2nd Oct 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

Nearly 1,000 Iraqis killed in September

Dar Al-Shifa excels again; Conference addresses obesity

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Venezuela expels US diplomats

Asia cage-fighter strikes blow for region’s women

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Shopping malls to install metal detectors, cameras

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www.kuwaittimes.net

THULQADA 26, 1434 AH

MP wants statues banned, removed conspiracy theories

Big countries, big budgets

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

T

his is the beauty of American democracy: The president cannot force anything on the nation. The biggest illustration for my words is yesterday’s shutdown of the US federal government after the Congress rejected the budget. Since Obama’s first term, the president has tried to implement a healthcare reform.

We all know that the US healthcare system is controlled by influential insurance companies. If you lack an insurance, you will be deprived of many healthcare services. This means that the poor are deprived from proper healthcare. It is amazing how the biggest and strongest country in the world does not provide healthcare benefits to its people. But this is not my major point. That is an issue of concern to American citizens.

The brawl that lead to the shutdown yesterday was related, in one way or another, to the debate about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act known as the Obamacare. This was not the first federal government shutdown. I remember the last time the federal government closed was in 1996 during the Bill Clinton era which cost US $1 billion.

The reasons for the closure were different.

In US politics the budget always causes big disputes. The estimate for this closure is even higher (around $30 million a day). Wow! That on its own is the budget of a small country in the eastern hemisphere. Anyways, America is a big and strong country. Such an amount is not so big for US. Just for comparison, the war in Iraq has cost around $1.5 trillion, according to a study.

That was money well spent for a good cause introducing democracy to Iraq and Iraqis. The US really did exactly that. After the discovery of this staggering cost, I was depressed to check what was the cost of exporting freedom to Afghanistan.

Of course, I am not going to even start searching the continuous defense aid given to Israel. I think that such amounts of money can do miracles to help with the US budget shortage. But then again, when we are talking about big countries, we are talking big budgets.

KUWAIT: Motorists pass under a pedestrian bridge linked to the Marina Mall shopping plaza in Salmiya. The Cabinet has reiterated the need to address the increase in crime rate in Kuwait including murders - the latest of which happened at the Marina Mall last Thursday.

Max 39 Min 20º High Tide 09:29 & 22:53 Low Tide 03:48 & 16:38

KUWAIT: The Cabinet reiterated the need to address the increase in crime rate in Kuwait including murders the latest of which happened at the Marina Mall last Thursday. The latest crime was a main topic of discussion during the Cabinet’s weekly meeting Monday during which Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah gave a briefing regarding the incident, as well as the mechanism of coordination to be established with malls managements in order to provide security personnel and surveillance cameras at each shopping center.

Those updates were published by Al-Qabas yesterday quoting a government source familiar with the Cabinet’s meeting. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry released a statement yesterday announcing that managements of local malls and shopping centers have already been contacted and informed about procedures they are required to adopt in order to improve safety and security conditions there.

The statement explains that the conditions include installing CCTV cameras inside and outside a shopping mall, as well as installing metal detectors at entrances and providing an adequate number of alarm and communication systems. As per the new conditions, malls would also be required to put signs at entrances that list all kinds of banned weapons and items as well as penalties for smuggling MP Al-Jeeran those items inside the mall.

In another development, a Kuwaiti lawmaker has urged the government to remove statues sold in local Continued on Page 13

Kuwait urged to rein in spending Strengthen non-oil income: IMF KUWAIT: Kuwait must rein in public spending, especially on wages, and find new sources of income if it wants to keep its fiscal position strong, the International Monetary Fund said. The OPEC member should also push ahead with its 30 billion dinar ($106 billion) development plan to diversify its heavily oilreliant economy, boost foreign investment and create jobs, it said.

Kuwait has so far enacted little of the plan. Kuwait’s budget surplus is forecast to drop to a still robust 27.4 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year that began in April from 33.4 percent in 2012/13, the IMF said in a statement following regular consultations in Kuwait. But in view of recent sharp rises in current

spending and relatively small non-oil revenues, government expenditure is set to exceed oil revenues by 2017/18, raising the risk from any sustained drop in oil prices, it said based on its projections. “The mission underlines the need to contain current spending, especially in the public wage bill, to provide fiscal buffers in the case of an oil price shock, and to continue to save for intergenerational equity,” the Fund said.

Kuwait’s fiscal buffers were large even before the oil price needed to balance its budget rose to $70 per barrel in 2013/14, the IMF said. Brent crude is forecast to hover around $107.5 this year in Reuters’ September poll. “In the medium term, fiscal restraint of about 8 percent of GDP through lower current spending

Saudi strengthens anti-Qaeda group

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World holds breath; US shuts down WASHINGTON: Monuments closed, offices fell silent and 800,000 public servants were told to stay at home yesterday as Washington’s perennial political crisis forced the first government shutdown in 17 years. The effects of the budget battle ranged from the poignant to the symbolic.

A social program that provides food to poor women and children was hit and the Statue of Liberty was closed to visitors.

Under the Capitol, where rival clans of lawmakers failed overnight to find an eleventh-hour deal to pass a federal budget, the National Mall was sealed off by a sign marked “area closed.” Prospects of a swift resolution to the crisis were unclear and economists warned that the struggling US economic recovery could suffer if the shutdown drags on for more than just a few days.

In a zero-sum battle typical of the divided US political system, Republicans tied new government funding to attempts to delay or dismantle President Barack Obama’s signature health care reform.Each time, their effort was killed by Obama’s allies in the Democratic-led Senate, leaving the government in limbo when its money ran out at the end of the fiscal year at midnight Monday. “This is an unnecessary blow to America,” a somber Senate WASHINGTON: A group of art students take up the staircase of the National Art Gallery as it is Majority Leader Harry Reid said on the closed due to Federal government shutdown in Washington, DC yesterday. — AFP (See Page 21) Senate floor. (See Page 21)

growth and higher non-oil revenues is required to reduce the non-oil deficit gradually,” the Fund said in the statement posted on its website late on Monday.

“The implementation of the proposed measures to contain the non-oil deficit should, however, commence in the near term, since delays would result in the widening of this deficit and require larger adjustment in the future,” it said. On the expenditure side, scaling down electricity and fuel subsidies is needed, the IMF said, as they are taking money away from the much-needed infrastructure investments. Like other wealthy Gulf states, Kuwait provides a generous welfare system and does not collect income tax.

Continued on Page 13

Gulf’s Islamic banks profitability waning

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GCC uneasy over US-Iran détente US dramatic turn frets Gulf DUBAI: Gulf Arab states are uneasy about the unexpected overture between Washington and Tehran, fearing any rapprochement will come at the price of concessions to their regional rival, analysts say. The six oil-rich monarchies have “fears and apprehensions” about the dramatic turn in US Iran policy signaled by last week’s historic telephone call between presidents Barack Obama and Hasan Rouhani, Gulf Research Centre chief Abdul Aziz Saqr said.

“For the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a thawing in the US-Iranian relations could contribute to regional security, but they have reservations over the secrecy that surrounded it, and the nature of concessions,” he said. “There is no rapprochement without concessions,” said Saqr, who is close to government circles in Saudi Arabia.

Iran would seek to “widen its regional influence and meddle further in the affairs of its neighbors,” he predicted.

Saqr said there was already “mis-

trust” between the Gulf states and their US ally over Washington’s failure to deliver on its threat to take punitive military action against the Syrian government over a chemical attack in the Damascus suburbs on August 21. The Gulf states are staunch supporters of the Syrian rebels and some have provided arms as well as funds.

Saqr said that Iran’s determination to take part “actively” in a planned peace conference for Syria in Geneva was a sign of its ambitions. Gulf Arab disappointment at the US change of tack has been evident in the Saudi-owned panArab press. “Just as we waited the strike that he promised to punish the Syrian regime, Obama went and hit his allies,” complained columnist Abderrahman Al-Rashed in Asharq Al-Awsat.

“We do not understand why Obama decided to open the door, which had remained shut until now in the face of a regime that (former) US presidents considered as evil.”

Continued on Page 13

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

LOCAL

Mammography not popular among women in Kuwait

By Nawara Fattahova

Burgan Bank funds construction, furnishing of AUS campus KUWAIT: Burgan Bank, through its Corporate Banking Group, recently funded the American University School (AUS) campus in Sabah Al-Salem Area with a funding package that included financing all American University School movable assets worth a total of KD15 million.

Further to its commitment to the construction of American University School, Burgan Bank will also be installing an oncampus ATM machine, and facilitate school staff accounts in their branch.

Additionally, Burgan Bank installed a secure payment gateway to accomodate online payments for parents.

Highlighting the importance of this project, Raed AI-Haqhaq, Chief Banking Officer at Burgan Bank said, “We are happy that the initial phase of this project has finished on time. Our support and financing of the American University School stem from our concern and commitment to the educational sector in Kuwait, which is witnessing a quick and fruitful improvement. We are happy to take part in its continued growth and development.”

The American University School of Kuwait is a co-educational private school, combining 21st century digital technology and traditional student-centered learning practices to ensure that students achieve academic success and

social growth. American University School will open its 12, 000 square meter facility in September 2013 for Pre K (KG 1) - Grade 5. A separate middle school for Grades 6-8 will open for the 2014-2015 academic year, and eventually, a fully accredited high school for grades 9-12 will be available to students. American University School will offer small class sizes with the latest educational materials and interactive technology.

Dr. Jennifer Beckwith, the founding Director of the American University School, explained that the role Burgan Bank played in funding American University School is a testament to their generosity. “Burgan Bank has displayed a high degree of commitment for the development of this project from its inception until now. In our turn, we extend our sincere appreciation and gratitude to Burgan Bank’s Board of Directors and senior management for their support,” she said.

Having won the ‘Best Corporate Bank in Kuwait’ in 2012 from Global Banking and Finance Review, Burgan Bank has earned its stand as one of the leading banks to continuously provide financial support and facilities to many significant projects in Kuwait- a true reflection of its commitment to supporting the overall development of the country.

Best way to identify cancer

KUWAIT: Breast cancer awareness is increasing around the world, including Kuwait, where public and private institutions are holding awareness campaigns. Apart from different hospitals and clinics, many institutions including telecommunication companies and shopping malls have also begun to spread awareness regarding the impor tance of regular screening as part of their corporate social responsibility. Women in Kuwait still don’t understand the seriousness of preventing this disease, according to Dr Noor Al-Huda Karmani, Head of the Breast Imaging Unit at Al-Sabah Hospital who said that they are scared of getting tested. “The concept of preventive medicine doesn’t exist in the Middle East in general.

They fear instruments used in screening and checking and think that the rays emitted during screening and mammography will cause cancer, while others think that this checking is painful but these ideas are far from the truth,” she told the Kuwait Times yesterday.

“Modern mammograms are designed with precise and accurate technology. The needle in it is very thin and designed to take the a sample, not spread anything. So the patient should not worry about cancer spreading in case of a

tumor. When a doctor knows that a patient has a tumor, he prescribes the right medication and treatment,” added Dr Karmani.

Women have a lot of wrong ideas about breast cancer screening. “They don’t seek the right information. They should focus on understanding breast cancer and detecting it early to save their health. Breast cancer doesn’t take lives and patients live for even 20 years with the disease,” she explained.

Dr Karmani also mentioned the only case where tests were done in large numbers on a million women. “Between 1980-1990, general practitioners in the United Kingdom used to prescribe Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to women who were menopausal. Studies showed that this increased the breast cancer cases by 20 percent. So women with family history should not use HRT,” she concluded.

In 2013, there were more than 2.8 million women with a history of breast cancer in the US. This includes women currently being treated and women who have finished treatment. A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 15 percent of women who get breast cancer have a family member diagnosed with it. About 85 percent of breast

Bigger role for Kuwait charity organisations KUWAIT: Undersecretary of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Adel Al-Falah called for expanding the role of charity and voluntary organizations in developing the communities they operate in.

Speaking at the opening session of the First Forum for Charity Organization and Voluntary Foundations, AlFalah underlined the need for setting an ambitious strategy for charity and voluntary organizations to help governments materialize development plans and make great strides in all aspects of life.

He urged the conferees to come up with new initiatives and recommendations to help achieve this noble goal and to spread the values of and raise the awareness about the role of voluntary work in the advancement of societies.

Al-Falah spoke highly about the successes of Kuwaiti charity and voluntary organizations inside and outside Kuwait.

Kuwait has more than 90 active charity and voluntary organizations which left indelible marks on the humanitarian work across the globe, he said.

The three-day event will review the current situation of charity organizations and voluntary work, stories of success, new mechanisms of work and future plans to develop organization performance and role in the development in their societies they operate in. —KUNA

cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic mutations that happen as a result of aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations.

In Kuwait, according to Dr Safiya Al-Sayegh, a specialist in family medicine, she indicated around 3 percent of women between 20-29 years in Kuwait have breast cancer, and 5.9 percent of those between 30-39 years old suffer from the disease. She also noted that 24.7 percent of breast cancer patients are between 4049 years, 29.1 percent of them 50-59 years, while 13.9 percent of women between 70-79 years have this form of cancer. She added that hereditary factors, old age, lifestyle, obesity, and diet also contribute to breast cancer.

Dr Labiba Temmim, Executive Director and Medical Affairs at the Ruqayah Abdulwahab Alqatami Breast Cancer Foundation noted that screening and early detection of breast cancer in Kuwait are top priorities of the Ministry of Health, particularly Undersecretary Dr Khaled Al-Sehlawi. She also said that screening is the key to surviving breast cancer. According to her, women should follow a healthy lifestyle, consume adequate vegetables, fish, fruits, and exercise regularly to maintain an optimal weight.

Building arson claims spark MPs’ reaction KUWAIT: Lawmakers and realtors reacted strongly to a recent report in which Fire Services Director at the Farwaniya Governorate Col Husain Ali claimed that some property owners deliberately start fires at their apartment buildings in order to drive tenants out. “Details about this crime need to be exposed in order to hold those responsible accountable”, MP Abdurrahman Al-Jeeran told Al-Rai daily yesterday.

Al-Jeeran who spoke as member of the parliament’s legislative and legal committee further indicated that Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad AlKhalid Al-Sabah is required to “carry out his role in following up with this crime” which comes in the form of circumventing the law that organizes the relationship between leasors and tenants” through a contract signed between them.

MP Khalil Al-Saleh meanwhile commended Col Al-Ali for revealing the case and urged him to “provide full details about the crimes supported by evidence to the relevant authorities” for taking legal actions. He fur-

ther acknowledged previous reports in which tenants complained about practices that include electricity and water cuts by which buildings owners seek to force them out.

“Lack of law enforcement allowed for dangerous practices such as those Col Al-Ali exposed to happen”, Al-Saleh said.

MP Awdhah Al-Ruwaiei called in the meantime for regulations to be passed in order to “protect the rights of tenants” as well as a law that provides better organizing to property rents and protects the rights of Kuwaitis and expatriates alike. “Arsons committed by property owners at their own buildings is a proof that a clear law that protects tenants’ right is absent”, he said.

Meanwhile, Real Estate Association President Tawfiq Al-Jarrah criticized practices “committed by a minority of apartment buildings’ owners” in attempts to drive tenants out so that they can replace them with higherpaying tenants or carry out reconstruction works without honoring the contracts. He further urged people affected by those practices to seek legal action.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

LOCAL

Dar Al-Shifa excels once again

By Dr Ziad Al-Alyan KUWAIT: Today witnessed the opening of the first international conference and exhibition held to address obesity in Kuwait. Dar AlShifa, the oldest private hospital in Kuwait, has once again taken the lead by organizing this conference which was set at the beautiful new Jumeirah Hotel.

Undoubtedly, the topic is of great importance and significance

for Kuwait which suffers high rates of obesity, diabetes, ischemic heart diseases and hypertension.

Medicines can only play a part in the treatment and prevention of such diseases but lifestyle changes driven by public awareness and education are vital moves that must be made.

Diet and exercise play a major role in the prevention of these diseases and Kuwait needs to see many more endeavors to educate

the public and increase awareness.

We must applaud the independent efforts of institutions like Dar AlShifa, and invite more health organizations to follow suit. I must recommend to our readers the dietetics department at Dar Al-Shifa where one can get valuable advice and feasible solutions after consulting some of the most competent dietitians in the department. For those who are interested, the conference continues to take place today.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

LOCAL

Pedestrian killed in highway accident Driver injured after hitting camel KUWAIT: A pedestrian died after he accidentally jumped in front of speeding vehicles on the Sixth Ring Road, according to preliminary investigations. Paramedics and police arrived at the scene shortly after the accident was reported, but the Asian man had succumbed to his injuries by that time. Investigations so far revealed that the man was trying to cross the busy highway but failed to assess the speed of incoming vehicles properly and was run over by one of them. The driver who hit him was taken to the nearest police station for questioning.

Sulaibiya accident A driver was injured after he accidently ran into a camel in Sulaibiya and the animal’s owner was charged. Police and paramedics headed to the scene located at a street near Sulaibiya’s farms after the incident was reported and found the driver injured with the animal, also injured, nearby. The Kuwaiti man said that he was driving when the animal suddenly appeared in front of his vehicle and he couldn’t avoid ramming into it. A case was filed at the Sulaibiya police station against the camel’s owner for letting the animal roam freely and risking public safety.

Suicide attempt A man was rushed to Farwaniya Hospital in a critical condition after ingesting poison in a bid to end his life. Doctors said that his condition is expected to stabilize. The Asian man underwent a gastric lavage operation after it was discovered that he consumed pesticides. A case was filed at the Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh police station and officers are waiting for the man to be discharged to question him regarding his suicide attempt.

Inmate dies A probe was started to investigate the death of a Central Jail inmate who collapsed inside his

cell on Monday. The man, who was in his forties, was serving a five-year jail term after he was convicted in a case of drug abuse. He was rushed to the facility’s clinic after he passed out suddenly according to fellow inmates. The body was taken to the forensic department after a preliminary medical test indicated that the man died of natural causes. A case was filed at the Sulaibiya police station.

Medical staff charged A man is suing the medical staff at the Jahra Hospital for “negligence” which he says caused the death of his newborn son. The baby was admitted at the intensive care unit as soon as it was brought to the hospital but was later pronounced dead “under mysterious circumstances” according his father’s report.

The man, who is a Gulf national and works at the Ministry of Defense, filed the case at the Jahra police station and did not provide a medical diagnoses that described his son’s condition. Investigations are ongoing.

KD 3 theft Hawally police arrested a man less than an hour after he stole KD 3 worth of groceries from a shop in Jabriya on Monday. Police headed to the scene early morning after the Egyptian shop-keeper reported the theft. The shop-keeper described the suspect who he said ran away without paying after he placed the items in a plastic bag. A man matching the description and holding a similar bag was found nearby. The man tried to escape but was caught and immediately arrested. The man, a Kuwaiti in his twenties, was referred to the Public Prosecution to face theft charges for stealing seven soda cans, three water bottles, 25 candy bars and a cigarette pack.

KUWAIT: Jabriya detectives arrested two Arabs on charges of breaking into parked cars and stealing cash. The suspects and stolen material were sent to concerned authorities.

Security information department urged citizens and expats not to leave money and other valuables in their car to avoid being stolen by thieves. — By Hanan Al-Saadoun

NBK Executive Management with new recruits

NBK trained 1,100 Kuwaiti employees this year KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has trained more than 1,100 Kuwaiti employees during 2013, as part of its commitment to supporting Kuwaiti nationals. This year, NBK offered more than 90 training programs as part of the bank’s continuous drive to enhance the skills of the talented and qualified Kuwaiti nationals.

“Investing in human resources is investing in our future,” said Emad Al-Ablani, NBK Deputy General Manager, Human Resources Group. “NBK maintains its leading position as one of the country’s largest employers in the private sector and is committed to supporting Kuwaiti nationals and empowering them to realize their potentials.”

Al-Ablani added that “NBK will continue its efforts to provide career and training opportunities for nationals and to support the country’s aim to encourage young Kuwaitis to assume roles in the private sector”.

NBK training programs include NBK Academy, the Summer Internship Program and the first of its kind in the region the NBK High Fliers Program in collaboration with the American University of Beirut to provide NBK’s future leaders with a wide range of leadership disciplines covering topics such as finance, risk and people management skills and included classroom discussion, case studies and assignments.

Bigger role for charity organisations KUWAIT: Undersecretary of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Adel Al-Falah called for expanding the role of charity and voluntary organizations in developing the communities they operate in.

Speaking at the opening session of the First Forum for Charity Organization and Voluntary Foundations,Al-Falah underlined the need for setting an ambitious strategy for charity and voluntary organizations to help governments materialize development plans and make great strides in all aspects of life.

He urged the conferees to come up with new initiatives and recommendations to help achieve this noble goal and to spread the values

of and raise the awareness about the role of voluntary work in the advancement of societies.

Al-Falah spoke highly about the successes of Kuwaiti charity and voluntary organizations inside and outside Kuwait. Kuwait has more than 90 active charity and voluntary organizations which left indelible marks on the humanitarian work across the globe, he said.

The three-day event will review the current situation of charity organizations and voluntary work, stories of success, new mechanisms of work and future plans to develop organization performance and role in the development in their societies they operate in. — KUNA

Emad Al-Ablani

EU lawmaker impressed by ‘lively society’ of Kuwait BRUSSELS: A Portuguese Member of the European Parliament who visited Kuwait last week said that he was impressed by the cosy atmoshphere and the reconstruction going on there.

“It was my first time in Kuwait. I was impressed by all the reconstruction that goes on. I was also struck by the cosy atmosphere in the city when you compare with other neighbouring cities,” Mario David said.

“I think it is a very lively society. Undoubtedly it is the most democratic country in the Arab peninsula. I am looking forward to return,” he stressed.

David is chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Mashreq countries, a member of EP Foreign Affairs Committee and the EP’s subcommittee on security and defence.

The EU lawmaker said he had the opportunity of meeting the speaker of the Kuwaiti parliament “which was extremely interesting. I look forward to his visit to Brussels and the European Parliament.”

“Even if it was a private visit, I had a working meeting in the foreign ministry with the director for Europe and we discussed the issue of the Schengen visa and the next steps to be taken by the Kuwaiti authorities,” he added. — KUNA

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

LOCAL

Obamacare could spark world war: Bukhudoor ‘World entered a very serious scenario’

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: A world war could take place if the situation over budget issues in the US worsens, a Kuwait-based economist alerts. According to Dr Hajjaj Bukhudoor, a Kuwaiti economic analyst, this is likely to happen since the US government officially entered a shutdown after a politicallydeadlocked Congress could not pass a bill to extend funding. US lawmakers worked late into the night but could not overcome a partisan split over President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.

“With all this on the table right now, the worst case scenario would be a world war and total chaos in the world; it is very possible,” Bukhudoor noted. He pointed out that a powerful country which is aiming to exit a recession needs a big thing (such as a war). Bukhudoor said that geopolitics will also play a role in this case, and the Syrian crisis could even spiral out of control and the initial plan in place could be redirected to what had already been planned.

“The world has just entered a very serious scenario on the onset of the government shutdown in the US, so they (US) should really come up with a viable solution to the crisis,” he added.

One of the reasons for his concern is the influence US economy has on oil prices. Bukhudoor asserted that the US government shutdown will also affect oil prices and the income of oil-producing countries (OPEC). “If the shutdown lasts one or two weeks, then it’s just plain political power play, but if the shutdown lasts for a year or two, it’s a serious thing,” he said adding: “So, I am telling you, this big thing that turned out in the US is not a joke, however, answer to this shenanigans will depend on how everyone is going to play their part” he asserted. Bukhudoor noted that a continuous government shutdown could also mean that the stock market will crash and millions of jobs in America will be gone.

In fact ‘Time’ magazine said about 800,000 workers will be furloughed without pay as the US federal government begins its first shutdown in 17 years. The shutdown could cost the economy $1 billion each week if it goes on.

Bukhudoor said such a crisis can be a big disaster like World War I and II but he also argued things will always depend on how the people in the government will play the game seriously.

“The thing is, this is a real opportunity for many; it’s up to you to make a move. My advice to every country is that we should not just be mere speculators; we should not just buy or sell based on rumors. We should understand the seriousness of this crisis and its repercussion on the world, the cycle of the crisis, and the market’s cycle. We should not be impulsive,” he advised.

He also predicted that gold value will surely go high, as many customers will divert their attention to gold rather than the stock market. “Many will buy gold so the market reaction will be to increase the price; we can see that over the next couple of days starting from now,” he added.

Ministry of Public Works speeds up building projects KUWAIT: The Ministry of Public Works of Kuwait announced the speedy advancement in construction works in the Jamal Abdul Nasser Street Development Project which is by far the state’s leading transportation infrastructure project and one of the largest multi-leveled roads and bridge projects currently under construction worldwide. The project has acquired global recognition in multiple network platforms including a feature in Discovery Channel’s ‘Mega Builders’ series which was a case study at The Big 5 conference held on Sept 18, 2013.

The Jamal Abdul Nasser Street development project is considered the largest of MPW’s strategic undertakings to enhance road networks infrastructure. In view of that, a filming team from The Discovery channel’s hit series ‘Mega Builders’ came on a special visit to Kuwait to film their last season’s final episode within the project’s construction sites. The team noted that the magnitude of work, along with technical innovations employed, the project has successfully earned the special opportunity to be featured internationally alongside many mega constructions on which show’s concept is founded.

The filming crew, comprising Adrian Callender (Director), Michael Ellis (Director of Photography) and Peter Sawade (Sound Recorder), were well received by the project executives for interviews that took place within the construction site. The discussions comprised of the expected outcome of this project.

Eight hours of footage was shot and the crew started the filming tour with the project’s bridge segment facility located in Doha area, approximately 15 km from the project site. The camera crew recorded the factory’s mass production operations which commenced with straight reinforcing bars being cut and bent before molded to shape. Finally, the end of the tour was filmed at the bridge columns construction sites, and the construction sequence involved completing a whole pier.

During the filming, a presentation by the engineer was made on how they direct and guide workers to follow implement technical operations with particular emphasis on the health and safety of the workers.

In another event, Jamal Abdul Nasser development project was presented at one of the largest construction exhibitions ever held in Kuwait called ‘The Big 5 Kuwait’. The event, which was held in Kuwait’s number one exhibition venue, included numerous exhibitors from around the world and featured a number of seminars, conferences and training sessions.

Al-Shamali visits projects KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Mustafa Al-Shamali yesterday paid an inspection visit to Kuwait Gulf Oil Company, which is tasked with Kuwait’s share of oil in the joint border region with Saudi Arabia.

The minister, also Chairman of the parent Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) Board, aimed in his visit to assess the production process in Joint Operations of the border cities of Wafra and Khafji, said a KGOC statement. The minister was received by Executive Chairman Ali Al-Shemmeri, Head of the Planning Department Mubarak AlHajri, and a number of KGOC employees.—KUNA

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received yesterday the credentials of Bangladesh’s new ambassador in Kuwait Mohammad Ashab Uddin and Cuba’s new ambassador in Kuwait Andres Gonzalez Garrido in an official ceremony. It was attended by several officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

British education experts visit Kuwait KUWAIT: The British Council is hosting its major annual UK education exhibition (EDUKEX- Oct 2013) at the Sheraton Hotel on Oct 2 and 3. The exhibition will be opened by Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf Minister of Education and Higher Education and British Ambassador to the State of Kuwait, Frank Baker at Sheraton hotel’s Diamond Ballroom at 17:30 today.

Sponsored by Gulf Bank, this exhibition promises to be more vibrant than ever, with representatives from 40 British Universities and Colleges.

Exhibitors will provide the latest information on study opportunities in the UK, including the wide range of subject fields and levels of study that are available. Potential students will have the opportunity to find out all they need to know about GCSE’s, A-levels, foundation courses, English Language courses, career-based diplomas, first degree and postgraduate degree courses. As well as the exhibitors, the British Council will have highly trained staff on hand to answer any enquiries on applications and admission procedures, accommodation, course fees and duration, as well as general information on living and studying in the UK. There will also be presentations by the UK Visas and Immigration on visa requirements for the UK and an opportunity to learn more about how to gain English language skills or take UK qualifications in Kuwait with the British Council.

This is an excellent opportunity to obtain information and discuss matters related to a wide range of subject fields and levels of study.

You can find out all you need to know about GCSE, A-levels and foundation courses, English language courses, career-based diplomas, first degree and postgraduate degree courses, their duration - full-time/part-time/distance-learning, online or tailor-made to suit your own needs and requirements.

Ambassador Baker stated “I’m always delighted to be involved in Edukex in Kuwait. The UK has a long and proud tradition of hosting Kuwaiti students. It’s a key part of what makes our relationship so special. When I meet Kuwaitis who have been to Aberdeen, Brighton, Middlesbrough, Swansea or London, it’s clear how formative they found their time in the UK. That helps strengthen the bond between our two countries. And with British education institutions among the best in the world - four of the top ten universities in the world are in the UK -

Ambassador Frank Baker it’s only natural that this phenomenon continues to grow. I hope Edukex helps provide today’s students with the options and inspiration they need to follow their fathers and grandfathers in finding their second home in the UK.” Director of the British Council in Kuwait said that ‘EDUKEX 2013 brings together a large number of prestigious UK institutions which offer everything from academic and vocational programmes to summer English language courses and A levels. It is the perfect opportunity to meet a wide variety of UK institutions and compare what’s on offer - all with the guarantee of quality that comes with selecting the UK as an overseas study destination.’

British Council’s Education Manager added ‘There are a host of other advantages to studying in the UK as well. You can make your UK experience work even harder for your future by getting some valuable work experience, improving your language skills and enhancing your CV. With a study visa to the UK, international students are able to work part-time up to 20 hours a week during term time and work full-time during holidays and work full-time at the end of their studies after their course has finished up until their immigration permission to be in the UK expires.’

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.

British Education

By Frank Baker British Ambassador

S

eptember and early October for the British Embassy in Kuwait is what we call ‘student season’. My hardworking staff in the visa team - who continue to deal with record numbers of visa applications this year - are putting in extra effort to process student visas as quickly as possible, in time for academic courses starting in the coming weeks.

And I know that across Kuwait young people from all segments of society are looking forward to embarking on the life-shaping adventure that is higher education. So we’re delighted to be doing what we can, working closely with the Higher Education Ministry and the National Union of Kuwaiti Students to facilitate those who have chosen to study in the UK. This year is also the time when the British Council’s travelling higher education roadshow - Edukex - rolls in to town. This year it will take place at the Sheraton, opening on Wednesday evening. For those thinking about applying to study aboard it’s a wonderful opportunity to see what the UK has to offer, and to meet representatives from 50 top quality British Higher Education Institutions.

Both these events are evidence of something of which we in the UK are very proud - the abiding fondness of Kuwaitis towards British higher education institutions. It seems that almost every day I meet a Kuwaiti who has studied in the UK. Whether in London or Leeds, Bristol or Brighton, Dundee or Doncaster, Kuwaitis have long been welcome guests at British Universities.

And I think it’s easy to see why this is the case. Four of the top six universities in the world are British, according to the latest Q.S world rankings, published last month. The UK is home to some of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world, some of the world’s most vibrant and multi-cultural cities, and to some of the world’s most innovative and pioneering companies. And as Kuwaiti cyclist Othman Al-Mutairi is currently discovering on a bicycle tour across the Yorkshire dales, it’s also a country full of inspiring scenery (you can follow Othman and his Emirati, Qatari and Saudi colleagues as they bike across the country on #dunestodales and via the Embassy’s Twitter account - @ukinkuwait). So if you don’t mind the occasional rain (which can be a refreshing change from the searing Kuwaiti sun), it’s an exciting and inspiring place to live and study.

And, as everyone knows, the historical links between Kuwait and the UK go back centuries. There is a well of good feeling towards Kuwait amongst the British public, and if the packed flights to London are anything to go by, Kuwaitis more than reciprocate that feeling.

It is this mutual friendship that the close bond our two countries have in the field of education really represents - and continually replenishes. Those Kuwaitis who study in the UK, leave having made memories to last a life time and having learnt about the UK, its people and its culture. Similarly those Kuwaitis studying in the UK are each ambassadors for their country— leaving a profound and positive impression with all those they meet. These friendships forged and ties tightened are what really drives the relationship between our two countries forward. And that is why we welcome and enjoy student season, and why I would encourage you to pop into EDUKEX this week and see for yourselves the outstanding further education that the UK can offer.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

LOCAL kuwait digest

kuwait digest

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

By Dr Hassan Abdallah Abbas

I

I

return to writing following an attempt to stop completely because of health reasons, but it seems that writing or politics are ‘diseases’ that cannot be cured easily. I also admit that the current state of ‘recession’ or inaction pushes a writer who usually comments on local events to quit simply because there is nothing happening which is worthy of comments.

