5th Sep 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

NA, govt team discuss regional developments

New India state spark demands for more

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SHAWWAL 29, 1434 AH

Afghan woman sought in alleged $1.1m bank theft

Serena, Djokovic send warning shots to rivals

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Arab nations offer to pay for Syria’s strike US credibility on the line, Obama warns

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Qatar’s first MERS death DOHA: A woman has died in Qatar after contracting the MERS coronavirus, becoming the first recorded fatality from the SARS-like virus in the Gulf state, local press reported yesterday. The 56year-old Qatari victim, who already had chronic illnesses, died on August 31, a week after she was admitted to intensive care at a Doha hospital, newspapers quoted the emirate’s Supreme Council of Health as saying. Two other cases of infection have been registered in the Gulf state, including two men, aged 59 and 29, who were hospitalized last month. Another Qatari died of the virus in a hospital in Britain on June 28. The virus has killed 50 people out of 108 confirmed cases of infections, the World Health Organization said on its website on August 30. Saudi Arabia is the country worst hit

by MERS. MERS-Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-is considered a cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Qaeda’s anti-drone cells WASHINGTON: Al-Qaeda’s leaders have set up cells of engineers to try to shoot down, disable or hijack US drones, The Washington Post reported late Tuesday citing top-secret US intelligence documents. The Al-Qaeda leadership is “hoping to exploit the technological vulnerabilities of a weapons system that has inflicted huge losses against the terrorist network,” the Post said online.

“Although there is no evidence that Al-Qaeda has forced a drone crash or successfully interfered with flight operations, US intelligence officials have closely tracked the group’s persistent efforts to develop a counter-drone strategy since 2010,” the report said, citing the secret documents. The Al-Qaeda commanders are keen to achieve “a technological breakthrough (that) could curb the US drone campaign, which has killed an estimated 3,000 people over the past decade,” the Post reported. Drone strikes have forced Al-Qaeda operatives to limit their movements in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and other places.

Qaeda members on trial SANAA: Five Saudis accused of belonging to AlQaeda and of plotting attacks went on trial yesterday in a Yemeni court set up for terrorism cases, the official Saba news agency reported. The five men face charges of plotting “in association with an armed group belonging to Al-Qaeda to carry out criminal acts against members of the armed and security forces in Yemen,” Saba said. They are also on trial for “forging identity documents to obtain passports that enable them to visit Sudan and then Syria,” where foreign Islamists have joined rebel forces, a judicial source said. All five defendants have pleaded innocent, the source said. The next hearing is to take place on September 11. In the latest violence, a senior police officer in the southern province of Shabwa was wounded in a roadside bombing outside his home yesterday, a local government official said.

Ex-defense minister defects AMMAN: Former Syrian Defense Minister General Ali Habib, a prominent member of President Bashar Al-Assad’s Alawite sect, has defected and is now in Turkey, a senior member of the opposition Syrian National Coalition said yesterday. If his defection is confirmed, Habib would be the highest ranking figure from the Alawite minority to break with Assad since the uprising against his rule began in 2011.“Ali Habib has managed to escape from the grip of the regime and he is now in Turkey, but this does not mean that he has joined the opposition. I was told this by a Western diplomatic official,” Kamal Al-Labwani said from Paris. A Gulf source told Reuters that Habib had defected on Tuesday evening, arriving at the Turkish frontier before midnight with two or three other people. He was then taken across the border in a convoy of vehicles. His companions were fellow military officers who supported his defection, the source said. They were believed to have also left Syria but there was no immediate confirmation of that. Labwani said Habib was smuggled out of Syria with the help of a Western country.

“He will be a top source of information. Habib has had a long military career. He has been effectively under house arrest since he defied Assad and opposed killing protesters,” Labwani said.

RED SEA: MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters assigned to Indians of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6 land on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the Red Sea. The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier is moving westward toward the Red Sea, although it has not yet received orders to support a potential US strike on Syria. (Inset) US President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks during a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister (unseen) after their bilateral meeting at the Rosenbad Building in Stockholm yesterday. — AFP

West struggles with online recruitment for Syria jihad PARIS: “I am French,” explains the young man in the YouTube video carrying a Kalashnikov and wearing a kufiya cotton headdress as he sits in front of a waving black-and-white flag of Al-Qaeda. “Oh my Muslim brothers in France, Europe and in the whole world, Jihad in Syria is obligatory,” says the fair-skinned youth with sandy hair, wispy beard and southern French accent, imploring viewers to join him and his younger brother in Syria.

“There are many Muslims in the world and we need you.” Although the United States and its European allies support rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, they consider some rebel groups to be dangerous terrorist organizations linked to Al-Qaeda. Officials in Western countries say they are worried about the threat from their own nationals going abroad to fight in Syria and one day returning to carry out attacks at home.

“There is a key factor in the Syria war now: the

number of French nationals who are fighting there. It is a problem of national security,” a senior French diplomat said. Radicals heading to Syria are learning about the war online from social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and user forums. Security experts say that makes it harder than ever to disrupt the networks that might lure them in. “The Islamist radicalization going on today isn’t with preachers anymore, acting within mosques, but individuals who are using the Internet as a means of propaganda,” said sociologist Samir Amghar, author of the book “Militant Islam in Europe.” As the West considers strikes on Syria to punish Assad’s government for suspected chemical weapons attacks, as many as 600 Europeans have already joined the rebellion against him, according to the European Union, which in May recommended better tracking of social media to spot foreign fighters.

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Kuwait to lift visa ban on 6 countries

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WASHINGTON: Arab nations have offered to help pay for any US military intervention in Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry told lawmakers yesterday as he sought support for missile strikes. “With respect to Arab countries offering to bear the cost and to assist, the answer is profoundly yes, they have. That offer is on the table,” Kerry said as he appeared before a House of Representatives panel.

The offer was “quite significant,” he said. “Some of them have said that if the United States is prepared to go do the whole thing the way we’ve done it previously in other places, they’ll carry that cost. That’s how dedicated they are to this.” But he stressed: “Obviously, that is not in the cards and nobody is talking about it, but they are talking about taking seriously getting this job done.” He was appearing before the House Foreign Affairs committee on the second day of the administration’s blitz on Capitol hill to persuade lawmakers to approve limited military strikes.

In an impassioned appeal for support both at home and abroad, President Barack Obama said yesterday the credibility of the international community and Congress is on the line in the debate over how to respond to the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.

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Over 200 languages lost in diverse India

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Kuwaiti freed in Philippines

FUKUSHIMA: This aerial photo shows the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan. Just weeks after Japanese officials acknowledged that radioactive water has been seeping into the Pacific from the tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant for more than two years, new revelations of leaks of contaminated water from storage tanks have raised further alarm. — AP (See Page 12)

KUWAIT: Authorities in the Philippines succeeded yesterday in releasing the Kuwaiti hostage, Ahmad Al-Kanderi, an official source of the Foreign Ministry said. The source said the Kuwaiti embassy was assured about his health condition, but indicated that Al-Kanderi was still in hands of the authorities for interrogations about the circumstances of his abduction, and that he would be handed over later to the Kuwait diplomatic mission.

He praised the efforts of the authorities, namely the foreign minister, who coordinated with the Kuwaiti authorities to secure his freedom. The ministry source also thanked Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister and the security chiefs who had exerted efforts for Al-Kanderi’s freedom.

The embassy would organize Al-Kanderi’s departure to Kuwait as soon as possible after his hand-over to the mission by the local authorities in the Philippines. — KUNA

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

KUWAIT: Members of the cabinet and the parliament committee holding the meeting yesterday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

NA panel, govt team discuss regional developments KUWAIT: The government’s plan vis-a-vis regional developments highlighted a meeting here yesterday between the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee and a team of seven ministers headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

Chair of the parliament’s committee, House Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim, said that the meeting was called upon by Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid to review the government’s preparations for an expected military strike in the Middle East region. In addition to the committee members, 24 MPs attended the meeting.

Last Thursday, the cabinet held a special session under the chairmanship of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah to review regional developments.

The Interior Ministry and other government entities were tasked to follow up on Middle East developments and look into measures to protect the country’s security and stability. — KUNA

State departments discuss timings change KUWAIT: Officials from the Civil Service Commission, Interior Ministr y and Education Ministry meet today to discuss proposals for changing school timings and work hours at the public sector in order to prevent traffic jams when the academic year starts later this month.

On that regard, Al-Qabas quoted a CSC source yesterday who said that proposals on that regard have been pitched between 2010 and 2011 with the main goal of setting separate times between the start of the school day and the beginning of working hours in the public sector.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity following a meeting Tuesday which he said featured discussion of two proposals, the first to change working

hours at state departments from 7 am to 1:30 pm, and the second from 8 am to 2:30 pm. The Ministry of Education confirmed in a statement yesterday that timing proposals will be discussed during today’s meeting, but denied reports suggesting that they have agreed to change school timings. Director of the General Traffic Department, Maj Gen Abdulfattah Al-Ali, was quoted earlier this week saying that the Interior Ministry approved a proposal to set the beginning of a school day at 7 am while keeping the start timing for universities and colleges at 9 am. The senior official expressed optimism that the proposal will likely be approved by the CSC and Education Ministry during today’s meeting.

Kuwait calls for increased Africa-Arab cooperation KUWAIT: Kuwait has called for increased political and economic co-operation between Africa and the Arab world as it prepares to host the third Africa-Arab Summit later this year. The summit runs from Nov 18 to 20 in the Arab nation with 10 percent of world oil reserves. The second Africa-Arab Summit was held in Libya in 2010 during the reign of Col Muammar Gaddafi. Kuwait ambassador to Zimbabwe Abdullah AlSharhan said it was time for Africans and Arabs to strengthen cooperation in all fields.

“Africa is a huge continent and has many things to offer not just to the Arab world but to the whole world. Africa has natural resources, agriculture and labour force.

Linking Africa with Arab countries in a very strong way is good for both sides. We have good relations with Africa already and such summits will help iron out any challenges and open new channels of co-operation between the two sides,” he said.

Al-Sharhan said Africa could also play a pivotal role in bringing sanity to the volatile Arab region.

“In our region there are many political problems and support from African countries is very necessary. There is need for greater co-ordination between Africans and Arabs.

Even at the United Nations level we must support and help each other in times of crisis. Meetings like the Arab-Africa summits must bring closer together Africans and Arabs in a mutually beneficial way. We have

to put our hands together and overcome any challenges for the betterment of our relations,” he said. Al-Sharhan hailed the good political relations existing between Zimbabwe and Kuwait but urged increased economic co-operations.

“We started our relations a long time ago.

In 1990, during the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, Zimbabwe was a member of the Security Council and supported us. Let me take this opportunity once again to thank President Mugabe and the Government and people of Zimbabwe for their strong position supporting Kuwait,” he said Al-Sharhan expressed confidence that the summit would be a great success.

“We will do whatever it takes as Kuwait to make the summit successful. We have the experience. I am very optimistic that the coming summit will be successful and well organised. This is the third Africa-Arab Summit with the second one having been held in Libya,” he said. At its 2010 summit held in Libya, the Arab-Africa Summit attended by more than 60 Arab and African Heads of State called for promotion of cooperation in fields of energy production, water resources, infrastructure and agriculture, among other things. The summit adopted cooperation agreements including the Africa-Arab Partnership Strategy, Joint Action Plan 2011-2016, and the Resolution for the Establishment of the Joint Africa-Arab Fund for disaster response.

No shortage in leukemia treatment medication Social media rumors baseless

By A Saleh KUWAIT: Undersecretary of the Health Ministry, Dr Khaled Al-Sahlawi denied shortage in leukemia treatment medication at Kuwait Cancer Control Center (KCCC). He added that Health Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al-Abdullah had asked him to respond to some social media rumors in this concern. “What sometimes happens is that some patients sent for treatment abroad may return with some chemotherapy prescriptions using certain medicines”, he explained noting when the same medicine is not available, the ministry provides an alternative that is sometimes refused by patients. “In this case, the ministry contacts our health offices abroad to send the same medicines that are sometimes delayed due to cargo and shipping conditions”, he added denying that the lack was due to the high price. “Patients’ health is more important”, he concluded.

Investment areas MP Abduallah Al-Traiji filed a parliamentary proposal on transforming Blocks 3 4 and 12 in Salmiya into investment areas to help the residents with their traffic woes. He added that citizens living in those areas have been suffering because of the traffic congestions caused by expats and bachelors staying there.

Oil fields Kuwait oil Company launched a plan to securely fence the southern oil fields, said informed sources, noting that 66 contracting companies had been invited to bid for the tender by November 12.

Abdul Mohsen Al-Mutairi, Undersecretary of

the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor recently referred some board members in Qortuba Co-op for prosecution over accusations made by the minister of communications about their involvement in forging some communication contracts.

Iraqi appeal Iraqi lawmaker Etab Al-Doury recently urged the Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Khodair Al-Khaza’e to not sign an agreement to arrange marine navigation between Iraq and Kuwait in Khour Abdullah. She claimed that the agreement with Kuwait gives it the remaining marine borders it had already taken over by building the Mubarak harbor, and called for returning the treaty to parliament for voting. She also urged the Iraqi public opinion to pressure the government.

Marine pollution The Environment Public Authority (EPA) is scheduled to meet on Sunday with specialized companies to discuss their views on a project aimed at building, installing and operating floating marine pollution detecting stations, said informed sources noting that the current monitoring systems were no longer able to accurately measure pollution levels.

Court hearing The Cessations Court decided on holding a hearing on October 9 to discuss a case demanding writing MPs Khalaf Dumaitheer and Khaled Al-Shulaimi candidacy off.

Ownership shift MP Riyadh Al-Adsani filed a proposal to shift the ownership of Blocks 3 and 4, in Southern

Khairan to the Housing Authority so that the latter can use it to build around 1,200 housing units.

Award competition Mariam Al-Wetaid, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, announced holding the Essa Hussen Al-Yousifi Award Competition amongst public schools for the second year. The competition aims at encouraging the use of elearning technology, teaching aids and school administration systems. Notably, the competition comes within the 4th Kuwait Education Technology Conference and Exhibition (EduTech) due to be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel under auspices of Minister Nayef Al-Hajraf from October 29-30.

Charity fund Minister of Education and Higher Education, Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf said that he had discussed the needs of the students’ charity fund and that he would accordingly, report to the Cabinet requesting increasing the fund’s budget so that it could support more students, especially since recommendations have been made to include the cost of books. The minister also denied intention to postpone the beginning of the school year because of the regional situation.

“We have already started reviewing the emergency plan”, he said.

“Private education plays a major role in Kuwait since it involves around 240,000 students”, said the minister noting that a new law for private education was being discussed in parliament. The minister also said he met with a British team entrusted with studying foreign and bilingual schools and that the team’s final report would be submitted in December.

Drunk duo in police custody

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The security information department said a car which was stopped at a check point on Gulf road attempted to escape and was chased and caught near Shuwaikh public park. A Kuwaiti and a Moroccan under the influence of alcohol were caught and sent to concerned authorities.

Citizen found dead A female citizen was found dead under mysterious circumstances. Hawally prosecutors

ordered the body to be sent to the coroner. The 50-year-old was first taken to Mubarak hospital where they found a cut on her chin. When her husband was questioned on what happened, he said that she fell from her bed and died.

Asians busted Farwaniya police arrested two Asians in possession of 29 bottles of liquor.

Travel agency scam A citizen accused a travel agency of cheating him, as he booked a hotel reservation through

them, and found out that the company did not honor the contract.

Filipina harassment A Filipina accused a citizen of harassing her, and he was caught by passersby.

Asian robbed An Asian accused four persons of robbing him of KD 105, after claiming they were detectives. When he pulled out his wallet, they snatched it and escaped.

Fire breaks out in power plant

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A fire broke out in the power generating and water desalination station in Shuwaikh. Deputy Director General for Fire Fighting and Human Development Brig Khalid Al-Mikrad said they received a call at 4:17 am and Shuwaikh Industrial Fire Center responded and arrived at the scene within three minutes. Combustible chemicals covering an area of 1,500 meters square caught fire. Madina and Salmiya centers were called and the fire was brought under control in record time.

Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

KUWAIT: His Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receiving the 25th traditional pearl diving expedition’s participants yesterday.

Pearl diving expedition preserves Kuwaiti heritage: CP KUWAIT: The annual traditional pearl diving expedition will always remind Kuwaiti youth of their country’s glorious past and heritage, His Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said here yesterday.

This statement came during Sheikh Nawaf’s reception of the 25th traditional pearl diving expedition’s participants.

The expedition is held annually under the auspices of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

During the meeting, attended by Minister of Information and State Minister for Youth Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem AlHumoud Al-Sabah, Board Chairman and Director General of Public Authority for Youth and Sports (PAYS) Faisal Al-Jazzaf, and other officials, Sheikh Nawaf conveyed greetings from His Highness the Amir to the expedition’s participants.

He stressed that the annual event reflected the youth’s keenness on preserving Kuwait’s traditions, adding that the hardship experienced during the trip also

was reflective of the younger generation’s tenacious attitude.

The Deputy Amir also welcomed participants from Oman and Bahrain who took part in this expedition.

Sheikh Nawaf thanked Public Authority for Youth and Sports (PAYS) and also the administration at Kuwait Sea Sports Club for organizing this expedition.

On his part, Minister of Information Sheikh Salman thanked the Kuwaiti leadership for its continuous support towards the event which would hopefully help in carrying on Kuwaiti traditions to the future generations.

Also attending the meeting today was the head of the Kuwaiti Sea Sports Club Fahad Ahmad Al-Fahad who expressed gratitude towards the Kuwaiti leadership and several other organizations for supporting the traditional pearl diving expedition. He affirmed that the expedition helped in solidifying the sense of national unity amongst the young generation of Kuwaitis.

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

The candidates who recorded for the forthcoming polls, in the constituencies are: Fourth (constituency): Sayer Atiya Salem Al-Hamdan, Abdullaziz Abdullah Murad

Rashid Mohammed Al-Khalaf and Faisal Mohammed Jassim Al-Hafidh Al-Tannak.

Fifth: Badriya Ghareeb Mohammed Abdullah Thiab.

Sixth: Bader Sehab Humaidan Khulaifan Al-Muwaizri.

Eighth: Saeed Hassan Abdulmanee AlSawaan Al-Ajmi and Ghuson Khalaf Ali Saduon Al-Harbi.

Nominees’ registration is due to proceed till Sept 6. — KUNA

Wild plants play vital role in stabilizing sand dunes KUWAIT: A number of wild plants act as perfect wind-blown sand-breakers, playing a vital role in stabilizing sand dunes, said Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research here yesterday.

KISR Researcher Dr Ali Al-Dousiri said that Kuwait lies on the natural path of sand dunes situated in the north and northwestern parts of the country and as a result, sandstorms become more prevalent during certain seasons.

Dr. Al-Dousiri said that the KISR had looked into measures to find natural sandbreakers to prevent sand dunes from moving and the cheapest method would be through growing certain types of wild

plants and trees from desert and sea habitats. The KISR gathered 800 samples from sand dunes and tried to grow several types of wild plants, said Dr. Al-Dousiri, adding that the KISR research revealed that 11 kinds of plants, like Tamarix trees (Athel) and Rhanterium epapposum plant (Arfaj), proved to be excellent sand dune stabilizers.

Dr. Al-Dousiri said that it was necessary for all sectors of the state to cooperate in order to prevent sand from crawling into populated areas and roads, noting that growing wild plants on both sides of roads and on the outskirts of cities and residential areas was the solution. — KUNA

Fahad Al-Fahad also stressed that the participation of Bahraini and Omani youth in the expedition was a sign that GCC nations were keen on preserving their joint

Kuwaiti students dissatisfied with teacher-pupil interaction Is teaching a child’s play?

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: A study was published in the Economist magazine recently which reported that Kuwaiti students trust their education system in general and about 52 percent of them trust it “somewhat” while 20 percent were very happy and believed that they are getting high quality education. The study also showed that Kuwaiti students were dissatisfied with the teacher-student interaction and many strongly criticized their teaching ideology.

Fawaz, a 25-year-old student who graduated recently, agrees with the study and thinks there is a lack of a healthy interaction between students and teachers as the teachers have a low standards. “In my opinion, no teacher should be employed unless he passes a strict personal interview to ensure his ability and qualification.

The majority of teachers here are not qualified.

The “teachers” graduate from the easiest colleges and become lecturers despite bad manners. He can probably teach but his behavior is bad with students. They should be taught to make studying fun instead of just delivering information. This is why a personal interview is all the more important,” he told the Kuwait Times.

Education differs in private and public schools. “Although the curriculum is the same and is approved by the Ministry of Education with slight changes, there is a difference in student’s standards. In the private schools, it’s much better, as the student in first grade of a private school is more knowledgeable than a student in

third grade in a public school. In private schools, they have better administration, and the teachers are stricter in terms of discipline. Even the parents who send their kids to private schools are strict with their wards considering they pay such high fees,” added Fawaz.

John, a father of two, complained of the huge number of assignments dumped on his kids.

“The minute they reach home, they start on their assignments and spend about 4-5 hours doing their homework. I don’t think this is right as they should have time to play or relax after spending half of their day at school. We’re paying the schools to impart education to them and I really wonder what they’re doing at school if they’re spending five hours doing their homework after coming back. Even the Philippines Ministry of Education is working on decreasing homework,” he pointed out.

Mish’al, a 21-year-old student at the Kuwait University complained of wasta. “There is wasta in grading the students and discrimination between bedoons and Hadar, Sunni and Shia practiced by many teachers. About 70 percent of the teachers in Kuwait University are not qualified to be teaching students. All teachers should receive courses to deal with students to provide a high quality of education,” he stated.

Majda Abdeen, a retired teacher agrees that the quality of teachers currently is bad. “During our school and college days, the teachers used to be really competent and capable but today it’s the opposite. They get grades through wasta.

Some graduate from mathematics and end up teaching Arabic. Are the really qualified to teach

a whole generation of students? If a teacher got bad grades in English, how could he/she teach the language to students? This affects the crop of students,” she noted.

Negligent parents also play a great role. “As Kuwaitis, we depend on our maids to teach the children and help them with their homework.

Parents don’t know about their children and they are aggressive when the school calls them to inform them of their bad grades. The family is mainly responsible for the child’s welfare and only after this, the Ministry of Education can be held responsible for hiring teachers with little or no experience. I remember a teacher once asked me how to teach and I trained him. Teachers from the West receive high salaries whereas Kuwaiti teachers receive about KD 400,” stressed Abdeen.

Abdeen also thinks there is corruption in education, especially in the private sector. “Private schools don’t like to employ Kuwaiti teachers.

There is no failure in private schools. Parents give fancy gifts to foreign teachers who in turn give their kids good grades. One of the teachers I knew received free airline tickets every year to fly home for the good grades he gave his kids.

Western teachers become millionaires after working here for a few years,” she revealed.

Amer, a father of four, agreed that the teacher should make the students fall in love with the subject to be able to understand it better.

“Private schools have higher standards than public schools and are very strict about attendance and are in constant communication with the parents,” he said.

New rules to lift visa ban on 6 nationalities KUWAIT: A ban on visa issuance for citizens of six countries could be lifted next month after Kuwait announces new rules to regulate this process, a local daily reported yesterday, quoting a Migration General Department official. “Work is currently ongoing to put together the controls and mechanisms when allowing citizens of Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen to apply for an entrance or dependency visa”, said the source who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity.

The source did not provide details about the new mechanisms which are expected to be announced next October. “This is a humanitarian step from Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad AlKhalid Al-Sabah given the large number of residents hoping to bring relatives to Kuwait”, he explained. The ban was imposed in 2011 for “security reasons” stemming from an unstable political situation in some of the aforementioned states. In

other news, Al-Rai also reported that the immigration departments across Kuwait adopted new measures to deal with dependency visas for housewives and children over the age of 21.

Sources indicated that visas issued before Sept 3, 2011 will not be renewed unless the applicant is fingerprinted and undergoes a new medical test.

“The measure is precautionary since it allows the state to determine the security and health status of housewives and young adults who can remain under their fathers’ dependency until they turn 24years-old,” the sources said. According to the source, the new mechanism allows the Interior Ministry to reveal suspects with criminal records or cases infected with infectious diseases. “This move will come into effect after the Interior Ministry finishes connecting its database with the Health Ministry’s database to prevent manipulation”, the source added.

Premier orders probe into orphan’s death

KUWAIT: The KISR had looked into measures to find natural sand-breakers to prevent sand dunes from moving and the cheapest method would be through growing certain types of wild plants and trees from desert and sea habitats.

pearls found during their trip.

Also the Omani team which took part in the expedition presented the Deputy Amir with a souvenir. — KUNA

heritages found in traditional pearl diving.

At the end of the reception, the expedition’s participants presented His Highness Sheikh Nawaf with a souvenir consisting of

KUWAIT: Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah instructed Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Thekra Al-Rashidi to take measures to “hold accountable” those responsible for the death of an orphan who escaped from a social care house before dying in a traffic accident.

Al-Qabas daily reported Tuesday that the 21year-old victim left the center which is supervised by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor early Wednesday morning. She drove her car on Gulf Road and met with an accident which killed her instantly. Her body was left at the morgue at Sabah Hospital for four days before she was

finally identified. After the case garnered attention and demands for extra attention at social care homes, the same daily reported yesterday that Minister Al-Rashidi gave instructions to “form a higher committee to investigate the case and look into other problems that social care sector faces”, according to sources.

Meanwhile, Al-Qabas spoke with employees at several social care homes across the country and learnt of cases which “require constant observation” as well as “suicide attempts”. They also complained against “unqualified social workers” who they said were hired under suspicious circumstances.

KD240 million spent in subsidies last year KUWAIT: Kuwait paid KD240 million in subsidies enjoyed by citizens during the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2013, recording a stable rate for the third consecutive year, according to a source quoted yesterday by Al-Rai daily.

According to the quarterly report released by the health statistics control department in the Ministry of Health, Kuwait’s population reached nearly 3,719,000, out of which Kuwaitis make 1,185,000 or 31.9 percent of the total population.

Speaking to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity, the source indicated that the actual value of spending on basic commodities reached around KD112 million from the total budget, whereas it reached KD26,950,000 in the second quarter of this year.

The largest part of subsidies went to basic commodities of steel and concrete, said the sources, who clarified that subsidies are spent in two ways. “The first category pertains with basic food commodities and falls under the responsibility of the Kuwait Flour Mills Company, as it covers rice, sugar, lintels, milk powder, vegetables oil, tomato paste, chicken and baby formula”, the source said.

He added that the second category includes “steel, concrete and bricks, in addition to meat and flour”.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL kuwait digest

kuwait digest

Define development

Sense and nonsense

By Khaled Abdullah Al-Awadhi

By Dr Salah Al-Utaiqi

I

n order to not get lost in defining development, we should not be amazed by extravagant appearances. Development is more about services rather than building a hospital, for instance; development is more about having proper curriculum than school buildings.

Can we claim to be developed just by having a giant airport that cost millions to build? Have we achieved the sought development through building new schools for the growing number of students or building a millions worth university? Does building an expensive multi-dock harbor like the Mubarak Port mean that we have become an advanced nation? Does building a modern stadium, a huge medical edifice, new highways, bridges, power and water plants such as those in Shoaiba and Zour mean that we have actually achieved the development we seek? I don’t think so!

Development, as I perceive it, is the outcome of our educational facilities competing with those in advanced countries, not with those in Djibouti or Yemen. In my opinion, development is not only about building a gigantic airport costing around one billion dinars to serve 25 million passenger annually. The real meaning of development is much more than that. It should include an integrated commercial and economic plan on how to run such a big airport with such a big capacity. Development means that we should look for new sources of energy, like solar power for instance, and conduct researches and studies on how to make the best use of these resources instead of building new plants that would only use up our sole finite resource to light our houses, chalets and farms.

Development does not absolutely mean building a new harbor without having a clear objective to achieve by having such facilities, such as turning Kuwait into a real transit point for exchanging goods between East and West. Naturally enough, development does not mean having a huge stadium like the Jaber Stadium while we lack the simplest elements of success in sports. Finally, development does not mean having a gigantic cement edifice like Jaber Hospital while our health services are below standards and make us travel abroad for medical treatment! — Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

The corrupt Arab Spring

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

A

true Arab Spring should start from the base of the pyramid and not from the top. Real change usually starts from the base. That is why all Arab Spring revolutions have failed to achieve anything so far and, instead of launching the dawn of change, complete darkness is prevailing and everything is still the same. So those in seek of change may have to wait for another ‘spring’ in 20 or 30 years from now.

The whole story is that changing the head of a regime does not necessarily lead to changing the way people think. That is completely untrue. So, the Arab spring only changed leaders while the rest of their regimes remained plagued with the same social diseases, human contradictions, social corruption, racism and religious and doctrinal polarization.

In the West, change usually starts from the bottom upwards because if one changes the head alone, a new one will have to deal with the same diseased body and, eventually, nothing will change. The real remedy needs the whole body to realize and believe in freedom and true democracy for all - not only use it for personal gains and forbid others from using it. Democracy should not be used to criticize opponents which indicate disbelief in freedom and democracy unless they are used as vehicles to achieve racial interests. This means that changing the head will always be an ineffective exercise which only changes some names!

The Arab Spring is nothing more than a headchanging storm while the same corruption that had initially triggered them remains unchanged.

A true revolution should be directed against corruption, laziness and law violations with this or that excuse.

Now, without going into theories, everybody in Kuwait calls for changing the government’s erroneous performance while 90 percent of the people do not show any respect for one of the laws such as that of fastening seat belts. Some of the opposition leaders are deputized to work in other places by wasta. Some of them have not even gone to work for five years or more and still call for ‘fighting corruption’ forgetting all about their own misgivings. The real problem is that some people believe them, adapt their calls and consider them ‘opposition icons’. So, it is a problem of understanding and confrontation. Everybody wants to fight ‘others’ corruption and does not want anybody to see their own.

The real Arab Spring ought to start changing our communal way of thinking so that we can then start talking about change coming from within our country, not from abroad. Do you know why some special MPs always win the elections and get your votes? Well, this is because you are only fighting corruption in theory while you actually want it to stay. So, please stop telling me that you oppose the government’s policies while you work for it.

If you really want to know whether the government was doing well or not, check the names of writers criticizing it, check where they work and how many of have been deputized elsewhere and not gone to work for five years.- Al-Anba

I

have no idea who is responsible in the government for plans and their execution, but I cannot find any logic behind many of the projects I have come across. One of these projects is a bridge constructed on Riyadh Road where vehicles basically exit and return to the same road.

During my time in the parliament (the second scrapped assembly), I worked with fellow members to find the reason behind the seemingly useless bridge or the person behind it, but we received no answers.

We tried to stop constructions from progressing forward, but this was met with no response as well.

This project reminds me of a tale I read a long time ago about a very dangerous curved road where many car accidents used to take place. After people complained about the situation, the roads ministry held meetings to find a solution to the problem. Officials and engineers discussed several outlined plans, but

kuwait digest

The reality of realty

By Ibrahim Al-Awadhi

D

espite not really relying on Twitter as a source of news, my attention was caught recently by discussions regarding the housing issue in Kuwait where people expressed displeasure in the situation as well as the ideas that the government and parliament promote as “solutions”. Many articles have been written on this specific subject, so instead of proposing solutions, I am going to highlight facts that might get the attention of decision-makers.

According to the quarterly real-estate report for the Kuwait Finance House, the average price for a square meter in the Capital Governorate which is considered the most expensive in terms of land prices is at KD 944.

The smallest possible property area can be estimated at 375 square meters, which is sold at an estimated price of KD 354,000. Ahmadi Governorate is considered to have the lowest average price for lands at KD 468 per square meter, making a 375 square meter land worth KD 175,000 in average. Note that these prices are only for a piece of land and does not include construction costs.

According to the latest statistics released from the property registration department in the Ministry of Justice, the least expensive house sold last year was a 300 square meter house in Al-Ferdous sold for KD 170,000. Meanwhile, several houses were sold for over KD 600,000 in South Surra. In the meantime, the lowest price paid for an apartment was KD 60,000 in a deal to buy a nearly 100 square meter flat in Mahboulah, whereas the average price for apartment sale reaches KD 90,000.

The number of housing applications at the Public Authority for Housing Welfare are around 101,000, whereas the PAHW has failed to cover more than five percent of these applications last year. Large demand which exceeds supply by a tenth is the main factor behind the increase in property prices in Kuwait.

According to latest estimates, the volume of supply reaches only five percent of the current volume of demand.

Apartment rents have increased erratically to the point where the rent allowance that the government pays to citizens is dwarfed by the total monthly rent.

For example, an apartment in South Surra is rented for an average of KD 450 a month, whereas the monthly rent reached KD 600 in some areas. In the meantime, the idea of increasing the rent allowance would definitely lead to further increase in rents and property prices.

The relatively long period of time where a citizen has to wait for a government house means that they pay a considerable amount on rents during that time.

For example, if a citizen receives their house 12 years after submitting their application, and if they are paid KD 400 per month to rent an apartment during that period, this means that he would have paid around KD 85,000 in rents while waiting.

The average volume of trade in the housing sector reaches more than KD 1 billion a year, which is a huge amount considering the magnitude of the housing crisis in Kuwait, knowing also that the housing sector dominates the majority percentage of trade compared to other property sectors. It is also worth mentioning that the Sabah Al-Ahmad Sea City always takes over more than 40 percent of the total amount of trade according to recent statistics, which reflects the high level of activity at new residential sites which subsequently leads to price inflation.

The biggest problem arguably is that the state continues to control more than 93 percent of lands for reasons that have been discussed many times in the press.

The last thing left for me to say is that what is mentioned above is not imaginary, but the actual reality in Kuwait.— Al-Ra

Residents of Al-Yarmouk look at the bridge every day in amazement and wonder why it was constructed exactly, just like the rest of us. In the meantime, they call upon the government to take over and turn the bridge around, similar to the story I mentioned earlier.

The bridge can go on to become a landmark and show how much a country can waste public funds. no progress was achieved despite several meetings.

One day, people started seeing trucks carrying building material and driving towards the road’s location. They found out later that a hospital was going to be built there in order to treat accident victims.

Government officials oversaw construction step by step, and were present at the hospital’s opening ceremony which was also attended by the governor.

And as accidents continued to happen, officials decided to build a garage in order to fix cars damaged there. A gas station was opened afterwards, followed by a grocery store. After that, an insurance company opened a branch to help address the traffic problem, and a police station was built to follow up with accidents. Soon afterwards, a huge sign was set up at the location asking for donations to build a mosque to serve the road’s ‘community’. And just like that, the faulty road became a landmark.

Residents of Al-Yarmouk look at the bridge every day in amazement and wonder why it was constructed exactly, just like the rest of us. In the meantime, they call upon the government to take over and turn the bridge around, similar to the story I mentioned earlier. The bridge can go on to become a landmark and show how much a country can waste public funds. The bridge is closed now because starting work on it will create a furor but it is still considered a bone of contention even when closed. There is no solution in sight and no assurance that similar projects will not take seeds in the future. I have come to believe that there is very little, if any sense left in the government. —Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

In my view

US attack on Syria to change game

One-resource mentality

By Hassan Barari

T

he expected American strike against the Syrian Jordan.

Bluntly put, Washington has no interest in bringing regime will surely deter Assad from using chemical weapons again. Obama’s reaction will be seen as about a quick collapse of the regime. All America is hopan effort to protect the non-proliferation regime and to ing for is to deescalate the war and force the regime to remind other countries that the use of weapons of mass join a political process in the near future. This perhaps is destruction will not be tolerated by the US and there- the only way forward for the Americans. But there is a possibility that the talks yield no constructive outcome. fore will not go unchecked.

Apparently, Assad had underestimated the ability of In this case, Washington hopes that its strategy of boostPresident Obama to take military action. It seems that ing the moderate elements of the opposition would pay off. It will happen only when Syria and its allies were under the United States would think the impression that Obama had been too obsessed with The result of an attack could, to of adopting a different strategy bring an end to Bashar ’s internal issues so he would some extent, not be foreseen. to regime. not refrain from another miliWith the international contary adventure in the Middle Despite the limited capabilities of East. That was, perhaps, the the Syrian regime, it might decide demnation of the use of chemical weapons in Syria and the reason Assad’s troops in April crossed the red lines drawn to retaliate against US interests or need to restore American deterby Obama. its allies in the region. In this case, rence, Washington can hardly of any alternative but to Not surprisingly, Obama the US will find itself drawn to the think strike. If the attack is to take can no longer afford not to act on his red lines. On Syrian swamp slowly but surely. place, Obama will depart his Saturday, he made it perfectly That said, the most likely scenario earlier position that his administration came to put an end to clear that a limited military strike in scope and time is that the United States will attack American wars in Arab and would be carried out but he a number of selected targets and Muslim countries.

Of course, the result of an preferred to consult with the that the regime would not retaliate attack could, to some extent, Congress before any action.

Perhaps, the defeat of the hoping that after a couple of days not be foreseen. Despite the British government in the of attack Washington would stop limited capabilities of the Syrian regime, it might decide to retalParliament has discouraged Obama from carrying out an and leave. It will not be in the best iate against US interests or its attack without having a clear interest of the Syrian regime to allies in the region. In this case, US will find itself drawn to green signal from the retaliate or provoke the American the the Syrian swamp slowly but Congress. And yet, many ponder whether the attack would side to keep the military pressure surely. That said, the most likely scenario is that the United be a game changer or it on the regime.

States will attack a number of would change the balance of selected targets and that the power on the ground in Syria.

Observers argue that a limited attack in time and scope regime would not retaliate hoping that after a couple of can weaken the regime and boost the morals of the days of attack Washington would stop and leave. It will rebels. Yet, it may not help change the balance of power not be in the best interest of the Syrian regime to retalinor put an end to the ongoing conflict. Indeed, the US ate or provoke the American side to keep the military strike is not part of a long-term American strategy of pressure on the regime.

Some in the Middle East doubt that Obama would helping the moderate components of the Syrian opposition. Seen in this way, if the attack is not part of a not opt for a military strike at all. If this were to be true, broader strategy then it is difficult to see an immediate then Washington would lose its leverage in other important issues particularly the Iranian nuclear program. transformation of the ongoing conflict.

To be sure, the American administration is still grap- Apparently, Obama is not oblivious to the existence of pling with the rebels. On the one hand, Washington has skeptics. In a televised speech on Saturday, Obama said a long-term objective to change the regime in that the United States, “should take military action Damascus, but on the other hand, the possibilities of against Syrian targets”. He appealed to the Congress for anarchy and the empowerment of radical Islamists is a the approval of his plans. Barring any new surprise, I nightmare for America’s friends particularly Israel and think that Obama will order his forces to attack Syria.

By Osama Safar

S

everal MPs have requested the state to stop depending on oil as a sole source of income; demands which many agree are already overdue.

But since media statements alone cannot bring results, MPs are required to take the initiative and propose draft bills to invest in other sources. There are many ventures that Kuwait can start in order to increase non-oil revenues in the shortest possible time-frame. These projects include: 1 Increasing oil derivatives’ industries: Kuwait can make a huge profit by increasing production of derivatives based on current price of crude oil.

2 Investing more on marine resources: Investment here is progressing very slowly since it requires increasing the number of companies and opening the doors for the private sector to invest there.

3 The most important field to focus on is industries: Kuwait is rich in industries which unfortunately face unimaginable obstacles. If you try to compare the paperwork an investor has to go through here with that of any other Gulf state, you will find the inconceivable. Every investor’s dream in Kuwait is to see extra care put into the field of national industry.

4 Solar energy: It is sad to think that Kuwait has not benefitted the slightest from solar power to date despite sunny weather dominating the majority of the year.

Kuwait can not only use solar power to produce energy, but can also produce a surplus to export - something that some countries in the region have already started investing in.

All those projects are achievable if the government and parliament put their minds into it. But that is wishful thinking when we consider the fact that the executive and legislative authorities not only lack the vision for future projects, but also the vision to address the problems that we already face.

Note: Amid news about preparations for potential aftermath of a strike against Syria, the government announced the main priorities in its emergency plan topped by securing the food supply. I do not know why food is put on top of the priorities’ list; as if the first thing that people would be worried about in case of war is filling their stomachs, while putting it ahead of even shelters. The government only announced that shelters ‘will be prepared’ for cases of emergency. I find this to be very alarming because shelters are supposed to be ready all year long in anticipation of any case of emergency, instead of waiting for news about an ‘imminent war’ before starting to prepare them. Furthermore, I can almost say for certain that 99 percent of people living in Kuwait have no idea where the closest shelter to their house or workplace is located. —Al-Qabas

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

Man disappears after holding family hostage Duo in police net for mugging KUWAIT: Salwa police are on the lookout for a citizen who reportedly kept his family members hostage in his house at gunpoint before escaping. Police rushed to the scene in response to an emergency call in which a girl reported that her brother was holding the family hostage with a rifle in hand. The man reportedly escaped before police arrived, and his sister said during questioning that he went berserk for no known reason.

Investigations are ongoing.

Duo in custody Mubarak Al-Kabeer police arrested two people who used a stolen taxi to carry out 13 mugging crimes. Detectives managed to identify two male suspec ts based on descriptions provided by mugging victims in cases reported in recent weeks. The two were monitored and caught red-handed in Mubarak Al-Kabeer while attempting to mug a pedestrian. Police examined the car they used and found out that it was reported missing by a taxi driver a few weeks ago.

The suspects admitted to painting the car white to commit crimes. The two were

referred to the proper authorities for further action.

Kabed suicide A man committed suicide in Kabd where he worked as an animal care-taker. Police rushed to the scene after a Kuwaiti man reported that his worker committed suicide and they found his body hanging dead inside a pigeon house. The body was taken to the forensic department after detectives examined the scene. Preliminary investigations indicated that the Asian man ended his life after apparently receiving bad news from his home country on Monday.

Husband charged A woman filed a case at the Mangaf police station on Tuesday and accused her husband of confiscating her passport to prevent her from traveling. In her statements to police, the Filipina said that her Egyptian husband refused to return her passport which he hid for four months, even after she told him she had to travel to see her sick mother back home. Police have summoned the husband for questioning.

Lebanese security doing utmost to protect all Arab citizens BEIRUT: With the security situation in the country increasing in complication, the role played by Lebanon’s General Security was under the spot light on many occasions of late, whether in operations to free hostages or arrests of terrorist groups and espionage cells collaborating with Israel.

The General Directorate for General Security’s Media Office said no effort is spared to protect Arabs and foreigners in Lebanese territories. “Lebanon is well known for its hospitality and easy-going atmosphere, and the recent threat to Arabs and foreigners is an anomaly and all is done to eradicate it from the peaceful Lebanese atmosphere.”

The most serious of security challenges facing the country at present are the Israeli enemy’s ploys and the phenomenon of global terrorism, “and the two lead in the same direction of jeopardizing our national fabric, striking our co-existence, and destroying our culture and heritage.”

The elements of danger include “armed mobs, robberies and thefts, kidnappings, breach of Lebanese sovereignty, and all acts that disturb peace and security, and all are the handiwork of these two enemies of our state.”

On efforts to counter this state of affairs, the statement pointed out the directorate is constantly working on compiling political, economic, and social data to aid government actions and decisions and investigating all violations compromising state security, whether from within or beyond Lebanese territory.

The directorate also cooperates with other security agencies to monitor land, sea, and airspace borders, to monitor foreigners in Lebanon, and monitor and issue driving and vehicle licenses.

When it comes to capabilities that enable the directorate to fulfill these

duties, the statement said the current economic difficulties and crunch on spending means the directorate works with the least amount of resources, which is a challenge faced by all bodies and state institutions’ departments.

Regardless of this challenge, the security body is working with utmost possible efficiency and had succeeded in meeting its mandate and spared the country serious security and terror-related shockwaves.

While addressing this challenge, the institution is faced with two main concerns. “Turning the state into military barracks with checkpoints and barricades all over the country would suffocate daily economic and social life, while allowing too much freedom of movement and activity could mean risking all kinds of terrorism,” the statement said.

“We therefore try to strike a balance between security necessities and daily life, which means we are sometimes prone to some security breaches.”

In view of this state of affairs, the directorate stressed cooperation of all citizens, as well as Arab and foreign nations in Lebanese territory, is needed, specifically minding the law, and reporting anything at all suspicious.

The directorate again stressed it cooperates with other security bodies. Overall security activity is coordinated by the Central Security Council, while the security operations room recently set up by the minister of interior also coordinates with ministry of defense bodies and its many military departments.

Lebanon’s security body was established through a decree issued on Jan 5, 1921, then called “First Bureau”. Later in 1959, the bureau was re-established as “General Directorate for General Security” to function directly under the minister of interior. —KUNA

Al-Tunaib presents credentials to Swiss president BERN: “President of the Swiss Federation Ueli Maurer is keen on furthering ties with Kuwait, and expressed his belief Kuwait is a main player with a major role in the Gulf region known for its democracy and press freedom,” Kuwait’s Ambassador to Switzerland Bader Al-Tunaib said yesterday.

The ambassador was speaking after presenting a copy of his credentials to the Swiss president, who also serves as his country’s Chief of the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection, and Sports. “After my meeting with the president, I concluded that he and other Swiss officials have a positive impression of our homeland, and the Swiss side is just as keen as we are to further develop relations and cooperation in all fields,” he noted.

“I was immensely pleased by the president’s praise of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as well, as that further indicated to me the strong bonds between our two nations.” On the areas of particular interaction between the two states, the envoy recalled the exchange is mainly in the fields of trade and economy where there are strong and successful Kuwaiti investments. “Utilizing the bountiful opportunities the good investment atmosphere provides and maintaining good performance require the cooperation on both sides.”

The envoy said there is increasing interest in exploring cooperation in research and sciences. Switzerland is among the leaders in scientific research and medical research in particular, and has some of the world’s top universities and scientific institutes, and there is much to gain from sending our students on scholarships and from engaging in joint research work.

Switzerland was among the first countries to fully recognize the State of Kuwait upon its independence in 1961, and the Swiss embassy was opened in 1975, while the Kuwaiti embassy opened in Bern in 2006.

Kuwait’s top imports from Switzerland include pharmaceutical products, sophisticated mechanical instruments and devices, medical and laboratory supplies, watches, and jewelry.

The two countries signed an investment protection agreement in 1998 and implemented it in late 2000. An agreement to prevent double taxation was also signed in 1999, and was implemented a year later.

Switzerland is Kuwait’s tenth exporter of goods, with an annual import value of euro 360 million. Kuwait’s exports to Switzerland come to an annual euro 49. —KUNA

Scams Investigations are ongoing in search of an alleged sheep-breeder who stole KD 5,000 from a local merchant after swindling him. In his statements to Kabd police officers, the Kuwaiti man said that he gave the money to the Bangladeshi man as per an agreement where he was supposed to keep the sheep for two months and return them before the Eid Al-Adha holidays but later discovered that he had disappeared. A case was filed.

Meanwhile, Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh police were approached by a number of local residents who accused a compatriot of stealing KD 700 through fraud. I nvestigations revealed however that the suspec t returned to his Asian country the night before the cases were filed. According to the victims, the suspect collected KD 25 from each one of them after telling them that he represented a Chinese lottery firm and asked them to enter for a chance to win up to $100,000. The victims reported the case to police after discovering that the man disappeared shortly after receiving the money.

‘Zain and The Beast’ wows audiences, critics alike KUWAIT: Zain Group, a pioneer in mobile telecommunications across 8 markets in the Middle East and North Africa, is proud to detail the success of its Eid Al-Fitr play, entitled ‘Zain and The Beast’, which was performed in Kuwait City for eight consecutive days commencing the first day of Eid. This was the third year in a row that Zain has produced a play, all of different themes with this year the play including 18 shows in total, and performed to a total audience of 27,000 appreciative family theater-goers.

The play, which has received rave reviews across the region, is a twist on the original Disney story, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, and starred popular actors Shijoon, Bashar Al-Shatti, Fatma Al-Safi, Hamad Ashkanani and Ali Kakooli. The play was directed by Samir Abood, with song lyrics by Hiba Mishary Hamada, and music composed by Bashar Al-Shatti.

‘Zain and The Beast’ has received requests for the show to travel to countries across the region including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Reaction to the production on social media also has been phenomenal, with one commentator stating, “The most amazing show ever”, and another saying, “‘Beauty and the Beast’ is my absolute favorite Disney movie and Zain has gone and made it 10 times better”.

Additionally, the creation of this play reflects Zain’s commitment and support of the continual development of Kuwait’s arts and culture scene.

Beyond sharing the celebration of Eid, ‘Zain and The Beast’ has a serious Corporate Social Responsibility aspect to it, with the costumes used in the production set to be auctioned off, with the proceeds being given to charity. Furthermore, during the eighth days, Zain invited many charitable organizations to the show, notably several orphanages and community support entities. As one social media contributor stated, “‘Zain and The Beast’ was purely amazing and magical. I absolutely loved it,” and the company is committed to continuing to delight its stakeholders through its activities and vision.

Audiences from across the Arab world and beyond will be able to view the show replayed on satellite TV channel MBC during the upcoming Eid Al-Adha in October.

KUWAIT: Firefighters were able to extinguish a fire in an American car on the Fourth Ring Road in Salmiya area yesterday. The driver of the vehicle escaped unhurt with the help of the firefighters. But the traffic was blocked for one hour. —Photos by Sherif Ismail

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

Three GCC states among top 20 most competitive economies Kuwait 36th in WEF list GENEVA: The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) report released yesterday by the World economic Forum (WEF) places three GCC member states among the top 20 most competitive economies worldwide. Qatar (13th worldwide) tops the Arab region’s rankings, while the United Arab Emirates (19) entering the top 20 for the first time. Saudi Arabia (20) meanwhile falls two places but remains among the top 20, as Egypt (118) drops 11 places further from last year.

Oman (33), Kuwait (36), Bahrain (43), Jordan (68), and Morocco (77) also decline. Elsewhere in the Arab region, Algeria moves up to 100th place and Tunisia re-enters the index at 83.

“Excellent innovation and strong institutional environments are increasingly influencing economies’ competitiveness, according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014,” said the WEF experts report.

The report places Switzerland at the top of the ranking for the fifth year running. Singapore and Finland remain in second and third positions respectively. Germany moves up two places (4) and the United States reverses a four-year downward trend, climbing two places to fifth. Hong Kong SAR (7) and Japan (9) also close the gap on the most competitive economies, while Sweden (6), the Netherlands (8), and the United Kingdom (10) fall.

The United States continues to be a world leader in bringing innovative products and services to market. Its rise in the ranking is down to a perceived improvement in the country’s financial market as well as greater confidence in its public institutions. However, serious concerns persist over its macroeconomic stability, which ranks 117 out of 148 economies.

In Europe, efforts to tackle public debt and avoid a break-up of the euro have taken the focus

off addressing deeper competitiveness issues.

Southern European economies such as Spain (35), Italy (49), Portugal (51), and notably Greece (91) all need to continue addressing weaknesses in the functioning and efficiency of their markets, boost innovation, and improve access to finance in order to help bridge the region’s competitiveness divide.

Some of the world’s largest emerging market economies must also engage business, government, and civil society to implement long-overdue reforms. Of the five BRICS, the People’s Republic of China (29) continues to lead the group, followed by South Africa (53), Brazil (56), India (60), and Russia (64). Among the BRICS, only Russia improves its ranking, climbing three places, while Brazil drops eight places.

Among the Asian economies, Indonesia jumps to 38, making it the most improved of the G20 economies since 2006, while Korea (25) falls by six places. Behind Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, and Taiwan (China) (12) all remain in the top 20.

Developing Asian nations display very mixed performances and trends; Malaysia places 24th while countries such as Nepal (117), Pakistan (133), and Timor-Leste (138) are near the bottom of the ranking. Bhutan (109), Lao PDR (81), and Myanmar (139) join the index for the first time.

In sub-Saharan Africa, Mauritius (45) overtakes South Africa (53) as the region’s most competitive economy. With only eight countries in the region featuring in the top 100, profound efforts across the board are clearly needed to improve Africa’s competitiveness.

Among low-income economies, Kenya makes the biggest improvement, rising by ten places to 96th position. Nigeria (120) continues to be ranked low, highlighting the need for it to diversify its economy.

Despite robust economic growth in previous years, Latin America continues to suffer from low rates of productivity and the results show overall stagnation in competitiveness performance. Chile (34) continues to lead the regional rankings ahead of Panama (40), Costa Rica (54), and Mexico (55), which all remain relatively stable.

“Innovation becomes even more critical in terms of an economy’s ability to foster future prosperity,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

“I predict that the traditional distinction between countries being ‘developed’ or ‘less developed’ will gradually disappear and we will instead refer to them much more in terms of being ‘innovation rich’ vs. ‘innovation poor’ countries. It is therefore vital that leaders from business, government, and civil society work collaboratively to create education systems and enable environments which foster innovation.”

The Global Competitiveness Report’s competitiveness ranking is based on the GCI, which was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2004.

Defining competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country, GCI scores are calculated by drawing together country-level data covering 12 categories - the pillars of competitiveness - that together make up a comprehensive picture of a country’s competitiveness.

The 12 pillars are institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation. —KUNA

Gulf media officials commend outcome of Kuwait meeting KUWAIT: Gulf media officials praised outcome of 17th meeting of heads of GCC news agencies, which was wrapped up Tuesday, and said the recommendations were in harmony with their aspirations for an improved common GCC action.

This came by Director General of Bahrain News Agency (BNA) Muhannad Suleiman, GCC Assistant Secretary General for Cultural and Media Affairs Khaled Al-Ghassani, Oman News Agency ’s (ONA) Acting Director General Mohammad Al-Oraimi, director general of Qatar News Agency (QNA) Ahmad Al-Buainain and

head of the UAE news agency (WAM) Ibrahim AlAbed. They were speaking following the conclusion of the meeting.

Suleiman said the meeting was well-prepared and recommendations were important and would thus boost cooperation between the news agencies in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Al-Ghassani said the meeting was “constructive” and produced many recommendations aimed at cementing cooperation between the news agencies.

“All the officials of the news agencies in the

GCC were keen on carrying out their duties,” he said.

Al-Oraimi said the meeting was “successful” and thanked the State of Kuwait and Kuwait News Agency for the hosting and good preparation for the gathering.

Al-Buainain said the delegations approved all items on the agenda, and commended KUNA for its important proposals that contribute to the development of media. Al-Abed expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the meeting. He praised the proposal to issue news through social media networks. —KUNA

Mazin Al-Nahedh, Emad Al-Ablani and Mohammed Al-Othman in a group photo with the trainees.

NBK welcomes new batch of graduates KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) recently welcomed the third batch of trainees in the Shabab Training Program. This intensive program is specially designed to develop the skills of newly recruited diploma holding graduates.

NBK Shabab Training Program extends over a period of two and a half months. The program is tailored to provide young Kuwaitis who recently joined the bank with theoretical and practical skills covering the different aspects of the banking industry.

“NBK maintains its leading position as one of the country’s largest employers in the private sector. NBK will continue its efforts to provide career and training opportunities for nationals and to support the country’s aim to encourage young Kuwaitis to assume roles in the private sector,” said Emad Al-Ablani, NBK

Deputy General Manager, Human Resources Group. Al-Ablani added “NBK Shabab program falls within the framework of NBK’s strategy to attract and hire qualified nationals. NBK Shabab program aims at improving young Kuwaiti skills in order to prepare them as highly qualified Kuwaiti banking leaders of the future.”

