23 Sep 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

China’s Bo Xilai sentenced to life in prison

Saudi Arabia celebrates National Day

NO: 15937

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THULQADA 17, 1434 AH

Iran parades 30 2,000-km range missiles

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www.kuwaittimes.net

Disaster for Moyes as City crush United

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Kenya forces end mall siege, rescue hostages Over 68 killed in standoff with Al-Shabab militants

NAIROBI: Most of the hostages trapped in a Nairobi shopping mall by Islamist gunmen have now been rescued and most of the complex is secure, the Kenya army announced late yesterday. “Our concern is to rescue all hostages ‘ALIVE’ and that is why the operation is delicate,” the Kenya Defence Forces said in a situation update on Twitter.

“All efforts are underway to bring this matter to a speedy conclusion,” it said. The army said four of its soldiers were wounded in the latest fighting inside the upmarket Westgate mall, which was stormed by gunmen from Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shabab rebels midday Saturday.

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conspiracy theories

Still in the 1960s

By Badrya Darwish

Pakistan church bombings kill 78

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

W

hy in Kuwait we (government and citizens) always wait for something serious to happen in order to take action? Here I am referring to an online post of two crying little girls on the first day of the academic year yesterday. Let’s suppose they are around six-years-old. This video, which made rounds on various social networks, showed the teacher like a monster who mocks the sad girls and tells them “Shwich? (what’s wrong with you?) while laughing hysterically. Instead of pacifying them, she was treating the children as if they are adults and criminals.

Such incidents happen everywhere. But what is unique for us is that we are pioneers in waiting until a problem escalates. Then only we realize that we have a real problem that needs to be solved.

Following this incident, MPs started condemning the act of the teacher and sought her punishment.

Naturally, the Minister of Education apologized and promised to open an investigation into the matter. We hear many such promises of investigations on similar incidents, but we never know what happens to the investigations later. Maybe things would have been hushed up because of wasta.

My question is: If there is justice, why this hushhush about the name of the teacher and the name of the school?

If people make mistakes, they should bear the consequences. They should be exposed so that others will learn. But if every problem in my country gets silenced and one person covers for another or a cousin covers for a friend, etc etc, we will never advance. Nothing can be repaired if wasta interferes. We will always go back to zero.

Unfortunately, this is not the case with education or schools alone. We are going back to zero in every aspect. Corruption and nepotism are spreading like flu in the country and nobody cares. Let’s stick to the educational system today. Is it logical that our curriculum of 1960s has never changed or updated so far? Is it still suitable for the present generation? Everything has changed and advanced today. Now the whole world is in your palm and on your mobile. You can take a masters degree using your iPad or a mobile phone. I am not advertising for any gadgets here.

Technology has advanced over the years. Yet, our curriculum is well-preserved. You cannot continue to teach and educate the methods of 1960s to a generation who lives in the age of Twitter and LinkedIn. So, wake up the Ministry of Education and the MPs! Do not direct all your attention to writing off debts and grillings.

Max 43 º Min 25º High Tide 01:29 & 14:38 Low Tide 08:23 & 20:31

NAIROBI: Kenyan troops taking position inside the Westgate mall in Nairobi as a victim (right) lies on the ground. (Inset) Two children and a woman taking cover behind a bar inside the shopping mall. — AFP

Merkel triumphs in German vote BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives triumphed in Germany’s election yesterday, and could even win the first single party majority in more than 50 years. Her center-right coalition partners risked ejection from parliament for the first time in their post-World War II history.

Depending on what parties end up in parliament, Merkel could also find herself leading a “grand coalition” government with the left-leaning Social Democrats.

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BERLIN: German Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union chancellor candidate Angela Merkel reacts after the first exit polls results were released in Berlin yesterday.— AFP

KUWAIT: Vehicles crawl along a motorway in a veritable bumper-to-bumper traffic yesterday. As the schools reopened after a three-month summer break, the main thoroughfares and highways in Kuwait began to witness heavy traffic jams, giving headaches to passengers and traffic managers alike. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

PESHAWAR: A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a 130-year-old church in Pakistan after Sunday Mass, killing at least 78 people in the deadliest attack on Christians in the predominantly Muslim South Asian country.

Violence has been on the rise in Pakistan in past months, undermining Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s efforts to tame the insurgency by launching peace talks with the Pakistani Taleban. An assault of this scale is certain to give ammunition to Sharif’s critics who are against his peace initiative and believe militants have to be tackled by tough military action.

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

LOCAL

UNITED NATIONS: His Highness the Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and his accompanying delegation arrive in New York over the weekend.

Premier to deal with Syria, Iraq at General Assembly talks UNITED NATIONS: His Highness the Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak AlHamad Al-Sabah arrived in New York over the weekend to attend the 68th General Assembly session at a time it gains huge significance due to the current political turmoil in Syria.

Kuwait’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi indicated that the Syrian crisis, namely the chemical arms issue and prospected issuance of a resolution against the Damascus regime would be among topics of the meeting agenda, in addition to other issues related to development worldwide.

There is also no doubt that Syria will feature

highly in international, regional and bilateral talks held on sidelines of the session, he added.

In his speech at the General Assembly on Sept 25, HH the Kuwaiti prime minister will highlight political, security and economic challenges worldwide, the Middle East and Syria in particular, and Kuwait’s role in providing assistance to developing and under-developed countries.

HH the prime minister is also expected, in a separate meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in two days’ time to discuss, along with Syria, several issues related to Kuwait, including relations with Iraq, the Middle East

peace process and Kuwaiti support for UN development programmes.

Preparations are also being made for the prime minister to meet Iraqi Vice President Khodair Al-Khozaei, with a meeting, in turn, between the Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

These meetings will be held against background of completion of maintenance of the neighbouring countries’ border markers, ratification of a navigation regulation agreement at Khor Abdullah - an estuary waterway shared by

both countries - and concluding mission of the special UN coordinator for the issue of missing Kuwaiti individuals and property according to Security Council resolution 2107.

“Both countries are expected to address a joint letter to the UN chief which will bid farewell to the agreement to regulate navigation in Khor Abdullah,” revealed Al-Otaibi.

Elaborating, Al-Otaibi said the “Gulf Troika” which comprises Kuwait, Bahrain and the GCC Secretary General will hold several coordination meetings, next week, with heads of regional groups and ministers of the Security Council permanent member states.

Moreover, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled will represent Kuwait at other meetings, grouping representatives of “Yemen’s Friends,” the Non-Aligned Movement and the Islamic Cooperation Organization. Today, a “crucial meeting” for the Arab-African coordination committees wil be held in preparation for the Arab-African Summit, due in Kuwait in November.

Ambassador Al-Otaibi added that the Kuwaiti delegation would take part in a series of other meetings and round-table gatherings due to address a host of issues, namely development, nuclear disarmament and migration. —KUNA

Education cornerstone for Kuwait’s development PM addresses students on new academic year

KUWAIT: Minister of Education Nayef Al-Hajref visiting schools on the start of the new academic year yesterday.

KUWAIT: On the start of the new academic year, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah addressed students in all stages of education in the country and their parents, caretakers, and teachers and academic staff, extending the greetings and best wishes of His Highnesses the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as well as His Highness the Deputy Amir the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The premier stressed that Kuwait had for long believed that education and constant learning are cornerstones for any nation’s development, security, and welfare.

The homeland now hopes the new generations pick up where the forefathers left off and guarantee a bright future and solid standing among world nations through hard work and diligence.

As for teachers, he said their responsibility is a great one and they deserve utmost support and appreciation for their invaluable contributions, and it is His Highness the Amir’s wish that an annual ceremony be held to honor teachers and educators in a sign of recognition. Still addressing teachers, he

stressed it should be a priority to instill the sense of belonging and unity in students so that they shun sectarian, social, or any other form of disparity that could threaten our social fabric and nation’s future.

Rather than scientific fact, students should be taught the skills of scientific research, discussion, and respect of the other opinion, along with the values of respect of law,

‘Overall personal financial situation set to improve’

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: The overall personal financial situation is set to improve over the next six months, according to a survey firm. The latest Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) Survey, conducted by Bayt.com, an online website and YouGov, a research and consulting organization, shows that respondents across the region anticipate a rise in the personal financial situation.

Kuwaiti economist Dr Hajaj Bukhudoor supported the survey and said it will happen only if the stalled government’s program will materialize this time. “If the government programs push through this year or even early next year, I think the positive outlook could be true indeed. The Kuwaiti government has set aside billions of dollars which are currently untouched and if the projects come to fruition over the coming months, a better financial situation overall will be guaranteed,” Bukhudoor said. The economist was referring to a stalled $105 billion economic development plan, a government investment which includes housing, hospitals, education and other infrastructure to help Kuwait’s budding non-oil sector catch up with other parts of the GCC.

“Well, we are all hoping for the development plan to move a bit faster this time. I think it has been moving very slowly, and if the projects move a little faster, the economy will react positively. People will have jobs and buying and selling will increase, so the overall result will be positive for the country’s economy,”

Dr Hajaj Bukhudoor he added. Seven out of 10 Kuwait’s respondents state that their personal financial situation is now either the same as, or worse than what it was six months ago, with only 22 percent claiming it has improved. Only 15 percent claim that their savings have increased in the last year, compared to 48 percent whose savings have decreased. The majority (58 percent)

expect their personal financial position to improve over the coming six months, though 69 percent believe that the cost of living will increase within the same time. Over the next 12 months, 53 percent of Kuwait respondents do not plan to buy a vehicle, while 36 percent who do intend to purchase will look for a new vehicle (52 percent, compared to 35 percent who will buy a pre-owned vehicle).

A quarter (25 percent) are looking to buy property within the coming year, with 38 percent of these looking for a villa, and 60 percent of respondents preferring new property.

Consumers are looking to predominantly buy desktops or laptops (24 percent), furniture (27 percent) and LCD or plasma televisions (21 percent) over the coming six months.

“The general financial situation is hard, but attitudes of people are somehow ‘a wait and see’ thing. Much as we want it, there are factors which affect the cost of living. There are areas where we can do our share to control it. For example, by reducing expenditure, we can improve the value of money by getting better quality materials”, Bukhudoor mentioned.

Bayt.com survey was conducted on a regional level. Almost a fifth (19 percent) of the region’s respondents

state that their financial situation has improved compared to what it was six months ago, with the majority, 43 percent, claiming that it has remained unchanged, and 29 percent claiming it has become worse. Half (52 percent) state that their savings have decreased in comparison to last year. In Kuwait, three out of 10 respondents (29 percent) believe that Kuwait’s economy has improved in the last six months, while 39 percent state that it has remained the same.

Half (54 percent) anticipate better things to come over the next six months. Business conditions in Kuwait are believed to be ‘good’ (30 percent) or ‘very good’ (7 percent), with 44 percent stating that they are ‘average’, while 61 percent of respondents anticipate them to improve in a year’s time. In terms of employment opportunities, 26 percent of Kuwait respondents state that ‘there are few jobs available across various industries’, and 22 percent believe that ‘there are few jobs available across few industries’. Four in 10 of all Kuwait’s respondents (38 percent) expect an increase in jobs in Kuwait over the next six months, while 24 percent expect the situation to remain the same.

(Survey report by Bayt.com included)

Kuwait TV pays much attention to youth KUWAIT: Assistant Undersecretary for Television Affairs at the Ministry of Information Sheikh Fahad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said here yesterday Kuwait Television is keen to direct the largest share of its attention to Kuwaiti youth upon directives from His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah in sponsoring youth talents, energies, and creativities.

He said that all Kuwait TV channels care for talented youth and adopt them in various media fields as producers, writers, and directors, and multi-talented artists, Sheikh Fahad Al-Mubarak said.

Also, he added that Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah is personally eager to follow up on the implementation of plans

for various administrations in TV and Radio departments, as well as other departments in the ministry to watch how each department is using Kuwaiti youth and benefiting from their creativities and abilities. In addition, Sheikh Fahad Al-Mubarak mentioned that most of the working staff in Kuwait Youth and Sports Channel (KTV3) is of aspiring youngsters.—KUNA

positive social interaction, and active participation. The premier also addressed parents and caretakers and said the government is well aware the educational system has its shortcomings, and stressed these are being assessed and addressed in view of the priority assigned to development of education in the nation. The state is fully aware, he reiterated, that the best

guarantee for the future of the state is successful human development and investing in national capabilities and education standards. He added, families shoulder a responsibility just as heavy as that of the state, urging them to interact and cooperate with schools and educational institutions to enable achievement of goals set for our upcoming generation.—KUNA

‘Illegal trade practices should be punished’ KUWAIT: A number of economic experts called on implementing and following up on decisions made by Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) against illegal trade practices in order to achieve transparency in the stock market.

Earlier yesterday on its website, KSE warned all the enlisted companies in the bourse to avoid any illicit practices that might refer them to legal prosecution according to law no. 7/2010 of KSE’s Capital Markets Authority and the Regulation of the Activity of Securities.

The law stipulates that “any criminal procedures and transactions should be punished by a five-year in jail and a KD 5,000 to 50,000 fine or either of these reprimands.”

“Tenders must also repay any financial gain, or even loss, achieved through this illegal trade as a penalty for their criminal behavior,” the law stated.

These illegal practices could be hidden commissions, financial gifts from a medium in the local bourse and encouragements to buy or sell some deals to raise the value of some shares.

Therefore, some economic experts called on achieving transparency in the stock market in order to eliminate negative behaviors among tenders which would, hence, lift up Kuwait’s economic status in the region and take a step closer to transforming the country into a regional financial hub.

KSE’s Capital Markets Authority has the power to send out warning to suspicious tenders and traders, Mohammad Al-Thamer, a Kuwaiti bourse expert noted. “Transparency should be met and the names of illegal traders should be made public.”

He said that a special focus should be paid to companies whose shares surpass

150 percent; an indication of fake and suspicious transactions.

General Manager of Mena Financial and Economic Consultancy firm Adnan Al-Dulaimi reiterated that “the names of all illicit traders who have been referred to prosecution should be made known to the public, without any exceptions.”

Financial analysts Ali Al-Nimash and Mohammad Al-Hajri both said that some traders create multiple accounts in the stock market to hike up their shares which create unfair transactions and fake values. Therefore, they both stressed the importance of transparency and that full details of the crimes should be known to everyone.

According to a statistics made by Kuwait News Agency, there were 26 illegal cases repor ted to KSE’s Capital Market Authority in the past nine months. Some of the suspected companies are: Kuwait Commercial Complex Company , Ajwan Gulf Real Estate Dev. Co, Investors Holding Group Co, Ithmaar Bank , Oula Fuel Marketing Company, AlMadar Finance and Investment Company, Dar Al-Thuraya Real Estate Company , Future Communications Co. Global and Sokouk Holding Company.

Also, Injazzat Real Estate Dev. Co, Mushrif Trading and Contracting Company , National Industries Holding Group, Gulf Petroleum Investment, Credit Rating and Collection, Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Remal Real Estate Company , and Al-Qurain Holding Company. In addition, Kuwait Finance House , KIPCO Asset Management Company, Al-Salam Group Holding Company , Contracting and Marine Services Company, Strategia Investment Company and National Slaughter House Company. — KUNA

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

LOCAL Message of the Ambassador

Saudi Arabia celebrates National Day September 23, the first day of Libra on the horoscope, marks a glorious national epic that leads to the unification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in one strong and cohesive entity in (1351 A.H./1932 A.D.), when the late King Abdelaziz bin Abdelrahman Al-Saud completed the unification of the country’s part and declared the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Abdulaziz bin Ibrahim Al-Fayez

T

his day brings back the memory of a dear national occasion that reminds us with the sacrifices of our forefathers who established this vast entity, and gives us the motive to preserve it along with gains achieved. It also makes us continue the construction of the homeland and strengthen its pillars for the coming generations.

When security and stability were established by the late king, in all parts of the vast entity, the civil, economic, educational and cultural march began, along with all other fields to cover all corners of the country at all levels, as he, may Allah the Almighty bestow His mercy on him, placed the Kingdom on the threshold of the future.

Since the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdallah bin Abdelaziz AlSaud took over a little over eight years ago, the country has been living a distinguished period of prosperity and comfort for the Saudi citizens, as his efforts, may Allah the Almighty protect him, are in the interest of the Saudi citizen in the first place, as education, health, social security, transport, agriculture and industry witnessed qualitative moves. King Abdallah’s foreign scholarships program began to yield its fruits after sending more than 150 students, of both genders, to study abroad, and they will return to their homeland to share in the development and construction process. All that confirms the keenness of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to employ the national resources to serve the country and citizen. He was able, with his extensive experience in the political and administrative affairs, to take the Kingdom to a quality level in all fields despite all regional and international developments that surrounded the area lately.

All that made it take the lead in both the Arab and Muslim worlds in addition to what it enjoys in the form of religious, political and economic clout, and its principles in the politics and international relations, taken from the Islamic ideology, Arab values and wise policies of its leadership, as well as its care of the country’s and citizen’s security.

The Saudi women enjoyed the care of

the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and his work towards opening the fields to participate with the Saudi men in the building and development process of the society. The latest of his initiatives was his instructions to have them participate in all fields, and membership of the Shura council. He also appointed 30 women as members of the Shura council, eight months ago and also ordered to give them the right to run for municipal councils members.

The Kingdom always moves out of being the cradle of the two Holy Mosques, which affirms its Islamic role, as it always has the interest of the Arab and Muslim nation on its mind, and shoulders its religious responsibilities towards the faith and the two Holy Mosques, as the construction of the AlMasjid Al-Haram (Makkah holy mosque) and the Prophet’s (PBUH) mosque (in Madina) witnessed construction leaps all along 14 centuries, but the expansion of which the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques laid the comer stone for lately is considered the largest expansion project in the history of Al-Masjid Al-Haram, and the Prophet’s (PBUH) mosque, as it will increase the capacity of both mosques and will enable pilgrims and visitors to perform their rituals easily, in addition to many development projects in the holy places.

As for the Kingdom’s strategy to protect these gains and strengthen them, they are represented in several principles, first adhering to Islamic ideology both in rheto-

ric and deed, second hold on the Arab identity, third preserving the country’s safety and integrity of its lands and fourth to provide the citizens of the Kingdom with dignified living through economic development plans. The Kingdom, besides being a country that seeks to maintain its national security and provide its citizens with welfare, it continues its integral role in the regional and international fields through its active diplomacy and efforts in the service of the Arab and Islamic worlds, and may be the latest confirmation of this to the call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques during Ramadan last year to hold the Islamic Solidarity Conference in Holy Makkah, which reflected the Islamic solidarity at its best, and witnessed the adoption of the proposal by the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to establish a center for dialogue between Islamic sects headquartered in Riyadh. The Kingdom also plays a major role in the international efforts to stop violence and destruction in the region, and to spare the Arab people its dangers.

We should not, as we celebrate this dear occasion, forget the struggle and efforts of the late king Abdelaziz and kings Saud, Faisal, Khalid, Fahad and Princess Sultan bin Abdelaziz and Nayef bin Abdelaziz, may Allah the Almighty bestow His mercy on them all, who served the religion and country. They gave the country and citizens a lot, in all the places where shouldered responsibilities and we pray that Allah the Almighty

accepts them with martyrs.

I will not forget the strong ties between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the state of Kuwait, which has become an example to be followed in relations between countries. Contacts between the two brotherly countries at all levels are continuous and this reflected on the distinguished relations between them on both official and popular levels. On this dear occasion I would like to congratulate the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdallah bin Abdelaziz AlSaud, HRH Prince Salman bin Abdelaziz AlSaud, the Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Defence Minister, HRH Prince Miqrin bin Abdelaziz Al-Saud, the second deputy premier, the ruling family and the Saudi people, while praying to Allah the Almighty to protect the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from all evil, and to bring back this occasion with goodness and to keep the bounties of security, stability and prosperity on it and its sister Kuwait as well as the Arab and Muslim nation, and to keep for our two countries the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdallah bin Abdelziz Al-Saud and his brother HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Message of the Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Kuwait Dr Abdelaziz bin Ibrahim Al-Fayez on the occasion of the 83rd National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Lawmakers to meet to discuss priority issues Shidadiya university visit ‘a success’

By A Saleh

North Zoor power plant tender is cancelled.

KUWAIT: Speaker of the house Marzouq AlGhanem said that the lawmakers’ tour at Shidadiya university site last Thursday was successful. “This visit cut short a long process of red tape in practicing lawmakers’ role”, he underlined, noting that instead of filing parliamentary inquiries, lawmakers received answers for many questions within a matter of minutes during the visit. He added that more field visits would be made to other project sites like Jaber Hospital and Jahra Road. Moreover, Al-Ghanem said that lawmakers would meet next Tuesday to discuss priorities for the next term.

Kuwaiti imams suspended The Ministry of Aqwaf and Islamic affairs recently suspended five Kuwaiti mosque imams and referred them to investigations for violating regulations regarding provocative speech which could undermine national unity.

MP Al-Tamimi proposes bill MP Abdullah Al-Tamimi called for solving problems suffered by the sons and daughters of Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis. “This injustice has to stop because those women are already suffering enough”, he stressed, noting that their kids were Kuwaiti by soul and that most of them know nothing about their fathers’ countries except the passports they hold. AlTamimi proposed a bill by which Kuwaiti women’s children should be employed in various government establishments and private sector companies (except the Amiri Diwan, the Cabinet Secretariat General, the Foreign Ministry and the National Guards) and said that those with bedoon fathers should be given special cards to be renewed after five years and holders could apply for citizenship after the first 10 years, provided they give up their fathers’ nationalities.

Parliamentary inquiry filed MP Riyadh Al-Adsani yesterday filed a parliamentary inquiry asking Sheikh Mohammed Al-Abdullah, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Minister of Health, about adjusting law number 39/2010 with regard to establishing shareholding Kuwaiti companies to build power and water desalination plants. Al-Adsani also threatened to grill concerned Cabinet members unless the

New ideas at schools Badriya Al-Khaldi, Farwaniya Educational Zone Director, said that all school administrations were ready for the new school year and measures had been taken to help learners benefit from their schools. Speaking on touring a number of schools in Nahdha and Ardhiya, AlKhaldi admired the idea adapted by Abdullatif Thunaiyan Al-Ghanim School where flexible ACs which could be moved around were being used

and stressed that she would consider using the same idea in other schools.

Special health insurance MP Khalil Al-Saleh suggested imposing a special health insurance on visitors temporarily visiting Kuwait in a bid to prevent negative utilization of local health facilities.

Housing problem solution MP Talal Al-Jallal said that the best solution to the housing problem in Kuwait would be to ‘release’ vacant state-owned land, reclaiming vast areas of it and building houses to meet the requirements of citizens who had been waiting for over 15 years to get a house. He also called for building more residential cities instead of depending solely on five percent of Kuwait’s total area.

Ultimatums The Ministry of Commerce and Industry gave a number of ultimatums to the occupants of industrial land plots in Kabd, Sabhan and Amgharah and urged them to evacuate within a week after their projects had been cancelled.

New bus terminal The Ministry of Communications is considering a project to build a new bus terminal along the Sixth Ring Road. The terminal that is expected to be built over one million square meters will help reduce traffic congestions.

KUWAIT: Traffic jams were seen in different parts of Kuwait as schools reopened yesterday. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

‘Vertical construction’ proposed as solution to housing dilemma KUWAIT: Most countries struggle to provide housing welfare for their citizens, but the story is a little different in Kuwait. While the Gulf state is not short in financial resources, it lacks available land, a comprehensive vision as well as principles of planning and execution.

This was the introduction to an investigative report published by Al-Qabas yesterday to highlight Kuwait’s housing crisis which was identified as the top priority in a parliament survey to determine which topics Kuwaitis want their representatives to address the most. The report begins by mentioning the government’s failure to provide a solution that could at least prevent accumulation of housing applications annually. Despite repeated promises, the Public Authority for Housing Welfare failed to execute a residential project since 2007. That includes projects that

have been finalized on paper such as the Khairan City which has a total capacity of 32,000 residential units, Al-Subbiya with a capacity of 25,000 units and Al-Mutlaa with 22,000 units.

Going ahead with these three project would significantly meet a majority of housing applications which reached 110,000, according to Al-Qabas. It further indicates that the annual average number of housing applications increased from 5,000 in 2007 to 9,000 now.

“The only solution in front of the state is to start taking steps to change the housing loan that gives a citizen the right to obtain a 400 square meter housing unit and a KD 70,000 loan to build a house, and instead adopt vertical construction”, said an expert quoted in the report. But the idea of granting citizens apart-

ments instead of villas seems to be a bold step, or a “difficult” one that the expert said neither the government nor MPs have the courage to take. Yet, he indicated that it is a necessary step if the state wanted a large number of Kuwaitis to have houses to live in.

The law in Kuwait says that the government is required to grant a housing unit to a Kuwaiti citizen within a maximum of five years after the application is submitted, but there are people who have been waiting for more than a decade now.

The expert who preferred to remain unnamed in the report indicated that the majority of Kuwait’s land (over 17,000 square kilometers) is either on oil fields or groundwater, located over petroleum and water pipelines, or are extremely polluted, leaving only 10 percent suitable for housing.

10 proposals to improve Kuwait’s economic position

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: A team of eight alumni from the National Project for Leaders of Development Program ‘Thukhur’ compiled a report titled ‘Ease of Doing Business in Kuwait’ in the hope that it will aid Kuwait’s development plan.

Thukhur announced recommendations from their report, including 10 solutions for the institutions of the public sector to improve Kuwait’s economic position during a press conference held yesterday at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel.

Hamoud Salman Al-Sabah, Investment Manager, AREF Investment Group and a member of the team noted that the plan presented by the team to the ministries in charge, which is based on the report of the World Bank, aims to provide guidance and suggestions to each ministry so it can set its role in the plan. “It’s difficult to face challenges in Kuwait in this field without the cooperation of ministers,” he pointed out. “The main purpose of the conference is not only to review the efforts of the team in preparing the report of the executive plan to ease doing business, but also to invite decision-makers to apply the report. The Thukhur team has put together easy and simple solutions for the public sector institutions that will allow them to apply the solutions, which will simplify the procedures and shorten the time of the documents circulation,” he said.

Comparison is a part of the report. “It’s necessary to compare the procedures applied by the modern countries in sense of simplicity and attraction to foreign investors to apply it.

Other countries illuminated the document circulation so they attracted the foreign investing. The report provides simple solutions that don’t need laws or many approvals to be applied. It only needs a decision to combine some procedures in one. This may increase Kuwait’s ranking up to place 33, according to the World’s Bank report. The officials realize this need to make changes in some procedures such as the Assisting Undersecretary for Water Operations Mohammed Bushihri who canceled the water connection deposit to relieve paperwork,” added Al-Sabah.

Losing local capital to foreign countries is one of the greatest problems of his work.

“Although we don’t have taxes here yet, our capital escapes to other countries. The bureaucracy in the public procedures and finishing paperwork is behind this problem. In addition, local market is not attractive for foreign investors. Furthermore we don’t have enough work opportunities in the private sector. The report included solutions for these obstacles,

from which Kuwait can benefit,” he explained.

The team will go on different visits. “These visits will include a visit to the parliament and will discuss the results and recommendations of the report with the Speaker of the House to be executed in the future. The role of our team is only consulting and the decision-makers will decide,” concluded Al-Sabah.

Abdulwahab Al-Rushaid, Supervisor ISKAN Co, stated that this report was based on the report of the World bank and was executed within 10 days. “The report has specified the role of each ministry and prepared work plans.

All we need to apply it is the desire to work.

We are glad to receive support and acceptance from the government, also the Prime Minister and Dr Rola Dashti, Minister of Planning and Development Plan received a copy of the report. We hope that the report will transfer into the execution phase with the legislative term of the parliament,” he said.

Lulwa Al-Munifi, HR Specialist EQUATE petrochemical Company, said that the recommendations of the report aim to ease doing business through a work plan done by 11 public institutions to realize the necessary changes. The plan was summarized into certain elements such as organizing, number of days, the cost, number of procedures to finish a paperwork for somebody applying for a license. Great results in increasing the waiting time of the procedure may be achieved if the resolutions of Thukhur’s report are followed.

Finishing the procedure in record time is part of the reforms,” she stated.

According to Nourah Al-Qabandi, six years of Corporate Banking Experience, the report includes three scenarios to be applied.

“Through these solutions, Kuwait can achieve more reforms and changes from its own aspect. The results of these three scenarios can be easily applied within two years,” she stressed.

Thukhur was launched in 2010 as a national initiative to support the development plans of Kuwait. Thukhur successfully held three programs already. With its first program in 2011, the ‘Project Executive Program’, Thukhur successfully groomed 150 leaders of Kuwait. In 2012, Thukhur opened its doors for 100 individuals in the second program, the ‘Promising Leaders Program’, which was sponsored by SK Engineering, a division of SK Holding headquartered in Seoul South Korea. In 2013, Thukhur initiated the Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation (ECI) Program to encourage entrepreneurial minds in Kuwait and challenge them to think innovatively, promote entrepreneurial attitudes and nurture the ability to turn ideas into action.

PM instructs payment of KAC debts KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah instructed payment of Kuwait Airways Corporation’s (KAC) debts, the carrier’s vicechairman Jassar Al-Jassar said yesterday.

KAC board members and relevant ministers held a “fruitful” meeting with Sheikh Jaber last week, during which solutions were placed to implement decree No. 22 of 2012 regarding privatization of KAC, AlJassar said.

He said the meeting was attended by deputy prime minister and finance minister Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, Minister of Commerce and Industry Anas Al-Saleh,

Minister of Communications Essa AlKanderi, Minister of State for Housing Affairs and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Salem Al-Athaina and Managing Director of the Public Investment Authority Bader Al-Saad. Al-Jassar termed the meeting as “very good” and the prime minister instructed payment of KAC’s debts, particularly those of the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK). Payment of other debts for other companies is in the process. KAC Executive Officer Ahmad Al-Kuraibani said the airliner was in the process of finalizing the privatization including the assessment of its assets. — KUNA

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

LOCAL kuwait digest

kuwait digest

May Allah not change things for us!

When will we learn?

No solution to bedoon issue

By Dr Ibtihal Al-Khateeb

By Ahmad Al-Sarraf

S

kuwait digest

Speak now or hold your peace

By Thaar Al-Rashidi

T

hey used to see corruption through their own eyes. They saw corruption tearing apart their ministries disguised in the form of a tender or behind a richly-made bisht.

During other times, corruption took place right under their nose and millions of dinars vanished while they were still in office. They stayed silent and didn’t attempt to stop corruption in any way. And now, since they are no longer in office, they are talking about all forms of corruption and their impact.

Being out of office, they seem to have turned into poets and are criticizing the same government they used to belong to although, one or two years ago, they spared no effort to praise the government in the media and criticize those opposing it.

Nobody believes this shift of attitude anymore. Yesterday’s ministers are joining the opposition nowadays. By this, I am not talking about one or two cases. We have had more than eight examples over the past 10 years. With all due respect to exministers talking about corruption, and despite my trust in their seriousness, I believe that talking about corruption can

Global report of dismay

Qaradawi bans ‘national duty’

T

he decisions taken by Minister of Education and Higher Education, Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf while handling various educational problems is welcomed and we actually hope other ministers follow in his footsteps in their respective ministries. I wonder who invited Dr Yousif Qaradawi to visit Kuwait!

However, whoever he was, he is either unaware of the incidents going on in Kuwait and Egypt or is fully aware and wishes to provoke both Kuwaitis and Egyptians residing in Kuwait by inviting the same person who had called for demonstrations and sit-ins in both countries.

Qaradawi was not even ashamed to make such insulting statements while he knew very well that Kuwait was against the MB. This person hates whoever disagrees with or opposes the MB. So, we did not require his visit — especially after he confessed and reaffirmed in previous statements that he had encouraged demonstrations and sit-ins of which we have already had enough. So, do we actually need to invite Qaradawi to visit Kuwait knowing very well that some people here are waiting to stage further demonstrations and sit-ins?

“Those fighting the Muslim Brotherhood are traitors and the enemies of the nation!” - This was the first statement Qaradawi made on arriving at Kuwait International Airport and since Kuwait is against the MB and clearly manifested this by granting Egypt $4 billion after deposing Morsi’s MB-affiliated regime in support of the new Egyptian government and the second public revolution of the Egyptian people.

Qaradawi was not even ashamed to make such insulting statements while he knew very well that Kuwait was against the MB. This person hates whoever disagrees with or opposes the MB. So, we did not require his visit — especially after he confessed and reaffirmed in previous statements that he had encouraged demonstrations and sit-ins of which we have already had enough. So, do we actually need to invite Qaradawi to visit Kuwait knowing very well that some people here are waiting to stage further demonstrations and sit-ins?

The Interior Ministry should place Qaradawi’s name on the list of banned people to prevent inviting him in the future. Such a provocative person is not welcome in Kuwait at all because he only believes in what he thinks as right and calls for punishing whoever disagrees with him. He is nothing but an ordinary person disguised as a cleric in order to achieve his personal goal regardless of the religion itself! —Al-Watan

be done by any of the ministries’ employees. So, I advise former ministers wishing to talk about corruption to give us full details and names of influential merchants and politicians involved. He should give us figures, facts, certain tenders and names of suspicious projects that had been subject to political influence. Talking about the issue is useless and only complicates things unless it is backed by details.

As a journalist, I usually verify and investigate any suspected tenders once I have the right documents to prove it.

So, having served as a minister, you should at least be able to recall some numbers or a document of the thousands of documents you had seen and signed while in office. So, you either step up to your national responsibility towards this nation and provide us with names and numbers of those involved in corruption, or do us a big favor and stay silent leaving this to us writers, bloggers and tweeters who, without any political cover, would never hesitate to expose corruption by documents! —Al-Anbaa

kuwait digest

kuwait digest

By Abdullah Al-Najjar

O

’s Differences of Jordan MPs with AK-47

Al-Anbaa

ome flights take more than 10 hours to reach their destination during which the passenger remains seated with the seatbelt on and stays in this posture but as soon as the plane’s wheels touch the ground, despite hearing the airhostess tell him to keep his phone switched off and the seatbelt on, you will see a frenzy of activity and hear mobile phones ringing with people announcing to their family and friends that they have arrived. Some others take it further and start unloading their bags from overhead storage areas and stand like fools in the passage and block everyone else’s exit almost like their lives depend on it. The strange thing is that this phenomenon is on the rise in our planes and countries and it is almost non-existent in developed countries.

Badriya Darwish commented on such childish behavior which indicates a lack of maturity, and said that she doesn’t understand the truth behind the race and wondered if she was missing something. Like did people want to escape with their life intact before the plane exploded or something?

Everyone knows that everybody will get the opportunity to leave and there will be a bus to transport the people from the plane to the airport and this mad rush is silly and meaningless. All this hurrying will be followed by waiting at one point or another. Badriya says that while she was sitting in her seat and watching this drama of trying to get out, she wondered if this was the case and people weren’t able to manage something this simple and organized, how can we catch up with developed countries and compete with them? If we are this fast to leave, then why do we fail in racing contests? Are we not required to stand in line first and forget our “selfishness” before learning to “control” other nations?

Why do some of them believe that standing in a line is an insult to his dignity - especially since there are queues in today’s world? There is no preference for those who leave the plane first; rather it is a show of ignorance!

Badriya said at the end that when we succeed in standing in a line, and this is what one of Israeli’s leaders once challenged us to do, then we would be able to carry out great things, and until that day, we have to accept setting in the back seat at the backward nation’s hall!

Badriya drew my attention to the fact that the US people, for example, benefited from the multiplicity of backgrounds and cultures as they accepted and applied the best from every group. Yet, in Kuwait, the multi-ethnicities and cultures make us take the worst of others’ habits and traditions. —Al-Qabas

By Ahmad Al-Sarraf

I

always feel deeply dismayed whenever I read an international organization’s report about Kuwait, which mostly never brings any good news about the government’s performance in my country. Yet, the results mentioned in the 2013-14 Global Competitiveness Report which was compiled by a group known for their integrity and neutrality, including Kuwaiti nationals - exceeded my most pessimistic expectations.

The report lists 148 countries in order of efficiency in various fields. In the wastefulness of government spending, Qatar came at number 1 while Kuwait is ranked at the 102nd spot. In quality of primary education, Qatar ranked at the 11th spot, Saudi Arabia at 59th and Kuwait at 93rd.

In quality of higher education system, Qatar came 4th, the United Arab Emirates 15th, Saudi Arabia 39th and Kuwait 106th. In quality of math and science education in higher institutes, Qatar came at 6th place, the UAE at 19th, Saudi Arabia at 64th and Kuwait at 99th. In quality of management schools in higher education, Qatar ranked 8th, the UAE 28th, Saudi Arabia 64th and Kuwait 92nd.

In extent of staff training, Qatar ranked 5th, the UAE 13th, Saudi Arabia 57th and Kuwait 94th. In the effectiveness of anti-monopoly policy, Qatar came in 2nd place, the UAE in 7th, Saudi Arabia in 21st and Kuwait in 119th.

In the number of procedures to start a business, Oman ranked at 30th place, the UAE at 47th, Qatar at 88th, Saudi Arabia at 104th and Kuwait at 129th. In the country’s

capacity to retain talent, Qatar came in 1st place, the UAE in 6th, Saudi Arabia in 18th and Kuwait in 66th. In the country’s capacity to attract talent, Qatar came in 3rd place, the UAE in 7th, and Kuwait in 45th. In availability of financial services, Qatar ranked 14th, Bahrain 19th, the UAE 25th and Kuwait 75th.

In affordability of financial services, Qatar came in 3rd place, the UAE in 24th, Saudi Arabia 26th, and Kuwait 55th. In ease of access to loans, Qatar came 1st, the UAE 3rd, Oman 6th, Bahrain 7th, and Kuwait 75th. In the availability of latest technologies, the UAE ranked 8th, Qatar 20th, Bahrain 26th, Saudi Arabia 33rd and Kuwait 64th. In FDI (foreign direct investment) and technology transfer, the UAE came in 2nd place, Qatar in 4th, Saudi Arabia in 8th, Bahrain in 10th, Oman in 48th and Kuwait in 144th.

In quality of scientific research institutions, Qatar ranked 12th, the UAE 34th, Saudi Arabia 39th, Oman 71, Kuwait 110th and Bahrain 114th. In capacity for innovation, Qatar came in 17th place, the UAE in 39th and Kuwait in 136th.

Those are only a part of many categories mentioned in the report where Kuwait shamefully ranked at low places compared to its sister Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Not only that, Kuwait is often found a little higher than underdeveloped countries which have many excuses to justify their weakness. I wonder what could be our excuse. —Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

Our social stereotypes

By Dr Sulaiman Al-Khadhari

H

ow many times did you find yourself whisper- of each category.

The truth of the matter is, these stereotypes play a ing in a friend’s ear something like this. “All the ____ are the same. Don’t they ever straighten functional role which explains why it is hard for them to fade away. They play a role up?” Ask yourself that quesin forming general awareness tion after filling the blank with the name of any tribe, While that situation is currently of different social groups, and provide a basis that justifies family, race, sectarian group, etc. Keep the answer to your- changing due to openness that taking certain stances - which self; just make sure that you social categories experience as a are often negative - of other groups. stay honest about it.

While that situation is curThe reason I mention this result of demographic diversity in rently changing due to openquestion is because it is something I often hear dur- neighborhoods, workplaces, etc, ness that social categories ing conversations I come it still seems like this change is experience as a result of demographic diversity in across or even am a part of where the other party some- not as fast as it should be. What is neighborhoods, workplaces, it still seems like this times opens up with views weird is that all stereotypes are etc, change is not as fast as it that are often negative towards certain social cate- not necessarily connected to per- should be. What is weird is that all stereotypes are not gories. These views would reach frightening levels to an sonal experiences. Instead, they necessarily connected to perextent where “discriminatory” are often inherited socially and sonal experiences. Instead, they are often inherited socialwould be the least horrible can sometimes are questioned if ly and can sometimes are term to describe them. questioned if an individual Stereotypes come with deep generalization while an individual came across a posi- came across a positive examdescribing social categories tive example with a member of a ple with a member of a social group he had developed a based on their origins, the places they migrated from, social group he had developed a negative general idea about.

In that case, the person would the locations they were negative general idea about. whisper to a friend something raised in after reaching like this: “All the ____ are the Kuwait as well as religious and ideological beliefs. The definition also expands to same. Don’t they ever straighten up? Except for [insert include dividing Kuwaitis into bedoons and hadar person’s name]. I wish they were all like him/her!” And (urban) with fixed characteristics attached to members the story continues nonstop. — Al-Rai

ur government seeks reform. We hear this sentence every day in ministers’ statements or read it in newspaper reports. But once you turn the front page over, you get to see the true faces of government stalemate and corruption which are often covered by masks of empty promises.

Kuwait has a bloated humanitarian problem which divided the public, damaged the country’s international image, and frustrated everyone who worked to

Some changes are logical, inevitable and benefit both parties. I don’t know what makes the government contradict itself while practicing more prejudice against bedoons. Let me mention misfortunes that only happened this year. While an Amiri decree required that Kuwait University accept 100 outstanding students, only 94 were enrolled out of 154 applicants. None of the bedoon freshmen were accepted at the Faculty of Medicine despite meeting all requirements, and only 6 enrolled in engineering faculties. end it, given the magnitude of injustice that victims of this problem suffer. They say that every problem has a solution, but it seems that the problem of stateless residents in Kuwait has none. That is because decision makers do not want a solution or even procedures that reduces the magnitude of the problem. They believe that if they kept up pressure against ‘bedoons’, this will force those who “hide their original passports” to show them, and after that the government can hail victory over the ruins of the future of those people who continue to scramble in search for basic human rights.

This plan seems good but from a discriminatory standpoint only. After 30 years which proved that the plan has failed, isn’t it time for the government to change it? Or is the government going to continue making the same promises, promote the same lies and spread the same concerns regarding ‘national wealth and social fabric’?

Some changes are logical, inevitable and benefit both parties. I don’t know what makes the government contradict itself while practicing more prejudice against bedoons. Let me mention misfortunes that only happened this year. While an Amiri decree required that Kuwait University accept 100 outstanding students, only 94 were enrolled out of 154 applicants. None of the bedoon freshmen were accepted at the Faculty of Medicine despite meeting all requirements, and only 6 enrolled in engineering faculties.

Meanwhile, thousands of bedoon students were rejected by the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training despite decisions to accept children of servicemen and Kuwaiti women. A high school graduate with a 94 percent GPA was accepted at the Institute of Commerce. Why? Because she is ‘bedoon’.

She is not in the same class with Kuwaitis to be entitled to the same academic opportunities. She has no other choice but to ‘happily’ accept the opportunity of at least being enrolled in a government diploma program. She was born free and equal; something that, like her GPA, does not matter much to those keen on social classifications.

Outstanding students who studied day and night with the hope of a good payoff eventually find themselves deprived of elements of decent living. What fate do we expect for people subjected to isolation? Rage?

Hatred? Sabotage? Is the government aware of the time bomb they are inadvertently setting up?

Let us move away from students and instead discuss bedoon nurses and teachers. Those are hired at state departments but without signing job contracts.

Instead, they are hired under the ‘bonus clause’; under which employees are usually paid for overtime work.

Effectively, they work full-time jobs but without end of service pay or other benefits. Many newly graduated nurses are waiting at the unemployment line because their mothers are not Kuwaiti or they don’t carry the 1965 census papers, while they can’t find a job at the private sector which seeks job experience. Ironically enough, the public sector is in desperate need for nurses and recruits labor forces from Asian countries every year, overlooking those who lived their entire lives on this land and are more accustomed to its traditions.

Bedoon nurses in the public sector are paid less than Kuwaitis, Gulf nationals and expatriates, and are also deprived of financial privileges that other nationals are entitled to. Bedoon teachers do not receive pay for the summer break months. When you enforce all those decisions and restrictions, what do you expect from people who as a result live a miserable life and look into a dark future?

While ending my column, I received a call from Um Abdul-Aziz. She is married to a bedoon man, and has a forged passport which she felt was the easiest way to end her family’s suffering after hearing government’s promises for stateless residents who ‘correct their status’. She had just had a difficult baby delivery, and her husband stopped looking for a place abroad that could give identity and a future to their children. She called me to say that she and her children cannot find anything to eat, or money to buy formula, clothes or soap for her newborn. She does not enjoy state services because her forged passport classifies her as an ‘expatriate’ in state records. Her little daughter has no identity, nor does she have a right to have milk to feed on, clothes to cover her body or soap that her mother can wash her with. Who is responsible for this tragedy? Was it the baby’s fault that she doesn’t have a nationality and will be punished from cradle to grave for this? This is how reform is sought in my country. —Al-Jarida

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

LOCAL

Syria chemical arms deal fraught with dangers A deep concern to GCC states DUBAI: The Syrian chemical weapons deal between the United States and Russia appears to be fraught with dangers. There are a number of immediate problems in the wake of the diplomatic breakthrough that the euphoria of backing away of a punitive strike seems to drown out. Key questions involve the process of ridding Syria of chemical weapons, the likely high probability that deadlines will not be met and GCC reactions that still signals the need for containing Syria through military means.

First, the inventory process is unlikely to be thorough. Syria is required to turn over a detailed list of all chemical weapons by November. This undertaking may in itself be a show stopper. Syria possesses tons of various, and in some cases volatile, chemical weapons scattered throughout the remains of the country in over 50 locations. We all need to remember that any sign of Syria breaking its agreement will lead to a punitive air strike against military targets, a possibility that the United States still intends to carry out despite Russia’s interpretation of the bilateral agreement. So any discussion about there never being an airstrike is simply untrue. Unfortunately, this card is still on the table.

Second, inspectors face an extremely hostile environment where it is likely that Syrian soldiers will be providing force protection.

Hundreds of specialists will enter Syria with their equipment and disperse across the remnants of the country wracked with a civil war on multiple levels of religious, tribal, and secular violence-an undertaking never attempted before. Whether those Syrian guards are trustworthy remains to be seen as “foreign forces” tear through Syria’s prized military assets. For its part, the United States is offering: Chemical weapons-related “personal protective” equipment to international organizations working in Syria, including the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; Medical assistance to strengthen local Syrian health

care providers’ ability to prepare for and respond to the use of chemical weapons; Defensive chemical weapons training and protective equipment to vetted members of the Syrian opposition to protect against the use of deadly gases.

America is offering a positive gesture, yet this intention is likely to run into accusations

by Syrian officials as being a ruse for information gathering and intelligence operations, similar to the chemical clean-up in Iraq years before. In addition, Washington’s offer begs the question of how Russia will contribute too to the Syrian chemical clean-up. Rumors are circulating that Moscow has over a thousand special operations forces in Syria guarding chemical sites. If these rumors are true, then a new angle opens for cooperation - or not across Syria, between the White House and the Kremlin.

America is offering a positive gesture, yet this intention is likely to run into accusations

by Syrian officials as being a ruse Finally, the destruction or transport of the chemical weapons in question is also troublesome due to security concerns in a complex civil war environment. There are key questions unanswered: What chemical weapons will be destroyed in Syria, and will chemical weapons be taken out of Syria for destruction? Can thousands of tons of chemical weapons be airlifted? Can chemical weapons be sent overland through a civil war? Can these weapons be removed from Syria by cargo ships? How will chemical-laden cargo ships be protected and guaranteed not to suffer an accidental or intentional sinking? Reports are suggesting that two Russian naval vessels out of Moscow’s current fleet deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean are capable of transporting chemical weapons out of Syria.

All of the above drawbacks are seemingly a deep concern to GCC states. Primarily, the UN report of the “overwhelming and indisputable” use of sarin via two ground to ground rockets

Children with special needs carried on ‘Little Wings’ KUWAIT: As challenging volunteerism could be, it is equally; if not even more, rewarding, especially when the reward manifests in the smile of a child with special needs enjoying a horse ride.

Fajer Al-Sabah, a young Kuwaiti equestrian was inspired to help children with special needs (cognitive disabilities), by providing them a safe riding environment, for the purpose of enjoyment, recreation, sport, and education.

“Finding the ability in disability” is the aim of her voluntary project named “Little Wings”, launched in May 2013.

In an exclusive interview at Kuwait Riding Club, Fajer said that she was inspired ever since she started working with special needs children at Hope School for Special Needs in 2012.

“As a rider, you experience how calming riding a horse could be. For years riding has been a way for me to relax and just clear my mind. When I started working with children with special needs I thought, why not them too? And from those thoughts grew the idea of ‘little wings’,” she said.

“The main goal during our riding lessons is for children to enjoy themselves and feel part of a club,” she added. “We have specifically designed activities that target certain goals, such as speech and communication encouragement by languagecentered games. Balance, coordination, posture, muscle tone, and motor skills can be strengthened with activities involving movement with the horse’s natural rhythm. Social skills and friend making can be enhanced with repeated and increased interactions with the instructor, volunteers, horses, and other riders.”

The program is offered for children with mild to moderate cognitive disabilities aged 3-12 years old. The disabilities they suffer include autism, down syndrome, MERLD (mixed expressive/receptive language disorder), cognitive delay, development delay, GDD (global development delay), and dyspraxia.

When asked of noticeable changes or development in children within the program Fajer Al-Sabah enthusiastically said “Of course! Every child improves at his or her own pace, but it is safe to say that every child has reached a new goal by the end of their 10 lessons.”

“Some come in shy and to themselves and by the end of their lessons they become more outgoing and confident.

Parents too comment on this change and notice a sense of pride and accomplishment in the way their children carry themselves.”

Fajer highlighted the importance of the community’s contributions to causes that serve a public good, which are longstanding and important aspects of culture in Kuwait. She also thanked Kuwait Riding Club for opening their doors for such a good cause, and providing the horses and staff, and “most importantly, they accept ‘little wings’ riders as their own,” she said.—KUNA

gives the GCC enough evidence, from their point of view, to pinpoint the Syrian military as the culprit. Upon the release of the UN report, the GCC denounced Syria’s use of chemical weapons as “irresponsible and inhumane” and a breach of global and humanitarian conventions. Bahrain’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Yusuf Al-Bujairi, stated: “The development of the Syrian crisis places the whole world before a big challenge which requires the UN ... to live up to their responsibilities.” He called for adopting “deterrent measures” against those who carried out the purported Aug 21 chemical attack outside Damascus and called for an end to “genocide.”

Overall, observers and readers need to keep in mind the huge obstacles ahead for the international community in the next few months. The agreement states that if there is noncompliance “or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in Syria, the UN Security Council should impose measures under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.” The GCC states are well aware of the stakes at hand and still are preparing for the regional dangers that Syria still represents.

This preparation appears to include a new push to supply the Free Syrian Army with new, more advanced weapon systems in the past week. To drive the point home, the Saudi Cabinet of Ministers, chaired by Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, deputy prime minister and minister of defense, added that the intransigence of the Syrian government “flows in favor of extremist movements and threatens regional and international security.”

It would also not be surprising if the GCC states, who in the past worked with Western partners in chemical weapons clean-up exercises, are updating their capabilities for a worse-case scenario. Clearly, the GCC policy support for factions on the ground, plus other perceived planning, illustrates that the chemical weapons agreement is perceived to be almost unworkable. — Al-Arabia

Kuwait chairs FAO’s Near East Regional Group ROME: Kuwait on Saturday officially assumed presidency of the Near East Regional Group of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), succeeding Iran.