The government recently announced plans to hire stateless residents, or bedoons, in the military’s marching band. I believe that this decision is not only suspicious, but also infuriating. I have nothing against bedoons and on the contrary, I’m actually on their side. Our society or government in specific has a certain stand on music.

Ironically, Kuwait had one of the best military marching bands since the fifties, not only in the Middle East, but also the entire world. The police marching band won several international awards, and were at one point invited to participate in the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee celebrations in the mid 70’s era. Many still remember the band and its exceptional performance before football matches and on special occasions at the Shuwaikh High School.

It seems that the government is reviving the band now, yet continues to have a negative attitude regarding music. Therefore, bedoons were chosen to fill vacancies that the government believes Kuwaitis will likely refuse. In my opinion, this position is disrespectful to bedoons, to music, and to art in general. It is a behavior that is in line with the government’s backwardness and discrimination against many social categories and modern phenomena.

The negative attitude towards bedoons is also seen in Kuwait’s security institutions. Discussions are currently ongoing between the government and MPs to accept bedoons’ applications to enroll in the military and police force. But the question is, why only the military and police? Why not hire bedoon engineers, teachers, doctors, or at any other job in the public sector?

If the government’s goal is to “integrate” bedoons into the society, then it has to avoid discriminating against them. Limiting job openings for bedoons and making those only available at the military and police force means that stateless residents will remain prisoners of the past. This ultimately leads to social isolation of bedoons as well as further discrimination and oppression against them. — Al-Qabas

Iran, US, and Israel

Al-Anbaa

An insult to bedoons

kuwait digest

War crimes punishment

By Dr Ghanim Al-Najjar

A

t 11 am, the bailiff shouted ‘Rise please!’ to mark the entrance of the judge and his panel comprising of four men and two women judges. We all stood till the judges took their seats.

The judge started explaining the summary of the case before he read out his sentence.

The judges sat relatively higher than everybody with the defense panel to their right in front of their fully-dressed defendant who had a notepad in which he wrote his unknown remarks. To the left sat the prosecutor’s team which were responsible for calling witnesses and verifying their testimony. We sat as observers in a balcony behind glass panels, for security reasons. Security measures were very strict and no recording devices or mobile phones were allowed in. Everybody was thoroughly and meticulously searched in a manner that was even more strict than when boarding a flight.

The hearing was dedicated to delivering a judgment after both sides, the prosecution and the defense, appealed an earlier verdict of 50 years in prison. The prosecution appealed that the crime required 80 years imprisonment than the usual 50.

Naturally, the defense thought the sentence was unfair to his client and that there had been some mistakes in the proceedings that led to the verdict and accordingly asked to reduce it to 20 years only.

The judge started talking in detail about the appealed verdict for about an hour and a half. As soon as he reached the point on how the court reached its verdict, he asked the defendant to rise and issued the verdict, who approved of the 50 years imprisonment, with an agreement on where the defendant would be imprisoned in addition to other details.

The sentence pulled the curtains down on one of the most important international verdicts in human history as it was the first verdict against a former head of state prosecuted by an independent international court: Charles Taylor. The hearing took place in the Hague, Netherlands last Thursday to make it clear that escaping punishment is not an aspiration for war criminals anymore. Even if some of them have managed to escape punishment, things are getting tighter and tighter by the day. (To be continued) — Al-Jarida

t is clear that the diplomatic relations between the two archrivals Iran and the US is improving but, it is diplomacy which will not last long. I have explained my theory on why I believe so: In order to understand why the matter is bleak, we must first understand the three degrees of diplomatic issues: short, intermediate, and strategic. Many mediators between the two countries made people forget about the importance of these three degrees of problems. So, if we divided the problems, we would have short term issues like PoWs, release of prisoners, spies and homosexuals, intermediate ones like the nuclear issue and a strategic one like the existence of Israel.

Short term issues are problems which were never a topic of great interest and whose solutions were always diplomatic and easy and without any headaches. The intermediate term, and particularly the nuclear issue, took a dimension which is more than required. The Americans will not be harmed by the nuclear program and the Iranians do not want to expand their nuclear power, based on assurances and the repeated fatwas of the supreme leader and revolution guide.

But the existence of many hypocrites in the middle, like the Zionists and particularly the Zionist lobby AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee), have made the nuclear issue move from the intermediate level to the strategic, in a way that the first was placing conditions of either total halt or no solution, while the second was stipulating either the acceptance of expansion with the promise of no bomb, or no solution! Each side then elected a spokesperson to speak in a tough tone, making neo-conservatives and neo-fundamentalists appear on the scene.

If all problems were accumulated and categorized, it is very clear that the concerns on both sides are two basic issues: Israel and the nuclear issue and all other issues are just trailers of those two issues. In fact if you analyze the nuclear issue, you will find out that it is linked to the Israeli file in the first place. In other words, imagine if the shah’s rule was still in existence or if Israel was not disturbed by the nuclear issue, then the nuclear issue would not have received all this attention.

The true problem between them, which will make the two return to dispute again is Israel. Iranians consider Israel an ideological issue that cannot be compromised but it is not the same with the Americans because they consider it a red line. The solution lies in one of the three things: either the Iranians drop their demand for Israel, or the Americans forego Israel, or Israel is wiped out by a third party.

Without these three conditions, matters cannot be sorted between the two countries and the situation will always remain tense and get escalated with each right or wrong opportunity because this is the natural and current course between the two, and anything else is an exception! — Al-Rai

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

September marked by bloody sectarian violence in Iraq

First Bangladesh MP sentenced to death Page 11

Page 8

IDP CAMP: In this Sept. 17, 2013 photo, a Muslim man pushes a rickshaw with an injured child, all became displaced following the 2012 sectarian violence, close to Bawda Pa IDP camp in Rakhine state, Myanmar. President Thein Sein traveled to Myanmar’s conflict-torn west yesterday as a new spate of sectarian violence gripped the state of Rakhine, with police saying Buddhist rioters killed a 94-year-old Muslim woman and torched more than 70 homes. — AP

Violence rocks western Myanmar YANGON: Anti-Muslim riots shook western Myanmar yesterday with a mob of hundreds setting homes ablaze and stabbing a 94-year-old woman to death, police said, as President Thein Sein made a rare visit to the region. Attacks against Muslims in Buddhist-majority Myanmar have overshadowed widely praised political reforms overseen by the former general since military rule ended in 2011.

Thein Sein, making his first trip to Rakhine state as president, was due to hold meetings with Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim communities during his two-day visit, according to a presidential office official.

Unrest began rippling through rural areas near the town of Thandwe in the early morning, with a mob of 800 ethnic Rakhine Buddhists from nearby villages descending on one settlement, according to a police official in the state who asked not to be named.

“They burned about 18 houses. After that a 94-year-old Kaman Muslim woman was stabbed (to death),” he said. Several more homes were burned in another village, as security forces fired some 30 warning shots to disperse two opposing groups of Buddhists and Muslims that had formed near the police station.

He said a military presence has been

increased in the Thandwe area, which Thein Sein is due to visit today. Around 250 people have been killed and more than 140,000 left homeless in several outbreaks of violence around the country since June 2012, mostly in Rakhine.

Thein Sein, a former junta premier turned president, spent yesterday visiting a different area of Rakhine populated mainly by stateless Rohingya Muslims.

“The main focus of the trip is the communal violence,” said the presidential official, who asked not to be named.

Rakhine police said the president is expected to visit camps for the displaced early yesterday. The latest unrest follows an argument over a parking space near a Muslim home last week in Thandwe town which triggered arson attacks against property owned by local Kaman Muslims, according to the authorities.

Clashes in Rakhine state in June and October last year left about 200 people dead, mostly Rohingya who are denied citizenship by Myanmar and viewed by the government and many local people as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. The Kaman-an officially recognised minority in Myanmar-were also attacked in the October Rakhine violence.

The conflict has since spiralled, with members of the wider Muslim community tar-

geted in incidents across the country.

Four major Myanmar Muslim organisations released an open letter to Thein Sein late Tuesday calling on the government to take urgent law enforcement action. “The concerns of minority Muslims around the country have reached peak levels. They feel they have no security,” the letter said.

The International Crisis Group thinktank warned Tuesday that unless there is an effective government response and change in societal attitudes, the violence could spread and jeopardise the country’s transition. “At a moment of historic reform and opening, Myanmar cannot afford to become hostage to intolerance and bigotry,” said Jim Della-Giacoma, ICG’s Asia program director. “Those who are spreading messages of intolerance and hatred must not go unchallenged. Otherwise, this issue could come to define the new Myanmar, tarnishing its international image and threatening the success of its transition away from decades of authoritarianism.”

In several eruptions of unrest in Myanmar, armed mobs-including robed monks-have rampaged through villages attacking local Muslims and torching homes. Anti-Muslim rhetoric, spread by radical Buddhist monks, has been on the rise and sparked international concern.

Last week visiting members of the Elders-former world leaders led by ex-US president Jimmy Carter-appealed for an end to impunity over a wave of antiMuslim attacks. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway and deputy chair of The Elders, warned it could take decades to overcome “the ingrained prejudices promoted by extremist voices in parts of the country”. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

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

One in five American Jews say they have no religion CHICAGO: One out of five Americans who consider themselves culturally or ethnically Jewish say they do not believe in God or they do not follow any particular faith, in a sign of the changing nature of American Jewish identity, according to a study released yesterday.

The Pew Research Center survey found vast differences among generations - with 93 percent of Jewish Americans born between 1914 and 1927 saying they identified as religiously Jewish, compared with just 68 percent of Jews born after 1980.

A total of 22 percent of US Jews said they were atheist, agnostic or simply did not follow any particular religion - numbers similar to the portion of the general public that is without religious affiliation.

“The numbers are interesting, but I am not surprised by the news that a significant number of the emerging generation of Jewish adults are what the

survey calls ‘Jews of no religion,’” said Rabbi B. Elka Abrahamson, president of the Wexner Foundation, a Jewish philanthropy group.

“They are not connected to Jewish life the way their parents or grandparents were,” said Abrahamson, who was given an advance copy of the report. “I don’t think this means we count them out.”

The US Jewish population, including those who are non-religious but who identify as Jewish based on ethnicity, ancestry or culture, counts about 5.3 million people or 2.2 percent of American adults, the Pew study said.

But the percentage of US adults who say they follow the Jewish faith has dropped by about half since the 1950s, the survey found.

Orthodox Jews, the smallest of the three major Jewish denominational movements, are also the

youngest and have the biggest families. This suggests that their share of the Jewish population will grow, according to the study.

“The study testifies to some disturbing demographic vital signs for non-Orthodox Jews,” said Steven Cohen, a professor at Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion. “The next generation will be much more heavily Orthodox than this generation.”

An adviser to Pew, Cohen said that Jews with no religion were “very unengaged in the Jewish community and Jewish life” and said non-Orthodox Jews should promote social ties among unmarried younger adults.

The survey also found that intermarriage rates, the rate of Jews marrying non-Jews, has risen substantially over the last five decades, with non-religious Jews much more likely than religious Jews to

have a non-Jewish spouse.

Among Jews who have married since 2000, nearly six in 10 have a non-Jewish spouse, compared with just 17 percent of those who married before 1970. This has consequences on the next generation, as more than one-third of intermarried Jews say they were not raising their children as Jewish.

Abrahamson said that the fact that Jews of no religion still call themselves Jews suggests a new category that needs to be explored and understood by other Jews, especially Jewish leaders.

She called the survey a wake-up call for the Jewish community to work to “build wider doors, to listen to new voices, even in the midst of some discomfort about what those voices might (be) saying.”

The survey was conducted among 3,475 US Jews between February and June, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. — Reuters

September marked by bloody sectarian violence in Iraq BAGHDAD: Iraq saw a series of bloody sectarian attacks in September the United Nations warned could force more people to flee, as violence rose sharply from the month before, according to figures released yesterday.

Violence has reached a level not seen since 2008, and there are persistent fears Iraq is slipping back towards the intense Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed tens of thousands of people.

“September has seen a rise in mass-casualty bombings aimed at crowded areas. There has also been an increase in the killing of whole families in shooting attacks,” said John Drake, an analyst with risk management firm AKE Group.

“Radical Islamist groups are likely intent on stoking an angry response from the Shiite community,” he said. That “will polarise society further and drive many in the Sunni community to seek protection from whoever they think represents them the best and has the best chance of physically defending them.”

Figures compiled by the United Nations, the Iraqi government and AFP all pointed to a spike in violence in September. The UN put the death toll at 979 (up from 804 in August), while government figures showed 971 deaths (up from 443) and AFP recorded 880 (up

BAGHDAD: In this Sept. 16, 2013 photo, people inspect the aftermath of a car bomb explosion at a commercial street in Baghdad, Iraq.— AP attacks against Iraqi Shiites. from 693).

Militants carried out a series of The September toll was the highest recorded by AFP all year, sectarian attacks on both Sunni and with almost 400 deaths occurring in Shiite mosques, funerals and other the last 10 days of the month alone. targets in September, the deadliest The violence continued on Tuesday, of which were bombings against with nine people, among them Shiite mourners in Baghdad that eight security forces members, killed 73 people on September 21.

A suicide bombing at a Shiite killed in attacks.

The unrest came after attacks, mosque south of Baghdad also including 12 car bombs mainly tar- killed 47 people, while five attacks geting Shiite areas in and around against Sunni funerals and mosques Baghdad, killed 52 people on killed more than 50.

The UN refugee agency has said Monday. An Al-Qaeda front group has since issued a statement claim- it is “increasingly concerned about ing responsiblity for coordinated the situation in Iraq, where recent

waves of sectarian violence threaten to spark new internal displacement of Iraqis fleeing bombings and other attacks.”

It said about 5,000 Iraqis had already been displaced in 2013, joining more than 1.13 million who fled or were forced out of their homes in previous years. Violence has surged this year, especially since security forces stormed a Sunni anti-government protest site in northern Iraq on April 23, sparking clashes that killed dozens of people.

“This prompted a violent backlash from armed Sunnis frustrated with what they perceive to be marginalisation by the government,” Drake said. And “groups such as AlQaeda in Iraq sought to capitalise on the mood by conducting largescale attacks against the government and security forces.”

The authorities have made some concessions aimed at placating anti-government protesters and Sunnis in general, such as freeing prisoners and raising the salaries of Sunni anti-Al-Qaeda fighters, but underlying issues have yet to be addressed.

“At the same time, with groups such as Al-Qaeda fighting more openly in Syria, (militants) likely feel that they have a real chance to carve out an area of influence crossing the border of the two countries,” another motivator for increased operations, Drake said. — AFP

ALEXANDRIA: Egyptian police detain a political activist and supporter of 28-year-old blogger Khaled Said who died following police questioning before the revolution, during clashes with police outside a court in Egypt’s northern coastal city of Alexandria yesterday during the trial of Egyptian police officers Awad Ismail Suleiman and Mahmud Salah Amin accused of using excessive force and killing Said. — AFP

Iranian FM accuses Netanyahu of ‘lies’ TEHRAN: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of lying in his rejection of Tehran’s overtures to the West as a cosmetic “charm offensive”.

“We have seen nothing from Netanyahu but lies and actions to deceive and scare, and international public opinion will not let these lies go unanswered,” Zarif said in an interview with Iranian television broadcast yesterday.

Zarif was speaking from the United Nations, where Netanyahu was set to the address the General Assembly later yesterday, the same forum where last year he used a cartoon bomb as a prop to underline how close he believed Iran was to producing a nuclear warhead.

“For 22 years, the Zionist regime has

been lying by repeating endlessly that Iran will have the atomic bomb in six months,” Zarif said. “After all these years, the world must understand the reality of these lies and not allow them to be repeated.”

Netanyahu headed to the United States determined to use his UN address and a White House meeting with President Barack Obama on Monday to expose what he regards as “sweet talk” from Iran about wanting to allay Western concerns about its nuclear programme.

At the White House meeting, Netanyahu said it was vital that “Iran fully dismantles its military nuclear programme”. He urged Obama to keep US sanctions in place throughout negotiations between Iran and the major powers over its nuclear programme. — AFP

President pledges dialogue to heal ‘divided’ Nigeria LAGOS: Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday promised a national dialogue to heal what he said was an ethnically and religiously divided nation, and urged his compatriots to unite against extremism to avoid the fate of Syria.

Jonathan struck a sombre tone in a televised speech to mark Nigeria’s 53rd year of independence from Britain. “These may not be the best of times ... Our people are divided in many ways - ethnically, religiously, politically and materially. I cannot hide from this reality,” he said.

“We have a duty as Nigerians, whatever may be our differences, to always put Nigeria first.” His speech followed an attack on a college by suspected Boko Haram militants, who want to turn the northern half of Nigeria into an Islamic state, that killed 41 students. Many were shot dead as they slept in dormitories.

“This act of barbarism is a demonstration of the extent to which evil forces will go to destabilise our nation. But I assure you, they will not succeed,” Jonathan said.

Nigeria’s nearly 170 million people and 250 ethnic groups, split roughly evenly between Islam, which dominates in the north, and Christianity, prevalent in the south, mostly live side by side in peace. But the country suffers bouts of bloodshed over land where the two religions meet in the middle.

The oil producing Niger Delta is a haven for criminal gangs who steal oil and kidnap, while the Boko Haram insurgency has killed thousands and destablised swathes of the north. “Reflect on the fact that Syria ... once a peaceful, thriving, multicultural nation ... has today become a theatre of human misery of unimaginable proportions as a result of the activities of extremist forces,” Jonathan said.

LAGOS: Nigerian children attend independence day celebrations in Lagos yesterday. Nigeria’s president Goodluck Jonathan said he had formed a panel tasked with laying the ground for a national dialogue to tackle contentious issues such as religious tensions and the sharing of oil wealth during an address marking the 53rd anniversary of Nigeria’s independence. — AFP The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria’s civil war and millions displaced. Nigeria suffered its own civil war in the late 1960s.

Jonathan announced the formation of a committee to host a national dialogue for Nigerians to try to come together to resolve their differences. Boko Haram and spin-off Islamist groups like the al Qaedalinked Ansaru have become the biggest security threat in Africa’s second-largest economy and top oil exporter.

Jonathan declared a state of emergency in some northern states in May and ordered in extra troops to combat Boko Haram. The operation dislodged the militants from their bases but scattered them

into more remote areas from where they have engaged in reprisal attacks that have killed several hundred people, mostly civilians. The president faces challenges to his authority from a split within his own ruling party, largely along north-south lines, over his alleged intention to run again in the 2015 election. He declines to say whether he will or not.

Northerners point to an unwritten rule that the presidency rotates between north and south every two terms. Others are unhappy with his record on corruption and security. Jonathan said: “Those who are elected to govern ... must focus on improving the lives of our people, not selfish ambition.” — Reuters

Sudan defends crackdown as protests enter second week KHARTOUM: Sudan has pointed to “fake” victim photos and foreign interference in defence of a deadly crackdown on protesters, which drew fresh criticism from inside the ruling party as rallies continued. With reporters complaining of stepped-up censorship, numerous videos and photographs purporting to show bloodied victims have circulated on YouTube, Facebook and other social media since the demonstrations began eight days ago, sparked by a rise in fuel prices.

“Most of the pictures on social media websites are from Egypt,” Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamed told a news conference Monday, where he and other officials were confronted by a Sudanese reporter.

“Why are you always telling lies? The people are killed by NCP militia,” said Bahram Abdelmoneim when he got up to ask a question. Abdelmoneim, of Al Youm Al Taly newspaper, was referring to the ruling National Congress Party. He was unreachable by telephone later after colleagues said he had gone to a meeting with state security agents.

US Secretary of State John Kerry Monday met with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Karti in Washington but failed to repeat strong US criticism of the deadly crackdown on protestors. On Friday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki blasted what she called a “brutal crackdown” by Khartoum. But in Kerry’s meeting with Karti at the State Department on Monday, the crackdown was “not a topic”, Psaki said. The two men “discussed the importance of peace between Sudan and South Sudan and the need to end the conflicts in Darfur, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan,” she said, as well as the need to allow humanitarian access to protect civilians.

However Britain’s Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, on Monday said he was “shocked and saddened” by the reports that Sudan’s security forces had used excessive force. “I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint and I call on the Sudanese government to cease the use of live ammunition immediately,” he said in a statement which noted the importance of “a meaningful comprehensive national dialogue”. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

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

Pentagon chief: Shutdown hurts US credibility with allies New law could enable civilians to be called back later

NUEVO LAREDO: Wearing graduation-style caps and gowns, Mexican youth raised in the US, chant slogans outside a migrant shelter before crossing the international bridge from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Monday.

Wearing a colorful array of graduation-style caps and gowns, 34 young people who spent long stretches of their childhoods in US cities like Phoenix and Boston chanted “undocumented and unafraid” as they crossed the Rio Grande into Texas. — AP

US-raised immigrants remain in US custody LAREDO: Thirty-four young migrants are in US custody after trying to enter the United States without documents in the latest round of what is becoming a new tactic in confronting what they consider unjust U.S. immigration policies.

U.S. immigration officials interviewed the group dressed in a colorful graduation caps and gowns late into the night Monday after they marched across one of the bridges connecting Mexico to Laredo while chanting “Undocumented and unafraid!”

The young people all spent long stretches of their childhoods in US cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix and want to return. Edna Flores, 22, of Hermosillo in Sonora state, was taken by her family illegally to the U.S. when she was 6. But she voluntarily left Phoenix in January 2012 after deciding her options for finding work or continuing her education were limited after graduating from high school.

In Mexico, she found work in a call center and obtained a tourist visa to visit the US. Flores took a 26-hour bus ride last week to Nuevo Laredo to join the group at a migrant shelter as it prepared for Monday’s protest march. “I just want to be back with my family,” she said.

The risks borne by their parents’ generation involved dangerous journeys through darkness across desert and river. The teenagers and 20-somethings who crossed Monday face what could be weeks in detention and possible deportation.

They are following the path of the “Dream Nine,” a smaller group that attempted to enter the US at Nogales, Arizona, in July. They requested asylum and were released after about two weeks in detention to await their turn before a judge. Monday’s contingent expects something similar.

US Customs and Border Protection, whose officers determine who is admitted at the border, said privacy laws prohibited it from discussing any individual cases. At the heart of both groups’ protest was a change to US immigration regulations made in June 2012 giving something called deferred action to immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children. Those who were in the US at that time and met a list of criteria could apply for a renewable two-year deferment and work authorization.

But the young people crossing Monday had left the U.S., either voluntarily or through deportation, months, weeks or even just days before the deferred action announcement, commonly known as DACA. “We look at this action today and the Dream Nine as a type of extension of DACA,” said David Bennion, an immigration lawyer traveling with the group. “What we would like to see is the people who left, like these 30 who otherwise would have qualified for DACA, to have that be taken into consideration.”

There were several minors in the group, including 17year-old Luis Enrique Rivera Lopez. He came to the border from Guasave in Sinaloa, a Mexican state that he had known only by its reputation for drugs and violence before going there from Los Angeles early last year.

“I wanted to have a sense of my roots,” Rivera said of his decision to return to Mexico, where he hadn’t been since he was 1. “I wanted to know where I was from.” The experience was rewarding in some ways. He got to know both sets of grandparents. But after 19 months away he missed his parents and three siblings who remained in Los Angeles. He also found he didn’t fit in after having grown up in Los Angeles. — AP

Venezuela expels top US diplomat CARACAS: President Nicolas Maduro announced Monday the expulsion of the top US diplomat in Venezuela and two other embassy officials, alleging they conspired with “the extreme right” to sabotage the economy and power grid.

The US Embassy rejected as unfounded the Venezuelan government’s accusations of “a great psychological operation” against it. Maduro made the announcement during a live TV appearance and said Charge d’Affairs Kelly Keiderling and the two others had 48 hours to leave the country.

“Out of Venezuela,” the leftist leader shouted, then added in English: “Yankees go home!” Maduro said a group of embassy officials that his government had been following for months was “dedicated to meeting with the Venezuelan extreme right, to financing it and feeding its actions to sabotage the electrical system and the Venezuela economy.”

“I have proof here in my hands,” he said, though he did not offer any details on the diplomats’ alleged transgressions. Foreign Minister Elias Jaua later said on state TV that a protest note had been sent to US Secretary of State John Kerry with proof of “a great psychological operation” by the American diplomats to “destabilize” Venezuela.

He said the expelled Americans had met with opposition and labor leaders in the southeastern state of Bolivar and with the opposition governor of Amazonas state, Liborio Guarulla. Bolivar is home to troubled state-owned foundries and Venezuela’s main hydroelectric plant, while bordering Amazonas is one of just three opposition-governed states. — AP

SEOUL: The US government shutdown will undermine American credibility abroad and lead allies to question its commitment to treaty obligations, the US defense chief warned yesterday as he prepared to put 400,000 civilian workers on unpaid leave.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who was visiting South Korea to celebrate the two nations’ 60-year-old mutual defense treaty, said Pentagon lawyers were analyzing a new law passed by Congress to see if additional civilian workers could be spared unpaid leave.

But for the moment, when the department’s 800,000 civilians report to work yesterday, approximately half will be told they are not exempted by law from the government shutdown and asked to go home, Hagel told reporters.

The Pentagon and other US government agencies began to implement shutdown plans yesterday after Congress failed to reach a deal to fund the federal government in the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. A lastminute measure passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama will ensure the Pentagon’s 1.4 million military employees worldwide will continue to receive paychecks during the shutdown. They were required to work under prior law but would not have been paid until Congress approved funding.

The new law also ensures that civilians who are required to work despite the shutdown will also be paid, Hagel said. But under law, anyone not directly involved in protecting lives and property are not considered

exempt and must be placed on leave.

“Our lawyers are now looking through the (new) law that the president signed ... to see if there’s any margin here or widening in the interpretation of the law regarding exempt versus non-exempt civilians,” Hagel said. “Our lawyers believe that maybe we can expand the exempt status.”

Hagel said he didn’t know how many people the department might be able to call back from leave, or how long it would take to reach a determination, but he said it was “the priority” in the Pentagon’s general counsel’s office. The shutdown has direct implications for the staff with Hagel on his week-long trip to South Korea and Japan. They are considered exempt while supporting the secretary’s mission abroad, but that status may change for some when they return home on Friday, Pentagon spokesman George Little said.

The U.S. defense chief said he broke away from celebrations in South Korea on Monday to discuss the shutdown by phone with Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale. He said they would hold another round of talks on Tuesday as the shutdown went into force.

“We’ll probably have to furlough about 400,000 DoD (Defense Department) civilians when they come to work here in a couple of hours,” Hagel said. “Those that have been designated non-exempt will be told and will be asked to go home.”

The Pentagon chief said since arriving in Seoul on Sunday night, he had been questioned by South Korean officials about the threatened shutdown and why it seemed

NEW YORK: People look at a sign for informing that the Statue of Liberty is closed due to the government shutdown in Battery Park yesterday in New York City. Federal museums and parks across the nation are closed starting today due to a government shutdown for the first time in nearly two decades. — AFP likely to take place. “It does have an effect on our relationships around the world and it cuts straight to the obvious question: Can you rely on the United States as a reliable partner to fulfill its commitments to its allies?” Hagel told reporters.

“Here this great republic and democracy, the United States of America, shuts down its government,” he added. “The Pentagon, even though we are (partly) exempted, the military

has no budget. We are still living under this dark cloud of uncertainty not knowing what’s going to happen.

“It does cast a very significant pall over America’s credibility with our allies when this kind of thing happens. It’s nonsensical ... It’s completely irresponsible,” Hagel said. He urged Congress to “find a new center of gravity of responsibility and start to govern as is their responsibility.” — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

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

Soul-searching as Denmark revisits WWII rescue of Jews COPENHAGEN: As Denmark commemorates the heroic rescue of the vast majority of its Jewish population during World War II, the country faces thorny questions over its relationship with Nazi Germany.

The flight of more than 7,000 Danish Jewsaround 95 percent of the total to safety in neighbouring Sweden in 1943 is an inspirational story from an otherwise dark chapter in Europe’s history.

It has been said that King Christian X wore the Star of David in sympathy with Jews as he rode through the streets of Copenhagen, but that is a myth-Danish Jews never had to wear the yellow badge.However, the grassroots campaign to help them to safety starting in the early hours of October 2, 1943, is still central to Danish self-understanding and the country’s image abroad as an open and tolerant country.

Reflecting the centrality of the event, the 70th anniversary will be marked Wednesday with commemorations including a special performance at the Royal Theatre attended by Queen Margrethe II. For three years after the Nazi invasion in 1940, Denmark’s coalition government was allowed to rule with a degree of independence in exchange for cooperating with the occupiers. Denmark was allowed to hold democratic elections, for example, and the civil courts continued to function.

Unlike elsewhere in occupied Europe, the Jewish

community was well integrated in Danish society, and most Danes would have seen an attack on them as an attack on their fellow countrymen.

Historians have often cited that as a key factor behind the rescue of the Jews, who throughout most of the occupation were treated like any other Danes.

“The Germans, all the way up to Berlin, realised the complete rejection with which such an action (deportation) would be met,” Bo Lidegaard, a historian and the editor of Danish daily Politiken, told AFP. “That created a situation in Denmark that was very different from in other places,” he added. In his book “Countrymen”, Lidegaard argues that the government succeeded in shaping public opinion by linking nationalism-”Danishness”-to tolerance, a force of good that rose above the Nazis.

However, in the past decade a slew of books and essays have chipped away at the national consensus that cooperating with Nazis was the morally right thing to do, or even necessary. In 2003, then-prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen stirred controversy by saying that if everyone in Europe “had thought the same as the Danish lawmakers, then Hitler would have won the war”.

At the time, his comments were dismissed as an attempt to justify Denmark’s involvement in the USled invasion of Iraq. Among the thousands of Jews

smuggled out of Denmark was the father of Bent Bluednikow, a historian who is now a journalist at the Berlingske newspaper.

In his book “My Father’s Escape”, published this year, he tells the dramatic story of how his father got into a rowboat with nine others to cross the narrow strait separating Denmark and Sweden, helped by a Danish fisherman. Three of the passengers died.

For decades, Benjamin Bluednikow was so thankful to Denmark and Sweden that “the scope of the tragedy never became fully comprehensible” to him and his peers, his son wrote in the book.

“I’m also deeply thankful for that rescue effort,” the author told AFP. However, the book is an indictment of what he disparagingly calls Denmark’s “homeland historians”.

“They take ‘tiny Denmark’ and say the policy of cooperation was necessary because it saved the Jews,” he said. “But if we look internationally... it resulted in huge tragedies for Jewish people,” he added. To support his argument, he points to agricultural exports to Nazi Germany that were possible because Denmark put up so little resistance after the invasion. Also, because Berlin needed to keep only a limited number of troops in Denmark, the Nazis had more resources to use in European countries with larger Jewish populations. Danish diplo-

mats were also reluctant to help Jews in other countries so as not to undermine relations with Hitler’s Germany, he said.

The key to the Jewish population’s successful escape was arguably that the Nazis responsible for deporting them appear to have turned a blind eye to it. In fact, an attache at the German embassy even leaked the planned deportation to Danish politicians. Historians like Lidegaard say it was clear that the Nazis knew that Danes would not tolerate the deportation of Danish Jews. Bluednikow countered that top German Nazis were mostly interested in maintaining calm so that Danish farmers could keep feeding their troops.

And as indications grew that Germany was losing the war, some may have wanted to “save their own skin” ahead of the tribunals that followed, he said.

Lidegaard disagreed. “You have to remember that virtually everywhere else in Europe, SS officers... did the exact opposite,” going ahead with mass deportations to the death camps, he said. “ The fact remains that the vast majority of Danish Jews were taken to safety in Sweden, and that happened as a result of both their own determination and an outstanding, comprehensive rescue effort in a country that lacked government and a free press,” he said. “And that is completely unparallelled in European history.” — AFP

Kenyan lawmakers probe mall massacre, leaders mourn dead Former PM stresses the need to bolster security

VATICAN: In this picture provided yesterday, by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis meets with his so-called “Group of Eight” cardinals, during their first meeting at the Vatican. Pope Francis convened his parallel cabinet yesterday for a first round of talks on reforming the Catholic Church, bringing eight cardinals from around the globe together in a novel initiative to get local church leaders involved in helping make decisions for the 1.2-billion strong universal Catholic Church. — AP

Pope vows to change Vatican mentality VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis began landmark meetings yesterday to reform the Vatican, promising to do all he could to change the mentality of an institution he said was too focused on its own interests.

Francis and eight cardinals from around the world are holding three days of closed-door meetings to discuss the Vatican’s troubled administration and to map out possible changes in the worldwide Church.