Annually, NBK offers many training programs including NBK Academy, the Summer Internship Program and the first of its kind in the region NBK High Fliers Program in collaboration with the American University of Beirut. In collaboration with the renowned Harvard University, NBK also organizes an executive training program in line with the bank’s commitment to developing and investing in its key resource and human capital.

Do Gulf states need more campaign on Syria issue?

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia and Qatar have reportedly plugged billions of dollars in arms over the course of the Syrian conflict, emerging as the main foreign powers bankrolling the revolt.

But amid the West’s hesitation this week over launching a military strike to punish Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad, indicators suggest the Gulf states have been shooting blanks.

Analysts now believe a portion of Gulf finances could have been better spent on a global anti-Assad/ pro-intervention public relations (PR) campaign.

Could such a PR drive have led us to see a different result in British parliament last week and more decisive moves on the Syrian conflict from the White House?

“If a Saudi-Qatari PR campaign had

been running much earlier, say since six months ago, and had been well-executed, then yes,” Mudassar Ahmed, a political media analyst and chief executive of London-based PR agency Unitas, said on Tuesday.

“They could have taken the lead on the communications side of it. The British and American governments had done a poor job on convincing their public on the need to intervene, which was done in a halfhearted and almost apologetic manner.”

Despite the West acknowledging the hostilities of the Syrian conflict, US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister put the decision to strike Syria to lawmakers, in what has already led to a dismal outcome for the Gulf states that are heavily pro-intervention.

SAMENA Council holds regulatory summit KUWAIT: The South Asia, Middle East, North Africa region’s SAMENA Telecommunication Council in partnership with VIVA Kuwait, held its Regulatory Summit in presence of Issa Al-Kandari, the minister of communications in Kuwait and Adel Al-Roumi, chairman of VIVA. The summit took place at The Regency Hotel Kuwait and was attended by a variety of panels, media and telecommunication industry stakeholders.

Leading telecommunication companies from Kuwait met to discuss Regulation 4.0 which held a main theme of “Toward a Healthy Sustainable Regulatory Environment for All Stakeholders”. The discussed issues included: regulatory trends and case studies from the SAMENA region; efficient implementation of policy and regulatory frameworks digitization; opportunity to foster growth; public and private sectors partnership and an approach to accelerate broadband development. The key aspect of Regulation 4.0, therefore, is a more dynamic regulatory framework which is based on creating a more flexible environment; promoting an integrated market; granting access and designing clear net neutrality rules; shifting the focus of national regulators towards new challenges (such as quality monitoring); establishing dynamic efficiency as the center-pieces of regulatory policies; strengthening technological neutrality as a basic principle.

Al-Kandari said: “There is an urgent need to create a true solid partnership between the public and private sector as the private one has improved its major and important role in providing a quality services especially in what concerns telecommunication technologies.” He added: “The Government strives to provide an attractive environment to encourage investments in the telecommunication industry as being one of the fundamental basis that indicates the level of technology and development any country obtains”.

The CEO of SAMENA Council, Bocar BA, said “SAMENA region is a great market for the telecommunication industry where there are many opportunities for development but yet there are still many challenges. The summit’s main goal is to find new approaches, which improve investment activities and provide more flexibility while maintaining and even fostering competition.”

VIVA’s Chief Executive Officer Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Badran, said: “This event aims to develop the com-

Adel Al-Roumi honouring Issa Al-Kandari.

A group photo of Issa Al-Kandari, Adel Al-Roumi, Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Badran and Bocar BA. munication industry in the SAMENA region. It has been proven worldwide that a proactive regulatory environment is essential for the growth of information and communication technology and its applications, and for the development of an information society in any country.”

The successful Kuwait Regulatory Summit will have been one of the key stepping stones in the development of telecommunication and the progress of Kuwait.

SAMENA Telecommunications Council is a tri-regional, non-profit telecommunications association that represents over 40 telecommunications operators in 25 markets, representing an aggregate subscriber base of 790 million mobile users, including mobile broadband users, 79 million fixed-line users, and 22 million broadband users. The Council’s membership embodies a community of telecom operators, manufacturers, government bodies, academia, and leading global management consultancy organizations.

SAMENA’s Board of Directors and mem-

ber companies include the largest regional operators and global multi-network operators as well as new competitive entrants. SAMENA focuses on digitization and broadband investment policies, and aims to promote beneficial regulation and governance that further industry evolution, as well as cooperation among key ICT industry stakeholders.

VIVA is the fastest-growing telecom operator in Kuwait. Launched in December 2008, VIVA makes things possible for its customers by transforming communication, information and entertainment experiences. The company has rapidly established an unrivalled position in the market through its customer centric approach. VIVA’s quest is to be the mobile brand of choice in Kuwait by being transparent, engaging, energetic and fulfilling. VIVA continues to take a considerable share of the market by offering an innovative range of best value products, services and content propositions; a state of the art, nationwide network and world-class service.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

Putin could turn against Assad - if case is proved

Damascus hotel hosts fleeing families, not tourists Page 8

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BAGHDAD: Smoke rises after a bomb attack in front of a police station at the Sadiyah neighborhood of Baghdad. — AP

18 Shiite family members killed 33 die as Iraq unrest surges BAGHDAD: Attacks around Baghdad and north Iraq left 33 people dead yesterday, including 18 members of a Shiite family killed by militants, the latest in a nationwide surge of violence. The unrest came a day after a wave of bombings targeting Shiites in Baghdad and shootings and bombings elsewhere killed 61 people, further raising fears Iraq is slipping back into the all-out sectarian bloodshed that left tens of thousands dead in 2006 and 2007. Authorities, meanwhile, announced the arrest of an alleged senior aide to Izzat Al-Duri, the highest-ranking member of executed dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime still on the run. Yesterday’s violence struck towns on the outskirts of Baghdad as well as predominantly Sunni cities in the north of the country, with the deadliest attack occurring south of the capital. Shortly after midnight, militants bombed adjacent houses belonging to Shiite Muslim brothers in the town of Latifiyah, which lies about 40 kilometers south of Baghdad.

A total of 18 people were killed, including five women and six children, and a dozen others were wounded, according to an army officer and a doctor at a nearby hospital.

Latifiyah lies within a confessionallymixed region known as the “Triangle of Death”, so named for the brutal violence that plagued the area during the peak of Iraq’s sectarian war in

2006-2007. Last week, another attack on a Shiite family in the town killed at least five people.

No group claimed responsibility for the latest violence, but Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda frequently carry out attacks against Iraq’s Shiite Muslim majority who they regard as apostates. Separate attacks in Besmaya, Iskandiriyah and Tarmiyah, also on Baghdad’s outskirts, killed nine people, including seven soldiers.

Bombings in two Sunni-majority cities north of the capital killed six people, including five policemen who died in a suicide car bombing against a police station in Mosul, one of Iraq’s most restive cities.

The latest bloodshed came as Baghdad was still reeling from a wave of car bombs targeting Shiite neighborhoods the previous evening that killed 50 people, while unrest elsewhere left 11 others dead. Among the attacks was a car bombing in the central commercial district of Karrada where four storefronts were badly damaged. Workers were still picking up the pieces from the previous evening’s violence yesterday.

At one restaurant, where windows were completely shattered by the blast, three men were consoling each other as they tried to clean up the aftermath of the attack. “Please, we have cried enough,” one of them told another, before himself breaking into tears, while one of the men held up

the clothes of a friend who died in the attack and shouted, “These are his clothes-what should I do with them?”

The bombings were the latest in a series of attacks timed to coincide with people visiting cafes and other public areas during the evening.

In the past, coordinated violence has typically been confined to the morning rush-hour, when the capital is normally in gridlock. Attacks have killed more than 3,900 people since the start of the year, according to an AFP tally. Iraqi officials have trumpeted wide-ranging operations targeting militants in which hundreds of alleged fighters have been captured and dozens killed. Yesterday, a spokesman for the Counter Terrorism Service announced the arrest of Hussein AlKhazraji, who security forces say is a top aide to Izzat Al-Duri, Saddam’s vice president. Saddam’s Baath party has said Duri, the king of clubs in the US deck of cards showing the mostwanted members of the now-executed dictator’s regime, died in 2005. But audio messages have been attributed to him in recent years and he is accused of orchestrating violent attacks. Despite the string of operations and arrests, a long-running political deadlock combined with frustrations in Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority and concerns neighboring Syria’s civil war is spilling over into Iraq have fuelled warnings that violence is unlikely to abate.—AFP

2 million Syrians are now refugees GENEVA: Today, the number of Syrian refugees passed the threshold of two million, and with no sign of this tragic outflow ending. The war is now well into its third year and Syria is haemorrhaging women, children and men who cross borders often with little more than the clothes on their backs. This trend is nothing less than alarming, representing a jump of almost 1.8 million people in 12 months. One year ago today, the number of Syrian’s registered as refugees or awaiting registration stood at 230,671 people.

“Syria has become the great tragedy of this century - a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history,” said Antonio Guterres, the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees. “The only solace is the humanity shown by the neighboring countries in welcoming and saving the lives of so many refugees.” More than 97 per cent of Syria’s refugees are hosted by countries in the immediate surrounding region, placing an overwhelming burden on their infrastructures, economies and societies. They urgently need massive international support to help them deal with the crisis.

Reacting to the milestone, UNHCR

Special Envoy Angelina Jolie expressed her dismay at the level of death, damage and danger that has forced so many Syrians to run for their lives. “The world risks being dangerously complacent about the Syrian humanitarian disaster.

The tide of human suffering unleashed by the conflict has catastrophic implications. If the situation continues to deteriorate at this rate, the number of refugees will only grow, and some neighboring countries could be brought to the point of collapse.”

“The world is tragically disunited on how to end the Syria conflict, “ Ms. Jolie added, “But there should be no disagreement over the need to alleviate human suffering, and no doubt of the world’s responsibility to do more. We have to support the millions of innocent people ripped from their homes, and increase the ability of neighboring countries to cope with the influx.”

With an average of almost 5000 Syrians fleeing into neighboring countries every day, the need to significantly increase humanitarian aid and development support to host communities has reached a critical stage. In view of the pressure the refugee exodus is placing on surrounding countries, including the worsening economic impact, ministers

from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey will meet with UNHCR in Geneva on Wednesday, 4 September, in a bid to accelerate international support.

The number of two million represents Syrians who have registered as refugees or who are pending registration. As of end August this comprised 110,000 in Egypt, 168,000 in Iraq, 515,000 in Jordan, 716,000 in Lebanon, and 460,000 in Turkey. Some 52 per cent of this population are children aged 17 years or below. UNHCR announced only days ago, on 23 August, that the number of Syrian child refugees had exceeded a million.

A further 4.25 million people are displaced inside Syria, according to data as of 27 August from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Taken together, these numbers amounting to a total of more than six million people torn from their homes mean that more Syrians are now forcibly displaced than is the case with any other country. UNHCR is active in Syria and is leading the humanitarian response to the refugee crisis in each of the surrounding countries. Humanitarian agencies are worryingly underfunded, with only 47 per cent of funds required to meet basic refugee needs received.

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Damascus hotel hosts fleeing families, not tourists DAMASCUS: These are the new “tourists” in Damascus: families fleeing the violence in their hometowns who now live in decrepit hotels, packed into tiny spaces where they even cook in bathrooms.

Since the March 2011 outbreak of the conflict, 4.25 million Syrians have been internally displaced, while more than two million more have fled the country in what the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees coined Tuesday a “disgraceful humanitarian calamity”.

In one lower end hotel in the working class district of Marjeh, Hana fondly recalls her big traditional home made of basalt stone in an old district of Homs, the third largest city in Syria that has been devastated by war. “There was a pretty patio, many windows overlooking the road. I’ve been told it’s been completely destroyed,” she says, stopping at times to choke back tears as her two sons and daughter look on.

Hana lost her husband at the beginning of the war, which started out as a rebellion against the regime of Bashar al-Assad and has since evolved into a fully fledged armed conflict. Her husband was kidnapped and killed by unknown assailants. Over the past two years, the 30-something widow has changed hotel three times. For seven months, she has lived in this room where four beds are crammed in front of a television set. In a corner lies a suitcase, the only one she was able to bring as they fled the deadly violence engulfing Homs. “We spend all day looking at television series or cooking,” she says.

“Look at my ‘kitchen’,” she adds, pointing to a little rusty stove standing next to the toilet. In other rooms, the wallpaper is withered with damp, neon

lights flickering constantly as moisture oozes from air conditioning units. The hotel used to be full of Iranian pilgrims who had flocked to visit Sayyida Zeinab, a Shiite holy shrine near the Syrian capital.

But now, the displaced from Homs mix with those from the Damascus area, occupying half of the 40 rooms, according to hotel employees.

Hana says she sometimes borrows the washing machine from her “neighbors, who are displaced from Harasta”, a suburb of Damascus where army forces are battling the rebels. “My husband was a taxi driver in Homs and earned a good living, I didn’t want for anything,” she says with a sad smile as she adjusts her multi-colored veil. A woman helped her

CILVEGOZU: A refugee camp is seen in the Syrian territory near the Turkish border town of Cilvegozu. The civil war in Syria has forced over 2 million people out of the country and over 4 million others are displaced within its borders, making Syrians the nation with the largest number of people torn from their homes. — AP

before recently leaving the country, and Hana is now entirely without resources. “I owe the hotel three months” in rent, she says.

Her 16-year-old son prepares embers used for nargileh water pipes in a nearby cafe. “He sometimes gets tips of 500 Syrian pounds (around $2) a day, which helps us to survive,” says Hana. “When I think about my situation, my head’s ready to explode.”

“Just like beggars” For many displaced, it is the feeling of loss that hurts the most. “I had a shop selling mobile phones, I felt important. Now, when we go ask a charity for help, we feel just like beggars,” says Abu Amer, who has lived in the same hotel for a year and a half.

“You know who helps us most? The churches in Bab Tuma” in old Damascus, he adds. The lobby and stairs in the hotel have turned into a playground for the children of the displaced, who like to skid down the ramp or chat on the floor. “I’m from Jubar,” says a pale-looking boy of one of the flashpoint suburbs of Damascus. In the hotel dining room, deserted by the waiters, Abu Amer and his friends sit at the tables, playing cards.

Rarely do tourists venture into the hotels in this Damascus district now, bar a few Arab businessmen.

So the establishments have lowered their room rates, and some say they house displaced people for free. But they too have to earn money and meet their costs. “We used to pay 25,000 Syrian pounds a month, but now the hotel wants 30,000 pounds as fuel costs are increasing,” says Abu Amer. By and large, though, most of the displaced say they prefer their rudimentary lifestyle to that of being a refugee.

“At least we’re in our own country,” says Hana. — AFP

Brotherhood reporters, editors go underground Journalists say they are the group’s ‘only voice’

US Secretary of State John Kerry

Kerry - anti-war vet pushes Syria strikes WASHINGTON: Four decades ago, a young veteran won plaudits for his fierce denunciation of the Vietnam War. Now John Kerry is back in Congress as chief advocate for plans to unleash US firepower on Syria. In a twist of fate, the once hero of the anti-war movement has in past days become the very public voice of calls by the US administration to punish the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad for what Washington says is its unquestionable use of chemical weapons.

Back in 1971 fresh from the horrors of the war in Southeast Asia where he served as a naval lieutenant, Kerry led a group of Vietnam Veterans Against the War to testify before emotional congressional hearings about the conflict. “We found most people didn’t even know the difference between communism and democracy. They only wanted to work in rice paddies without helicopters strafing them and bombs with napalm burning their villages and tearing their country apart,” Kerry told the then members of the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

“How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?” he agonized. Yet on Tuesday, the now silver-haired Kerry, who turns 70 in December, was back in front of the committee in his role as secretary of state with a fresh mission-to persuade lawmakers to fire missiles at Syrian targets. And he pointed to the weight of history, arguing the Assad regime could not be allowed to act with impunity for using what the US says was sarin gas in an August 21 attack on a Damascus suburb killing hundreds of people.

Adolf Hitler, late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Assad and the leader of a Japanese cult were the only figures in history so far to use sarin gas, he said. “History is full of opportunity of moments where someone didn’t stand up and act when it made a difference,”

the top US diplomat said. “If the United States... knowing that we’ve drawn a line that the world has drawn with us, is unwilling to stand up and confront that, it is an absolute certainty that gas will proliferate,” he warned.

Obama’s plan for “limited” strikes to degrade Assad’s military capability was not a declaration of war on Syria, Kerry insisted.

Sitting next to him was Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, also a Vietnam vet, while from the benches opposite they were grilled by Republican Senator John McCain, who was imprisoned and tortured in the jail dubbed the Hanoi Hilton. “There’s not one of us who doesn’t understand what going to war means, and we don’t want to go to war. We don’t believe we are going to war in the classic sense of taking American troops and America to war,” Kerry said.

When in an echo of his youthful protest, a demonstrator shouted out against a war in Syria, Kerry recalled his earlier testimony. “You know the first time I testified before this committee, when I was 27 years old, I had feelings very similar to that protester,” he said. “And I would just say that is exactly why it is so important that we are all here having this debate... and I think we all can respect those who have a different point of view.” Despite the specter of America’s recent history, including the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, Kerry said: “In my view, the world cannot ignore the inhumanity and the horror of this act.” And he promised the US case against the Assad regime was solid, saying: “I remember Iraq” adding neither he or Hagel would ask “any member of Congress to take a vote on faulty intelligence.” “That is why our intelligence community has scrubbed and rescrubbed the evidence.” While Kerry voted against the first Gulf War, he initially voted to give then president George W Bush authority to invade Iraq in 2003 before then changing his stand. —AFP

Activists decry ‘extensive’ cluster bombs use in Syria GENEVA: The Syrian regime has used cluster munitions “extensively” in the second half of last year and first half of this year, causing many civilian casualties, according to a report published yesterday. It said at least 165 people were killed or wounded by cluster munitions in Syria last year alone, representing a vast majority of the 190 known casualties from the weapons around the world in 2012. “Syria used cluster munitions extensively in the second half of 2012 and the first half of 2013, causing numerous civilian casualties,” according to the Cluster Munition Monitor Report.

The annual report provides an overview of how countries are implementing the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of the weapons. “Syria’s extensive use of cluster munitions has caused needless civilian casualties,” lamented report editor Mary Warenham, of Human Rights Watch, in a statement.

But she welcomed the fact that 113 countries had condemned Syria’s use of the weapons, indicating “stigma against cluster munitions is strong.” Cluster bombs can be dropped from planes or fired from artillery and spread hundreds of submunitions, or

“bomblets”, over a wide area. As many of these devices fail to explode on impact, countries often have a difficult job clearing their territory of what become de facto landmines.

Furthermore, many bomblets are brightly colored, attracting children and exploding when they are picked up. As of July 31, 2013, 112 countries had joined the cluster munition convention, and Wednesday’s report hailed the speed at which signatories were destroying their stockpiles-many of them years in advance of their deadlines. Netherlands finished destroying its once-massive stockpile in 2012, and along with Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Britain and others destroyed a record 173,973 cluster munitions and 27 million submunitions over the 12-month period, it found.

Seventeen countries, mainly in Asia and Europe, meanwhile continue to produce cluster munitions or reserve the right to do so in the future, according to the report. Only three of the producing countries are known to have used such weapons in the past: the United States, Russia and Israel. Yesterday’s report was published ahead of the fourth meeting of state parties to the convention, set to be held in Zambia next week. — AFP

CAIRO: Whenever Muslim Brotherhood journalist Islam Tawfiq files a story about the group’s struggle for survival for its newspaper Freedom and Justice, he fears his Internet address will tip off state security agents to his whereabouts. Thousands of Brotherhood members have been arrested in a widening crackdown on the group since the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

Reporters for the newspaper, which still appears in a tiny fraction of its previous circulation, see themselves as the last people left to tell the Brotherhood’s side of the story in a country dominated by media that back the military crackdown. The price, the journalists say, is an underground existence, moving from place to place, communicating from Internet cafes, rarely seeing family or friends.

“The greatest form of jihad is speaking up against an unjust authority,” Tawfiq, 27, said by telephone from an undisclosed location, citing the words of the Prophet Mohammad. The Brotherhood, which won every election after the 2011 revolt that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, has been on the defensive since Morsi’s downfall. Security forces crushed proMorsi protest camps in Cairo, killing nearly 1,000 people, and forced many members underground.

Many Egyptians turned against the movement after Morsi gave himself sweeping powers and mismanaged the economy. They now revere the man who toppled Morsi, army chief General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. “Part of my goal in my reporting is to fight the coup. Not literally with weapons and blood, but with my way of fighting... as a journalist,” said Tawfiq, a slight man with a close-cropped beard who joined the Brotherhood as a boy. “My hope is for my work to be stronger then Sisi’s bullets against Egyptians.”

‘CHARGED ENVIRONMENT’ The Brotherhood developed the skills of clandestine unarmed resistance under the iron rule of one Egyptian military-backed leader after another. This time, the government seems more determined than ever to crush it.

For the reporters, going to the newsroom to discuss stories with editors is no longer an option. Meeting sources in public is out of the question. Most live away from home and might not see their families for weeks at a time. “It’s a charged environment. I expect that things will only get worse for us,” said reporter Mohamed el-Azouni, meeting in a Cairo restaurant. He had not seen his family in two months.

He and about 50 others produce Freedom and Justice. It used to be a 16-page daily but is now half that length because, since the arrest of Saad Al-Katatni, chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party and the newspaper’s financier, it has no money. “We don’t have access to our bank account,” said Azouni. Reporters have not been paid in two months. The paper’s print run has been cut from 100,000 to 10,000, and it is now available only in Cairo, not in other towns and cities. Editors, also in hiding, receive stories by email from reporters who often switch computers to avoid detection by state security agencies. Assem Ahmed, a 26year-old photographer for the paper, was one of more than 50 people killed when Republican Guardsmen fired on a pro-Morsi protest in July. His last image was video footage of the sniper firing the shot that killed him. He was one of at least five journalists from all media killed since July 3. A mystery is why the government, which has closed down Islamist television channels, still allows the paper to be printed on the presses of the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram.

Some suggest it may help keep tabs on the movement, in the knowledge that the paper is struggling to stay afloat and reaching only a small audience. It also could provide a defense against accusations that the government is suppressing dissent. None of the paper’s staff

CAIRO: Muslim Brotherhood political arm, Freedom and Justice Party’s member Khalid Hanafy (center) and members of the Anti-Coup Alliance, give a press conference along with the Islamist coalition yesterday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. — AFP

are now jailed, but police raided the news director’s apartment on Saturday, according to Tawfiq, and men broke into the paper’s longshuttered headquarters searching for information on the journalists.

News

in brief

Hasan forcibly shaved JOURNALISTS UNDER PRESSURE Rights groups say the climate for local and foreign journalists reporting in Egypt has deteriorated sharply since Morsi was toppled. On Tuesday a Cairo court ordered the switching off of the main source of news in Egypt that challenged the government’s line and reported on Brotherhood demonstrations: a channel of Egypt news from Qatar-based pan-Arab network Al Jazeera.

Three Al Jazeera journalists were expelled from Egypt on Sunday. Several others have been detained, and the station’s offices in Egypt have been raided. Al Jazeera complains that its satellite signal has been jammed. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said last Friday that it knew of 10 journalists in detention, nine raids on news organizations, and at least 64 temporary detentions, assaults or confiscations. The CPJ’s Sherif Mansour said the government had been working to “increase censorship and increase the divide in the media and partisan alignment against the Brotherhood”.

The government says any arrests of journalists have been for inciting violence, not for their editorial work. Despite what seems like overwhelming odds, the Brotherhood’s newspaper is still focused on efforts to reverse what it calls a military coup against an elected government. One story this week quoted relatives of top Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie saying he appeared healthy during a prison visit after a report that he had suffered a heart attack. Political cartoons attack Sisi, the military chief now depicted as a hero in posters across Cairo. One shows him smashing helpless people with his fists. “This is the definitely the first showing of Sisi as a butcher in the Egyptian press that I’m aware of,” said Jonathan Guyer, a scholar researching political cartoons in Egypt. Almost daily, the paper publishes photographs of Brotherhood “martyrs” killed by security forces at protest camps.

“When a paper is eight pages and the whole centerfold is the names of ‘martyrs’ ... that is an incredible example of resistance,” said Guyer. Azouni, the reporter, lost his laptop and camera while running for his life at a protest where security forces fired live rounds.

He has to borrow computers from friends, or move from one Internet cafe to another. “We want to reach everyone in every place, in every house, everywhere. We are the voice of those who don’t have a voice,” he said, looking nervously around him for state security agents. “We are their only voice.” — Reuters

FORT LEAVENWORTH: The Army psychiatrist sentenced to death for the Fort Hood shooting rampage has been forcibly shaved. Maj Nidal Hasan began growing a beard in the years after the November 2009 shooting that left 13 dead and 30 wounded. The beard prompted delays to his court-martial because it violated Army grooming regulations. Hasan is at Fort Leavenworth, Kan, home to the military death row. Lt Col S Justin Platt, a spokesman for Fort Leavenworth, said in a statement Tuesday that Hasan had been shaved. Officials at Fort Leavenworth previously had said Hasan would be subject to Army regulations. The dispute over the beard had led to the ouster of the original judge in his court-martial. The new judge had allowed Hasan to keep it as his trial last month.

Syria ‘peace prayer’ VATICAN: Pope Francis asked for a big turnout at a Vatican vigil on Saturday for peace in Syria and thanked the world’s faithful and nonbelievers for their support. “May the cry for peace ring out loud around the world,” the pope told tens of thousands of faithful in St Peter’s Square at his weekly audience yesterday. “Peace begins in our hearts,” he said.

Speaking to groups of Arab-speaking faithful from Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, the pope said: “Particularly for you, I say that the tribulations, the violence, the evil will never win against Jesus”. The Vatican and Christian minorities in the Middle East have protested against the prospect of US-led military strikes against President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, warning about the rise in radical Islamism and pointing to the Christian exodus from Iraq. The 76-yearold on Sunday called for a day of fasting and prayer for peace, saying: “War leads to more war”.

‘Naked Putin and Obama’ SAINT-PETERSBURG: Russian police have raided an erotica museum in Saint Petersburg and confiscated a painting showing a naked Vladimir Putin squaring off at his equally naked US counterpart Barack Obama, a curator said yesterday. The raid on the museum, which describes itself as one of the largest erotica museums in Europe, took place Tuesday night ahead of Obama’s expected arrival in Russia’s second city to take part in the G20 summit later this week. The museum’s curator Alexander Donskoi said the museum was temporarily shut down, suggesting that the gesture was political. “I do not understand why it’s necessary to mix arts and politics?” he said.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

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

Putin could turn against Assad - if case is proved Russia sends missile cruiser to Mediterranean

MOSCOW: In this combo of images Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles, speaks and gestures during an interview at Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo residence. Putin sought to downplay the current chill in the US-Russian relations and said that the two countries need to cooperate on a range of issues in the interests of global stability. —AP

Notorious US kidnapper Castro commits suicide COLUMBUS: The man who kidnapped three young women and repeatedly raped them in his Ohio home for nearly a decade hanged himself in his cell, prison officials said yesterday. Ariel Castro, 53, had started serving a life prison term after being sentenced last month to life in prison plus 1,000 years on his guilty plea in one of the most sensational criminal cases in recent US history.

Castro was found in his cell Tuesday night, said JoEllen Smith, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman. Prison medical staff performed CPR before he was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Castro had been in protective custody because of the notoriety of his case, meaning he was checked every 30 minutes, but he was not on suicide watch, Smith said. She said suicide watch entails constant observation.

While in jail before his conviction, Castro was taken off suicide watch in June after authorities determined he was not a risk.

An autopsy showed the death was a suicide, and the cause of death was hanging, said Dr Jan Gorniak, a coroner. She said she couldn’t comment on the circumstances in which Castro was found. No one answered the door yesterday at the home of Castro’s mother and brother. At his sentencing, Castro told the judge he was suffering from a pornography addiction. “I’m not a monster.

I’m sick,” he said.

The three women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14,

16 and 20 years old. They escaped from Castro’s home May 6, when Amanda Berry, one of the women, broke part of a door and yelled to neighbors for help. “Help me,” she said in an emergency phone call. “I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve been missing for 10 years and I’m, I’m here, I’m free now.” The two other women were so scared of Castro that they held back even as police officers began to swarm the house. But quickly they realized they were free.

“You saved us! You saved us!” Michelle Knight told an officer as she leaped into his arms. Castro was arrested that evening. He had fathered a child with Berry while she was in captivity; that girl was 6 years old when freed. A judge rejected Castro’s request to have visiting rights with his daughter. Elation over the women’s rescue soon turned to shock as details emerged about conditions of their captivity.

Investigators said they were bound with chains, repeatedly raped and deprived of food and bathroom facilities.

Knight told investigators she was beaten and starved several times to force her to miscarry. Messages left for the women’s lawyers were not immediately returned yesterday.

Castro’s attorneys had tried unsuccessfully to have a psychological examination of him done at the jail where he was housed before he was turned over to state authorities following his conviction, his attorney, Jaye Schlachet said. Schlachet said he could not immediately comment further. —AP

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin offered a glimpse of international compromise over Syria yesterday, declining to entirely rule out Russian backing for military action as he prepared to host a summit of world leaders. As the United States and allies prepare to bypass any Russian UN veto and attack Damascus, there is little chance of Putin’s support. But his words may herald new efforts to overcome great power rivalries that have let Syria descend into bloody chaos.

At the same time, Moscow said it had sent a warship it calls a “carrier killer” to the eastern Mediterranean, where a US fleet is waiting for Congress to approve orders from President Barack Obama to launch punitive strikes against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad following his forces’ alleged use of poison gas. Putin’s remarks on the eve of a G20 summit in St Petersburg stressed Russia did not share Obama’s conviction that Assad has resorted to chemical warfare - he noted suggestions the Aug 21 gassing was instead the work of Al-Qaeda-linked rebels.

And only proof, plus backing in the UN Security Council that depends on Moscow, would justify using force, he added.

Nonetheless, in saying he did “not rule out” his support, Putin gave a shot of warmth to relations with the West that the Syrian conflict has helped chill to levels recalling the Cold War. Moscow has been the main arms supplier to Assad, who is also backed by Iran as part of Tehran’s wider confrontation with the United States and its allies in Israel and the Gulf Arab states.

And Russian media reports on military deployments have provided a reminder of continuing tensions. On Tuesday, Russian reports of missile launches in the Mediterranean moved the world oil market and set nerves on edge in Damascus before Israel explained it had fired a rocket in exercises with US forces. Yesterday, Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted a source saying the guided missile cruiser Moskva was heading to the eastern Mediterranean to take over as flagship. The agency noted that the Soviet-era Moskva, designed to attack other ships, was known as a “carrier killer”. Only the United States and European allies are likely to deploy any aircraft carriers in the region.

NEGOTIATIONS Western officials say they do, however, detect some signs of willingness on the part of both US allies and Russia to resume efforts to resolve a bloody civil war in which both sides seem entrenched and which is destabilizing the entire Middle East. A senior Western official said that, while Moscow was unlikely to say so in public, there were signs Russian officials believe

Assad was indeed responsible for the chemical weapons attack and it had strained Russian support for him - providing an opening for a new, concerted drive to end the conflict.

Stalemate in the UN Security Council between Russia, backed by China, and the United States, backed by France and Britain, has stymied international efforts to end fighting that since 2011 has killed more than 100,000 Syrians and left millions homeless but which neither side has been able to win. The Western official said the G20 summit, where foreign ministers will also be present to discuss Syria in particular, could provide a forum for rapprochement among the world powers.

Unease at the presence of Islamist militants in the rebel ranks - a factor Moscow has often cited in criticism of Western demands that Assad be removed forthwith - provides a point of common interest between Russia and the West. All the major powers fear Syria descending further into anarchy. But their efforts to persuade Syrians to agree a unity government are hindered by deep hatreds fuelled by the killing and by opposing views over whether Assad should keep some power.

Following the failure of British Prime Minister David Cameron to win parliamentary backing for military strikes last week, France is the only major military power lining up behind Obama.

Its parliament is to debate Syria yesterday, though President Francois Hollande does not need approval for action. His foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said using force against Assad which will depend on US congressional approval next week - could pave the way for a new round of diplomacy.

“Is an intervention a contradiction to finding a political solution?” Fabius said. “Not only is it not contradictory, but if we want a political solution, then we must help move the situation, otherwise Assad will just continue like that.”

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who chairs the 28-nation European Union’s summits, told EU ambassadors in Brussels that military action must be followed by talks. “Calls for responsible action must include the long-term view,” he said. “Only a political solution can end the terrible bloodshed, the destruction of Syria. It is time for the international community to put aside their differences and bring the parties to the conflict to the negotiations table.”

PUTIN INTERVIEW Putin, who has accused Western governments of using ideas of human rights to pursue illegal wars against sovereign states, repeated his disapproval of acting without UN approval.

“Only the United Nations Security Council can

sanction the use of force against a sovereign state. Any other approaches, means, to justify the use of force against an independent and sovereign state, are inadmissible,” he told Russian television and the Associated Press.

Washington and Paris say a Russian veto in the Council should not block what they describe as a humanitarian mission to protect civilians and prevent the spread of chemical weapons. Putin said Obama had yet to prove the case against Assad: “We have no data that those chemical substances - it is not yet clear whether it was chemical weapons or simply some harmful chemical substances - were used precisely by the official government army.”

There was an “opinion” they were used by rebels, some of whom are linked to Al-Qaeda, Putin said.

However, when asked whether Russia would agree to military action if Damascus were proven to have carried out a chemical weapons attack, he answered: “I do not rule it out.” He also said that Moscow had already sent to Syria some components of an S-300 missile system but was holding off on the delivery of final parts, something Putin threatened could happen if “existing international norms” were violated. Western governments are concerned about the S-300 surface-to-air system, which could be used against their planes. Regarding his relationship with Obama, Putin called the US leader “a no-nonsense, practical person,” and tried to dispel the idea that the pair had poor personal relations.

US CONGRESS Obama has won the backing of key figures in the US Congress, including among his Republican opponents. Leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said they reached an agreement on a draft authorization for the use of military force in Syria, paving the way for a vote by the committee. However, the draft is narrower than the request made by Obama and includes a provision barring the use of US troops on the ground. The president said on Tuesday that strikes aimed at punishing the use of chemical weapons would hurt Assad’s forces while other US action would bolster his opponents though the White House has insisted it is not seeking “regime change.”

Among other provisions, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee draft, which was obtained

by Reuters, sets a 60-day limit on US military action in Syria, with a possibility of a single 30day extension subject to conditions. It requires Obama to consult with Congress and submit to the Senate and House of Representatives foreign relations panel a strategy for negotiating a political settlement to the conflict, including a review of all forms of assistance to the rebels. —Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

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

Mali new leader vows to unite divided nation BAMAKO: President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita yesterday pledged to unite Mali as he was sworn in to lead the deeply-divided

west African nation’s emergence from months of political crisis and conflict. Keita, a former prime minister, began his five-year

BAMAKO: Malian new President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (left) and his wife listen to speeches in Bamako during his inauguration ceremony yesterday. —AFP

term in the presence of outgoing transitional leader Dioncounda Troare and more than 1,000 Malian politicians, diplomats and military personnel as he took the presidential oath at a ceremony in the capital Bamako.

“I swear before God and the people of Mali to faithfully preserve the republican regime, to respect and uphold the constitution and the law, to fulfil my duties in the best interests of the people, to preserve the democratic gains, to ensure national unity, independence of the country and the integrity of the national territory,” he said.

Mali’s constitutional court confirmed Keita’s landslide victory three weeks ago in the August 11 presidential run-off against former minister Soumaila Cisse. “I pledge on my honor and to make every effort for the achievement of African unity,” Keita said, raising his right hand. Keita, 68, a veteran of the political scene in Bamako, is charged with leading the country out of a 17-month political crisis sparked by a military coup.

Army officers angry at the level of support they had received to combat a separatist Tuareg rebellion in the north overthrew the democratically-elected govern-

ment of President Amadou Toumani Toure on March 22, 2012. In the chaos that followed, the Tuareg seized control of an area larger than France before being ousted by Al-Qaeda-linked groups who imposed a brutal interpretation of Islamic law on the local population, carrying out amputations and executions.

Their actions drew worldwide condemnation and prompted France to launch a military offensive to oust the Islamists in January. Mali’s return to democracy has allowed France to begin withdrawing some of the 4,500 troops it had sent in. “France welcomes the new president of the Republic of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, on the occasion of his swearing-in ceremony,” said French foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot in a statement released in Paris.

“Granted a strong legitimacy with the outcome of the recent elections, the new authorities can now meet the needs of the people of Mali and the challenges facing Mali. France is ready to give its full support to President Keita.” The son of a civil servant, Keita was born in 1945 in the southern industrial city of Koutiala, the declining heartland of cotton production. His elec-

tion in the first presidential polls since 2007 was seen as crucial for unlocking more than $4 billion in aid promised by international donors who halted contributions in the wake of last year’s coup.

He described his immediate goals in his first public address after his victory as “rebuilding the rule of law, the recovery of the army, education, the fight against corruption, economic and social development”. His daunting workload over the coming months will include tackling an economy battered by political chaos and war, as well as healing ethnic divisions in the north and managing the return of 500,000 people who fled an Islamist insurgency.

Global advocacy campaign group Human Rights Watch urged Keita to take concrete steps to strengthen the rule of law, hold rights abusers to account and address endemic corruption. “After a deeply troubling period, Mali stands at a crossroads. President Keita’s actions-or inactions-could usher in greater respect for human rights or a return to the problems that caused Mali’s near-collapse last year,” said senior West Africa researcher Corinne Dufka.—AFP

A blow for Labor Party British trade union slashes funding LONDON: Britain’s opposition Labor leader Ed Miliband suffered a double blow yesterday when one of his party’s biggest donors slashed its funding and an opinion poll exposed serious doubts over his authority. The survey, carried out early this week, suggested Miliband’s standing had failed to benefit from the coalition government’s historic defeat in the British parliament over military action in Syria.

Miliband, whose opposition was cru-

cial in Prime Minister David Cameron’s shock defeat last week, is already under pressure from some in his centre-left party to improve his lackluster personal ratings and mount a stronger challenge before the next election, due in 2015.

The latest survey gave more ammunition to Miliband’s critics, suggesting voters see Cameron as stronger, more charismatic and more decisive. Just 2 percent thought Miliband is a “natural leader”, compared to 13 percent for

Cameron. The YouGov poll for the Sun newspaper gave Labor a four point lead over Cameron’s Conservatives, well down from the 10 point advantage a separate poll on Monday gave Labor after last week’s vote. Twenty YouGov polls in August put the Labor lead at between three and eight points. Labor lost power after 13 years in 2010 but Cameron failed to win an outright majority and was forced to enter a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. In a setback

LONDON: A video grab shows leader of the opposition Labor Party Ed Miliband asking a question during prime minister’s question time in the House of Commons in central London. —AFP

for Labor three weeks before its autumn conference, the GMB union said it would cut donations to party campaigns and pass on less money from members.

The loss of an important source of income is the latest episode in a row between the unions and Labor over Miliband’s plan to reform ties with the workers’ groups that helped found the party more than a century ago. Miliband, who relied on union support to defeat his brother David in his party’s 2010 leadership contest, angered unions in July when he said Labor must transform its links with the labor movement to make politics more transparent.

The union said its decision reflected “considerable regret... that the party that had been formed to represent the interest of working people in this country intends to end collective engagement of trade unions in the party”. The changes would see the GMB’s annual fees to Labor sharply cut to 150,000 pounds ($233,000) from 1.2 million pounds. The union did not say how much it would cut from its campaign donations.

Labor finance spokeswoman Rachel Reeves played down the cuts, saying it would raise more from individual members. “Ed has spoken about the need for greater transparency and openness in that relationship,” she told BBC radio. Labor’s planned union reforms are part of a wider debate over party funding and whether donations should be capped. Cameron accuses Miliband of being in the unions’ pocket, while his counterpart says the Conservatives are in the thrall of wealthy business leaders. —Reuters

Protest leader gives Kremlin a headache in Moscow vote MOSCOW: Alexei Navalny has thousands of Russians chanting his name within minutes of stepping onto the stage at a boisterous campaign meeting in the race to become Moscow’s mayor. “Can we win this election?” the opposition leader, one of President Vladimir Putin’s biggest critics, shouts through a microphone on a makeshift stage outside a Moscow park. “Yes!” comes the even louder cry from the crowd on a damp summer evening in the Russian capital. Such scenes are common in Western elections but Navalny’s campaign, based on working crowds, mobilizing thousands of volunteers and pressing the flesh, is still a novelty in Russia more than two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The stakes in Sunday’s election are high - both for the opposition, which is struggling to revive the momentum of its challenge to Putin, and for the Kremlin. After a trial that he and his supporters say was politically motivated, Navalny was convicted in July of stealing timber from a state firm and sentenced to five years in prison. In a highly unusual ruling, a judge released him on bail the following day. Many political observers say the Kremlin wanted Navalny to run in Moscow because it expected him to be humiliated, and believed this would remove him as a political threat. But Navalny’s campaign has had more impact than expected and the gamble is in danger of backfiring on the Kremlin, even though its candidate Sergei Sobyanin is still expected to win. “The moment any competition was allowed, the moment they let Navalny run, the situation started getting out of the Kremlin’s control,” said independent political analyst Pavel Salin.

STAID CAMPAIGN Sobyanin has hardly moved out of first gear in a campaign that harks back to the Soviet system - based largely on staid meetings with officials and voters, blanket television coverage and the avoidance of live debates with the other candidates. He has let his work as mayor since 2010 do the talking for him - the smart new pedestrian walkways, modern buildings, better car parking and bicycles for hire on street corners.

Backed heavily by state media, Sobyanin is confident that Navalny, 37, has no chance of beating him. Even if he did, it seems unlikely that he could take up the job: unless he wins an appeal, he will start his prison term soon after the election. In an interview with the

Associated Press and Russia’s state TV, broadcast on Wednesday, Putin said: “The federal authorities will work with any future Moscow mayor, whoever is elected by Muscovites, that is an absolutely obvious fact.”

But the former Soviet spy also said he believed Navalny was not fit for the job because he lacked experience to run the city of nearly 12 million people. “And in general, when somebody talks of fighting corruption, he himself should be crystal clear first and foremost,” Putin said. “But that is problematic.” Navalny’s campaign, however, has already left a mark by lifting the opposition’s morale, sapped by its failure to force out Putin in protests last year, and undermining the notion that the Kremlin can steer the course of elections as it pleases.

Just preventing from Sobyanin securing more than half the votes on Sunday, and forcing him into a run-off, would be a triumph for Navalny and would likely alarm the Kremlin. “A second round would be disastrous for the entire political system built by Putin,” Navalny’s campaign chief, Leonid Volkov, said. “In any case, the campaign has already resulted in total upheaval in the country’s political landscape.”

POLITICAL SPRINGBOARD Six candidates are fighting for the right to control Russia’s biggest and wealthiest city, its main financial centre and the seat of most big Russian companies. The campaign has been dominated by issues such as housing, transport, jobs, education, corruption and what to do about an unpopular influx of Central Asian migrant workers who do many of the unskilled and lowly paid jobs in the capital.

Power in Russia is concentrated in the hands of the president but the Kremlin takes a risk if it ignores the person who runs the city with an annual budget of 1.8 trillion roubles ($54 billion). Yuri Luzhkov, mayor from 1992 until 2010, used Moscow as a power base but became such an irritant that the then president, Dmitry Medvedev, fired him. Boris Yeltsin treated the job, which in Soviet times went under the title of first secretary of the city communist party, as a springboard to Russia’s presidency.

Sobyanin, 55, is a former head of the presidential administration who was chosen by the Kremlin to replace Luzhkov and is widely seen as a potential prime minister under Putin. Sobyanin “is a very experienced

person, calm, he doesn’t like publicity very much, he’s known to even be taciturn. I like such people. He talks less, does more,” Putin said. Navalny, who made his name as an anti-corruption campaigner, has presidential ambitions as well and also sees the mayor’s job as a stepping stone to bigger things. He is campaigning under the slogan: “Change Russia, Start with Moscow.”

That is a tough task. Protests which began against Putin in big cities in late 2011 failed to take off in the provinces and faded after Putin won a presidential election in March 2012. But Navalny, who led the Moscow protests, has revived some of the enthusiasm for change among urban youth with his unusually open campaign, taking questions from voters that - in a rarity for Russian politicians - are not orchestrated. “He’s different and the only person I can see who can make a difference.

Without him, there’s no one to vote for,” said Katya Volkova, a student attending one of Navalny’s campaign meetings.

LONG STRUGGLE AGAINST THE KREMLIN Navalny has a tougher time winning over older voters wary of more upheaval after the chaos that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. Opponents accuse him of harboring dangerous xenophobic views and of being a Western stooge - charges he rejects, despite his tough talk of limiting immigration.

He also faces allegations of illegally securing funding from abroad, which he denies. Since announcing his candidacy, he has twice been briefly detained by police, who have also raided a flat where he kept campaign materials. The Kremlin denies manipulating elections and dismisses allegations by Navalny that the Moscow ballot will be rigged against him. It holds up the fact that he is running as evidence that it is an open race.

Opinion polls show Putin remains Russia’s most popular politician and Navalny still has little appeal outside major cities. The president is in no immediate danger of being ousted, the opposition is split, and Putin has tightened his grip with new laws that critics say are designed to smother dissent. But Navalny’s supporters portray his campaign as part of a long-term battle that offers them new hope. “He may not win but the important thing is to show there is opposition to Putin,” said Anna Ivanova, a housewife in her twenties attending a Navalny campaign meeting. —Reuters

BRASILIA: US President Barack Obama (left) and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff greet each other during a joint press conference at Planalto Palace in this file photo. The US ambassador to Brazil, Thomas Shannon has been summoned by authorities over new allegations that the US National Security Agency spied on President Dilma Rousseff. —AFP

Snowden ‘set for tough life’ MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, who received asylum in Russia, is a “strange guy” who condemned himself to a difficult fate. “You know, I sometimes thought about him, he is a strange guy,” ex-KGB spy Putin said in an interview with state-run Channel One television. “How is he going to build his life? In effect, he condemned himself to a rather difficult life. I do not have the faintest idea about what he will do next,” Putin said.

The case has intensified strains between Russia and the United States and prompted US President Barack Obama to cancel a visit to Moscow for a bilateral summit ahead of the G20 summit in Saint Petersburg this week. “Well, it’s clear we will not give him up, he can feel safe here. But what’s next?” Putin said, suggesting that Washington, which wants to put him on trial, may in time reconsider its stance. “And maybe some compromises will be found in this case.”

But asked what would he do with the leaker were he a Russian national, Putin said he would do everything to make sure he is “held responsible in strict accordance with Russian law.”Putin said while US special services consider Snowden a traitor “he is someone with a completely different frame of mind and considers himself to be a fighter for human rights.”

Before receiving temporary asylum Snowden spent over a month marooned in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport where he arrived from Hong Kong on June 23.

In the interview, Putin revealed for the first time that he had known about Snowden’s request to receive asylum in Russia while he was still in Hong Kong and told him via his aides that he was welcome to arrive in Russia as long as he stopped his leaks. “He was told about it,” Putin said of Snowden, adding he did not agree to his conditions. “And he left, just left, and that’s it,” he said, referring to the Russian diplomatic mission in Hong Kong which he

said Snowden had contacted. “Then he started flying to Latin America on a plane. I was told that Mr Snowden was flying to us two hours before the plane’s landing.” Putin’s revelation comes after he repeatedly stressed that Snowden had turned up in Russia uninvited. The Russian strongman insisted that Russia did not receive any information from Snowden, reiterating that the country could not extradite him simply because Moscow and Washington did not have an extradition treaty even though Russia proposed concluding such an agreement. “And what should we do after it? “Hand him over there? Then conclude the agreement with us. If you do not want to, fine,” Putin said, adding Washington should not then insist that Russia extradite Snowden when the United States refuses to expel Russian “bandits.”Snowden’s pro-Kremlin lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said for his part that the 30-year-old, who was previously based in Hawaii, was gradually adjusting to his new life in Russia.

“Right now everything is absolutely fine,” he told popular daily Moskovsky Komsomolets. Kucherena declined to release any specifics or say where Snowden was staying, noting only that the American was in touch with his family as he awaited his a visit by his father. He was enjoying his new-found freedom, even if he “practically” had no money, Kucherena said. “He likes to travel, he makes trips, he is getting himself acquainted” with Russia.

No sightings of Snowden have been reported since he left the airport last month. Kucherena said Snowden likes reading the works of classic Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky and his Russian language skills were improving. “He reacts, understands some things,” he said. “One cannot say that he has mastered the language but he will devote a lot of time to it.” “But already he can say words such as “tyazhko, tyazhko” (it’s tough, it’s tough) and “stakan” (a glass).” —AFP

German eurosceptics a ‘new threat’ to Merkel BERLIN: Support for a new anti-euro party has risen to a record high of 4 percent weeks before Germany holds an election, raising the possibility it could win seats in parliament and hurt Angela Merkel’s chances of forming another centre-right coalition. A poll by Forsa for Stern magazine showed the Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) within 1 point of the threshold needed to enter the Bundestag lower house. Some experts believe that polls understate support for the AfD because voters may be embarrassed to admit they back the party, in part because German media has focused on its links to the far-right.

Were the AfD to make it into the Bundestag, it would make it more difficult for Chancellor Merkel to win another centre-right majority with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), increasing the chances of a “grand coalition” between her conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).

Eurosceptic parties have flourished in neigh-

boring countries like France, Austria and the Netherlands, frequently mixing their disdain for the single currency with an anti-immigration message. But in Germany, where support for parties with xenophobic tendencies remains low because of the legacy of the Nazis, there was no mainstream political movement advocating an end to the euro until the AfD was founded earlier this year. In recent months, polls have shown support for the party hovering in the 2-3 percent range, as the easing of the euro zone crisis undermined the AfD’s message. But last month German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble thrust the euro back onto the campaign agenda by saying Greece, which has already received two bailouts totaling 240 billion euros, would require a third rescue. A YouGov Deutschland survey this week showed widespread support for some of the AfD’s policies, such as their rejection of further rescues and proposal to limit the single currency to a small group of “more similar countries”. —Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

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

Plans for new India state spark demands for more Many states ‘so large and difficult to govern’

HYDERABAD: In this file photo, Indian police try to douse fire after student S Yadaiah set himself on fire during a protest demanding separate Telangana state in Hyderabad, India. —AP

LatAm cartels trafficking more drugs to East Asia Criminal gangs explore new markets MANILA: Latin American cartels are trafficking growing amounts of cocaine and methamphetamines to increasingly wealthy East Asian countries, a top US antinarcotics official said yesterday. Falling demand in the United States is driving the criminal gangs to look for new markets, US Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs William Brownfield told a news conference in Manila. “As the United States is increasingly successful in interrupting the flow of cocaine and methamphetamines from South America... these drug trafficking organizations will look for new markets, and some of those new markets will be in East Asia,” Brownfield said.

Cocaine consumption in the United States had dropped by more than 40 percent over the past six years, he said. At the same time, cocaine prices in Europe and East Asia have risen. While methamphetamines are also manufactured by Asian gangs, Brownfield said coca leaves, the raw material for cocaine, are grown almost entirely in Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. He said the US was stepping up cooperation with the Philippines, which was both a market and transit point for

drugs and sat “at the opening to East Asia for a trafficking organization in Latin America”.

“As trafficking organisations for heroin in Afghanistan and Myanmar search for new markets in the United States, the Philippines will be at the point of exit across the Pacific,” Brownfield added.

Philippine anti-narcotics chief Arturo Cacdac said investigators were looking into the “Mexican” links of a Chinese gang arrested while allegedly manufacturing methamphetamine hydrochloride in one of the Philippines’ poshest housing enclaves in January last year.

“It’s possible that Latin American drug personalities are looking to the Far East as a market for drugs, not necessarily cocaine but also shabu,” he said, using the local name for methamphetamines. The 1,800member Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has seized about 500 kilograms of illegal drugs this year, he added.

Brownfield is on the first leg of a 10-day, Asian tour to promote counter-narcotics, anti-corruption and human rights efforts.

He was scheduled to fly to Myanmar later Wednesday and will also travel to Thailand and Japan.—AFP

NEW DELHI: India, a nation of 1.2 billion people, has 28 states. Some would rank among the world’s most populous countries. So when India’s ruling coalition endorsed a 29th state last month, millions of people who have felt ignored and marginalized living far from their state capitals had the same reaction: Why not us?

In West Bengal state, for example, tens of thousands of indigenous Gorkhas demanding their own state - Gorkhaland - have barricaded streets in Darjeeling, the town best known for its prized tea gardens. Strikes have shut down businesses. Police arrested dozens of activists and clamped a curfew in the worst-hit districts last week. Demands for more than two dozen new states have burst into mutinous life, and the strikes and protests could redraw India’s political map.

There are no immediate signs of widespread instability, but the localized rumblings could deflect government attention from its most pressing task: improving the struggling Indian economy. It’s unclear whether the ruling coalition will accept more states. Even the proposal it endorsed, for carving the state of Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh state, is a long way from implementation.

India has always been a political patchwork of astonishingly diverse humanity. Since independence from Britain in 1947, the sprawling country of different religions, distinct cultures and hundreds of languages has been bound together into a cohesive if chaotic democracy. The Indian system gives broad power to states, which were drawn broadly along linguistic lines, most of them by a state reorganization commission in the mid-1950s. But many states are so large they have become difficult to govern, leaving politically marginalized regions out of India’s economic boom.

Some larger states have already been split apart, most recently with the creation of three new states in 2000. If Telangana clears numerous legislative hurdles, it will become the country’s 29th state. Telangana would be composed of the mostly poor, inland districts of Andhra Pradesh state. While its people are ethnically the same as most in Andhra Pradesh, they have long felt ignored by a state government that appeared to divert most resources to the more prosperous southern and coastal districts. For years, the region has been churned by violent protests and hunger strikes.

People in Telangana celebrated when New

Afghan woman sought in alleged $1.1 m bank theft KABUL: The young woman worked for three years at the Afghan bank, officials say. Then one day she vanished. As did $1.1 million. Afghan authorities have been scrambling to track down the suspected thief and several alleged accomplices, and an international arrest warrant has been issued. Still, the revelations are another embarrassment for the banking sector in this country, which has seen corruption already unravel one major institution amid ongoing security threats from militants and criminals.

Shokofa Salehi, 22, worked in the money transfer division at the headquarters of Azizi Bank, a major Afghan lender in Kabul, officials said. She disappeared around two months ago, according to Azizi chief executive Inayatullah Fazli. Investigators say she is suspected of transferring some $1.1 million out of the bank’s coffers to accounts of relatives. Besides Salehi, at least nine people are believed involved in the case. “ They are a mafia group,” Fazli alleged. An Interpol red notice - the equivalent of an international arrest warrant - describes authorities as seeking Salehi on charges of fraud and misusing her authority. Afghan officials believe Salehi used fake documents under the name Samira to reach India after transferring the money; her current whereabouts are unknown.

