a senator, Obama opposed the Iraq war, and as president, he brought it to a close. But that war’s end did not erase memories of the false premise on which President George W Bush built a case for the US-led bombing campaign and ground invasion.

Ten years ago, Bush urged the American public, the Congress and the international community to believe intelligence assessments that Saddam Hussein’s government possessed weapons of mass destruction - a claim later proved wrong. Now Obama is holding Syrian President Bashar Assad responsible for a reported chemical weapons attack and saying that

justifies military action against his the Damascus government. But there are doubts about whether the evidence is convincing.

“The well of public opinion was well and truly poisoned by the Iraq episode and we need to understand the public skepticism,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said during Parliament’s debate that led to a stunning and unexpected refusal to endorse military action against Syria. Cameron and Obama argue that Iraq and Syria are vastly different in both the evidence in hand and the consequences.

Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction. In Syria, there is little doubt that civilians were killed by chemical weapons. The question is whether the United States can pin the blame beyond Continued on Page 13

29,940 traffic citations recorded in one week

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Arabs powerless, divided on Syria DUBAI: Divided over a conflict they failed to resolve diplomatically, Arab countries are powerless observers of possible US strikes on Syria not designed to achieve what most of them want-President Bashar Al-Assad’s downfall. “The Arab countries are weak, preoccupied by their own internal affairs. Some of them care little about what will happen in Syria,” said Emirati analyst Abdelkhaleq Abdallah.

“They are angry at the attitude of the international community which (they feel) has betrayed the Syrian people, but also by the fact that an Arab country is being targeted in unilateral strikes, without UN approval.” The Arab League, which suspended Syria’s membership in November 2011 and gave its seat to the main opposition group, has squarely accused the Assad regime of carrying out a chemical weapons attack in Damascus last week that killed hun-

dreds.

US Secretary of State John Kerry cited the pan-Arab body on Friday among a list of allies “ready to respond” to the chemicals weapons attack. But influential League members, including Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon and Tunisia, have expressed opposition to foreign military intervention in Syria. For Ibrahim Shaqieh, an expert on international crises at the Doha Brookings Centre, “this confusion reflects the state of shock that still exists throughout the entire Arab world” since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Like the governments, meanwhile, the opinion of the Arab public is equally torn, Shaqieh added. “Sentimentally, the Arabs reject foreign interventionism in the affairs of their countries, but logically they accept such interventionism,” he said.

Continued on Page 13

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

LOCAL

MP demands ‘joint press conference’ with govt Plans to handle any emergency

By A Saleh and Agencies KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti lawmaker urged the government to call for a ‘joint press conference’ with MPs to announce their plans to handle any emergency that could arise on the aftermath of sudden or unexpected insurgencies in the region.

Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah announced a meeting with MPs to discuss preparations to counter potential impact of the expected military strike against Syria. “The government is asked to hold a joint press conference after meeting the [parliament’s] foreign affairs committee to explain to the public how they are capable of maintaining stability internally in case of regional crises”, MP Dr Mohammad AlHuwailah said in a statement yesterday.

He highlighted the importance of “cooperation” in addressing this issue, and said that the government ’s emergency plan should take care of securing energy, health services, medication and supply of basic food items. Lawmakers in Kuwait prepare to meet with government officials Wednesday to discuss preparations to deal with potential aftermath of a possible military strike against Syria. “We have hopes that all MPs will be present at the meeting while the government attends with a large team instead of being limited to Foreign Ministry members”, MP Majid Musa was quoted by Al-Rai in a report yesterday.

Meanwhile, MP Al-Azmi said that a ‘wide governmental presence’ in the meeting is

important “as much as it is important to take every threat seriously, including Iran’s repeated threats of targeting American interests” in the region. In the meantime, Al-Rai also reported that the oil sector is already on high alert against any acts of sabotage. “Orders of increasing the level of alert were taken at refineries, production sites, and all other oil constructions and they include stricter entrance and exit procedures as well as extensive monitoring around the clock”, AlRai reported quoting sources who preferred to keep their identity anonymous.

The sources recognized the political developments in the region as a “motivation to take precautionary measures into account in order to secure oil constructions that represent the backbone of the national economy”, and added at the same time that coordination includes “securing the needs of power plants and the local market”. The sources also indicated that the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation has plans to handle different scenarios “including situations of cutting of marine supplies”.

Other MPs reiterated demands to call for an emergency session later this month in order to discuss the regional situation since the parliament’s summer recess does not end before October 29. “The announced preparations and the planned meeting with the [parliament’s] foreign affairs committee are not enough since we as lawmakers look for a realistic emergency plan capable of dealing with all kinds of odds, which includes a state of war”, MP Awdah Al-Ruwai’ei was quoted by

Al-Jarida daily yesterday.

Meanwhile, Al-Qabas daily quoted Gulf diplomats who described a United States-led strike against Syria as “imminent”, saying that it is likely to take place soon after United Nations inspectors left the country. The sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity also revealed that the Gulf Cooperation Council is expected to announce a ‘unified diplomatic movement’ following a ministerial meeting that takes place today in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Also yesterday, Al-Qabas reported that Interior Ministry departments received orders to increase safety measures around embassies and vital institutions in the state “as part of governmental preparations in light of the escalating developments in the region”, according to a security source with knowledge of the case.

Separately, Al-Anba daily quoted Ministry of Commerce and Industry insiders who expressed concern despite assurances from Minister Anas Al-Saleh who insisted that the state’s strategic food supply is sufficient to meet demands, regardless of regional developments. Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity questioned the government’s plans to replace nearly 60 percent of the total vegetable products in the local market which are imported from Levant countries. The sources also demanded testing of food items currently imported from Syria for potential contamination from the reported use of chemical weapons in the war-torn country.

29,940 traffic citations in one week

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: A fire broke out after Friday midnight in a Rumaithiya house, said security sources noting that fireman from Salmiya and Mishref rushed to the scene and managed to control the fire. No casualties were reported except for a fireman who suffered dehydration and was treated on site.

— Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: The traffic department launched several campaigns all over Kuwait from August 25-31, according to statistics released by the department. According to numbers, the campaign which lasted for a week resulted in 29,940 traffic citations, detaining of 776

vehicles and arresting 354 people. Numbers showed that 5,019 citations were filed, 145 vehicles were detained and 61 people were arrested while 4,680 traffic citations were filed, 95 vehicles were detained and 41 people arrested in Farwaniya.

Statistics also showed 5,070 traffic citations were filed, 124 vehicles were detained

and 124 people were arrested in Hawally; 2,083 traffic citations were filed, 19 vehicles detained and 7 people were arrested in Ahmadi while, 449 traffic citations were filed, 32 vehicles were detained in Mubarak Alkabeer in addition to 105 traffic citations filed, 23 vehicles detained and 3 people arrested in Jahra.

Asian robbed in Salmiya

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A female citizen recently filed a complaint at Subahiya police station reporting that her vehicle was broken into and thieves made off with KD 120 when it was parked outside a wedding hall. A case was filed and further investigations on.

Road accident A 44-year-old Sudanese was killed when he was run over by a vehicle in Qash’aniya.

Asian robbed An Asian reported that he had been stopped by four unidentified people in Salmiya who stole his wallet with his money and ID. The man said that the suspects drove a small vehicle and described it to the police. A case was filed.

Steel theft A truck driver and a winch operator were recently arrested over allegations of steel theft from an under-construction site in Salmiya, said security sources. The sources added that

the site guard called the police on seeing the two suspects loading the truck with steel. The suspects told the police that someone, whose mobile number was given to the police, called asking them to remove the steel. A case was filed and further investigations are in progress.

Citizen stabbed Police are looking for a citizen who stabbed another during a fight over parking in Fahaheel.

Drug man busted An Egyptian was arrested on arrival at Kuwait airport with possession of hashish, said security sources.

Copied Movie CDs A special inspection team from Ahmadi governorate on Friday raided an office that had been used for illegal copying of Arabic and foreign movie CDs where 105000 CDs and copying machines were found. Detectives say that this was the largest quantity of illegally copied CDs ever seized in Kuwait.

Strong Competition at Riqqa Battle Race KUWAIT: The ‘Dar Salwa’ Shou’ei Ship led by Noukhetha (captain) Meshal Al-Thufairi was crowned champion of the large ship class in the 19th annual Riqqa Battle Race, while the ‘Mohammad Al-Shamali’ Sanbouk Ship won the small ship race which took place yesterday under the patronage of the Wazzan Charity Foundation.

The race is organized every year by the Kuwait Sea Sports Club following the annual Pearl Diving

Trip, featuring ten diving ships; half of which presented by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and the other half by the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. On board of the ships were divers who took part in the 25th Annual Pearl Diving Trip which concluded earlier this month.

The race commemorates the memory of martyrs Najm AlWazzan and Mohammad Al-

Shamali who fell during the historical Riqqa battle in 1783, and are recognized as the first martyrs to die while defending Kuwait from outside aggressors. The race started at 8 am and featured strong competition despite low wind speed and high humidity.

Following the race, a coronation ceremony was held and attended by officials from the Kuwait Sea Sports Club abd the Wazzan Charity Foundation.

Khalifa Al-Rashid

Kuwaitis urged to leave Lebanon after harassment incidents BEIRUT: Kuwait embassy in Lebanon, in the midst of security uncertainity and consequent harassment, urged citizens to leave the country as soon as possible and has provided a plane that would leave Beirut soon “for those wishing to leave.” The embassy, in a statement, made the appeal after some parties adopted “unofficial” security measures “outside the framework of the State” which resulted in harassment of citizens and diplomats in Lebanon.

It warned that citizens who wanted to stay “will do that on their own responsibility due to the sensitivity of the situation.”

The embassy noted that those parties were ignoring laws and international laws, and have stopped and questioned a Kuwaiti diplomat at “one of the unofficial security checkpoints in an indecent manner, in viola-

tion of his diplomatic immunity or international relations or even the brotherly relations between the two countries.” The embassy said similar incidents happened with some embassies, therefore it was important that citizens leave the country for their own safety.

Earlier yesterday, official news agency reported that the Saudi Embassy submitted a complaint on Friday to the Foreign Ministry over Hezbollah’s security measures, which had the party’s elements checking one of the Embassy’s cars. The Saudi Embassy regarded that act as a violation of the Vienna convention, which governs diplomatic relations.

Hezbollah has boosted security measures in Beirut’s southern suburbs after a bombing that took place in the district of Al-Ruwais, killing at least 25 individuals and wounding tens of others. — KUNA

A view from the Riqqa Battle Race.

Noukhetha Al-Thufairi and his crew on the Dar Salwa Shou’ei Ship

Nouthetha Al-Kandari and his crew on board of the Mohammad AlShamali Sanbouk Ship

The Riqqa Battle Race in action

Kuwait sends fourth aid plane to Sudan KUWAIT: The Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) has sent its fourth plane carrying 10 tons of aid, consisting of water pumps, food, and electricity generators to Khartoum, to help those affected by the recent floods.

Chairman of KRSC Barjas Al-

Barjas said yesterday that the society will keep providing immediate aid to those affected by the disaster. He also added that the KRSC’s team in Sudan is providing daily aid in cooperation with the Sudanese Red Crescent. The team will send continuous updates regarding the

situation in flood stricken areas in Sudan in order to send out future aid programs, depending on the peopele’s need, he added.

Al-Barjas praised the cooperation between the society and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the field of humanitarian relief and

lauded the efforts of members of the Kuwaiti Embassy in Sudan. He noted that KRCS follows the directions of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah regarding providing aid to all those in need around the world. — KUNA

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

LOCAL

Health minister approves clinics segregation plan

Views differ on Kuwaitization of elementary grade teachers

By A Saleh KUWAIT: Health Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah approved a recommendation to allocate morning check-up hours at outpatient clinics in public hospitals for Kuwaiti patients only after following a similar experiment applied earlier this year at the Jahra Hospital which was described by senior ministry officials as “successful”. This was reported by sources who indicated that the plan “achieved its goals” in terms of easing pressure on public hospitals by adopting a nationality-based segregation system for clinical appointments. The plan announced last March gives Kuwaitis priority in medical check-ups during morning shifts while makes it mandatory for foreigners to stop by at afternoon shifts for medical tests at all outpatient clinics in public hospitals. A decision to adopt the mechanism at all hospitals in Kuwait is expected to be settled at the nearest meeting for the ministr y ’s Council of Medical Zones, said the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to reveal insider information before they are officially announced.

The ministry began studying the proposal as part of the government’s attempts to improve the quality of services at its overcrowded medical

Founding phase for students

By Nawara Fattahova

facilities, in light of the lack of infrastructure development that is adequate with the pace of the country’s demographic growth. News about the proposal sparked negative reactions after being broken by the local press given its ‘discriminatory’ nature, leading ministry officials to come out later and explain that the plan will not be applied at emergency rooms and trauma centers at public hospitals and polyclinics which remain open to Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis equally throughout the day.

Gulf emergency plan to tackle nuke leaks ready MANAMA: A Gulf emergency plan to tackle nuclear leaks in the region is ready and will be implemented in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will this week hold a meeting in Vienna and will discuss the emergency plan that will deal with nuclear leaks in the Gulf or elsewhere,” Mohammad Mubarak Bin Daina, vice chief executive of the Supreme Council for Environment in Bahrain, said in remarks published in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

“Concerns about nuclear radiation in some incidents such as in the Fukushima nuclear plant have pushed the GCC countries, keen on the physical well-being of

their citizens, to draw up emergency plans in case there are dangerous radiation levels from leaks,” he said.

In April, GCC officials said that the International Atomic Energy Agency should send international inspectors to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant after an earthquake struck the area and prompted grave Gulf concerns over possible radiation leaks.

The inspectors should inspect the plant and report on possible damage from the 6.1 magnitude quake, the GCC said.

The GCC countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have regularly called for a close monitoring of the nuclear situation in neighbouring Iran, expressing concern about possible hazards and dangers.

KUWAIT: The Ministr y of Education has a 10-year plan of nationalizing (Kuwaitizing) elementary grade at public schools, by replacing expat teachers with Kuwaiti teachers. The ministry started executing this plan in six governorates starting from the new school year, to teach the students in a way they can understand and in a language they are familiar with.

Minister of Education Dr Nayif Al-Hajraf held field visits to different schools recently during which he said the plan will be applied when schools start from Sept 8, 2013. He said that his plan is to focus on elementary grade as this is the founding phase for students, and is considered the basic pillar when children begin to form an individual personality - and at a time like this, there’s a necessity for teachers who understand the children from a local perspective.

Al-Hajraf also suggested transferring expat teachers from elementary grade to the intermediate grade even before the beginning of the school year. He expects this plan to improve the standard of graduates.

The schools started collecting the number of expat teachers working in elementary grade last week. All expat teachers from Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, and Tunisian nationalities will be transferred, while the GCC and Yemeni teachers will continue in their present roles.

A Kuwaiti teacher working

KUWAIT: A scene from one of the elementary schools. — Photo by Joseph Shagra

currently in a private school does not completely believe this news.

“I have doubts about it as the government is oppressing Kuwaiti teachers and I’m an example of this oppression. As I don’t have wasta, I couldn’t return to work in the public school, although I’m a Kuwaiti, while the expat teachers are working in the public schools and I don’t think they will leave their work there. Now I’m working at a private school, but this job is not stable as the contract is for one year only. If this news was real, I think it would be good step, as this is best keeping our children’s interests in mind,” she told the Kuwait Times.

Hassan, an expat teacher said that this plan is not a new one and in fact, began a few years ago. “Replacing expat teachers with Kuwaitis started a few years ago when they applied the decision of employing female teachers in all elementary schools, including the boys’ schools. This was due to the increasing number of Kuwaiti female graduates compared to male graduates. On the other hand, there is still a shortage of Kuwaiti teachers in English, mathematics, physical education, and ar ts, and the number of graduates were not enough to cover all public schools, so the expat teachers had to compensate,” he

explained. Maha, a 46-year-old Kuwaiti mother of four children thinks this decision is correct.

“Elementary grade is the basic and most important stage in a student’s life, so it should be correct especially language-wise. I suffered with my son when his teacher was Tunisian and he couldn’t understand her dialect properly. My daughter’s English teacher was Egyptian and her pronunciation was wrong and my daughter learned the same accent. I think that expat teachers should teach in higher grades if there is a shortage, but at the elementary stage, they should be Kuwaitis or at least from the GCC,” she pointed out.

Online driving test appointment service

By A Saleh KUWAIT: The traffic department recently launched its online driving test appointment service, as an experiment and is expected to be used in other departments once the pros and cons have been studied comprehensively.

The traffic department explained that to use

the service, applicants had to log on to: www.moi.gov.kw or www.moi.gov.kw/gdt, press the book test appointment icon, select the date from a given list, read the rules and conditions, press ‘Agree to terms’ to continue, enter civil ID number or reference number, select date and then print the form.

The Interior Ministry recently asked the cus-

toms department to ban the entry of import of wireless landline phones of the ‘Senao’ brand for security reasons. MoI justified the decision by the interference of the waves used by those wireless phones with the police communication grid, especially when mobile wireless devices are used in vehicles and linked to Senao landline wireless telephones.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

LOCAL In my view

Local Spotlight

Interfaith marriage

How can the Arab Spring be saved?

By Frida Ghitis

R

evolutions devour their young. That lesson became well-known after the French Revolution, and it has proven itself true many times since then. Now the Arab Spring-whose very name summed up the idealistic, democratic expectations of the activists that launched it and the optimistic reception their movement engendered around the world-looks like it may well join the long list of popular uprisings that failed disastrously to meet those aspirations.

It has turned out that mass movements would not swiftly sweep away entrenched dictators and replace them with pluralistic democratic rule. In Tunisia, where a street vendor set himself on fire in December 2010, igniting the region, someone has been assassinating liberal politicians, raising tensions between the Islamist-dominated government and an increasingly restless opposition.

In Syria, what started as a peaceful uprising against the rule of President Bashar Al-Assad has turned to civil war.

More than 100,000 Syrians are dead. Millions more have fled, further destabilizing a fragile region. Al-Assad, with the support of Iran, Hezbollah and Russia, has stopped the opposition’s momentum. The democratic movement has been invaded by radical Islamists, including Al-Qaeda loyalists. The country is falling apart and could well end up as a failed state, run by warlords and split along sectarian lines.

There are serious troubles also in Libya, and few if any signs of democratic progress anywhere else, not in Bahrain, Jordan or Saudi Arabia. Is the Arab Spring over? Is there any hope for the people of the Arab Middle East to enjoy true democracy, equality, respect for human rights, freedom of

In Syria, what started as a peaceful uprising against the rule of President Bashar Al-Assad has turned to civil war. More than 100,000 Syrians are dead. Millions more have fled, further destabilizing a fragile region. Al-Assad, with the suppor t of Iran, Hezbollah and Russia, has stopped the opposition’s momentum. The democratic movement has been invaded by radical Islamists, including Al-Qaeda loyalists. The country is falling apart and could well end up as a failed state, run by warlords and split along sectarian lines. the press and of religion?

All eyes are now on Egypt, the Arab world’s most important country, a state whose political example has proven a regional trendsetter over many decades. As in the other struggling Arab Spring nations, democracy here has also found toxic soil. But the cause is not hopeless. Despite the setbacks for revolution, something has changed in the region, and it is in Egypt where the movement will live or die. It was in Cairo’s Tahrir Square where liberal groups launched their movement for democracy, only to see their vision hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood. And it is in Egypt where last month they made a push to save their revolution from Islamists, only to be outplayed yet again, this time by the military and its leader, Gen Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

The highly disciplined Brotherhood won the first wave of democratic elections, but its intentions differed sharply from those of the Tahrir protesters. President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, set on a course to give his Muslim Brotherhood steadily expanding control of the country. The Brotherhood repeatedly broke promises and started to create a country dominated by its loyalists, firing critical newspaper editors, blocking opposing views from the writing of the new constitution, naming Brotherhood members as provincial governors, allowing laws and practices that were disastrous, even deadly, for Christians, Shiites and women. Making matters much worse, the economy started spiraling down, creating enormous hardships for the Egyptian people.

Then the Tamarod (rebellion) movement gathered millions of signatures calling for the president’s resignation and new elections. On June 30, millions of Egyptians took to the streets. Within hours, the military put an end to the Muslim Brotherhood rule. Morsi has been held in an disclosed location since then, but the European Union’s top diplomat, Catherine Ashton, met with him for two hours recently. Egyptians by the millions are exhilarated by the end of the Muslim Brotherhood experiment, intoxicated with gratitude to the military, grateful for removing the president. Al-Sisi’s profile is rising. He’s clearly in command and exploiting the popular adulation.

But is this what the Arab Spring was supposed to do, replace an unelected dictator with a general and his handpicked prime minister? In a highly suspicious move, Al-Sisi called for a mass demonstration in support of the military on Friday, summoning his backers to the streets, even as thousands of Morsi supporters continued a sit-in outside a mosque. On the day of the protest, as if to provoke the Islamists to confrontation, Morsi was charged with murder and espionage.

With the strong show of popular support, security forces took on the Islamists. In the clashes, which have been replicated in other cities, scores of Brotherhood supporters have been killed. Liberal Egyptians are getting worried. Al-Sisi’s own words should be cause for concern. He has defended the military’s outrageous “virginity tests” on female activists as a way to “protect the girls from rape.” The military has promised a return to democracy next year, but Al-Sisi has written about the need to introduce another version of Islamist rule to Egypt. Authorities are reviving Mubarak-era institutions of repression amid an atmosphere of swelling nationalism and adulation for the military.

This is a steep, seemingly impossible, challenge for liberals. The military saved them, but it could easily bury them.

What they have in their favor is that the Arab Spring introduced the concept of democratic legitimacy into Egypt. A government that strays too visibly, for too long, will ultimately face the wrath of the people.

What activists should do, and the world should help them do, is stress the fundamental values of liberal democracy and publicly demand that the military affirm its own acceptance of those values-which the Brotherhood was criticized for violating-including freedom of thought, freedom of the press and equal rights under the law for all.

The killing of Muslim Brotherhood supporters is a shameful violation of those principles. Egypt needs to develop democratic institutions, political tolerance, real political parties and politically educated citizens. It’s a tall order. But it’s the only way to keep the revolution from devouring the ideals on which it was launched.

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

I

kuwait digest

Diary of govt ‘husbands’

By Tha’ar Al-Rashidi

T

he easiest way to know a man’s secrets is to of former senior officials and assign them the job of ask his divorced wife about him, especially if exposing all violations in the ministries they had they have gone to cour t to settle some worked in. They will be able to reveal all the secrets issues. Only then will a woman tell you everything. then. This simple ‘technique’ will help the governNaturally, there are some exceptions to this gen- ment identify who, when and how general budgets eral rule. Throughout my career in journalism, I and tenders’ budgets have been stolen and how have learnt that if you want to know about the public funds have been wasted. It will help unfold scandals of a government establishment, you major scandals neither we, the people, nor the govshould ask retired officials who worked there; espe- ernment had ever known about. cially the ones whose services were terminated, If this is hard to execute, I suggest that the govfrozen or suspended for a ernment mandate each senlong time before they were Everybody knows a lot about ior official write his own officially laid off. on the condition that violations and, yet, ever ybody diary Former officials are the they will receive their indembest ones to reveal the keeps silent about them. For nity and bonus only after minor details and scandals instance, and only for instance, they hand over copies of of the establishments or had the files of the millions-worth their diaries. I am quite sure ministries they had worked bank deposits been open, I am sure that those diaries will in. Some time ago (I do not include unbelievable scanwant to reveal the exact that at least 30 of the current sen- dals and secrets. date to protect the official’s ior officials could have been Ever ybody k nows a lot identity) a minister was deposed. The same applies for the about violations and, yet, politically targeted in a Dow Jones issue. It could have ever ybody keeps silent vicious way. The campaign about them. For instance, deposed over 50 current senior and only for instance, had launched against him exposed many scandals officials. the files of the millionsthat seemed so strange worth bank deposits been and unexpected at that time. Later on, we discov- open, I am sure that at least 30 of the current senior ered that the one behind leaking his secrets, which officials could have been deposed. The same could have cost the minister his position unless an applies for the Dow Jones issue. It could have immediate reshuffle happened, was a former offi- deposed over 50 current senior officials. So, with cial who used to work in the same ministry who simple calculations, only those two issues could had been unjustly terminated by the same minister. have exposed 80 senior officials; so imagine what Based on this, I suggest that the government we could have discovered in other government should immediately form a committee comprising establishments and ministries! —Al-Anbaa

kuwait digest

nterfaith marriages or mixed marriages, as they are more commonly known, are increasing in the Arab world including Kuwait. Although no law or power can ever control matters of the heart and who one chooses to be with, this type of marriage should always be treated with caution. The risk it holds is that it could bring more pain and misery in case of a divorce and more complications, especially if children are involved. The children will suffer more when they have to stay with one of the parents and move to their home country where they will be looked upon as aliens. The parents will move on with their lives while the kids suffer. This could be looked upon as a reason to restrict this kind of marriage and the law should also look at how the kids can be protected in case of a divorce.

An interfaith marriage is a marital union in which partners come together from different religious backgrounds. It happens all the time but is not always successful. Two people meet at a work place, a business meeting or in college and most of the time, it’s the man who notices the pretty lady next to him and decides that he wants her for life.

This is when they think of appropriate and legal ties called marriage.

Let’s look at the most common scenario here, when the man is a Muslim and the woman is a nonMuslin and mostly Christian. Most of the time, they may end up having two marriage ceremonies, one in the mosque and the other in church to satisfy both parties. By the end of the day, everyone is happy and content. This is a dream come true and a fairytale ending for both of them who get their ‘happily ever after’. But after this, the traditions are not that easy and this is where the power of the family, ideas, public attitudes, and societal pressure all come into play and these are the key elements which will influence the man and his future.

Most of these marriages take place without the blessings or approval of the man’s family. In the West, a man or a woman can marry someone without the presence of their family, but in this part of the world, it’s not considered acceptable. In most of these marriages, the man confronts the family with his decision and his innocent wife ends up paying the price. She would have been brought up in an open society with the freedom to make her own choices but men here stay with their parents until they get married.

Everyone wishes for such a marriage to survive and thrive but when things go wrong, the man simply leaves the woman and lives life on his own terms. The kids pay a high price here and when divorced moms seek financial rights for her kids, they claim that they can’t afford to pay for lawyers. I understand that attorneys charge too much and you need time in courts.

This is why I believe that family courts are essential to save the women the trouble of paying for expensive lawyers and the chance of losing their kids. Family courts should make it easier for anyone seeking legal recourse because kids can’t wait for years on end for their rights, that much I’m sure.

Interfaith marriages or mixed marriages will continue to be a challenge and this is why I advise women to wait and not rush into marriages where they may have to pay the price all alone when the dream ends and the man moves on with his life, letting her pick up the pieces alone.

Need an active prime minister

By Aziza Al-Mufarej

W

e cannot consider Kuwait a failed country and bad administration a common denominator and place it on the list of backward and between all official departments in the state. We poor countries which do not give any- have failed ministers in Kuwait because the stanthing to their citizens. At the same time, we cannot dards of selecting them have nothing to do with say that it is a successful country and place it next ability and competence. We also have failed underto advanced countries. There are reasons for both secretaries because they consider the chair an honcases. Accuracy and speed of work, and serving citi- or and not a duty. When the leaders don’t take zens here in Kuwait are bright spots, like the social responsibility, it is natural for work and progress to security’s institute, and the Public Authority for Civil not be up to the mark as well. It is not strange to Information, and the success of those entities in see employees busy with iPhones and Galaxy performing their job. This is indicated in its ability instead of serving citizens and processing their to overcome chronic failtransactions. ure in choosing suitable Small employees, senior We cannot consider Kuwait a leaderships for various employees, undersecretaries posts, and was able to successful country, because we see and ministers cannot function appoint the right man in aspects of financial and adminis- at an optimum level if they the right place, despite trative failures wherever we look, don’t have a driving force to some corruption. and all ministries and establish- move them and an energy Anyhow, getting an which knows how to transments have many defects. We find form their failures into suchonest and trustworthy employee is difficult these bad decisions and bad administra- cess. Prime Ministers of South days, especially in a coun- tion a common denominator Korea, Malaysia, and UAE are tr y where most of the between all official departments in all successful premiers. businesses run on wasta.

They astonished the world the state. We have failed ministers Like the saying: ‘Give the and placed their nations on baker your bread even if in Kuwait because the standards of the map of the most successhe steals half of it’ - this selecting them have nothing to do ful countries, and this is what will be the best solution. with ability and competence. we exactly need. We are in This way, at least we get need of an active prime minissomething towards the ter who likes to work and is end instead of nothing, and the thief bears the sin seen on the field more often than in his office of what he stole. On the other hand, we cannot receiving guests. Our situation in Kuwait is domiconsider Kuwait a successful country, because we nated by failure more than success and this is sadsee aspects of financial and administrative failures dening for us. Things will not change and become wherever we look, and all ministries and establish- straight until we get a prime minister like Sheikh ments have many defects. We find bad decisions Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. — Al-Watan

kuwait digest

Lesson learned from new traffic laws

By Dr Naji Saud Al-Zaid

T

he only advantage of summer is the reduced traffic jams, thanks to schools and universities closing for vacation which immediately reflects on the roads with traffic nearly cut to half.

But this will not last long, and jams will start once schools reopen. It is a must to remind what Major General Abdulfattah Al-Ali, the Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs started in terms of traffic laws must become the way of life for all the laws. The efforts of Major General Al-Ali has shown results and sustaining the traffic program will reduce the uncivilized traffic practices that take place in Kuwait like speeding, jumping the red light, recklessness and also cut down on traffic fatalities. Kuwait’s hospitals and graveyards witness many strange types of traffic accidents which can’t be imagined in any other country; it’s almost as if they are a trademark of Kuwait.

The aim of implementing the law seriously is to reduce traffic fatalities and benefit Kuwait’s society by providing road safety for all. We hope that the Interior Ministry with its new old ministry encourages the initiative of Al-Ali in the traffic department, and applies that seriousness to all fields, so a citizen or an expat will think twice before using wasta and everyone will be set right.

We will start seeing a change in behavior amongst the youth after this. Laws are in place to be respected and not violated and wasta interferes and stops violators from being punished. What Major General Al-Ali started must continue and extend to all officials and ministries so that society can live in peace without violations or wasta. — Al-Qabas

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

LOCAL

Govt ‘lukewarm’ on bedoons naturalization proposals Candidates required to meet more conditions

By A Saleh KUWAIT: The government does not have plans to accept proposals to naturalize between 34,000 and 35,000 stateless residents who meet the basic conditions to obtain Kuwaiti citizenship, and instead plans to go on with naturalization efforts as scheduled. The proposal is set to be discussed during upcoming meetings of the parliament’s interior and defense committees which are set to be attended individually by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Sheikh Khalid Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah.

According to repor ts, the number of ‘bedoons’ mentioned above possess documents for the official 1965 census; which is recognized as a necessary precondition for any naturalization application presented by stateless residents in Kuwait. An announcement made earlier this year led many to believe that the government plans to naturalize everybody who has these documents, but according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity “the candidates are still required to meet other conditions” which include a clean criminal record as well.

The sources also indicated that the government remains ‘lukewarm’ by naturalization proposals “and instead prefers to wait until the Central Apparatus for Stateless Residents files its final report on the thorny issue”. The Kuwaiti government established the apparatus in 2010 with a five-year ultimatum 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. Kuwait’s community of stateless residents, estimated at 105,000, demands citizenship as well as civil and social rights they are deprived from given their illegal residence status. The government in the meantime argues that only 34,000 qualify for consideration while the rest are Arabs or descendent of Arab people who deliberately disposed their original passports after coming to Kuwait to seek citizenship in the oil-rich country.

The Central Apparatus for Illegal Residents adopted measures within a year of its formation to grant stateless residents numerous rights which include obtaining marriage, birth and death certificates, but inability to provide significant improvement in living conditions prompted several protests in the past couple of years

which saw around 200 stateless men arrested for illegal gathering. Last May the Apparatus’ President Saleh Al-Fadhalah announced they were able to identify the original nationalities of 67,000 out of 93,000 ‘bedoons’ registered in its records.

Last year, the government also adopted a new form of security IDs given to stateless residents and used it as their main form of identification. The cards contain colored tags referring to the category under which a holder is recognized in state records; including those eligible for naturalization and others the government claims to have proof that they belong to other countries. For example, a bearer of a red-tagged card is classified under ‘people with criminal restrictions’ which renders naturalization applications automatically disqualified.

The parliament passed a bill last March doubling the number of people the government can naturalize each year to a maximum of 4,000, and that after the Cabinet agreed to give priority in granting citizenship to stateless residents who meet the required conditions.

The term ‘bedoon’ is Arabic for without, and is often used as a loose reference to the fact that stateless residents live without nationality since birth.

Ministry criticized for cable thefts

By A Saleh and agencies

KUWAIT: Firefighting teams were dispatched to Al-Rai area where a huge fire was reported to have started in a carpentry shop behind the CBK building, said security sources noting that the teams were still dealing with the fire at the time this report was made and that the cause of the fire was not yet known. —Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

KUWAIT: Minister of Electricity and Water Abdul-Aziz Al-Ibrahim asked MPs or anyone else who accuses him of violating the law, to present proof that supports their claims.

This was reported by sources close to the minister who further indicated that Al-Ibrahim is ‘prepared’ for any grilling motions he could face when the parliament resumes sessions in less than two months.

“In response to recent inquiries about threats that lawmakers made against him, Al-Ibrahim argued that interpellations are sometimes used to intimidate ministers by those who couldn’t obtain a certain issue legally or feel bitter after they rightfully lost a tender”, said the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. They further indicated that the minister showed cooperation with any potential calls to probe procedures for tenders awarded to projects super vised by the Ministr y of

80% of Jaber Hospital complete, project handover pushed to ’15 KUWAIT: Well-informed sources at the Health Ministry said that over 80 percent of the construction work of the Jaber Hospital project was completed.

The sources also added that due to some technical and administrative logistics, the project would be completed by 2015 instead of early next year.

The sources noted that once completed, Jaber Hospital would be the largest in the Middle East with latest technology and 1,168 bed capacity.

They added that the hospital would

comprise of four main buildings; the main hospital, a dental center, a central unit, and a hostel.

Moreover, sources explained that the main building comprises of 10 floors to be used for medical purposes and five others for services. The hospital will also have a multi-storey parking with space for 5,000 vehicles.

On a separate note, informed health sources said that after consulting the civil services commission, 500 expat doctors working for the ministry

would receive special monthly increment varying between KD 100-350.

The sources added that Undersecretary Dr Khaled Al-Sahlawi had approved the requests made by only 500 out of 2,500 doctors to get the increment. They also explained that general practitioners (GP) would get KD 100-150, senior GPs would get KD 150250, specialists would get KD 200-250, senior specialists would get KD 250-300 and consultants would get KD 300-350 increase.

Foreign ministers to meet in Cairo KUWAIT: Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah flies to Cairo today to chair Kuwait’s delegation to an Arab foreign ministers’ meeting on Syria. Sheikh Sabah is expected to be accompanied by the director of his office Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Mohammad Al-Sabah, Kuwait ’s envoy to the Arab League Aziz Al-Daihani and other officials.

The Arab League announced earlier yesterday that today’s meeting would touch upon the conflict in Syria, at the behest of some Arab countries.

A League’s Council meeting, at the level of delegates, is to precede the main ministerial meeting tomorrow morning in order to prepare a draft agenda, which includes a number of joint Arab works on political, security, and economic levels, as well as joint Arab work system.

The agenda also includes Arab-Israeli conflict and Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

Meanwhile, the United Nations team investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria’s conflict ended

its mission and left the country early yesterday. The 13-car convoy crossed into neighboring Lebanon via the Masna border checkpoint in the early hours of the morning, according to reporters at the border.

Team is expected to brief UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon on their findings later. For its part, Syrian government said it would not accept any “incomplete” report from the UN inspection team and urged the UN inspectors to complete laboratory examination of the samples they have taken from inside Syria.

The UN inspectors’ departure paves the way for widelyexpected US-led military punitive action against the Syrian regime.

The White House on Friday confirmed that the administration planned to proceed with what President Barack Obama described as “limited and narrow” military action against the Syrian government.

The armies of the neighboring Iraq, Jordan and Turkey have been on high alert on the past few days in anticipation of the military action against Syria. —KUNA

Kuwait, IACA affirms importance of crack down on corruption VIENNA: Kuwait and the International Anti-Corruption Adacemy (IACA) have underlined high importance of cracking down on corruption, expressing keenness to cement cooperation in the fight against corruption.

This came during a meeting between chairman of Kuwaitís anti-corruption authority Justice Abdulrahman AlNemash and Martin Kreutner, executive director of IACA, in Vienna yesterday.

Al-Nemash said Kuwait was keen on joining IACA, while Kreutner briefed the visiting delegaiton about the structure of the academy, its objectives and achievements.

Kreutner said the Vienna-based IACA was the world’s only organization which addressed shortcomings related to cracking down on corruption.

He added that IACA was providing education, research and technical services for all parties in the face of corruption.

Kreutner said IACA became an international organization on March 2011, with 64 countries and three international organizations as members.

He said the academy sought partners from the public and private sectors, NGOs and civil society organizations.

The IACA, he added, was an observer member in the UN economic and social council.

The Kuwaiti delegation in Vienna had taken part in the open-member government team meetings dealing with the fight against corruption. The meeting touched upon integrity of judiciary, educating the public over corruption and role of media in that respect. —KUNA

Emergency plan to cover regional developments KUWAIT: The Ministry of Information has devised a plan and established a special team to follow up on developments within the Middle East, said an official yesterday.

Undersecretary at the Ministry of Information, Salah AlMubaraki said that the ministry’s plan was devised last week. He indicated that the Information Ministry would coordinate with other sectors of the state to ensure that the plan was successfully carried out.

The cabinet held an ex traordinar y session Thursday and tasked a special team to follow up on regional events and activate contingency plans and take necessary precautions to preserve national security and stability. —KUNA

Electricity and Water or the Ministry of Public Works whose portfolio he is also handling.

In other news, Islamic Constitutional Movement member Osama Al-Shaheen released a statement condemning the “repeated power cuts reported during the past couple of months” which the MEW had admitted were caused by organized theft of high voltage cables in transformers around the country. The ministry faces a challenge every summer to cope with the gradually increasing demand on its services, but their efforts this year were hampered by repeated thefts which Ministry officials described as the only reason for blackouts repor ted so far around Kuwait.

A State Audit Bureau released a month 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 KD15 million each year to repair damage resulted from these thefts. According to earlier reports, at least 60 cable thefts have so far been reported this year, resulting in blackouts that changed an otherwise ‘successful campaign’ in which the ministr y boosted production capacity to cope with the growing demand in summer.

In other news, Al-Qabas reported yesterday that regular maintenance operations which were supposed to kick off today were likely to be postponed for one month because temperatures remained unusually high by the end of August.

“The postponement insures that power plants continue to work at full capacity in wait for temperatures to start dropping gradually”, said sources familiar with the maintenance plan that they indicated is now planned to end by May 31, 2014 instead of the end of April.

Kuwait improved the daily elec-

tricity 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.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

LOCAL

Drunks leave Kuwaiti critically wounded Ex-husband charged with attempted murder KUWAIT: Ahmadi police are investigating a case where a man accused a group of people of leaving him injured after a brutal assault, following a traffic dispute in the area. In his statements to police, the Kuwaiti man said that he was driving when his car collided with another, forcing him to change lanes to avoid hitting another speeding vehicle. He added that people stepped out from both cars after that then beat him up. He also told police that the suspects were most likely drunk during the time of the incident, and that he suffered a serious injury after one of them stabbed him with a knife. The man submitted a medical report from Adan Hospital which detailed the injuries he sustained during the assault. Investigations are on to capture the suspects.

in Ahmadi. According to the police report, the two arrived in a white pickup truck outside warehouses that belong to the Environment Public Authority before attempting a robbery at gunpoint. But when the workers put up a fight, the suspects fired rounds from their AK47 and then drove away along the Wafra Road.

Criminal investigators recovered several bullet casings from the scene. No injuries were reported in the incident. A case has been filed for investigations.

pect reportedly escaped minutes before police arrived at the scene after the harried woman placed an emergency call. She explained that the man forced his way into the house after her maid answered the door, adding that his anger stemmed from an old, unresolved dispute between them. Police obtained the suspect’s information and investigations are currently ongoing.

Armed robbery Search is on for two men who are responsible for a failed armed robbery reported Friday

Murder attempt Hawally police are looking for a man who faces charges after attempting to murder his exwife, according to her complaint. In her statements to local police, the female citizen said that her ex-husband stormed her house in Salwa with a knife in hand and threatened to kill her, adding that she managed to escape his wrath by locking herself inside a room. The sus-

Unlicensed weapons Two people were arrested in Hawally for possessing unlicensed rifles. Traffic police ordered a vehicle to pull over after its driver attempted to drive in the wrong way to avoid a checkpoint.

The driver was ordered to step outside his vehicle after he failed to produce a license, and then was arrested along with his partner after police found two rifles and dozens of rounds inside the car. They were referred to the proper authorities to face charges.

Abdullah Ahmad Al-Kanderi

Nabil Hussein Al-Omar

Aaref Delim Al-Majedi

Three more hopefuls register for municipal seats KUWAIT: Candidacy registration for upcoming municipal elections proceeded for the fourth consecutive day yesterday, with three hopefuls delivering their papers at the general election affairs commission of the Ministry of Interior.

The candidates who submitted their nomina-

tion papers were Abdullah Ahmad Al-Kanderi and Nabil Hussein Al-Omar from the fourth constituency, and Aaref Delim Al-Majedi from the 8th constituency.

Nominees’ registration is due to proceed till Sept 6.

Kuwait has witnessed municipal elections 10 times since the State’s independence in 1961.

The first polling was held in June 1964.

The municipal council plays a key role in the country’s construction, development and beautification of public places and streets. —KUNA

Dubai: A magnet for GCC tourists

Mohammed Al-Muhairi

Ryadhi Al-Shamsi

DUBAI: Dubai has become a main touristic destination for GCC states’ vacationers due to its vast open markets and e-government procedures that serve the public without any unnecessary hassle.

A number of GCC citizens visiting Dubai said that the city has become an interesting place to visit as a result of efforts made by its thoughtful and ambitious leadership.

Visiting Dubai for the second time, Saudi national Aidaroos Al-Mihdhar said that Dubai’s astonishing infrastructure and open market attracted tourists from all over the globe and especially from the GCC countries.

High-end restaurants and cafes, appropriate prices, and geographic proximity were some of the other attractions that brought people to Dubai, said Al-Midhar.

Mohammed Al-Attas, also a Saudi national, said that this was his first visit to Dubai. He indicated that he was very proud of Dubai’s development and excellence, considering it one of the major global cities.

Mohammed Al-Attas and Aidaroos Al-Mihdhar

Different people from all over the world visit the city or maybe even consider the prospect of settling there, said Al-Attas who indicated that Dubai was an example in terms of co-existence and respect for religions and peoples.

For their parts, Nawaf Al-Shuail and Mathkuor Al-Mathkuor from Kuwait praised the level of the hotels and accommodation in Dubai, saying that people from all walks of life could find a place to stay whether it was a seven star hotel or a modest apartment.

Omani Ryadhi Al-Shamsi said what characterized Dubai was the commitment to law and order, which made visitor and people living there feel comfortable and safe.

In Dubai, it would be easy to call taxis and navigate the city but what made a difference in transportation was the establishment of the Dubai Metro, an ambitious project which has led considerably to less traffic on the street, said Al-Shamsi.

Al-Shamsi noted that many families preferred Dubai for its various malls where they could

spend long hours shopping, entertain children, or dine at the finest restaurants and cafes.

Tourists could also spend time in open spaces such as parks, beaches, and old markets where they could shop outdoors, he said, adding that various festivals such as the Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Festival, as well as the activities at the Global Village were a few of Dubai’s major tourist attractions.

UAE nationals also provided their humble input on the reason why Dubai was a touristic magnet, Mohammed Al-Muhairi said that what characterized Dubai was its architectural development and proximity to Gulf States, such facts made the city a popular destination for GCC citizens.

Al-Muhairi added visitor to Dubai could also use the city for as a base for other trips to nearby Emirates such as Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or Ras AlKhaimah and other areas, which in turn made Dubai a favorite destination for Gulf countries’ citizens. —KUNA

New detour opened in Jahra Road KUWAIT: The supervising authority undertaking the Jahra Road Development project, one the largest transport infrastructure projects worldwide, yesterday announced the opening of a new detour in Jahra Road Friday evening. The detour is located on Jahra road opposite the Andalus coming from Jahra area and this crossover is an extension of existing detour toward the United Nations with a total length of 1,000 meters.

The Deputy Engineer, Hanan Abdel Mahdi Hussein stated that the main objective of the detour is to reroute the traffic on construction site in order to create more workspace for the establishment for the construction of bridges and other structures.

“The Traffic Authority verified all security and safety conditions present for the approval and issued all the necessary permits to open the temporary road” added Hanan.

Addressing Jahra Road users, Hanan

said: “With extending sincere apologies for any inconvenience this detour may cause; we ask all drivers to use caution while driving within the construction area and abide by all traffic guidelines to secure road safety for them and the project’s construction workers”.

The project is located in the western region of Kuwait, which extends from the Jahra Gate (Jahra Gate Roundabout Sheraton) to the United Nations Roundabout. It is also one of the main projects in the Ministry of Public Works’ strategic plan to develop roads and motorways in the State of Kuwait in order to address the future demand of traffic, minimize traffic congestions and improve road safety.

The MPW formulated agreements with Louis Berger in collaboration with the Pan Arab Consulting Engineers as project design and supervision consultants and the Arab Contractors Company (ACC) Othman Ahmad Othman as the project contractor.

Chiefs of GCC news agencies in town KUWAIT: KUNA’s Board Chairman and Director General Sheikh Mubarak Al-Duaij Al-Sabah welcomed yesterday senior media officials from the Gulf states who came to Kuwait to participate in the 17th GCC news agencies meeting, to be held from today till September 4.

Sheikh Mubarak said that this periodical meeting comes within the Gulf Cooperation Council states’ vision to further advance media cooperation and encourage the exchange of expertise and information.

Meeting regularly, Kuna chief noted, helps the Gulf states’ news agencies to keeping up to date with the latest technologies introduced to news reporting and to getting familiarized with the latest political developments in the region.

The meeting will tackle establishing strategies for joint media frameworks and follow up on recommendations made during previous meetings.

Sheikh Mubarak stressed that in order to

keep up with the Gulf region’s vision of its development plans, human resources in media fields should be improved and trained accordingly to carry out their tasks professionally and efficiently.

Improving media in all of its forms audio, visual, printed and e-content is another goal that needed to be achieved comprehensively in order to be able to deal with the latest developments in the Middle East accurately and transparently and within media reporting regulations and standards.

The meeting will see the participation of Director General of the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) Khalid Al-Ghassani, Director General of the Emirates News Agency ( WAM) Ibrahim Al-Abed, Director General of the Qatar News Agency (QNA) Ahmed Saad AlBuainain, Acting General Director of Oman’s news agency Dr. Mohammad Al-Oraimi and Director of Bahrain News Agency (BNA) Muhannad Suleiman. —KUNA

New edition of cultural magazine released KUWAIT: The Ministry of Information released yesterday a new edition of the Kuwait monthly cultural magazine, featuring various cultural and scientific articles, especially, on ship building, the Museum of Modern Art and the youth development program (LOYAC).

The magazine also featured reviews on the Palestinian Cause and various topics on Islamic philosophy. In addition, it highlighted the works of some formative artists and their works.

The magazine, also, included articles about local and international novels, poetry and short stories.

The new edition contained articles on science, medicine, radio, television and cinema. It also discussed the relation between audience and cultural activities. —KUNA

Kuwait contributes $500,000 to UNAOC UNITED NATIONS: Ambassador Mansour Al Otaibi, the Permanent Representative of the State of Kuwait to the UN, has presented a cheque of $500,000 as a contribution from his country to the Trust Fund of the Alliance of Civilizations.

Ambassador Al-Otaibi, on the occasion held yesterday at the Alliance’s office in New York, expressed Kuwait’s support for the activities and programs undertaken by the Alliance of Civilizations under the leadership of its chief, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), Nasser Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, a statement by

the UNAOC said Friday.

On his part, Al-Nasser commended the efforts of the State of Kuwait in supporting the mission and goals of the Alliance.

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, or UNAOC, was established in 2005, at the initiative of the governments of Spain and Turkey, under the auspices of the United Nations.

It aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions. It also helps to counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism. —KUNA

Al-Jassem presents credentials as envoy to Ghana KUWAIT: Ambassador Fayez Mishari Al-Jassem presented his credentials as a non-resident envoy in Accra to the President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama. Al-Jassem, during the meeting with Mahama at the Republican Palace, conveyed greetings of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-

Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to the Ghanaian leader, a statement by Kuwait embassy said.

Al-Jassem said he would work to further cement relations and cooperation in political, economic and cultural domains. Mahama welcomed Ambassador Al-Jassem as a non-resident envoy He thanked the State of Kuwait for the contributions of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development

(KFAED) and Kuwait charitable societies to Ghana.

In another development, the president of Gambia Yahya Jammeh decorated Kuwait’s nonresident ambassador in Banjul Dr Hamad Burhama with the state’s shield on the occasion of ending his tenure. The Gambia government’s media advisor commended, in a reception attended by Ambassadors, vice-president and foreign minister,

the efforts of Burhama, who is an ambassador to Senegal. Burhama thanked the Gambian president and his government for their warm gesture, a statement by the Kuwaiti embassy in Dakar, sent to KUNA here, said yesterday. The reception was attended by experts from Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) currently in Banjul. —Agencies

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

Bombs and pop songs: The makings of a N Korean spy

In Venezuela don’t watch your back, watch your hair Page 9

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SHANGHAI: A woman is treated at a hospital following an ammonia leak at a cold storage unit in Baoshan district of Shanghai yesterday. (Inset) Rescuers run through a landslide area following an earthquake in Deqin county, southwest China’s Yunnan province yesterday. — AFP

Shanghai Ammonia leak kills 15 Earthquake near Shangri-La leaves 5 dead SHANGHAI: An ammonia leak from a cold storage unit at a food company in China’s commercial hub of Shanghai killed 15 people yesterday and sickened dozens, the city government said. The leak sickened 26 people, who had been sent to hospital, with six in critical condition, the Shanghai government said in a statement. The accident occurred shortly before midday in the northern district of Baoshan due to a leaking pipe linked to a refrigeration unit owned by a seafood company, media reports said.

More than 200 firefighters were deployed to the scene, using water to disperse the liquid ammonia and its fumes, the Xinmin Evening News said.Photos on the newspaper’s website showed fire engines at the scene with hoses on the ground and a truck used to monitor environmental pollution. The government did not say whether the company’s workers or people living in the urban area nearby were affected.

Liquid ammonia used in refrigeration can destroy lung tissue, potentially resulting in death, and cause chemical burns on the skin, according to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Shanghai environmental officials denied a “pungent smell” in the area earlier in the day was caused by the ammonia leak. The food company involved, Shanghai Weng’s Cold Storage Industrial Co., is engaged in the import and export, storage, processing and sales of aquatic products.

It has the capacity to freeze 150 tons of products a day, according to its website. Shanghai is considered to be more tightly regulated than other cities in China, but this marks the second accident at a food company in the city in less than a month. On August 20, five workers at a local food company died after inhaling poisonous fumes while cleaning

a vat used for making pickled vegetables, according to the government.

China has a dismal record on industrial safety as lax enforcement of laws causes business owners to cut corners or offer bribes to evade standards.

More than 27,700 people were killed or went missing in workplace accidents in the first half of this year, state media have reported. A total of 226,048 workplace accidents occurred in the first half, down 3.8 percent from the same period last year, the China Daily newspaper said.

A fire caused by an ammonia leak at a poultry processing plant in the northeast province of Jilin in June killed more than a hundred people.

QUAKE NEAR SHANGRI-LA In another development, an earthquake yesterday hit a remote part of southwest China near the popular tourist area of Shangri-La, killing five people and injuring 24 more, state media said.

The earthquake in Yunnan province on the border with Sichuan province sparked landslides, blocked roads, trapped tourist buses, cut off communications and toppled or damaged tens of thousands of homes in the mountainous area. The driver of a tourist bus died and three tourists were injured as falling rocks smashed into the vehicle, said the official Xinhua news agency. Three other tourist buses were trapped by landslides triggered by the quake and aftershocks, Xinhua said. In total, Xinhua said 24 people including seven tourists were injured.

It did not reveal the nationality of the wounded tourists. The 5.8-magnitude quake, which struck at 8:04 am, was centered on Yunnan’s Benzilan town, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. It was about 10 kilometers (six miles) deep.

The quake toppled 600 homes and damaged more than 55,000 others, forc-

ing over 9,000 local residents to relocate, Xinhua said. Photos posted online showed soldiers helping to evacuate an injured woman, and damaged vehicles.

State television showed clouds of dust rising from landslides on green mountains, and pieces of broken cement that had fallen from buildings.”During the earthquake this morning, the swaying the county felt was relatively severe,” Xinhua quoted Liao Wencai, deputy party secretary of Deqin county, as saying.

Benzilan is in Deqin county, roughly 60 kilometers from Shangri-La county, which is named after the fictional mountain paradise in the James Hilton novel “Lost Horizon”.

Local officials borrowed the name to attract more tourists to the area, which hosted around 7.6 million travelers last year. Shangri-La itself was little affected, residents said. “The building just shook a little bit and returned to normal fairly fast,” an employee at a local hotel said.

“Our business wasn’t impacted since the quake-stricken area is outside of town.”

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said it was sending tents, bedding and clothing to more directly affected areas.

The government had shut down some scenic spots in the area and ordered tourists not to visit them, Xinhua said. More than 200 aftershocks had shaken the area, but measured no higher than a magnitude of 4.9, the China Earthquake Network Center said.