As the talks began, left-leaning La Repubblica newspaper published a long interview conducted by its atheist editor last week in which the Argentine pope spoke frankly about the problems facing the Vatican administration, known as the Curia.

He said too many previous popes in the Church’s long history had been “narcissists” who let themselves be flattered by “courtier” aides in the Curia instead of concentrating on the wider mission of the universal Church.

“The (papal) court is the leprosy of the papacy,” said Francis, who has brought a new style of openness, consultation and simplicity to the Vatican. He has shunned the spacious papal apartment and lives in small quarters in a guest house.

There are some “courtiers” among administrators in today’s Curia, he said, adding that its main defect is that it is too inward-looking.

“It looks after the interests of the Vatican, which are still, in large part temporal interests. This Vatican-centric vision neglects the world around it and I will do everything to change it,” he said.

Francis said the eight cardinals he had chosen to make up his advisory board did not have selfish motives.

“They are not courtiers but wise people who are inspired by my same feelings. This is the start of a Church with an organisation that is not only vertical but also horizontal,” he said.

The Curia has been riven by scandals over the years and has sometimes seemed to have taken on the trappings and intrigue of a Renaissance court. Bishops around the world have deemed it heavy-handed, autocratic, condescending and overly bureaucratic.

Francis announced the papal advisory board of cardinals, revolutionary for a Church steeped in hierarchical tradition, a mere month after his election as the first non-European pope in 1,300 years and the first from Latin America.

His decision to take advice from the cardinals from Italy, Chile, India, Germany, Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States, Australia and Honduras, is a clear sign that he intends to take seriously calls from within the Church for de-centralisation in a traditionally top-heavy institution.

Each cardinal polled their faithful and bishops about what should be discussed at the meetings, which will be closed even to top officials from the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, itself a target for reform. Some 80 documents are up for discussion.

The cardinals on the advisory board are Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Giuseppe Bertello of Italy; Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa of Santiago, Chile; Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India; Reinhard Marx of Munich; Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa; Sean Patrick O’Malley of Boston; and George Pell of Sydney. The group’s main task is rewrite a 1998 constitution on the workings of the Vatican’s various departments. — Reuters

NAIROBI: Kenyan lawmakers probing apparent security lapses during the deadly assault on Nairobi’s Westgate mall by Islamist gunmen started work yesterday as inter-faith prayers were held for the 67 confirmed killed.

As shopkeepers complained their stores in the upmarket shopping centre had been completely looted, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced an investigation into the security implications of the massacre claimed by the Shebab, an Al-Qaeda linked Somali group.

“We are putting in place a commission of inquiry to see if we could have done things better, to see if there were lapses,” Kenyatta said at prayers led by leaders from the Muslim, Christian and Hindu communities. Politicians from parliament’s national security and defence and foreign relations committees visited the mall on Monday afternoon, picking their way through shattered glass and pools of congealed blood in the main hall.

Thirty-nine people are still missing, according to the Red Cross, a week after Kenyan forces brought an end to the fourday bloodbath.

Kenyan and foreign investigators continue to comb the carcass of the mall for clues on the perpetrators and their operating methods.

Dalmas Otieno, a member of the national security committee, said lawmakers would “set up a programme” for investigations expected to last several weeks at least.

Former Prime Minster Raila Odinga, speaking at the memorial, warned the attack “shows we are in for a long, drawnout battle”, and stressed the need to bolster security.

“Intelligence action not acted on serves no purpose,” Odinga said.

The Shebab has vowed more attacks if Kenya does not pull its troops out of Somalia but Kenyatta offered a defiant riposte.

“We will not be intimated, we will not be cowed,” Kenyatta said. “We will stay there until they bring order to their nation.”

Shopkeepers allowed back into the mall to check on their premises painted an apocalyptic scene, saying it stank of corpses and that the first floor of the mall was completely burned.

“There’s a really bad stench in there of

NAIROBI: Forensics investigators work next to the collapsed upper car park at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya yesterday.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta says Kenya will keep its troops in Somalia to help that country’s beleaguered government battle the armed Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which attacked the mall in Nairobi on Sept 21 claiming at least 67 lives. — AP the dead bodies and blood all over the place, that’s why they’re advising us to wear masks as we go in,” Pardeep Rehal, a bookstore owner, told AFP. Many shopkeepers accused the Kenyan forces of looting their stores.

“There is not one shop window that is still intact, everything has been looted,” another shopkeeper added.

A beauty salon employee said that shopkeepers had locked their premises when they were evacuated, but that since then virtually all shops had been looted.

“Cash boxes have gone, jewelry has gone and handbags are missing. I was unable to find mine,” she said. “My stock is not there,” said Angie Meseguer, who owns a boutique inside the mall.

Part of the rooftop parking of the mall collapsed after heavy explosions and a

fierce fire, leaving the key area where the insurgents are understood to have made their final stand-along with possible hostages-buried under tonnes of concrete slabs and rubble.

Meanwhile rights groups condemned comments by the lawmakers that they would also “rethink” Kenya’s hosting of some half a million Somali refugees, saying the camps-notably the word’s biggest such site, Dadaab-could be a “training ground” for Somali extremists.

Somali refugees in Kenya, many of whom themselves fled the Shebab, have expressed fears they will be targeted in reprisal raids.

“While protecting Kenyans from security threats is an urgent priority, Human Rights Watch is concerned about reports that some members of parliament have called

Greek far-right crackdown followed violence spike ATHENS: Before stepping out of his house, Asif Ali gives his route careful consideration. The 28-year-old builder from Pakistan blames far-right street gangs for three attacks he suffered near his home in a poor area of Athens where a recent killing triggered Greece’s crackdown on the Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn party.

Ali says he was beaten unconscious by a group of men dressed in black, attacked months later by a gang on motorcycles and assaulted again last December when three men boarded the bus he was taking to a construction site and broke his nose.

“I don’t want to feel afraid but I do,” he said. “I used to go for coffee and stay out late. Now I think it over 10 times before I go somewhere.” Greek authorities arrested Golden Dawn’s top leaders this weekend after the slaying of antifascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas - allegedly by a Golden Dawn volunteer in front of a crowd. Doctors, activists and victims greeted the news with relief but argued authorities should have acted much earlier, saying the killing was the culmination of a months-long increase in the brutality and brazenness of attacks by extreme right street gangs.

Not far from Ali’s home in Athens’ Nikea district, Dr. Panagiotis Papanikolaou mans a busy public hospital ward that has treated victims of far-

ATHENS: Golden Dawn lawmaker and spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris (C) arrives at the court in Athens yesterday. A first batch of lawmakers from the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn are to be indicted on criminal charges as part of a crackdown on the group following the murder of an anti-fascist musician.— AFP right violence, dating back to a 1998 attack on a left -wing student that left him with severe brain injuries. For months, he has warned about a spike in the level of violence used in racist attacks, as well as about the targets expanding more recently from immigrants to also include Greeks. He has not compiled numbers of his observations, but he has been an eyewitness to

the evolution of the crimes.

“We’ve seen cases of cranial and facial injuries, knife wounds and laceration injuries made by screwdrivers,” said Papanikolaou, a senior consultant neurosurgeon at Nikea General Hospital. “I think it’s just luck that we haven’t had any deaths. Blows powerful enough to crack someone’s skull show an intention to kill. — AP

for the closure of the Somali refugee camps in Kenya,” said HRW’s Gerry Simpson.

“These camps are currently home to over 400,000 refugees, including many forced to flee to Kenya because of AlShebab abuses. Forcing them back to a country still wracked by widespread violence and insecurity would not only breach Kenya’s obligations under international law, but could inflame further instability in Somalia.”

At the prayers, Kenyans gathered to mourn their losses. “At times of problems we have to pray together at least to console one another,” Mustafa Gichuri, a 50year-old electrician and a Muslim told AFP. Rupy Chana, a 37-year-old Sikh woman attending the prayers, echoed that it was “good to see” people from different faiths attending the prayers. — AFP

British opposition chief in row with tabloid over dad LONDON: The leader of Britain’s main opposition party, Ed Miliband, was locked in a bitter war of words with a tabloid newspaper yesterday after it branded his late father “the man who hated Britain”.

The Labour Party leader hit back at an article in the right-leaning Daily Mail about his Marxist theorist father Ralph. The tabloid claimed its revelations would “disturb everyone who loves this country”.

The newspaper agreed to publish Miliband’s response to an article Saturday which claimed the Labour leader was intent on bringing back socialism in homage to his father. The Mail’s article cited a diary entry written by the 17-year-old Ralph Miliband’s during World War II in which he said: “The Englishman is a rabid nationalist. They are perhaps the most nationalist people in the world... you sometimes want them almost to lose (the war) to show them how things are.”

Ed Miliband said newspapers should hold politicians to account but the piece published Saturday was “of a different order”, saying there was nothing that could “remotely justify the lurid headline”.

He said it was “absurd” to draw such damning conclusions from a teenager’s diary. “I know they say ‘you can’t libel the dead’ but you can smear them,” the 43year-old wrote. Ralph Miliband, who died in 1994 aged 70, fled Belgium in 1940 to escape the Nazis, before joining the British navy and taking part in the D-Day landings in northern France.

“Fierce debate about politics does not justify character assassination of my father,” Ed Miliband wrote, “questioning the patriotism of a man who risked his life for our country in the Second World War or publishing a picture of his gravestone with a tasteless pun about him being a ‘grave socialist’. — AP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

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

Indian child maid in hospital in abuse case NEW DELHI: A teenage girl working as a maid in India’s capital was recovering in hospital yesterday after being rescued from a home where campaigners said she was slashed with knives and mauled by dogs.

Police have arrested her employers, a 50-year-old woman and her 85-year-old mother, who live in the upmarket Vasant Kunj area of southern New Delhi, on suspicion of illegal confinement and assault, PTI news agency reported.

The 15-year-old’s injuries have focused a spotlight again on the abuse of domestic servants in the capital where thousands of workers, often children trafficked from remote and poverty-stricken states, toil for long hours in homes with almost no legal protection.

“It is horrible and barbaric,” Kiran Walia, Delhi’s minister for women and child development, told reporters after visiting the victim in a city hospital where she is being treated for multiple injuries.

The girl, from eastern Jharkhand state, reportedly told police after her rescue on Monday night that she had been working with her abusive employers for the past year. “Such a heinous crime has happened

to this girl. The whole head was smashed, the whole body, dog bites are there,” Rishi Kant, from the anti-trafficking campaign group Shakti Vahini, told the NDTV news channel.

“In this house they are well off, they are not poor people,” he added after a joint operation with police to rescue the maid.

In April last year, Indian police arrested a wealthy doctor couple who locked up their 13-year-old maid while they went away on holiday. She was rescued by firefighters when neighbours spotted her crying on an outside balcony.

“Rich people are willing to pay any amount of money to get servants who can clean their houses, survive on left-over food,” campaigner Kant told AFP recently.

“Illegal placement agencies offering house maids have mushroomed in every city across India.”

“The rich employers are specifically looking at children because they come cheaper, complain less and can be exploited.” In 2006, India passed legislation banning employment of children under 14 in households, roadside eateries and hotels, but the law is widely flouted in the country of 1.2 billion people. — AFP

SEOUL: South Korea’s domestically built Hyunmu-3 cruise missiles are displayed during a street parade marking the 65th anniversary of the Armed Forces Day in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday. South Korea displayed its longest-range missile capable of striking all of North Korea and other sophisticated weapons at the massive military ceremony yesterday, a display of force meant to show Pyongyang that any provocation would be met with strong retaliation. — AP

First Bangladesh MP sentenced to death Convicted of war crimes during 1971 war DHAKA: A Bangladesh court yesterday sentenced to death a top opposition MP for genocide, the first lawmaker to be convicted of war crimes during the 1971 war of independence.

Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, a leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was found guilty by the International Crimes Tribunal of nine charges including murder and religious persecution.

The ruling is likely to trigger fresh unrest in the already tense country.

The 64-year-old Chowdhury would be “hanged by the neck”, presiding judge A.T.M Fazle Kabir told a packed court in the capital Dhaka. “ We are happy with the verdict,” Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told AFP. After the sentence was read out, a defiant Chowdhury accused the government of influencing the judge’s decision. “This judgement came from the (law) ministry. The copy of the verdict has been available on the Internet since yesterday,” he said.

Since Januar y, the much-criticised International Crimes Tribunal has convicted seven people, including six Islamists, of crimes related to the nine-month war, in which proindependence fighters battled Pakistani forces who were helped by local collaborators.

Previous verdicts have sparked deadly violence, and security has been stepped up in Dhaka and the southern port city of Chittagong, which Chowdhury has represented as a lawmaker for three decades.

Police said two people were injured after opposition supporters hurled small homemade bombs at ruling party activists, who were celebrating the verdict outside Chittagong, local police chief Chandan Kumar Chakrabarty told AFP. “We have deployed (paramilitary) border guards to combat further violence,” Chakrabarty said. Hundreds of protesters including ruling party activists staged impromptu “victory processions” as news of the verdict reached the capital’s Shahbagh Square, where they had been massing since dawn.

A bus and several cars were torched in the capital and Chittagong, police said.

Prosecutors described Chowdhury, a minister in the previous BNP-led government, as a merciless killer who murdered more than 200 Hindus, including the owner of a well-known

S Korea displays missile at military ceremony SEOUL: South Korea displayed its longest-range missile capable of striking all of North Korea and other sophisticated weapons at a massive military parade yesterday, a display of force meant to show Pyongyang that any provoca-

tion would be met with strong retaliation.

It was South Korea’s biggest Armed Forces Day ceremony in a decade, and the first since North Korea conducted its third atomic test and threatened nuclear war earlier this year.

About 11,000 troops, 190 weapons systems and other equipment and 120 aircraft were featured in the parade at a military airport just south of Seoul. Among them were GPSguided, Hyunmu -3 cruise missiles with a range of 1,000 kilo-

meters (620 miles) that South Korea developed in recent years. It was the first time the domestically built Hyunmu-3 was publicly shown, according to Seoul’s Defense Ministry.

President Park Geun-hye said in a speech at the ceremony that South Korea must maintain its strong alliance with the US and establish missile defense and pre-emptive strike capabilities to let North Korea know “the nuclear weapons and missiles it is obsessed with are useless.”

“We must build up a strong deterrence against North Korea until it puts down its nuclear weapons program and make a right choice for its own people and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” she said as visiting US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel sat nearby.

The Korean Peninsula is still officially at state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 US troops are deployed in South Korea.

Other new weapons on show for the first time Tuesday included the Hyunmu-2 ballistic missile with a range of 300 kilometers (185 miles) and Israeli-made Spike missiles aimed at neutralizing North Korean coastal artillery.

South Korea has deployed the Spike missiles at front-line islands after one of those islands were shelled by North Korea and four people were killed in 2010. “It’s a kind of show of force. North Korea shows off its missiles on national anniversaries. We can understand today’s ceremony in the same vein,” said Lee Daewoo, a security analyst at the private Sejong Institute near Seoul. “Today is Armed Forces Day, and (South Korea) is clearly showing that it has the capability to punish” North Korea. He said he expects North Korea to respond angrily to the ceremony. North Korea typically marks national anniversaries with lavish, choreographed military parades featuring goose-stepping soldiers and arrays of weapons designed to rally public support behind the country’s leadership and stoke fear among enemy countries. — AP

DHAKA: Bangladesh opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) senior leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, waves to media as he arrives to appear before a special war crimes tribunal in Dhaka, Bangladesh, yesterday. The tribunal ruled yesterday that Chowdhury should be put to death for his involvement in the killing of hundreds of people during the county’s independence fight against Pakistan in 1971. — AP

herbal medicine company.

“Chowdhury dragged (owner) Nutan Chandra Sinha out of his prayer room and Pakistani soldiers shot him. Chowdhury then shot him again to make sure he was dead,” prosecutor Zead Al Malum told AFP. Defence lawyer Fakhrul Islam said the trial was aimed at silencing one of the most vocal opponents of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“He should have been acquited as he was not in Bangladesh during the war,” Islam said, adding that he would appeal.

The BNP and its Islamist allies have said the tribunal is a tool for the ruling Awami League to target its opponents ahead of general elections next January. The opposition, which currently leads in opinion polls, called a strike in the Chittagong region for today to protest the ruling.

Bangladesh has struggled to come to terms with its violent birth, in which what was then East Pakistan split from Islamabad to

become independent. The government set up the tribunal in 2010, saying trials were needed to heal the wounds of the 1971 war, in which it says three million people were killed and 200,000 women raped.

Independent estimates put the toll at between 300,000 and 500,000. The verdicts since January have sparked deadly protests and widespread riots-killing more than 100 people, and plunging the country into its worst political violence since independence.

The riots have mainly pitted activists of the country’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-eIslami, against security forces as well as secular protesters. Jamaat activists have taken to the streets in large numbers after three of the six convicted Islamists were sentenced to death.

Unlike other war crime courts, the Bangladesh tribunal is not endorsed by the United Nations and the New York-based Human Rights Watch group has said its procedures fall short of international standards. —AFP

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

UN disarmament team launches Syria mission DAMASCUS: A disarmament team arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus yesterday to begin the daunting task of cataloguing the country’s arsenal of chemical weapons ahead of its destruction. The inspectors from The Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons travelled by road from Lebanon a day after UN experts departed after probing a series of alleged chemical attacks.

Syria’s information minister meanwhile insisted that President Bashar AlAssad would stay in office and that he had the option to run for another term in elections next year. Assad’s departure is a key demand of the opposition, who insist it must be a pillar of a mooted peace conference in Geneva.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights NGO released a new toll in the conflict, saying more than 115,000 people had been killed since March 2011. A first group of 20 OPCW inspectors are in Syria to implement a UN resolution ordering the elimination of Syria’s arsenal by mid-2014. The arsenal is believed to include more than 1,000 tons of sarin, mustard gas and other banned chemicals stored at an estimated 45 sites across the wartorn country.

The OPCW said the inspectors-all volunteers-will meet Syrian government officials yesterday before setting off to work. The mission is the first in OPCW history to take place in a coun-

try embroiled by civil war, and the inspectors are to check a list of sites provided by the Damascus regime and conduct on the spot testing. The UN team that left Damascus on Monday probed seven alleged gas attacks and hopes to present a final report by late October.

Earlier this month it submitted an interim report that confirmed the use of the nerve agent sarin in August 21 attacks on the outskirts of Damascus.

The United States threatened military action in response, accusing forces loyal to Assad of deliberately killing hundreds of civilians with rocket-delivered nerve agents. Syria denied the allegations but agreed to relinquish its chemical arsenal, effectively heading off a strike, under a US-Russian deal which was enshrined in landmark UN Security Council resolution 2118.

Syria has already submitted detailed accounting of its chemical arsenal and Assad told Italian television his government “will comply” with the terms of the resolution. The OPCW inspectors who arrived yesterday at a five-star Damascus hotel from Lebanon in a 20-vehicle UN convoy, will give priority to chemical weapons production sites which are to be disabled by late October or early November. “Expedient methods” will be used to render these production facilities unusable, said an OPCW official.

UN resolution 2118 calls for the convening of a much-delayed peace conference in Geneva as soon as possible, with UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon setting a target date of midNovember. The prospects for such a peace conference remain uncertain, however, with Syria insisting Assad’s departure is not on the table, despite it being a key demand of the rebels and their backers.

“Syria is staying put: the state, the nation, the people and the president.

This is the Syrians’ choice,” Information Minister Omran Al-Zohbi told journalists yesterday. “All the people call for President Bashar al-Assad to be president of this state, whatever the opposition, the Americans and the traitors say.” Zohbi added that Assad has the “right to take a decision” on whether he will run for a new term in mid-2014, when his current mandate expires.

Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, speaking at the UN on Monday, also insisted no pre-conditions be set for the planned peace conference.

“It is now for those who claim to support a political solution in Syria to stop all hostile practices and policies against Syria, and to head to Geneva without preconditions,” he said.

Yesterday, the Observatory said the toll since the beginning of the conflict had now reached 115,000 people, most of them fighters from both sides. — AFP

Gulf’s Islamic banks profitability waning DUBAI: Islamic banks in the Gulf’s rich Arab oil exporters are likely to keep growing faster than conventional banks, but their advantage in profitability is disappearing, according to a study released yesterday. Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s estimates Islamic banking assets in the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council now account for around or slightly above a quarter of all banking assets in the region, which totaled $1.6 trillion at the end of 2012.

This ratio is set to continue rising for “the foreseeable future” as governments grant licenses to new institutions and regulation helps the Islamic banks develop, said Timucin Engin, an associate director for financial institutions at S&P. “The key driver is government support. There are significant incentives to grow this subsector,” he said.

Qatar, for example, has prohibited conventional banks from taking on new sharia-compliant business through Islamic windows, in an effort to develop its dedicated Islamic banks. Engin estimated Islamic banking assets in Qatar could rise to $100 billion in 2017 from $54 billion last year, as Islamic banks benefited from the tens of billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects which the tiny country plans to launch this decade.

In 2012, assets of a sample of Islamic banks analyzed

by S&P grew more than 15 percent while conventional banks’ assets expanded 10 percent - an outperformance seen every year since 2008. But Islamic banks’ advantage in profitability has been shrinking, and it may continue to fall towards the levels of conventional banks. The ratio of net Islamic banking income to average earning assets dropped to 3.4 percent last year from 4.0 percent in 2008, S&P estimated.

That has brought it ever closer to the net interest income ratio for conventional banks, which was 2.8 percent last year, barely changed from 2.9 percent in 2008.

Engin said his study suggested that some Islamic banks’ profit advantage in past years was largely due to activities not related to their core Islamic business, such as real estate deals and capital markets transactions. Now that Gulf markets have deflated in the wake of the global financial crisis, fewer new deals are being done.

Also, Islamic banks can sometimes outperform conventional banks during periods of high interest rates, Engin said; they maintain higher levels of non-interest bearing liabilities, an important funding advantage. The global decline in interest rates over the last few years, which has continued in some Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates despite this year’s rebound of US Treasury yields, has erased that advantage. — Reuters

GCC uneasy over US-Iran détente Continued from Page 1 He was referring to former US president George W Bush’s 2002 speech describing Iran as part of an “axis of evil” alongside North Korea and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Analyst Abdulwahab Badrakhan said the US decision to seek a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict was a driving force behind the detente with Iran.

“The West needs Iran,” the closest ally of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, if it is going to get his regime to the negotiating table, said Badrakhan. “This will not be offered for free

by Iran, which will get a good return concerning its nuclear program, as well as its influence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Bahrain,” he said. Badrakahan said the Sunni-ruled Gulf

monarchies remained “worried” about Shiite Iran’s ambitions despite the reassurances of Rouhani since he took office in August.

Samir Altaqi, the head of the Dubai-based Orient Research Centre, said the Gulf states should be involved in all arrangements that concern Iran’s future “regional role.”

Otherwise, they will be “forced to act based on their own interests,” he said. Saqr said the oil-rich Gulf states had ample means at their disposal to influence decision-makers in Washington. “In addition to lobbying the US Congress and American decision centers, they can partially de-peg their currencies from the greenback, in favor of a basket of currencies,” he said. “In that, they would be making clear their reservations over the US-Iranian rapprochement.” — AFP

Kuwait urged to rein in spending Continued from Page 1 The subsidies, which were over 6 percent of GDP in 2012, “engender wasteful consumption and need to be targeted,” the IMF said. The state subsidy system for wages, which boosts the salaries of Kuwaitis working in the private sector, has become open-ended and expensive, though it was supposed to be a temporary measure. Kuwait has lagged peers like the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in competitiveness and foreign

investment. It has the most open political system in the Gulf Arab region but infighting and bureaucracy have slowed the development plan, announced in 2010, which includes plans for a new oil refinery, airport, highways and hospitals. The country needs to develop sources of income other than oil, such as by extending the 15 percent corporate tax imposed on wholly foreign-owned companies to all firms and by imposing a value-added tax together with fellow Gulf states, the IMF said. — Reuters

Shopping malls to install metal detectors...

Continued from Page 1 markets, especially those representing idols worshiped during the pre -Islamic era in the Arabian Peninsula and civilizations surrounding it during that period.

“An increase in the number of models and statues representing idols worshipped during the Jahiliyya (Age of Ignorance; a general term referring to pre -Islamic Arabia) is found in malls and shops around Kuwait where they are sold as accessories while sellers are unaware of what they truly represent”, MP Abdurrahman Al-Jeeran said in a statement published by AlRai daily yesterday.

The Islamist lawmaker announced that he has already submitted a proposal to ban selling statues idolized by Pagans through-

out human history, mentioning the human-headed winged bull of Mesopotamian mythology, the eagle-headed deity of the Assyrian civilization and multiple-armed deities worshipped by some civilizations. Al-Jeeran argued that selling the statues “violates Sharia law and the Constitution’, and added that a ban is necessary to “protect younger generations”. “The statues could sometimes be sold without knowing what they represent. Entire nations in the past were destroyed because these idols were worshipped,” he added.

Meanwhile, Al-Jeeran insisted that his stand on the issue should not be misinterpreted as “urging people to convert to one religion” though he reiterated simultaneously that “while human beings have freedom of belief from a technical

standpoint, the Sharia states that Allah has chosen Islam as the religion that humanity should follow”, he said.

Al-Jeeran explained in his proposal that it was “in line with Article 2 of the Kuwait Constitution” which identifies Sharia law as the main source of legislation, and quoted verses from the Holy Quran and Hadith which bans trading alcohol, pork, and idols. In order to come into effect, the proposal needs to be approved by the relevant parliamentary committee first before it will be up for voting during a parliament session. The government has the authority to reject a bill passed by a parliamentary majority after which a draft law is up for a second vote but in that case, it would require a two-third majority to pass. — Agencies

JANNUSAN: A Bahraini woman wearing a Guy Fawkes mask used by the Anonymous movement flashes the ‘V-sign’ for victory during an anti-government protest in the village of Jannusan, west of the capital Manama. — AFP

Bahrain’s activists ‘spied’ for Tehran DUBAI: Some of the 50 people jailed in Bahrain for security offences were also convicted of spying for Iran and had planned “vandalism and rioting” with the backing of the Islamic Republic, the Bahraini government said. The 50 were sentenced to between five and 15 years in jail for links to February 14, an opposition movement seen by the authorities as a terrorist group working to overthrow the government, activists said on Sunday.

The Gulf Arab kingdom, base for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has been in political turmoil since protests erupted in 2011 led by majority Shiite Muslims demanding full powers for parliament and an end to the Sunni monarchy’s political domination. Bahrain has accused Shiite Iran, seen as a regional troublemaker by

several Gulf states, of fuelling the unrest, an accusation Tehran has denied.

In a statement, the government said the 50 were charged with founding and operating “a terrorist group with the goal of undermining the rules of the constitution and laws as well as preventing the institutions and public authorities from doing their work”. In addition, some of them had been convicted of spying for foreign states and their agents, or seeking to do so, with the aim of carrying out aggressive actions against the kingdom, it said, without specifying how many defendants this involved.

“It has been proved that they have spied for the Islamic Republic of Iran, and have been in touch with senior leadership and members of

the Revolutionary Guards and supplied them with information related to the internal situation in the kingdom,” the statement said. “They have received directions from them related to training and preparation for carrying out acts of vandalism and rioting,” it said, adding that evidence included video recordings of military training. The Revolutionary Guards are an elite Iranian military force involved in internal security and defense, with a special unit that seeks to export Iran’s revolutionary Islamist ideology. The statement was issued to Reuters in response to a request for comment on Sunday’s proceedings. The convictions were first reported by opposition activists, who said several human rights campaigners were among the defendants. — Reuters

Saudi strengthens anti-Qaeda group AMMAN: Alarmed by the rise of AlQaeda in Syria, Saudi Arabia is trying to strengthen rival Islamists with ties to Riyadh and this week helped engineer a consolidation of rebel groups around Damascus under a Saudi-backed leader. That might bolster the opposition militarily as President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces have been pushing back, but it also underlines Al-Qaeda’s expansion in Syria - and the proliferation of splits among Assad’s enemies, just as world powers are trying to corral them into talks with his government.

Rebel and diplomatic sources said it was Saudi Arabia which nudged rebel brigades operating in and around Damascus to announce this week that they have united under a single command comprising 50 groups and numbering some thousands of fighters. The formation of the Army of Islam in the capital’s eastern fringe under Zahran Alloush, leader of the group Liwa Al-Islam, strengthens Salafist jihadis owing allegiance to Riyadh against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an Al-Qaeda branch which has in recent weeks taken control of territory from other Islamist forces in parts of northern and eastern Syria.

While fighting for religious rule in Syria, local Salafists do not generally share the international ambitions of Al-Qaeda’s jihadists, many of them foreign, who want to drive Westerners from the Middle East and unite Muslims in a single state.

The establishment of the Army of Islam follows last week’s joint declaration by groups, mainly in the northeast but also including Liwa AlIslam, who agreed to fight for Islamic rule and also rejected the authority of the Western- and Saudi-backed opposition in exile, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC).

That accord was notably not signed by ISIL. Zahran Alloush, who founded Liwa Al-Islam, or the Brigade of Islam, with his father Abdallah, a Salafist Syrian cleric based in Saudi Arabia, has avoided declaring personal opposition to AlQaeda or to the SNC. But he criticized failures to bring unity to rebel ranks in explaining the creation of the formation: “We have formed this army ... to achieve unity among the units of the mujahideen and avoid the effects produced by the divisions within the National Coalition,” he told Al Jazeera television, referring obliquely to recent rebel infighting. “The Army of Islam is the result of accelerating efforts to unify the fighting units operating in the beloved homeland.”

Liwa al-Islam, several thousand strong, is among the biggest and best organized rebel groups, respected even among non-Islamist rebels for integrity and effectiveness.

Alloush could not be reached for comment on the Saudi role in his new unit. Saudi officials do not comment on their operations in Syria, where the Sunni Muslim kingdom has backed the uprising among the Sunni majority against Assad and his minority Alawite elite who are allied to Shiite Iran, Riyadh’s rival for regional power.

However, rebel and diplomatic sources said that Saudi Arabia, which furnishes arms and other supplies and funds to Assad’s opponents, was behind the Army of Islam.

The commander of an Islamist rebel unit on the opposite side of Damascus from the Army’s base of operations in the east told Reuters that Saudi figures had been in touch with various Salafist groups in recent weeks, offering support in return for a common front to keep Al-Qaeda allies from expanding their presence around the capital - a presence already detected.

“Saudi tribal figures have been making calls on behalf of Saudi intelligence,” the commander, who uses the name Abu Mussab, said. “Their strategy is to offer financial backing in return for loyalty and staying away from Al-Qaeda.” While hoping to avoid outright confrontation with fellow jihadists, the Saudis had been gauging the willingness of local Salafist fighters in joining Saudibacked formations, including a proposed Syrian National Army.

This, Abu Mussab said, might oppose Al-Qaeda in the way the USfunded Sahwa, or Awakening, movement of Sunni tribesmen fought AlQaeda in Iraq from 2007. A Western diplomat following the conflict closely said: “Saudi Arabia is growing increasingly uncomfortable with more rebels joining Al- Qaeda ranks.

The recent advances by the Islamic State have embarrassed the Saudis and the new alliance appears designed to stop Al-Qaeda from gaining influence.”

He said Saudi strategy was two tiered: back less extreme Islamist figures in the exile SNC political organization and woo Salafist brigades on the ground with arms and money.

“Lots of these Salafist groups detest the Syrian National Coalition,” he said. “But the Saudis do not see this as a contradiction as long as they stay away from Al-Qaeda.”

Abdulrazzaq Ziad, a liberal activist based in Turkey, said the formation

of the Army of Islam, announced with elaborate ceremony in an online video, has already irked AlQaeda: “We are already seeing from Facebook comments of people close to the Islamic State that they view the new formation as a rival.”

A second diplomat based in the Middle East said: “We have seen in the last few weeks that every major group has stepped up its efforts to increase its sphere of influence. An alliance like this would not take place without Saudi blessing. “Liwa Al-Islam and its allies have not been comfortable with Al- Qaeda establishing a foothold in the Ghouta so their interest and that of Saudi Arabia converged,” he said, referring to the Damascus suburbs where rebel forces are dug in round the city.

The Salafist movement in Islam, founded on literal readings of early texts, is close to the Wahhabi school associated with the Saudi royal house. Its religious teaching influences Al-Qaeda but the militant network’s Saudi founder, Osama bin Laden, turned against Salafists he saw as allies of a Saudi monarchy that had been corrupted by its alliance with the United States. The Army of Islam seems to want to avoid fighting Al-Qaeda for now.

After a man named Saeed Jumaa, described as a captain in the Army, told an opposition television station that there could be open conflict with ISIL if they “continue this chaos”, Zahran Alloush took to Twitter yesterday to disown him.