Two suspects in the case have been detained in Dubai, senior Afghan police official Gen Aminullah Amarkhail said, adding that he’s in

touch with counterparts in Dubai and India for help tracking down Salehi and other suspects. He said one suspect is alleged to have spent some $850,000 of the money to invest in a tire business and possibly other ventures in Dubai.

Amarkhail said Salehi’s parents were among the suspects, and are believed to have returned to Kabul

This file image provided by Interpol shows an undated photo of Shokofa Salehi. —AP after going with her to India. Another top police official, Mohammad Zahir, said investigators were still seeking the parents. Azizi Bank’s website says it began operating in 2006, and that it now has “a 1,500-plus strong team of employees and with a 20 percent female work force is playing a quiet

but effective role in women(‘s) emancipation and empowerment.” It also calls itself “the bank you can trust.”

As striking as it is, Salehi’s alleged pilfering pales in comparison to some other examples of corruption in Afghanistan’s banking sector. In 2010, regulators seized Kabul Bank, Afghanistan’s largest lender, amid allegations of severe levels of graft. Its near-collapse and subsequent bailout represented more than 5 percent of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product, making it one of the largest banking failures in the world in relative terms.

An independent report described Kabul Bank as being run like a Ponzi scheme. Investigators said some $861 million in fraudulent loans had disappeared into the pockets of associates of the men behind the bank. Earlier this year, an Afghan tribunal sentenced two top Kabul Bank executives to five years in prison for misappropriating funds. Critics said the punishments were far too light and raised questions about President Hamid Karzai’s commitment to rooting out corruption.

On Tuesday, Afghanistan announced it was trying once again to privatize what it had salvaged of the bank, which is now called New Kabul Bank. Banks in Afghanistan have also been targeted by Taliban militants and criminal gangs.

Not only are they prime targets for people seeking to steal money, they also are gathering places for many government employees seeking to make deposits or cash their paychecks, thus making them attractive to suicide bombers. —AP

1 Indian woman killed every hour over dowry NEW DELHI: One woman dies every hour in India because of dowry-related crimes, indicating that the country’s economic boom has made demands for dowries even more persistent, women’s rights activists said. The National Crime Records Bureau says 8,233 women were killed across India last year because of disputes over dowry payments given by the bride’s family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. The conviction rate in dowryrelated crimes remained a low 32 percent, according to statistics the bureau published last week. Indian law prohibits the giving or receiving of a dowry, but the centuriesold social custom persists.

Dowry demands often continue for years after the wedding. Each year, thousands of young Indian women are doused with gasoline and burned to death because the groom or his family felt the dowry was inadequate.

Women’s rights activists and police said that loopholes in dowry prevention laws, delays in prosecution and low conviction rates have led to a steady rise in dowry-related crimes. Dowry demands have become even more insistent and expensive following India’s economic boom, Ranjana Kumari, a women’s rights activist, said Tuesday.

She blamed a growing culture of greed as India opens its economy to foreign goods that the younger generation cannot afford but badly want. “Marriages have become commercialized. It’s like a business proposition where the groom and his family make exorbitant demands. And the wealthier the family, the more outrageous the demands,” Kumari said. Suman Nalwa, a senior New Delhi police officer dealing with crimes against women, said dowry practices extended to all classes in society. “Even highly educated people don’t say no to dowry,” she said. —AP

Delhi backed the creation of the new state, but the decision also triggered counterprotests from supporters of a united Andhra Pradesh. A key point of contention is that the proposed Telangana would include Hyderabad, a wealthy IT and industrial hub. In New Delhi, angry lawmakers on both sides of the Telangana debate repeatedly disrupted the lower house of parliament this week, and nine parliamentarians were suspended.

The decision on a new state faces several hurdles. The home ministry must decide how to divide Andhra Pradesh’s resources, waterways and employees. The federal Cabinet, India’s president, the state assembly and parliament would have to approve the plan.

Parsa V. Rao, a political analyst in New Delhi, said the process will take several months at least.

The abrupt decision on Telangana by the Congress party, the most powerful member of the ruling coalition, was made with next year’s general elections in mind, but it has given new life to other longstanding demands for new states based on ethnic or linguistic lines. Claimants to more than two dozen potential states feel their demands now stand a greater chance of success. Aside from Telangana, however, the government has answered most demands for new states by suggesting exploratory talks but making no commitments.

Activists in the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra state are demanding statehood, arguing that the impoverished, water-scarce region has been ignored in favor of the coastal areas around Mumbai. In central India, economically deprived Bundelkhand, currently split between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states, has convulsed with demands to separate. The western part of Uttar Pradesh wants to break away to form Harit Pradesh, a prosperous enclave close to the national capital.

In India’s northeast, a cauldron of ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity, calls for a multitude of separate states have been simmering for decades. Apart from the Gorkhas, there are demands from the Bodo, Karbi, Dimasa, Kuki and Naga ethnic groups, all seeking new states. The Gorkhaland and Bodo movements, two of the most prominent splinter groups, are much older than the efforts to create a Telangana state, and the leaders of those groups see the Telangana decision as nothing short of a betrayal of their own dreams.

“If they can give Telangana, then why can’t we have Bodoland? We want a similar kind of justice,” said SK Bwismuthiary, a member of parliament from the remote northeastern state of Assam. “Our struggle for a separate Bodoland will be relentless,” said Pramod Boro of the All Bodo Students Union. The demand for smaller states is spurred by hopes that they would bring more government funds and better governance. Behind the scenes are the corrupt politicians and hangers-on anticipating the money that flows when entire state governments are created.

But the status quo carries its own consequences in large states such as Uttar Pradesh, which has 200 million people and some of India’s worst literacy, health and poverty statistics. Uttar Pradesh’s main opposition party has demanded that the state be carved into four smaller units. It was a demand that Mayawati, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and now the opposition leader, made during her tenure as head of the state.

Mayawati’s critics, though, say she’s not seeking better governance, but a way to extend her party’s influence to four states rather than just one. Her five-year term as chief minister was marred with charges of corruption and graft.

Political analysts, though, say past attempts to create smaller states have paid off. Ajit Kumar Singh of the Giri Institute of Development Studies, a think tank in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, says newer, smaller states have all performed well and their economic growth has been relatively fast. “The general evidence is that all the newly created smaller states show average growth rates that have been much above the national average,” Singh said. But, he added, the government cannot give in to every demand for a new state, and should not be steered by electoral agendas.

“A rational approach should be followed,” Singh said. “It is time for a second state reorganization commission to look at the claims of all stake holders and provide equitable outcomes.” Fighters for statehood are willing to talk but say their patience will eventually run out. The Bodoland protests have stopped but could be restarted at a moment’s notice, Boro said. “For now, we have agreed to put our agitation on hold after the government said it is willing to talk about a separate Bodoland state,” he said. “We have waited for so long.” —AP

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

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

S Korea spy agency detains MP accused of North plot SEOUL: South Korea’s spy agency yesterday detained a leftist lawmaker accused of plotting an armed revolt in support of North Korea after parliament voted to approve his arrest. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) took United Progressive Party (UPP) legislator Lee Seok-Ki away from his office in parliament after a confrontation with his supporters. Scuffles erupted as UPP members blocked dozens of NIS agents at the office door.

Police eventually stepped in to end the noisy stand-off which lasted for nearly one hour. Television showed Lee surrendering and walking out. Some exhausted UPP members fell to the ground or screamed as the NIS agents escorted Lee out. “I came here of my own will to avoid clashes,” Lee told reporters after he was taken to a court at Suwon just south of Seoul. He will be held at the court, which had issued a warrant for his detention, pending his formal arrest by state prosecutors.

Rival political parties earlier joined forces to approve Lee’s arrest on sedition charges. Without such a vote, lawmakers cannot be detained while the legislature

is in session. Some 258 legislators voted for the arrest while 14 objected.

Hundreds of police, including riot officers carrying shields, had stood guard outside the National Assembly as the vote was under way, with riot vans blocking roads and a water cannon atop an armored vehicle. About 200 UPP members had staged a sit-down protest outside the assembly building, chanting slogans accusing the spy agency of fabricating the charges.

Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn told lawmakers that in May Lee-believing war with the North to be imminent-told his secretive leftist group to prepare for attacks on South Korea’s communication lines and railways. Lee replied that he was the victim of a “savage and irrational witch hunt” led by the country’s secret police and fanned by the conservative news media. “They may jail me for a while but steps towards independence, peace and democracy will never falter,” Lee told parliament.

The ruling conservative government had sought to arrest Lee, and the leftleaning main opposition Democratic Party supported the move.”We’ll never

tolerate anyone who is willing to fight on the side of the enemy in the event of a war,” said Democratic Party chief Kim Han-Gil. The spy agency last week raided the UPP’s offices and arrested three of Lee’s supporters on charges of seeking to instigate an armed insurrection in support of North Korea. Lee had described those charges as “sheer fabrication” and an attempt by the agency to “block progressive and democratic forces”. Sedition charges have been extremely rare since South Korea introduced democracy in the late 1980s.

The UPP in a statement accused the presidential Blue House and the spy agency of trying to divert attention from an election-rigging scandal that has spawned large candlelight street protests in Seoul in recent weeks. The scandal has seen the arrest of former National Intelligence Service head Won Sei-Hoon for allegedly ordering agents to run an online smear campaign against Democratic Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-In. Moon was narrowly beaten in the December poll by the ruling par ty candidate Park Geun-Hye. It is not the

SEOUL: Aeds of Lee Seok-Ki, an incumbent member of parliament, block members of South Korea’s spy agency National Intelligence Service as they raid Lee’s office in Seoul. — AFP first time Lee has faced subversion charges. He was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to two and a half years for working with an underground political party in the 1990s. He received a

presidential pardon later the same year.

South Korea has remained technically at war with the North since their 1950-53 war ended with an armistice but no peace treaty. — AFP

Record radiation readings near Fukushima contaminated tanks Latest readings as high as 2,200 millisieverts

KIBATI: Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) soldiers celebrate in Kibati, near Goma yesterday. — AFP

Flashpoint city still on edge after Congo rebels’ retreat GOMA: The M23 rebels have pulled back from Goma, the flashpoint at the heart of the conflict ravaging eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, but the city still faces bombed-out schools, a stalled economy and a climate of fear. Residents welcomed news this week that the M23 army mutineers, whose 16-month rebellion has terrorized the area, had retreated from their positions in the hills around Goma in the face of an offensive by the military and a new United Nations combat force.

But life in the city, the capital of the mineral-rich yet chronically unstable province of North Kivu, is hardly back to normal. The new school year, which was supposed to start Monday, has been pushed back a week because of the chaos created by the estimated one million people in the province who have fled their homes, many taking shelter in local schools. And Eugene Mutabazi, the assistant director of a secondary school in Goma, said the problems go deeper than that.

One of the two buildings at his school, the Monseigneur Masimango Institute, was hit by a bomb that left just one wall standing, riddled with shrapnel. The explosion killed a girl and wounded two other people, said Mutabazi. “There’s a risk the classrooms that are still standing... will collapse on the children, because they’ve been damaged and there are cracks everywhere,” he said. The displaced people who sleep in the school at night “could also pose a sanitary problem,” he added, standing beside the ruins of the destroyed building.

“We’re afraid of the current situation,” said Lupao, a mother of four. “The children mustn’t go back to school now.” Shops have reopened and the streets are crowded, but businesses are struggling. At Goma’s Majengo market, the stalls lining the street are now filled with produce, but those inside are bare. The frontline north of the city has cut off a key supply route for merchants.

“A lot of merchandise doesn’t get

through any more,” said a resident alongside a muddy road. “Hardly anyone brings me clothes,” said a tailor struggling to find work at her small wooden shop. “A lot of merchants don’t have any more money.”

Many residents were left traumatized by the fighting in and around Goma and the M23 occupation of the city, which the rebels seized for 12 days in November before pulling out under international pressure.

In the most recent fighting, several bombs hit the area, killing 13 people, according to authorities. Swollen by tens of thousands of displaced people who have fled their homes in the surrounding area, Goma’s population has now reached around one million. But the army’s new offensive and the arrival of the UN intervention force have raised hopes by pushing the M23 back to around 30 kilometers north of the city.

One of the displaced people, Olivier Bienda, said he believed Goma was now out of the rebels’ reach for good. Bienda is a carpenter from the village of Kanyarucinya, seven kilometers north of Goma and until recently the site of the frontline. “I went back to Kanyarucinya yesterday,” he said. “I even went to a battlefield. I saw dead M23.”

He said he was “reassured” by the army’s progress and planned to move back home soon. Joseph, an 18-year-old student, wasn’t so sure.

He said he was worried by neighboring Rwanda’s military build-up along the border since Thursday. The UN has accused Rwanda of backing the M23, whose members are mostly Tutsis, like the Rwandan leadership. The Rwandan government flatly denies the charge. “We’re afraid because while Rwanda is fighting with the M23 against the Congolese military, we’re the ones who suffer,” said Joseph. “ The Congolese government should reinforce its soldiers so they can fight,” he added. “The M23 has retreated, but it’s still in the Congo.”— AFP

China ‘expanding territory’ MANILA: China’s planned occupation of a disputed shoal in the South China Sea is aimed at expanding its territory ahead of a regional agreement governing maritime rules, the Philippines’ top diplomat said yesterday. The Philippines believes China has jeopardized peace and stability in Southeast Asia with its latest incursion, said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, and he urged Southeast Asian neighbors to speed up talks on a binding code of conduct (CoC) that will govern behavior in the sea.

The Philippines will be filing a diplomatic protest against China after it discovered concrete blocks on the Scarborough Shoal which Chinese ships have been occupying since April last year, he said. “We think that China is trying to stay ahead of the CoC,” del Rosario said in an interview in his Manila office.

“We think that they have an assertion agenda that they are trying to complete before they are able to sit down and negotiate a CoC.” “There are some sectors that believe China’s delaying action on the CoC is a strategic procrastination on their part ... because the CoC looks forward, not back.”

Tension over the South China Sea, one of the world’s most important waterways, has risen

as China uses its growing naval might to assert its extensive claims over the oil- and gas-rich sea more forcefully, fuelling fear of a military clash.

Four of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Vietnam and the Philippines, have overlapping claims with China. Taiwan also has claims over the entire sea. “This kind of activity places the region in jeopardy in terms of peace and stability,” del Rosario said. “If the Philippines is the target of China today, another country could be the target tomorrow. So this should be considered as a regional issue.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Tuesday he had “no information” about the latest Philippine accusation of an incursion on the shoal.

China and the Philippines accuse each other of violating a 2002 declaration of conduct, a non-binding confidence-building agreement on maritime conduct signed by China and ASEAN. Del Rosario said the latest Chinese activity in Scarborough Shoal, about 125 nautical miles off the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, was discussed at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, where fresh surveillances pictures were shown.— Reuters

TOKYO: Radiation readings around tanks holding contaminated water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant have spiked by more than a fifth to their highest levels, Japan’s nuclear regulator said, heightening concerns about the clean-up of the worst atomic disaster in almost three decades. Radiation hotspots have spread to three holding areas for hundreds of hastily built tanks storing water contaminated by being flushed over three reactors that melted down at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011.

The rising radiation levels and leaks at the plant have prompted international alarm, and the Japanese government said on Tuesday it would step in with almost $500 million of funding to fix the growing levels of contaminated water at the plant. Readings just above the ground near a set of tanks at the plant showed radiation as high as 2,200 millisieverts (mSv), the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said yesterday. The previous high in areas holding the tanks was the 1,800 mSv recorded on Saturday.

Both levels would be enough to kill an unprotected person within hours. The NRA has said the recently discovered hotspots are highly concentrated and easily shielded.

The tanks sit on a hill above the Pacific Ocean at the Fukushima plant, which was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, triggering the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier.

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, said last month water from one the tanks was leaking. Another small leak was found later and the rising number of areas of concentrated radiation are raising concerns of further leaks. The NRA later raised the severity of the initial leak from a level 1 “anomaly” to a level 3 “serious incident” on an international scale of 1-7 for radiation releases.

“There’s a strong possibility these tanks also leaked, or had leaked previously,” said Hiroaki Koide, Assistant Professor at Kyoto

OKUMA: Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (2nd right-red helmet) inspects contamination water tanks at TEPCO’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in the town of Okuma, Fukushima prefecture. —AFP University Research Reactor Institute.

“We have to worry about the impact on nearby groundwater...These tanks are not sturdy and have been a problem since they were constructed two years ago.” It’s also possible the radiation readings are increasing because of more frequent monitoring and inspections by Tepco employees, indicating the hotspots and leaks have been there for some time, Koide said. “The government has finally said they will be involved in this problem but they are still not going to be fully involved in the decommission,” he said. “It is too little, too late.”

URANIUM ROD MELTDOWNS The disaster created fuel-rod meltdowns at three reactors, radioactive contamination of the air, sea and food and resulted in the evacuation of 160,000 people in the area, north of Tokyo. The peak

release of radiation in the sea around Fukushima came about a month after the earthquake and tsunami. Ocean currents have since dispersed the plume and sent the diluted radiation in a slow drift towards the West Coast of the United States, studies have shown.

The amount of radiation expected to reach Canadian and US coastal waters in the years ahead is projected to be well within safety limits for drinking water as it will have been greatly diluted. The closest towns to the stricken plant remain deserted and off-limits to the public, although some former residents have started to return to their homes, some of which are less than 20 kms away, as decontamination work progresses.

Tepco is storing enough contaminated water to fill more than 130 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The water becomes contaminated as it is flushed over the melt-

ed uranium fuel rods to keep them cool. The government has ordered Tepco to transfer all the water held in aro u n d 3 1 0 we a k e r, b o l te d tanks to more reliable welded t a n k s a t t h e Fu k u s h i m a s i te.

Tepco said there are around 620 we l d e d t a n k s, b u t t h e s e t a k e longer to build, and an NRA official has said some of these, too, might not be safe as they are lined up on the ground rather than on a concrete foundation.

Japan’s biggest utility has been criticized for a series of mishaps including its admission, af ter repeated denials, that contaminated water was flowing into the Pacific from another area of the plant. That was followed by the leaks from above-ground tanks.

The latest radiation readings at the plant were taken on Tuesday and were not related to a 6.9 magnitude earthquake off southern Japan yesterday. — Reuters

Japan radioactive water leaks: How dangerous?

TOKYO: New revelations of contaminated water leaking from storage tanks at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant have raised alarm, coming just weeks after Japanese officials acknowledged that radioactive water has been seeping into the Pacific from the plant for more than two years, The government announced this week that it would contribute 47 billion yen ($470 million) to build an underground “ice wall” around the reactor and turbine buildings and develop an advanced water treatment system. A look at the problem, and the potential risks to fish and the humans who eat them.

HOW MUCH RADIATION? Experts estimate at least 300 tons every day. And that’s just from one of two major sources: groundwater that flows through contaminated maintenance tunnels and pits on site. Water with even higher levels of radiation is believed to be escaping through cracks in the basements of the damaged nuclear reactors and their turbines and slowly making its way through the ground to the sea. Exactly how much is unknown. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, or TEPCO, even says there is no clear evidence of any

leaks, though it acknowledges that possibility.

HOW DANGEROUS IS IT? The main health concern is the impact on fish near the nuclear plant. Scientists have long believed that contaminated water was reaching the ocean, based in part on continuing high levels of radioactive cesium found in fish living at the bottom of the sea. A rise in strontium-90 and tritium levels in the past few months needs to be watched, said Ken Buesseler, a marine chemist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Strontium in particular accumulates in fish bones and remains longer than cesium in fish and the humans that eat them. The fisheries off Fukushima are currently closed.

RADIOACTIVE WATER The 300 tons per day is simply part of the underground water that runs down from surrounding mountains and through the nuclear complex on its way to the sea. In addition, nearly 400 tons of cooling water is pumped into the plant every day to keep the remaining fuel from overheating, and that water eventually spills into the basement. Another 400 tons of groundwater seeps into the basement through

cracks, and mixes with the contaminated water.

Water is constantly pumped out of the basements, but some of it escapes through other cracks. Half of the pumped-out water is re-used to cool the fuel, and the rest is stored in tanks.

WHAT ABOUT THE LEAKS? So far, that’s a smaller problem, but there are fears it could become more widespread.

The largest leak to date was 300 tons, and all the water in the tanks has been treated to remove cesium, one of most dangerous of the radioactive elements. The plant has more than 1,000 tanks holding 335,000 tons of contaminated water, and TEPCO plans to increase capacity up to 800,000 tons over the next three years.

IS PROBLEM GOING TO END? Ice walls aside, the most realistic solution is to purify water to safe levels and release it into the sea. A water treatment unit intended to do that failed during a test run and is being repaired. The government is planning to fund the development of a more advanced unit over the next two years. There is no technology to remove tritium, however, so that could become a risk if levels continue to rise.— AP

NEWS

Over 200 languages lost in diverse India NEW DELHI: More than 200 languages have vanished in India over the last 50 years, a new study says, blaming urban migration and fear among nomadic tribes of speaking their traditional tongues. The extensive study, conducted throughout the country over four years and released this week, has found 230 languages have “elapsed” while another 870 have survived the test of time in richly diverse but rapidly modernizing India, home to a vast number of indigenous or tribal peoples.

Ganesh Devy, who spearheaded the survey, said 480 tribal languages are among those still spoken in India, where Hindi and English are strengthening their grip in an increasingly mobile and interconnected world. “I am concerned and alarmed that a very large number of languages have been rapidly declining in India,” Devy, an author and founder of the non-profit Bhasha Trust, which seeks to preserve languages said.

Devy’s team of 3,000 volunteers fanned out across India, visiting communities in the most remote parts of the country of 1.2 billion people, to study and document living languages spoken and written today. The team scrutinized evidence of the existence of a language such as a community’s use of folk songs and stories in their mother tongue as well as terms used for their geographical surroundings.

The team compared their findings with the results of a government census conducted in 1961 which stated that some 1,100 languages existed throughout the country. The first five of some 50 detailed volumes of the team’s People’s Linguistic Survey of India will be released in New Delhi today. Devy said languages of coastal communities seemed to have eroded the most over the years as traditional fishermen, whose livelihoods have declined, move inland in search of employment in cities.

“For coastal communities, hit adversely by changing sea-farming technology, a wonderfully abundant terminology for fish and waves is of no use in inland areas,” he said. Tongues are also dying out among nomadic tribes, branded criminals by many in the past and considered at

the bottom of India’s caste system. Many attempt to conceal their identity, including by not speaking their traditional dialects, to “escape harassment”, Devy said.

Some, who abandon their nomadic lifestyle for cities and towns, are “likely to move away from their social practices, culture and language” for fear of rejection from mainstream society, he said. The survey found kinship terms are shrinking in most languages, reflecting erosion of strong family ties, along with terms for forms of prayer, Devy wrote in The Hindu newspaper on Tuesday.

“Weakening ecological bonds are reflected in people’s inability to name surrounding trees or birds (in their traditional language),” he added. However there are exceptions among non-nomadic tribes, especially those enjoying inclusive economic growth in their homelands, Devy said. He pointed to the eastern state of Jharkhand, where 30 percent of the population belongs to tribes whose heritage remains strong.

About 190 tribal groups are spread throughout India, from the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands, to the Himalayas, and northeastern regions bordering Bhutan and China, with a combined population of about 60 million. The strong presence of indigenous groups means India continues to enjoy a relatively rich diversity of languages despite economic development as well as British colonization. “It is only in India that despite the colonial experience of over two centuries, more than 800 languages have survived.

“The high rate of language loss in India needs therefore to be seen together with the high rate of language survival,” Devy said. India’s constitution lists 22 official languages, with Hindi as the main official language and English-the preferred language for business and academics-given associate status. An educated and English-speaking population has been one of the key factors behind the outsourcing boom to India, which has seen Western companies set up IT back-up or call centers across the country. — AFP

West struggles with online recruitment...

Continued from Page 1

successful attacks.

A much smaller number of Americans are also believed to be fighting. A Muslim conver t from Michigan was the first US woman believed to have been killed alongside the rebels in May. Computer experts and police say online recruitment is particularly difficult to disrupt because of the dizzying volume of material, time lags in capturing digital evidence, the difficulty of cross-border cooperation and the uncertainty of securing convictions in countries that safeguard free speech.

“I describe it as a Sisyphean task,” said Shiraz Maher of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization at King’s College, London. “You try and pull it down and it will come back in one form or another.” “How do you begin to challenge this? It’s just practically impossible to do, it’s out there in such quantity.”

VISIT SYRIA! Syria has now eclipsed conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Mali to dominate web discussion by Islamists. Some 40 different rebel factions are uploading status reports from the ground in Syria in real time, said senior analyst Laith Alkhouri of security consultancy Flashpoint Global Partners. Just a few keystrokes can uncover Germans, Italians, Belgians, British, Americans, even Australians - Muslim-born or recently converted - on social networking sites encouraging their countrymen to leave their homes and take up arms in Syria.

“Oh brothers! You don’t need someone to take you by the hand to get there. A bit of resourcefulness and you’re off!” wrote “Erwan” in a June 23 posting on French radical Islamist forum Ansar Al Haqq. He included links showing the easiest way to Syria from Turkey.

Authorities sometimes choose to shut or sabotage the sites of groups they identify as terrorists, as the United States and Britain did in corrupting online issues of AlQaeda’s “Inspire” English-language magazine.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said in June that police had removed over 5,700 pieces of online terrorism content since 2011. Yet that is only a fraction of the estimated 50,000 extremist sites globally, according to the University of Arizona’s Dark Web Project, which collects and analyses data from global jihadist forums. While governments and major social networking sites quickly take down material deemed clearly offensive, such as videos of prisoners being beheaded, most content is less clear cut.

Authorities seeking to curb what they consider to be dangerous material on the Web have to make fine distinctions between political speech that is protected in most Western countries, and incitement to violence which is banned. Sociologist Amghar said many of the sites are promoting an ideology, rather than calling for violence. “The objective of many of these sites is not to incite individuals to commit attacks but rather to keep the idea of Jihad in the forefront of people’s minds,” he said. “The hard part to gauge with precision is what’s the impact.”

In a sign of the difficulty of stamping out extremism on the Internet, both France and Germany abandoned moves to block such content in the past two years. The West’s opposition to Assad muddies the issue further. It means any Westerners fighting against the government - and anyone on the internet urging them to do so - are ostensibly on the same side as Western authorities.France’s top anti-terrorism judge, Marc Trevidic, foresees challenges in prosecuting return Westerners who return home, given the difficulty of tracking their movements in Syria and proving they joined groups, such as the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, that Western states consider terrorists. A recruiting video may fall short of proof needed for conviction. “We consider that wanting to fight Jihad is being a terrorist.

But things aren’t so simple,” Trevidic told an antiterrorism parliamentar y committee in Februar y.

France has opened five formal Syria-related terrorism investigations but no cases have yet been decided by a judge, according to a justice ministry source. Across the Atlantic, a US citizen, Eric Harroun, was indicted in June by a federal grand jury for allegedly fighting alongside the Al-Nusra Front. He can be been seen in online videos posing with weapons and boasting of

THANK YOU, YOUTUBE There are benefits to leaving extremist online material in place, security experts say. “It’s an excellent tool for intelligence,” said criminologist Alain Bauer, a former security advisor to French ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy.

“Western intelligence agencies should give Facebook, YouTube and these other sites a medal.”

Eighty percent of terrorism cases before French courts rely exclusively on evidence from the Internet, according to a May 24 parliamentary report on terrorism. “There’s a sense of ‘disrupt the flow’ when they can, and also a sense of ‘leave it be, let’s monitor’,” said Maher. When authorities do try to take material off the Web, they are often too late to be effective. It may take months before YouTube responds to a government request to remove an offending video.

In the interim, hundreds of copies may have been made and reposted, fuelled by buzz about the video on Twitter. A system in which users flag inappropriate content is faster, but given that 72 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute, it’s not fast enough to keep such content offline. “It takes five minutes to upload a one-hour video but it might take five months to get YouTube to be aware of this video,” said Flashpoint’s Alkhouri.

A spokesman for Google, which owns YouTube, said the company responds quickly after users flag content forbidden under policy guidelines, such as incitement to violence. Given the flood of volume, Western police agencies need smarter tools allowing them to pinpoint and analyze the most dangerous content, a capability most don’t have, said Hsinchun Chen, who runs Dark Web at the University of Arizona. “The analogy is drinking water from the fire hydrant, the content just keeps coming through and how do you monitor that?”

Chen’s Dark Web portal relies on multilingual data mining and content analysis to gather and sift through terrorist web content. He said a similar systematic method of collection is currently used only by Israel and one US security agency. “(Intelligence agencies) are experts in investigations but most of them are not experts in computer science. They don’t have the resources or the will or the capability to collect large amounts of information on a systematic basis,” Chen said. “They should have it, and it’s available.”

That also raises privacy issues, which have come to the fore in the United States since former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the National Security Agency collects huge amounts of data from phone calls and internet traffic. In its May report, France’s parliamentary commission recommended strengthening the technical means and automation of Internet surveillance. It added that high-level engineers were “impossible to recruit.”

URGENT OR LONG-TERM THREAT Fighting online extremist content requires a crossborder response as websites may appear in one country but be hosted in another. But information-sharing can be slow and the sensitive nature of terrorism cases adds further delays. “As soon as you talk about terrorism and national security there are other rules of the game,” said Troels Oerting, head of the European Cybercrime Centre at Europol, which helps countries monitor the Web. “National security is very national, it’s not very international.”

One such example is Malika El Aroud, a BelgianMoroccan convicted in 2007 by Switzerland for operating a website that recruited militant Islamist fighters to Afghanistan, only to launch a similar site across the border in Belgium. A Belgian court ultimately sentenced her to prison in 2010. Police are likely to devote more effort to immediate local threats than hypothetical future threats, like those that might be posed by returned fighters from Syria.

“If I’m an intelligence officer in Paris and my primary concern is to make sure nothing happens on the Metro, I’m not immediately concerned by the guy saying, ‘Go to Syria,’” said radicalization expert Maher. “The urgent threat is the guy sitting in a Parisian suburb building a bomb,” he said. “You have to balance resources between that threat and the important more slowmoving threat that will germinate and come to fruition in years to come.” — Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

Arab nations offer to pay for Syria’s strike Continued from Page 1

As Obama made his case overseas, legislators on Capitol Hill debated whether a proposed resolution authorizing military force would shift the momentum after more than two years of Syrian civil war.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee delayed a public meeting and huddled in private for more than three hours after Sen John McCain, an outspoken advocate of intervention, said he did not support the latest version of the Senate resolution to authorize force. The Arizona Republican said he wants more than cruise missile strikes and other limited action, seeking a stronger response aimed at “reversing the momentum on the battlefield” and hastening the departure of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

On the other side of the debate, Sen Jim Inhofe, ROkla, said he was not persuaded to support military action, saying the military has been “decimated” by budget cuts and “we’re just not in a position to take on any major confrontation.” Sen Rand Paul, R-Ky, said US involvement could well “make the tragedy worse” in Syria, but he predicted that advocates of military intervention would win in the Senate. “The only chance of stopping what I consider to be bad policy would be in the House,” he said.

Obama, asked in Sweden about his own past comments drawing a “red line” against the use of chemical weapons, said it was a line that had first been clearly drawn by countries around the world and by Congress, in ratifying a treaty that bans the use of chemical weapons.

“That wasn’t something I just kind of made up,” he said. “I didn’t pluck it out of thin air. There’s a reason for it.”

Obama said that if the world fails to act, it will send a message that despots and authoritarian regimes “can continue to act with impunity.” “The moral thing to do is not to stand by and do nothing,” he declared at a news conference in Stockholm with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Asked whether he would take action against Syria if he fails to get approval from Congress, the president said his request to lawmakers was not “an empty exercise.”

But he said that as commander in chief, “I always preserve the right and the responsibility to act on behalf of America’s national security.” With Obama in Europe, the president’s top national security aides briefed legislators in a series of public and private hearings, hoping to advance their case for limited strikes against Assad’s regime in retaliation for what the administration says was a deadly sarin gas attack by his forces outside Damascus last month.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Assad’s use of chemical weapons is “a line that anyone with a conscience should draw.” He said US intelligence can prove Assad has used the weapons at least 11 times, and said North Korea and Iran were watching America closely. “The world is wondering whether the United States of America is going to consent with silence,” Kerry said.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s public meeting on the resolution was delayed, but Sen Bob Corker of Tennessee, the panel’s senior Republican, said there was a “reasonable chance” of a consensus developing and senators proceeding to a vote. The panel began the day with a resolution that would permit Obama to order a “limited and tailored” military mission against

Syria, as long as it doesn’t exceed 90 days and involves no American troops on the ground for combat operations.

The committee’s vote would be the first in a series as the president’s request makes its way through Senate and House committees before coming before the two chambers for a final vote. In an initial survey, the AP found 17 senators supporting or leaning in favor of the resolution approving a US military response in Syria, and 14 against or leaning against it.

There were 69 senators who either said they were undecided or whose views were unknown. Of those supporting or leaning in favor of the resolution, 13 were Democrats and four were Republicans. Those against or leaning against the resolution were 2 Democrats, 11 Republicans and one independent. Sending a message to Congress from afar, Obama insisted there was far more than his own credibility at stake.

“I didn’t set a red line, the world set a red line,” he said.

“The world set a red line when governments representing 98 percent of world population said the use of chemical weapons are abhorrent.” He added that “Congress set a red line when it ratified that treaty.” To get a green light from Congress, Obama needs to persuade a Republicandominated House that has opposed almost the entirety of Obama’s agenda since seizing the majority more than three years ago.

Several conservative Republicans and some anti-war Democrats already have come out in opposition to Obama’s plans, even as Republican and Democratic House leaders gave their support to the president Tuesday. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Cal, said yesterday that while it would be important to deter the use of chemical weapons by Assad and others, there remained many unanswered questions, including what the US would do if Assad retaliated to an American attack.

“The administration’s Syria policy doesn’t build confidence,” Royce said in his prepared remarks. The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, said he backed Obama’s call for military action against Syria but said it should be limited and not involve US ground troops. “If we do not pass the authorization measure, what message will Assad get,” said Engel. “What message will Iran receive, Hezbollah?”

The audience at the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing included several people wearing signs opposing US action against Syria and who had colored the palms of their hands red. Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Martin Dempsey, made their arguments in public yesterday before the House panel. They and other senior administration officials also provided classified briefings to the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees.

As anti-war demonstrators seated behind him silently raised their red-colored hands, Kerry told the Foreign Affairs committee that the world’s nations were watching Congress. “They want to know whether or not America is going to rise to this moment,” said Kerry. Hagel seconded Obama’s warnings about the potential scope of danger from failing to uphold international standards, saying “a refusal to act would undermine the credibility of America’s other security commitments - including the president’s commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.” — Agencies

14

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

ANALYSIS

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Issues

Why is Obama giving Russia’s Putin free rein? fter what arguably was the worst week of his presidency, Barack Obama yesterday found some salve for his wounds: Republican and Democratic leaders of the US House, appearing with the president after a White House meeting, said they strongly support a military assault against Syria as punishment for that government’s use of chemical weapons against civilians.

House Speaker John Boehner, Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi - a troika most days unlikely to agree on where to have lunch - gave Obama at least a veneer of congressional support. We assume none of them wants to be on the wrong side of a US president’s request to use military force for a purpose he deems crucial.

So for one day’s news cycle, at least, public discussion didn’t focus on the wild mix of signals from the administration, with declarations of the need for urgent military action followed by the president’s surprise announcement that he first would ask Congress for permission. No rush, though. Wouldn’t want to interrupt the lawmakers’ summer recess.

As the House leaders rally round Obama, though, their rank-and-file members are studying fresh public opinion surveys that show how unpopular an authorization-of-force resolution would be. An ABC/Washington Post poll found 36 percent of respondents favoring missile strikes against Syria, but 59 percent opposed. A Pew Research Center poll, also issued Tuesday, found only 29 percent of respondents favoring US military action, with 48 percent opposed.

That opposition included 40 percent of Republican respondents, but 48 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of independents.

We were most struck, though, by responses to two other questions in Pew’s survey: By a margin of 48 percent to 32 percent, respondents said Obama hasn’t clearly explained why the US should launch airstrikes.

And by a still more lopsided margin, 59 percent to 28 percent, respondents said the Obama administration should obtain a United Nations resolution to use force before taking military action.

The notion of demanding that the UN Security Council act is an option that, oddly, the White House evidently has abandoned without seriously trying. As a result, Russian President Vladimir Putin gets free rein: He can criticize what he portrays as a war-mongering US president without having to veto a UN resolution against Russia’s unappealing client, Syrian President Bashar Assad.

We’d like to see Obama step off his plane in Russia this week for the Group of 20 meeting and announce that he is asking the Security Council for immediate consideration of a resolution against Syria. At the very least, a hard push for UN condemnation of Syria’s abominations would allow the Obama administration to say that it had tried, however belatedly, to build something more than the current Coalition of One. We aren’t under the illusion that a resolution over the mass slaughter of civilians, by poison gas and other means, would win Security Council approval or that, even if it did, anything meaningful would come of it.

Little in life is more feckless than a sternly worded reproach from the United Nations. We would, though, like to see whether Russia, or perhaps China, actually would veto such a resolution. That is, we’d like to see whether Putin wants to take ownership of what is happening in Syria, those gruesome scenes of writhing children included.

Reports out of Berlin had German Chancellor Angela Merkel planning to exploit the UN angle that the US evidently has not. A German government official told reporters that Merkel “will very much push President Putin to take a constructive position at the UN Security Council.” Likely translation: So, Vladimir, as the evidence that Assad did deploy chemical weapons mounts, do you really want to be his human shield?

Perhaps, as he takes in the beauty of St Petersburg this week, Obama could ask his hosts to help him on a point from Russia’s past. Historians cannot agree on the number of people killed under the three-decade regime of Josef Stalin - the victims of gulags, of executions, of famine, of wartime prison camps, of ceaseless repression. Estimates in the range of 10 million probably underestimate Stalin’s atrocities; calculations refined with data from government archives since the fall of the Soviet Union support a total closer to 20 million. Is it possible, Obama could ask his St Petersburg hosts, that Russians have forgotten their own experience with mass murder?— MCT

A

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

US Congress fight pits establishment versus upstarts

By Richard Cowan and Caren Bohan he US Congress, which votes largely along party lines on most issues, is displaying a different kind of split in the debate over Syria: Experienced lawmakers who support President Barack Obama’s plans for military action are lining up against more skeptical and rebellious newcomers mostly from the ideological edges of both parties. A similar pattern emerged earlier this year on a proposal to limit surveillance by the National Security Agency, which failed in the US House of Representatives but attracted significant support both from Tea Party members and libertarians and Democratic liberals.

While the Republican leaders of the US House of Representatives came out in support of Obama on Tuesday, a House Republican aide, who asked not to be identified, said he expected most Tea Party-backed Republicans, around 50 lawmakers, to vote against any resolution in the chamber, which currently has 433 voting members. Their rationale, the aide said, is that the United States should not be involved in military action unless it is attacked.

The Democratic leadership of Congress is mostly supportive of Obama as well. But according to a rough count, about 30 or 35 Democrats in the House and four or five in the US Senate have made statements leaning against military strikes. While some are veteran liberals, most are newer arrivals such

T

as Illinois freshman Representative Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran.

“Until I feel it’s imperative to our national security, I will not support pre-emptive intervention in Syria,” Duckworth said in a statement last week. “America shouldn’t bear the burden unilaterally, especially since none of our allies, including those in the region, have committed to action.” Many say it is too early to call the vote.

But some early estimates of how members could line up point to a group of House liberal Democrats, including some Congressional Black Caucus members, leaning against the resolution and joining hands with their ideological opposites - conservative and libertarian Republicans who eagerly have defied their leaders’ wishes on several major issues earlier this year. Obama has asked Congress to authorize limited action in response to what the administration says was a sarin gas attack by the Syrian government that killed more than 1,400 people, hundreds of them children, near Damascus on Aug. 21.

SIMILAR PATTERN The NSA vote earlier this year was on a proposal made jointly by conservative Representative Justin Amash and liberal Representative John Conyers, both from Michigan. The measure failed in the house by 12 votes, with 111 Democrats and 94 Republicans in support. Particularly in the

case of the Democrats, early statements do not mean they will ultimately cast a vote against military action in Syria.

The situation is evolving rapidly on Capitol Hill, and members do not yet know the actual wording of the resolution they will be asked to vote on, which is still being crafted. Things looked relatively bleak for Obama on Monday, for example, but they improved significantly on Tuesday when the top leaders of the House - Republicans and Democrats - announced their support of a military operation.

Such endorsements do not carry as much weight as they did in years past, however. That was illustrated vividly shortly after House Speaker John Boehner announced his position, when young conservatives started bucking him. “I’m new here,” said Representative Trey Radel, a Tea Party Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which will craft a resolution authorizing military action against Syria.

“But being new here, I am very skeptical of Republicans and Democrats that have dragged us into wars of the past.”

The freshman Florida congressman added, “When we look at Afghanistan and Iraq, I am questioning still today what is the end goal within these countries; what have we accomplished with so many lives being lost.” “We are going to see a significant number of anti-war Democrats join with a new generation of neo-isolationist Republicans,”

said Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute. “They will, in turn, be joined by some Republicans who might not believe those things but just don’t want to vote for anything that Barack Obama is for,” he said. Ornstein said, however, that Obama is in “incomparably better shape today than he was two days ago” in his drive to win congressional approval of limited military action.

COALITIONS EMERGING “These coalitions that are emerging are quite different than what we normally see, even on authorizations for war and defense/military related votes,” said Sarah Binder, a Brookings Institution scholar. “On the Republican side, the issues here are between a growing isolationist-conservative wing of both the House and Senate Republican conference, contrasted with more traditional conservative ‘war hawk’ members of the Republican Party,” she said.

“The question is, how deep do those divisions run?....I think it probably will be a close vote down to the wire.” Representative Steve Israel, a member of the House Democratic leadership, predicted a consensus will emerge that will overshadow the messy fight in the run-up to votes. “At the end of the day, if a majority of the House of Representatives supports a form of this resolution, how we got there will be largely irrelevant,” Israel predicted.— Reuters

US strike on Syria could derail Iran’s master plan

By Yeganeh Torbati f one thing could scuttle Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s big plan - to fix Iran’s economy by winning some relief from Western sanctions - a US strike on Tehran’s ally Syria is it.

Rouhani’s June election landslide won him the cautious backing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to pursue his pledge to engage with Western countries and attempt to ease Iran’s isolation over Tehran’s nuclear program.

But the hardliners Rouhani defeated at the polls still dominate parliament and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and are poised to return Iran to the familiar posture of defiance if the president’s message of moderation falls on deaf ears abroad. As the president prepares to travel to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly this month, US military strikes on Syria could derail Rouhani’s diplomacy before it even starts.

“You can hardly think of a more unlucky situation for a moderate government which wants to relax tensions with the world,” wrote columnist Maziar Khosravi in Iran’s reformist Sharq newspaper on Monday, referring to the likelihood of US strikes to punish Assad for an apparent chemical weapons attack near Damascus on Aug 21. Syria is Iran’s sole regional ally, and Western foes say Tehran is supporting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad with arms, cash and Revolutionary Guardsmen to train militia to help win the civil war.

A US strike on Syria would spell “the end of a diplomacy aimed at reducing tensions with the West and reconciliation with the world,” wrote Sadeq Zibakalam, a professor at Tehran University, in Etemad, another reformist newspaper, last week.

“The atmosphere between Syria’s allies and the West, after a Western attack on Syria, will become so cold and dark that there would be practically no space for reducing tensions and improving relations ... Iran will be forced to change its tone towards the West to a hostile one.”

I

RAISING THE STAKES In Washington, some reason that a US military strike on Syria would improve the prospects of a deal with Iran by reinforcing the credibility of the implicit US threat to use force to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. “If there are a set of finite but effective strikes against Syria, the effect on the Iranians will be real,” said Dennis Ross, a former White House and State Department official who served as one of President Barack Obama’s key advisers on Iran. “It raises the stakes for them of not having diplomacy succeed,” said Ross, now with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think-tank. Conversely, Ross said a US failure to punish Syria for crossing Obama’s “red line” with the use of chemical weapons might make Iran believe it could pursue its nuclear program with impunity. This argu-

ment is reinforced by the view held by many in the United States that it is sweeping US, European Union and United Nations sanctions on Iran that have brought about Iran’s new willingness to engage over its nuclear program. However, there are those who make the opposite case: that strikes on Syria would reinforce those in Iran who favor obtaining nuclear weapons and undermine a potential deal. “There’s a valid argument to be made that US inaction in Syria will embolden Iran to move forward with its nuclear ambitions. There’s an equally valid argument that if the US attacks Syria, Iran will feel an even greater need for a nuclear deterrent,” said Karim Sadjadpour, an analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think-tank in Washington.

DIVISIONS IN TEHRAN When considering their response to any strike on Syria, Iranian leaders must weigh the costs and benefits of backing Assad, versus the advantage to be gained from a possible detente with the United States, the prospect of a nuclear deal and the easing of sanctions. So far, Iran’s response to the chemical weapons attack suggests disagreement within the corridors of power in Tehran. A chorus of Revolutionary Guards commanders have issued daily dire warnings that US strikes on Syria would result in a conflict engulfing the whole region - implying retaliation against Israel, presumably by Iran’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah. “An attack on Syria will mean the imminent destruction of Israel,” IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari was quoted as saying last week in an interview with the Tasnim news agency.

Yet the Iranian government line has been more measured.

Rouhani condemned the use of

chemical weapons, pointing out that Iranian troops were victims of gas attacks during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. He stopped short of apportioning blame. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif went further and blamed rebels for the attack. He also warned the United States not to get involved: “The Syria crisis is a trap set by Zionist pressure groups for (the United States),” Iran’s English-language channel Press TV quoted him as saying. But Zarif has also offered some mild criticism of the Syrian government. “We believe that big mistakes made by the government in Syria unfortunately provided an opportunity for abuse,” Iranian media quoted him as saying this week. He has also repeatedly called for diplomacy as an alternative to Obama’s stark alternatives of military strikes versus inaction. Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, an ally and mentor of Rouhani, appeared to go further last week by blaming the Syrian government for the Aug 21 attack.

The Foreign Ministry denied Rafsanjani said any such thing, but while the semi-official state news agency that originally quoted him changed those comments, it left unchanged Rafsanjani’s charge that in Syria “the prisons are overflowing and they’ve converted stadiums into prisons”.

“The Syrian crisis is as polarizing for Iran’s political elite as it is for the international community,” said Yasmin Alem, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center.

“It is no longer clear whether Syria is the lynchpin of Iran’s security or a threat to it.”

Much depends on the intensity and extent of any US attacks on Syrian government forces and facilities. “A limited attack with minimum impact on the balance of power in Syria is unlikely to impede nuclear diplomacy with Iran,” said Ali Vaez, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group. “Rouhani’s success depends on rescuing Iran’s ailing economy, the realization of which is nearly impracticable without sanctions relief. If he allows Syria to spoil the nuclear negotiations, his presidency will falter just one month after it began.”—Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORTS

Dyke sets England’s target LONDON: Football Association chairman Greg Dyke set England the target of winning the 2022 World Cup during a wide-ranging speech about the future of the national game in London yesterday. Dyke said England as a country must address the “frightening” lack of English players playing in the Premier League and set a nine-year plan of improvement for the national side. “Today I want to set the whole of English football two targets,” he told journalists. “The first is to at least reach the semi-finals of Euro 2020. And the second is for us to win the World Cup in 2022.”

In his first public address since succeeding David Bernstein in July, Dyke said the FA would be “letting the country and thousands of England fans down” if it did not act to give young English players more opportunities to play in the Premier League.

Dyke helped found the Premier League in 1992, but although he claimed that it was now the most successful domestic championship in the world, he said it was also harming the national team.

Describing English football as “a tanker that needs turning,” he said: “In the future, it’s quite possible we won’t have enough players qualified to play for England playing regularly at the highest level in this country. —AFP

Syrian athlete killed

Holloway accepts FA ban

DAMASCUS: Syrian state media say a member of the national taekwondo team has been killed in a mortar attack in Damascus.

State news agency SANA says 27-year-old Mohammed Ali Neimeh died when a mortar shell hit a sports hall in the Syrian capital on Wednesday.

Neimeh had been training for an upcoming Islamic Solidarity Tournament in Indonesia this week, SANA said.

Neimeh has been a member of the national team since 2006.

While he has never qualified for the Olympics, SANA said he was a Syrian sporting hero for winning medals at international tournaments, including a bronze in the 2010 West Asian Championships.

Syrian rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad have frequently fired mortars on residential districts of the capital to disrupt life in the capital that the regime tries hard to portray as detached from the bloody civil war that has raged for more than two years—AP

LONDON: Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway will serve a two-match touchline suspension after accepting charges over his conduct during his side’s loss to Tottenham Hotspur, the Football Association announced yesterday. Holloway was charged on two separate counts relating to his behaviour towards the match officials following Palace’s 1-0 defeat at home to Spurs on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. “Ian Holloway will serve a two-match touchline suspension with immediate effect after Crystal Palace notified The FA that they would not be appealing the sanction,” read a statement on the FA website.

“Holloway was given the ban along with an £18,000 ($28,000, 33,100 euros) fine after he admitted two separate charges, both in relation to his side’s game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 18 August 2013.” The FA said that Holloway’s “language and/or behaviour in or around the match officials’ changing room after the game amounted to improper conduct”, for which he received a two-game ban and a £10,000 fine. —AFP

Detroit fall, Yankees roll

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

American League Eastern Division W L PCT Boston 83 57 .593 Tampa Bay 76 61 .555 NY Yankees 74 64 .536 Baltimore 73 64 .533 Toronto 64 75 .460 Central Division Detroit 81 58 .583 Cleveland 73 65 .529 Kansas City 72 66 .522 Minnesota 61 76 .445 Chicago W Sox 56 81 .409 Western Division Texas 80 58 .580 Oakland 79 59 .572 LA Angels 64 73 .467 Seattle 62 76 .449 Houston 45 93 .326

GB 5.5 8 8.5 18.5

Atlanta Washington Philadelphia NY Mets Miami

7.5 8.5 19 24

Pittsburgh St. Louis Cincinnati Milwaukee Chicago Cubs

1 15.5 18 35

LA Dodgers Arizona Colorado San Diego San Francisco

National League Eastern Division 85 53 .616 70 68 .507 63 76 .453 62 75 .453 52 85 .380 Central Division 81 57 .587 79 59 .572 78 61 .561 59 79 .428 58 80 .420 Western Division 83 55 .601 69 68 .504 65 75 .464 62 76 .449 61 77 .442

15 22.5 22.5 32.5 2 3.5 22 23 13.5 19 21 22

Pirates edge Brewers MILWAUKEE: Pinch-hitter Travis Snider homered in the ninth inning to lift Pittsburgh to a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night that clinched the Pirates’ first non-losing record in 21 seasons. Snider drove a 2-2 pitch from Jim Henderson (3-5) over the wall in center for his second pinch-hit homer of the season. He also accomplished the feat against the Chicago Cubs on May 21. It was victory No. 81 for Pittsburgh, ensuring it will not finish with a losing record for the first time since it went 96-66 in 1992. More importantly, it boosted the Pirates’ lead in the NL Central to two games over St. Louis.

Vin Mazzaro (7-2) pitched two innings for the win and Mark Melancon got three outs for his 11th save, striking out Khris Davis with a runner on second to make it four straight wins for Pittsburgh at Miller Park for the first time since 2002. The Pirates lost 44 of 51 games in Milwaukee from 2007-2012. Jean Segura had two hits and Jonathan Lucroy drove in two runs for Milwaukee, which has lost five in a row.

REDS 1, CARDINALS 0 In Cincinnati, Speedy Billy Hamilton got his first major league steal and came around on Todd Frazier’s double in the seventh inning, sending Cincinnati to the victory.

Hamilton made his big league debut as a pinch runner for Ryan Ludwick, who led off the seventh with a single against Seth Maness (5-2).

After Maness threw to first three times, Hamilton took off and beat catcher Yadier Molina’s off-target throw. The touted prospect scored easily on Frazier’s hit and got congratulatory slaps in

MILWAUKEE: Justin Morneau No. 36 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a single in the top of the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers.—AFP the dugout. Homer Bailey (10-10) allowed only two hits in seven innings, retiring his last 14 batters. Aroldis Chapman got three outs for his 34th save in 39 chances, completing the two-hitter. The Cardinals were shut out for the third time in their last six games.

DODGERS 7, ROCKIES 4 In Denver, Ricky Nolasco pitched six strong innings, Carl Crawford had three hits and the Dodgers earned their sixth consecutive win.

Crawford singled in a pair of runs in the second to spark the offense in the absence of injured catalyst Yasiel Puig. The Cuban slugger was rested a day after he aggravated a right knee strain.

Nolasco (12-9) allowed two runs and five hits in improving to 7-1 with a 2.27 ERA in 11 starts since coming to Los Angeles on July 6 in a trade with Miami. Nick Punto added four singles for the NL West-leading Dodgers. Jhoulys Chacin (13-8) allowed four runs in seven innings in losing to the Dodgers for the first time in four starts this season.

NATIONALS 9, PHILLIES 6 In Philadelphia, Wilson Ramos hit a three-run homer and Corey Brown also went deep to back

Gio Gonzalez, leading Washington to the victory.

Still clinging to postseason hopes, the Nationals overcame a sloppy all-around effort that included three errors, four unearned runs and four wild pitches. They remained 71/2 games behind Cincinnati for the second wild-card spot.

Gonzalez (9-6) gave up five runs - one earned and five hits, striking out six in 5 2-3 innings. The lefty has two straight wins after going seven starts without one. Phillies rookie Ethan Martin (2-4) allowed five runs and four hits in 4 2-3 innings.

Cody Asche was 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs for Philadelphia. Rafael Soriano tossed a scoreless ninth for his 37th save in 43 chances.

BRAVES 3, METS 1 In Atlanta, Kris Medlen pitched seven strong innings to help Atlanta get another win at home.

Andrelton Simmons and Evan Gattis homered for the Braves, who have won 20 of 24 at Turner Field to improve the major leagues’ best home record to 51-19.

Gattis, who was recalled earlier in the day after a three-game stint at Triple-A Gwinnett, tied it at 1 with his 16th homer in the seventh. After Mets starter Carlos Torres (3-3) walked Dan Uggla on nine pitches, Simmons hit his 13th homer to make it 3-1.

Medlen (12-12) allowed seven hits and one run while striking out nine. Closer Craig Kimbrel converted his 34th straight save opportunity and improved to 44 for 47 this season. New York has dropped three straight and nine of 13.

PADRES 3, GIANTS 2 In San Diego, Chris Denorfia hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning to lift the Padres to the victory. Nick Hundley drew a leadoff walk in the seventh from rookie reliever Jake Dunning, who was called up earlier in the day from TripleA Fresno. Ronnie Cedeno followed with a single to send Hundley to third and bring on Javier Lopez.

Denorfia lined a 1-2 pitch to left for the single that broke a 2-all tie. Dunning (0-2), who made his major league debut in June, took the loss. Tim Stauffer (3-1) got the win with 1 2-3 innings of shutout ball. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his 26th save in 27 chances.