Faisal Al-Hasawi, Kuwait’s former representative to FAO, took over the presidency during a ceremony held in appreciation of Kuwait’s leading role in the ser vice of the Near East Regional Group.

Al-Hasawi then handed over the presidency to Kuwait’s FAO representative Yusuf Juhail as the former was appointed Deputy Director General of Kuwait’s Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources.

The 22-member Group honored AlHasawi on the occasion of ending his tenure during his presidency.

He thanked the group members and said he was proud Kuwait was elected as president of one of FAO’s four regional offices.

Al-Hasawi said Kuwait would play an active and concrete role during its presidency. He added his work in FAO, the World Food Program (WFP) and

the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) contributed to cementing national development policies.

He said Kuwait played a vital role within FAO and contributed to FAO’s development projects worldwide.

Al-Hasawi, who began work in Rome in 2007, said the agreement signed between Kuwait and FAO to open an office of the organizations for partnerships and communications in Kuwait, as well as sealing a food security partnership program “is an unprecedented achievement.”

He noted FAO’s honoring of Kuwait as one of the 18 countries which completed compliance with the MGDs with regards to reduction of number of hungry people.

Kuwait joined FAO on Nov 9, 1961.

It chaired FAO General Conference in 1987, chaired the independent council in 2008 and elected as member in major committees. Kuwait chaired the Group of 77 in 2007, and chaired the Near East Regional Group in 1993, 2001, 2003 and 2005. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Kuwait Dive Team trainees organized a program at the Um Al-Maradem island which involved removing waste from the seafloor. The program comes as part of the 2013 training program organized by the Kuwait Dive Team in the Scientific Club.

Egypt radio highlights Iraqi invasion of Kuwait CAIRO: Egypt’s Sawt Al-Arab (Voice of the Arabs) Radio allocates today’s programs for the discussion of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

In 1990, the Egyptian radio decided to transmit its programs around the clock in order to cover the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and to have contacts with Kuwaitis who had left their country to different world countries.

Kuwait Journalists Association’s Advisor Ayed Al-Mannaa said the Egyptian Sawt AlArab Radio had played a key role in the liberation of Arab countries from foreign and Zionist occupation forces.

Al-Mannaa, who is to be hosted by the radio’s program “In Arabic” at 8-30 pm, said during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the Kuwaiti people used to listen to the

Egyptian radio which was the single Arab voice to promote Arab unity in order to liberate occupied territories.

At that time, the Kuwaitis used to listen to the radio in order to know the situation in their homeland, he pointed out.

For her part, Chairperson of the Sawt AlArab Radio Lamiaa Mahmoud said the radio had started its around-the-clock transmission during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait so as to link those people who had fled Kuwait to their nation.

The Egyptian radio was the connecting channel among Kuwaiti citizens in different world countries, she added.

Today, the radio highlights this anniversary and discusses it with its correspondents around the world, who had covered the invasion period. —KUNA

Projected increase in road accidents, deaths KUWAIT: Kuwait is expected to see a gradual increase in road deaths and accidents over the next three years, a local daily reported yesterday quoting statistics released by the research and studies center at the Interior Ministry’s statistics department. The statistics indicate that traffic accidents which were at 86,542 in 2012 are expected to increase to an average of 102,841 by the end of this year, 116,458 in 2014, 127,487 in 2015 and 135,949 in 2016.

Regarding road deaths which were at 454 in 2012, the statistics expect an increase to 559 by 2013’s end, and to 610 in 2014, before dropping to 569 in 2015 and 538 in

2016. Al-Qabas further noted that the projected rise is opposite to similar estimations in advanced countries, including the United Kingdom which saw a decrease in the number of road accidents and deaths over the past four years. Al-Qabas also noted that the statistics do not draw a clear picture regarding road fatalities as standards vary between one country and another. For example, some countries count deaths that happen months or even a year after accidents while others only count deaths at the scene of the crash. It is believed that Kuwait follows the latter’s example, according to the report.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

LOCAL

Two children drown in Wafra artificial lake Policeman, friend held on rape charges KUWAIT: Two children died while a third one was hospitalized in a critical condition after they drowned in an unfenced artificial lake in Wafra on Friday. The incident occurred when two families on a picnic allowed their children to go play nearby while they prepared lunch.

The children ended up near the lake they found behind dunes, and were eventually pulled into it by the quicksand. The family members rushed to the lake on hearing noises and managed to save one boy (7) while his brother (9) and cousin (8) drowned. Paramedics and police rushed to the scene after the incident was reported. The boy who survived was rushed to Adan Hospital while bodies of the victims were taken to the forensic department. An investigation is underway as police try to identify those responsible for setting up the artificial lake five kilometers off Wafra Road and the reasons behind leaving it unfenced.

‘Scandal fears’ Investigations are ongoing in a case involving a teenager who was reportedly subjected to kidnap and rape while her parents refused to pursue legal action fearing disgrace.

The incident occurred when a Syrian woman made an emergency call to report that her 16-year-old

daughter went missing on Saturday.

However, the woman did not tell the operator about a text message the girl sent her mother, telling her that she was kidnapped while jogging in Maidan Hawally. The two kidnappers reportedly allowed the girl to text her mother as long as police weren’t informed and threatened to kill her. The woman was advised to file a police report at the area’s police station, but she told the operator that she prefers to wait, hoping that that her daughter would return soon. Hours later, the girl returned home and told her mother that the kidnappers sexually assaulted her after taking her to an undisclosed location. She added that she was probably taken to a private property in Kabd judging from a road sign she witnessed on the way after being kidnapped. The mother made an emergency call after that and explained what happened to her daughter. The operator instructed her to report to the area’s police station and file a case, but the mother refused citing ‘fear of scandal’ that could affect her daughter.

The mother reportedly hung up on the operator when the latter was explaining that filing a case was necessary in order to avoid facing negligence charges since her daughter is a minor. The operator referred the case to the Hawally Investigations

Department and provided available information to the police.

Child molester A child molester was arrested in Salmiya after a man caught him before he could assault his daughter. According to the police report, the Egyptian man went searching for his eight-year-old daughter in his building’s courtyard and found her under the staircase with a man who had managed to strip her. The suspect tried to escape but failed when the girl’s father caught him with the help of his neighbors.

Police arrived at the scene and arrested the Egyptian suspect. He is currently cooling his ardor behind bars as police are trying to verify if he had attacked other victims in the past.

Rapist arrested The public prosecutor ordered a police officer and his Egyptian friend to be held for investigations in a case in which they are accused of raping a woman inside her apartment at an area in Farwaniya. The Filipina victim was escorted by representatives from her country’s embassy who approached Farwaniya authorities to report the case.

According to the victim’s statements, she had a fight with her Egyptian boyfriend who brought his friend

along, a policeman, to rape her as ‘punishment’. The victim further explained that the officer was not in police uniform when he stormed her apartment, and threatened her with arrest after showing her a police badge. He then advanced to sexually assault her before his friend came and did the same. Preliminary investigations confirmed the woman’s story as the building’s janitor told police that he saw a man similar to the one that the victim described go up to her apartment on the day the incident happened.

Police arrested the woman’s boyfriend who confirmed the story, and said that he committed the crime because he suspected the woman of cheating on him. On the other hand, the officer denied any involvement in the case when summoned for questioning. The two are currently in custody.

Cyclist killed A man died on King Fahad Highway after a sedan ran over his bicycle on Saturday. Police and paramedics rushed to the scene as soon as the accident was reported.

The victim, a 27-year-old Egyptian national, was pronounced dead on the scene and the body was taken to the forensic department and a case was filed to determine the circumstances behind the accident.

KUWAIT: Narcotics officers yesterday arrested a Gulf citizen with 700 grams of hashish, 20 illicit tablets and one gram of ICE. The arrest was made following tip off about the suspect who was held at his house where the drugs were found.

— By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Missing duo found

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Security information department announced that two missing citizens were found on the left side of Artal

road. They were in a jeep which broke down. Authorities responded to a call and rescued them and said that they are in good health and have been taken to a safe area.

US vessels in Gulf vulnerable to IRGC speed boats

KHARTOUM: Kuwaiti volunteers distributing aid to Sudan flood victims yesterday.

Kuwaiti village for eastern Sudan flood victims KHARTOUM: A Kuwaiti delegation is in Sudan to sign contracts for the construction of a village of over 100 housing units for the victims of the recent floods in eastern Al-Qadarif State, and is also to distribute aid supplies in the capital city, Khartoum, before heading east to sign the

contracts.

The delegation which arrived yesterday includes representatives of Zakat House and Rahma International charitable society, off-shoot of Kuwait’s Social Reform Society, and is planned to stay in the country for seven days.

Head of the delegation Saad Al-Otaibi said Kuwaiti institutions and charities are still rallying support for the floods victims, and he expressed hope the supplies would help alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people.

The floods which hit Sudan recently

claimed the lives of 93 people and destroyed over 53,000 homes and 460 government buildings according to official reports.

The number of families affected stands at 78,569 with losses in livestock reported around 5,498 animals. — KUNA

Gulf Navigation to sell vessels following seizure DUBAI: Gulf Navigation is set to expand its tanker operations and sell off its crude carrier fleet after one of its vessels was seized in Holland earlier this month.

In a statement to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the Board of Directors said they would recommend its shareholders vote in favour of selling its only two very large crude carrier (VLCC) vessels.

The Board of Directors met on Friday to discuss the seizure of its Gulf Sheba crude carrier vessel in the port of Rotterdam.

The vessel was confiscated more than a week ago by Norwegian bank DNB, a agent for the lenders of the vessel, after Gulf Navigation defaulted on repayments.

Dr Sandeep Kadwe, Managing Director at Gulf Navigation, was left surprised by the seizure. He said that there was “around

$200,000” of repayments due at the time of the arrest but that the amount was not significant and had been available to the lenders.

“We were in continuously talks with the lender and even gave them a proposal on how we could proceed in selling the vessel.

We were expecting a formal reply but unfortunately the vessel was seized,” he said. Gulf Navigation has two crude carriers in its fleet and eight chemical tankers.

Kadwe said the company had already planned on selling the two crude carriers prior to the confiscation of Gulf Sheba.

He said that the company would focus on its chemical tanker operations and look to add up to six chemical tanker vessels to its fleet. The Board will call an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to seek approval to

sell the two vessels and approval to “review and approve business plan and capital share”, “capital raising plan, providing authority to [the] Board,” and “increase shareholding limit for foreign investors”.

Kadwe said the company was expecting “some interest” by potential foreign-based investors.

The Chairman and Managing Director also briefed the Board on “positive communications” with major shareholders to inject cash into Gulf Navigation.

Kadwe said that it was negotiating for the best possible terms with buyers and that it intended to get the maximum value for both vessels. He said it was not a distressed sale despite the vessel’s seizure, however he believes the company has been negatively affected by the arrest.

“We were negotiating for a slightly higher price than we may get now if the seizure had not taken place,” he said.

However, he said, we are still in continuous dialogue with the investors and we expect to sell the vessels in the few weeks.

Both of Gulf Navigations crude carrier vessels have outstanding loan amount against them.

Kadwe said that Gulf Navigation was working hard to protect the interest of its shareholders and that it had received positive indication from key shareholders who may want to invest.

“We are confident in protecting the interest of our business partners,” he said.

Kadwe said that Gulf Navigation was exiting the VLCC segment and had no plans to replace them.

TEHRAN: US Navy is beginning to shift its strategy of dispatching large warships to the Gulf after Americans realized that their vessels are exposed to the speed boats of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), a senior Iranian commander explained.

The US Navy is after changing its previous strategy which entailed the presence of large warships in the Gulf, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said yesterday, and added, “They (US vessels) are vulnerable to the IRGC speed boats and sometimes to (marine) mines.”

Speaking on the sidelines of military parades on the occasion of the Sacred Defense Week, the Iranian commander said, “Today, the American warships sail through the international waters with caution, and do not dare approach Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.”

He also asserted that US forces are very conscious of Iran’s high deterrent power in the region, arguing that although the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz have definite entryways and exit routes, American naval forces enter the Gulf from the exit passages.

Rear Admiral Fadavi then described such a move as a “humiliation” for the US. “Today, Americans and their allies in the Gulf do not even dare think about firing a single bullet,” the commander added. In relevant remarks on Aug 17, Fadavi had announced that enemies and even world powers are aware of Iran’s defense capability and power of deterrence and shy away from military confrontation with the IRGC naval forces in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

“Given the realization of the IRGC Navy’s deterrence strategy, the enemies, even world-class ones, are now really afraid of military confrontation with us in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and refrain from it (confrontation),” he said at the time.

Iran is now the main power providing security in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, ensuring the safe passage of energy supplies through the strategic region.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, connects the Gulf with the Sea of Oman. It is the only sea passage from the Gulf to the high seas and is one of the world’s most strategically-important choke points. Nearly 40 percent of the world’s traded crude oil also passes through this waterway. —Al-Arabia

Envoy hails Kuwait team’s participation in Singapore events KUALA LUMPUR: Kuwait’s ambassador to Singapore Abdulaziz Al-Adwani said yesterday that voluntary participation of Kuwaiti civil society institutions in Singapore contributes to the promotion of good bilateral relations between the two countries.

The ambassador said in a telephone interview after meeting with a delegation of Kuwait Society of Engineers participating in the World Congress of Engineers in Singapore that Kuwait and Singapore share many common factors being two small countries located in two important regions of the world.

He pointed to the importance of benefiting from such voluntary participations carried out by Kuwaiti male and female engineers around the world in developing their skills and becoming acquainted with various expertise through taking part in numerous world scientific conferences. — KUNA

New centre to deal with legal rental disputes DUBAI: Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has issued a decree to establish a new rental disputes settlement centre in the emirate as part of Dubai’s Land Department.

The centre will aim to “enhance legal procedures that facilitate the settlement of rental disputes”, reported official news agency WAM. Under the new mandate, the centre will deal with the settlement of all rental disputes for properties and free zones within the emirate (unless such disputes are assigned to judicial committees or special courts for the purposes of rent dispute settlement), lawsuits arising from such disputes, requests for urgent action by

either of the disputing parties and appeals on rulings and sentences which may be challenged for appeal.

However, the centre will not look into the settlement of rental disputes arising from financial leasing contracts and those arising from longterm rent contracts that fall under the provisions of Law No. 7 of 2006 concerning property registration in Dubai.

The chairman of the Dubai Judicial Council is authorised to issue necessary decisions to implement the provisions of the decree, said WAM. The centre, its committees and departments will be headed by judges, and members will include

legal professionals and experts. Decisions and rulings are to be issued on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed unanimously or by a majority vote.

The centre’s legal section will include departments for conciliation and mediation, trial chamber, appeals chamber and a department tasked with implementing sentences and rulings. Its administrative section will include organisational units to provide technical and administrative support to the legal section.

The decree will be published in the official gazette and is effective after 60 days from its date of publication, said WAM. Dubai has been beefing up laws to better regulate its real estate sector as

the market recovers from a crash in 2009. In the past twelve months, residential prices in Dubai have increased by 38 per cent for apartments and 24 per cent for villas while rents have risen 20 per cent and 17 per cent respectively, according to a research report by Standard Chartered Bank.

In its report, the bank said that Dubai’s property market has particularly benefitted from the two new property-related laws drafted by the Dubai Land Department: the Investor Protection Law and the Code of Corporate Governance for Developers.

“This commitment towards improving and strengthening corporate governance practices by

protecting property rights has helped gain new investors and maintain existing ones.

Stakeholders such as home-owners and tenants have regained confidence in the real estate sector, as reflected in the recovery of market prices,” said Standard Chartered.

In the next two years, the emirate is expected to draft seven new laws to regulate the market and maintain property values.

The laws with introduce controls to limit the fast re-sale of property and focus on setting thresholds for premiums and percentage of completion of projects before they can be sold, stated the report.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Rowhani demands West accept Iran right to enrich uranium

Sri Lanka’s Tamil party sweeps polls Page 12

Page 8

Bo Xilai sentenced to life in prison Court orders all Bo’s personal assets be seized JINAN: A court sentenced Bo Xilai to life in prison for corruption yesterday, burying the career of one of China’s most up-and-coming politicians and lowering the curtain on a scandal that exposed a murder and illicit enrichment among the country’s elite.

The former Politburo member and Chongqing city party leader was convicted of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power yesterday in a case set in motion by his wife’s poisoning of a British business associate in late 2011. It also was widely regarded as a political prosecution and a sign that top leaders had turned against the charismatic populist.

The Jinan Intermediate People’s Court deprived Bo of political rights for life and confiscated all his personal assets. A lawyer with direct knowledge of the case said Bo indicated that the verdict was unjust and was expected to appeal, but observers say he has little chance of success. He has 10 days to appeal.

“It’s a political death sentence for him,” said Dali Yang, a political scientist at the University of Chicago. “As long as the current circumstances stay, he cannot come back.” Despite fears of public strife or brutal political infighting spearheaded by Bo’s supporters within the leadership, there has been no major groundswell of backing for Bo, either within the Communist Party or in the public - although he remains popular among many Chinese.

The party deftly managed the potential aftershocks of the case partly by keeping the charges focused on Bo’s corruption and keeping politics out of the trial, said Jonathan Holslag, a research fellow at the Institute for Contemporary China Studies at the University of Brussels.

“The leadership has been successful because it had a clear criminal case against Bo, because it deterred Bo’s entourage from politicizing the trial, and because it matched Bo’s populism with its own promises to rip out corruption, boost growth and build a strong country,” Holslag said.

In a departure from the choreographed proceedings of other recent political trials, Bo had launched an unusually vigorous defense while on the stand last month. He denied all charges and blamed the corruption on others in his inner circle, including his wife, forgoing the leniency customarily given in Chinese courts when a defendant expresses contrition.

The charges had likely been tailored to

offer a lighter sentence had Bo cooperated with prosecutors, but he declined to play along, said Willy Lam, an expert on Communist Party politics at Chinese University in Hong Kong.

“He was punished for his disobedience and defiance,” Lam said. Bo also became the highest-level politician convicted for corruption under Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has staked his reputation on combatting graft among Communist Party members and cleaning up their image of luxurious lifestyles that has angered the Chinese public.

“The leadership wants to send a signal that this is a serious matter,” Yang said. In keeping with the trial’s high profile - and the remarkable degree of transparency in which the court proceedings took place state broadcaster CCTV ran a special bulletin on the verdict and sentence at the top of the nationwide noon news report.

In its coverage, it showed Bo wearing a white dress shirt and slacks as he stood in court with a resigned smile, flanked by two burly police officers. He was led out in handcuffs following the sentencing, which was announced on the court’s microblog shortly before 11 am.

The court sentenced Bo to life in prison on the bribery charges, 15 years for embezzlement and seven years for abuse of power. The court rejected Bo’s defense that he did not know about the $3.5 million in bribes from two business associates in the form of cash and valuable gifts to his family - including a French villa, expenses-paid trips and fancy delicacies such as abalone.

However, the court said a small portion of the bribes alleged by prosecutors, about $160,000, were not proven in court.

The court also found that Bo embezzled $160,000 from a secret government project in the northern city of Dalian. The trial proceedings had been publicized through partial transcripts that gave a measure of legitimacy to a trial seen by many observers to have a foregone conclusion of guilt because of the party’s control over the court system.

“This is a big victory for Xi Jinping’s leadership, because you cannot say this is a secretive trial. It is at least a semi-open trial,” said Li Cheng, an expert of elite politics at Brookings Institute. “Bo’s political career is zero, and the trial really transformed Bo from a charismatic leader to a self-indulging person.” — AP

JINAN: This picture taken yesterday and released by Jinan Intermediate People’s Court shows Chinese political star Bo Xilai (C) wearing a pair of handcuffs as he stands in a courtroom in Jinan, east China’s Shandong province. Fallen Chinese political star Bo Xilai was sentenced by a court to life in prison yesterday, following a sensational scandal that culminated in the country’s highest-profile trial in decades. —AFP

Lavrov blasts US ‘blackmail’ over Syria resolution MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday accused Washington of blackmailing Moscow over a tough UN resolution against Syria, and said the West is blinded by a desire for regime change in the war-torn country.

“Our American partners are beginning to blackmail us,” threatening to stop work on implementing Syria’s chemical disarmament deal unless Russia supports a Security Council resolution allowing military intervention, Lavrov told state television.

In the sharply worded inter view that exposed a growing rift on Syria policy as Damascus begins disclosing its chemical inventory under the deal, Russia’s top diplomat accused the West of trying to strongarm a resolution in the Security Council that would make intervention possible.

“Right now Western partners are trying to unceremoniously push through a resolution under Chapter VII,” a move he said would “move the (chemical weapons) convention aside to advance individual, personal or geopolitical, state ambitions.”

Washington, Paris and London want a strongly worded resolution to ensure compliance, possibly under the UN Charter’s Chapter VII authorising the use of force-a move Lavrov said contradicts his agreement with US Secretary of State John Kerry.

“Our partners are now blinded by their ideological goal of regime change,” Lavrov added. “All they talk about is that (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad must leave.” “They are only interested in proving their own superiority, not in the goal that is guiding us, to solve the problem of chemical weapons in Syria,” Lavrov said. Syria has sent initial information about its chemical arsenal to the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), meeting a deadline set in line with a US-Russian deal reached in Geneva on September 14.

The accord averted military strikes following an August 21 sarin gas attack last month that killed hundreds of people and which Washington blames on the regime. The plan

Sergei Lavrov calls for the arsenal to be destroyed by mid- Council resolution stemming from the US2014 amid hopes that it could pave the way Russia deal must simply “support” the chemifor peace talks to end the 30-month-long cal ban treaty, and if the ban is later violated in Syrian conflict that has claimed more than Syria, the Council would mull another resolution to address the violation, possibly applying 110,000 lives.

Lavrov said that Russia would be willing to tougher measures.

The Kremlin chief-of-staff Sergei Ivanov send troops to Syria as part of an international presence to secure the work of experts on said Saturday that Russia’s current position on Syria could change in case the Assad regime is chemical weapons sites.

“We are ready to allocate our servicemen, caught “cheating” on the disarmament military police, to participate in such efforts,” process.

Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu he said, while questioning whether “large contingents are necessary... military observers said Thursday that Russia would be unlikely to send elite special forces to Syria, but would would be enough.”

Lavrov said the OPCW is “about to make a readily provide “specialists” for securing chemdecision” on Syria but the process is threat- ical stockpiles.

Lavrov yesterday also contested Assad’s ened by the “arrogant position of some Western partners”. “They need Chapter VII, claim that the disarmament programme which presumes applying pressure on viola- requires $1 billion (740 million euros). “In tors of international law, including sanctions Geneva we discussed the possible cost of this programme. The figures were much less suband the possibility of using force,” he said.

Moscow has argued that the initial Security stantial,” he said. — AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

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

War weary Syrians find new home in Sweden MAERSTA: Six-month-old Nour al Hodl smiles, perched on her mother’s knee in the dining room of a spotless refugee reception centre in Maersta, north of Stockholm.

When the Hodl family fled the bombings and violence in the Syrian city of Aleppo earlier this year they had just one goal in mind: to reach Sweden. This month the Scandinavian nation became the first in Europe to grant residency to all Syrian asylum seekers who managed to make their way to Swedish shores, with the exception of suspected war criminals.

“When we walked out the door of our house in Aleppo we never knew if we’d make it... or if someone would shoot at us,” Nour’s father Kahled al Hodl told AFP. But he adds, with a smile, that today he can imagine his daughter growing up to become a doctor.

Sweden is an attractive destination for refugees because “we have a completely apoliti-

cal approach to asylum applications in Sweden,” said Fredrik Beijer, head of legal affairs at the Swedish Migration Board.

With one of the world’s most generous refugee policies, Sweden has welcomed tens of thousands of people fleeing dictatorships and wars from Chile in the 1970s to Bosnia in the 1990s. During that time the country developed an extensive reception system for new arrivals, including publicly funded housing, free language courses, job coaching and social welfare payments.

Syrians have been the largest group of asylum seekers in 2013, ahead of refugees from Somalia. Migration Minister Tobias Billstroem said the increase was understandable. “The humanitarian crisis in Syria is escalating,” he said.

“We should show solidarity.”

According to the Migration Board nearly 11,000 Syrians have obtained asylum in Sweden since 2012 and the figure is expected to rise.

With its international reputation as a haven for those fleeing violence and persecution, it is perhaps unsurprising that Sweden has become the top western destination for Syrians along with Germany.

But Sweden stands out, even when compared with its liberal Scandinavian neighbours.

Despite having similarly generous refugee policies, Norway has taken in less than a thousand Syrians since 2012 and Denmark only slightly more-although the Danes recently decided to accept all Syrians fleeing the worst-hit areas.

The Swedish approach however is in line with its ranking among the world’s top foreign aid donors and its vocal support for people’s right to asylum when their lives are threatened.

“My sister, Imam, has been living in Gothenburg for the last two months,” Hodl said.

“We had heard that Sweden gives residence permits to Syrians and Imam was suffering from psychological problems caused by the war. All

the family chipped in to get her to Sweden.”

During the 2000s Sweden took in more Iraqi refugees than any other Western nation, reaching a peak of 18,559 in 2007.

Most of them converged on the town of Soedertaelje, near Stockholm, which has experienced a severe housing shortage, made worse recently by the arrival of thousands of Syrians.

Sweden’s migration policy is not without critics-not just from the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party, but also among centre-right parties-who have argued that new arrivals should learn to fend for themselves.

They point to persistently high unemployment among refugees, even years after arriving in the country. That is a fate that Hodl hopes to avoid. When his cybercafe was destroyed in a bomb attack he and his 17-year-old wife Walaa decided Aleppo no longer offered them a future. The couple sold their home to raise the 4,000 euros ($5,410) they needed to pay people

smugglers to get them out of the country. “A smuggler got us across the Turkish border along with 90 other people and then they took all our passports,” he said.

From there they travelled to the Turkish city of Izmir where they boarded a flight bound for Germany, armed with fake Belgian passports, which they later destroyed. “In Germany we changed planes and there was no problem. It was the same when we got to Sweden. The plane landed, I took our suitcase, and we walked out with our baby.”

That suitcase now stands in one of 18 nondescript rooms in the Maersta refugee reception centre, just a few miles from StockholmArlanda airport.

In less than 48 hours after their arrival the couple had applied for asylum and was looking forward to a new life in Sweden. “We want to live here and get Swedish nationality,” said Hodl. —AFP

Rowhani demands West accept Iran right to enrich uranium Parades 30 2,000 km range missiles TEHRAN: President Hassan Rowhani demanded yesterday that Western governments recognise Iran’s right to enrich uranium in any nuclear deal, ahead of his departure for key talks at the United Nations.

Rowhani, a moderate on Iran’s political scene whose election in June had raised Western hopes of a breakthrough in long-stumbling nuclear talks, said a deal to allay Western suspicions was dependent on acceptance of Iran’s enrichment programme.

“If they accept these rights, the

parade, came on the eve of his departure for the UN General Assembly in New York where he is scheduled to deliver a keynote address and meet French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is already in New York for talks with his British and French counterparts, and with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represents the major powers in the nuclear talks.

Rowhani has said he wants those talks to resume as quickly as possible

ernments suspect conceals a covert drive for a weapons capability.

When Rowhani served as chief nuclear negotiator under reformist president Mohammad Khatami in the early 2000s, Iran agreed to a suspension of the sensitive process, which in highly extended form can produce the core of a nuclear warhead.

But the UN nuclear watchdog said at the end of August that Iran is continuing to expand its uranium enrichment programme under Rowhani’s presidency. Rowhani has made several diplo-

TEHRAN: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, second left, gives a speech during an annual military parade in Tehran, Iran, yesterday. On the eve of landmark trip to gather alongside Western leaders, Iran’s president offered yesterday his most expansive vision that a deal to settle the impasse over Tehran’s nuclear program could open doors for greater cooperation on regional flash points such as the Syrian civil war. —AP Iranian people are a rational people, peaceful and friendly. We stand ready to cooperate and together we can settle all the region’s problems and even global ones,” Rowhani said.

His comments, at an annual military

but insisted on Sunday that they do so “without precondition.”The UN Security Council has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran for failing to heed six successive ultimatums to suspend uranium enrichment, which Western gov-

matic overtures since his election in June, and there has been speculation that he could also meet US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the General Assembly, which opens on Tuesday.

But Washington warned on Friday that while welcome, the overtures were not enough for it to consider loosening crippling sanctions on Iran’s oil and banking sectors that Rowhani has said he wants eased.

White House national security spokesman Ben Rhodes said Washington was waiting for more concrete evidence that Iran was ready to make concessions. “We’ve always made clear that we’ll make judgements based on the actions of the Iranian government not just on their words,” he said.

Rhodes said the United States had made it clear “that we do have a preference for resolving this issue diplomatically,” but warned: “We want to make clear that there’s not an open-ended window for diplomacy.”

Rowhani hit back at those comments yesterday, warning Washington that it could “not use the language of war and diplomacy at the same time.” If there were any attack by Washington or its ally Israel, Iran would riposte “with determinedly until victory,” he warned.

Underlining his comments at an annual military parade, Iran displayed the largest number yet of two missiles it has developed that are theoretically capable of striking targets in Israel or US bases in the Gulf.

Iran paraded 12 Sejil and 18 Ghadr missiles, both with a nominal range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles).

Rowhani’s comments also came on the eve of the official handover by its Russian constructors of Iran’s first nuclear power plant at Bushehr on the Gulf coast.

Iranian Atomic Energy Agency chief Ali Akbar Salehi said he expected work to start soon on a second nuclear power plant on completion of talks with Moscow.

“Negotiations are continuing and are well-advanced,” he said. “Work will start soon,” he added, without giving a date. Gulf Arab states have expressed concern about the plant but Iran and Russia say it is subject to International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. —AFP

EU diplomats provoked West Bank aid scuffle JERUSALEM: Israel yesterday answered EU anger over the confiscation of humanitarian aid for Palestinians with accusations diplomats at the scene defied a court order and one struck a policeman.

“Diplomats are sent by their governments to be a bridge and not act as provocateurs,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “The European diplomats and their governments owe an explanation of this blatant violation of diplomatic codes of conduct,” it said.

“Israel has already made it clear that it will not accept this misconduct. Israel’s response will reflect the seriousness of these violations.” Israeli troops used force on Friday to disperse a group

of European diplomats as they tried to hand out tents to Palestinian Bedouin whose West Bank homes were destroyed by the army.

A European diplomatic source said French diplomat Marion Fesneau-Castaing was dragged out of an aid truck by Israeli soldiers who later confiscated the vehicle.

Pictures showed her lying in the dust, but foreign ministry spokesman Paul Hirschson said that she lay down of her own accord as an act of “passive resistance” against enforcement of a court order against unlicensed building by Bedouin in the Israeli-occupied Jordan valley.

“She was removed from the vehicle... then she dropped herself onto the ground... nobody threw

AL-MAQSHA: Bahraini protestor poses for a picture during clashes with riot police following an anti-regime protest in the village of Al-Maqsha, on September 21, 2013. —AFP

her on the floor,” he told AFP. “There was violence from her side when she stood up and she walked over and she punched the officer in the face,” Hirschson added.

The website of the Jerusalem Post daily ran video showing a woman it identified as FesneauCastaing striking a helmeted border policeman on the chin with her fist.

He said that Israel-based EU officials had discussed the incident by telephone with foreign ministry deputy director general Rafi Schutz and the French foreign ministry had spoken by phone with Israel’s ambassador to France.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s spokesman said Saturday that Brussels had demanded an explanation for Israel’s seizure of the tents.

“The EU deplores the confiscation of humanitarian aid... by Israeli security forces,” Michael Mann said in a statement.

“Representatives of the EU have already contacted the Israeli authorities to demand an explanation and express their concern over the incident,” he said.

The Israeli statement slammed what it called “the one-sided announcement” from Brussels.

“This announcement ignores the European diplomats’ blunt violation of the law, their disregard for a ruling of the Israeli court and their unnecessary provocation under the alleged pretext of humanitarian aid,” it said.

Senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi condemned Israel’s actions and urged France to hold the Jewish state to account. “I condemn in the strongest terms the brutal attack on your representative’s person and dignity by the Israeli occupation forces,” she wrote in a letter to France’s consul-general in Jerusalem, Herve Magro.

“This attack highlights the culture of impunity that Israel has enjoyed, acting as a state above the law, violating once again all international norms and the requirement of propriety,” she wrote in the letter, a copy of which was sent to AFP. —AFP

KIRKUK: Iraqis look at the destroyed vehicles following a suicide bombing close to the home of MP Imad Yohana in the northern city of Kirkuk yesterday, in which some 47 people were wounded including vthe Christian MP. The violence comes a day after some 73 people were killed in bombings the capital Baghdad. The city of Kirkuk has a mixed population of Arabs, Kurds, Muslims and Christians. —AFP

UN warns against revenge after Iraq blasts kill 73 BAGHDAD: The UN warned yesterday against revenge attacks in Iraq after two blasts killed 73 people in a Shiite area of Baghdad a day after a Sunni mosque was bombed.

Saturday’s bombings struck near funeral tents for a tribal sheikh in the Sadr City district of north Baghdad and also wounded more than 200 people.

It was just the latest in an upsurge of violence that has brought death tolls to their highest level since 2008, when Iraq was emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.

“Retaliation can only bring more violence and it is the responsibility of all leaders to take strong action not to let violence escalate further,” Gyorgy Busztin, the UN secretary general’s deputy special representative for Iraq, said in a statement.

“Violence in all forms must be condemned, but I am particularly appalled by the increasing number of vicious attacks against those already bereaved,” he said. The Sadr City bombings were not the first targeting mourners in recent months.

They came after two bombs exploded on Friday at a Sunni mosque near Samarra, north of Baghdad, killing 18 people.

Militants have carried out a number of attacks on both Sunni and Shiite mosques this year.

Iraq was ravaged by a bloody SunniShiite conflict that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed thousands of people. There are persistent fears, bolstered by various sectarian attacks this year, that Iraq may return to allout conflict between the country’s Shiite majority and Sunni minority.

“Attacks like these are perpetrated by a

small minority of terrorists who wish to destabilise Iraq,” the British embassy said of the Sadr City blasts. It called on “all political, religious and community leaders to unite against those who perpetrate these crimes.”

Yesterday, mourners placed coffins containing the bodies of victims of the blasts atop vehicles for transport to Najaf for burial near the shrine of Imam Ali, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam, an AFP journalist said.

Bare metal frames were all that remained of the funeral tents in Sadr City. Debris including broken plastic furniture and bottles of water distributed to mourners littered the ground.

Eighteen more people died in other violence on Saturday, including 11 security forces members, and four people shot dead at a Baghdad alcohol shop. It was the United Nations’ International Day of Peace, which calls for a “complete global cessation of hostilities for one day.”

Saturday was the second-deadliest day for Iraq this year, topped only by April 23, when 95 people died in violence.

The unrest continued yesterday, with two police killed and seven people wounded in attacks in Nineveh province in Iraq’s north.

And in the northern city of Kirkuk, a suicide bomber blew up a vehicle near the home of a Christian MP, wounding 47 people, including three of the lawmaker’s children.

With the latest violence, more than 570 people have been killed this month and over 4,400 since the beginning of the year, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources. —AFP

Count gets under way in Iraqi Kurd election

ARBIL: The count was under way yesterday in Iraqi Kurdistan’s first election in four years, with opposition groups hoping to end the decades-old dominance of the two main exrebel parties.

The vote itself went off largely without incident on Saturday, with turnout pegged at 73.9 percent. But sporadic violence hit the main opposition grouping in the run-up to the election, and one man was reported killed in a shooting after polls closed.

The United Nations praised the “smooth conduct” of the vote, while the British embassy in Baghdad termed it “a significant step” and said the turnout was “very impressive.” Preliminary results are due in the coming days.

The election for the autonomous region’s parliament came as two and a half years of turmoil around the Middle East raised renewed questions about the political future of the Kurds, who are spread across a number of neighbouring states.

Supporters of Iraqi Kurdistan’s biggest bloc, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of regional president Massud Barzani, took to the streets of regional capital Arbil after polls closed, honking car horns, waving KDP flags and firing off celebratory gunfire.

Similar scenes were reported elsewhere in the three-province autonomous region, with supporters of various parties in a festive mood. About 2.8 million Kurds were eligible to vote. The campaign centred on calls for

more to be done to fight corruption and improve the delivery of basic services, as well as on how the energy-rich region’s oil revenues should be spent.

The elections, the first since July 2009, saw three main parties jostling for position in the 111-seat Kurdish parliament, with implications beyond Iraq. The KDP is widely expected to win the largest number of seats, although it is unlikely to obtain a majority on its own.

But the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which for decades has held a duopoly on power alongside the KDP, faces a challenge from the Goran movement in its Sulaimaniyah province stronghold.

The challenge has been heightened by leadership questions as the party’s veteran chief, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, recuperates in Germany from a stroke.

After polls closed in Arbil, one manapparently a PUK supporter-was reported killed in a shooting, although election officials insisted the death was unconnected to the vote. Internationally, the focus is likely to be on the region’s drive for greater economic independence from the federal government, with which it is locked in multiple disputes over oil revenues and territory.

Arbil has sought to establish a pipeline that would give it access to international energy markets, sent crude across the border to neighbouring Turkey, and signed deals with foreign energy firms. —AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

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

Highways reopening after Colorado flood repairs DENVER: After days of cleanup and repairs, transportation officials have reopened several state highways in the aftermath of powerful floods that ripped bridges and roads in northern Colorado, severely restricting travel in populated areas. With more roads open, the number of people needing emergency shelters is decreasing and state officials hope there will be less congestion.

“Priority number one is opening up these roads right now, but doing it safely,” state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Amy Ford said Saturday.

“We have been working super hard to make that happen.”

CDOT opened six state highways in

northern Colorado on Saturday. Another two were open Friday. “I think for a lot of people it’s not returning to normal, per se, but it’s starting to get there with some of these roads being reopened,” Ford said.

Officials also planned to select emergency contractors soon to begin immediate work on mountain corridors where passage is now limited.

Key highways that have reopened include Colorado 119 between County Line and Interstate 25 in Longmont, and Colorado 72 to Colorado 7 in Estes Park.

Officials are trying to reopen a stretch of U.S. Highway 34 in Loveland soon, Ford said. The American Red Cross says 250

Obama to lead mourning for Navy Yard shooting victims WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is set to mourn the men and women killed in the Washington Navy Yard shooting at a memorial service in their honor.

Sunday’s late-afternoon service is being held at the Marine Barracks Washington in southeast Washington, not far from the Navy facility where authorities say 34-year-old Aaron Alexis fatally shot a dozen people last Monday morning. Police killed Alexis in a gun battle.

The president and first lady Michelle Obama will also visit with the victims’ families. The dead range in age from 46 to 73, and include civilian employees and contractors. Eight people were also hurt, including a police officer and two others who suffered gunshot wounds.

Obama spokesman Jay Carney says the president wants to mourn the loss of life and share in the nation’s pain after another mass shooting.

The service is closed to the public, says barracks spokesman Capt. Jack Norton. About 4,000 people have been invited, he said. As authorities searched Monday for the gunman, Obama lamented that “we are confronting yet another mass shooting, and today, it happened on a military installation in our nation’s capital.” He said the gunfire targeted military and civilian personnel, men and women who were going to work and doing their jobs.

Addressing an awards dinner Saturday night in Washington, Obama said these families “now know the same unspeakable grief of families in Newtown, and Aurora, and Tucson, and Chicago, and New Orleans, and all

across the country, people whose loved ones were torn from them without headlines sometimes, or public outcry.”

But he said that kind of violence is happening every day. He urged supporters “to get back up and go back at it” to push gun control legislation that stalled in the Senate earlier this year, part of a package of measures Obama promised to push after the December killing of 20 first-graders and six educators at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

“As long as there are those who fight to make it as easy as possible for dangerous people to get their hands on a gun, then we’ve got to work as hard as possible for the sake of our children,” Obama said, in a likely preview of his remarks Sunday. “We’ve got to be ones who are willing to do more work to make it harder.” The Navy Yard itself reopened for normal operations on Thursday, three days after the shooting.

The building where the shooting took place remains closed.

Obama has taken on the role of the nation’s chief consoler several times already this year, and many more times throughout his nearly five years in office.

This year, he led the mourning for victims of an explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, and a double bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. He also consoled victims of a major tornado that flattened the town of Moore, Okla.

Obama also has mourned victims of other mass shootings, including in Newtown, Conn., and at shopping mall in Tucson, Ariz., that severely wounded then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. — AP

people were in shelters Saturday. More than a 1,000 were in shelters at the height of the disaster last week. The number of people unaccounted for was 60 and decreasing. Seven people have died and three others are missing and presumed dead.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has distributed $12.3 million in aid, with most going to housing needs like temporary rentals and repairs.

Meanwhile, state oil and gas inspectors continued monitoring for more spills in flooded oilfields.

Another spill of 3,100 gallons was reported Saturday near Milliken, bringing the known volume of oil released

arate classified meeting soon with technology executives to discuss details of secret surveillance programs.

“No one can look at this group and say it’s completely independent,” said one attendee, Sascha Meinrath, director of the Open Technology Institute and vice president at the New America Foundation.

Meinrath said the closed meetings “leave the public out of the loop.” Obama described the panel an Aug. 9 speech as an “independent group” and said its members would “consider how we can maintain the trust of the people, how we can make sure that there absolutely is no abuse in terms of how these surveillance technologies are used.” The formal White House memorandum days later - effectively the legal charter for the group - does not specify anything about its role being independent of the Obama administration. It directed the pan-

WASHINGTON: In this June 6, 2013, file photo, a woman talks on the phone outside the US Courthouse in Washington, where the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court resides. Stung by public unease about new details of spying by the National Security Agency, President Barack Obama selected a panel of advisers he described as independent experts to scrutinize the NSA’s surveillance programs to be sure they weren’t violating civil liberties and to restore Americans’ trust. — AP that require federal committees to conduct their business and their meetings in ways the public can observe. Its final report, when it’s issued, will be submitted for White House approval before the public can read it. Even the panel’s official name suggests it’s run by Clapper’s office: “Director of National Intelligence Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies.”

Its meetings in recent weeks with technology industry and privacy groups have been closed to the public even though no classified information was discussed, according to participants. Attendees told The Associated Press they raised concerns about the NSA’s spying programs. During one session, two participants said, panel members said the group might hold a sep-

el to emphasize in its review whether US spying programs protect national security, advance foreign policy and are protected against the types of leaks that led to the national debate in the first place. The final consideration in the White House memo told the panel to examine “our need to maintain the public trust.” There was no mention of the panel investigating surveillance abuses.

The review panel, in a statement released through the DNI’s press office, confirmed to the AP that Clapper had exempted it from the U.S. Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires such committees to conduct open meetings and notify the public about their activities. It said Clapper made the decision because of the “highly classified nature of their review,”

similar problems since flooding began last week, but they have not yet been able to assess their damage.

In other developments:Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon in Boulder for two flooding victims, 19year-olds Wesley Quinlan and Wiyanna Nelson.

The Red Cross is delivering 17 truckloads of provisions to those impacted by the floods, everything from cleaning and hygiene supplies and sleeping bags. The Colorado National Guard is helping CDOT in building access trails around impassible sites along US Highway 36.

More than 200 national guard civil engineers are helping with the effort. — AP

Mexico looks to rebuild from deadly, costly twin storms 200,000 homeless, 60,000 evacuated due to landslide ACAPULCO: Mexico looked Saturday to the Herculean task of rebuilding after a rare double onslaught of storms, with at least 170 people feared dead in the path of destruction.

The death toll in the tragedy soared, with President Enrique Pena Nieto saying another 68 people were feared dead in a landslide in the southern village of La Pintada in Guerrero state. An earlier count put the number of dead at 101.

“The sheer volume of earth that has virtually buried more than 40 homes there means (it would be difficult) to find anybody alive” in La Pintada, the president said during a press conference with members of his cabinet in Guerrero, the state hardest hit by the twin storms that have since dissipated. “As of today, there is virtually no hope that we can find anyone alive” in La Pintada, added the president who visited the devastated mountain town. A police rescue helicopter missing since Thursday also was found to have crashed, with no survivors, the Interior Ministry said. Five policemen were killed, the ministry said in a statement.

Press reports earlier had said the aircraft, which had been set to deliver relief goods to and evacuate people from La Pintada, was carrying three.

Pena Nieto cancelled plans to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly next week and will instead stay in the disaster area to help coordinate relief efforts over the weekend.

An estimated 200,000 people were left homeless and nearly 60,000 were evacuated because of the flooding and landslides in the wake of the storms, Manuel on the west coast and Ingrid from the east, that socked this country of 112 million.

Officials also began tallying the massive economic damage in a country where the growth forecast already was lowered drastically in August.

Road repairs alone will cost about $3 billion, the

Close ties between White House, NSA spying review WASHINGTON: Stung by public unease about new details of spying by the National Security Agency, President Barack Obama selected a panel of advisers he described as independent experts to scrutinize the NSA’s surveillance programs to be sure they weren’t violating civil liberties and to restore Americans’ trust.

But with just weeks remaining before its first deadline to report back to the White House, the review panel has effectively been operating as an arm of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the NSA and all other US spy efforts.

The panel’s advisers work in offices on loan from the DNI. Interview requests and press statements from the review panel are carefully coordinated through the DNI’s press office. James Clapper, the intelligence director, exempted the panel from US rules

since massive flooding began last week along Colorado’s Front Range to an estimated 25,000 gallons or about 600 barrels.

State officials will continue surveying the damage at oilfields in the coming days and were tracking 12 locations were other spills could have happened.

Most of the oil releases reported to date came from tanks operated by Texasbased Anadarko Petroleum Co. At least four of the releases reported by the company were in Weld County and spilled oil into the South Platte River or a tributary, according to information submitted to regulators.

Other companies might have suffered

but added: “We are conducting this review as openly and transparently as possible.” In private meetings so far, several attendees said their discussions did not mention any classified activities and that the panel members steered them away from doing so. Four of the five review panel members previously worked for Democratic administrations: Peter Swire, former Office of Management and Budget privacy director under President Bill Clinton; Michael Morell, Obama’s former deputy CIA director; Richard Clarke, former counterterrorism coordinator under Clinton and later for President George W. Bush; and Cass Sunstein, Obama’s former regulatory czar. A fifth panel member, Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago, leads a university committee looking to build Obama’s presidential library in Chicago and was an informal adviser to Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Stone wrote in a July op-ed that the NSA surveillance program that collects the phone records of every American every day is constitutional. “We would have liked a more diverse group,” said Michelle Richardson, an ACLU legislative counsel who attended one meeting for civil liberties groups. The review panel overlaps with a similar effort by a second advisory group. In July, Obama asked the independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to report on the NSA programs and their effects on civil liberties. While PCLOB’s work is expected to take months and has no deadline, Obama ordered the review group to report interim findings within 60 days and provide a final report by Dec. 15.

PCLOB chairman David Medine said recently that his group’s purview was different because it was not subject to review by the White House. PCLOB’s hearings so far have been conducted in public, although the group has been given classified briefings by national security officials.

“We’re proceeding regardless of other groups’ timelines,” Medine said. A spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, Caitlin Hayden, said the review group and civil liberties board have separate mandates. She said the review panel is looking at spy programs authorized under the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the USA Patriot Act, and references to the NSA collecting phone-records and obtaining copies of Internet messages from US technology companies. The civil liberties board, however, is focusing on the same surveillance programs, according to a June 2013 Congressional authorization letter.

Obama has said in recent comments that he might be open to setting up public advocates who could oppose government lawyers at secret federal surveillance court proceedings - similar to a proposal by Swire in 2004. But the administration has otherwise backed the surveillance programs as essential for national security. — AP

ATOYAC DE ALVAREZ: Villagers use a small boat to cross a bridge collapsed due to Tropical Storm Manuel near Atoyac de Alvarez, Mexico, Saturday. Ingrid and Manuel simultaneously pounded both of Mexico’s coasts last weekend, killing at least 101 people, not including the helicopter crash victims. Another 68 people remained missing in La Pintada, where soldiers continued digging after a landslide wiped out half of the town. — AP transport ministry said.

The tropical storms have hammered the country since September 14, damaging tens of thousands of homes, flooding cities and washing out roads. Mexico had not been hit simultaneously by two powerful storms like this since 1958, the National Weather Service said.

Guerrero state was the hardest hit, with its

Pacific resort of Acapulco left cut off after the two roads to Mexico City were covered by landslides on September 15. Tourists were stranded for five days.

Thousands finally packed into cars and buses on Friday after authorities reopened road links to the capital. Around 62,000 tourists have managed to leave the city, about half by road and half in special airlift planes. —AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

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

Nairobi’s Westgate mall, the attack that was waiting to happen NAIROBI: Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall, par t Israeli-owned and often crowded with well-to-do Kenyans, expatriates, diplomats and UN workers, has long been seen as a soft target for Islamic militants.

The sprawling multi-storey complex, which opened in 2007, is known for its shops carrying trendy foreign brands as well as its friendly cafes and restaurants.

Their terraces, however, are adjacent to a road along which cars can pass without security checks.

Entering the mall is normally easy, involving a cursory body check, sometimes with a small metal detector-but there were no walk-through security scanners of the sort upmarket hotels have installed since the Shebab first

started threatening to avenge the entry of Kenyan troops into Somalia.

Cars entering the mall-which also has a multi-screen cinema, a food hall and other services such as banks, not to mention a casino-are also only given a quick check by private security guards.

“Given Westgate’s strategic nature it’s certainly a target for terrorists,” said Emmanuel Kisiangani, a Nairobi-based analyst with South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies.

“Terrorism is all about maximising impact, and as Westgate is frequented by the rich and by foreigners, it makes a good target.” Alerts issued intermittently by foreign embassies over the past two years have regularly listed Nairobi’s shopping malls as possible targets-but

the crowds have not stayed away.

Israeli interests in Kenya have come under attack before. In November 2002 there were two simultaneous attacks in the Mombasa area. A missile targeted an Israeli charter flight as it took off from the port city’s airport, but missed.

At the same time a car packed with explosives smashed into the Paradise hotel, the only Israeli-owned hotel in the Mombasa area, as Israeli tourists were checking in. Ten Kenyans and three Israelis died.

Al-Qaeda’s east Africa cell was blamed for the attack, which came four years after the bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi that left 213 people dead and thousands wounded.

According to a Western intelligence

source, Westgate was always an attack waiting to happen. “It was only a question of time until a mall was targeted,” said the source.

When Kenya sent tanks and troops across the border into Somalia in 2011, it sparked a series of attacks around the coastal city of Mombasa, in the areas bordering on Somalia and in Nairobi, but until Saturday the attacks in the capital, mostly attributed to Shebab sympathisers, have tended to be smallscale incidents at small bars and local shops.

With the Westgate attack, Shebab “struck as a way of sending a message they are still relevant,” said the ISS’s Kisiangani. In the wake of the Westgate attack, several other upmarket shop-

ping centres in Nairobi closed as a protective measure, as did most outlets of the capital’s leading hypermarket chain Nakumatt.