Jumaa’s comments were “dangerous”, Alloush said, and were designed to create “strife among Muslims”. The Army of Islam has also avoided an outright break with the SNC: “We do not make enemies of those who are not enemies to us,” Army spokesman Islam Alloush told Reuters. However, the group did share the others’ criticism of the SNC that it should be directed by fighters inside Syria, not leaders in exile.

If Riyadh’s aim is to thwart AlQaeda enemies by rallying local Syrian Islamists in the way Washington did with Iraq’s Sunni tribal Sahwa, it may be miscalculating, said commentator Hazem Amin. Unlike the Iraqi fighters, he said, Syrian Salafists were increasingly embracing radical views close to Al-Qaeda. “Syria is different,” Amin wrote in al-Hayat newspaper. “The social fabric is less cohesive ... At its core, the new Syrian Salafism is jihadist in nature. It is moving towards extremism.” — Reuters

14

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

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Issues

Bouteflika flexes muscles before 2014 elections

By Lamine Chikhi ive months after a stroke put him in a Paris clinic under a cloud of succession rumors, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is again exercising the political muscle that has kept him in power for more than a decade. Since his return from France in July, Bouteflika has moved to outflank rivals in behind-thescenes negotiations within the ruling FLN party-military alliance that wields real authority. Far from fading into convalescence, analysts and experts say the veteran of Algeria’s independence struggle appears to extending his influence before 2014 elections with a series of maneuvers that strengthens the hand of his allies.

Political uncertainty in Algeria comes at a sensitive time elsewhere in North Africa, where Egypt, Tunisia and Libya are still struggling with instability after popular uprisings ousted their veteran autocratic leaders in 2011.

With a cushion of $200 billion in reserves from oil and gas sales, OPEC-member Algeria can turn to public spending to placate unrest. The opposition remains weak and there is little appetite for upheaval after the 1990s conflict with armed Islamists that killed around 200,000 people.

Yet Algeria’s state-dominated economy remains plagued by red tape and corruption, while its ageing ruling elite has mostly conducted business in Soviet-style one-party secrecy and backroom deals since independence from France in 1962. The latest internal struggle may decide whether Bouteflika steps aside, as many expect, for a loyalist or for a compromise candidate to run Algeria, Europe’s top energy supplier and a US partner in combating Islamist militants in the Maghreb.

Bouteflika has stayed largely out of the public eye since July. But a cabinet reshuffle two weeks ago kept his allies in vital posts, including Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal and Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi. More significant, analysts and sources say, was a transfer to the army of some functions previously controlled by the intelligence service, known by its French initials DRS, whose director since 1990, Mohamed Mediene, has long played political kingmaker.

“Bouteflika wants to put an end to the DRS’s political role,” said director of Ennahar TV and analyst Anis Rahmani. “It is, in a way, the beginning of a major change in the Algerian political system.” Under the constitution, the elected president and parliament hold power, but many Algerians believe real authority lies with a murky group of senior party and security officials commonly known by the French word “le pouvoir” or “the power”.

A shrewd political player even before independence, Bouteflika, 76, has considerable influence within “le pouvoir”, say analysts, but he must cooperate with the security forces in an arrangement that often forces consensus deals. Bouteflika has not said whether he intends to run again. If and when he departs, competition for his job could upset that delicate arrangement. For now, he still holds many cards.

In a major shift, DRS investigations led by MajorGeneral Mehena Djebbar now fall under the authority of the chief of staff and vice defense minister, BrigadierGeneral Gaed Salah, said two sources who asked not to be named.

Bouteflika has also sacked two heavyweight intelligence generals, General Bachir Tertag, in charge of counter-espionage, and an officer in charge of security abroad, according to two security sources who asked not to be identified.

Some opponents of the government interpret the DRS changes as an attempt to stifle investigations into Bouteflika’s allies, particularly former Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, who is facing corruption charges linked to energy contracts. However, one source close to Bouteflika said his plan is “to make sure the DRS’s top chieftains leave before he does, so a new political system can be installed, a system in which the DRS no longer plays a political role”. Despite Bouteflika’s manoeuvres, the military intelligence faction may still wield influence in deciding his successor.

“I can imagine a scenario where Bouteflika and Mediene, the top DRS boss, reach an agreement to secure the post-Bouteflika era,” said former presidential candidate Nouredine Boukrouh. “It is not impossible that they can still agree over a candidate of consensus.”

Riccardo Fabiani, an analyst with Eurasia Group, also said he believed the military intelligence network would still be in a position to force a consensus candidate before the 2014 ballot, despite “political gains for the Bouteflika clan”. — Reuters

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All articles appearing on these pages are the personal opinion of the writers.

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Dealing with Iran: Get ready for a wild ride

By Aaron David Miller f you like happy Hollywood endings, go to the movies. The Obama administration’s effort to negotiate a deal on the nuclear issue with Iran’s mullahs is going to be a wild and unpredictable ride. And for a lot of reasons, reaching a happy conclusion will be tough. A deal on Iran’s nuclear program is partly about shutting down centrifuges, exporting uranium stocks, capping enrichment activities. It will require inspections, safeguards and the dismantling of sanctions.

But at its heart, the deal will involve politics. Iran will feel a need to demonstrate to its people and the world that it will not allow the West, and the United States in particular, to dictate its future. And the US has a lot invested politically too, with three administrations having committed themselves to stopping Iran from acquiring a bomb. Any deal will need to acknowledge the politics on both sides.

We can insist all day long that this is a morality play that pits the good Americans against the bad Iranians (why do they need nukes anyway?), but in the end, Washington, Tehran and Jerusalem will all have to be able to claim victory. All sides will need to give up things, of course, but they must all end up feeling that what they gained was more valuable than what they surrendered.

I

Iran must accept the fact that it will need to end its bid to develop nuclear weapons and agree to careful monitoring. In exchange, the US will need to accept Iran’s right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes and end sanctions sooner than it might like.

The United States isn’t and can’t be a totally free actor in this drama. Even if Iran developed a nuclear weapon, we wouldn’t be the ones most vulnerable. And as unlikely as Iran attacking Israel or Saudi Arabia may appear, it would be irresponsible to trivialize their and particularly Israel’s - security concerns.

US diplomacy must take these fears into account, both for their merits and for political reasons. Washington will have to negotiate not just for itself but for its vulnerable allies. And Israel is the key. The task will be to determine what the Israelis really need, and then to reconcile those needs with US goals, making it unmistakably clear that the president will not participate in a charade that allows the Iranians to run down the diplomatic clock while continuing to develop nuclear weapons capacity. In the end, the president needs to be willing - and make his willingness clear - to use any means, including force, to prevent Iran from making weapons. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and President Obama both have tough domestic politics to deal with. Even though Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali

Khamenei, empowered Rouhani to launch his diplomatic bid, that hardly means he’s a believer in an enhanced US-Iranian relationship. Indeed, tension in that relationship may actually serve to consolidate Khamenei’s control. Sanctions have created pressure to reach an agreement with the US. But suspicious hard-liners, including Khamenei, will be watching and weighing both US diplomacy and Rouhani’s own capacity to negotiate carefully and avoid missteps or traps.

Obama too will be under scrutiny at home. The president is operating in a political environment where mistrust of Iran is so deep and fundamental - and partisan tension so high - that it will take an impressive display of Iran’s flexibility to keep the administration’s Iranian initiative afloat. There is no foreign policy issue in Congress on which there is more unanimity than being tough on Iran. And there’s almost no incentive to show flexibility.

To do a deal will require the prospect of both gain and pain, carefully balanced. The Iranians want sanctions removed. But that clock has been ticking for years now, and despite the economic dislocation and misery in Iran, the mullahs can wait. Indeed, the Iranians may well have concluded that the president’s decision to go to Congress on Syria and the public’s reluctance to use force may have bought them more time.

For Obama, the clock is ticking faster, accelerated by Iran’s approaching capacity to make a weapon, Israel’s willingness to use force to stop it and his own commitment to do so if no negotiated solution is reached. To succeed diplomatically, he will need to offer the enticement of lifting sanctions, but he will also need to make clear the threat of military force.

Communicating both these things at a time when the status of the Iranian nuclear program doesn’t yet warrant a strike and without blowing up the talks will require delicacy. Indeed, in all aspects, negotiating a deal will require a rare degree of skill, will and luck, all commodities that are in very short supply these days, particularly for US diplomacy. The US would be wise to keep expectations low. We can’t expect large-scale transformations or lightning progress. The goal should be a more limited transaction on the nuclear issue.

If the Iranians aren’t serious, we’ll know it pretty quickly. If they are, and the US and Iran are moving toward an agreement, time will be less of a concern, both to Washington and to Jerusalem. Either way, the Iranian charm offensive has focused new attention on the nuclear issue and accelerated the clock. Whether zero hour turns out to be a negotiated deal or a military strike remains to be seen. — MCT

Confrontation is safer than compromise for Republicans

By Andy Sullivan or most Republicans in the House of Representatives, the only greater peril than shutting down the federal government would have been fighting to keep it open. While a shutdown could hurt the Republican Party’s ability to win the Senate next year or take the White House in 2016, that’s not the concern of party members in the House, who led the push to pair continued government funding with measures that would delay President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. “There’s a large cohort of members here who don’t feel themselves harmed by a bad brand name for the party,” said Sarah Binder, an expert on Congress at the Brookings Institution. Instead, the peril comes from being seen as too flexible.

Republicans won control of the House in 2010 with help from the grassroots Tea Party movement, which combines strident conservatism with a mistrust of Washington dealmaking.

The standing of the movement in public opinion polls has declined somewhat since then, according to a recent nationwide Gallup poll. Tea Party lawmakers don’t run for office nationally, but in districts where they are more secure than ever in their jobs, thanks to careful redistricting after the 2010 census and increased polarization among voters.

The Cook Political Report, a Washington tipsheet, estimates that 205 of the chamber’s 232 Republicans can count on a safe re-election race a year from now. Only 11 Republican seats are viewed as competitive. With little pressure to court centrist voters, Tea Party-aligned Republicans face greater pressure to show conservative activists that they are staying true to their ideological roots than working to keep the government operating effectively. Thus it may be easier to allow the government to run out of money rather than face accusations that they did not fight hard enough against Obama’s Affordable Care Act. “They’re in a much better position when they go home and explain a ‘no’ vote that they cast as a protest vote against the White House than a ‘yes’ vote where they have to explain what they voted for,” said Kevin Madden, a former Republican House leadership aide.

Republicans stood little chance of emerging victorious from the fight. Obamacare will begin enrolling uninsured Americans as scheduled on Tuesday, and if the government shuts down, voters are likely to blame Republicans. A CNN poll released on Monday found that 46 percent of those surveyed would hold Republicans responsible, while 36 would blame

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WASHINGTON: People walk near Capitol Hill in Washington yesterday. Congress plunged the nation into a partial government shutdown yesterday as a long-running dispute over President Barack Obama’s health care law stalled a temporary funding bill, forcing about 800,000 federal workers off the job and suspending most non-essential federal programs and services. — AP Obama. The poll also found that two of three voters say it’s more important to keep the government open than to block Obamacare.

As House Republicans worry more about a challenge to their right flank than defeat from a Democratic challenger back home, they push their party farther from the mainstream even as their own seats remain secure. That could complicate the party’s efforts to appeal to a greater cross-section of American voters nationally after two successive presidential defeats, veteran Republicans say. “It’s a definite move towards helping make sure that the Republican Party is a regional party that probably controls the House of Representatives for the foreseeable future, but jeopardizes the ability to take back the Senate and the White House in 2016,” said former Representative Steve LaTourette, a moderate Republican who

retired last year. Paradoxically, the secure electoral status of Tea Party lawmakers has undercut their party’s ability to advance its agenda. House Speaker John Boehner has struggled to keep his party unified on key votes ranging from farm policy to transportation issues to tax increases.

Those Republicans who have defied Boehner most consistently tend to come from districts where Obama only won 35 percent of the vote in the 2012 election, according to an analysis by Binder. Those who have consistently backed him on high-profile votes are from districts where Obama got an average of 43 percent of the vote. Boehner had trouble keeping his troops in line during the shutdown fight as well.

Mindful of the negative fallout his party faced from the last government shutdown in 1995 and 1996, he urged his colleagues to avoid a confrontation. — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

S P ORTS

Pakistan plot ‘spin trap’

Bendtner gets Denmark call

Clarke out of India series

LAHORE: Struggling Pakistan are primed to catch South Africa out by laying on a “spin trap” during the two-test series in the United Arab Emirates, coach Dav Whatmore warned yesterday.

“Our players... want to avenge the 3-0 defeat we had at the start of the year in South Africa. We lost in South Africa because our players were not prepared for the pitches there and the pace and movement they offered,” Whatmore told reporters as his team prepared for the series which begins on Oct. 14. “But conditions in UAE will be different and we know them well and they suit us. Spin tracks are a option for us and we will go by our strength and we have couple of quality spinners in our side.”

Pakistan’s fortunes suffered a further dip when they were outclassed by lowly Zimbabwe in Harare last month - a result which dropped them to sixth in the test rankings and led some pundits to declare the team had hit rock bottom.

With Whatmore under increasing pressure to halt the slump, he pointed out that Pakistan’s inability to host matches on home soil since March 2009 when the Sri Lankan team were attacked in Lahore - has robbed the former Asian powerhouse of precious playing time.—Reuters

DENMARK: Troubled striker Nicklas Bendtner has been recalled to the Danish team by coach Morten Olsen following a six-month suspension for the World Cup qualifiers against Italy and Malta.

Bendtner, who recently returned to Arsenal’s first team in a League Cup game against West Bromwich Albion, has not played for the national side since appearing in a friendly against Turkey last November. Since then, he has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

A conviction for drink-driving by a Copenhagen court in March led to a six-month suspension from the national team and an unsuccessful loan spell at Juventus saw him return to London to an uncertain future at Arsenal.

“Since the summer, the attacker (Bendtner) has returned from injury, clarified his situation with his English club Arsenal, and had a number of conversations with Morten Olsen about his sporting situation and his life off the field,” the Danish football association (DBU) said in a statement. Denmark are currently third in Group B on 12 points, one behind second-placed Bulgaria. The Danes will play group leaders Italy in Copenhagen on Oct. 11 before hosting Malta four days later. —Reuters

MELBOURNE: Australia captain Michael Clarke has been forced to withdraw from the team’s one-day tour of India with a lower back injury.

Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said in a statement Tuesday that during the recent England ODI series Clarke’s injury “flared up again and (it) has been slow to improve with his regular treatment regime.”

Australia hopes to have Clarke fit for the five-test Ashes series against England beginning in November, with Kountouris adding Clarke “will require a more extensive rehabilitation period before returning to competitive cricket.”

George Bailey will captain the team in Clarke’s absence, with Brad Haddin as vicecaptain, while Callum Ferguson will replace Clarke in the squad for the seven-match tour.

The teams will play a Twenty20 match on Oct. 10 at Rajkot before the opening one-day match in Pune. The series ends on Nov. 2 in Bangalore.—Reuters

Heat head to Bahamas to start NBA title defense Join RunQ8 and make a difference KUWAIT: Registrations are now open for RunQ8, the annual 10 kilometer charity race to be held Saturday, November 2 at 9 am, starting and ending at Marina Crescent on the Gulf Road.

RunQ8 2013 is organized by the Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI) and Agility, supporting health initiatives and raising health awareness.

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Previously, RunQ8 successfully supported Eye Health and Road and Traffic Safety communitywide projects in Kuwait.

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The heartbreaking reality is that the children who are the most

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RunQ8 believes that no child should be left behind due to lack of financial support or quality medical care. With FSRI’s pediatric program, we strive to meet the needs of families without resources. This year we will be raising funds through RunQ8 to ensure that FSRI can continue to provide free comprehensive rehabilitative care to those children in the greatest need who have limited resources.

Last year’s runners’ registration fees are being utilized to provide one year of comprehensive care currently to a child who has sustained severe injuries as a result of a traffic accident.

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PARADISE ISLAND: For the grind of training camp, the Miami Heat headed to paradise. Literally, that’s what it’s called. Paradise Island, the tiny fleck of land not far from Nassau, the largest city in the Bahamas.

It’s a vacation destination for people from all over the world, even luring LeBron James for a few days of rest and relaxation not long after he made his infamous decision in 2010 to sign with the Heat. James is back here this week, sun and sand not among his priorities this time around.

The two-time defending NBA champions open training camp yesterday at the Atlantis Resort, with two practices scheduled for opening day. The team arrived on the island Monday night, only a few days after most players learned that camp wouldn’t be in Miami after all.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” Heat forward Chris Bosh said. “It’s a chance for the team to kind of bond and get on the same page and really start the journey, so to speak. One thing about us, once we get together and have an atmosphere, everything is great. I know a lot of people are sidetracked because it’s the Bahamas. Well, training camp is training camp.

Please believe we’re going to get our work in. We’re just forced to have it in a nice place.”

Coach Erik Spoelstra said the trip serves as a bit of a “mental reward” after back-to-back championship seasons. “The work part is not going to be missing,” Spoelstra said Monday before the team departed.

“We’re going to go down there and get to work and start to build the habits, put our hard hats on, also get away from distractions and have a chance to spend a lot of time around each other.”

The team considered taking a trip to the Bahamas during last season’s playoffs, since there was more than a week of down time between the end of the first-round series against Milwaukee and the Eastern Conference semifinal series against Chicago.

Bahamian tourism officials have wanted the Heat to make an official visit of sorts for some time, and things finally came together in time for this camp.

The Heat plan to stay until Friday afternoon.

“Cool,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. “We’re not the first team to do it. We won’t be the last. I think it’s great that our organization, they understand the kind of guys that we have and they understand that we work. They also understand that before we get to this nine-month season, hopefully, we need to build

MIAMI: Heat’s Michael Beasley poses for photos during the team’s NBA basketball media day. —AP our bond together away from everyone and enjoy ourselves a little bit.”

The flight over to the Bahamas only took about 30 minutes. And it’s not like it’s all that different on Paradise Island than Miami; the forecast for the Atlantis this week calls for a bit of breeze, high temperatures in the upper 80s each day and a chance of rain - the same forecast as what’s expected in nearby South Florida.

“We’re not a prima donna team,” Wade said. “We’re going to work our butt off when we have to work.

Ain’t nothing wrong with it, at the end of the day, going and hanging out together, maybe swim a little bit, whatever. I like the move.”

The Los Angeles Lakers have held several training camps in Hawaii, the San Antonio Spurs went to the US Virgin Islands - Tim Duncan’s birthplace - a few

years ago, and at least four other franchises have held camp in Florida (other than the Heat and Orlando Magic, that is).

And this team isn’t exactly starting from scratch, either. The top nine scorers from last season return, with the lone notable departure being Mike Miller, who was designated as Miami’s amnesty-provision player in a move that spared the team somewhere around $40 million in salary-cap space and luxury-tax payments over the next two seasons. Added to the mix are a former No. 1 pick in Greg Oden, a former No. 2 pick (by Miami in 2008) in Michael Beasley, and veteran guard Roger Mason Jr. “I think it’d be like someone going to a conference in the Bahamas.

Yeah, that’s cool, but you’re there to work,” Bosh said.

“And knowing Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley, please believe the work is going to get done.” —AP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

S P ORTS

Miller ready to stir things up at Olympics — again

BOSTON: In this June 24, 2013 file photo, the Chicago Blackhawks pose with the Stanley Cup after beating the Boston Bruins 3-2 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals. —AP

NHL: New rules, new roles, and can Hawks repeat?

NEW YORK: Enjoy the Stanley Cup-banner raising ceremony for as long as possible, Chicago Blackhawks. Once the puck drops to usher in the new NHL season in Chicago, Montreal and Edmonton yesterday, recent history suggests someone other than the Blackhawks will be hoisting the cup in June. The 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings stand as the league’s last team to repeat as champions.

“You’ve got players moving all the time now. The competition level is good or better than ever before,” TV analyst and former coach Pierre McGuire said. “And the ultimate thing is we haven’t had NHL expansion in almost 12 or 14 years now.

“And because of that, the talent bucket is full.” Despite that, McGuire thinks Chicago has as good a chance as any to repeat fresh off a lockout-shortened season. “I believe we can start to use the ‘D’ word with Chicago’s dynasty,” he said of a franchise that’s won two of the past four titles.

Former player-turned-broadcaster Eddie Olczyk, however, noted several obstacles facing Chicago. Namely? The Olympics.

Chicago could have as many as 14 players competing at Sochi.

“When you throw in the Olympic break,” Olczyk said. “It’s going to be very taxing.”

Here’s five more things to watch out for as the NHL enters its 96th year: FAMILIAR FACES, NEW PLACES: Vinny’s in Philly, Alfie’s in Motown, and Tim Thomas ended his one-year sabbatical to land in Florida.

These were among the more significant moves involving the NHL’s old guard this offseason. Vincent Lecavalier started the ball rolling, when the former Tampa Bay captain signed a five-year, $22.5 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Daniel Alfredsson, the long-time Ottawa Senators captain, jumped ship to sign with the Red Wings. And then there’s Thomas, who re-emerged last week by signing a one-year deal with the Panthers.

NEW RULES: Un-tucked jerseys and visors are in fashion. And there’s the possibility of the NHL introducing a form of notouch icing, pending NHL Players’ Association approval.

The league used the preseason to test a hybrid icing rule, in which linesmen can whistle the play dead by determining which teams’ player reaches the far-end faceoff dot.

The rule is being contemplated in a bid to reduce the chance of injuries that can occur when players collide at the end

boards. Buffalo Sabres forward Steve Ott doesn’t like it. “I think it’s terrible,” he said.

“There’s too much hesitation from the referee to the players going to get the puck, and that hesitation slows down the game.” In other changes, players with fewer than 25 games of NHL experience must wear a visor. Players will also not be permitted to tuck their jerseys into their pants to expose any protective padding.

GOALIE SHUFFLE: There’s a spotlight on goalies who switched teams and on some that stayed put.

Cor y Schneider is out of Roberto Luongo’s shadow in Vancouver to become Martin Brodeur’s heir-apparent in New Jersey. The Toronto Maple Leafs made a bid to shore up their crease by acquiring Jonathan Bernier in a trade with Los Angeles.

Then there’s the Flyers’ near-annual offseason carousel. Newly signed free agent Ray Emery is competing with Steve Mason for the starting job after Philadelphia gave up on Ilya Bryzgalov. Questions remain regarding the status of several established veterans.

In Pittsburgh, Marc-Andre Fleury is on the hotseat after his latest playoff meltdown sent him to the bench last spring.

Fleury will open the season as the starter by default with Tomas Vokoun out indefinitely due to blood clots.

Ryan Miller’s future in Buffalo is uncertain, too. The Sabres haven’t ruled out the possibility of trading Miller before his contract expires after this season.

ROOKIE WATCH: Center Nathan MacKinnon, drafted first overall by Colorado in June, heads the list of raw rookies set to make their professional debuts.

Other first-round picks set to make the immediate jump to the NHL include Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (No. 2 pick), Nashville defenseman Seth Jones (No. 4), and Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (No. 8).

REALIGNMENT A REALITY: At last, there is a new look to the league.

Realignment means there are just four divisions now, two in both the Eastern and Western Conference.

The names of the divisions, though, will take some getting used to. The Atlantic, Pacific and Central all seem fine. The Metropolitan - which features Carolina, Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Columbus, New Jersey and both the New York Islanders and Rangers - will take some getting used to.—AP

Pistorius hires US forensics experts for help in murder trial JOHANNESBURG: Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has enlisted the help of US forensics experts as he prepares for a murder trial which is due to start in March next year, his spokeswoman said yesterday.

Pistorius, 26, has been charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14 - Valentine’s Day - at his home in Pretoria. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Spokeswoman Anneliese Burgess said the forensics team was currently in South Africa, but would not provide further details. “It is standard practice to work with specialists from various fields in preparing for a trial,” she told Reuters.

Double-amputee Pistorius, known as “Blade Runner” for the prostheses he wears in competition, has admitted shooting Steenkamp through a closed bathroom

Oscar Pistorius (right) with his girlfriend.

door. He said he mistook her for an intruder and that the shooting was a terrible accident.

Prosecutors say the track star knew what he was doing and gunned down his 29year-old girlfriend after a heated argument.

Steenkamp, a fashion model and aspiring TV star, was shot in the head, arm and hip and died at the residence. Pistorius was released on bail in February. Pistorius was born without fibulas and had both his legs amputated below the knees before he turned one-year-old.

He was one of the most-celebrated athletes of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics in London, progressing to the Olympic 400metre semi-final and winning Paralympic gold over the same distance. His trial is scheduled to start on March 3, 2014 and to run until March 23.—Reuters

PARK CITY: Two weeks shy of his 36th birthday, “pretty shriveled up” and likely nearing the end of his competitive career, Bode Miller can’t help but think of legacies.

Not the five Olympic medals, the four world titles and whether he is, as most people think, the best male skier the United States has ever had.

That’s for other people to decide.

“I think they’re more titles for everyone else,” Miller said on Monday at the US Olympic Committee media summit. “You’re renting the title until somebody else takes it away. If you’re too attached to it, you’re going to be bummed out when your rental agreement runs out.”

No, what matters to him is the impact he’s had on skiing. “It’s not so much about my legacy as it is about ski racing in general. Ski racing deserves what you can give to it,” he said. “It’s been the love of my life up until now.” Even if it’s been, to the outside world, something of a tortured relationship.

Miller was just 20 when he made his first Olympic team in 1998, too inexperienced even to know what he didn’t know. He remembers feeling confident when he stepped into the starting gate, only to get through 15 gates before sailing off the course. By the time he reached the bottom - cartwheeling across the finish line - the Japanese fans greeted him with “raucous applause.” “In ‘98, I was basically throwing the dice,” he said.

By the time the Turin Olympics rolled around, Miller was skiing’s biggest star. Like La Bomba and the Herminator before him, his success on the slopes - he won four world titles from 2003 to 2005, and claimed his first overall World Cup title in 2005 - was surpassed only by his larger-than-life personality off them. Raised in rural New Hampshire, he is brash, unconventional and free-spirited. (While most other athletes wore sneakers or boots Monday, Miller sported aqua blue flip-flops.)

But the very traits that make him

UTAH: Olympic and World Championship gold medalist skier Bode Miller speaks with reporters during a news conference at the USOC 2013 team USA media summit. —AP so appealing also were his undoing.

Disdainful of the goal-oriented nature of Olympic sports - to say nothing of the celebrity culture that goes with them - Miller found trouble at every turn in Turin. He made waves by refusing to live in the athletes’ village. He said he had mixed feelings about the US Ski Team’s “Best in the World” motto, saying the organization needed to put as much into it as the skiers did.

And after all those expectations, he didn’t medal, failing even to finish in three of his events. Later, he brushed off criticism of his failure, saying he’d managed to “party and socialize at an Olympic level.”

“Dealing with those kind of tough situations, it’s obviously part of growing and being a grown-up,” Miller said. “When you’re under the magnifying glass like that, there’s no way to really judge yourself too harshly in hindsight. Obviously, I could have said things differently, I could have done things differently.

A lot of other people could have done things differently, too.

“I had chances to win, I was pre-

pared. I don’t think I did anything dramatically as evil as it was portrayed. But I think that’s part of being under the microscope that way, and I’m fully capable of dealing with it. It didn’t really ruffle me as bad as I think a lot of people would have expected. I just don’t seem to get bothered by that stuff that much.” Four years later, skiing had a new star in Lindsey Vonn. But the spotlight found Miller once again, this time for all the right reasons. He won a medal of every color at the Vancouver Olympics, including a gold in the super combined. That gave him a total of five Olympic medals, more than any other U.S. skier. Miller won his 33rd World Cup title, in the downhill at Beaver Creek, in December 2011. But he had microfracture surgery on his left knee in February 2012 and wound up missing the entire 201213 season. The break re-energized him, giving him a chance to spend time with his wife and kids.

“Being away from the sport was really healthy for me,” Miller said.

“I’ve been in it so long with so little

time away that I was definitely taxed ... to a point that I was getting frustrated at times. The fact is, if you’re going to do it, the process deserves better than that. Now I think I’m in a place where I can participate fully, and not put as much strain on myself.”

Miller accompanied the rest of the US team to Portillo, Chile, and said his knee feels “perfect” as he readies for his return to competition this month. Asked about his expectations for Sochi, Miller said he intends to “kick (butt)” in what is almost certainly his last Olympics.

“Everyone looks for these big epiphanies,” he said. “I’ve spent lot of time and energy being a ski racer.

I’ve earned the right to compete at a high level and I’ve spent a lot of pain and a lot of energy trying to develop these skills. The Olympics, to me, is just a great opportunity to enjoy that.

“It’s a perishable process, being a ski racer. Until you’re all rotten or shriveled up, you should keep going. I’m pretty shriveled up, but I’m not all rotten. Not yet.”—AP

Rays to playoffs again after win over Rangers ARLINGTON: Tampa Bay is into the American League playoffs after beating Texas 5-2 in Monday’s one-off tiebreaker game, with David Price pitching a complete game for the Rays.

Evan Longoria had a two-run homer among his three hits for Tampa Bay, which faces another do-or-die game today at Cleveland in the AL wild-card game.

Price, who had woeful 10.26 ERA in his four previous starts at Rangers Ballpark, struck out four and picked off two runners in a game-winning performance. “That’s what an ace does, that’s what a leader of a staff does,” Longoria said of Price’s game. “It was awesome to watch.”

The admiration was reciprocated, as Price immediately sought out Longoria as the celebrations began, with the pair embracing and Price saying he had dreamt the two would pair up to guide the Rays to victory. “You’re probably supposed to go to your catcher first, but for what he’s done for us and what he’s done for me personally,” Price said. “I think about that type of stuff before I pitch all the time, but for it to happen today. I didn’t want to text him when I thought about it. I didn’t want to jinx it.”

Longoria extended his stellar record in the last game of regular seasons. He is hitting .579 (11 for 19) in those finales with seven homers and 10 RBIs, according to STATS. In 2011, the Rays had to overcome a ninegame deficit the final month of the season and were down seven runs in their last game. They got to the playoffs after Longoria’s game-ending homer in the 12th inning beat the New York

Yankees. “I wish I could explain it,” he said. “I wish I could bottle it up and take it through 161 games and not have it be on the last day.”

Texas’ All-Star slugger Nelson Cruz made his return from his 50-game drug suspension but even that could not put the Rangers into the

playoffs for a fourth year in a row.

Cruz, who had 27 homers and 76 RBIs in 108 games before his suspension, was 0 for 4 with a strikeout while hitting sixth as the designated hitter. His groundout to shortstop ended the game.—AP

ARLINGTON: Tampa Bay Rays’ Sam Fuld (left) steals third base as Texas Rangers’ Adrian Beltre dives for a wild throw by Tanner Scheppers during the ninth inning of an American League wild-card tiebreaker baseball game. —AP

Australians pushing for thrifty America’s Cup MELBOURNE: Australia’s Hamilton Island Yacht Club will push to ensure the next America’s Cup does not boil down to a “race of money” with Larry Ellison’s Oracle Team USA, but will fight hard to woo the country’s top sailing talent back from the defender.

Hamilton Island, owned by wine magnate and sailing enthusiast Bob Oatley and run by his son Sandy, was confirmed by the Golden Gate Yacht Club as the Challenger of Record for the 35th America’s Cup late on Monday.

The 34th Cup that wrapped up last week had only three challengers, with the costs of the campaign, which was raced in super-fast AC72 catamarans, put in excess of $100 million and cited as the main reason why so few teams went to San Francisco.

As the Challenger of Record, Hamilton Island will help shape the rules for the next regatta with Oracle, whose software tycoon owner has also talked of the need to contain costs after being criticised for the complexity of the hi-tech AC72s.

Sandy Oatley praised Oracle and the beaten Team New Zealand for putting on a thrilling regatta in San Francisco Bay after raising the technology stakes but said lower costs would help attract more challengers for the next incarnation, set for 2016.

“It did cost a lot, the technology, but I think they’ve taken it into the next realm of sailing,” he told Reuters in an interview by phone from Sydney.

“I think the way they’ve developed it in this case has made it very exciting and all the people who were able to watch it were absolutely amazed. “I think (overseas competitors) are all welcoming the fact of trying to contain the

costs. “My father Bob was saying, for a sailing race, we’re trying to get the emphasis 100 percent on sailing, with 50 percent on the sailing expertise, 40 percent the boat and 10 percent in technology and development. “We can put some boxes around the boats and the sails so it doesn’t become a race of money.”

Forbes has ranked Oatley, who made his fortune first as a coffee trader and then as a vintner, as Australia’s 25th richest with just under $1 billion. Ellison is the world’s fifth richest man with $43 billion.