MARLINS 6, CUBS 2 In Chicago, Donovan Solano had three hits, including a two-run double, and the Miami bullpen combined for 4 2-3 hitless innings.

Christian Yelich drove in three runs with a double and single for the Marlins, who have won three straight after losing six in a row.

Brian Bogusevic hit a solo homer for the Cubs, who dropped to 27-44 at Wrigley Field.

Edwin Jackson (7-15) gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings.

Miami starter Tom Koehler pitched 4 1-3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits. He was pulled with bases loaded in the fifth, but was picked up by the Miami bullpen, which retired the next 11 batters. Ryan Webb (2-5) pitched two perfect innings for the win.

INTERLEAGUE BLUE JAYS 10, DIAMONDBACKS 4 In Phoenix, Edwin Encarnacion, Rajai Davis, Adam Lind and Moises Sierra homered in Toronto’s fifth win in six games.

The Blue Jays jumped out to a 5-0 lead against Wade Miley (9-10). Todd Redmond (3-2) allowed three runs and four hits in five innings for his second win in a row.

The Diamondbacks have lost three straight and five of six, all at home. Adam Eaton, Didi Gregorius and Miguel Montero went deep for Arizona. Encarnacion also doubled, singled and walked twice. Going back to May 2010, he has homered in a record five straight games at Chase Field.

Miley didn’t make it out of the second inning, allowing five runs and eight hits in 1 2-3 innings.

Eaton had two throwing errors in left field, one of which led to an unearned run.—AP

BOSTON: Jon Lester outdueled Max Scherzer and Boston beat Detroit 2-1 on Tuesday night, ending the Tigers right-hander’s chance to become just the second pitcher to open a season with a 20-1 record.

Lester (13-8) lowered his ERA to 1.71 in his past six starts. He allowed one earned run and eight hits with a season-high nine strikeouts and no walks.

Scherzer (19-2), who won his first 13 decisions, lost for the first time since July 13 when Texas beat him 7-1. Roger Clemens is the only pitcher to start 20-1. He ended up 20-3 with the Yankees in 2001.

Boston scored on Will Middlebrooks’ two-run single in the fifth. Detroit’s Jose Iglesias doubled in a run in the second in the matchup of division leaders.

Koji Uehara pitched the ninth for his 17th save in 20 opportunities and extended his scoreless streak to 25 innings. Miguel Cabrera, who missed three games with abdominal and groin problems, returned for Detroit and went 0 for 4.

Endy Chavez’s throw to home.

Luke Hochevar (4-2) got two outs in the eighth to leave runners stranded on second and third, and Greg Holland pitched a perfect ninth for his 31st straight save and 38th on the year.

Perez homered and finished with three hits for the Royals, who have won three straight and eight of their last 10. Alex Gordon also hit a solo shot and Butler drove in a run for Kansas City. Kyle Seager hit a two-run shot for the Mariners, who have lost three straight.

TWINS 9, ASTROS 6 In Houston, Clete Thomas scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the 12th inning and Darin Mastroianni added a two-run double for Minnesota.

Thomas reached on a fielder’s choice and went to third on Josmil Pinto’s double. Kevin Chapman

and Yunel Escobar.

Moore (15-3) won his seventh straight decision, yielding an unearned run and four hits in 5 1-3 innings as the Rays snapped a five-game losing streak. The All-Star left-hander, who missed the entire month of August because of elbow soreness, won six straight starts before getting a no-decision on July 28 at Yankee Stadium.

Roberto Hernandez struck out his first five batters after relieving Moore, and seven altogether in 3 2-3 perfect innings to record his first save in eight major league seasons. It was only his second relief outing since his rookie season with Cleveland in 2006. Los Angeles left-hander Jason Vargas (8-6) was charged with five runs and 10 hits in four-plus innings.

RANGERS 5, ATHLETICS 1 In Oakland, Martin Perez allowed one run over

YANKEES 6, WHITE SOX 4 In New York, Eduardo Nunez’s two-run double capped a five-run eighth inning for New York.

Pinch-hitter Curtis Granderson tied the score with an RBI single off reliever Donnie Veal and New York went on to win for the 12th time in 14 home games.

Alexei Ramirez hit a two-run triple and Alejandro De Aza homered for the last-place White Sox who dropped their fifth straight. Alfonso Soriano’s two-run single off Nate Jones (4-5) cut the deficit to 4-3.

Boone Logan (5-2) pitched a perfect eighth, and Mariano Rivera earned his 40th save. Derek Jeter finished with two hits, giving him 3,315 to pass Eddie Collins (3,313) for ninth on the career list.

INDIANS 4, ORIOLES 3 In Cleveland, Ubaldo Jimenez pitched six shutout innings while Yan Gomes and Asdrubal Cabrera drove in two runs apiece, and Cleveland survived a shaky ninth inning. Jimenez (10-9) has allowed three earned runs or less in eight consecutive starts. The right-hander allowed four hits.

Gomes’ two-run double was the key hit in Cleveland’s sixth. Cabrera had sacrifices flies in the fourth and sixth. Orioles starter Chris Tillman (15-5) allowed four runs in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander has one win in his last six starts.

The Orioles got back in the game in the ninth against Indians closer Chris Perez, who pitched in a non-save situation. Nate McLouth hit a three-run homer but Perez struck out Brian Roberts and Manny Machado before retiring Chris Davis, who leads the majors with 47 homers, on a ground ball.

ROYALS 4, MARINERS 3 In Kansas City, Salvador Perez drove in Mike Moustakas with two outs in the eighth inning for Kansas City, which survived after blowing a threerun lead.

Billy Butler grounded into a double play against reliever Yoervis Medina (4-4) when Moustakas legged out a double to center in the eighth. Perez followed with a single to left, and Moustakas had just enough time for a headfirst slide ahead of

NEW YORK: Curtis Granderson No. 14 of the New York Yankees singles in two runs to tie the game during the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox. —AFP (0-1) then uncorked a wild pitch with pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit at the plate. Mastroianni provided a couple of insurance runs when he doubled with two outs as Minnesota recovered after Glen Perkins blew a save opportunity in the ninth.

Brian Dozier and Trevor Plouffe homered for Minnesota, which has won three straight. Plouffe had four hits and Mastroianni went 3 for 6 with three RBIs. Brandon Barnes had three hits and five RBIs for the Astros, including a tying three-run homer off Perkins with two outs in the ninth. Caleb Thielbar (3-2) pitched two hitless innings for the win and Josh Roenicke finished for his first save.

RAYS 7, ANGELS 1 In Anaheim, Matt Moore pitched into the sixth inning in his return from the disabled list, and Tampa Bay got home runs from Desmond Jennings

seven innings to win his sixth straight start and Mitch Moreland homered to move Texas back into sole possession of first place in the AL West.

After falling into a tie for first with the A’s when they lost the series opener, the Rangers bounced back behind another strong performance from Perez (9-3) and are assured of leaving Oakland for the final time in the regular season with at least a share of the division lead.

Bartolo Colon (14-6) allowed three unearned runs in the fifth inning following his own error.

Colon is winless in five starts since July 26 with a DL stint in the middle of that stretch.

The Rangers scored three unearned runs in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead with help from two comebackers that Colon could not handle. Adrian Beltre added a run-scoring groundout and AJ Pierzynski blooped an RBI single. Alex Rios added a leadoff homer in the eighth to make it 5-1. —AP

Judge orders Armstrong to answer doping questions AUSTIN: A Texas judge is pushing Lance Armstrong closer to his first sworn testimony on details of his performance-enhancing drug use, ordering the cyclist to answer questions about who knew what and when about his doping, including possibly his ex-wife and his attorneys.

Nebraska-based Acceptance Insurance Holding is seeking the information in its lawsuit to recover $3 million in bonuses it paid Armstrong from 1999 to 2001. A judge previously refused to dismiss the case. Acceptance is trying to prove a year long conspiracy and cover-up by Armstrong to commit fraud. It wants to know when several of Armstrong’s personal and business associates including ex-wife Kristin Armstrong, team officials, the cyclist’s lawyers and International Cycling Union President Pat McQuaid - first learned of his doping. Armstrong’s attorneys objected to those demands in court documents, arguing the former cyclist already has acknowledged cheating and that Acceptance is engaged in a “harassing, malicious ... fishing expedition” intended to “make a spectacle of Armstrong’s doping.”

Travis County District Judge Tim Sulak last week ordered Armstrong to provide documents and written answers to a series of questions by the end of September. The case has been set for trial in April 2014.

The questions seek information dating to 1995 and ask Armstrong to detail who was paid for delivered performance-enhancing drugs, who determined what amount to use and administered them, and who was aware of his drug use.

Acceptance specifically asks for information on when and how Armstrong’s closest friends, advisers, ex-wife and business partners learned of his doping. After more than a decade of denials, Armstrong told Oprah Winfrey in a January inter-

view that he doped to win the Tour de France seven times, titles that have now been stripped away.

But the admission lacked details and he has refused to provide sworn testimony to a the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, even when it was presented as his only chance to lift his lifetime ban from sport.

Mark Kincaid, an attorney for Acceptance, declined to comment Tuesday, but previously said he would push to depose Armstrong under oath.

Armstrong attorney Tim Herman did not respond to a request for comment.

Armstrong’s lawyers said information about exwife Kristin Armstrong and the attorneys is exempt from disclosure under spouse and attorney-client privilege. Acceptance argues there are no protections for spouses and lawyers who may be aware of fraud.

Lance Armstrong

The judge ordered Armstrong to answer the questions. He can claim spouse or attorney-client privilege, but if he does, Acceptance would be allowed to challenge whether the information should be withheld and ask the judge to decide.

The USADA report on Armstrong included witness statements from at least three former teammates who said Kristin Armstrong participated in or at least knew about doping on the teams and knew team code names for the blood-booster EPO kept in her refrigerator. Postal rider Jonathan Vaughters testified that she handed riders cortisone pills wrapped in foil. Acceptance also wants Armstrong to reveal any payments made to cover up doping. The insurer’s list of names includes McQuaid, who is fighting to keep his job as head of cycling’s international governing body. McQuaid and predecessor Hein Verbruggen have been accused of ignoring the doping culture in the sport and accepting money from Armstrong in exchange for turning a blind eye to his team’s doping practices. Both have denied any wrongdoing, and McQuaid has said he was “fooled” by Armstrong.

The Acceptance lawsuit is just one of several pending against Armstrong.

Federal prosecutors have joined a whistle-blower lawsuit that seeks to recover more than $30 million in sponsorship money paid to Armstrong by the U.S. Postal Service. SCA Promotions, a Dallasbased insurance company, has sued for $12 million it paid him in performance bonuses.

And in California, a federal judge is considering a class-action lawsuit against Armstrong by readers of his book “It’s Not About the Bike” that claims fraud and false advertising.

Armstrong recently settled with the British newspaper The Sunday Times, which sued him to recover damages from a previous libel case.—AP

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORT S

America’s Cup champion Oracle docked 2 points SAN FRANCISCO: After being hit with the harshest penalties in the 162-year history of the America’s Cup, Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill defiantly declared the defending champion to now be an underdog that “will come out fighting” against Emirates Team New Zealand starting Saturday.

Oracle Team USA was docked two points in the America’s Cup match and key crewman Dirk de Ridder was banned from the regatta by an international jury. The penalties were announced after nearly five weeks of investigation into Oracle Team USA’s illegal modifications of prototype boats used in warm-up regattas last year and earlier this year.

“I’m expecting the fight of my life,” Spithill, a 34year-old Australian, said after the verdict was handed down on Tuesday. “Not only for myself but for the guys sitting up here next to me. I don’t think we’ve ever seen so much controversy and distraction before the America’s Cup. We’re the clear underdog

and we’ll do everything we can.”

The match begins with two races Saturday and two on Sunday on San Francisco Bay. Oracle Team USA, owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp., essentially starts the match at minus-2, meaning it must win 11 races to retain the oldest trophy in international sports. Team New Zealand must still win nine races to claim the trophy.

Two shore crew members also were expelled, grinder Matt Mitchell was barred from the first four races and the syndicate was fined $250,000.

Kyle Langford, who will replace de Ridder, was given a warning, and another sailor, identified only as Sailor X, had his case dismissed. Spithill sailed with de Ridder for six years.

“He’s one of the hardest-working guys I’ve ever known, never once had a question about any of his ethics, honest, and one hell of a good guy to race with,” Spithill said. “Very, very competitive, and he’ll

be missed. But Karl’s a great guy. We’ve got a few days to get organized and do what we can.”

At 24, Langford is the youngest sailor in the Cup. He has been sailing on the backup boat skippered by Ben Ainslie, the most successful sailor in Olympic history. Top members of the syndicate, including CEO Russell Coutts, Spithill and tactician John Kostecki, were not implicated in the scandal.

Coutts, a New Zealander who has won the America’s Cup four times, told The Associated Press it was an “outrageous decision” by the jury.

“It sets an unbelievable precedent ongoing,” Coutts said. “You could think of lots of analogies.

Think of Olympic athletes on a team breaking the rules and a whole team getting penalized. It’s completely outrageous.” Coutts said de Ridder “has been a fantastic team member and a fantastic sailor for many, many years. All the decisions are incredibly harsh. I don’t think the evidence supported the jury’s

decision.” The jury had harsh words for de Ridder, saying it was “comfortably satisfied” that the Dutch sailor “gave the instruction to add the weight, knew the weight had been added, knew it was a breach of the AC45 class rule and “did not tell the truth in the hearing in this regard.”

Although the infractions were from the America’s Cup World Series, those races were considered to be held under the overall umbrella of the America’s Cup itself. Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton and skipper Dean Barker had both accused Oracle Team USA of cheating. On Tuesday, they had subdued reactions to the jury verdict. Dalton said the scandal has “slowly but surely drifted into a non-issue for us because in the end we still have to win nine races. We think that the jury’s done a good job. They’ve been very thorough. “It’s not our problem, never was a problem, and we just get on with it.” — AP

Bolt to retire after Rio Olympics BRUSSELS: Usain Bolt plans to retire after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Bolt said yesterday he wants to win more gold in Rio, set another world record in the 200 meters next year, and perhaps win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

“So far, (it) is after the Olympics in Rio,” Bolt said of his retirement plans. “I think if I am in great shape, I’ll go there and do what I have to do. I think it will be a good time to retire on top.”

Winning another three golds in Moscow last month made him the most decorated athlete in world championship history with eight gold and two silvers. He has six gold medals from the Olympics.

“If I want to be among the greats of (Muhammad) Ali and Pele and all these guys, I have to continue dominating until I retire,” Bolt said ahead of his final race this season in the 100 at Friday’s Van Damme Memorial. Bolt won the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and at last year ’s London Games. He won the same triple at the 2009 worlds before repeating that feat in Moscow last month. At 27, Bolt has the experience to know that a lax season

midway between Olympics can hurt him.

In 2010, a soft entry into the year and subsequent injury cost him almost a full season.

“I kind of didn’t do much in the offseason and then got injured and had to start from scratch. So this season, I will not make that mistake again,” Bolt said. Like 2010, next season has no major championships, but Bolt is thinking of new goals for 2014.

He already owns the 100 and 200 world records and shares the 4x100 with his Jamaican teammates. He acknowledges the 100 record of 9.58 seconds will be extremely tough to better, but he hopes to improve on the 19.19 he ran in the 200 in Berlin four years ago.

“I have learned, I have mastered the art of running the turn,” Bolt said of the 200. “So if I can stay injury free and be in good shape, then it is possible for me to definitely go after the world record.”

As a Jamaican, Bolt can compete in the Commonwealth Games, too, something he has yet to do. Next year, the event will be held in Glasgow, Scotland. “I have never been to Commonwealths and so it is always good to add to your collection of gold medals,” Bolt said. — AP

NEW ORLEANS: Saints wide receiver Kenny Stills (84) pulls in a touchdown pass in front of Oakland Raiders cornerback Tracy Porter (31) in the first half of an NFL preseason football game. — AP

NFL making news in 2013 ahead of upcoming season

BELGIUM: Jamaica’s Usain Bolt gives a press conference two days ahead of Brussels’ athletics meeting. — AFP

Cancellara wins Vuelta stage TARAZONA: Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara won the 11th stage of the Tour of Spain yesterday, a 38.8km hilly time trial, while Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali regained the overall leader’s red jersey.

Radioshack’s Cancellara, a specialist in this discipline, paced his effort in the early uphill section of the time trial near Tarazona in northwestern Spain and then powered to the finish, completing it in 51 minutes, 37 seconds ahead of Germany’s Tony Martin of Omega.

Italy’s Domenico Pozzovivo of Ag2r finished the first and only time trial of this year ’s Tour in third place, 1min 24sec behind the winner.

Astana’s Nibali, who clocked the fourth

fastest time at 1:25, took over the race leader’s red jersey from American veteran Christopher Horner of Radioshack.

Horner completed came home in 54:01 and is now fourth in the overall standings, 46 seconds behind Nibali, the 2010 champion.

Ireland’s Nicolas Roche moved up to second at 33sec after finishing the time trial in sixth while 2009 winner Alejandro Valverde finished seventh on the stage and is now third overall, on the same time as Horner. Today’s 12th stage is a 164.2 kilometre ride from Maella to Tarragona. With only one categorised climb just beyond midway and a flat final 20km, it should favour the sprinters. — AFP

NEW YORK: The NFL never really shuts down. It kept rolling long after the lights came back on after a 37-minute delay at the Superdome in New Orleans and the Baltimore Ravens squeezed out a Super Bowl title in February. It’s rolling still, right into a new season that will kick off today when the Ravens visit Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos and end with (shiver!) an outdoor Super Bowl in New Jersey. In between, there were plenty of headlines: New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested on murder charges; Broncos star linebacker Von Miller has been suspended for the first six games for a drugs violation; and HGH testing is getting closer but still isn’t underway two years after the league and players agreed on the need for it. A rash of preseason injuries have prompted some players to question the NFL’s player safety initiatives. Already gone for the season are tight ends Dennis Pitta of Baltimore (broken hip) and Dustin Keller of Miami (right knee), with more than a dozen others also sidelined.

“It’s just weird how things have changed from the past,” noted New York Jets tight end Konrad Reuland. “Before, diving at the knees was a dirty play. Now hitting up high is a dirty play. It’s almost done a complete 180.”

That might be understandable considering the emphasis Commissioner Roger Goodell is placing on player safety. Last week, the league made a $765 million settlement with more than 4,500 former players who charged the NFL of concealing the long-term dangers of concussions and rushing injured players back onto the field.

Key rules changes for this season with player safety in mind will bar ball carriers from using the crown of the helmet to make contact with defenders, and require players to wear knee and thigh pads. The uniform police will remove them from games if they don’t have the full complement of equipment.

Meanwhile, fans can’t wait to see if Robert Griffin III is fully recovered from his torn-up knee and can be even more dynamic as the Washington Redskins quarterback. Or whether Tim Tebow has a future in the NFL in New England. And how the Ravens will handle losing team leaders Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, while Joe Flacco tries to justify the huge contract he

received as a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

“The NFL always provides an element of surprise, and that is a part of the intrigue that makes it so popular,” Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said. “It’s hard to predict who can be the champions at this point, because it’s a great unknown that changes as the year goes on. It’s not always the top team over the season that wins, but the one able to perform the best when it means the most. And that element is always exciting about an NFL season.”

Lots of points and big plays tend to excite fans the most, and the copycat NFL could feature even more up-tempo offenses now that Chip Kelly has brought his go-go-go attack from the University of Oregon to the Philadelphia Eagles. If it works for one team - as it has for the high-powered, fast-draw offenses in New England, New Orleans, San Francisco and Green Bay, for example - then just about everyone tries it. Kelly downplays the speed of his offense, but throughout the league, look for no-huddles, quick snaps out of a variety of formations, and lots of passing.

Those fast-paced offenses from Foxborough to Philly, Louisiana to Lambeau Field won’t have to deal with likely Hall of Famers Lewis and Brian Urlacher in the middle of the field. They retired, along with NFL champions Matt Birk, Jeff Saturday and Donald Driver. Replacing veterans everywhere are lots of rookies - a good crop but nowhere near the quarterbacking caliber of last year’s trio of RG3, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson.

The coaching carousel spun frantically, with one-quarter of those jobs changing. Kelly’s predecessor Andy Reid, fired following 14 seasons in Philadelphia, immediately landed as coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, a strong candidate for most improved team with quarterback Alex Smith acquired from San Francisco. The 49ers, who came alive after the Superdome blackout and nearly stole the title from Baltimore, are among the favorites to reach the Meadowlands next February for the first outdoor Super Bowl at a cold-weather site. Also a hot choice is Denver, which added prolific Wes Welker to its receiving corps for Manning - a blow to major rival New England. — AP

ST. LOUIS: Rams defensive end Gerald Rivers (right) rips the helmet off of Baltimore Ravens running back Delone Carter during the second quarter of an NFL preseason football game. —AP

Hooker Du Plessis returns as Springboks make three changes

TARAZONA: RadioShack-Leopard’s Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara celebrates on the podium after winning the 11th stage of the 68th edition of ‘La Vuelta’ Tour of Spain. — AFP

SYDNEY: Hooker Bismarck du Plessis will return to South Africa’s starting line-up for the first time in more than a year in Brisbane on Saturday after the Springboks made three changes for their Rugby Championship match against Australia.

The inspirational Du Plessis is finally back to full fitness after the horrendous knee injury he suffered against Argentina last year and is reunited with his prop brother Jannie in a front row which will aim to hammer the Wallabies at scrum time.

Like Du Plessis, lock Flip van der Merwe moves up from the bench in place of Juandre Kruger in another change for the Lang Park clash, while Zane Kirchner will play his first test of the year at fullback after recovering from a hand injury.

Coach Heyneke Meyer made two positional changes to clear the way for Kirchner’s return, moving Willie le Roux from fullback to the right wing with Bryan Habana, who scored a hat-trick

against Australia in Pretoria last year, shifting to the left. Promotions for Du Plessis and Van der Merwe mean Adriaan Strauss and Kruger drop to the bench, while winger Bjorn Basson drops out of the team altogether after starting in the two wins over Argentina with which South Africa opened their campaign.

“A few of these changes are purely rotational in order to give guys with fresh legs a go, while others are simply a case of horses for courses,” Meyer said. “We’re fortunate to be in a position to rotate players of the calibre of Bismarck and Adriaan, while we felt this was the right opportunity to give Flip and Zane a go in the starting team. “In the end, the most important factor still remains consistency in selection. In our squad, any player can slot in at any stage, and that is a good position to be in.”

Kruger was the only one of the five players in the matchday squad who have controversially made the long journey from Europe to play a full

match in France’s Top 14 last weekend.

The physical toll of the long journey on Habana, prop Gurthro Steenkamp, flyhalf Morne Steyn and scrumhalf Jano Vermaak is bound to be closely monitored by those in South Africa resolutely opposed to picking those playing overseas.

After a record 73-13 win over the Pumas in their opening fixture in Soweto, the Springboks struggled to a 22-17 victory in the reverse match in Mendoza two weeks ago.

They have never beaten Australia in seven attempts at Lang Park and have lost five of their last six tests against the Wallabies.

“If we are going to progress as a team, we need to start winning away from home and Saturday’s test provides this challenge,” Meyer added. “It’s no use looking at history now - we have to focus on the test, ensure we tick the right boxes and improve in the areas where we let ourselves down in Mendoza.” — Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORT S

Wrestling Takes A Stance, Will IOC follow?

Photo of the day

Jordan Weaving (RSA), Scott Deroue (NED) and Marcos Ramirez (ESP) race at Red Bull Moto GP Rookies Cup 2013 at Autodrom Brno in Brno, Czech Republic on August 24, 2013. —www.redbullcontentpool.com

Waller, Raza put Zimbabwe ahead HARARE: Half-centuries by Malcolm Waller and Sikandar Raza enabled Zimbabwe to take a first innings lead on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan at the Harare Sports Club yesterday.

Zimbabwe were 281 for seven at the close, a lead of 32.

Waller changed the tempo of the match with an aggressive 70, while Pakistan-born Raza made 60 on his Test debut. The pair added 127 for the fourth wicket. They came together after Zimbabwe lost two wickets off successive balls.

With only one run added to the lunch score of 67 for one, Vusi Sibanda was caught behind for 31 off the last ball of an over from Junaid Khan. Captain Hamilton Masakadza was deceived by a Saeed Ajmal doosra and bowled for 19 by the first ball of the next over.

Waller hit a boundary off the first ball he faced from Ajmal and continued to go for his shots as he reached his third Test half-century off 63 balls with 11 fours.

Raza, who was a late inclusion in the side when regular captain Brendan Taylor withdrew because of the birth of his first child, started his first Test innings cautiously and contributed only 11 in the first 50 runs of the partnership, although he picked up the pace either side of tea, reaching his fifty off 98 balls.

Ajmal, Pakistan’s most successful bowler with four for 74, had Waller caught at slip after an innings which lasted 100 balls and included 14 boundaries. Raza, 27, whose family moved to Zimbabwe in 2002, also fell to the off-spinner, mistiming an attempted lofted drive to be caught at midwicket. He batted for 118 balls and hit ten fours.

Elton Chigumbura (40 not out) and Prosper Utseya (16) took Zimbabwe into the lead with a seventh wicket partnership of 43 before the latter was bowled by Rahat Ali in the penultimate over of the day.

It took Zimbabwe just two balls to wrap up the Pakistan innings at the start of play, with the tourists losing their last wicket without adding a run to their overnight 249 for nine.

Ajmal was bowled by the first ball he faced from Tendai Chatara on his overnight score of 49, one short of his second Test half-century.

Tina Mawoyo and Sibanda put on 25 for Zimbabwe’s first wicket. After bowling four overs from over the wicket, the leftarmed Junaid switched to around the wicket and the change of angle brought immediate success as Mawoyo nudged tentatively at the first delivery of the new over and was caught behind by Adnan Akmal for 13.

It was a disappointing day for Pakistan, with only Ajmal and Junaid posing a consistent threat to their underdog opponents, although Rahat bowled a hostile three-over spell with the second new ball. — AFP

SCOREBOARD HARARE, Harare Province: Close of play scores on the second day of the first Test between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at the Harare Sports Club yesterday.

Pakistan, first innings (overnight 249-9) Khurram Manzoor lbw b Panyangara 11 Mohammad Hafeez c Sibanda b Chatara 5 Azhar Ali c Sibanda b S. Masakadza 78 Younis Khan b Panyangara 3 Misbah-ul-Haq c Sibanda b Utseya 53 Asad Shafiq c Mawoyo b Utseya 4 Adnan Akmal b Chatara 18 Abdur Rehman lbw b S. Masakadza 7 Saeed Ajmal b Chatara 49 Junaid Khan c Mutumbami b Panyangara 17 Rahat Ali not out 0 Extras (lb3, w1) 4 Total (90.1 overs) 249 Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Hafeez), 2-21 (Manzoor), 3-27 (Younis), 4120 (Misbah), 5-132 (Shafiq), 6-157 (Akmal), 7-173 (Rehman), 8-182 (Azhar), 9-249 (Junaid) Bowling: Chatara 22.1-6-64-3, Panyangara 20-2-71-3, S. Masakadza 22-8-40-2, Chigumbura 2-0-15-0, Utseya 23-1-552, H. Masakadza 1-0-1-0 (1w) Zimbabwe, first innings T. Mawoyo c Adnan Akmal b Junaid Khan 13 V. Sibanda c Adnan Akmal b Junaid Khan 31 H. Masakadza b Saeed Ajmal 19 Sikandar Raza c Misbah-ul-Haq b Saeed Ajmal 60 M. Waller c Mohammad Hafeez b Saeed Ajmal 70 E. Chigumbura not out 40 R. Mutumbami lbw b Saeed Ajmal 13 P. Utseya b Rahat Ali 16 S. Masakadza not out 2 Extras (b5, lb10, w2) 17 Total (7 wkts, 87 overs) 281 Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Mawoyo), 2-68 (Sibanda), 3-68 (H. Masakadza), 4-195 (Waller), 5-212 (Raza), 6-235 (Mutumbami), 7-278 (Utseya) Bowling: Junaid Khan 20-6-61-2, Rahat Ali 18-3-53-1 (1w), Abdur Rehman 19-5-56-0, Saeed Ajmal 26-3-77-4, Younis Khan 4-1-19-0 To bat: T. Panyangara, T. Chatara Match situation: Zimbabwe lead by 32 runs with three wickets remaining in the first innings.

HARARE: Pakistan’s bowler Junaid Khan (second right) throws the ball as Zimbabwe’s batsman Prosper Usteya (left) looks on during the second day of the first Test match. — AFP

NEW YORK: Magic Johnson took a stance to save Olympic wrestling. So did Mickey Mouse. Rulon Gardner took his on the Great Wall of China. The less famous hunkered down in front of the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower and mosques in Iran, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and even in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus.

If the swells who run the International Olympic Committee have lingering doubts about the lengths people would go to save the sport, well, let ‘em check out how many brides and grooms around the world posed for “ready, set, wrestle” snapshots - view them at (hashtag) TakeAStance - just moments before exchanging vows.

When the IOC served notice last February that it was prepared to toss wrestling out of the Olympic rings by the 2020 Games, rather than its cloutheavy competitors, modern pentathlon and field hockey, the uproar was swift and loud. Wrestling had more fans, more viewers, more member nations and millions more participants around the globe, if only because you don’t need a javelin or a horse to compete. But the IOC did the sport a favor.

Wrestling resembled your cranky, know-it-all uncle who always shows up late at the family dinner - bloated, bombastic and still determined to live off a glorious past. The purest of sports had grown flabby, piling on layers of rules and a convoluted scoring system that made it hard to follow. Yet those at the top of the international federation - known by the acronym FILA shrugged off every warning or proposal for even modest changes, certain they knew what was best.

Seven months later, those men are gone, replaced by a leadership group that is smart, inclusive and willing to listen. The rules and scoring system have been overhauled, and Gardner’s rallying cry from February - “If we don’t fight, we’re going to die” - has been heard and heeded in the farthest-flung corners of the globe.

The IOC votes Sunday among wrestling, squash and a combined bid from baseball-softball to determine which sport gets the final spot in 2020, and it isn’t expected to be close. Most observers believe the IOC has already been pinned.

It’s not hard to understand the timeless appeal of wrestling, but what the IOC is looking for nearly three millennia after the original Olympics is what they got in the closing days of last summer’s London Games. That’s when a smart, cocky bundle of US energy named Jordan Burroughs faced Iran’s Sadegh Saeed Goudarzi in the middleweight freestyle gold medal final.

The atmosphere inside the ExCel Center was electric, with chants from the fans of two of the sport’s traditional powers being traded like punches.

With the clock running down in each of the first two rounds, Burroughs coolly executed a double-leg takedown of Goudarzi to lock up the match and make a third period immaterial.

Afterward, Burroughs waltzed into the interview room and handled a reporter mining the geopolitical angle with the same elan he’d displayed on the mat just moments earlier.

“Did it make any difference that you were wrestling an Iranian?” he was asked. “If the Queen of England stepped out onto the mat,” Burroughs replied mischievously, “I’d probably double-leg her.”

Burroughs will almost certainly be back for Rio in 2016, having so far rebuffed the blandishments and better paydays in mixed martial arts and ultimate fighting that have siphoned off so many of his successful predecessors.

The UFC circuit boasts that nearly 70 percent of its fighters wrestled in high school and college, including stars Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell and Tito

SYDNEY: In this Sept. 27, 2000, file photo, United States wrestler Rulon Gardner celebrates a gold medal victory at the Summer Olympics in Sydney. Gardner is among those around the world who posed for ‘ready, set, wrestle’ snapshots in an effort to save Olympic wrestling under the campaign #TakeAStance. — AP

Ortiz, and more than a few of them joined the (hashtag)TakeAStance campaign as it rolled out.

Unlike those competitions, though, wrestling still looks like your father’s sport. What’s different, in addition to the compressed Olympic version now on offer - two rounds instead of three; more incentives in the new scoring system for wrestlers to take chances - is that it could become your mother’s sport, too. In addition to adding women and former athletes to the federation’s leadership, FILA is proposing two more weight classes for women, taking one each from men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman.

“We have done everything possible in this time frame,” said FILA president Nenad Lalovic, who took over from the imperious Raphael Martinetti just days after the IOC’s action in February. “We were limited by the time between, (but we did) everything possible, and implemented it.” If the IOC needs more proof, here’s a suggestion: Check out the photo op from New York City in midMay, when the wrestling communities from the United States, Russia and Iran united in a combined appeal to save the sport. There’s likely not another cause on the planet at the moment that could do that. — AP

Cup heartache motivates Heremaia LONDON: The disappointment of Wembley defeat is still all too raw for Hull FC but Aaron Heremaia insists his side have been given a shot at redemption they cannot afford to waste.

Heremaia came off the bench and was one of the few Hull players to impress in the Challenge Cup final two weekends ago as Wigan ran out 16-0 winners. But Peter Gentle’s side bounced back with a 34-33 revenge win over the Warriors in the Super League last weekend, a result that lifted them to sixth in the table.

And, with a chance to seal a homeplayoff tie with a win over fifth-place St Helens on Friday, New Zealander Heremaia insists the Challenge Cup final defeat is their primary motivation.

“We’ve got a good opportunity to get a home tie for the first round of the play-offs,” said Heremaia, who played for New Zealand Warriors in the NRL before moving to Europe.

“To get the home tie is massive, it’s knockout rugby so any advantage you can get you want to have. We love playing at the KC Stadium and, with St Helens coming here, we are looking forward to it. “It’s almost like the playoffs are here already, Saints want a home tie as well so both teams will be going all out. It’s been such a topsyturvy season so to think we could finish it off by finishing fifth is amazing really.”

Heremaia added: “It was a tough week after the Challenge Cup and I think a few guys were still feeling a bit sorry for themselves against Wigan.

“We were really disappointed with how we performed but the good thing is that normally you lose the big final and the season is over. “But with the Challenge Cup coming earlier we have a chance for redemption. And we owe it to the fans but most importantly we owe it ourselves as players.”

Elsewhere, Castleford round off their season with a trip to Wakefield on Sunday in what could well be Rangi Chase’s last game for the club.

Chase, who played for St George in the NRL, has handed in a transfer request and been heavily linked with a move to Salford. Castleford and Wakefield are both out of the play-off race and Tigers head coach Daryl Powell admits his side will struggle to replace Chase. “Rangi is special player and he certainly is if you give him any time,” said Powell. “You can’t replace Rangi, you’ve got to play slightly differently. “There’s a lot of talk about Rangi but if he has seen fit to play somewhere else that’s his prerogative.”

London Broncos head coach Tony Rea breathed a sigh of relief after they ended a four-month wait for a Super League win with victory over Bradford Bulls last time out.

And, while the capital club remain bottom of the table, the former Brumbies coach has called for more of the same at Hull KR on Sunday. “It certainly helps our cause-it lifts everyone at the club and keeps everyone enthused about what we are doing,” Rea said. — AFP

Top shooter Bindra demands clean IOA MUMBAI: India’s elite athletes have piled the pressure on the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and demanded the removal of all tainted officials in order to overturn the country’s Olympic ban.

The IOA was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year for electing Lalit Bhanot, who served 11 months in jail on corruption charges, as its secretary general during its controversial December poll. During crucial meetings in Lausanne in May, the IOC offered the country a lifeline, asking the suspended IOA to amend its constitution and, among other things, bar any person charged for corruption from holding office.

But in a meeting this month, the IOA refused such a blanket ban, instead proposing an ethics committee would look into the case of any official who has been convicted for less than two years in jail. Abhinav Bindra, who won India’s only individual Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Games, said the administrators have failed the country which remains an Olympic laggard despite its 1.2 billion

population. “To a certain extent, yes (the IOA has failed the country),” Bindra told Reuters in an interview. “A lot needs to be done for Indian sport and with our potential we are nowhere near where we can be. “We are still stuck with fighting on clauses that are absolutely non-negotiable... something which is all about ethics.

“The ethical standards are laid down under the Olympic Charter and to defy that is not good. It does not go well for the Olympic movement,” said Bindra, who has been joined by Sushil Kumar, who won a wrestling bronze in Beijing and silver in London, and multiple grand slam doubles winning tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi in demanding a corruption-free IOA. The Indian government has also backed the IOC’s efforts in barring tainted officials from contesting the national Olympic body’s elections.

Bindra said there has been good response to the petition, which will be sent to IOC president Jacques Rogge, pleading the world governing

body to maintain the “highest moral standards” of the Olympic Movement in the country.

“We are at a stage where we can either get reforms in place or go back to the status-quo,” Bindra, one of the few Indian athletes to consistently question India’s sports administrators, said.

“This petition was started because of all that has happened in the last few weeks. “We want a clean and effective Olympic body where it can help us and Indian sports to grow and we athletes can represent our country and our flag once again.”

The issue is expected to be discussed when the IOC meets in Buenos Aires this week to elect a successor to Rogge and pick the venue for the 2020 Games.

“There are always going to be some disgruntled people. We have accepted all that the IOC has asked of us,” Tarlochan Singh, a vice president of the banned IOA, told Reuters.

“But we told the IOC that we should have respect for the law of the land which does not bar a

person, who has just been charged, from contesting elections.”

An Olympic ban means an effective end to funding from the IOC to the national body. No officials from that association can attend meetings and athletes of a banned nation cannot compete under their country’s flag.

“It has been frustrating,” Bindra said. “The recent Asian youth games has been a prime example where our athletes took part as independent athletes under the banner of the Olympic Council of Asia. It is disheartening and frustrating.

“I think we should follow the Olympic charter and the guidelines as the whole world is following it,” he said. “We have been suspended for a year now and we should get back more reformed.

“The most important thing is that we have to have guidelines and a structure so that what has happened doesn’t repeat itself. “If you have guidelines set in your constitution, we should never get into a similar situation in the future.”— Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORTS

Rogge leaves IOC in sturdy shape after 12 years BUENOS AIRES: Twelve years after taking over an IOC recovering from its worst ethics scandal, Jacques Rogge is leaving with the Olympic body in much sturdier shape but facing serious challenges.

The 71-year-old Belgian steps down as president next Tuesday after steering the International Olympic Committee through a period of relative stability that spanned three Summer Olympics and three Winter Games.

Rogge, an orthopedic surgeon who competed in three Olympics in sailing, is completing his term with a reputation for bringing a calm, steady hand to the often turbulent world of Olympic politics.

He took a hard line against doping and ethics violations, created the Youth Olympics, oversaw a growth in IOC finances during a time of global economic crisis and made peace with the U.S. Olympic Committee after years of bitter squabbling over revenues.

Under Rogge’s watch, the IOC has also taken the Olympics to new places - including awarding the 2016 event to Rio de Janeiro for the first games in South America.

“I hope that people, with time, will consider that I did a good job for the IOC,” Rogge, in an interview with The Associated Press, said with typical understatement.

“That’s what you legitimately want to be remembered for.”

IOC members meeting in Buenos Aires over the next week will elect Rogge’s successor among six candidates by secret ballot Sept. 10. The new president will face tough issues, including the backlash over anti-gay legislation in Russia before February’s Winter Games in Sochi and concern over construction delays in Rio. Rogge was elected the IOC’s eighth president in Moscow in 2001, succeeding Juan Antonio Samaranch, a Spaniard who ran the committee with an authoritarian style for 21 years. Rogge took office following the Salt Lake City scandal, in which 10 IOC members resigned or were expelled for receiving scholarships, payments and gifts during its winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games.

Rogge, who enjoyed a “Mr. Clean” reputation, broke with the tainted and elitist image of the IOC, choosing to stay in the athletes village as much as possible during the six games that he oversaw.

“He was absolutely the right person at the right time,” senior Norwegian IOC member Gerhard Heiberg said. “We had a lot of turmoil. We had to get out of that. We had to get another image. He has brought stability to the organization.”

Rogge’s measured leadership was in sharp contrast with that of Samaranch.

While the former Spanish diplomat worked behind the scenes and twisted arms to get what he wanted, Rogge pur-

sued a more democratic, collegial and management-oriented approach.

Some critics called Rogge dull and wooden, but he liked to describe himself as a “sober” and level-headed leader in keeping with his medical background.

After serving an initial eight-year term,

Jacques Rogge Rogge was re-elected unopposed in 2009 to a second and final four-year term. He now reflects with quiet satisfaction on his time holding down the most powerful post in international sports.

“I received an IOC in good shape from Samaranch,” Rogge said. “And I believe I will

leave an IOC in good shape to my successor.”

Rogge presided over Summer Olympics in Athens (2004), Beijing (2008) and London (2012), and Winter Games in Salt Lake City (2002), Turin (2006) and Vancouver (2010). Some were trickier than others: Salt Lake City came just months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks; Athens was dogged by chronic delays; Beijing was surrounded by controversy over China’s record on Tibet and human rights.

Rogge steered away from Samaranch’s practice of calling an Olympics the “best ever,” choosing other words to sum up the success of each games.

“I’m very glad of the quality of the games that were held under my watch, summer or winter,” Rogge said. “I would say they were ‘magnificent,’ ‘exceptional,’ ‘superb,’ ‘truly unforgettable,’ and ‘gracious and glorious’ for London.” Rogge is leaving his successor with two potentially difficult games ahead.

Apart from security worries and cost overruns, the buildup to the Feb. 7-23 Sochi Games has been dominated recently by an international outcry over a new Russian law banning gay “propaganda.”

Rogge and the IOC have been criticized for not doing enough to fight the legislation.

Rogge said he is “comforted” that Russia has given the IOC “strong assurances” that

there will be no discrimination against any athletes or spectators at the games.

Construction delays and other organizational setbacks, meanwhile, are raising concerns that Rio could be another Athens. “We’re working hard together with both organizers and any potential shortcoming has been addressed, so I expect both games to be good ones,” Rogge said.

“I think Sochi will be absolutely OK because the Russians love sport, they know sport, there is no limitation in their desire to perform well.

“For Rio, I am quite sure and quite confident they will be very good games also.

We will benefit from the experience of the (2014) World Cup.” Human rights groups and other outside critics have accused Rogge and the IOC of failing to speak out against abuses in host countries like China, Russia and Brazil.

Rogge espouses “quiet diplomacy” and says the IOC is a sports organization, not a government or political body.

Looking back, Rogge cites the achievements of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps as Olympic highlights - even though he criticized the Jamaican sprinter for showboating in Beijing and questioned whether he was a “living legend” in London.

As for the low point of his presidency, Rogge has no hesitation. “On the dark side, it is the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili that I will never forget,” he said.—AP

Alonso the man at Monza MONZA: Fernando Alonso is the man who can make the red wave of Ferrari fans truly happy at Monza’s ‘Pista Magica’, Italy’s revered cathedral of speed that is also Formula One’s fastest circuit, this weekend. A Ferrari one-two would be a dream scenario for the ‘tifosi’, with Brazilian Felipe Massa needing his best result in almost a year for that to happen, but a win

in 2011 - and team principal Christian Horner spoke in Belgium of it as a potential ‘Achilles Heel’ for his car.

“We don’t expect, maybe, to be that strong (at Monza) but let’s see,” Vettel said after winning at Spa last month for his fifth victory of the year.

There is more optimism - and burden of expectation - at Ferrari,

for the sport’s oldest and most successful team would be a fitting farewell. “Its an important weekend for us, for the team,” agreed Alonso, who will have to be at his very best to line up on the front row for the first time in 22 races and more than a year of trying.

“Last year we were very close to repeat the victory that we got also in 2010, so we arrive fully motivat-

Fernando Alonso in action in this file photo for Alonso in the final European round of the season is required and entirely possible.

With eight races remaining, the Spaniard is 46 points behind Red Bull’s triple world champion and overall leader Sebastian Vettel with some of the German’s most dominant tracks coming up in Asia and the Middle East.

Monza is a special place for Vettel, having taking his first Formula One win there with tiny Toro Rosso in 2008, but Red Bull have triumphed there only once -

the most successful constructor by far at their home circuit with 18 wins over the years compared to McLaren’s 10.

Alonso won in 2010, and was third in 2011 and 2012. He also won with McLaren in 2007 and was second in 2005 with Renault.

Sunday’s race, at a circuit haunted by the ghosts of history with the decaying 1950s banking quietly crumbling beyond the modern track, will sound a last post for Formula One’s V8 engine in Europe and locals would argue that a win

ed again and in Monza we would like to give some smiles and some satisfaction to the tifosi and we will try our best,” said the double champion.

Massa, whose future is under more scrutiny now that Red Bull have decided their 2014 line-up, has made only one appearance on the podium this season - a third in Spain - and has not won a race since 2008. There will be no shortage of motivation for Massa, even without the pressure of fighting to keep his job, in a race

without Italian drivers.

“I am Brazilian but my family came from Italy so this is something of a home race as I have an Italian passport and our family has something of an Italian lifestyle,” he told the Ferrari website (www.ferrari.com) this week.

“This all adds up to a very special race for me.” Toro Rosso’s Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who will be Vettel’s team mate at Red Bull next season as replacement for departing compatriot Mark Webber, also has an Italian passport but cannot count on too much support even if he currently races for an Italian-based team.

The Monza fans are famed for their passion as well as their complete devotion to all-things Ferrari, their enthusiasm more like a soccer crowd venting its ire at anyone on the podium not dressed in red.

Lewis Hamilton was booed by them last year when he won for McLaren, with Ferrari-powered cars second, third and fourth, and cannot expect much to have changed should he return triumphant with Mercedes. The 2008 world champion is chasing his fifth pole in succession to give himself the best shot of a repeat win to close the gap on Vettel and Alonso after being left trailing by both rivals at Spa and finishing third. The driver starting on pole has won eight of the last 10 races at Monza and only three current drivers - by coincidence the top three in the championship - have won there before.

None of them has so far won twice in Italy for the same team.

“We will use a refined version of the low-drag package introduced at Spa. We hope to see an improvement in race pace after the lessons we learned over the race weekend in Belgium,” said Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff. —Reuters

Preview

Colombia look to go on top BUENOS AIRES: Colombia could be without striker Radamel Falcao when they try to edge closer to ending a 16-year absence from the World Cup finals with a home victory over Ecuador in Barranquilla tomorrow. Falcao, Colombia’s top scorer in the qualifiers with seven goals, suffered an ankle injury playing for Monaco on Sunday and has been unable to train normally with coach Jose Pekerman set to wait until the last minute hoping he will be fit.

“We’re going to go day by day trying to get him as fit as possible to see if he can get to the match (2030 GMT),” team doctor Carlos Ulloa told reporters.

If Falcao does not make it, Jackson Martinez is likely to be Teofilo Gutierrez’s partner up front against the Ecuadoreans.

Colombia, who have won their last four home matches scoring 13 goals and conceding none, can join Pekerman’s home country Argentina, who have a bye, at the top of the South American group on 26 points. Defeat for Ecuador, who make the trip north to the Caribbean port city mourning the recent death of Christian Benitez and missing suspended striker Felipe Caicedo, would leave them five points behind the leaders.

Ecuador could drop to fourth behind Chile, who also have 21 points and are at home to sixth-placed Venezuela in Santiago (0030 Saturday).

The top four teams at the end of the quali-

fiers in October will go through to the 2014 Brazil finals. The fifth-placed side, at present Uruguay with 16 points, go into a playoff against an Asian qualifier in November for one more berth.

Uruguay, semi-finalists in South Africa in 2010 after scraping into the tournament at the last gasp, face two key matches, away to seventh-placed Peru in Lima on Friday (0230) before hosting Colombia in Montevideo next Tuesday.

“The two matches will be very tough. Peru will be dealing their last card against Uruguay and they are at home,” Uruguay s captain Diego Lugano told reporters earlier this week. “Then we receive Colombia, who with Argentina are the two teams playing the best football in the Americas. In these eight days we’ll be playing for our passage to the World Cup.” Coach Oscar Tabarez’s squad faced the abyss in March after a dismal run in which they had picked up only two points from six matches and plunged down the standings.

A 1-0 away win over Venezuela in their last qualifier in June revived the South American champions, who went on to enjoy improved form at the Confederations Cup in Brazil.

“We were very surprised by what happened to us. Things were progressing normally but between September and October (2012) we plunged, conceded lots of goals and it was hard to get out of that,” Tabarez

said after the win in Venezuela.

“If we’d lost (to Venezuela), it was all over, but we won and managed to recover many things that make up this group (of players), our team spirit, our intensity in defence, our commitment,” said the former teacher known as Master.

“We haven’t achieved anything yet, but we’ve dashed the belief that this group was finished, that it was the end of a cycle.

“Now with the spirit we showed against Venezuela we’re going to face our remaining matches,” said Tabarez, whose strikers Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez jointly hold a record 36 Uruguay goals after the 4-2 friendly win away to Japan last month.

“If we win in Lima against Peru, we will have taken a giant step.” Venezuela, equal on points with Uruguay, will hope they have overcome a stomach bug that laid most of their squad low as they bid to revive their chances against a Chile team that put their campaign back on track with two successive wins in June.

Bottom team Paraguay, virtually resigned to failing to reach their fifth successive finals, will put last month’s improved form under new coach Victor Genes when they held Germany 3-3 in Kaiserslautern to the test at home to Bolivia in Asuncion (2230).

Paraguay are eight points shy of fifth place with four matches to go and Bolivia six points adrift with three games to go. —Reuters

RIYADH: Ahmed Eid Al-Harbi, President of SAFF (left) with David Butorac, CEO, OSN.

OSN Cup ready for kick off RIYADH: Bringing together the best football talent from Saudi Arabia, UAE, New Zealand and Trinidad & Tobago, OSN Cup, organised by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and OSN gears up for a roaring kick-off today, September 5 at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, KSA. Today’s opener, set for 6.45 p.m., is a key match for both teams (UAE and Trinidad & Tobago) seeking a flying start to this prestigious international football tournament.

This will be followed by the highly anticipated match between home team, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand at 9.15 p.m.

Ahmed Eid Al-Harbi, President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), said: “We are confident that the inaugural OSN Cup will not only put the spotlight on emerging football talent, but will also reiterate Saudi Arabia’s credentials as the ultimate sporting destination. We thank OSN for organising this initiative which provides regional teams such as Saudi Arabia and UAE the opportunity to compete with international talent. I wish all the teams the very best.”

David Butorac, Chief Executive Officer, OSN, said: “OSN Cup is our tribute to football and to all sports fans, who love the game. As the region’s home for premium sports entertainment, we are committed to bringing the region’s favourite sport to the forefront through real sporting action and an exceptional live telecast for millions to enjoy. We will continue to invest in Saudi Arabia bringing the best family entertainment and sports experiences to the Kingdom.

“I thank SAFF for their fantastic support in making OSN Cup a reality and look forward to two-days of world class football action from the heart of Saudi Arabia.”

Audiences across the region can enjoy every moment from the OSN Cup Live and in stunning High Definition on OSN Sports HD and via ON Play where the matches will be streamed live so viewers can watch anytime, anywhere on multiple devices.

Viewers can also tune in to Saudi TV or Dubai TV. Commenting on the OSN Cup, Juan Ramun Lupez Caro, head coach of the Saudi Arabia National football team said: “OSN Cup provides a platform for Saudi football fans to watch their favourite players in action. We have trained hard and are looking forward to showcasing the strengths of some of our finest football players, who will soon go on to represent us within the global circuit.”

Mahdi Ali Hassan Redha, who led the United Arab Emirates in qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London said: “My players are in good shape and spirit and we have a sound strategy in place. It is important to win the opening match and we look forward to taking the OSN Cup home.

Winning the 2013 Gulf Cup has helped to boost the teams morale and I hope we are able to deliver a similar performance.”

The finals, along with the match for third and fourth place, will be held on Monday, September 09 with nearly 60,000 fans cheering on their favourite teams from the stadium.

Ricki Herbert, coach of New Zealand ‘All Whites’ squad said: “International football is not easy no matter where you go and to play in the Middle East is tough. The pace and technical ability of all teams at this tournament will be high and this will be an important test for us.”

Stephen Hart, head coach of the Trinidad & Tobago National football team, added: “We are honoured to be part of this inaugural event and look forward to a thrilling football season. It’s good for us to play countries with different styles such as United Arab Emirates- each brings their own set of skills and it’s important for our team to learn to adapt and face new opposing teams.”

Billed to become one of the most popular football tournaments in the region, OSN Cup will be held annually, drawing in football talent from around the world and the Middle East.

19

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

SPORTS

Egyptian twins eye World Cup berth JORDAN: Jordan’s hopes of a first World Cup finals appearance lie in the hands of Egyptian twin brothers, with Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan leading the West Asians in the first leg of their Asia zone playoff against Uzbekistan tomorrow. Hossam Hassan was appointed head coach of Jordan in June shortly after the surprise resignation of Adnan Hamad, who had successfully steered the Jordanians through to the fifth round of Asian qualifying for the first time after beating Oman in their final group game.

Hossam and twin brother Ibrahim, who is assistant coach, played for Egypt at the 1990 World Cup and Hossam said there was no bigger privilege. “Playing in the World Cup is the dream of every player,” he told

FIFA.com this week ahead of Friday’s home first leg.

“There aren’t words for what I experienced then and when I talk to the players I impress that on them. I talk to them about what it means to win and to have the honour of representing your country at the biggest festival of football in the world. “I can tell that this team have a huge desire to go all the way and achieve their dream.”

For the Hassan twins and Jordan to take part in Brazil they must first overcome the Uzbeks before taking on the fifth-placed side in South America in the intercontinental playoff in November for a finals berth. Despite overseeing friendly wins over Palestine and Libya and an Asian Cup qualifying draw with Syria in August,

Hossam felt his side lacked matches.

“I would have liked to play more games if there’d been time. After the Syria game we were hoping to get a fourth game in against Iraq, but it just wasn’t possible, seeing as the most important members of the squad had commitments overseas .... we’ll have to make do with intensive training.”

The Uzbeks are also looking for a first World Cup appearance and are slight favourites to advance past Jordan with a better FIFA ranking and head to head, having lost just once in seven matches played between the two. The Uzbeks, who were fourth at the 2011 Asian Cup, also have the experience of playing at this stage before, although they were beaten by Bahrain on away goals in 2005.

But Jordan will not be overawed, especially at home where they scored victories over the continent’s top two sides - Japan and Australia - in the fourth round of qualifiers and are confident of taking a lead to Tashkent for the second leg on Sept. 10.

“We have a lot of positives to draw on in Amman,” Hassan said. “When we play here we fight harder and the fans give the players a huge boost. Speed in attack is one of our great qualities, but I’ll work to control the recklessness that might lose us the ball and give our opponents a chance to break back.” Recklessness was something previously associated with the Uzbeks but not anymore. Their coach Mirjalol Kasimov has sharpened a technically sound but mentally frail side into a

well drilled outfit who recovered from a sloppy start to just miss out on automatic qualification on goal difference.

Kasimov, who turned down requests from Reuters to speak ahead of the key qualifier, will have to make do without first choice goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov and defender Shohruh Gadoev for the matches, however.

“We know that our people want us to qualify and whatever it takes, and with God’s help, we will make that dream come true,” talented midfielder Odil Ahmedov told FIFA. “We have a golden opportunity against Jordan. If we win, we’ll take on a team from South America, so we have four decisive matches in which to get to the World Cup.” —Reuters

Injuries should not stop England beating Moldova LONDON: England will be without striker Wayne Rooney and defenders Phil Jones and Glen Johnson for tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier against Moldova at Wembley but should still easily pick up another three points on the road to Brazil.