The earthquake was the second in the area in four days, after a 5.1-magnitude quake on Wednesday. In July, twin quakes k illed at least 95 people in China’s western Gansu province. A magnitude 6.6 ear thquake in Sichuan province killed about 200 people earlier this year, five years after almost 90,000 people were killed by a huge tremor in the same province.—Agencies

Contradictions and irony, stalk Obama in Syria war WASHINGTON: To hear him tell it, no one is more tired of war than Barack Obama-yet the US president is warning that combat fatigue must not get in the way of a new US military escapade in the Middle East. Ironies abound as Obama contemplates US air strikes on Syria, an operation that will show how a president’s early ideas about wielding power can be reshaped by the dilemmas of office.

Once, candidate Obama chastised George W Bush for a “cowboy” foreign policy, an “imperial” presidency, and for alienating allies and making America into war with cooked intelligence. But on the cusp of striking Syria, Obama wants Americans to again take on trust intelligence on weapons of mass destruction, despite the CIA’s credibility being poisoned by its botched “slam dunk” case for war in Iraq.

After once promising to go to war only with an international coalition and with backing from Congress, Obama stands almost alone, dumped by America’s closest ally Britain, and is snubbing the UN and bucking public opinion. Connoisseurs of incongruity may also note that Obama’s main military ally in the Syrian adventure figures to be France, the target of endless bile from

Americans when it rejected Bush’s invitation to help invade Iraq.

Obama has spent two years trying to keep out of Syria, to spare his nation a new Middle East quagmire - but is now being accused of rushing to war - after the administration declared that a UN team inspection team’s mission there was irrelevant in establishing culpability for a chemical weapons attack last week. It is also ironic that a politician who made a career on opposing the Iraq war, finds his effor ts to sell a new regional operation complicated by that disastrous conflict.

“Iraq has so fundamentally shattered the trust the American people have in the president when it comes to war and peace that it makes doing the right thing, frankly, much harder,” said a former senior Obama national security aide. Obama said Friday he knew Americans were tired of conflict abroad. “Nobody ends up being more war-weary than me,” said Obama, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy.”

But Secretary of State John Kerry added: “fatigue does not absolve us of our responsibility.”

The contradictions of the Syrian

drama, and the fact that he wants his legacy to be that of a president who got America out of wars, not into new ones, appeared to consume Obama for days. Aides have repeatedly told journalists that the “president has not made a decision”-styling their boss’s agonizing as the act of a sober leader weighing his not very good options.

Obama has seen his preference for a UN-endorsed mission to punish President Bashar AlAssad’s regime thwarted by a recalcitrant Russia - and the usual double act with “special relationship” buddy Britain was sensationally dashed by the House of Commons. But he knows going it alone carries a price. “There are rules of international law,” Obama said on CNN a week ago. “If the US goes in and attacks another country without a UN mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented, then there are question in terms of whether international law supports it. “Do we have the coalition to make it work?” Obama said. A week on, Obama appears to have resolved the dilemma and acknowledged the limits of multilateralism. “I’ve shown consistently, my strong preference for multilateral action whenever possible,” Obama said Friday.—AFP

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Fearing US missiles, Syrians escape to Lebanon MASNAA: As UN inspectors crossed the border from Syria into Lebanon yesterday, they were followed out of the wartorn country by a continuous flow of families desperate to flee the threat of US strikes. Cars filled with weary-looking passengers, their open boots packed to the brim with bags and suitcases crossed the Masnaa border post in a constant-though not massive-exodus as a US intervention over a suspected gas attack appeared increasingly imminent.

“I’m going to rent a house near Anjar (in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa valley) and we will wait for things to calm down,” said Abu Malek, a 31-year-old Syrian who works in an aluminum factory near the capital Damascus. Carrying a carton of supplies handed over by a Qatari NGO that welcomes Syrian refugees some 300 meters (yards) from the border post, he said people in his home country were “terrified”. “Those who can, leave. But many people can’t.”

The threat of strikes on Syrian army targets in Damascus and surrounding areas has become an increasingly imminent reality as UN inspectors probing

the alleged gas attack last week left the country at dawn yesterday. US President Barack Obama said Friday that his administration was looking at the possibility of a “limited, narrow act” over the suspected attack that reportedly killed hundreds, which Washington blames on the regime.

This threat comes on top of months and months of violence in a conflict that has seen more than 100,000 people die.

Most of those crossing the border had the means and money to do so. Not so for Aicha, a 60-year-old woman wearing a black veil, her lower jaw almost toothless. Sitting in the shade with her daughter-in-law, she said she arrived on Friday to accompany her son who travelled on to Turkey to find work, and intended to return to Damascus if she could find transport. “I’m scared, we’re all scared of US strikes, but what can we do? We are dependent on God,” she sighed.

“We are neutral in this war, we don’t understand anything about what is going on. We have lost our house and we are living with friends in another

area.” Majida, her 33-year-old daughterin-law, added that they would like to stay in Lebanon. “But we don’t have any money, we have nowhere to go. So we have to go back,” she said. For almost a year, the Qatari NGO Al Asmah, funded by rich families from the Arab state, has set up a centre in Masnaa to welcome Syrian refugees.

Flashing their Syrian identity cards, refugees are able to get cartons of food and other useful items. “Over the past few days, since the US threats, the number of families that we see has doubled,” said director Omar Mohammed Koeis.

“We now provide for 60 to 70 families a day.” In a nearby parking lot, Amer Abed, a 27-year-old unemployed man who came from a Damascus suburb, was emptying the contents of the overflowing boot of an old Mercedes car into a van.

Weary women got out of the car, holding young, surprised-looking children in their arms. “I want these US strikes to happen,” he said to several foreign journalists. “You journalists, and the entire world, are watching our country

MASNAA: A Syrian family walks with their belongings after crossing the Masnaa border post (background) between Syria and Lebanon yesterday in the Lebanese eastern Bekaa valley.— AFP go up in flames without doing anything.

Hate has taken over our hearts. “I want these strikes because if Americans

attack us and kill us once and for all, then maybe the Arabs will unite to defend us.”— AFP

With Brotherhood out, old order shapes Egypt future Army seizes opportunity to reshape politics in its image

SEOUL: A former North Korean spy Kim Dong-Sik looks out through a window before an interview with AFP in Seoul. Kim was captured in the South in 1995 and spent years undergoing interrogation before renouncing communism and joining the South’s intelligence authorities as an analyst.—AFP

Bombs and pop songs: The makings of a N Korean spy SEOUL: Along with obvious classes like bomb-making, Kim Dong-Sik’s intensive spy training in North Korea included memorizing hundreds of South Korean pop songs and dance moves. Such strategies for assimilating into South Korean society were considered essential to avoid suspicion, Kim revealed in a recently published memoir that lifts the lid on some of the workings of the North’s spy agency.

Now 51, Kim was captured in the South in 1995 and spent years undergoing interrogation before renouncing communism and joining the South’s intelligence authorities as an analyst. In his memoir, he recalls being handpicked when he was 17, and entering the Kumsong political military university in Pyongyang which specialized in nurturing secret agents to run covert operations in the South.

He was among 200 students selected each year after a national search that took into account looks, family background, school grades and, above all, unquestioning loyalty to the North Korean leadership.

The elite trainees were not allowed to leave the campus or contact anyone outside its walls-including their families. The only exceptions were New Year greetings cards they were allowed to send home, but with no return address.

Days were filled with intense training in a large range of skills from martial arts, weapons and bomb-making to wall climbing, geology, Morse code and marine navigation. All these were fitted around mandatory ideology classes. In an interview in Seoul with AFP, the stocky, soft-spoken Kim said the course instructors repeatedly hammered home the idea that he and his classmates must always be prepared to sacrifice their lives for their mission.

If faced with capture, they should swallow cyanide pills rather than allow themselves to be taken alive and interrogated.

“The thought of death always weighed on our shoulders.... It was a very heavy burden for a bunch of 20-year-olds,” he said.

Dozens dropped out of the high-pressure course, but Kim persevered, lured in part by the prospect of quick promotion within the ruling Workers’ Party.

After graduation, the focus switched to training the agents to pass as locals. South Koreans abducted and smuggled back into the North were among those who instructed them in mastering the right accents, and understanding the social and political culture of the capitalist South. This “enemization” process gave them their first real taste of life outside the isolated North, as they consumed a daily diet of South Korean TV shows, movies, magazines, newspapers and books. Popular songs and dance moves were memorized, along with the names and careers of prominent TV celebrities and sports stars.

The course material suggested that the life of South Koreans was very different from the image portrayed in the North’s

official propaganda of “impoverished puppets suffering under US imperialism”. But Kim said he and the other trainees saw nothing amiss. “We were too loyal to be shaken up by things like that,” he said. “We were told that only rich capitalists could enjoy all the good things in the South, and we never questioned that.”

After nearly 10 years of training, Kim was finally given his first mission and sent to the South in 1990 to try to recruit some left-wing activists, and help bring back Ri Son-Sil, an elderly agent who ran a vast network of spies in the South. Two years later, Ri’s name would make headlines in the South when dozens of left-wing activists were arrested and accused of cooperating with her to spy for the North in the 1980s. “The activists were important targets because they could provide valuable inside information and help shape public opinion in our favor if they got into politics,” Kim said.

His mission was successful and he was awarded the prestigious “Hero of the Republic” medal on his return to North Korea. In 1995, he was sent back as part of a two-man team to bring out-by force if necessary-a spy posing as a monk who was suspected of working as a double agent with the South Korean intelligence service.

The mission was compromised and the two were tracked down by South Korean security forces. In the ensuing gun battle, Kim’s fellow agent was killed and he was wounded and captured.

Kim declined to comment in any detail about the four years he spent in the custody of military intelligence, saying only that it was “quite difficult.” In the end, he was not imprisoned, but taken on as an intelligence officer having renounced any loyalty to the North. “Apparently they thought that, with all the experiences and information I had, I had more value as an intelligence analyst than something else,” Kim said. The North Korean authorities were not so forgiving. Kim later learned his parents in the North had been “purged” after his arrest, meaning they had either been sent to a prison camp or executed. “In their eyes I had failed twice-both with the mission and in not killing myself before being arrested,” he said. He started a new life in South Korea, marrying and having two sons, and earning a PhD with a thesis on the North’s spying strategy. “My life was once full of drama ... there were so many days when death seemed to be constantly hanging over my head,” he said.

“But I’ve learned to appreciate an ordinary, quiet life. I wish I could grow old and die that way.” Kim, who still guards his privacy and refused to be photographed front-on, said he had written the book for his sons, so that “they can someday understand my past.” “I also wanted to get things off my chest ... and put this piece of history people don’t really know into the record,” he added. — AFP

CAIRO: Workers in blue overalls clamber over scaffolding around Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque, whitewashing its charred walls to restore a semblance of normalcy to the corner of Cairo where the struggle for Egypt reached a bloody climax this month. After a stunning reversal in which the army seized upon a tide of public discontent to overthrow freely elected President Mohamed Morsi, the powerful state apparatus appears to have all but neutralized the Muslim Brotherhood to which he belongs.

Not only that.

Even as the army-backed government promises to shepherd Egypt towards democracy, its plans for a new political transition speak of a deep entrenchment of the old order that ran Egypt under veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak. In the space of a few weeks, security forces have arrested the Brotherhood’s leaders and killed its supporters by the hundreds in the streets.

Meanwhile, a committee appointed without debate has proposed constitutional amendments that would open the way for a political comeback by Mubarak-era officials. The prospect of financial meltdown has been staved off by billions of dollars in aid from Gulf states hostile to the Brotherhood, and Western censure has been muted, at best. In a highly symbolic victory for the old guard, the 85year-old Mubarak was himself released from jail last week, albeit to await a retrial for ordering the killing of protesters in 2011.

Keen to show support for the army, Egyptians who may once have displayed pictures of Mubarak now celebrate Egypt’s new top soldier, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, a hero to those who rallied against Brotherhood rule. One Sisi fan in Cairo is reportedly selling chocolate treats bearing the general’s image.

And in language that would have been unthinkable only a few weeks ago, a state -run magazine this week described the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak as a “setback”.

WEEK OF BLOODSHED With a nightly curfew enforced by the army, Cairo seems eerily calm. It is hard to believe Egypt has just suffered the bloodiest week in the Arab republic’s history. More than 900 people were killed, including some 100 police and soldiers, after security forces on Aug 14 destroyed the protest camps set up

by Morsi’s backers after he was toppled. The state had labeled the sit-

CAIRO: Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s ousted president Mohamed Morsi clash with security forces, in Cairo, on August 30, 2013. Several thousand Egyptians protested in Cairo in support of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, their turnout far lower than hoped for by the harried Islamists who called for mass rallies. — AFP ins a “threat to national security”.

Accusing the Brotherhood of turning to violence - a charge the Brotherhood rejects as a pretext for the crackdown - the government has declared a “war on terrorism”.

Fear has sucked the momentum from anti-government protests, and the arrests of Morsi and the other leaders have muted the Brotherhood’s voice. Essam El-Erian and Mohamed El-Beltagi, lawmakers even under Mubarak, have been reduced to issuing video messages from hiding.

Ahmed Mefreh of the international rights group Alkarama Foundation said more than 2,000 Morsi supporters had been arrested in Cairo alone. “The Brotherhood were losers in an impossible confrontation,” said Hassan Nafaa, a professor of political science at Cairo University and veteran political activist. The first draft of the new constitution seeks to restore the voting system that kept Mubarak in power for 30 years, something that has disappointed smaller parties that have struggled to establish themselves since the end of his one-man rule.

It would also lift a ban on former members of his government seeking office, and remove controversial Islamist-inspired language brought in last year. The government has begun to revive the political security apparatus that was shelved, but not dismantled, after the 2011 revolt. It has appointed ex-military

figures to positions which, like the presidency, were once dominated by them. It seems unlikely the next president will be a rival to the power of the old establishment. The oath of allegiance sworn by conscripts no longer mentions loyalty to the head of state. “ What you will see is a very diminished role for the presidency except of course if a military or security figure decides to run for that position,” said Nathan Brown, a leading expert on Egypt at George Washington University. He also noted that in contrast to other countries, where the army might pledge loyalty to the constitution and laws, in Egypt, soldiers and officers will not swear allegiance to “any civilian official, law or procedure”.

MILITARY PRESIDENT? Exhausted by 2-1/2 years of turmoil, many Egyptians now believe only the army can restore stability, and the military, which suffered a public backlash after taking power in 2011, has proved more adept this time at marshalling support.

Even though he has indicated he doesn’t want the job, the 58-yearold Sisi looks an obvious candidate for president.

Speculation that he will run has intensified since a first photo emerged last week of the general in civilian clothes. “General Sisi is a popular hero par excellence, and if he decides to enter the elections he is the most popular at the moment,”

said Hamdeen Sabahi, a leftist who came a close third in last year’s presidential election and backed Morsi’s removal. Sabahi believes Sisi will stick by his word not to run.

Nevertheless, state TV aired a show on Wednesday discussing the merits of a president from the military, in which the guest said there was nothing wrong with having a general at the helm. As yet, nobody has declared their candidacy - in contrast to the frenzied campaigning before the vote won by Morsi last year with the help of the Brotherhood’s unrivalled political machine. Asked about his own aspirations, Sabahi told Al-Masry AlYoum newspaper he had yet to decide: “Now is a moment that requires national ranks to unite in the face of terrorism.”

State media now describe the Muslim Brotherhood in terms akin to Al-Qaeda. The “war on terrorism” that the government has announced has already seen two of its top leaders put on trial on charges of inciting murder, by a court they say is political. ProBrotherhood protests, though still continuing, have shrunk dramatically, stifled in part by a state of emergency. “I do not go out in any protests where there is danger,” said one 26-year-old Brotherhood activist in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria who asked not to be named. “We’ve been demonstrating for two months and achieved nothing.”—Reuters

Iraq protesters rally against MPs perks BAGHDAD: Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Iraqi cities yesterday to protest lawmakers’ perks despite an intense security crackdown, and gunmen in the capital stormed a Sunni mosque and killed five at dawn in the latest bout of sectarian unrest rocking the country. Protest organizers demanded an end to what they claim are generous pension benefits granted to members of parliament, and demonstrators aired longstanding grievances about widespread corruption and the poor state of public services.

Iraqi lawmakers are entitled to monthly pension payments of several thousand dollars per month regardless of how long they serve- far more than the amounts government employees and private sector workers typically get after decades of work.

Many Iraqis suspect the country’s 325 lawmakers in Parliament are in politics only for the money, and they accuse them of being ineffective and slow to address the country’s myriad problems.

“We want to tell the officials that they should stop stealing. Enough is enough!” said demonstrator Ammar Abdul-Aziz, a 35-year-old engineer in Baghdad. Authorities did not grant permission for the demonstrations in the capital, drawing criti-

cism from rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Security forces blocked bridges and deployed large numbers of rifle-toting soldiers and police in major squares - an extraordinary show of force that protesters said was mainly taken to prevent demonstrators from congregating in larger numbers.

Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan Ibrahim defended the security operation, saying authorities were concerned suicide bombers might try to attack the rallies. He insisted authorities had no problem with the demonstrations and that his forces were present only to protect protesters. If someone tried to kill protesters with a “bomb, all the people will say ‘why didn’t you protect us?’” he told The Associated Press at a Baghdad square protest site.

Security forces backed by Humvees and armored personnel carriers there outnumbered the flag-waving protesters, who were surrounded by police preventing journalists from getting near them. One of the Baghdad protest organizers, Mohammed Abbas, said he was beaten by security forces as he and his colleagues were trying to reach the central Tahrir Square. He declared the day’s

protests a success despite the low turnout and pledged to mount more demonstrations.

Outside the capital, hundreds of people demonstrated in the southern city of Basra, where one banner declared: “The resources of Iraq are for Iraqis, not the lawmakers.” Protests were also reported in Nasiriyah and Hillah, also in the country’s mainly Shiite south. Prime Minister Nouri AlMaliki issued a statement on his website voicing “support for the protesters’ demands” and said he would work to reform lawmakers’ compensation.

Iraqi authorities cracked down firmly against anti-government protests the erupted at the start of the Arab Spring in early 2011. A new wave of ongoing protests erupted in Sunni Muslim areas in December, the most serious political challenge to the Shiite-led government since US troops left in late 2011.

Hours before yesterday’s protests, gunmen using weapons fitted with silencers stormed a Sunni mosque in the capital’s southeastern New Baghdad neighborhood and shot at Sunni worshippers praying at dawn, police said. Five worshippers were killed and two were wounded, medical officials at a nearby hospital said.—AP

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Shock vote defeat strains US-UK ties Syria vote debases British PM

LONDON: People take part in a protest calling for no military attack on Syria from the US, Britain or France, outside the Houses of Parliament, in London. —AP

Pivotal in Libya, Italy takes back seat on Syria ROME: The launch pad for the bombing of Libya, Italy is now marking itself out from key allies with a stand against participation in military action in Syria. Foreign Minister Emma Bonino has ruled out taking part without a UN Security Council mandate and says it would not be “automatic” even with such approval.

Government sources quoted in local media say Italy would also likely bar the use by third countries of air bases that played a pivotal role in Libya. Italy is calling for UN inspectors to complete their work and anyone responsible for last week’s alleged chemical weapons attack to be brought to justice.

“This very legalistic position is a departure from Italy’s tradition of loyalty to Atlantic allies,” said Jean-Pierre Darnis, an expert on Italian defense.

Several factors lie behind the policy, ranging from political weakness to concern about the fate of Christian minorities, experts said.

“Italy is prudent because it is weak,” Vincenzo Nigro, a foreign policy specialist, said in an interview on the website of the La Repubblica daily. “The slogan of (US President Barack) Obama seems to be: ‘We have to do something, even if mistakes are made along the way’,” Nigro said. “Italy’s is: ‘It’s better not to do anything even at the risk of mistakes and distancing ourselves from our traditional allies,” he said.

Prime Minister Enrico Letta presides over an uneasy coalition with predecessor Silvio Berlusconi’s party and tensions are particularly high now on the political scene because of the billionaire tycoon’s legal woes. Another factor behind the diplomatic caution could be because Italy is very involved in Lebanon, where it heads up the

United Nations Interim Force.

“Syria is a piece in the puzzle that includes Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq and any action in Syria could destabilize Lebanon,” said Silvia Colombo from the Institute for International Affairs in Rome. Colombo said Italy was also looking at Christians. “The fate of Christians, who are threatened by the rise of radical Islamism, is not marginal,” she said.

Mindful of the exodus of Christians from Iraq, the Vatican has repeatedly called for more negotiations and a process of peace and reconciliation in Syria. Marco Volpe, a Middle East expert from the Centre for International Studies, said Italy was “examining all possible consequences of an armed intervention for political and religious equilibriums in the region”. Darnis said there was also the issue of public opinion, which in Italy is “more realist” than elsewhere and remains solidly convinced that strikes against on Syria “will not resolve anything”.

Britain, France or the United States could launch strikes “almost based on the decision of a single man” but Italy, like Germany, is a parliamentary democracy where the votes of lawmakers are essential. Asked if Italy’s position could evolve, as it did with Libya, to align with its allies, Darnis said it was a possibility particularly since Italy has “major interests” in the Middle East.

But he added that its more neutral position could also be a diplomatic card to play in the future if there are ever negotiations between the warring sides. He said Bonino, a former European aid commissioner who knows the Middle East well and has studied Arabic, could be looking to position Italy in a more humanitarian role by staying above the military fray. —AFP

LONDON: He lost by just 13 votes, but Prime Minister David Cameron’s failure to win parliamentary approval to launch military action against Syria may place a question mark over Britain’s role in the world as well as his own career.

Cameron’s inability to determine Britain’s foreign policy and join Washington and Paris in strikes against Syria will strain the “special relationship” with the United States - the foundation of Britain’s global role since World War Two. It is a stunning reversal in international affairs, after a decade in which Britain was the only major power to join the United States on the battlefield in Iraq, and by far its most important comrade in arms in Afghanistan.

More than 600 British troops have died under US command in those two wars, since Prime Minister Tony Blair declared he would stand “shoulder to shoulder” with America after the Sept 11 2001 attacks on the United States.

No more. After Cameron lost Thursday’s vote to support the principle of military action against Syria to deter President Bashar al-Assad from using chemical weapons, Washington can no longer rely on Britain for automatic military backup.

“I think there will be a national soul-searching about our role in the world and whether Britain wants to play a big part in upholding the international system,” said George Osborne, Cameron’s finance minister and close ally.

“Obviously, it would be better from the point of view of the special relationship if we were able to take part in any military action.” There were lively scenes in parliament’s woodpanelled debating chamber as lawmakers digested the result. One minister was seen repeatedly shouting “disgrace” at those who voted against Cameron, saying they had given “succour” to Assad.

Loud cries of “resign resign” rang out from opposition Labor lawmakers before Cameron, visibly shaken, told parliament he would heed parliament’s will: “I get it”. Historians dusted off old books to find a precedent. It was the first time a British prime minister had lost a vote on war since 1782, when parliament conceded American independence by voting against further fighting to crush a colonial rebellion. Labors’ Ed Miliband - who led the parliamentary revolt saying he was not opposed to force in principle but unconvinced by Cameron’s case - was the first opposition leader to oppose government plans to deploy troops since the 1956 Suez crisis. Back then, Britain and France tried to intervene in Egypt without US support. Their failure was seen as proof that post-war Britain, which had given up its global empire, could now shape world events only by standing with its superpower ally.

Paddy Ashdown, a former international envoy to Bosnia and now a member of Britain’s upper house of parliament, echoed many in Britain’s divided political establishment in lamenting the erosion of British influence on the world stage. “In 50 years trying to serve my country I have never felt so depressed/ashamed,” he said. “Britain’s answer to the Syrian horrors? None of our business! We are a hugely diminished country.”

But others said it was about time Britain gave up its great power airs and accepted the limits of its role in the

Pope names diplomat as chief aide, changing tone at Vatican Secretary of state known as ‘deputy pope’ VATICAN: Pope Francis attempted to set a new tone for a Vatican beset by scandals yesterday by naming a veteran diplomat as secretary of state, a role often called the “deputy pope”.

Archbishop Pietro Parolin’s appointment ends the era of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who was widely blamed for failing to prevent ethical and financial scandals that marked the eight-year reign of former Pope Benedict, who resigned in February.

Parolin, a 58-year-old Italian who, like Francis, is known for his frugal lifestyle, is currently the Vatican’s nuncio (ambassador) in Venezuela. The naming of a new secretary of state -

who acts as the pope’s prime minister and chief aide - is the most significant appointment by Francis since his election in March. Although he has no power to rule on doctrinal issues, the secretary of state sits in when the pope is ill.

He sets the tone for the Vatican’s central administration, known as the Curia, and is involved in everything from finances and the appointment of bishops to diplomatic relations with more than 170 countries. Bertone, 79, who was secretary of state for nearly all of Benedict’s pontificate, was accused of not keeping a close enough watch on the Curia, some of whose members have been accused of corruption and

Pietro Parolin

cronyism.

One of the most damaging scandals to hit the Vatican under Bertone was “Vatileaks”, when Benedict’s butler stole documents alleging corruption from the pope’s desk and leaked them to the media. That coincided with tumult at the Vatican bank, which Italian magistrates are investigating on suspicion of money laundering. The former president of the bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was close to Bertone. The board of the bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), ousted Gotti Tedeschi last year, saying he was incompetent.

He says he was pushed out because he wanted the bank to be more transparent. Yesterday’s appointment was the pope’s fourth move to overhaul the Vatican’s central administration. A month after his election, he set up an advisory board of eight cardinals to help him govern the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic Church and reform the Curia.

He has also set up another commission to advise him on how to reform the Vatican bank, ordered tighter supervision of the financial institute and set up a third commission of external experts to advise him on economic affairs, improve transparency and enforce accounting principles.

Parolin was the Vatican’s deputy foreign minister for seven years until 2009 and has also served in Nigeria and Mexico. —Reuters

Congo army battles rebels GOMA: Fighting erupted yesterday between eastern Congolese rebels and the army, which said it would push on with an offensive to recapture all territory controlled by insurgents despite their call for a ceasefire. Democratic Republic of Congo’s army, backed by a new UN brigade with an unprecedented mandate to launch attacks, has forced M23 rebels to retreat from positions they have held for months overlooking the eastern city of Goma.

Some shells fired during recent fighting have landed in neighboring Rwanda, threatening to pull the small but militarily powerful country openly into the conflict. Both Congo’s army and rebels have accused the other of firing the missiles. UN experts and Congo’s government says Rwanda is already backing the rebels but Kigali denies this. Both sides said fighting erupted several kilometers north of Kibati, hilltop positions seized from rebels on Friday - the latest in nearly two decades of unrest fuelled by ethnicity, local politics and competition over land and mineral wealth. “They are criminals and we are obliged to pursue them. We want to recapture all of the territory they currently occupy and restore the authority of the army and state,” said Congolese army spokesman Lt Colonel Olivier Hamuli. In a statement sent to journalists, M23 confirmed the resumption of fighting and complained it came despite a pullback by its troops and an offer of a ceasefire.

UN forces in North Kivu province, where the fighting is taking place, said they were not involved in the latest clashes. The army’s UN-backed advance this week is the most significant victory government troops have recorded during this latest 18-month rebellion, whose leaders complain the Kinshasa government failed to honour the terms of a deal to end an earlier, similar uprising.

M23 seized Goma last November after insurgents overran the army and marched past UN peacekeepers. The rebels withdrew under intense international pressure and started peace talks with the government but these have stalled. The failure of UN peacekeepers to protect Goma led to the creation of an “Intervention Brigade” with a robust mandate to neutralize rebels. This force was spurred into action last week by the shelling of Goma and nearby Gisenyi, in Rwanda, that killed several civilians.

The United Nations has blamed the rebels for the shelling but M23 and Rwanda have said Congo’s army was responsible. Kigali has accused Kinshasa of provocation and has not ruled out dispatching troops to Congo to protect its territory. Rwandan media published photos of armor being sent towards Rwanda’s northern border with Congo this week. Congo’s government and UN peacekeepers have said there are already signs of Rwandan infiltration. —Reuters

world. “The desire to re-order foreign states - still embedded in parts of the British establishment - has long been subsumed in the constitution of the UN and international courts of justice,” wrote Simon Jenkins in the Guardian.

“Sometimes it takes courage to conclude of foreign conflicts that we can only do more harm than good by meddling in them.”

NO MORE POODLE Cameron said he hoped President Barack Obama would understand, and he had nothing to apologize for. “(This is) a government and a parliament that is deeply engaged in the world,” Cameron said. “We’ve the fourth largest military in the world and one of the best diplomatic networks any country has in the world. We have great strengths as a country and we should continue to use those.”

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron For Miliband - whose first act as Labor leader in 2010 was to repudiate the party’s support for the Iraq invasion the stance distanced him from Blair, the former Labour prime minister whose support for US wars saw him depicted savagely in political cartoons as George W Bush’s snarling pet poodle. “Being an ally of the United States and having a special relationship with the United States cannot simply be about doing what the American president says he wants you to do,” Miliband said. “We will have disagreements with the United States, we will take a different view to them but we have got to operate on the basis of the British national interest.”

DOMESTIC DEFEAT Domestically, the defeat was the heaviest Cameron has suffered in his three years in power. It underlined his failure to pacify malcontents in his ruling Conservative party who

complain he doesn’t listen to them. He had begun to recover from previous party rebellions over gay marriage and Britain’s EU membership, had begun to erode Labor’s opinion poll lead, and, with the economy showing signs of recovery, was optimistically eyeing re-election in 2015.

But 30 of his 304 Conservative lawmakers rebelled against him and many others used a febrile debate on the subject to criticize him and the government for trying to rush into war. Cameron’s critics are already circling. Their main allegations: He is not a conviction politician and fails to prepare the ground properly for his policies. Public opinion was never on his side: a YouGov poll published on Thursday showed 51 percent of the British public opposed a missile strike, with just 22 percent in favor of it.

Cameron cut short his holiday to recall lawmakers for what he thought was going to be a swift joint strike on Syria, and tried to woo his own members of parliament before the vote. His plan began to unravel on Wednesday evening when Miliband said he wanted major concessions before he could support action. Cameron agreed to wait for a report from UN inspectors on last week’s suspected chemical attack in Syria before launching any strikes, and to hold two votes in parliament instead of one.

But Miliband, battling to establish his leadership credentials within his own party, said he still couldn’t back Cameron, leaving the prime minister relying solely on his own party and his Liberal Democrat junior coalition partners. Nine of 55 LibDems joined the 30 Conservatives in rebelling. Cameron lost the motion by 285 to 272 votes.

“Were there question marks over his tactics and did they fail? Well yes, obviously,” one Conservative MP who voted against Cameron told Reuters.

Cameron himself said he regretted that it hadn’t been possible to build a consensus but said he had “worked hard” to try to achieve one and he thought the whips - party vote enforcers - “did do a good job”. Government fury at Miliband’s stance boiled over into language normally unspoken in parliament. A national newspaper reprinted an extravagant expletive-laden tirade from a source in Cameron’s office denouncing the Labour leader.

A top Cameron aide accused Miliband of “giving succour” to Assad. The Labor leader demanded the accusation be withdrawn, but Defence Secretary Philip Hammond later repeated it. Miliband said the vote defeat had exposed Cameron for the “reckless” and “cavalier” leader that he was.

Political allies believe Cameron will recover and his party leadership will not be challenged before the election.

However, critics, some in his own party, think he is now vulnerable. David Hartwell, a former British Ministry of Defense official, told Reuters Cameron had badly miscalculated.

“Cameron really only has himself to blame. He’s tied himself in a bunch of knots largely out of a desire to distance himself from his predecessors,” he said, referring to Blair. “You can’t march your troops up to the top of the hill and then down again like that. He’s made so much noise on Syria on strikes and chemical weapons and arming rebels and at the end of the day he’s just been totally unable to deliver.” —Reuters

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

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

Scant foreign support for US strikes on Syria It is a policy turnabout for Obama WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is poised to become the first US leader in three decades to attack a foreign nation without broad international support or in direct defense of Americans.

Not since 1983, when President Ronald Reagan ordered an invasion of the Caribbean island of Grenada, has the US been so alone in pursuing major lethal military action beyond a few attacks responding to strikes or threats against its citizens.

American national security has to be very, very clear,” said retired Army Brig Gen Charles Brower, an international studies professor at Virginia Military Institute.

“It’s the urgency of that threat that would justify the exploitation of that power as commander in chief - you have to make a very, very strong case for the clear and gathering danger argument to be able to go so aggressively,” Brower said Friday.

Obama is expected to launch what officials

pared to strike unilaterally, though France is prepared to join the effort.

The US does not have United Nations support to strike Syria, and UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon has urged restraint.

“Diplomacy should be given a chance and peace given a chance,” he said Thursday.

Expected support from Britain, a key ally, evaporated as Parliament rejected a vote Thursday endorsing military action in Syria.

And diplomats with the 22-nation Arab

RIYADH: Dual US Patriot missiles lighting up the skyline of the Saudi Arabia capital city of Riyadh. President Barack Obama is poised to become the first US leader in three decades to attack a foreign nation without broad international support or in direct defense of Americans. —AP It is a policy turnabout for Obama, a Democrat who took office promising to limit US military intervention and, as a candidate, said the president “does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”

But over the last year Obama has warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that his government’s use of chemical weapons in its two-year civil war would be a “red line” that would provoke a strong US response. So far, only France has indicated it would join a US strike on Syria. Without widespread backing from allies, “the nature of the threat to the

have described as a limited strike - probably with Tomahawk cruise missiles - against Assad’s forces.

Two days after the suspected chemicals weapons attack in Damascus suburbs, Obama told CNN, “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; do we have the coalition to make it work?” He said: “Those are considerations that we have to take into account.”

Lawmakers briefed on the plans have indicated an attack is all but certain and Obama advisers said the president was pre-

League said the organization does not support military action without UN consent, an action that Russia would almost certainly block. The diplomats spoke anonymously because of rules preventing them from being identified.

France has said it is ready to commit forces to an operation in Syria because the use of chemical weapons cannot go unpunished. “Presidents always need to be prepared to go at it alone,” said Rudy deLeon, who was a senior Defense Department official in the Clinton administration.

“The uninhibited use of the chemical weapons is out there, and that’s a real problem,” said deLeon, now senior vice president

of security and international policy at the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress in Washington. “It can’t be ignored, and it certainly creates a dilemma. I think (Obama) had to make the red-line comment, and so Syria has acted in a very irresponsible way.”

The nearly nine-year war in Iraq that began in 2003, which Obama termed “dumb” because it was based on false intelligence, has encouraged global skittishness about Western military intervention in the Mideast. “There’s no doubt that the intelligence on Iraq is still on everybody’s mind,” deLeon said.

Both Republican George HW Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton had UN approval for nearly all of their attacks on Iraq years earlier. Even in the 2003 invasion, which was ordered by Republican George W. Bush, 48 nations supported the military campaign as a so-called coalition of the willing. Four nations - the US, Britain, Australia and Poland - participated in the invasion.

The US has relied on NATO at least three times to give it broad foreign support for military missions: in bombarding Bosnia in 1994 and 1995, attacking Kosovo with airstrikes in 1999 and invading Afghanistan in 2001. Only a few times has the US acted unilaterally - and only then to respond to attacks or direct threats against Americans.

In 1986, Reagan joined ordered airstrikes on Libya to punish then-leader Moammar Gadhafi for the bombing of a Berlin dance club that killed two USsoldiers and wounded 79 other Americans.

Three years later, George H.W. Bush invaded Panama after dictator Manuel Noriega declared war on the US when his drug-trafficking regime was slapped with crippling American sanctions. The invasion began four days after a US Marine was killed in a shooting in Panama City.

Clinton ordered a missile strike against Iraq in 1993 as payback for an assassination plot against the elder Bush. And in 1998, Clinton attacked al-Qaida bases in Sudan and Afghanistan to retaliate against US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that killed more than 200 people.

Obama approved the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, who had been considered a threat potentially going back to the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 US troops living there. Additionally, the US has launched hundreds of deadly drone strikes on suspected al-Qaida havens, mostly in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen during the presidencies of Obama and George W Bush.

All other major US military attacks since the 1983 Grenada invasion have been sanctioned by the United Nations. That includes the 2011 missile strikes that Obama ordered against Libya as part of a coalition to protect that nation’s citizens by enforcing a no-fly zone against Gadhafi forces. —AP

NY mayor rivals jockey for black vote as race heats up NEW YORK CITY: New Yorkers have their pick when it comes to diversity among the candidates hoping to replace their brash, billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

There is a married lesbian, an AfricanAmerican and a six-foot something white guy with a bi-racial family among those slugging it out for the Democratic nomination in September 10 primary elections.

But it is the latter, 52-year-old Bill de Blasio, who has surged ahead of the pack and, in a rather strange twist, is the current favorite among black voters. A Quinnipiac University poll this week showed that if the election happened now, 34 percent of black voters would choose

New York City mayoral candidate Bill Thompson arrives for the Democratic primary debate in New York. Thompson, who nearly overtook Mayor Bloomberg four years ago on the strength of black voters, is facing a challenge for their support from front-runner Bill de Blasio, a harsh critic of “stop and frisk” and father of interracial children. —AP De Blasio compared to 25 percent for AfricanAmerican candidate William Thompson, who narrowly missed beating Bloomberg in 2009. De Blasio, the most left-leaning among the Democratic hopefuls, has muscled out earlier frontrunner Christine Quinn, the city council speaker who is openly married to another woman.

Seen as the anti-Bloomberg candidate, the city’s tall, greying public advocate De Blasio has hinged his campaign on inequality, describing New York as “a tale of two cities,” the rich and the poor. He has honed in on the highly emotional debate over stop-and-frisk, a police tactic loathed by black and Hispanic communities who see themselves as unfairly targeted. All the main Democratic candidates have campaigned

on the need for some sort of reform to stop-andfrisk, even more so since a federal judge said police were using racial profiling and ruled the tactic unconstitutional two weeks ago. But voter Norman Frazier, 61, said De Blasio has been the most convincing. “Quinn and Thompson to me don’t wanna speak out” against stop-and-frisk, Frazier told AFP at a campaign event in Brooklyn.

“From the very beginning, he (De Blasio) was against it... now they are jumping on the bandwagon.” It does not hurt that De Blasio is married to a black woman-an outspoken lesbian until she fell in love with him-and has prominently featured his bi-racial family during the campaign.

His 15-year-old son Dante with his towering Afro has become a social media sensation in his own right, with De Blasio promoting the Twitter hashtag “go with the ‘fro.’” In one video, De Blasio says he and his wife “have talked to Dante many times about the fact that some day you will be stopped.”

The practice of randomly stopping individuals and searching them was seen by many as key to bringing criminality to heel in the once violence-wracked city.

Analyst Fred Siegel of the Manhattan Institute thinktank blamed Bloomberg for enforcing police quotas that saw stop-and-frisk get out of hand.

“I have been stopped quite a few times,” said John Bigelow, 49, a Hispanic laborer from Canarsie in Brooklyn. “It is not a good thing and very embarrassing getting stopped in my own neighbourhood.”

Samuel Abrams, a political scientist at New York’s Sarah Lawrence College, said De Blasio was scoring points as the “populist antiBloomberg, anti-corporate” candidate.

His boldest proposal is a tax on those who earn over $500,000 to pay for after-school care for young children. “In New York, personality matters. New Yorkers have had enough of the brash, pushy mayor. Many love it, a lot of people don’t.”

A multi-billionaire Manhattanite, Bloomberg has ruled New York for 12 years, after cajoling City Council into lifting a two-term limit in 2009.

He has presided over a falling murder rate and aggressively pushed sweeping public health policies, but has been accused of check-book diplomacy and seeking nanny-state reforms.

Siegel said it may be 47-year-old Quinn’s image as the “natural” successor to Bloomberg that has hit her popularity, at a time when most New Yorkers are looking for a “clean break.” —AP

This picture provided by State of Alaska Division of Community & Regional Affairs shows neighborhood housing in Adak, Alaska. Officials say a magnitude 7.0 earthquake has rocked Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on Friday. —AP

Alaskan island area hit by big quake, aftershocks ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Several aftershocks rattled a remote Aleutian Island region off Alaska in the hours after a major 7.0 temblor struck with a jet-like rumble that shook homes and sent residents scrambling for cover.

At least three dozen aftershocks, including one reaching magnitude 6.1 in strength, struck after the major quake Friday, according to the US Geological Survey.

“I heard it coming,” said Kathleen Nevzoroff, who was sitting at her computer in the tiny Aleutians village of Adak when the 7.0 temblor struck at 8:25 am local time, getting stronger and stronger. “I ran to my doors and opened them and my chimes were all ringing.”

There were no reports of damage or injuries from the earthquake, which occurred in a seismically active region. It was strongly felt in Atka, an Aleut community of 64 people, and the larger Aleutian town of Adak, where 320 people live. The earthquake and the aftershocks didn’t trigger any tsunami warnings, but Michael Burgy with the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, said the center is monitoring for potential tsunamis caused by landslides, either on land or under water.

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center said the primary earthquake was centered 67 miles southwest of Adak, about 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage. Shaking lasted up to one minute.

The 6.1 aftershock struck in the same gen-

eral area at 10:39 pm Friday. Police and town officials in Adak didn’t immediately answer telephone calls for comment Friday night.

“We do expect aftershocks to occur in the next few days,” USGS geophysicist Jessica Turner said. She said there had been a least 30 so far measuring at least magnitude 2.5.

She said the USGS hasn’t had any reports of damage from the quakes, but added that the major one and some larger aftershocks have been felt. The 7.0 quake occurred offshore in the subduction zone where plates of the Earth’s crust grind and dive. By contrast, California’s most famous fault line, the San Andreas, is a strike-slip fault. Quakes along strike-slip faults tend to move horizontally.

In Adak, city clerk Debra Sharrah was upstairs in her two-story townhome getting ready for work when she heard a noise.

“I thought it was my dog running up the stairs,” she said. “It kept making noise and then it got louder. So then all of a sudden the rumbling started.”

The four-plex of townhomes was shaking and swaying as Sharrah and her dog, Pico, dashed out the door. It seemed like the building moved for a long time, but the only thing disturbed in her home was a stepstool that fell over. “Nothing fell off my walls, and the wine glasses didn’t go out of the hutch or anything,” said Sharrah, who moved to the island community from Montana’s Glacier National Park area almost two years ago. —AP

New York University junior Christina Isnardi poses for a portrait in New York’s Washington Square Park. —AP

Campaign to end unpaid internships A nascent campaign against employers’ use of unpaid interns is taking aim at what critics call some of the longstanding practice’s biggest enablers: colleges that steer students into such programs in exchange for academic credit. Organizers hope to have mobilizers raise the issue on campuses as students return to school this fall, with a particular emphasis on schools in New York, Washington and Los Angeles. They also want to join up with organized labor as part of a broader coalition focused on workplace issues.

The backlash against working for free - and sometimes paying tuition for the privilege- comes after a federal judge in New York recently ruled that Fox Searchlight Pictures violated federal minimum wage and overtime laws by not paying interns who worked on the 2010 movie “Black Swan.” Angry interns have also sued record companies, magazine publishers, modeling agencies and TV talk show hosts.

Leaders of the Fair Pay Campaign, a group organized in 2012 to fight the internships, say they are taking their social media-driven effort right to the top: they plan to press the White House to end its use of unpaid interns. Getting college credit “is a tangible benefit” of internships, said campaign organizer Mikey Franklin, a 23-year-old British ex-pat who now lives in Washington. “But I can’t pay my rent with college credit.”

Franklin said he founded the Fair Pay Campaign when he was unable to land a paid political job after working as a campaign organizer on Maryland’s 2012 same-sex marriage ballot measure.

“Everybody told me you can’t get a job on (Capitol) Hill unless you’re an unpaid intern,” he said. “The more I looked, I saw it was an incredibly widespread practice.”

His allies include University of Nevada-Las Vegas student Jessica Padron, who is trying to defray the $6,500 costs of a four-month Washington internship for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid with a crowd-sourced online fundraising campaign. At New York University, a petition drive asks the school to remove unpaid internship listings offered by forprofit businesses. More volunteers are pitching in, he said, although he declined to provide specifics about the campaign’s finances.

A recent survey reported that 63 percent of graduating college seniors this year had an internship, the highest level since polling began six years ago. Nearly half the internships were unpaid. The expansion of internships comes as President Barack Obama and Congress have been emphasizing the problem of growing student debt.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets out a six-part test to determine whether an internship can be unpaid. The internship must be similar to “training which would be given in an educational environment,” run primarily for the intern’s benefit and involve work that doesn’t replace that of paid employees.

Defenders of academic-driven internships emphasize the educational benefits of bringing students into the workplace.

“It’s a developmental opportunity,” said Dianne Lynch, president of Stephens College, a women’s school in Columbia.

Lynch, a former journalist, recalled her own start as a cub reporter at the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison, where an unpaid summer internship led to a full-time job on the night police beat.

“I agree that there are organizations that see interns as cheap, unpaid labor,” she said. “But I could line up 25 students who could tell you the best learning experience they had was an academic internship.”

In Oregon, state lawmakers voted in May to extend workplace civil rights protections to interns, who previously had no legal standing to seek relief from sexual harassment or other forms of discrimination. State Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian said businesses that rely on unpaid interns can easily skirt the law by assigning duties normally carried out by paid workers.

“It really drags down the economy by deflating the wages that should be going to workers,” he said.

NYU junior Christina Isnardi, who started the campus petition with another student, agrees. As a summer intern on a movie project, her responsibilities included securing the perimeter on closed sets and guarding expensive equipment.

“I didn’t get any educational benefit,” she said. “I was doing the work of an employee.” Her petition has garnered more than 1,100 signatures. A university spokesman said NYU is “reviewing the types of internships it posts.” On the other hand, Kate Ibarra, a May graduate of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, has had a more fulfilling experience as an unpaid intern at The Franklin Institute science museum.

With a degree in marketing and aspirations of working as a nonprofit fundraiser, she applied for more than 30 postgraduate internships - none of which were paid positions.

“Getting a job at The Franklin Institute is really prestigious. And I know I’ll make some good connections,” she said. But she wonders about the disadvantage for lowerincome students who can’t afford to take unpaid jobs. Many campuses are beginning to wrestle with the issue, said James Tarbox, director of career services at San Diego State University. In 2011, the California State University System passed new rules for evaluating prospective intern sponsors.

“It’s a good idea to examine these issues,” he said. “In an economy like the one we’ve just gone through, we would be remiss if we didn’t.” —AP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

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

India court finds teenager guilty in gang-rape case Youth to spend only 3 years in correctional facility

KABUL: An Afghan doctor carries a boy for treatment at a hospital after a suicide bomb explosion in Kandahar province, southwest of Kabul yesterday. A suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a police checkpoint and a bank in southern Afghanistan, killing several people, officials said. — AP

Suicide attack kills 18 in Afghanistan KANDAHAR: A suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a police checkpoint and a bank in southern Afghanistan yesterday, one of two attacks in the heartland of the insurgency that killed 18 people over 24 hours. Separately, a NATO service member was killed by insurgents in the country’s east, according to a military statement. No group immediately claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, but Taliban fighters have escalated their activity as US-led foreign forces reduce their presence in the country, having handed over primary responsibility for security to Afghan troops.

Javed Faisal, a spokesman for the provincial governor, initially said the suicide bomber was in a car that was being searched by police, but later said new information indicated the bomber had been on foot. Along with the branch building of the New Kabul Bank, several small shops and vehicles were damaged.

Witness Shah Wali had just stepped out of a taxi to go to the bank when the attacker struck. “I saw a man and a vehicle on the road, and while I was fixing my shoelaces I heard a loud explosion. I don’t know if it was the vehicle which exploded or the man standing there,” Wali said.

Faisal said at least six people died - four of them civilians, one police officer and one private security guard. Another 24 people were wounded, most of them civilians. Taliban spokesmen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The militant group is especially strong in southern Afghanistan, which is dominated by the ethnic Pashtun community whose members form the bulk of the insurgency in the country.

Another 12 people were killed in an

ambush involving a roadside bomb in Sangin district in Helmand province, also in the south, on Friday evening, said Omer Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Sangin is the scene of an ongoing operation by Afghan forces against the Taliban.

Zwak said 11 men and one woman died in the attack, and that the vehicle also was hit by several rounds of gunfire. Such attacks typically target security forces, but, in this case, “the victims are all civilians and had no link with the government,” Zwak said. Afghan and coalition officials have warned that the Taleban would intensify the tempo of their attacks following the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as they try to take advantage of the two or three months left of good weather before the harsh Afghan winter sets in. The traditional fighting period lasts from March until the end of October.

The NATO service member died in “a direct fire attack by enemy forces in eastern Afghanistan” on Saturday, according to a statement from the military alliance. The statement did not give any further details on the person killed. Mostly U.S. troops operate in eastern Afghanistan.

There are currently about 100,000 troops from 48 countries in Afghanistan with the US-led International Security Assistance Force, 60,000 of them American.

By the end of this year, the NATO force will be halved, and all foreign combat troops are expected to be gone by the end of next year. Because of the drawdown, much is riding on the abilities of the fledging Afghan security forces, which now number about 352,000. Associated Press Writer Rahim Faiez contributed to this report from Kabul. — AP

US drone kills four in northwest Pakistan MIRANSHAH, Pakistan: A US drone killed at least four militants in a missile strike yesterday targeting a compound in northwest Pakistan’s tribal belt, local security officials said. The attack took place in the village of Heso Khel around 35 kilometres (21 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan which is a notorious stronghold of Taleban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

“At least four militants have been killed and the compound has been completely destroyed,” a local security official in Miranshah said. A second security official in Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, confirmed the attack but said the death toll may rise.

US drone attacks are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, but Washington views them as a vital tool in the fight against Taleban and Al-Qaeda militants in the lawless tribal

areas along the border with Afghanistan.

The Pakistani government has repeatedly protested against drone strikes as a violation of its sovereignty and there has been a decrease in their use.

During a visit to Islamabad at the start of August, US Secretary of State John Kerry suggested that drone strikes targeting Taleban and Al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan could end “very soon” as the threat of militancy recedes. Kerr y made the remarks in an interview with Pakistan state TV following a day of talks with the newly elected government in Islamabad, which demands that the drone strikes cease.

It was the first time that such a senior US official has indicated that there could be a definitive end to the program, which the CIA has in the past called an effective counter-terrorism weapon. — AFP

NEW DELHI: An Indian court found a teenager guilty yesterday of taking part in the fatal gangrape of a student in New Delhi, a crime that sparked revulsion and angry protests in the country.

The juveniles’ court sentenced the teenager to three years in a correctional facility after handing down the first and long-delayed verdict over the brutal assault on the student on a moving bus last December. “He has been held guilty for rape and murder and sentenced to three years subject to review,” Anil Sharma, the chief investigating officer in the case, told reporters outside the court in the capital.

The teenager, who was 17 at the time of the attack, was given the maximum penalty after he was tried as a juvenile, and the three years will include the time he has already spent in custody.

The victim’s mother emerged from the court in tears, saying “he got just three years ... from December onwards he has been given three years”.

“He should get an adult sentence,” the emotional mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told reporters. Her daughter, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, died of internal injuries after being raped and assaulted with an iron bar allegedly by six men on the night of December 16. Her male companion was also beaten up before both were thrown from the bus.

The attack brought simmering anger about endemic sex crime in India to the boil, and sparked weeks of sometimes violent street protests in the country. The victim’s family had earlier called for the teenager to be given the death penalty, saying the juvenile justice system, which seeks to reform rather than punish, was

NEW DELHI: Indian policemen escort the juvenile (in pink hood), accused in the December 2012 gang-rape of a student, to a court in New Delhi yesterday.— AFP too lenient.

The perceived leniency of the sentence is likely to spark further anger in India where the suspects, some of whom have been beaten up in jail, are public hate figures.

Outside the court, up to 20 protesters demanded a harsher punishment, screaming “Hang the juvenile too” and “We want justice.” The separate trial of the four adult suspects in a fast-track court is hearing closing arguments and is expected to wrap up in the next few weeks, with the men facing a possible death sentence if convicted.

The fifth adult, the suspected ring leader, died in jail in an apparent suicide. Outrage over

the attack pushed parliament to pass a new law toughening sentences for rapists, while there was a round of public soul-searching over the rising tide of violence against women. The Supreme Court this month cleared the way for the principal magistrate, Geetanjli Goel, to deliver the verdict on the juvenile’s case.

It was delayed after a petition was lodged in the Supreme Court by an opposition politician for a review of the juvenile law, arguing suspects aged over 16 accused of serious offences should be tried in adult courts.

The juvenile, one of six children, was employed to clean the bus allegedly used for the attack and often slept rough or inside

the vehicle, reports say. He reportedly left his impoverished home in a village in northern Uttar Pradesh state at the age of 11 to live in Delhi, where he worked in a string of menial jobs until landing the job of cleaning the bus.

Children’s rights groups have called for public restraint over the verdict, saying the teenager needed to be given a chance of rehabilitation, adding that India’s child protection services had already failed him.

“In fact, every child coming in conflict with the law is a reflection of the state and society failing that child,” Vijaylakshmi Arora, director of policy and research at Child Relief and You, said.—AFP

Sri Lanka becoming more authoritarian: Rights chief COLOMBO: UN human rights chief Navi Pillay yesterday accused Sri Lanka of becoming “increasingly authoritarian” with activists facing growing military harassment four years after the end of a civil war.

Pillay charged that military officials were harassing and intimidating priests, journalists and other civilians as punishment for meeting her during a fact-finding trip to the island to probe allegations of war crimes. “I am deeply concerned that Sri Lanka... is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction,” the UN high commissioner for human rights told reporters at the end of her first week-long mission to the country.

“You don’t invite a person like me (to the country) and then do this type of thing. This type of surveillance and harassment appears to be getting worse in Sri Lanka, which is a country where critical voices are quite often attacked or even permanently silenced,” she said.

Pillay’s mission took her to the former war zones of the country’s north and east to meet relatives of those who disappeared during the decades-long conflict that ended

in 2009. Sri Lanka has resisted demands from the UN and Western nations for a “credible” investigation into allegations that up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the final months of the separatist

COLOMBO: UN human rights chief Navi Pillay addresses a press conference in Colombo yesterday. —AFP war. Colombo had dropped its public hostility towards Pillay and approved her visit after previously accusing her of overstepping her

mandate. The U-turn came as Canada led calls for a boycott of a Commonwealth summit due to take place in Colombo later this year. But relations appeared to have deteriorated during the trip with President Mahinda Rajapakse accusing the UN of bias and Pillay of pre-judging Sri Lanka during talks between the two on Friday.