Backed by NZ$36 million ($29.98 million) in public funds, Team New Zealand were overhauled by Oracle after storming to an 8-1 lead in the first to nine-points regatta, as the defenders worked over-time to glean extra speed from their boat in the final week.

While Bob Oatley has entered a series of successful super-maxi yachts in the Sydney-toHobart long-distance ocean race, one of the world’s most testing offshore challenges, ensuring funds to compete with Oracle will be paramount.

Sandy Oatley said the Australian challenge was yet to sign any corporate backers, and like Team New Zealand did, would seek support from government coffers.

“We’ll be talking to (the government),” he said. “I’m sure it will be of keen interest to them but we haven’t spoken to them yet. I think they’ve got bigger things on their mind right now. “We’re talking to (potential corporate sponsors), but we weren’t really talking (before) because we weren’t really sure what was happening,” he said.

“That’ll happen in the next couple of weeks.

We’re looking for a great Australian challenge

with some Australian corporates and great Australian sailors.”

While concerned about costs, Oatley said the challenger’s preference would be to see some version of the high-speed catamarans retained for the next series and more fleet racing in the leadup.

“It was very exciting, the racing, and anyone that saw the America’s Cup would know that you’ve only got to make one little mistake and suddenly you go from first to last,” he said.

Hamilton Island’s challenge comes 30 years after Australia II’s 1983 victory over the Dennis Conner-skippered Liberty, which ended the 132year-old US chokehold over the famous sailing trophy and sparked huge celebrations Down Under.

The 35th America’s Cup will be the first time Australia has had an entry, however, since Oracle captain James Spithill skippered ‘Young Australia’ in the 30th edition in Auckland in 2000.

Australian sailors have been in force at America’s Cup challenges since, however, and Oatley said luring the likes of Spithill and Oracle strategist Tom Slingsby, who won a sailing gold at the London Olympics, away from the U.S. team would be a high priority.

“We don’t know contractually how the Oracle boys are all tied up but that will all happen in the future and once we work out the protocols for the 35th race, we’ll see,” he said.

“There are lots of great Australian sailors and Jimmy Spithill’s top of the list at the moment with his recent success. “(1983) really brought Australia together and it came home to us last week ... It was a great thing what they did and we’re hoping to do the same again for Australia.” —Reuters

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

S P ORTS

Uchimura excels at worlds ANTWERP: Kohei Uchimura proved he is the overwhelming favorite to win a record fourth all-around world championship by qualifying for tomorrow’s final by a big margin.

Uchimura also qualified for the weekend floor exercise, high bar and parallel bar finals yesterday. But what really counts for the Olympic champion is to become the first male or female gymnast to win four allaround world titles that would further cement claims he is the greatest gymnast ever.

With only one of four qualifying groups left, Japanese teammate Ryohei Kato moved into third place with 89.474 points, still trailing Uchimura’s big 91.924. Sam Mikulak of the United States was third on 89.532. Japan, China and the United States were top of qualifying, while Russia disappointed with David Belyavskiy as its top performer in 14th place for the all-around, showing there is no easy replacement for injured University Games winner Mykola Kuksenkov.

The qualifying marks are scratched for the final, making Uchimura’s show of force only an exercise in psychological domination.

The triple defending and reigning Olympic all-around champion produced his traditional show of elegance and power to sweep past early leader Mikulak, the US champion, to top the standings.

Though Uchimura holds the men’s record for all-around world titles, he still shares it with retired women’s gymnast Svetlana Khorkina of Russia.

For good measure, he could win more medals in the apparatus finals. Look for a highlight in the high bar, which traditional-

ly wows any crowd. There he goes against Olympic champion Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands, Mikulak and Fabian Hambuechen of Germany, the silver medalist at the London Games. On the floor, Uchimura might be upstaged by 17-yearold teammate Kenzo Shirai, who dominated the floor with a performance of an exceptionally difficulty degree. On the vault, too, the high school student was impressive.

Overall, Japan has eight places in the six apparatus finals, compared to five each for the US and China. Russia has only two places.

If most world championships after an Olympic year are packed with surprises, it was still stunning to see double defending and Olympic champion Krisztian Berki of Hungary fall off the pommel horse and crash out of the final.

The first round of women’s qualifying was all set for Kyla Ross, a member of the US Olympic gold medal team last year. Still 16, she is heading for her first world championship final and already showed the poise coming from owning an Olympic title.

She dominated a weak first qualifying group and with 59.198 points towered over everyone else. Especially on beam, she felt she could have earned more.

“I don’t want to create too much controversy but I know that I was a little bit disappointed,” she said.

She should be a certainty to make the top 24 for Friday’s all-around final, but since only two per country are allowed in, she will have to wait and see what her teammates Simone Biles and McKayla Maroney do in today’s sessions. —AP

ANTWERP: US gymnast Kyla Ross competes in the balance beam qualifications at the 44th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.—AFP

Asian cage-fighter strikes blow for region’s women SINGAPORE: A young Singaporean is hoping her fast hands and feet can strike a blow for Asian women when she joins the region’s tiny ranks of female cage-fighters next month.

Sherilyn Lim is polite and pretty but beyond that, the stereotypes crumble as the 23-year-old sweats through a tough routine in a small, downtown gym.

Lim, who first took up martial arts to lose weight, aims fists and elbows at a punchingbag before hitting the ring to fire jabs at a trainer.

Then she drops to the floor, straddles a prone bag and grimly pummels it with her knuckles and forearms, pretending it’s an opponent.

Beaded with sweat and with a large tattoo across her back, Lim is training up to seven hours a day ahead of her debut in mixed martial arts (MMA), or cage-fighting.

She will take on another Asian debutante, Malaysia’s Ann ‘Athena’ Osman, in Singapore on October 18 in a One Fighting Championship (One FC) promotion stacked with male fighters.

Anything-goes displays of kicking, punching and wrestling between two combatants locked in a cage is certainly not a traditional pursuit for Asian women.

But Lim, plucked from obscurity for the fight, says her appearance could be empowering for others like her. “If I were to see myself or some other Asian woman step into the ring or in a cage, I would say ‘Wow, this girl can kick ass’,” she says, carefully straightening her hair and replacing her blackrimmed glasses after her work-out. “A lot of times you realise certain things you think you cannot do are actually achievable and attainable. It’s only a matter of whether you put that limit on yourself or not.”

Lim, speaking calmly and intelligently as she sits on the gym floor, says she was a “fat kid” until just a couple of years ago, when she developed a serious interest in Muay Thai, or Thai kick-boxing.

Growing up, like many Singaporeans, her sport of choice was the less aggressive pastime of table tennis-although she says fighting and ping pong have some elements in common.

“A lot of people see it as just two paddles hitting a ball back and forth,” she said. “But

there’s a lot of position and timing and also the right amount of strength needs to be applied at the right time.”

As recently as two years ago, Lim could not do a full push-up (“I used to do the girly push-ups, the one with your knees on the ground”) or a pull-up.

But an urge to raise her commitment to martial arts led her to an amateur fight this year, which she won. Footage of the bout prompted the offer from One FC. “When I first started Muay Thai I wanted to lose weight but the dedication was not there,” she said. “And then slowly, slowly I realised this thing has to be consistent, there’s got to be discipline and a certain number of hours or days. “ Then you learn about nutrition and everything and then you put it all together like a puzzle.” Outside of Japan, which already has a presence in MMA, few Asian women have ventured into the cage. In many parts of the region, attitudes are conservative.

But Lim says her fight against Osman shows that women in Asia can do more than is sometimes assumed. “Asia, in general, if you compare it to the Western countries, there’s a societal stereotype: females should be at home as a housewife, taking care of children,” she says.

“But as of today you can see that is already changing-women are educated, they’re getting jobs, they’re bringing home money.

“If you talk about what MMA does for Asian women, I would say it shows that women are also able to do the same thing that real athletes are doing, with regards to whatever sport.

“Just because we’re Asian women, it doesn’t mean that we’re unable to perform certain tasks or have certain skill-sets.”

Another woman who does not conform to stereotypes is the feisty Osman, who has promised via Twitter to “knock Sherilyn on her sorry Singapore city-girl butt”.

Trash-talking is not Lim’s way. But she says that when the steps into the brightly lit cage, for three five-minute rounds in front of thousands of spectators, she’ll be ready.

“You can say everything you want before you fight but when it comes down to that three rounds in the cage, there’s no talking needed,” she says. “It will be intense.”—AFP

SINGAPORE: This photograph taken on Sept 27, 2013 shows female mixed martial artist Sherilyn Lim during her training session at the gymnasium. —AFP

Photo of the day

Amelia & the Wright Bros. perform at Red Bull Flugtag in Miami, FL, USA. —www.redbull.com

Djokovic, Nadal cruise as Serena struggles in China BEIJING: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal-vying for the world’s top ranking-powered through their openers at the China Open yesterday but women’s top seed Serena Williams stumbled her way into the third round.

Djokovic signalled his intent to reclaim the title he won in the Chinese capital last year, sweeping aside Lukas Rosol 6-0, 6-3. The Serbian world number one-and top seed-defeated his Czech challenger in just 53 minutes.

Nadal, who could unseat Djokovic in the world rankings depending what happens in Beijing, faced slightly more resistance from Santiago Giraldo, with the Spaniard claiming a 6-2, 6-4 win in about 90 minutes.

“Today is an important victory for me against an important opponent like Giraldo,” Nadal said. “If I’m able to keep playing well every day and at the same level I will have the chance to be there, to be number one in the future.”

The second seed will now face German Philipp Kohlschreiber, while Djokovic will meet Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in the second round.

Third seed David Ferrer won his opening match against Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), setting up a second-round clash with Marinko Matosevic, who beat France’s Julien Benneteau 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.

Fifth seed Richard Gasquet and sixth seed Stanislas Wawrinka both safely negotiated their way through. France’s Gasquet defeated Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), while Switzerland’s Wawrinka needed three sets to overcome Italian Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Verdasco claimed victory over Somdev Devvarman of India 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 and American Sam Querrey defeated Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. Eighth seed American John Isner beat crowd favourite Wu Di 5-7, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.

CHINA: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic serves against Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic during their men’s singles match at the China Open tennis tournament. —AFP In the women’s draw Williams, to boil over, with Williams ranting less pressure this year, after twice the world number one, only and Schiavone smashing balls into failing to get past the semi-final stage previously at China’s biggest showed rare moments of her trade- the barriers at the side of the court.

But Williams seemed calmer-and tennis tournament. The 2011 mark power-play and at times appeared agitated as she overcame quieter-as she closed in on a hard- French Open winner’s decisive vicItalian Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-5 earned victory. “I was able to save tory earns her a last-16 tie against some energy, so I started walking Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki. in her second-round match.

The German booked her place The American gained the upper slower and taking my time more. hand in the first set via a mistake When I did that, I actually won with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Serena’s sisfrom her opponent, who double- three or four games in a row,” she ter Venus, who failed to replicate her recent form at the Pan Pacific said. faulted on set point.

Williams will face Maria Kirilenko Open in Tokyo, where she reached But Williams was forced to become more aggressive in the in the next round after the Russian the semi-finals.

The 12th seed Carla Suarez second set after her serve was bro- beat Urszula Radwanska 6-4, 6-4. It ken in the first game by Schiavone, was another storming performance Navarro defeated American Italy’s first Grand Slam winner, at from Chinese star Li Na, who swept Lauren Davis 6-4, 6-2 to seal her Roland Garros in 2010, and the cur- aside Serbian Bojana Jovanovski 6- place in the last 16, while seventh seed Angelique Kerber dumped 0, 6-1. rent world number 50.

The 31-year-old fourth seed and out teenage Briton Laura Robson As the competition intensified both players’ tempers threatened crowd favorite said she felt under 6-1, 6-2.—AFP

Del Potro defeats Baghdatis TOKYO: Top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro moved into the second round of the Japan Open with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus yesterday.

Playing under the roof at Ariake Colosseum because of rain, del Potro came back from a sluggish first set to secure the win in just over two hours.

“The match came to me in the end,” del Potro said. “I was focusing on breaking his serve and finally did it. He was hitting a lot of aces (17).” His opponent in the second round will be Argentine compatriot Carlos Berlocq.

Defending champion Kei Nishikori came back from a set down to beat unseeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2.

Nishikori was just two points from defeat while trailing 5-2 in the second set, but reeled off five straight games to even the sets before cruising to victory in the final set.

Del Potro, ranked seventh in the world, prevailed with solid play from the baseline and capitalized on some crucial mistakes

by Baghdatis.

Baghdatis, ranked 49th, broke serve in the opening game of the match and held throughout to take the first set. The Cypriot mixed it up, frequently coming to the net and using drop shots to try and keep del Potro off bal-

ance. The players exchanged breaks early in the second set, then stayed on serve until the final game, when del Potro broke with a volley to level the sets.

The crucial point in the match came in the eighth game of the final set, when del Potro converted on his four th break point chance to go up 5-3 after Baghdatis hit a return into the net.

“It was important for me to win this kind of match,” del Potro said. “Playing him in the first round is probably the worst person to face. He is unseeded here and dangerous. He plays well on the hard-courts.” Del Potro was a late addition to the tournament after Andy Murray, the 2011 champion, pulled out due to a back injury. Del Potro is seeking his third title of the season here, following victories in Rotterdam and Washington.

In other first-round action, seventh-seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa lost to Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-4, 7-6 (2), and unseeded Horacio Zeballos of Argentina beat qualifier Ryan Harrison of the United States 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Third-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada, who lost to Nishikori in the final last year, will play his first-round match against Go Soeda today. —AP

Saints crush Dolphins NEW ORLEANS: Drew Brees led the undefeated Saints to a crushing 38-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Monday as New Orleans continue to put last year’s nightmare season well behind them.

Brees completed 30-of-39 attempts for 413 yards passing and tossed four touchdown passes as the Saints dominated a match-up between previously unbeaten teams, improving to 40 while dropping the visiting Dolphins to 3-1.

New Orleans’ start to the 2013 campaign is a far cry from a year ago when they lost their first four games while coach Sean Payton served a year suspension for involvement in a bounty program, eventually missing the playoffs with a 7-9 record.

“We like this a lot better,” Brees told reporters, of their resurgence. “Everything that could have gone wrong for us went wrong (last season). “Fortunately, we’re having the ball bounce our way this year. We’re playing good football.”

Restored to full strength, New Orleans have looked a different proposition and jumped 7-0 ahead of Miami on their first drive of the game and never took their foot off the gas.

Darren Sproles scored on a five-yard run on the initial possession and added a 13-yard receiving TD at the end of the second quarter to give the Saints a 21-10 halftime lead.

Sproles finished with seven catches for 114 yards. Tight end Jimmy Graham also had a big day to continue his great start to the season.

The big target caught 100 receiving yards and two TD passes, the second coming midway through the third quarter on a 43yard bomb that put New Orleans 35-10 in front.

Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill added a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter but finished with three interceptions and one lost fumble.

“They were huge,” Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said of the turnovers. “We were hanging around. It was a big giveaway.”

Lamar Miller rushed for 62 yards and a first-half score for Miami, but did not see the ball in the second with his team playing catch up.

The Dolphins entered the game with their first 3-0 start since 2002 but drop one game behind New England (4-0) for the AFC East lead as a result of the loss.—Reuters

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

S P ORTS

FIFA likely to delay decision on 2022 World Cup dates LONDON: Despite widespread speculation that FIFA will vote to switch the dates of the 2022 World Cup on Friday, soccer’s world governing body will probably delay making a decision and instead set up a task force to analyse the huge implications of moving the tournament from the searing heat of the Middle East summer.

Although the executive committee could agree in principle to move the dates of the World Cup, FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce told Reuters it should not rush into a decision and he wanted a task force set up to examine the issue.

“We will discuss when the World Cup will be held (and) we will also consider the plight of immigrant workers in Qatar whose harsh living and working conditions made headlines last week,” he said.

Thomas Bach, the new president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said he doubted the World Cup would clash with the Winter Olympics in 2022, if the finals were moved from their traditional June and July dates, adding that FIFA was likely to opt for November 2022, if it switched.

In a development related to the vexed situation regarding the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 finals to Qatar on the same day in

December 2010, Michael Garcia, the head of the investigative unit of FIFA ethics committee, will tour all the countries involved in the bidding processes, he was quoted as saying in France Football yesterday.

Garcia, a former US Attorney in New York, is examining allegations of corruption in the voting that led to the awarding of the two World Cups.

A highly-placed FIFA source told Reuters the game’s world governing body now had to grapple with a huge political, social and financial problem of its own making.

“This is because the executive committee members who awarded the finals to Qatar in December 2010 ignored recommendations from FIFA’s own inspection report group that ranked Qatar second from bottom among the five contenders. They should never have chosen Qatar. It was flawed from day one.”

Boyce, who joined the executive committee six months after the vote was taken, told Reuters in a telephone interview from his home in Belfast: “I don’t think there is any possibility of a decision being taken about moving the World Cup this week.

“What should happen next is that all the stakeholders, the major clubs from

around the world, the major leagues, TV rights holders, sponsors, everyone needs to get around the table and have their say. “Although UEFA’s 54 members have agreed it would be best to move the World Cup away from the summer, all the implications need to be studied in detail.

“And don’t forget, we don’t need to rush into this. The World Cup is still nine years away, we have plenty of time. “But we also need to look very closely at the conditions of the immigrant workers who are building the infrastructure in Qatar and will be building the stadiums there for the World Cup. “I was appalled and upset after last week’s stories that dozens of immigrant workers had died as a result of the conditions in Qatar and that thousands of others are being ill-treated. We cannot allow that. “These people must be protected and their basic human rights safeguarded.”

While FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his 27-strong executive committee struggle with the problem of when to stage the World Cup, the political implications of any decision they subsequently make will have far-reaching consequences.

Bach, who was elected IOC president

last month, told the BBC he was not worried about a clash with the Winter Games. “So far we have heard a proposal from the FIFA president to have it in November 2022, and there would be no clash whatsoever. We will now see how the discussions go.

“We are confident that in the mutual interest there will be a good solution for both big events and no clash with the dates.” The Winter Olympics are traditionally held in February, and sometimes the final days of January. The 2022 hosts will be chosen by the IOC in July 2015.

A close observer of FIFA’s inner workings, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said of the World Cup decision: “The whole process was flawed from the very beginning and right now the FIFA executive committee, with a lot of new members who were not on the executive when the vote was taken, is split on how to put the problem right.

“The executive committee is in four camps divided between the ones who believe that no switch will support Qatar while others believe no switch will torpedo Qatar.

“At the same time, there is a group who think that by switching you support Qatar and others who think switching will torpedo Qatar.

“And it is too simplistic to say it all comes down to what Sepp Blatter wants.

He wanted the World Cup to be held in the United States.

“His vision of an Asian World Cup was probably to go to China, one of the last great football frontiers, not Qatar, where more than half of the national team is naturalised because the locals don’t play the game.

“His strategy from day one was to say we cannot play in June and July. By doing that he has sent a subliminal message, or perhaps not so subliminal, which is: ‘Why did my colleagues vote for Qatar? - I did not vote for them’.

“But while he says the World Cup cannot be played in the summer, he also knows that changing the dates could cost FIFA one billion dollars.”

Qatar says it can host the World Cup in summer by building air-conditioned stadiums using environmentally-friendly technology and is reluctant to change the dates from June or July.

Last month the powerful European Clubs Association (ECA), which has more than 200 members, urged FIFA not to rush into a decision, saying there were still nine years to go and they wanted to be included in any proposed task force.—Reuters

Casillas back as Real look for European response

MANCHESTER: Bayern Munich’s manager Pep Guardiola attends a training session at The City of Manchester stadium in Manchester on the eve of their UEFA Champions League Group D football match against Manchester City. —AFP

Pellegrini hoping to snap Pep jinx LONDON: Manuel Pellegrini’s record against Pep Guardiola is a sorry one but he gets another chance to finally put one over his tormentor when Manchester City host holders Bayern Munich in the Champions League today. During his time in La Liga the Chilean was in the opposing dugout to former Barcelona coach Guardiola on eight occasions and only avoided defeat once when his Villarreal side drew 3-3 in the Nou Camp in the 2008-09 season. His brief stay at Real Madrid included two El Classico defeats by Guardiola’s Barca and the trend continued at Malaga where he soaked up another four losses against the Catalans. The furniture has been re-arranged in European soccer, however, and Pellegrini will feel his expensivelyassembled Man City side will start as equals to Bayern who have yet to really spark under Guardiola even if they are unbeaten.

Pellegrini was head-hunted by City at the end of last season partly because of his tactical nous in the Champions League in which he had Villarreal and Malaga punching above their weight.

He has never failed to survive the group stage in his previous Champions League campaigns and City’s opening day 3-0 win away to Viktoria Plzen has raised hopes that they can finally make their mark on the competi-

tion having twice fallen short of the knockout rounds.

Despite that emphatic victory in the Czech Republic Pellegrini’s opening weeks in charge of City have been far from smooth with two defeats in their opening six Premier League games, the latest a 3-2 loss at Aston Villa on Saturday. Pellegrini was baffled by his side’s loss at Villa, having dominated for long spells, but said it would have no adverse effect on morale ahead of a visit from the European champions. “It’s always better to play in the Champions League when you have won the Premier League game before but the team is playing with trust and confidence so I hope we can do a good match again next Wednesday,” he said. “In general, I was very happy with the way we played.” City could be boosted by the return of midfielder David Silva who has been out since the end of August. Guardiola’s start at treble-winning Bayern has been efficient rather than spectacular with Saturday’s 1-0 win at home to VfL Wolfsburg indicative of their form so far.

“It is very difficult at this moment to improve with Bayern because they won the last three competitions but he will find a way because he is a very good manager,” Pellegrini, who does not have that dilemma at City, said.—Reuters

MADRID: Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas will make his first appearance at the Santiago Bernabeu in nearly nine months when Los Blancos host FC Copenhagen in the Champions League today.

Casillas has lost his place in the side to Diego Lopez since breaking a bone in his hand in January, but coach Carlo Ancelotti has opted to play the Spanish number one in the Champions League and Copa del Rey. The 32-year-old has played just 15 minutes of competitive action so far this season after being forced off with a rib injury early in Madrid’s 6-1 win away to Galatasaray on match day one, but has recovered in time to take his place between the posts against the Danish champions. Despite their incredible start to their European campaign, Madrid are under some pressure to bounce back from their 1-0 derby defeat to Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

That result left Ancelotti’s men five points behind Atletico and Barcelona in La Liga and the Italian’s tactics and substitutions were heavily criticised after Real created little of note against their city rivals.

However, Cristiano Ronaldo defended his new boss afterwards and said the responsibility lies with the players to per form better.

“There are new players and new ideas, but the coach is doing a phe-

GERMANY: Real Sociedad (from left) Alberto De La Bella, Gonzalo Castro and Gorka Elustondo take part in a training session on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Group A football match against Bayer Leverkusen. —AFP nomenal job,” he told reporters.

“He is a great person and a great coach. This doesn’t have anything to do with him, the responsibility is ours. “I don’t think we are doing so badly, we have only lost one game, but hopefully we can improve.”

Gareth Bale could also make his first start as a Real player at the Bernabeu after making his home debut as a second-half substitute against Atletico. Another former Spurs player Luka Modric is expect-

PSG have relied on physical power, set pieces or a lone Ibrahimovic up front.

“What we are asked to do in football is to win. We are French champions. To be champions, you have to win. We’ve been unbeaten for a while,” midfielder Blaise Matuidi said after the weekend’s victory over Toulouse.

PSG struggled to create chances in their last two games but prevailed in both. “I understand that people can get annoyed because we give the impression that we could play faster, but we control the play,” centre back Zoumana Camara said.

“When we possess the ball, we exhaust our opponents. Then we have the quality to break a tie, notably on set pieces.”

Young Brazilian centre back

with Racing Santander and Villarreal, believes they will have to play even better to take anything from the game today.

“I expect it will be an even more difficult game than the one we played against Juventus at home,” he told Madrid sports daily AS. “To obtain something positive we need to play extremely well, them to have a bad day and to have a bit of luck. We need everything to go our way to get a good result.” —AFP

Juve look for crucial win Matches on TV (Local Timings)

UEFA Champions League Moskva v Viktoria Pizen Aljazeera Sport +6 Aljazeera Sport 5 HD Real Madrid v Kobenhavn Aljazeera Sport +8 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD Man City v Bayern Munich Aljazeera Sport 1 HD Aljazeera Sport +9 Donetsk v Man United Aljazeera Sport +5 Aljazeera Sport 4 HD Saint-Germain v Benfica Aljazeera Sport +6 Aljazeera Sport 5 HD Bayer 04 v Real Sociedad Aljazeera Sport +2 Anderlecht v Olymioacos Aljazeera Sport +4 Juventus v Galatasaray Aljazeera Sport +7 Aljazeera Sport 3 HD

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PSG ready for another narrow win PARIS: Although coach Laurent Blanc promised a more entertaining Paris St Germain this season, the French champions have made do with narrow wins and would welcome another in today ’s Champions League Group C clash against Benfica.

The Qatari-backed club have been far from convincing on the pitch so far but it has not prevented them from being joint leaders in Ligue 1 and beating Olympiakos 4-1 in Greece in their opening European game.

Much was expected from an attacking line formed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi, with the talented Marco Verratti or Javier Pastore playing to them from deeper in midfield, but

ed to come back into the side after surprisingly being dropped from the start at the weekend, whilst 20year-old striker Alvaro Morata may finally get his chance up front ahead of the off-colour Karim Benzema. Copenhagen, meanwhile, also got their campaign off to a good start by holding Italian champions Juventus to a 1-1 draw at home two weeks ago. However, veteran defender Olof Mellberg, who enjoyed two spells in Spain

Marquinhos, who scored at Olympiakos and against Toulouse, is expected to start as captain Thiago Silva is out injured, although whether he will be paired with Alex or Frenchman Camara depends on how his compatriot has recovered from a thigh problem.

While PSG could be missing some experience at the back, the French side are right on track compared to last season’s Europa League finalists Benfica who head into the Paris match after an under-par start to their domestic league.

Their usually flamboyant coach Jorge Jesus, now in his fifth season at the helm, is wary of the impact of another disappointing draw at home to promoted Belenenses over the weekend.—Reuters

MILAN: Juventus coach Antonio Conte will be hoping his strikers put an end to their frustrating start to the season in time for the visit of Champions League Group B rivals Galatasaray yesterday.

Juventus reached the last eight last season before a 4-0 aggregate humbling by eventual champions Bayern Munich reminded the Italian giants of the progress they have to make if they are to make the final stages.

So far this campaign Juventus have looked a solid outfit, especially in attack where Carlos Tevez has been a crucial addition for the Bianconeri.

But after failing to hit the net on several occasions during a frustrating 1-1 draw away to FC Copenhagen a fortnight ago, a replica of their league performances, Juventus’s front line has yet to really get into their stride.

Although third in Serie A only two points adrift of on-form Roma after six games, Juventus have scored 11 goals compared to Roma’s 17.

Juve’s fifth win of the campaign came away to Torino on Sunday when Conte’s men needed a controversial winner by French midfielder Paul Pogba to secure all three points.

Tevez, according to television pictures, was in an offside position when Pogba headed home from close range and controversy between the city rivals has raged since.

The win stood, however, and with Juve needing a win at this early stage in the Champions League Conte’s men are already focused on the visit of the Turkish giants.

“We know it’s a crucial match for us,” Pogba told the Tuttosport newspaper. “We have to win but we know it won’t be easy.

“I don’t know if this game will be decisive for qualification, but after our frustrating draw with FC

Copenhagen we all want to win.”

The biggest concern for Conte, however, is whether Tevez will be fit for the visit of Galatasaray.

Tevez suffered a nasty studsup tackle by Ciro Immobile during the derby that was so bad the striker released a picture afterwards of his injury to the media. Juventus immediately released a statement claiming “there is a big question mark over Tevez ’s availability for today’s game.”

If so, it would deprive Conte of a player who he has only had positive things to say about so far this season and means Spaniard Fernando Llorente, rested for the Torino game, could start alongside Fabio Quagliarella or Mirko Vucinic.

Galatasaray, meanwhile, arrive in Turin buoyed by the hiring of new manager Roberto Mancini, who signed a three-year deal on Monday. However the Turkish

champions, who sacked Fatih Termin last week after a mediocre start to their league campaign and a 6-1 rout by Real Madrid in their opening Champions League group game, reportedly have injury concerns on their own.

According to reports in the Hurriyet newspaper playmaker Wesley Sneijder could be unavailable having undergone scans on a sore leg he felt playing against Cakyur Rizespor.

Today ’s visit to Turin may have come a week too soon for Mancini. But having faced Juve numerous times during a Serie A coaching career with Fiorentina, Lazio and, notably, Inter-whom he led to three consecutive league titles-the former Manchester City handler would be forgiven for making an immediate start if he were indeed to take his place in the dugout. —AFP

TURIN: Galatasaray defender Emmanuel Eboue attends a training session on the eve of the Champion’s League football match against Juventus. —AFP

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

SPORTS

Barcelona scrape past Celtic

BASEL: Schalke’s Benedikt Hoewedes (left) fights for the ball against Basel’s Mohamed Salah (right) during an UEFA Champions League Group E soccer match. —AP

Schalke sinks Basel BASEL: A stunning Julian Draxler strike gave Schalke 04 a 1-0 Champions League win at Basel yesterday, bringing the Swiss back down to earth with a bump after their shock victory at Chelsea last month. A partially cleared corner fell to the 20-year-old 25 metres from goal, and although it came to him at an awkward height, he delivered a superb rising shot into the top corner after 54 minutes.

Roman Neustaedter hit the crossbar minutes earlier with a looping 30-metre effort following another brilliant piece of skill by Draxler.

The win gave leaders Schalke six points from two games in Group E and no goals conceded, a contrast to their league form where their rearguard is one of the most unstable in the Bundesliga.

There was little to choose between the teams although Schalke created more chances while Basel, playing their 18th game of the season, could not find

the finishing touches to match their neat approach. Kevin-Prince Boateng missed an early chance for the Germans when he dragged his shot wide of the post after a mishit clearance by Fabian Schaer.

Draxler missed the target after getting into a good position and a poor first touch from Jefferson Farfan meant another flowing move came to nothing for Schalke just after the half hour.

The visitors went close again when Neustaedter headed wide from a free kick just before the break. Basel pushed forward after the goal and Schaer saw a dipping shot go narrowly wide from 30 metres while a Giovanni Sio effort was parried by keeper Timo Hildebrand.

Draxler nearly added a second after a mazy run that ended with him shooting over the crossbar. Basel have three points from two matches, the same as Chelsea who won 4-0 at bottom club Steaua Bucharest yesterday. —Reuters

GLASGOW: Barcelona needed a second-half goal from Cesc Fabregas to claim a narrow 1-0 Champions League win over 10man Celtic in Glasgow yesterday that leaves the Catalans top of Group H. The Spanish champions dominated possession but failed to test goalkeeper Fraser Forster in the opening 45 minutes with Celtic’s Georgios Samaras having the best chance of the half.

But it was a moment of madness from skipper Scott Brown that cost Celtic dearly as the midfielder was shown a straight red card in the 59th minute as he appeared to direct a sly kick at Neymar after tripping the Brazilian superstar.

However, Celtic recovered well from Brown’s dismissal and substitute James Forrest forced Victor Valdes into a fine save before Charlie Mulgrew headed just wide.

But, moments after creating the best chance of the match, substitute Alexis Sanchez, only on the pitch for two minutes, crossed for former Arsenal man Fabregas to nod home and gain revenge for their defeat at the same venue last season.

It means Barca top Group H on six points after AC Milan and Ajax finished 1-1 and handed Celtic, who prop up the group looking for their first point, a rare home defeat in the Champions League.

Barcelona, who were missing Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba and Carles Puyol through injury, had opted for Neymar, Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez up front while Celtic manager Neil Lennon retained faith in the same starting 11 that were unlucky to lose 2-0 to Milan in the San Siro a fortnight ago.

Even without the injured Messi, who scored a hat-trick in their opening 4-0 win over Ajax, Barcelona showed their class early on as their slick possession football forced two early corners.

However, it was a fast break from the Hoops that created the first real opportunity after just five minutes. Kris Commons played in Samaras who, from a tight angle, forced keeper Valdes to turn his shot out for a corner that Mikael Lustig headed well wide. Andres Iniesta then got sight of the Celtic goal but the influential midfielder saw his strike sail over without troubling Fraser Forster. Barca continued to

GLASGOW: Celtic’s Giorgos Samaras (left) duels for the ball with Barcelona’s Gerard Pique during the Champions League Group H soccer match. —AP ping the passes about but it took until the 41st minute for them to muster up their first real opportunity. Daniel Alves sent an inviting ball into the box from the right that Neymar prodded narrowly wide.