More worrying for coach Roy Hodgson is that Rooney, who faces three weeks out after suffering a nasty head wound in training last week, and the two defenders will also miss the far more difficult Group H qualifier against Ukraine in Kiev next Tuesday.

England began their campaign with a convincing 5-0 win over Moldova in Chisinau a year ago but since then it has turned into a tense affair with three wins and three draws from their six matches.

Montenegro top the standings with 14 points from seven games but blew a great chance to establish a five-point lead when they were beaten 4-0 at home by Ukraine in June.

Ukraine are third, one point behind England, and are virtually guaranteed three points when they face minnows San Marino on Friday while Poland, who are fourth on nine points, will keep the pressure on the top trio if they beat Montenegro in Warsaw.

If England are to qualify directly for the finals they have to win both matches. A draw in Ukraine would mean no margin for error in their final two home qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland.

Hodgson will also be without Andy Carroll, Alex OxladeChamberlain and goalkeeper Ben Foster, leaving him with a young and relatively inexperienced squad with 11 of the 25 players having fewer than 10 caps.

Moldova, who have five points from their seven matches and no chance of qualifying for the finals, never recovered after conceding a third-minute Frank Lampard penalty in the opening qualifier before Lampard, Jermain Defoe, James Milner and Leighton Baines added more goals.

Nevertheless, Moldova coach Ion Caras was optimistic his side would produce a “solid performance” against England and said playing at Wembley would inspire his team.

“The mood of my players is good. To play at Wembley just once is something many footballers dream about. There is a saying: ‘If you played and triumphed in a lot of matches but did not play once at Wembley then you never got to the top’. “Given that the group situation is a difficult one, England will strive to beat us and they have super-class players to do this.” In a show of loyalty to Moldova’s neighbors, he said he thought Ukraine would finish top of the group, with England in second place.—Reuters

LONDON: England defender Ashley Cole does high kicks during a training session ahead of their World Cup 2014 European zone Group H qualifying football match against Moldova. —AFP

Italy debates Prandelli successor Cesc Fabregas

In-form Cesc could be the key for Spain MADRID: Spain coach Vicente del Bosque is missing several key performers for tomorrow’s World Cup Group I qualifier away to Finland but one player who will be available comes into the match in a rich vein of form.

Cesc Fabregas has impressed for Barcelona during the opening weeks of the La Liga season and could make the difference for the world and European champions as they seek to maintain their grip on top spot ahead of France and take a step closer to securing an automatic berth at next year’s tournament in Brazil. The 26-year-old former Arsenal captain has made five assists in his three league appearances this term, already half as many as the whole of last season, and Del Bosque will look to him to help unlock Finland’s stubborn defence.

Spain struggled in their qualifier against them in Gijon in March, taking a 1-0 lead through centre back Sergio Ramos before conceding a late equaliser to draw 1-1.

Del Bosque has often deployed Fabregas, who has played 83 times for Spain, as a so-called “false nine”, foregoing a traditional striker and using him in a roving forward role that is tricky to defend against. At Barca he typically plays further back in midfield and had an excellent game there at Valencia on Sunday when he twice set up World Player of the Year Lionel Messi to score.

“We are not going to be over-confident against a team like Finland, not at all,” sports daily Marca quoted Fabregas as saying on Wednesday.

“We already experienced the match in Gijon and those are things that you learn from.” Del Bosque’s main concern is the absence of midfield stalwarts Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso, who are injured along with Javi Martinez.

Javi Garcia and Mario Suarez are in the squad as cover and could get the chance to impress their coach and improve their chances of selection for next year’s finals.

“The coach has tried various options

(in training) but if I play or not I am here to contribute, to give things to the team,” Suarez, who plays at Atletico Madrid, told a news conference on Wednesday.

With Gerard Pique suspended, Raul Albiol will probably partner Ramos in central defence, or Del Bosque may opt to give 23-year-old Ignacio Fernandez, who plays with Ramos at Real, his first cap for the senior side.

Playmaker Isco, who has been on fine form for Real in recent weeks, is a doubt after injuring an ankle in training on Tuesday and sitting out Wednesday’s session.

Finland, ranked 65 in the world and bidding to qualify for the finals of a World Cup for the first time, are third in the group, four points behind the French, who play minnows Georgia in Tbilisi tomorrow. “Spain know we are able to make it very difficult for them, we can dull their attacks,” Finland coach Mixu Paatelainen told a news conference last week.

“But this is of course a David and Goliath situation, what happened in Gijon is in the past now.” The task facing Paatelainen’s young squad has been made even harder due to the absence of Chievo Verona midfielder Perparim Hetemaj through suspension.

However, Paatelainen is not throwing in the towel and believes Finland can steal a place in the playoffs. “The group will be decided in the next few games and we will be a difficult opponent,” he said. “Everything is still open.”

Tight defending will be vital if Finland are to avoid defeat, according to left back Jukka Raitala. “We know they will hit back hard if they are given too much space,” he said on the team’s website (www.palloliitto.fi). “But we will not aim at 0-0,” he added. “Surely we must look to score as we are playing at home. “We have a great chance to show what we can do and again snatch something like the miracle in Gijon.”—Reuters

ROME: Group B leaders Italy seek to take another step towards World Cup qualification with victory against Bulgaria in Sicily tomorrow amid speculation over who will succeed Cesare Prandelli as Azzurri manager. Local media have said he is expected to announce his exit once qualification has been secured, and then step down after next year’s finals in Brazil.

The Gazzetta Dello Sport have reported that Japan manager Alberto Zaccheroni is favourite to take charge, with Juventus manager Antonio Conte, Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri and former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini also in the frame.

Italy, who have 14 points from six games and are four ahead of secondplaced Bulgaria, are missing five firstchoice players, including Milan pair Mario Balotelli and Riccardo Montolivo and Southampton striker Pablo Osvaldo. The suspended trio will be available for Tuesday’s clash with third-placed Czech Republic, in which Italy could secure qualification if they win tomorrow.

Juventus defender Andrea Barzagli had to leave Italy’s training camp at Coverciano with an Achilles tendon problem while team mate Claudio Marchisio has been ruled out with an injury to his left knee.

Despite being relatively threadbare up front, Prandelli did not pick Giuseppe Rossi even though the Fiorentina striker has started the season in great form with three

goals in two games after coming back from two successive knee injuries. “I’m following him with great interest. He’s now finding his best condition again,” Prandelli said on Monday. “But we mustn’t push things by calling him up for the national team at this point.”

Given their lack of options in attack on Tuesday Prandelli revealed that his game plan would be to pack the midfield and make use of pace down the flanks.

This week Prandelli lamented the lack of convincing young talent coming through the ranks, but he could offer Napoli’s home-grown rising star Lorenzo Insigne a starting place alongside Lazio’s Antonio Candreva in support of lone striker Alberto Gilardino, a role he would take from Sunderland midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini.

Bulgaria coach Penev is not entirely happy with the form of PSV Eindhoven midfielder Stanislav Manolev, who is their top scorer in the qualifying campaign with three goals including a stunning strike in the 2-2 draw with Italy last September, as he lacks match practice. Local media expect that Manolev, who has yet to play for his club this season, could be dropped from the starting line-up with youngster Todor Nedelev ready to deputise.

Bulgaria will definitely miss another regular starter, CSKA Moscow midfielder Georgi Milanov, as he is suspended after receiving his second yellow card in the 1-1

Lorenzo Insigne draw at Denmark in March.

Experienced Georgi Iliev is expected to step in.

Coach Penev will also have to solve a goalkeeping dilemma as first choice Nikolay Mihaylov has failed to break through at his new club Hellas Verona and Ludogorets’s Vladislav Stoyanov could get a chance to play. Penev is confident his team is good enough

to collect points in Italy, although Bulgaria’s record is not a proud one with six defeats and only two draws dating back to 1966. The former Valencia and Atletico Madrid striker needs to find some spark and a sharper cutting edge from his team after a below-par showing against Macedonia in an international friendly in Skopje last month.—Reuters

Germany’s defensive woes offer ray of hope MUNICH: Germany’s recent defensive debacles may give Austria some encouragement as they attempt to end a run of eight successive defeats against their larger neighbors in tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier. Joachim Loew’s team conceded nine goals in three friendlies they played during the summer, including three at home to Paraguay last month and four away to the United States in June. But Friday’s match in Munich still represents a daunting task for Austria, whose unhappy long-term decline has turned the fixture, once one of the most compelling in

European football, into something of a damp squib. Austria’s last win over Germany was in 1986 and the last time they avoided defeat was a goalless draw 21 years ago. When they visited Germany in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign two years ago, they came away battered and bruised after a 6-2 defeat.

Their performance in European Group C, however, has been encouraging and they are locked in an intriguing battle with Sweden and Ireland for second place and a two-leg playoff against another European side.

All three teams have 11 eleven points from

six games, five behind the Germans who appear almost certain to finish top and qualify directly for Brazil next year.

Loew is certainly familiar with Austrian football as he won the league with Tirol Innsbruck in 2002, only to lose his job when they club were declared bankrupt.

He then spent a season at Austria Vienna, his last job in club football before becoming Germany’s assistant coach in 2004.

“Everyone knows that our neighbours are always enormously motivated for a match against Germany,” said Loew. —Reuters

Bolt to retire after Rio Olympics

16

Waller, Raza put Zimbabwe ahead

17

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

Injuries should not stop England beating Moldova Page 19

NEW YORK: Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a forehand during his men’s singles fourth round match against Marcel Granollers of Spain on Day Nine of the 2013 US Open. — AFP

Serena, Djokovic dazzle in US NEW YORK: World number ones Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic ruled supreme on Tuesday, sending ominous warnings to their rivals with dazzling, runaway victories over Spanish opponents at the US Open.

Djokovic said he played some of his best tennis on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court in trouncing Marcel Granollers 6-3 6-0 6-0, and Williams could not have done better, handing Carla Suarez Navarro a 6-0 6-0 beating at the National Tennis Center.

Dominant performances are not out of the ordinary for those rankings leaders but fifth-seeded Li Na provided something special by breaking another barrier for Chinese tennis.

The 31-year-old Li became China’s first semifinalist ever at the US Open by beating Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 6-7(5) 6-2 on Tuesday at a windy Flushing Meadows.

Li pumped both fists in joy after 24th seed Makarova sailed a backhand long to end the twohour, 20-minute match at Arthur Ashe Stadium as the crowd showered her with cheers.

“For me, this is the first time to come to the semi-finals, so I’m very proud of myself,” said Li,

who looked about to claim victory in two sets after winning the first three points of the tiebreaker but was extended to a third set.

Other winners were also tested as defending men’s champion Andy Murray of Britain worked hard to get past 65th-ranked Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, 6-7 (5) 6-1 6-4 6-4, and women’s second seed Victoria Azarenka overcame Ana Ivanovic 4-6 6-3 6-4 to complete the women’s quarter-finals field.

The lone upset by rankings was registered by ninth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who ousted fifth seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 3-6 6-1 7-6 (6) 6-2.

Wawrinka, who has now won five of his last six matches against Berdych, advanced to a quarters clash against Murray.

Li will not have too long to revel in her achievement as the win set up a semi-final date with defending champion Williams. “I played really good,” acknowledged four-time U.S. Open winner Williams after her 52-minute rout of Suarez Navarro.

“I’m having a blast this week. For me, I have to stay in that moment of fun, but intensity, but

calm. If I can try to do those three things, it works out.”

It was only the second love-love win in a US Open women’s quarter-final dating back to 1968, and first since Martina Navratilova subjected Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria to the embarrassment in 1989.

The 31-year-old Williams, aiming to become the oldest US Open women’s winner since tennis turned professional in 1968, has lost just 13 games in her five matches.

Djokovic said his game was clicking just as planned. “Today, the second and third set have been some of the best tennis that I’ve played on Arthur Ashe in my career,” said Djokovic, who won the title in 2011 and was a finalist last year and in 2007.

“I was wishing to be more aggressive as the tournament progresses,” added the Serb, who won the first 25 points on his serve and 28 of 30 points he contested at the net.

Djokovic moved into the quarters against Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny, who ended the magical run of 2001 U.S. Open winner Lleyton Hewitt by escaping a 1-4 hole in the fourth set and a 2-

5 stranglehold in the fifth for a 6-3 3-6 6-7(3) 6-4 7-5 win.

Youzhny, the 21st seed, took pride in outbattling renowned fighter Hewitt in the nearly fourhour match. “I know he’s a great player and he’s great fighting player, who is fighting for every point, every match. For me, this way that I beat him today, it’s really important,” he said.

The 32-year-old unseeded Hewitt, who had upset sixth-seeded former champion Juan Martin del Potro in the second round, gave credit to the Russian. “In the end, he played the big games when he needed to,” said the Australian.

Earlier, women’s second seed Victoria Azarenka overcame Ana Ivanovic, the 13th seed, 4-6 6-3 6-4 to complete the women’s quarterfinals field after their contest was postponed from Monday due to nearly five hours of rain delays.

Azarenka, runner-up last year to Serena Williams, will play unseeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the last eight.

The US Open had been the last grand slam where Chinese women had stalled before reaching the final four. Zheng Jie was the first Chinese player to reach a grand slam semi-final, making

the last four at Wimbledon in 2008 and the Australian Open in 2010, but Li has enjoyed even greater success.

Two years ago, Li became the first Chinese to make a grand slam final when she finished runner-up in Australia and a few months later she won the French Open to become China’s first grand slam champion. Li smashed 44 winners against just 15 for 25-year-old Makarova, though the Chinese struggled with eight double faults.

Azarenka and former world number one Ivanovic had even more trouble serving in a match where holding serve was the exception rather than the rule.

The 29-game match had 16 service breaks with Azarenka ending it by breaking Ivanovic for the ninth time. “It was a big battle. That’s what I was expecting from Ana,” said Azarenka of Belarus.

Ivanovic tried to see the bright side. “It’s very encouraging, because I know I’m right there,” said the Serb. “It’s definitely a lot of positives to take from this week and this match.

But it still doesn’t change. It’s disappointing and it hurts.” — Reuters

Walcott: Rooney’s head wound is a horror show

SLOVENIA: Maxym Korniyenko (right) of Ukraine vies for the ball with Wen Mukubu of Belgium during the Group A European Basketball Championship. — AFP

LONDON: The head injury that has sidelined Wayne Rooney looks like “something out of a horror film”, according to his England colleague Theo Walcott.

Rooney was left with a sizeable gash on his forehead after being caught in the face by Manchester United team-mate Phil Jones earlier this week.

The wound required stitches and forced the 27-year-old striker to withdraw from England’s squad for the World Cup qualifying doubleheader against Moldova and Ukraine.

Asked to describe the injury during a press conference at England’s St George’s Park training base, Walcott pointed to a bottle of water beside him and said: “I’ve seen a picture of it and it’s about that big.

“It is a very big gash. It is not a nice sight, to be honest. It is not going to help his looks, I wouldn’t think. It’s not very nice to see. It’s like something out of a horror film.”

Rooney published two photographs of the injury on his Facebook

page on Wednesday afternoon, which showed the player with a deep, centimetre-wide cut running from above his hairline to halfway down his forehead.

“Some people seem to be questioning my commitment to the England squad and the fact I had to pull out of the two games,” he wrote. “ There’s nothing I would like more than to be helping the lads in the qualifiers. I’m sure people will see from these images the reason why I won’t be able to play.”

United midfielder Michael Carrick, who saw Rooney get injured, dismissed suggestions from journalists that his team-mate should have taken inspiration from Terry Butcher’s iconic, blood-stained performance in a 1990 World Cup qualifier against Sweden by putting himself forward to play.

“We know what he (Rooney) is like,” Carrick said. “If there was a way of playing, he would. It is easy for people to look at the past and compare with what has gone on, but every situation is different.” Liverpool

striker Daniel Sturridge had been in line to deputise for Rooney at home to Moldova on Friday, but he is now doubtful with a thigh injury that prevented him from training on Tuesday. With Tottenham Hotspur’s Jermain Defoe yet to start a league game this season, it means either Rooney’s United team-mate Danny Welbeck or Southampton’s Rickie Lambert will lead the line against Moldova.

“It is sad to see Wayne out, but it is an opportunity for someone to come in and take their chance,” Walcott added. “Danny Welbeck has started the season well for his club and Rickie Lambert has had a great start to his England career, so the manager has some great options and I am sure he knows what to do.”

Defence is also an area of concern following a run of four games without a clean sheet, and centreback Gary Cahill admits the squad are still adjusting to life without John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, who both retired from international football last season.

Wayne Rooney “They were two huge players and they retired at similar times, so there had to be a transitional period and that’s what it is at the minute,” said Cahill, who plays alongside Terry at Chelsea.

“We have some quality centrebacks as well, but when two big names, two big, top-class centrehalves come out of the set-up, there is that worry. People are always going to talk about it.” — AFP

Business THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

Booming Saudi retail market fuels Alhokair expansion drive Page 22 Ryanair warns on profit, blames Europe, sterling Page 23

Asia’s profit-taking offsets upbeat outlook

Star economist takes helm of India central bank amid storm Page 24 Page 25

ST PETERSBURG: A journalist speaks on a cell phone next to a sign for the G20 summit in St Petersburg, Russia yesterday. The biggest economies, the United States, Europe, Japan, as well as China , are all expanding. And the leaders who will gather this week are more confident about their financial systems than at any time since they began meeting five years ago. — AP

US trade deficit widens in July Inflation-adjusted trade gap rises to $47.8bn WASHINGTON: The US trade deficit widened slightly more than expected in July as exports dipped, but a rebound in imports pointed to some firming in underlying domestic demand early in the third quarter.

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday the trade gap increased 13.3 percent to $39.1 billion. June’s shortfall on the trade balance was revised to $34.5 billion from the previously reported $34.2 billion.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the trade deficit to widen to $38.7 billion in July. When adjusted for inflation, the trade gap expanded to $47.7 billion from $43.8 billion in June. This measure goes into the calculation of gross domestic product.

Trade’s contribution to GDP growth in the second quar-

ter was neutral, but economists expect it to add to growth this quarter and the rise in the so-called real trade deficit is probably not enough to change that view.

The economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, stepping up from the first-quarter’s 1.1 percent pace. “We expect some narrowing in the trade deficit in the third quarter. It’s consistent with some pickup in the global demand,” said Yelena Shulyatyeva, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York.

The three-month moving average of the trade deficit, which irons out month-to-to month volatility, decreased to $39.1 billion in the three months to July from $39.3 billion in the prior period. The increase in imports in July, which reflected rises in industrial supplies, automobiles and con-

sumer goods, suggested some strengthening in domestic demand. Imports of goods and services rose 1.6 percent to $228.6 billion. Imports of autos, parts and engines were the highest on record in July.

Exports of goods and services dipped 0.6 percent to $189.4 billion in July. However, exports of petroleum products hit a record high. US financial markets showed little reaction to the trade data, with attention focused on the debate in the United States over whether to take action in war-torn Syria.

Weak overseas demand, especially in Europe, has caused an ebb in export growth after trade helped to lift the U.S. economy out of the 2007-09 recession. But there are signs the global economy is picking up and U.S. manufacturers

have also been reporting an increase in export orders.

The Institute for Supply Management said on Tuesday its gauge of new export orders rebounded in August after slipping in July. In July, exports to the 27-nation European Union fell 7.4 percent resulting in a record trade deficit.

Exports to the EU in the first seven months of the year were down 4.4 percent compared to the same period in 2012.

Exports to China fell 4.9 percent. China has been one of the fastest-growing markets for US goods, but growth there has slowed in recent months and exports to that country were up just 4.0 percent for the first seven months of 2013.

Imports from China jumped 8.3 percent in July, lifting the contentious US trade deficit with China to a record $30.1 billion. — Reuters

Rising demand adds to fact world growth is picking up

NEW YORK: In this Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013, photo, traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York.

Stock futures were mixed yesterday, with the US moving closer to a military confrontation in Syria. — AP

LONDON: Euro zone businesses had their best month in over two years in August as orders increased for the first time since mid-2011 while growth in China’s services sector hit a fivemonth high, underpinned by new orders and business optimism. Pockets of weakness remain across the world, however.

Data yesterday showed Indian services activity shrank in August at its quickest pace since the depths of the global financial crisis. Italian services also contracted more than expected and the downturn continued in France. “The advanced economies have clearly picked up, China is the exception among the major emerging economies but the other emerging economies are still struggling and India in particular,” said Andrew Kenningham, senior global economist at Capital Economics.

Emerging economies are particularly vulnerable to a tightening of United States monetary policy, the International Monetary Fund warned in a note prepared for the Group of 20 meeting in St. Petersburg this week.

Markets are preparing for the Federal Reserve to begin slowing down its huge bond-buying programme this month as the U.S. recovery remains on track. The US Institute of Supply Management is due to publish its PMI for U.S. services on Thursday and a Reuters poll predicted a dip to 55.0 from July’s 56.0. A sister survey on Tuesday covering factories showed a surprise upturn.

Markit’s Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 51.5 last month from 50.5 in July, its highest reading since June 2011. The headline figure was revised down a touch from a preliminary reading of 51.7. Anything over 50 indicates expansion. A sub-index covering new business rose to 51.0, the first time it has been above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction since July 2011. But there are still major differences between Europe’s two most important economies. The composite PMI for Germany, the euro zone’s largest, jumped to a seven-month high of 53.5, but the French PMI dipped to 48.8 from 49.1. Businesses’ optimism about the future also rose to a 17-month high but firms were not yet con-

fident enough to start hiring again. They cut staff for the 20th consecutive month, and at a faster pace than in July.

Across the channel, a rush of new business last month drove the fastest growth in Britain’s services sector for more than six years, challenging the Bank of England’s cautious outlook for the economy. It’s services PMI beat forecasts with a rise to 60.5.

Led by firm US growth, the outlook is gradually improving for advanced economies and even crisis-weary Europe is at last joining the recovery, the OECD said on Tuesday, but warned a slowdown in many emerging economies meant global growth would remain sluggish.

The Chinese Markit/HSBC Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 52.8 in August after seasonal adjustments, up from July’s 51.3 and the highest since March. Qu Hongbin, an HSBC economist, cited new business growth as the key driver of the PMI and expected the momentum to be sustained. “A rebound in manufacturing output is expected to support service industry growth in the coming months,” Qu said.

Any improvement will cheer investors as fears of a sharp slowdown in the world’s second largest economy had kept markets in check but the good news will be tempered by a slowdown in India, Asia’s third largest economy.

Having fallen below the 50-mark in July for the first time in nearly two years India’s services PMI slipped further last month and with a survey of factories published on Monday showing activity shrank for the first time since early 2009, the picture is grim. India’s economic growth has almost halved in the past two years and the economy grew 4.4 percent in April-June, its slowest quarterly growth rate since early 2009. The PMIs suggest more trouble ahead as the government and central bank grapple with a currency crisis that has battered the rupee to record lows against the dollar, with no expectations or signs that it will rally any time soon. “The weak run is set to continue with macroeconomic uncertainty and tighter financial conditions weighing on growth,” said Leif Eskesen, HSBC’s chief India economist. — Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Mkts hit multi-week lows as US nears action on Syria DUBAI: Middle East markets slumped to multi-week lows yesterday after the United States moved a step closer to launching punitive strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad following his forces’ alleged use of poison gas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled a readiness to drop his opposition if Damascus were proven to have carried out a chemical weapons attack.

Putin’s comments come after two key figures in the US Congress backed US President Barack Obama’s call for a strike on Syria, which is due to vote on the issue next week as fears escalate that such action could widen the conflict and disrupt oil supplies from the region. Dubai’s bourse tumbled 3.7 percent to an eight-week low as many retail investors opted to cut their market exposure. “Everything is in risk-off mode and given the scale of the fall, this is retail investors staying cautious,” said Amer Khan, fund manager at Shuaa Asset Management.

“These are headline-driven fears as local fundamentals haven’t changed. In the medium term, even if there is a limited attack, it will benefit the UAE in terms of capital inflows - it has in the past and I don’t expect it to change now.”

Small-caps stocks that saw heavy speculative buying in recent weeks were hardest hit. Bluechips will likely outperform in the near term as investors seek companies with strong fundamentals, analysts said.

Abu Dhabi’s index fell 2.3 percent and Qatar lost 1.9 percent, also hitting eight-week lows. Kuwait’s bourse dropped 2.6 percent in its ninth straight loss to slump to its lowest finish since April 24. “The game changes a little bit now - we will have more volatility in the markets and it will be closely linked to Syria news flow,” said Sebastien Henin, portfolio manager at The National Investor. “As long as GCC countries are far from the conflict, I don’t see a reason to be pessimistic from an economic point of view,” Henin said.

Saudi Arabia’s measure fell 2.2 percent to its lowest close since July 3. Wednesday’s drop cut 2013 gains to 12.7 percent.

The retail sector benchmark dropped 3.7 percent.

It hit an all time high in mid-August, but prices have fallen sharply as investors booked gains.

The banking index fell 2.1 percent and petrochemical sector’s measure lost 1.7 percent, despite higher oil prices. Brent crude traded above $115 per barrel at 1246 GMT. Elsewhere, Egypt’s main benchmark slipped 0.1 percent, extending 2013 losses to 5 percent. Selling was capped on the bourse as bargain hunters stepped in. Shares in Arabia Cotton Ginning surged 9.9 percent, up for a third day. Traders said the firm may transform into a real estate company and use its land holdings to build properties. The Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority approved the firm’s request to hold an extraordinary general meeting to look into amending the company’s objectives.

YESTERDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS DUBAI The index dropped 3.7 percent to 2,397 points.

ABU DHABI The index fell 2.3 percent to 3,648 points.

KUWAIT The index retreated 2.6 percent to 7,268 points.

QATAR The index dropped 1.9 percent to 9,356 points.

SAUDI ARABIA The index fell 2.2 percent to 7,663 points.

EGYPT The index eased 0.1 percent to 5,189 points.

OMAN The index declined 2.9 percent to 6,504 points.

BAHRAIN The index ticked up 0.04 percent to 1,185 points.

— Reuters

Booming Saudi retail market fuels Alhokair expansion drive Plans 250 new stores in 2013, 170 in Saudi

MOUNT PLEASANT: In this Saturday, Aug 17, 2013, file photo, a container ship moves through Charleston Harbor to the South Carolina State Ports Authority’s Wando Terminal in Mount Pleasant, S.C. The government reports on the US trade deficit for July, yesterday. — AP

Gold eases on steady dollar LONDON: Gold eased yesterday, following the previous session’s gains, as the dollar rose after strong US data boosted prospects the Federal Reserve may trim its stimulus this month, but prices held above $1,400 on continued concerns around Syria.

The metal rose as much as 1.4 percent on Tuesday after President Barack Obama won the backing of key figures in the US Congress, including Republicans, in his call for limited strikes on Syria to punish the government for its suspected use of chemical weapons against civilians.

Spot gold was down 0.6 percent to $1,403.14 an ounce by 1141 GMT. US gold futures for December fell $8.30 an ounce to $1,403.70.

“Syria is obviously still lending support but as the days go and we approach the US jobs report on Friday and more importantly the Fed meeting later this month, the market is getting nervous about a possible start to QE tapering and we see some price weakness,” Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said. Gold rose to a 3-1/2 month high of $1,433.31 an ounce last week, when a US strike on Syria seemed imminent, before retreating when President Obama decided to seek congressional approval and the British parliament voted against any involvement in the possible strike.

“A key reason for gold to rally in response to Mideast tensions is the potential for oil supply disruptions that a U.S. strike or an escalation of the conflict may trigger,” HSBC said in a note.

The positive correlation between gold and oil has been restored in the past few sessions as gold is seen as a hedge against

oil-led inflationary pressures. Brent crude was also weaker on Wednesday, but holding around $115 a barrel. The dollar steadied around an earlier six-week peak, as encouraging US data on Tuesday showed that the economy continues to gather momentum. Gold, however, paid little heed to the data, as investors concentrated on Syria.

Usually, gold holds an inverse correlation with the U.S. currency, with a stronger greenback making the metal denominated in dollar more expensive for holders of other currencies. Markets were awaiting jobs data on Friday, which analysts said would give clues on whether the U.S. Fed will curtail its commoditiesfriendly stimulus measures as soon as this month. The central bank holds a two-day policy meeting on Sept. 17-18. A scalingback would hurt gold prices, which have been boosted by increased central bank liquidity over the past four years. “Syria will continue to dominate headlines in choppy gold trading,” VTB Capital said in a note. “However, the U.S. jobs report later in the week will steal some attention, especially given ongoing QE3 (stimulus) uncertainty.” Labour strikes began in South Africa’s gold mines on Tuesday but main mining union National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday it had offered to lower its wage increase demands to gold companies, raising hopes of a possible compromise that could limit the duration of the action.

Spot silver dropped 1.5 percent to $23.77 an ounce. Spot platinum fell 0.5 percent to $1,521.49 an ounce, while spot palladium was down 1.5 percent at $705.50 an ounce. — Reuters

KHOBAR: Saudi Arabian retailer Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair plans to open nearly 250 stores at home and abroad this financial year, a top executive said, as the kingdom’s booming retail sector provides a platform to expand into new markets.

Alhokair has benefited in recent years from a buoyant consumer goods sector, boosted by rising incomes on the back of government efforts to improve the plight of Saudi nationals after the 2011 Arab Spring.

The average salary in the kingdom jumped by about 55 percent between 2009 and 2012, HSBC data shows, partly thanks to measures including increased public sector employment and a new minimum wage.

The trend has been noted by investors, with Alhokair’s share price climbing nearly 91 percent in the year to Sept. 3, against the wider Saudi market’s 15.2 percent gain.

Alhokair net profit rose nearly 37 percent year on year in the three months to June 30, and President Abdulmajeed Alhokair told Reuters this week that it now plans to strengthen its presence both at home and abroad, with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) a particular focus.

“The company opens 200 stores every year, but this year the number will be a bit higher because of the new brands and new locations in Saudi,” he said, referencing franchises such as Mango and Stradivarius, which it secured through its purchase of Nesk Group last year.

Alhokair owns franchise rights to market 75 international brands in the Middle East, including Zara, Marks & Spencer, Gap, Aldo, Monsoon, Accessorize and Topshop. It has about 1,300 stores worldwide in countries including Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and

Kazakhstan.

“We will open in Saudi and the Middle East around 250 stores on average one shop every day and a half,” the president said, adding that about 170 of these would be in its home market. Acquisitions are also part of the company’s growth plans. Alhokair said the firm is in talks to buy two companies in Saudi, though he declined to give details.

Its expansion is partly supported by a 50 percent capital increase from a bonus share issue agreed in July, which took its paid-up

capital to 1.05 billion riyals ($280 million).

One country currently excluded from the expansion drive is Egypt, which despite providing strong growth from its 70 stores continues to suffer from political turmoil since the removal of President Mohamed Mursi by the armed forces in July. “We had two tough months but from the beginning of the year until now it’s positive growth in Egypt - likefor-like growth is 13 percent, which is a good indication despite the current conditions,” Alhokair said. — Reuters

LONDON: A woman using her mobile phone walks past a Vodafone store in central London yesterday. US telecoms giant Verizon, and Vodafone announced Monday they had agreed the British company would sell out its 45-percent stake in their joint venture Verizon Wireless for $130 billion (99 billion euros). — AFP

Iraq names pre-qualified builders for oil pipe project BAGHDAD: Iraq has pre-qualified 12 companies and joint ventures to build an $18-billion export pipeline to Jordan, the oil ministry said yesterday.

The plan is to export 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iraqi crude to Jordan, of which 150,000 bpd will supply Jordan’s Zarqa refinery.

The remainder would be exported through the Red Sea port of Aqaba, reducing Iraq’s reliance on the Strait of Hormuz shipping route.

“It’s a preemptive plan to absorb higher production that international oil companies are planning to achieve by 2017. More export outlets mean more safety for Iraq’s exports and its customers,” a spokesman for the oil ministry said.

After stagnating for years due to war and sanctions, Iraq’s oil output began to rise significantly in 2010 and output reached 3.1 million bpd in August, according to the latest Reuters survey.

Iraq expects output to rise by 400,000 bpd by the end of this year, mainly due to the start-up of the Majnoon oilfield operated by Royal Dutch Shell.

The short-listed companies and partnerships set for the next stage of the selection process to build the pipeline from Haditha near Baghdad to the Jordanian border are: SINGLE BIDDERS China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)

Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) Daewoo International Lukoil Marubeni Mitsui Saipem Toyota Tsusho JOINT VENTURES Go Gas, Larsen & Toubro and Fius Capital Orascom with Petrojet Petrofac and Stroygazconsulting Punj Lloyd Group and Mass Global International (Iraq). — Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal Irani Riyal

2.866 4.273 2.717 2.143 2.868 224.760 36.813 3.664 6.443 8.927 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

76.150 78.463 741.720 758.470 77.769

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for 1000 Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for 1000 Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

41.300 40.779 1.332 173.530 403.260 1.915 3.102 34.309

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 285.450 Euro 377.220 Sterling Pound 445.160 Canadian dollar 271.600 Turkish lira 141.170 Swiss Franc 306.610 Australian Dollar 258.900 US Dollar Buying 284.250 GOLD 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

263.000 133.000 68.000

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 265.35 275.53 309.19 379.45 285.00 448.12 2.92 3.683 4.227 2.142 2.670 2.729 77.66 758.55 40.79 405.62 741.18 78.70 76.13

SELL CASH 263.000 282.000 311.000 384.000 287.400 443.000 3.000 3.800 4.150 2.700 3.6000 2.920 78.000 759.500 41.100 416.000 746.400 79.000 76.300

Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Scottish Pound Swedish Krona Swiss Franc

SELL CASH Europe 0.4368742 0.0067617 0.0463357 0.3709258 0.0429358 0.4337480 0.0390363 0.2997059

0.4458742 0.0187617 0.0513357 0.3784258 0.0481358 0.4412460 0.0440363 0.3067059

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar Uganda Shilling

Australasia 0.2498288 0.2149343 0.0001131

0.2618288 0.2249343 0.0001131

Canadian Dollar Colombian Peso US Dollars

America 0.2639463 0.0001452 0.2832500

0.2729463 0.0001632 0.2854000

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 Sierra Leone

Asia 0.0036243 0.0031662 0.0457049 0.0164933 0.0000443 0.0342494 0.0041620 0.0000203 0.0028518 0.0027862 0.0031990 0.0821254 0.0024885 0.0026924 0.0059451 0.0000729

0.0036793 0.0033962 0.0507049 0.0195933 0.0000503 0.0373494 0.0042270 0.0000255 0.0038518 0.0029662 0.0034290 0.0891254 0.0026885 0.0027324 0.0064151 0.0000759

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

Selling Rate 285.200 273.705 445.065 377.520 305.170 755.075 77.625 78.285 76.915 402.035 40.778 2.140 4.275 2.715 3.667 6.428 699.610 3.860

9.200 4.075 3.900 86.770

SELLDRAFT

Singapore Dollar Sri Lankan Rupee Thai Baht

0.2195386 0.0021053 0.0084754

0.2255386 0.0021473 0.0090754

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 0.7506027 0.0387874 0.0126788 0.1451126 0.0000794 0.0001845 0.3969703 1.0000000 0.0001751 0.0221717 0.0012136 0.7302884 0.0777370 0.0755733 0.0464049 0.0019450 0.1717853 0.0762766 0.0012876

0.7591027 0.0408024 0.0191788 0.1469026 0.0000799 0.0002445 0.4044703 1.0000000 0.0001951 0.0461717 0.0018486 0.7412884 0.0785200 0.0762133 0.0469549 0.0021650 0.1777853 0.0777266 0.0013876

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) 284.900 378.650 445.850 272.400 4.200 40.770 2.141 3.660 6.430 2.720 758.500 77.600 76.050

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

UK composite PMI rises above 60 for first time LONDON: A rush of new business last month drove Britain’s services sector to its fastest growth rate for more than six years, challenging the Bank of England’s cautious outlook for the economy a day before a monetary policy meeting.

Yesterday’s Markit/CIPS UK services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 60.5 in August from 60.2 in July, adding to a run of data suggesting the UK economic recovery is gathering momentum.

The reading was the highest since December 2006, holding well above the 50 threshold dividing growth from contraction for the eighth consecutive month. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted growth would slow slightly to 59.0.

Instead, order books at companies ranging from banks to restaurants filled at the fastest pace since May 1997, the month Tony Blair became prime minister.

Like the previous month, the PMI showed British businesses were at the forefront of Europe’s nascent economic recovery, outpacing major euro zone peers that are still grappling for momentum.

It suggested Britain’s economy is on course to better the 0.7 percent quarterly growth it experienced from April through June in this quarter, and comfortably so.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see growth double what the Bank of England is expecting for (this) quarter, because they’re currently forecasting 0.6 percent,” said George Buckley, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank.

Sterling rose to a 7-1/2 month peak against a trade-weighted basket of currencies and a three-and-a-half month high versus the euro after the data.

The composite PMI, which incorporates manufacturing and construction

data from earlier in the week, rose to 60.7 from 59.5, its highest level since the series began in 1998.

While that is welcome news for Britain’s government after roughly three years of stagnation, the data may give Bank of England Governor Mark Carney pause for thought.

He has stressed the economy needs a lot more help from the central bank to nurse it back to health, and the bank does not plan to raise interest rates until unemployment falls to 7 percent, something he forecasts is at least three years away. Some investors and analysts are not convinced he will be able to keep rates low for that long.

“We expect the BoE to be forced into tightening monetary policy well before the Q3 2016 date that they are currently suggesting is the earliest point (that) policy tightening will start,” said James

Knightley, economist at ING. He cited the strength in orders, rising business optimism and employment hiring surveys, and forecasts the Bank will tighten policy in the first half of 2015.

However, the BoE’s forecast that unemployment will prove slow to fall may be on the mark, as the services PMI showed that firms’ hiring slowed to its weakest pace so far this year. Monday’s manufacturing survey also showed slowing jobs growth. The bank’s ratesetters meet yesterday, and economists do not expect them to change tack.

July and August’s services PMIs marked the first back-to-back readings above 60 since 1997. Before the 2008-09 recession, such strong rises in the services PMI were often followed by rises in interest rates.

However, the depth of the downturn put a stop to that correlation. Even with

last quarter’s growth, the economy is still around 3 percent smaller than its prerecession peak in the first quarter of 2008. And although the new orders index hit 61.3 in August from July’s 60.0, leaving it just seven ticks shy of the survey record, the sharp fall in the jobs index showed the labour market still has some catching up to do.

“If activity and sales can maintain their current growth velocities, then higher payrolls and ... increased wages should hopefully follow suit,” said Paul Smith, senior economist from survey compiler Markit. The survey also showed the rise in prices charged to customers slowed slightly last month.

That suggests that, at least for now, the upturn in business is unlikely to be the cause of a spike in inflation, a second catalyst for possible policy change identified by the BoE. — Reuters

EU launch clampdown on shadow banking Money market funds face stiffer rules

LONDON: This file picture taken on February 11, 2013 shows a branch of Barclays bank in central London. Barclays will launch a 5.8-billion GBP rights issue next week to help meet a regulatory demand to plug a hole in its balance sheet, the British bank said yesterday. — AFP

Barclays close to new shares offer worth £5.8bn LONDON: Barclays will launch a £5.8-billion rights issue next week to help meet a regulatory demand to plug a hole in its balance sheet, the British bank said yesterday.

The bank will sell the new shares on September 13 priced at 185 pence each a steep 40-percent discount to the price of its traded stock just before it announced the rights issue on July 30.

Barclays shares were trading 0.52 percent lower at 283.6 pence in late morning deals on London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index, which was down 0.50 percent at 6,435.92 points.

The sale of shares worth the equivalent of $9.0 billion or 6.9 billion euros will help to plug a balance sheet gap totalling £12.8 billion. Barclays said on Wednesday that the new shares would be available from the close of business a week on Friday. In June, the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which supervises Britain’s banking sector, ordered Barclays to find £12.8 billion of additional capital following a review of top lenders.

The PRA watchdog told Barclays to increase the amount of equity it holds against total assets, a measure called the

leverage ratio and which provides banks with a cash buffer in case of future financial crises.

Barclays said that the rights issue, and separate measures to shrink parts of its business and maintain current profit levels, should push its leverage ratio to above 3.0 percent, the minimum required by the PRA,

by June 2014.

Ian Gordon, an analyst at Investec financial group, told AFP that the Barclays would probably eventually return the new capital from the rights issue to shareholders, arguing that it should have not been required to increase its buffer.

“I do not recognise the existence of a £12.8-billion hole” he said. “The rights issue is entirely the consequence of the implementation of the arbitrary and bank-specific June 2014 deadline for meeting a new and contrived measure of leverage.”

Gordon added: “This will be the biggest UK bank equity-raising since HSBC and Lloyds in 2009, yet this is purely transitory ... raising capital that is not required under Barclays pre-existing 2015 capital plan, only to give it back again (to shareholders) after June 2014.” — AFP

OECD urges G20 to seize chance to fight tax cheats SAINT-PETERSBURG: The OECD yesterday urged G20 leaders meeting in Saint Petersburg to seize a ‘once in a century’ chance to clamp down on tax cheats by agreeing on an automatic exchange of banking data.

‘Moments like these come once in a century,’ Pascal Saint-Amans, who in charge of tax issues for the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, told AFP ahead of the summit today.

As many countries in the developed world are seeking ways to boost their state finances which have been stretched by an economic slump, consensus has formed on the need to fight tax evasion urgently.

Already in 2011, G20 leaders warned in a summit that tax havens would be shunned by the international community.

A year later, Germany and Britain led a push for the leading economies to tighten international standards for corporate tax regimes in order to close loopholes for big companies.

In July 2012, the United States and five European countries decided to push ahead

and try to set automatic information exchange as the international standard by setting up model agreements on sharing bank data. On the eve of the two-day summit of the world’s top 20 developed and emerging nations, the European Union said it ‘will push for the automatic exchange of information to become the global standard’. ‘It will, notably, support any efforts that help to ensure its swift implementation,’ Brussels added.

Pointing towards the change in attitude towards tax cheats, Saint-Amans said: ‘Four years ago hiding money was a practice without risks, in the last four years it became risky.’

But while he believed that G20 leaders could endorse a move towards an automatic exchange of banking data, he said that the leaders were unlikely to agree on a deadline to do so.

‘There will not be a deadline, maybe pledges to proceed quickly,’ he said. For some lobby groups, this does not go far enough. Oxfam France’s Sebastien Fourmy said the G20 ‘cannot keep giving the impression that it is playing for time’. —AFP

ROCHESTER: This Aug. 28, 2013 photo shows an example of what a piece of silicon looks like with Kodak print inhibiting ink at Kodak research labs in Rochester, NY Kodak print inhibiting ink is used for printing electronics. — AP

BRUSSELS/LONDON: Special funds used by big companies to park billions of euros of cash face stricter rules to make them safer, the European Commission said yesterday, taking a first step to reform unregulated finance known as shadow banking.

The draft law, criticised by industry as too harsh but by Germany as not strict enough, will regulate the euro money market funds sector, demanding some funds set aside cash buffers to avoid a panic should many investors withdraw money at once.

This would lower what EU financial services chief Michel Barnier said was a risk to the financial system from the trillion euro sector, but users of the funds warn that demanding funds hoard more for a rainy day would make them too expensive.

The changes are part of efforts to shine a light on shadow banking, a 24-trillion-euro industry in Europe - half the world’s total - that comprises money market funds, some hedge funds, and firms involved in securities lending and repurchase markets.

Such groups borrow and lend, just like banks do, but because they are not banks they often fall outside the remit of regulation, which is why they are considered to be in the “shadow” of traditional finance.

In the European Union, money market funds are mainly based in France, Ireland and Luxembourg and are heavily used by companies in Germany, Britain and elsewhere.

For companies, they are an alternative home for short-term cash so that they can spread their reserves rather than leaving them with one bank. Unlike banks, the funds have no access to support from central banks such as the European Central Bank if things go wrong. But the vast unchartered territory

unnerves regulators in part because the sector is closely intertwined with banks, who often sponsor the funds as well as relying on them for finance themselves. “We are not pointing an accusing finger at the sector. We just want it to work smoothly. There should be transparency and there should be good supervision,” Barnier told reporters. “Finance should be serving the economy and not itself alone.”

The European plans draw on ideas in a global blueprint that will be submitted for approval to the world’s 20 leading economies when their leaders meet in Russia on Thursday and Friday. In some cases, the EU reform is more ambitious.

The reform is a response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis, which was brought on by the collapse in prices of securities tied to risky home loans. “Shadow banking was at the heart of the crisis,” said Frederic Hache, a former derivatives banker who works with public-interest group Finance Watch. “As bank regulation has since tightened, activity may shift into the shadow sector.” The most controversial element in Barnier’s proposal is a requirement for one type of money market fund, known as constant net asset value (CNAV) funds, to hold a cash buffer equivalent to 3 percent of their assets, with a three-year phase in. Such funds seek to maintain a stable price of 1 euro per share when investors redeem or buy shares in them, to keep the value of their holding steady.

The buffer would provide a safety cushion in case there is a run on the fund, as seen in the United States when the value of one U.S. fund “broke the buck” and fell below $1 per share. Funds whose share prices float in line with performance are spared the requirement of maintaining the buffer. Excluding them is

meant to prompt funds to adopt the model of floating share prices, which are seen by regulators as more transparent.

The funds in the EU, which include BlackRock and Legal & General, are evenly split between the two types. Barnier said he was not “waging a war” on CNAV funds and that the buffer was a compromise after calls from the European Systemic Risk Board, a body linked to the ECB, Germany and France for an outright ban. Germany’s Finance Ministry said on Wednesday that the Commission’s blueprint had not gone far enough.

Industry, on the other hand, argued for a gentler approach. The Institutional Money Market Funds Association, an industry body, said some of the proposed regulatory changes would make the market more resilient but that a buffer was inappropriate.

Martin O’Donovan, deputy policy and technical director at Britain’s Association of Corporate Treasurers said a three percent buffer would make funds unviable. “To cover that, their rates would no longer be competitive.” The United States is also discussing new rules for money market funds but has stopped short so far of proposing cash buffers. The draft law also effectively bans credit ratings on money market funds, to stop a potential downgrade sparking panic, a proposal criticised by ratings agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. The European Union’s 28 member states and the bloc’s parliament have the final say on the draft law and some changes are likely.

Barnier also published a “roadmap” on how the EU plans to regulate other parts of the wider sector, including a suggestion that all institutions involved in shadow banking set aside capital buffers to cover risks. — Reuters

Ryanair warns on profit, blames Europe, sterling DUBLIN: Ryanair, Europe’s biggest budget airline, could miss its annual profit target for the first time in a decade, it said yesterday, blaming lower demand across the continent and a weaker currency in its largest market, Britain.

Shares in the Irish group, which has routinely beaten profit forecasts in recent years, dropped as much as 15 percent to a fivemonth low, dragging down other airline and travel stocks.

While some indicators suggest Europe’s economy is starting to emerge from years in the doldrums, Ryanair said there had been a noticeable dip in bookings for the coming months. It also blamed a weaker sterling for hitting demand and lifting costs in Britain, where it makes about a quarter of revenues.

“I have no doubt that the market will be weaker than the industry is expecting over the next couple of months and we are going to respond to that by being out there first and being aggressive with pricing,” Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said.

Analysts said it was too early to know whether the weakness was specific to Ryanair or a broader industry problem. “Ryanair’s rivals certainly haven’t indicated they have seen this kind of weakness, though Ryanair has a history of calling things early,” said Davy Stockbrokers’ Stephen Furlong.

At 1125 GMT, Ryanair shares were down 12.5 percent at 5.925 euros, the biggest fall by a European blue-chip stock and dragging the European transport and leisure index down 2.4 percent. Rival easyJet was down 5.8 percent while tour operator TUI Travel was off 4.5 percent.

Ryanair said net profit for the year to March 2014 was likely to be at the bottom end of its previous forecast range of 570-600 million euros ($750-789 million).

O’Leary said if pricing remained weak through to March next year profit “might slip slightly below” that range. Analysts had become too optimistic after Ryanair had repeatedly beaten forecasts in recent years, he added. A Reuters poll before the statement forecast a full-year net profit of 645 million euros compared with 570 million last year.

The last time Ryanair warned profit would be at the bottom of a previously guided range

was 2009, which was also the last year in which the company reported a fall in profit.

The last time Ryanair missed its profit forecast was in 2004.

“This is a surprise statement from Ryanair and comes contrary to some of the commentary from the peer group and indeed Ryanair’s own commentary at its June investor days,” said Goodbody analyst Donal O’Neill.

Ryanair, which last month became embroiled in a row about potential safety issues, said it would respond to weak bookings by grounding 70-80 aircraft in the winter, up from an earlier plan to ground 50, and with “aggressive seat sales” particularly in Britain, Scandinavia, Spain and Ireland.

Airlines across Europe have been struggling with weak economies, high fuel prices and costly fleet upgrades. While Ryanair has fared better than most thanks to its low cost

base, it said it had seen increasing price competition in recent weeks as airlines faced weak demand in the coming months.

There was evidence Norwegian, Aer Lingus and easyJet had all moved to cut prices, leading to a “perceptible dip” in yields - average revenue per mile per passenger - for September, October and November, O’Leary said.

There are no signs of significant increases in capacity in any of the markets, he added.

O’Leary said the main reason for the profit warning was weakness in sterling compared with last year. Although sterling has strengthened to around 85 pence per euro in recent days, it is still trading well below the levels of around 79 pence this time last year. Finance chief Howard Millar said the weaker sterling could wipe up to 50 million euros off the company’s profit. — Reuters

PARIS: A picture taken at Paris La Defense business district yesterday shows the headquarters of French oil giant group Total. Total, which holds today a Central Committee, announces it cut 210 jobs at the petrochemical platform of Carling, eastern France. — AFP

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Australian economy grows 0.6% in April-June SYDNEY: Australia’s economy expanded a steady 0.6 percent in April-June from the previous quarter, data the ruling Labor Party seized upon yesterday as proof of its credentials just days ahead of elections. The figure was a slight improvement on the 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2013 and in line with forecasts of 0.6 percent, while the on-year 2.6 percent rate was ahead of market expectations of 2.5 percent.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data thrust economic management back into the election debate as the commodities-powered economy undergoes a painful transition away from mining as a key driver of growth.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the figures, which are well below long-term averages of about 3.25 percent, showed Australia’s resilience despite global difficulties and the unwinding of its decade-

long Asia mining boom.

“We’ve grown 15 percent over the last five or six years, I draw your attention to the fact that the British economy has shrunk three percent over the last six years,” Rudd told reporters as he heads into Saturday’s national vote.

“The economic credentials of this nation, run by this government over this period of time, are strong. We now have had in Australia, as a result of strong economic management, 22 years of continued positive growth.”

Australia was one of the only advanced economies to dodge recession during the global financial crisis, earning Rudd’s government plaudits, and he has emphasised Labor’s record as he seeks a third term in office for the centre-left party. The conservative oppositionwhich opinion polls suggest will winhave also focused on the economy,

pointing to the current slowdown as evidence Labor has over-spent and saying more prudent policies are needed.

The Tony Abbott-led Liberal-National coalition plans to rescind corporate pollution and mining profit taxes unpopular with industry and slash public spending, though they are yet to release the full costings and details of their policies.

Rudd said the latest figures showed the importance of government spending as Australia confronts an uncertain transition away from its reliance on mining to other drivers of growth.

Public investment contributed as much to June quarter gross domestic product as consumer spending, which was buoyed by cuts in the official interest rate to a record low 2.5 percent, Rudd said.

“Public investment still, in these difficult global economic circumstances, is a

fundamental part of keeping the Australian economy strong and in positive growth territory,” he said. “Pulling the plug on public investment prematurely by massive cuts places continued growth at risk.”

Abbott dismissed Rudd’s claims that his approach risked plunging Australia into recession, noting that the last time the country’s economy hit hard times was under a previous Labor government, repeating his vows to cut tax.

Analysts said taxes had little bearing on Australia’s subdued economic performance, pointing instead to China’s marked slowdown, with IMF forecasts two percent lower than they were two years ago. “In our view, changes to tax policy will not be able to prevent mining investment from soon becoming a drag on growth,” said Daniel Martin from Capital Economics.

“We expect growth to slow further over the coming quarters as the economy struggles to cope with cooling mining investment.” The Australian dollar bounced to 90.87 US cents from 90.50 cents prior to the release of yesterday’s data. The ABS said the mining, financial and healthcare sectors had been the biggest contributors to Australia’s gross domestic product over the past 12 months. Exports remained muted, with the terms of trade-a measure of expor t prices versus impor t prices-up just 0.1 percent in the quarter, compared with 3.1 percent in the first three months of 2013. Over the past 12 months the ABS said the terms of trade had fallen 4.9 percent, reflecting drops in commodity prices as Asiaparticularly key trading partner Chinaslows and the mining investment boom comes to an end. — AFP

HONG KONG: Two women stand at a counter at the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair, the largest fair of its kind in the world, yesterday. The fair, which runs from September 4 to 8, showcases more than 750 exhibitors from 18 countries. — AFP

Asia’s profit-taking offsets upbeat outlook HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed yesterday as profit-taking and renewed concern about a US strike on Syria tempered buying sentiment, although Tokyo recouped early losses as the dollar approached 100 yen.

Wall Street provided a positive lead after the United States followed China and Europe in posting upbeat manufacturing data that raised hopes for the global economic outlook.

Tokyo ended 0.54 percent higher, adding 75.43 points to 14,053.87, following gains of more than four percent in the previous two sessions. Shanghai was up 0.21 percent, or 4.51 points, at 2,127.62.

Hong Kong fell 0.31 percent, or 68.36 points, to 22,326.22, while Sydney slipped 0.67 percent, or 35.0 points, to 5,161.6 and Seoul closed flat, edging down 0.71 points to 1,933.03.

September trading started strong on Monday and Tuesday after figures showed activity in China’s factories at their highest level in 16 months, while eurozone manufacturing was at its highest for more than two years.

On Tuesday there were similar results from the United States, adding to growing hopes of a pick-up in developed nations, which investors hope can kick-start a global trend.

The economic data is welcome news after a tough August that saw widespread sellingmainly in emerging economies-as dealers bet the US Federal Reserve will soon begin to wind down its stimulus programme.

On their first day of trade after the long Labor Day weekend, shares on Wall Street advanced, with the Dow up 0.16 percent, the S&P 500 adding 0.42 percent and the Nasdaq 0.63 percent higher.

The improved outlook has helped the dollar push back towards the 100 yen level not seen since July. In Asian trade the greenback bought 99.60 yen in afternoon trade compared with 99.54 yen in New York Tuesday, and well up from the sub-96 mark seen last week. The euro bought $1.3161 and 131.05 yen, against $1.3170 and 131.14 yen.

However, worries about Syria resurfaced after Republican House Speaker John Boehner and his right hand man Eric Cantor said they would support a strike on the regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons.

The move represented a rare gesture of unity in a divided Washington and left President Barack Obama hopeful of securing

a vote for action in Congress next week.