Pillay on Saturday told Rajapakse’s government that the UN considers reprisals against civilians an “extremely serious matter”.

She said she had never come across such intimidation of civilians after they had spoken with UN officials, despite carrying out missions in more than 60 countries. “I wish to stress the United Nations takes the issue of reprisals against people because they have talked to UN officials as an extremely serious matter and I will be reporting those that take place in connection with this visit to the Human Rights Council,” she said.

Pillay is expected to present her findings to the UN Human Rights Council, which passed a resolution in March pressing Sri Lanka to more thoroughly investigate alleged war crimes.

A no -holds-barred militar y

offensive crushed Tamil Tiger rebels who at the height of their power controlled one-third of Sri Lanka’s territory. Rajapakse’s government has since been dogged by claims of indiscriminate killing of ethnic minority Tamils.

Pillay warned that the country could slip back into conflict unless rights issues were addressed.

“There are a number of specific factors impeding normalization which-if not quickly rectified-may sow the seeds of future discord,” she said. “These are by and large to do with the cur tailment or denial of personal freedoms and human rights, or linked to persistent impunity and the failure of rule of law.”

She also urged the government to speed up de-militarization of the former war zones. “I was concerned to hear about the degree to which the military appears to be putting down roots and becoming involved in what should be civilian activities-for instance education, agriculture and even tourism,” she said.

She repeated calls for a “credible” investigation into the final days of the island’s ethnic war and ensure accountability. — AFP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

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

Australian opposition vows refugee savings CANBERRA: The Australian opposition pledged yesterday to slash the amount of money the government spends on legal assistance for asylum seekers if it wins national elections next week.

The soaring costs for taxpayers of an increasing number of asylum seekers reaching Australian shores by boat is a hotbutton issue ahead of the elections on Sept 7.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison announced yesterday that he expects savings of 100 million Australian dollars ($89 million) over four years by scrapping a government policy of

providing free lawyers and migration agents to advise refugee seekers on lodging asylum claims and appealing rejections of the claims. “There is no provision under the (United Nations) Refugee Convention which compels a country such as Australia to provide taxpayerfunded advice in these situations,” Morrison said.

Another opposition spokesman, George Brandis, said a conservative government would give priority to providing Australian citizens with free legal advice rather than asylum seekers.

Sarah Hanson-Young, immigration

spokeswoman for the minor Greens party, said the aid is needed because many refugee claims denied by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) were overturned on appeal. “It’s clear that DIAC assessors make mistakes in their first assessments and if the coalition’s cruel cuts get up then we may be sending people back to their deaths,” she said in a statement.

The conservative opposition, which is tipped to win the election, and the centerleft Labor Party government are proposing different policies to stop the influx of boats.

The opposition last week promised to buy old Indonesian fishing boats in a bid to prevent them from falling into the hands of people smugglers. The smugglers charge up to $10,000 per passenger to bring asylum seekers from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam from Indonesian ports to Australia.

Morrison won’t say how many boats a conservative government would buy or how much would be paid. But with an estimated 750,000 fishing boats in the Indonesian archipelago, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd dismissed the boat-buying

scheme as a waste of money.

Rudd has pledged that every refugee who has arrived by boat in Australian waters since July 19 will be resettled on the impoverished Pacific island nations of Papua New Guinea or Nauru.

The opposition has said it would attempt to deter new arrivals by introducing temporary protection visas which would allow refugees to be sent back to their homelands years later if circumstances improve. Rights groups have criticized both sides of political grandstanding for toughening their policies toward asylum seekers. —AP

In Fukushima, the radiated water ‘has nowhere to go’ Radiated water pooling in the disaster zone TOKYO: In the weeks after the Fukushima nuclear plant was destroyed by a triple meltdown in March 2011, the plant’s owner turned to three of Japan’s largest construction companies for a quick fix to store radiated water that was pooling in the disaster zone. The result was a rush order for steel tanks supplied by Taisei Corp, Shimizu Corp and Hazama Ando that were relatively cheap and could be put together quickly, according to the utility and three people involved in the project.

The tanks, which stand as tall as a three-storey building, were shipped in pieces and bolted together as makeshift repository for the cascade of water being pumped through the reactors of Fukushima every day to keep fuel in the melted cores from overheating. The bolted tanks were sealed with resin and designed to last until about 2016 - long enough to buy time for Tokyo Electric Power, or Tepco, to work out a more permanent solution.

But at least one of the tanks has already failed,

trade and industry, and Shunichi Tanaka, the top nuclear regulator, both indicated support for releasing water with low levels of radiation from Fukushima. No one has given any timeframe for such a move.

NOT BUILT TO LAST Officials say the immediate priority is to figure out why the bolted storage tank failed less than two years since it was installed. They are also looking at adjusting plans for the more than 400,000 tons of additional water storage Tepco plans to build by 2016. When Tepco commissioned the first bolted tanks the advantage was the relative speed with which contractors could finish the job just a few hundred meters from the wrecked reactor building. “These could be quickly built,” said Masayuki Ono, a manager at Tepco’s nuclear division.

Tepco spokeswoman Mayumi Yoshida said a joint venture of Taisei, Shimzu and Hazama Ando won the first contract to build storage tanks at

IWAKI: Local people enjoy surfing on Toyoma Beach, some 50 kilometers south of the broken Fukushima nuclear power plant, in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture. —AFP leaking 300 tons of highly radioactive water that may have seeped into a drainage ditch and into the Pacific Ocean. The discovery of the leak which Tepco said on Friday was the fifth from the same type of tank - prompted Japan’s first declaration of a nuclear incident since a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami triggered reactor meltdowns and hydrogen explosions that spewed radiation around Fukushima in 2011.

It has also focused attention on the uncomfortable end-game for the radiated water collecting at Fukushima. Some 330,000 tons of contaminated water - enough to fill more than 130 Olympic swimming pools - has been pumped into storage pits and above-ground tanks at the crippled facility. The sheer scale of the build-up has prompted some experts and officials to warn that in order to focus on containing the most toxic waste, less contaminated water will have to be dumped into the sea.

“Think about it in simple terms. If you don’t release the water, there’s nowhere to store it. So we also think it may have to be released,” said Shinichi Nakayama, deputy director of the Nuclear Safety Research Center at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and a member of a regulatory panel on Fukushima’s problems. Before the latest leak, Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan’s minister of

Fukushima in April 2011. She declined to say whether the contractors built the tank that began to leak. Tepco has not identified the cause of the leak, and has consistently declined to give details on the value of contracts it has awarded or winning bidders, citing a need to protect “corporate secrets”. The Fukushima decommissioning is projected to cost at least $11 billion and take at least 30 years to complete.

Taisei, which built the structure around Japan’s newest reactor at Tomari in Hokkaido in 2009, was heavily involved in the construction of the Fukushima tanks, according to three people involved, who asked not to be named. Workers and engineers at Fukushima have been put on an “emergency” footing to work on the storage tanks this week, they said. Shimizu, which also has experience in building nuclear plants in Japan, had technology needed to build the bolted tanks and brought in experts, one of the sources said. Taisei said it could not comment on individual client projects. Shimizu and Hazama Ando declined to comment.

There are 350 of the bolted-style tanks in place at Fukushima, and another 710 welded tanks, a more expensive design that takes longer to assemble. Nuclear Regulation Authority Commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa said on Friday that

regulators also needed to examine the environmental risks posed by any failures of those tanks, especially in cases where they have been lined up directly on the ground rather than a concrete foundation. Tepco plans to more than double the current storage capacity by 2016, but doesn’t have a plan beyond that point. The math is daunting. The utility has to find space for an additional 400 tonnes of radioactive water each day because of the need to keep the reactors cool for the next seven years.

CONTROVERSIAL A radiation filtering machine known as ALPS was supplied by Toshiba Corp to scrub the water clean of most radioactive elements, including cesium and strontium. The system, which remains in testing and under review by nuclear regulators, would leave treated water with tritium, a radioactive element typically discharged in the coolant water of reactors and considered one of the least dangerous radioactive elements.

Japanese officials have indicated support for releasing water containing tritium into the sea to make room to store more dangerous radioactive materials. But that seems certain to be controversial at a time when Japanese utilities are applying to restart nuclear stations that have been idled and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is on a drive to sell nuclear technology to countries like India and Vietnam. The World Nuclear Association, an international organization that promotes nuclear power, endorses a limited discharge at Fukushima.

“Tepco has been prevented from discharging any treated water due to political opposition,” the organization said in response to questions from Reuters. “Permitting sea release of treated water would alleviate the much larger problem of a demand for massive volumes of water storage.”

Tepco’s already shaky credibility with regulators and the Japanese public has been further damaged by recent events. After months of denials, Tepco admitted in July that radioactive groundwater is reaching the sea. The government estimates 300 tonnes of radiated water are leaking every day.

Kajima Corp, a construction and civil engineering company, has proposed freezing the ground around the Fukushima reactor to create a 1.4-kilometer ring of frozen earth intended to stop groundwater from seeping into the wrecked reactor buildings. Contractors will prepare a report assessing the feasibility of that project by December. Yuzo Onishi, a Kansai University professor who heads the government panel that endorsed the strategy in May, said it was the only option to block water in a tight space without cutting through tangled piping underneath the plant buildings.

“The opinion among the groundwater specialists is that Tepco has no idea what it’s doing,” he said. “We have asked them to bring in specialists on the ground.” Seawater sampling beyond the port surrounding the plant has not yet shown a rise in cesium or strontium levels, suggesting the contamination remains contained.

But that has not relieved pressure on the local fishing industry, which has had to scrap plans to resume test fishing next month because of the recent leaks at the plant.

After months of discussion, a union representing Fukushima fishermen has moved closer to endorsing a Tepco plan to divert water away from the reactor complex and pump it directly into the sea. But the industry remains staunchly against any attempt by the utility to dump radiated water into the Pacific. “We have to go back to the drawing board to figure out what to do next. Right now we can’t see the future. There is so much uncertainty,” said Takayuki Yanai, a trustee of a local fishing union. —Reuters

SYDNEY: A boy poses for a photo in front of a placard during a protest against a possible US military strike against Syria, in Sydney yesterday.

Carrying placards reading “Hands off Syria” and bearing the face of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, protesters gathered in Sydney’s Martin Place to voice their concerns about a US military assault. — AFP

Top Indonesian energy official barred from travel JAKARTA: A top Indonesian energy official has been banned from overseas travel, media reported yesterday, in the latest graft case this month which threatens to further tarnish President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s final year in office.

The reported travel ban on Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Secretary General, Waryono Karno, follows the arrest earlier this month of the head of the energy regulator SKKMigas, Rudi Rubiandini, on bribery charges after large amounts of cash were found in his Jakarta home.

Officials from the Corruption Eradication Agency (KPK) and the immigration office were not immediately available for comment. “Yes, that was two days ago,” Kompas daily quoted deputy head of the KPK Busryo Muqoddas as saying when asked if his agency had requested the travel ban on Waryono. KPK routinely imposes travel bans when it is investigating individuals in corruption cases, and has already imposed them on three other SKKMigas officials.

Waryono has come under investigation after $200,000 was found in a bag in his office, KPK officials have said, although the Jakarta Post quoted Energy Minister Jero Wacik as saying the money was for legitimate purposes. The scandals are the first to hit the top levels of the energy ministry, which oversees a major part of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. The Indonesian economy is heavily dependent of the production of oil, gas, coal and several metals.

They add to confusion over government policy in the industry and could undermine attempts to attract more investment from international energy companies, several of which have threatened to scale back operations due to uncertainty about the investment environment.

The cases also come at a tricky time for President Yudhoyono. The energy minister is a top member of Yudhoyono’s ruling

Democratic Party and the party’s fortunes have already been damaged by other high-profile corruption cases which are expected to come to court in the next few months.

The minister has denied any involvement in the SKKMigas case. The scandals undermine Yudhoyono’s claims that during his two terms as president he has successfully reduced the graft that has long been a routine part of doing business in the world’s fourth most populous nation.

It also comes as his legacy for successfully managing the economy comes under attack from a global retreat by investors from emerging markets, especially those like Indonesia that are running large current account deficits. If the cases spread they could add to the problems of Yudhoyono’s party, which has seen its popularity slide ahead of next year’s parliamentary and presidential elections.

Opinion polls almost all show that Jakarta’s popular governor, in office for less than a year but widely viewed as clean and effective, would easily win the presidential race.

Governor Joko Widodo has not said whether he would run and the party he is most closely linked to, the opposition PDIP, has yet to decide who its candidate will be next July.

Just the possibility that he will run has been enough to shake up the political establishment. Most of the other likely candidates owe their initial rise to links to the now widely discredited former president Suharto. Suharto was the second of two autocrats who dominated most of Indonesia’s nearly 70 years of independence.

In a sign of the consternation Widodo has caused among established parties, the presidential candidate for the Golkar party - Suharto’s political vehicle - was quoted by media as saying he would be prepared to be the governor’s running mate.—Reuters

Major activity at N Korea’s rocket test site: Website

This satellite image provided by Astrium via 38 North captured shows new construction at the North Korean launch site of Sohae, near the northern border with China. —AP

SEOUL: Fresh satellite imagery shows North Korea has embarked on a major new construction program at the facility where it launched a long-range rocket in December, a US research institute said.

The construction includes what could be a possible new launch pad for testing mobile ballistic missiles, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University posted on its 38 North website Friday.

Work has been under way at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, commonly referred to as longchang-ri, since the middle of the year, it said. The station near the northwestern coast was the base for the communist state’s successful Unha-3 rocket launch in December, which was widely condemned in the West as a disguised long-range ballistic missile test banned under United Nations resolutions.

As well a new road, the rebuilding of a compound for troops and the restart of construction on a permanent radar tracking system, the new

imagery appears to show the construction of a new launch pad, the website said. “While it is too early to identify the exact purpose of this site, one possible explanation is that Pyongyang is building a ‘flat launch pad’, a large concrete area that would be used to test mobile ballistic missiles fired from a transporter-erecter launcher,” it said.

“Alternatively, a modified version of the KN08 long-range mobile missile could launch small satellites from the pad although this would probably require a more complex arrangement.

“Rockets fired from this location... could travel over 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) before encountering a foreign land mass. This would allow full tests of North Korea’s Musudan rocket.”

The Musudan is a mid-range rocket suspected to have a range of over 3,000 kilometres, while the KN-08 has a potential intercontinental range and was first displayed on parade in April 2012.

The construction work at Sohae and a halt

last year to construction at the Tonghae facility makes it “unlikely that North Korea will test fire an Unha or other space launch vehicles over the next six months”, the website said.

Despite international criticism and UN sanctions, North Korea has repeatedly made it clear that it intends to pursue a missile program which it sees as a key component of an effective nuclear deterrent. During the recent surge in military tensions on the Korean peninsula that followed the December rocket launch and the North’s nuclear test in February, Pyongyang warned it had the ability to deliver nuclear warheads as far as the continental United States.

Most experts say such claims are exaggerated, but Washington announced in March that it was deploying new missile interceptor batteries in Alaska in order to “stay ahead” of the nuclear threat from North Korea.

Pyongyang said the December launch, which successfully placed a satellite in orbit, was a purely scientific mission. —AFP

NEWS

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

CILVEGOZU: Refugees camp in the Syrian territory is seen near Cilvegozu, Turkey yesterday. UN chemical weapons experts have left Syria and crossed into neighboring Lebanon. — AP

Yemen premier survives assassination attempt SANAA: Yemeni Prime Minister Mohamed Basindawa escaped unharmed as gunmen opened fire on his convoy in the capital yesterday, a security source said. “Four unknown gunmen opened fire on the prime minister’s convoy in central Sanaa as he was heading home,” the source said, adding that no one was hurt in the attack.

Basindawa has headed a national unity government since December 2011, under a transition agreement paving the way for president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s ouster. The impoverished Arabian Peninsula state has been rocked by deadly violence since Saleh’s departure, particularly in the south and east of Yemen

where Al-Qaeda is active.

Basindawa was travelling in an armored car when the gunmen in a four-wheel drive opened fire before fleeing, the security source said. It was the first such attack to target the premier, who was a leading opposition figure under Saleh, and several members of his government have also escaped assassination bids.

Apart from the Al-Qaeda threat, Yemen is also caught in a power struggle with southern separatists and faces a rebellion in the mostlyShiite populated north. The government on August 21 apologized to both southern separatists and northern rebels for wars against them, as part of efforts to encourage national

dialogue aimed at drafting a new constitution and holding elections.

Yemen is the ancestral home of Al-Qaeda’s late founder Osama bin Laden and the home base of the militant faction’s local front group, AlQaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

AQAP militants took advantage of a decline in central government control during a 2011 popular uprising that forced Saleh from power, and seized large swathes of territory across the south. But the army expelled them from these areas in June 2012 and they have been increasingly weakened mainly due to US drone attacks, although they still carry out hit-and-run attacks on security forces. — AFP

Qaeda urges attacks on Egypt army Continued from Page 1

The Aug 14 crackdown also sparked retaliatory attacks against churches and government buildings as well as a flare-up in the insurgency waged by militants in the Sinai Peninsula. Al-Adnani called on Egyptians, Syrians and Iraqis to “renounce peaceful calls and to carry weapons and join jihad for the sake of God ... We advise those in the Egyptian army to repent and to defect.”

He described the militaries of Arab states as “armies of the oppressors,” “renegades” and “infidels,” especially the Egyptian army “which tries to prevent God’s rule and establish secular rules.” He said 2011’s Arab Spring upris-

ings went astray by focusing on rallies, rather than armed struggle. “Muslims who came out unarmed to remove injustice missed their way when they thought that redemption is achieved by getting rid of rulers and that change comes through demonstrations,” he said.

He said dignity and freedom from oppression “can only be achieved through the rattle of the swords, shedding blood and sacrifice of life,” he said. He told Brotherhood members: “You have suffered yourselves from the reality of democracy and the loss of your power that you have sought for a century when the army snatched your power within one night and left you either arrested, dead or homeless.” — AP

Arabs powerless, divided on Syria Continued from Page 1

As proof of this, he mentioned the fact that possible Western military intervention in Syria has not provoked any large-scale protests in Arab capitals such as was witnessed when the Iraq war began 10 years ago.

US President Barack Obama has vowed action to deter Damascus from using chemical weapons again, while ruling out “boots on the ground” or a “long-term campaign”. The Gulf monarchies, however, led by Saudi Arabi which, alongside Qatar is the main supporter of the Syrian opposition, “would prefer decisive action which puts an end to the regime of Bashar Al-Assad,” according to Abdelkhaleq Abdallah, the Emirati analyst.

Abdel Aziz Al-Sagr, who heads the Gulf Research Centre, agreed, saying the oil-rich Gulf states “are ready, if asked, to participate in an international coalition” against Assad. Instead, the United States is seeking “to weaken the regime in Damascus and not overthrow it,” he added. Some of the Gulf countries, notably Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, played a role in the mili-

tary operations in Libya that led to strongman Muammar Gaddafi’s ouster and eventual death in 2011.

By contrast, the role of Arab states in any US military operation in Syria would be “only of a logistical nature,” said Mustafa Al-Ani, another analyst at the Gulf Research Center. Bahrain is the home base of the US Fifth Fleet, while Centcom, the US command responsible for 20 countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, has a regional headquarters in Qatar, which also hosts the largest US air base in the Middle East.

“The United States needs no one at the military level.

But it is extremely important for them not to be alone at the political level,” said Bruno Tertrais, an analyst at the Foundation for Strategic Research. He said the Americans, like their French allies, would emphasize the support of Arab countries for military intervention, “because everyone wants to avoid giving the impression that this is a Western operation against Syria.” But in the event of any strikes affecting the civilian population, “the reaction on the Arab street will be negative,” said the Emirati analyst. — AFP

US backs off imminent action against Syria Continued from Page 1 showed only 20 percent believe the United States should take action, but that was up from 9 percent last week. A debate has raged for days in Washington among members of the US Congress over whether, or how quickly, Obama should take action.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell backed the move, which he said Obama had told him about.

“The president’s role as commander in chief is always strengthened when he enjoys the expressed support of the Congress,” said McConnell. Obama’s decision was announced after he met his national security team at the White House. Top aides were to brief senators later in the day and members of the House of Representatives are to receive a classified briefing from administration officials today.

The objective is to show solid proof that US intelligence officials say shows conclusively that the Syrian government of President Bashar Al-Assad launched a large chemical weapons assault in Damascus suburbs that left among the dead 426 children. Obama has broad legal powers to take military action, and he insisted he felt he had the authority to launch a strike on his own. But he said he wanted Congress to have its say.

Meanwhile, UN experts investigating a poison gas attack in Syria left the country yesterday, paving the way for the United States to lead military strikes to punish President Bashar Al-Assad. US President Barack Obama said the United States, which has five cruise-

missile equipped destroyers in the region, was planning “limited, narrow” military action to punish Assad for an attack that Washington said killed 1,429 people.

“We cannot accept a world where women and children and innocent civilians are gassed on a terrible scale,” Obama said on Friday after Washington unveiled an intelligence assessment concluding Assad’s forces were to blame for the attack. The Aug 21 attack - the deadliest single incident of the Syrian civil war and the world’s worst use of chemical arms since Iraq’s Saddam Hussein gassed thousands of Kurds in 1988 - has galvanized a reluctant Washington to use force after two and a half years on the sidelines.

The team of UN experts drove up to Beirut International Airport yesterday after crossing the land border into Lebanon by road earlier in the day. No Western intervention had been expected as long as they were still on the ground in Syria. The 20-member team had arrived in Damascus three days before the Aug 21 attack to investigate earlier accusations.

After days holed up in a hotel, they visited the sites several times, taking blood and tissue samples from victims in rebel-held suburbs of Damascus and from soldiers at a government hospital. Other UN agencies have also pulled staff from Syria, and countries have warned citizens away from neighboring Lebanon. “Most of the mid-level and non-essential staff left on Thursday. The heads of the various agencies have stayed behind, together with a skeleton local staff,” a UN source said from Damascus yesterday. — Agencies

Edgy Lebanese add smartphone apps to anti-car bomb arsenal BEIRUT: As Lebanon reels from deadly bomb attacks that revived painful memories of the civil war, jittery authorities are banking on a smartphone application and other alert systems to prevent further bloodshed. The attacks-twin car bombs in the nor thern city of Tripoli last week and a blast in a densely populated Shiite area of Beirut eight days before-have shaken the Lebanese just as a military strike on neighboring Syria appears imminent.

“See that car?” said Khairy Ghali, a 22-year-old waiter in a near-empty restaurant on Beirut’s popular Hamra Street, pointing to a vehicle parked in front of the establishment’s outdoor terrace. “ We don’t know if there’s anything in it... We’re afraid, we come to work and we don’t know if we’ll go home or not.” Not content with the usual measures aimed at preventing further attacks, such as checking car trunks before vehicles enter vulnerable sites like malls and hotels, authorities have also decided to harness the power of smartphone technology.

The Lebanese army has launched an application called “LAF Shield” that allows citizens to take videos or photos of suspicious vehicles or objects and send them to the army command. It also allows them to identify “dangerous sites” such as

places where security incidents happened through an interactive site. In a statement on its official website, the army said it aimed “to involve the largest numbers of citizens in defending the country.”

Authorities have also called on people to put their names and telephone numbers in a visible place on their cars every time they park them, and more generally for residents to be ultra vigilant. For the moment, the methods are working... almost to a fault. “The operation room of the Internal Security Forces (the country’s police) has been receiving more than 1,000 calls every day since the Beirut bombing from citizens all over Lebanon who tell us there are suspect cars,” a security official said.

“In some cases, it’s clear that the vehicles are not suspect. O ther times, police have to break windows and force open doors to inspect the vehicle,” said the official, who wished to remain anonymous. “But so far, all have been false alerts.”

Photos circulating widely on social media also show signs posted on windscreens by jumpy drivers keen to avoid damage to their vehicles.

“It isn’t booby-trapped. I’m nearby and will come back quickly,” read one sign posted online.

The attacks on August 15 and August 23 killed more than 70 people, and brought back painful mem-

ories of the 1975-1990 civil war, when people regularly checked under their cars before getting in.

Lebanon has been the scene of several car bombings since 2005 when Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was assassinated, but last week’s twin car bombs in Tripoli were the bloodiest attacks since the end of the civil war.

Some residents of Beirut are now hesitant to leave their neighborhoods for fear that a parked car they walk by will blow up. Shop and restaurant employees in the normally busy Hamra Street-one of the capital’s main thoroughfares-say they are seeing far fewer customers than in normal times. And as if that was not enough, a strike on neighboring Syria now appears more and more imminent, amplifying fears.

US President Barack Obama on Friday gave his clearest indication yet that a military intervention would happen soon to punish the Syrian regime, which it believes unleashed poison gas in an alleged attack last week that killed more than 1,400 people. “It’s all very close, there will be consequences here,” said Sharif Alaa, a 26-year-old Lebanese on holiday in his home country from Paris, where he lives. “There are political parties that are very close to Syria, and there will be consequences for the economy too,” he said on the streets of Beirut. — AFP

Islamist rebels go into hiding Continued from Page 1

incredibly valuable opportunity to establish a concrete foothold in the heart of the Middle East.”

Syria, which sits on the faultlines of several sectarian and ethnic conflicts in the region, has been mired in 2-1/2 years of conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people.

Foreign powers have been deadlocked over action, and Western forces have grown increasingly hesitant as radical Islamist groups rose to power in an uprising that began as peaceful protests against four decades of Assad family rule. But US President Barack Obama has said chemical weapons use would cross a “red line” and has vowed to take action.

Militants have been trading advice online about going into hiding - from tips about food stockpiling to strategic advice on pre-planning attacks to maintain operations while leaders were in hiding. Lister said lessons from attacks on militants in Mali, Iraq and Afghanistan were being shared on the Internet. Abdullah Saqr, linked to the Fateh al-Islam group that has roots in Lebanon, posted

some of his advice on Twitter. “Start changing your locations and finding shelters, do not move in announced or large convoys. Take the mobile phones from all your fighters and distance them from the leadership to maintain a security layer,” he wrote.

“My brothers, the situation is serious, it’s not a joke. The Americans are being tricky in timing the attacks, which means it will be nothing more than a surprise attack as happened in Afghanistan or Iraq.” The Islamist source close to the Al-Qaeda groups in Syria said fighters had already redeployed in new hideouts “away from prying eyes”, but declined to give further details. Activists in rebel-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo said they saw ISIL fighters leaving their bases in large numbers.

Nusra forces worked more secretly, they said, perhaps better timing their movements at night to avoid attention. “They cleared out their main headquarters and much of the city. All they left behind were a few guards,” said an activist in Aleppo, speaking by Skype. “The others left behind were their social service and proselytizing groups.

These groups cannot abandon the people.” — Reuters

Iraq war haunts Obama Continued from Page 1 doubt on Assad’s government. “I recognize that all of us - here in the United States, in Great Britain, in many parts of the world there is a certain weariness given Afghanistan, there’s a certain suspicion of any military action post-Iraq,” Obama said Friday.

Supporters of Assad’s rule, including Russia, have been quick to point to that history in objecting to any retaliatory strikes against Syria. “All this is reminiscent of events from a decade ago, when the United States bypassed the UN and used fallacious information on the presence in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction to launch an adventure, the consequences of which are known to all,” said Russian foreign ministr y spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.

In a declassified intelligence assessment released Friday, the Obama administration held Assad’s government responsible for a chemical weapons attack Aug 21 on the Damascus suburbs. The assessment said 1,429 people were killed, including at least 426 children. It cited both human and technological intelligence to conclude that the Syrian government was undertaking activities to deploy chemical weapons three days before the attack.

The report cited intercepted communications in which a senior Syrian official, who was not identified, confirmed the use of chemical weapons that day and voiced concern that United Nations inspectors would obtain the evidence.”

The report gave the information a rating of “high confidence,” the strongest short of actual confirmation. As US officials assembled and double-checked the data, Iraq was not far from their thoughts.

“Our intelligence community has carefully reviewed and re-reviewed information regarding this attack,” Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday. “And I will tell you it has done so more than mindful of the Iraq experience. We will not repeat that moment.” White House deputy national security adviser Benjamin Rhodes said that for all the focus on comparing judgments in Iraq and Syria over weapons of mass destruction, “the scale of what has been contemplated has been lost as against Iraq. “You see this rush to compare,” Rhodes said, “and what’s interesting is that there is no outcome in which things look anything like Iraq.”

But even without the intelligence failures preceding the Iraq war, there is an Iraq and Afghanistan war fatigue that has settled over the country that also poses challenges for Obama. An NBC poll found that nearly 8 in 10 Americans want Obama to obtain congressional approval before using force in Syria. That said, the public is move favorably disposed to a limited cruise missile launch than some other type of intervention, with 50 percent favoring that kind of action and 44 opposing it.

Michael O’Hanlon, a national security analyst at The Brookings Institution, said that for all the contrasts with the 2003 Iraq invasion, the more apt comparison in Syria is with missile strikes ordered against Iraq by President Bill Clinton, including strikes in 1998 to punish Saddam for not complying with UN chemical weapons inspections. “I’m surprised this administration doesn’t make that analogy,” O’Hanlon said. “This operation is going to be limited. It’s going to be small scale or medium scale and it’s going to be over as soon as it’s begun practically. We’re going to hear about the beginning, middle and end of it all in one Pentagon briefing, more or less.” — AP

14

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

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Issues

US spending fight looms

By Steven R Hurst

S

tand by for one of the nastiest and, perhaps most economically dangerous US political fights in recent memory.

As the languorous Washington summer draws to a close, Congress returns to the capital next month with stark battle lines drawn on spending issues that, if left unresolved, could shove the United States into defaulting on its debt for the first time or force the government to shut down for lack of funding.

Conservative Republicans threaten one or both unless Democrats and the White House surrender to right wing demands to slash spending for President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

While there is an internal debate in the Republican party over how to proceed, a growing number of legislators are concerned by what they perceive as overspending by the government, and they are determined to refuse action on the debt ceiling or the budget without major spending cuts from Democrats. Heated rhetoric stemming from the differences that divide the two parties - Republicans’ desire to reduce spending on large benefit programs and Democrats’ push for increased tax revenue - could cool as deadlines draw nearer.

Republicans in particular are deeply divided on how far to push on denying a debt limit increase or shutting down the government over the budget. The fight also concerns cuts that already have sliced huge chunks out of the defense spending, a burr under the saddle of Republicans, and governmentfunded social programs, part of the Democrats’ political catechism. Congressional action is needed to lift those cuts, which were part of a 2011 deal that side-stepped debt default two years ago. Those reductions run through 2021, but were intended to be so onerous to both political parties that they would be forced to compromise. That never happened as the nation’s capital fell into the grip of a partisan stalemate not seen in decades. Efforts to bridge the chasm during the August legislative break have proven a fool’s errand, with neither side any closer to a big deal that would reduce the nation’s deficit - the issue drives all others when it comes to any agreement on taxes and spending by an increasingly unpopular Washington government.

“The president has been trying for months, privately and quietly, with Republican leaders in the House and Senate to work out some sort of reasonable compromise. As of this date there is no evidence of progress,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who is assistant majority leader and whip. “I’m afraid we’re going to go to the brink. I hope I’m wrong.” The White House says it will not negotiate over health care reforms, period. Here’s what’s at stake as soon as Congress returns on Sept.

9. First, the federal budget year ends on Sept. 30, and there is no agreement between members of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democrat-controlled Senate on a budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Without a deal on a new spending plan or at least an agreement to temporarily continue funding at current levels, the government would be forced to shut-down.

That happened in the mid-1990s when Bill Clinton was president, and it cost opposition Republicans dearly. Then, within a couple of weeks, the government will reach its limit on borrowing, known as the debt limit. Unless Congress agrees to raise that limit, the government would likely default on some of its debt, which would be a first in the country’s history. Until Obama was elected president in 2008, raising the debt limit was a matter of course. But Republican threats to block the increase in 2010, when they had regained control of the House, caused one of the global rating institutions to lower US government creditworthiness for the first time.

The primary Republican target this time is Obama’s signature legislative achievement, the overhaul of the US health care system. Republican legislators are threatening to impose a government shutdown over the budget or to nix a rise in the borrowing limit and force a debt default if Democrats and Obama do not knuckle under opposition calls to slash spending for the health care law. Much of that law begins taking effect later this year and early in 2014. House Republicans have already taken 40 votes to repeal or cut funding for the overhaul, moves that were never taken up in the Senate and would have been vetoed out of hand by Obama. “We’re going to have a whale of a fight,” Rep. John Boehner, the speaker of the House, said at a fundraising appearance this month for a fellow Republican in Idaho. The health care law forces all Americans to buy health insurance - offering government subsidies to low income citizens - and Republicans philosophically view that as wrongful government intrusion into private decision-making. That part of the law is what will help finance its regulations that will provide insurance to tens of millions of Americans who now are uninsured or who can’t buy coverage because they already have a medical condition. Some Republicans are so opposed to such programs that they would like to see major cuts in the government’s long-standing Social Security old-age pension system and the government-run Medicare health insurance program for Americans over age 65.—AP

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

Across US, fears, ambivalence, anguish over Syria

By Thomas Beaumont and Ken Thomas

T

he specter of US military action against Syria and further intervention in the Muslim world is generating troubled and conflicting emotions throughout America. People cite misgivings about their country’s role as “world policeman.” They express moral outrage at atrocities in a faraway nation, tempered by dismay about trying to decide who’s good and who’s bad in a sectarian slaughter.

There’s a deep ambivalence about how to use American military power for good without committing the United States to another intractable war. Those sentiments are reflected in a series of interviews conducted Friday by The Associated Press across the country and borne out in recent polling. In town after town, Americans weary of war after a dozen years of it are expressing unease, concern, fear and often resignation.

Some adamantly oppose any US action against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, even though the Obama administration says he used chemical weapons to kill 1,429 people, including more than 400 children. Most are struggling to sort out conflicting hopes and anxieties. Painful lessons from Vietnam and Iraq color the conversations. Pride in America’s strength and morality often seem pitted against fears of arrogance that can lead to conflicts much easier to start than to finish.

“I think he has to do something,” Ralph Whitney of Groton, Conn, said of Obama, even if it means “stirring up a hornet’s nest.” Opinion polls quantify the serious reservations. An NBC News survey suggests that the Assad government’s alleged use of chemical weapons has not persuaded more people in the US to support military intervention. Half of those surveyed said the US should not take military action, while 42 percent said the US should.

Only 1 in 5 said military action is in the US national interest. The poll was conducted Wednesday and Thursday, before the administration’s release Friday of an unclassified intelligence assessment that cited “high confidence” that the Syrian government carried out the attack. A Washington Post-ABC News poll from December showed 63 percent in favor of US military involvement if the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people.

The NBC poll found scant support for arming Syrian rebels. About one-fourth of those questioned favor US military action to help stop the killing of Syrian civilians, while just 6 percent prefer arming the rebels. Americans with firsthand knowledge of Syrian refugees’ plight talked in Des Moines about their wariness of US military intervention. “The pain and the despair people have experienced, and the loss of life, it’s created a situation where people don’t even know who they are anymore,” Kate Altmaier, a 30-year-old administrative assistant, said in between sips of coffee outside a cafe.

Altmaier had just returned from the Mideast. In Lebanon, she saw the struggles of those refugees.

Anyone who thinks America’s proper response is easy or obvious, she said, is misguided. “Fighting evil with more darkness,” said Altmaier, a self-described born-again Christian, is not the answer. “If someone has a good answer, I’ll say they don’t understand it. Even people who know a lot about it and have spent so much time there, it’s a spider web.”

Nearby, Elizabeth Jack was rocking her 5-month-old after the weekly story hour at the city’s downtown public library. A family of Syrian immigrants lives in her neighborhood, she said, and the kids in the two households play together. The Syrian parents fear for relatives still in the Middle East. “I know they are worried, and want someone to help,” Jack said. Despite her sympathies, Jack opposes a US strike. “We’re stretched so thin,” she said. “We are policing the world.”

She said her views sometimes create awkwardness with her Syrian neighbors. Jack said she feels helpless to change America’s military role in the region. “I do feel like it’s just the way it’s going to be,” she said. Jimmy Tynes, 64, of Hattiesburg, Miss., said his initial thought on airstrikes against Syria was, “I’m against it. I just don’t know what we’d be doing over there.” But as he spoke longer during a visit to Atlanta, Tynes equivocated. “Of course, none of us can see everything that the president is looking at,” he said. “If that’s his decision, I’ll support him.” Tynes, who served in the Army Reserves in the

Vietnam War era, warned against portraying Syria’s rebels as heroes. “It’s our enemies on both sides over there,” he said. Jennifer McConkley, 45, shared coffee in Des Moines with Altmaier, a co-worker. She also shares Altmaier’s ambivalence about military action in Syria.

McConkey, who voted for Obama last year, said she was troubled by Obama’s declaration that Syria’s government would be crossing a “red line” if it used chemical weapons against its citizens.

Still, she said, the United States has a moral role to stem such abuses. “I just hate for us to have to go that far,” McConkey said. “That’s not going to solve the issue.

But we have to take some kind of stand and send a clear a message about what we’ll tolerate.” She worries about her son Alex, 11, and the possibility he may be called someday to serve in the Middle East, where a US military role seems likely for years.

“I hope for a time when we wouldn’t have to be there,” McConkey said. “But given the complex situation, we’ll probably always have some kind of presence there.

At least within my lifetime.” McConkey wasn’t the only person who mentioned Obama’s “red line” warning.

Retired Army veteran Lee Thompson of Atlanta said the president “offered all those references to a ‘red line.’ To do nothing now makes the United States look weak.”

Thompson, 71, urged Obama to avoid the ways America got involved in Vietnam and Iraq.

“Anything we do must have a defined purpose,” he said. “Otherwise there’s no ‘win’ in this war, nothing to say we won and it’s time to come home.” David Kabel of West Des Moines, Iowa, said Obama’s “red line” warning leaves him without a good option. “I bet he wishes he hadn’t said that,” said Kabel, 65. Even a tightly defined intervention in Syria will be hard to control, he said. But he said he fears Obama will be viewed as weak if he doesn’t act.

pers in the morning. “Why is it our problem?” “We’re always getting the blame for being the peacemaker,” Johnson said. “That’s why other countries hate us so much.” The issue creates a somewhat gentler divide between Ralph and Sally Whitney of Groton, Conn., who were in northern Virginia for a wedding. She thinks a military strike is a terrible idea; he thinks it’s probably inevitable.

“Don’t take us to war!” said Sally Whitney, a 58-yearold town clerk, as soon as the topic came up. “If we are invited to help a country, that would be it,” she said. “But we can’t go and police it.”Ralph Whitney said Obama is virtually obligated to act because of his earlier warnings about chemical weapons use. But that doesn’t mean the 65-year-old engineer thinks it’s a good idea. Syria “is a sovereign country,” he said, “and we have no right to interfere in a sovereign country.”

Time after time, Americans fretted about being the world’s moral enforcer. “I’m sick and tired of America having to police everyone,” said Tristan Wright, 37, a banker from Alexandria, Va. “We just got finished up with Iraq, and that was an utter waste,” Wright said as he sipped iced coffee on a warm day. “We have enough problems here,” he said, citing struggling school districts, Detroit’s municipal bankruptcy and high rates of US poverty and homelessness. “There is always going to be a new Syria,” Wright said.

During lunchtime at an outdoor market in downtown Los Angeles, George Carrillo and Henry Chase summarized Obama’s options. Carrillo, manning a bakery stall whose proceeds help former gang members, said the president “has got to be strong, man, he’s our leader.” Carrillo favors multiple airstrikes in Syria, saying such tactics helped stop ethnic warfare in Kosovo in 1999. “When you see little kids and families just right there all gassed up,” he said of Syria, “it’s heartbreaking.

IOWA: Kate Altmaier, a 30-year-old financial services administrative assistant (left) discusses Syria with her supervisor Jennifer McConkey, 45, after her recent trip to the Middle East. — AP That’s troubling, Kabel said, because “we’re already overextended. And the country at large is suffering from war fatigue.” Dilemmas such as Syria inevitably divide couples. Among them are Joann and Scott Johnson of Baldwin, NY, who vacationed this weekend along the Potomac River in suburban Virginia, just outside Washington. Joann, 49, runs a children’s day care center. She said the United States “absolutely” must punish Assad. “I just feel like the destruction he’s doing to his own people, to me, that’s a monster,” she said.

Her husband disagrees. “Why can’t they take care of their own country and own problems?” said Scott Johnson, 51, who works in retail and delivers newspa-

We’ve got to put it to a stop.”

In a separate interview, Chase, a 64-year-old financial sector employee eating lunch nearby, urged caution.

Noting that thousands of Syrian civilians have been killed by nonchemical weapons, he said, “What’s the rush, because now there’s some unique way” of slaughtering people? Chase worries that the White House hasn’t thought through actions that could drag Iran and even Israel into a wider conflict, or even lead to an attack on US soil. If Obama approves an airstrike, Chase said, “he ought to give his (Nobel) Peace Prize back” because hundreds or thousands of civilians would be killed.— AP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

S P ORTS

Tebow cut by Patriots FOXBOROUGH: A person familiar with the situation says Tim Tebow has been cut by the New England Patriots. After being let go by his third team in 18 months - and with the regular season just five days away - the quarterback’s chances of immediately catching on with another team seem slim. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday because the Patriots had not announced the move. It was first reported by ESPN. Tebow’s stay with the Patriots lasted just under 12 weeks and could be the end of his NFL career. The former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback played in just three of New England’s four preseason games and was sacked four times in the finale, a 28-20 win over the New York Giants on Thursday night. The Patriots have carried just two quarterbacks in three of the past four seasons, and with Ryan Mallett entrenched as the backup to Tom Brady, Tebow’s challenge was a difficult one, even before the preseason started. Then, he went out and posted a quarterback rating of just 47.2 and threw two touchdown passes to go along with two interceptions and seven sacks.

When New England signed him on June 11, it appeared that coach Bill Belichick might find other positions for the versatile, mobile Tebow to play, but he never worked out with any unit other than the quarterbacks with the Patriots.—AP

F1’s ‘transfer’ window set to close at Monza

CSKA reject Honda bid, Kaka back on menu

LONDON: Formula One’s silly season has become more like European football’s transfer window with every passing year. Just as the top clubs and top players jostle work for the best deals for their futures, so do the top teams and drivers.

The only difference is that football has a deadline. F1, however, has Monza - the traditional unofficial race meeting at which most of the main ‘transfers’ are completed or confirmed.

Down the years, the Italian Grand Prix has been the scene of many major announcements - including Ayrton Senna’s move from Lotus to McLaren as Alain Prost’s partner, Nigel Mansell’s angry confirmation that he was to leave Williams on learning that Prost was on his way and Michael Schumacher’s infamous overnight switch from Jordan, after just one race, to join Benetton.

And that is just a brief example picked from the early 1990’s.

This year is no different. The drivers’ market, as so often, appears to be in a state of suspended animation as Kimi Raikkonen waits to make a decision - choosing, it seems, between staying with Lotus or moving on.—AFP

MILAN: AC Milan will put off signing Japanese forward Keisuke Honda until January, meaning the focus is now on bringing Real Madrid forward Kaka back to the club, reports in Italy said yesterday.

Milan CEO Adriano Galliani confirmed Friday he was trying to lure Honda or Kaka to the club, with the priority being the Japan international forward because he could fill in for Kevin-Prince Boateng, sold to Schalke 04 on Friday. Reports on Saturday, however, said Milan’s 3m euro bid, plus bonuses, for the CSKA Moscow player had been rejected by the Russian club.

Gazzetta dello Sport said Milan will now hope to sign Honda in January on a free transfer as his contract expires on December 31, meaning they can turn their attention on luring 31-year-old Kaka back to the club where he scored 70 goals in 193 appearances between 2003 and 2009. Kaka launched a come and get me plea to the Rossoneri in midweek and although he appears keen to returnwith the carrot of regular playing time a year before Brazil hosts the World Cup-there are disagreements over personal terms.—AFP

Orioles fall to Yankees

PITTSBURGH: Randy Choate No. 36 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches in the eighth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates. — AFP

Pirates and Dodgers roll PITTSBURGH: Garrett Jones hit his 100th career homer and drove in four runs as Francisco Liriano and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat St. Louis 5-0 Friday night to tie the Cardinals atop the NL Central.

The slumping Jones had three hits and Russell Martin added his 12th homer of the season. Jose Tabata and Neil Walker got two hits as the Pirates moved within four victories of their first winning season in 21 years.

Liriano (15-6) allowed two hits over eight innings, walking two and striking out six to reach 15 wins for the first time.

Jones came in hitting .119 in August but broke out against Shelby Miller (12-9). Jones hit a two-run double in the first inning, added a long shot to right field off Miller in the fourth and followed it up with an RBI single in the fifth.

That was plenty for Liriano. The left-hander is in the midst of a mid-career revival with the Pirates and he had little trouble improving to 4-0 against the Cardinals.

DODGERS 9, PADRES 2 In Los Angeles, Yasiel Puig had four hits and two stolen bases after getting benched in his previous game, and Adrian Gonzalez hit a pair of two-run homers to help Los Angeles beat San Diego.

The Dodgers moved 101/2 games ahead of second-place Arizona in the NL West, matching their largest cushion of the season.

AJ Ellis homered in the seventh inning immediately after Gonzalez’s second of the game. Hanley Ramirez’s two-run double preceded the back-to-back homers off reliever Anthony Bass.

Dodgers center fielder Andre Ethier threw out Nick Hundley at the plate in the top of the inning. Hyun-Jin Ryu (13-5) tied Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke for the team lead in wins, allowing a run in 6 1-3 innings following his first back-to-back losses in the majors. The South Korean lefty also drove in the Dodgers’ first run with a double. Eric Stults (8-12) gave up four runs and eight hits over 5 1-3 innings.

He is 0-5 in his last eight outings.

BRAVES 2, MARLINS 1 In Atlanta, Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Julio Teheran topped Jose Fernandez in a matchup of young right-handers to lead Atlanta over Miami for its fifth straight win.

The 21-year-old Fernandez (10-6) took his first loss since July 7 but allowed only one hit after Freeman’s homer. He gave up three hits in six innings.

The Marlins have lost five straight. The 22year-old Teheran (11-7) yielded one run and four hits in 6 1-3 innings. Each starter had eight strikeouts.

With closer Craig Kimbrel unavailable after pitching in three straight games, Anthony Varvaro got six outs, including a perfect ninth, for his first career save. Fernandez led off the third with a triple, the first of his career, and scored on Christian Yelich’s single.

PHILLIES 6, CUBS 5 In Chicago, Michael Young had four hits, including a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning, and Philadelphia rallied past Chicago in Ryne Sandberg’s return to Wrigley Field.

Kevin Frandsen had two hits and scored two runs after entering in the sixth. Chase Utley added a two-run triple. Philadelphia improved to 9-6 since Sandberg was promoted to interim manager when Charlie Manuel was fired on Aug. 16. The Hall of Fame second baseman spent most of his playing career with the Cubs and was cheered all day long in his first trip to Chicago since he was elevated to the top spot in Philadelphia.

Anthony Rizzo and Nate Schierholtz homered for the Cubs, who built a 5-0 lead against Roy Halladay. Starlin Castro had two RBIs and Kevin Gregg (2-4) took the loss. BJ Rosenberg (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning and Jonathan

Papelbon got three outs for his 23rd save.

METS 3, NATIONALS 2 In Washington, Ike Davis hit a two-run homer, Daniel Murphy scored from second on a grounder and Dillon Gee allowed two runs over 7 2-3 innings to help New York beat Washington.

Gee (10-9) gave up six hits, struck out three and walked one, outpitching Jordan Zimmermann as the Mets won for the third time in nine games.

The Nationals, trying to work their way into the NL pennant race, lost for just the second time in 10. Washington is 61/2 games behind Cincinnati for the second wild card.

Wilson Ramos and pinch-hitter Steve Lombardozzi homered for the Nationals.

Zimmermann (15-8) went 7 2-3 innings but remained tied with Adam Wainwright for the NL lead in wins. LaTroy Hawkins earned his sixth save.

ROCKIES 9, REDS 6 In Denver, Todd Helton homered twice and matched a career high with six RBIs to power Colorado past Cincinnati. Jorge De La Rosa (15-6) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings to win his fifth consecutive start. He improved to 9-1 with a 2.73 ERA in 13 home starts this season.

Helton’s 28th career multihomer game and first since 2011 left him one hit shy of 2,500.

The first of his two three-run homers came in the fourth off Bronson Arroyo (13-10), roughed up for six runs and nine hits over 3 1-3 innings in his shortest outing of the season. He issued a one-out walk in the first, ending a 30-inning string without one, and had his four-game winning streak snapped.

Helton homered again in the seventh off reliever Logan Ondrusek, his 11th of the season. Both times, Troy Tulowitzki and Wilin Rosario hit successive singles to set the table for Helton, who also had six RBIs against the Dodgers on May 29, 2003.

GIANTS 1, DIAMONDBACKS 0 In Phoenix, Tim Lincecum pitched six spotless innings and third baseman Pablo Sandoval made a diving play to save San Francisco against Arizona.

Angel Pagan doubled and scored in the first during his first game back from a long stint on the disabled list. Three relievers closed it out for the Giants, who handed Randall Delgado (4-5) a hard luck loss and won for the 10th time in their last 12 games at Chase Field.

Arizona loaded the bases against Lincecum in the sixth, and A.J. Pollock hit a sharp grounder past third. Sandoval had it played just right, though. He backhanded the ball as he hit the ground, got to his feet and threw to first for the third out. Lincecum (8-13) allowed six hits and two walks. Javier Lopez and Santiago Casilla set up Sergio Romo for his 33rd save.

INTERLEAGUE ANGELS 5, BREWERS 0 In Milwaukee, Jered Weaver tossed six sharp innings and Grant Green hit a three-run double that led the Los Angeles Angels over Milwaukee.

The Angels made their first trip to Miller Park since April 2007, when they played the Indians in a game moved due to heavy snow in Cleveland. This was the Angels’ first appearance against the Brewers at Miller Park since sweeping a three-game series in June 2002.

Weaver (9-7) allowed just three singles, striking out three and walking three. He escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth, and the Brewers stranded 13 runners overall.

Wily Peralta (8-14) allowed three runs on four hits in six innings. He has lost five of his last six decisions. Kole Calhoun hit a solo home run, his fifth. — AP

NEW YORK: Ichiro Suzuki hit a two-run homer and Robinson Cano singled in two runs during a five-run fifth inning that helped the New York Yankees pick up an ineffective CC Sabathia and beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-5 Friday night. Alfonso Soriano connected for a two-run shot in the fourth off Miguel Gonzalez (8-7), and Alex Rodriguez had an RBI single in the seventh inning of a late August game that felt more like October.

In a playoff-race twist, Mark Reynolds had three hits, including an RBI double when the Yankees batted around in the fifth. Last year he helped Baltimore reach its first postseason since 1997 with seven homers and 11 RBIs in seven games against New York beginning on Aug. 31. An August pickup by New York from Cleveland this season, Reynolds was right in the mix as the Yankees gained ground in the wild-card race. They began the day 11/2 games behind the Orioles, who trailed Oakland by 31/2 for the second AL wild card. Sabathia (12-11) lasted just 5 2-3 innings and yielded five runs and seven hits.

TWINS 3, RANGERS 2 In Arlington, Chris Herrmann hit a tying, two-run homer to break up Yu Darvish’s no-hit bid in the seventh inning, Justin Morneau followed with a home run and Minnesota beat Texas.

Minnesota snapped a five-game losing streak on a night when it looked as if the strikeout-prone Twins had no chance against the AL’s strikeout leader.

Instead, Darvish (12-6) had a third straight start without a win and the right-hander’s home run total jumped to 22 after the Japanese ace allowed 14 his entire rookie season. Twins starter Liam Hendriks (1-2) got his second career win by holding Texas to one earned run in six innings. Glen Perkins struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 31st save in 34 chances.

RED SOX 4, WHITE SOX 3 In Boston, Ryan Dempster returned from his suspension for hitting Alex Rodriguez and pitched into the seventh inning, leading Boston over Chicago for its fifth win in six games. David Ortiz snapped an 0-for23 slump with a two-run single for the AL East leaders.

Dempster (7-9), penalized five games for plunking ARod on Aug. 18, held Chicago hitless through the first four innings. He allowed three runs and five hits in 6 13 innings. Koji Uehara struck out two in the ninth for his 15th save in 18 opportunities. He worked 1 1-3 innings in his 20th straight scoreless appearance.

Hector Santiago (4-8) took the loss as Chicago opened a 10-game road trip.

TIGERS 7, INDIANS 2 In Detroit, Victor Martinez doubled twice and drove in two runs to lead Detroit to a 7-2 win over Cleveland in a game stopped after seven innings because of rain. AL Central-leading Detroit opened a 71/2-game lead over second-place Cleveland despite slugger Miguel Cabrera being pulled from a second straight game. Cabrera left after two innings because of irritation in his abdominal area. He struck out in his only at-bat. Rick Porcello (11-7) allowed two runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings, walking two and striking out three. He was replaced by Al Alburquerque with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth. Zach McAllister (7-8) gave up five runs and six hits in 3 2-3 innings for the Indians.

ATHLETICS 4, RAYS 3 In Oakland, Kurt Suzuki hit a three-run homer and Jed Lowrie hit a go-ahead double in the eighth to lead Oakland over Tampa Bay. Jarrod Parker dueled with David Price to run his unbeaten streak to 17 straight starts, matching Catfish Hunter’s Oakland record set from June 2-Sept. 3, 1973. The A’s pulled within two games of the first-place Texas Rangers in the AL West, and moved ahead of Tampa Bay in the wild card.

Price (8-6) lost for the first time in nine starts since July 12 against Houston. Parker came out for the eighth at 100 pitches, but gave way to winner Ryan Cook (6-3) after allowing the first two hitters to reach.