“In one sense Westgate Mall is the perfect target,” said Stig Jarle Hansen, a Somalia specialist and author of “Al Shabaab in Somalia: The History and Ideology of a Militant Islamist Group”.

“You meet expatriates there, you meet the Kenyan elite-there are a lot of expats from the UN and members of the local elite (and) the security there is not good at all,” he added.

“By making the attack so visible it will hit Kenya where it hurts the most by hitting the tourism sector. Kenya managed to survive the financial crisis quite well but this will hit them.” —AFP

Kenya’s ‘Little Mogadishu’ fears backlash after attack Memories of November violence still fresh NAIROBI: In the shabby “Little Mogadishu” quarter of Kenya’s capital, Somalis feared the militant attack on a Nairobi shopping mall could trigger a violent backlash against them. Islamist group AlShabaab said it carried out the raid on the Westgate centre, that killed more than 68 people, in revenge for Kenya’s military campaign

up illegal immigrants and suspected militants. Groups of Somali men talked in hushed tones and at one electronics shop, the owner changed channel to switch from the live coverage of the mall assault drama to a tennis match.

“I don’t think those people who attacked the mall are true Muslims.

Islam does not support killing of

who have invaded our country (Somalia),” he told Reuters.

“Now they’re coming here to make our lives miserable.” There are also concerns Saturday’s attack will badly dent tourism and investment in Kenya.

“This will be bad for business here. Some of the shops here will have to close,” said Farrah Abdi, an

NAIROBI: An armed policeman taking position inside a shopping mall following an attack by masked gunmen in Nairobi yesterday. —AFP against its fighters in Somalia.

In the congested Eastleigh neighborhood, memories were still fresh of the mobs who targeted homes and shops in November after a suspected Al-Shabaab attack on a minibus killed nine.

“A mob of youths can ... attack us like last time,” said Mohamed Warsame, sitting next to a stall selling “khat” leaves, which are chewed as a stimulant across the Horn of Africa. The elderly man said he expected the police would at least mount more raids to round

the innocent. Anyone who kills an innocent person has killed humanity,” said a woman in her 40s who would only gave her first name, Zuleka. She said she had lived in Kenya for more than a decade, one of thousands of ethnic Somalis who have fled years of war and turmoil to seek a better life in east Africa’s biggest economy. A shoe seller who declined to give his name said the Westgate mall raiders were bringing Somalia’s war to Kenya. “The reason we’re here is because of such people

19-year-old ethnic Somali and a mobile phone shop attendant in Eastleigh. He said he was born there and had never been to Somalia. “I consider myself more of a Kenyan ... My whole life is here.”

The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims condemned the raid on the mall as a “heinous terror attack” and called for Kenyans not to divide along sectarian lines.

Somalia’s ambassador, Mohamed Ali Nur, appealed to Kenyans not to target Somalis. He told Citizen TV he was about to attend a funer-

al of the wife of a Somali killed in the mall attack. “Here in Kenya we have Somali citizens who live here, as refugees, business people, students. We do not want them to be harmed in anyway ... I want to repeat that Kenya and Somalia are together in this, we should not be separated,” he said.

Muslims make up barely 11 percent of Kenya’s 40-million strong population which is made up of a patchwork of ethnic groups. But Islam has long been the predominant religion along its eastern coast - and there have been sporadic outbursts of sectarian violence in the port city of Mombasa.

There have been attacks against Christian churches and police, some blamed on an outlawed coastal group, the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC), which wants to secede from Kenya.

Coastal Muslims complain that they have lost land and jobs to settlers from inland, while seeing little of the wealth generated by tourism on their beaches and traffic at their port, which serves most of east and central Africa. Police trucks filled with armed officers patrolled major Mombasa streets on Sunday, while local politicians and religious leaders appealed for Kenyans of all faiths to stay calm.

“This is an attempt to drive a wedge between Muslims and other religious groups in Kenya, but we want to tell those terrorists that we are brighter and aware of their intentions, and that we will not succumb,” Mombasa senator Hassan Omar said.

Anglican Bishop Julius Kalu, speaking during a Sunday service in Mombasa, called for unity and prayers. “We have seen the devil in his true colours. Our faith as Kenyans has been tested,” he said.

“Let us unite as a Kenyan family in this grief, regardless of our religious affiliations.” —Reuters

NANTERRE: French Interior minister Manuel Valls talks to journalists in front of cocaine seized by French police, in Nanterre, France. Valls announced 1.3 tonnes of pure cocaine was found on board an Air France cargo plane. A source close to the investigation said the flight had originated in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, adding that the haul had a street value of some 200 million euros ($270 million). —AFP

France seizes $270m cocaine bust on Venezuela flight PARIS: French police have seized a record haul of 1.3 tonnes of pure cocaine found on board an Air France passenger plane, Interior Minister Manuel Valls announced.

The drugs, seized on September 11, had been packed into 30 suitcases, Valls told a news conference on Saturday in Nanterre, outside Paris, adding that this was the biggest-ever haul in metropolitan France.

A source close to the investigation said the flight had originated in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, adding that the cocaine had a street value of some 200 million euros ($270 million).

The operation was carried out in collaboration with Spanish, British and Dutch police, and Valls said “several members of a criminal organisation” had been arrested.

Valls said the seizure illustrated the “importance of strengthening international cooperation in the fight against traffickers”, as he displayed the 30 empty suitcases that had contained the cocaine and were not linked to any of the passengers on the flight.

Valls said four tonnes of cocaine had been seized in France since the start of the year. “Such a

seizure, in such circumstances, is quite simply exceptional,” French police commander Mohamed Douhane told AFP. “Now an enquiry ... will have to determine if there were other accomplices, whether within the company or at the arrival or departure airports,” he added.

Authorities in Caracas said they had also launched an investigation to determine the origins of the haul.

The office of Venezuela’s attorney general said in a brief statement that prosecutors and National Guard anti-drug police are investigating how the cocaine-laden suitcases got aboard the flight at the Simon Bolivar International Airport, and who was behind the smuggling operation.

Cocaine comes from coca leaves grown in countries like Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.

Venezuela does not produce cocaine, according to United Nations monitors, but drug traffickers are increasingly using its territory to smuggle drugs into other nations.

In 2012, Venezuelan police seized some 45 tons of illegal drugs, according to government figures. —AFP

Austrian chancellor seeks another centrist coalition VIENNA: Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann wants to preserve the centrist, pro-European coalition his Social Democrats (SPO) lead with the conservative People’s Party (OVP) should his party win parliamentary elections next week, he told a Sunday newspaper.

But late gains by two small parties threaten to block a new version of the “grand coalition” of the two big blocs that have dominated post-war politics, opinion polls showed ahead of next Sunday’s vote in the Alpine republic.

Despite clashes with his conservative partners over taxes, education policy and whether to extend special levies on banks, Faymann said he would opt for another five-year term with the OVP should the SPO win, as expected.

“If I am first and get the governing mandate I will turn to the OVP to form a grand coalition,” he told Oesterreich paper. He urged voters not to leave the door open to a centre-right alliance, which could happen should the OVP emerge victorious and partner with one or more right-wing parties.

Conservative leader Michael Spindelegger has declined to rule out such an alternative coalition, saying all options are open while voters have their say. But he has also said he could not lead a government with eurosceptic partners such as the far-right Freedom Party that call for breaking up the single euro currency.

The latest opinion polls show the SPO comfortably ahead with around 27 percent support, followed by the OVP at about 23 and Freedom on around 20 percent. The two big parties could probably form another coalition even if they get just under half the vote because the Austrian election system requires parties to get at least 4 percent to enter parliament. Parties that fall short have their votes assigned to those that make it into the 183seat assembly.

The latest polls show the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZO) - founded by the late Joerg Haider when the Freedom Party split up eight years ago - and the new Neos liberal party

are near the 4 percent hurdle.

“If both small parties make it into parliament then there is a large probability of a three-way coalition,” Wolfgang Bachmayer, the head of pollster OGM, told the Kurier paper.

Analysts say the environmentalist Greens, an opposition party that has sided with the coalition on European issues such as creating the European

Stability Mechanism (ESM) bailout fund, was the most likely option should the big two need a partner to rule. “If one of the small parties just misses 4 percent then we will most likely have another grand coalition, even if it is a shrunken one,” Bachmayer said. Around a tenth of the electorate is still completely undecided about who to support, OGM found. —Reuters

MARSEILLE: French socialist party (PS) first secretary Harlem Desir (C) flanked by candidates for the French socialist party (PS) primary vote for the Marseille municipal election in 2014 (LtoR) socialist MP Christophe Masse, socialist MP Henri Jibrayel, president of the Marseille Urban Community Eugene Caselli, socialist senator and mayor of the 15th and 16th districts of Marseille Samia Ghali and Bouches-du-Rhone region MP Patrick Mennucci arrive to participate in the simulation vote organized by the PS for its primary elections ahead of the 2014 municipal election, yesterday in Marseille. The primary will be held on October 13 and 20 and six socialists are candidates. —AFP

ISLAND OF SARDINIA: Pope Francis waves as he arrives at Cagliari’s Cathedral, Italy, yesterday. Francis traveled to the Island of Sardinia, one of Italy’s poorest regions, to offer hope to the unemployed and entrepreneurs struggling to hang on. —AP

Swiss voters cast ballots on fate of Swiss army BERN: For the third time in almost a quarter-century, neutral Switzerland is voting on a proposal to abolish mandatory service in its army. Voters were heading to the polls yesterday on a referendum by pacifists and left-wing parties that would do away with military conscription.

Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported that the polling group gfs.bern projected 73 percent of voters would reject the proposal.

Swiss voters turned down a more radical plan to scrap the army altogether in 1989 that was put forward by the Group for a Switzerland Without an Army. More than a third of voters approved that plan, causing an uproar despite its defeat.

A second nationwide vote on a similar initiative brought by the group in 2001 drew just 22 percent approval. Swiss voters have a close attachment the military. In a nation of 8 million, farmers, watchmakers and bankers alike undergo basic training for 18 to 21 weeks, then keep their uniforms and weapons at home to be ready for tours of duty and even rapid mobilization.

Surveys indicated that a referendum to do away with military conscription is likely to be defeated again, with more than twothirds of the country still favoring mandatory service for most men between the ages of 18 to 34. Women can serve voluntarily.

The Swiss have long prided themselves on their army, which requires part-time serv-

ice from each Swiss man, but left-wing and humanitarian critics have said too much is spent on the military and the end of the Cold War eliminated the need for large-scale forces with fighter planes, tanks and artillery.

Even though Switzerland kept a stance of armed neutrality during World War I and World War II, many Swiss believe their military - including mandatory service in it remains a strong deterrent that has kept the small Alpine nation out of Europe’s wars. In recent decades, scholars have questioned the widely held belief that the Swiss military, with an elaborate complex of underground Alpine bunkers, deterred an invasion by the Nazis, instead arguing that Adolf Hitler left the neutral Swiss alone because he wanted to use its banks and other services that would have been cut had he invaded.

The Swiss government has urged voters to retain the conscription service - counter to what most Western European nations have done since the Cold War. About 20,000 soldiers a year attend basic training for 18 to 21 weeks. Military reforms have reduced the army’s reserve of troops to 155,000, down from about 625,000 just over a half-century ago. Along with the conscription proposal, the Swiss ballot yesterday also has referendums on mandatory vaccinations and longer shopping hours at night. There also are elections and votes among local communities and the 26 cantons (states). —AP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

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

Hotel-style prison awaits China’s Bo Xilai QINCHENG: Fallen high-flyer Bo Xilai can expect hotel-style treatment at a jail for China’s political elite, where he will enjoy comfortable surroundings but be constantly monitored by government agents, former prisoners say.

Hidden in wooded hills north of Beijing, guards stand outside the red gate of Qincheng prison, where the once-powerful Bo is widely expected to begin his life sentence after being convicted yesterday of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

The jail has high grey walls, but there are no obvious signs of barbed wire or watchtowers. “It’s like a five-star hotel,” said Bao Tong, a former secretary to the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee who spent seven years in the prison for opposing the 1989 crackdown on protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Inmates at the facility-which has housed almost all the high-ranking politicians jailed in China since the

1960s-are given large private cells equipped with soft beds, sofas, desks and an en-suite bathroom, former residents said. “I was pleasantly surprised the first time I saw my room,” Dai Qing, the adopted daughter of a Chinese commander, wrote in a description to AFP. Dai, who spent 10 months in the prison for supporting the Tiananmen demonstrators, described her cell as about 30 square metres large (320 square feet) and coming “with high ceilings... and even a bathroom”, while prison guards treated her with “warmth and care”.

“The head of the prison let me put on better clothes before I left,” she recalled of one occasion when she was let out to visit a sick relative. “He reminded me of my old school headmaster.”

Prisoners can choose their clothes, drink milk for breakfast and eat selections of soups and meat dishes for lunch and dinner, they said. Some of the jail chefs used to work in one of Beijing’s top

hotels and prepare food to “ministry chief level”, according to a recent report by the Beijing Times.

Information about the prison-which does not appear on any Chinese maps is tightly controlled in China, but a trickle of reports have emerged. The former Communist Party boss in Shanghai, Chen Liangyu, jailed for graft in 2008, wore a western-style suit and practiced tai chi while incarcerated, Hong Kong media said.

Qincheng was expanded in the last year, with an old wall removed to make room for “pavilions, trees and grass reminiscent of a Chinese garden”, the respected financial magazine Caijing reported last month.

The descriptions present a stark contrast with ordinary Chinese jails, where inmates generally share cramped cells, eat basic food and are encouraged to work, sometimes manufacturing goods for export.

“Qincheng gives the best treatment

of any prison in China,” said Chen Zeming, an academic blamed by authorities for helping to organise the Tiananmen protests and who spent several months in the facility.

The “Gang of Four”, a political faction including former leader Mao Zedong’s wife Jiang Qing, were sent to the prison following a high-profile trial in 1981.

Prison authorities treated senior Party figures better than the Tiananmen activists, Chen said.

“Some prisoners were allowed outside to plant vegetables, later I realised one of them was Yao Wenyuan,” he said, referring to one of the Gang of Four.

Built in the late 1950s with help from the Soviet Union, Qincheng is the only prison in China to be directly administered by state security, rather than judicial authorities.

“The prison is directly controlled by the Communist Party’s central committee,” Bao said. “The everyday situation of prisoners is reported directly to them.”

Security officials stood outside his room at all hours noting his every change of position, Bao said, while Dai wrote of being constantly monitored.

Bo’s status as the son of one of China’s most famous revolutionary generals and his continued support among the party elite-would ensure his comfort, the former inmates said. “Bo Xilai won’t be mistreated... he will have long periods to breathe the outside air and to communicate with others,” said the academic Chen. Bao added: “If Bo Xilai wants anything, and the central party agrees, then he will get it. If he wants to dance all day, and the party agrees, he can dance all day.” Top officials detained at Qincheng are often released on medical parole years before the end of their terms, according to reports never officially confirmed, and live out their days under house arrest. “After two years, they will say (Bo) is ill and he will be released, and will live next to a lake,” Bao predicted, “or by the sea”. — AFP

Sri Lanka’s Tamil party sweeps polls Victory could reignite calls for autonomy

SINGAPORE: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to the Myanmar community in Singapore yesterday. Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi warned September 21 that communal violence and weak “rule of law” could scare off investors despite the country’s rapid pace of political and economic reform. — AFP

Suu Kyi urges diaspora in Singapore to return home SINGAPORE: Thousands of Myanmar nationals living in Singapore gave Aung San Suu Kyi an emotional welcome yesterday as the democracy icon urged them to consider coming home to help rebuild the impoverished nation.

The two-hour event, held on the third day of opposition leader Suu Kyi’s first visit to the city-state, saw Myanmar nationals working or studying in the wealthy citystate turn up in traditional attire and tshirts emblazoned with her portrait to hear her speak and put questions.

The crowd, estimated at 5,800 by organisers Myanmar Club Singapore, gave Suu Kyi a prolonged standing ovation as she entered a convention hall.

“Of course it is an emotional moment for many of us. Today, after seeing The Lady in Singapore for the first time, I feel proud to be (from) Myanmar,” said 28-year-old nurse Zaw Lei Win. Student Myat Kaung Min said Suu Kyi in her speech in the Myanmar language urged her compatriots in Singapore to consider returning home or to “find some way” to give back to Myanmar.

“She said everyone is waiting for her to become president before returning to Burma, but that she cannot become president if we don’t come back and help,” said the 21-year-old, who has permanent residency in Singapore.

Zaw Tun Henry, the president of Myanmar Club Singapore, said 68-year-old

Suu Kyi was most concerned about the future plans of Myanmar students in Singaporean universities.

In a private meeting with them before her Sunday speech, he said she urged them to return home “to give back to the mother country” after their studies.

“She said, ‘Don’t wait until there are good conditions in Myanmar, you come back and (make the) change’,” said Zaw. There are no official statistics on the size of the Myanmar diaspora in Singapore, but Zaw said the community is about 150,000strong.

Speaking at another event at the Singapore Management University yesterday afternoon, Suu Kyi said she did not wish to impose on affluent and educated Myanmar nationals overseas to return home.

“It is a matter of choice...I don’t blame you because it is quite human and natural to make the most of your own life,” she said.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, spent more than two decades studying and working in India, Britain and the United States before returning home in 1988 to form the National League for Democracy.

The political party swept to a landslide victory in 1990 but the then-ruling military junta never recognised the result and placed Suu Kyi under house arrest.

She is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong today, and will return to Yangon a day later. —AFP

Aquino to charge Philippine rebel leader over city attack ZAMBOANGA: President Benigno Aquino vowed yesterday to bring criminal charges against Muslim rebel leader Nur Misuari for a deadly attack on a major southern Philippine city that left hundreds dead or injured.

“Our investigators are making sure that Misuari will be made to answer for all these,” Aquino told a news conference in Zamboanga city shortly before boarding a jet to return to Manila. “We now have witnesses who will directly link him to this conflict, and the charges are being prepared by the Department of Justice,” he added.

About 200 rebels from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founded

by Misuari entered Zamboanga, a major trading centre with one million residents, on September 9.

They took over several coastal districts, burning thousands of homes and taking scores of civilians hostage, in protest at an impending peace deal with a rival Muslim rebel group.

Aquino flew to the area on September 13 to take direct command of operations, with about 4,500 soldiers deployed to the city to push back the rebels. More than 10,000 houses were set on fire and 111,000 civilian residents fled the street battles, according to the civil defence office in Manila.

The military said there are now just several dozen fighters left, holding at least 20 hostages in one neighbourhood of dense clusters of homes. “We’re now engaged in close-quarter combat, we are going from house to house, room to room,” military

spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ramon Zagala told AFP. The military wanted to conclude the operations as soon as possible, he said, but would not give a timetable. One soldier was killed and 10 others were wounded in the past 24 hours, Zagala said.

In two weeks of fighting 102 guerrillas were killed with 117 others taken into custody, he said. Fourteen soldiers and police died and 114 were wounded, he added.

Twelve civilians were killed and 49 wounded, while more than 170 hostages have been freed or were able to escape, Zagala said.

Aquino said the government’s firm response would have impressed on Misuari’s followers the high price of mounting similar challenges to state authority in the future. “It should not happen here anymore, but in case it does, our security forces are ready,” he added.

Muslim rebels have been fighting since the 1970s for an independent or autonomous homeland in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines. An estimated 150,000 people have died in the conflict.

The MNLF signed a peace treaty in 1996 that granted limited self-rule to the south’s Muslim minority.

However MNLF founder Misuari deployed some of his men to Zamboanga to demonstrate opposition to a planned peace deal between the government and the remaining major Muslim rebel group, the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The MILF is close to signing the peace pact, which Misuari believes would sideline the MNLF. —AFP

JAFFNA: Sri Lanka’s main ethnic minority Tamil party secured a landslide victory in a provincial poll that threatens to rekindle animosity between the government and Tamils, four years after the military crushed separatist rebels and ended a 26-year war.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the former political proxy of the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, won 30 seats in the 38-member provincial council in the former northern war zone, election officials said yesterday.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition won 7 seats, while a Muslim party won one. It was the first provincial council election in the north in 25 years and was held after the government came under international pressure to restore democracy.

Defeat for the government, the most humiliating set-back for Rajapaksa since he assumed office in 2005, is largely symbolic. But the TNA’s victory shows that the defeat of the rebels in 2009 did nothing to subdue calls for autonomy among Tamils, who make up about 14 percent of Sri Lanka’s 20 million people.

“This is a strong message to the international community to say that Tamils need a political solution,” said a voter in the northern town of Jaffna, computer studies lecturer T. Sivaruban. “It could be a separate state or power sharing within a united Sri Lanka,” said Sivaruban, 33.

The TNA won more than 84 percent of the votes in Jaffna, once the heartland of the rebel movement, 81 percent in Kilinochchi, the defacto capital of the separatists, and 78 percent in Mullaitivu, where thousands of civilians were said to have been killed in May 2009 when government forces moved in to defeat the rebels.

The government has accused the TNA of renewing calls for a separate state through its push for

devolution of power. The TNA says the return of land that they say the rejected any suggestion of involveJAFFNA: Chief Minister-elect for Sri Lanka’s northern provincial government, retired Supreme Court Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, front left, leaves after a media briefing in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, yesterday. —AP it wants devolution in a united Sri Lanka, not a separate state. “ They must trust us,” C.V. Wigneswaran, the chief candidate for the TNA who will be the province’s chief minister, told reporters. “We are for an undivided Sri Lanka, where there is a certain amount of self-ruling under the federal constitution,” he said.

A foreign observer said the election commission had done a very good job inside the polling centres, though it did not have any control over what went on outside, where some voters reported attacks and intimidation.

Wigneswaran, a former Supreme Court judge, said the military’s occupation of large parts of the north was the main problem for the people. Many voters have called for

army has occupied. The are also calling for the withdrawal from the north of the army, which was accused of human rights abuses in the final stages of the war.

“They must be put into barracks somewhere else,” Wigneswaran said. While Wigneswaran urged self-rule, some voters were more blunt, calling instead for a separate Tamil state. For decades that was the goal of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who launched their war in 1983 to end what Tamil activists saw as systematic discrimination by Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority.

Election officials said they received “plenty” of complaints, including of intimidation of voters during the polling, but turnout was about 68 percent. The military has

ment by the security forces in election-related violence.

Rajapaksa has a majority of more than two-thirds in the national parliament and controls the eight other provinces, including the two won with a majority in Saturday’s poll.

His party won 36 seats in 58member Central Province and 34 in the 52-member North Western Province. The president has faced international pressure to bring to book those accused of war crimes committed at the end of the war, and to boost reconciliation efforts.

His government has rejected accusations of rights abuses.

Rajapaksa in July ordered an inquiry into mass disappearances, mostly of Tamils, at the end of the war. —Reuters

S Korea separated families sad over aborted reunion NAMYANGJU: Chang Choon didn’t get much sleep as he prepared to travel to North Korea this week to see his brother and sister for the first time in more than six decades. But the anticipation of what he called the wish of a lifetime was shattered after North Korea abruptly canceled planned reunions for families separated by the Korean War. “My wish to meet them for the first time in 62 years has burst like a bubble,” Chang, 81, said in a drawling voice by phone yesterday. Chang is one of hundreds of South Koreans who had planned to visit North Korea’s scenic Diamond Mountain to meet long-separated relatives in what would have been the first such family reunion program between the rival countries in three years.

Millions of people have been separated since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, and not a peace treaty. The reunions are highly emotional, as most people who apply to take part are in their 70s or older and are eager to see their loved ones before they die. Most have had no word on whether their relatives are still alive, with their governments prohibiting ordinary citizens from exchanging letters, phone calls or email.

But the two Koreas agreed last month to resume the reunion program amid signs that their animosities were easing following springtime threats of war. The plan fizzed Saturday when North Korea announced it would indefinitely postpone the reunions because of Seoul’s “reckless and vicious confrontational racket” against Pyongyang.

A North Korean statement accused South Korea of preparing war drills against North Korea and claiming its principled, coherent North Korea

policy is pushing a change in its northern neighbor. The statement also criticized South Korea’s recent arrests of leftists allegedly implicated in a pro-Pyongyang rebellion plot, calling them a “witch-hunting campaign” targeting those calling for reconciliation between the two Koreas.

The cancellation has only deepened the sorrow felt by those scheduled to attend the reunions. “It’s like being hit hard on the back of my head,” Chang said, adding that he had his bags packed for the trip days before he was supposed to leave.

NAMYANGJU: In this Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013 photo, Southd Korean Chang Choon, 81, who was suppose to travel this week to North Korea to see his brother and sister for the first time in 62 years, represses his tears during an interview at his home in Namyangju, east of Seoul, South Korea. — AP “I shed tears,” said Moon Jeong-ah, 85, who bought long johns and other clothes for her two younger sisters who she hoped to meet for the first time since she fled North Korea with her fiance on a boat in early 1951. “I’m heart-stricken

when I think about my sisters.”

During an interview last week at his home in Namyangju, just northeast of Seoul, Chang said he had not seen his family since he was conscripted into North Korea’s army in March 1951, nine months after the war started. He said he defected to an American-led U.N. military unit during a battle east of Seoul in August 1951.

“The battle was too fierce. American planes flew over us ... dropped oil drums and then incendiary bombs, and it became a sea of fire,” Chang said. Then a second lieutenant in the North’s Korean People’s Army, he said all his platoon members perished in the battle. “I defected to survive,” he said.

Chang was first sent to a prison camp in southern South Korea. At the end of the war, he was given a choice to return home or stay in South Korea. Chang picked the South to avoid a harsh communist system in North Korea, but didn’t know the peninsula would still be divided more than six decades later.

“Sixty-two years have passed like this due to that decision,” Chang said, fighting back tears. He said he would have gone home if given a second chance to decide. Chang said he felt guilty that he was unable to take care of his two younger brothers, one of whom has died, and his sister like he said he should have as the eldest child after both of their parents died a few years before the war. His only contact with his siblings came in 2006, when through a broker, an ethnic Korean in China, he received a letter from his youngest brother and some photos. The face of the little boy he had last seen more than six decades earlier had become that of a deeply wrinkled man.—AP

NEWS

Swiss region bans full-face veils ‘Measure doesn’t single out Muslims’ GENEVA: Voters in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking region yesterday slapped a ban on wearing full-face veils, a move condemned by the country’s Muslim community and Amnesty International. Results from a referendum in the southern canton of Ticino showed that 65 percent of the electorate backed a proposal to forbid the covering of faces in public areas by any group.

Echoing bans in France and Belgium, the measure does not single out Muslims directly. It states that “noone may mask or hide their face on the public highway, nor in places open to the public, except places of worship, nor those offering a public service”.

But in a clear nod to the Islamic tradition of veils for women, it adds that “no-one may require another person to cover their face for reasons of gender”. The measure was the brainchild of right-wing Ticino populist party “Il Guastafeste”-whose kingpin Giorgio Ghiringhelli makes no secret of his criticism of Islam.

“This is an historic vote for Ticino,” Ghiringhelli told Switzerland’s Italian-language broadcaster RSI. “And not just for Ticino, but also for Switzerland and abroad, where the Ticino example could spread.”

It is the first time that any of Switzerland’s 26 cantons-the equivalent of US states-has imposed such a ban. It will be anchored in Ticino’s constitution, making it tough to overturn, and local lawmakers will now have to craft legislation to implement it and impose penalties on those who fail to respect it.

Reacting to yesterday’s results, Switzerland’s Central Islamic Council slammed the vote as “yet another loud expression of social Islamophobia”. “We in the Council see this as part of a string of attempts to make life

increasingly difficult for Muslims in Switzerland and to ban symbols of Islam from the public arena,” it said in a statement. “It restricts the fundamental constitutional rights of Muslim women without any pressing need or national legal basis.” Leading human rights group Amnesty International also condemned the vote.

“Fear, and the creation of a problem where there isn’t one, have beaten reason and respect, to the detriment of the basic rights of the entire population,” the head of Amnesty’s Swiss section, Manon Schick, said in a statement. She added that she hoped the Swiss parliament would speak out, given that the right to religious freedom is inscribed in the country’s constitution.

Referenda are the bedrock of Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, with citizen-campaigners able to force votes if they collect enough signatures from voters. With 350,000 people, Ticino is one of the smallest cantons in Switzerland, a nation of eight million. There are some 400,000 Muslims in Switzerland, mainly for North Africa and the Balkans. They represent five percent of the population of Switzerland-but an even lower proportion of just two percent in Ticino, the Central Islamic Council said. “This result underlines a certain degree of disquiet in the population,” said Swiss President Ueli Maurer. He underlined that it came in the wake of a nationwide referendum in November 2009 which led to a ban on the construction of new mosque minarets beyond the four already built in the country.

That referendum was pushed heavily by Maurer’s rightwing populist Swiss People’s Party, known for its antiimmigration stance. Switzerland faced a barrage of international criticism following the 2009 vote. — AFP

Pakistan church bombings kill 78 Continued from Page 1 Explosions struck the historic white-stone All Saints Church in the city of Peshawar as hundreds of parishioners, many of them women and children, streamed out of the building. “I heard two explosions. People started to run. Human remains were strewn all over the church,” said one parishioner, who only gave her first name, Margrette.

Her voice breaking with emotion, she said she had not seen her sister since the explosions ripped through the gate area outside the Anglican church. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the death toll of 78 included 34 women and seven children, in remarks televised live from Peshawar. More than 100 were wounded.

“Who are these terrorists killing women and children?”

Nisar said. The Taleban-linked militant group TTP Jundullah claimed responsibility within hours of the attack. “They are the enemies of Islam, therefore we target them,” said the group’s spokesman, Ahmed Marwat. “We will continue our attacks on non-Muslims on Pakistani land.” Christians make up about four percent of Pakistan’s population of 180 million and tend to keep a low profile in a country where Sunni Muslim militants frequently bomb targets they see as heretical, including Christians, Sufis and Shiites.

Yesterday’s attacks could complicate efforts by Sharif to engage militants in meaningful peace negotiations at a time when roadside bombs, targeted killings and suicide

attacks continue unabated. “The Prime Minister said that terrorists have no religion and targeting innocent people is against the teachings of Islam and all religions,” his office said in a statement. “He added that such cruel acts of terrorism reflect the brutality and inhumane mindset of the terrorists.”

Attacks on Christian areas occur sporadically around the country but yesterday’s assault, in a densely populated Christian residential area in the old walled city in Peshawar, was the most violent in recent history.

In 2009, 40 houses and a church were set ablaze by a mob of 1,000 Muslims in the town of Gojra in Punjab province. At least seven Christians were burnt to death.

Seventeen Christians were killed in an attack on a church in Bahawalpur in 2001. Some residents, enraged at the lack of adequate security at the church, took to the streets immediately after the attack, burning tyres and shouting slogans. Shops were closed in the Kohati Gate area where several other churches are located. “Terrorists have not spared mosques, temples and churches. Please have mercy on us,” one man outside the church, his face distorted by fear and anger, told Pakistan’s private Geo television channel. Protests by Christians were also reported in other cities including the violent port city of Karachi and Multan. A bomb disposal security source said there were two explosions carried out by a pair of attackers. More than 600 parishioners were inside the church for the service. — Reuters

Kenya forces battle to end deadly mall...

Continued from Page 1 At least 68 people have been killed and 200 wounded in the attack, officials said.

Earlier, Kenyan security forces launched a “major” assault late yesterday on the upscale Nairobi mall where an unknown number of hostages were being held by AlQaeda-linked militants, in an operation officials said would end the two-day standoff that had already killed 68 people.

The assault, which began shortly before sun down, came as two helicopters circled the mall, with one skimming very close to the roof. A loud explosion rang, far larger than any previous grenade blast or gunfire volley. Kenyan police said on Twitter that a “MAJOR” assault by security forces was ongoing to end the two-day siege. “This will end tonight. Our forces will prevail. Kenyans are standing firm against aggression, and we will win,” Kenya’s Disaster Operations Centre said on Twitter.

The assault came about 30 hours after 10 to 15 AlShabab extremists stormed the mall from two sides, throwing grenades and firing on civilians at will. Loud exchanges of gunfire emanated from inside the four-story upscale mall, throughout the day Sunday. Kenyan troops were seen carrying in at least two rocket propelled grenades and helicopters hovered throughout the day. Al-Shabab militants reacted angrily to the helicopters on Twitter and said the Kenyan military action was endangering hostages.

Kenyan officials said they would do their utmost to save hostages lives, but no officials could say precisely how many hostages were inside. Kenya’s Red Cross said in a statement citing police that 49 people had been reported missing. Officials did not make an explicit link but that number could form the basis of the number of people held captive.

Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked rebel group, Al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the attack that specifically targeted non-Muslims. The attackers included some women. The Islamic extremist rebels said the attack was retribution for Kenyan forces’ 2011 push into neighboring Somalia.

Al-Shabab said on its new Twitter feed - after its previous one was shut down on Saturday - that Kenyan officials were asking the hostage-takers to negotiate and offering incentives. “We’ll not negotiate with the Kenyan government as long as its forces are invading our country, so reap the bitter fruits of your harvest,” Al-Shabab said in a tweet.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta reiterated his government’s determination to continue fighting al-Shabab. “We went as a nation into Somalia to help stabilize the country and most importantly to fight

terror that had been unleashed on Kenya and the world,” said Kenyatta.”We shall not relent on the war on terror.”

He said although this violent attack had succeeded, the Kenyan security forces had “neutralized” many others.

Earlier in the day Kenyatta said he his nephew and his nephew’s fiance were killed in the attack. Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga told reporters at the mall that a number of people were being held hostage on the third floor and the basement area of the mall, which includes stores for Nike, Adidas and Bose stores. Kenyan security officials sought to reassure the families of hostages inside but implied that hostages could be killed. The security operation is “delicate” because Kenyan forces hoped to ensure the hostages are evacuated safely, said Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Lenku. “The priority is to save as many lives as possible,” Lenku said, adding that more than 1,000 people escaped the attack inside the mall on Saturday.

“We have received a lot of messages from friendly countries, but for now it remains our operation,” Lenku said.

More than 175 people were injured in the attack, Lenku said, including many children. Kenyan forces were by Sunday in control of the mall’s security cameras, he said.

Britain’s prime minister, in confirming the deaths of three British nationals, told the country to “prepare ourselves for further bad news.” Westgate Mall is at least partially owned by Israelis, and reports circulated that Israeli commandos were on the ground to assist in the response. Four restaurants inside the mall are Israeli-run or owned.

In Israel, a senior defense official said there were no Israeli forces participating in an assault, but the official said it was possible that Israeli advisers were providing assistance. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a classified military issue, would not elaborate.

Israel has close ties to Kenya going back many years.

And in recent years, Israel has identified East Africa as an area of strategic interest and stepped up ties with Kenya and other neighboring countries, due to shared threats posed by al-Qaida and other extremist elements. In 2002, militants bombed an Israeli-owned luxury hotel near Mombasa, killing 13 people, and tried to shoot down an Israeli airliner at the same time. Kenyans and foreigners were among those confirmed dead, including British, French, Canadians, Indians, a Ghanaian, a South African and a Chinese woman. Kofi Awoonor, a Ghanaian poet, professor and former ambassador to Brazil, Cuba and the United Nations, died after being injured in the attack, Ghana’s presidential office confirmed. Ghana’s ministry of information said Awoonor’s son was injured and is responding to treatment. — Agencies

Ghanaian poet killed in Kenya mall attack ACCRA: Renowned Ghanaian poet and statesman Kofi Awoonor was among confirmed dead in an attack by Somali Islamist militants on a Nairobi shopping mall, Ghana’s president said yesterday.

The announcement of his death led to an outpouring of grief in his home country. President John Dramani Mahama expressed his “shock” at the news, adding: “Such a sad twist of fate.” Awoonor, 78, was killed and his son was wounded at the Westgate mall, Ghana’s Deputy Information Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu said. Awoonor had been due to appear at the Storymoja Hay literary festival in Nairobi on Saturday.

Kwame Dawes, a cousin of Awoonor as well as a poet who was in Nairobi at the time of the attack, said Awoonor and his son were not together when the shooting started. “I think the son went to pick up something at the mall. Professor Awoonor was in the parking garage waiting for him,” Dawes, a professor in the United States who is editing Awoonor’s latest poetry collection, told AFP by telephone.

“The son was shot while he was inside the mall. We don’t know at what point the professor was shot,” Dawes said. — AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Nawal Al-Fuzai named Kuwait’s OPEC chief KUWAIT: Deputy Premier and Oil Minister Mustafa AlShamali has appointed Nawal Abdullateef Al-Fuzai as Kuwait’s Governor in OPEC’s Board of Governors. AlShamali sent on September 9 the appointment letter to the Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to name Al-Fuzai, Oil Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs, as Kuwait’s governor, a ministry statement said yesterday.

It added Al-Fuzai’s appointment was welcomed by OPEC members because of her expertise in economies related to oil markets and energy. OPEC Nawal Al-Fuzai Board of governors supervises implementation of the resolutions of ministerial meetings, proposal of studies and reports regarding oil markets, appointing of audits and preparing ministerial meetings’ agendas. —KUNA

Merkel triumphs in German vote Continued from Page 1 “This is a super result,” said Merkel, who can now expect to serve a third term. Merkel’s conservative Union bloc won about 42 percent of the vote, an improvement of more than eight points over Germany’s last election in 2009, according to ARD and ZDF television projections based on exit polls and early counting.

Her coalition partners of the past four years, the probusiness Free Democrats, were just below the 5 percent level needed to claim seats in the lower house, according to the projections.

Nevertheless, the Union’s strong showing was a personal victory for Merkel, solidifying her position as Europe’s strongest political leader. “We will do everything together in the next four years to make them successful years for Germany,” Merkel said. Merkel was interrupted by cheers and chants of “Angie! Angie!

Angie!” as she made a brief appearance at her party’s headquarters.

Center-left challenger Peer Steinbrueck’s Social Democrats trailed well behind Merkel’s party with up to 26.5 percent, projections showed. Their Green allies polled 8 percent, while the hard-line Left Party - heirs of the former Communist East German rulers with whom the center-left parties have said they won’t form an alliance - scored 8.5 percent. “We did not achieve the result we wanted,” Steinbrueck told supporters. He said that he wouldn’t engage in “speculation” about the next government. If Merkel’s current coalition lacks a majority and the conservatives can’t govern alone, the likeliest

outcome is a Merkel-led alliance with the Social Democrats. The two are traditional rivals, but governed Germany together in Merkel’s first term after an inconclusive 2005 election. “The ball is in Merkel’s court,” Steinbrueck said. “She has to get herself a majority.” It wasn’t clear whether a new party that calls for an “orderly breakup” of the euro-zone, Alternative for Germany, would win seats in parliament’s lower house. The exit polls showed them winning up to 4.9 percent - just shy of enough for seats.

Merkel and others have said they won’t deal with the party. Labor Minister Ursula von der Leyen, a conservative, said it was an “overwhelming” result for Merkel’s party.

“The important thing is that Germany has stable conditions,” she said. The exit polls were greeted by shocked silence at the Free Democrats’ election event. Four years ago, the party won nearly 15 percent of the vote - but the party has taken much of the blame for squabbling in Merkel’s governing coalition since then. “It’s the bitterest, saddest hour of the Free Democratic Party,” the party’s leader, Vice Chancellor Philipp Roesler, said.

Merkel’s party ran a campaign centered squarely on Merkel’s personal popularity. Recent polls gave her popularity ratings of up to 70 percent, but the sky-high ratings didn’t extend to her coalition.

Merkel calls her current coalition “the most successful government since reunification” 23 years ago. She points to the robust economy and unemployment which, at 6.8 percent, is very low for Germany and far below that of many other European countries. — AP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

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Focus

A year after bailout fears, Spain wins back investors

By Katell Abiven

C

ast as the sick man of the euro-zone a year ago, Spain seems at last to be luring back investors despite lingering threats to its recovery. “Viva Espana,” blared a recent report by the global financiers Morgan Stanley, advising clients to invest in bonds from the euro-zone’s fourth-biggest economy, which came close to a full bailout in 2012.

“Last year, a bit before September, everything was different. We were trying not to read analysts’ reports so as not to get depressed,” said Antonio Carrascosa, leader of Spain’s state bank-restructuring fund, known as the FROB. “Right now, it’s the opposite. We are seeing the start of a recovery.” Having risen in mid-2012 as investors shunned the country, Spain’s sovereign borrowing costs-the yields or rates of interest it must pay on the debt markets to finance its public spendinghave fallen sharply. In July 2012 the yield on its benchmark 10-year bond was around 7.5 percent a level considered unsustainable by economists. It is now around 4.4 percent.

The Madrid stock market has just broken back through the 9,000-point barrier for the first time since October 2011. “The concerns that were on the world’s front pages a little over a year ago have disappeared,” said Carrascosa.

Scrambling last year to stabilize public finances, Spain’s conservative government introduced a series of austere reforms which sparked angry mass street protests. The reforms included spending cuts and looser hiring-and-firing laws for companies, plus a shake-up of the banks to bolster their balance sheets and purge bad loans. “With regards to structural reforms, certainly Spain, versus its neighbors, seems to be an exemplary case for progress, namely on the issues concerning the financial sector, labor market and fiscal framework,” Morgan Stanley’s analysts wrote. The government is forecasting that the current quarter will see an end to the recession-the second in a double downturn sparked by the collapse of a construction boom in 2008.

“A year ago, Spain was a problem for the European economy and the world economy,” said Finance Minister Luis de Guindos last week. “Now it is not.”

Strengthening exports and an easing in the decline of household spending “lead us to think that the Spanish economy has come out of recession,” he said.

“But this does not mean it has come out of the crisis.”

Wait and see Other analysts were likewise cautious. “We are very much in wait and see mode,” said Fergus McCormick, head of sovereign ratings at the credit rating agency DBRS. His agency currently scores Spain at A minus with a negative outlook, indicating it is creditworthy but at risk from economic shocks. McCormick said he is looking for “signs of progress” in cutting the deficit, job creation and structural changes, warning that more unpopular labor reforms may be needed. “Spain has made a lot of progress so far but has a long way to go, in particular in the labor market,” he said. “I think the greater concern is the stability of the housing market,” he added, however, with far more empty buildings than buyers after the 2008 housing bust. Spain’s banks have drawn more than 41 billion euros ($55 billion) from an emergency euro-zone credit line, but remain weighed down by unsold buildings and unpaid loans.

“The banking problem is under control but it has not yet been solved entirely,” said Jesus Castillo, an analyst specializing in southern Europe at Natixis bank. “In any case, nothing will improve until the outlook for the economy is a bit better.” The government’s latest forecasts tip a 1.3-percent contraction in overall economic output in 2013 before a return to growth of 0.5 percent in 2014 and one percent in 2015. The towering unemployment rate is currently forecast to stand at 27.1 percent at the end of this year and 26.7 percent in 2014, staying above 25 percent until 2016.

“The economy is still very fragile and will depend very much on the trust factor, which will determine whether the investment cycle resumes or not,” said Castillo. In 2007, the year before the crisis erupted, Spain’s public debt was worth 36.3 percent of gross domestic product.

It now stands at 92.2 percent. “The risk is if there is a shock from within Spain or from outside Spain, that destabilizes the financial market, thereby leading to higher interest rates for Spain,” said McCormick. “I think that could be a cause for concern.” —AFP

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Will Sisi run for presidency?

By Mona Salem

O

ne of the most engaging political questions in Egypt today is whether General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who ousted the country’s first democratically elected president, will run for the job himself. But Egypt’s new strongman, hugely popular among the large segment of the population that called for Islamist president Mohammed Morsi to be removed, is keeping mum. For now, Egypt is still undecided on the shape that its future governmental structure will take, be it presidential, parliamentary or semi-presidential. Interim president Adly Mansour has formed a panel to draft a new constitution, replacing one rammed through by Morsi that was criticized for being too Islamist in nature.

In principle, the talk is of elections-both for a new parliament and the presidency-sometime in the middle of next year. Meanwhile, the local media is full of speculation about a possible Sisi candidacy.

On July 3, Sisi appeared on state television and declared that Morsi had been pushed out. He said he acted after millions took to the streets demanding the removal of the Islamist leader-the first civilian and first democratically elected person ever to hold the presidency-who had been in office for only a year.

Since then, calls for Sisi to run have proliferated on Facebook pages. Portraits of the strongman are ubiquitous in shop windows, on walls and in cars in the Arab world’s most populous country.

Experts and journalists who have recently met Sisi say he does not want the top job and has no intention of running for it. And the man himself has made only one public pronouncement on

the matter, and that was enigmatic. In a speech on July 24, three weeks after ousting Morsi, he said “the honor of achieving a popular demand is bigger than the honor of leading Egypt”.

Regardless of what he decides, Egypt faces a dilemma, as the military has always played a prominent role in politics.

At the same time, it is grappling with two serious security issues. First, there are fears that an

installations. Abdullah Al-Sennawi, an editorialist at independent Al-Shoruk daily, said: “He stands or not, in both the cases we are faced with a problem.” “It is clear that he has strong support from the army, security services and state apparatus. That makes him powerful.

So if somebody else is elected, we risk having two heads of state.” At the same time, “forces such as the Muslim Brotherhood would make it

General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi Islamist insurgency may be emerging in response to the army’s ruthless crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood over the past several weeks. And secondly, the army is dealing with growing lawlessness in the Sinai Peninsula that has seen repeated deadly attacks on police and military

difficult for the future president,” he said.

“As a result, (the next president) will have to depend on the military, which will weaken the executive. So the issue goes beyond Sisi.”

Political analyst Mustafa Kamel el-Sayyed said the military chief and the executive head must

“coexist”.

Given the reality in Egypt, the “next president will have no influence on the army”. “It is realistic to think that the army would continue to play a role, especially under Sisi,” Sayyed said.

Since the 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt has been plagued by instability, which has grown since the coup. For some experts it is precisely this concern that makes a case for Sisi to stick with one job-heading the military.

Ahmed Taha, a writer for private daily AlYoum al-Sabaa, addressed himself to everyone wanting to convince Sisi to run. “I urge them to leave him to his sacred duties” as the head of the army.

That is “more important than being head of state, as internal and external dangers to the nation require the army’s capacities to be reinforced, and only Sisi can” do that, he said.

Sennawi told AFP Sisi even said he “would not run for presidency even if millions” of supporters took to the streets.

But if he did, the three men who lost out to Morsi in last year’s presidential election said they would support him. Amr Mussa was a long-time foreign minister under Mubarak and then head of the Arab League. “Today, the Egyptians expect their future president to take firm decisions, whatever the political implications,” he said in an interview with Al-Shoruk, adding that “General Sisi is at this moment the most popular man in Egypt”.

Ahmed Shafiq, briefly prime minister during Mubarak’s last days in power and the loser to Morsi in a run-off, told private television channel Dream 2 that the general gets “absolute priority” if he decides to run. And Hamdeen Sabbahi, an Arab nationalist, has called Sisi a

Cambodia at a political crossroads

By Suy Se

D

espite mass protests, accusations of rigged elections, a brief hunger strike by a prince and a threatened boycott of parliament by his rivals, Cambodia’s long-ruling strongman Hun Sen remains firmly in control. But after his worst poll result in 15 years and a series of demonstrations drawing tens of thousands of people, experts say the former Khmer Rouge fighter-turned-premier must now realize that something has to change. “Hun Sen got a huge kick-a huge wake-up call-during the election,” said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.

“So I think Hun Sen is getting the message that people are not happy with the way he runs the country.”

Three days of demonstrations descended into violence earlier this month when a protester was shot dead as security forces clashed with a stone-throwing crowd.

Cambodia’s political crisis faces a crucial juncture this week with the opposition set to boycott parliament when it convenes today unless Hun Sen agrees to its demand for an independent probe into the disputed July polls. Several rounds of talks between Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy over the past week failed to break the deadlock, raising fears of a protracted dispute and further mass protests.

The two sides agreed to seek a non-violent solution to the impasse and made a vague pledge to set up a mechanism to bring about elec-

tion reform. The key demand of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) is for an independent “truth committee” to investigate Hun Sen’s controversial election victory. On that, the premier has refused to budge.

The crisis took a new twist on Friday when a pro-opposition Cambodian prince-the cousin of King Norodom Sihamoni-went on hunger strike in protest at Hun Sen’s contested win, demanding “justice for voters”. His protest ended Saturday after military police expelled him from the pagoda where he was holding the hunger strike. Experts say that ultimately

the emergence of a more vocal and emboldened opposition should be positive for a country that has been run almost single-handedly by Hun Sen for 28 years. “We’re moving towards a two-party system, which is good for the country, for a healthy democracy,” said independent analyst Lao Mong Hay, a former researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission.

According to official results of the July election, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won 68 seats against 55 for the CNRP. The opposition has rejected the tally, alleging widespread vote irregularities. The CNRP has warned of further

protests unless Hun Sen agrees to its demands, which also include an overhaul of the National Election Committee.

The question now, say experts, is how much ground Hun Sen will be willing to cede to the opposition, and how his rivals will use their new-found political clout. “The natural role of the opposition in Cambodia in the past has been defensive, the role of a victim, impulsive and not very disciplined,” said Jackson Cox, an analyst with the consultancy firm Woodmont International.

“They should and must demonstrate they are not the opposition

PHNOM PENH: Opposition party supporters of Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) carry documents of a petition near Royaln Palace, in Phnom Penh on Saturday. —AP

party of the past. They have to act proactively.” The CNRP faces a dilemma-if it refuses to compromise it risks losing its voice in parliament.

But if it strikes a deal with Hun Sen that leaves the strongman in power, then it could face a backlash from its supporters who appear hungry for change.

“I want justice because people voted for CNRP,” said opposition supporter Hok Rim, 32. “If there’s no solution, I’m ready to join more protests.” From land-grab protests to strikes in the key garment sector, public discontent shows that Hun Sen can no longer rely on his image as a liberator from the horrors of the Khmer Rouge to underpin support, experts say. Hun Sen is a former Khmer Rouge cadre who defected and oversaw Cambodia’s rise from the ashes of war. His government is regularly accused of ignoring human rights and suppressing political dissent.

While garment exports and tourism have brought double-digit economic growth, Cambodia remains one of the world’s poorest countries, and younger Cambodians are also increasingly intolerant of endemic corruption.

But experts say the 61-year-old premier-who has vowed to rule until he is 74 — is unlikely to relinquish his grip of power yet. “Hun Sen will want to take the moral high ground and appear to be cooperating in the interest of national unity and reconciliation,” said Carl Thayer, professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia. “But he will not let political reforms undermine the basis of his power.” —AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

S P ORTS Toit back in S Africa squad CAPE TOWN: Uncapped Sharks lock Pieter-Steph du Toit has been added to the South Africa squad to face Australia and New Zealand in their final two Rugby Championship tests. Du Toit, who can also play as a flank, was drafted into the squad by coach Heyneke Meyer along with Stormers centre Juan de Jongh. Scrumhalf Fourie du Preez also returns from club duty in Japan in a move that was always planned.