Investors are nervous that any form of intervention could lead to a wider conflict in the Middle East.

On oil markets crude was mixed after rallying on supply fears in New York as Syria returned to the agenda, while there were also reports of a missile test in the Mediterranean

by Israel.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October, eased 46 cents to $108.08 in late Asian trade. Brent North Sea crude for October gained one cent to $115.69.

Gold cost $1,402.57 an ounce at 1035 GMT, up from $1,393.90 late Tuesday.

In other markets: Bangkok lost 0.93 percent, or 12.20 points, to 1,303.21. Coal producer Banpu rose 3.15 percent to 295.00 baht, while Bangkok Bank fell 2.97 points to 179.50 baht.

Jakarta ended down 2.17 percent, or 90.56 points, at 4,073.46. Miner Aneka Tambang fell 2.92 percent to 1,330 rupiah, while Asia Pacific Fibers gained 4.17 percent to 100 rupiah.

Kuala Lumpur dropped 0.43 percent, or 7.45 points, to 1,716.76. Malayan Banking ended 1.9 percent lower at 9.83 ringgit, British American Tobacco lost 1.17 percent to close at 60.82, while Sime Darby eked out a 0.21 percent gain to end at 9.42 ringgit.

Manila fell 1.90 percent, or 115.58 points, to 5,968.33. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. slipped 2.11 percent to 2,790 pesos and Bank of the Philippine Islands lost 1.34 percent to end at 91.70 pesos.

Mumbai rose 1.83 percent, or 332.89 points, to 18,567.55. India’s generic drug maker Ranbaxy rose 8.75 percent to 444.25 rupees while top vehicle maker Tata Motors rose 4.71 percent to 311.25 rupees.

Singapore fell 1.29 percent, or 39.36 points, to close at 3,015.42. Singapore Airlines finished 0.63 percent lower at Sg$9.44 while property giant Capitaland shed 1.66 percent to settle at Sg$2.97.

Taipei was almost unchanged, nudging 4.93 points lower to 8,083.44. PC maker Acer shed 2.42 percent to Tw$20.2 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell 1.47 percent to Tw$100.5.

Wellington was flat, edging up 3.60 points at 4,610.31. TradeMe was up 2.07 percent at NZ$4.43 and Telecom fell 0.89 percent to NZ$2.22. — AFP

Home Retail says CEO Duddy to quit by July 2014 LONDON: Home Retail Group, Britain’s biggest household goods retailer, said Terry Duddy, one of the longest serving leaders in the stores sector, plans to quit the firm by next July. After five straight years of profit declines, Home Retail is trying to reinvent Argos, its biggest business, for the digital age, targeting a 15 percent rise in sales by 2018.

Home Retail, which also owns the Homebase DIY chain, said on Wednesday Duddy, CEO for seven years, had informed the board of his intention to step down from his role by the next annual shareholder meeting on July 2, 2014.

“The positive momentum of the business is now such that I feel the time is right to move onto the next stage in my career,” said Duddy. Argos has been hit hard by the economic downturn because its mainly low-

income customers have suffered most, and because it faces intense competition from specialist stores, supermarkets like Tesco, and online players like Amazon.

However, it has reported four consecutive quarters of underlying sales growth, helped by its online drive. After slumping in the recession, shares in Home Retail have increased 49 percent over the last year.

The stock was up 0.5 percent to 144.5 pence at 0713 GMT, valuing the business at 1.17 billion pounds ($1.82 billion).

Home Retail said the search for Duddy’s successor would be led by Chairman John Coombe, and would include both internal and external candidates. A spokesman said Duddy’s planned exit was entirely his decision and explained that the July 2 date related to his nine months notice period.—Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Stricken India car sector seeks revival measures NEW DELHI: India’s struggling car industry appealed yesterday for the government to ease taxes to help reverse an unprecedented slowdown in sales in the once-booming sector. Car sales slid by more than seven percent in July, according to the latest figures, marking a record ninth straight month of decline as an economic slump and high fuel prices and interest rates kept buyers out of showrooms.

The car market, seen as an important barometer of overall economic health, needs the government to act to help arrest the sector’s decline, said S. Sandilya, president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Sandilya said the sector needed a “more moderated tax and excise duty structure” to help pull the industry out of its slump. SIAM represents close to 50 vehicle and engine manufacturers nationwide.

Indian Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel agreed that times were “challenging for the automobile industry”. “There is genuinely a case for stimulus for the auto industry,” Praful told the meeting in New Delhi. The market’s downturn is in sharp contrast to the previous decade when car sales grew by 20 to 30 percent-prompting foreign giants from Ford to Volkswagen to make a beeline for India as they sought to boost sales globally.

Patel said his ministry was discussing ways with the finance ministry and other government departments to provide a boost.

The automobile industry is a key sector employing some 19 million people directly or indirectly and accounting for seven percent of gross domestic product, according to SIAM. A plunge in the value of Indian’s currency has raised costs for the sector by increasing the price of raw materials and has dashed hopes of interest rate cuts that would kick-start consumer demand and spur the economy, which grew at a decade-low of five percent last year.

Last year, domestic passenger car sales fell by 6.7 percent to 1.89 million from a year earlier-the first contraction in a decade. SIAM has declined to set a sales target for this year.

Anil Sharma, an analyst at international research group IHS, told AFP on the sidelines of the conference “the mood is certainly not positive with increasing fuel prices putting additional pressure on the sector”.

Sharma saw little likelihood of an upturn in the car market until possibly the start of next year “when we might see some stabilisation of the rupee”, which could allow the central bank to lower rates and encourage buying. — AFP

Rupee in sharp rebound on suspected heavy intervention PM Singh heads off to G20 summit

MUMBAI: Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) newly appointed governor Raghuram Rajan, left, shakes hand with outgoing governor Duvvuri Subbarao after taking charge, at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai, India, yesterday. Rajan took over as the country’s central bank governor yesterday. — AP

Star economist takes helm of India central bank amid storm MUMBAI: Top economist Raghuram Rajan, renowned for predicting the 2008 global financial crisis, took over as India’s central bank chief yesterday as the country faces its worst financial storm in years. Rajan, a former IMF chief economist, replaced Duvvuri Subbarao as governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has been battling to prop up the plummeting rupee and reverse a sharp economic slowdown.

Rajan arrived at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai and met his new colleagues before a handover by Subbarao. He will take charge operationally today.

Speaking to reporters after the handover, Subbarao acknowledged his successor was in for a bumpy ride. “The country could not have asked for a more capable person to lead the RBI in these most difficult times,” he said.

Rajan is due to issue a statement at 5.30pm (1200 GMT). Rajan, an outspoken diplomat’s son described by the local media as an “economist with rock star appeal”, takes charge as some analysts fear the oncebooming economy could be heading for a meltdown. The 50-year-old inherits an economy struggling with a record current account deficit, a currency which has lost up to a quarter of its value against the dollar this year and annual growth at its weakest in a decade. Investors will be looking to Rajan, one of the few economists who warned that sub-prime lending could lead to calamity ahead of the 2008 crisis, to introduce policies to calm jittery markets and stabilise the rupee.

“It would be unfair to expect magic from one person,” said Siddhartha Sanyal, chief India economist with Barclays Capital. “But he is well-equipped to deliver the best one can, given his credentials.”

Abheek Barua, chief economist with HDFC Bank, called Rajan “more innovative” than Subbarao, who spent five years at the helm of the RBI. “I feel he will be more aggressive. His first task will be to stabilise the rupee and later help curb some of the liquiditytightening measures to help drive growth.”

The RBI has introduced a series of recent measures to try to halt the slide of the rupee, Asia’s worstperforming currency this year, including raising

short-term interest rates and tightening cash in the system. Last month the RBI said Indian firms could only invest 100 percent of their net worth abroad in a bid to curb volatility, but on Wednesday it relaxed the measure which had spooked the market.

The bank clarified that firms could invest up to 400 percent of their net worth abroad if the funds are raised through overseas loans. “It was not the intention of the RBI to restrict bona-fide and genuine overseas direct investment transactions by Indian companies,” a statement said.

The rupee rose nearly 2.5 percent yesterday to 66.92 after suspected heavy central bank intervention at 68.6 levels, dealers said. The currency has been forecast by Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered to slide to 70 to the dollar in coming months. A depreciating rupee makes imports of everything from oil to coal and chemicals costlier, and comes as foreign capital inflows into India are drying up and the government is trying to plug the gaping current account deficit. Analysts have raised fears India could face a crunch of the sort it suffered in 1991, when a foreign exchange-strapped government had to pawn its gold for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.

Rajan left his post as a professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and returned to India last year to become an adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Rajan has cautioned against any quick fix, saying last month that there was “no magic wand to make the problems disappear instantaneously”.

India’s economy grew by 4.4 percent in the first three months of the fiscal year, the slowest quarterly expansion since 2009. The five percent growth rate last year was the lowest in a decade. Adding to the gloom, a report from the World Economic Forum yesterday said India has slipped to 60th position out of 148 nations in terms of its global competitiveness, its lowest ever rank.

The government is desperate to kickstart growth before elections due by May. The RBI has come under growing pressure to cut interest rates but it also needs to counter high inflation. — AFP

China’s Li stresses ASEAN trade, downplays rows BEIJING: China’s trade with Southeast Asia could more than double to $1 trillion by 2020, Premier Li Keqiang has told regional leaders, downplaying simmering territorial disputes and stressing their “common destiny”, state media reported yesterday.

Li called for an upgraded version of the free trade deal between the two sides and insisted that “disruptive factors” should not get in the way of regional cooperation, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Trade has grown sixfold over the past decade to $400 billion in 2012 between China and the 10member Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), it said. But Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea-believed to sit atop vast deposits of oil and natural gas-even waters close to the coasts of its neighbours, and has been increasingly assertive over the issue in recent years.

Li downplayed the disputes while addressing the 10th China-ASEAN Expo and business and investment summit in the southern city of Nanning, reiterating Chinese calls for dialogue.

“We have also noticed that there exist some disruptive factors in the region that are against stability and development, but they are not mainstream,” he said according to a transcript of his speech carried by Xinhua. “The Chinese side maintains that the South China Sea disputes are not an issue between China and the ASEAN, and they should not and will not affect the overall China-ASEAN cooperation.”

“China’s new government will... more firmly and

effectively build a community of common destiny to share peace and prosperity,” he said, adding that China and ASEAN “have the power to create a ‘diamond decade’ in the future”. ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have often overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, and Taiwan also claims it all.

The dispute has rumbled on for decades, but Beijing’s actions to support its claim in recent years have raised concerns with its neighbours, particularly Hanoi and Manila. China rejects international arbitration, preferring to deal with the issue on a one-to-one basis while maintaining it has sole territorial rights.Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung was present at the trade fair, but Philippines president Benigno Aquino did not attend after Chinese authorities imposed conditions on the trip, Manila said, signalling they were related to the territorial row.

The Philippines accused China on Tuesday of laying concrete blocks on Scarborough Shoal, a small group of reefs and rocky outcrops within its territory in the sea. Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said yesterday the accusation was “not true”. “Huangyan island is China’s inherent territory,” he told reporters at a regular briefing, using the area’s Chinese name.

After years of resistance China has agreed to meet ASEAN members later this month in the eastern city of Suzhou to discuss a “code of conduct” for the waters, meant as an upgrade from a 2002 nonbinding “declaration of conduct”.—AFP

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee staged a sharp recovery yesterday after suspected heavy dollar selling by the central bank, preventing the battered currency from slipping to a record low on the same day that the authority ushers in a new governor.

Raghuram Rajan, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), takes charge at the Reserve Bank of India as the country faces its worst economic crunch since a balance of payments crisis two decades ago.

In a reminder of the uphill task he faces, a report yesterday showed that activity in India’s services sector shrank in August for the second straight month for its lowest reading in four years.

It added to a series of data showing the economy struggling for growth. GDP figures last week said annual growth had slipped to 4.4 percent in the April-June quarter, its weakest pace in four years. The mining and manufacturing sectors contracted from a year earlier.

The country is grappling with a record current account deficit and a hefty budget deficit, factors both weighing on the rupee. Concerns about rising prices for oil and gold, India’s two biggest import items, are keeping pressure on the currency.

At 0754 GMT, the rupee was changing hands at 67.23/25, up 0.6 percent from Tuesday’s domestic close.

Dealers cited heavy central bank intervention via state-run banks, which coupled with dollar selling by foreign banks related to arbitrage opportunities with the offshore rupee market, pulled the rupee sharply back from its day’s low of 68.62 per dollar.

The currency hit a record low of 68.85 last week, marking a drop of 20 percent from the end of 2012.

“The intervention has been aggressive and the best part is it has been consistent today. Even dollar/rupee levels in the offshore and currency futures markets have sharply come down,” said Anil Kumar Bhansali, vice president at Mecklai Financial.

Rajan, who famously predicted the 2008 global financial crisis, officially becomes the 23rd governor of the RBI after signing an oath of secrecy yesterday.

But he will not take charge operationally until Thursday.

Aware markets are scrutinising everything he says for clues about his intentions, Rajan has been circumspect in public, revealing little about whether he will pursue the policies of his predecessor, Duvvuri Subbarao, or change tack.

“The rupee will be Rajan’s first and key challenge. His IMF aura may help but he will need to win the market’s faith by announcing something which helps bring in dollar inflows,” said Vikas Babu Chittiprolu, a senior foreign exchange dealer at state-run Andhra Bank.

India’s economy is reeling mainly from a dearth of investment and a slowdown in manufacturing activity and consumer demand.

Several banks, including Goldman Sachs this week, have cut their GDP growth forecasts to well below the decade low of 5 percent recorded for the year ended in March.

Traders said the economy has also been hit by the extraordinary measures from the RBI under Subbarao, who tightened cash conditions to make it harder to make speculative bets against the rupee and raised short-term interest rates.

Investors are showing little faith the government can push through substantial reforms, such as a hike in subsidised fuel prices, which could help revive confidence in the economy.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a statement ahead of a trip to Russia to attend the Group of 20 nations’ summit today and tomorrrow, said India would also need a more stable global environment.

“The Summit comes at a time when we in India have introduced several reform measures and taken steps to strengthen macro-economic stability, stabilise the rupee and create a more investor friendly environment,” Singh said in a statement.

“At the same time, a stable and supportive external economic environment is also required to revive economic growth.”

Global markets are weakening after leaders of a US Senate panel said they reached an agreement on Tuesday on a draft authorisation for the use of military

force in Syria, paving the way for a vote by the committee on Wednesday.

Worryingly for India, global crude and gold prices are surging. Oil and gold imports are big factors in the wide current account deficit.

The prospect that the Federal Reserve

will unveil a plan after its policy meeting on Sept 17-18 to start winding down its monetary stimulus is also weighing on emerging markets, but India has fared worse than most because of the lack of confidence it can address its precarious deficits. — Reuters

SAINT PETERSBURG: India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (L) is welcomed upon his arrival at Saint Petersburg’s airport ahead of the G20 summit yesterday. The Group of 20 advanced and emerging nations summit will gather today in Russia’s second city of Saint Petersburg. — AFP

Thai rubber protesters target southern airport SURAT THANI: Thousands of angry rubber farmers blocked the main entrance to an airport in southern Thailand yesterday, increasing pressure on the government to provide assistance to cope with a price slump.

The decision to target Surat Thani airport-used by some foreign tourists to travel to the popular island of Koh Samui-appeared to mark an escalation in the action by the farmers. Airport director Attaporn Nuang-udom said flights were still operating but passengers were forced to use alternative access roads.

“We have notified airlines to ask passengers to gather at a certain place and we’ll send a bus to pick them up and drive them to the airport,” he said.

Riot police with batons and shields stood guard near the airport, which the government has vowed to defend.

Protests by royalist activists in 2008 that paralysed Thailand’s main airports dealt a heavy blow to the kingdom’s economy. “We will not allow an airport shutdown because it will affect tourism and confidence,” Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnog told reporters in Bangkok.

Thailand is the world’s top exporter of natural rubber and farmers say they have been hit hard by weak global markets. “ The rubber farmers’ income is not enough to live,” said one of the protest leaders, Manoon Uppla, 53.

“We cannot control people. Their feelings against the government are very strong,” he said. The government earlier declined demands to guarantee a rubber price of 120 baht ($3.7) per kilo-about 50 percent higher than the current price on world markets.

Instead it proposed paying farmers 1,260 baht per rai (0.4 acres) of rubber plantation to help with production costs, along with funds to boost the efficiency of rubber processing-an offer rejected by the protesters.

“They want us to guarantee the price at 92 baht per kilo,” said Surat Thani governor Chatpong Chatraphuti, who took part in negotiations yesterday. He said the government representative would take the proposal to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to consider.

Thailand has been rocked by several mass protests in recent years, with both supporters and opponents of Yingluck’s brother-fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra-taking to the streets.

In 2010 two-month demonstrations in Bangkok by the pro-Thaksin “Red Shirts” drew 100,000 protesters at their peak before being crushed in a military crackdown under a previous government.

More than 90 people, mostly civilians, were killed during the demonstrations and nearly 1,900 were injured in Thailand’s worst political bloodshed in decades. — AFP

SURAT THANI: Thai rubber farmers shout slogans as they block the highways during a demonstration near the airport in Surat Thani province yesterday. Thousands of Thai rubber farmers protested in the country’s south yesterday, calling for help from the government in the face of slumping prices, in the latest challenge for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. — AFP

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Spikes Asia helps up-and-coming talent with four academies KUWAIT: The Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity is set to invest in the future of the creative communications industry with four academies that will run throughout the 2013 Festival: the Young Creatives Academy, the Young Marketers Academy, the Young Media Academy and the Young Account Executive Academy.

Launching this year, the Young Media Academy will offer media professionals, aged 28 or under, the chance to be part of a structured three -day programme. Themed around creativity in media, the academy will demonstrate the value and execution of creativity in media channels, whilst providing a greater understanding of Asia Pacific’s media and advertising community. The programme will be led by mentor Philip Talbot, outgoing CEO of ZenithOptimedia APAC and Founder & CEO of Asia Communication Expertise.

He has had over 25 years advertising

experience and is widely regarded in the industry for his breadth of knowledge, strategic insight and leadership.

Another new academy for 2013 is the Young Account Executive Academy which will be led by course mentor John Wright, whose career spans leading agencies J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam, Ogilvy & Mather, Chiat Day Mojo, The Campaign Palace in Australia, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He is a part time lecturer/tutor in advertising strategy, principles and practice at the University of Technology Sydney. The programme, intended for account executives aged 28 and under, will focus on how to build stronger client relationships but also provide a deeper understanding of how creativity is making a difference for both client and agency. Attendees will benefit from three days of bespoke learning experiences incorporating exclusive presentations from industry leaders.

McCann Worldgroup will sponsor the inaugural Young Account Executive Academy and speaking about their position, Charles Cadell, President McCann WorldGroup Asia Pacific, says, “Given the ever growing scarcity and thirst for talent in Asia, it is critical for the success of our industry that we treat talent development as a primary mandate. McCann is determined to be a leading creative powerhouse across the region and one element of this is to ensure that our suits are as committed and driven as our Creative teams to achieve this goal.”

Open to 15 students aged 23 and under, the Young Creative Academy will once again return to Spikes Asia.

Across three -days, students will immerse themselves in a tailored programme that will include dedicated tutorials from recognised industry figures. Noor Azhar, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication and Media

Design at the Singapore Polytechnic Design School, will mentor the students. Before lecturing, Noor practiced advertising as an art director at CreAds Advertising and Batey Ads and then went on to set up integrated brand communications agency Just Media (now JM Asia). Noor has tutored the Academy since 2009.

Cheil, sponsors of the academy since its launch in 2009, will sponsor the academy for the fifth year.

Completing the academy line-up, the Young Marketers Academy will offer marketers and brand managers who are working at client companies and are aged 30 and under, an exploration into the importance of why creativity matters to brands today. The programme includes identifying trends, exploring how creativity increases effectiveness and discussing the client/agency relationship. The group will be mentored by Joe Talcott whose marketing experience stretch-

es nearly three decades, including seven years at News Corporation in Australia, most recently as Chief Creative for NewsLab, a creative division of News Limited. He has also worked for 17 years with McDonald’s in markets across the world, including Chicago where he worked on the launch of the ‘I’m lovin’ it’ campaign as global marketing and director. Today he heads CREATISM.IS, a business that helps marketers and their agencies to connect to produce superior communications.

Sponsoring the Young Marketers Academy will be Dentsu. “At Dentsu, we believe creativity is key to driving long-term customer engagement for brands. As a 112-year old company that was built around innovation, we are committed to investing in talent as the future of our industry for tomorrow. The ability to successfully apply creativity in every aspect of marketing is extremely valuable to

young professionals today,” says Dick van Motman, Chairman and CEO, Dentsu Network/Asia. “It’s a skill that will never grow old because of the role it plays in the success of a campaign, career or an organisation. The Young Marketers Academy will give participants a fresh perspective on creativity through experts who have been successful at harnessing it in their careers.”

About the academies, Steve Latham, Director of Talent & Training at Lions Festivals says, “Year on year Spikes Asia has been growing and we believe it important that investment in the future of the industry should be part of this growth. These academies represent four key areas of the industry and offer an unbeaten opportunity to not only learn from unique presentations, but to do this against a backdrop of intensive creativity whilst benefitting from all that the Festival has to offer.”

Power demand MENA growth rate at 7% over next decade MARKAZ ECONOMIC REPORT

Morane Rey-Huet

Aldes ME places strong focus on expansion initiative DUBAI: The Middle East’s construction segment is forecasted to grow by 19 per cent in 2013, with completed projects set to reach $81.6 billion, according to construction industry analysts. In addition to this, the value of newer construction projects has also increased, with projects valued at $64.5 billion set to be awarded to contractors before the end of the second half of the year. Aiming to play a significant role in the expected growth, while at the same time provide its clients with better service, Aldes Middle East, a leading global solutions provider for fire protection, ventilation and air distribution and the local arm of Aldes Group, has revealed moves to place stronger focus on its current expansion initiative, which includes the opening of new offices within the region and reinforcing its current workforce. The move to expand complements the company’s upbeat attitude in achieving an eight per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) growth across the GCC region by the end of 2013.

According to Aldes senior executives, the company has stepped up its expansion initiative with the planned opening of a new office in Qatar and the addition of more sales and customer support employees for their Saudi Arabia operations. Over the last few months, Aldes has aggressively secured and maintained key contract wins, while at the same time, maintaining strong ties with key approval bodies. Wanting to drive in more growth, the company is placing strong focus particularly in Saudi Arabia and also across niche markets like the UAE, Qatar and Oman.

“Aldes has set its focus on the world’s emerging markets, particularly in the Middle East region, whose construction segment has demonstrated continuous

growth and resiliency. The upbeat forecast on the segment’s growth has prompted us to implement initiatives that aim to strenghten our regional operations-opening new offices in strategic locations; hiring more people and re launching optimized versions of our existing products,” said Morane ReyHuet, International Director, Aldes. “At the same time, the emergence of newer projects has also seen an increased demand for products that conform to set green building standards. Aldes is confident in capturing this market by leveraging its diverse portfolio of world class highly eco-friendly products across these projects in the region.”

One of the company’s best selling items is the Isone Fire Damper, an effective and safe solution for fire compartmentalization. Isone complies with stringent international building standards and has been constantly cited for its high technical performance, which includes two-hour fire resistance without any heat transfer and smoke leakage.

“As the construction segment moves towards more growth and development, we are seeing the emergence of five key trends that the segment will likely experience in the next few years. These trends include the need for more system integrators that can provide one-stop-shop solutions; stronger focus to be placed on energy efficiency; the implementation of more green building standards and regulations; increased demand for facility management services and a clear shift across today ’s emerging markets.

Moreover, Aldes remains steadfast in providing best in class fire protection, air distribution and ventilation solutions to customers around the globe,” concluded Rey-Huet.

ABK Advantage brings Royal Pharmacy on board KUWAIT: With Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait’s “ABK Advantage” program customers can benefit from special discounts, sometimes up to 45 percent at the program’s participating group of stores.

The Bank is eager to add more retail names to this program in order to provide their customers with an added value benefit while shopping. Lately, Royal Pharmacy has come on board the ABK Advantage board, to provide discounts up to 15 percent when a customer makes purchases with any ABK card.

The Bank is developing several partnerships with retail outlets, showrooms and companies in Kuwait to offer their cus-

tomers with varying packages and instant, exclusive discounts whilst using any ABK card. The addition of Royal Pharmacy to the “ABK Advantage” program signifies the Bank’s commitment towards identifying and meeting customer expectations. Royal Pharmacy has a network of 15 branches around Kuwait in different areas such as Salmiya, Mirqab, Khaitan, Eqaila, Dasman and Jahra.

The customer can use an ABK card at any branch of the Pharmacy and immediately receive a discount up to 15 percent.

For more information please contact us directly through Ahli Chat via www.eahli.com

KUWAIT: Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” recently published the executive summary of its report on power sector of MENA (excluding GCC) region. In this report, Markaz analyzes the present status of Power sector in the MENA (excluding GCC) region, and highlights the demand, supply, resources, utilization and investment trends in the sector. The report also presents a country-wise examination of the sector, and outlines the potential for growth and the obstacles faced by each.

Markaz report covers MENA economies (excluding the GCC) that are both hydrocarbon exporting, and hydrocarbon importing.

Power demand in the MENA countries is expected to grow at a rate of around 7% over the next 10 years and an estimated $283 billion will be invested in MENA power sector between 2014 and 2018.

The report notes that MENA countries, though rich in natural resources that aid in power generation, are bereft of the necessary technology, infrastructure and in some cases, political and economic stability, to fully utilize and benefit from them. In addition, MENA power sector is plagued with problems of transmission and distribution losses.

MENA countries, therefore, intend to increase investments in the sector and to look at other alternative sources of power. In

Egypt, domestic oil consumption has grown by over 30% over the last decade and the government planned to invest more than $100 billion dollars over the next decade.

The economy has, however, been reeling under the negative consequences of political instability and security concerns since 2011.

Meanwhile, surging power demand and shortage of domestic energy resources has compelled the Moroccan government to reduce dependenc y on non-renewable sources of power generation and strengthen effor ts to tap the hydro and solar resources for power generation.

Consumption has grown at an average rate of 7% per year over the past ten years, while the production has increased at the rate of 4% for the same period.

In 2011, the daily supply rate of natural gas to Jordan was approximately 95 million cubic feet as compared to the demand which was estimated at 255 million cubic feet. Jordan imports more than 96% of its oil needs and is dependent on Egypt for its gas supplies. The country has not yet explored its energy reserves and there is a huge potential for investment opportunities Oil & gas production remains the key source of foreign exchange income and fiscal revenues for Iran. Iran is estimated to have

the second largest reserves of the natural gas and the fourth largest reserves of oil in the world. Iran also has abundant sunlight that is underutilised and can be developed as a major source of power. Over the past decade, the Iranian power sector has come under increased pressure to meet the growing consumption needs of the population.

Power consumption in Iraq grew at an average rate of 3.6% over the last decade.

But the power distribution networks of Iraq suffer from poor design, lack of maintenance and theft. Iraqi government has announced $28 billion of investments in power sector.

Markaz report points out that depleting natural resources and global environmental awareness have prompted many MENA gove r nm e nt s to i nc re a s e t he s ha re of renewable resources in power generation.

MENA region possess 57% of the world’s proven oil reserves and 41% of proven natural gas reserves, but population and economic growth are putting greater pressure on the power sector in the MENA region.

Many countries in the MENA region have planned for the systematic reduction in subsidies, which should help in attracting investments. There is a long way to go for the MENA countries in terms of developing the power sector.

QTA participates at 20th session of the UNWTO General Assembly DOHA: Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) delegation have returned after their successful participation at the 20th UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly held last week in the Victoria Falls region at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the 38th meeting of the UNWTO Commission for the Middle East.

During the General Assembly Qatar was reelected as a member of the Credentials Committee of the Middle East region.

“The Qatari presence at the 20th UNWTO General Assembly resulted in excellent insights and relationship building with peers in the global tourism industry. These meetings also serve as an opportunity to communicate the excellent results we are achieving in raising the level of tourism in Qatar. We are able to benchmark ourselves against our peers while also participating in debates and exchanges on some of the most pressing issues facing our industry. The future is bright for us, and we look forward to continued multi-lateral opportunities for dialogue” said His Excellency Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi, Chairman of

QTA. QTA’s participation in the General Assembly meetings followed the recent agreement signed by QTA and UNWTO to develop Qatar’s tourism policies and procedures in line with international best practices. The agreement will also see UNWTO update and create benchmarked processes within QTA. Based on international benchmark standards, the UNWTO and QTA shall develop a consistent and locally relevant monitoring and quality control system across the wide range of tourism activities described under Law 6 of 2012, described as the “Tourism Law.” The 20th UNWTO General Assembly, saw the largest participation ever, with 121 member states in attendance. Delegates discussed three key challenges facing international tourism and urged decision-makers to address them. The first challenge is visa facilitation, which can hinder or enable the flow of travel and tourism. The second challenge is the creation of connectivity and harmony between tourism policies and travel policies. The third challenge is the continuous rise in travel taxes Qatar’s tourism industry and society in gen-

eral has witnessed a leap forward, which has drawn attention from around the globe to Qatar. In a short period of time much momentum has been gathered in tourism and across society. Today, Qatar is a fast growing market by any measure - recently upgraded to emerging market status by MSCI, having among the highest per capita GDP in the world, the tourism sector growing by double digits last year and at a rate of 13 percent in the first quarter of 2013 over the same period 2012.

Recently, STR Global Research - a hotel consulting group -released its hotel industry results for the month of June 2013, with a positive sign for Doha which saw occupancy rates rise by nearly 27 percent, posting the largest increase of any country in the Middle East and Africa.

Tourism activities in the Middle East grew by 11 percent despite the conditions in the region. Most of the growth was registered by the GCC countries, especially Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Tourism rates in other parts of the Middle East dropped due to political circumstances.

Poland holds rate at low 2.50% WARSAW: Poland, a leading economy in eastern and central Europe, held its key interest rate steady at a record low 2.50 percent, the central bank said yesterday.

Many emerging economies have been buffeted by signs that the US Federal Reserve central bank will soon tighten lax monetary policy, but the broad central Europe region with the exception of Turkey has been little affected by this. This was the second month running in which the Polish central bank had held its rate at this level.

However, one analyst commented that the easing cycle in Poland was over but that rates would probably not rise for 12-18 months. The general trend in the last year has been for interest rates in the east-central Europe region to fall, although Turkey has had to raise rates and intervene on currency markets to defend the lira, partly because of the effects of US monetary policy.

The Polish central bank cut its key interest rate by 2.25 percentage points from November 2012 to July 2013.

Poland is the only country in the European Union to have sustained a path of economic growth, averting recession, throughout the financial crisis which began in 2008, and then the debt crisis which hit Europe.

The economy has slowed this year, but is showing increasing signs of recovery. This is in line with the broad, but unsteady trend, across the east-central Europe region.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced ìthe end of the crisisî for Poland, saying that gross domestic product could grow by 1.5 percent, or even more, this year.

In 2012, the economy slowed to show growth of 1.9 percent after growth of 4.5 percent in 2011.

In the second quarter of this year, the economy grew by 0.4 percent from output in the first quarter when it grew by 0.2 percent. At Capital Economics in London, emerging markets economist William Jackson said that the central bank might well maintain a ìlooseî monetary policy for some time.—AFP

Jaguar to unveil C-X17 at Frankfurt Motor Show KUWAIT: The C-X17 has been created as a design study to introduce Jaguar’s new, highly-advanced, modularaluminium architecture.

The concept illustrates the diversity of vehicles that could be produced using this architecture, which underpins the innovative future of the Jaguar brand.

Jaguar will also display its newly intro-

duced production models at the Frankfurt Motor Show. These will include the recently launched ‘R’ performance models - the XJR and XFR-S - as well as the XF Sportbrake and highly-acclaimed F-TYPE. Please see information below fordetails of Jaguar’s live pre-show reveal on 9th September and press conference at the Show on 10th September.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

technology

A phone that’s a sight for sore eyes in Kenya ‘Eye-Phone’ diagnoses glaucoma, cataracts

This undated product image provided by The Hershey Company shows the new Kit Kat label for The Hershey Company featuring Android’s green robot mascot breaking a Kit Kat. —AP

New Android system named ‘KitKat’ NEW YORK: Google, which is known for nick-naming its Android mobile operating systems for smartphones and tablets after desserts, has chosen a brand-name candy for its 4.4 version that’s expected to launch this fall: Kit Kat. Financial terms weren’t disclosed for the sweet deal between Google and Hershey Co, which makes Kit Kat. But the deal shows that naming a stadium or sponsoring a TV show can be seen as old school. The latest marketing craze may be to slap a brand name on a tech product.

Google approached Hershey about six to nine months ago for permission to use the name, said Jennifer Podhajsky, vice president of US chocolate at Hershey, which licenses the Kit Kat brand in the US, while Nestle owns the worldwide brand.

Podhajsky said that Kit Kat’s jingle is a good fit for people taking a break to look at their smartphones or tablets. She added that the

deal appeals to Hershey because Android hits the sweet spot of Kit Kat eaters, who are typically between the ages of 18 and 34.

“Kit Kat consumers are young, vibrant consumers of candy and chocolate bars, and that’s a nice match with Android,” Podhajsky said. The Kit Kat name was unexpected since tech pundits have speculated for months that the next operating system would be called Key Lime Pie. Marc Vanlerberghe, director of Android Marketing, said the name was chosen because Kit Kat bars have been a “favorite go-to snack among the team since the early days of Android.” The Android 4.4 Kit Kat system is expected to launch in October.

The software is now running on more than 750 million smartphones and tablets throughout the world, making it the world’s most widely used mobile operating system. —AP

Mini Jambox speakers aid smartphone music SAN FRANCISCO: Jawbone yesterday set out to keep in tune with mobile lifestyles with a stylish, powerful wireless speaker as easy to carry around as a smartphone packed with digital music. The San Francisco-based firm unveiled Mini Jambox as a slim addition to its line-up of speakers that synch to smartphones or tablets using Bluetooth technology. “A lot of speakers in the market don’t lend themselves to being easily carried around,” Jawbone audio product man-

agement senior director Tim Pryde said after pulling a Mini from a suit jacket pocket.

“If the best camera is the one you have on you, then the best speaker is the one you have on you.” Members of the Jambox team spent months experimenting with blocks of wood to find an ideal size and weight for the Mini, which is about half the size of the original Jambox but boasts louder volume and improved audio clarity. —AFP

NAIVASHA: Simon Kamau, 26, has been in almost constant pain since he was a playful three-year-old and accidentally pierced his eye with a sharp object, but smartphone technology now offers hope. His family live in an impoverished part of rural Naivasha in Kenya’s Rift Valley region and could not afford the 80kilometre (50-mile) journey to the nearest specialist hospital, leaving the young Kamau blind in one eye ever since. Today, 23 years later, Kamau has a chance to better his quality of life thanks to a team of doctors from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine armed with an innovative, low cost, smartphone solution.

“Kenya was a natural test location,” the project’s team leader, Dr Andrew Bastawrous, told AFP. “For a country with a population of more than 40 million, there are only 86 qualified eye doctors, 43 of whom are operating in the capital Nairobi.”

The equipment used in the study, which has been running for five years and is now in its final stages, is a smartphone with an add-on lens that scans the retina, plus an application to record the data.

The technology is deceptively simple to use and relatively cheap: each ‘Eye-Phone’, as Bastawrous likes to call his invention, costs a few hundred euros (dollars), compared to a professional ophthalmoscope that costs tens of thousands of euros and weighs in at around 130 kilogrammes (290 pounds).

Bastawrous said he hopes the ‘Nakuru Eye Disease Cohort Study’, which has done the rounds of 5,000 Kenyan patients, will one day revolutionise access to eye treatment for millions of low-income Africans who are suffering from eye disease and blindness.

With 80 percent of the cases of blindness considered curable or preventable, the potential impact is huge. Data from each patient is uploaded to a team of specialists, who can come up with a diagnosis

and advise on follow-up treatment.

The results are also compared to tests taken with professional equipment to check the smartphone is a viable alternative. Bastawrous says his ‘Eye -Phone’ has proved its worth, and can easily and accurately diagnose ailments including glaucoma, cataracts, myopia and long-sightedness.

blind eye. While doctors say he is unlikely to recover his full vision because the injury was so long ago, they can at least stop the pain and swelling caused by the additional strain on his functioning eye.

“I can hardly do manual work around the farm. Once the sun shines, my eyes water and I feel a lot of pain,” said Kamau, who lives

Kijabe Mission hospital but the follow-up visits became too expensive. I had to pay bus fares and then queue in the waiting room for the whole day, and then go back home without seeing a doctor,” she recalled. She said Bastawrous’ project, in which the tests were carried out at her home, was a welcome relief. “I do not like the feel of hospi-

NAIVASHA: This photo shows a technician scanning the eye of a woman with a smartphone application as she takes part in an ophthalmological study and examination, carried out by technicians from the ‘Nakuru Eye Disease Cohort Study’, led by Dr Andrew Bastawrous (unseen) of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in which a smartphone application is used to scan people’s eyes and optic nerves, to detect eye diseases. —AFP Treatments range from prescription glasses and eye drops to complex surgery that is conducted once every two weeks at a hospital in Nakuru, the nearest big town. So far, up to 200 of the 5,000 people involved in the study have had surgery to correct various eye ailments. Kamau is among those expecting to receive surgery on his

on a small farm with six family members. Neighbour Mar y Wambui, 50, has had eye problems for 36 years but gave up on finding treatment because existing medical care was far too expensive. Instead, she settled for home remedies like placing a cold wet cloth over her eyes when the pain became unbearable. “I was treated at the

tals. Their process is long, laborious and costly but with this phone, I got to know of my diagnosis with just a click,” she said. Bastawrous says the success of the smartphone meant it could soon be replicated in other poor areas of Kenya. He said the arid Turkana area, one of Kenya’s poorest regions, was next on the list. —AFP

Microsoft doubles down with Nokia phone deal HELSINKI/SEATTLE: In an era when shiny new tech start-ups can be worth tens of billions of dollars, Microsoft’s deal to acquire Nokia’s mobile handset business for 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion) is a modest one from a strictly financial point of view. Yet the deal is likely to go down as a major turning point in the contemporary technology business, one that marks the end of a Finnish company’s unlikely run as world-beating tech icon even as it shapes the future of Microsoft Corp - for better or for worse.

In Finland, politicians and business leaders mourned the fall of Nokia, while pensioners wondered what it all meant for them. In Seattle, the chatter centered on what the deal might say about the race to succeed Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, who announced 10 days ago that he would step down within a year. For the global telecom industry, meanwhile, the deal signals further consolidation, coming just a day after Verizon announced a $130 billion deal to buy Vodafone’s stake in its wireless unit. It could also help Microsoft achieve its long-held ambition of becoming a major rival to Apple and Samsung in the global smartphone business, though it will also put even more pressure on the company to show that its massive investments in consumer devices make sense.

The Nokia deal “unequivocally suggests they aren’t exiting the business and in fact are doubling down on mobile,” said Todd Lowenstein, a portfolio manager at HighMark Capital Management, which holds Microsoft shares. “They can in all likelihood carve out a decent niche with their scale as a fully integrated player, however investors are questioning the merits,” Lowenstein added. “The markets have spoken volumes.” Microsoft shares finished down 4.6 percent on Tuesday.

Nokia and Microsoft have been joined at the hip since early 2011, when the Finnish company agreed to adopt Microsoft’s Windows Phone software for its smartphones - a big gamble for Nokia, but one that came at a time when the company’s market share was already in a freefall and it had few good options. Since then Nokia has produced a series of Windows-powered phones that were mostly well-reviewed by critics, though largely shunned by customers.

There had been speculation from the start that Microsoft might eventually buy Nokia, but many analysts thought Microsoft had the best of both worlds - a committed hardware partner, but none of the considerable downside risk that might go with owning a phonemaker.

Behind the scenes, though, friction developed, according to a source familiar with the situation, especially after Microsoft launched its Surface tablets last fall. “Each was trying to spend money on app developers, music stores, all the parts critical to the ecosystem,” said the source. “It all came to a head at the end of last year, beginning of this year - was this really the right way to work or are we better as one entity?”

Discussions on an acquisition began in earnest in February, after Ballmer approached

Nokia for an “open dialogue.” Ballmer and Nokia board chairman Risto Siilasmaa met at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. After a few hiccups the negotiations kicked into high gear in July, with almost 50 board meetings on the part of Nokia. Another source close familiar with the negotiations said the timing of the deal, which was called “Project Gold Medal” at Microsoft, was influenced by Ballmer’s announced departure, with Nokia seeking to wrap it up before a new CEO was named. Nokia officials were concerned that if it delayed it could end up with facing a firesale down the road as its cash position worsened, the source said.

For Microsoft, moving ahead with a major strategic acquisition even as it seeks a new CEO reaffirms its commitment to being a broad-based “devices and services” company - a strategy crafted by Ballmer and one which was at the heart of a major reorganization announced just weeks ago. On Tuesday, Microsoft called the Nokia deal “a huge leap forward on our journey of creating a family of devices and services that delight people and empower businesses of all sizes.” People close to the situation rejected the idea that the transaction meant that Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, a former Microsoft executive who will rejoin the company as head of the devices and services division, would automatically succeed Ballmer. But analysts said the move could make it harder to bring in an outsider CEO who might want to revisit all aspects of the company’s strategy.

Finland’s national champion Tuesday’s deal marks the breakup of a company almost embedded in Finnish DNA, a once-proud symbol of Nordic entrepreneurial engineering prowess and design. At its peak it accounted for 40 percent of the world’s mobile phones, a fifth of Finland’s exports and four percent of its GDP, and had a market value of close to $300 billion. Barely a decade ago, consumers talked about Nokia with the same bated breadth as they do about Apple today, marvelling at its sleek but practical designs. But its abrupt fall symbolises the breakneck speed and unforgiving competition in consumer electronics, where nimble rivals can quickly upset established industry leaders.

Nokia itself has had plenty of experience in reinvention over its 148-year history. From its beginning as a paper manufacturer in 1865, it grew to make everything from rubber boots to televisions, and eventually its brand name was even emblazoned on lavatory tissue. Its modern incarnation began under Jorma Ollila, who headed the cellphone unit beginning in 1990 and then, as chief executive, transformed the Finnish conglomerate into a global handset leader. Its brand name was often mistaken as Japanese, something that at the time delighted a company whose home country was harder to sell globally.

“It was something Finland hadn’t had, this major consumer brand,” said Mikko Makipaa, an entrepreneur, recalling his days at the company from 1996 to 2009. But Ollila was

blamed for being late to recognise the threat of Apple’s iPhone and the smartphone revolution. A report by the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy said Nokia developed touch-screen phones three years before the iPhone and a tablet as early as 2005, but they never reached the market.

Elop’s appointment in 2010 was hailed for bringing Silicon valley zip into the struggling company as rivals led by Apple were gaining market share in high-end smartphones even

untested alternative from Microsoft. One in three jobs were cut, and one source who was there at the time said the memo was illadvised because it destroyed sales of Symbian before the Windows phones were ready. Still, it was mostly seen as the sort of bold stroke needed to rescue the flailing company.

Now Elop is viewed in a different light. “A Trojan horse,” the widely-read tabloid IltaSanomat declared in a column on Tuesday. “It

MIAMI: Helio Bezerra looks at a Nokia phone on display at a Microsoft store in the Dadeland Mall as Microsoft announces it will be buying Nokia Corp’s line-up of smart phones on September 3, 2013 in Miami, Florida. —AFP as Asian competitors were eating away at the cheaper, simpler end of the handset market.

A Canadian with five children and an amateur pilot who had previously headed Microsoft’s business division, Elop was the first non-Finn to head Nokia. At his first press conference - broadcast live on Finnish TV - he played up his love for ice hockey, a passion many Canadians share with Finns.

His enthusiasm quickly endeared him to staff, but he was also blunt. In a now-famous 2011 email to staff, he compared Symbian Nokia’s then operating software - with a “burning platform” that needed to be abandoned. It was dropped in favour of a largely

sounds like a betrayal to me,” said Finnish pensioner Paivi Rengman. In fact, many in Finland saw the deal as a sign of deeper malaise within the Finnish economy and its celebrated Nordic welfare model. “For Finland, Nokia is emotional and symbolic. My generation grew up with a Nokia in their pocket. We view the deal in Finland as the end of an era,” said Alexander Stubb, Finland’s minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade.

Nokia is not disappearing, and will now concentrate on its networking equipment unit, navigation business and technology patents. Optimists say it is not the first time

Nokia has taken a big bet. In the early 1990s it sold off businesses that accounted for around 70 percent of its sales to focus on telecoms. That followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, which halted a highly profitable cross-border trade.

Finland also remains one of the few countries in the euro zone with a triple-A credit rating. But its reputation as an egalitarian society with top-notch education and health services belies worries about its once-mighty export manufacturers and rapidly ageing population. “This is a major challenge for Finland,” said Tero Kuittinen, an analyst at Alekstra. “Microsoft is unlikely to keep any meaningful handset R&D or production in Finland.

“In 2007, Finland had 60 percent of the global smartphone market. That will now plunge to zero percent - a massive blow for a country that bet so much on mobile technology,” Kuittinen added. To a certain extent, Nokia’s decline may have inoculated Finland against a sudden shock. At its peak, Nokia accounted for 4 percent of Finnish GDP and supported myriad suppliers. Today it contributes closer to 1 percent, according to analysts. Many former Nokia employees have helped to spawn a growing IT industry, symbolised by fast-growing Rovio, maker of the popular Angry Birds game. Kuittinen said that Rovio’s Angry Birds empire has racked up nearly 2 billion downloads while Supercell, another game company, is getting close to $100 million in monthly revenue from its two blockbusters, Hay Day and Clash of Clans.

“The problem is that these two companies combined only have 700 or so employees,” Kuittinen said. But for an upcoming generation, nostalgia about Nokia may have been supplanted by straightforward realism.

“Their share price is all that I’m interested in,” said a 28-year-old business student named Aleksi, who declined to give his last name. “I don’t understand this crying about national treasure being sold. People seem to think it’s the year 2000. Business is business. Nokia is not defining Finland.”

For the global tech business, the big question is to what extent Nokia will define Microsoft. Activist shareholders, led by ValueAct Capital, have urged the company to stop spending so heavily on consumer products and instead return money to shareholders. Microsoft’s track record in both consumer devices and major acquisitions does little to inspire confidence. Yet it remains among the very few firms with the muscle to challenge the market leaders in smartphones.

“I continue to believe that there is enough innovation in devices, unlike some of our investors, that it will be a growth opportunity in terms of the financial reward to the bold, to the innovative who pursue it,” Ballmer said Tuesday in explaining the deal to analysts. He also called the phone business “the best opportunity for pursuing users in very, very large numbers.” As Nokia learned though, translating opportunity into success is the hard part. —Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Diabetes rises in China, reaching ‘alert’ level WASHINGTON: Almost 12 percent of adults in China had diabetes in 2010, with economic prosperity driving the disease to slightly higher proportions than in the United States, researchers said Tuesday. The overall prevalence of diabetes in China in 2010 was found to be 11.6 percent of adults — 12.1 percent in men, and 11 percent in women, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In the United States, about 11.3 percent of people over 20 have diabetes according to 2011 data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease was more common in China than in the United States even though the population was slimmer-average body

mass index, a ratio of height and body weight, was just 23.7 in China compared to 28.7 in the United States. “The prevalence of diabetes has increased significantly in recent decades,” said the JAMA study.

“These data suggest that diabetes may have reached an alert level in the Chinese general population, with the potential for a major epidemic of diabetes-related complications, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, and chronic kidney disease in China in the near future without an effective national intervention.”

Only 30 percent of Chinese with diabetes were aware of their condition, it said.

Further, about half of the population has high blood sugar, or a condition known as prediabetes, according to a nationally rep-

resentative sample of Chinese adults.

Diabetes has been rising in China along with the nation’s economic growth. In 1980, the prevalence of diabetes was less than one percent of the population. The latest findings mark a more than two percentage point increase over 2007, when a national survey found a 9.7 percent prevalence of diabetes, or about 92.5 million adults.

The current data puts the total number of cases of diabetes in China at 113.9 million. Worldwide, diabetes affects about 8.3 percent of the global population, or 371 million people. “China is now among the countries with the highest diabetes prevalence in Asia and has the largest absolute disease burden of diabetes in the world,” said the study. The Chinese survey included

more than 98,650 people and was led by Guang Ning, head of the Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases and colleagues with the 2010 China Noncommunicable Disease Surveillance Group. Diabetes was more common in urban areas and among young and middle aged people who were overweight or obese, and was found to be increasing along with economic development. The research suggested that one cause for the growing trend could be poor nutrition among pregnant women and young babies, combined with overeating later in life. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease, and can be managed with improved nutrition and exercise, as

well as medication if needed.

According to an accompanying editorial in JAMA by Juliana Chan of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, “rapid modernization” has fueled an environment that encourages diabetes “characterized by food abundance, physical inactivity, and psychosocial stress.” The CDC says that diabetes is a top cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations of the legs and feet, and was the seventh leading cause of death in the US in 2007. One in three US adults will have diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue, according to the CDC. The disease is characterized by the body’s shortage of insulin, or an inability to use the hormone efficiently for converting glucose into energy.—AFP

Some flu vaccines promise a little more protection

IWAKI: Local people enjoy surfing on Toyoma Beach, some 50 kilometers south of the broken Fukushima nuclear power plant, in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture.—AFP photos

Sun, sand, surf and radiation in shadow of Fukushima IWAKI: With its towering waves, golden sand and stunning scenery, Toyoma beach in Iwaki is an almost perfect spot for surfing-if only it wasn’t just down the coast from Japan’s leaking Fukushima nuclear power plant. “Of course we may seem a little crazy, but for us, the important thing is the waves,” Yuichiro Kobayashi told AFP as he and around 30 other surfers dashed in and out of the water. Just days earlier, Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) announced sheepishly that one of the huge tanks storing highly radioactive water at the plant, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the north, had a hole.

Around 300 tons of toxic water had seeped out of the vast container-one of around 1,000 on the site-by the time anyone noticed. Some may have made its way through drainage ditches and into the Pacific Ocean. TEPCO said pools of water near the damaged tank were so toxic that anyone exposed to them would receive the same amount of radiation in an hour that a nuclear plant worker in Japan is allowed to receive in five years. The huge-and growing-volume of water at the site is a headache for TEPCO, with critics saying the utility is incapable of dealing with the problem.

Tonnes of polluted water have also leaked into the earth beneath the plant, where it has mixed with groundwater that is flowing out to sea. TEPCO estimates that hundreds of tons of this groundwater makes its way into the Pacific every single day, where its radioactive load is dispersed. The utility says this water is not so heavily polluted. Kobayashi, who has surfed for 30 years and is a member of a coastal protection group, sends samples of sand and seawater to a local technical college. According to national standards, the water is safe.

Measurements taken before the latest leak was announced showed one liter of seawater

contained 6.22 becquerels of caesium-below the 10 becquerel per litre safety limit imposed by Japanese authorities.“I’m worried, but not enough to stop surfing,” said Naoto Sakai, 31, who comes to test himself against the waves at least three times a week. “If I worried about what I eat and where I live, I think I would become too stressed.I just try not to think about it too much.”

Toyoma was closed to surfers for a year after the nuclear accident, which was sparked by a powerful undersea earthquake and the tsunami it generated in March 2011. The coastline still bears the scars of the monstrous wave. Weeds sprout in the exposed foundations of homes that were washed away. A sign reminds swimmers to be respectful towards the dead from the area, some of the more-than 18,000 people who perished when the sea visited its fury.

The beach was opened again in March 2012 but no longer hosts the international competitions it once boasted. The local surfers are fewer, too, and older; the high school students who used to come now stay away. Toshihisa Mishina, 42, got back in the water again last year, but says there is no way he would let his 12-year-old child join him. “I worry about the youngsters because if they are exposed to radiation now, it might affect them when they grow up,” he said. The reticence of some surfers has knock-on effects for local businesses, says Etsuo Suzuki, who reckons income at his surf shop in Iwaki has shrunk to around half of what it was before the disaster. Yuichiro Kobayashi, 51, who also owns a store in the area says times are tougher, and admits that he keeps a careful eye on radiation readings. But he’s not about to give up his passion. “The waves were not so great today,” he says as he shrugs loose his silver hair. “No problem. I’ll come back tomorrow.”—AFP

IWAKI: Local people walk out of the sea with surf boards on Toyoma Beach.

Gender income gaps persist among doctors NEW YORK: Female doctors earn an average of $56,000 less each year than male doctors, according to a new study, which found that gap hasn’t budged since the late 1980s.

Researchers used a nationally-representative survey conducted in 1987 through 2010 and found that although earning gaps shrank over time among non-healthcare workers, that was not the case for doctors and certain other health professionals.

“There is something that’s intrinsically going on within the physician workforce,” Dr Anupam B Jena, the study’s senior author from Harvard Medical School’s Department of Health Care Policy, said. “We would have suspected that the gender gap between males and females would have converged somewhat over the years, and what we found was that it was relatively constant.”

He and his colleagues compared survey answers about income and other aspects of work from close to 6,300 doctors and 32,000

other healthcare workers. Taking into account hours worked and years of experience - but not specialty - they found the average male doctor earned about $221,000 in 2006 to 2010, and the average female doctor earned $165,000.

That worked out to about a 25 percent difference in salary, similar to the 20 percent disparity Jena and his colleagues found among doctors surveyed between 1987 and 1990. Income gaps held steady at about a 40 percent difference in pay among male and female dentists.

Disparities fell slightly over time to about 11 percent for pharmacists and 6 percent for registered nurses, the researchers reported in JAMA Internal Medicine.

During the same time period, they found salary differences between men and women outside of healthcare dropped from 28 percent between 1987 and 1990 to 15 percent between 2006 and 2010. —Reuters

WASHINGTON: Flu vaccination is no longer merely a choice between a jab in the arm or a squirt in the nose. This fall, some brands promise a little extra protection. For the first time, certain vaccines will guard against four strains of flu rather than the usual three. Called quadrivalent vaccines, these brands may prove more popular for children than their parents. That’s because kids tend to catch the newly added strain more often.

These four-in-one vaccines are so new that they’ll make up only a fraction of the nation’s supply of flu vaccine, so if you want a dose, better start looking early. But that’s only one of an unprecedented number of flu vaccine options available this year. Allergic to eggs? Egg-free shots are hitting the market, too. Plus there’s growing interest in shots brewed just for the 65-and-older crowd, and a brand that targets the needle-phobic with just a skin-deep prick.

“We’re moving away from the one-size-fits-all to choosing the best possible vaccine for an individual’s age and condition,” said Dr Gregory Poland, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic. “The flip side of that,” he said, is that “this will be a confusing year” as doctors and consumers alike try to choose. Federal health officials recommend a yearly flu vaccine for nearly everyone, starting at 6 months of age. On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some questions and answers about the different vaccine varieties to choose from:

macist if the four-strain kind is available. Younger children, older adults, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions all can use flu shots. Four-strain versions are sold under the names Fluzone Quadrivalent, Fluarix Quadrivalent and FluLaval Quadrivalent.