Grant Balfour pitched the ninth for his 34th save.

BLUE JAYS 3, ROYALS 2 In Toronto, Mark Buehrle pitched seven shutout innings to win his sixth straight decision and Toronto ended Kansas City’s winning streak at five games.

Adam Lind drove in two runs for the Blue Jays, who have won 10 of 14 against K.C. since 2011. The Royals, who came in six games behind Oakland for the second AL wild-card berth, lost for the first time since Aug. 24 against Washington, the final defeat in a seven-game skid. Buehrle (11-7) allowed four hits, walked one and struck out five to match his longest winning streak since 2005, when he won a career-best nine consecutive decisions. Ervin Santana (8-8) allowed three runs, two earned, and four hits in seven innings.

MARINERS 7, ASTROS 1 In Houston, Taijuan Walker did not allow an earned run over five innings in his major league debut and Dustin Ackley had a career-high four hits with four RBIs as Seattle beat Houston. The 21-yearold right-hander, rated the fifth-best prospect in baseball, yielded two hits and one run with two strikeouts and a walk. Walker (1-0) retired the first eight batters he faced. The Astros were up by one in the fourth before Ackley tied it with an RBI single.

Seattle led by two in the fifth before a single by Ackley made it 5-1. A run-scoring single in the ninth gave Ackley four RBIs to tie a career best. Houston starter Brad Peacock (3-5) was tagged for seven hits and five runs in 4 2-3 innings. — AP

NEW YORK: Pitcher Scott Feldman No. 34 of the Baltimore Orioles delivers a pitch against the New York Yankees in a MLB baseball game at Yankee Stadium. — AFP

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

American League Eastern Division W L PCT Boston 80 56 .588 75 58 .564 Tampa Bay Baltimore 71 62 .534 NY Yankees 71 63 .530 Toronto 61 74 .452 Central Division Detroit 79 56 .585 71 63 .530 Cleveland Kansas City 69 65 .515 Minnesota 58 75 .436 Chicago White Sox 56 77 .421 Western Division Texas 78 56 .582 76 58 .567 Oakland LA Angels 61 72 .459 Seattle 61 73 .455 Houston 44 90 .328

GB 3.5 7.5 8 18.5 7.5 9.5 20 22 2 16.5 17 34

National League Eastern Division Atlanta 82 52 .612 68 66 .507 Washington Philadelphia 62 73 .459 NY Mets 61 72 .459 Miami 49 84 .368 Central Division Pittsburgh 78 56 .582 St. Louis 78 56 .582 Cincinnati 75 60 .556 Milwaukee 59 75 .440 Chicago Cubs 56 78 .418 Western Division LA Dodgers 79 55 .590 Arizona 68 65 .511 Colorado 64 72 .471 San Diego 60 74 .448 San Francisco 60 74 .448

14 20.5 20.5 32.5 3.5 19 22 10.5 16 19 19

Pornanong maintains one-stroke LPGA lead PORTLAND: Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum fired a six-under par 66 on Friday to maintain a one-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the US LPGA Safeway Classic. Pornanong’s two day total of 14-under 130 broke the previous 36-hole tournament record at Columbia Edgewater Country Club and left her one stroke in front of Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, who carded a nine-under 63 for 131.

Pettersen jumped from a tie for 20th to second place, one shot in front of Germany’s Sandra Gal who notched her second straight 66. German rookie Caroline Masson was alone in fourth on 133 after a second-round 64. Pornanong, who won the unofficial HSBC Brasil Cup last year, holds the 36-hole lead for the first time as she seeks her first official win in five years on the LPGA Tour.

The 23-year-old had six birdies without a bogey. “I played this good before, but this is the first tournament that I felt really good and really confident, so I’ve played really good, better than I have done before,” she said. “I’m more confident and everything is better than I have before.” Although she has yet to win on the LPGA Tour, Pornanong has seven professional victories on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and Ladies European Tour. She’s keen to add an LPGA title to her resume. “I really do want it, just at least one tournament,” she

said. “I just want to win it. I’m going to have a lot more confidence. I’m going to feel a lot better about my game. I can play easier golf, just going smooth, not to have a lot of pressure on myself, just to keep it going.”

Pettersen made her big move with a round that featured nine birdies without a bogey. She birdied five of her first nine holes and said her putter was key.

“It was a great round on the greens,” Pettersen said, adding that she benefited from her pairing with European Solheim Cup teammate Beatriz Recari.

“I kind of fed off Beatriz’s start,” Pettersen said. “She had five pretty quick birdies. It was kind of nice to get everyone going early... I pretty much made every good look that I had. One of my better putting performances here.”

Masson, who is chasing Moriya Jutanugarn for the LPGA’s Rookie of the Year Award, can pass the Thai player with a finish of 19th or better. Moriya missed the cut after rounds of 73-71.

Masson, however, said she wasn’t focusing on the award. “I’ve been happy with my season so far,” she said. “I kind of did everything I wanted to. I played Solheim and I kept my card... There’s no pressure for me really. I can only surprise, I guess, and that’s my goal for the next two days is to keep doing what I’m doing right now, just have fun.”— AFP

PORTLAND: Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand hits her second shot on the 17th hole during the second round of the Safeway Classic. — AFP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

S P ORTS

2020 Games bidders locked in tight race ahead of vote BUENOS AIRES: The race for three cities hoping to land the 2020 summer Olympics will go down to the wire after two years of campaigning as Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo grapple with their own problems ahead of the Sept. 7 vote.

The International Olympic Committee will elect the winning bid at their session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, next month with no clear front runner in the campaign to host the world’s biggest and most expensive multi-sport event.

With bid leaders of the three cities preparing for their final pitch in Argentina, backed on site by political leaders and a string of celebrity supporters, senior IOC officials say the race has never been so open. “It is not like before when the decision has often been made,” IOC Vice President and presidential hopeful Thomas Bach said days ago. “This time I think the presentation (in Buenos Aires) will be ver y important, crucial even.”

Each of the three cities have long highlighted their own assets and the advantages they bring to the Olympic

movement should they be chosen to succeed 2016 Rio de Janeiro as the next summer Games hosts.

Istanbul is pitching Games on two continents - the European and Asian parts of the metropolis - as Turkey, with its growing economy, hopes to become the first country with a majority Muslim population to get the Olympics.

Japan’s Tokyo, looking to host them for a second time after 1964, is branding its bid as a safe and solid choice amid financially turbulent times as it incorporates some venues from their first Games to its new proposal.

Madrid, campaigning for the third straight time, is playing up its high percentage of existing venues, placing sport at the very heart of their bid.

The choice the 100-plus IOC members will make, however, is likely to also depend on non-related Games issues.

Istanbul, making its fifth attempt in the last six votes, was rocked by violent antigovernment demonstrations in June that spread to much of the country, shaving off some of the bid’s momen-

tum up to that point.

Protests may have subsided for now but with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan likely to travel to Argentina to back the bid, questions on discontent in the country will be all but inevitable.

The escalating conflict in neighbouring Syria, and fears it could spill over in the region, are not unfounded as the United States contemplate a military intervention.

Istanbul bid officials as well as the IOC have played down these fears saying Turkey can handle the security situation and that protests have died down.

Turkish bid officials also argue the Syrian border is a long way away from Turkey’s largest city, wedged between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, bridging Europe and Asia.

A string of positive doping cases among Turkish athletes has been a further hit for the bid, even if it does not want to admit it.

“What happened in Turkey with the protests and doping is something that I want to connect in a positive way,”

Istanbul bid chief Hasan Arat told Reuters earlier this month. “ The protests are over in Turkey.

There is no problem any more, this is not a fundamental problem for Turkey.

On the doping side we are cleaning up, there is zero tolerance. It is a very clear message for drug cheats in Turkey.”

Spain has been in and out of recession since a decade-long property bubble burst in 2008 and, with unemployment at around 27 percent, is expected to remain in an economic slump for at least another year.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also admitted a corruption scandal, which has undermined the authority of Spain’s ruling People’s Party (PP), has hit the country’s image abroad.

Rajoy was testifying about his involvement in the scandal which centres on allegations his party collected millions of euros in cash donations which were then distributed to senior PP figures, including himself. That is unrelated to the Games in seven years’ time, Madrid officials will argue.

Tokyo, which failed to land the 2016 Olympics and is seen by some as having a slight advantage over its rival bidders, may be advertising its bid as a solid choice for the IOC, but the 2011 deadly earthquake and subsequent nuclear disaster at Fukushima is still a top news story.

With highly radioactive water spilling into the ocean and Japan raising the severity level of the latest leaks, it is news that Tokyo does not need days before the vote.

“As far as hosting the Games, the situation in Fukushima will not affect Tokyo,” said Tokyo governor Naoki Inose last week. But with the current leak being the fifth and worse since the disaster, it is difficult to predict how the situation will develop in the coming years.

An IOC evaluation report released in June offered few clues on potential frontrunners, with all three bids being “of high quality”, putting the decision firmly into the hands of the IOC membership, who will vote after that final — crucial — presentation.—Reuters

Istanbul hopes to bring Olympics to new area

KIEV: Ukraine’s Ganna Rizatdinova performs her ribbon program of the individual all-around final of the 32nd Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championship. —AFP

Spain seeking lift with Madrid’s ‘austerity bid’ MADRID: For a sports-obsessed country in the grip of a debilitating recession and stained by allegations of political corruption, winning the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games in Madrid is exactly the tonic Spain needs.

At least that is what government and bid officials are arguing as they attempt to convince International Olympic Committee (IOC) members the capital deserves to stage the world’s biggest and most expensive sporting event instead of Istanbul or Tokyo.

As ordinary Spaniards are forced to swallow cuts in wages and benefits, spending is slashed on public services such as health and education and unemployment hovers just below 30 percent, Madrid has presented a bid characterised as the “Austerity Games”.

Local officials say that with much of the infrastructure already in place, it will be the first time the projected Games budget of some $3.1 billion exceeds investment of just under $2 billion in projects linked to the hosting of the event but not directly related.

That compares with Istanbul’s massive non-Games budget of around $17 billion, dwarfing expected Games expenditure of $2.9 billion. Tokyo, which hosted the Games in 1964, is also planning to incorporate existing venues and has estimated a non-Games budget of around $4.4 billion compared to $3.4 billion for the actual event. Madrid’s strategy, their third Olympic bid in a row after failed attempts for the 2012 and 2016 editions, requires a delicate balancing act. On the one hand struggling Spanish tax payers, and particularly residents of the capital, must be persuaded that the long-term benefits of hosting the Olympics outweigh the economic cost.

At the same time, IOC members must be convinced that a Madrid Olympics will be a resounding success-something like the Barcelona Games in 1992 — despite the drive to keep a lid on spending.

Madrid-born Veronica Molina PerezTome, head of marketing for the nationwide Marca Sports Cafe chain, says she has sympathy with her compatriots who are angry that the Games would suck in cash which could be used to fund hospitals and schools. At the same time, she believes an event like the Olympics will help pull Spain out of its current slump, in both economic and psychological terms.

“I understand them but I don’t agree,” the 31-year-old told Reuters at the chain’s central Madrid branch on Paseo de Recoletos, as a host of television screens showing sports events flickered nearby. “I don’t agree because this is an investment and investments almost always pay off at some point,” she added.

“Maybe it’s not the best time to be diverting cash from other areas but the money will come back. “Considering

everything, we are experiencing at the moment Spain needs a boost, and this is a brilliant opportunity.”

As a Madrid native, Molina PerezTome would feel a special pride in hosting the Olympics. “There are times when maybe you don’t have confidence in your country,” she said. “Many are leaving, and the Games could provide an injection of positivity and a sense of optimism about the future.” She also expects a significant boost to the chain’s sales and is hopeful the Olympics might help in their effort to attract customers who want to watch sports other than soccer.

“Money of course is short at the moment but it will provide a return that will be positive for the country and for us specifically in terms of sales.

“As a sports-themed chain perhaps the Games will have more of an impact on us than other sectors. Hostelry is going through a tough time.”

A few hundred metres away at the Ireland-themed James Joyce pub in Calle de Alcala, manager Matthew Loughney says he is hoping a Madrid Olympics would replicate the success of last year’s Games in London.

Dubliner Loughney, 41, who commutes between Britain and Spain, has been advertising Madrid’s bid in the pub’s front windows and believes the Iberian nation sorely needs the kind of fillip the 2012 Olympics gave to the UK. “Spain could do with a bit of a psychological boost, it really could, because it’s a great country, it’s just going through an incredibly difficult time,” he told Reuters over a cup of tea. However, he said he had mixed feelings about spending so much money on a sports event at a time when many Spaniards were suffering financially.

“One part of me would like Madrid to win because it will give great motivation.

“But then the other side is that there are these huge cuts happening. It’s really difficult to justify.

“I saw the positivity the Olympics brought to the U.K. but then when you have so many people suffering here it’s horrendous. God knows where we’re going to end up.”

Theresa Zabell, CEO of international relations for the Madrid bid and an Olympic sailing champion in 1992 and 1996, is clear about why the city and the country needs the 2020 Games.

“What is most exciting about being here is what it could mean for the future,” she said in Buenos Aires on Thursday, where the winner will be announced on Sept. 7. “It could mean an improvement in the lives of a great number of people and that is a huge motivation,” she added.

“Spain needs more youth employment and having the Games here in 2020 will open up fantastic opportunities for young people.”—Reuters

ISTANBUL : With the promise of modern venues and the Olympics being staged on two continents, including marathon runners crossing a bridge over the Bosporus from Asia to Europe, Turkey insists Istanbul’s 2020 bid “shines like a diamond.”

But the government’s crackdown on anti-government protests in June, concerns over human rights, a slew of recent doping scandals and the country’s inability to fill seats at football’s Under-20 World Cup have taken away some of Istanbul’s luster.

Bid leaders are, however, confident that Istanbul has a good chance of hosting the games on its fifth attempt because of its unique charms.

“Istanbul is a truly magical city and I believe that it will be successful,” Hasan Arat, the chairman of Istanbul’s bidding committee, told The Associated Press.

He notes that Istanbul would take the games to a new region in a city straddling both Asia and Europe and a country that is considered a bridge between cultures. Turkey would also be the first predominantly Muslim country to host the games.

“Istanbul is a city that presents a series of firsts to the world. For the first time the games would be staged in a country with such a young population, for the first time the games would be staged on two continents at the same time,” he said.

Istanbul, a city of about 15 million, is competing against Madrid and Tokyo for the games. The International Olympic Committee will vote by secret ballot for the host city on Sept. 7 in Argentina, after the three cities make their final presentations on the day of the vote. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to travel to Buenos Aires to make Istanbul’s case.

But he will be doing it just months after Istanbul burst on to the world’s consciousness with images of police using tear gas on protesters in the heart of the city.

Unrest broke out in June after police cracked down on a group of peaceful environmental protesters and it quickly spread to other cities, turning into an unprecedented mass protest against Erdogan’s government. At least five people - four protesters and a police officer - were killed in the protests and human rights groups have accused the country’s police of using excessive force.

Turkey’s minister in charge of ties

with the European Union, Egemen Bagis, caused a storm earlier this month when he suggested that antigovernment protesters would be to blame if Istanbul lost the bid - a charge the country’s main opposition party said was an attempt to “camouflage” any possible failure. Turkey’s international sporting image has also been hit by a spate of doping cases in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the Turkish Athletics Federation suspended 31 track and field athletes for two years each for doping violations.

Two-time European 100-meter hurdles champion Nevin Yanit has also been suspended for two years while the federation is investigating the case against

tion to clean up sports,” Arat said. “We are determined to go into the 2020 Games with clean athletes. This is a zero-tolerance (for doping) step and Turkey will not make any concessions on the issue.”

A recent multi-city sporting event in Turkey also did not help the case for the Olympics. FIFA has criticized Turkey for the record-low attendances at the Under-20 World Cup in June and July after noting that it was an opportunity for the country to show that it could fill stadiums. Turkey, which has previously bid for the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics, has been pointing at its relative economic strength and is promising to build modern venues specifically suited to meet the needs of the 2020

TURKEY: An undated handout picture from the Istanbul Olympic committee shows the logo for their bid to host the 2020 summer Olympics. Istanbul is up against Madrid and Tokyo to be named host city for the Games. —AFP Olympic 1,500-meter champion Asli Cakir Alptekin. Others recently caught doping include eight Turkish weightlifters.

Turkey puts a positive spin on the development, arguing that it is a sign that the country is serious about combatting doping.

“The fact that so many doping tests are being conducted and athletes are being exposed is having a positive impact on the Olympic world. It is a show of Turkey’s determination to stamp out doping and its determina-

Games. In June, Turkey staged the Olympic-like Mediterranean Games in the city of Mersin, building high-quality venues in a short period of time. The country stepped in to replace Greece, which bowed out of the games because of its steep economic crisis.

Arat said Turkey had made considerable progress since 1992, when it first declared its intention to host the games. “Turkey is not the same country as in 1992. The GDP (gross domestic product) was $151 billion, now it is $789 billion. And according to OECD

projections, it will be $2 trillion by 2020,” he said.

In its evaluation report released in June, the IOC pointed to Istanbul’s infrastructure problems, insisting the risk of road congestion during the games “remains high.” It also noted that Turkey shares a border with Syria, which is currently engaged in a civil war that is driving refugees into Turkey.

“Syria is thousands of kilometers from Istanbul and the games are seven years away,” Arat said, adding that the city was constantly improving transportation in the city.

Turkey is already undertaking a series of massive projects, including the construction of a third bridge crossing the Bosporus, an underwater rail link also uniting the European and Asian sides of the city, as well as expanded metro and light rail lines. The country is also constructing a six-runway third airport for the city to be built by 2016.

“When Istanbul first bid there wasn’t even a metro in the city. Now there are new stations opening all the time,” Arat said.

Istanbul has boasted an infrastructure budget for the Olympics is $19.2 billion - 10 times that of Madrid ($1.9 billion) and much higher than Tokyo ($4.9 billion). But officials concede that the figure seems large because $16.5 billion of the money is already being invested in city projects that will go ahead whether or not the city gets games, leaving only $2.9 billion for specific Olympic needs.

The Istanbul bid does seem to have strong popular backing at home with 83 percent support among the people of Istanbul, according to a poll conducted by the IOC earlier this year, compared to 76 percent for Madrid and 70 percent for Tokyo.

“We have to see how the Olympics changes countries. Great Britain won a few medals in Atlanta (in 1996). But it won a record number of medals at London 2012,” Arat said. “The timing is just perfect for Istanbul. We have a very young population and it is the right time for them to be channeled toward sports.” Arat said plans for the games include an opening ceremony in a 70,000-capacity stadium with seating for 10,000 athletes. Half a million more people would be able to view it from areas along the Bosporus Strait. Suzan Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.—AP

Clermont destroy Toulouse PARIS: Clermont stretched their unbeaten home record to 61 matches with a bonus-point 38-19 victory over 19-time champions Toulouse in the Top 14 yesterday.

Guided by Australian playmaker Brock James, Clermont outgunned by four tries to one a Toulouse side that looked decidedly frail up front.

It was a perfect response after a humbling 30-19 defeat by Top 14 newcomers Oyonnax last weekend. James and Ludovic Radosavljevic each missed early penalty chances for Clermont, before the

Australian finally opened the scoring in the 16th minute. Toulouse’s Lionel Beauxis responded almost immediately after Yannick Nyanga soared high at the re-start to win back possession and eventually a penalty.

Clermont flanker Julien Bardy was then yellow carded after a ruck infringement as Toulouse centre Yann David was hauled down after a 60-metre interception. But Beauxis could only drag the penalty wide, as Toulouse tighthead prop Yohan Montes followed Bardy to the bin after a scrum

FRANCE: Clermont-Ferrand’s French fullback Jean Marc Buttin (right) vies in this file photo.—AFP

collapse. Beauxis made amends with a deft grubber kick collected by Maxime Medard for an easy five-pointer under the posts he also converted.

James notched up a second penalty to keep Clermont in the game at 10-6 and Bardy crossed soon after following some good build-up work from the flanker himself and centre Wesley Fofana.

A Sitiveni Sivivatu break almost saw fellow Clermont winger Napolioni Nalaga cross in the corner and half-time couldn’t come quick enough for a beleaguered Toulouse.

Beauxis pulled the scores level with an early second-half penalty, however, as Bardy was denied by a great tackle by Medard at the other end.

Clermont’s veteran lock Nathan Hines won the resulting line-out, the ball falling kindly for Thomas Domingo to cross in the corner, James on target with the conversion.

Beauxis pulled back two smart penalties to peg the home side’s lead back to a single point.

James hit one of his own and then a drop-goal to calm nerves with Toulouse’s depleted pack under increasing pressure.

Julien Bonnaire and Wesley Fofana put the icing on the Clermont cake when they were both on hand to finish off sweeping cross-field moves and help ensure their team’s formidable home record continued unabated.

In Friday’s match, Stade Francais marked their return to the refurbished Jean Bouin stadium with a crushing 38-3 victory over Biarritz.

After three years of playing their home fixtures across the city at the Charlety stadium, tries from Pierre Rabadan, Julien Arias, Jonathan Danty and Waisea Vuidravuwalu propelled Stade to a commanding win in their home opener.—AFP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

S P ORTS Photo of the day

Hewitt steals show NEW YORK: Australian warhorse Lleyton Hewitt battled to a five-set US Open win over Argentine sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro Friday, relegating Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams to supporting roles.

The 2001 champion defeated the 2009 winner, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 in the tournament’s biggest shock to date.

Hewitt, 32 years old and down at 66 in the rankings after a lengthy battle with injuries, served up a trademark warriorlike performance that recalled his gold-

pion and a great fighter,” said the big Argentine.

Hewitt, playing in his 13th US Open after having made his debut in 1999, hit 42 winners, one more than del Potro, who committed 70 unforced errors, a bleak statistic which eased the impact of the Australian only converting eight of 18 break point chances.

Hewitt’s pyrotechnics overshadowed the progress into the third round of defending champion Murray and world number one Djokovic, as well as

NEW YORK: Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina celebrates a point against Lleyton Hewitt of Australia during their men’s singles third round match on Day Five of the 2013 US Open. —AFP en days when he was world number one and Wimbledon champion.

It was his 32nd career five-set victory and gave him a third-round match-up with Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy, the world number 102.

“I was really pumped up after I won my first match because I knew I would have a chance to play on Arthur Ashe Stadium,” said Hewitt after his four-hour, three-minute win.

“I don’t know how many years I have left to play and I was hankering to get out on this court again and put on a show.” Del Potro, still bothered by a wrist injury, was beaten in his second successive four-hour match. “He’s a great cham-

women’s champion Williams, who made the last 16. Murray, the third seed and Wimbledon champion, survived his first scare of the US Open, beating Argentina’s world number 81 Leonardo Mayer, 7-5, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 and goes on to tackle Germany’s Florian Mayer for a last16 spot.

Murray fired 28 winners while the Argentine hit 49 unforced errors. “It was a very tough match,” Murray said of an opponent who like him was born on May 15, 1987.

“Both of us ran a lot and it was very humid. I’m just glad I was able to put it together and pull it out in the fourth set.”

Djokovic, the 2011 champion, sur-

vived a first-set wobble before racing away with 12 of the last 14 games to defeat Germany’s Benjamin Becker 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 6-2 after saving two set points in the 10th game of the opener.

Djokovic, bidding to reach the final for a fourth successive year, sent down 13 aces and 40 winners against the 32year-old Becker.

“Becker is a quality player and he should have won the first set. I was fortunate to come out of it, but after that I felt more comfortable on the court,” said Djokovic, who next plays Portugal’s Joao Sousa.

Czech fifth seed Tomas Berdych, who defeated Roger Federer on his way to the semi-finals last year, made the third round by seeing off America’s Denis Kudla 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. He next meets French 31st seed Julien Benneteau.

In the women’s event, four-time champion Williams eased past Russianborn Kazkhastan player Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-3, 6-1.

Williams, who has dropped just eight games in three rounds, is chasing a 17th Grand Slam title and next plays compatriot Sloane Stephens, who beat her in the Australian Open quarter-finals in January.

Chinese fifth seed Li Na hit 11 aces in a 6-2, 7-5 victory against teenager Laura Robson, avenging her loss to the Briton at the same stage last year.

The 31-year-old Li goes on to face Serbian ninth seed Jelena Jankovic, the 2008 runner-up, for a quarter-final spot.

“I was really happy how I was hitting on the court,” Li said. “And I thought I served really well.” Li’s best US Open performance was a run to the quarter-finals in 2009, one round better than Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who has stumbled at the fourth-round stage on three occasions. The 2012 Wimbledon runner-up made the last 16 once again with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) win over Russian 32nd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a quarter-finalist in 2011.

Radwanska now faces Ekaterina Makarova, the Russian 24th seed who clinched a 6-4, 7-5 win over German 16th seed Sabine Lisicki, the Wimbledon runner-up. —AFP

Young American legacy of Williams sisters emerges NEW YORK: The legacy of the championship years of the Williams sisters is beginning to emerge, with 10 American women now ranked in the top 100 and members of the younger set beginning to knock on the door of grand slam success.

Tennis great Chris Evert sees major hardware within reach, while US Tennis Association chief of player development Patrick McEnroe and US Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez agree that US women’s tennis is once again very much on the rise.

On Friday, 20-year-old Sloane Stephens beat Jamie Hampton in a third-round US Open clash between Fed Cup team mates that put a spotlight on American talent bursting to prominence.

“The ceiling is high. This is a great group, starting with Sloane, who has had the most success,” McEnroe, the former US Davis Cup captain, told Reuters at Flushing Meadows.

Stephens won international attention this year with a quarterfinal upset of Serena at the Australia Open and followed that with a run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Earlier this week, 17-year-old Victoria Duval shocked 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur in a first-round upset, while the likes of Madison Keys and Sachia Vickery are also showing promise.

“What I’m really pleased about is not only do we have girls right behind Sloane like Keys and Sachia and Vickie Duval, but we have girls behind them,” said McEnroe.

Evert, who like McEnroe and Fernandez is part of the ESPN broadcast team at the year’s final grand slam, called the group “very promising”.

“It is very encouraging to American tennis,” she told Reuters.

“This generation is emerging. In two years time we can see four or five young Americans in the top 20.”

Evert, who won 18 grand slam singles titles, did not stop there, predicting major success around the corner. “I think Sloane can win a major in a few years. I think Madison Keys could win a major,” she added.

“It’s not like, ‘oh they’re nice players, they can make the top 20’.

These young players have weapons. They are winning points, not waiting to lose points from the veterans. They are being aggressive, which I like.”

Fernandez, the US Fed Cup captain, also ranked Stephens as the leader of the pack - for now. “She’s shown how tough she is under pressure, especially at the majors,” Fernandez told Reuters.

“She beat Serena and Maria (Sharapova) this year. She’s got the complete package.

“She’s got the speed, got the power. She comes forward well, when she wants to. She still has a lot of room to improve.”

Fernandez cautioned about short-changing 18-year-old Keys.

“Madison Keys seems to have a ton of potential because she’s powerful, has a huge serve, really belts the ball from the ground. She

needs to get quicker.”

McEnroe said the sheer number of emerging talents was what gave him such optimism for the future. “I don’t know if you can create a grand slam champion, but if you get the numbers then you have that group effect and you have a better chance that the extraordinary ones will get to the top,” he said.

All three agreed that the current rise of US women was tied to the impact made by Serena and Venus Williams, who have won a total of 23 grand slam singles titles between them.

“Seeing them dominating and the great lives they are having and the champions that they are, that inspires them to develop their game even more,” said Evert, pointing to the African American girls among the crop like Stephens, Keys, Duval, Taylor Townsend and Sachia Vickery.

“And it’s not just African Americans. The influence is starting to show.” McEnroe said there was no doubting the influence of the Williams sisters. “We see a lot more diversity in girls’ tennis than in boys. We need to work on that on the men’s side,” he said.

“Absolutely seeing that this generation has been inspired by them.”

The Williams sisters followed a chain of US champions stretching from Evert to naturalised Americans Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles.

But the possible successors to 31-year-old Serena and 33-yearold Venus have only just recently emerged. The last American women not named Williams to enjoy success at the four grand slam tournaments respectively were Lindsay Davenport (1998 U.S. Open and 1999 Wimbledon) and Jennifer Capriati (2001 French Open and 2002 Australian Open).

This new crop of talent grew up watching the Williams sisters.

Serena won her first slam at the 1999 US Open and Venus followed the next year at Wimbledon.

“They’ve been great role models on many levels,” said Fernandez. “We’re finally getting to see the young ones who looked up to them 10, 15 years ago making a move now.”

Fernandez said the Williams sisters have been mentoring some of the youngsters. “I’ve had Venus and Serena on a few teams now,” she said. “They offer advice, they ask questions, they practice with the girls.” Venus Williams, after losing her second-round match, was asked about the up-and-coming US girls. “I think that is definitely something that makes me happy, to see young people doing positive things with their life,” she said. “I love seeing young girls come through.

“Tennis has done so much for me and my life and my family.

What I do on the court has been able to touch a lot of people.

“It makes me motivated to do more, and also makes me happy that a whole new set of people and demographics all over the world are being introduced to this game.” —Reuters

SCOREBOARD Scoreboard from the third one-day international between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Harare Sports Club yesterday.

Pakistan innings Rehman 25 Nasir Jamshed c Taylor b Chatara 38 V. Sibanda c Umar Amin b M Hafeez 2 A Shehzad c Sikandar Raza b H. Masakadza 54 B. Taylor run out 26 Mohammad Hafeez not out 26 Sikandar Raza lbw b Mohammad Hafeez 6 Misbah c Sikandar Raza b S. Masakadza 67 S. Williams run out 2 Umar Amin c & b Utseya 33 M. Waller c Abdur Rehman b Saeed Ajmal 48 Shahid Afridi c Taylor b Chatara 7 E. Chigumbura lbw b Shahid Afridi 2 Sarfraz Ahmed c Taylor b Chatara 22 P. Utseya run out 23 Abdur Rehman not out 0 S. Masakadza b Saeed Ajmal 0 Extras (lb-2, w-11) 13 Totals (for six wickets, 50 overs) 260 T. Panyangara c & b Abdur Rehman 1 Fall of wickets: 1-66 2-119 3-170 4-195 5- T. Chatara not out 1 243 6-251 Extras (lb-3, w-13) 16 Did not bat: Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Total (all out, 40 overs) 152 Mohammad Irfan Fall of wickets: 1-12 2-46 3-66 4-68 5-75 6-87 7Bowling: T. Panyangara 10-1-62-0 (w1), S. Masakadza 10-1-65-1 (w4), P. Utseya 10-0-47-1 145 8-146 9-149 10-152 (w1), T. Chatara 10-1-48-3 (w4), S. Williams 5-0- Bowling: Mohammad Irfan 6-0-20-0 (w3), Mohammad Hafeez 9-0-40-2, Junaid Khan 4-127-0, H. Masakadza 5-1-9-1 22-0, Abdur Rehman 8-0-23-2, Shahid Afridi 6Zimbabwe innings 1-29-1 (w2), Saeed Ajmal 7-1-15-2.

H. Masakadza st Sarfraz Ahmed b Abdur Pakistan won by 108 runs.

Competitor performs at the Red Bull Olabillop in Bergen, Norway. —www.redbullcontentpool.com

England level T20 series CHESTER-LE-STREET: Alex Hales’s 94 provided the platform for England’s 27-run win against Australia in the second Twenty20 international yesterday as the two-match series ended all square at 1-1.

Australia, set 196 for victory, finished on 168 for nine at Chester-le-Street with opener Aaron Finch-who made a Twenty20 international record 156 in the tourists’ 39-run win at Southampton on Thursday-out for just five.

David Warner top-scored for Australia with 53 but they were rarely up with the rate as seamer Jade Dernbach took three wickets for 23 runs in his maximum permitted four overs.

Earlier, opening batsman Hales just failed again to become the first England batsman to score a Twenty20 international hundred as he took the hosts to 195 for five.

Pakistan-born leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed, wicketless on debut at Southampton, took his first international wickets to finish with three for 25.

Man-of-the-match Hales, who made 99 in a Twenty20 international against the West Indies last year, shared an opening stand of 111 with Michael Lumb (43).

That partnership equalled England’s best for any wicket against Australia in a T20 international, with Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen having put on 111 for the second wicket in England’s 2010 World Twenty20 final win over their arch-rivals in Barbados. “I was disappointed not to get a hundred after getting close, Lumby helped me out at the start-he gets going quicker than me,” said Hales at the presentation ceremony.

England Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad added: “After losing the toss, the guys adapted to the conditions really well.

It was great to keep wickets in hand as we can set a good platform.

“Jade has been fantastic in the last few games, we know in Twenty20 that it’s taking wickets that slows the run-rate.”

Australia captain George Bailey said his side hadn’t been at their best. “It was tough with the wind and we probably didn’t nail our skills as well as we would have liked,” he said.

“We’ll take some good things out of this. Finch’s innings the other night was fantastic, James Faulkner will continue to improve and to have a leg-spinner (Ahmed) is great in Twenty20.”

England ended the initial six-over powerplay on 61 without loss off after a blizzard of boundaries. Hales drove a straight six off Faulkner and left-hander Lumb struck all-rounder Shane Watson high over the long-on rope.

However, the first-wicket stand was broken when Lumb top-edged a sweep off Ahmed and was caught behind by wicketkeeper Matthew Wade.

Luke Wright added a quickfire 30 before he was well caught by a leaping Mitchell Johnson at mid-off after driving a Faulkner full-toss.

CHESTER LE STREET: Australia’s David Warner (right) bats as England’s Jos Buttler looks on during the second 20Twenty international cricket match. —AFP Hales, off the last ball of the penultimate over, was caught by Warner, running in from long-on, off Faulkner to end a 61ball knock featuring 11 fours and two sixes.

It was the 24-year-old Hales’s sixth fifty in 21 innings at this level. In contrast to the first innings, Australia lost early wickets with Finch out to his fifth ball when he top-edged a hook off Broad to Wright at mid-on.

And when Watson, sent back by Warner, was run out by Eoin Morgan’s direct hit from backward point, Australia were 15 for two.

Warner and Shaun Marsh repaired some of the early damage with a stand of 67 before the latter was bowled, heaving across the line, by occasional

off-spinner Joe Root.

Warner, one ball after being missed by Steven Finn, then holed out off Dernbach to Hales, sweeping on the cover fence.

And when Dernbach took two wickets in two balls to dismiss Glenn Maxwell and Faulkner to leave Australia 148 for eight in the 18th over, the match was all but over.

England, who won the preceding Ashes Test campaign 3-0, and Australia meet in their third format of the season when a five-match one-day international series starts in Leeds on Friday.

However, both sides will be in oneday international action on Tuesday, with England away to Ireland in Malahide and Australia facing Scotland in Edinburgh. —AFP

SCOREBOARD CHESTER-LE-STREET, England: Final scoreboard in the second Twenty20 international between England and Australia at Chester-le-Street yesterday: A. Finch c Wright b Broad 5 England S. Watson run out (Morgan) 7 M. Lumb c Wade b Ahmed 43 S. Marsh b Root 13 A. Hales c Warner b Faulkner 94 G. Bailey lbw b Briggs 23 L. Wright c Johnson b Faulkner 30 G. Maxwell c Lumb b Dernbach 27 E. Morgan c Coulter-Nile b Ahmed 20 M. Wade b Briggs 4 J. Buttler b Ahmed 0 J. Faulkner c Morgan b Dernbach 5 R. Bopara not out 1 M. Johnson not out 3 J. Root not out 1 N. Coulter-Nile c Briggs b Finn 13 Extras (lb5, nb1) 6 F. Ahmed not out 3 Total (5 wkts, 20 overs) 195 12 Fall of wickets: 1-111 (Lumb), 2-157 Extras (lb4, w7, nb1) 168 (Wright), 3-187 (Hales), 4-187 (Buttler), 5- Total (9 wkts, 20 overs) Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Finch), 2-15 (Watson), 194 (Morgan) Did not bat: S Broad, S Finn, D Briggs, J 3-82 (Marsh), 4-111 (Warner), 5-113 (Bailey), 6-123 (Wade), 7-148 (Maxwell), 8Dernbach Bowling: Johnson 4-0-32-0; Watson 2-0- 48 (Faulkner), 9-162 24-0; Coulter-Nile 4-0-47-0 (1nb); Faulkner (Coulter-Nile) 4-0-37-2 (1nb); Ahmed 4-0-25-3; Maxwell Bowling: Finn 4-0-30-1 (1w); Broad 3-027-1; Dernbach 4-0-23-3 (1nb, 2w); Briggs 2-0-25-0; 3-0-25-2 (1w); Root 3-0-25-1 (1w); Bopara 3-0-34-0 (2w) Australia Result: England won by 27 runs D. Warner c Hales b Dernbach 53

Misbah leads Pakistan to ODI series victory HARARE: Captain Misbah-ul-Haq scored a steady half-century and effected two crucial run-outs as Pakistan clinched the one-day series against Zimbabwe with a sizeable win in yesterday’s third and final match. Misbah’s 67 proved to be the top score in the game as Pakistan posted a total of 260 for six, before bowling Zimbabwe out in 40 overs to win by 108 runs and complete a 2-1 series victory.

The series decider had been cast into doubt after Zimbabwe’s players threatened to boycott the match over unpaid salaries and match fees, but the home side took the field after setting a new ultimatum for the first Test on Tuesday. For a side with off-field distractions, the Zimbabweans started surprisingly well in the field after Brendan Taylor had won the toss and asked Pakistan to bat on a slow surface. The tourists made a circumspect start with openers Ahmed Shehzad and Nasir Jamshed putting on 66 for the first wicket at a sluggish pace, and the innings became stilted when Jamshed departed and Mohammad Hafeez was forced to retire hurt soon after.

Although Misbah at one stage appeared

ZIMBABWE: Pakistan captain Misbah Ul Haq and teammates pose with the series trophy after victory over Zimbabwe in the third and final one-day international at the Harare Sports Club. —AFP overly cautious in scoring just 16 from his first 45 deliveries, the tactic was vindicated as the stability it provided allowed Pakistan to score 120 in the final 13 overs. “I was really

struggling because the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat,” said Misbah. “There was a bit of inconsistent bounce and inconsistent pace, so I just made sure we played all 50

overs and if we could score 250 or more that could be really defendable on this pitch.”

While Shehzad contributed 54, Umar Amin was crucial in adding momentum to the innings as he struck a brisk 33, while Sarfraz Ahmed and the returning Hafeez also weighed in during a late flurry that lifted Pakistan to a solid score.

Zimbabwe’s reply never really got going, and was hampered by run-outs to key batsmen. Captain Brendan Taylor made a promising 26 before Misbah’s direct hit accounted for his opposite number, while Sean Williams was also dismissed by the Pakistani skipper.

After Zimbabwe had collapsed to 87 for six in the 23rd over, Malcolm Waller and Prosper Utseya put on 58 for the next wicket before the latter was run out in a mix-up.

Waller was the last man out for 48 when he got a leading edge off the bowling of Saeed Ajmal, as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 152. “We were definitely up for it today and we restricted them to a total that we felt comfortable chasing, but there was maybe a bit of panic there when it was time to chase it down,”Taylor said. —AFP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

S P ORTS

United boss Moyes relishes Anfield showdown LIVERPOOL: David Moyes has been quick to express his anger at Manchester United’s tough start to the season, but a daunting trip to bitter rivals Liverpool today offers an opportunity to lay down a marker in the title race.

Moyes was frustrated at having to face Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in the space of his first five matches as United manager.

The Scot has picked up four points from his first two matches in charge, a comprehensive 4-1 win at Swansea and a goalless draw with Chelsea today.

United’s fans, who were implored by outgoing manager Sir Alex Ferguson to give Moyes their backing, have certainly got behind the former Everton boss.

But Moyes k nows a victor y over

their old rivals on Merseyside would certainly go a long way to ingratiating himself in Manchester, particularly as he was never able to record a victory at Anfield during his reign at Everton.

“Anfield has always been a difficult place to go. It’s a great stadium and I’m looking forward to going back there,” he said. “In some ways it’s no different to any other game as you can only get three points for a win but it’d be a big win if we can do that.

“Liverpool are one of the strong teams this season so if we can do that it can be a good start. “I don’t know if it will be different going there with United as I’ve not been involved in it yet. “Everyone tells me it’s a big rivalry, Liverpool and United, and it was like that with Everton as well.

“I’m looking forward to the game and par t of coming to Manchester United is to be involved in these type of games.” With Liverpool having secured vic tories in both of their matches so far, United trail Brendan Rodgers’ side by two points going into today’s game.

And Moyes has been impressed with the job done by Rodgers during his first 14 months on Merseyside. “I think Brendan Rodgers is building his team and changing things around to the way he wants it to be,” Moyes said.

“Liverpool have always been a great football club, challenging for trophies.”

Meanwhile, Rodgers has challenged his players to put down a marker which signals they are good enough to compete with the Premier League’s top

four. The Reds have made a 100 per cent start to the campaign ahead of the visit of the defending champions and Rodgers is eager for his side to show their qualities.

“We didn’t get enough wins against teams above us last season,” Rodgers said. “It was small percentages, small margins that we can improve. It’s going to be a tough game but I believe we are ready for it. It’s a challenge we relish. “There is intense rivalry. There is something that wee bit more intense.

It’s not just the football clubs, it’s the cities. “We lost last year but we are very confident this time. If you look at our numbers since we played United in January, we have really kicked on.

“We know it is a difficult challenge but we are looking to sustain it. “You

understand what you are representing.

This is a game that is one of the biggest in the world. There is a different feel to this match. There is respect between the clubs.”

Liverpool will be without left-back Aly Cissokho, who faces up to six weeks out with an ankle injury picked up in the midweek win over Notts County in the League Cup. Ivorian centre-back Kolo Toure is struggling with groin injury he sustained in the same match, although Rodgers confirmed his prognosis was better.

“Toure has made an excellent recovery. If he is not ready, he will be fine for after the international break. Cissokho could be four to six weeks,” Rodgers added.—AFP

Schalke shock Leverkusen

FRANCE: Guingamp’s French coach Jocelyn Gourvennec reacts during the French League One football match against Paris Saint-Germain. —AFP

Rabiot saves PSG blushes as Lyon misery continues PARIS: Teenager Adrien Rabiot came off the bench to spur French title-holders Paris SaintGermain past promoted Guingamp 2-0 yesterday, as the midfielder netted a decisive injury-time goal at the Parc des Princes.

PSG’s stuttering start to the season appeared set to continue as the woodwork twice denied Laurent Blanc’s side, but 18year-old Rabiot struck a minute into stoppage time before Zlatan Ibrahimovic made the points safe. The win takes PSG to within a point of leaders Marseille, who host Monaco today.

Last year’s top scorer Ibrahimovic, without a goal in his opening three matches, almost opened his account for the season inside two minutes as he struck the base of Mamadou Samassa’s post from a free-kick. Edinson Cavani then saw a glancing header at the near post turned over by Samassa before the frame of the goal again came to Guingamp’s rescue as Thiago Silva headed the ensuing corner against the crossbar.

The visitors rarely troubled PSG bar for a deflected Moustapha Diallo effort that drew a routine save out of Salvatore Sirigu, but Guingamp goalkeeper Samassa grew increasingly busier as PSG pressed to break the deadlock.

The Mali international turned away another Cavani header after the interval before holding a low strike from Ezequiel Lavezzi, with Ibrahimovic then shooting wide after combining well with Cavani.

However, Mustapha Yatabare almost stunned the home fans as Guingamp countered against the run of play with PSG indebted to Sirigu, the Italian expertly saving with the striker through on goal. The visitors seemed set to come away with a commendable point, but they cracked a minute into stoppage time as Samassa could only claw Alex’s header into the path of Rabiot, who stabbed home from close range for his first

PSG goal. Ibrahimovic added gloss to the score as he outmuscled Jeremy Sorbon to reach a hopeful ball forward before eluding Samassa and steering into an empty net.

“The first half was laboured. If the free-kick that hit the post had gone in it could have been different. We were going to sleep in the first half, but we didn’t concede a goal which is an improvement,” said Blanc afterwards.

“And we can also point out the players didn’t give up even though there were just a few minutes left (before we scored). They were rewarded for that.

“We expected to suffer at the start of the season. That’s proven to be the case but, in terms of points, we’re not doing too badly,” he added.

Earlier, Lyon’s disastrous week was made even worse as Remi Garde’s side followed up their midweek Champions League exit by crashing to a 2-1 defeat away to Evian.

Kevin Berigaud struck two first-half goals at the Parc des Sports in Annecy as Lyon slumped to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.

The Evian striker notched the opener on eight minutes after latching onto Cedric Barbosa’s through ball and added to his haul just after the half-hour as he exchanged passes with Danish winger Daniel Wass before slipping the ball under goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.

Lyon, who were already without the injured Clement Grenier and exiled attacking duo Jimmy Briand and Bafetimbi Gomis, were then dealt a further blow as midfielder Yoann Gourcuff limped off just before half-time with a thigh problem.

The visitors did manage to pull a goal back through Jordan Ferri’s superb long-range strike early in the second half, but that would prove the lone bright spot for Lyon as Evian secured a deserved first win of the season to move off the foot of the Ligue 1 table.—AFP

BERLIN: Bayer Leverkusen blew their chance to go top of the Bundesliga yesterday as they lost their 100 percent record with a 2-0 defeat at resurgent Schalke 04.

Defending champions Bayern Munich stay top of the league despite dropping their first points of the season with a 1-1 draw at Freiburg on Tuesday before their dramatic 5-4 win on penalties over Chelsea in Friday’s UEFA Super Cup final. In the battle between the Bundesliga’s other two Champions League representatives, Schalke hauled themselves up into midtable and left Leverkusen jointthird behind Bayern and secondplaced Dortmund, who are at Eintracht Frankfurt today.

Both Germany left-back Dennis Aogo, who has joined Schalke on loan from Hamburg, and Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, who signed a four-year deal from AC Milan on Friday, started as the Royal Blues picked up their first league win of the season.

“I’m incredibly proud of my team, it has often been said that we have a mentality problem, but we ran hard, fought for everything and were tactically astute. That makes me proud,” said Schalke coach Jens Keller. “We implemented everything we had planned. Both KevinPrince Boateng and Dennis Aogo did really well on their debuts.”

Schalke recovered from losing their opening two Bundesliga games against Wolfsburg and Hanover 96 to qualify for the Champions League group stage at the expense of Greek club PAOK on Tuesday and built on that success with what was a convincing home league win against Leverkusen.

Keller’s side took the lead with half an hour gone when a free-kick went in off midfielder Marco Hoeger’s right shoulder before Peru forward Jefferson Farfan made sure of the win when he drilled home an 83rd-minute penalty after being

GERMANY: Schalke’s Brazilian defender Felipe Santana and Leverkusen’s striker Stefan Kiessling (left) vie for the ball during the German First Division Bundesliga football match. —AFP hauled down in the area.

Earlier Mainz 05 lost their 100 percent record and wasted their chance to go top as they crashed to a 4-1 defeat at Hanover 96.

Mainz took a 12th-minute lead at Hanover through striker Nicolai Mueller, but Thomas Tuchel’s side suffered their first defeat after three straight wins as Senegal striker Mame Diouf levelled before Poland forward Artur Sobiech put the hosts in front before the break.

Hanover doubled their lead late on with Ivory Coast forward Didier Ya Konan and midfielder Edgar Prib both scoring in the last 10 minutes for Mirko Slomka’s side.

“We started out well and were disciplined, not allowing Hanover any chances,” said Tuchel. “Out of the blue, we conceded an equaliser and it was striking to see the body language. “The key for us is improving our defending, judging by the

way we conceded the first two goals.”

Elsewhere, struggling Hamburg picked up their first win of the season after two consecutive defeats with a 4-0 thumping of promoted Eintracht Braunschweig.

Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart put Hamburg ahead in the seventh minute on their first attack before Cameroon striker Jacques Zoua doubled the lead on 17 minutes.

Hamburg confirmed their first three points-and Braunschweig’s fourth straight defeat-when 19year-old Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu came on for Van der Vaart on 79 minutes to claim a brace, including a stunning freekick.

Meanwhile, Borussia Moenchengladbach moved up to seventh as they romped to a 4-1 home win over Werder Bremen.

Venezuelan winger Juan Arango

Higuain off the mark as Napoli see off Chievo

Wenger taunts Spurs over Bale’s Real move LONDON: Arsene Wenger lit the fuse on today’s explosive north London derby as the Arsenal manager warned Tottenham they will struggle to cope when Gareth Bale joins Real Madrid.

Bale is set to move to Madrid before the close of the transfer window tomorrow evening despite last-minute hitches taking the deal down to the wire and Wenger is convinced the Wales winger’s departure will prove a major blow to Spurs.

Wenger, whose side pipped Tottenham in the race for the Champions League last season, has bitter experience of losing key players late in the window after being forced to sell Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie in recent years.

The Frenchman believes those star exits proved seriously destabilising to his squad and he expects Tottenham to suffer in similar fashion even though manager Andre Villas-Boas has already spent big in a bid to ensure his team can thrive without Bale.

“Yes, it is very difficult, of course. It has a negative impact when you lose your best players, always, because you are perceived as well by your fans (for) a lack of ambition, by the rest of the squad, they look for strength in their team,” Wenger said.

“We have gone through that process consistently and it demands of course always a mental adjustment, again, to keep your ambition alive. It is very, very difficult.”

Villas-Boas has brought in Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Nacer Chadli, Roberto Soldado, Vlad Chiriches and Erik Lamela, with a move for Ajax playmaker Christian Eriksen also in the pipeline.

But Wenger suspects the spending spree may backfire because it will take time

for Tottenham’s new players to adapt to the Premier League. “I know all the players they have bought. For the rest, we will see how well they integrate and how well they will do,” Wenger said. “In our job, there is always a technical risk when you buy more than three players because you unbalance a little bit the stability of your squad.

“It is always difficult when you bring so many players in.” Villas-Boas has so far coped admirably despite the distraction of Bale’s impending departure and Tottenham have taken maximum points from their first two league matches.

The former Chelsea manager has taken encouragement from the way his players have blocked out all the talk about Bale and he is certain they can continue their 100 percent start today.

“We have the quality to go there and win,” he said. “I think we will set up to try to win the game and hopefully achieve the result we want. “It is a different type of proposition on Sunday but it has special ingredients of a game that is unique in English football and full of emotion.

“The advantage Arsenal have is that they know each other very, very well. We have lots of new faces and still have to build our own style of play.” While VillasBoas has been planning for life without Bale, Wenger has managed to steady the ship at Arsenal after the 3-1 opening day loss to Aston Villa.

The poisonous reaction from Arsenal fans to that defeat made life difficult for Wenger, but three successive victories have given him much needed breathing space amid continued criticism of his failure to land a major signing since last season.—AFP

opened the scoring on 36 minutes with a wonderful strike from the left and Gladbach then added three more in the second half, including one from German international forward Max Kruse.

Nor way midfielder Havard Nordtveit’s 69th minute own-goal proved to be a mere consolation for Robin Dutt’s Bremen, who have now lost two on the bounce.

Wolfsburg enjoyed a 2-0 win at home to Hertha Berlin with Ivica Olic and Diego on target, while Augsburg picked up their second straight win, following up a 2-1 win over VfB Stuttgart last weekend with a 1-0 success at Nuremberg thanks to a late goal from substitute Kevin Vogt.

Stuttgart’s defeat last weekend saw coach Bruno Labbadia sacked and so Thomas Schneider will be in charge for today ’s visit of Hoffenheim.—AFP

ITALY: Napoli’s Swiss midfielder Gokhan Inler (left) vies for the ball with Chievo’s Finnish midfielder Perparim Hetemaj (right) during the Italian Serie A football match. —AFP

MILAN: Marek Hamsik scored his second brace in as many Serie A games and Gonzalo Higuain netted his first goal for Napoli as Rafael Benitez’s side won 4-2 at Chievo yesterday.

Higuain, signed in the close season from Real Madrid, made his debut for Napoli last weekend when Slovakian star Hamsik got two of the goals in a 3-0 defeat of Bologna.

The Argentine striker tested the nerves of his new employers in midweek when he suffered a freak accident during a day out on a boat, requiring 10 stitches to his nose and face after falling onto rocks.

But after being passed fit for the visit to Verona, Higuain allayed fears further when he scored Napoli’s fourth to put the match beyond reach of the hosts and leave his side top of the the table ahead of Lazio’s visit to champions Juventus late yesterday.

Early on, Higuain stung the palms of Chievo ‘keeper Christian Puggioni before Lorenzo Insigne, starting in place of Goran Pandev, squared for Hamsik to fire the ball in off the inside of the upright in the 13th minute.

However, Chievo soon drew level after Alberto Paloschi tapped in Perparim Hetemaj’s ball across the face of goal.

Napoli were back in front before the halfhour mark, with Spanish winger Jose Callejon firing home from Higuain’s low cross for his second goal in as many games.

Paloschi almost had his second after pouncing on a poor Christian Maggio backpass to chip Pepe Reina, only for his effort to come off the post and into the arms of the ‘keeper.

But five minutes from half-time Paloschi did get his second, the Italian turning to nutmeg Reina from close in after Napoli failed to clear a corner.

Chievo’s hopes of securing a share of the spoils fell apart in six second-half minutes, though. Hamsik restored Napoli’s lead when he fired home after Gokhan Inler’s pass was poorly dealt with by the Chievo defence.

And Higuain sealed the win when he burst into the box and pounced on a lucky ricochet from Insigne’s delivery to bundle the ball past Puggioni.—AFP

19

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

SPORTS Soccer results/standings English Premier League results Cardiff City 0 Everton 0; Crystal Palace 3 (Gabbidon 9, Gayle 79-pen, O’Keefe 90) Sunderland 1 (Fletcher 64); Manchester City 2 (Negredo 65, Toure 90) Hull City 0; Newcastle United 1 (Ben Arfa 86) Fulham 0; Norwich City 1 (Redmond 68) Southampton 0; West Ham United 0 Stoke City 1 (Pennant 82).

Playing today Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool v Manchester Utd, West Brom v Swansea City.