Xavi Hernandez then tested Forster with a curling free-kick from wide on the left that the ‘keeper made a meal of and was relieved to see go out for a corner after coming off his shoulder.

The game changed when skipper Brown was ordered off in the

59th minute. The Celtic midfielder’s sly kick at Neymar on the deck after tripping the Brazilian 25 yards out as he raced towards goal was spotted by French referee Stephane Lannoy, who had no hesitation in handing him a straight red card.

Moments after coming on, Scottish international Forrest nearly had Celtic in front when his fierce half-volley was acrobatically turned over by Valdes after the ‘keeper saw it late.

Valdes was then caught nap-

ping at the resultant corner but Mulgrew had his head in his hands after he nodded wide of the unprotected goal.

Moments after creating the best two chances of the match Celtic were caught with a sucker punch when Fabregas put Barca ahead.

Alexis raced behind the Celtic defence to latch on to a Neymar pass and cross for the former Arsenal man to direct a header back across Forster and looping into the bottom corner. —AFP

Milan snatch point in dramatic finish

PORTUGAL: Atletico’s Filipe Luis (right) fights for the ball with Porto’s Jackson Martinez during the Champions League Group G soccer match against Porto. —AP

Late Arda winner hands Atletico victory at Porto PORTO: Atletico Madrid came from behind to keep their stunning start to the season going with a 2-1 win away to Porto in Champions League Group G yesterday.

Colombian international Jackson Martinez had headed the hosts into a deserved 16th-minute lead, but Atletico improved mightily after the break and were level when Diego Godin nodded home Gabi’s free-kick.

And Atleti made it seven consecutive wins in all competitions when another well-worked free-kick saw Gabi play in Arda Turan and the Turkish midfielder lashed the ball into the roof of the net five minutes from time.

With Zenit St Petersburg and Austria Vienna drawing in the group’s other game, the Spanish outfit are now thoroughly in control of the section.

Portuguese champions Porto had the best of the match early on and Atletico had a warning when Silvestre Varela headed meekly into the arms of Thibaut Courtois on 10 minutes.

However, Diego Simeone’s men were punished just six minutes later when Josue’s free-kick from the left was bulleted into the net by the head of Martinez for his sixth goal in eight games this season.

Lucho Gonzalez then fired over and had a headed effort comfortably held by Courtois as the hosts continued to dominate.

Atletico were missing their suspended top scorer Diego Costa, but they did manage to come back into the game midway through the half.

Raul Garcia and Arda both saw efforts fly over before the former hit the bar with a flicked header after Helton had flapped at Gabi’s corner.

Courtois was called into action again before half-time to keep Atletico in the game as he parried Varela’s driven shot from the edge of the box with his foot.

Simeone reacted at the interval by introducing Cristian Rodriguez for the ineffective David Villa and saw an instant improvement in his side.

Filipe Luis fired an effort from 25 yards just wide before the equaliser arrived just prior to the hour mark. Once again Helton was found wanting from a cross ball into the box and Godin rose highest to bundle the ball home from close range.

Both sides had chances to win it in the final quarter as Juan Quintero sent a freekick from the edge of the area just wide before Garcia ought to have put Atletico in front when he fired into Helton’s legs with just the goalkeeper to beat 13 minutes from time.

And the visitors did manage to nick the three points when Gabi played a clever reverse pass in behind the Porto wall from a free-kick and Arda remained composed in front of goal to drill the ball home from a narrow angle.—AFP

AMSTERDAM: Mario Balotelli scored a penalty in the fourth minute of added time to earn AC Milan a 1-1 draw with Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena in Champions League Group H yesterday.

Balotelli won the penalty in controversial circumstances after grappling with substitute centre-back Mike Van der Hoorn inside the area and his conversion from 12 yards earned the Rossoneri a draw that their second-half display deserved.

The finish was cruel on Ajax, however, as they had only taken the lead in the 90th minute of a game that had previously appeared destined to end goalless.

Then, young central defender Stefano Denswil rose unmarked five yards out to head home a corner from the right flank to leave the Dutch champions on the brink of a precious win.

Instead, the draw suits Milan, who are clear in second place on four points behind Barcelona, 1-0 winners away to Celtic in the group’s other game.

Ajax now face a vital double-header against Celtic while Milan will know they must

do far better when they take on familiar foes Barcelona next.

Both Ajax and Milan can boast a glorious past, with 11 European Cups between them and two previous meetings in the final of the competition, Milan winning 4-1 in 1969 and Ajax gaining revenge with a 1-0 victory in the 1995 showpiece in Vienna.

Current Ajax coach Frank de Boer played in the latter game but these days he is unable to keep his best players for long enough to build a team that can properly compete on the European stage, while Milan are a shadow of their former selves.

The Rossoneri travelled to the Dutch capital on the back of a slow start to the Serie A season and without the likes of Kaka and Stephan El Shaarawy, although Mario Balotelli was able to play as he is serving a domestic suspension. However, Massimiliano Allegri’s men ignored the temptation to push forward and look for Balotelli in the first half, instead ceding possession and inviting their hosts to make the play.

As a result, Ajax utterly dominated, but a Viktor Fischer shot that flashed just wide and

a Lerin Duarte free-kick that was tipped over

by Christian Abbiati in the Milan goal were as close as they came to taking the lead into half-time.

And predictably, Milan - who beat Dutch opposition in PSV Eindhoven to qualify for the group stage - were much improved after the restart. They finally produced an attempt on goal in the 49th minute, Kevin Constant cutting the ball back for captain Riccardo Montolivo to shoot, but his effort was well saved by Jasper Cillessen.

Balotelli had a free-kick deflected just over moments later before seeing a terrific curling strike tipped onto the woodwork by Cillessen just after the hour mark.

Ajax, whose starting line-up had an average age of just 23.5, visibly tired and spent the closing stages penned back inside their own half but they roused themselves and almost won it at the very end.

They had an effort disallowed for offside and Siem de Jong was denied by Abbiati before Denswil netted what looked like the winner, only for Balotelli to rescue Milan, not for the first time. —AFP

Zenit held at home by Austria MOSCOW: Zenit St Petersburg, who had Belgian Axel Witsel sent off in the first half, and Austria Vienna did little to further their hopes of progressing from Champions League Group G after sharing a 0-0 draw yesterday.

Both teams have one point from two games and trail Atletico Madrid and Porto, who meet later in the day, by two points.

Brazil forward Hulk went close to scoring when his shot hit the post in the 12th minute but Zenit lost momentum when midfielder Witsel was sent off for a reckless tackle in the 44th.

The Russians brought on former Arsenal forward Andrei Arshavin for Alexander Kerzhakov in the second half but it made little difference.

Vienna rarely looked like making the most of their numerical advantage although Marin Leovac had a goal disallowed in the 52nd minute after Daniel Royer collided with goalkeeper ST PETERSBURG: Zenit Saint-Petersburg’s Aleksandr Anyukov (left) vies with Austria Wien’s Tomas Yuri Lodygin. —Reuters Simkovic (right) during their UEFA Champions League Group G match. —AFP

Barcelona scrape past Celtic

Djokovic, Nadal cruise as Serena struggles in China

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

FIFA likely to delay decision on 2022 World Cup dates Page 18

LONDON: Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil (second right) takes on the Napoli defence during the Champions League Group F soccer match at the Emirates Stadium. — AP

Ozil strikes as Arsenal down Napoli LONDON: Mesut Ozil’s first goal for Arsenal inspired his side to an impressive 2-0 win over Napoli that maintained their 100 percent start in the Champions League yesterday.

Ozil, signed for a club record £42.5 million from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day, had promised to add more goals to his undoubted creative talent and the German midfielder was as good as his word with a superb strike to break his Arsenal duck early in the first half at the Emirates Stadium.

He turned provider soon after, setting up French striker Olivier Giroud for his sixth goal of the season to effectively kill off Napoli with just 15 minutes gone.

Arsene Wenger’s side have now taken six points from their first two Group F fixtures, while also surging to the top of the Premier

League with five successive wins.

It is a remarkable transformation since a shock opening day defeat against Aston Villa prompted a furious reaction from the Emirates faithful. Wenger had no reason to fear the boo-boys on another encouraging night for his emerging team and he was even able to leave England midfielder Jack Wilshere on the bench for the first 60 minutes.

Arsenal’s early-season form has prompted suggestions that a title challenge could be brewing in north London. But Wenger might well be willing to sacrifice domestic success if he could guarantee winning the Champions League after this week describing his quest to land the one major trophy missing from his collection as an obsession.

While it is too early for any bold predictions

of Arsenal glory in Europe, on this evidence the Gunners boss can at least expect a better showing in the competition than in recent years.

Wenger’s side are flying at present and their sky-high confidence was clear to see as they took the lead with a fabulous opening goal in the eighth minute.

Robert Pires has been working with Wenger’s players on the training ground this week, but even the legendary Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ team that featured the French winger would have been hard pressed to better a move of such exquisite style.

When Bacary Sagna clipped a high pass towards Giroud, the rapidly improving forward showed great strength and agility to flick the ball into Aaron Ramsey’s path.

Ramsey has been in the form of his life in recent weeks and the Wales midfielder demonstrated his eye for a killer pass as he picked out Ozil, who displayed immaculate technique with a fine side-footed strike past Jose Reina from just inside the penalty area.

Napoli had defeated last season’s Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund in their Group F opener and arrived at the Emirates unbeaten in Serie A under former Liverpool and Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez. But they were no match for Arsenal in this mood and the hosts, stronger in the tackle and far more vibrant on the ball, doubled their lead in clinical fashion after some sloppy defending from the Italians in the 15th minute.

A poor clearance was intercepted by the

Chelsea thump Bucharest 4-0 BUCHAREST: Chelsea got their Champions League campaign up and running at the second attempt yesterday with a one-sided 4-0 win away to Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest.

Stunned 2-1 by Basel at Stamford Bridge in their opening game, Chelsea were eager to make up for lost time and the Europa League champions never looked in trouble beneath the closed roof of Bucharest’s Arena Nationala.

Ramires broke the deadlock in the 20th minute, with hapless Steaua right-back Daniel Georgievski putting through his own goal on the verge of half-time.

Ramires added a third early in the second period, before Frank Lampard’s low shot sealed victory in the 90th minute. The one false note for the visitors, beaten on this ground en route to success in the Europa League last season, was an injury to Fernando Torres, who left the fray after hurting his knee in the 11th minute.

Schalke’s 1-0 win at Basel in the other Group E game leaves them three points above Chelsea at the summit ahead of back-to-back games between the sides later this month and in early November.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho brought Andre Schurrle and Juan

Mata into the team that drew 1-1 at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday and the Spaniard almost teed up Schurrle for an early opener, but Iasmin Latovlevici blocked.

The visitors’ purposeful start threatened to be upset by the premature departure of Torres, but his replacement, Samuel Eto’o, was quick to make a telling contribution.

Schurrle sped past Georgievski on the Chelsea left and centred for Eto’o, who mishit his shot but saw the bobbling ball prodded home by the alert Ramires.

Schurrle blazed over and Mata had a shot comfortably saved by goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu, before the blundering Georgievski inadvertently doubled Chelsea’s lead in the 44th minute.

Eto’o was again the catalyst, surging onto Mata’s pass, cutting inside Latovlevici and dispatching a shot that Tatarusanu parried, only for the ball to rebound into the net off the shin of the onrushing Georgievski.

Chelsea put the game to bed 10 minutes into the second half, following another strong burst down the left flank by Schurrle.

His centre found Oscar, who in turn laid the ball off for Ramires to rattle a shot between Tatarusanu and his left-hand upright.

Mourinho’s delight was evident as

alert Ramsey on the right flank and suddenly Napoli were exposed as Giroud fed Ozil, who raced into the area before slipping a low pass for Giroud to fire home from close-range.

Miguel Britos headed narrowly past the far post as Napoli mounted their first serious threat to Wojciech Szczesny’s goal.

But with the ponderous Goran Pandev leading the attack in place of the injured Gonzalo Higuain, Napoli lacked a cutting edge and Ozil and Ramsey, linking superbly in midfield, combined to keep them from establishing any momentum.

There was never any sense of Arsenal losing their lead in an anti-climatic second half and it was the hosts who went closest to scoring when Laurent Koscielny’s effort was well saved by Reina. — AFP

Dortmund back on track

ROMANIA: Chelsea’s Cameroonian striker Samuel Etoío (left) and Steaua Bucharest’s defender Iasmin Latovlevici vie for the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group A football match. — AFP he congratulated Schurrle with a touchline hug.

Moments later, Mata struck the post from a delightful Oscar backheel, while Schurrle went close to crowing his display with a goal by curling a shot fractionally wide of the far post.

Steaua had their moments, however, with goalkeeper Petr Cech

obliged to tip a feathery chip from Cristian Tanase over the crossbar and block from Nicolae Stanciu, who lashed the rebound over.

Lampard prevented Lucian Filip from claiming a late consolation with a sharp block and then completed the scoring at the death by sweeping home a lay-off from substitute Willian. — AFP

DORTMUND: Last season’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund got their Champions League campaign back on track with a convincing 3-0 home win over Olympique Marseille yesterday.

Having thrashed Freiburg 5-0 at home on Saturday, Dortmund picked up where they left off in the Bundesliga with Poland striker Robert Lewandowski and Germany winger Marco Reus again claiming the goals. Having lost home and away to Marseille in their botched Champions League campaign two years ago, Dortmund gained some revenge at the Westfalenstadion to go second in Group F behind leaders Arsenal. Dortmund had coach Jurgen Klopp confined to the stands after receiving a UEFA ban for verbally abusing the referee during their 2-1 defeat at Napoli a fortnight ago.

Goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, who was sent off in the first-half in Naples, was also suspended allowing Australian shotstopper Mitchell Langerak to make his first Champions League start. Compared to their 2011 defeat at home to Marseille, this was a different performance from Dortmund, who had raced in to a 2-0 lead, only to lose 3-2, conceding the winner three minutes from time, two years ago.

Both teams had early chances, noticeably from Reus, whose swerving shot forced OM goalkeeper and captain Steve Mandanda into a diving save on six minutes.

The hosts took the lead with 19 minutes gone from a fast counter-attack with

Marseille pushing forward from a free-kick.

Dortmund’s new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan put Reus into space and with the guests’ defence in disarray, Germany Under-21 left-back Erik Durm, in for the injured Marcel Schmelzer, squared for Lewandowski. The Poland star, who became the first footballer to score four goals in a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid last April, tapped home for the first of his two goals.

Only Mandanda’s knee then prevented Lewandowski claiming a second three minutes later as Dortmund again poured forward.

Even though Elie Baup-coached OM just shaded the possession, they were outplayed in terms of finishing with Dortmund enjoying 18 shots on goal compared to the French side’s seven.

Reus claimed his goal on 52 minutes when he curled in a towering free-kick which Mandanda parried, but the ball bobbled over the line and was smashed home

by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for good measure.

Lewandowski claimed his second and his 13th goal on his 21st Champions League appearance when he drilled home a penalty after centre-back Nicolas N’Koulou hauled down Reus in the area 11 minutes from time.

It was just reward for Dortmund who had a clear penalty appeal turned down a minute into the second half when the ball deflected off OM left-back Benjamin Mendy’s hand in the area. — AFP

Business

Japan premier hikes sales tax to curb debt Page 23 Indian authorities freeze Nokia assets

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

Page 25 Euro-zone ‘recovering’ as unemployment stabilizes

Dollar falls as US shutdown begins Page 24

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WASHINGTON: US Park Ranger Richard Trott posts a closed sign on the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall yesterday in Washington, DC. The US government is in a forced shutdown after lawmakers failed to pass a spending bill last night. -— AFP

Deadline missed, US slides into shutdown First time in 17 years; Republicans distaste Obamacare in the

news

Qatar Holding buys NYSE Euronext out DUBAI: Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the country’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), has bought NYSE Euronext’s 12 percent stake in the Qatar Exchange, the Doha-based bourse said in a statement yesterday. The deal, for which a price was not revealed, makes Qatar Holding the sole owner of Qatar Exchange, which operates the country’s securities market. QIA and NYSE Euronext signed a strategic partnership deal in June 2009 aiming to develop Qatar Exchange into a world-class market under which NYSE Euronext bought a 20 percent stake in Qatar Exchange for $200 million and brought in a Western chief executive. The buyout coincides with the partnership’s objectives being achieved, the statement said. Late last year, NYSE Euronext reduced its stake from 20 to 12 percent and Qatar Exchange named a new, local chief executive. “Cooperation between Qatar Exchange and NYSE Euronext will continue in different fields, including technology and expertise,” the bourse said. The Dohabased bourse is home to companies such as Qatar National Bank, the second largest lender in the Gulf by market value and petrochemicals firm Industries Qatar.

Australia holds rates at 2.50% SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank held interest rates at their record 2.50 percent low yesterday, adopting a wait-and-see approach as the dollar adjusts and earlier cuts boost confidence. The Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates on pause for a second consecutive month, as expected, after a series of cuts designed to stimulate the economy as its decade-long Asia mining splurge cools. Governor Glenn Stevens said the bank’s board judged “the setting of monetary policy remained appropriate” at its monthly meeting for this month, with the full effects of earlier moves “still coming through, and will be for a while yet”. “The economy has been growing a bit below trend over the past year. This is expected to continue in the near term as the economy adjusts to lower levels of mining investment,” Stevens said. “There has been an improvement in indicators of household and business sentiment recently, though it is too soon to judge how persistent this will be.” Stevens said the Australian dollar was about 10 percent lower than it had been in April but “a lower level of the currency than seen at present would assist in rebalancing growth in the economy”.

Troubled Slovenia cuts 2014 forecast LJUBLJANA: Troubled euro-zone-member Slovenia, already in recession, will contract even more than predicted in 2014 due to problems with the banking system and fiscal consolidation, the government said yesterday.

The UMAR Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development revised downwards its June forecast, forecasting a contraction of 0.8 percent of gross domestic product instead of 0.2 percent in its earlier estimate. For this year, the institute kept unchanged its forecast of a 2.4-percent contraction. The economy will start recovering in 2015, with expected growth at 0.4 percent, it said.

“Fiscal consolidation and the clean-up of the banking system will continue to have a negative impact next year although on a smaller scale,” UMAR director Bostjan Vasle told journalists. On Monday, the centre-left government sent to parliament its 2014 budget, pencilling in a public deficit of 3.2 percent of GDP in 2014, based on UMAR’s latest forecast.

WASHINGTON: The US government began a partial shutdown yesterday for the first time in 17 years, potentially putting up to 1 million workers on unpaid leave, closing national parks and stalling medical research projects.

Federal agencies were directed to cut back services after lawmakers could not break a political stalemate that sparked new questions about the ability of a deeply divided Congress to perform its most basic functions.

After House Republicans floated a late offer to break the logjam, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rejected the idea, saying Democrats would not enter into formal negotiations on spending “with a gun to our head” in the form of government shutdowns.

In the hours leading up to the deadline, the Democratic-controlled Senate repeatedly stripped measures passed by the House that tied temporary funding for government operations to delaying or scaling back the Affordable Care Act healthcare overhaul known as Obamacare. Shortly after midnight, President Barack Obama tweeted: “The Affordable Care Act is moving forward. You can’t shut it down.” Whether the shutdown represents another bump in the road for a Congress increasingly plagued by dysfunction or is a sign of a more alarming breakdown in the political process could be determined by the reaction among voters and on Wall Street.

The US dollar slipped 0.2 percent against a basket of widely traded currencies. The price of the 10-year US Treasury note, a bedrock reference for bond markets, fell 0.3 percent.

S&P stock futures rose 0.3 percent, pointing toward a higher Wall Street open. On Monday, the S&P 500 index closed 0.6 percent lower, weighed down by defense contractors since the shutdown would likely diminish its new business. The political dysfunction at the Capitol also raised fresh concerns about whether Congress can meet a

crucial mid-October deadline to raise the government’s $16.7 trillion debt ceiling.

“A technical Treasury default could follow, sending financial markets into a tailspin,” wrote ING analyst Tom Levinson. After missing the midnight (0400 GMT) deadline to avert the shutdown, Republicans and Democrats in the House continued a bitter blame game, each side shifting responsibility to the other in efforts to redirect a possible public backlash. If Congress can agree to a new funding bill soon, the shutdown would last days rather than weeks. But no signs emerged of a strategy to bring the parties together. With an eye on the 2014 congressional elections, both parties tried to deflect responsibility for the shutdown. Obama accused Republicans of being too beholden to Tea Party conservatives in the House of Representatives and said the shutdown might threaten the economic recovery. The political stakes are particularly high for Republicans, who are trying to regain control of the Senate next year. Polls show they are more likely to be blamed for the shutdown, as they were during the last one in 1996.

“Somebody is going to win, and somebody is going to lose,” said Quinnipiac University pollster Peter Brown. “Going in, Obama and the Democrats have a little edge.”

The shutdown, the culmination of three years of divided government and growing political polarization, was spearheaded by Republican Tea Party conservatives united in their opposition to Obama, their distaste for the president’s healthcare law and their campaign pledges to rein in government spending. Obama refused to negotiate over the demands and warned a shutdown could “throw a wrench into the gears of our economy.” Some government offices and national parks will be shuttered, but spending for essential functions related to national security and public safety will continue, including

pay for US military troops.

Even so, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, visiting US ally South Korea yesterday, warned that the shutdown will undermine American credibility abroad and lead allies to question the nation’s commitment to treaty obligations. “It’s not shocking there is a shutdown, the shock is that it hasn’t happened before this,” said Republican strategist John Feehery, a former Capitol Hill aide. “We have a divided government with such diametrically opposed views, we need a crisis to get any kind of results.”

“The key to this is not what happens in Washington,” said Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis. “The key is what happens out in the real world. When Joe Public starts rebelling and the financial markets start melting down, then we’ll see what these guys do.” A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed about one-quarter of Americans would blame Republicans for a shutdown, 14 percent would blame Obama and 5 percent would blame Democrats in Congress, while 44 percent said everyone would be to blame.

An anticipated revolt by moderate House Republicans fizzled earlier on Monday after House Speaker John Boehner made personal appeals to many of them to back him on a key procedural vote, said Republican Representative Peter King of New York. After Boehner made his appeal, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer called on him to permit a vote on a simple extension of federal funding of the government without any Obamacare add-on. “I dare you to do that,” Hoyer roared.

The potential fallout has some Republican Party leaders worried before the 2014 midterm elections and the 2016 presidential race, particularly given the Republican divisions over the shutdown. Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who commandeered the Senate floor for 21 hours last week to stoke the confrontation and urge House colleagues

to join him, sparked a feud with fellow Republicans who disagreed with the shutdown and accused the potential 2016 presidential candidate of grandstanding.

“Whether or not we’re responsible for it, we’re going to get blamed for it,” King said on Monday. “They’ve locked themselves into a situation, a dead end that Ted Cruz created.”

It was unclear how long the shutdown would last, and there was no clear plan to break the impasse. The Senate yesterday planned to recess until 9:30 am, when Democrats expect to formally reject the House of Representatives’ latest offer for funding the government. The shutdown will continue until Congress resolves its differences, which may be days or months. But the conflict could spill over into the more crucial dispute over raising the federal government’s borrowing authority.

A failure to raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling would force the country to default on its obligations, dealing a blow to the economy and sending shockwaves around global markets. Some analysts said a brief government shutdown - and a resulting backlash against lawmakers - could cool Republican demands for a showdown over the debt limit. “A lot of this is political theater. It’s not about real policy. Part of this is taking a stand for their constituents,” said Julian Zelizer, a historian at Princeton University.

“If there is fallout from a shutdown and there is a big enough shock, maybe they will be willing to move on to other issues,” he said.

Obama says negotiating over the demands would only encourage future confrontations, and Democrats are wary of passing a shortterm funding bill that would push the confrontation too close to the deadline for raising the debt ceiling. “The bottom line is very simple,” Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said. “You negotiate on this, they will up the ante for the debt ceiling.” — Reuters

1 in 8 around the world go hungry Goal of halving hunger by 2015 may be missed MILAN: One in eight people around the world is chronically undernourished, the United Nations’ food agencies said yesterday, warning world leaders that some regions would fail in halving the number of hungry by 2015. In their latest report on food insecurity, the UN agencies estimated that 842 million people were suffering chronic hunger in 2011-13, or 12 percent of the world’s population, down 17 percent from 1990-92. The new figure was lower than the last estimate of 868 million in 2010-12 and 1.02 billion in 2009, but the report said progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goal to halve the prevalence of hunger in the world by 2015 was uneven.

Many countries were unlikely to meet the goal adopted by world leaders at the United Nations in 2000, said the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program ( WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). “Those (countries) that have experienced conflict during the past two decades are more likely to have seen significant setbacks in reducing hunger,” the report said. “Landlocked countries face persistent challenges in accessing world markets, while countries with poor infrastructure and weak institutions face additional constraints.”

FAO, WFP and IFAD define undernourishment, or hunger,

in the State of Food Insecurity in the World 2013 report as “not having enough food for an active and healthy life” and an inability to “meet dietary energy requirements”. Policies aimed at boosting agricultural productivity and food availability were crucial in reducing hunger even where poverty was widespread, the agencies said. “When they are combined with social protection and other measures that increase the incomes of poor families to buy food, they can have an even more positive (effect) and spur rural development,” they said.

Remittances, three times larger than official development assistance, have had a significant impact on food security by leading to better diets and reduced hunger, they said. The vast majority of people suffering hunger, or 827 million, live in developing countries, where the prevalence of undernourishment is estimated at 14.3 percent, the report found. Africa remains the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, with more than one in five people estimated to be undernourished, while most of the undernourished people are in southern Asia.

Poor Africans say they are still not benefiting from the continent’s economic rise, according to a landmark survey of citizens across 34 countries released yesterday. Despite some

of the world’s highest economic growth rates, many Africans still report shortages of water, food, healthcare and cash according to an Afrobarometer survey of over 50,000 people.

“Meeting their basic daily needs remains a major challenge for a majority of Africans, even at a time when their countries are reporting impressive economic gains,” the survey found. The continent’s economy is expected to grow by almost five percent this year. But half of survey respondents said they occasionally lacked food, clean water, and medicine. One in five said they face frequent shortages. People were poorer in areas where their governments have not built basic infrastructure, the survey found.

“The data show significant correlations between access to electrical grids, piped water, and other basic services in communities and lower levels of lived poverty.” Low education levels also had a big influence on poverty. People in West Africa and East Africa experienced most shortages, while North Africans reported the least. The researchers urged governments to focus on reducing poverty rather than simply growing their economies. “Investments in education and infrastructure may be among the most effective ways to extend economic gains to the continent’s poorest citizens.” — Agencies

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

BUSINESS

ECB weighs new credit infusion to hold down rates FRANKFURT: European Central Bank head Mario Draghi has said the bank could unleash another flood of cheap credit if the recovery needs support. Markets are waiting to see if the ECB will take such action today - or hold off and let the mere possibility continue to calm markets. The bank is widely forecast to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record low of 0.5 percent at a meeting of its governing council in Paris.

Instead, the possibility of another offer of cheap, long-term loans to banks, perhaps later this year or early next year, has been the focus of scrutiny by economists. Expectations rose after ECB President Mario Draghi said last week the ECB could make another socalled longer-term refinancing operation, or LTRO, “if needed.” The ECB has already done two such LTRO credit offerings, in December 2011 and March 2012, worth just over 1 trillion euros in three-year loans.

The move helped banks steady their finances and

weather the euro-zone’s financial crisis. It removed fears that a bank might fail and bring down the government finances of a country in the currency bloc.

With the worst of the crisis past, some banks are repaying the money early. But the ECB is now considering making another LTRO because of fears the cost of credit in the open market could rise - even though the ECB has kept its benchmark interest rate at the record low.

Some market rates rose due to expectations that the US Federal Reserve would tighten its own monetary policy in coming months. Because financial markets are highly interconnected, a tightening in credit conditions in the world’s largest economy influences markets around the globe.

Any increase would cause headaches for Europe, where the economy is still weak and needs help from low credit costs. The euro-zone has only begun a hesitant recovery, growing 0.3 percent in the second quar-

ter after six quarters of recession.

In the hope of keeping the market rates down, the ECB has said its key interest rate will stay at the current level or lower “for an extended period.” If market rates don’t respond and stay low, the ECB could try to influence the market through another LTRO. So far, Draghi’s talk about another LTRO seems to have had some effect by itself. Interest rates in the open market have fallen after he and other ECB officials hinted that the ECB might act.

Those rates have also fallen because the Fed unexpectedly delayed its decision to rein in - or ‘taper’ - its monetary stimulus. The Fed’s hesitation has given Draghi some breathing room. “The ECB can probably afford to wait for a little longer following the Fed’s nontaper decision,” said Frederick Ducrozet, analyst at Credit Agricole. He said the ECB could wait until December to signal its move and then conduct it in March of next year. Michael Schubert of Commerzbank

predicted rate expectations will not rise again and that it’s “more likely that the ECB will offer no further LTRO.” There are other factors suggesting the ECB may decide against anther LTRO. Some banks used the cheap loans not to lend more businesses - as the ECB had hoped - but to buy higher-yielding, risky bonds issued by euro-zone governments. That has the unwelcome effect of tightening the link between banks and troubled government finances. That link worsened the euro-zone’s debt crisis over the past three years, and euro-zone officials are trying to break it.

Richard Barwell, analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland, thinks the ECB might do something different, such as extend its current practice of letting banks borrow as much shorter-term money as they want. That would make sure banks have the money needed to run their businesses smoothly. He cautions that “the market may be getting ahead of itself on the timing and likelihood” of another LTRO. — AP

Gold edges higher on US uncertainty Physical gold demand improving in India

NAIROBI: Photo shows inside the Westgate Mall in Nairobi after the deadly assault by Islamist gunmen. — AFP

Kenya’s tourism braces for terror attack fallout NAIROBI: Travel agency manager Tomas Garcia has had a disastrous week, with one of his flagship branches, located in Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall, destroyed in the siege that followed an attack by Islamist gunmen. Since the attack his company, Vintage Africa, has been hit by a further wave of bad news, suffering $189,000 of cancellations from nervous tourists.

“I’d feared worse,” he said, trying to put a brave face on the losses. “I’d thought we might have had as much as $1 million in cancellations.”

Still, there is sense in Kenya’s tourism business that bad days could be ahead, and that this could be catastrophic for the country. The sector, built up around luxury safari tours and white sand beach resorts, accounts for 12.5 percent of economic output, 7.4 percent of investment and 11 percent of jobs. The concerns have been underscored by the angry reaction to travel warnings by foreign embassies, with Kenya’s Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku asking the United States to lift what he said was “unneccessary” and “unfriendly” travel advice.

“We believe issuing the travel advisory is counter-productive in the fight against global terrorism,” Ole Lenku said of the warning, which urged US citizens to “evaluate their personal security situation in light of continuing and recently heightened threats from terrorism”.

Tourists already in Kenya, US citizens included, seemed for the most part relaxed. “It hasn’t deterred us. I was concerned about it, but thought this is the right thing to do for the country, to not hide,” said Dan Woods, a Californian who was out for a stroll in the gardens of the Karen Blixen Museum-the old colonial-era bungalow of ‘Out of Africa’ fame.

Farrah Butler, a young American woman who was spending the first day of her honeymoon on a visit to Nairobi’s elephant orphanage, admitted that she and her husband were “kind of staying away” from the city centre. “I was a bit worried,” said a young Swedish woman who gave her name as Maya and who was on a visit to a nearby giraffe centre. “But we talked to the couple

who run this safari company and they said there was nothing much to worry about as we’re only spending one night in Nairobi and then we go to the parks. We just won’t do our shopping in a mall,” she said.

MIGRATING SOUTH Luxury tour operator Kuoni said it had not felt the effect of cancellations so far, asserting that “Nairobi as a city is not the most important destination for our customers.” “From Switzerland we offer direct flights to Mombasa for beach holidays or connecting flights to the national parks,” company spokesman Peter Brun said, adding that all his clients see of Nairobi is the road between the international airport and the smaller, domestic airport nearby. But while tourists already in the country prefer to carry on regardless, those planning upcoming trips during the key winter season are likely to be far less gung-ho-and like the iconic migrating wildebeest of the Masai Mara national park, they may prefer to travel south to Tanzania.

And a drop in visitors may compound what has been an already bad year for Kenyan tourism, hit by an almost 10 percent drop in visitors in the first half of 2013 due to fears of election-related violence. “Tourism earnings in Kenya are heavily skewed to the second half because of the migration, because of the Christmas holidays,” noted Aly-Khan Satchu, a prominent analyst and CEO of the Rich Management financial advisory group.