The 21-year-old Du Toit was part of the Springbok squad in June but had to withdraw because of a sternum injury. He has completed his rehabilitation and featured in the last two domestic Currie Cup matches for the Sharks. “It’s great to see Pieter-Steph back in action and I have to commend the Sharks for the good work they’ve done on getting him back to full match fitness,” Meyer said in a statement released by South African Rugby Union (SARU) yesterday. “He has always been part of our long-term plans and we’re looking forward to welcoming him back into the Springbok fold. “Juan is an experienced player and will slot back into the squad with ease as we start our preparations for the Test against Australia at Newlands on Saturday.”

South Africa face Australia in Cape Town on Saturday, before welcoming New Zealand to Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Oct. 5. The Springboks trail Rugby Championship leaders the All Blacks by four points going into the final two rounds of matches. —Reuters

Webber facing grid penalty

Radwanska wins Korea Open SEOUL: Polish top seed Agnieszka Radwanska came from behind to beat Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-7 (6) 6-3 6-4 in the final of the Korea Open in Seoul to bag her third WTA title of the year yesterday.

Radwanska’s victory in the gruelling final, which lasted two hours and 45 minutes, also gave the 24-year-old world number four her 13th career title. Pavlyuchenkova, who lost to Radwanska in the US Open last month as well, came back after losing the first three games and saved four set points to eventually win the opening set in the tie-breaker. Radwanska wrested back control after breaking the third-seeded Russian early in the second set and closed out the match with a break in the 10th game of the deciding set. —Reuters

SINGAPORE: Australia’s Mark Webber was facing a 10-place grid penalty yesterday after he hitched a ride on Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix.

Both drivers were slapped with a reprimand over the incident, which came after Webber abandoned his Red Bull at the end of the race when it started billowing smoke. But according to Formula One regulations, Webber is in line for the grid penalty at the next race in South Korea for receiving his third reprimand this season. Race officials in Singapore were unable to confirm the grid penalty, which is more likely to be announced ahead of the Korean race on October 6.

Trackside video footage showed Webber running on to the track and flagging down Alonso, who finished second, during his post-race parade lap.

Webber then jumped on to the side of the Ferrari and was driven back to the pits, waving to the crowd as he went. The incident prompted guffaws, but it was viewed more seriously by Formula One officials, who hauled both drivers in front of the stewards.

Webber, who is quitting Formula One this year, was told off for going on the track without permission, while Alonso was rebuked because another car had to swerve when he stopped. —AFP

Ali, Norton and golden age of heavyweights NEW YORK: They were young once, and perhaps it’s best to remember them that way.

Magnificent men on stages equally as magnificent, they were part of the golden age of heavyweight boxing. With Muhammad Ali as the common thread, they fought in faraway places like Zaire and the Philippines, in Yankee Stadium and in the parking lot of a faux Roman palace on the Las Vegas Strip.

“On any given night all of us could beat the other,” George Foreman said. “I had Ken Norton’s number and Joe Frazier’s number. Ali had my number, and Norton had Ali’s number.

No one would give up.”

For the better part of two decades, no one did. They fought each other and, if that didn’t settle things, they fought each other again. Ali in particular didn’t mind meeting a familiar foe, with three fights each against Norton and Frazier.

For Norton, who died last week at the age of 70, fighting Ali didn’t just put him in the upper echelon of heavyweights at a time when heavyweights reigned supreme. It literally put food on his table for his son, Ken Jr., who would go on to play in the NFL for 13 years and now coaches linebackers for the Seattle Seahawks.

The money was there because Ali made sure it was. He and Frazier met in what was truly the Fight of the Century in 1971, both getting $2.5 million purses that were unheard of at the time.

A few years later, Ali was heavyweight champion again, though some thought his time had passed. He hadn’t looked that great against Norton in their 1976 fight at Yankee Stadium, and now he was going to defend his title against Alfredo Evangelista, a solid if unspectacular contender most noted as being the best heavyweight ever to emerge from Uruguay.

“Why do you keep fighting?” a radio man asked Ali before the bout. Ali looked at the man like he had just landed from outer space before explaining why he was risking his heavyweight crown. “You know what they’re paying me for one night - $2.75 million. This is

LAS VEGAS: In this June 9, 1978, file photo, Ken Norton (right), and Larry Holmes battle for the WBC heavyweight championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Holmes won the bout in a 15-round split decision. Norton passed away Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013, at a Las Vegas care facility, his son said. Norton was 70. —AP not Joe Frazier or Ken Norton or Jimmy Young,” he said. “I’m getting $2.75 million for a tuneup, a warmup, against a nobody.”

There had to be some nobodies, of course, because the heavyweights who really mattered couldn’t keep fighting each other all the time. Sometimes, though, it seemed like they did, even to those actually doing the fighting.

“They kept coming, and kept coming, one

after the other,” Foreman said. “You just couldn’t find an easy target.” Norton was no easy target - far from it. The former Marine with the sculpted body came out of nowhere to break Ali’s jaw and hand him only his second defeat in 1973. The two would fight two more times and Ali would win both, though Norton went to his grave believing that he was robbed in their last fight in 1976 in Yankee Stadium.

There was no such controversy two years earlier when Norton challenged Foreman for the heavyweight title in, of all places, Caracas, Venezuela. The fearsome Foreman, fighting one last fight before he and Ali would meet in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire, knocked Norton down three times before the fight was mercifully called to an end in the second round.

“A lot of people assumed he was afraid of me but he was never afraid of me,” Foreman said. “He got in the ring and took off his robe and I looked over there and he looks like Hercules. That wasn’t pretty at all.” Norton is gone now, never really having recovered from blows taken to the head and a car accident in the 1980s that nearly killed him. So is Frazier, and other less notable alums of the great heavyweight era like Young and Ron Lyle.

Getting hit in the head by a 200-pound (90-kilogram) man can take a toll, though some weathered it better than others. I was with Leon Spinks last year when he and his wife sat in a small room at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, where he was told his brain was shrinking because of the abuse it took in the ring and out.

It was grand, though now it’s not so pretty.

Ali himself is nearly mute and a trembling figure these days in Arizona, ravaged by the Parkinson’s Syndrome that did what no other opponent could do - silence The Greatest.

“He’s living a more humble life now, but he’s doing good,” said Ali’s former business manager, Gene Kilroy, who visited him this year on Ali’s 71st birthday. “But he’s not the Ali he used to be when he would walk down the street and 5,000 people would follow as he yelled ‘Who’s the greatest of all time?’” Ali was, and of that there is little doubt. He captivated the world with his mouth outside the ring, and thrilled them with his work inside the ropes. Two wins each against Frazier and Norton and mighty upsets of Foreman and Sonny Liston were more than a career for any one man.

His supporting class was awfully good too - the last batch of heavyweights to take up boxing before the lure of basketball and American football took away so many good athletes from pursuing the sport. Like Norton, they were champions too, even if Ali always seemed to reign supreme.

They were all young once, and they were magnificent. As another one passes, we’re all lucky to be able to remember them that way. —AP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

S P ORTS

Cardinals pound Brewers MILWAUKEE: Matt Carpenter broke Stan Musial’s team record for doubles by a left-handed batter in a season and Lance Lynn won for the first time since early August as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 Saturday to maintain a two-game lead in the NL Central. Seeking their first division title since 2009, the Cardinals (91-64) have surged ahead of Pittsburgh (89-66) and Cincinnati (88-67), which fell three back with a 4-2 loss in Pittsburgh.

St. Louis lowered its magic number to one for clinching a postseason berth, won for the 12th time in 17 games and improved to 14-4 against the Brewers this year, including 8-1 in Milwaukee.

Carpenter’s fifth-inning double was his 54th of the season, one more than Musial’s total in 1953. Lynn (14-10) allowed one run, four hits and four walks in 6 1-3 innings with seven strikeouts.

He had been 0-5 with a 5.44 ERA in eight starts since winning at Cincinnati on Aug. 4.

Yovani Gallardo (11-10) gave up two runs and four hits in seven innings and dropped to 1-11 with a 6.46 ERA in 17 career starts against St. Louis. Matt Adams hit a two-run homer for the second straight night for the Cardinals.

PIRATES 4, REDS 2 In Pittsburgh, AJ Burnett scattered four hits over seven strong innings to help Pittsburgh move a game in front of Cincinnati for the top spot in the NL wild-card race.

Burnett (9-11) struck out a season-high 12 and Jason Grilli worked the ninth for his 31st save, his first since going to the disabled list with a strained right forearm in July.

Russell Martin hit a two-run homer and Jose Tabata added two hits as the Pirates bounced back from a late collapse in a loss on Friday night. Zach Cozart hit his 12th home run of the season for Cincinnati and Ryan Ludwick added an RBI but Homer Bailey (11-11) ended his winning streak at six straight decisions.

DETROIT: Anibal Sanchez No. 19 of the Detroit Tigers pitches in the first inning of the game against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park. —AFP

Tigers edge White Sox DETROIT: The Detroit Tigers tied the game with an astonishing six-run rally in the ninth inning, then beat the Chicago White Sox 7-6 on Saturday when Omar Infante hit an infield single with the bases loaded in the 12th.

Infante’s grounder deflected off the glove of reliever Jacob Petricka (1-1) with one out, and the Tigers spilled onto the field with Comerica Park in a frenzy.

Detroit plays its final scheduled home game of the year Sunday and can clinch a third straight AL Central title with a win and a Cleveland loss. Trailing 6-0 in the ninth, the Tigers scored five runs before the first out. Pinch-hitter Andy Dirks hit a three-run homer to pull Detroit within one. Al Alburquerque (4-3) got the win.

The Tigers won after trailing by six in the ninth for the first time since Aug. 22, 1947, according to STATS. They beat the Washington Senators 7-6 that day.

RAYS 5, ORIOLES 1 In St Petersburg, Alex Cobb took a three-hit shutout into the ninth inning and Desmond Jennings drove in four runs as the Tampa Bay Rays beat Baltimore in a matchup of exhausted teams to maintain their lead in the AL wild-card race.

The first pitch came 10 hours, 56 minutes after the Rays’ 5-4, 18-inning win over Baltimore that ended at 2:05 a.m., a game that stretched on for 6:54 - a record time for both teams. Saturday’s game, by comparison, seemed to breeze by in 2:51.

Tampa Bay leads for the wild card, a half-game ahead of Cleveland. Texas is one game behind the Rays. Cobb (10-3) struck out 12. He didn’t allow a hit until Steve Clevenger singled with two outs in the fifth, and left after Adam Jones’ RBI single in the ninth. Miguel Gonzalez (108) gave up three runs, two hits and five walks in six innings.

INDIANS 4, ASTROS 1 In Cleveland, Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings and Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer as the Cleveland Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a win over Houston. The Indians won for the eighth time in 10 games. They lead Texas by a half-game for the second wild-card slot. Houston, a major league-worst 51104, has lost a season-high eight in a row. Kazmir (9-9) struck out 10 and walked two. Paul Clemens (4-6) allowed four runs in 4 2-3 innings.

RANGERS 3, ROYALS 1 In Kansas City, Matt Garza pitched eight impressive innings for his first victory in six starts as the Texas Rangers kept close in the playoff race, beating Kansas City.

The Rangers won for only the fifth time in 19 September games. They remained a half-game behind Cleveland for the second AL wild-card berth.

The Royals, out of the playoffs since winning the 1985 World Series, dropped 31/2 games in back of the Indians. Garza (10-6) was 0-3 with an 8.22 ERA in his first

three September starts. Joe Nathan got his 40th save in 43 chances. Jeremy Guthrie (14-12) got the loss.

ATHLETICS 9, TWINS 1 In Oakland, the Oakland Athletics lowered their magic number to one for clinching their second straight AL West title, topping Minnesota behind the pitching of Jarrod Parker and hitting of Alberto Callaspo. The A’s have won 12 of 15 and lead second-place Texas by 71/2 games.

Parker (12-7), who may start the A’s postseason opener, gave up one run and four hits in six innings. Callaspo matched his career highs with four hits and had three RBIs. Kurt Suzuki and Yoenis Cespedes homered for the A’s.

The game started after a two-hour rain delay. The visiting dugout was flooded and sewage backed up in the A’s coaches’ bathroom, the third such incident at the Coliseum this season. Josmil Pinto homered for Minnesota. Pedro Hernandez (3-2) gave up six runs and eight hits in two innings.

BLUE JAYS 4, RED SOX 2 In Boston, Clay Buchholz lost for the first time this season as the AL East champion Boston Red Sox rested a couple of regulars while falling to Mark Buehrle and the Toronto Blue Jays.

A day after the Red Sox clinched the division title, they lost for just the sixth time in 21 games. Manager John Farrell didn’t start second baseman Dustin Pedroia and first baseman Mike Napoli, and used starter Ryan Dempster for an inning of relief.

Buchholz (11-1) gave up two earned runs on six hits and two walks in six innings. He had pitched 11 scoreless innings in his previous two starts, his first since spending three months on the disabled list with a strained neck.

Buehrle (12-9) held Boston to one run in six innings. Casey Janssen pitched the ninth for his 33rd save in 35 chances.

YANKEES 6, GIANTS 0 In New York, Ivan Nova pitched a sixhitter for his second career shutout and Alfonso Soriano homered as the New York Yankees beat San Francisco Giants.

The Yankees won for the just the third time in eight games, and are three games behind Cleveland for the second AL wild-card spot. Nova (9-5) struck out seven and walked one in his third complete game this year. Ryan Vogelsong (36) took the loss.

ANGELS 6, MARINERS 5 In Anaheim, Collin Cowgill homered and also stole home as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Seattle Mariners. Rookie Grant Green hit a three-run double to help Jerome Williams (9-10) win his fourth straight start.

Ernesto Frieri got three outs for his 36th save in 40 attempts despite giving up Raul Ibanez’s 300th career homer. Joe Saunders (11-16) tied the Astros’ Lucas Harrell and the Cubs’ Edwin Jackson for the most losses in the majors. —AP

CUBS 3, BRAVES 1 In Chicago, Dioner Navarro hit a tiebreaking single in a three-run eighth inning as Chicago Cubs Atlanta to keep the Braves on the brink of the NL East championship.

Atlanta’s magic number remained at one to clinch its first division title since 2005. Secondplace Washington was rained out against Miami later Saturday.

Starlin Casto singled off Kris Medlen with one out in the eighth, pinch-hitter Donnie Murphy singled against Scott Downs (2-1) and Anthony Rizzo hit a tying double down the left-field line.

Navarro singled in the go-ahead run against David Carpenter, and Nate Schierholtz added a sacrifice fly. Carlos Villanueva (7-8) got three outs for the win and Pedro Strop had the save.

DODGERS 4, PADRES 0 In San Diego, Clayton Kershaw struck out 10 in seven dominant innings, and Yasiel Puig and A.J. Ellis hit two-run homers as NL West-champion Los Angeles beat San Diego.

Kershaw (15-9) lowered his major leagueleading ERA to 1.88 and leads the NL with 224 strikeouts. He held San Diego in check on three hits after losing to the Padres in three other starts this year. The left-hander is trying to become the first pitcher to lead the majors in ERA in three consecutive seasons since Atlanta’s Greg Maddux from 1993-95.

Ellis homered in the fourth off rookie Burch Smith (1-2). Puig then connected on a shot to

MILWAUKEE: Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett leaps over St. Louis Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter (13) at second while throwing to first to complete a double play on Carlos Beltran during the third inning.—AP center field in the seventh that was estimated at 457 feet.

DIAMONDBACKS 7, ROCKIES 2 In Denver, Matt Davidson homered and drove in three runs, and Gerardo Parra had three hits as Arizona beat Colorado. Chris Owings also had three hits for the Diamondbacks, who won for the first time since being eliminated from the NL West race Thursday.

Arizona starter Trevor Cahill (8-10) lasted into the sixth despite taking a line drive by DJ LeMahieu off his right leg in the bottom of the first. Charlie Blackmon had three hits for Colorado and Colin McHugh (0-3), still looking for his first career win, allowed six runs and 11 hits in five innings.

METS 5, PHILLIES 4 In Philadelphia, David Wright and Daniel Murphy hit solo home runs as New York beat Philadelphia in a game called in the top of the seventh inning because of rain.

The game was halted and then called after a wait of 1 hour, 28 minutes. Wright connected for the third consecutive game, and second straight day since returning from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for more than a month. Murphy broke a 1-all tie with a homer in a four-run sixth.

His 12th homer of the season tied a career high set in 2009.

Juan Lagares chased Phillies starter Tyler Cloyd (2-6) with a two-run triple in the sixth.

Dillon Gee (12-10) yielded four runs on seven hits with a walk while going the distance.—AP

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

American League Eastern Division W L Boston 94 62 Tampa Bay 85 69 NY Yankees 82 73 Baltimore 81 73 Toronto 71 83 Central Division Detroit 91 64 Cleveland 85 70 Kansas City 81 73 Minnesota 65 89 Chicago White Sox 60 94 Western Division Oakland 92 63 Texas 84 70 LA Angels 76 78 Seattle 67 88 Houston 51 104

PCT .603 .552 .529 .526 .461

GB 8 11.5 12 22

.587 .548 .526 .422 .390

6 9.5 25.5 30.5

St. Louis Pittsburgh Cincinnati Milwaukee Chicago Cubs

.594 .545 .494 .432 .329

7.5 15.5 25 41

LA Dodgers Arizona San Diego San Francisco Colorado

Atlanta Washington Philadelphia NY Mets Miami

National League Eastern Division 91 63 83 71 71 83 70 84 56 98 Central Division 91 64 89 66 88 67 68 86 65 90 Western Division 89 66 78 76 72 82 71 84 71 85

.591 .539 .461 .455 .364

8 20 21 35

.587 .574 .568 .442 .419

2 3 22.5 26

.574 .506 .468 .458 .455

10.5 16.5 18 18.5

America’s Cup showdown postponed

LONDON: British Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky poses on the podium with the trophy after winning the Tour of Britain in London. —AFP

Wiggins wins Tour of Britain LONDON: Bradley Wiggins won his home Tour of Britain yesterday as compatriot Mark Cavendish took his third stage victory of this year’s race.

Omega Pharma Quickstep sprint specialist Cavendish surged away from An Post Chain Reaction’s Sam Bennett of Italy and Italian rider Elia Viviani of Cannondale to take victory in the closing stages of a race that culminated in Whitehall in central London.

Team Sky ’s Wiggins, Britain’s 2012 Olympic and Tour de France champion, finished in the chasing pack to secure overall victory and take the gold jersey.

Switzerland’s Martin Elmiger was second overall, the IAM Cycling rider 26 seconds adrift of Wiggins, with Simon Yates of the Great Britain Under-23 team third.

“The feeling at the moment is more just relief than anything else,” said Wiggins, after his first stage-race triumph since the 2012 Tour de France. “I said I wanted to win it. It is pressure for the whole week. “Until you cross the line you just don’t know. It’s all right to think it’s a bit of a ceremony round London, but it certainly isn’t.

“You cross the line, you’re pumped up.

It’s relief that you’ve finished and fulfilled it for your team and your team-mates.”

Wiggins, however, won’t have much time to savor this win with his thoughts now turning to Wednesday ’s Road World Championships time-trial in Italy “It’s a bit like the Tour with the Olympics.

Win the Tour one day, the next day you’re thinking about the Olympics,” Wiggins explained.

Meanwhile Cavendish, who won the concluding stage of the Tour of Britain for a third successive year, said: “It’s been incredible, to be able to win the stage again in London.” The Isle of Man rider thanked Alessandro Petacchi, a former rival turned team-mate, for his support.

“His road sense is like something I’ve never seen before,” Cavendish said. “He’s super smooth, super intelligent, super calm. He keeps me calm. “I haven’t had this since I worked with (Mark) Renshaw and it’s exactly the same with Alessandro. “I don’t really have to do anything, I just follow a wheel that’s smooth as silk and go with 200 metres to go.”—AFP

SAN FRANCISCO: Fluky weather prevented America’s Cup racing on Saturday, extending at least one more day a regatta that Emirates Team New Zealand a week ago appeared to have all but won against defender Oracle Team USA. After struggling for much of the regatta’s final series in San Francisco, the team owned by Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison has gained momentum against Emirates Team New Zealand, refusing since Thursday to let the Kiwis win the one race that would give them the trophy.

The finals, which began Sept. 7, will now run longer than the two weeks regatta organizers had planned for.

Uncooperative weather conditions on San Francisco Bay have wreaked havoc on the race schedule all week. On Saturday, a southerly wind direction forced organizers to call off both scheduled races. The race course is set up for the Bay’s dependable westerly sea breeze. Oracle staved off elimination on Friday, catching a huge break when the day’s first race suffered from a lack of wind and was abandoned for exceeding the time limit, with New Zealand far ahead. Oracle then came back to win a second race in stronger breezes.

“Luck is a great thing. Luck beats skill every time,” New Zealand’s frustrated tactician Ray Davies later told reporters.

That victory trimmed New Zealand’s advantage in the best-of17 series to 8-3. Racing is scheduled to resume late yesterday and continue every day until there is a winner.

Until Friday the regatta had been dogged by winds that often exceeded the limits set by the organizers, which were lowered for safety reasons after a sailor died when one of the 72-foot America’s Cup catamarans capsized during practice in May. The wind-limit rule forced five race cancellations since the America’s Cup finals began two weeks ago, and the two teams have bickered about raising the threshold.

The Kiwis dominated the early matches of the final series and appeared poised to easily reclaim the trophy they lost in 2003. But Oracle has succeeded in shifting the momentum with boat changes and improved tacking, and the two teams now appear remarkably even.

“We’re in a battle now. Honestly, we both want to kill each other, but that’s sport,” Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill said of rival skipper Dean Barker, the two sitting beside each other at a post-race press conference. “At match point, it’s almost like we get the best out of our boys when they’re under pressure,” Spithill said. Following alterations it made to its AC72 catamaran, Oracle is now seen as having a slight advantage over the Kiwi boat in strong winds.

Oracle sent a letter this week to the New Zealand team suggesting the wind limits be increased in order to avoid more delays, a proposal the Kiwis flatly rejected.

Ellison’s team won the America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain in 2010 and with it the right to set the rules for this year’s competition, including choosing to race on the AC72s and to hold the regatta on windy San Francisco Bay. The Kiwis first won the America’s Cup in 1995 and successfully defended it in 2000 before losing the trophy three years later to Swiss biotechnology billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi in a disastrous campaign that left the team in shambles.—Reuters

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

S P ORT S

England ponder Bresnan fitness as Rankin eyes Ashes LONDON: England know the bulk of a squad due to be announced today for a tour of Australia that will see them try to win a fourth straight Ashes series for the first time since the 19th Century.

The fact England, who beat archrivals Australia 3-0 in a Test series on home soil to retain the urn, rested regular captain Alastair Cook, batsman Ian Bell and bowlers James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann from the subsequent 2-1 oneday series loss was testament to the importance they place on the Ashes.

But while the first-choice XI, with star batsman Kevin Pietersen set to play his 100th Test in November’s opener in Brisbane, largely picks itself, the choice of back-up squad members is likely to have led to some prolonged discussions for a selection panel led by ex-England off-spinner Geoff Miller.

One question regards the fitness of bowling all-rounder Tim Bresnan, who missed the fifth Test at The Oval, as well as the one-dayers, with a stress fracture of his back.

Twice an Ashes-winner, Bresnan when fit fills the tricky position of third seamer in a four-man attack and the Yorkshireman played a key role during England’s 2010/11 3-1 series

win in Australia. Someone else who starred in that series, after replacing Steven Finn in Perth, is Surrey fast bowler Chris Tremlett, whose career has been blighted by several injuries.

Both Tremlett and Finn fit the mould of tall fast bowlers favoured by England’s Australian bowling coach David Saker.

But so too does former Ireland international Boyd Rankin who impressed for his adopted country during the one-day series as did allrounder Ben Stokes, also uncapped at Test level.

“They certainly won’t have done them any harm,” said England limited overs coach and Test selector Ashley Giles of Rankin and Stokes’s Ashes prospects.

“Boyd is 6ft 10in or something, a huge man, and he bowls at a good rate of knots. We tend to like our tall fast bowlers. Going to Australia, playing on those wickets, those attributes are important. “Ben is someone who has been on the radar for a couple of years. I think he’s a really exciting cricketer,” former left-arm spinner Giles, an Ashes-winner as a player in 2005, added. England face awkward decisions with regards to both a second spinner and a reserve wicketkeeper. Monty Panesar had provided

slow bowling back-up to Swann on recent England tours but the leftarmer’s erratic behavior-he was effectively sacked by Sussex this season after urinating on a nightclub bouncer-has caused alarm among coach Andy Flower’s staff.

In Panesar’s favour is the hapless Test debut of Lancashire left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan at The Oval but England could opt for off-spinner James Tredwell, deployed in one-dayers when Swann is unavailable.

If England want a left-arm spinner who isn’t Panesar then international exile Samit Patel reminded them of his ability by taking three wickets for 21 runs in Nottinghamshire’s 40-over final win against Glamorgan at Lord’s on Saturday.

What happens to the England Test wicketkeeper’s position should the reliable Matt Prior be injured remains a thorny issue.

Neither Jos Buttler, England’s oneday gloveman, nor middle-order batsman and occasional Yorkshire keeper Jonny Bairstow have much first-class experience behind the stumps.

Should England want a ‘spare’ batsman, they may recall Nick Compton who has been on the outside looking in since being ousted as a Test opener

by Joe Root. — AFP

Kuwait! Are you Ready?

Red Bull Car Park Drift is back KUWAIT: Following the tremendous success of the past three years, “Red Bull Car Park Drift” has become a highly anticipated yearly event, not only in Kuwait but in most of the Middle Eastern countries participating in the regional competitions. This year it returns to Kuwait on Friday 4th of October with heady rounds of drifting competitions, leading up to the crowing of the “King of Drift” and the representatives of Kuwait in the Dubai finals.

The competition which is taking place at Parking Lot 4 of the Kuwait International Fair is sponsored by Chevrolet and Bridgestone and in collaboration with the “Quarter Mile” club in Kuwait. It returns once again to provide motorsport lovers in addition to the thrilling show performances, a chance to experience high speed and utmost suspense. Middle East Hill Climbing champion and Red Bull driver, Abdo Feghali, will be evaluating the drivers’ performances along with a panel of esteemed judges. The evaluation will mainly assess the drift shows presented by the drivers in their modified cars, through the use of hand breaks and exertion of outstanding skills to take on turns in the most dazzling and accurate ways.

In addition, judges will consider the

engines’ roars and the external look of the car, the smoke produced by the friction of the tyres and finally the audience’s excitement and cheers for each performance to make their final decision.

Last year’s competition led to the crowning of Mubarak Al Rumaidhi in his Nissan Z, as he represented Kuwait in the final qualifications in Lebanon, after taking on 19 other drivers who fiercely competed in front of a raging crowd of five thousand spectators at

the Kuwait International Fair, in Meshrif.

Besides Kuwait, participating countries in the Red Bull Car Park Drift 2013 include Lebanon, UAE, KSA, Oman, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain. Before gaining international fame and exposure, this sort of competition started in Japan back in the 1970’s based on the idea of competing in a parking lot.

To participate in Kuwait’s local championship, please call 66406020.

Participating cars must be four-wheel or rear drive.

Patrick Friesacher performs during the Red Bull Show Run in Esch, Luxembourg.

— www.redbull.com

Vettel bags Singapore GP SINGAPORE: Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel cruised to a third straight Singapore Grand Prix victory yesterday and moved 60 points clear of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso after a dominant drive under the floodlights at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

The German led from pole to flag and lapped on average almost two seconds quicker than his rivals to finish 32.6 seconds clear of Alonso and take another big step towards a fourth successive title with six races remaining.

Kimi Raikkonen shrugged off back pain to climb from 13th on the grid to third for Lotus in a challenging race that was held up by one decisive safety car period when Daniel Ricciardo crashed his Toro Rosso into the barriers on lap 26. “Yes, yes, that’s what I call in control,” Vettel shouted over the team radio after chalking up his seventh win of the season and 33rd of his career in the heat of the Singapore night.

“The car felt absolutely fantastic. This is absolutely a team effort.” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Vettel, who was again booed on the podium from some in the crowd below, had been in a league of his own after “one of his best ever drives”.

It was also one of his most dominant, even if the possibility of a safety car intervention was an ever-present concern. “This is a long race so there are a lot of things that can go wrong so you can’t afford to lean back,” Vettel said in a podium interview.

“At the end, I was just controlling the gap. It was hard work out there but we like it because it is one of the most challenging tracks.” Vettel was challenged briefly by fellow-German Nico Rosberg, who was second on the grid, on the run to the first turn but once he held off the Mercedes, he controlled the race.

“The start was quite hairy, Nico had a better start than me but thankfully he went a bit too deep and I was able to recover which was very important,” Vettel added. “The car was incredible and it was a pleasure to drive it round this crazy track.” Alonso again used a

charging start and brilliant strategy to climb from seventh on the grid and keep his title hopes alive.

He gambled on pitting for a change of tyres during the safety car period and nursing his Ferrari all the way to the flag on medium tyres.

“We knew we didn’t have the pace today so we had to invent something with a different strategy from the other teams,” said the Spaniard. “It paid off at the end. “We are in a position in the championship where we have nothing

overtake people so I just kept the pressure on and I managed to pull away and thankfully no one managed to catch me.” Alonso’s Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa finished in sixth place with McLaren’s Jenson Button and Sergio Perez claiming the next two spots ahead of Nico Hulkenburg’s Sauber and Adrian Sutil in a Force India.

Vettel’s team mate Mark Webber briefly climbed up to fourth place in the closing stages but his Red Bull lost power on the last lap and he slipped out of

SINGAPORE: Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany (right) kisses his trophy after winning the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix as Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso of Spain (left) looks on. — AFP to lose.” Raikkonen, who will join Alonso at Ferrari next season, duplicated the Spaniard’s strategy and was able to hold on for third place from the fast-charging Mercedes duo of Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, who opted to stay out behind the safety car.

“Luckily not to much but now afterwards it is not feeling too good but it’s doesn’t matter as we have two weeks now to get it right,” the Finn said of the back ailment that almost caused him to abandon qualifying on Saturday.

“I think I had OK speed and I could

the top 10. The Australian was given a lift back to the pits by Alonso after he abandoned his stricken Red Bull halfway around the circuit.

There was also disappointment for Romain Grosjean, who started third on the grid but retired on lap 33 after his Lotus suffered a pneumatic system failure and was called in by his team to retire in the pits.

The next race is in South Korea on Oct. 6 before the series heads to Japan, India, Abu Dhabi, the United States and concludes in Brazil. — Reuters

Serbia secure World Cup place

English, French clubs announce European Cup breakaway PARIS: English and French clubs announced a rival to the European Cup yesterday, called the Rugby Champions Cup. Clubs from the English Premiership and French Top 14 competitions had been threatening for months to create a breakaway competition if European Cup organisers European Rugby Cup (ERC) failed to find a solution to their concerns over the current competition’s format.

In a statement released yesterday, the clubs said they had asked their respective leagues to take the necessary measures to create the new competition for next season.

The new competition will be open to Celtic League teams as well. “The announcements by Premiership Rugby and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) on 10th September confirmed that the Top 14 and Premiership Rugby clubs had instructed their leagues to put in place a new competition in time for the 2014/15 Season,” said the joint statement from English and French clubs.

“It is now confirmed that the competition will be named the Rugby Champions Cup. “The competition will be based on the principles of qualification on merit, a strong competition format, equality between the leagues, higher commercial values for the teams and expansion into new European markets.

“The Top 14 and Premiership Rugby clubs have already confirmed their participation in the new competition and a joint working group has been created to prepare all necessary elements in good time for the 2014/15 season.”

Meanwhile Premiership chief executive Mark McCafferty said he “expected” clubs from beyond England and France would sign up to the event as well.

“We’ve heard that other people want to be involved in European competitions, that’s why we’ve left the door open and expect it to be more than an Anglo-French competition,” McCafferty said yesterday.

He added he was confident of getting backing for the event from England’s governing Rugby Football Union-but

Photo of the day

warned a lack of RFU support would not be enough to stop the tournament going ahead.

“You can’t just from a legal point of view say ‘we don’t want it so we’re not going to approve it’, especially when there’s a conflict of interests,” he said.

“We’ll try to overcome the issues and then take it from there. We’re asking for support. We’d expect that support.”

The French rugby federation (FFR) took a hard line, however, dubbing Sunday’s announcement “irrelevant and inappropriate” in the wake of the proposal to launch mediation.

The FFR reminded the parties that “no international match or competition involving French clubs can be organised outside the FFR’s framework without prior approval”. English and French clubs have long grumbled that Celtic League teams have an unfair advantage in European competition as most of them are guaranteed entry, whereas Premiership and Top 14 teams have to fight hard just to qualify.

It means Celtic League teams can rest players ahead of big European games, safe in the knowledge that they are not compromising their participation for the next season, whereas English and French clubs face weekly domestic battles.

Only the top six in England and France are guaranteed a place in the European Cup, whereas at least 10 Celtic League sides-including both Scottish, both Italians and a minimum of three each from Wales and Ireland-have a free pass into the competition.

As well as seeing a fairer distribution of places between the three major European Leagues, English and French clubs also wanted a reduction in the number of teams participating in the European Cup from 24 to 20.

All these measures were rejected by Celtic League teams and the ERC, leading to an impasse that resulted in the English and French taking the drastic breakaway measure. — AFP

LJUBLJANA: Serbia booked the final qualifier spot for the 2014 World Cup on Saturday by knocking off Italy 7664 to claim seventh place at the 2013 European Championship.

Nenad Krstic had 17 points while Nemanja Bljeca collected 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for Serbia, who became the 20th team to reach Spain 2014.

Four more nations will be given wild cards, which will be handed out at a meeting from November 24-25 in Buenos Aires. “It was very important to qualify for the World Cup. I hope this young team will stay together for many, many more years,” said Nemanja Nedovic, who added 12 points.

Serbia were the youngest team at EuroBasket 2013 at just 24.2 years of age. But their coach, 69-year-old Dusan Ivkovic, hinted at the postgame press conference that he would leave the Serbian national team. “Everything about my position in the national team will be announced in two days,” said Ivkovic, who has been at the helm since 2008.

Italy are left the unlucky losers in eighth place-empty-handed after winning their first five games of the championship and then going 1-5 the rest of the way. “ We have to be proud of ourselves and keep this experience for future appointments,” said Italy’s Luigi Datome, who led Italy with 19 points. Alessandro Gentile added 14 points and Andrea Cinciarini had 11 points, six assists and five rebounds.

The EuroBasket 2013 title will be decided late yesterday as France take on Lithuania after Spain face off against Croatia in the bronze medal game. — AFP

SLOVENIA: Serbia’s Nemanja Nedovic (left) vies with Italy’s Marco Belinelli during their FIBA Eurobasket championships 7th place basketball match. — AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

S P ORTS

SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Pepe (centre) in action with Getafe’s Roberto Lago (left) during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. — AP

Real down Getafe to reel in Barca

MADRID: Real Madrid shrugged off a warm-up injury suffered by Gareth Bale to move back to within two points of leaders Barcelona yesterday thanks to a 4-1 win over Getafe.

Angel Lafita’s deflected strike had given the visitors a surprise early lead, but Pepe and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty put Madrid in front at half-time before Isco and Ronaldo sealed the win in the second-half. However, it was a frustrating day for Bale, who had been named in the starting line-up, as he was forced to miss what would have been his home debut at the Santiago Bernabeu after injuring his thigh in the warm-up.

“He had a small problem in the warm-up. I don’t think it is a big problem, but we have to

wait till tomorrow (Monday) to do a scan to see how bad the injury is,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told a press conference afterwards.

“The player wasn’t comfortable, he was worried and so it was better to avoid problems. “He wasn’t happy at the time because he was desperate to play his first game in the Bernabeu, but he has plenty of games ahead of him here.”

Isco was drafted in to take the Welshman’s place on the left side of a 4-4-2 formation and, despite the disruption, the hosts should still have been in front within three minutes when Ronaldo was denied by two desperate blocks at close range. The home side were stunned on six minutes though when referee David Fernandez Borbalan waved play on despite

Stade draw to advance

JOHANNESBURG: Stade Malien won the battle against Etoile Sahel yesterday for the last CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals place after both were involved in goalless draws.

The Malians held runaway Group A winners CS Sfaxien in Tunis and Saint George shared the points in Ethiopia with Tunisian visitors Etoile. Sfaxien finished the six-round mini-league unbeaten with 14 points followed by Stade (eight), Etoile (six) and Saint George (four) in the second-tier African club competition. CA Bizertin face Sfaxien in an all-Tunisia semi-final during October and Stade meet title favourites and Group B winners TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mazembe lost their final mini-league outing 2-0 away to Moroccans FUS Rabat Saturday while Bizertin fell 1-0 at Algerians Entente Setif. Sfaxien dominated Stade at Stade El-Menzah despite lacking five suspended stars, but could not complete a double after winning 2-1 in Mali during August.

Stade needed a point to be sure of progressing and spent most the game protecting goalkeeper and captain Soumalia Diakite.

It was the first time twice Confederation Cup title-holders Sfaxien failed to win at home in 12 group games spanning four editions. Stade, also previous winners of the competition, appeared doomed with just one point after three rounds, but two consecutive victories turned the tide.

While Malien climbed, 2006 title-holders Etoile fell, taking just three points from a possible 12 and placing the future of French coach Denis Lavagne in jeopardy.

The team from Mediterranean resort Sousse found it hard to create openings 2,300 metres (7,550 feet) above sea level in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

Fahmi Kacem did squander a chance to break the deadlock-but even a win would not have been enough as Stade boasted a better head-to-head record.

FUS, another club to lift the Confederation Cup, bowed out after giving their best group performance to defeat 2010 FIFA Club World Cup runners-up Mazembe convincingly.

Oussama Halfi scored his first CAF club goal on 38 minutes and Hicham El-Araoui achieved a similar feat early in the second half at Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah.

With Mazembe losing, Bizertin had a chance to overtake them by winning at bottom team Setif, but the hosts grabbed a first mini-league win via a late Lyes Boukria goal.

It was a timely boost for new Bosnia-born Setif coach Faruk Hadzibegic after Frenchman Hubert Velud paid the price for a four-game winless African run and indifferent domestic form. Mazembe finished with 10 points, Bizertin and FUS gathered eight each with the Tunisians finishing higher on the head-to-head rule, and 1988 African champions Setif collected a meagre six points. — AFP

Ronaldo’s claims for a foul in midfield and Lafita’s effort deflected off Pepe past the hopelessly wrong-footed Diego Lopez. Madrid levelled in the 19th minute as Miguel Angel Moya could only parry Ronaldo’s effort from Angel di Maria’s free-kick and Pepe bundled home the rebound. Ronaldo should have made it 2-1 from a carbon copy free-kick moments later, but this time the Portuguese volleyed off target. Di Maria then forced Moya into a fine flying save to his right as the Real pressure began to mount. And the hosts were in front on 33 minutes when Michel was harshly penalised for handling Ronaldo’s driven free-kick inside the area. The Portuguese confidently dispatched the resulting spot-kick to move level

with Mexican Hugo Sanchez as the club’s fifth highest goalscorer of all-time on 207 goals.

Karim Benzema should then have given Madrid a comfortable half-time lead when presented with a golden opportunity from Dani Carvajal’s fine run and cross, but the Frenchman miskicked and Moya was able to make a scrambling save.

Ronaldo had a fierce effort saved by Moya and Di Maria curled a free-kick inches wide as Real looked to put the game to bed at the start of the second period.

Isco did finally give Madrid the two-goal advantage they craved when he ran onto Ronaldo’s quickly taken free-kick and bent in his fifth goal in six games since joining the

Roma win derby to go top

MILAN: Second-half goals from Federico Balzaretti and Adem Ljajic handed AS Roma a precious 2-0 derby win over Lazio to send the Giallorossi top of Italy’s Serie A yesterday.

Napoli, who were leaders ahead of Roma but with the same goals difference prior to this weekend, are away to a depleted AC Milan side in yesterday’s late game.

Ahead of the San Siro fixture, Roma take the lead with a two-point cushion on Inter, who had gone top provisionally earlier Sunday following a 7-0 rout away to Sassuolo.

Fiorentina, in third, and fourth-placed Juventus are also just two points shy of Rudi Garcia’s league leaders, with Napoli one point adrift in fifth. Goals from Fernandez Mati and

Platini pledges help during visit to Kabul KABUL: UEFA president Michel Platini yesterday vowed to help football grow in Afghanistan as he visited the capital Kabul and praised players for keeping the game alive through decades of warfare.

Platini’s visit came amid a nationwide surge in interest in football after the national team beat India 2-0 in the final of the South Asian Football Federation championship earlier this month in Nepal. The win was Afghanistan’s first international trophy, and the country erupted in joy with happy crowds pouring onto the streets to mark the occasion as guns were fired into the air in celebration.

“They have won matches despite the insecurity, so they have continued to play football during some difficult moments,” Platini said. “It is for that that I respect them a lot.”

The 58-year-old former French international, who is also vice-president of world body FIFA, chatted with young players at the Afghan Football Federation (AFF) ground, and was also due to meet with President Hamid Karzai.

“We are ready to help,” he said. “We are not

allowed to give money, but we are allowed... to help on the grassroots and with many programmes that we can do, and we will be very proud to help Afghanistan.” “I’ve just seen young players play football with some girls, that is very nice, that is my pleasure. When I see that I’m very happy.”

Danesh Morteza, spokesman for the AFF, said that other football stars should follow in the footsteps of Platini and David Beckham, who visited British troops in Helmand province in 2010.

“Football has risen to such a peak that Mr. Platini has come to Afghanistan, and his visit shows that we have good security here,” he said.

The country remains in the grip of a violent Islamist insurgency that erupted after a USbacked uprising ousted the Taliban in 2001. The hardline Taliban regime did not ban football for men, but all women lived highly restricted lives, unable to leave their homes without a male escort and dressed in an all-covering burqa. The Taliban were also infamous for holding public executions of criminals during sports games in Kabul. — AFP

club. Benzema was met by a chorus of boos by his own fans 18 minutes from time when he somehow headed over Alvaro Arbeloa’s inchperfect cross from just three yards out.

However, the Frenchman atoned for his error as he released Ronaldo seconds later and this time it was the referee who was met with the crowd’s disdain as he failed to spot a clear foul on Ronaldo by Moya as he raced from his goal. Getafe were reduced to 10 men when Michel was shown a straight red card for denying substitute Jese Rodriguez a clear goalscoring opportunity five minutes from time.

And the visitors’ misery was completed deep into stoppage time when Ronaldo flicked home Sami Khedira’s cross. — AFP

ITALY: Lazio German striker Miroslav Klose (left) and AS Roma defender Federico Balzaretti jump for the ball during a Serie A soccer match at Rome’s Olympic stadium. — AP

Giuseppe Rossi secured Fiorentina’s 2-0 away win at Atalanta while Juventus saw Carlos Tevez level Fabrizio Cacciatore’s opener for Verona and Spain international Fernando Llorente score his maiden goal on his debut to secure a nervy 2-1 home win for the champions. Roma, who finished seventh last season, have enjoyed a positive start to the campaign under French coach Garcia.

But although dominant throughout, Roma kept their fans frustrated until just after the hour when Balzaretti first-timed Francesco Totti’s delivery from deep on the right past beaten Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti.

Lazio suffered a blow when second-half substitute Andre Dias saw red for a blatant foul on Totti on 81 minutes. Roma secured the points on the stroke of full-time Ljajic converted from the spot after he had been fouled by Cristian Ledesma. Garcia, who underlined the fact Lazio had been in Europa League action on Thursday, was quick to play down Roma’s title hopes.

“We can’t forget Lazio were in action three days ago and sooner or later you pay for those efforts,” said the Frenchman.

“But it was a crucial win for us. Our aim is for a top five finish and a place in Europe but it’s far too early to be making predictions.”

Llorente, meanwhile, was the hero for Juventus after snatching the winner for the champions who despite dominating Verona throughout struggled to find the net.

Unmarked defender Cacciatore grabbed the opener for Verona when he bundled Vangelis Moras’s header from a corner past ‘keeper Marco Storari at the back post on 36 minutes.

Juve, however, levelled four minutes later when Tevez ran on to Leonardo Bonucci’s smart through ball to beat Rafael with a superb angled drive. And Llorente secured the winner on the stroke of half-time when he muscled past his marker at the back post to head Vidal’s perfectlyweighted cross past the keeper. It ended what has been a frustrating few weeks for the Spanish striker, who has been mostly warming the substitutes’ bench. “Fernando is doing well now and I’m happy he scored,” said Juve coach Antonio Conte, who nevertheless singled former Manchester City striker Tevez out for special praise.

“He’s very important because when we’re in danger he can keep the ball and create openings for us. It’s difficult to do without a player like him.”

Earlier, Argentinian striker Diego Milito scored twice on his return from a seven-month injury lay-off as Inter Milan thumped promoted Serie A strugglers Sassuolo 7-0.

A week after also making Walter Mazzarri’s squad for a 1-1 draw at home to Juventus, Milito scored barely 10 minutes after replacing Rodrigo Palacio nine minutes into the second half and added a second seven minutes from the final whistle. “On a scale of one to 10, today is worth more than 10,” said Milito. “We put in a great performance. It’s an extraordinary squad and I want to say thank you to everyone who supported me in this difficult time, from my friends and family to the physios at the club.” —AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

S P ORT S

Bayern thrash Schalke 4-0 Star striker Robert Lewandowski and midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan started on the bench and were rested after Borussia’s 2-1 Champions League defeat at Napoli on Wednesday.

Both Schmelzer and attacking midfielder Marco Reus are doubtful for Tuesday’s German Cup second-round match at second division 1860 Munich after picking up leg injuries. Bayer Leverkusen are third after their 4-1 win at Mainz 05 as Australia star Robbie Kruse scored two first-half goals, his first Bundesliga goals for Leverkusen since joining from Fortuna Duesseldorf. The 24year-old drilled home a pass from Germany winger Sidney Sam after 19 minutes, set up Sven Bender for Leverkusen’s second, then converted a pass from captain Simon Rolfes for Bayer’s third just before half-time. The league’s joint top-scorer Stefan Kiessling then scored his fifth goal of the season when he headed home unmarked early in the second half, before Mainz midfielder Yunus Malli netted a late consolation.

Hanover 96 stay fourth after a 2-1 win at home to Ausgburg with Hungary midfielder Szabolcs Huszti netting an 89th-minute penalty. After sacking coach Thorsten Fink last week in the wake of their 6-2 drubbing at Dortmund, Hamburg slumped to their fourth defeat of the season, losing 2-0 at home to neighbours Werder Bremen.

Wolfsburg moved up to sixth with a 2-1 win at home to Hoffenheim as Croatia’s exBayern striker Ivica Olic scored both Wolves goals. Yesterday, VfB Stuttgart drew 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt, a result which left both teams in mid-table. Stuttgart striker Vedad Ibisevic missed two clear chances including a 93rd-minute penalty. After successive defeats, Hertha Berlin picked up their first point in three games with a 1-1 draw at Freiburg.

Striker Admir Mehmedi’s early goal for Freiburg was cancelled out by Norway international midfielder Per Skjelbred’s firsthalf equaliser. Despite the point, Freiburg remain second from bottom after three draws and three defeats, while Berlin are tenth. — AFP

BERLIN: Jerome Boateng believes Bayern Munich will only get better having closed the gap at the top of the Bundesliga by sending Schalke crashing to their worst home defeat in over 30 years.

Pep Guardiola’s second-placed Bayern are now level on both goal difference and points with leaders Borussia Dortmund after Saturday’s 4-0 win at Schalke.

“We’re improving from game to game and we will get better from week to week,” said centre-back Boateng whose Bayern side host Hanover 96 in the second round of the German Cup on Wednesday.

It was Schalke’s worst home league defeat since May, 1981. Guardiola, who took charge of the European champions in June, hailed Bayern’s display.

“That was our best performance so far in the Bundesliga, we dominated against one of the best teams in Germany,” said Guardiola after his side enjoyed 70% ball possession against Schalke.

Despite a bright opening 20 minutes, Jens Keller’s Schalke undid their good work as first Munich vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, then striker Mario Mandzukic were left unmarked in the area to head home. Schweinsteiger, back in the starting side after straining ankle ligaments last month, smashed home Arjen Robben’s corner on 21 minutes and 99 seconds later, Mandzukic converted David Alaba’s cross.

France winger Franck Ribery and then replacement striker Claudio Pizarro added late goals as Schalke’s four-match winning run came to an abrupt halt.

Bayern have now gone 31 games without losing a Bundesliga match and have recorded 26 league wins and five draws since losing 2-1 loss to Leverkusen in October 2012.

Having won their first five league games, league leaders Dortmund stumbled as leftback Marcel Schmelzer’s first-half free-kick was cancelled out by Nuremberg centreback Per Nilsson’s second-half strike.

Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp brought a weakened team with centre-back Mats Hummels missing with a back injury.

LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur’s Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen (left) is challenged by Cardiff City’s English striker Fraizer Campbell during the English Premier League football match. — AFP

Paulinho late show secures Spurs win Cardiff 0

German League results/standings Freiburg 1 (Mehmedi 6) Hertha Berlin 1 (Skjelbred 38); Stuttgart 1 (Werner 16) Eintracht Frankfurt 1 (Russ 14).

German Bundesliga table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Borussia Dortmund Bayern Munich Bayer Leverkusen Hanover 96 Borussia VfL Wolfsburg Mainz 05 Augsburg Werder Bremen Hertha Berlin Hoffenheim VfB Stuttgart Eintracht Schalke 04 Nuremberg Hamburg Freiburg Braunschweig

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

5 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 0 1 0 0

1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 1 4 1 3 1

0 0 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 3 2 4 3 5

16 13 15 10 15 9 9 6 5 10 15 11 8 7 6 10 8 3

5 2 7 8 11 8 12 9 8 7 15 9 10 13 9 17 12 14

16 16 15 12 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 7 4 4 3 1

Tottenham 1

CARDIFF: Tottenham Hotspur left it late but made it four wins in five games as Paulinho’s stoppage-time goal secured a 1-0 Premier League victory win away to Cardiff yesterday.

Victory saw Spurs go level on points with Arsenal at the top of the table but trail their north London rivals on goal difference.

Brazilian ace Paulinho popped up in the nick of time to score his first Premier League goal after meeting substitute Erik Lamela’s cross with an audacious finish. With the lion’s share of another full house right behind them, Cardiff made a smart start with home debutant Kevin Theophile-Catherine causing Kyle Naughton one or two early problems along the flank.

Playing without fear, as they did against Manchester City and Everton, Cardiff should have taken the lead in the sixth minute when Naughton’s back

pass to Hugo Lloris landed at the feet of Fraizer Campbell. Unfortunately, for Cardiff, Campbell’s touch was a little heavy and Lloris came to the rescue of his full back. Spurs’ response was immediate and had it not have been for a fine save at his near post from David Marshall, Roberto Soldado would have scored.