English Football League results Championship Barnsley 2 Huddersfield 1; Birmingham 1 Ipswich 1; Blackburn 4 Bolton 1; Blackpool 1 Watford 0; Brighton 1 Millwall 1; Charlton 2 Leicester 1; Derby 0 Burnley 3; Doncaster 0 Bournemouth 1; Leeds 0 QPR 1; Middlesbrough 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1; Wigan 2 Nottingham Forest 1; Yeovil 0 Reading 1.

Division One Brentford 0 Carlisle 0; Colchester 1 Leyton Orient 2; Gillingham 1 Bristol City 1; Notts County 0 Rotherham 1; Oldham 0 Tranmere 1; Peterborough 0 Crawley 2; Port Vale 1 Wolves 3; Sheffield Utd 0 Milton Keynes Dons 1; Shrewsbury 1 Coventry 1; Stevenage 1 Bradford 1; Swindon 5 Crewe 0; Walsall 0 Preston 3.

Division Two Accrington 0 Burton 1; AFC Wimbledon 2 Fleetwood 0; Bristol Rovers 1 Northampton 0; Bury 4 Cheltenham 1; Exeter 2 York 1; Mansfield 3 Dagenham and Redbridge 0; Morecambe 2 Plymouth 1; Oxford 1 Rochdale 1; Portsmouth 0 Chesterfield 2; Scunthorpe 1

Newport 1; Torquay 0 Hartlepool 0; Wycombe 2 Southend 1.

Scottish Premier League results Aberdeen 0 St Johnstone 0; Dundee Utd 0 Celtic 1 (Stokes 87); Hibernian 0 Ross County 0; Inverness CT 2 (McKay 10, 32) Hearts 0; Motherwell 2 (Anier 20, Sutton 45) Kilmarnock 1 (Barr 17); St Mirren 1 (McLean 50) Partick Thistle 2 (Higginbotham 81, Forbes 84).

Scottish Football League results Championship Cowdenbeath 3 Dumbarton 2; Falkirk 1 Hamilton 2; Morton 1 Raith 1; Queen of the South 0 Alloa 0.

Division One Arbroath 2 Brechin 1; Ayr 2 Airdrie 2; Dunfermline 3 Stranraer 1; Forfar 1 Stenhousemuir 2; Rangers 5 East Fife 0.

Division Two Albion 0 Montrose 2; Berwick 4 Annan Athletic 2; East Stirling 1 Peterhead 4; Elgin 1 Clyde 0; Queen’s Park 0 Stirling 2.

German Bundesliga results Borussia Moenchengladbach 4 (Arango 36, Raffael 53, Kruse 74, Herrmann 85) Werder Bremen 1 (Nordtveit og-69); Hanover 96 4 (Diouf 31, Sobiech 37, Ya Konan 80, Prib 83) Mainz 05 1 (N. Mueller 12); VfL Wolfsburg 2 (Olic 42, Diego 45+2) Hertha Berlin 0; Nuremberg 0 Augsburg 1 (Vogt 84); Hamburg 4 (van der Vaart 7, Zoua 17, Calhanoglu 80, 90+1) Eintracht Braunschweig 0; Schalke 04 2 (Hoeger 30, Farfan 83-pen) Bayer Leverkusen 0.

Playing today VfB Stuttgart v Hoffenheim; Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Dortmund.

English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Chelsea Man City Liverpool Tottenham Stoke Man Utd West Ham Norwich Southampton Cardiff Newcastle Arsenal Aston Villa Crystal Palace Everton Fulham Hull West Brom Sunderland Swansea

3 3 2 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 2

2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 0

0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 0 2 2 1 2 2

4 8 2 2 3 4 2 3 2 3 1 4 4 4 2 2 1 0 2 1

1 3 0 0 2 1 1 3 2 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 4 1 5 5

7 6 6 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 1 0

English Football League tables Championship Blackpool 5 4 1 0 7 2 QPR 5 4 1 0 6 2 Burnley 5 3 1 1 8 4 Nottingham 5 3 1 1 7 3 Leicester 5 3 1 1 7 5 Bournemouth 5 3 0 2 6 12 Watford 5 2 2 1 11 6 Wigan 5 2 2 1 10 6 Reading 5 2 2 1 7 6 Leeds 5 2 2 1 5 4 Blackburn 5 2 1 2 10 7 Huddersfield 5 2 1 2 8 5 Brighton 5 2 1 2 6 5 Derby 5 2 1 2 6 6 Middlesbrough5 1 3 1 6 6 Ipswich 5 1 1 3 6 6 Charlton 4 1 1 2 5 6 Doncaster 4 1 1 2 5 6 Birmingham 5 1 1 3 4 6 Barnsley 5 1 1 3 6 13 Sheffield 5 0 3 2 6 8 Yeovil 5 1 0 4 1 7 Millwall 5 0 2 3 3 8 Bolton 5 0 2 3 3 10

13 13 10 10 10 9 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 6 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 2

Division One Leyton Orient 5 5 0 0 13 2 15 Wolves 5 4 1 0 11 3 13 Peterborough 5 4 0 1 12 5 12 Brentford 5 2 3 0 6 3 9 Rotherham 5 2 3 0 8 6 9 Milton Keynes 5 2 3 0 6 4 9 Bradford 5 2 2 1 10 5 8 Colchester 5 2 2 1 5 4 8 Preston 5 1 4 0 9 6 7 Swindon 5 2 1 2 8 5 7 Crawley Town 5 2 1 2 10 9 7 Walsall 5 2 1 2 5 6 7 Oldham 5 2 0 3 8 8 6 Shrewsbury 5 1 3 1 5 6 6 Stevenage 5 1 1 3 5 7 4 Port Vale 5 1 1 3 5 9 4 Sheffield Utd 5 1 1 3 4 8 4 Tranmere 5 1 1 3 6 13 4 Crewe 5 1 1 3 5 12 4 Bristol City 5 0 3 2 10 12 3 Gillingham 5 0 3 2 4 9 3 Carlisle 5 0 2 3 2 14 2 Notts County 5 0 1 4 4 9 1 Coventry 5 2 2 1 16 12 -2 Note: Coventry deducted 10 points for entering administration Division Two Chesterfield 5 Oxford Utd 5 Burton Albion 5 Wimbledon 5 Exeter 5 Fleetwood Town Southend 5 Newport County Mansfield 5 Bury 5 Bristol Rovers 5 Wycombe 5 Morecambe 5 Scunthorpe 5 Plymouth 5 Torquay 5 Rochdale 5 Portsmouth 5 Dagenham 5 York 5 Cheltenham 5 Northampton 5 Hartlepool 5 Accrington 5

4 3 3 3 3 5 3 5 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0

1 2 2 1 1 3 0 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 0 3 2 2 2 1 1 0 2 1

0 0 0 1 1 0 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 3 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 3 4

10 3 12 6 9 6 7 5 6 4 2 8 6 4 1 8 6 4 10 7 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 5 5 6 5 6 6 5 8 10 5 8 4 7 5 11 4 7 0 5 3 11

13 11 11 10 10 69 9 68 8 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 3 2 1

Scottish Premier League table Inverness CT 5 4 1 0 10 2 13 Celtic 4 3 1 0 7 3 10 Motherwell 5 3 0 2 5 6 9 Partick Thistle 5 2 2 1 6 4 8 St Johnstone 5 2 2 1 5 4 8 Aberdeen 5 2 1 2 6 6 7 Dundee Utd 5 1 2 2 5 3 5 Hibernian 5 1 2 2 3 4 5 Ross County 5 1 1 3 5 9 4 Kilmarnock 5 0 2 3 4 7 2 St Mirren 4 0 1 3 2 9 1 Hearts 5 2 1 2 4 5 -8 Note: Hearts deducted 15 points for entering administration

Scottish Football League tables Championship Hamilton 4 4 0 0 9 2 Falkirk 4 2 1 1 8 4 Dundee 4 2 1 1 7 4 Alloa 4 2 1 1 4 2 Raith 4 1 2 1 5 5 Queen of South4 1 2 1 7 8 Dumbarton 4 1 1 2 7 9 Morton 4 1 1 2 5 7 Cowdenbeath 4 1 0 3 7 11 Livingston 4 0 1 3 3 10

12 7 7 7 5 5 4 4 3 1

Division One Rangers 4 Dunfermline 4 Stenhousemuir4 Ayr 4 Brechin 4 Arbroath 4 East Fife 4 Airdrie 4 Forfar 4 Stranraer 4

4 3 3 2 2 2 1 0 0 0

0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 1

0 1 1 0 2 2 3 2 3 3

18 1 11 8 8 6 8 3 6 7 6 8 2 9 5 12 5 9 2 8

12 9 9 8 6 6 3 2 1 1

Division Two East Stirling 4 Stirling 4 Berwick 4 Albion 4 Clyde 4 Peterhead 4 Annan Athletic4 Montrose 4 Elgin 4 Queen’s Park 4

3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0

0 0 1 1 0 2 2 1 1 0

1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 4

10 6 7 4 9 4 6 4 4 4 8 7 7 8 5 5 4 7 1 12

9 9 7 7 6 5 5 4 4 0

0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 0 2 2 2 2 2 3 4

7 7 1 8 8 9 10 6 3 3 10 8 6 3 6 4 3 1

German Bundesliga table Bayern Munich4 3 1 Borussia 3 3 0 Bayer Leverkusen 4 3 Hanover 4 3 0 Mainz 4 3 0 Hertha Berlin 4 2 1 Borussia 4 2 0 VfL Wolfsburg 4 2 0 Werder Bremen4 2 0 Augsburg 4 2 0 Hoffenheim 3 1 2 Hamburg 4 1 1 Schalke 4 1 1 Eintracht 3 1 0 Freiburg 4 0 2 Nuremberg 4 0 2 VfB Stuttgart 3 0 0 Eintracht 4 0 0

2 1 8 5 7 5 8 4 5 6 6 9 9 7 9 7 6 9

10 9 59 9 9 7 6 6 6 6 5 4 4 3 2 2 0 0

Gayle, O’Keefe get Palace off the mark C Palace 3

Sunderland 1

LONDON: Late strikes from Dwight Gayle and Stuart O’Keefe saw promoted Crystal Palace beat Sunderland 3-1 yesterday to claim their first victory of the Premier League season.

Danny Gabbidon gave hosts Palace a fortuitous early lead, only for Steven Fletcher to mark his comeback from injury with an equaliser mid-way through the second period.

It looked like both teams would have to wait for their first victory of the campaign, only for Gayle to restore Palace’s lead with a 79th-minute penalty after Sunderland captain John O’Shea was sent off for a last-man foul on the 23-year-old.

O’Keefe then curled a marvellous shot into the top-left corner from the edge of the box to further delight the home fans basking in the late-summer sunshine at Selhurst Park.

Ian Holloway’s Palace will now go into their daunting trip to Manchester United in two weeks’ time with three points on the board, while Paolo Di Canio’s Sunderland have taken just one point from a possible nine.

Sunderland had conceded goals from set pieces in both their previous games, a 1-0 loss at home to Fulham and a 1-1 draw at Southampton, but Palace’s ninth-minute opener suggested they had not learn their lesson.

A left-wing corner from Jose Campana was allowed to land inside the six-yard box and after bouncing off Sunderland defender Ondrej Celustka, it struck Gabbidon and

LONDON: Sunderland’s English midfielder Jack Colback (left) vies with Crystal Palace’s Australian midfielder Mile Jedinak during the English Premier League football match. —AFP rebounded into the net. header into the bottom-left corner.

Fletcher made his return from a five-month Palace substitute Jonny Williams spurned a lay-off with an ankle injury as a half-time sub- good chance to restore the hosts’ lead when stitute, but Palace continued to threaten. he screwed badly wide from the edge of the Mile Jedinak shot narrowly over for the area, before Gabbidon almost put through his second time in the game, while Gayle almost own goal at the other end as he toed the ball lobbed Sunderland goalkeeper Keiren away from Fletcher.

Westwood after centre-back Modibo Diakite It was Sunderland who cracked first, sloppily allowed the ball to run across him. however, with close-season signing Gayle However, the visitors survived, and in the drilling home from the penalty spot before 64th minute they drew level when Fletcher O’Keefe added a glorious third in stoppage met Jack Colback’s left-wing cross with a time.—AFP

Stoke see off West Ham

LONDON: Norwich City’s Scottish defender Steven Whittaker (left) vies with Southampton’s English striker Jay Rodriguez during the English Premier League football match. —AFP

Redmond fires Norwich to first win of the season Matches on TV (Local Timings) Norwich 1 English Premier League Liverpool v Man United 15:30 Aljazeera Sport HD 1 Arsenal v Tottenham 18:00 Aljazeera Sport HD 1 Italian League AS Roma v Hellas Verona Aljazeera Sport HD 3 Genoa v Fiorentina Aljazeera Sport HD 4 Catania v Internazionale Aljazeera Sport HD 1 AC Milan v Cagliari Aljazeera Sport HD 3 Udinese v Parma Aljazeera Sport +1 Bologna v Sampdoria Aljazeera Sport +2 Spanish League Real Madrid v de Bilbao Aljazeera Sport HD 2 Espanyol v Real Betis Aljazeera Sport +4 Sociedad v Atletico Aljazeera Sport +2 Sevilla FC v Malaga Aljazeera Sport +4 Valencia v FC Barcelona Aljazeera Sport HD 2

19:00 21:45 21:45 21:45 21:45 21:45

13:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 22:00

French League Saint Etienne v Bordeaux 15:00 Aljazeera Sport HD 5 OGC Nice v Montpellier 18:00 Aljazeera Sport HD 5 Olympique v AS Monaco 22:00 Aljazeera Sport HD 5

Southampton 0

NORWICH: Norwich secured their first Premier League win of the season as teenage winger Nathan Redmond clinched a 1-0 victory over Southampton yesterday.

Chris Hughton’s side had taken only one point from their opening two matches, but Redmond, a close-season signing from Birmingham, struck midway through the second half at Carrow Road to get the Canaries off and running.

The 19-year-old’s pace often had Southampton on the back foot and his goal, a fierce drive from the edge of the penalty area, was just reward for a fine display.

Southampton were left frustrated by their first defeat of the campaign after a penalty appeal was turned down when Bradley Johnson clearly handled an Adam Lallana strike in front of referee Howard Webb.

Southampton captain Lallana also saw a volley come back off a post and record signing Dani Osvaldo had a close-range effort saved by John Ruddy.

Redmond was in good form from the

start and he dispossessed James WardProwse and burst down the left, cutting inside and unleashing a drive that went just wide.

Southampton looked sloppy and were almost punished when Danny Fox, in at left-back for Luke Shaw, gave away a second free-kick in a matter of minutes.

Robert Snodgrass’s free-kick was nodded goalwards by Ricky van Wolfswinkel and into the path of fellow Holland international Leroy Fer, who was unable to find a way past Artur Boruc from close range.

That escape appeared to act as a wake-up call for Southampton and they should have had a 19th-minute penalty.

Lallana wriggled free of City’s defenders, only for his strike goalwards to be batted away by Johnson in the box. Southampton appealed but Webb, well placed to see the incident, turned down their claims.

The visitors kept pressing and when Ward-Prowse’s floated free-kick was only cleared as far as Lallana, the Southampton captain’s volley struck a post. Ruddy had to be at his best to deny Osvaldo early in the second half.

However, it was Redmond proving the Canaries’ biggest threat and he crossed for Johan Elmander, only for the Sweden international to head wide.

And Norwich finally made the breakthrough in the 68th minute when England Under-21 international Redmond cut inside and lashed home from the edge of the area. —AFP

LONDON: Jermaine Pennant came off the West Ham 0 bench to score an 82nd-minute freekick that gave Stoke City a 1-0 win at West Ham United in the Stoke 1 Premier League yesterday.

The 30-year-old former Liverpool winger bent an unerring shot inside the right-hand post to register his first league goal since May 2011, having been brought back to Stoke by new manager Mark Hughes after being released at the end of last season.

Victory ended West Ham’s unbeaten start to the season and lifted Stoke up to fifth in the fledgling standings, one point behind leaders Chelsea.

Kenwyne Jones kept his place in the Stoke line-up after netting a hat-trick against Walsall in the League Cup in mid-week and he went close in the ninth minute with a rising shot that whistled over the bar.

The visitors enjoyed the best of the first half and West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen had to produce a sharp double-save to parry a shot from Marc Wilson before blocking Jon Walters’s follow-up. It took the hosts until the 33rd minute to craft a meaningful attempt on goal, but Modibo Maiga could only head wide from Matt Jarvis’s right-wing cross.

There was a scare for West Ham early in the second period when centre-back Winston Reid landed heavily on his shoulder after an aerial duel with Jones, but the New Zealand international was able to play on.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce introduced former Manchester United prospect Ravel Morrison from the bench in the 64th minute and he played a central role as the hosts began to increase the pressure. Reid smashed the ball over the bar after Maiga saw a shot deflected behind for a corner, but it was Stoke who made the breakthrough.

Pennant had only been on the pitch for six minutes when he took charge of a direct free-kick 25 yards out and curled a fine shot past Jaaskelainen to give the visitors all three points.—AFP

LONDON: Stoke City’s English midfielder Jermaine Pennant (left) vies with West Ham United’s Frenchborn Ivorian defender Guy Demel (right) during the English Premier League football match. —AFP

Stokes helps Celtic scrape past Dundee GLASGOW: Celtic left it late as Anthony Stokes scored three minutes from time to earn the champions a 1-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice yesterday. Celtic, who had shown all the signs of suffering from a European hangover following their midweek exertions against Shakhter Karagandy, looked to be heading for their second consecutive draw in the Scottish Premiership before Stokes sent an 87th minute free-kick in off

the post. The Hoops, on a high after their midweek qualification for the lucrative group stage of the Champions League, had started well with Mikael Lustig, Virgil van Dijk and Stokes himself all coming close early in the first half.

But they faded in a lacklustre second half and looked destined to have to settle for a point before Stokes fired in his 50th Celtic goal late on to secure the win. Celtic remain second in the table three

points behind Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who stayed top thanks to Billy McKay after he scored a double and had a penalty saved in a 2-0 win over Hearts. “It’s a great day’s work and a huge win after the effort they put in on Wednesday and considering the efforts they put in today as well,” said Celtic manager Neil Lennon, whose side needed a stoppage-time goal in midweek to qualify for the Champions League. —AFP

Schalke shock Leverkusen

Misbah leads Pakistan to ODI series victory

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

17

18

United boss Moyes relishes Anfield showdown

Page 18

LONDON: Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder Jesus Navas vies with Hull City’s Honduran defender Maynor Figueroa (left) during the English Premier League football match. — AFP

Man City strain to overcome Hull Man City 2

Hull 0 MANCHESTER: Alvaro Negredo and Yaya Toure scored second-half goals to earn Manchester City a 2-0 win over Hull City at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League yesterday.

For long periods it looked like the Tigers would be the second promoted team to frustrate Manuel Pellegrini’s team in the space of a week, following last Sunday’s loss at Cardiff City.

But Negredo came off the bench at half-time and headed the home side ahead to score his second goal since joining from Sevilla in a deal worth a reported initial fee of £16.4 million ($25 million, 19 million euros). Toure curled in a free-kick in the last minute to double the lead and make the scoreline look more comfortable than City’s afternoon had been.

Hull have three points from their opening three games, but after encouraging performances on their trips to Chelsea-where they lost 2-0 on the opening weekend-and City, Steve Bruce’s side will feel bullish about their prospects of avoiding relegation.

Pellegrini had been adamant that he did not need the 3-2 defeat at

Cardiff to teach him about the rigours of the Premier League.

But, while his team were undone by two corners in Wales last weekend, even with the return of Matija Nastasic at centre-back, they struggled defensively from the very start against another former Championship side.

A routine ball over the top from Maynor Figueroa caught the City defence flat-footed and sparked panic early on, before Sone Aluko passed up a great chance to put the visitors in front.

The heavily left-footed Joleon Lescott was forced to play as a rightsided centre-back and he was brutally exposed by the movement of Aluko, who broke free, only to clip his shot

wide of the post.

The hosts finally managed to apply some of their own pressure, with Tigers goalkeeper Allan McGregor pulling off a low save to turn Aleksandar Kolarov’s header from a Jesus Navas corner around the post.

City were opened up once again when Robbie Brady bent over a cross from the left that Danny Graham volleyed in, only for the effort to be correctly ruled out for offside.

Lescott’s powerful header was tipped over the bar by McGregor, before Robert Koren’s drive flew just wide at the other end as Hull continued to make a real contest of it.

As City struggled to make headway, Toure headed over from a Navas

Newcastle 1

Fulham 0

NEWCASTLE: Hatem Ben Arfa left it late to fire Newcastle to their first Premier League victory of the season as the Magpies secured a 1-0 win over Fulham yesterday.

The St James’ Park clash looked to be heading for a stalemate until French midfielder Ben Arfa controlled a deep 86th minute cross from Davide Santon, cut inside two defenders and fired a stunning strike into the top corner past David Stockdale from just inside the area.

It was a deserved winner for the hosts, who in the process ended a 411-minute wait for a top-flight goal and registered their first league win since beating Fulham in April.

There was more good news for boss Alan Pardew as Yohan Cabaye brought an end to his Newcastle

saw Lescott have a header deflected over and the defender failed to make decent contact with the ball after being picked out by Silva from the corner that followed.

But mid-way through the second half, the breakthrough finally arrived when Zabaleta whipped in a cross from the right and the unmarked Negredo steered a header past McGregor.

Graham headed straight into the ground from George Boyd’s cross as Hull went close to a late equaliser, but in the final minute Toure bent in an almost exact replica of his free-kick in the 4-0 win over Newcastle United to make the scoreline look even more comfortable. — AFP

Cardiff hold Everton

Arfa’s late show lifts Newcastle strike action, the French midfielder welcomed back to the fold after refusing to play in the opening three games in a so-far failed bid to push through a move to Arsenal before the transfer deadline on September 2.

Cabaye received a mixed welcome from Newcastle supporters when he entered the fray as a 65thminute substitute, playing an inadvertent role in Fulham’s clearest chance when his foul on Alex Kacaniklic saw Bryan Ruiz force a fine save from Tim Krul with the resulting free-kick.

Loic Remy made his Newcastle debut from the bench, the loan signing from QPR helping add to the late impetus that saw the hosts finish strongly and finally earn their reward through Ben Arfa’s memorable goal.

Papiss Cisse came close to breaking the deadlock with a 78thminute header that struck the bar from Ben Arfa’s cross, before the impressive Stockdale saved with his feet at the near post to deny Ben Arfa, and Yoan Gouffran headed wide from Ben Arfa’s cross as Fulham were forced to hang on.

The contest had followed a simi-

corner shortly before half-time.

Pellegrini introduced Negredo for Edin Dzeko at the interval and the Spaniard passed up a fine opportunity less than three minutes after coming on.

He was picked out by a cross from fellow Spaniard Silva but headed wide from a good position. Hull might have been tempted to become less adventurous, but they produced another opening when Brady pressured Pablo Zabaleta into a poor defensive header and Graham just missed the target with a shot on the turn.

Negredo carved Hull’s defence open with a flick into the path of Silva, but Navas prodded wide from the winger’s cross.

A neat free-kick from Fernandinho

Cardiff 0

Everton 0

LONDON: Newcastle United’s Nigerian striker Shola Ameobi (right) vies with Fulham’s Northern Irish defender Aaron Hughes (left) during the English Premier League football match. — AFP lar pattern before the break, Debuchy’s deep cross after engiNewcastle carving out the best of neering space in the area. the few openings. Cisse failed to After the flurry of late chances, get out of the way to inadvertently there was still time for Debuchy to block a goal-bound header from rise unchallenged 15 yards out at Fabricio Coloccini as the defender Ben Arfa’s corner, only for the met Sylvain Marveaux’s corner with French defender to aim his header a firm downward header eight off target when it looked easier to yards out. score. Coloccini’s uncharacteristic Stockdale saved at the second error presented Fulham midfielder attempt from Mathieu Debuchy’s Adel Taarabt with a clear shot on long-range effort, before poor con- goal with just five minutes left, but trol by Cisse denied the forward a the substitute’s mishit shot was clear chance from Moussa Sissoko’s well saved by Krul. intelligent pass into the Fulham Fulham were left to rue the miss area. Cisse rounded off a frustrating as Ben Arfa rounded off a man-offirst-half for the Senegal interna- the-match display to earn a vital tional as he headed wide from win for his side. — AFP

CARDIFF: Cardiff City defied the odds again to hold Everton to a 0-0 draw yesterday and claim another valuable point in their quest for Premier League survival.

Having taken three points off Manchester City last time out, the promoted side helped themselves to a deserved draw against an Everton side that enjoyed plenty of the ball.

The visitors had strong penalty appeals turned down in the first half, but they could have had no complaints about the eventual outcome.

Just as they had done against Manuel Pellegrini’s City six days previously, Cardiff made a slick start, with Aron Gunnarsson and Kim Bo-kyung quick to assert themselves in what turned out to be a congested midfield battle.

Peter Whittingham saw his cross cut out by Ross Barkley before last weekend’s two-goal hero Fraizer Campbell was dispossessed by Phil Jagielka on the edge of the visitors’ penalty area.

Everton, who used Marouane Fellaini in a holding role, struggled for a foothold as the hosts flooded the midfield whenever the visitors crossed halfway. Still, when Barkley was

put into space by Steven Pienaar’s delightful pass after 10 minutes, it took a smart block from Ben Turner to deny the new England squad member a second league goal of the season.

Although Fellaini saw plenty of possession, his presence in the final third was missed.

Nikica Jelavic worked tirelessly to bring his supporting players into the game, but Cardiff were disciplined and able to cope. Slowly, but surely, Everton took control and when Jelavic crossed for Kevin Mirallas, the Greek international headed wide from point-blank range.

Steven Caulker cleared at the near post from a Pienaar cross and Cardiff then had a huge escape when Gary Medel escaped unpunished despite tripping Leighton Baines inside the penalty area.

Then, in first-half stoppage time, Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall pulled off what may prove to be a candidate for save of the season.

Jelavic headed a Seamus Coleman cross goalwards but after the ball struck Turner, Marshall sharply changed direction and somehow palmed the ball to safety.

Cardiff began the second half much as they had the first, with Kim causing confusion in the Everton box following a mazy run past three defenders and Matt Connolly shooting wide from 20 yards.

But it was Jelavic who should have broken the deadlock from Barkley’s precise pass, only for the Croatian to shoot into the stands with only Marshall to beat.

In pushing Mirallas further forward, Everton served notice of their intent, and Barkley was also given greater freedom. — AFP

Business

Greek union calls for two-day public strike Page 22 Fed may slow bond buys over solid US growth Page 23

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

Hollande upbeat over 2014 growth for France

Nissan announces autonomous drive benchmarks Page 25 Page 26

MUMBAI: An Indian man walks in front of a factory outlet store in Mumbai yesterday. India assured foreign investors it is not contemplating capital controls as a step to stabilize the falling Indian rupee. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told India’s Parliament that the rupee’s sudden decline was a shock, but his government will not address by it imposing capital controls or by reversing economic reforms. —AP

Japan panel backs sales tax hike Participants call for small stimulus offset TOKYO: Japan’s government won backing for a controversial decision to raise the national sales tax in 2014 after influential members of a special advisory panel said the step would not threaten economic recovery or business confidence if it was coupled with other stimulus.

“Japan’s economy is steady at the moment and we should raise the tax as planned,” Hiroshi Yoshikawa, a University of Tokyo economist told reporters yesterday as he left the last session of a week-long, government hearing that also featured business leaders and consumer advocates.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened the panel to hear a wide range of views on whether to press ahead with a planned hike in the consumption tax to 8 percent from the current 5 percent in April. Unless Abe changes the plan, the sales tax will be raised to 10 percent in October 2015.

Advocates, including officials at the Ministry of Finance, say raising the tax would be an important first step in trying to lower public debt, which is the worst among industrialised

countries at more than twice the size of Japan’s economy.

Abe is expected to make a decision in the next several weeks. “Most people on the panel said we should raise the sales tax and that the risks of not doing so outweighed the risks associated with proceeding as scheduled,” said Economics Minister Akira Amari. Abe has made ending 15 years of deflation and revitalizing the economy among his top priorities, so some of his advisers and even some members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party worry the sales tax hike will slow consumption. Japan’s economy emerged from recession in 2012 and data for much of this year has shown the benefits of monetary easing from the central bank and the government’s drive to accelerate growth. The jobless rate is at the lowest in almost five years, there are tentative signs wages will start rising and consumer spending has been strong. Exports grew at the fastest pace in nearly three years in July, while core consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly five years.

Many on the 60-member tax advisory panel, which includ-

Fed to light September volatility fuse LONDON: September is here and for markets that usually means one thing: volatility. This year is shaping up to be a classic. A looming confrontation in Syria is high up on a list of risks on the horizon but pivotal for investors will be the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting in the middle of the month and a decision on whether the time is right to start trimming back its monetary stimulus.

“The move to tapering is a sea change,” said Sandra Crowl, a member of the investment committee for fund manager Carmignac Gestion. “This would be the end of a 20-year US bond market rally, and the end of what has been multiple years of liquidity being injected into the US economy that has found its way into emerging markets,” she said. If that was not enough to spark nervousness, the Fed’s decision comes as questions are being asked about China’s transition to a lower growth economy, and as Europe and Japan battle to pull away from long-running recessions.

SEPTEMBER SHAKES That September is often a volatile month for investors has been well documented and it is the time when many are returning to their desks after the long summer break and formulating investment plans for the rest of the year. Data on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which stretches all the way back to 1896, shows September has historically been the worst month of the year, according to Russ Koesterich, the chief investment strategist for BlackRock.

Historically September also has been the worst month of the year in a number of European markets - including Germany and the United Kingdom - and in Japan, Koesterich said in a note.

This year, markets are already on edge after an August that has seen the CBOE volatility index jump more than 20 percent to a three-month high when it emerged that Western nations were considering military action in Syria in response to a chemical weapons attack in Damascus.

September’s volatility trigger will likely be the US Treasury 10year bond yield. It has spiked by almost 50 percent during the northern hemisphere’s usually quiet summer months to be near 3.0 percent, from just under 2.0 pct in early June. Asset managers say it is not just how high the yield has risen but the speed of the move and its potential to overshoot, causing an effective and unwarranted monetary tightening, that provides the main risk to investors.

“Interest rates are the biggest visible pothole in the investment road,” said Kevin Gardiner, head of investment strategy for Europe at Barclays Wealth. If all goes well and the US economy shows it can bear the weight of higher interest rates that could come with the expected Fed tapering in September, bigger flows into developed world equities seem most likely.

“To get some sort of return and to get some growth in your portfolio you do have to have a healthy weighting in stocks and you have to have the ability to grin and bear some short-term volatility,” Gardiner said. Under this scenario Europe is still the favored destination, due to signs of economic recovery in the euro zone and the UK, despite stocks recently outperforming other major developed markets.

The broad STOXX Europe 600 index has dipped 0.35 percent in August as all risk asset markets were hit by a flare up in the Syrian crisis, compared with a drop in Wall Street’s S&P 500 index of about 2.8 percent. “The debate is very much where should you be on Europe. Do you start moving overweight? But then you have the risks in the euro zone and they haven’t gone away,” Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments said.

The fact that the Euro STOXX index has only risen about 7 percent this year - less than half the 15 percent gain in S&P 500 US stocks - means it still has potential to gain. Patrik Schowitz, global strategist for JPMorgan Asset Management sees another attraction: while European corporate earnings might not be that strong because the recovery has yet to fully take hold, on a price-to-book valuation European shares trade at a 25 percent discount to their historical average.

Their current price-to-book ratio is 1.6 times, against a 25year average of 2.1 times, while emerging market equities are on a ratio of 1.5 times - an 18 percent discount to their 18-year average of 1.8 times. “So on price-to-book the attractions of Europe are much clearer - and it looks even cheaper than emerging market equities,” said Schowitz. US equities are trading at a 12 percent discount to their historical price-to-book ratio.

EMERGING PRESSURE It is in those emerging markets where September volatility could be most felt. Flows out of emerging market equities in particular have been gathering momentum during August in anticipation of a Fed tapering move. Outflows from emerging market equity funds more than doubled in the latest week to $3.9 billion from the previous week’s $1.7 billion, investment banks said on Friday, citing data from Boston-based fund tracker EPFR Global. Asset managers fret that if US interest rates rise too far in the run-up to the Fed’s next meeting on Sept 17-18. or in the weeks after it, these outflows will only accelerate.

Longer term, however, if the Fed manages to strike the right balance between tapering stimulus without jeopardizing the recovery, then a global pickup in economic activity would be more likely and the view on emerging markets could shift.

“Emerging markets have become largely unloved and sentiment towards them overly negative,” Mouhammed Choukeir, chief investment officer for Kleinwort Benson, said.—Reuters

ed labor union heads and executives from companies ranging from a small spring maker to Toyota Motor Corp, said they could accept tax hikes if the government took some steps to offset the expected dip in consumer spending.

Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, urged the government to cut the tax on vehicles when the consumption tax is hiked to 8 percent as an offset. Others urged public works investment or a tax incentive for companies to invest in new plant and equipment. When Japan last hiked the sales tax from 3 percent to 5 percent in 1997, consumer spending tumbled by 13 percent in the quarter after the higher tax went into effect. That was followed by a recession.

Yoshikawa, an expert on Japan’s “lost decade” of economic decline, said he had told officials that the 1997 recession was more directly caused by a concurrent 7 percent drop in public works than the consumption tax hike. “The economy is a living thing. If business conditions turned especially bad, some policy response would be necessary,” said Yoshikawa. Masaaki Kanno,

chief economist at JPMorgan in Tokyo, said he had urged the government to spend 3 trillion yen ($30.58 billion) to offset the impact of the sales tax hike, saying stimulus of that size would not harm public finances. “I stressed that we should raise the sales tax as scheduled and consider raising it even further because it is important for fiscal discipline,” Kanno said.

At 5 percent, Japan and Canada have the lowest equivalent consumption tax in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Since Japan’s debt burden is so large, economists, ratings agencies and the International Monetary Fund have long argued Japan has ample room to raise its sales tax and increase government revenue.

Government officials have said revised April-June gross domestic product data, due on Sept. 9, would be one factor Abe would consider in reaching a decision. Preliminary data issued this month showed the world’s third-largest economy expanded for a third straight quarter in April-June but at a slower pace than expected. — Reuters

Why gold is making a comeback NEW YORK: Gold is having a summer revival. The price of gold touched $1,420 an ounce this week, a three-and-a-half month high, as escalating tensions in the Middle East, volatile currency markets and renewed demand for jewelry in China and India pushed prices higher. Gold has surged 15 percent since sinking to $1,212 an ounce, its lowest level in almost three years, on June 27. A gain of 20 percent or more would put the metal back in a bull market. Gold’s resurgence follows a rough ride this year.

Gold slumped 4.8 percent in the first three months of 2013 as the outlook for the economy improved while inflation remained subdued. For many years prior to that, large investors, like hedge funds, bought the metal as a way to protect their investments against rising prices and a slumping dollar. They feared that the Federal Reserve’s stimulus program could cause prices to rise. But inflation remained subdued and that reduced the need to buy gold. Also, signs in January that the dollar was strengthening diminished the appeal of owning gold.

Then in April, the bottom fell out. A proposal that Cyprus sell some of its gold reserves to support its banks rattled traders, prompting concern that Spain, Italy and other weak European economies might also sell and flood the market.

Gold plunged by $140 an ounce, or nine percent, on April 15 as investors unloaded their holdings. That was the biggest one-day decline in more than 30 years. While the price of gold is still down 17 percent this year, the metal is on the rise. Here are the factors driving its comeback:

DUBAI: 10-gram gold bars with a purity of 999.9 that have been pressed and stamped with the “Emirates Gold” company logo, lie on display in Dubai. — AP

A LITTLE INSURANCE One of the reasons people buy gold is that it offers an alternative to more traditional financial assets, says Mike McGlone, director of research at ETF Securities, a provider of commodity-based exchange-traded funds. When financial markets get jittery, investors often buy gold because it is considered one of the safest assets that can easily be converted to cash. As the stock market soared this year, rising as much as 20 percent, investors had less need to hold gold.

That has changed the last four weeks. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has lost 4 percent since reaching an alltime high of 1,709.67 on August 2. Traders are concerned about when and by how much the Fed will pare back on its stimulus, a major driver behind the market’s rally. Strife in Egypt and Syria has also reminded investors that it’s a dangerous world out there: wars can spread and oil prices can spike, hurting economies and stock markets.

Investors want to add back a little insurance to their portfolios these days. “If we lived in a perfect world, we would not need gold,” says McGlone. “But since we don’t, we do need something that is the ultimate store of value.” Investors don’t need to buy gold bars or coins to invest in the metal.

Exchange-traded funds are investments that are similar to mutual funds. Both can be bought and sold on exchanges.

Some of these funds, such as ETF’s Physical Swiss Gold Shares and SPDR’s Gold Shares, allow investors to buy into trusts that invest directly in gold.

HAVEN FROM STORMY CURRENCIES The Fed appears close to reducing its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, and that has stirred up currency prices worldwide, particularly in emerging markets.

Investors had previously borrowed in dollars at low rates and then invested in faster growing economies in Asia and Latin America. Now, that trend is reversing. US interest rates have started to climb in anticipation of the Fed’s reduced stimulus. Investors are selling their emerging-market holdings and converting the proceeds back into dollars.

The value of the Indian rupee against the dollar has plunged by more than 11 percent in August on concerns that surging oil prices are pushing the country toward an economic crisis. The Indonesian rupiah has also slumped.

When currency markets become volatile, investors worldwide look to invest in safe assets that will hold their value, says Dan Heckman, a national investment consultant who specializes in commodities at US Bank Wealth Management.

“Gold does fit that role,” he says.—AP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

BUSINESS

Greek union calls for two-day public strike

Bayt.com weekly report

Five reasons professionals quit their jobs

Economic overhaul to see massive layoffs cent stake of OPAP to Greco-Czech consortium Emma Delta for 652 million euros, a deal first announced in May. OPAP, which was among the most lucrative companies up for privatization, has a state concession for the exclusive right to operate 13 games of chance until October 2030, and a ten-year license for the operation of 50,000 video lottery terminals. In the January-June period, sports bets declined by 26.9 percent to 605.9 million euros while numbers games fell by 7.1 percent to 1.138 billion euros.

In return for two EU-IMF bailout deals, Greece has pledged to raise 9.5 billion euros in asset sales by 2016, a target originally set at 50 billion euros. But the privatisation drive is far behind schedule and suffered a further blow in June, after Russia’s Gazprom suddenly withdrew plans to buy Greece’s state gas operator DEPA. As a result, Athens revised downwards its estimated asset sales for this year, now expecting to raise 1.6 billion euros instead of 2.6 billion euros. —AFP

in Athens to protest against the lay-offs and job transfers. The Adedy union urged other professional sectors to join in next month’s planned strike action. An opinion poll published last month showed that more than half of Greek voters are in favor of the public sector redundancies. Representatives of Greece’s creditors, the EU, IMF and European Central Bank, are expected in Athens at the end of September to conduct a regular audit.

Meanwhile, Greece’s gaming monopoly OPAP announced a 73.9-percent drop in net profits for the first half of 2013, shortly after a major stake in the company was sold to foreign investors. OPAP said net profits fell to 67.3 million euros ($89 million) from 258 million euros in the same period in 2012.

Sales fell 15.1 percent to 1.744 billion euros-from 2.055 billion euros previouslymostly because of the severe economic downturn and one-off factors that hit firstquarter results, the bank said.

In July, Greece’s state privatization agency said it had signed the papers to sell a 33-per-

ATHENS: Greece’s main public sector trade union, Adedy, launched a call for a two-day strike next month in protest against job layoffs included in an economic overhaul demanded by the country’s creditors. Adedy, in a statement, criticised the government’s “submission” to proposals from the European Union and International Monetary Fund that would “destroy the public sector and the welfare state”.

The strike action was called for September 18 and 19. Greece has agreed to put 12,500 civil servants on a redeployment scheme by the end of September, as part of a general restructuring of its public sector, in return for the next installment of its EU-IMF rescue loans.

Workers have to accept new posts or spend eight months on reduced salaries as alternative posts are found, with the risk of losing their jobs altogether. The government redeployed 4,000 civil servants at the end of July, mostly teaching staff.

On Thursday, 1,500 civil servants marched

S Africa trade deficit widens PRETORIA: South Africa’s trade deficit widened sharply in July as imports jumped by 18 percent on the back of a weakened rand, according to official data released.

The South African Revenue Service also reported an unexpected near 11 percent increase in exports, but that was eclipsed by surging imports, which reached record levels. As a result the deficit swelled to 14.2 billion rand ($1.4 billion), more than markets expected. Analysts took some solace from the rise in exports. Although the rand is trading near four year lows, there had been fears South Africa-beset by labor disputes and fierce competition on the global market-would be able to take advantage of its exports being cheaper.

“The rise in exports is encouraging and reflects some benefit from the weaker exchange rate and improving global conditions,” said economist at Nedbank. “However, labor related production disruptions in the manufacturing and mining sectors will hurt export growth in the coming weeks.”

Gold sector workers are expected to strike from Tuesday. The rand seemed to weather the prospect of a widening current account deficit, but fears are growing that the weakness of the currency may be fuel a stagflationary spiral. South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan told the Wall Street Journal the rand’s plunge against the dollar “has gone too far” in an interview published Friday.

Gordhan hinted that intervention may be needed to prop up the currency. “We’ll have to watch the situation on a day-by-day basis and see what lessons we can learn from others and what defensive measures we can develop on our own side.” —AFP

GAUHATI: Five-year-old Hassan rests on a pile of sugarcane in Gauhati yesterday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told India’s Parliament that the rupee’s sudden decline was a shock, but his government will not address it by imposing capital controls or by reversing economic reforms. —AP

Finland to raise retirement age HELSINKI: Finland plans to raise its retirement age to strengthen public finances and encourage Finns to work more, Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said after his coalition government clinched a deal.

The government plans to propose increasing the effective retirement age to 62.4 years by 2025, a year and a half higher than it is today.

The retirement age to obtain a full pension in the country is 65, but Finns stop working earlier on average, as in many other countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Finland’s broad coalition government, which includes right and left-wing parties but not the eurosceptics and the centre, also plans to shorten the amount of time Finns spend in university studies. It also intends to raise the compulsory education age from 16 to 17 and to make unpaid leaves of absence harder to obtain.

“We need to put to work all those people

who are able to do so,” Katainen told reporters.

The government also plans to cut spending in local administrations and daycares, and facilitate the return of unemployed people to the job market. The practical details of the reforms are expected to be hammered out with the unions and the ministries by the end of November.

The reform package is intended to stop rising public debt in a country that has shrinking tax revenue and growth. The Bank of Finland has forecast public debt will increase to 59.8 percent in 2014, approaching the 60 percent limit allowed in the euro-zone.

“We are living beyond our means now and we will still do in the coming years,” Katainen said.

Finland’s gross domestic product decreased by 0.8 percent in 2012 and the government has warned of another 0.5 percent contraction for 2013. —AFP

I

n this age of great job market transparency and faster than ever candidate attraction tools, retaining talent has become more important for employers who are increasingly investing substantial resources trying to better understand how to motivate, engage and hold onto their key staff. So why do professionals quit their jobs? The HR experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, share some of the top reasons why professionals seek greener pastures: 1. Insufficient training Today’s professionals expect their employers to invest in their growth and development, and are hungry for skills acquisition and training. With days of lifelong job security long behind us and job tenures shrinking, professionals know that their skill sets need to be sharp at all times in order to compete with others in the job market. Professionals are looking more than ever to rapidly build a skills portfolio that gives them flexibility and autonomy in their careers in the long run.

According to The Bayt.com Reward Programs and Employee Engagement in the Middle East survey, November 2011, 44.7 percent of professionals in the Middle East say that more opportunities to learn and grow within the company is what they need to feel more engaged at work.

Moreover, nearly half (45.8 percent) of professionals polled in the Bayt.com ‘Good Working Conditions’ poll, February 2011, said that proper training and professional development schemes were the most important factors in creating good working conditions.

2. Poor management It is often said that professionals don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad managers. While good management is a skill many professionals are relatively weak in, management of subordinates does take a special set of skills and necessitates a good degree of empathy, discipline and emotional intelligence. Employers promoting professionals to a management role should invest in training them on the requirements of the new role, and monitoring them to avoid discontent and disloyalty spreading in the lower ranks.

Indeed, 31.1 percent of MENA professionals polled in the Bayt.com ‘Management Challenges in the MENA’ poll, December 2011, describe their managers as having ‘poor management skills’. While another 34 percent of polled professionals agree that good leadership and management skills is what they look for most when hiring senior candidates/managers. (The Bayt.com ‘Hiring Management in the MENA’ poll, August 2012) Moreover, 17 percent of professionals describe their relationship with their boss as ‘bad’ and 24 percent say that their relationship with their manager is ‘not stable’ and likely to ‘depend on the boss’s mood’. (The Bayt.com ‘Manager-Employee Relationships in the Middle East Workplace’ poll, January 2010) Another 72 percent of the region’s professionals consider a healthy relationship with their direct manager to be very important in the workplace. (The Bayt.com ‘ManagerEmployee Relationships in the Middle East Workplace’ poll) The same poll also revealed that effects of an unhealthy manager-employee relationship

are cited by 17 percent of polled professionals to be low employee motivation; by 13 percent to contribute to a stressful work environment; 12 percent thought it could lead to unfinished job tasks; and 54 percent cited all of these.

3. Unsatisfactory compensation While compensation isn’t the only reason professionals stay in a job, unfair and uncompetitive compensation is often cited as a reason job seekers are in the market for a new role. Compensation issues aren’t only the salary, but also the composition of the compensation and the types and magnitude of benefits offered.

31.6 percent of professionals in the Bayt.com ‘Work Satisfaction in the MENA’ poll, October 2012, say that what they would most like to change about their current job is the salary, while 62.9 percent of MENA professionals said their company does not offer any kind of incentives. (The Bayt.com ‘Reward Programs and Employee Engagement’ survey, November 2011) According to the Bayt.com Middle East Salary Survey 2013, 96 percent of MENA professionals indicate a medium to low level of satisfaction towards their current pay, while 67 percent feel that their salary is lower than the industry standards in the region.

4. Poor work environment A good work environment alleviates stress and greatly improves productivity. Lighting, space, office layout, color schemes, decoration all play a role here in defining the physical work environment.

According to the Bayt.com ‘Absenteeism in the Workplace in the MENA’ poll, June 2012, 32.7 percent of professionals rate the working environment in their company as ‘fair’ to ‘poor’.

The same poll also shows that 23.4 percent of employees feel that the absenteeism in their organization is high.

Additionally, 15 percent of MENA professionals say that poor work environment is the primary source of stress for them ( The Bayt.com ‘Work-life Balance in the MENA’ poll, September 2012) 5. No career path Professionals crave reward and recognition and need to be assured that there is progress in store for them and that they are proceeding along the right path to grow their careers.

Companies that do not offer clear progress milestones risk losing them to companies that do show they appreciate their employees’ full potential and are constructively appraising and grooming them for growth.

According to the Bayt.com ‘Hiring Management in the Middle East’ poll, 34.3 percent of professionals say there is no clear management track within their organization, while 39.2 percent state that there are no opportunities for career growth and advancement. (The Bayt.com ‘Work satisfaction in the MENA’ poll) About Bayt.com: Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East with more than 40,000 employers and over 12,800,000 registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels. Post a job or find jobs on www.bayt.com today and access the leading resource for job seekers and employers in the region.

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

ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.899 4.316 2.726 2.137 3.654 224.880 36.714 3.655 6.383 8.904 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 75.950 78.257 739.770 756.480 77.564

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 40.950 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.669 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.329 Tunisian Dinar 173.650 Jordanian Dinar 402.200 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.911 Syrian Lier 3.094 Morocco Dirham 34.509 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 284.700 Euro 381.640 Sterling Pound 446.270 Canadian dollar 273.360 Turkish lira 140.190 Swiss Franc 309.120 Australian Dollar 257.080 US Dollar Buying 283.500 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

GOLD 263.000 133.000 68.000

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 258.55 275.14 311.12 380.75 284.10 444.64 2.96 3.671 4.204 2.135 2.659 2.741 77.42 756.15 40.65 404.34 738.84 78.45 75.89

SELL CASH 261.000 275.000 313.000 386.000 285.500 449.000 3.000 3.780 4.800 2.700 3.220 2.900 77.900 757.900 41.000 410.000 740.000 78.800 76.200

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 284.450 274.030 444.040 381.355 310.080 753.085 77.425 78.080 76.715 400.980 40.666 2.130 4.214 2.729 3.657 6.382 697.770 3.895

SELL CASH Europe 0.4358200 0.0065615 0.0469785 0.3752942 0.0432463 0.4337028 0.0395508 0.3038091

SELLDRAFT 0.4448200 0.0185615 0.0519785 0.3827942 0.0484463 0.4412028 0.0445506 0.3108091

Australasia 0.2459809 0.2147588 0.0001127

0.2579809 0.2247588 0.0001127

Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars

America 0.2638155 0.0001447 0.2823000

0.2728155 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 0.0036121 0.0031552 0.0454730 0.0164300 0.0000441 0.0341269 0.0043018 0.0000211 0.0028406 0.0028145 0.0031878 0.0815701 0.0025730 0.0027148 0.0059525

0.0036671 0.0033852 0.0504730 0.0195300 0.0000501 0.0372269 0.0043668 0.0000262 0.0038406 0.0029945 0.0034178 0.0885701 0.0027730 0.0027548 0.0064225

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

9.180 4.065 3.890 86.540

Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar Sri Lankan Rupee Thai Baht

0.0000727 0.2180962 0.0021030 0.0084734

0.0000757 0.2240962 0.0021450 0.0090734

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 0.7480832 0.0386438 0.0126425 0.1446254 0.0000791 0.0001837 0.3956266 1.0000000 0.0001744 0.0225463 0.0012076 0.7278199 0.0774761 0.0753200 0.0462492 0.0019382 0.1717385 0.0760179 0.0012831

0.7565832 0.0406588 0.0191425 0.1464154 0.0000796 0.0002437 0.4031266 1.0000000 0.0001944 0.0465463 0.0018426 0.7388190 0.0782591 0.0759600 0.0467992 0.0021582 0.1777386 0.0774679 0.0013831

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) 284.100 382.900 444.650 272.950 4.437 40.645 2.141 3.651 6.451 2.743 756.500 77.400 75.900

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

BUSINESS

CGMA research finds reputational risk a rising concern GCC firms beginning to put reputation before profit DUBAI: Once the sole remit of the marketing and PR departments, reputational risk is now seen as a critical companywide concern, according to a global survey by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).

The survey of GCC finance leaders who hold the Char tered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation, identified the demand for more transparency, competitor reputational failures and the rise in social

media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as key contributing factors to the increased global interest on the topic.

Despite this, nearly 70 percent of organizations surveyed admitted to not always using feedback from these channels to help them anticipate and manage risk to their reputation. Similarly, 52 percent of those surveyed had no formal processes or models in place for calculating the financial impact of not managing reputational risk.

Geetu Ahuja, Head of GCC - Middle East at CIMA said: “Organizations are increasingly recognizing the need to take reputational risks very seriously if potential crises are not to turn into catastrophes. After all, nearly 20 percent of businesses surveyed admitted to experiencing reputational failure in the past and the widespread use of the internet and social media casts a harsher spotlight than before.

However, what is very worrying is the revelation that businesses still appear to

be struggling with how they go about managing non-financial reporting in this area.

“In order to be fully protected, it is vital for finance directors and leaders to start moving away from focusing primarily on the shor t term and to begin collecting, reporting and monitoring reputational risk information.

This will not only enable them to performa nce ma na g e an impor tant aspect of their business, but will also be crucial for long term sustainability

and helping to maximise opportunities and to minimize risk.”

CGMA business experts make up the world’s largest community of management accountants and guide business decisions across the globe, including 95 of the world’s top 100 brands and 91 of the Fortune 100. They hold senior positions, including CEO, CFO, and Finance Director, and have a broad perspective on the long-term prospects of their organisations, their markets and their regions.

Fed may slow bond buys over solid US growth Trade deficit narrows amid rosy forecast

TOKYO: Shoppers inspect clothes at a clothing store in Tokyo. Japan released data on Friday showing its economic recovery gained momentum in July, as manufacturing accelerated and consumer prices rose for a second straight month, despite weaker household spending and retail sales. —AP

Consumer prices climb in Japan, retail sales fall TOKYO: Japan’s economic recovery gained momentum in July as manufacturing accelerated and consumer prices rose for a second straight month, despite weaker household spending and retail sales.

The data released showed the consumer price index rose 0.7 percent in July from a year earlier, for the second straight month of gains. That suggests efforts to break free of years of demand-dampening deflation are progressing. The CPI rose 0.2 percent in June.

However, the core index, which excludes food and energy prices, fell 0.1 percent. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said industrial output rose 1.6 percent from a year earlier but 3.2 percent from the month before, in a sign the recovery is taking hold. It forecasts further expansion in August and September.

“Income and other data show quite positive signs of recovery,” said Junko Nishioka, an economist at RBS Japan Securities. “I’m relatively optimistic about the Japanese economy.” The government has boosted spending and pushed for ultra-loose monetary policies aimed at generating inflation.

It says that will help perk up demand and, in response, investment and employment, ending years of stagnation. However, economists say that without matching increases in wages, rising prices and planned tax hikes could actually weaken the consumer demand that accounts for the bulk of business activity, undermining any economic

rebound. Average household spending fell 1.4 percent in July from a year earlier, despite slight improvements in income and the jobless rate, which fell to 3.8 percent from 3.9 percent the month before. Retail sales fell 0.3 percent in July from a year earlier for the first decline in three months.

Sales of clothing and other items sagged, while food sales rose. The government attributed at least some of the limpness of demand to hot weather. But with prices rising, many consumers already are feeling a pinch, Capital Economics said in a commentary.

“Perhaps the biggest threat to consumer spending is the rise in inflation,” it said, noting that bustling sales earlier in the summer were probably helped by June bonus payments and overtime.