Tour operators, he said, would have been pinning their hopes on a robust second half of the year, which traditionally generates twice as much revenue as the first. “To people outside looking in, if you’re looking in and you saw this event happening in the capital city, you’re not going to think to yourself, actually I’m going to the Maasai Mara so it doesn’t really matter,” Satchu said. “I think you’re going to make the connection that it’s not that safe right now and it might be more prudent to go somewhere else.” — AFP

LONDON: Gold edged higher yesterday after the US Congress failed to avert a partial shutdown, but gains were limited as investors believe the deadlock will soon be broken. After missing a midnight deadline because of a political stalemate in Congress, US federal agencies started to cut back services, potentially putting up to 1 million workers on unpaid leave. The yellow metal made slight gains on the back of the shutdown due to its safe-haven appeal. Spot gold ticked up 0.42 percent at $1,332.80 an ounce by 0957 GMT, but the gains were small as investors believed the stand-off will soon be resolved.

The impasse did raise concerns however over whether Congress can meet a more important deadline in mid-October to raise the debt-ceiling limit, and the spectre of a possible ratings downgrade.

“Certainly (the US debt ceiling) is the kind of thing people are going to be concerned about and that could be the kind of thing that will create some extra volatility for gold,” said Daniel Smith, head of metals research at Standard Chartered.

“It seems like a relatively low probability, but nevertheless it is there, and that should be good for gold,” Smith said. Also supporting gold, the US dollar fell near eight-month low against a basket of currencies as investors worried the first US government shutdown in 17 years could hurt the economy and prompt the Federal Reserve to postpone withdrawal of monetary stimulus. A softer US unit makes dollarpriced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.

US IMPASSE “Should the political wrangling continue over the debt-ceiling negotiations mid-month, this could provide the impetus for gold to break out of its $1,300 to 1,350 range,” said Victor Thianpiriya, an analyst at ANZ in Singapore. “The market is not putting on a big net position which makes me think that when we get a breakout, it is likely to be sizeable.”

The last time the US government shut down in 1995/96, gold which was then trading at less than

$400 an ounce - gained about 3 percent. However, failure to raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by midOctober would have a much bigger impact as it would force the United States to default on some payments - an event that could cripple its economy and send shockwaves round the globe. When the debt ceiling issue came up in 2011, an agreement was reached only in the last minute and gold hit an all-time high of $1,920 an ounce, in part because of the uncertainties surrounding a deal.

Physical gold demand is improving in India and could help prices to go above $1400 per ounce by the year end, Smith said. However the market has weakened elsewhere: demand for US gold coins dropped 81 percent in September on an annual basis, as political turmoil in Syria failed to rekindle retail buying that has slowed after months of exceptional bargain hunting, data on the US Mint website showed on Monday.

Silver rose 0.55 percent to $21.76 an ounce; platinum rose 0.28 percent to $1,402.70 and palladium rose 0.24 to $723.22. — Reuters

UAE property sector records strong performance DUBAI: The UAE real estate sector’s strong Q3 performance this year could spell a sustained uptrend through 2014 and even beyond, with the Abu Dhabi and Dubai markets benefitting from industry growth, liquidity, and return on investments. A detailed market intelligence report for the period issued by TASWEEK Real Estate Development and Marketing showed a spike in residential rates in Abu Dhabi - the first since the 2008 market downturn.

Dubai, on the other hand, saw its land and property sales soar 67 per cent over the same period in 2012.

Reports from Fitch Ratings and Standard Chartered support TASWEEK CEO Masood Al Awar’s prediction early this year that Dubai’s prime property sector in particular would enjoy favorable market conditions through 2014.

ABU DHABI The rise in rental rates for prime residential units in Abu Dhabi has been buoyed by solid governmental support for various sectors and industries such as logistics, construction, infrastructure, tourism and hospitality. For tenants, some of the best deals can be found in Khalifa City (A and B), Mussafah, Airport Road and Al Ain. Saadiyat Beach, Raha Beach, Bandar and Bateen are some of the higher-end areas. Overall, the emirate’s market remains in oversupply. New supply is still in the pipeline and so further increases in market-wide vacancy rates are expected The Municipality of Abu Dhabi City and the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development have collaborated on the commissioning of a new mechanism for streamlining

local property management activity that can keep pace with the Tawtheeq Tenancy Contracts System.

This is expected to enhance market movements in the long run. Abu Dhabi began with an 8 per cent growth in Q1 and achieved market stability in Q2, so the Q3 numbers indicate a steady recovery for the local property market.

DUBAI Dubai posted a stellar Q3 performance, logging $6.26 billion of transactions through the end of July.

A similar surge occurred in mortgages over the same period. Fitch Ratings says that Dubai’s property sector is on track to maintain its 2013 momentum through next year. The global credit rating agency

adds that retail rentals and hospitality revenues have been growing steadily since 2011 and will continue to do so in 2014. It notes a particular surge in residential prices and demand in prime Dubai locations.

Another report issued by Standard Chartered confirms the uptake in Dubai’s real estate market and further adds that the growth is being driven by improvements in economic fundamentals rather than speculation. The British multinational banking and financial services company also says that development is being fueled by stronger economic performance, a growing population, rising investor confidence, an improved regulatory environment, and anticipation over the result of Dubai’s Expo 2020 bid.

An interesting trend pointed out by Standard Chartered is how apartment prices and rents are outperforming growth in villa prices and rentals in a reversal of market movements witnessed in 2012.

Housing process continue to increase as more residents go for buying a home rather than paying escalating rents. Major developers have reported substantial profit gains as a result. More prime projects are set to launch in the coming months in master communities such as Jumeirah Village, Business Bay and Dubai Maritime City.

But while Dubai’s residential property prices are spiking, other market segments, particularly office space, continue to drag behind. This is due to limited job creation programs, adaptability trimness of corporate structures that may be an indicative of uneven recovery though the commercial property sector is making a reasonable comeback with growing interest from international occupiers and investors.

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

2.894 4.526 2.677 2.145 2.828 226.380 36.581 3.641 6.528 9.047 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

75.670 77.969 737.040 753.690 77.278 ARAB COUNTRIES

Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for 1000 Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for 1000 Syrian Lira Morocco Dirham

41.950 40.700 1.324 172.690 400.720 1.904 1.406 34.889

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 283.650 Euro 384.490 Sterling Pound 458.950 Canadian dollar 276.190 Turkish lira 140.630 Swiss Franc 314.640 Australian Dollar 268.380 US Dollar Buying 282.450 GOLD 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

252.000 128.000 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 270.83 279.97 316.08 386.32 283.30 457.28 2.93 3.659 4.516 2.145 2.835 2.685 77.20 754.03 41.10 403.20 736.76 78.23 75.68

SELL CASH 263.000 282.000 311.000 384.000 287.400 443.000 3.000 3.800 5.150 2.700 3.600 2.920 78.000 759.500 41.100 416.200 746.400 79.000 76.300

Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

Bahrain Exchange Company CURRENCY

BUY Europe 0.007369 0.453748 0.006653 0.047418 0.378618 0.043133 0.081803 0.008129 0.040188 0.307526 0.141053

0.008369 0.482748 0.018653 0.052418 0.386118 0.048333 0.81803 0.018129 0.045188 0.317026 0.148053

Australasia 0.257691 0.229431

0.269191 0.238931

Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint

America 0.269830 0.279400 0.279900

0.278330 0.283750 0.283750

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

Asia 0.003063 0.044861 0.034479 0.004296 0.000020 0.002803 0.003353 0.000253 0.083826 0.002938 0.002471 0.006389

0.003663 0.048361 0.037229 0.004697 0.000026 0.002983 0.003353 0.000268 0.089826 0.003108 0.002751 0.006669

Belgian Franc British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Romanian Leu Slovakia Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Turkish Lira

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

Selling Rate 283.400 278.355 459.375 384.830 312.525 750.300 77.135 78.690 76.440 399.495 41.070 2.140 4.510 2.675 3.639 6.498 696.090

Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

3.890 10.035 3.087 3.820 88.450

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar

SELL

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

0.000089 0.223059 0.022394 0.001828 0.009480 0.008734 Arab 0.745533 0.038090 0.000078 0.000183 0.395643 1.0000000 1.0000000 0.000139 0.022699 0.001200 0.730332 0.077160 0.074963 0.001930 0.167966 0.141053 0.076205 0.001288

0.000075 0.229059 0.030894 0.002408 0.009660 0.009284 0.753533 0.041190 0.000080 0.000243 0.403143 0.000239 0.046699 0.001835 0.736012 0.078373 0.075663 0.002150 0.175966 0.148053 0.077354 0.001368

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 283.050 385.050 459.850 277.050 4.530 41.050 2.144 3.635 6.500 2.670 753.850 77.150 75.600 *Rates are subject to change

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

BUSINESS

Vast Benidorm skyscraper a symbol of Spain crisis BENIDORM: Stretching into blue skies far above other towers crowding the Spanish resort of Benidorm, the Intempo skyscraper stands as a hard-to-miss beacon of excess from the days of Spain’s property bubble. Floor numbers flash by on a blue screen as a new elevator soars up this 180-metre giant on the skyline of Benidorm, a mass tourism resort on eastern Spain’s Mediterranean coast. At the foot of the 54-floor building-touted as the highest residential skyscraper in Europe-a semi-Olympic swimming pool waits to be tiled before welcoming the 1,000 residents who developers hope to lure to its apartments.

The building’s twin towers are covered in copper-colored windows and joined at their summit by a vast inverted pyramid, its concrete facade still open to the elements. Soon, the concrete floors and bare wires will be transformed into two 300-square-metre luxury duplex penthouse apartments, their glass walls overlooking several kilometers of beach on one side and hinterland on the other.

“You see, there is no reason for controversy: there are 11 elevators,” said Guillermo Campos, technical architect of the building’s property developer Olga Urbana, who is determined to rebuff newspaper articles saying the builders

forgot one elevator shaft. Campos rejected concerns by Greenpeace Spain and others about the environmental impact of concentrating so many people in a single building. “Look at that clean water,” he said, pointing to a beach from the giddy heights of the Intempo.

Far below, Spanish, British, French and German tourists walked along the beach’s new promenade. Some 35 percent of the building’s apartments have been sold, Campos said, a relatively small proportion with so little time before its scheduled delivery in early 2014. Hoping for a property market recovery from mid-2014, Campos said he was counting on interest from Russian, Algerian and British buyers despite prices that appear lofty: from 350,000 euros ($473,000) for a studio to three million euros for a duplex.

A TOUGH SELL? Launched in 2007 in the dying days of Spain’s property bubble, which imploded the following year with devastating economic consequences, the skyscraper’s construction has been hit by public disputes with the builders who are demanding a million euros ($1.3 million) in unpaid bills from the promoters.

The loan that financed construction was

transferred last year to Spain’s “bad bank”, Sareb, set up to pool the financial industr y ’s toxic assets as part of a European Union-financed banking sector rescue for Spain.

Caixa Galicia, the bank that extended the original loan, has since been rescued by the state. As a result, it was obliged to discount the price of some assets and property loans on its books and move them to Sareb. A spokeswoman for Sareb said the fact that it had taken over the Caixa Galicia loans did not mean their repayment was considered to be doubtful. Nevertheless, the association of Intempo with Sareb, a symbol of the property market collapse, can only complicate the titanic task of selling 269 luxury apartments in a stagnant market.

Benidorm’s city hall shows little concern, however. “It does not matter” if it takes a little longer to fill the building, said the city hall’s chief architect, Jose Luis Camarasa. “Here, the city development has been following a plan conceived 50 years ago,” he said, arguing that this had allowed Benidorm to avoid the pitfalls of the property boom. “What Benidorm built in 50 years — 30,000 homes-some cities built in a single year,” he said.

A fishing village five decades ago,

BENIDORM: The Intempo (center) skyscraper stands in Benidorm. Stretching into blue skies far above other towers crowding the Spanish resort of Benidorm, the Intempo skyscraper stands as a hard-to-miss beacon of excess in the days of Spain’s property bubble. — AFP Benidorm today is a mass of skyscrapers, fast-food outlets, bars and nightclubs where tourists, mostly northern Europeans, come on cheap package holidays. The first city development plan was drawn up in 1955, then modified in 1963 to scrap height limits on towers so

as to “democratize tourism”, Camarasa said. Prices “will probably have to come into line with the market”, Camarasa admitted. But for the property market in Spain’s eastern Valencia region, “Benidorm is the jewel in the crown”, he said.— AFP

Russia shadow looms as Ukraine looks west Moscow threatens to retaliate with protectionist measures

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows after a press conference to announce a rise in sales tax hike at his office in Tokyo yesterday. — AFP

Japan premier to hike sales tax to curb debt TOKYO: Japan’s prime minister vowed yesterday to press ahead with a sales tax hike seen as crucial to shrinking a huge national debt, although critics fear it would derail a budding economic recovery. The move marks a big political gamble for Shinzo Abe-previous hikes have proved careerending for his predecessors-with the conservative leader also unveiling a $50 billion stimulus package aimed at softening the blow.

“If we only raise taxes... the economy faces a big risk of relapsing,” Abe told reporters at a press briefing. “We have no choice but to aim for an economic recovery and a sound fiscal situation.” The tax increase ends months of uncertainty about whether Abe would press on with hiking the levy to 8.0 percent from 5.0 percent, still far lower than in many wealthy countries. Economists estimate the tax hike’s impact on households at 8.0 trillion yen ($81 billion), dealing a blow to consumer demand just as the world’s third-largest economy is picking up.

An outline of Abe’s spending package, which will be finalized in December, calls for benefits to low-income earners including a 10,000 yen ($100) one-time payment and corporate incentives to boost investment and wages. The draft said Tokyo may scrap a special corporate tax ushered in after the 2011 quake-tsunami disaster.

Earlier yesterday, Abe told a meeting of government and ruling party policymakers that the tax hike was aimed at “maintaining the nation’s trust and handing over a sustainable social security system to the next generation”.

The decision yesterday came just hours after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) published its quarterly Tankan business confidence survey which surged to a more than five-year high. A strong showing in the Tankan was widely viewed as the tipping point for Abe to implement a tax rise passed by the administration he booted out of office, although Japan’s recovery is far from complete. “Companies are still cautious about investing more and they’re concerned about the negative impact of the tax rise,” said Hideki Matsumura, senior economist

at Tokyo-based Japan Research Institute.

Since sweeping December elections on a ticket to jumpstart the long-laggard economy, the prime minister has launched an unprecedented policy blitz-a blend of government stimulus and monetary easing dubbed Abenomics. The scheme appears to be taking hold. Japan is on track for a strong annualized economic growth rate of 3.8 percent, leading G7 nations, while the stock market is up about 40 percent from the start of the year.

But the tax levy threatens not only to sink his growth plans; it could also dim his popularity with voters. “ This is Abe’s biggest political decision since he took office,” Tomoaki Iwai, a politics professor at Tokyo’s Nihon University said. “Japan is in the middle of an epic experiment and his decision is a crucial test of Abenomics.” The country is wrestling with the rich world’s heaviest debt burden, inflated by years of ineffective efforts to stimulate the economy through spending and soaring welfare costs in a rapidly-ageing society.

A string of data in the past week showed Japan’s battle to turn around years of lacklustre growth has yet to be won. Inflation figures released Friday showed price rises driven by soaring energy costs, not the broad-based increase seen as key to dragging Japan out of years of deflation which crimped private spending and growth.

Japan’s factory output slipped more than expected in August while household spending last month remained stubbornly weak, slipping 1.6 percent from a year earlier. Getting consumers to spend moreand employers to raise wages-is a key part of Abe’s bid to reverse a 20-year funk in Japan economy. Following through on deeper reforms, including shaking up protected industries and a rigid labor market, is also seen as key to Abe’s success.

Despite securing his power base in July upper house polls-putting off elections for at least three years-historical precedents are not good for premiers who force consumers to shell out more at the cash register. Two of Abe’s predecessors were forced to resign shortly after raising the tax in 1989 and 1997.— AFP

BRUSSELS: When Russia wants to get its point across, it tends not to leave room for misunderstanding. Put out by Europe’s efforts to build closer relations with six countries in east Europe and the Caucasus - former Soviet republics that Russia regards as in its sphere of influence - Moscow has been steadily turning up the heat.

Armenia was the first to cave, turning its back on an “association agreement” with the European Union and agreeing instead to join Russia’s customs union - a trade zone with Belarus and Kazakhstan launched in 2010. Moscow has also homed in on defense or trade vulnerabilities in Georgia, Moldova and Azerbaijan, although the first two remain likely to move ahead with closer EU ties at a special summit in Vilnius in late November. Belarus, despite friction with Moscow, remains firmly in Russia’s camp for now.

The big question is Ukraine, economically and politically the most important of the partnership countries. Despite pressure on trade, including key gas supplies from Russia, which sees Ukraine as culturally its own, Kiev is determined to look West and seal closer links to Europe next month.

That’s not what Moscow wants to hear, or will accept. “What we have seen during the past few weeks is brutal Russian pressure against the partnership countries of a sort that we haven’t seen in Europe for a ver y long time,” said Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt last month, describing Moscow’s actions as “economic warfare”.

Russia has said it is merely protecting its interests. “Russia is in no way trying to infringe on anyone’s sovereign right to make decisions about their international activity,” President Vladimir Putin said in September. Nearly all the partnership countries do the vast majority of their trade with Russia and rely on it for gas. Moscow is concerned about a flood of European goods entering the country if Kiev signs a free trade agreement with the EU. Trade is particularly sensitive: Russia was Ukraine’s biggest trading partner but not any longer. Now it is the EU, with 27 percent of Ukraine’s exports and 34 percent of its imports, and the volume growing by double digits annually. Russia is also wary of the EU’s broader agenda.

Drawing in countries in the region could over time help Europe secure a degree of influence over vital gas and oil supply routes towards the West at the expense of Russia’s dominance. As a result, Putin has threatened to impose punitive tariffs and other restrictions on imports via Ukraine if it goes ahead with the EU agreement.

“We would somehow have to stand by our market, introduce protectionist measures,” Putin said last month. “We are saying this openly in advance.” As if to underline the message, Russia has taken steps against Lithuania, an EU member state that currently holds the union’s presidency, imposing extra customs checks on Lithuanian trucks and heavy losses for Lithuania’s large trucking industry. And in the back of the minds of all the par tnership countries is the 2008 war

between Russia and Georgia, when Moscow made very clear its power over a former republic.

TYMOSHENKO While Ukraine has not bowed to the threats and uses every opportunity to reiterate its commitment to the European bloc that four of its seven neighbors have already joined, it is not as if closer EU ties are an open-and-shut case. With nearly 46 million people and a $330 billion economy, Ukraine is easily the biggest prize among the eastern partnership states. But Europe cannot afford to compromise on justice and human rights solely to pull one country closer into its orbit, no matter how strategically important it may be.

Ukraine has to carry out a range of judicial, electoral and business reforms to secure the association agreement, as well as finding a solution to the case of Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister now imprisoned for abuse of power following a 2011 trial the EU said was based on selective justice. EU officials are satisfied with the progress made on reforms, and expect all of the ‘benchmarks’ to have been met by the Vilnius summit on Nov 28-29. But Tymoshenko is a much more intractable problem with no clear solution.

Germany has said it wants the former prime minister, who is receiving treatment for back problems while under guard in hospital, released or at least allowed to travel abroad for treatment before it can back the association agreement.

That position is broadly supported by Britain, France, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries, while several east European member states are more flexible on what the terms of any deal on Tymoshenko should be. For Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich it is a deeply emotive issue.

There is an ingrained animosity between him and his former political rival and a fear, analysts say, of retaliation by her against him if she is set free.

What’s more, Ukraine says it is not possible to release Tymoshenko unconditionally as it would violate the law, an argument officials in Brussels acknowledge has some truth. The hope was an agreement could be reached by Oct 21, when EU foreign ministers hold a regular monthly meeting. But EU officials are not convinced the date will hold. They are also not sure a deal can be clinched by the meeting after that on Nov 18 just 10 days before the eastern partnership summit.

“If you ask me, I think this will go right down to the wire, or at least very close to it,” said a senior EU official directly involved in the negotiations. Asked if Tymoshenko might still be in custody in Ukraine on Nov 29, when Kiev should be signing the association agreement, two EU officials involved in trying to resolve the dispute acknowledged that might be the case. “But she may not still be there in early December,” one of them said, hinting at the possibility of a compromise that involves her leaving the country soon after the summit.

REPERCUSSIONS Both Ukraine and the EU appear determined to seize the moment and sign the agreement, no matter what the reservations. The message that would send to the wider region, including the resource-rich Caucasus, would be a powerful one.

From the EU’s point of view, Ukraine is an opportunity that cannot be missed: Kiev wants closer association and if Europe does not act now, it may well lose it to Russia and the customs union forever, the tide of history ebbing away. The failure to draw in Ukraine would likely diminish the EU’s sway over other countries covered by the eastern partnership policy, undermining its goals of spurring democratic reforms in the region and safeguarding political stability.

“We cannot accept any attempt to limit these countries’ own sovereign choices,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told the European Parliament in his annual address last month. “We cannot turn our back on them.” The hope in Europe is that opening trade routes will improve cooperation on other issues such as security and, over time, demonstrate the benefits of democratic governance.

In the near-term, Europe needs help in addressing crime - countries such as Moldova lie on important trafficking routes towards the EU. In the Caucasus, territorial disputes such as that between Armenia and Azerbaijan could hurt Europe’s energy aims and pull it into conflict with Russia. “The fundamental interest in the eastern partnership is to have a zone of stability to the east of the European Union and not be faced with state failure ... in which case there could be spillover into the EU,’ said Michael Leigh, a senior adviser with the General Marshall Fund in Brussels.

PAY THE PRICE But for all its planning, Europe also knows retribution, in the shape of an energy squeeze, is likely from Russia. Moscow, which has a long-standing disagreement with Ukraine over gas, has said it will raise Ukraine’s gas prices and officials do not rule out it doing the same for the EU, which gets nearly 40 percent of its gas from Russia. Moscow has in the past, during disputes with Ukraine, cut off the flow to EU member states, several of which are entirely dependent on Russia’s supplies, and could do so again. “We would not be surprised if they play the gas card, it’s among the factors we are taking into account,” said the EU official involved in the Ukraine negotiations.

But the EU’s calculation also is that Russia, which relies on Europe for revenue from its gas, will not impose restrictive measures for very long.

Knowing the immediate retaliatory impact of the association agreement will be felt first in Ukraine, where living standards are well below the EU average, Brussels is ready to take steps to support the country. These include allowing the free-trade benefits to kick in immediately - rather than Kiev having to wait until all 28 EU members have ratified the agreement. —Reuters

RBS’s CEO takes reins as break-up decision looms New boss may create internal ‘bad bank’

TOKYO: People walk through a shopping mall in Tokyo yesterday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to go ahead with a much debated sales tax hike needed to offset Japan’s soaring public debt. — AP

LONDON: Royal Bank of Scotland’s new chief executive, Ross McEwan, took up his role yesterday with Britain’s finance ministry close to deciding whether to make the part-nationalized lender break itself up. The ministry is considering forcing RBS to hive off its problem loans into a separate legal entity, in a move designed to leave the rest of the bank better placed to lend. It is expected to make a decision this month, according to government sources.

Britain’s government and central bank are concerned that poor access to finance, particularly for smaller firms, may thwart a sustainable recovery from the country’s worst slump in decades. RBS is 81 percent owned by taxpayers after a 45.5 billion pound ($73.7 billion) bailout in 2008. McEwan must satisfy lawmakers who want the bank to slim down and focus on lending to households and businesses. McEwan said yesterday that RBS would support economic growth in

Britain. “A strong bank needs a strong home market, and the UK is ours,” he told 300 staff at RBS’s London offices.

“I want RBS to stand firmly behind its customers with the explicit goal of helping them succeed. That includes an increase in our lending,” he said. Banking industry and political sources say the new CEO could decide to create an internal “bad bank” to house RBS’s problem loans, even if a break-up is not recommended.

The sources say he may do this by enlarging and revamping RBS’s existing non-core portfolio, putting assets from the group’s Irish business, Ulster Bank, and British commercial real estate loans inside it.

RBS and the Treasury declined to comment.

New Zealander McEwan, 56, has worked in retail banking for more than a decade. He has run RBS’s retail banking business for the past year after joining from Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

He was seen as a safe, politically acceptable choice who would increase the bank’s focus on retail and commercial banking. “Ross is a customer banker through and through and is determined to transform the bank into a real asset for the UK economy,” RBS’s Chairman Philip Hampton, who oversaw his appointment, said yesterday. McEwan succeeds Stephen Hester, who presided over a mammoth restructuring of RBS during his four-year tenure but was ousted in June with the government wanting fresh leadership to prepare the bank for an eventual sale of its stake. The government wants RBS to be less complex and more like its part-nationalized rival Lloyds Banking Group, which is heavily focused on domestic lending. Lloyds, which was rescued via a 20.5 billion pound bailout in 2008, has returned to health more quickly and the government began selling its shares in the bank earlier in September.—Reuters

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

BUSINESS

Italian debt slides ahead of key vote Dollar falls as US shutdown begins LONDON: The first US government shutdown in 17 years weakened the dollar yesterday, sending it to an eight-month low against the euro, but otherwise left equity and debt markets little changed. Investors tended to view the shutdown as temporary, and also as something that may further delay the US Federal Reserve’s plans to start closing downs its monetary stimulus.

US Federal government agencies have been directed to cut back services after lawmakers failed to pass a temporary spending bill before a midnight deadline, threatening the salaries of around a million workers. “No one really knows when they are going to get their act together, so you would have thought there would have been more of a reaction than there

has been,” said Greg Matwejev, director of FX Hedge Fund Sales and Trading at Newedge.

The dollar was bearing the brunt of the response, falling to a 1-1/2 year low against the safe-haven Swiss franc and an 8-month low against a basket of major currencies. The weakness lifted the euro to an 8-month high of $1.3589. However, MSCI’s world equity index, tracking shares in 45 countries, had gained 0.2 percent by mid-morning in Europe, although this followed its biggest daily fall of September on Monday as investors anticipated the shutdown.

Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index inched up 0.25 percent but was still near a three-week low. US stock index futures pointed to gains when Wall Street opens with the

broad S&P stock contract edging up 0.4 percent. “The US shutdown is a central point for the markets, but as long as the hope for just a temporary shutdown exists, it will not be a strong burden for equities,” Christian Stocker, equity strategist at UniCredit said.

A bigger issue facing investors is the US shutdown’s implications for this month’s negotiations on raising the US government’s $16.7 trillion borrowing limit, needed to avoid a default on its outstanding debt mountain.

Markets were also absorbing mixed readings on economic activity across the manufacturing sector for September and an announcement of a $50 billion stimulus package in Japan, designed to offset the impact of a sales tax hike next April.

Japan’s move came after a closely-watched central bank survey showed sentiment among domestic manufacturer’s had improved sharply in the three months to September to reach a near six-year high. A separate euro zone factory activity survey revealed growth, albeit at a slower pace than previously. In China, factories expanded only slightly last month, raising questions over the strength of its nascent recovery.

COOL ASSET MOVES In fixed income markets, prices of German government bonds, normally seen as a safe haven by investors in times of uncertainty, fell on Monday, lifting yields 2.5 basis points . This mirrored a fall in US Treasury 10-year notes, which sent yields up 3 bpts to 2.65 percent.

Gold, another traditional safe haven asset, popped higher after the shutdown became apparent, hitting $1331.50 an ounce, though was well within its recent $1,300 to 1,350 range. “(The muted market response) is a sign it

has already priced in the negative economic impact of the government shutdown but obviously has not priced in, at least at this point, the consequences of a failure to raise the debt ceiling,” Elwin de Groot, senior market economist at Rabobank said. Meanwhile Italian bonds were rising a day before Italy’s Prime Minister Enrico Letta was due to face a vote of confidence in a bid to draw a line under growing political tensions that have threatened the ruling coalition.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Italian government bond fell 2.5 basis points at 4.55 percent though traders said talk of further liquidity support from the European Central Bank could also be helping. The ECB holds a policy meeting today and is expected to stick to its accommodative policy course. Brent crude fell to around $108 a barrel to be near a 7-week low on worries that the US government shutdown may crimp oil demand. Brent crude for November fell 32 cents to $108.02 a barrel. US crude was at $102.18, down 15 cents.— Reuters

Jazeera Airways expands route, begins DWC flights KUWAIT: In addition to ongoing flights to Dubai International Airport (DXB) since 2005, Jazeera Airways yesterday announced that it will start serving Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central (DWC) with two weekly flights starting October 31st, 2013. DWC is Dubai’s new airport scheduled to open in this October. The airport is close to Dubai’s resort city of Jumeirah that is known for its five star resorts, hotels, malls and recreational activities. The new route to DWC complements Jazeera Airways’ current operation between Kuwait and Dubai International, which will remain unchanged at an average 25 flights per week.

The airport is directly accessed through three primary trans-emirate road networks, Sheikh ZayedRoad, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road. Access is also provided by public transport services including buses, taxis and the metro rail network that extends to the Ibn Battuta shopping mall nearby. DWC is at close proximity to the Jumeirah Village, International Media Production Zone, Sports City, Motor City and the Arabian Ranches.

Jazeera Airways Vice President of Ground Operations and Product, Ali Fairooz, said, “This is great news for all our Dubai weekend travelers. The new airport offers an easy and seamless airport experience. Our customers now have the choice between flying to Dubai International, located in the heart of Dubai, or to Al Maktoum International, located an arm’s length from Dubai’s resort city of Jumeirah.” In its August 2013 operational performance report, Jazeera Airways announced a 55% increase in flown passengers between Kuwait and Dubai, compared to August 2012. Dubai is the leading destination for travelers from Kuwait, attracting high traffic of business, weekend and same-day business travelers and shoppers.

Al Maktoum International is a key component of Dubai Airports’ long-term expansion plan. The airport will start receiving passengers in October with an immediate capacity to handle seven million passengers annually.

Upon completion, Al Maktoum International will become the world’s largest airport with five runways and an ultimate capacity of 160 million passengers and 12 million tons of cargo per annum.

Jazeera Airways serves from Kuwait 19 popular destinations in the Middle East, including high-demand business, leisure, family, and weekend destinations such as Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut, Alexandria, Amman, Istanbul, Sharm El Sheikh, Luxor, Assiut, Sohag, Mashhad, Jeddah, Riyadh, Cairo and Al Najaf.

The airline operates seven fully-owned Airbus A320s, each fitted with a two-class cabin comprising a Business Class and an Economy Class. Business Class travelers get both an upgraded experience and exclusivity, starting with exclusive check-in lines, business

lounge access, up to 60 kilograms in free baggage allowance, and an exclusive on-board cabin. The airline’s Economy Class offers travelers free baggage allowance of 40 kilograms, and free on-board meals with a changing menu every month. Jazeera Airways is an IATA-member airline and operates one of the youngest Airbus A320 fleets across the Middle East.

Brent eases to $108 LONDON: Brent oil eased to around $108 a barrel yesterday on worries that a shutdown of the US government will crimp demand, while easing tensions in US-Iran nuclear talks boosted prospects for an increase in supply.

The US government began a partial shutdown yesterday for the first time in 17 years, potentially putting up to 1 million workers on unpaid leave, closing national parks and stalling medical research projects.

But analysts expect that a swift resolution will limit the downside in oil prices. “For the moment the 30-second news snippets hitting the media airwaves on the US government will continue to dominate the shortterm market moves, with most of the normal price drivers playing a secondary role,” Dominick Chirichella, of the Energy Management Institute, said.

“Needless to say, the US is entering what I would categorize as a very messy period and one that will be laden with market risk as the dysfunction in Washington, DC continues.”

Brent crude fell 17 cents to $108.20 a barrel by 1113 GMT, after earlier slipping under $108. US crude was at $102.32, down 1 cent.

Oil has come under downward pressure in the past month as supply has improved, with Libya ramping up output and tensions easing over Syria.

In China, weaker-than-expected growth in the manufacturing sector in September added to concerns that a nascent recovery in the world’s second-largest economy might be foundering. Signs of a thaw in relations between the United States and Iran also weighed on oil prices. US President Barack Obama and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke by telephone last week in the highest level contact between the countries in more than three decades, fuelling hopes for a resolution of Iran’s decade-old nuclear standoff with the West.