Manufacturers anticipate producing between 135 million and 139 million doses of flu vaccine this year. Only about 30 million doses will offer the four-strain protection.

Q: Who should seek it?

A: Type B flu tends to strike children more than the middle-aged, Poland noted. And he said it’s not a bad idea for seniors, who are more vulnerable to influenza in general. But the CDC doesn’t recommend one vaccine variety over another, and the American Academy of Pediatrics said either kind is fine - just get vaccinated.

Q: How are these new vaccines different from the high-dose flu shot for seniors?

A: Fluzone High-Dose protects against the traditional three strains of flu, but it quadruples the standard vaccine dose in an effort to rev up ageweakened immune systems don’t respond as actively to regular flu shots.

The government calls the high-dose shot an option for seniors, not one that’s proved better.

Last week, Sanofi Pasteur said initial results from a study of 30,000 seniors vaccinated over the past two flu seasons suggest the high-dose shot is about 24 percent more effective. Federal health

officials will have to review the full study results to see if they agree.

Q: What if I’m allergic to eggs?

A: Traditional flu vaccine is made from viruses grown in eggs, and specialists say it’s usually not a problem unless someone has a serious egg allergy.

But the new FluBlok vaccine eliminates that concern because it is made with cell technology, like many other nonflu vaccines. So far, it’s only for use in people ages 18 to 49.

Q: What if I’m scared of needles?

A: If you don’t qualify for the ouchless nasal spray vaccine, there is one shot made with a teenytiny needle that pricks the skin instead of muscle.

Called Fluzone Intradermal, it’s available for 18- to 64-year-olds, and protects against the usual three strains.

Q: How soon should I be vaccinated?

A: Early fall is ideal, as it’s impossible to predict when flu will start spreading and it takes about two weeks for protection to kick in. But later isn’t too late; flu season typically peaks in January or February.

Q: How much does flu vaccine cost?

A: The vaccine is covered by insurance, and Medicare and some plans don’t require a copay.

Drugstore vaccination programs tend to charge about $30; expect the quadrivalent versions to be slightly more expensive.—AP

Q: What’s the difference between those new four-strain vaccines and the regular kind?

A: For more than 30 years, the vaccine has offered protection against three influenza strains two common Type A strains called H1N1 and H3N2, and one strain of Type B Flu strains continually evolve, and the recipe for each year’s vaccine includes the subtypes of those strains that experts consider most likely to cause illness that winter.

Type A flu causes more serious disease and deaths, especially the H3N2 form that made last year such a nasty flu season. But the milder Type B flu does sicken people every year as well, and can kill. Two distinct Type B families circulate the globe, making it difficult to know which to include in each year’s vaccine. Adding both solves the guesswork, and a CDC model estimates it could prevent as many as 485 deaths a year depending on how much Type B flu is spreading.

Q: How can I tell if I’m getting the four-strain vaccine?

A: All of the nasal spray version sold in the US this year will be this new variety, called FluMist Quadrivalent. The catch is that the nasal vaccine is only for healthy people ages 2 to 49 who aren’t pregnant.

If you prefer a flu shot, ask the doctor or phar-

MISSISSIPI: File photo shows a patient getting a flu shot in Jackson, Miss. Flu vaccination is no longer merely a choice between a jab in the arm or a squirt in the nose.—AP

One in four US heart disease deaths could be prevented, CDC says CHICAGO: About one in four US deaths from heart disease could be avoided with better prevention efforts and treatment, according to a first-of-itskind report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Tuesday. As many as 200,000 Americans might have been spared an early death in 2010 from a heart attack or stroke if they had received screening and treatment for preventable causes of heart disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and smoking, the report found.

Heart disease is the leading killer in the United States, accounting for nearly 800,000 deaths a year - about 30 percent of all US deaths. The report looked at preventable deaths from heart disease and stroke defined as those that occurred in people under age 75 that could have been prevented by more effective public health measures, lifestyle changes or medical care.

While the CDC has long tracked deaths from heart disease, it never previously issued a report estimating how many such deaths could be prevented. In 2010, the states with the highest avoidable death rates were located primarily in the South, including Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Louisiana, the report stated. The states with the lowest rates were Minnesota, Utah, Colorado, Connecticut and New Hampshire, according to the report.

‘A new way’ CDC officials said that the 2014 launch of key elements of the US healthcare law signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 could help reduce avoidable deaths. The law is intended to provide better access to treatment for millions of uninsured Americans and routine coverage for preventive screenings.

“Beginning in October, the health insurance marketplaces will provide a new way for people to get health insurance so more patients have access to quality health insurance and coverage beginning as early as January 2014,” CDC Director Dr Tom Frieden told a conference call with reporters. The new health insurance exchanges are expected to

provide coverage for up to 7 million uninsured Americans next year, according to government estimates. The law faces ongoing opposition among Republicans in Congress who say it imposes a financial burden on consumers and state governments. The rate of preventable deaths from heart disease and stroke - those that could have been avoided by treating high blood pressure and cholesterol and by discouraging smoking - fell nearly 30 percent between 2001 and 2010, the report said. There were widespread differences in rates by age, geographical region, race and gender, Frieden said.

“While those who are age 65 to 74 still have the greatest rate of heart attack and stroke, more than

half of the preventable deaths - about six in 10 happen in people under the age of 65,” Frieden said. Frieden said preventable deaths declined much more quickly in people aged 65 to 74, which “may well be because they have access to health insurance through their Medicare coverage,” the US health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. Men were more than twice as likely as women to die from heart disease and strokes that could have been prevented by treating high blood pressure and cholesterol and through smokingprevention efforts, the report said. The rate of such deaths for US men in 2010 was 83.7 per 100,000 in 2010 compared with 39.6 per 100,000 for women, the CDC said. —AP

Better diet tied to fewer deaths after heart attack NEW YORK: People who changed their eating habits for the better following a heart attack tended to live longer than those who stuck to eating not-so-heart-healthy foods in a new US study.

Among some 4,000 men and women, those whose post-heart attack diets improved the most were 30 percent less likely to die from any cause and 40 percent less likely to die of heart disease, compared to those whose diets improved least.

“This study really suggests that lifestyle changes - specifically those geared toward making changes in your diet - will have an impact,” Dr David J Frid, a preventive cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, told Reuters. “I think it’s something we’ve assumed for a long time, but we had no compelling data to substantiate it,” Frid, who wasn’t involved in the new study, said.

Research into how diet improvements may be linked to improvements in health after a heart attack is limited, Dr Shanshan Li at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and her colleagues write in JAMA Internal Medicine. For the

new analysis Li’s group used data from two longterm studies of male and female healthcare workers who reported major lifestyle and medical events every two years and filled out diet questionnaires about every four years.

The researchers included data on 2,258 women and 1,840 men who had no history of heart attack, stroke, cardiovascular disease or cancer when they began participating in the mid1970s and mid-1980s. But they all later had heart attacks. Based on the questionnaires, researchers assigned each person a diet-quality score that factored in several diet components, including how much red and processed meat, nuts, sugar-sweetened beverages, vegetables, fats, alcohol, whole grains and salt the person ate.

During the studies, there were 1,133 deaths from all causes. Of those, 558 were linked to cardiovascular disease. Among the 20 percent of men and women with the greatest post-heart attack improvements in their diet quality score, 140 died. —Reuters

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

Rare form of Alzheimer’s marks Austin family AUSTIN: Alzheimer’s disease has stalked Paula Acosta Marks of Austin, Texas, since birth, and now she knows: She will be the last member of her immediate family left to remember what it did to them. Alzheimer’s first attacked her mother, whose death in 1982 was attributed to a form of mad cow disease. Paula was just 5. Now, she is watching her two older sisters, ages 38 and 48, lose their memories to the same rare, inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease.

Paula, 36, doesn’t have the genetic mutation that is certain to cause Alzheimer’s. She is the main caregiver to her unmarried 38year-old sister, Lori Acosta, and copes with the sadness of losing her, bit by bit, by living in the moment and celebrating their time together. “Don’t waste a day,” she said. “Tell people you love them, every day.” At a time when Americans are living longer, Alzheimer’s is considered an epidemic and one of medicine’s most daunting puzzles.

Experts predict a nearly threefold increase in diagnoses by 2050. Today, earlyonset patients those younger than 65 represent 200,000 of the 5.2 million who have Alzheimer’s disease. The very early-onset Alzheimer’s in Paula’s family shows the disease at its cruelest. It steals the lives of adults in their prime their 30s and 40s. It devastates caregivers. But it is also a focus of researchers who hope to answer a burning question: If a person destined to get Alzheimer’s receives a drug therapy before symptoms emerge, can the disease be prevented in all kinds of patients or, at least,

forestalled? “If one could intervene earlier, you would be able to exert a much stronger effect at delaying the disease,” said Dr Clifford Jack Jr, a professor of radiology at the Mayo Clinic, in a written statement.

Paula has enrolled in a study of early-onset Alzheimer’s being conducted by the Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Researchers want to learn how Alzheimer’s disease works, and families affected by one of three gene mutations, like Paula’s, can provide important clues.

“In most ways, it’s the same disease” regardless of onset, said Dr John Ringman, a clinical professor of neurology involved in the study. That’s why the study, which continues to enroll patients, is so important, he said. Previous trials that focused on people who already have symptoms failed because the intervention was too late. But with new tools, including brain scans, researchers are hoping to prevent the disease before symptoms appear.

Treatment isn’t part of the study Paula is involved in, Ringman said, but he and the other researchers in the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network, or DIAN study, hope it will inform future therapies. Paula, a newly graduated registered nurse, has the same hope. She also hopes her family’s story will raise awareness about the study and about early-onset Alzheimer’s. “You can get real angry about this, but if you give back, you get a little control,” she said.

Paula doesn’t question why her family

AUSTIN: Paula Marks, center, shares a plate of chicken fried steak with her sister, Lori Acosta, 38, right, who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, as their niece, Taylor Critendon looks on during a lunch date.

has been so deeply affected by Alzheimer’s disease. “It’s the roll of the genetic dice,” she said, sitting on a couch in the small South Austin duplex she shares with husband, Barton Marks, 42, and their 2{-year-old daughter, Joslyn. Children of a parent with early-onset Alzheimer’s have a 50-50 chance of inheriting the disease. Paula’s 20-year-old niece, Taylor Critendon, isn’t sure she wants to be tested. Her mother, Pam Critendon, can no longer talk and doesn’t always know who Taylor is. Getting tested “is something I think about every day,” Taylor said, “but I’m not ready right now.” As Lori’s main caregiver, Paula never has enough time for her husband, daughter and sisters, not to mention herself. She makes countless calls seeking help for Lori; Medicare will pay for drugs and doctor visits starting this month. And she makes sure she visits Lori every day or has someone else lined up to come.

At times, she struggles with survivor’s guilt. At other times, Paula feels blessed, she said, hugging Joslyn. The Alzheimer’s trouble has slowed her down, shown her what’s important in life and made her grateful for all she has, she said: “There’s been a lot of tragedy in my life, but I’m so lucky to have a great husband, a great daughter and all of these wonderful things.” In the past four years, she has pieced together her family’s unusual genetic destiny. Her mother’s death is no longer mysterious. Barbara Acosta started showing signs of memory loss at age 38, before Paula was born, she said. Two or three years later, the mother of three girls and an adopted son was moved to a nursing home. Paula has no memory of her mother’s presence, only a gnawing sense of absence.

Her mother’s death certificate says she died from a rare and fatal brain disorder, Creutzfeldt-Jakob encephalitis, Paula said.

Her father, Pete Acosta, coped with the loss by drinking, Paula said. Two-and-a-half years after her mother died, Pete Acosta was dead from a heart attack at age 52. Pam, then 20, became the sole parent to Paula, then 8, Lori, 10, and David, 16.

With Social Security benefits and a trust their father had set up, they were able to stay in the family home. Pam married her high school sweetheart, Kevin Critendon, and he became a father to the three younger children. At 17, Paula moved into an apartment with a friend. She attended the University of Texas, as well as Austin Community College, on and off for six years.

When she was 19, her brother, who had been depressed, killed himself.

“Death is one thing, but it (kept) happening to these young people,” she said. “I didn’t

AUSTIN: Lori Acosta, 38, glazes over with a blank stare as she and her sister, Paula Marks, right, go out for a margarita and appetizer during daily errands in Austin. know anyone who grew old and died.” Not even her parents. Five years ago, Paula and Barton were planning their wedding when Barton noticed something was wrong with Pam, then a schoolteacher. “She’s telling a story and, every sentence, there was a word she couldn’t remember,” he said. Lori also noticed. “I’m worried about Pam,” she told Paula. Lori and Paula had been relieved after Pam turned 38, the age at which their mother began losing her memory. The two had long suspected something else something genetic had killed their mother. They hoped they were wrong. “I thought she was having mini-strokes,” Barton said of Pam. “I was freaked out and said, ‘She has got to go to the doctor. Right now.’”

The tests confirmed Paula’s and Lori’s fears: Pam had Alzheimer’s. The diagnosis came in February 2009. “I remember thinking, ‘That’s the worst thing that could happen,’” said, Taylor Critendon, who was 16.

Paula figured out that her mother must have had Alzheimer’s and started to wonder: Did she have it, too?

“The anxiety of not knowing was causing me anxiety,” Paula said. “Every time I tripped on a word, I was worried.” It didn’t matter to Barton. “I was afraid she was going to get sick, but there never was a doubt I was going to marry her,” he said. “There was no way I was going to leave her.” They married in May 2009. Paula spent every Monday with

Pam for four years. “We did all these bonding things. She helped me shop for my wedding dress. She helped me through the pregnancy, and we shopped for Joslyn’s first outfit,” Paula said.

In February 2011, Pam had a genetic test confirming that she had the rare, familial form of the disease. And then Paula noticed her other sister, Lori, was acting strangely.

Lori lost her job as a massage therapist in 2010 and was having a hard time finding work. Her personal life was a jumble of unpaid bills and unstable boyfriends. Lori had been savvy on Facebook, but now she couldn’t fill out an online job application.

She didn’t have health insurance and couldn’t pay her rent. She resisted Paula’s insistence that she see a doctor.

“Nobody wanted to believe she was sick,” Paula said. “She was only 36.” Lori made excuses for her problems but later confessed: She didn’t want to know. “She said, ‘If I know, I’m going to kill myself,’” Paula recalled. Lori finally went to Dr Ronald DeVere, an Austin neurologist, in June 2012.

She was the youngest patient he had ever seen with Alzheimer’s, he said.

Paula also got tested in January 2012 as part of the DIAN study in which she is enrolled. She waited a long three weeks for the results. When she heard she didn’t have the gene, “I immediately started crying,” she said. —MCT

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N TIES EVENTS SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! Let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

Greetings

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any, many happy returns of the day to Shaikh Faiz. Best wishes from father Shaikh Anwar Basha, mother Sajida Begum, Brother Parvez, Ashraf, Ayaan, Uncle Shaikh Aslam Basha, Omar (Haji) aunty Tabasum Begum and Grand Father Mohd, Khasim, Chan Basha Grandmother Khatunbee, Nasirun and Khader Basha, Abida, Arshad, Asif, Munawar Basha, Famida, Mubashir, Thamanna, Mohd Rafi, Ayesha, Anisa , Anisa near and dear ones from Kuwait and India.

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IES Center cordially invites you to all the following events or one of them: A one-day Cultural Orientation Course by Jehan Al-Hobaishy tomorrow September 5 and if you can’t make it tomorrow, then you are welcome on September 9 at 7:00 pm.

Understanding the local culture has proven effective for settling more comfortably in Kuwait. In addition to that, it is a helpful gateway to success in business and social relations here in Kuwait, as well as the other Middle Eastern countries. This one-day course will help you understand appropriate manners and etiquette, which is a very important element of Arab culture. Who are the Kuwaitis? What is their culture? Prior registration is required.

Please indicate the day that you would like to attend. A diwaniya presentation entitled, “Driving in Kuwait,” by Dr Yusuf Yaqoub.

Foreigners, who have arrived in Kuwait on a visit/business visa may drive with their international driving permits until their visa expires (about one month). Visitor must have liability insurance. To obtain a Kuwaiti driver’s license, an applicant should be a legal resident for two years in Kuwait.

Expatriates from certain nationalities (mostly “Western” countries) may obtain a Kuwaiti driver license on the strength of their domestic driver licenses. Others must apply for a learner’s driving license, and pass a driving test.

Important information: If a driver is involved in an accident, he must immediately notify the police and remain at the scene until the police arrive. Even if not at fault, involvement in an accident can lead to arrest and temporary incarceration.

Parking is not permitted in places where the curb is painted black and yellow. Digital cameras for registering traffic violations are used in Kuwait.

Traffic violations may result in deportation. If you are interested in the topic, join us at the TIES Center on Tuesday September 10, at 7:00 pm.

Quran Quotes and Tafseer class by

Hassan and Nejoud. A class titled ‘Qur’an Quotes and Tafseer,’ will be held at the TIES Center. After reading specified Quranic verses aloud and explaining them very briefly, Hassan will explain the various connotations of some words and phrases to show the literary beauty and miracle of the Qur’an. After that, attendees will be asked to participate in a discussion on the topic and other related issues. The class will involve an open discussion in a casual setting with the aim of reflecting and pondering verses from the Noble Qur’an as well as learning how to recite some short surahs.

On Monday, September 16, we will discuss Surat Al-Masad (The Palm Fiber).

If you are interested in learning the interpretation of the Qur’an and lessons deduced from the verses, Please join us at the TIES Center on September 16 at 7:00pm. For more information, please call 25231015/6 or log onto: www.tiescenter.net or visit our facebook page: TIES Center.”

Breakfast bargain at THE One Restaurant

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njoy any two breakfasts for the price of one at THE One Restaurant in their Marina Mall Theatre, Kuwait City. Offer available until 11am on weekdays and 12 noon on weekends from 6 September to 6 October. The early bird catches the worm, so rise and shine folks!

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 AlSanabel 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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any, many happy returns of the day to Shaik Anwar Basha, Wife Sajida Begum, Mohd Parvez, Faiz Shaik, Aslam Basha, Thabassum Begum, Mohd Ashraf, Mohd Ayaan, Mohd Khasim, Khatun Bee, Khader Basha, Abida Begum, Mohd Arshad, Mohd Asif, Munawar Basha, Famida Begum, Mubashir, Tamanna, Mohd Rafi, Ayesha Begum, Aneesa, Anas, near and dear ones from Kuwait and India.

Announcements AWARE CENTRE welcomes newcomers he Aware centre hosts orientation for newcomers to Kuwait today at 7:00 pm. Over the past 10 years, the AWARE Center has opened its doors to many multicultural visitors to Kuwait with the goal of enhancing understanding, communications and promoting positive relations between Arabs and Westerners. To assist newcomers with cross-cultural understanding, we wish to inform you of the upcoming “AWARE Welcome to Kuwait Western Expatriate Orientation for Newcomers.” This Orientation welcomes newly arriving westerners to Kuwait, shares details of the cultural programs & services provided by AWARE and is followed by a buffet dinner. These orientations are free of charge and provide an opportunity for newly arriving Western guests to meet the AWARE team and discover the many services designed to assist with cultural adjustment and settling comfortably in Kuwait. You may select from one of the following orientation dates (Monday, September 2nd, Thursday, September 5th or Saturday, September 7th). The AWARE Center is located in Surra, Block 3, Surra Street, Villa 84.

KNES students winners of Social Innovation Relay 2013

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A photowalk in Kuwait on Oct 5th photowalk is more like a social photography event where photographers gather in a spot, take photos for an hour or two then maybe meet up at a restaurant after that. Scott Kelby’s worldwide photowalk never took place in Kuwait until now. Kuwait’s photowalk will be held on October 5th at Souk Al-Mubarakiya at 10am. There are some prizes to be won like a Canon 70D and Adobe Creative Cloud Membership. So far there are 700 registered photowalks with 8700+ photographers. The prizes are for the worldwide event, not just Kuwait. Kuwait Mapping Meet-Up will be held on September 2 at 5:30 pm in Coffee Bean (Mahboula, Coastal Road). The event is for anyone interested in maps, spatial analysis or surveying in Kuwait. For more information, contact Wil at 97225615.

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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

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he Social Innovation Relay which was launched by INJAZ, Kuwait in association with HP strives to provide students with the opportunity to engage in and develop solutions to various social challenges related to education, poverty, human rights, the environment, technology and economic development. SIR is the largest global educational initiative based on faceto-face and virtual mentoring. The relay runs over 19 countries worldwide aiming to reach over 40 000 students. This year in Kuwait over 150 students and more than 30 teams from various schools Kuwait took part in this event. The teams worked hard to find a solution to a

challenging issue and then find a solution in the form of a report. The best 20 solutions were selected and the National finals held on July 17, 2013.

Teams from The Kuwait National English School finished first and second. Team HOPE represented by Aly, Dominica, Pasanun, Adam and Seaton impressed the judges and emerged winners of Kuwait.

Congratulations to the winning team and the runnersup team A2 SIM, also representing KNES, for their splendid performance. Each member of team HOPE in addition to winning certificates were also handed out HP laptops. Students of KNES have been consistently prov-

ing their mettle in these youth oriented events as the school provides students with the right encouragement and support to pursue academics coupled with practical experience. Special thanks to INJAZ for once again providing such a splendid platform to students to demonstrate and apply their skills, while encouraging team-work and creativity. HP who are partners in this venture deserve special thanks for their contribution in providing mentors for the students and guiding them effectively.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information 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.

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Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan, Editor-in-Chief of Kuwait Times and Athaulla Khan

Send-off party for Kuwait Times staff Athaulla Khan It was a rosy and an emotional moment yesterday as Kuwait Times organized a send forth party for one of its employees Mehdi Athaulla Khan who is going back to India for good. Khan popularly known as Atha, worked at Kuwait Times as a page maker for 10 years. He is appraised by his colleagues as a dedicated and hardworking man. We pray that the Almighty Allah guide and protect him and his family. — Photos by Islam Al-Sharaa

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.

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EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-imenquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday.

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EMBASSY OF 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.

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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.

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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.

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EMBASSY OF VATICAN The Apostolic Nunciature Embassy of the Holy See, Vatican in Kuwait has moved to a new location in Kuwait City. Please find below the new address: Yarmouk, Block 1, Street 2, Villa No: 1. P.O.Box 29724, Safat 13158, Kuwait. Tel: 965 25337767, Fax: 965 25342066.

Email: nuntiuskuwait@gmail.com

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

00:30 Dynamo: Magician Impossible 01:20 The Big Brain Theory 02:10 Mythbusters 03:00 Mythbusters 03:50 Border Security 04:15 Auction Hunters 04:40 Auction Kings 05:05 How Do They Do It? 05:30 How It’s Made 06:00 Sons Of Guns 07:00 Mythbusters 07:50 Finding Bigfoot 08:40 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior 09:30 Border Security 09:55 Auction Hunters 10:20 Auction Kings 10:45 How Do They Do It? 11:10 How It’s Made 11:35 Dynamo: Magician Impossible 12:25 The Big Brain Theory 13:15 Mythbusters 14:05 Border Security 14:30 Auction Hunters 14:55 Auction Kings 15:20 Strip The City 16:10 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior 17:00 Ultimate Survival 17:50 Dirty Jobs 18:40 Mythbusters 19:30 Sons Of Guns 20:20 Auction Hunters 20:45 Auction Kings 21:10 How Do They Do It? 21:35 How It’s Made 22:00 Sons Of Guns 22:50 Outlaw Empires 23:40 Heroes Of Hell’s Highway

00:05 The Tech Show 00:30 Food Factory 01:00 How The Universe Works 01:50 Scrapheap Challenge 02:45 Alien Mysteries 03:35 Stephen Hawking’s Grand Design 04:25 X-Machines 05:15 The Gadget Show 05:40 The Tech Show 06:05 How The Universe Works 07:00 How Stuff’s Made 07:25 How Stuff’s Made 07:50 Bang Goes The Theory 08:15 Bang Goes The Theory 08:40 The Gadget Show 09:05 The Tech Show 09:30 Sci-Trek 10:20 X-Machines 11:15 Smash Lab 12:05 Brave New World 13:00 Bang Goes The Theory 13:25 Bang Goes The Theory 13:50 Food Factory 14:20 The Gadget Show 14:45 The Tech Show 15:10 How Stuff’s Made 15:35 How Stuff’s Made 16:00 Sci-Trek 16:55 Mighty Ships 17:45 Scrapheap Challenge 18:35 How The Universe Works 19:30 How Stuff’s Made 19:55 How Stuff’s Made 20:20 Bang Goes The Theory 20:45 Bang Goes The Theory 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Tech Show 22:00 Stuck With Hackett 22:25 Stuck With Hackett 22:50 Bang Goes The Theory 23:15 Bang Goes The Theory 23:40 The Gadget Show

00:30 01:20 02:10 03:00 03:45

Dr G: Medical Examiner A Haunting LA: City Of Demons Deadly Affairs I Almost Got Away With It

04:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner 05:20 A Haunting 06:10 Nightmare Next Door 07:00 Mystery Diagnosis 07:50 Street Patrol 08:15 Street Patrol 08:40 Real Emergency Calls 09:05 Who On Earth...

09:30 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 10:20 Solved 11:10 Disappeared 12:00 Mystery Diagnosis 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...

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 On The Case With Paula Zahn 22:50 Serial Killers 23:40 I Almost Got Away With It

00:00 Hannah Montana 00:20 Hannah Montana 00:45 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 01:05 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 01:30 Emperor’s New School 01:50 Emperor’s New School 02:15 The Replacements 02:35 The Replacements 03:00 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 03:20 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 03:45 Emperor’s New School 04:05 Emperor’s New School 04:30 The Replacements 04:50 The Replacements 05:15 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 05:35 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 06:00 Austin And Ally 06:25 Suite Life On Deck 06:45 Shake It Up 07:10 A.N.T. Farm 07:35 Jessie 07:55 Good Luck Charlie 08:20 Sofia The First 08:45 Doc McStuffins 09:05 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 09:15 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 09:30 A.N.T. Farm 09:55 A.N.T. Farm 10:15 Jessie 10:40 Jessie 11:05 Good Luck Charlie 11:25 Good Luck Charlie 11:50 Good Luck Charlie 12:15 Shake It Up 12:35 Shake It Up 13:00 Austin And Ally 13:25 Austin And Ally 13:45 Austin And Ally 14:10 Shake It Up 14:35 My Babysitter’s A Vampire 15:00 That’s So Raven 15:25 Gravity Falls 15:50 Jessie 16:10 Violetta 17:00 A.N.T. Farm 17:20 Austin And Ally 17:45 Gravity Falls 18:10 Shake It Up 18:30 That’s So Raven 18:55 A.N.T. Farm 19:20 Violetta 20:05 Jessie 20:30 My Babysitter’s A Vampire 20:50 Austin And Ally 21:15 Austin And Ally 21:40 That’s So Raven 22:00 Jessie 22:25 A.N.T. Farm 22:50 Good Luck Charlie 23:10 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place

06:00 Kid vs Kat 06:10 Iron Man

Armored

Adventures 06:35 Kickin It 07:00 Max Steel 07:25 Phineas And Ferb 07:35 Phineas And Ferb 07:50 Slugterra 08:15 Pair Of Kings 08:40 Kickin It 09:05 Kickin It 09:30 Lab Rats 09:55 Lab Rats 10:20 Pair Of Kings 10:45 Kick Buttowski 11:10 Mr. Young 11:35 Slugterra 12:00 Kickin It 12:25 Max Steel 12:50 I’m In The Band 13:15 Lab Rats 13:40 Almost Naked Animals 14:05 Phineas And Ferb 14:30 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 14:55 Lab Rats 15:20 Phineas And Ferb 15:30 Phineas And Ferb 15:45 Kickin It 16:10 Pair Of Kings 16:35 Crash & Bernstein 17:00 Lab Rats 17:30 Kickin It 18:00 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 18:25 Phineas And Ferb 18:35 Phineas And Ferb 18:50 Phineas And Ferb 19:15 Slugterra 19:40 Crash & Bernstein 20:05 Ultimate Spider-Man 20:30 Max Steel 20:55 Pair Of Kings 21:20 Rated A For Awesome 21:45 Kick Buttowski 22:10 Mr. Young 22:35 Scaredy Squirrel 23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00am KSA

00:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner 01:20 A Haunting 02:10 LA: City Of Demons 03:00 Deadly Affairs 03:45 I Almost Got Away With It 04:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner 05:20 A Haunting 06:10 Nightmare Next Door 07:00 Mystery Diagnosis 07:50 Street Patrol 08:15 Street Patrol 08:40 Real Emergency Calls 09:05 Who On Earth...

09:30 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 10:20 Solved 11:10 Disappeared 12:00 Mystery Diagnosis 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...

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 On The Case With Paula Zahn 22:50 Serial Killers 23:40 I Almost Got Away With It

00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 Leno 05:30

The Daily Show The Colbert Report The Big C South Park Unsupervised Two And A Half Men The Simpsons Seinfeld The Tonight Show With Jay All Of Us

06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 Leno 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 Leno 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:30

The War At Home Malibu Country Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Seinfeld All Of Us Family Tools Modern Family Happy Endings Malibu Country The Tonight Show With Jay

The Daily Show The Colbert Report Web Therapy South Park Unsupervised Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

24 Castle Justified Smash Bones Warehouse 13 24 The Finder Necessary Roughness Bones Castle Warehouse 13 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Necessary Roughness 24 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Necessary Roughness The Carrie Diaries Top Gear Special Sons Of Anarchy Smash

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 C.S.I. Miami Homeland Live Good Morning America C.S.I. Miami Once Upon A Time Homeland C.S.I. Miami Once Upon A Time Homeland American Horror Story American Idol

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Scream Of The Banshee Amphibious Doom True Justice: Angel Of Death The Blood Bond True Justice: Blood Alley Romancing The Stone Lords Of Dogtown True Justice: Blood Alley Big Trouble In Little China Lords Of Dogtown 5 Days Of War

00:00 02:00 04:00 PG15 06:00 08:00 PG15 10:00 12:00 14:00 PG15 16:00 PG15 18:00 20:00 22:00

Amphibious-18 Doom-18 True Justice: Angel Of Death-

The War At Home Seinfeld All Of Us Malibu Country The Simpsons Modern Family Happy Endings The Daily Show The Colbert Report The War At Home Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Family Tools 30 Rock 30 Rock Happy Endings The Tonight Show With Jay

The Blood Bond-PG15 True Justice: Blood AlleyRomancing The Stone-PG15 Lords Of Dogtown-PG15 True Justice: Blood AlleyBig Trouble In Little ChinaLords Of Dogtown-PG15 5 Days Of War-PG15 Fertile Ground-18

00:00 The Hangover 2-18 02:00 A Few Best Men-18 04:00 Who Framed Roger RabbitPG15 06:00 Barnyard-PG 08:00 The Family Stone-PG15 10:00 Sorority Wars-PG15 12:00 Who Framed Roger RabbitPG15 14:00 Police Academy 3: Back In Training-PG15 16:00 Sorority Wars-PG15 18:00 Blame It On The BellboyPG15 20:00 Crazy, Stupid, Love.-PG15 22:00 The Hangover 2-18

LORDS OF DOGTOWN

ON OSN MOVIES ACTION

01:00 My Own Love Song-PG15 03:00 Blue Lagoon: The Awakening-PG15 04:30 Catch Me If You Can-PG15 07:00 My Own Love Song-PG15 09:00 Blue Lagoon: The Awakening-PG15 11:00 Ring Of Deceit-PG15 12:45 Dreamgirls-PG15 15:00 A View From Here-PG15 17:00 The Wild Hunt-PG15

5 DAYS OF WAR ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION 19:00 Remember Sunday-PG15 21:00 My Week With Marilyn-PG15 23:00 Pariah-18

01:00 Shark City-18 03:00 Wind Chill-PG15 05:00 Contagion-PG15 07:00 Cinderella PT 1-PG15 09:00 Cinderella PT 2-PG15 11:00 An Inconvenient Truth-PG 13:00 The Hand That Rocks The Cradle-PG15 15:00 Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid-PG 17:00 An Inconvenient Truth-PG 19:00 Hackers-PG15 21:00 Girl, Interrupted-18 23:00 The Tourist-PG15

01:30 Dirty Teacher-PG15 03:00 A Monster In Paris-PG 04:45 Christmas Comes Home To Canaan-PG15 06:30 Dolphin Tale-PG 09:00 Arthur 3: And The War Of Two Worlds-PG 11:00 Larry Crowne-PG15 13:00 Love Will Keep Us TogetherPG15 15:00 Klitschko-PG15 17:00 Arthur 3: And The War Of Two Worlds-PG 18:45 Rock Of Ages-PG15 21:00 Sparkle-PG15 23:00 Wanderlust-R

01:00 The Marvelous Land Of Oz 02:45 The Ugly Duckling In The Enchanted Forest 04:30 A Very Fairy Christmas 06:00 The Marvelous Land Of Oz 08:00 Emperor’s Secret 10:00 The Land Before Time 11:30 The Ugly Duckling In The Enchanted Forest 13:00 The Tooth Fairy 2 14:30 The Emerald City Of Oz¬† 16:00 Back To The Sea 18:00 The Swan Princess Christmas 20:00 Gnomeo & Juliet 22:00 The Emerald City Of Oz¬† 23:30 Back To The Sea

00:00 Madea’s Big Happy FamilyPG15 02:00 Carnage-PG15 04:00 Nacho Libre-PG 06:00 Madea’s Big Happy FamilyPG15 08:00 Dating Coach-PG15 10:00 Mandie And The Secret Tunnel-PG 12:00 Carnage-PG15 14:00 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted-PG 16:00 Dating Coach-PG15 18:00 Premium Rush-PG15 20:00 Moonrise Kingdom-PG15 22:00 The Five Year Engagement18

00:30 01:00 01:30 02:30 03:30 04:00 04:30

NRL Full Time Futbol Mundial Champions Tour Trans World Sport PGA European Tour Weekly Inside The PGA Tour Trans World Sport

05:30 ICC Cricket 360 06:00 Ladies European Tour Highlights 07:00 NRL Premiership 09:00 Golf The Challenge Series 09:30 Trans World Sport 10:30 ICC Cricket 360 11:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 11:30 Futbol Mundial 12:00 NRL Full Time 12:45 Live NRL Premiership 15:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 16:00 ICC Cricket 360 16:30 Golf The Challenge Series 17:00 Trans World Sport 18:00 Futbol Mundial 18:45 Live Osn Cup 21:00 Live Osn Cup 23:00 Futbol Mundial 23:30 NRL Premiership

00:00 02:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00

Live UFC Prelims Live UFC Main Event UFC Unleashed Futbol Mundial ICC Cricket 360 Top 14

09:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 10:00 Rugby Union Currie Cup 12:00 Trans World Sport 13:00 Futbol Mundial 13:30 Ladies European Tour Highlights 14:30 Inside The PGA Tour 15:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 15:30 Live PGA European Tour 19:30 PGA European Tour Weekly 20:00 WWE NXT 21:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 23:00 UFC Main Event

00:30 01:30 04:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:30 15:30

Golfing World AFL Premiership Rugby Union Currie Cup Golfing World Golfing World Total Rugby Futbol Mundial World Cup of Pool World Cup of Pool AFL Premiership Highlights Total Rugby Golfing World Sailing America’s Cup ICC Cricket 360

16:00 16:30 17:30 18:30 19:00 21:00 21:30 22:00

Total Rugby World Cup of Pool World Cup of Pool ICC Cricket 360 NRL Premiership Total Rugby NRL Full Time Live Super League

00:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:00 18:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Prizefighter Triahlon UK Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing Triahlon UK Mobil 1 The Grid WWE SmackDown Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing ITU World Triathlon Series WWE Vintage Collection WWE Bottom Line WWE This Week UFC Prelims UFC WWE NXT European Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series

Ron Howard’s new test of survival in F1 racing film

R

acing around the track at breakneck speed, Formula One drivers remind film-maker Ron Howard of combat pilots, or even gladiators. His new movie “Rush” is about the death-defying thrill of F1 racing and the legendary rivalry between Austrian driver Niki Lauda and Britain’s James Hunt in 1976. “The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel,” says the flamboyant Hunt, played by Chris Hemsworth of action hero “Thor” fame. For the film’s director, it’s almost like they’re going to war. “At the beginning of every year they would have a drivers’ meeting... and a number of people from that time (1970s) told me that you would look around the room and know that a couple of those faces were not going to make it, weren’t going to live through the year,” says Howard in a recent interview in Paris. “And that’s what combat pilots talk about.” The 59-yearold Hollywood director, bearded and youthful-looking in his usual baseball cap, admits he likes stories where the characters take life to the edge, “putting themselves on the line” - like in “Apollo 13”. His box office hit was based on the true story of three US astronauts orbiting the Earth in a crippled space capsule, with that unforgettable line: “Houston, we have a problem.”

Whether a comedy, drama or true story, “you’re always looking for the test, how are the characters being tested and I’m always interested in seeing how people reach for something that is really, really challenging,” Howard says. “Rush” is set in what he calls the “recklessness” of 1970s F1 racing which was “a golden age for fans, because a lot of people were dying, which made it more gladiatorial and so the danger was with the audience and the fans every lap.” The film captures the almost ghoulish fascination with racing and the tension on the track in recreating the famous fiery crash of Niki Lauda - played by multi-lingual German

actor Daniel Bruehl (“Good-by Lenin”, “Inglourious Basterds”). Lauda was left disfigured from severe burns but he went on to become an amazing comeback Grand Prix champion. Howard’s next project “In the Heart of the Sea” tells the tale of the whaleship Essex in 1820 which was attacked by a sperm whale leaving the crew adrift for 90 days, resorting to cannibalism to stay alive.

“It’s the events that inspired Herman Melville to write ‘Moby Dick’ 30 years later....

When I learned about it, and their survival story which is both tragic and heroic, really remarkable, I felt like it was a very original kind of story to tackle.”‘Feels like emotional life or death’-Howard is a son of Hollywood having started as a child actor in popular US television sitcoms, first as the young boy Opie on “The Andy Griffith Show” and then teenager Richie on “Happy Days”, and what he wants is to entertain.”I try to choose movies where I think I understand something, but also make me curious enough that I want to learn, and then offer back to audiences in an entertaining way what I think I’ve come to realize.”He made his first movie in 1977, another car flick “Grand Theft Auto”, and won a directing Oscar for the 2001 film “A Beautiful Mind”. His credits also include “Cocoon”, “Frost/Nixon”, and the screen adaptations of Dan Brown’s bestsellers “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels & Demons”. He shrugs and smiles - a glimmer of the boyish charm that endeared him to TV audiences - when asked about his rare success story, not the stereotypical child actor who grows up to be a disillusioned adult hooked on drugs. He insists he’s not alone and points to Jodie Foster. “She’s certainly a very successful child actor who’s had a very rich adult career.” He then recalls how he was encouraged to pursue directing by iconic actor Henry Fonda, whom he worked with “in the 70s on a television series that was a complete disaster.” —AFP

Classifieds THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1 ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) 1:45 PM THE CONJURING (DIG) 3:45 PM ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) 6:00 PM YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) 8:30 PM YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) 10:30 PM THE CONJURING (DIG) 12:30 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED SHARQIA-2 THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) TURBO (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) NO SUN+TUE+WED SHARQIA-3 RIDDICK (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED MUHALAB-1 RIDDICK (DIG) TOOFAN (DIG) (TELUGU) FRI & SAT RIDDICK (DIG) NO FRI & SAT RIDDICK (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM

MUHALAB-2 2 GUNS (DIG) 2 GUNS (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) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC)

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM

FANAR-1 RIDDICK (DIG) 1:30 PM PARANOIA (DIG) 3:45 PM ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) 6:00 PM RIDDICK (DIG) 8:00 PM RIDDICK (DIG) 10:15 PM RIDDICK (DIG) 12:30 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED FANAR-2 WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (05/09/2013 TO 11/09/2013) NO SUN+TUE+WED FANAR-3 2 GUNS (DIG) 1:45 PM CHENNAI EXPRESS (DIG) (HINDI) 4:00 PM 2 GUNS (DIG) 7:00 PM SHUDDH DESI ROMANCE (DIG) (HINDI) 9:15 PM 2 GUNS (DIG) 12:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED FANAR-4 TURBO (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) TURBO (DIG-3D) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) NO SUN+TUE+WED MARINA-1 TURBO (DIG) TURBO (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) THE CONJURING (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:30 PM

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

3:15 PM 5:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:15 PM 11:15 PM 1:15 AM

AVENUES-4 2 GUNS (DIG) TOM & JIMMY (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) TOM & JIMMY (DIG) TOM & JIMMY (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

360º- 1 RIDDICK (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 1:00 AM

MARINA-2 RIDDICK (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

360º- 2 WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

MARINA-3 TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) THE CONJURING (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

360º- 3 ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG-3D) 1:30 PM ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) 3:45 PM ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG-3D) 6:00 PM ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG-3D) 8:00 PM THE WOLVERINE (DIG) 10:00 PM THE WOLVERINE (DIG) 12:30 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED

AVENUES-1 ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) 2:00 PM ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (DIG) 4:15 PM THE CONJURING (DIG) 6:30 PM THE CONJURING (DIG) 8:45 PM THE CONJURING (DIG) 11:00 PM THE CONJURING (DIG) 1:15 AM NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-2 WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-3 YOU’RE NEXT (DIG)

2:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

1:15 PM

1:15 PM 3:15 PM 5:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:15 PM 11:15 PM 1:15 AM

Mazda zoom (3) silver color, model 2009, excellent condition, KD 1,550. Tel: 50994848. (C 4496) 2-9-2013 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

energetic. Filipina preferred.

Call 9768-7172.

5-9-2013 A Kuwaiti family in Jabriya is looking to hire an Indian driver, part-time from 7 am to 4 pm. Salary KD 80 per month, weekly day off on Friday, one month paid leave annually.

Tel: 67094773. (C 4497) 2-9-2013

SITUATION VACANT

360º- 4 THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG-3D) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

AL-KOUT.1 TURBO (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) TURBO (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.2 WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) THE SMURFS 2 (DIG)

FOR SALE

No: 15919

Full time in Salwa. Must speak English, be young &

Prayer timings

Fajr: Shorook Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM

04:05 05:27 11:47 15:20 18:07 19:26

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines BBC QTR MSR JZR JZR SAI THY ETH GFA NIA MEA UAE ETD THY RJA FDB RBG MSR QTR THY QTR DHX FDB MSC THY KAC JZR JZR BAW JZR JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC UAE IRA KAC IZG ABY IRA FDB QTR ETD SYR GFA MEA JZR JZR MSC JZR JZR UAE MRJ MSR MSR THY KNE KAC QTR FDB KAC ABY JZR

Arrival Flights on Thursday 5/9/2013 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 148 DOHA 2142 CAIRO 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 441 LAHORE 764 SABIHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 253 ALEXANDRIA 408 BEIRUT 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 768 ISTANBUL 642 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 67 DUBAI 555 ALEXANDRIA 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 770 ISTANBUL 6130 DOHA 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 2401 ALEXANDRIA 5470 ISTANBUL 412 MANILA 555 ALEXANDRIA 1541 CAIRO 157 LONDON 529 ASYUT 503 LUXOR 382 DELHI 206 ISLAMABAD 332 TRIVANDRUM 284 DHAKA 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 855 DUBAI 605 ISFAHAN 362 COLOMBO 4161 MASHAD 125 SHARJAH 617 AHWAZ 55 DUBAI 132 DOHA 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 341 DAMASCUS 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 561 SOHAG 403 ASYUT 241 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 505 LUXOR 871 DUBAI 4813 MASHAD 610 CAIRO 579 SOHAG 766 ISTANBUL 480 TAIF 672 DUBAI 140 DOHA 57 DUBAI 546 ALEXANDRIA 121 SHARJAH 257 BEIRUT

Time 00:05 00:05 00:20 00:20 00:40 01:30 01:40 01:45 01:55 02:00 02:10 02:25 02:30 02:50 03:10 03:10 03:15 03:15 03:30 04:35 04:50 05:10 05:50 05:55 05:05 06:15 06:20 06:25 06:30 06:40 07:40 07:30 07:25 07:55 08:15 07:45 07:50 08:05 08:25 08:40 08:45 08:45 08:50 09:10 09:15 09:25 09:30 10:10 10:40 10:55 11:35 12:20 12:40 12:35 12:30 12:45 12:55 13:00 13:05 13:10 13:20 13:40 13:45 13:50 14:15 14:25 14:30

SVA KNE KAC OMA KAC KNE NIA FDB RJA KAC JZR QTR JZR ETD UAE ABY UAL GFA SVA JZR KAC JZR RBG TAR KAC QTR KAC KAC KAC FDB GFA KAC KAC KAC AXB JZR KAC JAI RBG OMA FDB ABY JZR MEA AFG MSC MSR KNE MSC ALK UAE ETD QTR DHX GFA JAI RJA FDB THY AIC JZR UAL JZR JZR DLH JAI JZR MSR KLM THY

500 472 562 645 788 470 251 8053 640 118 535 134 787 303 857 127 982 215 510 177 176 777 557 327 542 144 786 104 502 63 219 618 614 774 393 269 674 572 553 647 61 129 189 402 415 405 618 474 401 229 859 307 136 872 217 576 5478 59 6512 981 239 981 185 135 636 574 513 614 411 772

JEDDAH JEDDAH AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA MUSCAT JEDDAH JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA DUBAI AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA NEW YORK CAIRO DOHA RIYADH ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI SHARJAH WASHINGTON DC DULLES BAHRAIN RIYADH DUBAI GENEVA JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA TUNIS CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH LONDON BEIRUT DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN RIYADH KOZHIKODE BEIRUT DUBAI MUMBAI ALEXANDRIA MUSCAT DUBAI SHARJAH DUBAI BEIRUT KABUL SOHAG ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA COLOMBO DUBAI ABU DHABI-INTL DOHA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN COCHIN AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA DUBAI ISTANBUL CHENNAI AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN FRANKFURT MUMBAI SHARM EL SHEIKH CAIRO AMSTERDAM ISTANBUL

14:30 14:35 14:40 14:40 15:00 15:05 15:50 15:50 15:55 16:00 16:10 16:15 16:15 16:35 16:55 17:10 17:15 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:45 17:50 17:55 18:00 18:15 18:25 18:30 18:45 18:50 18:55 19:05 19:10 19:35 19:25 19:15 19:15 19:25 19:35 19:40 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:10 20:15 20:20 20:25 20:30 20:50 21:00 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:30 21:40 21:45 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:40 22:40 23:00 23:10 23:20 23:20 23:30 23:40 23:45

Airlines AIC AXB JAI UAL DLH MSR MSR JZR BBC THY SAI THY ETH NIA MEA THY UAE FDB RBG MSR ETD QTR RJA QTR JZR JZR QTR FDB MSC GFA THY JZR KAC JZR THY BAW FDB JZR JZR KAC KAC ABY KAC IRA IZG UAE KAC FDB IRA ETD QTR KAC KAC SYR GFA KAC KAC MEA JZR JZR KAC JZR JZR MSC MSR MSR MRJ THY

Departure Flights on Thursday 5/9/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA 490 MANGALORE 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 2143 CAIRO 502 LUXOR 44 DHAKA 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 442 LAHORE 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 621 ADDIS ABABA 254 ALEXANDRIA 409 BEIRUT 769 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 556 ALEXANDRIA 613 CAIRO 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 643 AMMAN 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 504 LUXOR 6131 DOHA 70 DUBAI 2402 ALEXANDRIA 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL 240 AMMAN 545 ALEXANDRIA 164 DUBAI 5471 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 256 BEIRUT 534 CAIRO 671 DUBAI 561 AMMAN 126 SHARJAH 787 JEDDAH 606 MASHHAD 4162 MASHHAD 856 DUBAI 153 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 56 DUBAI 616 AHWAZ 302 ABU DHABI 133 DOHA 101 LONDON 501 BEIRUT 342 DAMASCUS 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 405 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 786 RIYADH 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 268 BEIRUT 406 SOHAG 580 SOHAG 611 CAIRO 4812 MASHHAD 767 ISTANBUL-ATATURK

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:15 00:20 00:25 00:30 00:30 01:20 01:30 01:30 02:20 02:30 02:40 02:45 02:55 03:10 03:40 03:45 03:50 03:55 04:15 04:20 04:25 04:50 05:15 05:55 06:20 06:20 06:30 06:55 07:00 07:10 07:10 07:20 07:25 07:30 08:25 08:25 08:50 09:10 09:25 09:25 09:30 09:35 09:40 09:45 09:50 09:50 09:55 10:10 10:15 10:25 10:25 11:10 11:10 11:25 11:30 11:45 11:55 12:25 12:50 13:00 13:20 13:35 13:40 13:50 14:00 14:05 14:10

KNE UAE FDB QTR ABY KAC KNE OMA KAC SVA JZR KAC KNE FDB KAC NIA RJA JZR JZR QTR ETD JZR ABY UAE GFA SVA UAL JZR RBG JZR TAR QTR FDB GFA JZR KAC AXB RBG KAC JAI FDB ABY KAC KAC OMA KAC MEA AFG MSC MSR KAC KNE DHX MSC ETD ALK UAE QTR DHX KAC GFA RJA FDB KAC JAI JZR JZR KAC KAC JZR

481 872 58 141 122 673 473 646 617 505 188 773 471 8054 613 252 641 238 512 135 304 538 128 858 216 511 982 184 558 266 328 145 64 220 134 283 394 554 1541 571 62 120 331 343 648 351 403 415 404 619 543 475 171 402 308 230 860 137 873 301 218 5478 60 205 575 554 1540 411 415 528

TAIF DUBAI DUBAI DOHA SHARJAH DUBAI JEDDAH MUSCAT DOHA JEDDAH DUBAI RIYADH JEDDAH DUBAI BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA AMMAN AMMAN SHARM EL SHEIKH DOHA ABU DHABI CAIRO SHARJAH DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI ALEXANDRIA BEIRUT TUNIS DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DHAKA KOZHIKODE ALEXANDRIA CAIRO MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH TRIVANDRUM CHENNAI MUSCAT KOCHI BEIRUT JEDDAH ASYUT ALEXANDRIA CAIRO JEDDAH BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA BAHRAIN MUMBAI BAHRAIN AMMAN DUBAI ISLAMABAD ABU DHABI ALEXANDRIA CAIRO BANGKOK KUALA LUMPUR ASYUT

14:10 14:15 14:30 14:55 15:05 15:05 15:30 15:40 15:45 16:00 16:00 16:00 16:00 16:30 16:35 16:50 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:20 17:20 17:40 17:50 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:30 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:50 19:25 19:35 19:50 20:05 20:15 20:15 20:20 20:25 20:35 20:40 20:45 20:50 20:55 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:20 21:25 21:30 21:30 21:45 21:50 22:00 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:40 22:40 22:40 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:20 23:25 23:40 23:50 23:55

34

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

stars CROSSWORD 301

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) You should find this day an easy one that runs fairly smooth. Ideas and interaction with authority figures or older people may be current, but on a level that shares information, not to criticize work. Working with—rather than against—the flow should be easy to do. You are disciplined, work hard and are good at getting others to work with and for you. A creative friend is more than willing to help you make progress. Perhaps a little too serious and frugal, you enjoy getting along on less. Others could learn from your thrifty ways. Romance and other things that tug at the heartstrings come your way as a new cycle begins. A child or lover may come to mean everything. This is a creative period for you, a time to take a chance, a time to be appreciated.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You are able to tend to whatever business is persistent, as well as help the public with answers to questions. You have the choice and the ability to change a negative into a positive—do not push. Independence, as well as anything unusual or different, is valued. Do not become lost in someone else’s emotional tussle. Sensitive, psychological material coming to your attention is presented to you in a disguise. You think it concerns you, but what is happening is that you are chosen to guide and teach the other—friend, neighbor, relative, etc.

Later, you will be able to understand what really occurred. Now, you will benefit from analytical insights, getting to the heart of things—penetrating. You may enjoy the evening meal away from home tonight.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. A law passed by US Congress to prevent employees from being injured or contracting diseases in the course of their employment.

5. (British) A minicar used as a taxicab.

12. Hormone released by the hypothalamus that controls the release of thyroid-stimulating hormone from the anterior pituitary.

15. A platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles.

16. A bitter yellow powder used to treat skin diseases.

17. Imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy.

18. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls.

19. Disease of rodents (especially rabbits and squirrels) and sometimes transmitted to humans by ticks or flies or by handling infected animals.

20. Electronic warfare undertaken to prevent or reduce an enemy's effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum.

21. West Indian tree having racemes of fragrant white flowers and yielding a durable timber and resinous juice.

23. Black tropical American cuckoo.

24. A coffee cake flavored with orange rind and raisins and almonds.

26. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

28. Lower in esteem.

30. (used especially of glances) Directed to one side with or as if with doubt or suspicion or envy.

34. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

37. A reptile genus of Iguanidae.

38. A Mid-Atlantic state.

41. Female equine animal.

43. Stem of plants of the Gramineae.

45. A software system that facilitates the creation and maintenance and use of an electronic database.

47. Medium-sized tree-dwelling monkey of the Amazon basin.

48. Any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all.

50. Any tropical gymnosperm of the order Cycadales.

51. (informal) Exceptionally good.

54. 4-wheeled motor vehicle.

55. A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series).

56. Not only so, but.

59. A standard or model or pattern regarded as typical.

61. A fractional monetary unit of Japan and Indonesia and Cambodia.

63. Relating to or having the characteristics of bees.

65. An ice containing milk.

68. After a negative statement used as an intensive meaning something like `likewise' or `also'.

72. An ugly evil-looking old woman.

73. A river that rises in northern Colombia and flows generally eastward to the Orinoco in central Venezuela.

76. Botswanan statesman who was the first president of Botswana (1921-1980).

77. (Babylonian) The sky god.

78. Italian painter and sculptor and engineer and scientist and architect.

80. The shape of a raised edge of a more or less circular object.

81. A doctor's degree in dental surgery.

82. A great raja.

83. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.

DOWN 1. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

2. Large genus of tropical subshrubs or herbs some of which yield fibers of mucilaginous substances.

3. Heal or recover.

4. A large fleet.

5. A member of an American Indian people of Yucatan and Belize and Guatemala who once had a culture characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy.

6. A self-funded retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement.

7. Relating to or accompanying birth.

8. Extremely robust.

9. Large dark-striped tropical food and game fish related to remoras.

10. Make amends for.

11. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

12. 100 thebe equal 1 pula.

13. Framework for holding objects.

14. A federally chartered corporation that purchases mortgages.

22. An unofficial association of people or groups.

25. The Magadhan language spoken by the Assamese people.

27. A ductile gray metallic element of the lanthanide series.

29. A decree that prohibits something.

31. United States painter best known for his portraits of George Washington (1755-1828).

32. The Mongol people living the the central and eastern parts of Outer Mongolia.

33. The basic unit of money in Ghana.

35. Make or cause to be or to become.

36. A cord or band of inelastic tissue connecting a muscle with its bony attachment.

39. A woman hired to suckle a child of someone else.

40. A parliamentary monarchy in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

42. An arc-shaped whitish deposit sometimes seen in the cornea.

44. Relating to or characteristic of Hungary.

46. A white trivalent metallic element.

49. A program under which employees regularly accumulate shares and may ultimately assume control of the company.

52. The title of the ancient Egyptian kings.

53. 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.