“Households are probably well aware that once the summer bonus season is over, wages will likely continue shrinking, depressing their purchasing power,” it said.

Still, the overall positive tone of the July data will likely bolster support for pushing ahead with a sales tax planned for April 1, 2014. A decision on that plan is due within the next month. The anticipated 3 percent increase in the nationwide sales tax, to 8 percent, will undoubtedly be a blow, Ishioka said, but she expects it to be shortlived given the currently favorable trends.

“People’s sentiment is improving. I think the fundamental conditions are OK,” she said. — AP

US credit union regulator sues Morgan Stanley NEW YORK CITY: A US credit union regulator has filed suit against Morgan Stanley for misrepresenting the quality of $566 million in residential mortgage-backed securities sold to two now-defunct credit unions. The National Credit Union Administration accused Morgan Stanley and its affiliates of misleading the US Central Federal Credit Union and Western Corporate Federal Credit Union (WesCorp) about the risks of subprime mortgage securities it sold them between 2004 and 2007.

“Firms like Morgan Stanley sold securities that turned out to be faulty, triggering a crisis in the credit union industry that has been extremely expensive to contain and

repair, and credit unions are still paying the tab,” NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz said in a statement. “All the credit unions we supervise and insure are sharing this burden. The people who are accountable, those who precipitated this crisis, should be required to shoulder that burden, as well.” The lawsuit was the latest in a string of similar suits the NCUA has filed against investment banks such as Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Securities and Wachovia.

So far, the agency has settled claims worth more than $335 million with Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities, HSBC and Bank of America.— AFP

Futures up after release of data on jobs, economy NEW YORK: Stock futures rose on an improving employment landscape and new figures released that show that US economic growth has been stronger than was once thought.

Uncertainty that has rattled markets for days also eased as allies of Syrian President Bashar Assad moved to block a rapid Western military strike in response to evidence of a chemical weapons attack there.

Dow Jones industrial futures rose 52 points to 14,858. S&P futures added 5.9 points to 1,638.10. Nasdaq futures rose 15.5 points to 3,083.75. The US economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate from April through June, a much faster acceleration than economists had expected.

But most had already begun to second guess earlier estimates after seeing economic data for June that revealed strong exports and declining imports, which cut

the national deficit as well.

The Commerce Department on Thursday revised higher its 1.7 percent second-quarter growth rate that it had reported last month. And the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits continues to decline.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications for benefits fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 331,000.

Economists pay closer to the four-week average because it’s less volatile. That number nudged up 750 to 331,250, but it hit a 51/2-year low the previous week.

Shares of Verizon shot up Thursday morning after Britain’s Vodafone PLC, one of the world’s largest cellphone companies, acknowledged it was in talks to sell to Verizon, the largest US cellphone carrier, its part of a joint venture that the two companies operate in the US. —AP

WASHINGTON: A stronger-thanexpected rise in US economic growth last quarter will likely strengthen the hand of Federal Reserve officials who want to slow the Fed’s bond purchases next month. The economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate from April through June, the government estimated. That was more than twice the growth rate in the first quarter and far above an initial estimate of a 1.7 percent rate for April through June.

The Fed is weighing key measures of the economy ’s health before it meets Sept 17-18 to decide whether to scale back its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases. The Fed’s bond buying has helped keep long-term borrowing rates near record lows. A stronger economy would need less support from the Fed. Global financial markets have been under pressure over speculation that the Fed will slow its purchases and send interest rates in the United States higher. US rates have already been rising in anticipation of a pullback in Fed bond buying. But the Fed may decide the economy is strengthening enough to withstand higher rates.

Last quarter ’s faster growth “should give Fed officials more confidence that the recovery is gathering steam,” said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics. Other analysts think the Fed might decide to maintain the pace of its bond buying to help fuel the economy. They think Fed officials may conclude that the stillsubpar US economy could falter under the weight of higher interest rates, a slower housing rebound or a messy resolution to a fight over the federal budget.

Almost everyone agrees that the biggest factor the Fed will weigh in deciding whether to slow its bond buying will come next week: The employment data for August - the final jobs report before the Fed meets.

On Thursday, the government upgraded its estimate of growth for last quarter mainly because the US trade deficit narrowed in June. That occurred because US companies exported more goods than previously thought and imported fewer.

The narrower trade gap offset weaker spending by the US government. For the second half of the year, analysts generally think the economy will grow at an annual rate of around 2.5 percent, fueled by steady job gains and a diminished impact from federal spending

ST LOUIS: Kim Miller shops for clothes in St Louis. The Commerce Department said that consumer spending rose just 0.1 percent in July from the previous month. That’s slower than June’s 0.6 percent increase. —AP cuts. That growth rate, though, would be too weak to meet the Fed’s own forecasts for 2013. It might decide to delay any pullback in bond buying to await more data on how the economy is faring in the second half of the year.

James Marple, senior economist at TD Bank Group, noted that even with the government’s higher estimate of second-quarter growth, the economy would have to accelerate at an annual rate of 2.8 percent to 3.4 percent in the second half to reach the Fed’s growth forecast for 2013.

Doug Handler, chief US economist at IHS Global Insight, noted: “We still have an economy that is not operating on all cylinders. And you have a variety of threats, ranging from rising interest rates to the tensions in the Middle East, that are causing anxiety for businesses and consumers.”

Another challenge for the economy: The Obama administration and Congress are locked in a battle over funding the government.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has said the government will run out of money to pay its bills in midOctober unless lawmakers raise the federal borrowing cap, which is capped at $16.7 trillion.

In addition, expectations that the Fed will slow its bond buying have triggered problems in emerging nations. Anticipation of rising US interest rates has led investors

to pull money from many of those nations and invest it in higheryielding US assets. On Thursday, for example, Indonesia’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point in hopes of stemming a fall in its currency’s value.

In light of the uncertainties, Handler said he expects the Fed to delay any reduction in its bond purchases until December. Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors, said he thinks the Fed will lower its forecast for 2013 growth when it meets in September. If so, Naroff said it would be awkward for the central bank to begin slowing its bond purchases while also reducing its growth forecast for the year. Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, said she still thinks September is the likely month for the Fed to start slowing its bond buying. But she said it’s a close call. Swonk noted that next week’s jobs report for August will likely be decisive. Weaker-thanexpected jobs data could give Fed officials who favor maintaining the pace of bond purchases the evidence they need, she said.

But the trend in job growth is giving economists hope for a solid number for August. Employers have added an average of 192,000 jobs a month so far this year. And the government said Thursday that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits remains

near the lowest level in more than five years. First-time applications fell 6,0000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 331,000. That means employers are cutting fewer and fewer jobs.

Thursday’s report on economic growth for April through June showed that government spending shrank an annual rate of 0.9 percent, worse than the 0.4 percent drop initially estimated. Two key areas of the economy - housing and business investment remained strong. Housing construction grew at an annual rate of 12.9 percent in the April-June period, the fourth straight quarter of double-digit growth. Still, average mortgage rates have risen more than a full percentage point since May. Though they remain low by historical standards, the sudden spike in rates could slow the housing recovery ’s momentum.

Consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, grew by a 1.8 percent annual rate last quarter. That was unchanged from the initial estimate. But it was down from a 2.3 percent annual growth rate in the first quarter.

A key signal of the economy’s health in the second half of 2013 will come from Friday’s report on consumer spending in July.

Consumer spending held up in June. But rising interest rates might have caused it to slow in July. — AP

Financial hurricane season looms for US NEW YORK: As the summer holidays wind down, the world is again moving into the financial Hurricane Season, which coincides uncannily with the meteorological hurricane season in the North Atlantic every autumn. Most great financial crises have occurred in the six weeks from late August to mid-October, for reasons I discussed in this column last September.

This year, exactly on cue, the seasonal risks are again building up: war in the Middle East; a watershed decision in US monetary policy, plus the announcement of a new Fed chairman; a German election that could make or break the euro; the long-awaited “third arrow” of Shinzo Abe’s Japanese reform program; another internecine conflict over the US budget and Treasury debt limit that could result in a government shutdown or even a temporary default. And I am not even counting probable policy upheavals in China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and other crisis-ridden emerging economies, whose timing is less certain but which could also fall within the next few months. The consolation is that confidence is likely to return to the world economy and financial markets if the political and financial storms blow over without too much damage. To gauge how the world is likely to fare under this barrage of uncertainties, consider them in turn.

While Syria is the most frightening, it is also the easiest to dismiss. To say this is not to belittle the carnage and human suffering in Syria; it is simply to recognize that war in the Middle East is effectively a continuation of the permanent status quo.

The Middle East has been at war almost continuously for over 50 years, since the Suez Crisis, and internecine fighting will probably continue for many more years or even decades, as it did in Europe during the religious conflicts of the 16th

and 17th centuries. Neither the global oil supply nor the balance of power between Sunni and Shiite Muslims is likely to be significantly affected by whatever action the US may or may not take - and that is what matters for global economics and geopolitics. Once the missiles have exploded, therefore, financial markets will probably enjoy a relief rally, as they usually do after military engagements in the Middle East.

The German election on September 22 now seems equally predictable. Optimists once hoped this election would usher in a period of more collaborative German leadership. Conversely, skeptics predicted financial and political crises once the new German government was revealed to be no less stubborn than the old one in blocking compromises on bank bailouts and fiscal targets.

Recently, however, both positive and negative expectations have been deflated by the blandness of the German campaign, combined with the modest improvement in Europe’s economic conditions.

Thus the main worry now for investors in Germany is no longer about the outcome of the election, but simply about how other investors will react after September 22.

In Japan, by contrast, the policy outlook is genuinely uncertain. Shinzo Abe could use the new Diet session starting next month to announce significant structural reforms, backed up by further monetary and fiscal stimulus. Japan would then enjoy an accelerating recovery and probably a continuation of the bull market that began last November. On the other hand, Abe could lose his nerve and fail to deliver reforms. In that case Japan would sink back into economic torpor - and the rest of the world would revert to simply ignoring Japan, as it has for the past decade.

That option will not be available if events in the

US veer off course - which brings me to the main source of financial and economic uncertainty this autumn, a confluence of four closely-related events in Washington: the monthly employment report on September 6; the Fed’s decision on monetary tapering on September 18; the announcement of a new Fed chairman around the same time; and the Congressional vote on Treasury debt limits by midOctober.

A very weak payroll report, with employment growth of under 100,000, would stir serious worries about the tapering decision two weeks later about whether the Fed would actually dial back monetary expansion and about whether such a decision could be dangerously premature. A big number, on the other hand, would guarantee tapering and also provide some reassurance that the US economy could withstand this move. In either case, attention will quickly shift to the Fed succession and the debt ceiling vote. The appointment of Larry Summers now seems a foregone conclusion, but a worrying question remains. Why has President Obama apparently decided to back a candidate who will face furious opposition from both parties in Congress and whose views on monetary policy appear to be dangerously hawkish? An optimistic answer is that Summers may be proposing more radical combinations of monetary and fiscal policy stimulus than Ben Bernanke was willing to contemplate - for example, quasi-fiscal policies to support housing finance, as in Britain, or perhaps even the direct distribution of newly printed money to US citizens, which economists call “helicopter money” and I have described in these columns as “quantitative easing for the people.” A grimmer alternative is that Obama believes a financial crisis is inevitable and is impressed, post-Lehman, with Summers’ fire-fighting skills. — Reuters

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

BUSINESS

KSE bearish as Syria crisis escalates BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week in the red zone. The price index closed at 7,632.57 points, down by 5.82 percent from the week before closing, the weighted index decreased by 2.71 percent after closing at 451.37 points, whereas the KSX-15 index closed at 1,049.64 points down by 2.13 percent. Fur thermore, last week ’s average daily turnover increased by 34.60 percent, compared to the preceding week, reaching K.D 30.59 million, whereas trading volume average was 321.18 million shares, recording increase of 37.51 percent.

On the other hand, the market capital of Kuwait Stock Exchange declined by 6.11 percent last week in comparison with the previous week, after reaching KD 29.70 billion, affected by the drop of many listed stocks prices in light of the strong selling trend reflecting the worry state lived by many traders influenced by the latest political tensions, which in turn negatively affected the stock market indices that fell drastically, especially the Price Index which recorded an approximately 3 percent loss on last Tuesday’s session, considered its highest daily loss since almost three months.

In addition, the stock market performance declined during last week, however the trading activity recorded a noticeable increase during most of the daily sessions, mostly in the trading value, which reached in one of the sessions more than KD45 million, its highest level since more than a month, as a result to the stock liquidation operations on many stocks, causing the market indices to close the week with variable losses.

Moreover, the market witnessed random purchasing activities concentrated on leading and operational

third, as its index closed at 827.98 points at a loss of 5.39 percent. The Consumer Goods sector was the least declining as its index closed at 1,231.93 points with a 1.06 percent decrease.

stocks, mainly in the last two sessions of the week, which lead the market indices to relatively stabilize, especially the Weighted and KSX-15 indices, whilst the quick speculative operations were not absent in affecting the trading behavior, which

explains the fluctuated performance of the market during most of the week sessions. For the annual performance, the price index ended last week recording 28.62 percent annual gain compared to its closing in 2012, while the weighted index increased

by 8.07 percent, and the KSX-15 recorded 4.02 percent increase.

Sectors’ Indices All of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the red zone. Last week’s biggest loser was the Real Estate sec-

tor, as its index declined by 8.44 percent to end the week’s activity at 1,413.88 points. Whereas, in the second place, the Financial Services sector’s index closed at 1,074.14 points recording 8.39 percent decrease. The Telecommunications sector came in

Sectors’ Activity The Financial Services sector dominated total trade volume during last week with 672.40 million shares changing hands, representing 41.87 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 29.44 percent of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 472.81 million shares. On the other hand, the Financial Services sector ’s stocks were the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD44.39 million or 29.02 percent of last week’s total market trading value. The Real Estate sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover was KD 38.65 million represented 25.27 percent of the total market trading value.

—Prepared by the Studies & Research Depar tment Bayan Investment Co.

GE, XD Electric to drive growth in Mideast power sector DUBAI: With the population in the Middle East expected to grow by 31 percent by 2025, and gross domestic product set to grow at 4.3 percent from 2009-2020,1 there is greater need to build out reliable, safe and efficient electrical infrastructure. Compared to the United States, where electricity consumption per capita is set to grow 0.8 percent annually through 2035, in the Gulf Co-operation Council countries, the increase is set to be at over 2.5 percent.2 Building on its commitment to partner in initiatives that enhance the social and economic welfare of the Middle East and to promote energy sector efficiencies, GE and XD Electric Group have underscored the formation of a new partnership that combines GE’s grid automation capabilities with XD Electric’s comprehensive portfolio of primary high-voltage (HV) equipment.

Originally announced in May 2012, the partnership

expands GE’s capabilities as a leading provider of transmission and distribution (T&D) solutions and creates a new global competitor to provide utilities and energy-intensive industries with HV solutions.

“With over 80 years of presence in the Middle East region, we’re currently focused on grid expansion projects and greenfield network interconnections as we continue to create a modern power grid that is stable, resilient and energy efficient. This is in line with the emphasis that regional governments place on boosting the energy sector infrastructure, with a particular focus on sustainability, to meet growing demand from an increasing population and greater urbanization,” said Jalal Qutob, Regional Product Leader - High Voltage Solutions, GE Digital Energy.

“Adding high-voltage capabilities will help our utility customers to transmit power with minimal losses over long distances and rough terrains-from the generation point to the consumers in large cities. We’ll also continue to eliminate power islands, creating energy reserves and allowing us to more efficiently use a greater supply of energy,” he added.

Through the partnership, GE and XD will offer endto-end T&D solutions to meet growing demand for electricity in the emerging economies of the Middle East where demographic and urbanization trends are creating a need to build out the current grid infrastructure.

According to United Nation’s projections, the urban population in the Middle East and North Africa region is set to be over 280 million by 2020, of an estimated total of 430 million people - accounting for an increase in urban population by 65 percent.3 This increase will require sustained electrical infrastructure investments to support water, power, energy and telecommunications systems. The rise in global electricity demand and population growth is economic drivers leading the expansion of the $100 billion T&D industry.

To prevent grid disruptions and build a strong, resilient grid, utilities will be able to expand their T&D systems with HV transformers, circuit breakers, HV breakers, gas-insulated switchgear and other HV equipment to improve reliability.

Together, GE’s and XD’s combined portfolios will provide utilities with the T&D solutions necessary to outpace these megatrends, increasing their electricity

demand. GE and XD also will provide energy-intensive industries with the HV solutions necessary to meet the rapid electrification of industrial processes.

Modernization of electrical systems is contributing to the industry’s growth, driven by new requirements to integrate renewable and distributed power sources - an ideal fit to the Middle East region, where more governments are setting ambitious renewable energy targets through a diversified energy mix.

The electrification of industrial processes in energyintensive industries, such as mining and metals, will also drive electrical infrastructure investments as they upgrade their equipment to improve the efficiency of their operations.

“Global grid modernization investments will grow by 10 percent over the next five years. This is a growth trend we are prepared to support and have begun to engage customers in fast growth regions,” said Robert Turko, General Manager, Power Delivery, at GE’s Digital Energy Business. “We are not only bringing increased technology capabilities to the region through holistic

solutions to meet power needs from generation to consumption, but we also have a local team on the ground focused on regional trends and partnering with customers from day one.”

XD Electric is one of China’s largest and preeminent HV equipment manufacturers dedicated to the research, application and development of high- and ultra HV transmission and distribution equipment. XD Electric’s technology enables customers to transform and direct the flow of power for industrial, commercial and residential users.

GE is a global provider of grid automation systems that enhance customers’ power reliability and operating efficiency. GE’s global reach, domain expertise and strong customer relationships in both utility and energy-intensive industries such as oil and gas, metals and mining will help the partnership broaden its customer footprint.

Citigroup acted as sole financial advisor to GE on this transaction. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Fangda Partners are GE’s lead legal advisers.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

BUSINESS

Product design added to design category Eurobest opens for entries DUBAI: Eurobest, the European Festival and Awards celebrating creativity in communications, is now accepting entries into 15 categories. Judged by the regions’ top industry professionals, the awards categories available to enter are: Branded Content & Entertainment, Film Craft, Print & Poster Craft, Design, Direct, Film, Integrated, Interactive, Media, Mobile, Outdoor, PR, Promo &

Activation, Print and Radio.

For 2013, changes to the Design Category have seen the introduction of a new sub-category, Product Design - Consumer Goods & Accessories. The introduction of product design at Eurobest is testament to the festivals belief in the importance of communication across all forms of creativity and will offer an exciting new platform that will

celebrate creative excellence in this field.

A number of special awards will also be presented and will honor the Network of the Year, Advertising Agency of the Year, Interactive Agency of the Year, Independent Agency of the Year, the Golden Palm Award, given to the most awarded production company, and the Advertiser of the Year. These will be presented

during the much anticipated Awards Ceremony, which will bring the Festival to an end and see the announcement of all winners and a celebration of Europe’s creative output.

Commenting on the awards, Philip Thomas, CEO of Lions Festivals says, “The theme of this year’s Eurobest is creative bravery, celebrating those ideas that have pushed the limits of creativity.

This theme will run throughout the content program and will doubtless run through the awards too, as we see the truly great work from the region battling it out to take home a sought after Eurobest trophy. It’s always exciting to see the standard of entries that come into these awards and we’re looking forward to honouring and celebrating the best that Europe has to offer this year.”

During the Festival, which runs from 4-6 December in Lisbon, Portugal, exhibitions of the shortlisted work will be available for delegates to view, allowing them to gather inspiration from across the region. Entries into Eurobest can be made through the website at www.eurobest.com where further information on the categories and rules can also be found.

Hollande upbeat over 2014 growth for France Time has come for a ‘pause’ in tax increases

NEW YORK: Jason Hardzewicz, a floor official and trader for Barclays, works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday in New York. — AP

Stocks anxious ahead of economic reports WALL STREET WEEKLY OUTLOOK NEW YORK: Wall Street is bracing for a wave of economic reports next week, including the August jobs report, which might prove decisive in determining whether the economy is strong enough for the Federal Reserve to dial back its bond purchases in mid-September.

Anxiety about the Fed possibly reducing its $85 billion monthly stimulus, also known as QE3, has hurt the stock market, which recorded its steepest monthly fall since May 2012.

But the stock market’s greater anxiety, which has developed in recent weeks, is that the Fed will press ahead with a reduction in support, even as the economy remains fragile. The recent data has failed to provide evidence of the convincing growth the Fed says it wants to see. Until then, stocks will benefit from the cheap money resulting from the Fed’s bond purchases.

“Next week’s data should make or break the September expectations,” said Mike O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich, Connecticut. A strong jobs report will likely reinforce the view the Fed will opt to decrease its bond purchases at its Sept. 17-18 meeting, while a weak one would do the opposite, analysts said.

“From a real economy perspective, QE3 has done very little. From a financial markets perspective, it has had a major influence. If it is really not helping the real economy beyond pushing financial assets higher, there is no point in continuing the risk of increasing the balance sheet,” said O’Rourke.

For the month, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.1 percent in August; the Dow Jones industrial average lost 4.4 percent and the Nasdaq slipped 1 percent.

Speculation on the timing of Fed action has triggered a bond market sell-off that sent mortgage rates to two-year highs. The surge in home borrowing costs this summer has shown signs of slowing the housing recovery. Analysts also are watching if the higher rates have discouraged employers from adding workers.

Economists polled by Reuters forecast domestic employers likely hired 180,000 workers in August, more than 162,000 in July, while the jobless rate likely held steady at 7.4 percent, which is a four-year low. Deutsche Bank economists said that if the payrolls figure exceeds 190,000 and the unemployment rate falls to 7.3 percent, they expect the Fed will start cutting bond purchases. “August employment would have to meaningfully disappoint for the Fed to back away from the timetable presented by Chairman Bernanke in the June post-meeting press conference,” they wrote.

Prior to the payrolls data on Friday, traders will face a heavy schedule of eco-

nomic releases after the three-day holiday weekend. They include the latest readings on vehicle sales and national factory and service activities. US financial markets will close on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

Investors are watching the tense situation between the West and Syria. Signs of a US-led military strike against Syria after chemical weapons were used to kill civilians could hurt the appetite for stocks globally. Traders pared expectations on such a move after the British parliament voted against a military strike. But France said it supported punishing the Syrian government for the attack on civilians. US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday the chemical weapons attack in Damascus last week killed more than 1,400 people.

Despite the sharp moves in equities due to the Syrian unrest, “we still expect the market to stop short of a 10 percent decline,” said Mike Dueker, head economist for North America at Russell Investments in Seattle.

Light volume in late summer likely exaggerated August’s stock decline, analysts said. The uncertainty has also boosted measures of volatility. The CBOE Volatility Index rose above 17 on Friday, a twomonth high. Bonds, in comparison, posted small losses. They were poised to lose 0.54 percent in August, according to Barclays’ Aggregate bond index that tracks US investment-grade debt returns.

While Syria and economic data will be next week’s main concerns, other developments, such as President Barack Obama’s nominee to succeed Ben Bernanke as Fed chief and another possible showdown between Obama and congressional Republicans over the federal debt might keep investors on edge, analysts said.

“There is no doubt that September is teed up for a tsunami of data coming at us and headlines coming at us,” said David Lyon, investment specialist at JP Morgan Private Bank in San Francisco, California, which manages $910 billion in assets.

“So the market will look at September and really start to find its footing based on some of the economic data that comes out as well as clarity around some of these policy decisions at the central bank level or the geopolitical level,” he said . History might complicate that view.

September has traditionally been the worst month for stocks, with an average 0.6 percent decline in the S&P 500 index over the past 62 years, although it rose 2.4 percent last September.

This September marks a milestone - the five-year anniversary of the global credit meltdown during which Wall Street witnessed the downfall of Lehman Brothers, the sale of Merrill Lynch, the near-demise of insurance giant AIG. In that turbulent September 2008, the market tumbled 9.1 percent. — Reuters

HYDERABAD: An Indian vendor arranges fruits on his cart while on a street in Hyderabad on Friday. The continues erosion ous rupee value has sent prices of vegetables and fruits soaring in the country.—AP

PARIS: President Francois Hollande indicated he was more optimistic over France’s economic outlook next year, though he stopped short of committing his government to a new target.

Hollande told the daily Le Monde that a series of reforms conducted since he took office 15 months ago were producing positive effects on the economy and would keep building momentum.

The government’s 2014 growth forecast is currently 1.2 percent, but Les Echos newspaper has reported that it has been working with an unpublished estimate around 0.8 percent as it drafts its budget for next year. “I wager that we will be able to raise the 2014 growth forecast slightly,” Hollande said in an interview with Le Monde.

A presidential aide told Reuters that Hollande had based his remark on the 0.8 percent estimate as suggested by Les Echos. The Bank of

France earlier this month doused hopes of a quick economic rebound when it published a forecast for growth of just 0.1 percent in the third quarter, citing weak domestic demand as a slowing factor.

Second-quarter growth was a relatively robust 0.5 percent, though economists have raised doubts about whether that pace can be kept up because much of that growth was based on one-off factors like energy production in cold weather and firms rebuilding inventories.

Hollande is fighting to kickstart growth through tax credits for companies while battling to bring down record joblessness, but his efforts are being complicated by EU-imposed belttightening aimed at shrinking the public deficit.

The Socialist president said he recognized growing frustration among business leaders with plans to hike corporate taxes in the 2014 budget, saying it was time to ease off hikes.

“Thanks to the major savings achieved, the time has come for a pause (in tax rises) - earlier than we had foreseen,” he said. Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici sought to address anger over high taxes, telling business leaders the increases to be unveiled in an amended 2014 budget next month would be less severe than expected. The government this week outlined the terms of an overhaul of its pension system that will gradually extend the pay-in period to 43 years by 2035 while also nudging up pension contributions paid by workers and employers.

But that reform, like an overhaul of rigid labor rules earlier this year, has been criticized by some economists as being too cautious and failing to fix longstanding structural problems.

“Never before, in the space of 15 months, has France undertaken as many structural reforms,” said Hollande. “These are big steps, judging from the distance covered.” —Reuters

Syria, Fed uncertainty drag US stocks lower NEW YORK CITY: Heading into the last week of August, US stocks were already trending lower in anticipation of a shift away from the Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary stimulus policies.

But markets tumbled further this week as the Syria crisis jumped to the top of the public policy agenda amid talk of Western military action in response to the Assad regime’s alleged use of chemical weapons against its own civilians. Oil prices spiked higher on supply fears as investors worried about potential contagion from the Syrian crisis in the oil-rich Middle East.

“Everything right now is really based on a reaction to Syria, a reaction to the spike in West Texas Intermediate crude” and concerns that higher oil prices will hinder economic growth, said Lee Munson, chief investment officer at Portfolio LLC. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 200.20 points(1.33 percent) to 14,795.02. The broad-based S&P 500 fell 30.53 (1.84 percent) to 1,632.97, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 67.92 (1.86 percent) to 3,589.87.

August was the roughest month for stocks in more than a year. The Dow blue-chip index shed 689.23 points, or 4.45 percent, the largest monthly points and percentage decline since May 2012.

The S&P 500’s 3.13 percent drop also marked the index’s worst month since then. The August swoon on Wall Street came on the heels of a series of all-time records set in prior months. Markets generally expect the Federal Reserve will scale back its aggressive $85 billion a month bond-buying program, perhaps as soon as its September policy meeting. The Fed has said its decision to taper the stimulus, called quantitative easing, depends on data showing continued broad improvement in the economy.

The data has been mixed. This week’s data included some disappointments, such as drops in durable goods orders and pending home sales, and weak consumer spending in July that raised alarms about growth. On the upside, the government’s upgrade on second-quarter economic growth to 2.5 percent from the previous estimate of 1.7 percent was surprisingly robust.

“The market has been positioning for a taper in September,” said Davy Levy, portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management. A key question is whether the program will be slashed by $10 or $20 billion, he said.

“We have a healing banking system and we have an economy that’s expanding and interest rates reflecting, not taper, but higher future growth expectations and that got sidelined a little bit with the Syria thing earlier this week,” said Portfolio’s Munson.

The likelihood of a Syrian military strike fluctuated throughout the week, swaying markets lower as action appeared imminent on Monday and Tuesday, with markets recovering somewhat midweek on easing concerns about a strike.

On Friday, President Barack Obama said he had made no “final decision” on taking military action against Bashar al-Assad’s regime, but made clear the US would take action.

Levy described a “buyer’s strike” on Wall Street in light of the uncertainty surrounding Syria and the Fed and the anemic trading volumes of the August vacation season. “There’s just no impetus to buy,” Levy said.

“We’re heading into a three-day weekend with plenty of uncertainty and we’re also heading into a month with quite a bit of uncertainty.” Next week’s busy economic calendar includes reports on construction spending, the trade deficit, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book and the Institute for Supply Management’s indices on the manufacturing and service sectors.

The week culminates with the Friday report on August job growth and unemployment, a key indicator for the Fed ahead of its September 17-18 monetary policy meeting. Analysts said the Syria crisis and Fed uncertainty will likely limit the upside to equities in the coming weeks. But the market’s medium-term prospects still look good, they said.

Syria should not have a long-term impact on stocks “unless the conflict evolves into something much more expansive,” said Levy. — AFP

Delta, Virgin Atlantic near US antitrust immunity nod WASHINGTON: Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Airways won tentative US approval for antitrust immunity for their proposed transatlantic joint venture, officials said.

The Department of Transportation said it had recommended approving a request by the two airlines for protection from prosecution over antitrust issues, saying the tie-up would likely increase competition. The antitrust immunity “would allow the airlines to operate a joint venture on flights between the United States and the United Kingdom,” the department said on its website.

“The Department tentatively concluded that the alliance would benefit passengers by providing stronger competition with existing alliances in the USEurope market and that it would be unlikely to have anticompetitive effects,” it said.

The department announced a severalweek waiting period for objections. “If the decision is made final, Delta and

Virgin Atlantic would be able to more closely coordinate their operations between North America and the United Kingdom,” it said.

In June, US and EU antitrust authorities approved Delta Air Lines’s proposed purchase of a 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic to build a joint transatlantic service, after determining the deal would not hurt competition. In December Delta announced it would buy the stake from Singapore Airlines for $360 million, with the Virgin Group retaining its 51 percent share.

The deal will put Delta and Virgin Atlantic into a joint venture which will offer as many as 31 round-trip flights between Britain and the United States, including 23 to or from the key LondonHeathrow hub. Delta and Virgin argued that their tie-up would offer more competition to American Airlines and British Airways, whose own cooperation holds a powerful share of the US Heathrow market. — AFP

Gulf Bank winners of Al-Danah daily draws KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah daily draws on August 25, 2013, announcing the names of its winners for the week of August 18 to August 22. The Al-Danah daily draws include draws each working day for two prizes of KD1000 per winner.

The winners are: (Sunday 18/8): Nabeel Abdullah Abdulraheem Taqi, Ahmed Abdulwahab Ahmed Hassan (Monday 19/8): Athar y Hamed Mohammed Al-Khatan, Makiah Abdullah Mohammed Al-Safar (Tuesday 20/8): Saacha Taher Mohammed, Mofeed Mubarak Ali Mubarak (Wednesday 21/8): Mohammed Ali Mohammed Al-Azmy, Abdullah Khaleel Mahmoud Johar Hayat (Thursday 22/8): Mohammed Ahmed Humoud Al-Ajlan, Mufreh Khalaf Khalaf AlKhoyoti 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 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.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

BUSINESS

Nissan announces unprecedented autonomous drive benchmarks DUBAI: Nissan Motor Co, Ltd has announced that the company will be ready with multiple, commercially-viable Autonomous Drive vehicles by 2020.

Nissan announced that the company’s engineers have been carrying out intensive research on the technology for years, alongside teams from the world’s top universities, including MIT, Stanford, Oxford, Carnegie Mellon and the University of Tokyo. Work is already underway in Japan to build a dedicated autonomous driving proving ground, to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2014. Featuring real townscapes - masonry not mock-ups - it will be used to push vehicle testing beyond the limits possible on public roads to ensure the technology is safe.

Nissan’s autonomous driving will be achieved at realistic prices for consumers.

The goal is availability across the model range within two vehicle generations.

“Nissan Motor Company’s willingness to question conventional thinking and to drive progress - is what sets us apart,” said CEO Carlos Ghosn. “In 2007 I pledged that - by 2010 - Nissan would mass market a zero-emission vehicle. Today, the Nissan LEAF is the best-selling electric vehicle in history. Now I am committing to be ready to introduce a new ground-breaking technology, Autonomous Drive, by 2020, and we are on track to realize it.”

Nissan is demonstrating the breadth of the capability of its autonomous drive technology for the first time at Nissan

360, a huge test drive and stakeholder interaction event being held in Southern California. Laser scanners, Around View Monitor cameras, as well as advanced artificial intelligence and actuators, have been installed in Nissan LEAFs to enable them to negotiate complex real-world driving scenarios.

Nissan’s autonomous driving technology is an extension of its Safety Shield, which monitors a 360-degree view around a vehicle for risks, offers warnings to the driver and takes action if necessary.

It is based on the philosophy that everything required should be on board the vehicle, rather than relying on detailed external data. The technology being demonstrated at Nissan 360 means the

car could drive autonomously on a highway - sticking to or changing lanes and avoiding collisions - without a map. It can also be integrated with a standard in-car navigation system so the vehicle knows which turns to take to reach its destination. A revolutionary concept like autonomous drive will have implications throughout the design and construction of cars. For example, collision-avoidance by machines with the capability to react more rapidly and with more complex movements than a human driver will place new demands on the chassis and traction control. Nissan is leveraging 80 years of research and development expertise to create a complete solution for autonomous drive.

A vehicle that looks out for you Six million crashes in the US per year cost $160 billion and rank as the top reason of death for four- to 34-year olds. And, 93% of accidents in the US are due to human error, typically due to inattention. With Autonomous Drive Nissan has the technology today to detect and respond to the situations causing this tragedy. In the future, Autonomous Drive also means less input from the driver; US drivers average 48 minutes per day on the road hundreds of hours a year that could be used more productively. For the aged or those with disabilities, Autonomous Drive offers another benefit: true independence and mobility for all.

ProMedia plays pivotal role in mega Qatar projects

Dubai Inter-Com Program to help Brazilian firms enter Mideast DUBAI: The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) has announced that it is partnering with Fundaco Dom Cabral (FDC), a Brazilian business school that focuses on executive and company development, to organize the Middle Eastern edition of the InterCom Program, which is designed to build capacity in internationalization and competitiveness. Targeted at entrepreneurial leaders and executive officers, the InterCom Middle East will be held in Dubai from November 4 to 7, 2013.

The underlining goal of the four-day program is to assist Brazilian companies which are at an advanced stage with regard to their expansion overseas, develop a consistent internationalization strategy. The event will also serve as an excellent platform to help Brazilian companies get an in-depth understanding of various aspects of conducting business operations in the Middle East, including the region’s financial system and the cultural sensitivities.

A range of highly relevant topics will be addressed during the lectures scheduled for the Inter-Com Middle East, mainly those related to access to credit lines and investments in the Middle East.

Participants will also be updated on the challenges to consolidate the presence of Brazilian companies in Middle Eastern markets and on the requirements to establish a business in the region.

“The Middle Eastern edition of InterCom will prove extremely beneficial to

Brazilian companies who are looking to tap into the numerous investment opportunities available in the region. The program will serve as an ideal platform for participating entrepreneurs to learn more about best business internationalization practices that were aimed at Middle Eastern markets, exchange experiences with peers that already operate in the region, and to gather necessary market information based on the insights shared by scholars and business experts,” said Mauricio Borges, president of Apex-Brasil.

In addition to the events detailed above, Royal Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based consulting company specialized in financial services, recently carried out technical visits to 10 Brazilian companies - from the cosmetics, toiletry and fragrance; civil construction; food & beverage; steel; and mining industries - to update them about the Islamic financial system and the existing credit options in the Middle East.

Besides the participation in discussion forums chaired by international experts who will talk about access to credit lines and investment in different financial centers, the four-day training program in Dubai in November will feature lectures by scholars on internationalization and corporate management in the Middle East. Moreover, representatives from Brazilian companies that already operate in the region will talk about their entry in the Middle East, sharing related mistakes and achievements.

NBK Premium Credit cardholders to enjoy discounts with Etihad KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), continues its Premium Credit Cardholders exclusive discounts in partnership with Etihad Airways.

NBK Premium Credit Cardholders will receive a 10 percent discount on Economy Class and 15 percent discount on Diamond First Class and Pearl Business Class when they book a flight to any Etihad Airways destination.

This promotion is exclusively designed for NBK Premium Credit Cardholders using Visa Infinite, World MasterCard, Visa and MasterCard Platinum, MasterCard Titanium, and Diners Club. NBK Premium Credit

Cardholders can receive the discount when they purchase tickets online using Etihad Airways Kuwait website or via Etihad Airways office, until 8th of June 2014. NBK Premium Credit Cardholders can now enjoy their holidays with Etihad Airways and its worldwide network of routes with this special offer. NBK Premium Credit Cards offer holders a range of great offers and premium discounts as a way of rewarding customers with the best and most exclusive promotions to be found in Kuwait.

NBK Credit Cards are accepted worldwide and are the safest, most convenient and rewarding way to pay.

DOHA: ProMedia, a subsidiary company of Omnix International and the leading Autodesk Gold Partner and distributor of design and engineering software in Qatar, has expressed strong confidence in playing a major role in Qatar’s growing number of multi-billion dollar construction projects. The company is looking to leverage the new Autodesk 2014 design and creation suites across the country’s small and large Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) companies to help design, innovate and deliver projects at a faster pace. ProMedia’s upbeat attitude follows after a recent report from one of the world’s leading professional service firms, showing that Qatar will be investing up to $200 billion in the run-up preparations to the country’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. According to the report, around $140 billion of the expected $200 billion will be spent on transport infrastructure in the next five years. The investment will be spent on new projects like the Hamad International Airport, a new metro system, roads, rail and light rail system. Aside from the development of transport infrastructure, other projects include hotels, football stadiums and Doha’s new port project. The report points out that despite the attention generated by Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it is only recently that the major contract awards have been announced-and are now being awarded at a steady pace. In fact, industry analysts predict that the total number of projects for 2013 alone is expected to reach $56 billion before the end of the fourth quarter. In line with this, ProMedia is aiming to promote the new Autodesk 2014 portfolio, which includes new reality capture software and services that easily incorporate both laser scans and digital photographs of the physical world into the 3D design and engineering process.

“With all eyes focused on Qatar’s development, the country’s AEC segment should prepare itself for

the expected plethora of international companies and organizations that are ready to invest in Doha,” said Nidhin Dev, Business Development Manager, ProMedia. “As the 2022 FIFA World Cup comes closer, Qatar is fast tracking its construction projects to ensure that they successfully host this truly global event. In line with this, we are leveraging Autodesk’s 2014 design and creation suites - flexible and economical software packages that provide AEC professionals with a broader palette of tools to choose from to ensure that design, innovation and project delivery is completed at a faster pace.”

Nidhin Dev, Business Development Manager, ProMedia.

ProMedia, through its vast channel network, has revealed that it will make the new Autodesk 2014 suites available across Qatar. The 2014 suites come in Standard, Premium and Ultimate editions. The AEC industry can benefit from Autodesk AutoCAD Design Suite, Autodesk Building Design Suite and

the Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite. Other features being offered across the three editions include; • All standard editions come with the added AutoCAD Raster Design software.

• The standard edition of the Autodesk Building Design Suite offers access to Autodesk Green Building Studio and energy analysis cloud services, as well as InfraWorks 2014 and the Optimization for Inventor cloud service in the Ultimate edition.

• The premium edition of the Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite includes Autodesk InfraWorks 2014, Autodesk Roads and Highways Module for InfraWorks, Autodesk AutoCAD Utility Design software and for the first time, a single, comprehensive version of Autodesk Revit products that combines tools for architectural design, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering and structural engineering.

These new Autodesk 2014 suites includes Autodesk 360, which connects the desktop to secure and virtually infinite computing power in the cloud, giving users the advantage of being able to rapidly design, visualize, simulate, and share their ideas anywhere, anytime. The suite also introduces Autodesk InfraWorks software and Autodesk InfraWorks 360 cloud services-new tools designed to help accelerate the adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and cloud-based workflows for the planning, design, construction and management of civil infrastructure projects.

Autodesk InfraWorks allows civil engineers and planners to design within the context of the realworld environment, helping to deliver projects, both large and small, by more efficiently managing even large-scale infrastructure models. Lastly, the new additions allow collaboration with a broad set of stakeholders on mobile and desktop platforms and enable communication in new and visually compelling ways.

QNB First officially launched in Kuwait KUWAIT: QNB, the World’s Strongest Bank, announced the launch of its elite and exclusive banking service “QNB First”.

The service is specially designed to meet and exceed the financial needs and expectations of elite clients. QNB First members will have a dedicated Relationship Executive, assigned to them to help manage their financial affairs and to provide them directly with the exclusive QNB First service. QNB First members will also enjoy preferential pricing for banking products and services, and special “free for life” credit cards. Members will also enjoy complimentary access to VIP airport lounges globally. QNB First members will also be able to take advantage of the QNB international branch network with exclusive meeting areas, invitations to exclusive events and access to a full product suite in all QNB markets.

QNB Group has witnessed a rapid international expansion in the recent years. The total number of staff exceeded 13,500 operating through its branch network, subsidiaries and associate companies from over 570 locations in 26 countries, with an ATM network exceeding 1,200 machines.

QNB Group is among the highest rated regional banks from leading credit rating agencies including Standard & Poor’s (A+), Moody’s (Aa3), Fitch (A+) and Capital Intelligence (AA-). The Bank has also been the recipient of many awards from leading international specialized financial publications.

Qatar National Bank (QNB Group) was established in 1964 as the country’s first Qatari-owned commercial bank, has an ownership

structure split between the Qatar Investment Authority (50 percent) and the private sector (50 percent).

QNB Group has steadily grown to be the largest bank in the Middle East and North Africa Region and is by far the leading financial institution in the country with a market share exceeding 45 percent of banking sector assets.

Bloomberg Markets, the leading provider of Business, Financial and Economic news has ranked QNB as the World’s Strongest Bank in its 2012 ranking. The 78 banks in Bloomberg’s ranking list included some of the largest and most renowned financial institutions in the world, with QNB being the only bank from the MENA Region.

The Group recorded a net profit of QR2.1 billion during the first

quarter of 2013, up by 6.7 percent compared to the same period last year, demonstrating QNB Group’s success across business activities and the ability to achieve strong growth in profitability for the benefit of shareholders. Total assets increased by 22.2 percent since 31 March 2012 to QR380 billion, the highest ever achieved by the Group.

QNB Group continued to witness robust international expansion as the Group successfully completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Egypt’s NSGB amounting to 97.12 percent during Q1, 2013. The Group has also extended its regional reach by acquiring stakes in various financial institutions including 35 percent stake in the Jordanbased, the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance (HBTF), 40 percent in

Commercial Bank International (CBI) based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 99.96 percent of the QNBTunisia, 51 percent in the Iraqibased Mansour Bank, 49 percent of the Libyan based Commerce & Development Bank and 20 percent stake in Al Jazeera Finance Company in Doha. QNB Group also retains 51 percent stake in QNBSyria and a 70 percent stake in QNB Kesawan in Indonesia.

With the acquisition of NSGB, the Group’s presence through its subsidiaries and associate companies increased to 25 countries providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services.

The total number of staff exceeded 13,000 operating from over 560 locations, with an ATM network exceeding 1,150 machines.

Burgan Bank revamps Al-Thuraya Account KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday the relaunch of its Al-Thuraya Account, where customers can now win four luxurious Audi R8 cars on a quarterly basis. The new revamp aims at raising the frequency of customers being lucky winners of one of the world’s most admired sports cars.

Al-Thuraya Account is a non-interest bearing default salary that provides multiple features and benefits. The account’s features includes the option to hold money in Kuwaiti dinar or any other major currency, access to account-related services such as standing orders, loans as well as credit cards and much more.

The newly designed Al-Thuraya Account has been re-launched in response to the increasing market demand for highly innovative offerings which provide a higher frequency and incentive of winning for account holders.

Opening an Al-Thuraya account is simple; customers are required to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch and obtain all the necessary details, or simply call the

bank’s Call Center 1804080. For further information, customers can visit the bank’s website on www.burgan.com.

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.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

technology

Chinese shoppers ready to become world leaders online Chinese retailers realign strategies to compete with online rivals SHANGHAI: China’s e-commerce market is expected to leapfrog that of the United States this year to become the world’s largest by total customer spending, management consultancy firm Bain & Company says, and could account for half of all Chinese retail spending within a decade. The change in shopping habits comes as almost half of the country’s 1.3 billion population now have direct access to the Internet, and of that number nearly 80 percent own smart phones or tablets.

China’s e-commerce market has grown at an average rate of 71 percent from 2009 to 2012, versus 13 percent in America, and its total size is expected to reach 3.3 trillion yuan ($539.07 billion) by 2015, Bain & Company said in a report released yesterday. Total spending by Chinese consumers on online shopping reached $212.4 billion in 2012, compared to $228.7 billion in the US, the report said. Chinese companies with retail outlets have had to realign their sales strategies to compete with online rivals who threaten to undercut them in an increasingly competitive market long dominated by e-commerce company Alibaba Group, and others like 360Buy Jingdong.

“It’s a massive change. It just means you need

to be on the web, whether you like it or not,” said Serge Hoffmann, a partner at Bain and co-author of the report. “Whether you’re an online player or an offline player, you need to have a meaningful, credible presence on the web.” While still a small portion of total revenues, the growth of online sales is far outpacing offline sales growth.

Haier Electronics Group, which operates an online stall on Alibaba’s business-to-consumer site Tmall.com, saw its e-commerce revenue jump almost 500 percent to 633 million yuan, or 2 percent of its total revenue, in the first half of 2013, from 106 million yuan in the same period last year. Its total revenue grew 10.2 percent.

Suning Commerce Group saw its e-commerce business rise to 10.6 billion yun in the first half of 2013, an increase of 101 percent on the same period last year.

Soon retail companies may have to take a leap of faith, shutting their bricks and mortar outlets to reduce overhead costs and hope that customers will turn to their online stores, said Nicholas Studholme-Wilson, a senior analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial in Hong Kong. Alibaba, whose Taobao customer-to-customer website is the world’s 10th most visited according to web monitor Alexa, predicts e-commerce will account

for half of all Chinese retail spending in 10 years, from 6 percent now.

“Proliferation of smart devices mean everybody is connected at all times, that’s one of the key drivers for this,” said Studholme-Wilson.

“Another problem you’ve got in China is that retail is so damn expensive. Land costs and labour costs are all really hurting margins.

Whereas it’s actually very easy to set up a shop on Tmall and your costs are massively reduced,” he said.

Infrastructure obstacles Logistics, however, pose a major obstacle to ecommerce development, and Alibaba is now working with Chinese logistics firms to improve nationwide infrastructure and delivery networks, said Shih. Gome Electrical Appliances, whose online revenue now accounts for 5-6 percent of its total earnings of 27 billion yuan, is changing its retail strategy to accommodate the new wave of online customers. The firm closed a total of 35 stores in the first half of this year, said Helen Song, a spokeswoman for Gome. Now the company plans to continue moving away from its physical business to better supply China’s rapidly changing consumer habits. —Reuters

Microsoft joins Google in US spying suit

This image obtained from NASA August 27, 2013 shows from more than 40 countries and 30 US states, people around the world as they shared more than 1,400 images of themselves as part of the Wave at Saturn event organized by NASA’s Cassini mission. That event on July 19, 2013, marked the day the Cassini spacecraft turned back toward Earth to take our picture as part of a larger mosaic of the Saturn system. The images came via Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and email. The mission has assembled this collage from the shared images, using an image of Earth as the base image. —AFP

Nintendo cuts price of Wii U game console by $50 WASHINGTON: Nintendo Co announced Wednesday that it is cutting the price of its Wii U video-game system as it braces for the fall release of competing consoles from Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo will reduce the price of the Wii U deluxe set from $349.99 to $299.99, effective September 20. The company will also release a Wii U bundle featuring “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD,” a remake of the 2003 game, that will also be available September 20 for $299.99.

The Wii U has struggled to find an audience. Nintendo sold 3.61 million of the consoles between the Wii U’s launch last November and the end of June. The company aims to sell 9 million Wii U units over the fiscal year through March 2014. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said in an interview that consumers who have bought the Wii U “love the system” but want more software. Nintendo’s game releases for the rest of 2013 include “Super Mario 3D World,”

“Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze,” “Wii Party U” and “Wii Fit U.” “As long as we create high-quality software we will be able to drive our business,” Fils-Aime said. Regarding the price cut, he said: “Now is the right time to offer better value. This sets us up for a strong holiday season.” Sony’s new console, the PlayStation 4, is due November 15 with a $399 price tag.

Microsoft has not announced an exact launch date for its new Xbox One, which will cost $499.

Nintendo also announced a new handheld gaming device that will join its successful DS line. The Nintendo 2DS, coming Oct. 12 for $129.99, will play all DS and 3DS games - although it will not display the latter games’ three-dimensional graphics. Like Nintendo’s DS models, the 2DS has two screens; unlike them, it does not fold up. Fils-Aime said the 2DS is intended to appeal to “the entry-level consumer looking for lowerpriced access to a fantastic library.” —AP

Facebook allows collaborative online photo albums SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook on Monday began letting members collaborate on shared online photo albums at the leading social network. The Shared Album feature was to be introduced slowly, first becoming available to a small group of Englishlanguage users before gradually spreading across the social network. “A shared album is an album that multiple people can upload photos to,” Facebook said in an online post explaining the new feature.

“When you make an album shared, you can add your friends as contributors,” the post continued. “This allows them to add, view and edit photos in

the album.” Previously, Facebook members could only add photos to their own online albums at the social network. The new feature, inspired by feedback from Facebook users, is intended to let friends or family members collaborate on photo albums memorializing shared events or occasions. Facebook members can invite as many as 50 friends to contribute digital photos to online albums. Privacy settings allow sharing of albums to be limited to those who contribute or opened to friends of contributors or the public, according to Facebook. —AFP

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft on Friday said that a battle to shed light on secret US government requests for Internet user data would play out in court after failed peace talks. Microsoft and Google filed suits in federal court in June, arguing a right to make public more information about user data requests made under the auspices of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The technology titans agreed six times to extend the deadline for the government to respond to the lawsuits, allowing time for negotiations that “ended in failure,” Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said in a blog post.

“To followers of technology issues, there are many days when Microsoft and Google stand apart,” Smith said. “But today our two companies stand together... We believe we have a clear right under the US Constitution to share more information with the public.” Silicon Valley Internet titans want to be able to provide users with better insight into what information the government gets its hands on.

The issue caught fire after Edward Snowden, a former IT contractor at the National Security Agency (NSA), revealed that US authorities were tapping into Internet user data, sometimes using national security letters that bar companies from telling anyone about the requests.

US officials on Thursday said they would begin publishing annual tallies of national security requests for Internet user data, but that step is not enough, according to Smith.

“For example, we believe it is vital to publish information that clearly shows the number of national security demands for user content, such as the text of an email,” Smith said. He argued that, along with providing numbers of requests, disclosures should provide context regarding what is being sought. “We believe it’s possible to publish these figures in a manner that avoids putting security at risk,” Smith said.

“With the failure of our recent negotiations, we will move forward with litigation in the hope that the courts will uphold our right to speak more freely.” There has been a wave of legal action since revelations in the media about the PRISM program, believed to collect vast amounts of phone and Internet data as part of efforts to protect national security. Internet companies have stated they release information only in response to specific court orders, and claim that reports about providing easy access to US authorities are exaggerated. US authorities insist the surveillance programs are entirely lawful and have helped thwart dozens of terror attacks. —AFP

TOKYO: A Google Japan employee displays the new “Nexus 7” tablet produced

by Taiwan’s computer maker Asus in Tokyo on August 26, 2013. The Nexus 7 will go on sale in Japan today. —AFP

Google Android executive poached by China’s Xiaomi NEW YORK CITY: China’s Xiaomi has poached a key Google executive involved in the tech giant’s Android phones, in a move seen as a coup for the rapidly growing Chinese smartphone maker. Hugo Barra, who was Google’s vice president in charge of Android product management, said in a blog post late Wednesday that he is joining Xiaomi to help them expand their business outside China, where they already have some market share, but are well behind Samsung and Apple.

“After nearly 5 1/2 years at Google and almost 3 years as a member of the Android team-the most amazing group of people I’ve ever worked with in my life-I have decided to start a new career chapter,” Barra wrote. “In a few weeks, I’ll be joining the Xiaomi team in China to help them expand their incredible product portfolio and business globally - as Vice President, Xiaomi Global.” “I’m really looking forward to this new challenge, and am particularly excited about the opportunity to continue to help drive the Android ecosystem.” Android is the Google-developed smartphone operating system that is battling with systems from Apple and Microsoft for dominance in the smartphone market. It is already offered on Samsung and other phones. But Xiaomi staked out in just two years a 2.5 percent share in the coveted Chinese market, according to Analysys International, with a strategy of discount prices for phones with high-end features.

Xiaomi was co-founded by a former Google executive, Lin Bin. “We wish Hugo Barra the best,” Google said in an email

response to an AFP inquriy. “We’ll miss him at Google and we’re excited that he is staying within the Android ecosystem.” Google gives Android mobile operating system software away free to gadget makers and banks on making money from its search, email, maps and other online services tailored to work well on the resulting devices.

International Data Corporation reported early this month that smartphones powered by Android software increased their global market share as iPhones lost ground in the absence of new models being unleashed by Apple. Android’s share of the smartphone market grew to 79.3 percent in the second quarter while that of iPhone slipped to 13.2 percent from 16.6 percent in the same three-month period last year, according to IDC figures.

While analysts believe Apple is well positioned to recapture market share with the release later this year of new iPhone models, there is pressure for a low-price version of the smartphone tailored for the China market. Barra’s move is a win for Xiaomi while likely to have little to no effect on Google or the California company’s Android team, according to S&P Capital IQ analyst John Kessler.