Kyle Walker and Andros Townsend combined on the right before Soldado popped up to bring out the best in Marshall. The Scottish goalkeeper then pulled off a more regulation stop from Gylfi Sigurdsson before diving full stretch to his right to keep out Christian Eriksen from 25 yards.

By now, Spurs had weathered the storm and were looking every bit the title contenders that Cardiff manager Malky Mckay believe they will be. And it took another wonderful piece of goalkeeping from Marshall to keep them out. Soldado was denied by a brave block from Steven Caulker in the 20th minute, but as the ball broke free, Marshall somehow kept out Eriksen’s strike from the edge of the penalty box.

Cardiff had no answer to Tottenham’s attacking prowess and twice, again, Marshall was called upon to save the day. The first was a stinging drive from distance from Eriksen, who was beginning to look the most likely. Cardiff’s ploy of putting 10 men behind the ball was negative but effective and Spurs almost fell behind two minutes before the break. Peter Whittingham’s corner picked out Ben Turner at the far

post and the giant defender headed into an empty net. However, Mark Clattenburg disallowed the goal, on the grounds Aron Gunnarsson had obstructed Lloris inside the six yard box. Cardiff began the second half much as they had in the first, with Bellamy twice testing the Spurs back four and Lloris having to be at his best to cut out a decent cross from the Welshman.

At the other end, it was business as usual for the overworked Marshall. He comfortably pouched Townsend’s left foot shot from 20 yards and after Sigurdsson had struck the bar, the Scot somehow kicked away Soldado’s effort from the rebound.

Paulinho’s near post flick from a Sigurdsson cross saw Marshall spring to the rescue once again, this time at his near post, and after punching away a deep corner from Townsend minutes later, he was on his toes to keep out a long range effort from the outstanding Dembele.

Cardiff had successfully taken the sting out of the visitors and with substitute Peter Odemwingie providing a fresh pair of legs up front, the Bluebirds might have taken a surprise lead 10 minutes from the end. Odemwingie escaped around Naughton but when he pulled the ball back for Gunnarsson, the Icelandic midfielder ballooned his shot over the top. Tottenham continued to press but there was no way through until Paulinho converted Lamela’s centre. — AFP

Swansea down Palace C Palace 0

Swansea 2

FRANCE: Nantes’ Togolese forward Serge Gakpe (left) vies with Lyon’s Camerounian defender Henri Bedimo during the French League football match. — AFP

Lyon snap winless run PARIS: Lyon halted a run of six matches without a victory as they beat promoted Nantes 3-1 yesterday in a battle of two of France’s most decorated clubs.

Nantes, who won the last of their eight French titles in 2001, took the lead on 24 minutes after Jordan Veretout headed in Issa Cissokho’s cross.

But Lyon, winners of seven consecutive Ligue 1 crowns between 2002 and 2008, replied through Bafetimbi Gomis three minutes later as the striker ran onto Jimmy Briand’s flick-on before lifting the ball over goalkeeper Remy Riou.

Set-piece specialist Clement Grenier then demonstrated his prowess as he dispatched a superb free-kick beyond Riou to put Lyon ahead 10 minutes after half-time.

Briand then gave Lyon breathing space with a clever near-post back heel from a Grenier corner on 72 minutes to hand Remi Garde’s side their first win since mid-August. Elsewhere, Nice climbed to fifth after thumping lowly Valenciennes 4-0 to mark the inauguration of their new Allianz Riviera stadium

in style.

A penalty from Argentine striker Dario Cvitanich set the hosts on their way before Eric Bautheac added a second just before the interval.

Second-half goals from Christian Bruls and Alexy Bosetti rounded off a memorable start for Nice in their new home.

Earlier, Lorient fought back from two goals down at home to draw 3-3 with Bordeaux. A Cheick Diabate penalty was cancelled out by Lorient’s Vincent Aboubakar but Bordeaux responded with goals from Gregory Sertic and Henri Saivet to move 3-1 ahead. Kevin MonnetPaquet cut the deficit in half just prior the break before Sadio Diallo salvaged a point for Lorient. The game of the weekend in France takes place later on Sunday when leaders Monaco travel to defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in a clash of the financial heavyweights. Both sides are undefeated ahead of the match at the Parc des Princes where a victory for PSG would see them replace Monaco at the top, while a win for Monaco would stretch their lead to four points. — AFP

LONDON: Swansea carried on from where they left off in Europe with a 2-0 Premier League win away to strugglers Crystal Palace yesterday.

Fresh from their Europa League win against Valencia in Spain, Swansea were in dominant form at Selhurst Park and could have scored more than two goals against south London side Palace who, on this evidence, face a season-long battle to avoid relegation from English football’s top-flight. It took Swansea just 80 seconds to take the lead through Michu and the surprise was they then had to wait until the 48th minute for Nathan Dyer to make it 2-0.

Showing the class that was a hallmark of the Welsh club’s play throughout the match, Michu gave Swansea an early lead by finishing off a move he started when, after receiving a pass from Jonjo Shelvey via a slight deflection from former Palace favourite Wayne Routledge, he shot through the legs of goalkeeper Julian Speroni.

Swansea should have been 2-0 up inside four minutes but Michu’s shot came back off the post as Palace both struggled to defend and create significant chances of their own.

Michu again went close when his powerful strike just went over the bar following a deflection by Danny Gabbidon. The Spaniard then headed over from the resulting corner, with a Swansea side managed by Danish great Michael Laudrup in complete control.Swansea keeper Michel Vorm eventually had a save to make in the 37th minute when he dealt

LONDON: Crystal Palace’s Spanish midfielder Jose Campana (left) vies with Swansea City’s Canadian-born Dutch midfielder Jonathan De Guzman during the English Premier League football match. — AFP comfortably with Adlene Guedioura’s long-range effort. Palace were without injured centre-back Damien Delaney for the second half and, with no defenders on his bench, home manager Ian Holloway had to field midfielder Jose Campana in his place. Swansea scored against this makeshift

defence when, after Alvaro Vazquez’s initial effort had been saved by Speroni, he pulled the ball back for Dyer who made no mistake with a powerful shot.

Vazquez should have made it 3-0 but failed to crown a neat team move with the goal it deserved when he shot over the top. — AFP

Delays reported in upgrading Brazil World Cup airports SAO PAULO: Delays are plaguing work at airports in seven of the 12 Brazilian cities that will host the World Cup nine months from now, the daily O Globo reported yesterday.

Citing a survey by Infraero, the federal airports agency, the paper said the worst delay was in the southern city of Porto Alegre, where work on expanding terminal at a cost of $69 million has not even begun. Work on the two terminals at Rio’s Galeao airport, at a cost estimated at $137 million, is supposed to be completed by next April but is running behind schedule, it added.

In the southern city of Curitiba, only 6.19 percent of the airport upgrade has been completed

while the percentage in the northeastern city of Salvador, capital of Bahia state, reached 20.2 percent and 23.09 percent in Cuiaba, capital of the central state of Mato Grosso.

A similar situation is reported at the airports of the northeastern city of Fortaleza and the southern city of Belo Horizonte. By contrast, things are better at privatized airports not run by Infraero, including Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos airport, where 60 percent of the work has been completed.

In Brasilia the percentage is 50 percent and at Natal’s new airport which is 54 percent completed, it noted.

The daily quoted Brazil’s Civil Aviation Minister

Wellington Moreira Franco as saying Infraero’s problems were linked to the poor quality of projects presented by bidding companies.An auction to privatize Rio’s Galeao and Belo Horizonte’s Confins airpor ts, is to be held at the end of October, officials have said.

In February 2012, 20-year concessions were granted to manage three airports: two in Sao Paulo and one in Brasilia, breaking Infraero’s monopoly.

Brazil, a continent-sized country of more than 200 million, is modernizing its aging and congested airports in preparation for handling tens of thousands of tourists expected for the coming World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics. — AFP

Real reel in Barca

Vettel bags Singapore GP

17

18

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Ali, Norton and golden age of heavyweights

Page 15

MANCHESTER: Manchester United’s English defender Rio Ferdinand (center) vies with Manchester City’s Spanish forward Alvaro Negredo (back) during the English Premier League football match. —AFP

Disaster for Moyes as City crush United Man City 4

Man United 1 MANCHESTER: David Moyes’s first derby as Manchester United manager turned into a nightmare yesterday as Manchester City inflicted a humiliating 41 defeat at a triumphant Etihad Stadium.

With Robin van Persie absent due to a groin strain, a limp and lacklustre United were dominated from kick-off on a sunny afternoon in northwest England.

They saw City take control through first-half goals from Sergio Aguero and

Yaya Toure, and quick-fire strikes from Aguero and Samir Nasri in the second period meant the game was over after only 50 minutes. Wayne Rooney scored a fine late free-kick to become the outright leading scorer in the fixture, but it could not stop City’s fans revelling in a victory almost as seismic as their 6-1 win at Old Trafford in October 2011.

“Maybe the game meant a little bit more to us than for them,” City captain Vincent Kompany told Sky Sports. “When we won 6-1 at Old Trafford, I said we need to stay humble. It’s only three points, but it’s a good game to win and it gives the fans something to celebrate over the next few days.”

The 2011 victory paved the way for City’s subsequent title triumph, and after a dream first derby as manager, Manuel

Pellegrini saw his side climb to third place in the Premier League table, two points behind leaders Arsenal. “Normally you don’t expect to win 4-1 against Manchester United, but the most important thing is the way we played. I’m very happy for the team,” said Pellegrini.

“We’re just starting our work and winning the derby will of course give us a lot of confidence.” Defending champions United, meanwhile, find themselves five points off the pace after two defeats in their first five games.

Moyes can console himself that his storied predecessor Alex Ferguson once lost 5-1 at City, but from three games against title rivals City, Chelsea and Liverpool, his side have picked up just a single point.

“We never got a grip of the game and

we could never really stop them,” Moyes said. “The start to the season could be a lot better. We did say it could be a difficult start. I wasn’t convinced when the balls came out of the Premier League bag and I’m still not convinced.”

Van Persie had scored the winning goal in last season’s corresponding fixture and his unexpected absence from the United team-sheet was the first indication that it might be City’s day. Danny Welbeck was the beneficiary, with Ashley Young also coming into United’s team, while Pellegrini chose Alvaro Negredo over Edin Dzeko in attack but was unable to select David Silva in his squad due to injury.

United began with purpose, Welbeck charging down an attempted clearance

by Kompany inside 10 seconds, but the

hosts quickly took control before striking in the 16th minute.

With Antonio Valencia dawdling, Aleksandr Kolarov hared onto Nasri’s cute back-heel and crossed from the left for Aguero to hook home a smart leftfoot volley from eight yards. United’s frustration told in a booking for Rooney for a succession of offences, culminating in a hack at Kompany, and it got worse in first-half injury time when Toure made it 2-0.

Nasri’s corner was headed down by Negredo and the giant Ivorian had the freedom of the six-yard box to knee the ball over the line from close range.

Moyes elected not to make any personnel changes at the interval and within 62 seconds of the restart, his side fell further behind.

Ozil sparkles on home debut Arsenal 3

Stoke 1

LONDON: Mesut Ozil had a hand in all three Arsenal goals as Arsene Wenger’s side moved to the head of the Premier League table with a 3-1 victory over Stoke at the Emirates Stadium yesterday. Ozil was making his first appearance at north London club Arsenal’s home ground following his £42.4 million ($66 million, 50 million euros) move from Real Madrid.

He made an immediate impression by setting up first-half goals for Aaron Ramsey and Per Mertesacker before delivering the free-kick that led to Bacary Sagna’s match-clinching third goal.

Stoke cancelled out Ramsey’s sixth-minute opener with an effort from Geoff Cameron but were undone on three occasions from set-

pieces. Victory moved Arsenal two points clear at the top after a fourth straight league win. Ozilwho had marked his first Gunners start with an assist after just 11 minutes at Sunderland last weekend-quickly made himself at home, although Ramsey’s goal owed more to a mistake

by Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic than the German’s free-kick. The playmaker drilled in a low shot after Jack Wilshere’s forward run had been halted by Charlie Adam and Begovic parried the effort tamely into the path of Ramsey who scored from close range.

The Wales international has now scored seven goals in seven Arsenal appearances and, while Ozil may have grabbed most of the recent attention, Ramsey’s contribution has been equally eye-catching. It was the ideal start for Arsenal after French manager Wenger had been forced to make a last minute change to his lineup when Theo Walcott suffered a recurrence of an abdominal problem in the warm-up.

German teenager Serge Gnabry stepped up from the bench and while the youngster’s impact was limited, Arsenal initially coped well with the loss of Walcott.

Stoke though, overcame the early setback and began to impose themselves on the game.

They offered signs of their growing threat when Sagna was within inches of conceding a penalty when he tripped Adam in the 24th minute.

And two minutes later, the visitors were level after a well-worked move capped off by Cameron’s volleyed finish. Steven Nzonzi clipped a ball towards Marko Arnautovic who got the wrong side of Mertesacker before volleying against the post and Cameron converted the rebound from the edge of the area. Arsenal’s promising start had quickly faded and Ozil’s influence had waned.

But Wenger’s side soon rallied, re-establishing their lead ten minutes later after exposing Stoke’s unexpected vulnerability in the air.

Mertesacker was unlucky to see his near post header from Ozil’s corner blocked by an alert clearance by Stoke left back Erik Pieters in the 32nd minute.

But the home side repeated the same routine four minutes later with more success when Mertesacker’s header looped inside the far post.

Stoke’s ability at set-pieces has been one of

the club’s strengths in recent years but on this occasion they were overwhelmed by Arsenaland worse was to come in the second half.

Buoyed by the second goal, the Gunners began playing with confidence and freedom, summed up by the slick interchange of passes that almost brought a third goal for Olivier Giroud.

Stoke had looked compact during the opening half hour but holes began to appear in the visitors’ defences and these were quickly exploited by Ozil and Wilshere, who are already showing signs of a intuitive understanding.

A rapid break at the start of the second half ended with Giroud forcing a fine save from Begovic and suggested the second period would follow the same pattern as the first.

Stoke’s Marc Wilson tested Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny but the visitors offered little going forward before they were undone by yet another free-kick in the 73rd minute as Sagna killed off the game. Ozil was again the provider, this time clipping in a deep free-kick towards the far post where Sagna out-jumped Wilson and Jonathan Walters to send a header over Begovic and into the far corner. — AFP

The irrepressible Nasri was again the instigator with a pass down the insideleft channel for Negredo, who held off Nemanja Vidic, swivelled, and crossed for Aguero to volley in his second of the game.

Within minutes it was 4-0, the unmarked Nasri volleying in a cross from Jesus Navas, who had been allowed to run 80 yards unchallenged.

The Etihad dissolved into a mass version of the backwards-facing ‘Poznan’ dance beloved of City’s fans and only sharp defending from Vidic prevented Negredo from adding a fifth.

After Patrice Evra hit the post with a late header, Rooney planted a fine 25yard free-kick into the top-right corner to claim a record 11th derby goal, but it provided meagre consolation. — AFP

EPL results/standings Arsenal 3 (Ramsey 5, Mertesacker 36, Sagna 72) Stoke 1 (Cameron 26); Cardiff 0 Tottenham 1 (Paulinho 90); Crystal Palace 0 Swansea 2 (Michu 2, Dyer 48); Manchester City 4 (Aguero 16, 47, Toure 45, Nasri 50) Manchester United 1 (Rooney 87).

English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points: Arsenal 5 4 0 1 11 6 12 Tottenham 5 4 0 1 5 1 12 Man City 5 3 1 1 12 4 10 Chelsea 5 3 1 1 6 2 10 Liverpool 5 3 1 1 5 3 10 Everton 5 2 3 0 6 4 9 Southampton 5 2 2 1 3 2 8 Man Utd 5 2 1 2 7 6 7 Swansea 5 2 1 2 7 7 7 Stoke 5 2 1 2 4 5 7 Hull 5 2 1 2 5 7 7 Newcastle 5 2 1 2 5 8 7 Aston Villa 5 2 0 3 6 6 6 West Brom 5 1 2 2 4 4 5 West Ham 5 1 2 2 4 4 5 Cardiff 5 1 2 2 4 6 5 Norwich 5 1 1 3 3 6 4 Fulham 5 1 1 3 3 7 4 Crystal Palace 5 1 0 4 4 8 3 Sunderland 5 0 1 4 3 11 1

Business

Dubai oil services company NPS seeks $700m in sale Page 22 US firms await reforms from China’s leadership

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Page 23

Federal Reserve shocks global markets

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New BMW 5 Series blazes onto Middle Eastern asphalt Page 26

MADRID: Protesters holding posters reading “No to cuts” take part in a demonstration against budget cuts and plans to partly privatize medical services in Madrid yesterday. —AFP

Greece hopes to avoid more austerity ‘Troika’ begins fresh audit amid fresh strikes ATHENS: Greece called for international creditors not to enforce further austerity measures as they began a fresh audit of the countr y ’s finances yesterday.

Monitors from the so-called “troika” of international lenders-the EU, International Monetar y Fund and European Central Bank-were set to start their latest inspection of the Greek economy by meeting Finance minister Yannis Stournaras.

The audit will determine the release of a scheduled one billion euro ($1.4 bn) loan instalment from Greece’s ongoing bailout. “The main goal is to avoid new (austerity) measures,” said the Sunday edition of liberal daily Kathimerini. Another newspaper, weekly To Vima, warned that adopting “even one new measure will cause political cracks” for the Greek government. These calls followed a similar one from prime minister Antonis Samaras in Brussels last week in which he was adamant that Athens would not adopt any further austerity measures.

“Whatever gap emerges for 2015 and 2016 will be covered by structural changes... not through new (austerity) measures,” he was quoted by Kathimerini.

Last week Greece saw widespread protests as tens of thousands of public sector workers went out on strike against job cuts and transfers introduced by the government. And fresh strikes are planned for this week.

Tensions are also running high because of the murder last week of an anti-fascist musician by an alleged member of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn this week. Contrary to previous troika visits, Greece has made some fiscal progress and recently announced a tentative primary surplus in its budget, enabling it to claim additional financial aid from the EU later in the year.

A primar y surplus is one which excludes the cost of servicing debts.

Greece’s continuous recession also seems to be easing and recently there was a slight dip in the unemployment rate, which nonetheless remains extremely high, at more than 27 percent. “The signs of recover y are becoming clear,” Stournaras told a conference last week.

“No other country has achieved such a large (fiscal) adjustment in peacetime.”

Since 2010, Greece has received an overall of 240 billion euros ($325 billion) in two EU-IMF packages, but it is now widely accepted that a third rescue package

Fed jitters dampen most GCC markets MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS

ATHENS: International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission chief Poul Thomsen arrives at the finance ministry for a meeting with Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras in Athens, Greece yesterday. — AP

will be necessary, probably amounting to 10 billion euros.

The IMF has predicted Greece will need 4.4 billion euros in 2014 and another 6.5 billion in 2015. In return for the much-needed rescue loans, Greece has had to adopt harsh austerity measures and implement unpopular reforms. The auditors are expected to inspect the restructuring of the public sector, the drafting of a new property tax as well as efforts to privatize three ailing state industries, mining company LARKO, truck manufacturer ELVO and defense contractor EAS. Meanwhile, Greece braced yesterday for a week of fresh strikes against planned job cuts, with civil servants announcing further protest action just as the country ’s international creditors launch a new audit. Main public sector union ADEDY announced a two-day strike for tomorrow and Wednesday while teachers’ union OLME and the union of municipal workers POE-OTA said they were planning a 48-hour strike today and tomorrow. “We will continue our struggle against the destructive policies of the

government and the troika (the EU, International Monetar y Fund and European Central Bank creditors),” ADEDY in a statement. ADEDY, which is in talks with main private sector union GSEE to turn Tuesday into a general strike, said the protest action has been especially designed to coincide with the latest visit by the troika’s mission chiefs. Thousands of civil servants demonstrated in Greece last week, fearing additional lay-offs and protesting against a job redeployment scheme demanded by the creditors in return for access to bailout loans. Civil servants placed on the scheme have to accept new posts or spend eight months on reduced salaries as alternative posts are found, with the risk of losing their jobs altogether.

Overall, Greece has pledged to axe 4,000 state jobs and redeploy 25,000 public sector workers by the end of the year. Yesterday, troika chiefs launched a new audit of Greek fiscal performance and reforms that will determine the release of a scheduled loan instalment of 1.0 billion euros ($1.4 billion) from the country’s EU-IMF bailout. — AFP

DUBAI: Renewed worries about the possibility of US monetary tightening caused most Gulf stock markets to drop yesterday, while Egypt rose on the back of an interest rate cut by its central bank.

Like other markets around the world, Gulf bourses rose last week in response to the US Federal Reserve’s surprise decision to maintain its monetary stimulus. But on Friday, St Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said in an interview on Bloomberg TV that a start to winding down the stimulus was possible in October, depending on economic data. So the euphoria surrounding last week’s Fed decision is fading quickly. Although the booming Gulf is less vulnerable than most regions to tighter US monetary policy, its markets are near multi-year peaks that were hit in August, leaving them vulnerable to profit-taking.

“Renewed talk that the Fed could be slowing down the stimulus and the US markets are affecting us - foreigners are cutting positions,” says Yassir Mckee, wealth manager at Al-Rayan Financial Brokerage in Doha. “Some are selling now to show cash on the books, because it’s almost the end of the third quarter.” Qatar’s main index fell 0.9 percent, trimming its year-todate gains to 17.1 percent. Telecommunications operator Ooredoo was the main drag, falling 1.9 percent.

Mckee said speculation that state-run Qatar Petroleum might list its units on the exchange was prompting some local investors to sell stocks and hold cash in order to buy into a possible initial public offer that could come as early as October. Hussain Al-Abdulla, executive board member of Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, said in May that Qatar Petroleum planned to offer shares in four of its units in coming years. A multi-billion dollar IPO of Doha Global Investment Co, a new $12 billion investment firm backed by assets from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, appears to have been shelved because of technical challenges and, perhaps, Qatar’s change of government in June. So there is speculation that to develop the stock market, the new government may proceed with the Qatar Petroleum IPOs, which might prove simpler and more straightforward.

Trading volumes in the Gulf were mostly modest yesterday as Saudi Arabia, by far the region’s biggest market, was closed for a two-day National

Day holiday. In Dubai, the index gained 0.6 percent to 2,681 points, a near four-week high, as buyers returned after a dip early in the day. The market faces major technical resistance on its August peak of 2,762 points.

Mashreq Bank surged its daily limit of 15 percent to a near four-month high, extending its gain since the bank said it would increase its foreign ownership limit to 20 percent. It jumped 15 percent on Thursday; trading remains very thin, however. Union Properties, a popular target for retail investors, climbed 12 percent.

Egypt’s bourse rose to a fresh five-week high as local investors bargain-hunted, and as Thursday’s 0.5 percentage point cut in official interest rates helped sentiment. Shares in Arabia Cotton Ginning jumped 9.9 percent to 5.22 Egyptian pounds, their highest since November 2010, after the firm said it was looking to add real estate as a business line and was waiting for approvals to sell some of the land it owns. It faces strong chart resistance around 6.0 pounds, which has capped it since late 2008.

“Locals have been active in the last period and are the driving force,” said Amr Reda, assistant vice-president at Pharos Securities Brokerage in Cairo. “On the political front, everyone is waiting for the constitution to be drafted.

The security situation is better than before and there is a strong belief that the army is dealing with insurgency.” Last week, security forces stormed a town near Cairo dominated by supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, exchanging fire with militants. Many Egyptian investors view such violence as positive overall, since it suggests authorities are taking a strong line against militancy. As expected, the central bank cut its overnight interest rate by 50 basis points on Thursday; although the move may not prompt any immediate rise in corporate investment, it added to a feeling that economic conditions might gradually be normalizing.

Foreign investors mostly still appear to be staying out of the stock market, however, suggesting its rally could fade quickly as the main index nears technical barriers. The index rose 1.0 percent on Sunday to 5,587 points, its highest level since Aug. 14. It faces major technical resistance at 5,682 points, the August peak hit in the wake of Morsi’s ouster. — Reuters

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

BUSINESS

Fed’s priority should be inflation before tapering

By Hayder Tawfik KUWAIT: Last week the Federal Reserve surprised the market by not taking any actions. It has caught most of investors around the world on the wrong foot. So now everyone assumes rightly that the Fed will continue with its Quantitative Easing policy and continue buying $85 billion worth of bonds on monthly basis.

So, nothing has changed! But the Fed said earlier that once unemployment falls to a certain level then it would start the tapering. Unemployment has been falling and economic growth has been

quite impressive. So what made them change their mind?

The September employment data was quite disappointing and some signs of economic slowdown have been hitting the headlines. So, obviously the Fed may have some concern about the economy and the employment. I think the sharp rise of yields on US treasury bonds and more so around the world in particular in countries like India, Brazil, the euro-zone, Russia etc. have caused some concern indeed. At present we all know that the world economy is very weak and vulnerable to big moves in

interest rates. India is such an example.

A sudden rise in interest rates in the US will hit the housing market badly at a time when it has been growing and contributing to the economic growth. Also, it will hit consumer spending just ahead of the coming Christmas shopping season.

Since the tapering talk started, there has been a huge sell of bonds and currencies of the emerging economies including some large ones such as India, Indonesia and Brazil. I will not be surprised if we see an international financial crisis hitting any one of those economies if yields carry on rising. As I said in my previous arti-

cles, the Federal Reserve has been very active in stimulating economic growth since the financial crises started back in 2008 and has been quite successful.

Other economies such as the euro-zone block has taken the opposite measures and in the process created a massive unemployment and weak economic growth. As for the emerging economies they enjoyed the big fall in interest rates that accompanied strong currencies.

These unhealthy combinations has created a big headache for everyone and any early tapering by the Fe will for sure will lead to international crises.

I think they all should focus their attention and efforts on inflation rather than economic growth or job creation.

The most important two global economic blocks, the US and the euro-zone has no problem with inflation so they should continue with low interest rates policy and be more active in Quantitative Easing till economic growth can be self sustainable. International investors should focus on those assets that benefit most from low interest rates environment in the US and the euro-zone economy and try to avoid the emerging economies for the coming months.

Dubai oil services company NPS seeks $700m in sale HSBC to finalize list of 3 bidders this week

AMSTERDAM: Two women pass a clothing shop window reading “your husband called... you can buy whatever you like !! “, before entering the store in Amsterdam yesterday. According to estimates conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) the Dutch economy shrank 0.2 percent in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the first quarter. —AP

GE wins $2.2 billion Algeria turbine deal ALGIERS: General Electric Co has won a $2.2 billion contract to provide turbines for six power plants in Algeria, state energy giant Sonatrach announced yesterday. “GE has won the contract to provide the turbines with a total capacity of 8,400 megawatts for a sum of $2.2 billion dollars,” Sonatrach chief Nourredine Bouterfa told state radio. Algeria plans to build six new power plants with capacities of between

comment, as did a spokesman for HSBC in Dubai. NPS Energy employs around 800-900 people and offers specialized services, such as coil tubing, wire-line services, cementing, pressure pumping, well logging and testing. The company, which one banking source said made earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of about $50 million in 2012, counts firms such as Saudi Aramco, the world’s top oil producer, and state -owned Qatar Petroleum among its clients.

“It’s a pretty sizeable asset and this is not the first time that it has come to the market looking for a buyer. It will be interesting to see who ends up owning it as there is a formal process now,” the banking source said.

A second banking source said around 30 potential buyers were approached initially and a final list of three bidders was likely to be finalized this week. “We could see a consortium teaming up for this asset as it’s a big cheque to sign or it could be one of the large energy firms going for it. There’s still a long way to go before a deal is sealed,” that banking source said.

After several sluggish years, mergers and

acquisitions activity within the Middle East is showing signs of revival, as economies in the Gulf countries improve and the valuation gap between buyers and sellers narrows.

The value of announced M&A transactions with Middle Eastern targets reached $14.7 billion during the first half of 2013, 30 percent more than the $11.3 billion in the region during the same period last year, and marking the best first half since 2008, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Last year, Gulf Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based private equity firm, put its majority-owned oil and gas services firm, Gulf Marine Services, on the block, hoping to raise about $500 million but the sale talks collapsed over valuation. Gulf Capital has hired investment bank Rothschild as a financial adviser for a planned initial public offering (IPO) of the unit on an overseas exchange in 2014, the firm’s chief executive said last week.

HSBC is also an adviser on a majority stake sale of Saudi fast food chain Kudu, sources said in June, with private equity giant KKR among potential bidders. —Reuters

Bernanke under fire after no-taper decision

1,200 and 1,600 megawatts each by 2017.

Bouter fa said the GE deal was part of Algeria’s efforts to construct its own power stations, buying the turbines only from foreign suppliers and not the complete plant.

He said the new plants would allow Algeria to put an end to the frequent power cuts that have hit consumers during periods of peak demand, particularly in the heat of the summer. —AFP

Saudi to complete Jizan project in four years DUBAI/DOHA: Saudi Arabia’s industrial project at Jizan, which includes a large refinery, will be completed within four years, local media reported Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi as saying. State-run oil giant Saudi Aramco had planned to begin operations at the refinery and oil tanker terminal on the Red Sea coast in late 2016, but its project has been delayed by work on other infrastructure falling behind schedule.

“We are now working on the establishment of a huge industrial project in the

DUBAI: Dubai-based oil ser vices firm NPS Energy has put itself back up for sale, hoping to fetch up to $700 million after a deal to be bought by Norway’s Aker Solutions fell apart last year, sources familiar with the matter said. Oil services company Aker agreed to buy NPS Energy for about $460 million in May 2012, including $110 million in debt, but the deal collapsed in November after the two parties failed to reach a final agreement.

A formal sale process for the business was initiated earlier this year, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter is not public. NPS Energy is part of oilfield services company National Petroleum Services, which was formed in 2004 from the merger of oilfield businesses owned by two large family-owned groups in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Demand for oilfield services in the Middle East, the world’s top oil producing region, has increased rapidly in the last few years. NPS Energy has appointed British lender HSBC Holdings as a financial adviser for the transaction, according to the sources.

NPS Energy CEO Adnan Ghabris declined to

Jizan region, including an advanced refinery with a capacity of up to 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) along with factories, petrochemical and mining projects - and (it) will be completed, god willing, within 4 years,” Naimi said in a speech published by Saudi media yesterday.

Jizan will be the last of a trio of new 400,000 bpd refineries to be opened in Saudi Arabia between 2013 and 2018. The first, at Jubail on the Gulf coast, is expected to export its first oil products cargo in late September. — Reuters

WASHINGTON: Economists and market analysts blasted Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke after the Fed stunned markets with its unexpected decision to not cut its stimulus. Bernanke came under fire for having stoked nearly unanimous expectations that the Fed would announce the “taper” of its $85 billion a month bond-buying program after its policy meeting Wednesday.

The decision cost investors who bet on a stimulus cutback hugely, though benefiting many with long positions in global stocks. Many blamed Bernanke and fellow members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) for having since May repeatedly suggested a September taper of the quantitative easing (QE) program. University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers called the surprise “the result of a needless miscommunication.

“This whole taper debate is one that should never have happened,” he wrote. After Bernanke first spoke of a stimulus cut in May and June, “tapertalk came to dominate the financial headlines, and a monetary meme was quickly born. The result... was that markets over-reacted,” he said.

“Despite Bernanke’s effort yesterday in the press conference to paint the FOMC decision as entirely consistent with earlier communication from the FOMC, it was not,” said Chris Low at FTN Financial.

“The Fed may have done the right thing for the economy... but the Fed’s communications credibility is shredded.” Speaking after the FOMC

announced its decision, Bernanke argued that all along he has stressed that any decision to taper had to be backed by data showing steady gains in the economy, especially “continued improvements

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke arrives to speak at a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington. —AP in the labor market.”

“I think there’s no alternative in making monetary policy but to communicate as clearly as possible, and that’s what we try to do,” he said. But Bernanke had not just pointed to a taper beginning late this year. The explicit details he provided fed the consensus that cuts were imminent. He said that QE should be wound up when unemployment falls to 7 percent, with the expectation

that that will happen by mid-2014.

FOMC members repeated those details in speeches, some emphasizing “as early as September.”

When the unemployment rate fell in August to 7.3 percent, not far from the threshold and with no caution from the Fed, the die was cast, as far as markets were concerned. But the result was that interest rates shot up in expectation of tighter money conditions, apparently impacting economic activity, including home buying, something that Bernanke referred to when explaining the nontaper decision.

“The irony to all of this is that the backup in interest rates was due mainly to the chairman’s May 22 comments,” said economist Joseph LaVorgna of Deutsche Bank. He questioned whether financial conditions have really tightened, but added: “If the Fed believes they did tighten, why did not the chairman or another Fed governor attempt to communicate this at some point” to prevent markets from getting ahead of policy?

“We are worried that when the time comes to taper, and someday tighten, the Fed will not have the courage to follow-through on its actions because market expectations will likely be well ahead of where the Fed is. “Many analysts still praised the decision itself, saying persistent weaknesses in the economy, and with a turbulent battle over government budgeting and debt ahead, require continued stimulus. —AFP

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal Irani Riyal

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.859 4.567 2.682 2.145 2.855 227.670 36.620 3.645 6.598 9.175 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 75.737 78.037 737.690 754.350 77.346

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 40.950 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.730 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.325 Tunisian Dinar 174.440 Jordanian Dinar 401.070 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.905 Syrian Lier 3.085 Morocco Dirham 34.920 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 283.900 Euro 387.240 Sterling Pound 458.500 Canadian dollar 278.330 Turkish lira 146.230 Swiss Franc 312.840 Australian Dollar 268.570 US Dollar Buying 282.700 GOLD 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

250.000 127.000 66.000

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

SELL DRAFT 273.84 282.18 315.86 387.27 283.10 460.86 2.93 3.658 4.571 2.142 2.876 2.696 77.15 753.49 41.07 402.92 736.24 78.18 76.62

SELL CASH 263.000 282.000 293.000 384.000 287.400 443.000 3.000 3.800 5.150 2.700 3.600 2.920 78.000 759.500 41.100 416.200 746.400 79.000 76.300

Bahrain Exchange Company CURRENCY Europe Belgian Franc British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Romanian Leu Slovakia Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Turkish Lira

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar

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 Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

Selling Rate 283.650 278.600 456.100 384.530 312.010 750.965 77.205 77.860 76.505 399.850 41.099 2.141 4.556 2.681 3.647 6.577 695.800 3.850 8.925 4.050 3.715 86.520

Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint

Bangladesh Taka Chinese Yuan Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Korean Won Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee

BUY

SELL

0.007360 0.448028 0.006674 0.047491 0.378453 0.044000 0.081919 0.008148 0.040739 0.305723 0.142731

0.008380 0.457026 0.018674 0.052491 0.385953 0.049200 0.81919 0.018148 0.045739 0.315223 0.149731

Australasia 0.258774 0.231888

0.270274 0.241388

America 0.270352 0.279800 0.280300

0.278852 0.284150 0.284150

Asia 0.003111 0.045041 0.034530 0.004401 0.000020 0.002773 0.003325 0.000253 0.085906 0.002942 0.002545 0.006413 0.000069 0.224928 0.022810 0.001890

0.003711 0.048541 0.037280 0.004802 0.000026 0.002953 0.003325 0.000268 0.091905 0.003112 0.002825 0.006693 0.000075 0.230928 0.031310 0.002470

Taiwan Thai Baht

0.009500 0.008747

Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar Turkish Lira UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

Arab 0.746594 0.038148 0.000079 0.000183 0.396209 1.0000000 0.000139 0.022748 0.001203 0.731371 0.077270 0.075070 0.001933 0.169815 0.142731 0.076314 0.001290

0.009680 0.009297

0.754594 0.041248 0.000080 0.000243 0.403709 1.0000000 0.000239 0.046748 0.001838 0.737051 0.078483 0.075770 0.002153 0.177815 0.149731 0.077463 0.001370

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

Transfer Rate (Per 1000)

US Dollar

283.400

Euro

385.750

Pound Sterling

455.850

Canadian Dollar

277.150

Indian Rupee

4.554

Egyptian Pound

41.085

Sri Lankan Rupee

2.142

Bangladesh Taka

3.638

Philippines Peso

6.579

Pakistan Rupee

2.685

Bahraini Dinar

754.500

UAE Dirham

77.200

Saudi Riyal

75.700

*Rates are subject to change

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

BUSINESS

Ford Mustang pool table is molded from actual 1965 Mustang DUBAI: A beautifully restored vintage Ford Mustang looks great in a museum or even with a place of honor in a home, but it really belongs in a garage where it can be taken out for regular drives and enjoyed on the road. For those who want a classic pony car to enjoy in the living room or family room, the best option is the 1965 Ford Mustang pool table. Manufactured in Largo, Fla. by CarPoolTables and officially licensed by Ford Motor Company, the Mustang pool table is the ideal home accessory for the pony car fan. At 119 inches long, the 4x8-foot pool table is shorter than the original 1965 Mustang, but otherwise looks remarkably accurate.

That’s because company co-founder Tony Utegaard and his team patterned the fiberglass “body” of the pool table from the original car. They found a 1965 Mustang in a salvage yard and used it directly to create the molds. “We go and find the actual car, cut it up, shorten it, weld it together, and then we make molds of the parts,” said Utegaard. “ We’ve immortalized the original Mustang so that fans can enjoy their favorite car at home or on the road.”

and 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information about Ford and its products worldwide please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Ford’s history in the Middle East goes back more than 60 years. The company’s local importer-dealers operate more than 155 facilities in the region and directly employ more than 7,000 people, the majority of whom are Arab Nationals. For more information on Ford Middle East, please visit www.me.ford.com Ford Middle East is also a responsible corporate citizen with currently three CSR initiatives running in the region including the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants, Ford Warriors in Pink(r) breast cancer awareness campaign and Ford Driving Skills for Life safe driving awareness programme for young drivers and teens.

The Ford Grants is a grass-root level initiative that has offered US$1.3million in grants to more than 150 Middle Eastern environmental projects since 2000. Ford Warriors in Pink(r) is a breast

The body panels are professionally painted and available in any of the factory colors offered on the original 1965 Mustang, with Rangoon Red being the most popular. The paint is topped off with an automotive clear coat for durability before being polished and buffed by hand. After painting, craftsmen fit genuine Mustang chrome trim including badges, bumpers and working lights.

The table even has a set of alloy wheels and tires.

“We joke in our shop that someday people will be stripping our pool tables for the parts,” added Utegaard.

The heirloom-grade professional playing surface features three-piece Brazilian slate, real championship felt and solid hardwood all the way around.

Each finished pool table gets its own VIN plate and title before delivery to the customer. The 1965 Ford Mustang pool table is available from merchandise.ford.comfor $9,990.

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industr y leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 177,000 employees

cancer community-based awareness initiative recognizing the strength and courage it takes to deal with the everyday challenges of battling breast cancer

throughout the year. Ford Driving Skills for Life is a free program designed to impart safe driving practices to students to help improve their road safety record.

US firms await reforms from China’s leadership Nov meeting could clear air on reform

LIBERTY: President Barack Obama looks at his watch while speaking at the Ford Stamping Plant in Liberty on Friday. — AP

Obama urges Congress to pass budget, raise debt ceiling WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Saturday urged the US Congress to approve a budget to keep the government open after October 1, and raise the debt ceiling so the country can pay its bills.

Far-right Republicans in Congress want to take neither action in their attempt to defund a sweeping health care overhaul approved more than three years ago. Critics nicknamed the law “Obamacare,” and Republicans have fought to repeal it since its passage.

If a budget “doesn’t pass before September 30th - a week from Monday the government will shut down,” Obama said in his weekly Saturday morning broadcast address. “And so will many services the American people expect.” Obama warned that even soldiers serving abroad could see their paychecks stopped. Congress must also raise the limit on government borrowing, as the US government is expected to run out of money by around the middle of October-a scenario that could make stock markets tumble and send shockwaves through the global economy.

“Since the 1950s, Congress has always passed it, and every president has signed it - Democrats and Republicans,” including

conservative icon Ronald Reagan, Obama said. “And if this Congress doesn’t do it within the next few weeks, the United States will default on its obligations and put our entire economy at risk.”

While Democrats and “some reasonable Republicans” are willing to take both actions,” there’s also a faction on the far right of the Republican party who’ve convinced their leadership to threaten a government shutdown” and are “willing to plunge America into default” if they can’t defund the health care program.

“The United States of America is not a deadbeat nation,” Obama said. “We are the world’s bedrock investment. And doing anything to threaten that is the height of irresponsibility. “That’s why I will not negotiate over the full faith and credit of the United States. I will not allow anyone to harm this country’s reputation, or threaten to inflict economic pain on millions of our own people, just to make an ideological point.”

Many federal agencies and programs will shutter on October 1, day one of the coming fiscal year, if Congress and the president do not agree on a temporary budget measure. —AFP

WASHINGTON: US companies in China are taking a cautious view of the new Chinese leadership, hoping a key November Communist Party meeting will clear up the outlook for economic reform. Representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham Shanghai), visiting Washington last week, said that Chinese President Xi Jinping had indicated plans to further open up the economy.

But it was unclear whether he had all the control levers at his command less than a year after taking power, they said. Xi, who became head of the Communist Party last November, has shown he will take “a more pro-market approach than his predecessor (Hu Jintao),” Kenneth Jarrett, president of AmCham Shanghai, told reporters. But businesses were waiting to see what comes out of a key meeting of the Chinese Communist Party leadership in November. The meeting-known as the third plenum-traditionally is used to unveil political and economic reforms. The plenum could be an “opening salvo” on Chinese reforms, Jarrett said. The AmCham Shanghai delegation was in the US capital for their annual “doorknock” talks with top Obama administration officials, lawmakers, and members of leading think tanks, pushing for a stronger US-China economic and trade relationship. Jarrett said that China has only provided “sketchy” details on the planned free-trade zone in Shanghai announced in early September.

The FTZ could be a “pilot project” for financial and economic reforms, he said. Timothy Stratford, a member of the delegation, said the Shanghai FTZ could be used to test a lowering of barriers to US investment in China. The relaunch of US-China negotiations on a Bilateral Investment Treaty in July was an encouraging sign, the executives said. The Chamber estimates that a successful conclusion of the BIT could open more than 100 Chinese industries to US investment.

And the benefit would be shared, fostering badly needed US job growth as the economy recovers from the Great Recession. China already is the fastest-growing source of foreign direct investment into the United States, up at an annual average rate of 71 percent from 2008-2012, according to the US government.

The BIT could even pave the way for China

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping (center right) and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro (center left) attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday. —AP

to join the US-led initiative to create an AsiaPacific free-trade area, the business leaders said. China’s new leadership appeared to have made a remarkable u-turn on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, said Stratford, a managing partner of law firm Covington and Burling and a former assistant US Trade Representative.

Just four months ago, he said, Chinese officials called the US-led TPP initiative “insidious containment.” “Now we’re hearing far more positive words,” he said. Robert Theleen, chairman of AmCham Shanghai, said that China’s income surge of more than 20 percent a year was more important than the country’s gross domestic product growth, which has slowed modestly from a blistering pace a few years ago. The robust Chinese income growth “is tied more and more to urbanization,” said Theleen, chairman and chief executive of ChinaVest, a Shanghai-based merchant bank he founded in 1982.

There are 170 cities with populations of 100 million or more, he noted. And US businesses are pursuing “in-China, for-China” strategies, he said, producing locally and plowing back ren-

Power vacuum sends US close to fiscal precipice WASHINGTON: America’s political system was designed precisely to prevent one leader or faction from piling up too much power. But as Washington hurtles towards a debt default and government shutdown, the problem is not the tyranny of the majority, but that no one may have the power to avert disaster.

A weakened President Barack Obama and congressional leaders from both parties, locked in an endless clinch of partisan bitterness, have failed to impose themselves on Washington’s political jungle. Obama, seeing an ambitious second term agenda expire on Capitol Hill, was bucked by Congress over bombing Syria and saw his fellow Democratic senators snub a favored choice to head the Federal Reserve.

His rival big gun, Republican House Speaker John Boehner is hostage to the conservative Tea Party faction of his own caucus, and may have to choose between his job and tipping the US economy over a cliff. Senate Democratic leaders lack the power to enforce their will. Republicans however have just enough of the stuff to grind the chamber to a halt, using stifling filibuster rules.

The brouhaha has emboldened minority factions and charismatic up and comers like Republican senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, who lack power to change things alone, but can break a lot of crockery. Forged in the memory of colonial tyranny, the US political system splits power between the president, lawmakers and the Supreme Court. When voters split authoritythere has been a Republican House and Democratic White House and Senate since 2011, — political rivals can cancel each other out.

“We divide power in order to protect our-

selves from an overzealous use of that power,” said Professor Steven Smith of Washington University, St Louis.

“But in doing so, we risk that the government cannot act in a reasonably efficient, coordinated fashion and may actually do nothing.” Skillful politicians can still prosper, forging the compromise America’s founders envisaged in the late 18th Century.

But polarization in Washington was exacerbated by last year ’s elections. Obama and Boehner, who have repeatedly failed to clinch fiscal grand bargains, are often criticized for a failure of political imagination. And the Tea Party sees crushing compromise as a badge of honor.

If no deals are done to agree a government budget by October 1, large swaths of the US government will be forced to shut down. Worse for the sluggish economy, Washington could default on its debts by the middle of next month, if Congress refuses Obama’s request to raise the government’s $16.7 trillion debt ceiling.

The standoff was sparked by conservative House members, who insist any way out must include a commitment to defund Obama’s cherished health care law-the crown in his political legacy. But since the Senate is certain to disagree and Obama has a veto, the conservative insurgents have no power to enforce their will.

Anarchists and arsonists Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid complains “anarchists” have taken over Congress. Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi hit out at “legislative arsonists.” Vice President Joe Biden, recently branded the Republican shock troops as Neanderthals. Boehner denies his party is run-

ning riot after he was forced to agree to the ObamaCare gambit. “The key to any leadership job is to listen,” he said.

If the stakes were not so high Obama might enjoy the spectacle. But the president has worries in his own power base. A recent revolt of liberal senators scuppered the hopes of favored Obama candidate Larry Summers of leading the Federal Reserve.

Obama also hit trouble when he pushed for congressional authorization to strike Syria over a chemical weapons attack - and was only rescued from embarrassment by an 11th hour deal with Russia. Democrats were among the many lawmakers who balked. Other liberals worried about civil liberties have also defied the White House over US spy agency snooping programs, and with lawmakers eyeing elections Obama will not have to fight, discipline may fray further.

Anonymous Democrats quoted in the Washington media have voiced a familiar complaint-that Obama does too little to butter up lawmakers and replenish his political capital.

“You’re assuming he’s above the fray. He’s not, he’s in the fray,” White House spokesman Jay Carney chided reporters. “He’s twisted arms... to try to convince, persuade, cajole Republicans into doing the sensible thing.”

Deadlines might be looming, but Washington politicians are playing a familiar game-blaming the other side for something bad that is about to happen. Obama complained Republicans want to “extort” him. But Republican Senator Marco Rubio told Newsmax: “I guess (Obama’s) political people have told him that this is a political winshut down the government and blame the Republicans.” —AFP

minbi investment into the world’s secondlargest economy. US businesses’ top concern is the increasing cost of doing business in China, according to AmCham Shanghai’s annual survey of members, which include 1,800 corporations and 4,000 individuals. Chinese government corruption is the number-two concern, followed by worries about intellectual property rights.

Peter Sykes, president of Asia Pacific for Dow Chemical, said his company employs more than 500 scientists and researchers in China, the firm’s second-largest international market. The creation of intellectual property there “balances the ledger,” he said. During their three-day mission, AmCham Shanghai struck agreements with the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration and the Congress-funded US Trade and Development Agency to promote US business opportunities in China.

And despite the US political gridlock over the government budget and debt ceiling, as well as deep sequestration spending cuts, the delegation said it was pressing for increased

China’s FTZ plan a ‘political message’ to Hong Kong HONG KONG: Plans for China’s first free trade zone-seen as a threat to Hong Kong’s status as a finance hub-are also a tool to dampen political protest in the city, analysts say. The FTZ in Shanghai will allow unfettered exchange of China’s yuan currency as part of a bold push to reform the world’s second largest economy, according to proposals revealed exclusively by AFP earlier this month.

Experts have already urged Hong Kong to improve its economic environment, including tackling high rents and labor costs, if it wants to compete with the new trade and finance hub.

But senior Beijing officials last week warned the ex-British colony that it also needs to curb increasing political dissent if it wants to thrive and analysts say the promotion of Shanghai is an indirect message to Hong Kong to cooperate politically, or be marginalized economically.

“Beijing is using a softline economic approach to groom Shanghai to compete with, or possibly replace Hong Kong. The implicit message is clear that if Hong Kong continues to have political squabbles, its economic status will suffer greatly,” Sonny Lo, a social scientist at Hong Kong Institute of Education, told AFP. Yu Zhengsheng, the leader of Beijing’s top advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Wang Guangya, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, both called for “unity” in the city last week. “(Wang) called on us to think clearly whether Hong Kong should be a city for political struggle or economic development,” said Walter Kwok, part of a Hong

Kong delegation addressed by Wang in Beijing Tuesday, according to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post. Yu spoke to the same delegation, asking Hong Kong to “stay united and comply with the Basic Law under all circumstances,” if it wanted to enhance its competitiveness, the Post reported. He described Hong Kong society has having unwelcome “noise”, local media said. Ma Ngok, a political scientist at Hong Kong’s Chinese University, said the remarks by Beijing officials were a bid to “create a stabilizing force” amid current political unrest.

Under British rule, Hong Kong was transformed into one of the freest world economies and an international finance centre, outpacing economic development in Chinese cities. Doubts were cast over its ability to retain its status after the handover from Britain to China in 1997, while Shanghai flourished during a period of stellar economic growth overseen by president Jiang Zemin.

After Jiang retired from the last of his national posts in 2005, several members of his powerful “Shanghai Gang” political clique were dismissed in corruption trials, widely seen as a move by new president Hu Jintao to rein in the city’s powerbase. But with Xi Jinping taking over from Hu in March this year, Shanghai appears to be back on the map, as mainland critics increasingly gun for Hong Kong over antiBeijing democracy protests. In the past 10 years, the southern Chinese territory has witnessed frequent demonstrations and increasing discontent, with opposition groups denouncing the city’s government as a puppet of Beijing. —AFP

24

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

business

Venezuela, facing shortages, seizes toilet paper factory CARACAS: Venezuela’s leftist government said Saturday it temporarily seized a major toilet paper factory hoping that it can end troublesome shortages of the staple personal care item. “ The temporary occupation of Manpa (Manufactora de Papel) is aimed at verifying that toilet paper industry production, marketing and distribution” are all in line with state policies, Vice President Jorge Arreaza said on Twitter, without indicating how long the takeover would last. He said the decision had been taken by an

economic panel sworn in last week by President Nicolas Maduro, a close ally of Communist-ruled Cuba. OPEC member Venezuela has vast crude oil resources, sitting atop the world’s largest proven reserves. But efforts to centralize its economy like Havana have seen the country reach an inflation rate of 32.9 percent, and a toilet paper shortage rate of 20 percent, according to government data. Even hospitals have reported food shortages, while citizens routinely deal with shortages of coffee, flour, sugar or personal

care basics like toilet paper.