57. Preserve a dead body.

58. South American cavy.

60. South American plant cultivated for its large fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers.

62. Wine and hot water with sugar and lemon juice and nutmeg.

64. Last or greatest in an indefinitely large series.

66. The (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb.

67. Tropical American flat-jointed prickly pear.

69. Swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs.

70. An independent ruler or chieftain (especially in Africa or Arabia).

71. Avatar of Vishnu.

74. 4-wheeled motor vehicle.

75. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

79. A person who announces and plays popular recorded music.

You seem to pull answers out of a hat. You have the ability to guide and lead others through the many hassles of life. You could be very much in demand as a counselor. You are good at solving problems and can teach others some of your own findings.

This is a real time to concentrate on your career. Your organizational abilities and sense of responsibility will be what proves successful. You may decide that now is the time to go into business for yourself. You achieve the best for yourself through work that is open and honest.

You feel love is in the air as you receive an invitation to go to an upcoming event with someone you have wanted to date for a while. A buffet table is of interest to you this evening; careful on the seconds.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) The positive pictures that you can create in your mind give you a nice supply of good energy today. You could practice using positive thoughts in the future when you have feelings of doubt. Real power is always hidden—finding it means delving into the secret places where you are bound to look now. You seem compelled to deal with the great mysteries in life. A bout of philosophy or even a little religion could have an enormous effect on your outlook at this time.

Lasting values can guide you now—opening up avenues that have remained blocked. The creative side of you is aching to perform this evening. You may be teaching, redecorating, cooking or learning some new artistic medium. If you are shopping, there are thoughts of future redecoration.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You decide not to challenge authorities—instead you work up a presentation that will do just as well and better prove your point. You may have learned about some important information lately. Resourceful ideas hold the key to realizing your ambitions. The energies today lean toward broken promises. Keep your promise and you will not be as inconvenienced as you think—break it and you will have many regrets. If someone breaks a promise to you, remember the old saying about, “walking a mile in another person’s shoes.” there is a chance to understand those around you and to have a special time with someone you love. General good feelings and a sense of support and harmony make this a happy time.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Your ambitions and goals are central to your character. Today you will be considering your goals and how close you are to reaching them. You will get the green light to proceed with a plan in the workplace today. Much of your personal life hinges on pursuit of your own growth and success—now is the time for some big progress. Your talents and activities seem to be related to the workplace instead of as a hobby or pastime.

When in the mood, you love to express yourself, entertain and perform for others and enjoy being surrounded by an audience. This afternoon you may find yourself shopping for new clothes. This evening you will be entertaining a few of your neighbors in a small get-together. You are very captivating.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) You may be picking out a home or purchasing real estate soon. Financial gain and material wellbeing are among the brighter prospects looming before you now, as you focus in on how much things really mean to you. There may be a tendency to emphasize the material too much, which could lead to the feeling that the things you own, own you instead.

Faith, optimism and a yearning to explore all kinds of new horizons are some of the focal points in your life at this time. Travel or continued education may open new doors of opportunity to you. If you are in the workplace instead of in educational surroundings, you may decide to obtain further instructions or education to better your job. You will be pleasantly surprised at the result of your efforts.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You set your own pace in the workplace today. You keep things running in a smooth manner. Business is very good and you are able to create more business at almost every turn you make. This may mean that you get a lot accomplished. Work on developing your technical skills for today. Networking with others, in addition to developing your technical skills, will soon provide you with many opportunities to a more secure future. Your ability to work well with people is also imperative. A time is coming when you could make some real headway in the working world through your social contacts. You are also learning that job security rests in your professional relationships as well as your skills—an important lesson. Think of ways to network.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You may be looking through some of your company’s old files and dates and complaints or orders to see where some technical problem keeps happening. You may spend a great deal of time finding the key that opens the answer. Don’t give up; you are on the right track. You have a lot of energy for this research and during the process, there is a chance that you can improve the accounting procedures for the company. You are very motivated to improve, correct or change. You may find that both your personal growth and your career may depend on how you can handle some of the sensitive psychological material coming up now. You will benefit from logical insights, getting to the heart of things. Tonight there is time for a good movie or book.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) CAPRICORN You are a winner because you never consider failing. This can be rough, however, because if there are no possibilities, such as failing, it may be difficult to stretch and grow. In the workplace you strive to see both sides of an issue and you may use your noon break to figure out resolutions to opposing views. It is important that you take some quiet time for yourself. This may mean a short drive or walk. Clearing your mind can actually bring new insights. There is a greater than usual interest in relationships, social connections and the arts this afternoon. Appearances and style may count more than substance now. Romance, the arts and life’s other pleasures seem to take center stage. You benefit by sharing your loving thoughts this evening.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) This is a day for thinking and ideas. You may feel like talking a bit more than usual, exploring new ideas or getting happily lost in a conversation. There will be an urge to communicate. Also, perhaps a short trip, or a special phone call is in order. Your high degree of mental concentration makes you an excellent student and if you are not involved in any sort of educational achievement, you may want to become involved now. This could be something as simple as taking a class in scuba diving or a writing class to update your working skills. You are able to excel in speaking, writing and all types of communication.

Your ambitions go hand in hand with communication and using the mind. Friends want to play this evening. Enjoy!

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Your career may be tied more to your appearance and how you come across to others. You may find that success comes by concentrating on your outward manner—the way others see you. There is intellectual creativity and expressing yourself with a flair that comes to mean more to you at this time. Beating the odds through cleverness is appealing and this may lead to an interest in all kinds of financial speculation. A lover or child who is bright and expressive begins to play a bigger role in your life now. You are pleased to guide and direct this person’s education. You may be able to enjoy and value your own life situation. A visitor may compliment you on your tastes. Creative expression may give you much enjoyment this evening.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

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

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

GOVERNORATE

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

Sabhan

24742838

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Al-Helaly

22434853

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Al-Faiha

22545051

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

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

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Hawally

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

Endocrinologist

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

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

25665898 25340300

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

lifestyle G o s s i p

G

wen Stefani is reportedly pregnant with her third child.

The 43-year-old singer and her husband are said to expecting a sibling for their sons, Kingston, seven, and five-year-old Zuma. The couple are delighted with the happy news and Gwen has already started nesting in preparation for the tot. A source told In Touch Weekly magazine: “Gwen and Gavin couldn’t be happier. She’s just trying to focus on resting right now. She wants to make sure that all is well with the baby.” Gwen has previously admitted she wanted a third, and revealed she and Gavin, 47, tried for a baby in 2010. She said: “I

really, really, really wanted one. It didn’t really work out. So I feel good with what we’ve got. Everything works out how it should. You can’t plan everything, right? You can try.” Despite her incredible pop success, Gwen has also stated her greatest achievement in life has been having a family. She previously said: “My biggest accomplishment is my marriage so far.

Because it’s hard, everyone knows it’s hard. Marriage is something that I always wanted to do successfully. It was a dream of mine. I like the official-ness and the family-ness of it all, having the same name and making decisions together.”

C

hristina Aguilera says “sexiness should be effortless”.

The 32-year-old pop star insists she can feel attractive in anything and doesn’t need to get dressed up to feel sexy for her man Matthew Rutler. Speaking to the new US issue of Maxim magazine, she said: “I’m such a down-to-earth girl, I’m comfortable in just a jersey and boy’s underwear. Trying too hard to be sexy is the worst thing you can do. Sexiness should be effortless.” Christina also revealed the biggest turn off for her in a man is a guy who wants to woo her with a song. The ‘Your Body’ singer who split from her ex-husband, music marketing executive Jordan Bratman, in late 2010 - says nothing makes her feel more uncomfortable than being serenaded. Christina who has a five-year-old son, Max, from her marriage to Jordan - explained: “The quickest way for me to feel weird and run for the hills is if somebody sits down and serenades me with a guitar. It’s not my thing.” The October issue of Maxim magazine is out on September 17.

R

osie Huntington-Whiteley has brushed off speculation she has split from Jason Statham, insisting they’ve “never been happier”. The 26-year-old model and the ‘Parker’ actor reportedly agreed to a trial separation after getting into “lots of arguments” of late, but the blonde beauty’s publicist is adamant the pair haven’t called time on their five-year romance and were together as recently as last weekend. The catwalk beauty’s spokesperson said: “Rosie and Jason have not split and are not on a break. In fact, Rosie just got back from spending the weekend with Jason on the set of his new movie. They have never been happier.”

The Victoria’s Secret Angel and Jason, 45, were rumored to have taken a “time out” from their relationship earlier this week after several rows.

A source said: “ There is no other person involved. They love each other very much and are not making an announcement because they’re still hoping to working things out. “But things have not been good, there have been lots of arguments and they both need some space. They are taking some time out from each other. Bear in mind there’s an almost 20 year age gap between them - they are going to run into some issues.” Rosie recently revealed that she leans on her actor beau for “stability” due to her work in the difficult fashion industry. She explained: “Many models are in long-term relationships for stability. Admittedly, not always with great men, but it gives them something to come home to, something grounding. That’s how I see my relationship.”

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eter Andre decided to end his reality TV show because he wants to “go on a high”. The ‘Mysterious Girl’ singer decided to pull the plug on his ITV2 series ‘Peter Andre: My Life’ himself after several years of documenting his career, relationships and three children - Princess Tiaamii, six, son Junior, eight, and step-son Harvey, all from his previous relationship with ex-wife Kate Price - rather than see it get axed. Speaking T V series ‘ This Morning’, he explained: “It’s going to be the 10th series since I started and we go on a high - the ratings have been amazing, the last series was the highest rating we’ve ever had ... and I thought let’s leave it on a high and bow out gracefully. I can always revisit in a few years if I want to - but there are opportunities overseas that I haven’t been able to do, and I want to do more presenting and maybe one-off specials...”

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The 40-year-old star’s departure from the reality show, comes after he announced in July he is expecting a child with his 23-year-old girlfriend, medical student Emily MacDonagh after a year of dating. When asked if Emily’s reluctance to share her life on screen was a motivation for quitting the show, Peter replied: “Maybe she’s mentioned that a couple of times... and I am with someone who is a lot more private and even though I am public and I could never ask for privacy, but you have to also respect the other person. “But it’s not just that, I do honestly think that we’ve done it and the public have been amazing, and I would hate it for the ratings to start slipping and then I have to stop.” Peter also appeared in a string of reality shows with ex-wife Katie, including ‘When Jordan Met Peter’ and ‘Jordan & Peter: Marriage and Mayhem’.

ofia Vergara has been named the highest paid US TV actress for a second year running. The ‘Modern Family’ star reportedly earned a whopping $30 million between June 2012 and June 2013, from both her role on the hit sitcom and numerous endorsement deals, which is more than double the income of her closest rival, ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ actress Mariska Hargitay. The Colombian beauty is thought to have commanded big bucks from mega-deals with companies including Diet Pepsi and Kmart due to her popularity in Latin America, a growing market in the business world. Sofia, 38, has her own clothing line with supermarket chain Kmart - for which she was paid a staggering $7 million advance - as well as deals with the soft drinks company, furniture chain Rooms to Go, cosmetics brand Covergirl, Comcast, State Farm Insurance and more.

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he 76-year-old icon is stepping away from movies after a career spanning five decades, which has seen him appear in many iconic films including ‘The Shining’, ‘Batman’, ‘Easy Rider’ and ‘Chinatown’. A Hollywood insider told RadarOnline.com: “Jack has - without fanfare - retired. “There is a simple reason behind his decision, it’s memory loss. Quite frankly, at 76, Jack has memory issues and can no longer remember the lines being asked of him. His memory isn’t what it used to be.”

Jack’s illustrious career has included three Oscar wins, two for Best Actor in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and ‘As Good as It Gets’ and a Best Supporting Actor statuette for his turn in the 1983 film ‘Terms of Endearment’. Jack has previously singled out his role as ‘The Joker’ in Tim Burton’s 1989 version of ‘Batman’ with Michael Keaton in

the lead role as a personal favourite. He said: “I was particularly proud of my performance as The Joker. I considered it a piece of pop art.” Jack is also philosophical about his fame, saying he believes he has “done OK” In an interview published in Britain’s Esquire magazine in June, he said: “I take responsibility for my successes as well as my failures. But when I look at my professional mistakes, I’m always left with the feeling that maybe I should have done more.

These are my private musings. “I’m such a perfectionist. I always feel over-praised, or whatever. In the abstract, I know I’m a good person, a good professional. But it’s nice to be noticed a little bit, ain’t it?” The last film Jack appeared in was 2010s ‘How Do You Know’, which also starred Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson.

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elly Osbourne is launching her own plussize fashion line. The ‘Fashion Police’ cohost previously hinted she would like to create her own range of clothing aimed at larger women, and it now appears her dream will become a reality after inking a deal with an unnamed company.

According to UsMagazine.com, Kelly confirmed the news at BeautyCon in Los Angeles last month, where she told fans: “I had one of the most exciting meetings of my life this week - it pretty much green-lit my clothing. When I sat down in this meeting and they said, ‘Yes, you have creative control and of course you can do plus size,’ I was like, ‘It’s happening!’ “The 28-year-old star who is daughter of rocker Ozzy Osbourne and ‘The X Factor’ judge Sharon Osbourne - is known for punk-rock style and while she will incorporate her own fashion sense into the clothing line, she plans to tone down her designs, admitting her style may not be to everyone’s tastes. She added: “It still has to be very me - quirky. [But] that’s me, so I have to [also] have something slightly normal.” Kelly has previously opened up about her struggles with her weight and has lost a massive 70 pounds since 2009.

The brunette beauty’s $30 million windfall puts her comfortably ahead of Mariska, 49, who earned $11 million over the last year, according to financial magazine Forbes.

‘The Big Bang Theory’ star Kaley Cuoco lands in joint second place for her $11 million earnings, also. Reality TV stars, the Kardashian sisters, Kim, Kourtney and Khloe - who are considered actresses by Forbes for the purposes of the list - come in fourth place with $10 million between them, but they share the position with ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ leading lady Ellen Pompeo, ‘The Heat’ star Melissa McCarthy, ‘30 Rock’ creator-and-actress Tina Fey and former reality TV star Bethenny Frankel.

Other TV starlets who made the cut include ‘New Girl’ actress Zooey Deschanel, ‘The Mindy Project’ come-

dienne Mindy Kaling and ‘Scandal’ beauty Kerry Washington.

Sofia topped the list in 2012 with earnings of $17 million, making her $30 million payday all the more impressive.

Forbes Highest paid US TV Actresses 1. Sofia Vergara - $30 million 2. Mariska Hargitay and Kaley Cuoco - $11 million 3. Kardashians, Ellen Pompeo, Melissa McCarthy, Bethenny Frankel and Tina Fey - $10 million 4. Cobie Smulders - $9 million 5. Alyson Hannigan - $8 million 6. Amy Poehler and Julianna Margulies - $7 million 7. Lena Dunham, Zooey Deschanel and Courteney Cox - $6 million 8. Whitney Cummings - $5 million 9. Mindy Kaling - $4 million 10. Kerry Washington - $3 million — Bang Showbiz

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

lifestyle F e a t u r e s

This undated publicity photo provided by Brian Patrick Flynn shows a playful family room in a home shared by two young parents and their two active sons.

A family-friendly breakfast nook designed by Flynn that showcases the designer’s mix of classic patterns such as plaid, youthful colors such as navy blue and red, commercial-grade fabrics like automotive vinyl used for kid-friendly residential upholstery, and tables with rounded corners to avoid any mishaps from roughhousing. — AP photos

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says. But kids doing homework or art projects need the brighter light that overhead fixtures provide. Make sure your family room has both.

n many homes, the “family room” is decorated with just one purpose: to withstand the impact of juice-spilling, gameplaying, cookie-eating, crayon-wielding children. The result is often a room that’s long on durability but short on style. How can you create a stylish, sophisticated family room where grown-ups will want to spend time, while still keeping the space kid-friendly? Three design experts - Brian Patrick Flynn of decordemon.com and Flynnside Out Productions; Betsy Burnham of Burnham Design; and Jon Call of Mr. Call Designs offer some advice: Strong fabrics “Design technology and textiles are catching up with our family-friendly lifestyle,” says Burnham. “There are so many outdoor fabrics, so many amazing vinyls” that are durable and easy to clean, but also look good. Burnham is a fan of Holly Hunt fabrics treated with Nano-Tex, which resists spills and stains without changing the fabric’s texture. Indoor/outdoor rugs are another great option now that they’re being made with materials soft to the touch.

Flynn, who often uses Sunbrella indoor/outdoor fabrics, suggests upholstering with removable slipcovers for easy cleaning. When choosing slipcovers, “washed linen is great since it’s meant to look worn-in and super casual.” He’s also a fan of very dark denim: “Navy blue and charcoal are my go-to choices for denim slipcovers since they look more tailored than basic beiges or creams.”

Neat sofas Call recommends skipping sofas that have three or four seat cushions and several more cushions across the back. “If you’ve got kids playing and jumping on those,” he says, you’ll constantly be finding the cushions out of place or on the floor. Instead, he says, pick a sofa with one large seat cushion and no separate cushions along the back - “something tailored and clean looking” that won’t need its cushions adjusted constantly.

Multi-use tables Family rooms are built for entertaining, so think about flexible seating, Burnham says. “Maybe a side table that’s also a stool, or a coffee table that’s also a bench or an ottoman.”

Kids can use an ottoman as a surface for games, while adult party guests can use it as seating. Opt for tables with rounded corners for safety in rooms where kids often play, Flynn says, and choose tables with “metal or weathered wood tops.

Metal tops can withstand heavy wear and tear, while weathered wood is intended to look worn, so as kids take their toll on the pieces, it simply adds to the intended look.”

Varied lighting Rooms that do double-duty need lighting that does too, says Call. “When you have adults over or if you’re watching TV or it’s a more intimate moment, you want a lamp by the sofa, at eye-level or below, to create intimate pools of light,” he

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NEW YORK: Everybody is talking about Molly, but few aside from the young, hip and famous knew who she was until the death of two people at a New York music festival this weekend.

The sweet-sounding name belongs to an Ecstasy-like designer drug that is being blamed for the deaths of Olivia Rotondo, 20 and Jeffery Russ, 23, during the Electric Zoo music festival.

Four others landed in intensive care and the three-day event-which attracts tens of thousands to see artists such as David Guetta-was cancelled ahead of its final day on Sunday “due to serious health risks,” according to the mayor’s office. A New York Police Department spokeswoman said the deaths appeared to be related to “a narcotic commonly known as Molly.”

Molly is thought by many users to be a “pure” form of MDMA or Ecstasy, an hallucinogenic party drug which is often laced with dangerous substances. “There is nothing pure about it at all,” said Erin Mulvey, spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Agency’s New York division. She told AFP the drug was entirely synthetic, based on a stimulant called methylone which enters the country from places such as Canada, China or India and is turned into capsules or powder form to be snorted or ingested.

The party drug of choice for this dance generation, Molly has increasingly come under the spotlight in the past year, surging into popular culture through the mouths of some celebrities. Madonna sparked outrage after she took to the stage at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival last year and said: “How many people in this crowd have seen Molly?”. She later said she was referring to a friend’s song. However that song refers to a girl named Molly who makes him “want to dance.”

Hip-hop star Kanye West sings about it, as does Miley Cyrus who had the lyric “dancing with Molly” bleeped out of her performance of “We Can’t Stop” at the MTV music video awards last Sunday. “It is kind of like an endorsement of anything else. If Madonna and Miley know about it, I should know about it,” said Robert

Thompson, pop culture expert at the University of Syracuse. He likened the innocent-sounding name to nicknames used by previous generations such as Mary-Jane for marijuana or Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds for the psychedelic drug LSD. The cryptic code-name has become a kind of inside joke. One photo circulating from the Electric Zoo festival shows five friends in neon yellow tops each spelling out a different letter of the word “Molly’ It has also become a veiled way for youngsters to boast about drug abuse on social media. “Kids are saying on Twitter: ‘I am going to see Molly tonight’, their parents have no idea who Molly is,” said Mulvey of the DEA. She said the harmless name was just another way distributors were trying to make their product enticing to teenagers and college kids.

“We have seen Molly in a pink crystallized form looking like candy,” said Mulvey, warning that despite its reputation as a less damaging drug “there is nothing safe about it at all.” “It is a stimulant with very detrimental effects, your temperature increases, you are almost burning inside. Blood pressure increases, you can go into a coma. “People assume it is going to be a euphoric event and they end up in the emergency room. There have been overdoses throughout the entire United States.”

Yet while Molly may be getting more popular, Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the New York chief medical examiner, said that there were “a very small number” of deaths from the drug. She highlighted that drug overdoses were “very often a combination of more than one drug.” After the Electric Zoo deaths, Molly’s image has become a little bit less conspiratorial and hush-hush. One Twitter user commented: “Last night my mom was watching the news and asked me if I knew who Molly was hahahahaha.”— AFP

Extra storage Have a place for everything, Burnham says, so toys and other kid-related items can be put away easily at the end of the day. She recommends a wall of built-in cabinets with doors, so kids’ clutter can be easily stashed, at hand but out of sight. She also suggests creating storage space in the family room for a few fragile or valuable items that aren’t kid-friendly. “You can have a cashmere throw in the cabinet that you pull out for the adults,” Burnham says. By storing these things in the room, you’re more likely to really use them, yet they’re protected from the kids’ play.

Flynn also recommends built-ins, and suggests “adding color and pattern to their back panels.” “I usually use largescale patterned wallpaper,” he says. Consider nautical styles: “They’re casual and fun, and they don’t take themselves too seriously.”

For additional storage, Flynn says, replace coffee tables with “upholstered storage ottomans complete with safety locking mechanisms, which prevent little ones from getting inside of them to hide, and also protecting any little fingers from hinges.” He suggests upholstering ottomans with indoor-outdoor fabrics so they’ll withstand spills and sticky fingers.

s the US mulls intervening in the Middle East again, former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld wriggles out of straight answers on the Iraq war in Errol Morris’s new documentary, screening in Venice yesterday. “The Unknown Known” takes its title from a 2002 speech Rumsfeld gave to justify the invasion. Asked at the time whether Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, he replied that there are “things we do not know we don’t know”. In the film, Morris repeatedly attempts to quiz Rumsfeld on this and other decisions taken by a man accused of disastrous mismanagement of the war and condoning policies on interrogation which led to cases of extreme abuse of prisoners.

His interviewee proves to be simultaneously combative and a slippery character. The film is structured around Rumsfeld’s obsessive memo writing, with the 81-year-old reading several of his so-called “snowflakes” aloud. Unlike the director’s 2003 “The Fog of War” documentary about the career of Robert S McNamara, secretary of defense during the Vietnam War, Morris’s subject here offers no confession but a series of chilling self-contradictions. It is a portrait of a man caught lying through

Bold colors In a high-traffic family room, Call suggests sticking with deeper colors rather than whites or pale shades. Flynn agrees: “The one color I use more than any other in family-centric spaces is navy blue,” he says, because it can appeal to the whole family. He recommends Seaworthy navy from SherwinWilliams: “It has just the right amount of purple in it to make it bright instead of dark.” “Red is another high-energy hue which works great in family rooms,” Flynn says, which works well with most other colors, especially black-brown, navy blue and charcoal.

Playful decor Don’t hide the fact that the room is being shared with kids, Flynn says. “Embrace it. Work children and playfulness into the design of a family room’s aesthetic,” he suggests. On the walls, he likes to use “pop art or original photography of toys, especially vintage toys, or black-and-white candid photography of the family blown up to an enormous scale” to personalize the room. “Kids and pets are a huge part of our lives. Since we love them more than the sofas and chairs they sit on, why not make them as much as part of a room’s decoration as its furnishings?”

Flynn says. — AP

his teeth, who smiles it off. In a one-to-one interview based on 33 hours of footage, Morris asks him whether interrogation tactics signed off by the defence secretary led to abuse, and if the Bush administration linked Hussein to the 9/11 attacks.

Rumsfeld denies both-though Morris has an independent report on the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison which proves otherwise, and a tape of Rumsfeld at a press conference clearly saying Hussein was involved in the Twin Towers attack.

“Look, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Thinking that is a lack of imagination,” Rumsfeld says. After nearly two hours, the documentary-which also charts Rumsfeld’s rise and uncanny ability to manipulate himself into positions of power-ends with the octogenarian shedding an unconvincing tear for a wounded soldier he visited.

“My wife describes Rumsfeld as the Cheshire Cat from ‘Alice in Wonderland’, who at the very end vanishes and is left with just a smile. I think it’s an apt comparison,” Morris told journalists in Venice. “I look at it as a devastating portrait, a frightening portrait,” he said. “I contradict him quite often. But that’s not the goal, I much prefer it when he contra-

dicts himself, which he does repeatedly. “He uses a strange language designed to manipulate others, but ends up losing himself in a sea of words,” he said. Morris’s final question in the documentary, one that the viewers were also asking, is why Rumsfeld agreed to be interviewed in this fashion in the first place.

True to nature, the white-haired veteran politician avoids answering. “I read about the ‘snowflakes’ he had written on 40 to 50 years in politics and business and decided there was a movie there,” Morris said. “I wrote him a letter. His lawyer said I was mad, that Rumsfeld would never do it.

Yet I got a reply within a week to visit him in Washington,” he said. “I didn’t get a confession. Do I think I got the real Rumsfeld? I think one of the great mysteries of the film is whether he is acting or not,” he added. — AFP

St Basil Cathedral is decorated with laser during the “Spasskaya Tower” International Military Orchestra Music Festival at the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. The festival started on Sunday, Sept 1 in Moscow and would last until Sunday Sept 8. — AP

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

lifestyle M U S I C

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True Blood to end its run next year

Photo shows Japanese actor Ken Watanabe gestures during an interview in Tokyo. — AP

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race yourselves, “True Blood” fans; the end is near. HBO Programming president Michael Lombardo said on Tuesday that the vampire drama will end its run next year following its seventh season, which will launch next summer. In a statement, Lombardo called “True Blood” - which saw the departure of showrunner Alan Ball prior to its sixth season - “nothing short of a defining show for HBO.”‘True Blood’ has been nothing short of a defining show for HBO,” Lombardo said. “Alan Ball took the books by Charlaine Harris, assembled a brilliant cast led by the magnificent Anna Paquin in the role of Sookie Stackhouse, and crafted a show that has taken its many devoted fans on an unforgettable journey.

Alan passed the baton to Brian Buckner, who led our fantastic writers and crew in crafting a spectacular sixth season, and he will lead us through the seventh and final season of this amazing show. Together with its legions of fans, it will be hard to say goodbye to the resi-

dents of Bon Temps, but I look forward to what promises to be a fantastic final chapter of this incredible show.”

Brian Buckner, who took the reins for the show’s sixth season, said that he was “enormously proud” to be part of the series.”I feel enormously proud to have been a part of the ‘True Blood’ family since the very beginning,” says Brian Buckner. “I guarantee that there’s not a more talented or harder-working cast and crew out there, and I’d like to extend a personal heartfelt thanks to them for their dedication and tenacity over the years, especially this past year, as I stepped into a larger role. Thank you also to HBO for their unwavering support and of course to Alan Ball, whose genius enabled all of us to share in this incredible journey. Finally, a huge thank you to the most passionate fans in television. As we take a final walk through Bon Temps together, we will do our very best to bring Sookie’s story to a close with heart, imagination and, of course, fun.” — Reuters

Fox brings hit superhero drama Da Vinci’s Demons to Middle East TV

DUBAI: Airing for the first time and exclusively on Free TV in the Middle East, the inaugural season of Da Vinci’s Demonstells the untold, action-filled storyof Leonardo da Vinci’s early adult lifeas a Renaissance icon and avid adventurer.

Written and produced by David S Goyer(Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises), the fictional drama premieres on Fox on 5 September at 9pm KSA/10pm UAE - only weeks after its exclusiveglobal debut on the FOX International Channels Network. The show- which fuses themes of fantasy, politics and science -is set in medieval Florence and depicts the legendary artist as a historical heroin pursuit of knowledge.

Da Vinci’s Demons - which features a dual audio option -follows a 25 year-old Leonardo Da Vinci (played by Tom Riley) as he embarks on a quest to invent the future all the while battlinghis own personal, inner demons. The show’s plotlinegradually intensifies as Da Vinci is caught in a perpetual conflict between

truth and lies, fantasy and reason, past and future.

The war between nation-states Florence and Rome also serves as the backdrop for the show’s suspenseful storyline, pulling viewers into a fantasy world filled with mystery and darkness.

The series’ highly-anticipated US premiere aired on FX on 12 April.

“Da Vinci’s Demons is yet another strong addition to Fox’ remarkable roster of shows airing -for the first time and exclusively on the channel - this fall,” said Athreyan Sundararajan, Head of Marketing, Fox International Channels (FIC) Middle East. “The series - which has already premiered on the FIC Network in over 100 countries - has emerged as aglobal phenomenon. It is a must watch for fans of this genre. And, best of all, its debut in the region comes a mere few months after the show’s US premiere!”

Da Vinci’s Demons airs for the first time and exclusively on Fox every Thursday at 9pm KSA/10pm UAE starting from 5 September.

Watanabe stars in Eastwood’s ‘Unforgiven’ remake

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he Japanese remake of Clint Eastwood’s ‘Unforgiven’ isn’t a mere cross-cultural adaptation but more a tribute to the universal spirit of great filmmaking for its star Ken Watanabe.”I was convinced from the start that this will be an original Japanese movie in its own right,” said Watanabe, who has become the go-to Japanese actor for Hollywood. Watanabe was happy Eastwood welcomed the idea of the remake, and they kept in touch. But, once the shooting began, he was focused on delivering what director Lee Sang-il wanted in the new movie, not an easy re-interpretation.”What I cherish as my joy is that sense of purpose we shared with Clint as people working hard on a film,” Watanabe said before departing for the Venice Film Festival, where the Japanese film will premiere tomorrow.

The remake turns the tables on Eastwood, whose stardom originated in spaghetti Westerns, the European films depicting the American West which often remade samurai films and were influenced by Japanese directing styles. The 1964 classic ‘A Fistful of Dollars,’ starring Eastwood, was a retelling of auteur Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Yojimbo.’ Eastwood’s ‘Unforgiven’ was released in 1992 and earned four Oscars, including Best Picture. The Japanese remake, which opens in its home country Sept 13, keeps the original’s title, characters, themes and plot: An aging, reformed warrior picks up his weapon - a sword rather than a gun - to help prostitutes who want revenge for abuse.

The landscape changes from the sandy Old West to the freezing, sometimes-snowy island of Hokkaido in the 1880s, setting a different ambience. Instead of a shootout, this film’s climax is a bloodily cruel choreography of swordsmanship. Eastwood’s original was stunning when it came out for defying the stereotypes of cowboy movies, where the gun-slinging good guy triumphs over the bad guys, but instead raised fundamental questions about what was

really good versus evil, according to Watanabe.The remake examines those issues further, reflecting psychological complexities and introducing social issues not in the original, such as racial discrimination.”It reflects the modern age. People are stifled, burdened and suffering to survive,” Watanabe said. The original was simple and straight-ahead. The new version is more problematic. It’s as though all the characters are writhing in thick mud,” he said.

Watanabe, 53, has become sought after in Hollywood since appearing alongside Tom Cruise in ‘The Last Samurai’ in 2003. He starred in Eastwood’s ‘Letters From Iwo Jima’ and costarred in “Inception” and “Batman Begins.”“I find him very impressive, of course,” film critic Leonard Maltin said.

While Watanabe takes Eastwood’s starring role in ‘Unforgiven,’ veteran Akira Emoto plays the sidekick previously portrayed by Morgan Freeman. Yuya Yagira, named best actor for ‘Nobody Knows’ at the 2004 Cannes film festival, plays the younger, troublemaker cowboy.

Koichi Sato plays the villainous sheriff, the role that earned Gene Hackman a supporting actor Academy Award in Eastwood’s film. Watanabe also is set to be in the 2014 “Godzilla” remake, as well as in the upcoming Martin Scorsese film, ‘Silence,’ based on Shusaku Endo’s novel about the historical persecution of Christians in Japan.

He shrugs it all off.

His switch to US movies has proved refreshing, delivering that feeling of starting from scratch. He loves feeling like the new kid on the block, reliving that same uncertainty and thrill when he started out in the movies in his 20s.

And that’s important for an actor and something he can bring back to Japanese movies, too, he said.”Actors are always afraid of ending up like overcooked old soup over time. What’s risky is that you don’t realize this has happened, and you just get thick and boring,” he said.”Going abroad was like getting a new pot to cook everything again. I was a rookie, a new

self. And they were asking me: Who are you?”Watanabe stressed he was proud of the legacy of Japanese films, a legacy he has helped create in a career spanning more than three decades, following legends like Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai. Kei Kumai, the late director of “Sandakan No. 8,” said he knew instantly that Watanabe was destined for stardom when they met in the 1980s, recognizing that he boasted the same power to focus that characterized Mifune.”He possessed that charm only stars have, the power to attract people,” Kumai wrote in his 1996 memoirs. Watanabe’s success highlights the long-lasting power of the Japanese movie industry. The US raked in $10.8 billion a year at the box office, China $2.7 billion and Japan $2.4 billion, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. Watanabe stressed he has gone to Hollywood as a Japanese actor, and nothing else. That’s critical for his identity, he said. Sometimes he worries the old glory of Japanese movies may be fading. He hopes his ‘Unforgiven’ might help win over new foreign fans. After working with Eastwood on “Letters From Iwo Jima,” Watanabe liked the intuitive way the American director worked, leaving so much to the actors, often not even rehearsing.

Once toying with the idea of directing, Watanabe says after “Unforgiven,” he’s convinced again of his true calling. “I don’t think I can ever get that cruel,” he said of its director Lee, with a laugh. Lee demanded multiple takes from his actors, despite the freezing weather, and hung Emoto on ropes for hours and clubbed him with a real stick to film one scene. Still, Lee had only praise for Watanabe’s acting.”Ken never waffles.

Regardless of the situation, regardless of the colors of the place he finds himself, he is always rooted solid,” Lee said in a statement. “His role must speak through his back. It’s not when he is saying his lines. He speaks after he has finished talking, when he is listening to someone else, when he is silent.” — AP

How ‘The Conjuring,’ ‘We’re the Millers’ became new line’s unlikely summer smashes

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n a summer of superheroes, cartooned critters and bloated budgets, New Line Cinemas beat the odds by betting on a pair of low-cost films that defied expectations to become two of the most profitable hits of the year. Going into blockbuster season, “The Conjuring” and “We’re the Millers” were barely a blip on the radar. The talk was squarely centered on “Iron Man 3� and “Man of Steel,” with very little buzz left over for a gross-out comedy about an unlikely tribe of drug mules and a horror film without any A-list stars. Yet with as a roller coaster summer at the movies reaches draws to an end, “The Conjuring” has made back its $20 million budget more than tenfold, scaring up $243 million globally.

Likewise, “We’re the Millers,” filmed for an economical $34 million, has topped the domestic grosses of the much more expensive “Hangover Pat III,” racking up $112.8 million in North America and an additional $39.5 million in foreign territories.

“It all came together,” Toby Emmerich, president and COO of New Line Cinema, told TheWrap. “The movies tested well, they had good dates and they were effective examples of counter-programing. I’d say the movies exceeded our expectations, but going into the summer, the expectations for both movies were very high.” Plus, the low-cost of the films allowed New Line and its parent company Warner Bros. to finance the productions without bringing in outside partners. Other major films must divvy profits between an array of production companies and film financiers, but these spoils belong entirely to the studio.

“This goes back to what New Line’s roots were, smartly positioned films that have the lowest of low budgets,” Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations, said. “To have two films match their budgets at the box office within the first week of their release is phenomenal. It can’t work for everybody, but when you have a big studio like Warner Bros behind you and a smart marketing campaign, it’s a great strategy.” New Line is already putting the finishing touches on a first draft of a sequel to “The Conjuring” and has begun discussing the viability of a follow-up to “We’re the Millers.”

It’s an explosive turnaround for a studio that started out 2013 with a whimper. “Jack and the Giant Slayer” eked out $197.9 million worldwide, barely as much as the $195 million it cost to pro-

duce. Steve Carell and Jim Carrey couldn’t save the laugh-challenged “ The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” which grossed an anemic $22 million. In the wake of its twin flops, New Line was pilloried in some Hollywood circles.

Emmerich admitted that the criticism could be bruising, but said that the studio’s confidence in its summer slate helped cushion the blow.

“The movie business is cyclical, you have hits and misses,” Emmerich said. “The good thing was during that first quarter, we’d already seen how our summer films were playing in front of test audiences, so we knew we were challenged, but we also knew that we had good stuff coming.” After a summer riddled with pricey flops, New Line’s more fiscally conservative approach could begin to find favor in an industry. Emmerich doesn’t think that that Hollywood will turn its back on tent pole films.

But he acknowledged that this summer’s flops may prompt some to take a hard look at their business models.

He said too many films carry costs that

require that they open to $50 million or more if they have any hope of recouping their investment. “Studios are going to be more cautious and more selective in their decisions to make movies that must open in that range in North America in order to be successful,” Emmerich said. “This summer showed that it can look like you have good on paper, you can open in a prime time and you can still miss the mark. I can’t imagine that trend is not resonating in with senior executives in studio board rooms.”

The smaller costs of “The Conjuring” and “We’re the Millers” reduced New Line’s risk, enabling it to slowly build up word-of-mouth rather than swing for the fences. Emmerich said that strong test audience response gave the studio confidence that both movies appealed to enough of a niche to attract a crowd in a competitive marketplace.Yet, there were still risks.

Though a few horror films like “The Blair Witch Project” have found a receptive audience, summer is not traditionally a strong season for the genre. —Reuters

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

lifestyle

A Minute With:

M U S I C

&

M O V I E S

Vin Diesel on going dark, getting ripped and Facebook

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ith a voice several octaves underground and a piercing stare, action star Vin Diesel goes to an even darker place as Riddick in the third installment of the sci-fi film series, nine years after ‘The Chronicles of Riddick.’ In ‘Riddick,’ which opens tomorrow, Diesel’s ex-convict character leaves his comfortable world as leader of the Necromonger death race to search for his homeland. Once double-crossed and left for dead, he resolves to rebuild himself, both physically and morally, but must do battle against beasts and bounty hunters.

“Riddick” is the second release this year for Diesel, who got his big break in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Saving Private Ryan’ but who now is best known as Dominic Toretto in the high-octane thriller ‘Fast & Furious” series. ‘Fast & Furious 6’ has grossed nearly $800 million worldwide this year and ‘Fast & Furious 7’ is due out next near.

After firing off questions about what will happen in Syria, the 46-year-old actor reclined on a couch and talked about the toll of playing Riddick, the difficulty of getting a beer belly and what to do with 46 million Facebook followers.

Q: You are older, wiser, calmer. Actually, what were you like 10 years ago?

A: I was a maniaaaaaccccc!

Q: So, is it a good time for you to be interpreting a more contemplative, isolationist Riddick?

A: Sure, on so many levels. And yet, as a father, it’s a little harder to carve out that time to go dark.

We had promised everyone we would have ‘Riddick’ before I made “Fast Five.” In my own personal life, I was just realizing I was going to have a son and that was enough for me not to push to make Riddick (in 2010) ... You can’t be Riddick and welcome life. It wouldn’t be fair to the audience and it wouldn’t be fair to the kid.

Q: Why do you think Riddick still resonates with audiences?

A: All of us can identify with a character that has been given up on, misrepresented, misjudged, overlooked. We know he has great ability and yet he is someone just written off as a criminal. Forever we will think of him as someone in the penal system. On some occasions, when shit gets really ugly, you depend on him more than anything in the world. I think that is what makes him such an interesting anti-hero.

Q: Do you maintain a constant in your physical preparedness or do you have an offseason? If so, what do you do in your offseason?

A: You are looking at it. (He then dives on to the couch). (Director) David Twohy wanted me to create a body type that within one week’s notice could flip from the slothful Lord Marshal to the primal planet Riddick ... That was very, very challenging to maintain. That called for building core strength and then while doing production if I had to go slothful, I would stop training completely. And if I had to return to planet Riddick, I would train double. Last year, I was transitioning from the Riddick character

This film image released by Universal Pictures shows Vin Diesel in a scene from “Riddick.” — AP Q: You do a good job of keeping your life private. to the Dom character and I was about two weeks A: Thank god. into shooting Dom and my twin brother came out Q: How important is that to the success of from New York to visit me. We went to dinner and he goes like this to my stomach (hits it). ‘Hey man your work?

A: I am from the New York school of actors - the that’s solid. You are cheating, man. I read somewhere that when you do the Dom character you De Niros and the Denzels and the Pacinos - who drink a lot of beers to get a mechanic’s belly. Where have always been really quiet about their lives, as opposed to the more Hollywood approach that is is it, man?’ more out there. And yet there is a change that Q: So did you get a beer belly?

A: It’s so tricky, because you can’t go all the way you’ll feel throughout the industry and that is the like a truck driver. For the Dom character, I have advent of social media ... People are expecting to never wanted him to feel like he trains in a gym or hear from you, to be somewhat let in. But people is a bodybuilder. I wanted him to feel like a guy in are very respectful about my privacy. My friends good shape, one who lifts up engines all over the always talk about the fact that I am never out, never place, not afraid of some hard work. But I always go to red carpets, don’t go to events in an attempt wanted to maintain that kind of Americana, snap- to generate press. But at the same time, I have on-tool, drink-a-beer kind of character. It is more developed a very intimate relationship with 46 milimportant to be accurate about the character then lion people. And that changes everything. I don’t know how it is going to play out. — Reuters worrying about being in shape.

Review

‘Populaire’ is a love letter to ’50s films ‘M

As part of its social responsibility plan Arabian Oud sponsors mass wedding for 250 couples in Makkah RIYADH: Arabian Oud, the largest specialized perfume retailer in the world and the Middle East region’s foremost luxury fragrance house, extended its heartfelt congratulations, as the gold sponsor of the event, to 500 youths as they tied their knots in the fifth mass wedding held on 19th of Shawwal 1434 H at King Saud Hall, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah. The event was organized by ‘ The Charity Society for Helping Youth Get Married in Makkah’, under the auspices of Prince Khaled Al- Faisal, Governor of Makkah Province.

Arabian Oud’s sponsorship of the mass wedding reflects its strong commitment to social and humanitarian responsibility to raise the bar of these types of communal initiatives which target all segments of the society, with particular focus on the youth as the present and future pillars of comprehensive development. At the event, Arabian Oud gave away valuable gifts to the newlyweds, including a wide range of

Arabian Oud’s luxurious fragrances for men and women, in addition to a selection of incense for homes.

The event was of great importance at the level of encouraging the youth to marry and build typical and well-knit families to effectively contribute to comprehensive development in the future. Broadcasted live on several television channels, the fifth mass wedding leveraged on the latest technologies and advanced solutions to provide a high-spirited, unique environment for both the spouses and the audience. At the end of the ceremony, Arabian Oud, represented by Mohammed Abdul Wahab Merdad, received an honorary shield for its support to the event.

Arabian Oud upholds an impressive track record of excellence in making effective contributions to several social initiatives across Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with a number of humanitarian and charity associations to support the youth, needy families and people with special needs.

Jon Stewart returns to ʻThe Daily Showʼ after film

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on Stewart is back as host of “The Daily Show,” and the shaggy beard he grew over the summer is gone. In his return Tuesday, Stewart referenced stories he missed -New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner’s sexting and Miley Cyrus’ sultry MTV dance - then took up the challenge of trying to make comedy and social commentary out

In this Nov 8, 2012, file photo, Jon Stewart performs at the 6th Annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit concert in New York. — AP

of the Syria alleged poison gas attack. Stewart had been off Comedy Central since June 6, directing and producing a movie. British comedian John Oliver subbed, to strong reviews.

Stewart was welcomed in an extended skit with Oliver and Stephen Colbert, who tried to bring back the old Stewart after Oliver mockworried that “the Middle East has changed him.”Back at his desk, Stewart beckoned the camera close to whisper to his audience: “I’ve missed you so much. You don’t know what it’s like in the real world. Nobody applauds every stupid (expletive) thing that you do.”

Stewart played a tape of President Barack Obama urging military action against Syria.

“America taking military action against a Middle East regime,” Stewart said. “It’s like I never left.” After showing Secretary of State John Kerry referring to “signatures of sarin gas” in the attack, Stewart launched into a mock commercial for “Signature of Sarin” perfume. “I came back to a dark, dark place,” he said. He played news network tape of various commentators saying that military action against Syria is necessary because the United States would look weak without doing it. “Oh, right,” he said. “We have to bomb Syria because we’re in the seventh grade.” He conducted an interview with the head of the United Nation’s relief effort in Jordan, taking care of refugees from Syria that have now exceeded two million. — AP

ad Men’ meets “The Artist” in “Populaire,” a superbly crafted, finely acted but somewhat shallow retro rom-com about a young French secretary who, with the help of her highly persuasive boss, hammers her way to becoming one of the fastest typists on the planet. This impressive debut feature from writer-director Regis Roinsard is boosted by terrific lead turns from Romain Duris and Deborah Francois (“The Page Turner”), as well as some stunning old-school cinematography from Guillaume Schiffman of “The Artist.” Still, there’s something formulaic and all too overtly crowd-pleasing about this sepia-toned tale of female empowerment and lost love, making for a rather soulless affair.

Set in the rain-swept towns of Lower Normandy in 1958, the film makes its throwback status heard loud and clear from the get-go, with opening credits (directed by Alexandre Courtes, “Asylum Blackout”) straight out of a Billy Wilder movie and decors and a color palette that would please the likes of both Alfred Hitchcock and “Mad Men’s” Matthew Weiner. Indeed, it’s easy to spend most of the movie simply gawking at the sets (by Sylvie Olive) and costumes (by Charlotte David), so Roinsard, along with co-writers Daniel Presley and Romain Compingt, deserves credit for weaving an amusing intrigue that never lets up

This film image released by The Weinstein Company shows Romaine Duris, left, and Deborah Francois in a scene from “Populaire.” — AP

This film image released by The Weinstein Company shows Deborah Francois in a scene from “Populaire.” — AP until the closing half-hour, when his premise starts to grow old.

A quick intro presents small-town gal Rose Pamphyle (Francois, channeling the feistier side of Grace Kelly), who works at her dad’s local grocery store but longs for a better life. She thus decides to apply for a secretarial position at a neighboring insurance office run by the sleek, fast-talking Louis Echard

(Duris, sharp and sprightly), who’s impressed by both her superhuman typing skills and killer looks. Before long, he takes Rose under his wing as his protegee, training her for a regional secretary competition and moving her into his country mansion, where she’s swept into a daily regimen of extreme typewriting and unrequited romance.

The bond the two form is not unlike that of Don

Draper and Peggy Olson - hairstyles and smoking habits included - and Rose’s climb to a higher social status is reminiscent of Peggy’s evolution from clerk to copywriter. The difference here is that while the “Mad Men” duo ultimately transforms into a surrogate father-daughter team, the two Frenchies clearly have the hots for each other. Yet Louis is incapable of closing the deal, blocked by an enduring affection for his childhood sweetheart (Berenice Bejo) and memories of serving in the French Resistance during WWII. While the love story is meant to fuel much of the action, it’s often overshadowed by the thrill of the training sessions and typing competitions, which Roinsard films as if they were some kind of office combat sport. Cutting between the competing secretaries as they pound out keystrokes and slam back their typewriter carriages, the director and editors Laure Gardette and Sophie Reine endow these sequences with the nail-biting suspense of a finale at Roland Garros, making them the real highlights of the movie But for all the earnestness with which the filmmakers replicate the muted colors and attitudes of the postwar era, they ultimately fail to say anything truly interesting about either the past or the present, resulting in a work that feels as superficial as it does slick.

As Louis’ expat buddy, Bob (Shaun Benson) explains at one point, “America is for business, France is for love,” and there are times when “Populaire” seems to be channeling its love of movies simply as a means to achieve Hollywood clout. “Populaire,” a Weinstein Company release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for “a scene of sexuality.” Running time: 111 minutes. MPAA rating definition for R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. — AP

Douglas and Damon to present at Emmy Awards

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ehind the Candelabra” stars Michael Douglas and Matt Damon will present trophies at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, the first presenters confirmed for the September telecast. Another first: Neither has been a presenter at the television awards show in the past. Both Douglas and Damon are nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries of Movie category for the HBO film. The evening marks the fifth Emmy nomination for each.

Douglas was previously nominated in 2002 for Outstanding Guest Star in a Comedy Series (“Will & Grace”) as well as for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama (“The Streets of San Francisco”) in 1974 and Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor (“The Streets of San Francisco”) in 1975 and 1976. Damon was previously nominated in 2011 for Outstanding Guest Star in a Comedy Series (“30 Rock”) as well as one of the nominated producers for Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (“Project Greenlight”) in 2002 and Outstanding Reality Program (“Project Greenlight”) in 2004 and 2005. The telecast will air live from the Nokia Theatre LA Live in Los Angeles on Sunday, Sep 22 at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on CBS. Neil Patrick Harris will host and produce; Ken Ehrlich will executive produce. — Reuters

In this May 31, 2013 file photo, actor Matt Damon, left, and Michael Douglas pose for photographers while leaving after the screening of “The Great Beauty” at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France. — AP

Review: ‘Populaire’ is a love letter to ‘50s films

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

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An auction house employee poses with a photograph of British model Kate Moss taken by David Sims for Paris Vogue at Christie’s auction house in central London yesterday. Forming part of ‘Kate Moss - The Collection’curated by Gert Elfering, a sale of artworks celebrating the British model, is due to be auctioned on September 25, 2013 and is expected to fetch between 10,000 - 15,000 GBP. — AFP

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Pictures taken on November 6, 2012 in Stockholm show the Kungstraedgaarden subway station, decorated in 1977 by Swedish artist Ulrik Samuelson.

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t’s deep underground, dubbed “the world’s longest art exhibition”, shows everything from Roman torsos to giant tulips and, if you live in Stockholm, can be seen everyday on your way to work. Welcome to the Swedish capital’s metro system, where 150 artists have exercised their talent on some 100 stations along the 110-kilometre (68-mile) network to distract, amuse or intrigue the tens of thousands of commuters who ply the route daily.

The subway “becomes an important place in people’s lives,” said artist Ulrik Samuelson, 78, whose 1977 design for the central Kungstraedgaarden stop remains a favorite.

The Swede, who has exhibited in galleries from New York to Paris, liked the idea of targeting an “uninitiated” audience. He created a subterranean wonderland with green, red and white shapes and stripes, as well as busts and building fragments, all alluding to a 17th-century palace that once stood above the site.

Ten years later, he added dripping grottoes and tropical plants as well as statues and fragments from an old city district demolished in the 1950s. “This is our Forum Romanum, or Forum Stockholmium maybe,” said Johanna Malmivaara, an art guide for the city metro, proudly. Samuelson’s design is part of the permanent exhibition, some of which dates back to the 1950s when the underground first opened. When it was extended in the ‘60s and ‘70s, there was concern that people unused to travelling underground might be scared, like they would “come to the underworld,” said Malmivaara.

So the Stockholm regional government suggested “‘why not make it pleasant and decorate the underground instead’,” said Malmivaara. The metro today offers an eclectic mix of paintings, sculptures, mosaics, video installations and even textile, with a hefty annual maintenance cost of 10.5 million Swedish kronor ($1.6 million, 1.2 million euros). Not all locals still pay attention, glued instead to their newspapers or smartphones.

But the art has also turned Stockholm’s metro into a magnet for tourists and, at times,

celebrities-like American pop diva Madonna, who used shots from the Hoetorget and TCentralen metro stations in the video for her 1998 hit “Ray of Light” .

“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Californian visitors Fay and Paul Krivonos, who found another famously decorated subway, the Moscow metro, “filled with pompous and propaganda art” by comparison. Themes vary widely. The centrally located T-Centralen station is pure mid-1970s “agitprop”-art-cum-propaganda. Dozens of painted workers crowd onto the ceiling with one crushing Article 32, a much-reviled chapter in the old statutes of the Swedish Employers’ Confederation permitting companies to hire and fire at will.

Morocco’s Atlas Mountains inspired artist Sigvard Olsson’s salmon pink shades at Raadhuset station, while Lasse Lindqvist focused on sports for the Stadshagen stop where ice hockey teams, swimmers and skiers peak out from folded aluminium sheets. Seven of the stations are reserved for displays that change each year. One is the Odenplan stop, coveted as a career launching pad for four new art school graduates hand-picked by the metro’s art group. Yet commuters were foremost in the minds of project developers and many artists. “Public art is available to a whole lot of people who have never even approached a gallery before,” said Samuelson.

And when the long season of ice and snow on above-ground stations causes major delays across the network, Malmivaara joked, “It is our way to say ‘Excuse us for the delays in the winter’.” — AFP

ndia is considering a ban on the use of all animals used in circuses after activists said yesterday they discovered elephants and horses shackled for long periods, dogs housed in tiny cages and drunk trainers. The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), a statutory advisory body, said it has recommended the ban after a nine-month investigation by animal rights activists into conditions at 16 of the nation’s circuses. The recommendation to India’s environment ministry follows a ban by many Western circuses of the practice amid public concern over the treatment of animals trained to perform tricks.

“Everyone enjoys the circus, but nobody sees what’s happening behind the show, the horrible treatment to the animals or how they are kept,” AWBI secretary S Umarani told AFP. “We need to bring in the right legislation to stop this cruelty. That’s why the board has recommended a total ban. Now the ministry will consider and take a call,” Umarani said. Many wild and endangered animals are already banned from Indian circus acts including bears, monkeys, tigers, panthers and lions, but the latest proposal is for a ban on all animals. Elephants are still widely used in circuses despite a ban issued in 2009, activists said.

Rights groups PETA and Animal Rahat (meaning Animal Relief) said their investigation handed to AWBI found evidence that animals have been hit with sticks with iron hooks and constantly shackled and caged, while some trainers were found drunk. Many animals were forced to perform acts despite being partially blind and injured, PETA said.

“Tricks are not natural to animals. They are beaten and punished for it...that’s why we are calling for human-only performances in circuses,” said Manilal Valliyate, director of veterinary affairs at PETA India, said in New Delhi. Many of the circuses lack the money and facilities to properly care for the animals, including adequate veterinary care, PETA said.

Ministry of Environment and Forests official Surjit Singh said a final decision on the ban could take “a long time” as it was still waiting for details on AWBI’s recommendations. The circus tradition in India dates back to the late nineteenth century, but in recent times its popularity has dwindled. Now only a little more than 20 government-registered circuses perform across the country. Some circus owners have been quoted in local media as saying the recommendation, if accepted, would spell the death knell for their businesses. A handful of countries have similar bans, while Britain’s parliament introduced a draft bill in April which would ban travelling circuses from using wild animals. — AFP

In this photograph taken on December 17, 2004, a Russian Sea lion performs during a circus show in Calcutta. India is considering a ban on all animals used in circuses after activists said yesterday, they discovered elephants and horses shackled for long periods, dogs housed in tiny cages and drunk trainers. — AFP photos