“Xiaomi is a really exciting and interesting story when it comes to spartphones in China, a very large market with very big opportunities,” Kessler said. “Getting someone from Google Android’s upper-level management presumably tells something about perceived opportunities for Xiaomi.”

“We don’t really look at it as having an impact on Google,” he noted. —AFP

GameStop Expo offers taste of next-gen games LAS VEGAS: Inside the massive complex on the Las Vegas Strip that houses the glitzy Venetian casino and Sands convention center, amid a soundscape of conflicting noises, thousands of players are mashing buttons while staring intently at flickering screens. They’re not playing slots or video poker. No, they’re trying their hand at upcoming games such as “Titanfall” and “Ryse.”

This is the GameStop Expo. The world’s largest video game retailer first organized the gathering of its most passionate customers last year during its annual meeting of store managers. While the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles is no longer open to the public, the GameStop Expo offers everyday gamers a chance to preview upcoming titles and hardware.

The expo’s more than 5,000 attendees waited in snaking lines inside a cavernous Sands Expo hall early Wednesday to test-drive Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4, the next-generation systems due out this November. “Call of Duty: Ghosts,” ‘’Titanfall,” ‘’Ryse: Son of Rome” and “Battlefield 4” were among the most popular games on display.

“I’m here to see and play all the next-gen consoles and games for myself,” Shawn Smoak, a 22year-old self-professed “Sony fanboy,” said while waiting to try out “Titanfall.” ‘’You can read everything you possibly can about them online, but until you actually get your hands on the controller, you don’t really know anything. That’s what this is all about.”

Along with providing glimpses of such upcoming games as “Batman: Arkham Origins” and “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag,” the expo also included panels, giveaways, photo booths, costume contests and free chocolate ice cream dispensed from a truck promoting the “South Park: The Stick of Truth” game.

The event was just part of GameStop’s purpose in Vegas. Beyond the expo hall in meeting rooms at the Venetian casino and Sands convention center, more than 5,000 managers from

company’s nearly 4,500 stores in the U.S. spent three days learning all about how to sell new games and hardware to customers like those at its expo. The retailer currently boasts about 25 million members in its PowerUp Rewards program.

GameStop launched the gamer gathering last year after the Grapevine, Texas-based company’s international divisions successfully hosted their own events. (Last year’s EB Games Expo in Australia welcomed more than 30,000 attendees.) Admission for Wednesday’s event ranged from $20 for student tickets to $100 for VIP access that included early entry.

“We didn’t want to be in the live events busi-

ness,” said GameStop CEO Paul Raines. “This was something that was pulled out of us. The customers wanted it. The PowerUp Rewards community was asking for us to give them an opportunity to see new products and games. People love it because this is the only place where they can play ‘Titanfall’ right now.”

Raines declined to release pre-order sales data, but he expects this holiday season’s console launches to be the biggest in history and provide some much-needed luck to both GameStop and the gaming industry, which has seen sales slide in recent years as Microsoft Corp.’s 7-year-old Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.’s 6-year-old PlayStation 3 have entered their twilight years. —AP

LAS VEGAS: An attendee takes photos of the Xbox One at the GameStop Expo in Las Vegas. —AP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Support flows in for sick desert tortoises LAS VEGAS: News that hundreds of threatened desert tortoises face euthanasia with the pending closure of a refuge near Las Vegas has generated a storm of reaction that has government officials scrambling to find alternatives and fielding offers from people wishing to adopt the reptiles or make donations. The Associated Press reported this week that the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center, which has sheltered thousands of displaced tortoises for 23 years, is scheduled to close in 2014 as funding runs out. As the location just south of Las Vegas begins to ramp down, it is euthanizing tortoises deemed too unhealthy to return to the wild. Healthy tortoises won’t be killed. US Fish and Wildlife Service desert tortoise recovery coordinator Roy Averill-Murray estimated last week that about 50 percent to 60 percent of the 1,400 tortoises that live at the refuge were sick. Such tortoises cannot be released into the wild because they could infect their healthy wild brethren. The estimate prompted a public outcry and debate among the various agencies connected to the refuge about the number of at-risk tortoises. It also forced the agency to issue a statement assuring the public that no healthy tortoises will be killed but saying that euthanasia is the only option for many of the animals because they are sick. Fish and Wildlife also assigned four people to field calls and put a message about the situation on its spokeswoman’s answering machine.

Deputy Fish and Wildlife Service director Carolyn Wells said Wednesday that the 50 percent estimate of sick tortoises at the facility may be correct, but added that not all of the ailing ani-

mals will be killed. Some of them could potentially go to research facilities, she said, though she could not say how many, and she does not yet have commitments from biologists.

Fish and Wildlife operates the center in conjunction with the San Diego Zoo. Allyson Walsh, associate director for the zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research, said just 30 percent of the residents are receiving medical treatment, though some others have been quarantined and need new evaluations.

“The ones that don’t get better and that are sick and suffering will probably be euthanized because that’s the sensible thing to do,” she said. She disputed the notion that budget cuts are forcing the reptiles to be put down.

Although the center has housed sickly tortoises for years, Walsh said they eventually would have been euthanized anyway.

Walsh said sick tortoises cannot be adopted out and she has not been contacted by any researchers interested in taking in the sick animals. “That’s a possibility but we wouldn’t transfer an animal to anyone who was doing destructive research,” she said. The right thing to do for a sick animal is euthanize it, she said. Seth Webster disagrees. Webster, a 36 year old programmer from New York, created a Change.org petition that together with a similar one on the site has drawn more than 3,000 signatures. He said he is working with a Florida tortoise refuge that recently bought land in Nevada to see if Fish and Wildlife will transfer the tortoises, or at least let an outside evaluator decide which animals are so sick they should be killed.

“Animals have a very strong will to

survive,” he said. “These tortoises live to 100 years. If we euthanize him, are we robbing him of 30 years? It doesn’t seem fair to euthanize them just because the tortoises are sick and someone ran out of money.”

Desert tortoises have made their rocky homes in Utah, California, Arizona and Nevada for 200 million years. But the prehistoric animal has some unfortunate evolutionary quirks, including a susceptibility to flu-like respiratory infections and difficulties settling in to new homes. They are also sensitive to change as the tortoises sometimes dehydrate themselves by voiding a year’s worth of stored water when handled.

These weaknesses have combined with widespread habitat destruction in the quickly developing Southwest to dramatically reduce the tortoises’ numbers. The Bureau of Land Management has partially funded the conservation center through fees imposed on developers who disturb tortoise habitat, but when the housing bubble burst several years ago, that funding dropped far below what was needed to run the center.

“Here’s an upside to this. It’s gone international,” US Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Jeannie Stafford said.

“We have gotten hundreds of people saying they would like to adopt.

Thousands of people signing petitions.

It’s been people wanting to help us with the situation.”

But most of the would-be tortoise Good Samaritans cannot actually adopt the animals. Federal laws intended to protect the reptiles ban their transportation across state lines.

People who live in Nevada can adopt the slowpokes through the Desert

Tortoise Group. But they should know that owners who kill or release their long-lived pets could face prison time.

The Humane Society of the United States is setting up a fund this week for out-of-staters who want to help but cannot take a tortoise home. Despite the overwhelming response, the Bureau of Land Management is not reconsidering its plan to pull funding that goes toward the center’s $1 million annual budget.

“Although it’s wonderful that people want to give money, it won’t

change the outcome for the Desert Conservation Center,” BLM spokeswoman Erica Haspiel-Szlosek said. “ There just isn’t money to keep it going, nor is it really the best use of conservation funds.”

The agency plans to redirect the $810 fee that developers pay for each acre of tortoise habitat they disturb to environmental preservation efforts.

The center has historically taken in about 1,000 tortoises a year, but will stop accepting new residents in coming months. — AP

PORTLAND: In this Tuesday, photo, community health worker Ruby Ibarra, left, speaks with Pedro Madera, center, and his wife, Felicia Iterian, about Madera’s health in the couple’s basement apartment in Portland, Ore. Public and private health organizations are increasingly using outreach workers like Ibarra to work with patients on avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations. Health care costs have been growing faster than inflation and wages, chewing up a growing share of the budget for businesses, individuals and families.—AP

Study finds poverty reduces brain power Study analysed farmers in India, shoppers in US

KISMAYO: A handout photogragh taken 19 August 2013 and released by the African Union-United Nations Information Support Team yesterday shows a woman and her child waiting to see a doctor at a free medical clinic provided by the Kenyan contingent serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in the southern Somali port city of Kismayo. — AFP

Scientists grow ‘mini human brains’ from stem cells LONDON: Scientists have grown the first mini human brains in a laboratory and say their success could lead to new levels of understanding about the way brains develop and what goes wrong in disorders like schizophrenia and autism.

Researchers based in Austria started with human stem cells and created a culture in the lab that allowed them to grow into socalled “cerebral organoids” - or mini brains that consisted of several distinct brain regions. It is the first time that scientists have managed to replicate the development of brain tissue in three dimensions.

Using the organoids, the scientists were then able to produce a biological model of how a rare brain condition called microcephaly develops - suggesting the same technique could in future be used to model disorders like autism or schizophrenia that affect millions of people around the world.

“This study offers the promise of a major new tool for understanding the causes of major developmental disorders of the brain ... as well as testing possible treatments,” said Paul Matthews, a professor of clinical neuroscience at Imperial College London, who was not involved in the research but was impressed with its results.

Zameel Cader, a consultant neurologist at Britain’s John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, described the work as “fascinating and exciting”. He said it extended the possibility of stem cell technologies for understanding brain development and disease mechanisms - and for discovering new drugs.

Although it starts as relatively simple tissue, the human brain swiftly develops into the most complex known natural structure, and scientists are largely in the dark about how that happens. This makes it extremely difficult for researchers to gain an understanding of what might be going wrong in and therefore how to treat - many common disorders of the brain such as depression, schizophrenia and autism. To create their brain tissue, Juergen Knoblich and Madeline Lancaster at Austria’s Institute of Molecular Biotechnology and fellow researchers at Britain’s Edinburgh University Human Genetics Unit began with human stem cells and grew them with a special combination of nutrients designed to capitalise on the cells’ innate ability to organise into complex organ structures.

They grew tissue called neuroectoderm the layer of cells in the embryo from which all components of the brain and nervous system develop. Fragments of this tissue were then embedded in a scaffold and put into a spinning bioreactor - a system that circulates oxygen and nutrients to allow them to grow into cerebral organoids.

After a month, the fragments had organised themselves into primitive structures that could be recognised as developing brain regions such as retina, choroid plexus and cerebral cor tex, the researchers explained in a telephone briefing.

At two months, the organoids reached a maximum size of around 4 millimetres (0.16 inches), they said. Although they were very small and still a long way from resembling anything like the detailed structure of a fully developed human brain, they did contain firing neurons and distinct types of neural tissue. “This is one of the cases where size doesn’t really matter,” Knoblich told reporters. “Our system is not optimised for generation of an entire brain and that was not at all our goal. Our major goal was to analyse the development of human brain (tissue) and generate a model system we can use to transfer knowledge from animal models to a human setting.”

In an early sign of how such mini brains may be useful for studying disease in the future, Knoblich’s team were able to use their organoids to model the development of microcephaly, a rare neurological condition in which patients develop an abnormally small head, and identify what causes it.

Both the research team and other experts acknowledged, however, that the work was a very long way from growing a fully-functioning human brain in a laboratory. “The human brain is the most complex thing in the known universe and has a frighteningly elaborate number of connections and interactions, both between its numerous subdivisions and the body in general,” said Dean Burnett, lecturer in psychiatry at Cardiff University.

“Saying you can replicate the workings of the brain with some tissue in a dish in the lab is like inventing the first abacus and saying you can use it to run the latest version of Microsoft Windows - there is a connection there, but we’re a long way from that sort of application yet.” — Reuters

LONDON: Poverty and the all-consuming fretting that comes with it require so much mental energy that the poor have little brain power left to devote to other areas of life, according to the findings of an international study published last week. The mental strain could be costing poor people up to 13 IQ (intelligence quotient) points and means they are more likely to make mistakes and bad decisions that amplify and perpetuate their financial woes, researchers found.

“Our results suggest that when you are poor, money is not the only thing in short supply.

Cognitive capacity is also stretched thin,” said Harvard economist Sendhil Mullainathan, part of an international team that conducted the study.

In a series of experiments, researchers from Harvard, Princeton and other universities in North America and from Britain’s University of Warwick found that pressing financial worries had an immediate impact on poor people’s ability to perform well in cognitive and logic tests.

Far from signalling that poor people are stupid, the results suggest those living on a tight budget have their effective brain power, or what the researchers called “mental bandwidth”, dramatically limited by the stress of making ends

meet. On average, someone weighed down by money woes showed a drop in cognitive function in one part of the study that was comparable to a 13 point dip in IQ, and similar to the performance deficit expected from someone who has missed a whole night’s sleep.

“Previous views of poverty have blamed (it) on personal failings, on an environment that is not conducive to success,” said Jiaying Zhao, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

“We are arguing that the lack of financial resources itself can lead to impaired cognitive function,” she said. Eldar Shafir, a professor of psychology and public affairs at Princeton who worked on the research team, said it was not stress in general, but financial worries in particular, that led to a reduced ability to make sound decisions. “The poor are often highly effective at focusing on and dealing with pressing problems,” he said. “But they don’t have leftover bandwidth to devote to other tasks.

“So, if you live in poverty, you’re more error prone and errors cost you more dearly-it’s hard to find a way out.” The researchers studied two very different groups - shoppers at a mall in New

Jersey in the United States, and sugar cane farmers in rural India. In the mall study, they gathered dozens of low and middle-income shoppers and subjected them to a battery of tests to measure IQ and impulse control.

Half of the participants were first asked to think about what they would do if their car broke down and the repair cost $1,500 designed to kick off worries about money. It was among these people that performance dipped significantly.

In India, the researchers found that farmers had diminished cognitive performance before getting paid for their harvest compared to afterwards, when their coffers have been replenished. “One month after the harvest, they’re pretty rich, but the month before - when the money has run out - they’re pretty poor,” Mullainathan said in a report of the research, which was published on Thursday in the journal Science. “What we see is that IQ goes up, (when they are rich)... errors go way down, and response times go way down.” He said the effect in India was about twothirds the size of the effect in the mall study equal to around nine or 10 IQ points difference from one month to the next. —Reuters

Use of sleeping pills highest among older Americans WASHINGTON: Older US adults, particularly women, are more likely to use prescription sleep medications to try to get the minimum seven hours of sleep experts generally recommend, US data released showed. Use of such pills, which include Sanofi SA’s Ambien and other similar drugs, was significantly higher for those in their 50s as well as age 80 and older, according to the findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overall about 8.6 million people, or 4 percent of US adults reported recently using sleep medication, CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics said in a

report. But data showed higher use among middle-aged adults ages 50 to 59 and the elderly.

Six percent of those ages 50 to 59 said they had taken a prescription sleep pill in the last 30 days, and 7 percent of those age 80 and older reported such use. In between, the numbers dip slightly below 6 percent for those in their 60s and 70s.

In comparison, just 2 percent of those aged 2039 said they had recently taken a sleep aid. CDC researcher Yinong Chong said people in their 50s could have trouble sleeping because of work and family stress. “It gives the picture of a sandwiched

MANILA: Models dressed as astronauts jump during a selection process for the first Filipino to be sent to space, dubbed Apollo national challenge, at a park in Manila yesterday. From around 28,000 applicants, the selection was trimmed to 400 where the best two were selected, and will be sent to Axe Apollo space camp in the US in December for astronaut training along with over a hundred other candidates from all over the world. A total of 20 tickets will be awarded to successful participants, a possibility to be sent to space. — AFP

group who has family, not only children but also probably elderly parents but still you’re likely to be in the workforce, so you get squeezed at both ends in terms of family responsibility and job responsibility,” she said. Sleep may improve when people retire before potential chronic health problems kick in and begin interfering with sleep, Chong said, adding more study is needed. The data also showed that 5 percent of women surveyed said they had recently taken a sleep aid compared to about 3 percent of male respondents, according to CDC’s report. Chong said it was not clear why women were more likely to use the drugs. While previous data have tracked prescriptions dispensed for sleep aids, the CDC said its study is the first based on a survey of actual use of such drugs. Researchers for the Atlanta-based health agency’s National Center for Health Statistics questioned a sampling of adults age 20 and older about whether they had used prescription sleep aids within the last 30 days and asked participants to show interviewers the prescription medication.

“You get how many people are actually using them,” Chong said in an interview, noting that prescription data could include multiple prescriptions for one patient or prescriptions that are never filled or even used. “This is actual use.”

Prescription sleep aids have become somewhat controversial because their effect can linger even after some patients wake up.

The US Food and Drug Administration has begun taking a closer look at sleep drugs, ordering lowerdoses for Ambien and similar pills amid concerns that their active ingredient remained in patients’ blood the following morning at levels high enough to make driving and other activities dangerous. And just last month, the FDA rejected an experimental sleep drug from Merck & Co Inc, saying the proposed doses were not safe but that a lower-dose version might be acceptable. Not surprisingly, respondents to CDC’s study who said they slept five hours or less each night or those diagnosed with a sleep disorder were more likely to report using prescription aids. Additionally, more whites and people with higher levels of education also reported greater use, the agency said.— Reuters

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 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.”

Humans spend a third of their lives sleeping

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his week we will deviate from our usual coverage of pathological processes and diseases to talk about a physiologic process normally experienced by all humans, so much so, that we take it for granted, that is, until we lose it.

That process is sleep. We spend a third of our life sleeping, and without it we can literally stop functioning. Thomas Edison claimed it was a waste of time, but even he slept. So exactly why do we sleep? That question is yet to be answered.

Despite years of research and volumes of papers written on this topic, we still do not know the specific reason behind it; however, there are a number of theories that attempt to explain this vague but necessary process that we go through. The restorative theory states that sleep occurs to restore the body’s cells and increase healing. Proof of this theory is that healing is impaired during sleep deprivation. Another theory is the “ontogenic hypothesis” which states that the active

phase of sleep (or REM sleep) is what is responsible for the growth of humans from their neonatal to mature state. Another important benefit of sleeping is the organization and solidifying of information and memories; so in lay man terms, don’t stay up late at night studying you won’t be able to remember the info in the morning if you don’t get your sleep.

So what happens if we don’t get enough sleep?

You would be surprised how much sleep deprivation can affect our day to day functioning. A recent study showed that after 17 hours without sleep our degree of functioning is equivalent to someone with a blood alcohol level of 0.05% and those staying awake for longer hours function at the same level of someone with a blood alcohol level of 0.1%, which is above the legal limit in both the US and UK. To put it simply, you are basically drunk if you’re sleep deprived. However, that is not the only risk associated with sleeplessness.

Chronic sleep deprivation increases your risk of diabetes, stroke, heart disease, osteoporosis and even cancer! It might even kill you. In fact, short sleepers have been found to die younger of any cause than people who sleep about 6.5 to 7.5 hours a night.

Despite the importance of sleep, a considerable amount of the population seems to have trouble getting it. This is where sleep hygiene comes into play. “Sleep hygiene” is the term used to describe good sleep habits. Considerable research has gone into developing a set of guidelines and tips which are designed to enhance good sleeping, and there is much evidence to suggest that these strategies can provide longterm solutions to sleep difficulties. An important tip is having a regular sleeping schedule, and making sure that you go to bed at around the same time every night, in addition, going to bed when you are actually tired is a great help.

Make sure you avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine, as all those will disturb your sleep cycle.

Furthermore, providing a comfortable, dark, sleeping environment and using your bed and that environment solely for sleeping is one of the greatest ways to battle sleeplessness. This small change will “train” your body to feel sleepy whenever you get in your bed. Other elements of a healthy sleeping habit include regular exercise (but never close to bedtime) and a balanced diet, with avoidance of heavy meals prior to your bedtime. The take home message here is that sleep is much more important than it may seem and maintaining a healthy amount of it can contribute leaps and bounds to our health, hence it should not be taken for granted. Just remember, that all the information mentioned above are tips that will help you sleep, but if you persist to have a problem falling or staying asleep never hesitate to contact your physician and seek his/her advice. Stay healthy Kuwait!

Gut, not gluttony makes quitting smokers gain weight

This undated file photo shows a humpback whale jumps out of the waters off Hawaii. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is launching a review of whether it should take North Pacific humpback whales off the endangered species list. NOAA Fisheries is responding to a petition filed by a group of Hawaii fishermen saying the whale should no longer be classified as endangered because its population has steadily grown since the international community banned commercial whaling nearly 50 years ago.— AP

GENEVE: Nervous nibbles alone do not explain the weight that people tend to gain when they give up smoking, Swiss researchers said , turning the spotlight instead on a bacterial shift in the intestines.

Studies have shown that quitting smoking leads to an average weight gain of four to five kilogrammes (nine to 11 pounds) in the first year.

But according to researchers at Zurich University Hospital, former smokers who bulk up may not be eating more than before they kissed their cigarettes goodbye. Noting that even people who cut back on calorie intake after quitting smoking tend to gain weight, Professor Gerhard Rogler said he and his colleagues had discovered another potential explanation: a change in the composition of the intestinal flora among smokers who kick the habit.

Their study, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and published in peer-reviewed scientific journal PLoS One, found that when a person stops smoking, the diversity of bacterial strains in their intestines shifts.

It more resembles the gut flora found in people with obesity. Both recent non-smokers and obese people tend to have more of two bacteria types, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, Rogler told AFP. These germs are believed to use energy more efficiently and break down otherwise indigestible fibres-and as a result, more of what the person eats is transformed into fat rather than excreted as waste.

The researchers studied the genetic profile of intestinal bacteria found in faecal samples provided by 20 volunteers over nine weeks. The participants comprised five nonsmokers, five smokers and 10 people who had quit smoking one week after the study began. Little difference was seen in the bacterial biodiversity among the persistent smokers and non-smokers. But among those who had just given up smoking, there was a clear shift towards more Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, the study showed. Over the study period, the people who had quit smoking also gained an average of 2.2 kilos (4.8 pounds), even though they insisted that their eating and drinking habits were

unchanged. “Under the same living conditions, they gained weight after the cessation of smoking, and they showed a change in the microbiota,” Rogler said.

While researchers have yet to prove a clear connection between the two developments, he pointed out that a number of other studies have also showed a link between intestinal bacteria and weight gain. On Wednesday, a study published in the journal Nature found that individuals with low bacterial “richness” in their intestines were more prone to obesity and associated diseases such as diabetes, heart and cholesterol problems. Six bacterial species appear to play a key role in promoting this diversity. Rogler said that more research was needed to answer the many questions that arise from such discoveries. But he said it was clear we should pay more attention to how the environment influences gut functions. “Nobody believed the people who stopped smoking and said they weren’t eating more but still gained weight. Perhaps we simply should be more willing to believe what people tell us,” he said.— AFP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

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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

Professor Aziz in Kuwait

Greetings

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appy birthday to our dear son Maxwell. May God guide and protect you. Greetings from dad, mom, sister, friends and well-wishers.

Enjoy the taste of true Espresso at Vergnano Cafe at Olympia Complex

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he superior quality of the blends comes from the meticulous selection of the best raw materials available, and from an extraordinary production process. Cafe Vergnano is the first to introduce an innovation that brings all the passion and pleasure of the perfect

espresso to everyday life at home.

Espresso is now available in Kuwait, through Al-Sanabel Al-Thahabiya Est. Tel: 22413795/98. Espresso Vergnano can be ordered through www.taw9eel.com Espresso Vergnano capsules are compatible with other espresso machines.

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rofessor Amir Aziz is currently on visit to Kuwait by invitation from Ministry of Health. He is a famous orthopedic surgeon. The spinal and joint replacement surgery is his specialty. He graduated from King Edward medical college Lahore, Pakistan and later went to United kingdom for specialization.

During his stay in Kuwait he performed number of difficult spinal surgeries and trained local doctors. Recently European spinal association gave him the best

teacher award. Dr Shuja Ud Din, president Society of Pakistani doctors in Kuwait (SPDK) arranged a reception in his honor where he talked about Pakistan and its first spine trauma center.

This state of the art hospital is built by a charity organization and is offering free medical services to poor people. The hospital is also a recognized center by college of physician and surgeon, for orthopedic and spine surgery training.

Harbhajan Singh Vedi: A salute to a great man

By Shireen Passi Chopra

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any, many happy returns of the day to Pathan Amrith Khah. Best wishes from father Amanullah Khan, mother Khairunnisa Begum, Ghousiya, Khubiyan Munni, Shabana, Shakir, Karimullah, Hassanuddin, Sadaq Ali, Sujjad, Imtiaz Khan, Saleem Khan, Khader Khan, Gayaz Khan, Fayaz Khan, Mahaboob Khan, Shaik Samiullah, Mogul Ghouse and near and dear ones from Kuwait and India.

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appy birthday to Maha Irfan who celebrates his birthday today. Best greetings from Taha Irfan and all family members.

Announcements 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

if she doesn’t want the job I’ve offered her, and wants to wait for a better one, then don’t force her! like that she doesn’t settle for just anything that comes along.

Shireen, I see that you are hardworking and determined, and you know what you want! Never lose that quality!”

It was 11 years ago when someone had said these words. And 11 years hence, only the words remain, and not the man who had spoken them, snatched away from us by the treacherous hands of cancer! Even today, the man’s words echo in my ears every single time that I endeavour to spread my wings and take up something in life.

Harbhajan Singh Vedi - the friend, philosopher and guide - whose prolific words and attitude in everything he did in his life, reflective of years of experience and wisdom, have not just motivated and enriched me, but many who were fortunate to know him. “Never settle for anything less when you deserve much more!” he used to say, “Best is never good enough, do better.... soar higher!” - these words that remain within the deep recesses of my subconscious, and surface only in whispers in my mind every time I need the strength, physical and mental, to “do better”, “soar higher”.

Vedi often recounted his life over many social gettogethers hosted in his beautiful, cosy home, fondly telling us how he and a few friends came trekking to Kuwait with just a backpack and a few bare essentials.

The rest he never said, but it was never needed to be.... it was for all to see how from a junior design architect,who started as an employee like many others in Kuwait, he single-handedly, tirelessly, and astutely worked to make a mark for himself, emerging as one of the leading architects in Kuwait, and one of the most prominent, not to mention affluent, Indian figures in Kuwait, having established his own architecture company, ‘Said Breik Consulting Engineers’, which quickly grew to become so respected and reputed for its profession-

alism and proficiency that the Kuwait royal family requested the great architect to design and construct their palaces and other royal buildings, with the outcome being the formation of a long association and friendship between the late Amir of Kuwait HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah - another great luminary and cherished figure of Kuwait!

In fact, a few years back, when HH the Amir was taken to London for a major surgery, Vedi was the sole representative from the Indian Community in Kuwait, who wished the smiling and upbeat Amir speedy recovery and presented him with a giant bouquet of flowers, on behalf of the Indian community back home.

Even when the clouds of destruction had ravaged and darkened the glorious days of Kuwait, with the 1991 Iraq invasion of Kuwait, Vedi, with his astute farsightedness and organizational skills, had rallied all his resources, and along with the involvement of the Indian Government, and its representative - I K Gujral (who later became the Prime Minister of India), Vedi was instrumental in facilitating the safe repatriation of the Indian people to their motherland.

In the years to follow, Vedi would establish a weekly newspaper, ‘The Times’, which highlighted and discussed the current social, economic and political issues.

His sole endeavour through this venture was to keep the Indian community in Kuwait abreast with the events taking place back home, and to bring them closer to their country.

A distinguished member of the Indian community in Kuwait, Vedi was one of a select few who were offered the esteemed membership of the Indian Business Council of Kuwait which has brought together Indian businessmen and professionals to project the strengths, capabilities and opportunities of the Indian economy, including its corporate and private sectors, to Kuwaiti and International business groups - in a bid to promote business, trade and investment activities for the council members in Kuwait, India and other parts of the world.

On the personal front, an entirely self-made man,

Vedi lived life on his own terms, and indeed king-size.

He not only stood for, and lived by certain values and principles, he also liked people who possessed these values, such as hard work, dedication, devotion to one’s work, discipline, and a never-give-up outlook.

In his direct and outspoken wit that he was so famous for, he,ever so often, used to say, “Fools are those who are not aware of the qualities that they possess, and even more foolish are the ones who are aware of their potential, but are too complacent or not hardworking enough to make something spectacular out of it! And I have the time or the inclination for none!”

In Vedi’s demise, we have lost a great human being, and the world has been ‘poored’ by the loss of yet another ‘Man of Mettle’. The world has indeed lost a little more of its glimmer; another great gem in its treasure trove has been lost forever! Sir, your indomitable spirit and zest for life will be the topic of many a conversations hereafter, lingering on in our hearts for ever and ever! RIP.

TRASSK celebrates India’s Independence Day

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hrissur Association of Kuwait (TRASSK) celebrated Indiaís 67th Independence Day with variety of colorful programs. At the embassy of India, Kuwait, TRASSK children sung the patriotic song at the Indian Embassy as part of the flag hoisting ceremony. The presentation of patriotic song and the discipline showed by the TRASSK Kids were well attracted by the Indian Community. Honorable Ambassador Satish C Mehta spent some time with the children appreciating them for their colorful performance ad coordination.

In the evening, TRASSK members cele-

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brated the Independence Day at Rhythm hall.† The celebrations were started with a prayer, followed by the welcome speech by the General Secretary Joy Tholath. TRASSK President Jose Joel delivered Independence Day message and reminded the efforts taken by our freedom fighters. The President also appreciated the children who sung the patriotic song at the Indian Embassy and thanked all those who input their efforts to utilize the first opportunity to perform at the Indian Embassy, which helped to gain recognition attention to TRASSK among the Indian Community in Kuwait.

The freedom we celebrate was not a gift from the imperial British, but it was the culmination of decades-old struggle led by revolutionaries like Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhai Patel. Our country thus owes its independence to these true sons of our mother-land.

President reminded all parents to make our kids understand the values of sacrifice and dedication of those true sons of our motherland along with building love and affection towards our nation. The ladies wing vice president Smt. Prasanna Jayaprakash, Kalikalam Secretary Kumari

Ranjana Rajendran conveyed Independence Day wishes to members and their family. A presentation was displayed about India and the freedom struggle followed by a quiz on the Indian freedom struggle. Patriotic songs, Fancy Dress and other programs were conducted from different areas of Thrissur Association. The Joint Treasure Shri Joyson Ponnore conveyed vote of thanks at the end of the event.

Opportunities and overcoming barriers to investment in Arab countries in transition

he Foreign Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Islamic Development Bank, is organising a Deauville Partnership investment Conference on 16 September 2013 at the Park Plaza Victoria Hotel in London. The conference will be the first of its kind to bring together government representatives, business associations and investors from the G8, regional partners (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and Turkey) as well as the

International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to discuss investment opportunities In the six Arab countries in transition (Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Jordan and Yemen).

The event will: Provide a unique opportunity to network and discuss issues with companies, investors, senior government representatives and experts from the MENA region, G8 countries and IFIs; Include panel discussions

on the challenges and policy bafflers to attracting greater investment in the Arab countries in transition; Showcase investment opportunities in the Arab countries in transition and explain the actions their governments are taking to make investment environments more attractive. For more information on this conference, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/g8-deauvillepartnership-investment-conference

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

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Embassy Information 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

KU’s Petroleum and Engineering College holds annual breakfast Office of the assistant dean for students’ affairs at the petroleum and engineering college, Kuwait University recently held its annual mass breakfast for all the college employees. The breakfast was held at Farouq Bargash Auditorium.

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 57) 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 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 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

The US Embassy in Kuwait has new procedures for obtaining appointments and picking up passports after visa issuance.

Beginning August 9, 2013, we now provide an online visa appointment system, live call center, and in-person pick-up facilities in Kuwait.

Please monitor our website and social media for additional information. This new system offers more flexibility for travelers to the US and to meet the increase in demand for visa appointments.

The general application steps on the new visa appointment system are: 1. Go to www.ustraveldocs.com/kw (if this is the first time on ustraveldocs.com, you will need to create a profile to login).

2. Please complete your DS-160 Online Visa Application which is available at ceac.state.gov/genNIV. 3. Please print and take your deposit slip to any Burgan Bank location to pay your visa application fee.

4. Schedule an appointment for your visa interview online at www.ustraveldocs.com/kw or by phone through the Call Center (at +9652227-1673).

5. If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please do so 24 hours beforehand, as a courtesy to other applicants. For more information, please visit the US Embassy website - kuwait.usembassy.gov - as it is the best source of information regarding these changes. 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 SLOVAK The Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Kuwait would like to inform the public that on the occasion of the Anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising and the Day of the Constitutions, the Embassy will be closed on Thursday, August 29 and Sunday, September 01, 2013. The Embassy would like to inform that the Consular Section is open to the public from Monday to Wednesday from 10:00 till 13:00 hrs.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

03:00 How It’s Made 03:25 How It’s Made 03:50 How It’s Made 04:15 How It’s Made 04:40 How Do They Do It? 05:05 How Do They Do It? 05:30 How Do They Do It? 06:00 How Do They Do It? 06:30 How Do They Do It? 07:00 Fast N’ Loud 07:50 Fantom Works 08:40 Driven To Extremes 09:30 Gold Divers 10:20 Deadliest Catch-Up 12:00 Aircrash Confidential 12:50 Destroyed In Seconds 13:15 Destroyed In Seconds 13:40 How It’s Made 14:05 How It’s Made 14:30 How It’s Made 14:55 How It’s Made 15:20 How It’s Made 15:45 Auction Hunters 16:10 Auction Hunters 16:35 Auction Hunters 17:00 Auction Hunters 17:25 Auction Hunters 17:50 Border Security 18:15 Border Security 18:40 Border Security 19:05 Border Security 19:30 Border Security 19:55 Mythbusters 20:45 The Big Brain Theory 21:35 Dynamo: Magician Impossible 22:25 The Unexplained Files 23:15 Alien Mysteries

DISCOVERY SCIENCE 03:35 Brave New World 04:25 Brave New World 05:15 The Gadget Show 05:40 The Tech Show 06:05 Alien Mysteries 07:00 Extreme Bodies 07:50 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 08:40 The Gadget Show 09:05 The Tech Show 09:30 Sport Science 10:20 Sport Science 11:15 Sport Science 12:05 Sport Science 13:00 Sport Science 13:50 Food Factory 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 Curiosity 20:20 Curiosity 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Tech Show 22:00 Curiosity 22:50 Curiosity 23:40 The Gadget Show

03:00 Stalked: Someone’s Watching 03:25 Stalked: Someone’s Watching 03:45 Serial Killers 04:30 Nightmare Next Door 05:20 Dr G: Medical Examiner 06:10 Disappeared 07:00 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 07:50 Street Patrol 08:15 Street Patrol 08:40 Real Emergency Calls 09:05 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

09:30 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 10:20 Solved 11:10 Disappeared 12:00 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries

12:50 13:15 13:40 14:30 Jones 15:20 15:45 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 Jones 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Disappeared Solved Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite Dr G: Medical Examiner Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Blood Relatives On The Case With Paula Zahn LA: City Of Demons

03:00 A Kind Of Magic 03:20 A Kind Of Magic 03:45 Emperor’s New School 04:05 Emperor’s New School 04:30 The Replacements 04:50 The Replacements 05:15 A Kind Of Magic 05:35 A Kind Of Magic 06:00 Doc McStuffins 06:15 Doc McStuffins 06:30 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 06:45 A.N.T. Farm 07:10 A.N.T. Farm 07:35 Jessie 07:55 That’s So Raven 08:20 That’s So Raven 08:45 Dog With A Blog 09:05 Shake It Up 09:30 Jessie 09:55 Austin And Ally 10:15 A.N.T. Farm 10:40 High School Musical 3: Senior Year 12:35 Good Luck Charlie 13:00 A.N.T. Farm 13:25 Austin And Ally 13:45 That’s So Raven 14:10 Toy Story 2 15:30 Jessie 15:50 Shake It Up 16:10 Dog With A Blog 16:35 A.N.T. Farm 17:00 Jessie 17:20 Jessie 17:45 Jessie 18:10 Suite Life On Deck 18:30 Suite Life On Deck 18:55 Suite Life On Deck 19:20 Good Luck Charlie 19:40 Dog With A Blog 20:05 Shake It Up 20:30 Austin And Ally 20:50 A.N.T. Farm 21:15 That’s So Raven 21:40 Good Luck Charlie 22:00 Shake It Up 22:25 A.N.T. Farm 22:50 Austin And Ally 23:10 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place

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 08:45 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 Kickin It 12:30 Kickin It 13:00 Kickin It 13:25 Kickin It 13:45 Kickin It 14:10 Kickin It

14:35 Kickin It 15:00 Kickin It 15:25 Kickin It 15:50 Kickin It 16:15 Kickin It 16:40 Kickin It 17:05 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 17:30 Crash & Bernstein 17:55 Pair Of Kings 18:20 Lab Rats 18:45 Phineas And Ferb 18:55 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 21:40 Almost Naked Animals 22:05 Rekkit Rabbit 22:35 Scaredy Squirrel 23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00am KSA

03:00 Stalked: Someone’s Watching 03:25 Stalked: Someone’s Watching 03:45 Serial Killers 04:30 Nightmare Next Door 05:20 Dr G: Medical Examiner 06:10 Disappeared 07:00 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 07:50 Street Patrol 08:15 Street Patrol 08:40 Real Emergency Calls 09:05 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

09:30 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 10:20 Solved 11:10 Disappeared 12:00 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries 12:50 Street Patrol 13:15 Street Patrol 13:40 Forensic Detectives 14:30 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 15:20 Real Emergency Calls 15:45 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

16:10 Disappeared 17:00 Solved 17:50 Forensic Detectives 18:40 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 19:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner 20:20 Nightmare Next Door 21:10 Couples Who Kill 22:00 Blood Relatives 22:50 On The Case With Paula Zahn 23:40 LA: City Of Demons

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

Two And A Half Men Ben And Kate Seinfeld The Tonight Show With Jay All Of Us Friends Malibu Country Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Seinfeld All Of Us Ben And Kate Ben And Kate Hot In Cleveland Malibu Country The Tonight Show With Jay The War At Home Seinfeld All Of Us Malibu Country Ben And Kate Ben And Kate Hot In Cleveland The Daily Show The Colbert Report Friends Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Seinfeld The Mindy Project The Mindy Project Hot In Cleveland

20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30

Parks And Recreation The Cleveland Show The Daily Show The Colbert Report Saturday Night Live Unsupervised Parks And Recreation

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

Banshee The Mob Doctor C.S.I. New York 24 The Finder Necessary Roughness C.S.I. New York White Collar The Mob Doctor Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Necessary Roughness 24 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Necessary Roughness Psych Top Gear (UK) C.S.I. Defiance Banshee

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Meskada Battle For Terra Super 8 Abandoned Killer Mountain Twins Mission Abandoned Carjacked Twins Mission Seconds Apart

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Battle For Terra-PG Super 8-PG15 Abandoned-PG15 Killer Mountain-PG15 Twins Mission-PG15 Abandoned-PG15 Carjacked-PG15 Twins Mission-PG15 Seconds Apart-PG15 7 Below-18

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 PG15 12:00 14:00 16:00 PG15 18:00 PG15 20:00 22:00

Drop Dead Fred-PG Alpha And Omega-PG Kung Fu Panda 2-PG Desperately Seeking SantaDrop Dead Fred-PG Cheaper By The Dozen-PG Desperately Seeking SantaThe Bad News Bears (1976)30 Minutes Or Less-18 Sightseers-18

03:15 Sound Of My Voice-18 05:00 What’s Love Got To Do With It-PG15 07:00 L’amour C’est Mieux A DeuxPG15 09:00 The Artist-PG 11:00 A Separation-PG15 13:00 1941-PG15 15:00 Raggedy Man-PG15 17:00 A Separation-PG15 19:00 Dark Horse-PG15 21:00 Stomp The Yard-PG15 23:00 Freedom Writers-PG15

03:45 Battleship-PG15 06:00 Superman vs. The Elite-PG15 07:30 StreetDance 2-PG15 09:00 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days-PG 10:45 Battleship-PG15 13:00 John Carter-PG15 15:15 The Makeover-PG15 17:00 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days-PG 19:00 Young Adult-PG15 21:00 21 Jump Street-18 23:00 Meeting Evil-18

04:15 Arthur 3: And The War Of Two Worlds 06:00 Surf’s Up 08:00 Moomins And The Comet Chase 10:00 Super Buddies 11:45 Ploddy Police Car 13:00 Beethoven’s Second 14:30 Winner & The Golden Child: Part I 16:15 Bushwhacked 18:00 Super Buddies 20:00 Valentina 22:00 Winner & The Golden Child: Part I 23:45 Bushwhacked

03:45 The Odd Life Of Timothy Green-PG 05:30 The Avengers-PG15 08:00 Crisis Point-PG15 10:00 Best In Show-PG15 12:00 The Odd Life Of Timothy Green-PG 14:00 Burden Of Evil-PG15 16:00 Crisis Point-PG15 18:00 Shark Night-PG15 20:00 Total Recall-18 22:00 The Inbetweeners-18

SOUND OF MY VOICE ON OSN MOVIES FESTIVAL

00:20 01:10 02:00 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25

Dead Or Alive Crocodile King Fish Warrior Dangerous Encounters Croc Invasion Zambezi Fish Warrior Dangerous Encounters Croc Invasion

JOHN CARTTER ON OSN MOVIES HD 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

World’s Deadliest Killer Three Monster Fish Shocking Sharks World’s Weirdest Croc Labyrinth Caught Barehanded Dangerous Encounters Mother Croc World’s Deadliest Killer Three Phantom Wolverine Monster Croc Hunt World’s Weirdest Caught Barehanded Dangerous Encounters Mother Croc World’s Deadliest Killer Three Phantom Wolverine Monster Croc Hunt

00:00 Hell-18 02:00 Gangs Of Brooklyn-PG15 04:00 The Adventures Of Tintin-PG 06:00 Brake-PG15 08:00 Meteor Storm-PG15 10:00 Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome-PG15 12:00 Blackthorn-PG15 14:00 Meteor Storm-PG15 16:00 Austin Powers In Goldmember-PG15 18:00 Blackthorn-PG15 20:00 Broken Path-PG15 22:00 End Of Days-18

01:30 03:30 05:15 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 14:45 17:00 19:15 21:00 23:00

The Descendants-PG15 Legendary Assassin-PG15 Of Two Minds-PG15 The Wishing Well-PG15 Legendary Assassin-PG15 Ip Man 2-PG15 Mrs. Miracle-PG15 Lorenzo’s Oil-PG15 We Bought A Zoo-PG Morning-PG15 In Time-PG15 The Whistleblower-18

00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 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

The Daily Show The Colbert Report The Big C Enlightened Unsupervised Last Man Standing Raising Hope Hope & Faith The Tonight Show With Jay Hope & Faith The War At Home Brothers Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Hope & Faith Hope & Faith Last Man Standing Two And A Half Men Arrested Development Brothers The Tonight Show With Jay The War At Home Hope & Faith All Of Us Brothers Raising Hope Two And A Half Men Arrested Development The Daily Show The Colbert Report The War At Home Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Hot In Cleveland The Simpsons Modern Family

19:30 20:00 Leno 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:30 Fallon

Happy Endings The Tonight Show With Jay The Daily Show The Colbert Report The Big C Enlightened Unsupervised Late Night With Jimmy

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Good Morning America American Idol 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 Live Good Morning America Touch Once Upon A Time The Carrie Diaries Touch Once Upon A Time The Carrie Diaries The Client List American Idol

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 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 The Killing Breaking Bad Banshee Franklin & Bash Royal Pains 24 The Finder Alphas The Killing Royal Pains Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Alphas 24 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Alphas Warehouse 13 Bones Castle Justified Banshee

03:00 PGA European Tour 07:00 Live NRL Premiership 09:00 ICC Cricket 360 09:30 Live AFL Premiership 12:30 Cricket International Twenty20 15:30 Live PGA European Tour 19:30 Inside The PGA Tour 20:00 Live PGA Tour

03:00 05:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 13:00 17:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 23:00

Live UFC 164 Prelims Live UFC 164 Main Event Live NRL Premiership Champions Tour Trans World Sport Sydney Darts Masters AFL Premiership Futbol Mundial Sailing Louis Vuitton Cup Live Sailing America’s Cup Rugby Union Currie Cup

03:00 Trans World Sport 03:30 ICC Cricket 360 04:00 Cricket International Twenty20 07:00 Web.Com Tour 09:00 PGA Tour 12:30 NRL Premiership 14:30 ITU World Triathlon Series 17:00 Cricket International Twenty20 20:00 Sydney Darts Masters

03:30 04:30 05:30 06:30 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 15:30 16:30 17:00 18:00 20:00 23:00

European Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series Mobil 1 The Grid WWE Bottom Line WWE NXT WWE Experience WWE This Week Triahlon UK UIM Powerboat Champs UIM Aquabike Champs Porsche GT 3 Cup Challenge Mobil 1 The Grid WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line WWE This Week UFC Countdown UFC Prelims UFC WWE Experience

3:00 Live MSNBC All In With Chris Hayes 4:00 Live MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 5:00 Live MSNBC The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell 6:00 NBC Nightly News 6:30 ABC World News With Diane Sawyer 7:00 NBC Nightly News 7:39 Live ABC Nightline 8:06 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 9:00 MSNBC The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell 10:00 Live ABC World News Now 10:30 Live ABC World News Now 11:00 Live NBC Early Today 11:30 Live ABC America This Morning 12:00 Live ABC America This Morning 13:30 MSNBC First Look 14:00 Live NBC Today Show 17:57 MSNBC Hardball With Chris Matthews 18:38 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show 19:19 MSNBC The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell 20:00 Live MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports 21:00 Live MSNBC Newsnation 22:00 Live MSNBC The Cycle 23:00 Live MSNBC Martin Bashir 0:00 Live MSNBC Hardball With Chris Matthews 1:00 Live MSNBC Politicsnation 2:00 Live NBC Nightly News 2:30 ABC World News With Diane Sawyer

01:20 Rebel Without A Cause-PG 03:10 Westworld

04:35 Rhapsody-FAM 07:00 In The Good Old Summertime-FAM 08:45 Light In The Piazza-PG 10:25 Blossoms In The Dust-PG 12:00 Riffraff-PG 13:35 Now, Voyager-PG 16:00 Billy The Kid-PG 17:35 Red Dust-FAM 19:05 Quo Vadis-PG 22:00 The Fixer

00:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 01:00 Xtreme Waterparks 01:30 Bert The Conqueror 02:00 Off Limits 03:00 Globe Trekker 04:00 Bizarre Foods America 06:00 Hotel Impossible 07:00 Globe Trekker 08:00 Off Limits 09:00 Piha Rescue 10:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 11:00 Bert The Conqueror 11:30 Xtreme Waterparks 12:00 Globe Trekker 13:00 Bizarre Foods America 14:00 International House Hunters 15:00 Hotel Impossible 16:00 Inside Luxury Travel - Varun Sharma 17:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 18:00 Off Limits 19:00 Bizarre Foods America 20:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 21:00 Descending 22:00 Departures

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:55 United Tastes Of America 01:45 Reza’s African Kitchen 02:35 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:25 Food Wars 03:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:15 Unique Eats 04:40 Chopped 05:30 Iron Chef America 06:10 Food Network Challenge 07:00 Unwrapped 07:50 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 08:15 Unique Sweets 08:40 Reza’s African Kitchen 09:05 Jonathan Phang’s Caribbean Cookbook 09:30 Amazing Wedding Cakes 10:20 Extra Virgin 10:40 Unique Sweets 11:10 Unwrapped 11:35 Have Cake, Will Travel 12:00 Food Network Star 12:50 Reza’s African Kitchen 13:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 14:05 Tyler’s Ultimate 14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 15:20 Symon’s Suppers 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Tyler’s Ultimate 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:40 Guy’s Big Bite 19:05 Symon’s Suppers 19:30 Food Wars 20:20 Chopped 22:00 Charly’s Cake Angels 22:50 Unique Sweets 23:15 Unique Sweets

Classifieds SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1 THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:30 PM 10:30 PM 12:30 AM

SHARQIA-2 TURBO (DIG-3D) TURBO (DIG-3D) TURBO (DIG-3D) PARANOIA (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED SHARQIA-3 2 GUNS (DIG) ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED MUHALAB-1 2 GUNS (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) SATYAGRAHA (DIG) (HINDI) PARANOIA (DIG)

FANAR-3 RED 2 (DIG) JOBS (DIG) SATYAGRAHA (DIG) (HINDI) CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) RED 2 (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM

FANAR-4 TURBO (DIG-3D) TURBO (DIG-3D) TURBO (DIG-3D) 2 GUNS (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-5 THE SMURFS 2 THE CONJURING THE SMURFS 2 THE CONJURING THE CONJURING THE CONJURING NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM

MUHALAB-2 THE CONJURING (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM

MUHALAB-3 TURBO (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) TURBO (DIG) ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG)

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM

FANAR-1 ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED FANAR-2 DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (29/08/2013 TO 04/09/2013)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

MARINA-1 YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:30 PM

MARINA-2 TURBO (DIG) TURBO (DIG) TURBO (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

MARINA-3 THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) 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 ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG)

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM

AVENUES-2 DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI)

1:15 PM 3:30 PM

CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) NO SUN+TUE+WED

6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-3 PARANOIA (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

AVENUES-4 TURBO (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) TURBO (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

360º- 1 YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

360º- 2 THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

360º- 3 THE WOLVERINE (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) THE WOLVERINE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:30 PM 9:00 PM 11:30 PM

AL-KOUT.1 TURBO (DIG) TURBO (DIG-3D) TURBO (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) PARANOIA (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.2 THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) DESPICABLE ME 2 (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG)

FOR SALE Toyota Camry model 2011, silver color, GL, four cylinder engine, excellent condition, installment possible, cash prize KD 3,875. Tel: 66507741. (C 4495) 1-9-2013 CHANGE OF NAME I, Crusian Edison holder of Indian Passport No. E 6572487, shall henceforth be known as C. Joseph Edison. (C 4493) 28-8-2013

ably employed in Kuwait, Gulf/India. Email: georgethomaskollad@yahoo.com (C 4494) 28-7-2013 Nair girl from Quilon district, 34 years, 153 cm, M.Sc Biotechnology, PhD, now working as scientist at Trivandrum, seeks alliance from well educated, employed youth from India/abroad (Keralite only). Contact email: pillaisurendran56@yahoo.com

Prayer timings

Fajr: Shorook Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

04:00 05:22 11:50 15:24 18:16 19:36

No: 15915

I, Bhaskar Hungarkatha of Indian Passport No. G 0638528 hereby wish to change my name to JOHN B. D’ALMEIDA. (C 4491) 27-8-2013

MATRIMONIAL 12:30 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM

Proposals invited for a fair Keralite Marthomite girl (24 yrs, 159 cm) hailing from an aristocratic family and just completed M.Sc nursing in paediatrics, from parents of God-fearing boys with equivalent qualifications prefer-

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Arrival Flights on on Sunday 1/9/2013 Route DHAKA

Airlines BBC

Flt 43

QTR THY JZR JZR KAC RJA THY ETH GFA NIA MEA UAE ETD THY FDB MSR QTR THY DHX FDB BAW UAE CLX KAC KAC JZR JZR JZR KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY FDB IRA IZG QTR ETD IRC GFA MEA JZR JZR JZR JZR MSC UAE MSR THY KAC KAC QTR KAC FDB IRC SVA

148 5464 267 539 1502 642 764 620 211 253 408 853 305 768 67 612 138 770 170 69 157 3857 792 544 412 555 1541 529 382 53 302 332 206 352 284 855 125 55 603 4161 132 301 6666 213 404 165 561 505 241 2403 871 610 766 742 672 140 774 57 6507 500

DOHA SABIHA BEIRUT CAIRO BEIRUT AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA SABIHA ADDIS ABABA BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA BEIRUT DUBAI ABU DHABI-INTL ISTANBUL DUBAI CAIRO DOHA ISTANBUL BAHRAIN DUBAI LONDON DUBAI LUXEMBOURG CAIRO MANILA ALEXANDRIA CAIRO ASYUT DELHI DUBAI MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM ISLAMABAD COCHIN DHAKA DUBAI SHARJAH DUBAI SHIRAZ MASHAD DOHA ABU DHABI-INTL AHWAZ BAHRAIN BEIRUT DUBAI SOHAG LUXOR AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA ASYUT DUBAI CAIRO ISTANBUL DAMMAM DUBAI DOHA RIYADH DUBAI SHIRAZ JEDDAH

Time 00:05 00:05 00:10 00:20 00:40 01:20 01:25 01:40 01:45 01:55 02:00 02:10 02:25 02:30 02:50 03:10 03:15 03:30 04:35 05:10 05:50 06:30 06:40 04:55 04:10 06:15 06:20 06:25 06:40 07:30 07:45 07:50 07:55 07:25 08:05 08:15 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:20 09:25 09:25 09:30 10:10 10:40 10:55 11:35 12:00 12:30 12:35 12:40 12:45 13:00 13:10 13:30 13:40 13:45 13:45 13:50 14:10 14:30

JZR KNE OMA ALK KAC RJA JZR QTR JZR ETD KAC SYR UAE ABY UAL GFA SVA JZR JZR RBG NIA KAC QTR KAC KAC KAC FDB GFA KAC AXB KAC MSR JAI KAC AFG OMA FDB ABY JZR JZR MEA MSC KAC KAC KLM ALK UAE KAC QTR ETD GFA JAI SYR FDB AIC JZR UAL JZR JZR DLH JAI MSR PIA THY

257 472 645 1205 788 640 535 134 787 303 1802 341 857 127 982 215 510 177 777 557 251 542 144 786 166 502 63 219 618 393 674 606 572 102 415 647 61 129 481 189 402 2405 562 514 417 229 859 172 136 307 217 576 1309 59 981 239 981 185 135 636 574 614 205 772

BEIRUT JEDDAH MUSCAT COLOMBO JEDDAH AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA CAIRO DOHA RIYADH ABU DHABI-INTL CAIRO DAMASCUS DUBAI SHARJAH WASHINGTON DC DULLES BAHRAIN RIYADH DUBAI JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA ALEXANDRIA CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH PARIS BEIRUT DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA KOZHIKODE DUBAI LUXOR MUMBAI NEW YORK KABUL MUSCAT DUBAI SHARJAH SABIHA DUBAI BEIRUT SOHAG AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA TEHRAN AMSTERDAM COLOMBO DUBAI FRANKFURT DOHA ABU DHABI-INTL BAHRAIN COCHIN DAMASCUS DUBAI CHENNAI AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN FRANKFURT MUMBAI CAIRO LAHORE ISTANBUL

14:30 14:35 14:40 14:50 15:00 15:55 16:10 16:15 16:15 16:35 16:40 16:45 16:55 17:10 17:15 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:50 17:55 18:00 18:15 18:25 18:30 18:40 18:50 18:55 19:05 19:10 19:15 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:35 19:45 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:10 20:10 20:15 20:25 20:45 20:50 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:15 21:30 21:30 21:45 22:05 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:40 22:40 23:00 23:10 23:20 23:30 23:40 23:45

Airlines AIC MSC AXB JAI RJA UAL MSR DLH THY BBC THY RJA THY ETH NIA MEA THY UAE FDB MSR ETD QTR QTR JZR JZR FDB GFA THY JZR KAC JZR CLX UAE BAW FDB JZR KAC JZR KAC ABY KAC UAE FDB KAC ETD IRA KAC IZG QTR KAC KAC IRC GFA KAC MEA JZR JZR KAC JZR KAC JZR MSC

Departure Flights on Sunday 1/9/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA 2404 ALEXANDRIA 490 MANGALORE 573 MUMBAI 5293 AMMAN 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 615 CAIRO 637 FRANKFURT 5465 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 44 CHITTAGONG 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 643 AMMAN 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 621 ADDIS ABABA 254 ALEXANDRIA 409 BEIRUT 769 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 613 CAIRO 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 504 LUXOR 70 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 240 AMMAN 171 FRANKFURT 164 DUBAI 792 GIALAM 3858 DUBAI 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 117 NEW YORK 534 CAIRO 671 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 787 JEDDAH 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 2406 SOHAG

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:10 00:15 00:20 00:20 00:25 00:30 00:30 01:10 01:30 02:20 02:30 02:40 02:45 02:55 03:10 03:40 03:45 03:50 04:15 04:20 04:25 05:15 05:35 06:20 06:30 07:00 07:10 07:10 07:15 07:25 07:40 08:00 08:25 08:25 08:50 09:05 09:10 09:25 09:30 09:35 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 13:40

MSR THY UAE FDB QTR KAC IRC KNE KAC OMA SVA KAC ALK JZR KAC RJA JZR QTR ETD JZR SYR ABY UAE GFA SVA UAL JZR RBG JZR NIA QTR FDB GFA JZR KAC AXB MSR JAI FDB ABY AFG OMA MEA MSC DHX KLM ETD ALK UAE KAC KAC QTR GFA FDB KAC JAI KAC SYR JZR JZR KAC KAC JZR

611 767 872 58 141 673 6508 473 561 646 503 617 1206 188 513 641 238 135 304 538 342 128 858 216 511 982 184 558 266 252 145 64 220 134 283 394 619 571 62 120 415 648 403 2404 171 417 308 230 860 343 301 137 218 60 205 575 351 1310 554 1540 411 415 528

CAIRO ISTANBUL-ATATURK DUBAI DUBAI DOHA DUBAI SHIRAZ JEDDAH AMMAN MUSCAT MADINAH DOHA COLOMBO DUBAI TEHRAN AMMAN AMMAN DOHA ABU DHABI CAIRO LATAKIA SHARJAH DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI ALEXANDRIA BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DHAKA KOZHIKODE ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH JEDDAH MUSCAT BEIRUT ASYUT BAHRAIN DAMMAM ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI CHENNAI MUMBAI DOHA BAHRAIN DUBAI ISLAMABAD ABU DHABI KOCHI DAMASCUS ALEXANDRIA CAIRO BANGKOK KUALA LUMPUR ASYUT

14:00 14:10 14:15 14:30 14:55 15:05 15:10 15:30 15:30 15:40 15:45 15:45 15:50 16:00 16:20 16:55 17:05 17:20 17:20 17:40 17:45 17:50 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:30 18:30 18:35 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 21:25 21:50 22:05 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:40 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:15 23:20 23:25 23:40 23:50 23:55

34

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

stars CROSSWORD 297

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) You appreciate tradition and regularity and can be quite happy when others do not try to change your surroundings or plans. You may suffer regular infusions of change, which you can find very disturbing. You are very disciplined and practical when it comes to matters of home, family and career, often at the expense of your social life. Everyone has a job and you carry through with your responsibilities most carefully today. A new person may add to your family soon and today would be a grand time to celebrate. A loved one is learning the art of massage and you may be the receiver of a free massage this evening—the favor and the weekend will be a successful one. For the bedtime goodnights, you might consider a story time for the young ones in your family.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) There is some recognition and support from those around you. You may feel that the communication today is unusually interesting. There is much camaraderie among friends and with everyone in such a good mood there may be some place or some activity that all agree to visit or to do together later in the day. A project at home gets completed in record time and a couple of family members gather themselves to join you in your adventure. A new animal at the zoo or a new exhibit in the city will motivate everyone to pull things together and join the group. This is a communicative time and you will find yourself flexible, mental and other-oriented. You work your magic and the day ends with projects completed and adventures enjoyed.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. A guided missile fired from shipboard against an airborne target.