Venezuela imports half the food it consumes, and the government also has been taking over large farms hoping it can boost domestic production and supply.

Maduro last week claimed the White House is plotting the “collapse” of his government next month by sabotaging food, electricity and fuel supplies. Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, also made regular claims about several alleged US plots to kill him.— AFP

MADRID: Members of the Victims’ Mortgage Platform (PAH) tie each other with chains to block the front door of Ahmed El Jaidi’s home, to prevent the eviction attempt, in Madrid on Friday. El Jaidi and his wife Hamida Sabbah, have four children and they live in a euro 700 ($946) rental apartment. El Jaidi stopped paying rent after losing his job and had been unemployed for 14 month without getting any state benefits until May, 2013. He has accumulated a debt of euro 8,457 ($11,435) plus interest. — AP

Global lockmaker seeks key to future profits in the cloud STOCKHOLM: Despite the rapid pace of technology that has overhauled many consumer goods, the front door lock and key is little changed since the 1800s. That is about to change - to virtual keys in data clouds, if the world’s biggest lockmaker gets its way.

Assa Abloy, which makes one in ten locks worldwide, is the muscle behind brands such as Yale. But the lock technology it is now developing means consumers will be able to open doors with a tap of their mobile phones, visitors will be able to download a key online and business owners will be able to lock and unlock their premises remotely. “I think most people will go digital. People will rely more on a secure identity than a physical key, provided over the net into your mobile phone,” says Johan Molin, Assa Abloy’s lean 54-year-old chief executive.

Electro-mechanical locks like key cards in hotels now account for almost half of Assa Abloy’s sales compared with 13 percent a decade ago, and the company believes this is just the start of growing demand from consumers for more flexible, high-tech locking mechanisms.

At its Stockholm headquarters, some of Assa Abloy’s staff are trying different versions of virtual keys downloaded to mobile phones that open a lock simply with a swipe of the phone. The company is also working up versions where phones with bluetooth or wireless links could automatically open doors when within a certain distance. Other keys can be set to switch on at a certain date and expire on another date, meaning someone renting a flat, for example, need no longer hand over physical keys at the end of their stay. The digital keys can be embedded in SIM cards, within software or inside the phone itself, thanks to Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, or short range wireless that within a few years may be standard in most mobile devices. US research firm ABI Research has estimated that the number of NFC enabled devices will exceed 500 million in 2014.

The new key technology could also unlock higher recurring revenues. While traditional locks last on average four decades, electro-mechanical locks have lifespans of 10-15 years and software coupled with more fickle consumer electronics means these locks will need to be routinely replaced or updated.

It is a model Assa is confident that consumers used to frequently upgrading their phones and tablets will accept.

“People will have the same kind of relationship to their lock that they have to their computer. They will want to have the latest features, designs,” Molin said.

Just this week Apple launched its new iPhone 5S, with a fingerprint scanner, replacing the need for passwords and PIN numbers with biometric security.

Driving change But selling locks is a delicate business and the market traditionally conservative. Some consumers, especially in Europe, are reluctant to move from the security of physical keys to a more opaque system, particularly amid worries about cybersecurity. Additionally the cost involved - a digital Yale lock is about 30 percent more expensive than a traditional one - currently limits the technology to high-end households.

So Assa Abloy’s strategy is to make the technology a good fit with businesses and institutions like hotels, hospitals and schools, which account for three quarters of its sales, in order to ‘normalize’ the new product, lower costs and ultimately drive broader consumer acceptance. With this in mind the company has boosted

research and development spending 129 percent since 2005 and in 2012 spent about $210 million, or 2.9 percent of sales, on R&D. That 2.9 percent is around the industry average for R&D spending, analysts say, as Assa’s US rivals in particular, Ingersoll-Rand and Stanley Black & Decker chase the same new markets.

“The challenge for Assa Abloy is to move fast enough,” said Carlo Pompili, CEO of Swedish startup firm Telcred which is working on new locking technology. “It’s a huge market with many nuances. They cannot think of everything. That opens up space for other companies.”

Alongside its own technological research Assa Abloy says it will continue to do deals that advance its products.

“We of course try and focus on our own innovation,” says Daniel Berg, vice-president of Assa Abloy mobile keys. “But complementary acquisitions could happen if there is a start-up with a great idea.” The company has a long history of buying up competitors. More than ten years ago it bought US firm HID, an early secure ID card producer, giving it a big advantage in a market providing secure computer access that subsequently boomed. It then bought up US-based ActivID in 2010, adding a layer of more sophisticated digital identity recognition to that product line. With an eye on its current direction, Assa Abloy reached a deal in 2012 with Oberthur, a leading manufacturer of SIM cards, allowing it to embed its digital keys in Oberthur’s cards. A consumer buying Oberthur’s product need only then buy an App to get access to Assa Abloy’s key code.

There are newer and smaller competitors pushing forward in this area, like USbased Lockitron, which makes devices to lock and unlock deadbolts via remote control, or Spain’s Salto, making lock software tailored to businesses. But in a stilldeveloping market few can compete with Assa Abloy’s reach.

“High-tech locks, using phones, etc, are the future, but the question is how fast it will grow?” said Oscar Stjerngren, an analyst at Danske Bank. “Assa Abloy are so dominant globally they can drive this transition in the high-tech lock market.”

Old & new Global reach means catering to a rich mix of national nuances that in turn require a combination of products - so Assa Abloy is not turning its back on traditional security just yet. North American consumers still spend twice as much on “emergency exit devices” such as fire escape doors than Europeans. Northern Europeans spend three to four times as much on high security household locks than North Americans.

“In America it’s all about getting out.

In Europe it is all about avoiding people getting in,” Molin said. The company’s most recent buy was more traditional hardware in September it acquired the firedoors business of Polish-based Mercor to give it access to growing markets in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

It is also planning acquisitions of hardware manufacturers and traditional locksmiths in China, South America and India, though demand for digital locks is growing fast in the first two of those markets.

Demand for high-tech security is particularly strong in Brazil, where violent crime is common. Not only is fingerprinting identification for cash withdrawal machines becoming popular, but banks and consumers are requesting an extra layer of security that allows the machines to analyze blood vessels in the finger to recognize whether the person to whom it belongs is alive or dead.—Reuters

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

BUSINESS

Kirobo utters his first words from outer space KUWAIT: In 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man to speak in outer space.

Fifty-two years later, Toyota has helped give a voice to the first robot astronaut to utter words while orbiting the earth.

The Toyota robot astronaut Kirobo’s historic first words reflected the importance of its 18-month mission: “On

August 21, 2013, a robot took one small step towards a brighter future for all.” Toyota Motor Corporation provided Kirobo’s voice recognition software and plans to use experience gained from the orbital experiments to improve the range of interactive conversation technologies it uses in its automotive and personal robotic assistance products.

Kirobo left earth on August 4 following the successful launch of an H-IIB rocket from Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan. Sitting on top of the launch vehicle was Kounotori 4, a Japanese cargo vehicle containing the 34cm robot. After six days in orbit, Kounotori 4 docked with the International Space Station (ISS).

Kirobo will be joined by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata later this year.

Wakata will arrive on Expedition 38 to

Recession-hit Italians return to vineyards ZENEVREDO, Italy: Hard-up Italians have increasingly taken the place of immigrant seasonal laborers in the vineyards this harvest season-and a new pilot project plans to increase the number even further.

In Oltrepo-Pavese, a wine region in northern Italy, the farmers’ union Coldiretti has launched an initiative called the “Harvest of Solidarity”. The plan is to match up supply and demand for vineyard workers in the surrounding area and to create a base of local seasonal labourers who can be hired by farmers when needed. Davide Stocco, 38, owner of a 10-hectare (25-acre) vineyard near Pavia, said he used the new Coldiretti system when three of the seven laborers he hired cancelled at the last minute. Unlike previous years, when Stocco hired mostly immigrants for the grape harvest, this year it is mostly Italians-many of them young and permanently unemployed.

“The harvest is not difficult work. Anyone can do it. These are almost all young people who want to learn and apply themselves,” he said.

“Let’s hope they want to continue.” On the second day of harvest, Stocco said his new laborers had been working well, as they were seen snipping off bunches of grapes into large buckets.

“This is a helping hand we are giving to unemployed people here,” Stocco said.

“Italians did not want to work in the fields before and we had a lot of trouble finding labor,” he said. “But these last two years, people have come back to do work like harvesting.” Daris, 25, who studied for a job in hotels but has not managed to find one yet, said he might stay in farmwork.

“Why not? I like it here,” he said. “In Italy, there is a real crisis. There are not a lot of jobs. You have to be happy with what you have,” he said.

Marinella, at 51 the oldest in the group, said she had lost her job when her company shut down a few years ago. “At the moment there are not a lot of job opportunities and I’m not 20 anymore and so I’m still looking. In the meantime, I am doing this,” she said. “When you have a fixed job, you never imagine that one day you will find yourself doing the harvest,” she said.

“But when you don’t anymore....” For farmers, it works out cheaper to hire local hands than immigrant labor since they do not have to offer lodging.

A grape picker gets paid up to 1,300 euros ($1,750) a month gross. Stocco pointed out there was also no language problem when hiring Italians. But Claudio Milani, a representative for Coldiretti, said the project had nothing to do with the anti-immigrant rhetoric of the Northern League political party, which is well established in the region.

“We have nothing against people coming from abroad,” said Milani, who is based in Pavia, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Milan, Italy’s economic capital. “If we help local labourers, we are helping the local economy,” he said.

Launched this summer, the project has proved a victim of its own success. About 200 people applied for jobs in the harvest season but only around 50 of them were found jobs by organizers. “Italians used to be reticent about doing this kind of work,” Milani said. “But now their perceptions are changing a bit, especially young people.” —AFP

TSB may still attract a buyer ahead of share sale: CEO LONDON: More than 600 bank branches being rebranded as TSB by Britain’s Lloyds Banking Group could be bought by a trade or financial buyer before a flotation being planned for next year, the head of the new business said. Lloyds was ordered to sell the branches by European regulators as a penalty for receiving a 20-billion-pound ($32 billion) government bailout in the 2008 financial crisis. However, a deal with the Co-operative Bank collapsed in April amid concerns over the Co-op’s capital strength.

Lloyds now plans to run the business on a standalone basis ahead of a listing in summer 2014, although TSB’s new boss Paul Pester said that could change. “It’s absolutely possible that someone may come in and say this is a fantastic business we’ll make you an offer for it. That’s something we can leave Lloyds to deal with,” Pester told reporters at the launch of the new business in central London.

The return of the 200-year-old TSB brand to the high street after an 18-year absence is the result of action by regulators and the government to introduce greater competition in the country’s banking sector. Pester said TSB would focus on a local banking model, “supporting economic growth in the communities it serves”. It will become Britain’s 8th biggest retail bank with 4.5 million customers and a 4.3 percent share of the current account market.

However, Lloyds’ Group Retail Director Allison Britton told Reuters TSB’s management would initially be granted only “semiindependence” from its parent. “They can do quite a lot of things themselves but they still might have to ask me about many things. They can propose pricing changes

for products but I have to approve them.

The same would go with things like risk appetite,” she said.

An influential cross-party committee of lawmakers set up to review standards within the industry said in June that a lack of competition in UK retail banking was an important reason why poor standards of conduct persisted in the industry. Susan Kramer, a Liberal Democrat peer who sat on the committee, said there was still a lot to be done to break the dominance of Britain’s biggest four high street lenders RBS , Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC - which control around three-quarters of retail accounts. “There’s a long way to go to get to the point where consumers have a real range of choices, where competition bites in such a way that it changes the behavior of the big players,” she told Reuters.

Lloyds’ Britton said the bank was aiming for a stock market listing for the TSB business in the summer of 2014 and that the sale of the business would be done in stages. “It will be quick. We set ourselves a number of goals - finishing this divestment, repaying the government, returning to dividends and profitability. The sooner we can do all of those things the better,” she said.

Britton said she anticipated investor appetite for the stock, despite a number of other bank share issues scheduled for the coming months including a rights issue by Barclays, the sale of the government’s stake in Lloyds itself, and a possible listing of 315 branches by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

“It’s a nice balanced strongly-capitalised fully UK-orientated bank with a good distribution network. I think it’ll be a great stock but it all comes down to the market and the price on the day,” she said. — Reuters

MADRID: Protestors shout slogans during a demonstration against governmentimposed austerity measures, privatization plans and labor reforms in the public healthcare sector in Madrid yesterday. — AP

become the first Japanese astronaut to assume command of the orbiting space station. Once on board, at an orbiting altitude of nearly 250 miles above earth, Commander Wakata will take part in the first conversation held between a human being and robot in space. The planned conversation will take place in the Japanese Experiment Module, nicknamed “Kibo” after the word for hope in Japanese. Kirobo and

his earth-bound ‘brother’, Mirata, are two humanoid communication robots developed under the Kibo Robot Project, a joint research project between Dentsu Inc, the University of Tokyo’s Research Centre for Advanced Science and Technology, Robo Garage Co, and Toyota Motor Corporation. The project is also extensively assisted by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Provisional Mission Timeline (updated) 4 Aug 2013 21 Aug 2013 Nov-Dec, 2013 Nov-Dec, 2013 May-Jun, 2014 Dec, 2014 (or later)

Robot astronaut Kirobo leaves for the ISS Kirobo speaks for the first time in space Commander Wakata arrives at the ISS Commander Wakata and Kirobo have their first conversation Commander Wakata leaves the ISS Kirobo returns to Earth

Kirobo in space

Fedshocks global markets NBK MONEY MARKETS REPORT KUWAIT: The FX, equity, and bond markets were presented with a surprise decision by the FOMC last week, sending the investors to seek safety for their assets. The Federal Reserve of the United States decided to keep the quantitative easing program unchanged at $85 billion worth of purchases a month, while the market already priced in a cut on those purchases by $10-15 billion. The decision by the Fed sent the US dollar to drop against all major counter parts, adding even more pressure on the greenback following the withdrawal of Former Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers, from the race for Bernanke’s seat, leaving more room for dovish Vice President Janet Yellen.

Major world indexes rallied following the decision, the S&P surged by 1.60percent, the Dow gained 1.55percent, and the Nikkei by 1.80percent. The Fed decided against the tapering of the asset purchases, citing that the Fed should “wait for more evidence that progress will be sustained before adjusting the pace of purchases”. Although the job market has shown signs of improvement, policymakers believed that the outlook has remained uncertain and they were concerned that premature tightening would lead to slowdown of the economic recovery. Anticipation ahead of the Feds’ decision weighed on the FX markets. The Euro started the week on a positive note, opening at 1.3294, and rising at the early hours of the trading day to 1.3380 after US President Barrack Obama, said that Former Treasur y Secretar y, Lawrence Summers, has withdrawn from the race of the Federal Reserve Chairman position. Due to Summers’ bullish stance on the economy, the USD dropped against the EUR, as the more bearish member, Fed Vice President Janet Yellen, was left with no competition for the seat. The single currency range traded towards mid-week, in anticipation of the Fed’s tapering decision. The euro surged significantly against a weaker US Dollar, as the Fed took the market by surprised, by holding the pace of purchases at $85 billion.

The euro surged 230 basis points against the US dollar, to a touch high of 1.3568. The euro eased only slightly following the “Fed Surprise” rally, falling to 1.3508 on Friday. The Single currency closed the week at 1.3524. The British Pound followed suit, opening at 1.5880 on Monday, and rising to 1.5963, following Larry Summers’ announcement. The GBP rose against the USD, as good figures gave promise to a better economic future for the country, and after a report showed that inflation remained above the Bank of England’s target last month, amid signs that confidence is growing in the UK economy. Cable rose even further, after minutes from the Bank of England showed that policy makers saw no need for more stimulus in the British economy, pushing the British currency to 1.5980 against the USD. The Pound then surged to break major technical levels against the US dollar to reach a high of 1.6165. The Sterling Pound then erased some of its gains, as retail sales in the UK endured the biggest drop in 10-months, shaking confidence in the British economy. The pound ended the week at 1.6006. The Japanese Yen opened the week at 99.38, strengthening against a weaker US dollar at the beginning of the week. The Japanese yen range traded

between 99.00 and 99.30, as FX markets lacking direction ahead of the Fed’s decision. The yen then gain dramatically against a much weaker US dollar, to touch a low of 97.76. The Japanese currency then reversed its trend, weakening all the way back to 99.62, as investors started borrowing in low-interest-rate currencies to buy higher yielding currencies. The Japanese Yen closed the week at 99.36. The Swiss Franc strengthened against a weakening US dollar at the start of the week, as investors seek the safety of the currency ahead of important figures in the US and euro area, and uncertainty from the Federal Reserve minutes outcome. The CHF opened the week at 0.9297, strengthening to 0.9224 against the USD. The Swiss franc then strengthened further, in tandem with the JPY, as the US Dollar plummets against most majors, prompting investors to seek safer currencies in the midst of a global financial shock from the Federal Reserve, to touch a low of 0.9090. The Swiss franc closed the week at 0.9103.

Home starts American builders started work on fewer US homes than expected last month, supporting the case of Federal Reserve policy makers on their decision to maintain the current stimulus package that is aimed at sustaining the economic expansion of the United States. Housing starts rose 0.9percent to 891,000 annual rate, higher than the previous months’ 883,000 which was also weaker than expected. The figure came way below the forecasted level of 917,000 homes.

Existing home sales Sales of previously owned American houses unexpectedly climbed more than forecasted last month to the highest level in more than 6-years, as American buyers rushed to complete their mortgage transactions before interest rates rise any further. Purchases of existing houses climbed by 1.7percent, to 5.48 million homes, the highest level since February 2007. The figure exceeded the forecasted 5.25 million, and higher than the previous months’ figure of 5.39 million.

Unemployment claims Claims in the US for unemployment benefits rose less than forecasted last week, as two states started working on applications that did not went through last week due to computer system

issues. Applications for unemployment benefits rose by 15,000 to 309,000 last week, from a revised 294,000 the previous week. Forecasts stood at an increase to 330,000. Employers are hanging on to workers, to meet the increasing demand by the US consumer. The US labor market has shown steady improvement according to Fed officials.

German sentiment German Investor Confidence rose to the highest level in more than 3-years this month, showing optimism that Europe’s largest economy will continue to expand, in the midst of a global recovery. The ZEW economic sentiment index, which aims to predict economic development 6months in advance, rose from 42.0 in August to 49.6 this month, the highest level since April 2010. The figure surpassed the expected 45.0.

Germany is prepared to benefit from increased demand for its product, as the 17-nation Euroarea, its biggest trading partner, emerged from its longest recession it endured.

UK retail sales The United Kingdoms’ retail sales fell unexpectedly, dropping to -1.0percent in August, the biggest drop in 10-months, as demand for food plummeted. Sales from the retail sector declined 0.9percent from July, and worse than what was expected by economists at 0.0percent. Food demand climbed 2.7percent in July, the biggest gain since April 2011, only to erase those exact gains in August, affecting the country’s retail sales. The report contradicts the UK’s improving economy, as several recent indicators showed some strengthening in the factory outputs, which reached a 6-year high.

Gold surges Gold surged on Thursday, following a 21-day drop since August 28, as the Fed stimulus talks sparked fear on USD holding investors, hiking demand for the precious metal. Climbing the most in 15-months, Gold touched a high of 1,368.41, from 1,296.44. The gold’s advance pulled silver, platinum, and palladium higher.

Kuwait Kuwaiti dinar at 0.28305 The USDKWD opened at 0.28305 yesterday morning.

Japan’s carmakers adapt to win back lost European sales FRANKFURT: Japanese automakers are taking steps to win back business in the competitive European market, bringing out new cars with small fuel-efficient diesel engines and smart interiors.

Having seen their sales dwindle while South Korean rivals Hyundai and Kia flourished, Japan’s carmakers have cut costs and invested the profits from a weaker yen to ensure strong European growth over the next few years. Handicapped by earthquakes, tsunamis and floods that disrupted their supply chains around the world two years ago, companies including Mazda and Toyota initially focused on their solid positions in North America, not wanting to adapt their US-centric models.

European sales suffered as a result, but their fortunes here are starting to improve now that Japanese carmakers are targeting Europe, the most demanding market in terms of fuel efficiency, design, handling and build quality. “Business has turned around. If you talk to most of the auto companies, it’s doom and gloom but our story is the exact opposite,” said Jeff Guyton, head of Mazda in Europe, in an interview at Frankfurt’s auto show, which ends this week.

Vehicle sales for the brand rose 11 percent in the eight months through August amid a European market that shrank by 5 percent, and average revenue per car sold is on the rise.

“We had the best fiscal first quarter in at least 10 years,” Guyton said. Mazda debuted at the Frankfurt show its Mazda3, a compact fuel-efficient car that competes with Volkswagen’s Golf. Mazda has already enjoyed success with its popular CX-5

crossover, which help lift European turnover since it launched last April.

Japanese carmakers have long profited from their reputation for reliability, but were upstaged when Hyundai and Kia brought out a range of stylish, affordable cars tailored to European tastes with extra-long warranties of five or even seven years.

This helped the two South Koreans claw European sales away from rivals such as Toyota. “They fundamentally missed the point about European design and interior quality,” said Mark Hall, who left the Japanese carmaker after 20 years to run Hyundai’s European marketing operations in 2010.

While the market share of Kia and Hyundai jumped to 6.1 percent last year in Europe from 3 percent in 2008, Japan’s seven traditional brands slipped to 11.8 from 13.7 percent. It would have been worse had it not been for Nissan’s Qashqai, a compact SUV. The two sibling brands, whose models are both sculpted by a former chief designer for Audi, successfully shed their reputation for ugly cars and unreliable engineering with offerings like the Hyundai i30 hatchback and the Kia Sportage SUV, manufactured in two state-of-the-art European production plants that cost 2.6 billion euros ($3.5 billion) to build.

In August, Hyundai even eclipsed Nissan, the most European of the Japanese brands, to become the second best-selling Asian badge in Europe in the year to date after Toyota.

Japan’s carmakers are now fighting back, however, improving handling and rolling out more wagons, a bodystyle that is popular among company

car owners in many parts of Europe. Toyota is currently launching its Auris Touring Sports estate, while Honda will bring early next year the Civic Tourer, a model developed for the first time by a European and equipped with rear adaptive suspension to meet local demands for a sportier ride.

Savings The Japanese carmakers have funded these changes by slimming down their operations.

Toyota, for example, shifted all Auris production to its UK plant and moved some production of the Corolla sedan to Turkey from Japan and South Africa. “At the same time that the weakness of the Japanese carmakers was being exploited heavily by the rapidly growing Koreans, the Japanese were busy putting their entire cost base to the test,” said Ernst & Young’s senior automotive advisory partner Peter Fuss.

Toyota’s European automotive operations returned to the black for the first time in six years during fiscal 2012/13, selling 838,000 cars in the 12 months through March. Five years previously it sold a third more cars, but losses ran in the hundreds of millions of euros, according to the Didier Leroy chief executive of Toyota Europe.

“Our cost structure was totally wrong,” he said.

Now his European operations are strong enough to withstand a shrinking market as well as headwinds from the pound sterling, Russian rouble and Turkish lira that more than offset the weaker yen and still be able to rake in “a lot more” than last year’s 246 million euros in profit, he said. —Reuters

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

BUSINESS

New BMW 5 Series blazes onto Middle Eastern asphalt Best-selling model is equipped with new design features, engine variants and technological innovations KUWAIT: BMW Group Middle East has confirmed that the new BMW 5 Series has reached importer showrooms across the region. With a host of new innovations across both design and engineering, this best-selling model is set to further build on its dominance and extend its lead in the executive saloon segment.

Since its launch in 1972, the BMW 5 Series has been the undisputed global leader in the executive car segment. This success is echoed in the Middle East with 5 Series being the best-selling model in 2012 and during the first half of this year.

The new BMW 5 Series is the fifth BMW model to be available with specific design packages: BMW Modern Line and BMW Luxury Line. With the BMW Lines, customers can enjoy two distinctive personalities which shine the spotlight on selected facets of the car’s character to great effect. Both Lines include LED fog lamps, 18-inch or 19-

inch light-alloy wheels, B-pillar trim and exterior mirror bases in high-gloss black, illuminated door pulls with chrome trim and matching illuminated door sill strips with aluminum inserts bearing BMW lettering. ‘Luxury’ or ‘Modern’ badges can also be found on the front side panels.

The BMW Luxury Line exudes a high level of elegance and exclusiveness thanks to a carefully assembled selection of premium features for both the exterior and interior.

The chrome finish of the trim bars in the outer sections of the lower air intake, the fronts of the black kidney grille slats, the window recess finishers, trim strip in the rear apron and the exhaust tailpipe embellishers all add gleaming touches. Leather upholstery with exclusive stitching, a black sports leather steering wheel and interior trim strips in exquisite Fineline anthracite wood create a particularly refined interior ambience.

The BMW Modern Line package displays a strikingly contemporary and dynamic edge. The air intake bars, kidney grille slats, rear trim strip and tailpipe embellishers come in matt chrome, and the instrument panel and sports leather steering wheel can be specified as an option in the light colour shade Oyster. Interior trim strips in dark Pearl and exclusive stitching for the optional leather upholstery ensure the interior creates an eye-catching impression. In addition, all variants of the new BMW 5 Series can also be ordered with a model-specific M Sport package to further increasing the scope for individualization.

Notable design features include new standard Zenon headlights lights, slender ‘winglets’ above the air-intakes in the front grille, new light-alloy wheels and new paint and trim combinations including the new Pyrite Brown metallic as well as the matt surfaces provided by the Frozen paint finishes.

The new BMW 5 Series is available in a range of different engine variants: BMW 520i, BMW 528i, BMW 535i and BMW 550i.

The new generation of the V8 engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology found under the bonnet of the BMW 550i takes to the stage armed with a 10 per cent rise in output yet also significantly reduced fuel consumption. The multi-award-winning straight-six engine delivers 225 kW/306 hp to the BMW 535i. The engine powering the BMW 520i develops 135 kW/184 hp, while the unit offered for the BMW 528i from the launch of the new BMW 5 Series boasts revisions to various details and delivers 180 kW/245 hp.

In the cockpit, the range of on-board BMW ConnectedDrive technology in the new BMW 5 Series expands on an already impressive network of driver assistance systems and mobility services designed to enhance safety, convenience and in-car info-

tainment. A suite of office functions turns the model into a mobile workplace - underpinned by either the customer’s mobile phone or the car’s integrated SIM card.

Emails, appointments, contacts, calendar entries and notes are displayed on the cockpit’s central screen.

BMW Apps guide the user through the large and ever increasing number of services, which can be accessed using the customer’s phone or internet connection. BMW Apps includes features such as a web radio function, access to your personalized music library and in-car use of Facebook and Twitter. This service is constantly expanding to include new apps, which can be uploaded into the car via the SIM card or a smartphone.

The new additions will see the BMW 5 Series further consolidating its leading role in the field of mobile business applications and internet-based infotainment.

Sibos expected to generate AED65m for Dubai economy Dubai welcomes 7,000 Sibos delegates

ODESSA: Flydubai lands at Odessa International Airport, its fourth destination in Ukraine.

ODESSA: Ladies wearing traditional Ukrainian costumes greet the inaugural flight.

Water cannon salute greets Flydubai flight at Odessa

ODESSA: Flydubai’s CEO Ghaith Al-Ghaith with the Mayor of Odessa, Aleksey Kostusev.

DUBAI: Dubai’s position as one of the world’s leading financial centers has once again being reaffirmed as more than 7,000 business leaders from all over the globe convened at Dubai’s World Trade Centre last week to attend the 35th annual Sibos conference, the financial community’s leading annual networking event.

Taking place from September 1619, Sibos Dubai brought together decision makers and experts from financial institutions, multinational corporations, and technology innovators to take part in a multi-faceted event that included half a dozen conference tracks, a hundred speakers and as many conference sessions, nearly 200 exhibitors, and numerous of networking events.

Originally SWIFT’s international banking operations seminar, Sibos has grown into a premier business forum for the global financial community to debate and collaborate in the areas of payments, securities, cash management and trade. Preferably held in destinations that are major financial platforms, previous Sibos host cities have included Osaka, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Vienna, Sydney and San Francisco. As such attracting a conference of this magnitude is a major

milestone in Dubai’s already burgeoning Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector, which serves as confirmation of the Emirate’s status as a premier global destination in the MICE sector.

Speaking about Sibos Dubai, Hamad bin Mejren Executive Director of Business Tourism at Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said: “Being chosen as the host city for the 35th annual Sibos conference is a major accolade for Dubai and testament to the tireless efforts of the Dubai Convention and Events Bureau (DCEB), a division of DTCM’s efforts to continually increase Dubai’s MICE profile.”

The services provided by DCEB, which included hosting four site inspections over the past three years, played a key role in the selection of Dubai as Sibos’ 2013 destination. In addition, DCEB further aided Sibos by facilitating a room block of 4,500 rooms through its affiliation with the Dubai Bid Alliance hotel partners and the weeklong event expected to generate a room night production of between 18,000 and 20,000 rooms.

As a comprehensive MICE event Sibos’ influence also exceeded well beyond just the attending delegates

ODESSA: Flydubai’s inaugural flight to Odessa, FZ723, was greeted by a water cannon salute when it landed at 1355hrs local time on Friday 20 September 2013. Chief Executive Officer of flydubai, Ghaith Al Ghaith and Mayor of Odessa, Aleksey Kostusyev, received the aircraft on the runway. The start of operations to Odessa, in addition to Kiev, Donetsk, and Kharkiv, expands flydubai’s Ukrainian network to four points.

IDEJ opens new jewelry store at Olympia Mall ‘Indian Exhibition’ to be held: Ezzo

KUWAIT: During the signing celebration at Olympia Mall in the presence of IDEJ’s CEO Waseem Ezzo and the Board Member of URRC Jalal AlMughrabi.

KUWAIT: The International Diamond Exhibition for Jewelry (IDEJ) has recently signed a leasing agreement for its new store location at the prestigious Olympia Mall, Salmiya, with United Resources Real Estate Company (URRC), the manager of the mall.

The signing celebration took place last week at Olympia Mall in the presence of IDEJ’s CEO Waseem Ezzo, and the Board Member of URRC Jalal Al-Mughrabi.

On this occasion, Ezzo announced that The Indian Exhibition would be held by the last quarter of the year when all interior decoration works are completed. “We have appointed one of the most reputed Interior design

agencies in order to design our new boutique up to the highest international standards” Ezzo said. He added “The new store location extends over a large area with an exclusive lounge seating, giving our customers ample space to move around and enjoy choosing from our exquisite collection of jewelry” Jalal Al-Mughrabi asserted that URRC’s agreement with IDEJ would be an added value to the business activities that currently exist at Olympia Mall. He said: “Olympia is proud to provide many services that meet the requirement of its customers. We welcome IDEJ in joining our unique array of stores, and look forward to their opening”.

and conference program. Parallel to the congress, banks and financial institutions also hold their own events in hotels, which add to the overall economic impact to the city bringing Sibos’ expected economic impact to AED65,520,000.

Hamad bin Mejren went on to comment: “The high profile of the conference’s delegates and the resultant need for safety and security as well as excellent infrastructure around the convention venue, were factors that definitely played in Dubai’s favor.

It is a pleasure to have welcomed the elite of the world’s financial community to Dubai for Sibos and show them the best of modern Arabian hospitality during their time in the Emirate. In addition to world-class conferencing facilities, Dubai offers delegates superb leisure activities and accommodation options.”

Sven Bossu, Head of Sibos, at SWIFT commented, “Dubai has in a very short time established itself as one of the world’s most important financial loci, making it a great destination in which to host our event. This was the second largest Sibos exhibition in our 35 year history and we are looking forward to yet another landmark event next year.”

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

technology

Japan’s gaming market: whole new world apart ‘Japanese consumers prefer family-use games’ CHIBA: The latest version of block buster videogame Grand Theft Auto may have stoked a worldwide buying frenzy, but the ultra-violent offering is likely to be a minnow in Japan’s vast gaming market. Shoot-em-up offerings from abroad often struggle to gain traction in the multi-billon-dollar Japanese videogame sector where fantasy-style games reign supreme and sell in the millions-though many in the West have not heard of them. They include the hugely popular Monster Hunter franchise, which has sold 23 million copies and

Sonic the Hedgehog, the country appears to be looking increasingly inward. “The main trends of the videogame market in Japan are divided into two categories: major worldwide successes like Pokemon, Final Fantasy or Biohazard, and games that are specifically designed for core Japanese gamers,” said the Asia Trend Map institute, pointing to the “overwhelming dominance of games made in Japan”.

A blockbuster offering based on the popular comic book “Shonen Jump” reflects a common theme in which many Japanese games are cen-

CHIBA: This file picture shows people wearing Japanese electronics giant Sony’s new head mount display (HMD) “HMZ-T3” to play videogames at the Tokyo Game Show in Chiba, suburban Tokyo. —AFP counting since its debut a decade ago.

“But most of them were sold in Japan even though we did make an English version,” said a spokeswoman for game creator Capcom.

Language translation problems and cultural differences were among the reasons cited for the struggles of foreign game operators in Japan, a rift that was apparent as gamers flocked to the Tokyo Game Show this week.

Over 600 games titles were on offer at the fourday extravaganza that wrapped up yesterday.

Though Japan once dominated the worldwide market with the likes of Super Mario and

tred around a character well known in multiple media platforms, from so-called manga cartoons and movies to music and television series. Namco Bandai’s AKB 1/149 Renai Sosenkyo, a popular dating simulation game, is the kind of title known to most at home but with little name familiarity abroad-AKB48 is the name of a well-known girl band.

“The title isn’t suited to foreign markets,” said Namco Bandai spokesman Toshiaki Honda.

Even Japanese giant Sony is releasing its PlayStation 4 abroad before its hits store shelves in Japan-a first-with executives saying

that titles expected to be hits at home won’t be ready in time.

Eiji Araki, senior official of mobile social game maker Gree, added: “We’ve learned that characters and visuals favoured in the United States are different from those in Japan.” For some, the unique character of Japan’s gaming market encapsulates the country’s so-called Galapagos Syndrome in which firms concentrate almost solely on the domestic market.

The take up in Japan on Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones trailed huge sales abroad as many mobile carriers focused on homegrown flip-phone offerings. While iPhone is now selling well in Japan, a ride on the Tokyo subway underscores another unique aspect of the nation’s gaming market-a love of handheld gaming devices. Commuters on the city’s vast transportation network are frequently seen thumbing away on portable devices to pass the time while, at home, consoles outpace the rising popularity abroad of playing games on personal computers. For one official at Japan’s Computer Entertainment Rating Organisation, the love of fantasy and role-playing games in low-crime Japan stands in stark contrast to Grand Theft Auto’s brutal depictions of urban violence.

“Japanese consumers prefer family-use games to those with violent, anti-social or extreme expressions of sexuality,” she said. A report by Internet firm GMO Cloud characterises the difference as “self-escapism versus selfexpression”. True or not, Grand Theft Auto is undoubtedly violent, especially when compared to Nintendo’s award-winning “Animal Crossing: New Leaf” in which players take on the role of a mayor running a rural community.

By contrast, past versions of Grand Theft Auto have included drunken driving, along with profanity-packed dialogue. Carjacking, gambling and killing are the staples of a game in which players take on the role of a psychopathic killer in fictional Los Angeles. When Grand Theft Auto IV was released five years ago it blew away videogame and Hollywood records by taking an unprecedented $500 million in the week after its release, and it shows few signs of slowing with the game’s fifth incarnation released days ago.

Despite its foreign pedigree, Hisakazu Hirabayashi, of Tokyo-based consultancy firm InteractKK, said he still expects the newest Grand Theft Auto to have relative success among Japanese consumers, at least “for a Western game”. —AFP

European insurers discover cyber protection market

This file photo shows the Windows Logo at a Microsoft press conference at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. A year after its flubbed tablet introduction, Microsoft is back with a new Surface. The US tech giant, which has invited media to a launch in New York, is seeking to correct missteps from its first try and gain a foothold in the tablet market dominated by Apple’s iPad and others using the Google Android operating system, according to a report. —AFP

Microsoft rushes out software fix to prevent browser attacks NEW YORK: Microsoft Corp released an emergency software fix for Internet Explorer after hackers exploited a security flaw in the popular Web browser to attack an unknown number of users. The software maker said on its website it released the software, known as a “Fix It,” as an emergency measure to protect customers after learning about “extremely limited, targeted attacks” that made use of the newly discovered bug. Microsoft said the attacks took advantage of an undiscovered flaw, or “zero day” vulnerability in industry parlance. State-sponsored hacking groups are often willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for zero-day vulnerabilities in widely used software such as Internet Explorer, according to security experts who track that market.

They typically use them on small numbers of carefully selected, high-value targets, to keep such flaws secret. Once Microsoft issues a warning about a zeroday bug, other groups of hackers involved in massive cyber-crime opera-

tions, such as identity theft, rush to reverse-engineer the Fix Its so they can build computer viruses that also exploit the same vulnerabilities.

Security experts said Internet Explorer users should either immediately install the Fix It or stop using the browser until Microsoft can put out an update, which will be automatically installed through its Windows Update program. “With the Fix It out, I’m sure any attacker who is a bit sophisticated can figure out what the flaw is and implement a similar exploit in their own attack toolkit,” said Wolfgang Kandek, chief technology officer with the cybersecurity firm Qualys Inc. “Fix Its” are pieces of software for remediating security flaws that must be downloaded and installed on PCs. They are designed to protect customers while Microsoft prepares official updates, automatically delivered via the Internet to be installed on computers.

Kandek said he expects Microsoft to push out an update to address the issue within two to three weeks. —Reuters

FRANKFURT: It’s already a booming market in the United States, but in Europe, companies are also waking up to the idea of cyber insurance to protect themselves against Internet attack. And insurance companies are projecting strong growth in the coming years. On the other side of the Atlantic, where companies are obliged to inform US authorities of online attacks, the cyber insurance market is already highly developed, totalling $1.3 billion (960 million euros) per year, according to Christopher Lohmann, head of Germany and central Europe at Allianz Global Corporate and Speciality.

Europe is still a long way off that. “But we project strong growth in the coming years. We see the market amounting to 700-900 million euros by 2018,” Lohmann said. For companies and private individuals, the dangers from the web are very real, ranging from data and identity theft to espionage.

Companies can see their infrastructure paralysed, their computer systems infected with viruses and malware. But these are not the only risks: human error and internal hiccups can also jam systems and wipe data. Just last month, mobile phone operator Vodafone was the victim of massive data theft where personal information-including bank account details-of around two million people was stolen.

And with the exponential growth of electronic messages, and the increasing transfer of companies’ commercial processing and data storage to cloud computing, the dangers are only going to multiply.

In Germany, a total 64,000 acts of cyber crime were officially reported in 2012, representing around 42 million euros worth of damage, an increase of 7.5 percent over the previous year. ‘Europe is still very much behind on this’ And that is just the tip of the iceberg, experts say, because many companies prefer to remain silent over any breaches in their security systems. “Europe is still very much behind on this,” said Nicolas Helenon, founder of the insurance broker NeoTech Assurances.

“Big companies armed themselves against these risks long ago. But most small and mid-sized companies are not insured,” Helenon said, arguing that many businesses found cyber risks more difficult to grasp than, say, fire or water damage. “The threat of cyber crime is primarily a concern for companies who manage a lot of client data,” said Philipp Lienau at HDI Gerling.

“In case of an attack by hackers or data theft, it can be they who can be held responsible. But above all, it’s a major cost factor. Informing those affected by any cyber attack can be very costly,” Lienau said. And it can also seriously damage a company’s reputation. German’s Allianz launched an insurance against all types of online risks to companies in July.

And HDI Gerling, a subsidiary of the Talanx group, followed suit, offering tailor-made products to industry since September.

French giant Axa is scheduled to enter the market at the beginning of October, while Zurich Insurance has been offering such policies to SMEs for a year now. New legislation will come into effect in Europe, requiring companies to report cyber attacks and abide by tougher data protection rules. And that will boost demand for cyber insurance, experts say.

And it is not only companies that are at risk, but the general public too as use of social media, smartphones and online transactions rises exponentially. In 2011, insurer Swiss Life launched an e-reputation insurance to protect individuals’ online reputation. French group Axa is offering a “complete family protection” package to cover all digital risks.

Nevertheless, “the market is still not mature. Many clients do not sufficiently evaluate the difficulties they may encounter on the Internet. There’s still a lot of educating to do,” said a spokesman at Swiss Life. According to software maker Norton, around 556 million people were the victims of cyber crime in 2012 with the losses estimated at 80 billion euros. —AFP

SAN JOSE: Cisco Systems IT Analyst Intern Sierra Parker talks about meeting with other Interns at Cisco’s North Carolina Research Triangle Park (RTP) through TelePresence systems in the lounges at the Cisco Systems offices in San Jose, California. —MCT

Old-school tech companies imitate younger competitors From employee perks to the color of their office walls, the old guard of Silicon Valley is taking cues from the new. Google Inc is famous for its free food and more, featured over the summer in the film “ The Internship.” But tech companies that have been around much longer are evolving as they compete with younger, seemingly hipper companies for talent. Since “Conan O’Brien did a bit on Intel’s gray cubes and gray walls” in 2007, says Gail Dundas, a communications manager with the 45year-old Santa Clara, Calif, chipmaker, there has been a “sea change” at the company that includes getting rid of cubicles and infusing color into the workplace.

Cisco Systems Inc, another longtime Silicon Valley company, is also transforming its workspaces. Some departments are getting rid of assigned workspaces, tapping Cisco’s own networking technology that enables employees to become more mobile. Elsewhere on the campus, some of the 56 buildings at the company’s San Jose, Calif, headquarters are at various stages of a remodel, with new features including lounge areas with comfy couches, pool tables and cocoon-shaped chairs.

“We want people to come out for a minute, think outside the box,” said Allan McGinty, director of workplace design and development. As this newspaper toured Cisco’s San Jose campus recently, McGinty spoke from Raleigh, NC, using WebEx, the company’s videoconferencing system.

Showing that its efforts are apparently paying off with young workers, Cisco’s interns praise its culture.

Eric Pomeroy, a 21-year-old from the University of Michigan, recently finished his second straight summer internship at the company. “The managers respect our input and ideas,” he said. The mobile app he worked on last summer is now used by employees who need help navigating around Cisco’s huge campus.

Sierra Parker, a University of Pennsylvania student who at the ripe old age of 20 has already interned at the White House, said she wanted to leave her internship there early because she worked alone and without adequate supervision. This summer was different because she wanted to stay longer at Cisco, where as an IT intern she had a chance to work with people constantly.

Telecommuting is another Cisco selling point, but Parker says “everyone likes to come into the office.” And yes, she loved the free popcorn in the break room.

But even as the more established companies try to make their workspaces and culture more inviting, they’re still grappling with challenges that can’t help but affect morale. Cisco announced recently that it is laying off 4,000 people, about 5 percent of

its global workforce. Intel Corp, too, is trying to expand its horizons amid a slump in its bread-and-butter PC business While companies like Cisco and Intel are trying to catch up to newer firms like Google, there’s a whole new wave of companies that are taking workplace culture in new directions. As a startup, it’s probably no surprise that Square, the San Francisco payments company founded in 2009, has “never had cubicles or offices,” according to spokeswoman Lindsay Wiese. Square executives often work at stand-up tables, she said. So even though the company’s office is in an old-school building that houses an old-school product (the San Francisco Chronicle, although Square is moving a few blocks away into its new headquarters in the fall), its workplace was conceived in the age of “open” and “collaborative” offices.

And some tech workers are looking for newer companies than even Facebook or Google. And smaller.

“Some people get tired of the largecompany feel,” said Domingo Guerra, cofounder of startup Appthority. The 2-yearold provider of mobile-application security management has about 20 staffers, with half coming from larger companies. Guerra himself worked at Brocade and Applied Materials.

How did Guerra and his team attract workers? They’re well aware of the allure of San Francisco, so they put their headquarters there. Appthority also offers catered meals a couple of times a week. And the office doesn’t have cubicles. “We all hated it at the big companies,” Guerra said. “We don’t have offices, either. We all sit together.” Not only do they sit together at the office, some of them also sit together at baseball games. The company bought a few Giants season tickets that its workers share.

But not only new companies are flocking to San Francisco. Having an office there is also a plus for Adobe Systems Inc, the San Jose software company that in December celebrated its 30th anniversary.

But don’t call the company old. “We may be an established company,” said Donna Morris, senior vice president, “but we’re in an emerging area in terms of products and solutions,” such as Adobe’s new push to sell its software as a service. The transformation in its products is seeping into the culture.

Earlier this year, executives moved to one open floor in San Jose. It has no offices, not even for CEO Shantanu Narayen. Adobe’s 11,500 employees around the world enjoy perks such as gyms, oil changes on site, game rooms. There’s a rock-climbing wall at its Utah offices. “Our culture is very different today,” Morris said. “We continue to change.” —MCT

Afghan Twitter users meet face-to-face as web booms KABUL: More than 200 of Afghanistan’s most active users of Twitter and Facebook gathered yesterday for the country’s firstever social media summit to explore how the Internet is transforming traditional society. Two days of panel discussions and workshops are being live-streamed, blogged and tweeted on subjects ranging from the impact of technology on next year’s elections to how women can avoid being harassed by mobile phone.

“We have brought together social media users from all around Afghanistan, so that they share their experiences and expand social media use,” said Ahmad Shuja, one of the organisers of the Paiwand (“connection”) meeting in Kabul. “Social media is picking up pace as elections get closer. Some of the possible candidates have surfaced on social media and want to be in touch with their supporters through that. “Social media users who are young and educated can bring a major change in Afghanistan.” Technology activists, Internet entrepreneurs, government officials, authors and NGO staff are among the delegates at the gathering at the American University in Kabul, capital of the war-torn country of 30 million people.

“There are around 3-4 million Internet users and 19 million people who have access to telephones in Afghanistan,” said Aimal Marjan, the head of the government’s information and communication technology department. “Around 10 years ago, there was no TV, radio or other media, but today we talk about the issues that people in Washington talk about.”

While much of Afghanistan remains

deeply rural, cites such as Kabul, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif are at the centre of busy and vocal Twitter and Facebook communities.

Celebrity gossip and the latest sports news compete with daily updates from the Islamists’ guerrilla conflict and grisly video footage of war casualties, torture, hostage victims and destruction. “Any news that reporters get, they tweet it first, it is very good to get informed of events and find good sources,” said Ali Rezaee, a contributor to the Baztab Facebook page that feeds election updates to more than 16,000 followers.

“They even can bring government officials and criminals to justice through social media. It is very important for transparency in elections. Social media users can report about fraud on the ground.” Potential candidates in the April election to succeed President Hamid Karzai remain wary of Twitter, though former finance minister Ashraf Ghani has built up nearly 4,000 followers.

Many other officials are highly active on the micro-blogging service, including interior minister Omer Daudzai, women’s activist Wazhma Frogh and an array of provincial government spokesmen and NATO military departments. The Taleban, who previously rejected all modern technology, have used Twitter and Internet sites for several years, breaking news of the latest attacks, though their claims are often wildly exaggerated. One of their most popular accounts, @abalkhi, has nearly 7,000 followers, slightly ahead of the 6,200 followers of President Karzai’s official account. —AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Extreme life conjures up hints to Martian past Hunt for life on Mars needs a rethink

MARSEILLE: A file picture taken in Marseille shows a breast implant produced by the implant manufacturer Poly Implant Prothese company (PIP) with PIP identity card. PIP shut down in 2010 after it was revealed to have been using substandard industrial-grade silicone gel. Between 400,000 and 500,000 women in 65 countries-including 30,000 in France alone-are believed to have implants from PIP, once the world’s third-largest silicone implant producer. Six retailers and one thousand women who have received PIP implants took legal action against German TUV group before the Paris commercial Court on March 22, 2013, for breaching its obligations of inspection and certification procedures. A court in Nanterre outside Paris tomorrow will deliberate on the seizure of TUV bank accounts. —AFP

MICHIGAN: Life has been found hiding in one of the most inhospitable lakes on Earth, one which closely resembles what we think Martian lakes looked like. The finding suggests that we need to look for evidence of life on Mars in a new way.

Extreme environments all over our planet have been probed for life. But most are extreme in just one way: temperature or pH, say. “If the water has a really high temperature and that is the only extreme condition, then the life forms only need to cope with temperature extremes,” says Kathleen Benison at West Virginia University, who made the find with Amber Conner, now at Central Michigan University.

Examining Lake Magic in Western Australia, Benison and Conner found it to be extreme in almost every way. They measured the pH at 1.7?about the same as stomach acid. The lake can be 10?times as salty as seawater. They also found that levels of dissolved silica, aluminium and sulphur in the lake were as high or higher than in bodies of water famous for high levels of just one of the elements.

The minerals that fill Lake Magic are consistent with what is thought to be on Mars, as is the water’s acidity. Other good Mars analogues, such as the lakes in the Atacama desert or the Rio Tinto river, are either acidic or salty, but not both.

The pair found two types of life form in the lake: a type of algae that Benison thinks is a new species and a prokaryote?- a single-celled organism that lacks a nucleus. They also found possible evidence of a fungi.

Benison says their work shows life can exist in such harsh acid brines. Even better, it reveals how evidence of life might be found elsewhere— including on Mars.

That’s because all three life forms were found hidden in bubbles inside salt crystals, called fluid inclusions. “Martian rocks may contain minerals that host microorganisms in fluid inclusions and we’d never know it because we are looking in the wrong way,” says Benison.

Current searches for past life on Mars crush rock samples before conducting chemical analyses. Benison believes this destroys the fluid

inclusions. A better method would be to examine the rocks optically for signs of the inclusions, she says.

Chris McKay, a NASA astrobiologist, thinks this is an important piece of work for Martian lifehunters. “There has been a tendency for the Mars guys like me to focus on ice, which is understandable since there is a lot of known ice on Mars,” he says. “Salt can stabilise liquid environments in dry and cold conditions and, equally important, it can preserve organic biomarker evidence of life over geological time.”

The next rover visiting Mars— currently known as Mars 2020— will look for signs of past life with instruments yet to be determined. But there’s a good chance it will use less destructive methods to look for life trapped in a similar way to that seen at Lake Magic, says Abigail Allwood, another NASA astrobiologist. “Rather than analysing an extracted, crushed processed sample, it would put analytical instruments up close to the rock and examine microscale properties in place,” she says. —MCT

The key to your individuality NEW YORK: During the second world war, doctors tried to save severely burned pilots with grafts of donated skin. The grafted skin looked good for a few days, but then withered and died.

Studies led by Peter Medawar - who won a 1960 Nobel prize for his work - found that grafts of an individual’s own skin did work, while those of a donor did not.

We now know that the donor skin grafts failed because the recipient’s immune system recognised the grafted skin as foreign and killed it. The same process leads to the rejection of donated organs. But how does our immune system learn what is self and what is foreign?

As immunologist Daniel Davis explains in The Compatibility Gene, it is all down to specific genes - formally known as the major histocompatibility complex genes.

Although our appearance, lifestyle and career path may make us feel unique, we are actually always one of a group: it is only our compatibility genes that define us as true individuals. Davis provides a well-written and easy-to-read account of the sometimes complicated biology behind the crucial genes that affect our lives so profoundly.

From early on in the evolution of life, individual cells - and later multicellular organisms developed the ability to recognise that which was the same as them, and that which was different.

Davis recounts how, when we are growing as fetuses, our compatibility genes train the immune system to recognise our own cells and tissues as “self” and so, in healthy people, they know what not to attack. Our cells are identified by the presence of unique surface molecules, coded for by the compatibility genes.

Meanwhile, our immune systems make antibodies. These are randomly generated in a kind of lottery, which means they will be able to attack a great diversity of molecules, especially those of pathogens.

By chance, though, a few of these antibodies will also match the compatibility-gene molecules on our own cells. Leaving such antibodies around would be suicide - literally. To stop this, Darwinian-style selection comes into play within the immune system, eliminating any cells that produce antibodies matching “self”.

In this way, all of our cells are defined by compatibility genes, and our immune systems have been trained to recognise them as self, so that everything else is foreign and, thus, is attacked.

All life on the planet - single-celled bacteria, plants and animals - consists of individuals dif-

ferentiated by a compatibility gene system.

The pilots’ skin grafts failed, therefore, because a successful transplant of any tissue requires matching of donor and recipient compatibility genes. This is not an easy task, as Davis makes clear by a bit of self-study.

He recounts how he gained a measure of his individuality by having his compatibility genes analysed by an organ donation matching service, which immunologically mapped key parts of these genes. Out of 18 million people in an international database of potential organ donors, he is just one of four similar, but not identical, individuals. His wife comes in at one of 185 out of the 18 million - as he says, “not quite the one in a million I always thought she was”.

But compatibility genes affect many more aspects of our lives than just organ donation, says Davis. They are at work all the time, but their industry is largely silent to us.

Double-edged diversity Think back to your last winter cold. When you caught it, viruses entered your cells and started to grow. These infected cells signalled the disease to your immune system by putting small pieces of virus on their own surface, attached to one of your compatibility gene products. As Davis explains, “a cell constantly ‘reports’ on its surface samples of all the proteins that it is making”, and the immune system goes looking for anything that is “non-self”. In this way, during that cold your immune system recognised the “infection flag” on those virus-infected cells, killed them, and killed the viruses too.

The sort of compatibility genes you are endowed with has a huge effect on the immune response you made to that infection, and so how ill you got. They define your disease susceptibility, or resistance. You are an individual and your immune response to an infection is individual too.

It is also possible to trace human history in the diversity of compatibility genes. Our African ancestral home has the greatest diversity of compatibility genes on the planet. In Africa, there is a correlation between compatibility gene types and language groups, reflecting how migration and interbreeding have simultaneously affected genetics and linguistics. Humans moved out of Africa, founding new populations from small groups of individuals. The further we are from Africa then, roughly, the less diverse our compatibility genes are because smaller groups of people - and fewer compatibility genes - founded more distant populations.

In the modern world, people are more mobile than ever, and many have moved away from their ancestral homes. As a result, most urban Western societies have planet-wide mixtures of compatibility genes, geographically rearranging our diversity. Although there may be a longterm effect on genetic diversity in these areas, it depends on who has a family with whom. But with this modern global shake-up, we have to take note of our compatibility genes - take note of our individuality.

Different compatibility genes cause different responses to vaccination, different disease susceptibility, and different responses to treatment, so recognising compatibility genes will ultimately give better health for all. Such an approach is not politically neutral, with its echoes of racism and segregation, but our compatibility gene individuality cannot be ignored. Although Davis gives an up-to-date account of the science, he steers clear of the wider societal implications that might lie ahead.

Where else might compatibility gene effects be felt? Possibly in that most individual of decisions - the choice of a mate. Davis recounts the flurry of studies, starting in the 1990s, that wondered whether human attractiveness - based on smell - was controlled by compatibility genes.

Researchers asked women to rate how attractive they found the odour of T-shirts worn previously - and sweated in - by men. They then looked at whether there was a correlation in women’s responses and the relatedness of compatibility genes between the individual men and women.

The result from the first study was that women preferred the smell of men with compatibility genes dissimilar from their own. This answer was controversial; study and counterstudy have followed since, with some finding these effects, others not.

Davis covers human compatibility genes well but a larger nod to compatibility systems in other animals and plants would not have gone amiss. These ubiquitous codes for uniqueness are a good reminder that we are just another species of animal. It is clear that other animals’ compatibility genes are involved in their choice of mate, perhaps to avoid inbreeding.

Humans are so closely related to all other mammals - different physical appearances belying the very close physiological similarity - that analogous effects must occur among us. Indeed, it would be startling if we didn’t use compatibility genes in some way when choosing our mates.

Think of that next time you get intimate with the love of your life. —MCT

Low-income families lack access to timely health care LONDON: The Commonwealth Fund has conducted their Scorecard on State Health System Performance for Low-Income Populations for 2013. This annual analysis helps identify opportunities for states to make improvements in their health systems for economically disadvantaged populations and provides the states with benchmarks for achievement.

The analysis includes 30 indicators of access, prevention and quality, potentially avoidable hospital use and health outcomes. It documents sharp disparities in the health care among the states as well.

Between the states leading and lagging, up to a fourfold disparity in performance exists in a range of key health care indicators for low income groups. Wide differences also exist within individual state incomes.

If all states were able to reach the benchmarks set by leading states, it is estimated that around 86,000 fewer people would die prematurely, tens of millions more people would be able to receive timely preventative care and 750,000 fewer Medicare beneficiaries would be unnecessarily prescribed high risk medicines. Many of the benchmarks for low income groups in top states were better than average and better than those for higher income and well educated people in the states that are lagging.

A core goal of a high performance health system is to ensure that all people have equal access to high quality health care that can help them live healthy and productive lives. In the United States, however, if you are a low income individual it matters where you live. Many states have a wide

gap in access to quality care between individuals with below average income and the rest of the population.

As of 2010 to 2011, 55 percent of the nations population under age 65 with income less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level were either uninsured or were spending a large portion of their income on medical care. The percentage of uninsured and underinsured people ranged from 36 percent in Massachusetts to over 60 percent in about 10 other states.

A look across all states reveals a lack of timely, affordable health care access, particularly primary care, that is undermining health outcomes and contributing to high medical costs.

Upper Midwest and Northeast states, as well as Hawaii, performed the best overall among low income population groups.

Southern and Central states, however, often lagged other states in performance.

States falling at the bottom were found to have the highest rates of poverty, with almost half of their populations having a low income or no more than a high school education. For the states with such high rates of poverty, federal resources to expand coverage and invest in local health systems offers many new opportunities to improve their populations’ health and care experiences.

Every states needs improvement since none were in the top half of the range of states from all 30 indicators. Nine of the 10 topped ranked states had at least four indicators in the bottom half of state distribution. —AP

Manners maketh man: How disgust shaped human evolution NEW YORK: You wake up in the morning. Your partner burps and drags on a smelly dressing gown. You can’t find your toothbrush so you use his, and then wipe some muck off the floor with it. Leaving the house, you step over a turd deposited by a neighbour, then drive into a traffic jam caused by everyone ignoring the lights. In your office, everyone interrupts each other until a spitting match breaks out.

Leaving work, ill-groomed strangers press up against you in the lift and one sneezes in your face.

What a grim picture. A world without manners hardly seems worth living in. Yet manners are so ingrained in our lives that we hardly notice them.

I believe they are too important to ignore. We need to better understand manners for two reasons: first, because they are a principal weapon in the war on disease, and second, because manners underpin our ability to function as a cooperative species. In my new book on the evolution of disgust, Don’t Look, Don’t Touch, I argue that, far from being an old-fashioned set of rules about which fork to use, manners are so important that they should be up there with fire and the invention of language as a prime candidate for what makes us human.

The first, and most ancient, function of manners is to solve the problem of how to be social without getting sick. Imagine that you and I encounter each other. Although I’d like to hang around in case you have information or goods to exchange, it might be more sensible if I ran away

because, to me, you are a walking bag of microbes. With every exhalation you might emit millions of influenza viruses, and your handshake might transfer salmonella bacteria or scabies mites. More intimate contact could give me hepatitis, syphilis or worse.

Your proximity to me is potentially deadly. You too, of course, make the same subconscious calculation. So how can we get close enough to share benefits but avoid sharing our microbes? This is the job of manners.

Manners dictate that if I want to interact with you I should stay at a safe distance; far enough away not to spray you with microbe-laden saliva. They tell me that I should clean and cover my body, especially the smelly bits where microbes might lurk, and to share my food with you, but not any leftovers that I have already bitten into.

And manners tell me to invite you to my dwelling, but only once I’ve cleaned it of my bodily wastes. I do all of this because I cannot afford to disgust you. If I fail in my manners, you may reject and ostracise me and refuse further collaboration. Worse, you may gossip about my lapses in hygiene and tarnish my reputation, denying me access to the benefits of life as a member of an intensely social species.

This ability to be mannerly is supported by two psychological adaptations. One is the disgust system, which motivates us to recognise and avoid potential pathogen hot zones. The other is the ability to feel shame, which, I hypothesise, evolved to help us learn to avoid becoming disgusting

to others. A study by Roger GinerSorolla at the University of Kent, UK, confirmed that we feel shame if someone looks at us with a disgusted expression. And research from Richard Stevenson’s lab at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, suggests that parents use disgust expressions to teach hygiene behaviour to their children. Indeed, I suspect that one of the reasons we evolved the ability to communicate disgust via its characteristic facial and vocal expression is to teach others good manners.

By pulling a face and exclaiming “Eeeugh!” we demonstrate disgust for another person’s poor hygiene. This elicits shame in the target, and as a result they modify their manners, which protects us.

But manners have acquired another function besides disease avoidance. As group sizes grew from related individuals, to clans, tribes and beyond, the problem of how to cooperate with unrelated others became more serious.

Individuals who tried to get the benefits of social life without paying their share of the costs could derail the whole cooperative enterprise. Humans became adept at looking for clues as to who was likely to cooperate and who was not. Manners provided an indicator. Those who were careful with hygiene were good candidates, as were those who demonstrated that they put the interests of others before themselves. The child who passes a plate of food before serving herself is showing that she can control her selfish tendencies. In effect, she is saying:

“Look how well my mother taught me.

If I can show such self-control now, how useful a member of this society I will be in the future. In the meantime, you can safely do business with my family.” The child taught restraint with cake now by her mother would be likely to receive a greater total of cooperative cake in her lifetime.

Those who master manners are set to reap the many benefits that come from living in a highly cooperative ultra-society. Manners are therefore a sort of proto-morality, a set of behaviours that we make “second nature” early in life so that we can avoid disgusting others with our parasites and our antisocial behaviour.

There are, of course, exceptions to these rules. A study on manners that my team at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has just completed in Nepal showed that rules of hygiene are often suspended for close family members. This is probably because sharing saliva-contaminated food with someone who is already an intimate is unlikely to have disease consequences. We also saw that courtesy manners are suspended as guests become more familiar, probably because in an established cooperative relationship there is less need to signal cooperative intent. Of course, in intimate relationships, hygiene manners can be suspended entirely.

Perhaps we find kissing attractive because it signifies that one’s partner is serious, so much so that they will contemplate sharing our pathogens.

We play out a mannerly dance every

day, getting close, but not too close, offering tokens of goodwill, but not giving away too much, in every social interaction. Yet we do the dance largely unaware of why we do it. We don’t rationally calculate how to avoid inflicting our pathogens on others, nor do we consciously calculate that a small courtesy now might lead us to a big trading opportunity later. Instead, we have vague intuitions that it would be better not to disgust a guest by appearing unkempt or by offering them a dirty towel, and we follow the rules of politeness that were drummed into us as children. When we fail in these civilities, the disgust shown by our interlocutor provokes shame and teaches us not to repeat the offence.

My team is now investigating whether we can use manners to encourage better hygienic behaviour, for example, in campaigns to prevent disease by improving hand-washing and food hygiene in Nepal and Zambia. But it may be that understanding manners can bring us an even bigger prize.

The acquisition of manners was one of the first baby steps humans took on the road to large-scale cooperation, and cooperation, underpinned by our moral sense, was the great leap forward that allowed humans to become a hyper-social species. We have since worked together to achieve technical dominance of the planet. If we can better understand how microbes gave us manners and manners then shaped our morality, it might hold clues for our future as a species. —MCT

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Bones can host mini medicine factories Antibodies against infections SEATTLE: Imagine never having to take a pill again. Instead, mini drug factories hidden inside your bones, and made from your own immune cells, would churn out personalised drugs and other molecules designed to keep you fit and healthy. Such a factory has been created in mice, and could soon be tested in humans to treat HIV. “We want to turn people’s cells into drug factories, giving them the genetic information they need to produce their own treatment,” says Matthew Scholz of Immusoft in Seattle, which is developing the technique.

Immusoft is focusing on B-cells, a component of the immune system. One of their roles is to produce antibodies against infections or unwanted foreign substances such as toxins.

In 2009, David Baltimore and colleagues at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena showed that stem cells from bone marrow could be engineered to develop into Bcells that made antibodies against HIV (Blood, doi.org/dwm53t).

The Immusoft researchers have built on that work, extracting immature B-cells called plasmoblasts from human blood and treating them with a virus that inserts the genetic code for a new protein (see diagram). When the modified cells were injected into the bloodstream of mice, some migrated to the bone marrow. Here

they began making the proteins they had been engineered to make - a class of so-called broadly neutralising antibodies against HIV. “I think this is potentially very important,” says Carl June at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, who has been engineering another part of the immune system, Tcells, to fight HIV. “But whether this has clinical use depends on the efficiency of gene transfer, expression and secretion of the antibody, and most importantly the level of secreted protein in body fluids.”

“If they can achieve therapeutic levels of antibody, this could be a real advance in cellular therapy,” Baltimore says.

One of the remaining challenges is to ensure that the correct amount of antibody is produced. “The risk of too little or too much has to be considered,” says Michel Sadelain of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who has engineered T-cells to fight cancer.

It’s also not clear how long the engineered B-cells can be made to survive. In the tests on mice, many of the cells died, but some were still alive 100 days later. “It’s a very attractive idea to supply stable levels of antibodies from a cellular source in the body. The challenge is finding the right cell that would persist for the desired amount of time - days, or years in some cases - and that’s a big chal-

lenge,” Sadelain says.

The next step is to try injecting the modified B-cells into people, with Immusoft gearing up to do a trial in HIV-positive adults. If this succeeds, the approach could also be used in children with rare enzyme disorders like mucopolysaccharidosis. These children are unable to make certain enzymes, leading to the breakdown of various tissues, loss of vision and cognitive problems. Untreated, they usually die by the age of 12.

Hamster cells can be harnessed to produce replacement enzymes, but the treatment costs around $250,000 a year and involves regular injections. “For disorders like that, being able to produce the enzyme 24/7 in your body would be a big advantage,” says Scholz, who presented the mouse results at the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence meeting in Cambridge, UK, this month.

Ultimately, it might be possible to engineer B-cells to churn out any protein of choice. They could boost levels of hormones that fall as we age, or other substances that keep the body healthy, such as humanin. This protects brain cells against Alzheimer’s disease, and is present at higher than average levels in people who live to be 100. “It might be possible to recreate the biochemical environment of youth,” Scholz says. —MCT

ORLANDO: Anastasia Mikhalochkina and Irina Pashinina practice sunrise meditation yesterday on a dock overlooking Lake Baldwin at Baldwin Park in Orlando. —AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

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

Announcements 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 9722-5615.

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Issue of online visa

by Indian embassy oreigners requiring visas for India need to apply it online from 16th June 2013.

Applicants may log on to the Public portal at www.indianvisaonline.gov.in. After successful online submission, the hard copy, so generated, has to be signed by the applicant and submitted with supporting documents in accordance with the type of visa along with the applicable fee in cash at any of the two outsource centres at Sharq or Fahaheel. It is essential that applicants fill in their personal details as exactly available in their passports. Mismatch of any of the personal details would lead to non-acceptance of the application.

Fees once paid are non-refundable. All children would have to obtain separate visa on their respective passports.

PPFK founder presents award to Cuban ambassador

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he founder of Pakistan Progressive Forum (PPFK) Javaid Ahmad presented the Dada Amir Haider Khan award (the great revolutionary and freedom fighter of sub continent 1900-1989) to the outgoing Ambassador of Cuba Manuel Pardinas-Ajeno at a dinner at a local restaurant on September 20. It is worth mentioning that the first Dada Amir Haider award was presented to Amjad Hussin from Canada on the same date.

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Indian Embassy sets up helpline he Indian Embassy in Kuwait has set up helpline in order to assist Indian expatriates in registering any complaint regarding the government’s ongoing campaign to stamp out illegal residents from the country. The embassy said in press release yesterday that it amended its previous statement and stated if there is any complaint, the same could be conveyed at the following (as amended): Operations Department, Ministry of Interior, Kuwait. Fax: 22435580, Tel: 24768146/25200334. It said the embassy has been in regular contact with local authorities regarding the ongoing checking of expatriates. The embassy has also conveyed to them the concerns, fears and apprehensions of the community in this regard.

The authorities in Kuwait have conveyed that strict instructions have been issued to ensure that there is no harassment or improper treatment of expatriates by those undertaking checking. “The embassy would like to request Indian expatriates to ensure that they abide by all local laws, rules and regulations regarding residency, traffic and other matters,” the release read. It would be prudent to always carry the Civil ID and other relevant documents such as driving license, etc. In case an Indian expatriate encounters any improper treatment during checking, it may be conveyed immediately with full details and contact particulars to the embassy at the following phone number 67623639. These contact details are exclusively for the above-mentioned purpose only.

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8th Expo Pakistan to commence in September he 8th Expo Pakistan will be held from September 26 to 29 in Karachi. Held annually, Expo Pakistan is the biggest trade fair in the country showcasing the largest collection of Pakistan’s export merchandise and services.

Foreign Exhibitors also use the event to launch their products. Expo Pakistan 2012 was visited by delegates from 52 countries and generated a business of over $ 518 million. A 16 member delegation from Kuwait including reputable companies like Al-Yasra Foods also took part in the last exhibition.

Expo Pakistan 2013 is being held under the auspices of the Trade Development Authority Pakistan. Details about the event can be viewed www.expopakisan.gov.pk. Further information and details of sponsorship can be obtained from the office of Commercial Secretary, Pakistan Embassy, Jabriya (25356594) during office hours.

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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

Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa launches Talise Spa

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umeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa, Kuwait’s Idyllic Resort, has opened the doors of what is the most sought after destination for the ultimate experience of true relaxation and tranquillity offered in Kuwait. Talise Spa was opened at a ribbon cutting ceremony in the presence of the Executive Assistant Manager Food & Beverage, Albert Ettinger, the Executive Assistant Manager Rooms, Hakan Petek, Director of Spa, Ayman Alamat as well as the Hotel’s management and spa teams.

For spa lovers seeking a complete sense of wellbeing, relaxation and rejuvenation, Talise provides personalised treatments matching every guest’s needs and desires. From a variety of massages, body treatments and facials using spa product chosen with great care, Talise offers a wide range of deeply soothing and refreshing treatments and therapies that guests can indulge in and be pampered with.

As the most prestigious state-of-theart spa in Kuwait, its range of facilities for the mind, body and soul is spread across 3,500m square and includes 17 treatment rooms, two private suites and a Salarium a first-of-its-kind Himalayan salt room in the Middle East built with pure crystal salt in its natural state which has been com-

pressed for over 250 million years. This pure crystal salt aids rebalance of the body’s minerals and strengthens the immune system.

“Undoubtedly, guests can now embark on a journey of the senses in

Kuwait at Talise in Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa,” said General Manager, Mark Griffiths. “Every guest at Talise will enjoy a tailored approach to health and wellbeing. All our therapies are designed to leave guests feeling

relaxed and rejuvenated,” he added.

Upon arrival to Talise, visitors will undergo a personalised consultation with an expert therapist to customise their spa experience. Guests can further choose from a wide range of treatments such as the Chakra balancing therapy or the diamond multisensorial lifting. The former aims to bring balance to the body’s energy system, while the latter firms and rejuvenates the skin.

Also, for a taste of Arabia, guests can also head to the majlis-inspired area of the spa for the hammam experience or book a Thalassotherapy treatment and revel in the healing properties of the sea.

The Salarium or Himalayan salt room is also most certainly worth a visit before or after a treatment, while those looking to restore balance should try out one of the Spa’s detox programmes. As an added service, Talise will also be administering a series of workshops for guests and members to better understand their bodies.

For guests visiting for a day, a weekend or long stay breaks, Talise Spa will surely leave one revitalised before a meeting, after a long day or before going back home after a fun-filled break with the family.

GUST welcomes new faculty for fall 2013

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he Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) welcomed 12 new faculty members to its team. The university held a special week-long Orientation program for the faculty organized by Management and HR Departments to introduce them to the different GUST segments and departments and what they have to offer in order to facilitate their time at the university.

The program included time with the university upper management to learn about the academic challenges and opportunities as well as get an insight on the Faculty Handbook and get direct answers for any questions, HR department to learn about their services, benefits and policies and procedures, Registration and Student Affairs to learn about the student class registration processes, IT to get accustomed to all the technological aspects and programs used at the university from attendance to grades, Planning and Development to learn a bit about the shortterm and long-term strategies and goals of the university.

GUST welcomed D Mohammad Sapiyan Bin Baba, Professor in Computer Science, Dr Mohammad Sartawi, Assistant Professor in Humanities & Social Sciences, Dr April Louise Najjaj, Assistant Professor in Humanities &

Social Sciences, Dr YasserAbuelmakarem Abdelaziz, Assistant Professor in Mass Communication, Dr Mohamed Aboelhamd Omran, Associate Professor in Accounting, Dr Vincent R O’Connell, Visiting Professor in Accounting, Dr YvetteeReisinger, Professor in Business Administration, Dr Benjamin L Dow, Visiting Associate Professor in Business Administration, Dr ErdenerKaynak, Visiting Professor in Business Administration, Dr JeanPaulArnaout, Associate Professori n Business Administration Mutasim Mohammad AlDeaibes, Instructor in English Foundation and Chrystal Osborn Diallo Instructor in Math Foundation.

Dr Ghassan Aouad, Vice President of Academic Affairs, noted during the Orientation Week: “I am extremely delighted with the quality of the new faculty. GUST will benefit immensely from the international reputation of the new recruits.” GUST takes the recruitment of new faculty very seriously, it is through strict guidelines and interviewing processes that GUST attains its new faculty.

This is in order to ensure the best quality education and environment for its students and the ability to grow as an institution. GUST would like to wish all its new faculty members the best of luck in their new roles.

St Luke hosts farewell to Thomas Mathai Mathew

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t Luke Prayer Group Salmiya gave a Farewell to one of the brother of Pallikkal Brothers Thomas Mathai Mathew, who is migrating to US. He was in Kuwait for the past several years and has been very active in the Kuwait MarThoma Parish activities. His three brothers also been migrated earlier. He belongs to the Maliackal Familiy, Pallikkal, Kayamkulam. He had been working with PACI Kuwait.

The meeting was held in Salmiya, with an opening prayer of Laisy Thomas, presided by Rev Sam T Koshy (Vicar Kuwait City MarThoma Parish). Thomas

Varghese (Sunny Maramon) welcomed all. A memento was presented for his valuable service to the St Luke prayer group during their tenure. Dr John Thomas (Manoj), PG Jacob, Binu Thomas Varghese, Thomson Thomas, Mini Binu, Laisa Thomas, Roy T.Sam, Philips Daniel, Alexander K John made felicitation speeches during the meeting.

In the reply speech, he is expressed the valuable support received from Kuwait City MarThoma Parish & St Luke members. Vote of thanks was given by Parimanam Manoj (Secretary) and the function ended with a grand dinner.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 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. nnnnnnn

—Photos by Joseph Shagra

Ruby Tuesday Sharq: It’s good to be here!

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he Ruby Tuesday management invited the press and media personalities over drinks and appetizers to spend a relaxing evening at the Sharq Waterfront. Ruby Tuesday Kuwait is on a continuous journey to provide the best for their guests. At Ruby Tuesday, chefs share a common passion: they love combining bold flavors and creating unique recipes to surprise and inspire you. The bold flavors and signature drinks will satisfy any appetite. And for those who wish to relax and unwind, there is no better setting than the waterfront at Ruby Tuesday Sharq, next to Kuwait Towers.

The waterfront offers breathtaking views over the Gulf and ample seating to choose from. You can come and chill out with your friends and family and relax for the evening under the starry sky.

This time, Ruby Tuesday Sharq has gone all out in indulging their guests.

With the mind-blowing offer of Kids Eat for Free, Children can now enjoy their favorite meal when their parents order a minimum of one main course, have fun activities like dancing with their favorite cartoon characters, face painting, inflatable slides, games etc.

Ruby Tuesday Sharq waterfront next to Kuwait Towers is now open providing a great atmosphere for

guests with the ideal spot to enjoy themselves with friends and family, and is set to once again draw in the crowds with variety of flavors on shisha with a plethora of fruit mocktails and dining choices that are bold and complex in flavor packing a tasty punch. Also made available is the free valet parking service that is being provided at Sharq.

Adel Kayed, Director of Operations, National Arabic Company, Kuwait said:

“The waterfront offers impeccable service as well as beautiful views of Kuwait’s skyline lit up in all its glory.

Following the popularity of the place earlier, we are very excited to reopen it. We have also made free valet parking service available for our guests.

The patio is now equipped with television screens for sports lovers. Now that the evenings have cooled, it is great to see Kuwait residents enjoying the evenings. Ruby Tuesday with its

menu speaks volumes in terms of its portions, flavors & tastes complemented with great service and Shisha, offering the perfect spot for relaxation and fun. And with introducing activities for kids, we are absolutely sure that this location will be every family’s favorite weekend spot”. The media guests enjoyed a wonderful time with their family and little ones enjoying the fun filled activities by the waterfront at Ruby Tuesday Sharq.

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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. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF GREECE

Indian Cultural Society presents super hit show t was a tribute to freedom fighters by monologue” Moulana Azad” and Mushaira. This historical play has created history in Kuwait which was performed by Padma Shree Tom Alter. ‘Jalsa Junoon Ka’ started on time with prayer song and National anthem of the both countries. Hundreds of fans from across Kuwait hit the KMA auditorium, filling the house full arena to its capacity.

The chief guest of the evening was S C Mehta Ambassador of India to Kuwait. He appreciated regular efforts of ICS team to promote Indian art and culture in all aspects. The show was anchored by the exemplary President of Indian Cultural Society Ashfaque A Khan in his customary style.

Moulana Azad was a solo stage play by legendry Bollywood Actor Padma Shree Tom Alter. Tom Alter had performed hundreds of stage play worldwide. Moulana Azad is scripted and directed by young director Dr M Sayeed Alam. He has written hundreds of plays and had received worldwide appraisal in very short time. Dr Syeed Alam, who the man behind this mission had taken up the challenge to refresh our memories of Independence which we got from freedom fighters like Moulana Abul Kalam Azad. Sir Tom Alter has performed very well nonstop about 2.5 hours. The play progresses in the backdrop of Moulana Azad dictating notes for his “India Wins Freedom”. In doing so, the Moulana discusses both political and apolitical with equal proclivity, with his narrative including numerous entertaining anecdotes characterizing his personalities, life, times and scholarship. Complete stage set up, light and sound coordination and whole play mesmerized the audience and kept them spell bound three hours. Sir Tom Alter received standing ovation after his great performance “Moulana Azad”. He expressed his feelings that it was glad to perform in Kuwait under ICS invitation.

He was much thankful when received memento by Mehta.

“Jalsa Junoon Ka “entered in second part with memorable Mushaira by great poets from India. Ashafque Khan welcomed the poets, distinguished guest and audience for their time and participation. Poets have played significant role in our struggle for freedom and their contribution shall remain in our heart forever,” said president of ICS. Hindi and Urdu are twin sisters, who have been

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.

marching forward side by side in India and all over the world,” he added. He praised the efforts of ICS EC team for arranging an event which brought poets and audience of both languages under one roof.

India’s first choice in Mushaira “Munawwar Rana” was Guest of honor of the Mushaira and other famous Urdu poets were Mansoor Usmani ( JMFMuradabaad), Naeem Akhtar Burhanpuri, Dr.Nusrat Mehdi (Urdu Academy Bhopal), Aqeel Nomani ( Bareli

UP), Dr Tariq Qamar (ETV- Lucknow), Aalok Srivastav (Aaj Tak- New Delhi) and Sakeena Shikari from Kuwait.

Mansoor Usmani was coordinator and anchor for Mushaira with his awesome poetry and recitation skill.

Mansoor Usmani the evergreen conductor of poetry recitation sessions, mentioned in his introductory remarks that the ICS have been successfully providing a common platform for the interaction of Urdu and Hindi literary personalities under one roof for the continue that increasing number participants and

audience is in these programs is a testimony to the desire of people to share the common heritage. Muslims have contributed significantly to the development of Hindi and Hindus to the development of Urdu. He added that, no other Indian language has the same amount of patriotic and nationalistic poetry, qualitatively as well as quantitatively, as produced in Urdu. Great literary centers of both languages are situated on the banks of Ganga and Yamuna and their tributaries. All poets recited their super

poetry in their style, which was praised and appreciated by all.

Mushaira lovers wanted the poetry and ghazal treat to go on and on but the show came to its climax considering the time limit. The guests were gifted memento and gift hampers by Sahara AC and ICS. Refreshment and complementary items were distributed by Pari Basmati Rice and Al-Zahem and Malhotra. ICS president expressed his gratitude to all executives of ICS, volunteers, event supporters, Sponsors as well as special thanks to Huzaifa E Petladi

(Director- German Press), Subin Philip and team ( Sound , Light and Video) Essam Kamal for auditorium services, Shahzad for video and still photography.

Mr. Khan also expressed his thanks to the media and press. Finally the “ Jalsa Junoon Ka” ended with the famous poetry by Munawwar Rana’s “Muhajir Nama”.

The hard work of the ICS team and quality entertainment on time is becoming a model for live programmes in Kuwait. Entire ICS team has put on maximum efforts to make this event success-

ful among them are General Secretary Khaliq Zama, Joint Secretary Shahnawaz Mirza and PR Manager Anwar Raja, Event Manager Shagufta Khan, Creative head Sunitha Seth , Communication in charge Arun Arvindakshan and Abazar Badshah, stage support Afreen Zafar, Safa Khan , Adeeb Zafar and Sharanya, Hospitality executives , Awais Khan, Shahzad Choudhry, Sajjad Sayeed, Dipak Seth, Yusuf Iqbal Transport in charge Shamim Ahmed security control by Mathae Anthony and apex control by senior advisor P B Pinto.

The Embassy of Greece in Kuwait has the pleasure to announce that visa applications must be submitted to Schengen Visa Application Centre (VFS office) located at 12th floor, Al-Naser Tower, Fahad Al-Salem Street, Al-Qibla area, Kuwait City, (Parking at Souk Watia). For information please call 22281046 from 08:30 to 17:00 (Sunday to Thursday). Working hours: Submission from 08:30 to 15:30. Passport collection from 16:00 to 17:00. For visa applications please visit the following website www.mfa.gr/kuwait. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF UKRAINE The Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait would like to inform that submission of the documents for tourist visa is temporary closed (from August 26 till September 26). Within the above-mentioned period, the visa will be issued only in the case of emergency. In the case of planning travel to Ukraine, please apply for visa before August 20. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF US

The US Embassy in Kuwait has new procedures for obtaining appointments and picking up passports after visa issuance.

Beginning August 9, 2013, we now provide an online visa appointment system, live call center, and in-person pick-up facilities in Kuwait.

Please monitor our website and social media for additional information. This new system offers more flexibility for travelers to the US and to meet the increase in demand for visa appointments.

The general application steps on the new visa appointment system are: 1. Go to www.ustraveldocs.com/kw (if this is the first time on ustraveldocs.com, you will need to create a profile to login).

2. Please complete your DS-160 Online Visa Application which is available at ceac.state.gov/genNIV. 3. Please print and take your deposit slip to any Burgan Bank location to pay your visa application fee.

4. Schedule an appointment for your visa interview online at www.ustraveldocs.com/kw or by phone through the Call Center (at +9652227-1673).

5. If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please do so 24 hours beforehand, as a courtesy to other applicants. For more information, please visit the US Embassy website - kuwait.usembassy.gov - as it is the best source of information regarding these changes. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF 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.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

00:05 Alien Encounters 00:55 Fast N’ Loud 01:45 Fast N’ Loud 02:35 Fast N’ Loud 03:25 Fast N’ Loud 04:15 Fast N’ Loud 06:00 Mythbusters 07:00 Mythbusters 07:50 Extreme Fishing 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 Fast N’ Loud 12:25 Fantom Works 13:15 Wheeler Dealers: Trading Up 14:05 Border Security - Series 6 Specials 14:30 Auction Hunters 14:55 Auction Kings 15:20 Ice Cold Gold 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 River Monsters 22:50 Deadliest Catch 23:40 Deadliest Catch

00:05 00:30 01:00 01:50 02:45 03:35 04:25 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:05 09:30 10:20 11:15 12:05 13:00 13:50 14:20 14:45 15:10 16:00 16:55 17:45 18:35 19:30 20:20 21:10 21:35 22:00 22:50 23:40

00:30 01:20 02:10 02:35 03:00 03:45 04:30 04:55 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:15 08:40 09:05 09:30 10:20 11:10

How Tech Works Sci-Fi Science Eco-Tech Eco-Tech Eco-Tech Eco-Tech Eco-Tech The Gadget Show How Tech Works Human Nature Prototype This Nyc: Inside Out The Gadget Show How Tech Works Eco-Tech Engineered Scrapheap Challenge Moon Machines Nyc: Inside Out Sci-Fi Science The Gadget Show How Tech Works Prototype This Finding Bigfoot Engineered Scrapheap Challenge NASA’s Greatest Missions Prototype This Nyc: Inside Out The Gadget Show Tech Toys 360 Prototype This Nyc: Inside Out The Gadget Show

I Was Murdered Dr G: Medical Examiner Dates From Hell Dates From Hell On The Case With Paula Zahn LA: City Of Demons I Was Murdered I Was Murdered Dr G: Medical Examiner Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Solved Disappeared

12:00 12:50 13:15 13:40 14:30 15:20 15:45 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Disappeared Solved Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Dr G: Medical Examiner Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Deadly Devotion Blood Relatives I Almost Got Away With It

00:00 00:20 00:45 01:05 01:30 01:50 02:15 02:35 03:00 03:20 03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 Pirates 09:30 10:15 10:40 11:05 12:15 12:35 13:00 13:25 13:45 14:10 15:50 16:10 17:00 17:20 17:45 18:10 18:30 18:55 19:20 20:05 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:10

Stitch!

Stitch!

A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School The Replacements The Replacements A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School The Replacements The Replacements A Kind Of Magic A Kind Of Magic Austin And Ally Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Jessie Good Luck Charlie Sofia The First Doc McStuffins Jake And The Neverland A.N.T. Farm Jessie Jessie Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Shake It Up Austin And Ally Austin And Ally Austin And Ally Teen Beach Movie Jessie Violetta A.N.T. Farm Austin And Ally Gravity Falls Shake It Up That’s So Raven A.N.T. Farm Violetta Jessie My Babysitter’s A Vampire Austin And Ally Austin And Ally That’s So Raven Jessie A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie 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 07:50 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 Kickin’ It 14:55 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 15:05 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 15:20 Slugterra 15:45 Max Steel 16:35 Crash & Bernstein 17:00 Lab Rats 17:30 Kickin It 18:00 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 18:25 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 00:55 01:20 02:10 02:35 03:00 03:45 04:30 04:55 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:15 08:40 09:05 09:30 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:15 13:40 14:30 15:20 15:45 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

I Was Murdered I Was Murdered Dr G: Medical Examiner Dates From Hell Dates From Hell On The Case With Paula Zahn LA: City Of Demons I Was Murdered I Was Murdered Dr G: Medical Examiner Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Solved Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Disappeared Solved Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Dr G: Medical Examiner Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Deadly Devotion Blood Relatives I Almost Got Away With It

00:00 Wilfred 00:30 The Daily Show 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Veep 02:00 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 02:30 The League 03:00 Two And A Half Men 03:30 The Mindy Project 04:00 Seinfeld 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 All Of Us 06:00 The War At Home 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Seinfeld 08:30 All Of Us 09:30 The Mindy Project 10:00 Hot In Cleveland 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:30 Seinfeld 13:00 All Of Us 14:00 The Mindy Project 14:30 The Mindy Project 15:00 Hot In Cleveland 15:30 The Daily Show 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 The War At Home 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 The Simpsons 19:00 Two And A Half Men 19:30 Hot In Cleveland 20:00 Parks And Recreation 20:30 Wilfred

21:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 22:00 Family Guy 22:30 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 23:00 The League 23:30 Parks And Recreation

00:00 01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 18:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

24 Top Gear (UK) The Americans Psych C.S.I. 24 Switched At Birth Fairly Legal Psych Emmerdale Coronation Street Fairly Legal 24 Emmerdale Coronation Street Fairly Legal 65th Primtime Emmy Awards In Plain Sight The Americans

00:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 09:00 10:00 10:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

House Of Cards Good Morning America Nip/Tuck Treme Good Morning America Emmerdale Coronation Street Body Of Proof Emmerdale Coronation Street Drop Dead Diva House Of Cards Live Good Morning America Drop Dead Diva Body Of Proof House Of Cards Drop Dead Diva Body Of Proof House Of Cards Treme Nip/Tuck

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Amphibious Elfie Hopkins 5 Days Of War Sins Expiation The Blood Bond The Rescue Big Trouble In Little China Nick Of Time The Rescue Nitro Circus: The Movie Nick Of Time 7 Below

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 PG15 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Elfie Hopkins-18 5 Days Of War-PG15 Sins Expiation-PG15 The Blood Bond-PG15 The Rescue-PG15 Big Trouble In Little China-

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Detention-18 Dazed And Confused-18 Sorority Wars-PG15 Mr. Destiny-PG The Great Outdoors-PG15 Falling Star-PG15 Sorority Wars-PG15 Norbit-PG15 Falling Star-PG15 I Think I Do-PG15 The Ringer-PG15 Detention-18

01:00 03:15 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:15 13:30 15:00 17:15 PG15 19:00 21:00 23:00

Nick Of Time-PG15 The Rescue-PG15 Nitro Circus: The Movie-PG15 Nick Of Time-PG15 7 Below-18 Gangs Of Brooklyn-PG15

The Tree Of Life-PG15 Return-PG15 The Wishing Well-PG15 Love Takes Wing-PG15 The Tree Of Life-PG15 Lorenzo’s Oil-PG15 One Angry Juror-PG15 Dreamgirls-PG15 Encounter With DangerThe Descendants-PG15 Pariah-18 This Must Be The Place-18

01:30 Neds-PG15 03:30 In The Land Of Blood And Honey-R 05:45 Columbus Circle-PG15 07:15 Love And Other Impossible Pursuits-PG15 09:00 A Better Life-PG15 11:00 The Presidio-PG15 12:45 Here-PG15 15:00 The Hand That Rocks The Cradle-PG15 17:00 The Presidio-PG15 18:45 The Flowers Of War-PG15 21:15 The Daughter-18 22:45 Out Of Sight-PG15

ELFIE HOPKINS ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD

01:00 Down The Shore-PG15 03:00 Underground: The Julian Assange Story-PG15 05:00 Arrietty-FAM 07:00 Three Inches-PG15 09:00 Ice Age: Continental Drift-PG 11:00 Like Crazy-PG15 13:00 A Mother’s Choice-PG15 15:00 Zathura: A Space AdventurePG 17:00 Ice Age: Continental Drift-PG 18:45 Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows-PG15

DOWN THE SHORE ON OSN MOVIES HD 21:00 The Sitter-18 23:00 Passion-PG15

01:00 Wheelers 02:45 The Elf Who Stole Christmas 04:30 The Three Bears: Dreadful Dangers 06:00 Over The Hedge 08:00 Cher Ami 10:00 Snowmen 11:30 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax 13:00 Tinker Bell And The Secret Of The Wings 14:30 The Land Before Time 16:00 The Apple & The Worm 18:00 Snowmen 20:00 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted 22:00 The Land Before Time 23:30 The Apple & The Worm

00:00 Just Crazy Enough-PG15 02:00 Premium Rush-PG15 04:00 Wreck-It Ralph-PG 06:00 The Big Year-PG 08:00 The Odd Life Of Timothy Green-PG 10:00 Beware The Gonzo-PG15 12:00 Premium Rush-PG15 14:00 Phil Spector-PG15 16:00 The Odd Life Of Timothy Green-PG 17:45 The Avengers-PG15 20:15 Underworld: Awakening-18 22:00 The Campaign-18

01:00 Cricket Champions League Twenty20 04:00 AFL Premiership 06:30 Inside The PGA Tour 07:00 PGA Tour 13:30 Live Cricket Champions League Twenty20 16:30 Futbol Mundial 17:00 ICC Cricket 360 17:30 Live Cricket Champions League Twenty20 20:30 AFL Premiership Highlights 21:30 PGA Tour Highlights 22:30 PGA European Tour Highlights 23:30 Cricket Champions League Twenty20

02:00 PGA European Tour 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 Cricket Champions League Twenty20 10:00 Cricket Champions League Twenty20 13:00 ICC Cricket 360 13:30 Champions Tour 15:30 AFL Premiership 18:00 PGA Tour Highlights 19:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 20:00 NFL 22:30 UFC Unleashed 23:30 WWE This Week

00:00 01:00 03:00 03:30

Trans World Sport Rugby Union Currie Cup Total Rugby Pro 12

05:30 06:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:30 10:30 13:00 13:30 15:30 16:30 17:00

Futbol Mundial Trans World Sport Golfing World Top 14 Highlights World Cup of Pool World Cup of Pool AFL Premiership Top 14 Highlights Rugby Union Currie Cup Golfing World Futbol Mundial NRL Premiership

19:00 Sailing America’s Highlights 20:00 World Cup of Pool 21:00 World Cup of Pool 22:00 Top 14 Highlights 22:30 NRL Premiership

Cup

00:00 WWE Vintage Collection 01:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter 02:00 UFC Prelims

04:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 15:00 16:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00

UFC WWE Bottom Line WWE Experience Ping Pong World US Bass Fishing NHL Triahlon UK WWE SmackDown WWE Experience UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC Prelims UFC

‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ review:

Making fun of cop shows, and itself

W

hen Andy Samberg joined “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” plenty of “Saturday Night Live” fans probably figured his best comedic days were behind him. How could a sitcom format contain the madcap brilliance of his Digital Shorts? “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” is funny in a different way from “Lazy Sunday,” “Dick in a Box,” and other “SNL” classics. But it’s still really funny. One of its strengths is that it isn’t just a star vehicle for Samberg. It’s an ensemble from the “Parks and Recreation” team of Mike Schur and Dan Goor that gives all the varied cast mates lots of shots at being funny. They hit their targets at least as well as the real NYPD. The show makes fun of everything it can, from cop show tropes to itself.

When Sgt. Terry Jeffords (the always great Terry Crews) gives Capt. Ray Holt (Andre Braugher) a too-perfect description of Samberg’s character, Holt calls him on it. “The only puzzle he hasn’t solved,” Jeffords says, lowering his voice for emphasis, “is how to grow up.”

Holt listens, pauses, and turns. “That was very well put.” Responds Jeffords: “I’ve talked a lot about Jake in my department-mandated therapy sessions.” See how much they do there? We get the rundown on Samberg’s Jake

Peralta. We find out that Holt is the guy who will call out, on behalf of the audience, anything that sounds a little corny. And we learn a bit about Jeffords’ struggles as well. It’s typical of the smart writing on “Brooklyn NineNine.”

Most of the show is built around the tension between Peralta great at solving crimes, bad at wearing ties - and Holt, who’s stiffly buttoned-up, but has a good reason to be.

The rest of the cast includes the very funny Chelsea Peretti as a chatty civilian employee, Joe Lo Truglio as a detective who isn’t so bright but works hard, Melissa Fumero as Peralta’s tough partner, and Stephanie Beatriz as the even tougher Det. Rosa Diaz.

Samberg strikes just the right tone, mocking but not smarmy, a little cooler than us but not so cool we hate him. And Braugher’s deadpan is one of the show’s greatest joys.

When Holt catches Peralta imagining him as a rule-abiding robot, he says with seething disappointment: “That’s a terrible robot voice.”

This is how ensembles are supposed to work: We laugh at the first joke a little, then but the putdown of the joke is even funnier. And they keep going. “Brooklyn” feels like a show that can go a long time. — Reuters

Andrew Dosunmu to direct ‘Fela Kuti’ for focus features

A

ndrew Dosunmu (“Mother of George”) will direct Focus Features’ music- driven drama “Fela Kuti,” which is currently in development. A human rights activist, sexual revolutionary and political maverick, Fela Kuti was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He was the king of Afrobeat, a fusion of jazz, funk, psychedelic rock, and Yoruba chants and rhythms. Taking on Nigeria’s rapidly changing and often corrupt government in the 1970s, Fela pushed boundaries in art and life. His legacy as a charismatic visionary contin-

ues to inspire the contemporary hip-hop world and generations of artists who believe in the power of music to transform people and cultures.

The source material is Michael Veal’s 2000 book “Fela: The Life and Times of An African Musical Icon,” and is not an adaptation of, or affiliated with, the Broadway musical “Fela! Fela Kuti,” though the film will include original music from the performer himself. Nigerian poet Chris Abani and Focus CEO James Schamus have written the most recent drafts of the movie’s screenplay. —Reuters

Classifieds MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Kuwait SHARQIA-1 PRISONERS (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED SHARQIA-2 PLANES (DIG-3D) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG-3D) PLANES (DIG-3D) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG-3D) GETAWAY (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG) SHARQIA-3 MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) THE COLONY (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 4:00 PM 7:00 PM 10:00 PM 1:00 AM

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:30 PM 1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-1 MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) THE COLONY (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG)

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM

MUHALAB-2 BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 6:15 PM 9:15 PM

MUHALAB-3 PLANES (DIG-3D) PLANES (DIG) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG-3D) GETAWAY (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG) FANAR-1 BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG) RIDDICK (DIG) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

FANAR-2 PRISONERS (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 5:15 PM 8:15 PM 11:15 PM

FANAR-3 2 GUNS (DIG) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) THE COLONY (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) 2 GUNS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (19/09/2013 TO 25/09/2013) MARINA-1 PRISONERS (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) TOM & JIMMY (DIG)(ARABIC) THE COLONY (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-2 PRISONERS (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:45 PM 7:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

MARINA-3 BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG-3D) PLANES (DIG-3D) PLANES (DIG-3D) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG-3D) GETAWAY (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 11:15 PM 1:15 AM

AVENUES-1 THE COLONY (DIG) THE COLONY (DIG) THE COLONY (DIG) WISH YOU WERE HERE (DIG) THE COLONY (DIG) THE COLONY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-2 2 GUNS (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG) YOU’RE NEXT (DIG) 2 GUNS (DIG)

CHANGE OF NAME 1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM

AVENUES-3 BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG-3D) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG-3D) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG-3D) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG-3D) BATTLE OF THE YEAR (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

360º- 1 MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(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 THE COLONY (DIG) THE COLONY (DIG) WE’RE THE MILLERS (DIG) THE COLONY (DIG) THE COLONY (DIG) THE COLONY (DIG)

I, Ameer Shahib Hassip Sheriph S/O Amir Sharif, date of brith 15.06.1969, Passport No: H0114576, hereby change my name to Asif Sharif Amir Sharif.

(C 4512) 22-9-2013 I, Subramaniyan S/O Kaathan, holder of Indian Passport No: G9654545 converted to Islam do hereby change my name to Ahmed Omar Hashem.

(C 4511) 21-9-2013

MATRIMONIAL Proposals are invited for a Christian, 28 years old, 154cm, fair, B.Sc nurse, working in Kerala from parents of suitable boys. Contact: anitkoshy@gmail.com (C 4510) Inviting marriage proposals for RCSC girl, 27 years old, B.E. working in Kuwait as Engineer, invites proposals from RCSC boys, Engineers/ C.A. working in Kuwait/GCC are preferred. Email: sunnythengummoottil@gmail.com (C 4513) 22-9-2013

No: 15937

SITUATION WANTED English and Arabic speaking Indian housemaid available for work in Salwa / Mishref. Contact: 67780245.

(C 4514) 23-9-2013

Prayer timings 2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

Fajr: Shorook Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

04:17 05:37 11:41 15:08 17:44 19:01

lost Original policy document No. 633002905-3 of Sajjad Haider Chohan of State Life Insurance Cooperation of Pakistan Gulf Zone is reported to have been lost.

Anyone find the same or claiming any interest in it should communicate with Manager Kuwait State Life Office. Tel: 22452208.