4. A desert in southwestern Africa - largely Botswana.

12. A health resort near a spring or at the seaside.

15. A knockout declared by the referee who judges one boxer unable to continue.

16. Expected to follow in the indefinite future from causes already operating.

17. Relating to or characteristic of or occurring in the air.

18. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar.

20. Of a leaf shape.

22. A port city in southwestern Iran.

24. The officer below the master on a commercial ship.

25. (in golf) The standard number of strokes set for each hole on a golf course, or for the entire course.

27. Of or relating to the stomach and intestines.

28. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

29. An intensely radioactive metallic element that occurs in minute amounts in uranium ores.

31. (Greek mythology) God of the heavens.

34. The wife or widow of a czar.

38. A resentment strong enough to justify retaliation.

42. A soft yellow malleable ductile (trivalent and univalent) metallic element.

43. A large piece of fabric (as canvas) by means of which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel.

44. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

46. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an explosion.

47. English monk and scholar (672-735).

49. A federally sponsored corporation that insures accounts in national banks and other qualified institutions.

51. The law enforcement agency in the Justice Department.

52. The god who fathered the islands and gods of Japan with his sister Izanami.

55. Used in former classifications to include all ratite bird orders.

58. Small bitter fruit of the marasca cherry tree from whose juice maraschino liqueur is made.

60. Having undesirable or negative qualities.

61. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

63. (aeronautical) Pertaining to the tail section of a plane.

64. A white solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase.

69. A very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk.

71. Type genus of the Aceraceae.

73. (law) The seat for judges in a courtroom.

74. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

77. Having winglike extensions.

78. Narrow wood or metal or plastic runners used for gliding over snow.

79. Arctic deer with large antlers in both sexes.

81. A plant hormone promoting elongation of stems and roots.

82. Take in solid food.

83. A bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder.

84. An honorary law degree.

DOWN 1. An elongated leather strip (or or strip of similar material) for binding things together or holding

something in position.

2. Jordan's port.

3. Small silvery schooling fishes with protrusible mouths found in warm coastal waters.

4. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

5. The eleventh month of the civil year.

6. Having leadership guidance.

7. An associate degree in nursing.

8. A protocol (utilizing TCP) to transfer hypertext requests and information between servers and browsers.

9. A conspicuous constellation in the northern hemisphere.

10. Falling in drops or as if falling like rain.

11. Not in good physical or mental health.

12. A region of Malaysia in northeastern Borneo.

13. A representation of the Virgin Mary mourning over the dead body of Jesus.

14. A unit of dry measure used in Egypt.

19. A public promotion of some product or service.

21. The third compartment of the stomach of a ruminant.

23. A former French coin of low denomination.

26. Fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period.

30. A salt or ester of arsenic acid.

32. Having been read.

33. A state in northwestern United States on the Pacific.

35. A city in northeastern Egypt at the head of the Gulf of Suez and at the southern end of the Suez Canal.

36. A state in midwestern United States.

37. Large Indian antelope.

39. Informal or slang terms for mentally irregular.

40. An amino acid that is found in the central nervous system.

41. A member of an Iroquoian people formerly living on the south shore of Lake Erie in northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania and western New York.

45. (Irish) The sea personified.

48. A barrier constructed to contain the flow or water or to keep out the sea.

50. Open-heart surgery in which the rib cage is opened and a section of a blood vessel is grafted from the aorta to the coronary artery to bypass the blocked section of the coronary artery and improve the blood supply to the heart.

53. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

54. Of or relating to or supporting Islamism.

56. Bark rich in tannin.

57. Conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection or excellence.

59. A sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury.

62. A coffee cake flavored with orange rind and raisins and almonds.

65. Type genus of the Ardeidae.

66. Freshwater or marine or terrestrial gastropod mollusk usually having an external enclosing spiral shell.

67. Of or relating to a seizure or convulsion.

68. Having the leading position or higher score in a contest.

70. Anything that serves as an enticement.

72. (British) Informal term for the nose v 1.

75. Alsatian artist and poet who was cofounder of Dadaism in Zurich.

76. A unit of length of thread or yarn.

80. An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

There is good understanding today. This may be a good day to have a family meeting with only one subject: goals. You want to accomplish more and it is about time those dreams become a reality. Giving others a chance to express their desired goals, you will find that each path is destined for success. You encourage the family to keep their own journals on how they will continue toward their goals. The next meeting will be on three steps that each person took toward the accomplishment of each goal. Plan the shortterm goals as well as long-term goals so that there will be quick success. This encourages one toward the long-term successes. With a support system and mind set in the right direction, each member will have a positive outcome.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) You could be guiding young people in religious matters today. You are a very feeling person and can sense the drift of a situation without a lot of analysis. Question and answer sessions are fun and easy today. Enthusiasm happens this afternoon, especially when you bring young animals to lighten up the group and bring everyone together in a sense of harmony. You certainly know how to be around young people! Don’t get carried away with any particular message . . .

They will learn, ask questions and then they will want to play. These young people will gain a rare sense of support and this makes for a happy time. The status of a love relationship has a chance to deepen and strengthen. You may cancel some evening activity in order to give this relationship attention.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Your positive attitude is accented today. You can expect goodwill from those around you for whatever task is before you. If you need help, it would be best to think carefully about the person you ask. There will be a quantity of helpers if you want a party but in seeking only one helper you will quickly achieve a positive end. Careful, this should probably be handled with a democratic slant. An early dinner this evening may include the choice of going to a restaurant or heading out to the store to purchase the barbeque supplies. After dinner you have time to yourself. Relax and enjoy a little music. Romance is your trademark and this evening you will come up with some fascinating thoughts on how to enhance your relationship with your mate.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Today is full of learning matter. You could be reading but more than likely you are listening to a lecture, sermon or an audio book. History becomes real and you may fanaticize about how people will react when they read about the age in which you are living. This thinking may produce some fun conversations. The habit of referring to spiritual answers when difficulties arise is a wise move toward a peaceful frame of mind and you may work to memorize some passages. You have great discipline when it comes to working with spirituality and unity—whatever binds or links us together. You are able to teach others these messages. A picnic in the park with a walk after the noon meal creates the opportunity to bond with family today.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) The world is a sacred place to you and you have an absolute commitment to spiritual insight. Intuition is a fact of life and you most often display your sensitive, kind and gentle side. Being sensitive to another person’s difficulty you may decide to knit a quilt or repair some chair or any other number of things that would make this person’s life easier. After your service to this person you may decide that your talents should be used more often. If you want to share the time that you set aside to help others, now would be a good time to invite a friend or two. Some cities have a meals on wheels program for the elderly and this would bring nourishment and a listening ear to many that need a smiling face in their life from time to time. This is a great time to plan.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You are in a great mood today and can think of all sorts of projects to get into. This is finally a good day to do some work in the garden or to attend a garden show and to take on a few creative ideas for your place. If there are no garden shows, the garden shop or hardware store may serve the same purpose. If you are beginning a project, they will show you a few shortcuts or give you tips to make your work easier. This afternoon is good for friends or a loved one. You have a built-in sense of what the others want and can always come up with just the right image. Your home setting is so comfortable—it is often difficult to get visitors to go home. When you are chosen to conduct a youth meeting, you may decide to hold the meeting in your home.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You know exactly what you want when it comes to what is essential or central to a situation. If you have instructions, you can make it work or at least know how to instruct others. You are exacting when it comes to getting down to the basics. You will be working at putting together some type of furniture or equipment. This tendency for perfection may continue as you enjoy other people’s art expression. Your taste in art and appreciation in general is heightened. An art exhibit or presentation, perhaps a collection of some sort, has fascinated you and this is where your interests may remain for this week. Your sense of value is strong. This is a great time to have some deep discussion with a loved one. Laughter is unavoidable and shared.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) CAPRICORN This is a good time to build on those friendships that have had little nurturing lately. Talking to these friends and getting caught up on all the current news you may decide to have a gathering at your house or a nearby park. Any excuse to keep the old gang together is where your thinking is focused. A spur of the moment gathering might turn into a yearly gathering. Encourage the group to bring a few brag pictures and bring your own camera. You work well with imagination and understanding in areas of the mind that are the most personal or private—in-depth psychology. You are able to create a healing, if one is needed. Some friends will be out of the country but you will be able to reach them through written communication or calls.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) A volunteer situation today may take you into the area of law or giving aid to indigent peoples or to help with warrants. There is an innate capacity to negotiate with the law and authorities, plus an ability to find your way when it comes to inner and spiritual matters. Others sense this gift and accept guidance and advice. This is a very good time to speak about your goals—a good time for discussion and decisions. There are many opportunities to help the less fortunate. Perhaps this would include some job guidance. Through helping others—you will have insight into all sorts of possibilities. Before the day is over you will find yourself singing a popular tune with a friend or a family member. Young people love knock-knock jokes and you will be hearing plenty of them.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Making a movie or working on a movie set today you will discover a few great places to purchase props. A little cleaning and a little placement and the result is fantastic.

Your friends, partners and relationships mean a lot to you. They are fun to interact with and seem to love your presence with no strings attached, so to speak. You enjoy being social and will no doubt weave this fact into your lifestyle. You are above all, a natural go-between or mediator between the generations. Family gatherings today will get your attention and you may be asked to help others see two sides of any question. You have a strong effect on those who come to know you. You are able to talk about your goals and bring them into focus.

Celebrate your family this evening.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

lifestyle G o s s i p

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he seven-year-old daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes who has been living in New York with her mother since her parents’ divorce in 2012 - is recovering after the injury, although no details about how it occurred have been revealed. A representative for Katie told People: “Suri did break her arm, but she is okay.” It was recently revealed that Tom is planning to buy a home in the upmarket Notting Hill or St John’s Wood areas of London so he has a permanent place where Suri can stay with him when he is working in Europe. A source said: “Tom has been planning to set up base in Europe for about four years and he is finally ready to make it happen. He is utterly

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hile doctors for the 27-year-old star - who is currently under involuntary psychiatric hold at UCLA - have recommended prolonged treatment, it is believed she will complete 60 days at her current facility before being released to the care of her mother, Lynn. A source told TMZ: “Doctors at the facility where Amanda has been held asked for a long-term hold, and they got it.

Doctors then transferred control of the hold to Amanda’s mother, who is currently the temporary conservator. “It’s unlikely Amanda will be held for a year. In fact, the plan is to keep her in a facility for 60 days to stabilise her and then transfer Amanda to her mom’s home.” It was claimed earlier this month that Amanda is doing much better and doctors believe she will learn to manage her mental illness. A source said: “Amanda has made significant improvements, she is doing better than she was. “There are no drug problems involved, it’s all mental. She has deep anger and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), which tripped a psychotic episode... She is very ill, but manageable. Amanda genuinely wants to get better and has wanted to get better for some time.” The ‘Easy A’ star’s PTSD allegedly stems from the pressure she has felt since carving out a successful career in Hollywood as a child star on Nickelodeon. She was taken to the Hillman Psychiatric Facility in Ventura County, California, on July 22 after being arrested for starting a small fire outside a stranger’s home in Los Angeles.

he ‘Girls’ creator has been blasted for not having a typical Hollywood look but Lena says she remains positive thanks to her mother and father. She told the October issue of Marie Claire UK: “My parents both have really healthy attitudes about their own bodies but also about the range of things that can be beautiful. But they also just always made me feel pretty and cool and smart, even in the moments when I have known - and still know - that my body wasn’t fitting into a traditional Hollywood idea of the female body.” Lena, 27, also revealed people are surprised that she loves fashion because they don’t expect her to be interested in clothes. She said: “I’m not saying I am a great candidate for the cover of a fashion magazine. But I do love clothes. People are always surprised to hear that - they think I walk around in a washcloth or something. “I do think it takes fashion magazines a minute to be comfortable with variations of any kind.

Adele is one of the most beautiful women in the world, but every time I see her on the cover, it’s like a crop of her face and it’s just so boring at this point. It’s such a boring conversation.” The woman featured in the Robin Thicke buttgrabbing photograph has confirmed it is real. Lana Scolaro uploaded a picture to Instagram of herself with married singer Robin, 36, and a mirror behind them clearly shows his hand on her behind although she claimed she didn’t know about the reflection. She told E! News: “I knew his hand was on my butt, but I didn’t know that there was a mirror. “I didn’t even know that was the reflection until I uploaded it, and someone commented on it. I was just like, ‘Oh I’ll Instagram this photo with Robin Thicke, like everybody else.’” Lana revealed she first met Robin a week ago and he approached her at the MTV Video Music Awards after-party in New York on Sunday. She told Celebuzz: “We have mutual friends in common. I actually met him a week before the after party. “I was actually going over to the DJ booth and he followed me. His security guard took the photo and said, ‘You guys make a cute couple.’ “I didn’t think it would cause this much drama. I didn’t know it would be all over everything like this.” While a concerned Twitter user sent the picture to Robin’s wife Paula Patton, 37, the ‘2 Guns’ actress is reportedly unconcerned about the incident and has brushed it off while she enjoys a holiday with Robin and their three-year-old son Julian.

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he 28-year-old singer changed her name to Lily Rose Cooper after marrying Sam Cooper in 2011 but she has reversed her decision ahead of her musical comeback. Lily, who has two children with Sam, changed her Twitter handle from @lilyrosecooper to @lilyallen and wrote: “Hello, im Lily Allen .... and, I’m coming back, bitches,” along with posting a link to her website lilyallenmusic.com.

Although Lily collaborated on Pink’s ‘True Love’ earlier this summer, she hasn’t released any solo music since 2009. She also made her live return at Paris Fashion Week in February, marking her first public performance in four years at the Girls Only! Etam Lingerie show - directed by Mark Ronson - singing her 2006 debut single ‘Smile’. Before her performance she tweeted: “Just did rehearsal for tomorrow’s ETAM Show with @iamMarkRonson, still know the words to Smile, which is good. #mumback (sic).” Lily previously revealed she is definitely” writing about motherhood on her comeback album, adding: “It’s great to work at my own pace, with no commitments other than to make music. I’m excited to be heading back into the studio.”

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he basketball star - who has been accused of cheating on his wife Khloe Kardashian and allegedly taking crack cocaine - was stopped by the California Highway Patrol in his white Mercedes SUV at 3.25am on Friday. According to a report compiled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Lamar, 33, showed “objective signs of intoxication and was unable to perform sobriety tests as explained and demonstrated”. He was booked into Van Nuys Jail at 5.01 am before posting $15,000 bail and was released at 8.33am. The arrest comes amid claims Khloe’s mother Kris recently held an emergency two-hour meeting with divorce attorney Laura Wasser - who also took care of sister Kim Kardashian’s legal separation from

Kris Humphries - in order to extricate Khloe from the marriage. Sources told the New York Daily News newspaper: “Kris wants Khloe to get her prenup money, plus the penalty for cheating. Kim, Kourtney (Khloe’s sisters) and Kris want her to dump him. You can’t live with a drug addict.” However, Khloe who has been spotted still wearing her wedding ring - is keen to “save” her husband, get him help for his alleged drug problems and work through their marital problems. Another source said: “She is in love and does not want a divorce.”

charmed by London and wants to get a place in Notting Hill or St John’s Wood. “Tom is happy because he thinks putting down roots in London will allow him to take Suri for longer stretches of time. “He is just trying to do something nice for Suri. She has been grounded in the United States for a long time and Tom wants to make sure she gets to experience life fully and know other cultures. He doesn’t want her to grow up to be a narrow minded person who’s afraid to use her passport.”

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

lifestyle G o s s i p

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he Duchess of Cambridge - who gave birth to her first child with Prince William, 31, on July 22 - made the last minute decision to join husband William as he officially started a 135 mile round-the-island marathon in Anglesey, Wales, earlier today. A source told the MailOnline: “Initially the duchess wasn’t going to attend but she was also keen for the chance to thank the people of Anglesey herself for the warmth and hospitality they have shown her and the Duke.” William was in good spirits and got the crowd laughing as he cupped his hand to his ear when he heard a baby cry and said: “We’re hearing a bit of that at the moment!” Catherine, 31, added: “He [George] is sleeping at the moment for now - fingers crossed!” The brunette beauty - known as Kate Middleton before she married into the British royal family - wasn’t expected to return to public duty until September 12. Eminem has mocked Khloe Kardashian-Odom, calling her “ugly”, in his new single ‘Berzerk’. The 40-year-old rapper - real name Marshall Mathers - has branded the reality TV star the “ugly Kardashian” in his upcoming track taken

from his eighth studio album ‘MMLP2’, but the insults don’t stop there as he also mock her husband Lamar Odom for marrying her.

He raps: “They say that love is as powerful as cough syrup and Styrofoam. All I know is I fell asleep and woke up in that Monte Carlo with the ugly Kardashian. Lamar O, sorry, we done both set the bar low.” Eminem is no stranger to firing insults at celebrities as he took a swipe at Khloe’s sister Kim Kardashian in his 2009 track ‘We Made You’, where he refers to her as a man. He sings: “Damn, I think Kim Kardashian’s a man. She stomped him, just ‘cause he asked to put his hands on her massive gluteus maximus again.

Squeeze it and squash it and pass it to a friend.” However, the timing couldn’t be any worse for Khloe as she struggles to save her marriage following rumours of her husband cheating on her with two different women while on the road as a basketball player and his alleged crack cocaine abuse.

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he One Direction star - who celebrated the end of his teenage years on Thursday (29.08.13) - asked fans for donations to the Trekstock charity instead of giving him gifts in order to help young people with cancer. Liam posted on Twitter: “Good morning everyone :) can’t quite believe my life there’s no bigger birthday present than what you’ve done for me in 3 years thank you xx “If anyone was planning on buying me anything this is the 1st place u should go trekstock.com/donate-now you could make difference to somebody.” The pop sensation celebrated his birthday last night with his new girlfriend Sophia Smith at exclusive nightspot Funky Buddah in Mayfair just over a week after he confirmed their romance. Liam was all smiles as he arrived hand-inhand with Sophia before leaving the club at around 1am, where the star snuck an intimate moment with his new flame before getting into a taxi. His fellow One Direction group members - Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik - seemingly didn’t make an appearance during Liam’s celebratory night on the town, but the whole group had been spotted together filming their new music video in East London earlier that day.

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he 36-year-old actor and his spouse, who married in 2010, already have kids Olivia, two and Joshua, 17 months, and Kimberly took to her blog, oldschoolnewrules.com, to announce their happy news. She wrote: “James and I are happy to report that we are expecting our third child this winter! “Nesting mode is starting to kick in. I’ve been getting rid of clutter, reconfiguring rooms, reorganizing EVERYTHING etc... my mind doesn’t stop.

I’m looking into meditation for that. “All of the craziness, exhaustion and moodiness aside, James and I are beyond elated and

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feeling so incredibly blessed (sic).” Kimberly also revealed their kids are happy about having a new sibling and she paid tribute to James for being a great husband and father. She added: “Olivia and Joshua are in on the news and seem to be excited about a baby coming into the family. And James, thank you for being the loving, caring and understanding husband and father that you are.”

he 52-year-old actor is currently promoting his new movie ‘Gravity’ at the Venice Film Festival and after he was photographed steering a boat on Thursday, a local lawyer reported him to officials. According to La Nuova Venezia newspaper, attorney Mario D’Elia complained and asked police to check if George has a nautical licence and a permit to drive a water taxi. George likes to enjoy himself at the annual film gala with Bill Murray recently revealing he and the star pushed someone in a wheelchair into a swimming pool the first time they met each other at the festival a few years ago. Bill explained: “I met him (Clooney) at the Venice Film Festival a few years ago and it’s one of those places where people from Hollywood who are square like 364 days of the year, they will get weird in Venice. I don’t know why, I don’t know if it’s the smell of the water or what, but all of these Hollywood kinds get crazy but not George, he’s not one of them. “We ended up having a whole lot of fun and my son said to me, ‘Why were you and George Clooney pushing someone around in a wheelchair into a swimming pool?’

I was like, ‘You know son, why do you believe stuff like that? You know people put that in the internet, why would you ever believe something like that?’ His response was, ‘Well there are pictures.’

Murray, Clooney pushed man into swimming pool

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he 63-year-old actor first met Clooney a few years ago at the Venice Film Festival and the two Hollywood legends hit off straight away. Murray and Clooney, 52, realised they shared the same sense of humour and decided to play a prank on a friend by pushing round in a wheelchair before shoving him into a pool. Recalling the night on ‘ The Late Show with David Letterman’, he explained: “I met him (Clooney) at the Venice Film Festival a few years ago and it’s one of those places where people from Hollywood who are square like 364 days of the year, they will get weird in Venice. I don’t know why, I don’t know if it’s the smell of the water or what, but all of these Hollywood kinds get crazy but not George, he’s not one of them.

“We ended up having a whole lot of fun and my son said to me, ‘Why were you and George Clooney pushing someone around in a wheelchair into a swimming pool?’ I was like, ‘You know son, why do you believe stuff

like that? You know people put that in the internet, why would you ever believe something like that?’ His response was, ‘Well there are pictures.’ “ Murray was appearing on Letterman’s 20th anniversary episode of ‘The Late Show’ on the Eye network and was chosen because he had been the host’s first ever guest.

The comedic star dressed as flamboyant late piano player Liberace for his interview, drawing huge laughs from Letterman. Murray and Clooney Both star in upcoming movie ‘ The Monuments Men’ which is set to be released in December 2013. The film is about a crew of art historians and museum curators who unite to recover renowned works of art stolen by Nazis before Hitler destroys them.

Matt Damon, Hugh Bonneville, Bob Balaban, John Goodman and Cate Blanchett also star in the movie.

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he ‘Catch My Breath’ singer has complimented the star and claimed she is among the “most beautiful” people in the world. She wrote on her Twitter account: “Dear Selena Gomez, you are by far one of the most beautiful, sexy, classy things on this planet. #Goddidgood #texasgirls (sic)” The kind words came after the ‘Spring Breakers’ actress appeared the MTV Video Music Awards last week - but Kelly hasn’t been as supportive of everyone at the event. She had previously blasted two unnamed per formers at the event, describing them as “pitchy strippers”.

While Miley Cyrus has come under heavy criticism for her controversial appearance, the former ‘American Idol’ winner didn’t specify the target of her verbal jibe. She had said: “Just saw a couple performances from the VMA’s last night. 2 words.... #pitchystrippers.

Regardless of who she was commenting on, a close friend of the ‘Hannah Montana’ star leaped to her defence. Cheyne Thomas previously tweeted: “Kelly Clarkson called Miley a pitchy stripper. “Do you think she’s mad because her past few singles flopped and wasn’t asked to perform? and she’s fat and 30 ... the reasons Kelly Clarkson is bitter could really go on for day”

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

lifestyle

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rom the FBI agent tripping on acid to the action film star marrying a transsexual, the Sunday night Showtime drama “Ray Donovan” has served up its share of bizarre twists.

In the tale of a ruthless yet morally conflicted Hollywood “fixer” played by Liev Schreiber, “you never know where it is going to go,” executive producer Mark Gordon says.

What the premium cable network does know is that “Ray Donovan” - now heading into the final three episodes - will be its biggest show in its first season. Ratings are outpacing the current record holder, domestic terror thriller “Homeland,” by almost 40 percent.

The show already has been renewed for a second season, and CBS Corp-owned Showtime Networks Inc has bet on “Ray Donovan” as its next big showcase.

Popular serial killer drama “Dexter” concludes next month after eight seasons, and “Homeland” embarks on a crucial third season after a more lukewarm reception to season two.

“We are trying to have one anchor show each of the four seasons of the year,” said David Nevins, Showtime’s entertainment president. “I think ‘Ray Donovan’ has already established itself as one of the anchors. It will probably be our anchor in the summer for years to come.”

Building a stable of strong shows is key to Showtime’s strategy of developing original programming to compete with HBO and Netflix, which have come to be known as much for their own productions as for running Hollywood films.

Early reviews for “Ray Donovan” were mixed, though most critics praised Schreiber and Oscar winner Jon Voight, who plays Ray’s menacing father, Mickey, a Boston mobster jailed 20 years for a crime he did not commit.

It’s the relationship at the heart of the drama, and it’s still a mystery. Mickey wants to reconnect with his family in Los Angeles, but the baseballbat wielding Ray, who can fix the worst problems for his Hollywood clientele, can’t fix Mickey. He wants him dead and viewers don’t know why.

Showtime drama ‘Ray Donovan’ “ played by Liev Schreiber.

Nevins said the show draws around 5.7 million viewers each week, either on Sunday nights or through digital recording, a number he calls “remarkably solid.”

It would be higher if not for the Time Warner Cable Inc blackout in some major markets due to a weeks-long fee dispute with CBS, he added.

Women, it turns out, are showing keen interest in the show, which was created and is written by a woman, Ann Biderman.

“You’ve got very interesting moments of male psychology written interestingly by a woman, and I think that true look at the way men think and approach the world is fascinating to women,” Nevins said.

Gordon, a TV and film producer behind hit network shows like ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” paired up with Biderman for his first premium cable production. After Showtime accepted the pitch, they spent months developing the “Ray Donovan” script, finding the director and casting the show.

It took a “very long time” to convince Schreiber to play Ray, he said.

“We had the time to do it right,” said Gordon, a benefit of working for a network that does not need to heed the accelerated schedules of broadcast and commercial TV networks because of advertiser commitments.

For Gordon and Nevins, the unpredictability of the “Ray Donovan” storyline and the character of Ray is key not only to the show, but also to Showtime’s profile.

“There’s a place on television for comfort TV. I don’t think they come to Showtime for comfort,” Nevins said. “Our shows are challenging, subversive and unpredictable.”

Eric Deggans, TV critic at the Tampa Bay Times, said he likes Voight’s and Schreiber’s performances, but believes the show’s meandering storylines can be problematic for retaining viewers.

“I don’t know if that is because they are moving so slowly or if it’s because the storylines are not compelling,” he said.

Final episodes will answer questions like why Ray hates his father, and Nevins says he believes the show will end up being different from anything people have seen on TV. “‘Ray Donovan’ I think comes in with a group with ‘Homeland,’ with ‘Masters of Sex,’ with ‘Shameless’ that I think are taking us to a new level,” Nevins said. “Only history will tell if it has the long-term impact that the ‘The Sopranos’ has on HBO.” — Reuters

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ou’ve heard a lot about the new shows getting the buzz this fall - but what about the returning shows?

Last season, almost all of television’s 30 top-rated shows were in at least their second season. And some old favorites - including “The Big Bang Theory” and “The Bachelor” - made big gains.

What returning shows might come back stong this year? According to Wikia, home to a vast archive of wikis about all forms of entertainment, people are eager to read up on CW’s “Arrow,” CBS’s “2 Broke Girls,” and Fox’s “New Girl.” The wikis for the three shows are the biggest gainers in terms of user interest, according to the company, which shared its internal data exclusively with TheWrap.

The three biggest Wikia losers were ABC’s “Suburgatory” and “Modern Family,” and CBS’s “NCIS: LA.” As the producers of “Sharnado” can tell you, online buzz doesn’t necessarily equal big ratings. Despite its apparent dip in Wikia popularity, “Modern Family” was the biggest comedy on television last season, after “Big Bang Theory.”

“Glee,” “Vampire Diaries,” and “The Simpsons” have the three most popular show wikis on Wikia - but last season, none even cracked the top 30 in the ratings. Still, at the very least, Wikia data tells you what’s popular among one subset of television viewers.

That subset? Wikia users. There are 91.4 million of them worldwide, and their No. 1 English language wiki is for the fantasy video game series “Elder Scrolls.” As you may have guessed, they tend to gravitate toward fictional universes intricate enough to require wikis.

Here are Wikia’s biggest TV gainers and losers, according to WAM, the Wikia Activity Monitor.

Biggest gains: “Arrow”: The Wednesday night DC Comics drama has risen 3,816 spots in the rankings since last season premiere, becoming the 18th-highest-ranked TV show on Wikia.

“2 Broke Girls”: The Monday night comedy has climbed 3,398 spots in the overall Wikia page rankings since it premiered last season, making it the site’s 24th-highestranked TV show overall:

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t’s widely known that Fox’s “American Idol” has been in constant flux in the time since Season 12 wrapped. Shrinking ratings has led to all but one judge, Keith Urban, moving on and both founding executive producers fired and replaced.

And as one after another artist turns down the gig (Kelly Clarkson, Will.I.Am, Dr. Luke, etc.), it begs the question of why it has decided to pass over alums Jennifer Hudson and Adam Lambert - both having expressed a desire to join the show.

When the producers were hot on the idea of an all-alum panel, Hudson came on, struck a deal and then waited as the series weighed its options. While it chased its inaugural winner Clarkson - who was firm in her desire not to join the panel - Lambert also made it clear that he was game.

And, yet, producers decided that an all-alum panel wouldn’t work without Clarkson and ditched the idea all together. Even as Hudson waited in the wings, they went back to their safe place and started negotiating with former judge Jennifer Lopez. Urban was called back, and now they’re having a tough time filling the third spot.

Even without an all-alumni panel in the works, Hudson and Lambert would make excellent choices for judges. Not only would they remind the show’s viewers of its ability to make stars even if one doesn’t win - star-making is the biggest thing that separates “Idol” from its competitors currently - but they both also have careers that would stand up against most artists in the industry today. Note: The thunderous welcome both received during their appearances on last Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards.

Hudson has won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a SAG Award and a Grammy. With two albums under her belt, she has sold more than 1.2 million albums in the U.S. alone.

And she appeals to black audiences - something “Idol” wanted with Minaj and reportedly still wants on its upcoming panel.

Lambert parlayed his runner-up status on the show’s eighth season into a Top 10 album and Grammy award nomination. He is also the only “Idol” alum to undertake a world tour in the year following their season. He has two successful albums behind him. And let us not forget his army of fans, lovingly dubbed “Glamberts.” They’re an attractive set of young people for advertisers.

We can think of a few reasons why “Idol” would decide not to bring on either performer for Season 13. First, it got cold feet about reinventing itself. As you can see, it’s bringing back two former judges and is even in reported talks to bring Randy Jackson back to replace Jimmy Iovine as mentor.

“New Girl”: The Tuesday sitcom is up 1,419 spots in the rankings since its last premiere, making it the 26th-highest-ranked show.

Biggest losses: “Suburgatory”: The sitcom doesn’t have a place on the fall schedule - it’s not expected back until midseason which may explain why there’s less interest in it on Wikia. It

has dropped 2,420 spots to become No. 42 overall in TV rankings. “Modern Family”: ABC’s biggest hit will probably do just fine despite slipping 726 spots to 35th in the TV rankings.“NCIS: LA”: The CBS drama has slipped 617 spots to No. 34.

And to give you a sense of Wikia users’ tastes, here are

the10 most-popular TV wikis: 1.

“Glee” (Fox) 2.

“Vampire Diaries” (CW) 3.

“Simpsons” (Fox) 4.

“Supernatural” (CW) 5.

“Once Upon a Time” (ABC) 6.

“How I Met Your Mother” (CBS) 7.

“Survivor” (CBS)

8.

9.

10.

“Big Bang Theory” (CBS) “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC) “Family Guy” (Fox). — Reuters

Second, it’s afraid of fan backlash. Not so much for Hudson, but for Lambert. “Idol” has been accused of being an unwelcome environment for gay contenders - most choosing to stay closeted while competing, Lambert included. With its ratings troubles, is it afraid to turn off Middle America with an openly gay judge?

And third, it doesn’t know what it wants. With a lot of pressure from the network to turn the show’s ratings losses around and an all new set of executive producers who would love to keep their jobs beyond next season, the show doesn’t know what it wants for its final judges’ seat. Does it want performers like Will.I.Am or Harry Connick, Jr.? Or music producers/executives like Dr. Luke or Scooter Braun?

Hmm, maybe they should focus on someone who would say yes.

In the end, it remains to be seen if judges even matter at all at this point. The show’s decreasing viewership has been a tide it couldn’t turn around for several seasons now even with certified superstars like Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj.

Nevertheless, Hudson and Lambert could have been great (and willing) additions to the Season 13 panel, but it looks like we will never know for sure. “Idol’s” loss. — Reuters

Adam Lambert

Jennifer Hudson

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

lifestyle

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hey already endure staggering levels of street crime.

Now, Venezuelans have something new to fear-muggers who chop off their hair.

Members of the scissor-wielding street gangs are called piranas, after the flesh-eating fish. The gangs sell the stolen hair to salons which fashion it into braids in this oilrich and beauty-obsessed country. Some disconsolate women have given up and had their long hair cut off preemptively to donate it to children who lose theirs to cancer.

Vanessa Castillo cried as her pretty, long jet black hair was snipped for charity. “It is better to give it to kids with cancer than have the piranas steal it,” she said, sniffling.

She spoke at a donate-your-hair-to-kids day at a beauty salon. “Is this what we have come to? For there to be people who steal your hair is a form of chaos,” said Castillo, a 26-year-old dental student. The alarms went off last month in Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second largest city, with

the first complaints of hair-stealing commandos made up of men and women.

Braids sold to salons for use as hair extensions can go for as much as $1,000, depending on how long, thick and healthy the hair is. “It is one thing to give it away because you want to and another that people beat you to take it away,” said hairdresser Milagros Genao, as she cut off Castillo’s locks.

Along with Castillo, hundreds of women and some men showed up for the charity event held at a Caracas hair salon. The cutters were led by Ivo Contreras, a famed stylist who has coiffed Miss Venezuela’s hair and makes wigs for cancer-stricken children.

Venezuelans are so upset that the government has got involved, but only after media reports of harrowing stories of women in Maracaibo being beaten and robbed of their flowing manes. President Nicolas Maduro declared war on the pirana gangs and ordered an investigation into “mafias

that cut off young women’s hair.” “What kind of way is that to mistreat young women? Young women are sacred,” he said.

The conspiracy-minded leader blamed the hair thefts on a “psychological war in the whole country” orchestrated by Colombian and Venezuelan opposition figures based in Miami.

Oddly, no one has gone to the police yet to file a formal complaint. But police are on the lookout, watching plazas and streets in Maracaibo. Press reports say there have been hair theft cases in other cities like Caracas and Valencia.

“A lot of women have come to donate their hair out of fear of being roughed up in the street, as they are in danger. It is a new way of abusing women. We ask the authorities to punish this,” said hairdresser Contreras.

He said recently a woman showed up at his salon with an injury on her back. “They tried to cut it off, and she pre-

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In this May 28, 1997 file photo, US entertainer Michael Jackson gives a little boy an autograph upon his arrival in the northern town of Bremen, where he will begin his Germany concert tour on May 31. Attorneys for AEG Live LLC have shown jurors testimony from several doctors who treated Jackson in the 1990s and 2000s, including several who established friendships with the singer. The jury has also heard about Jackson’s various ailments, which led him to believe he was disfigured, during a negligent hiring trial between the singer’s mother, Katherine Jackson,and AEG Live LLC that concluded its 18th week. — AP

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hen Charlie Annenberg adopted an abandoned golden retriever named Lucky, a new breed of philanthropy was born. Lucky was 4 in 2001 when he teamed up with Annenberg, scion to a wealthy family known for giving money away.

The 46-year-old Annenberg incorporated Lucky into all his projects. They were on the road more than they were home as they traveled around making documentaries about people who were making a difference.

Lucky became Annenberg’s sidekick and soul mate and would eventually inspire donations to dog-focused causes from the as much as $8 million the philanthropist controls annually.

Whether it was a chef at The White House or coal miners 100 feet (30 meters) underground in West Virginia, Lucky made documentary interviews easy because he made everyone so comfortable. In each small town and big city, the man and dog would make unannounced stops at a retirement home, where Lucky would steal the show.

The workload for both grew with explore.org. Using state-of-the-art cameras, Annenberg brought wildlife (bears and bees and beluga whales) to stunning life for millions of web watchers. He and Lucky traveled to every installation in North America and everywhere they went, Annenberg filmed Lucky interacting with people and places.

At the Delta Blues Museum in Mississippi, Annenberg cut a harmonicabacked, spontaneous freestyle jazz tribute to Lucky. “It doesn’t matter what color your skin, man or woman, fat or thin.

He loves them all, every day. His name is Lucky and he’s my friend.”

In 2010, Annenberg decided to use his Lucky photos and films for a travel journal on Facebook, telling the story of their trips. Annenberg called the journal Dog Bless You, he said, because several years earlier Lucky had befriended a homeless man in San Francisco. They shared time and a sandwich with the man. As they were leaving, the man said: “Dog bless you.”

The Facebook page was all about Lucky, but it captured the fervor for pets that was growing around the country.

“Today we have an audience of 505,000 fans,” said Courtney Johnson, explore.org’s community relations manager.

When an earthquake and tsunami struck Japan in 2011, killing more than 18,000 people, Annenberg used Dog Bless You to send six search dogs.

Then war veterans started returning home in large numbers, with wounds including brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. Passion for the cause on Dog Bless You soared. Dogs cost between $2,000 and $50,000 each, depending on how much training they

need, Johnson said.

Annenberg, grandson of the late publisher, ambassador and philanthropist Walter H. Annenberg, is a vice president and director of the grant-making Annenberg Foundation. He gives away up to $8 million a year.

In just three years, he has donated 170 guide dogs, search-and-rescue dogs or service dogs for veterans. The majority of the dogs funded by Annenberg have been for veterans. Because there are waiting lists at almost every training school and experts say thousands of veterans would benefit from a dog, Annenberg plans to accelerate the dog grant program.

Warrior Canine Connection in Brookeville, Maryland, is just one of the dog training schools Annenberg uses, but it’s also one of the most unique because dogs are raised for, by and with veterans.

The latest group of nine puppies is even named after veterans, said Warrior Canine executive director Rick Yount.

Called the “honor litter,” they are Bre, Luke, Gavin, Leigh Ann, Derek, Nick, Florence, Cody and Stanley.

“It’s a good way to say, ‘We are not forgetting about your sacrifices.’ And they (the namesakes) get to spend time with the puppies and get therapy themselves,” Yount said.

Trained veterans teach the puppies for the first eight to 12 weeks. Then the dogs go live with volunteers from military or veteran’s organizations. “By the time a dog is fully trained, over 500 vets and service members have been involved in getting it ready,” Yount said.

“Hearing the stories of how these dogs help bring their humans out of the darkness is incredible. In some instances, having the companionship of a dog is what motivates them to keep going - it gives them a purpose and reason to get up in the morning,” said Dog Bless You fan Rachel Nelken of Vancouver, British Columbia.

As Lucky aged and slowed down, the format of Dog Bless You changed, becoming a tribute to every dog. And Lucky had to retire from traveling.

Annenberg misses Lucky at work.

“He was my partner on all these trips,” he said. “It’s not the same. He would open the door and make me look good.

People always stopped and petted him.

Everyone wanted to keep Lucky, especially the coal miners. Isn’t it interesting that every day was a new day for Lucky?

And he just wanted to be petted? It’s been a great ride.” — AP

n his bright and airy studio near Times Square, Bibhu Mohapatra draped some sequined Spanish mesh fabric over a US size two mannequin and let fashion magic happen.

“It reminds me of my childhood in India where you’d put up mosquito nets at night, but with a little glitter in it,” the 41-year-old designer said.

“It’s sheer, but it drapes beautifully, so I’m trying to figure out how to utilize it.” Such scenes of creative experimentation are unfolding in fashion houses big and small in the run-up to the Spring 2014 collections that start coming down the runway in New York on Thursday.

More than 300 shows and presentations are on the schedule at Lincoln Center and other venues, before the fashion spotlight swings over to London, Milan and Paris.

Mohapatra will send out his latest creations for the namesake label on September 11, but if he’s feeling the pressure, he doesn’t show it.

In a black T-shirt, jeans and sneakers, he’s a serene presence in the 11th floor studio/showroom/atelier where he employs seven people full time, up from two when he started out nearly five years ago.

“It’s been really quite an interesting journey,” he told AFP one recent morning. “As long as you’re open to learning, then you can really build something.” Mohapatra’s interest in fashion goes back to his childhood in the Indian state of Orissa where, on an old sewing machine and some tutoring from his mother, he created outfits for his first muse-his sister.

What he calls “a detour in my life” led him in 1996 to university in the western US state of Utah, where he picked up a graduate degree in economics. Moving to New York, he enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Technology, won its Critic’s Award for Best Evening Wear Designer in his senior year, interned at Halston, then spent eight years as design director at J. Mendel.

Since striking out on his own, his list of clients and fans has grown to include Hollywood stars and First Lady Michelle Obama, who selected a yellow print dress from his 2012 resort collection for a talkshow appearance. For this season, Mohapatra is taking inspiration from Wendy Whelan, a close friend who is reinventing herself through modern dance at the age of 41 after retiring as principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.

“She’s like a little kid trying to explore a new world,” he said. “She’s an artist and she’s found a new language with which to express herself.” That’s something he can relate to, as his business shifts into a higher gear and his profile grows in Asia thanks to an exclusive agreement with Hong Kongbased luxury retailer Lane Crawford.

“I’m at a stage where I want to experiment with fabrics and materials and mix everything,” he said.

“My field of research is kind of boundary-less and I draw inspiration from everything and everywhere.”

Turning inspiration into reality typically involves a lot of drawing.

“I go through weeks of sketching, getting an idea on a piece of paper,” he said. “It takes a long time-sometimes a week, sometimes a couple of weeks-before I really deliver something that is relevant to me.” If designer’s block ever strikes, Mohapatra flees the frenzy that is New York for the solitude of “my tiny little house” in rural Columbia County, a couple of hours by train up the Hudson River. It was near there, inside a 19th century manor turned women’s prison, that he filmed a haunted-house video showcasing his fall 2013 collection inspired by surrealist Man Ray and 1920s

Bibhu Mohapatra unrolls fabric

ferred to come and have it cut off herself,” he said.

Some women in Maracaibo and Caracas are taking precautions. “I have tried to avoid putting myself in danger,” said Ivon Galindo, a 27-year-old computer technician with long brown hair. Women like her and Castillo-when she was still unshorn-wear their hair in a bun or covered under hats. “Having your hair stolen is as if they were mutilating your body,” said Galindo. Nearby, Castillo stood up and looked at her new short hairdo in a mirror that the hairdresser handed to her. “Something is missing, but in my heart I feel good. I feel pretty with my new look,” she said. — AFP

Paris. “I’m a homebody,” said the designer who shuns the hard-partying side of the fashion world.

“Every time my evening plans fall through, I’m like, ‘Woo-hoo, going home, watching TV, ordering in food.’”

Twice a year, Mohapatra returns to India, where he is participating in a government-backed effort to revive the manufacture of traditional handloom textiles in Orissa.

“I do miss India,” he confided. “I miss the people.

I miss the food... It’s very inspiring, going to villages and seeing a whole other world of artistry that has been alive for generations. It just really makes you humble.” Going forward, Mohapatra says the label

Meanwhile, Mohapatra’s forged a sharper idea of the woman he designs for-well-educated, welltravelled, firmly on trend, but also a bit more demanding in the wake of the global economic downturn. “She is no longer just dropping money and walking away with something she fell in love with,” he said.

“She takes five minutes to look at the piece and see how it’s made and asking questions she probably wasn’t asking before 2007.

“I’m an artist, but I don’t make art that just hangs on a wall,” the designer added.

“I develop a product that I hope somebody is going to be moved by in such a way that they are

Indian-born fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra adjusts fabric on a manequin in his studio in New York. Mohapatra will show his latest designs at the New York Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2014 Collections on September 11, 2013. — AFP

Fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra adjusts fabric on a manequin in his studio in New York.

Mohapatra’s interest in fashion goes back to his childhood in the Indian state of Orissa where, on an old sewing machine and some tutoring from his mother, he created outfits for his first muse - his sister. — AFP that bears his name “definitely has to be bigger.”

Key to that vision is building a retail presence within three years in New York and beyond.

“There are so many pockets in the world that we are trying to get into, one by one,” he said.

“We are pretty well recognized in the Middle East and now we’re starting to be in Asia with the best partner you can ask for. It’s baby steps.”

going to put it on their back and feel good about it-so the product has to be really right and evolve, season after season.” — AFP

Designer Mohapatra’s journey from India to New York

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

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(From left) Italian actor Lorenzo Richelmy, Italian actress Margherita Laterza, SSC Napoli football president Aurelio De Laurentiis, Italian director Enrico Maria Artale and Luigi de Laurentiis pose during the photocall of “Il Terzo Tempo” presented in the Orizzonti selection at the 70th Venice Film Festival yesterday at Venice Lido. — AFP

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udi Dench brought pathos and laughter to Venice yesterday with her performance in the title role of “Philomena”, the true story of an Irish woman who searches for the son who was taken from her and sold by nuns. Pope Francis, who has taken over a Catholic Church beset by scandal, should watch the film, director Stephen Frears said.

“I’m very keen that the Pope should see it,” he said.

“Philomena” debuted at the Venice film festival alongside James Franco’s “Child of God”, the chilling tale of a cavedwelling necrophiliac, and “Night Moves” about three ecowarriors who plot to blow up a dam.

Asked why he had made a film about such a taboo subject, Franco said it had provided a way “for me to examine something that’s pushed out of civilised society”. “Philomena” is based on “The Lost Child of Philomena Lee”, the 2009 book by Martin Sixsmith which prompted thousands of adopted Irish children and their mothers to come forward and tell their stories. Philomena goes to America to look for her son with world-weary journalist Sixsmith, played by co-writer Steve Coogan, creating what Frears describes as “an odd-couple film, an extraordinary road trip”.

“I really liked the British humour which contrasts with the religious issues,” said Jacopo Mascholini, a 22-year-old student from Rome who attended the screening.

Put to work in a Catholic laundry after having a baby out of wedlock in 1952, Philomena loses her son to strangers and is prevented from finding him again, but does not lose her

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Catholic religion. Philomena’s uncomplicated faith is emphasised by the cynicism of Sixsmith, who lost his job as a British government spin doctor in 2002, beset by controversy over an email that allegedly said September 11 was a good day to bury bad news.

Sixsmith asks Philomena during the film why God gave people sexual desires if the church would then brand them sinful. “Was it some weird game to relieve the boredom of being omnipotent?” he asks.

“The real Philomena’s faith I found very affecting, but my heart is much more with the cynical journalist,” Frears said.

The two other films being premiered on Saturday and entering the running for a prestigious Golden Lion award depict characters isolated from society. Kelly Reichardt’s “Night Moves” stars Jesse Eisenberg alongside Dakota Fanning and Peter Saarsgard as young radical environmentalists who plot to destroy a huge dam.

Eisenberg’s Josh lives in an environmentally sustainable commune, surrounded by organic artichokes and aura-reading machines, without any obvious family of his own, and fails to fit in. “He is an outsider of the outside,” Reichardt told Reuters on Saturday. “But Josh feels pretty right about everything, so that’s his sort of impetus.”—Reuters From left, actors Dakota Fanning and Jesse Eisenberg pose for photographers during the photo call for the film Night Moves at the 70th edition of the Venice Film Festival. — AP

Swedish director Lukas Moodysson (C) poses with his daughter (C) and actresses Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin (R) and Liv LeMoyne during the photocall of “Vi Ar Bast !” (We are the best !). — AFP

Actresses Michelle Dockery (left) and Freida Pinto.

icolas Cage is once again playing a hard-drinker in his latest film, “Joe,” premiering in competition at the Venice Film Festival, but his approach to the role has evolved since his Oscar-winning performance in “Leaving Las Vegas.”

For the 1995 role of suicidal alcoholic Ben Sanderson, Cage said he was “exploring all ways of finding the honesty of the performance. And if that meant drinking, and videotaping myself drinking, and get ideas about that, I was going to do that.”

But that was another time. “I was completely not doing anything and hadn’t done anything for a while” when he played a pain killer-addicted detective in Werner Herzog’s 2009 “ The Bad Lieutenant,” which premiered in Venice. “It was more a sensory recall of the past,” he said, “and trying to find what those feelings might have been like. And I was happy with those results.”

For the title role in “Joe,” the 49-yearold actor said he focused on finding the truth in the performance. “Even though we weren’t drinking, it was all about finding our way to the truth of Joe. If I was going to spin myself in circles, that is what I was going to do,” he said.

In the film, Cage plays a hard-drinking ex-con whose struggle to maintain control of his life is undermined by his instincts to protect a teen, portrayed by Tye Sheridan, from his alcoholic father.

Green, the director, called it a tale of redemption.

“The movie is about whatever you want it to be about,” Cage said. “If it is about a social crisis, that’s perfectly a good thing to have it be about. For me, it was just about trying to make the character come to life.”

He called “Joe” “one of the most memorable” films he has worked on in his nearly 35-year career. The actor said he has no intention to retire any time soon.

“Film performance is a part of me,” Cage said. “That is not to say I don’t have fantasies of living a life of contemplation and sitting in the sun, but I can’t just sit by the pool with a Mai Tai. I need to work.” “Joe” is among 20 films vying for the coveted Golden Lion, to be awarded in Venice on Sept 7. — AP