(C 4515) 23-9-2013

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines QTR JZR JZR FDB THY ETH GFA AFG UAE ETD FDB MSR QTR THY DHX FDB QTR BAW FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR UAE ABY FDB QTR ETD KAC KAC GFA IRC MEA MSC SYR UAE MSR MSR KNE QTR FDB MPH SVA KNE OMA RJA KAC KAC KAC KAC

Arrival Flights on Monday 23/9/2013 Flt Route 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 8063 DUBAI 764 SABIHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 416 JEDDAH 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 6130 DOHA 157 LONDON 53 DUBAI 206 ISLAMABAD 284 DHAKA 412 MANILA 302 MUMBAI 503 LUXOR 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 55 DUBAI 132 DOHA 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 352 COCHIN 344 CHENNAI 213 BAHRAIN 6521 LAMERD 404 BEIRUT 403 ASYUT 341 DAMASCUS 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 579 SOHAG 480 TAIF 140 DOHA 57 DUBAI 93 AMSTERDAM 500 JEDDAH 472 JEDDAH 645 MUSCAT 640 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 1802 CAIRO 118 NEW YORK 788 JEDDAH 546 ALEXANDRIA

Time 00:05 00:20 00:40 01:10 01:40 01:45 01:55 02:15 02:25 02:30 03:10 03:15 03:30 04:35 05:10 05:50 06:05 06:30 07:45 07:25 08:15 06:15 07:50 07:40 08:25 08:50 09:15 09:25 09:30 09:55 09:35 10:40 10:50 10:55 11:35 12:05 12:45 13:00 13:05 13:20 13:45 13:50 13:55 14:30 14:35 14:40 15:55 13:40 16:00 15:00 14:15

JZR JZR QTR ETD UAE KAC JZR JZR JZR ABY GFA SVA NIA QTR RBG FDB GFA MSC SYR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JAI OMA FDB ABY MEA MSR AXB MSC ALK UAE QTR ETD GFA JAI FDB AIC JZR JZR TAR DLH PIA JZR JAI MSR KLM THY

561 165 134 303 857 802 535 777 177 127 215 510 251 144 553 63 219 405 1383 786 104 674 542 562 742 774 618 572 647 61 129 402 618 489 401 229 859 136 307 217 576 59 975 239 185 327 636 205 135 574 614 411 772

SOHAG DUBAI DOHA ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI CAIRO CAIRO JEDDAH DUBAI SHARJAH BAHRAIN RIYADH ALEXANDRIA DOHA ALEXANDRIA DUBAI BAHRAIN SOHAG DAMASCUS JEDDAH LONDON DUBAI CAIRO AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA DAMMAM RIYADH DOHA MUMBAI MUSCAT DUBAI SHARJAH BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA COCHIN ALEXANDRIA COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA ABU DHABI-INTL BAHRAIN COCHIN DUBAI CHENNAI AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA DUBAI TUNIS FRANKFURT LAHORE BAHRAIN MUMBAI CAIRO AMSTERDAM ISTANBUL

12:00 11:35 16:15 16:35 16:55 16:40 16:10 17:50 17:30 17:10 17:20 17:20 18:00 18:25 18:30 18:55 19:05 19:15 19:00 18:30 18:45 19:25 18:15 20:45 19:30 19:25 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:15 20:30 20:35 21:00 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:30 21:45 22:05 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:40 22:55 23:10 23:15 23:00 23:20 23:30 23:40 23:45

Airlines AIC JAI UAL DLH MSR JZR FDB THY THY ETH AFG UAE FDB MSR ETD QTR QTR JZR FDB GFA KAC THY KAC JZR QTR BAW FDB JZR ABY KAC UAE FDB KAC ETD QTR GFA KAC KAC IRC MEA JZR KAC MSC KAC SYR JZR MSR MSR KNE UAE

Departure Flights on Monday 23/9/2013 Flt Route 982 AHMEDABAD 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 502 LUXOR 8064 DUBAI 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 621 ADDIS ABABA 416 KABUL 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 613 CAIRO 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 70 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 1801 CAIRO 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 545 ALEXANDRIA 164 DUBAI 6131 BEIRUT 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 534 CAIRO, EGYPT” 126 SHARJAH 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 801 CAIRO 302 ABU DHABI 133 DOHA 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 6522 LAMERD 405 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 103 LONDON 406 SOHAG 785 JEDDAH 342 DAMASCUS 176 DUBAI 580 SOHAG 611 CAIRO 481 TAIF 872 DUBAI

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:20 00:25 00:30 00:30 01:30 01:55 02:20 02:40 02:45 03:15 03:45 03:50 04:15 04:20 04:25 05:15 05:35 06:30 07:00 07:00 07:10 07:20 07:25 07:35 08:25 08:25 09:10 09:30 09:35 09:50 09:55 10:05 10:15 10:25 11:25 11:30 11:45 11:50 11:55 12:25 12:30 12:35 13:00 13:05 13:20 13:50 14:00 14:10 14:15

FDB QTR KAC MPH KAC KNE OMA SVA KAC KAC KAC RJA JZR QTR ETD JZR ABY UAE GFA SVA JZR JZR NIA RBG QTR FDB GFA SYR JZR KAC MSC JAI FDB ABY KAC OMA KAC MEA MSR DHX MSC ETD ALK UAE QTR KAC GFA FDB KAC JAI KAC TAR

58 141 673 93 561 473 646 501 617 773 741 641 238 135 304 538 128 858 216 511 184 266 252 554 145 64 220 1384 134 283 404 571 62 120 331 648 351 403 619 171 402 308 230 860 137 301 218 60 205 575 411 328

DUBAI DOHA DUBAI AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL AMMAN JEDDAH MUSCAT JEDDAH DOHA RIYADH DAMMAM AMMAN AMMAN DOHA ABU DHABI CAIRO SHARJAH DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH DUBAI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA ALEXANDRIA DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN DAMASCUS BAHRAIN DHAKA ASYUT MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH TRIVANDRUM MUSCAT KOCHI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN ALEXANDRIA ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA MUMBAI BAHRAIN DUBAI ISLAMABAD ABU DHABI BANGKOK DUBAI

14:30 14:55 15:05 15:25 15:30 15:30 15:40 15:45 15:45 16:00 16:30 16:55 17:05 17:20 17:20 17:40 17:50 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:30 18:40 19:00 19:10 19:25 19:35 19:50 20:00 20:05 20:15 20:15 20:35 20:40 20:45 20:50 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:30 21:50 22:00 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:40 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:40 23:45

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 319

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) ARIES Others may find you especially witty and eccentric at times. This is an outgoing and very expressive cycle. The only thing to be careful about is to know your facts before you express what you think are the facts. Now more than ever, you want to be admired and appreciated by others, to do and create things that stir their hearts. Good things and the support you need always seem to come to you and that is the case now.

Friends, co-workers and plain old lucky circumstances offer encouragement and backing.

You often get what you need, when you need it. Independence, as well as anything unusual or different, is treasured. Tonight you may enjoy getting away from the usual routine and doing something completely different.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Work with the unexpected today. Good things happen when you least expect them to happen. A move, a trip or a new piece of equipment will be welcomed around your place. This could also mean you win a prize or are given a gift or make a wild purchase, but no wild animals. Later today an unexpected gathering may turn into a party and you have the urge to please. You may be running errands, cooking, bringing people together or just simply finding that a crowd is gathering. You are in the process of training your mind to respond to circumstances in the most positive ways and you enjoy getting to know the people that have gathered. This may mean a neighborhood gathering, a sales demonstration or a family reunion after a wedding.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. An enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of many body compounds (e.g., epinephrine and norepinephrine and serotonin).

4. Bubble shells.

12. A federal agency that supervises carriers that transport goods and people between states.

15. A human limb.

16. The peers of a kingdom considered as a group.

17. The syllable naming the fifth (dominant) note of any musical scale in solmization.

18. Put (things or places) in order.

20. The principles of right and wrong that are accepted by an individual or a social group.

21. (Babylonian) The sky god.

22. New Guinea echidnas.

24. The United Nations agency concerned with the interests of labor.

26. An official language of the Republic of South Africa.

27. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.

30. The capital and largest city situated centrally in Spain.

33. An annual publication including weather forecasts and other miscellaneous information arranged according to the calendar of a given year.

38. Any orchid of the genus Aerides.

42. God of war and sky.

43. A ballistic missile that is capable of traveling from one continent to another.

45. A nucleic acid that transmits genetic information from DNA to the cytoplasm.

46. A gift or money given (as for service or out of benevolence).

49. Striped hyena of southeast Africa that feeds chiefly on insects.

52. Relating to anemia or suffering from anemia.

53. Paralysis of the vocal cords resulting in an inability to speak.

54. East Indian tree yielding a resin used medicinally and burned as incense.

56. (Norse mythology) One of the Aesir known for his beauty and skill with bow and skis.

58. Call upon in supplication.

59. A federation of North American labor unions that merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955.

66. The (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb.

70. A river that rises in eastern Kansas and flows eastward into Oklahoma to become a tributary of the Arkansas River.

71. (archaic) The emperor of Japan.

73. The cry made by sheep.

74. Tag the base runner to get him out.

75. Relating to or characteristic of art or artists.

77. A container.

78. A unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters.

80. Large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male.

DOWN 1. French painter whose work influenced the impressionists (1832-1883).

2. Any of several tall tropical palms native to southeastern Asia having egg-shaped nuts.

3. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

4. In bed.

5. A Dravidian language spoken in southern India.

6. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

7. Fish eggs or egg-filled ovary.

8. The innermost membrane of an organ (especially the inner lining of an artery or vein or lymphatic vessel).

9. Tropical woody herb with showy yellow flowers and flat pods.

10. A fee charged for exchanging currencies.

11. An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

12. (Old Testament) The second patriarch.

13. Relating to or resembling a cone.

14. European sedge having small edible nutlike tubers.

19. Deciduous trees with smooth usually silvergray bark of North America and Europe and Asia.

23. A public promotion of some product or service.

25. Gully or streambed in North Africa and the Middle East that remains dry except during rainy season.

28. Before noon.

29. A full skirt with a gathered waistband.

31. Fallow deer.

32. A rare heavy polyvalent metallic element that resembles manganese chemically and is used in some alloys.

34. A woody climbing usually tropical plant.

35. Of or relating to walls.

36. The mother-in-law of Ruth whose story is told in the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament.

37. (computer science) A kind of computer architecture that has a large number of instructions hard coded into the cpu chip.

39. Comical in an odd or whimsical manner.

40. (Sumerian) God of the air and king of the Sumerian gods.

41. The second month of the Moslem calendar.

44. A small cake leavened with yeast.

47. A toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion.

48. A complete metric system of units of measurement for scientists.

50. Of or relating to rabbis or their teachings.

51. English author of satirical novels (19031966).

55. Inflammation of the iris.

57. A midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region.

60. An emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight).

61. (anatomy) A somewhat rounded subdivision of a bodily organ or part.

62. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

63. A unit of pressure equal to 0.001316 atmosphere.

64. A strip of land projecting into a body of water.

65. (prefix) Opposite or opposing or neutralizing.

67. A French abbot.

68. Horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal surface of the digits.

69. Unpleasantly cool and humid.

72. South American wood sorrel cultivated for its edible tubers.

76. A hard gray lustrous metallic element that is highly corrosion-resistant.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Career moves may depend upon your cutting through some of the fluff and really taking care of business, getting down to your most practical. Know what you want and get rid of anything that clutters your path, within reason of course.

Today may be the day you think and plan. Talk with a friend or plan to seek an advisor from a junior college in your hometown. Many times the educational arena helps the public by offering tests for learning about the best placement for an individual in the job field.

It would be good to see what they might recommend. You want to make conditions or pay better for yourself and perhaps requesting a pay raise may be the next step for now.

Today you could revise your resume and note your new experience or new skills.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) There is a need to be the center of attention today—perhaps you have worked particularly hard on a project and no one has noticed—patience. If this is some accomplishment that only you would know and care about, you might want to make it known that you want to celebrate your survival or success. You will have people join with you to celebrate. You can not expect others to know what you want if you do not ask.

Later today you may enjoy some tourist attraction or a bookstore for some new acquisition. Happiness is contagious, share it instead of expect it and the celebratory attitude will catch on to others. You could receive unexpected help or support from someone near you, especially someone younger; this is a good day.

Leo (July 23-August 22) A yearning to learn more about lots of different things may find you in a bookstore, museum or attending a lecture. Some subject matter may remind you of one or two people in your family and you may decide to spend time with these people through phone conversations or visiting. If these are elderly people, make a list of things you can do to make their life more comfortable. Learning, remembering and connections fill the day with many good feelings of security, laughter, making plans and sharing. Before dark this evening, there is time to plant a few plants. These will bloom or produce food for your table before the winter becomes too cold. You can dispense with all that is unsound or superficial, leaving only that which is solid.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Your attitude toward change is positive and interestingly the changes at this time are viewed as an adventure. You may see life as boring if you move through your days, weeks and months without much of a change. Transportation to a nearby city may be experienced today by a somewhat different mode of transit than you are acquainted.

At home you may decide on creating a mural for your wall where you do your personal work or where you eat. Very likely a new color scheme will match or lift the mood. Your next attention will go to heart-healthy diets, good exercise and lots of laughter.

Recordings of cooking classes will help to teach you most any cooking skill. After watching a class in some new method of cooking, you practice at home.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) You should be able to get your ideas across with ease. There are energies in the works, making this day a bright and witty one. Your communication skills are at a highwater mark. You show patience with others and you are able to respond to the world and to build upon what is already present, accentuating the positive. You are willing to listen to others, take cues and then reflect and build upon that information. Others find you gentle, steady, and, for the most part, kind. You absorb information and find ways to pass on the most financially rewarding tips and cautions in a speech or presentation and others will listen! This evening friendships and group activities play an important part. A music group would be fun and tonight is a good time to practice.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You know just what to do and can act without any hesitation. This could involve matters regarding public relations. You respond quickly to the opportunity to speak and express your concerns for a community or organization. Your presentation will gain the attention of others and you must be ready for a question and answer period. You and others will come up with new solutions to old problems. You may find that many people want to make these meetings a semi-annual event. Many benefit from your input. The area in which you live may also be a good place for you to make a positive difference. Start developing your dream to change things for the better. What you do in the meeting place will get the ball rolling, so to speak.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You always come off well in a group and manage to get your ideas across to others. Today however, you may just want some time away from the routine. You could be teaching a hobby or religion or giving a presentation to those that travel through your area. A game of golf or a shopping expedition sounds mighty nice. Keeping on your toes to do your best is the better avenue to take for now as you may find a person will enter your life who is of benefit to your future in some way. This evening you would be wise to make some plans to have someone take your place for a couple of weeks so that you can actually get a little time away from your usual routine. You have a natural instinct for making the correct move at the right time.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You are entering into a new time in your life that will compliment your education or past experiences with the business world. You have much to offer and it is time to step up and make yourself known as the natural leader or professional that you have become. A family member may show their appreciation for your determination to work and move forward with your goals. You are reminded of some simple pleasures this afternoon as you sip coffee and visit with a friend. You refuse to lock yourself into the treadmill in which so many people become bogged down these days. It is good to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You surround yourself with friends to share in good times. You enjoy support from loved ones.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Your mind runs to domestic issues—home and family are on your mind.

This happens often and could work against your career interests, especially if your job requires managerial and organizational skills as you make sales presentations out of town.

Perhaps you will want to think about creating a home business. There is a yearning to broaden your horizons now and this may take center stage in your life. This may involve some form of law, politics, education, travel or religion. Responsibilities are easy for you and you tend to pile on tasks, one after another. You work very hard, with a gritty resolve and can accomplish much. It takes a lot to overload your willingness to help others. You and a loved one will share the day’s happenings tonight.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) As coordinator of events is where you shine best today. Whatever you do or plan to see, the best outcome will be successful and this is where much of your energies and enthusiasm is spent. Perhaps this event is a company picnic or sales show that needs your coordinated efforts. You can find the best place, time and atmosphere for successful results. You put a lot of thought and time into being different, avoiding the commonplace with great determination. Your drive to invent and find new ways to use things is very clever. A very creative and profitable time is coming up for you soon; you just somehow know it. After hot dogs or the extras on your plate or even grandma’s chocolate pie this evening, you may want to enjoy a walk.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

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 Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

lifestyle F E A T U R E S

Jackson v AEG trial heads towards climax

T American Bruce Springsteen sings with fans during the Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil yesterday. —AFP

Bruce Springsteen sends Rock in Rio crowd into frenzy U

S rock superstar Bruce Springsteen mesmerized tens of thousands of fans with an electrifying performance at the Rock in Rio festival overnight Saturday. Playing with the E Street Band, the New Jersey rocker, who turned 64 yesterday, kicked off his concert by singing in Portuguese “Sociedade Alternativa,” a hit by Brazilian rock king Raul Seixas. Back in Brazil after a 25-year absence, “The Boss,” as Springsteen is known, followed up by belting out his own hits, including the iconic “Born in the USA.”

For more than three hours, he showed extraordinary vigor and stamina, racing up and down, jumping on a piano, bringing fans onto the stage and giving the microphone to a child who sang his “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day.” “It seems that he is the one who is enjoying himself the most and this is contagious,” said 34-year-old Fabiana Kupfer. Springsteen also delighted his adoring fans with a rousing rendition of the Beatles’ “Twist and Shout” and promised to return to Brazil soon. Earlier fellow American John

Mayer captivated a predominantly female crowd with spirited guitar solos and by singing his hits “Your Body is a Wonderland,” “Daughters” and “No Such Thing.” Rock in Rio, one of the world’s largest music events, was to wrap up Sunday night with performances by two heavy metal bands, Avenged Sevenfold of the United States and Britain’s Iron Maiden. The week-long festival, which features 127 bands and artists, was opened by US diva Beyonce and French DJ David Guetta, among others. — AFP

Chili Peppers close out wet Music Midtown I

t was wet, muddy and slippery outdoors on the closing day of Atlanta’s third annual Music Midtown Festival, but the bands rocked on.

Rainy weather didn’t dampen the mood of the crowd swarming into Piedmont Park in Atlanta’s downtown Saturday to catch 14 acts on three different stages. The festival was headlined by Kendrick Lamar, Imagine Dragons and Red Hot Chili Peppers who closed out the festival with a two-hour set. Organizers said earlier that the festival had sold out Saturday, estimating more than 100,000 in attendance for the two-day weekend concert event.

It rained much of Saturday, but conditions improved to simply overcast skies by the time Imagine Dragons’ performance began around 5:45 pm - some five hours after the festival began. Acts from Capitol Cities, Weezer, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Neighborhood kept the crowd going despite afternoon rain. “I see the weather has cleared up,” said Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of Imagine Dragons. “I guess we came at a good time.”

Reynolds also gave a shout out to the band’s drummer Daniel Platzman, who is from Atlanta.

Reynolds also expressed his appreciation for being a part of the festival. “There are so many great bands at this festival,” he said. “I’m just glad

N

Red Hot Chili Peppers to be on stage to perform for you all. Thank you for live music. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the support of you” By nighttime, Red Hot Chili Peppers was the main attraction. The veteran rock back didn’t give much commentary during that performance. All they mostly did was play their biggest hits from “Give It Away,” “Scar Tissue” to “Snow (Hey Oh).”

Bassist Flea brought energy to the stage throughout their performance, prancing across

the stage while singer Anthony Kiedis sang away. Many in the crowd responded with the words of their songs.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar also gave a strong show, performing for an hour. He performed a lot of his popular songs such as “Poetic Justice” and “Swimming Pools (Drank).” Mona, Reignwolf, The Black Lips, ZZ Ward, Tegan and Sara, Artic Monkeys and Queens of the Stone Age also performed on Saturday. — AP

tural power” on the world stage and create a “Chinawood” that could one day rival Los Angeles as a global centre of film. China’s communist leaders have said the country must make greater use of so-called “soft power” to promote the nation’s values abroad.

But critics say censorship is hamper-

Actor Ewan McGregor of Scotland waves upon his arrival for a red carpet event during a groundbreaking ceremony for the ambitious ‘Oriental Movie Metropolis’, billed as China’s answer to Hollywood, in the eastern port city of Qingdao yesterday. — AFP photos

Hollywood actor Christoph Waltz gestures during a red carpet event during a groundbreaking ceremony for the ambitious ‘Oriental Movie Metropolis’.

Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones of Britain poses during a red carpet event.

“When I lost Michael, I lost everything,” she said, repeatedly wiping away tears.

Jackson’s elder son Prince testified that his father was overwhelmed by the pressure that AEG Live placed on him. “He would cry sometimes. He said: ‘They’re gonna kill me, they’re gonna kill me’,” Prince told the trial. Perhaps the most dramatic moment occurred outside the

In this file photo dated September 27, 2011 shows Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine Jackson arriving outside Los Angeles Superior Court to hear opening statement in the involuntary manslaughter trial of pop superstar Michael Jackson’s personal physian Dr Conrad Murray. — AFP courtroom: the star’s daughter Paris, who had been expected to testify, was rushed to hospital after trying to commit suicide in early June.

A court spokesman said this week that the trial was “winding down to the last few weeks,” while the LA Times said the jury was expected to retire to consider its verdict in the coming week. The “This is It” shows would have marked a dramatic comeback following Jackson’s 2005 trial on child molestation charges, after which he withdrew from the spotlight, living in the Middle East for a time. He reportedly had massive debts that could have been paid off by a successful tour. But his death snuffed out those hopes, while paving the way for a string of still-ongoing lawsuits over his personal and financial legacy. — AFP

Spikes Asia

Hollywood stars turn out for China’s new ‘cinema city’ icole Kidman, Leonardo DiCaprio and John Travolta yesterday added their star power to the glitzy inauguration of the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, billed as China’s answer to Hollywood.

China’s richest man Wang Jianlin and his conglomerate Wanda Group have poured 50 billion yuan ($8.3 billion) into the sprawling complex in the city of Qingdao. Construction has already started but the complex will only be operational from 2016.

Wang told a lavish and star-studded ceremony the development was part of China’s bid to ramp up its “cul-

he trial pitting Michael Jackson’s family against his last tour promoter is finally winding down after five months, with the jury expected to retire possibly within a week. His mother Katherine has sued AEG Live for allegedly negligently hiring doctor Conrad Murray and failing to properly supervise him in the months before the pop icon’s June 2009 death.

The 83-year-old family matriarch has listened attentively to proceedings from a front-row seat in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom, where the trial got underway in April. She is seeking billions of dollars in damages — $1.5 billion in lost income and an unspecified amount for emotional loss and other damages-on behalf of Jackson’s children Prince, 16, Paris, 15 and 11-year-old “Blanket.”

While it is tough to predict the jury’s verdict, observers say her case appears difficult to prove. Earlier this month the judge dismissed her claims against two AEG Live bosses, leaving only AEG Live itself in the line of fire. The self-proclaimed King of Pop died on June 25, 2009 at his rented Holmby Hills mansion outside Los Angeles, from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol. He was 50 years old.

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for giving the drug to the “Thriller” star-who suffered from chronic insomnia-to help him sleep. He was jailed for four years. Pop legend Jackson was rehearsing for a planned “This is It” series of comeback concerts in London, which were expected to be followed by a world tour of the show.

Katherine Jackson alleges that AEG Live negligently hired an inappropriate and incompetent doctor for her sonMurray is a cardiologist-and missed a series of red flags about his failing health in the run-up to his death. AEG Live counters that it did not sign a contract with Murray, and that a promised $150,000 a month for his services would come from an advance it was making to Jackson, meaning effectively that the star hired his own medic. During the trial-which has dragged on far longer than expected-her lawyers have summoned dozens of witnesses to back their claims that Jackson was driven too hard as he prepared to stage up to 50 shows at London’s O2 Arena. Highlights included the testimony of Katherine Jackson herself in July, when she broke down in tears recalling the day her son died, and lashed out at critics who described the star as a “freak.”

ing the Chinese film industry’s ability to compete with Hollywood, and even those films that get a strong reception in China have difficulties in cracking the bigger US market.

Sprawling across 376 hectares (900

acres) on the outskirts of the eastern port city famous for its “Tsingtao” beer, the “Movie Metropolis” will have 20 studios including what is billed as the world’s largest. It should produce “at least a hundred films a year”, according to the Wanda Group, which says it has reached preliminary agreements to ensure that 30 foreign films will be shot there each year. Local film stars such as Zhang Ziyi, Jet Li and Xu Zheng, who have themselves become international brands in their own right, were joined on the red carpet by some of the stars of Hollywood-the institution Wang is looking at rivaling.

Kidman, dressed in black trousers and a cream jacket, was joined by fellow A-listers Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ewan McGregor and Christoph Waltz.

Cheryl Isaacs, president of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) which organizes the annual Oscars, also attended the gala, saying she was “very enthusiastic” that the complex could turn Qingdao into “an international centre of cinema”.

Hawk Koch, the former president of AMPAS, told AFP the new development should increase cooperation between Chinese and international film industries.

“I don’t think it’s a competition (with the Oscars), there is always room for great talents,” he said. “I think Qingdao festival is a place where there will be more and more interaction” between actors and directors from the two sides of the Pacific, he added.

With 1.3 billion increasingly affluent people, China is also a major market for American film makers. —AFP

announces 2013 winners SINGAPORE: Last night has seen the hotly anticipated Spikes Asia Awards Ceremony take place at the Grand Theatre, Marina Bay Sands. Over 1000 delegates attended to be the first to hear this year’s winners and celebrate the best

of creativity in communications from across Asia Pacific. Ten juries have been working in Singapore to choose 401 deserving winners from an initial 4,832 entries. The 2013 awards have been given as follows:

Branded Content & Entertainment - 24 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 4 Gold, 13 Silver, 6 Bronze Grand Prix: McCann Melbourne, Australia, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, Metro Trains Creative Effectiveness - 5 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 4 Creative Effectiveness Spikes Grand Prix: 303Lowe Perth, Australia, ‘The 2012 IKEA Catalogue - A Roommate Worth Having’, IKEA Western Australia and South Australia Design - 27 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 8 Gold, 3 Silver, 15 Bronze Grand Prix: McCann Worldgroup India, Mumbai, ‘Keys Are Hard to Find’, ATSS Digital - 30 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 3 Gold, 6 Silver, 20 Bronze Grand Prix: McCann Melbourne, Australia, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, Metro Trains Direct - 26 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 6 Gold, 7 Silver, 12 Bronze Grand Prix: DDB DM9JaymeSyfu/Digit Makati City, The Philippines, ‘TXTBKS’, Smart Communications Film - 24 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 3 Gold, 8 Silver, 12 Bronze Grand Prix: McCann Melbourne, Australia, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, Metro Trains Film Craft - 36 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 7 Gold, 11 Silver, 17 Bronze Grand Prix: McCann Melbourne, Australia, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, Metro Trains Integrated - 8 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 3 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze Grand Prix: McCann Melbourne, Australia, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, Metro Trains Media - 49 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 8 Gold, 22 Silver, 18 Bronze Grand Prix: WHYBIN/TBWA Auckland, New Zealand, ‘Middle-Earth Passport Stamp’, Tourism New Zealand Mobile - 12 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 8 Bronze Grand Prix: DDB DM9JaymeSyfu/Digit Makati City, The Philippines, ‘TXTBKS’, Smart Communications Outdoor - 44 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 7 Gold, 15 Silver, 21 Bronze Grand Prix: Cheil Worldwide Seoul, South Korea, ‘Bridge of Life’, Samsung Life Insurance PR - 30 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 11 Gold, 10 Silver, 8 Bronze Grand Prix: Draftfcb New Zealand, Auckland, ‘Driving Dogs’, Mini / SPCA New Zealand Print - 25 winners: 4 Gold, 13 Silver, 8 Bronze No Grand Prix Awarded Print & Poster Craft - 19 winners: 3 Gold, 4 Silver, 12 Bronze No Grand Prix Awarded Promo & Activation - 29 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 4 Gold, 13 Silver, 11 Bronze Grand Prix: McCann Melbourne, Australia, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, Metro Trains Radio - 13 winners: 1 Grand Prix, 5 Gold, 2 Silver, 5 Bronze Grand Prix: McCann Melbourne, Australia, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, Metro Trains

The Network of the Year trophy was presented to McCann Worldgroup, with BBDO coming second followed by DDB in third.

McCann Melbourne were honoured with the Agency of the Year. Runners up were Dentsu, Tokyo coming in second place and DDB Group New Zealand, Auckland, in third. The Independent Agency of the Year was taken by Party, Tokyo and Reactive Media, Sydney and Tokyu Agency, Tokyo, were second and third respectively.

The Spikes Palm award, given to the best Production Company, was awarded to Exit Films, Melbourne. Finch, Sydney came in second and Revolver, Sydney third.

The Media Agency of the Year trophy was given to Open, Auckland with UM, Sydney taking second place and in third, OMD China, Shanghai.

During the awards Metro, Melbourne’s transport system, were presented with the prestigious Advertiser of the Year Award in recognition of a record number of wins at

international awards for its public service announcement ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ campaign. The award was received onstage by Leah Waymark, General Manager Corporate Relations at Metro Melbourne.

Also announced at the awards were the winners of the Young Creative Competitions. Korea took the gold medal in the Young Spikes Media Competition whilst the team from Sri Lanka took gold in the Young Spikes Integrated Competition.

For the first time a Student Creative Award was also awarded, this was a pre-festival competition that asked entrants to complete an original poster to fit a brief set by UNICEF. The entries were judged by industry leaders and Jun Hong Tan from the National University of Singapore was chosen as the winner. Delegates were able to celebrate their achievements and the end of an action packed Spikes Asia at the After Party, which was sponsored by Leo Burnett and held at Avalon Nightclub.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

lifestyle M U S I C

Justin Timberlake performs at iHeartRadio Music Festival, day 2, Saturday in Las Vegas. — AP photos

&

M O V I E S

Bruno Mars performs at iHeartRadio Music Festival.

Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake shine at iHeartRadio T

here’s a reason Bruno Mars is set to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show.

The pop crooner was in perfect form at the iHeartRadio music festival Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

He wowed with his slick moves and energetic vibe. Justin Timberlake was also a fan favorite.

The pop star closed the five-hour plus concert, singing hits like “Mirror” and “SexyBack.” Paul McCartney kicked off the show, playing a bunch of new songs from his upcoming album. And R&B singer Miguel and rapper Drake also earned cheers.

While men dominated Saturday, Ke$ha gave an impressive performance of her hits.

imitated James Brown’s signature dance moves. The singer-songwriter-producer finished with a smoky, steamy rendition of his latest single, “Gorilla.”

Justin Timberlake also held his own with the night’s closing per formance. His set included “Cry Me a River,” “Take Back the Night” and “Like I Love You.” Drake got concertgoers out of their seats when he performed “HYFR” and “Started from the Bottom.” “I’m here to party,” he told the crowd. Miguel was in a similar mood: After performing “Adorn” and “#Beautiful,” he urged the crowd to “have a good night and make some bad decisions.”

Miguel performs.

She even brought out Joan Jett and the two sang “Bad Reputation.” But Miley Cyrus was building on her bad reputation: She caused a stir when she entered the stage in a fishnet dress. Maroon 5, Tim McGraw and Phoenix also performed on the second night of the two-day festival.

Guys night out (or on stage) Bruno Mars led the pack of men who entertained the crowd of thousands at the iHeartRadio festival.

The singer was smooth as ever: He kicked off his set with fun, upbeat numbers “Locked Out of Heaven” and “Treasure,” but transitioned to a soulful and passionate performance of “If I Was Your Man.” He earned whistles from the audience. Mars reached epic heights when he sang “Runaway Baby” - he was funky and even

Miley Circus There’s no end to Miley Cyrus’ antics. The 20year-old performed three songs at the iHeartRadio festival - all in a dress that revealed most of her body, except her covered nipples and tight shorts. She sang her hits “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball.” Britney Spears introduced the singer at the festival; the two worked on a song that will appear on Cyrus’ new album, “Bangerz,” out Oct 8 “I’m sure everyone’s going to be talking, which is what she wants,” said Miguel, who added he “only caught a couple glimpses” of Cyrus’ performance. The singer-actress also performed a similar set at iHeartRadio’s outdoor event earlier in the day.

A rocking surprise Joan Jett celebrated her 55th birthday in a big way: She joined Ke$ha onstage and earned roaring cheers from the crowd. She was excited on the guitar in an all red ensemble as she and Ke$ha sang “Bad Reputation.” Fireworks burst after the performance and Ke$ha yelled “happy birthday.” She also got the crowd to say it to Jett as well. “It’s something a little different than we

Joan Jett

Paul McCartney performs. usually do, but it’s exciting because the music is quite diverse,” Jett said in an interview backstage about performing at the festival. “So it’s going to be fun to play.” Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will release a new album, “Unvarnished,” on Sept. 30. “It’s rock ‘n’ roll straight up,” she said. “I’m very proud of the record. I think there’s some great songwriting on it.”

McCartney pushes ‘new’ album Paul McCartney had one thing in mind at the iHeartRadio: promote his new album. The former Beatle will release “New” on Oct 15. He mostly played new tracks for the crowd, including the album’s title track and first single. The word ‘new” descended from the ceiling before

he sang the song. “This is not a new song,” McCartney said before singing “Another Day,” which brought new life to the audience.

The 71-year-old switched from the guitar to the piano onstage, where he finished with the electrifying “Live and Let Die.” The performance featured extremely loud fireworks, fire blazing and yellow and red lights beaming.

Backstage Chronicles: The Kardashians The cameras were rolling even though the Kardashians weren’t filming their reality show.

Backstage at the iHeartRadio festival, a girl snapped a photo of Kourtney Kardashian when she wasn’t camera ready, which annoyed the celebrity. “That was a great shot of me pulling up my pants,” the oldest of the ubiquitous fami-

Miley Cyrus performs. ly clan said. Kourtney was joined by Khloe as well as Kylie and Kendall Jenner. The girls were dressed in all black, and Kourtney sported a shirt that read “like a virgin.” The sisters introduced Drake on Saturday night. — AP

Ke$ha

Britney Spears introduces Miley Cyrus.

Thirty Seconds to Mars performs.

Kendall Jenner, Khloe Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner introduce Drake at iHeartRadio Music Festival.

Drake performs.

Tim McGraw performs.

Deck d’Arcy, left, Christian Mazzalai, Laurent Brancowitz and Thomas Mars of Phoenix, arrive at the iHeartRadio Music Festival.

Maroon 5 performs.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

lifestyle F A S H I O N

Eduardo Figueroa, Guatemalan fashion designer speaks during an interview in his studio, in Guatemala City.

—AP photos

Original designs

by Guatemalan designer Eduardo Figueroa, hang on a room divider.

Guatemalan indigenous designs win new respect

W

ith their brightly colored fabrics filled with animals and landscapes, Guatemala’s indigenous had long used textiles to tell stories and share their visions of the universe. In modern times, however, those same fabrics made their wearers targets for discrimination, marking them as part of the country’s poor and indigenous.

Now, embroidered Mayan textiles known as huipiles are undergoing a revival in some of the country’s finest boutiques as they become a haute couture fixture. Young Guatemalan designers are using them for everything from evening gowns and purses to handmade shoes sold as far away as Dubai.

For many here, the widening use of huipiles

Young fashion designers thrive despite Italy’s crisis

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new crop of young Italian fashion designers are managing to break through despite a crippling economic crisis, and precious little help from the state or the banks. “It’s about passion and sacrifice,” said Alexander Flagella, 27, a finalist in Vogue Italia’s “Who is On Next?” competition, showing off his firstever collection with a sophisticated and elegant 1930s look. Fellow finalist Matteo Gioli said he started his handmade hat company superduperhats.com with two other designers, sisters Ilaria and Veronica Cornacchini, in 2010 with just 3,000 euros ($4,100) of their own money.

Now they make most of their sales in foreign markets like France or Japan.

“There’s very little help for young companies, especially ones like ours that started from scratch and are not family businesses,” said the thickly-bearded Gioli, 27, who wore a grey flatcap from his own collection. Flagella, Gioli and other young designers attended a party hosted by Vogue Italia and French luxury giant Kering, owner of Gucci among other top brands. “Attracting, retaining and developing talent is a priority for Kering,” Francois-Henri Pinault, the company’s chairman and CEO, said at the event.

Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani said that helping a new generation of designers was “crucial for the future of the entire fashion system”. The economic climate is hardly a conducive one for young entrepreneurs. Unemployment in Italy is at 40 percent for young people who are not studying, state coffers are badly in the red and start-ups complain they still face a mountain of bureaucracy despite reforms to cut the red tape. But Lucio Vanotti, who produced his first collection last year, said the crisis has had an unintended positive effect for up-and-coming designers by freeing up manufacturing capacity as big brands shift to emerging markets.

“A few years ago in Italy people thought there was no need for new brands. They used to look at me and say: ‘What are you doing?’ Now clothes makers are much more available and open to a generational change,” he said. “It’s no longer about the colossuses, there are also new designers. “At the same time it’s not easy because the economic conditions on the other side, for the shops, have changed,” said the 38-year-old, whose designs have a minimalist quality.

The retail challenge has generated resourcefulness among young designers, like Jennifer dalla Zorza who could be seen outside one of the shows at Milan Fashion Week selling the lingerie she makes from an old ice cream cart.

Dressed in a black bustier and tulle skirt, the Milan-based dalla Zorza took orders directly from many curious passers-by who stopped to inquire about the eye-catching bras and knickers of her patisserie-inspired brand “JennyPie”. “I haven’t had any help from the authorities whatsoever,” she said, as she showed off a pair of red lacy knickers folded up into a cupcake holder. “I had high costs starting out and I’m only a small business. I don’t have a shop. If I was in charge, I think I would reward initiatives like mine!” — AFP

fits a wider embrace of the country’s indigenous roots, with musicians, designers and even politicians adopting Mayan languages and themes. That’s also happening in other countries with strong indigenous traditions, such as Bolivia and Mexico, where such clothing and culture are overcoming long-held societal stigmas. For Adela Qel, a 45-year-old Kaqchikel indigenous woman wearing a huipil in the rural region of Sacatepequez, that acceptance in the fashion world reflects her own pride in the bright clothing. “It doesn’t bother me that they use the typical clothing because if they like it, I can’t be mad about this,” Qel said. “I am proud of my dress.”

The fabrics come in dazzling colors, interwoven in bands and geometric patterns, often worn as tunics or dresses. In Guatemala’s design houses, that’s translated into pumps, ties and purses that stand out from the usual sober colors displayed in high-end stores. The Maria’s Bags label has seen surprising success with its indigenous-based designs, with the label selling its purses in Bloomingdale’s department stores around the world.

Eduardo Figueroa, a high-couture designer, said modernizing the Mayan designs helps non-indigenous people appreciate this ethnic fashion. Already, some of the new creations have been seen in the wardrobes of Guatemalan political figures and celebrities.

And Guatemalans living in the United States and other countries have particularly embraced the designs, perhaps as a cure for their nostalgia for home.

Figueroa, for one, won international recognition for the bright orange gown with a spray of floral design at the shoulders he designed for Guatemala’s contestant at Miss World 2012.

The outfit was rated as one of the contest’s best by fashion designer and Project Runway judge Nick Verreos. “I am inspired by color and Guatemalan textiles are rich in color,” Figueroa said. “There were people who would tell you that they thought that traditional textiles were just for cushions and tablecloths, but I tell them that they can be used in many ways.”

Shoe designer Karim Corzo said the new trend also meant an economic boost for the communities who have long made the fabrics.

“They allow us to give work to the women who weave them and sell them,” Corzo said.

Guatemalan rapper Tzutu Baktun Kan saw a larger cultural move toward his country’s indigenous roots, harkening back to the first millennium when present-day Guatemala sat in the heart of the Mayan empire.

“What we are trying to do is strengthen the Mayan languages that little by little are not being spoken,” said Kan, who performs in the indigenous language of Tzutujil. “We want to open more spaces that break the ties of racism.”

Not everyone, however, embraces that heritage.

Eduardo Ortiz, a high-couture clothing designer, said he doesn’t use traditional Guatemalan textiles because they aren’t his style and because he thinks some Guatemalans won’t accept them. “Some people think they will look too indigenous with this type of clothing,” the designer said. Under Spanish colonial rule, indigenous Guatemalans were forced to use traditional outfits specific to the region they lived in so the authorities could better identify them.

Over the years, the embroidery of those outfits became a unique means for self-expression, with the designs incorporating elements

Karim Corzo, a shoe designer using Guatemalan textiles, poses for a photo at a workspace in her factory.

Handmade shoes designed by Karim Corzo lay scattered on a workshop table.

A pair of wedges show shoes designed by Karim Corzo with embroidered Guatemaln fabric, sit on a shelf at a factory where the shoes are handmade in Guatemala City.

such as the Mayan calendar and images of conjurers who people believed could take animal form, said Alvaro Pop, a United Nations expert on indigenous cultures. “The Mayans took all their world views and their oral traditions and expressed their thoughts and ideas on their outfits,” Pop said.

In more recent decades, the weaving on such fabrics became more modern with more colors mixed into the designs. “When you are outside of the country you think it’s beautiful but by modernizing these traditional textiles we are getting Guatemalans (in the country) to wear them,” Corzo said. That doesn’t mean the new fashion comes cheap. A pair of high-couture shoes runs from $50 to $150 while a gown

can cost between $300 and $800, with the price, according to the designers, a result of the exclusive designs and quality of the handmade products.

Eventually, Pop said, some of that money should go back to the communities, which are among this impoverished country’s poorest and most marginalized. One of their greatest remaining possessions, he said, is their millennia-old culture. “Ethnic fashion is a trend around the world but we have to be very careful to not simply infringe on the copyright of the indigenous creators of the textiles,” he said.

“Each textile they make is absolutely unique, they don’t make it twice and that intellectual property should be paid for too.” — AP

Paris fashion faces scrutiny over lack of black models P

aris fashion gets underway tomorrow with the industry on the defensive following a blistering attack by Iman and Naomi Campbell over the lack of black faces on the catwalks. The pair, two of the fashion world’s best known figures, teamed up with US former modelturned-activist Bethann Hardison earlier this month to launch their broadside. The trio condemned fashion houses that use just “one or no models of color” in a collection, saying the result was “racism”, even if it was unintentional.

They named dozens of labels they considered to be most at fault including Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs. “Eyes are on an industry that season after season watches fashion houses consistently use one or no models of color,” they said in an open letter to fashion week governing bodies. “No matter the intention, the result is racism. Not accepting another based on the color of their skin is clearly beyond aesthetic....” they wrote.

“It can no longer be accepted, nor confused by the use of the Asian model,” they added, referring to concerns that the scarcity of specifically black models on catwalks is often glossed over by the presence of models from Asia with pale skin.

The three then took to the television airwaves in the US ahead of New York fash-

A combination of pictures shows Brtitish model Naomi Campbell and Somali-born model Iman. Paris fashion week kicks off tomorrow with the industry on the defensive following a blistering broadside

by Iman and Naomi Campbell over the lack of black faces on catwalks. — AFP ion week to denounce the status quo, with the Somalia-born Iman, 58, warning that the problem was getting worse rather than better.

“There were more black models working then (in the 1970s) than in 2013,” she told US television. “There is a time when silence is not acceptable at all and if the conversation cannot be had publicly in our industry, then inherently there is something wrong with the industry,” she added. The trio’s charge has caught the industry on the back foot over an issue it has conspicuously failed to resolve. The women said they would monitor this season’s shows for any signs of improvement.

The Calvin Klein show at New York fashion week, which wrapped up on September 12, subsequently included five black models in a 35-look collection, a contrast to the one or none of previous seasons.

But Didier Grumbach, president of the French Couture and Ready-to-wear Federation, said he felt the accusations were unjustified. “We have 100 shows representing 22 different nationalities. I don’t see how we can be charged with racism,” Grumbach told AFP ahead of the Paris collections. Designers and modeling agencies have said there is a small pool of black models who are in constant demand and therefore difficult to book.

Meanwhile, the most anticipated spring/summer 2014 ready-to-wear collections this week will include New York fashion star Alexander Wang’s second show for Balenciaga following his wellreceived February collection.

And all eyes will be on French designer Hedi Slimane with his follow-up to the grunge dominated look of his last women’s ready-to-wear collection for Saint Laurent. For critics, his work is either bad taste or just ‘not Yves Saint Laurent’, the celebrated fashion designer who died in 2008. For others however, Slimane, known for his skinny tailoring, remains a visionary. Industry watchers will also be keeping a keen eye on the week’s debuts such as the first show by French label Zadig & Voltaire.The label was founded in 1997 by Thierr y Gillier, grandson of Lacoste co-founder Andre Gillier.

Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen, who presented a haute couture collection in 2011, will also hold her first ready-to-wear show. The 29-year-old has been collaborating with scientists and architects creating an innovative style reflecting contemporary sculpture and art. The Paris spring/summer 2014 ready-to-wear collections start tomorrow with Christine Phung, Cedric Charlier, Julien David and Moon Young Hee among the first to hit the catwalk. — AFP

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

lifestyle F A S H I O N

F

ashion duo Dolce&Gabbana looked back to the ancient past of Domenico Dolceís native Sicily for their new collection in Milan yesterday, featuring prints of Greek temples and gold coin necklaces. Models sashayed down the runway to a mix of Fellini film soundtracks by renowned cinema composer Nino Rota in a selection that evoked antiquity and the natural beauty of spring on the island when the almond trees are in flower. The spring/summer 2014 collection for Milan Fashion Week featured dresses, short tunics and poncho-style jackets that had almond branch patterns and the white and pink buds applied to the fabric for a threedimensional effect.There were also more

Models present creations for fashion house Dolce & Gabbana as part of the spring/summer 2014 ready-to-wear collections during the fashion week in Milan yesterday. — AFP photos

traditional polka-dot dresses in blackand-white and red-and-black, as well as the brandís signature black lace dresses.

The company said in a note that the collection was ìan imaginary journey to rediscover ancient Sicily, where history and myth come togetherî. The models had their hair up in braids like Greek goddesses and wore tiaras made of almond flowers or gold coins. There were also tiny handbags decorated with temple facade patterns and belts of chunky coins linked together. The collection concluded with a dazzling array of gold lace dresses. — AFP

Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake shine at iHeartRadio

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A visitor looks at German artist Peter Wilde’s ‘60 Merkels’ at the Berliner Liste fair for contemporary art in Berlin September 20, 2013. — AFP

Algeria’s home-grown manga a hit with the young I

t is a massively popular book form that originated in Japan where it became a cultural phenomenon. Now manga comics are flourishing in Algeria as well. “The Algerian manga is our trademark,” said Salim Brahimi proudly. “It’s what we call the DZ manga.” Brahimi is the founder of Z-Link, Algeria’s first publisher of manga comics. And ZLink’s manga are 100 percent Algerian, from the drawings to the text.

Published in French, colloquial Arabic and soon in north Africa’s Berber language, DZ manga has put a distinctly local stamp on a major Japanese product. And the comics are flying off the shelves.

“We are printing 3,000 copies per title,” said Kamal Bahloul, Z-Link’s representative at a book festival in the eastern city of Tizi Ouzou. “In 2008, 40 percent of our print run was sold against 70 percent today,” he added. Since its launch in 2007, Z-Link has been

A man reads “The revolution” a manga comic book created by Algerian artist, Fella Matougui, for the 50th anniversary of Algeria’s independence on September 18, 2013 in Algiers. — AFP photos

increasing its catalogue-and its staff.

“When we started this adventure there were just two of us,” said Bahloul. “Now we have nearly 30 employees. We are growing five percent on average every year.” In 2008, a year after Brahimi co-founded Z-Link, he launched a key weapon in its marketing armoury: Laabstore magazine, a monthly review of Algeria’s burgeoning manga, cinema and video games scene. Laabstore runs extracts from the work of up-and-coming manga writers-and of course also serves as a successful shop window for Z-Link’s own titles, with its print run having risen from 2,000 to 10,000 copies in five years. Japan’s manga, a sometimes lurid style of comic strip, cover a wide range of themes and are massively popular both at home and abroad. The Algerian version respects the basic ingredients of sharp humor, suspense and a hyperactive artistic style, but the scripts also add the crucial local flavor. “The stories we deal with are typically Algerian scenes,” said 28-year-old Sid Ali Oudjiane, a manga writer whose “Victory Road” series-featuring a schoolboy’s quest for sporting glory-has already won him three national awards. DZ’s catalogue includes a variety of genres-and claims plenty of young talent, both male and female. “ The Revolution”, published in 2012 to mark the 50th anniversary of Algeria’s independence from France, is one of a string of titles from 18-year-old Fella Matougui.

Problems in the desert And one of the first major successes of the local manga scene was “Samy Kun” by Yacine Haddad, about a teenager who gets mixed up in the problems of the Algerian Sahara. But as well as the different subject matter explored by the writers, the artists have sought to break away from the purely Japanese style by bringing distinctive local touch-

companies seeking to harness its marketing potential. “Firms like Sonelgaz and Panasonic have called us about advertising illustrations,” said Bahloul.

At the Tizi Ouzou book fair, Z-Link is busily raising manga’s “Made in Algeria” profile, with Oudjiane displaying his skills to a group of inspired young festival-goers at one workshop. “In 20 or 30 years, young Algerians will all have mangas and comics on their bookshelves,” said Bahloul, predicting the continuation of trend that few would bet against right now. — AFP

Issues of “Ghost”, a manga comic book created by Algerian artist, Fella Matougui displayed in a book shop in Algiers. es to their work. Despite its success, however, Algeria’s DZ manga is often more of a passion to pursue than a way of earning a living-even for the award-winning Oudjiane. “I work on manga on the side. I can only devote my free time to it, at the weekends and at night,” he said.

Likewise for manga author Amir Cheriti, whose day job is as a graphic artist in an advertising agency. “For us, it is still for pleasure,” he said.

Algeria’s DZ manga has had its own special billing at prestigious industry events, including two inter-

national book fairs in the French cities of Angouleme and Montpellier. But surely the greatest recognition so far has come from the manga Mecca itself. This year, Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum acquired several Algerian works, “not just to be exhibited, but also for research”, said Z-Link founder Brahimi.

The influence of the Algerian brand is also attracting attention in the United States, where it is the subject of a doctoral thesis at Philadelphia University. And there is growing interest from

Algerian manga artist, Fella Matougui, 18, poses with some of her comics.

Belgian designer serves up luxury in total transparency T

he hallmark of luxury is exclusiveness and mystery, but Belgian fashion pioneer Bruno Pieters wants to break tradition and offer high-end buyers “transparent shopping from A to Z”. In 2012, he created “Honest by”, a web-only fashion label that gives the shopper an intricately detailed

breakdown of a product’s elaborate supply chain that can circle the globe, even if Pieters favors the local. In the regular world of fashion, “you can sell a 50,000 euro ($67,000) dress without being aware that the product was made by children,” said Pieters. “In the fashion world, few ask themselves the question.” But the question became a burning one after the catastrophic collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh killed 1,100 people in April. The disaster shocked consumers, putting the spotlight on the often appalling conditions for workers making garments and, activists hope, creating a desire in shoppers to consider every link in the worldwide supply chain. At “Honest by”, click on a piece of clothing, and a long list appears, itemizing supplies and workmanship that made the shirt or suit possible, prices included.

The client “can verify the origin of materials, where the clothing is made and at what price,” said Pieters, standing in his workshop in the heart of a hip neighborhood in Antwerp, Belgium’s main commercial hub and a major port. Click on a green silk tunic and the shopper, comfortably surfing at home, sees not only where the fabric comes from, but the buttons, stitching and labels too. All added up, the tunic costs 225.87 euros ($300) compared with a wholesale cost of 69.14 euros. The mark-up, clearly stated on the website, is the company’s premium for creating the item.

“It no longer works that companies go produce in China and slap on a ‘Made in France’ label,” Pieters said. “Transparency will

soon be inevitable for the luxury business because the only reason to pay the prices, is quality and know-how,” he added. Pieters, 38, is a refugee from high fashion. A former art director at Hugo Boss, he burned out in 2009, embittered by the drive for the bottom-line that he says rules the luxury goods industry. But adorning the walls of his studio are the bright colors and tight angles more associated with Paris cat walks than fair trade shops.

“It’s possible to be responsible and doing

A girl works on a design for Belgian Fashion designer Bruno Pieters. — AFP photos something other than linen and beige,” said Labour Organization, looking for tie-ups in Pieters. The designer took a two-year break a campaign against child labor. But “Honest from fashion before building his company by” is not a large-scale business, producing and insists that despite a switch to vegetari- about 1,500 pieces since its launch, expanding only by inviting young creators to also anism, he is no activist.

“I’m just creating what I’d like to buy,” he sell on the site.

Pieters says that 20 percent of the profsaid. From my time in high fashion, I learned the power of consumers, whose its made in designer collaborations will got every mood is closely scrutinized, analyzed to charity, but the company overall does by hundreds of experts,” he said. “Fashion, not yet turn a profit. The designer refuses which by definition leads the crowd, is a to give sales figures, however. good means to change things.” ‘Honest by,’ Transparency in business “means publishwhose name is a play on the honest buyer, ing earnings, but that is of no interest, was approached by the International except to shareholders.” — AFP