The world’s six major powers will meet Iranian officials in Geneva on Oct 15-16 to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. Investors are also looking ahead to data on US oil inventories today. The US Energy Information Administration said it has enough resources to operate to around Oct 11 in the event of a government shutdown.—Reuters

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

BUSINESS

German machine-tool sector orders up FRANKFURT: Rising export demand boosted Germany’s key mechanical engineering sector in August, and domestic demand also increased, the VDMA industry federation said yesterday. Overall incoming orders were up by 6.0 percent in August compared with the same month in 2012, VDMA said in a statement, with expor t orders jumping by 9.0 percent and domestic orders edging up 2.0 percent. The data provide a snapshot of activity in a crucial sector of Europe’s biggest economy. However, taking a three-month comparison to iron out short-term fluctuations, overall orders slipped by 1.0 percent in the period from June to August, with foreign orders falling by 3.0 percent, while domestic orders rose by 3.0 percent, VDMA calculated.

UNEMPLOYMENT UP Meanwhile, German unemployment registered a surprising rise in September, due to a scaling back of job creation schemes, but the labor market overall remains in good shape, data showed yesterday. The number of people registered as unemployed in Europe’s top economy rose by 25,000 to 2.975 million in seasonally adjusted terms last month, the Federal Labor Office said in a statement.

Analysts had been expecting a drop of around 5,000. The unemployment rate-which measures the proportion of people out of work compared with working population as a whole-edged up to 6.9 percent in September from 6.8 percent in August in seasonally-adjusted terms, the Federal Labor Office said. “This is due to less relief from

labor market policy measures,” the office explained.

By contrast, in raw or unadjusted terms, the German jobless total fell by 96,760 people to 2.849 million and the unadjusted jobless rate declined to 6.6 percent from 6.8 percent, the office calculated. “The labor market is in fundamentally good shape and is reacting little to the mixed economic data,” the office said. Annalisa Piazza at Newedge Strategy said she was taken by surprise by the signs of weakening in September.

“We had expected a slight decline in the unemployment level, due to the recent improvement in activity and signs of improved business conditions,” she said. While the increase was “not good news for the German economic picture as a whole, we wouldn’t see it as a sign that the German labor

market has started to deteriorate,” Piazza said.

Survey indicators have been upbeat in the past few months and business are expecting some improvement. Hiring intentions had also improved in the past few months, the analyst noted.

“We rule out that the resilience of the German labor market will be affected now that the economy is actually gradually recovering,” she concluded. IHS Global Insight analyst Timo Klein said the rise in unemployment in August and September “is somewhat at odds with the ongoing improvement in leading indicators in recent months.”

However, “generally improving economic developments, also in Europe as a whole, suggests that unemployment remains likely to stabilize during the latter months of 2013 and return to a declining tendency in 2014,” he said. — Agencies

Euro-zone ‘recovering’ as unemployment stabilizes August joblessness at 12.0 percent

BANGALORE: An employee of Indian company Carzonrent interacts with a prospective customer ahead of hiring a Mahindra Reva electric car in Bangalore yesterday. Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles has formed a partnership with Carzonrent offering electric cars for hire in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore from October 1. — AFP

Southern laggards drag on euro-zone factory recovery LONDON: The fledgling recovery among eurozone factories stumbled slightly last month, held back particularly by the economic laggards on the bloc’s southern fringe, surveys showed yesterday. Manufacturing growth in Italy and Spain, the euro-zone’s third and fourth biggest economies, eased off in September, suggesting economic recovery there remains fragile. Battered Greece’s contraction deepened.

In France, the region’s second biggest economy, factories edged closer to pulling out of a 19-month slump but were still contracting.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, grew but saw the pace of growth ease slightly from August. It was the result, some analysts said, of weakness to its south. “Italy disappointed, Spain ditto. Germany has been caught in the backwash ... so no real improvement - it’s pretty much ‘as you were’,” said Peter Dixon at Commerzbank.

“There were some positive signs but we need more information before we can say that this definitely marks a turning point.” Irish factories chalked up their fastest pace of growth in 14 months while Dutch output hit a 29month high. Italy is struggling to emerge from its longest post-war recession and is again in political trouble, with Prime Minister Enrico Letta battling to stay in office after centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi withdrew his party’s five ministers from the government.

Spain returned to growth for the first time in two years in the third quarter, the government said last week, but its unemployment rate remains by far one of the worst in the euro-zone, rivaled only by Greece. Euro-zone unemployment held flat at 12.0 percent in August after easing in July and European policymakers had made job creation their top priority for restoring sound growth. But in Spain and Greece unemployment is still above 25 percent. “It’s indicative of an economy which is climbing out of a deep hole,” said Dixon, on the euro-zone as a whole. “If that can be sustained,

then wonderful, but I think it is too early to talk about a significant turnaround in the labor market,” he said.

The euro hit an 8-month high against the dollar yesterday after US lawmakers failed to agree a compromise bill to fund operations, making Europe’s exports more expensive and thus less attractive. Across the channel and outside of the currency union, growth in Britain’s manufacturing sector eased slightly in September from a two-year high the month before. And in China, manufacturing activity expanded only slightly last month, raising concerns a nascent economic recovery may be foundering and data due later from the US is expected to paint a similar picture.

DOUBLE DIPPING The Euro-zone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), for which data company Markit polls thousands of manufacturing companies, dipped to 51.1 in September from August’s 26-month high of 51.4, in line with an earlier flash estimate. A reading above 50 indicates growth. An index measuring output, which feeds into the wider composite PMI due on Thursday and seen as a good indicator of growth, eased to 52.2 from August’s 27-month high of 53.4, just above the flash estimate of 52.1.

“Today’s slight decline should be seen as a sign that the euro-zone gradual improvement in activity is not gaining much momentum.

That said, the above-50 reading is still consistent with a slight pick up in third quarter GDP,” said Annalisa Piazza at Newedge Strategy. The euro-zone emerged from its longest-ever recession in the second quarter and will probably only grow 0.2-0.3 percent per quarter through to the end of next year. Still, inflation fell to just 1.1 percent in September, its lowest since February 2010, official data showed on Monday, giving the European Central Bank leeway to maintain its loose monetary policy to support the bloc’s recovery. —Reuters

Britain putting off subsea coal gasification projects LONDON: Plans to burn Britain’s large reserves of coal to produce gas for power plants may wait for years because of concerns about climate change and a public perception that the technology is similar to fracking. Cluff Resources, one of the companies trying to develop underground coal gasification in Britain, said the technology is not likely to be deployed for at least another five years, while government officials are tied up with the public opposition to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for shale gas. “The opposition to fracking has caught the government and companies drilling for shale gas by surprise, and it is taking up a lot of their executive time. Accordingly, we need to explain the absolute difference between fracking and the offshore coal gasification technology,” the company’s chairman, Algy Cluff, said in an interview.

In common with fracking, underground coal gasification entails the injection of a mixture of compounds to yield a gas that can be used in power generation. Both techniques create toxic byproducts that must be removed from the processing site and made safe. Coal-to-gas projects involve boring mostly into thin, unmineable coal seams deep offshore. A mixture of air, oxygen and steam is injected underground to combust subsea coal reserves. By contrast, fracking unlocks natural gas through high-pressure injection of chemicals, sand and water at land-based sites.

Cluff, who helped pioneer the development of Britain’s offshore oil and gas industry in the 1970s, said underground coal gasification sites

could use much of the pipeline infrastructure already in place to transport the gas and would be much less disruptive to rural communities than fracking for shale gas. Cluff and at least four other companies - Clean Coal Limited, FiveQuarter Energy, Riverside Energy and Europa Oil & Gas Limited - have been issued with 21 licenses for coal seam blocks. But additional permits will be needed from a range of government agencies before drilling and production can start.

The process was first adopted on a wide scale by the Soviet Union during the 1930s, but after the Second World War the technology failed to advance beyond the experimental stage because of cheap oil and gas prices.

Higher gas prices and technological improvements have rekindled interest in underground coal gasification in recent years. Four projects are currently operating in Australia, China, South Africa and Uzbekistan.

Britain produces around half of its natural gas from the North Sea, and that figure is likely to fall to around 25 percent by 2030, according to government estimates, increasing its dependence on imports from Norway and Qatar. “We are potentially talking about a second North Sea here (in terms of gas production from coal). It’s far too big an opportunity for government and energy majors to ignore,” Cluff said. In this technology, the coal from deep seams is burned, and the resulting gases are processed. Carbon dioxide and toxic byproducts are separated from gas that is used to generate power and to manufacture industrial chemicals. —Reuters

LONDON: The euro-zone’s labor market appears to have stabilized, official figures indicated yesterday, another sign that the eurozone economy is recovering from its longestever recession. Though Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office, said the unemployment rate across the 17-member euro-zone held steady at 12 percent in August, it found the number of people out of work fell for the third month running. That’s the first time the region has enjoyed such a run since April 2011.

In total, the number of unemployed dipped by 5,000 to 19.18 million, triggering hopes that the 20 million threshold that many economists had been forecasting this year will not be struck and that the 12.1 percent record high booked in June may not be breached. “The euro-zone’s jobless rate is past its peak for the current economic cycle,” said Zach Witton, economist at Moody’s Analytics.

“However, the unemployment rate will fall only gradually as the weak recovery provides limited support to profit margins, giving companies little incentive to boost hiring.”

As usually happens in a recovery, the modest improvement in the labor market has lagged the region’s emergence from recession by a few months. The economy grew in the second quarter by a modest quarterly rate of 0.3 percent after contracting for six straight quarters, its longest recession since the euro currency was launched in 1999. Most surveys suggest the euro-zone expanded further during the summer months and that the growth won’t rely only on Germany, Europe’s largest economy. Even Greece, mired in recession for the best part of six years as the global financial crisis morphed into a crippling sovereign debt crisis, is expected to start growing soon.

Hopes for an improvement in the economy were supported by a closely-watched manufacturing survey released yesterday.

The purchasing managers’ index for the manufacturing sector - a gauge of business activity published by financial information company Markit - was 51.1 points in September. Though down on August’s 26month high of 51.4, the survey points to continuing expansion - anything above the 50 threshold indicates growth. “This is good news for the euro-zone but also for the global economy,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

“The downturn in demand caused by the region’s recession and the uncertainty generated by its debt crisis had cast a shadow over economic recoveries across the globe. But we must not get too carried away.” Over the past three years, the euro-zone has been the laggard of the world economy as it grappled with a debt crisis that at various times threatened the future of the euro currency itself.

Countries across the region, but mainly in the south, such as Greece, Portugal and Spain, have had to enact tough austerity measures to convince bond market investors that they could get a handle on their public finances. A combination of recession, poor management and expensive bank bailouts had caused public debt to swell in the region.

The problems afflicting the euro-zone weighed on sentiment around the world, putting a brake on the global economic recovery.

The euro-zone, with its population of a little more than 500 million, is a key market for global firms seeking to do business. Though welcome, few economists think the eurozone’s current economic growth is enough to significantly bring down unemployment, particularly among the young.

The manufacturing PMI survey, for example, showed companies in the sector were still shedding jobs in September, though at a slower rate than before. The Eurostat figures also mask huge divergences across the eurozone: While Germany has an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent, Spain’s jobless rate stands at 27.9 percent. The situation in Greece is even worse, with 27.9 percent of people out of work in June - Greek figures are compiled on a different timeframe.

The situation among the young - that is, potential workers under the age of 25 - is even more acute. Greece and Spain, for example, have over half their youth unemployed. In Greece, youth unemployment stood at a stunning 61.5 percent in June. As well as being a burden to a country’s coffers, sky-high levels of youth unemployment have an additional social cost of denying potential workers skills and experience that’s a long-term cost to the region’s economic potential and has also fueled an increase in social tensions. — AP

LISBON: A constructions worker works on the roof of a building in Lisbon yesterday. The euro-zone’s labor market appears to have stabilized, official figures indicated yesterday, another sign that the eurozone economy is recovering from its longest-ever recession. - AP

UK banks face higher capital demands under new tests LONDON: Banks in Britain may have to hold more capital than their international rivals under proposals for an annual stress test of lenders put forward by the Bank of England yesterday. The BoE, spelling out how it will check that banks do not pose risks to the UK economy by being short of backing, said it would hold annual tests for major lenders like Barclays, RBS and HSBC starting in 2014. Later tests would be broadened out to include big UK subsidiaries of major international banks, the BoE said.

Medium-sized British banks may also come under the scrutiny of BoE regulators and clearing houses could face their own health checks, the central bank said. “Stress-testing can provide a quantum leap in transparency and accountability,” BoE Deputy Governor Paul Tucker said.

Mike Trippitt, director of banks’ research at Numis Securities in London, said banks were already starting to see strong enough profits to build up capital buffers that would meet even a pessimistic stress test scenario. At any rate, shares in Britain’s biggest banks were unperturbed by the BoE’s announcement, with most outperforming a rise for the broader market yesterday. “The capital position of banks is pretty strong and without looking at the detail of the stress tests, what the market is saying is that these banks should be able to fare well,” Trippitt said.

Britain, which had to rescue several banks in the financial crisis, has already required its lenders to do more to bolster their capital reserves than required under global rules and that approach looks set to continue under the new framework. “At

the very least, banks would need to maintain sufficient capital to be able to absorb losses in the stress scenario and not fall below internationally agreed minimum standards,” the Bank of England said. “But the level of capital that banks would need to maintain in the stress scenario could be set above strict internationally agreed minima and vary across banks.”

REMEDIES Since the near meltdown of global markets in 2008, Britain’s banks have undergone several, ad hoc stress tests to check if individual lenders hold enough capital to withstand future shocks without more help from taxpayers. The new system proposed by the BoE in a discussion paper released on Tuesday would take a broader approach to also check the health of the financial system as a whole.

Apart from topping up capital levels, remedies could include raising margin requirements on derivatives contracts, curbing dividends and bonuses, forcing banks to shrink risky business lines and changing management. Unlike past tests, the BoE said it intended to publish the results of its future checks. The bank said that in previous tests there was “insufficient engagement” by management, poor test design, discrepancies in data and too little challenge of underlying assumptions. The results of the first tests under the new framework will cover eight major UK banks and will be published at the end of 2014.—Reuters

India freezes Nokia assets

NEW DELHI: An Indian pedestrian walks past a Nokia store in New Delhi yesterday. — AFP

MUMBAI: Indian authorities have frozen some of Finnish telecom giant Nokia’s assets, the company said yesterday, amid a 20-billion rupee ($321 million) tax dispute with the New Delhi government. Tax authorities froze Nokia’s bank accounts as well as fixed assets, such as buildings, last week, forcing the company to head to the High Court which ordered some of them released, Nokia said in a statement.

Nokia said it has regained access to its bank accounts but some fixed assets remain frozen. It was unclear whether one of its biggest plants world-wide, located in the southern Indian city of Chennai, was targeted in the action. Nokia is among a string of multinationals to have become embroiled in tax disputes in India, including Cadbury, Royal Dutch Shell and Vodafone. “Late last week, the Delhi High Court ruled in Nokia’s favor in a case where the Indian tax authorities froze some of Nokia’s assets for potential claims that hadn’t even been raised against the company yet,” said a statement from Nokia, emailed to AFP yesterday.

“We are now working closely with the tax authorities to ensure that the parties will find a comprehensive solution to the remaining open issues, and discussions have been constructive,” it said. The company does not believe the assets freeze will affect a $7.2 billion global deal with Microsoft, which has agreed to take over Nokia’s handset business, according to local media reports. However Nokia, in a separate email to AFP, declined to comment on the deal.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

BUSINESS

Cuba struggling to end dual currency Bizarre system hamstrings island’s socialist economy

Etihad Airways eyes equity investments ABU DHABI: Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has foreshadowed more investments in other airlines, as it continues to increase its global presence through a mix of organic growth and strategic partnerships.

Speaking yesterday at the FVW Kongress in Cologne, Germany, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, James Hogan, said the airline was currently engaged in three major transactions - the acquisition of 24 per cent of India’s Jet Airways, a 49 per cent stake and management contract in Air Serbia, and increasing equity in Virgin Australia from 10 per cent to a target of 19.9 per cent.

“Global reach is beyond the capacity of any single airline. Progress must come through partnership,” said Mr Hogan. “The investments we are making are delivering significant benefits not only to the airlines but to our passengers and freight customers. We will consider more strategic partnerships if they add value.”

Etihad Airways launched its equity investment strategy in 2011 with the purchase of a 29 per cent stake in airberlin, followed by a 40 per cent investment in Air Seychelles, which included a five year management contract. This was followed last year by the investment in Virgin Australia and a three per cent stake in Ireland’s Aer Lingus, this year’s Air Serbia deal and, subject to final approval, the Jet Airways investment.

Together, Etihad Airways and these six airlines serve more than 340 destinations with a fleet of 511 aircraft. In 2012, they carried a combined total of more than 91 million passengers - comparable to large

airline partnerships in Europe and Asia.

“Equity investments deliver synergy benefits which cannot be achieved through legacy airline alliances,” Hogan said.

“Legacy alliances are focused largely on network and revenue benefits. Our equity alliance delivers much broader benefits for all of the partners including opportunities to reduce costs through resource sharing and joint procurement.”

Hogan said the foundation investment in airberlin had delivered significant gains to both carriers, with more than 260,000 passengers flying on their combined networks in the first half of 2013 - more than four times higher than the first half of 2012.

Etihad Airways now codeshares on 61 airberlin routes, while airberlin codeshares on 31 routes of Etihad Airways. Together, the airlines operate 42 flights each week between Abu Dhabi and four German cities - Frankfurt and Dusseldorf (both airlines), Munich (Etihad Airways), and Berlin (airberlin).

In addition, plans are being implemented to leverage a range of other synergies.

The Etihad Guest and airberlin Top bonus loyalty programs have been integrated, enabling guests on both carriers to earn and redeem mileage points on either airline. Reservations and ticketing facilities for airberlin will be established in Etihad Airways’ new European headquarters in Berlin. And both airlines have agreed to identical interiors, engines and a joint implementation program for their new Boeing 787-9 aircraft, the first of which will enter service in 2014. “Our equity alliance is a new business model for the airline industry,” Mr Hogan said.

First Dubai reduces financial expenses DUBAI: The First Dubai Real Estate Development Company - a subsidiary of Al Mazaya Holding Company - signed an agreement with a local Islamic bank to renew credit limits in a foliate format. The loans mounting to KD3.5 million can be rescheduled so that the repayment of indebtedness can be done decreasingly over a period of five years starting from 2013 until 2017. The annual payments would be payable at the end of each year, and would include the amount of the profits.

Commenting on this agreement, the Engineer Ibrahim Saqabi- the vice chairman of First Dubai Real Estate- said that this step was aimed at reducing the profit rate and the cost of funding the company.

This has resulted in lower financing expenses from the third quarter of the year 2013, in addition to short-term commitments (mounting to 3.5 million Kuwaiti Dinars) being turned into long term ones. Thus all the commitments of the company become 100% long- term towards banks, which makes it compliant with Islamic Sharii’a.

He added that Dubai First is one of the foremost real estate companies which have proven their presence in the GCC Market even during the recent global crisis. The company has managed to overcome the crisis and move forward to the implementation and operation of its real estate projects in the Emirate of Dubai. The prime example is the “Sky Gardens” project consisting of an integrated residential and commercial tower that has been completed and has been furnished by the “Fendi Furniture Collection”. The company has sold nearly 50% of its project earlier, and retained the remaining percentage in order to rent them and achieve greater annual revenues which could exceed to 1.5 million Kuwaiti Dinars.

Al Saqabi pointed out that the compa-

ny has other projects, including the Residential Villa in “Dubai Land” which consists of a number of residential villas.

The company has fully succeeded in implementing and selling 90% of the project, thus achieving great revenues owing to the sale of property held for trading.

The revenues have exceeded 2 million Kuwaiti Dinars and have been accounted in the financial statements for the first half of this year.

He also said that the company has a distinguished portfolio of properties in the United Arab Emirates, including residential and commercial land in the “Shams Abu Dhabi” project located in AL Reem Island, which the company, together with other investors, is planning now to re-develop. At the same time, the company is currently developing residential vouchers following the Middle Housing System in the Q-Point Project at Al Liwan Residential Complex in the Emirate of Dubai. Al Saqabi has also reaffirmed that Dubai First Company is steadily moving forward, especially after its success in the transition from loss to profitability over the past year. The Company is currently working on the preparation of a well-based working plan through which the company can develop new projects and engage in fruitful investments. He pointed out that the company has great assets mounting to 67 million Kuwaiti Dinars , compared to liabilities adding up to 13.5 million Dinars, especially after the company succeeded in taking large allocations exceeding 40 million Dinars, the matter which has resulted in ridding the budget of any financial implications.

It should be noted that First Dubai Real Estate Development is a closed shareholding company which was established on April 30, 2003. It is also listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, where the company operates in real estate development and investment, and advisory services.

HAVANA: Cuba is the only country in the world that mints two national currencies, a bizarre system that even President Raul Castro acknowledges is hamstringing the island’s socialist economy and must be scrapped. Exactly how to do that is the problem.

Months after Castro made currency unification a centerpiece of a forceful address to parliament, no details have been made public. But a pilot program operating under the radar might hold clues to a way out.

Since the system was created in 1994, most islanders have been paid in national pesos worth 24 to the dollar in exchange houses, while tourists and the Cubans who attend to them receive a much more valuable peso pegged at 1-to-1 with the US greenback. The imbalance means doctors and physicists can make more money driving taxis or renting rooms than they can working in the professions for which they spent years preparing. In his July speech, Castro denounced the setup as having a warping effect on the economy and society in general.

Shaking up the dual currency system risks spiking inflation and creating new winners and losers, always dangerous on an island that embraces the goal of egalitarianism. It would also force a change in accounting rules that would eliminate a huge subsidy to state-run enterprises at a time when cash is so short. But there are signs that change is coming, and hints at how the value of the currencies might meet in the middle.

Pavel Vidal, a former Cuban Central Bank economist now at Colombia’s Javeriana University, told The Associated Press that a pilot program is being launched with select state businesses operating at a 10-to-1 exchange rate. The businesses are in key sectors such as sugar, hotels and non-agricultural cooperatives. There has been no mention in the official media, but Vidal said it is happening and it’s a good step. “I think it’s great because the elimination of the double currency must be gradual,” he said.

Even incremental change may be tough to pull off, and requires the unraveling of Byzantine accounting practices that effectively allow state companies to purchase dollars at a fraction of what ordinary Cubans pay for them. While the rate in exchange houses is 24 pesos to 1 convertible peso, or CUC, the Cuban government treats them as equal in official accounts, meaning state entities are getting them at a 1-to-1 subsidized rate.

“Whoever is getting these dollars at one-to-one is doing well, and that’s the official sector,” said Rafael Romeu, former president of the US-based Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy.

Despite reforms under Raul Castro, the state still may be too inefficient to quit the subsidy coldturkey. “They would be basically confronting their budget constraint in a serious way, and I don’t think they are ready to do that,” Romeu said. “They would have to cut a lot of social services.”

The two Cuban pesos have been circulating in parallel since 1994, when the loss of billions in Soviet trade and subsidies forced Cuba to reluctantly open the economy to tourism, while trying to insulate most islanders from its capitalist effects.

The idea seemed simple: Canadian and European travelers would spend hard currency at government CUC shops catering almost exclusively to foreigners, while Cubans would keep living a socialist ideal in the other currency.

It hasn’t worked out that way. As authorities pulled back on subsidies that once covered almost all of islanders’ housing and food needs, people grew increasingly dependent on the added CUC income - moonlighting in the tourism industry or receiving remittances from relatives abroad. The result is the upside-down wage structure where low-skill workers like hotel chamber maids earn more from travelers’ tips than professionals. A 53year-old doctor recently left the medical profession after 25 years because his $25-a-month salary was putting food on the table for just two days a month.

He now helps his mother rent rooms to tourists paying in convertible pesos.

“Professional salaries are in a desperate situation,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because doctors generally are not authorized to talk to foreign media. “There’s no motivation, and every day they ask more of you.”

Contrast that with Rigoberto Sanchez Beltran, who pulls in about $70-$100 a month in tips for watching over parked cars at a tourist complex in Havana. Getting by is still tough, but he knows the job gives him a leg up on many of his more-educated neighbors. “You get to know the regulars, and they give you a little more,” he said. Since 2010, Cuba has seen reforms including the legalization of a real estate market, increased private small businesses and creeping decentralization of state enterprise. In July, Castro vowed that the dual currency was “one of the most important obstacles to the progress of the nation.”

He did not say, however, how the cash-strapped state would manage to pay white-collar workers more. Cuban officials have long argued that state salaries are effectively much higher than the oftenreported average of $20 a month if you factor in things such as free health care, education and monthly food ration cards. But today just about everyone acknowledges that low pay has been the enemy of efficiency, doing little to inspire hard work. Employees often pilfer supplies to resell or barter, or spend work hours on side projects that bring in CUCs. At stores that still offer cheaper prices in national pesos, goods from soap to mops sell out quickly, snapped up by hoarders or black marketeers. So finding basics such as cooking oil and eggs often entails a trip to a CUC store. “It’s totally absurd that you get paid in one currency, but in order to live you need to pay with another,” said Margarita Nieves, 69. “Until they fix that, they can’t keep telling people there’s no productivity.”— AP

Brazil’s beans export to Arab region exceeds $5.52 million DUBAI: The export of beans from Brazil to the Arab countries has surpassed $5.52 million for the period from January to July this year, increasing by over 276 per cent compared to $1.47 million for the same period in 2012, according to figures from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Egypt accounted for the biggest share of the bean exports, receiving $4.5 million worth of beans from Brazil, followed by Algeria, UAE and Lebanon at $930,000, $80,000 and $10,000 respectively.

For the period of January to July 2013, the total revenues for international sales of beans from Brazil accounted to $10.9 million. The export figures for the beans to the Arab nations marks a significant increase for this year, as there was a 23 per cent decline in sales in 2012 when compared to the previous years. In 2012, Egypt was the sole importer of the product among the Arab nations.

Dr Michel Alaby, Secretary General and CEO of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, said, “The significant increase in the export of Brazilian beans to the Arab nations clearly demonstrates the strategic importance of the Gulf region as a key food trade partner of Brazil. Even though Brazil does not export a considerable volume of beans compared to other food grains due to the high domestic consumption of beans, recent figures point out to the scope of further growth in export volumes in the near future.”

Originally from Africa, the beans of the caupi kind were introduced to Brazil during the colonial period and are cultivated mostly in the Savannah region of Brazil. The Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) has put in a lot of investment to develop research programs to produce a genetically improved quality of the beans for optimum yield to cater to the increasing demand of beans in the international market.

Imdaad Qatar grabs Blue Salon contract DUBAI: Imdaad Qatar, the Facilities Management (FM) company based in Qatar, has announced that it has secured a contract in the country with Blue Salon, a leading retailer and wholesale distributor of premium and luxury brands. Under the terms of the 5-year agreement, Imdaad Qatar will provide maintenance and cleaning services for over 50 Blue Saloon outlets across the country.

The partnership will be of great mutual benefit to both parties, as Imdaad Qatar is backed by its parent company’s more than 25 years of expertise in the FM field while Blue Salon is a high-profile client connected to renowned global brands such as Guess, Swarovski, Dunhill, Breitling, and Samsonite, to name a few.

The deal marks a major milestone for Imdaad Qatar, which was established in 2012 as a partnership between Imdaad, a premier provider of integrated FM solutions in the UAE, and Abuissa Holding (AIH), one of the most respected business conglomerates in the Middle East.

Imdaad Qatar aims to leverage the growing demand for specialized FM services in Qatar while complementing Imdaad’s regional expansion plans for 2012 to 2017.

“Imdaad Qatar is off to a great start with its contract with Blue Salon, an organization that is a household name in luxury within one of the world’s richest

consumer markets. This reflects the great trust and confidence that major players are willing to extend to the Imdaad brand. We look forward to more strategic partnerships that we will use as platforms to raise the bar for facilities management in Qatar and across the region,” said Jamal Abdulla Lootah, CEO, Imdaad.

Founded in 1981, Blue Salon epitomizes the best in Fashion, Watches, Jewelry, Perfumes and Cosmetics in Qatar. It currently manages over 55 retail outlets with plans to double the number in the next five years. More information on the company is available at http://www.bluesalon.com. Imdaad Qatar extends parent company Imdaad’s extensive experience in total facilities management services, soft services, recycling, waste management, power generator rentals and consultancy to the vibrant Qatari market.

Imdaad has gained a strong reputation in the region as an adopter and implementer of the latest FM technologies and practices. The company acquires eco-friendly equipment and prioritizes sustainability across all its operations. It also conducts recycling training for its clients, corporate partners and staff, in addition to providing free recycling bins in certain projects where it handles waste management and collection service.

CBK launches Concierge service to its Premium Credit Card holders KUWAIT: As part of its constant initiatives in providing new ser vices, CBK has launched the Concierge service to its premium cardholders in partnership with the Public Services Company with their well know brand “Yemnak” concierge service. It is a unique concierge service that aims to connect customers to a dedicated service representative and ensures to meet all their needs.

Customers have a choice from a large variety of services, such as Airport transportation, government transactions, flower

delivery and many more. CBK will be offering this service, complimentary for all its Premium Credit Cardholders namely Visa Infinite, Visa Platinum and MasterCard Platinum. Customers will be able to connect to a representative exclusive for CBK customers by calling the dedicated CBK customers line 22252230.

Paul Daoud/RBD General Manager stated that by introducing this service we aim to partner with the customer and help them to be at ease in accomplishing some of their important tasks that takes much of

their valuable time in their busy daily life, at CBK we always work to provide the best services for our customers, with this additional service, CBK cardholders will enjoy many benefits and value services as such Airport access to more than 600 airport business lounges, Free travel insurance and concierge services. CBK urges its customers to visit the website www.cbk.com to view the details of services offered, or visit any of the branches for more information regarding this service. The service will be active starting from October 1st 2013.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

technology

China web users slam giant Tiananmen vase BEIJING: A giant vase installed in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square ahead of a national holiday has met with scathing criticism from Chinese internet users after a newspaper revealed its cost on Sunday. An enormous psychedelic-looking red pot — 13 metres high and 11 metres in diameter-topped with huge fake flowers and imitation peaches was installed this week on the square, the symbolic centre of the Chinese state.

But it came at a cost of more than 570,000 yuan ($93,000), up 8,000 yuan from similar displays the previous two years, according to the state-run Beijing Youth Daily. The cost prompted critical comments among

Chinese internet users-even though the report said that the overall number of flowers used around Beijing for China’s National Day had halved. “Who permitted spending taxpayer’s money in this way?” one user of Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter, wrote.

Another user wrote: “570,000! That money could be put to much better use.” The report said that some money-saving measures, including the use of 800,000 small flower pots in the square and surrounding streets, compared to 1,000,000 last year, had been introduced.

China’s new President Xi Jinping has touted a campaign to reduce government waste, introducing a ban on new

government buildings and guidelines for banquets, after reports of corrupt officials indulging in wasteful lunches and unnecessary building projects.

A county in eastern China built a giant copper sculpture of a puffer fish at a cost of around 70 million yuan, reports said this week, arousing angry comments about government extravagance. Tiananmen Square usually gets a makeover ahead of China’s National Day which falls on October 1, and is a platform for the ruling Communist party to showcase its achievements and drum up nationalist sentiment.

The festival sees thousands of tourists from across

China descend on the square, where Mao’s preserved body is on display in a dedicated mausoleum. A yellow crane lowered a fresh image of Mao-albeit identical to its predecessor-which stares out over the square, into position on Saturday as guards watched on, pictures showed. The area around Tiananmen-which means “gate of heavenly peace”-has been the site of key events in Chinese history, including Mao’s announcement of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, and a government-led crackdown on student protesters in 1989 which saw hundreds, perhaps thousands, killed. — AFP

Fake online reviews get reality check WASHINGTON: Fake online products reviews have been around for years, fueled by unscrupulous marketers seeking to boost sales. But a recent crackdown by authorities in New York could be the shock needed for the online sector to clean up its act. The New York state attorney general’s office recently ordered 19 companies to halt these practices and pay fines totaling $350,000 to settle charges of manipulating online reviews for sites such as Yelp, Google+ and others.

The settlement stemmed from an undercover investigation in which officials created a fake yogurt shop in Brooklyn and sought help in marketing from so-called “search engine optimization” firms that work to boost a company’s online presence.

The investigators discovered online ads such as this one: “Hello... We need someone to post 1-2 reviews daily on sites like: Yelp, Google reviews, Citysearch and any other similar sites. We will supply the text/review... We are offering $1.00 dollar for every post.”

The companies hired writers from as far away as the Philippines, Bangladesh and Eastern Europe, according to the investigators. “Consumers rely on reviews from their peers to make daily purchasing decisions on anything from food and clothing to recreation and sightseeing,” state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. “This investigation into large-scale, intentional deceit across the Internet tells us that we should approach online reviews with caution. “ Growth in fake reviews While the extent of fake reviews is not clear, a 2012 report by the research firm Gartner concluded that between two and six percent of online reviews are “fake or deceptive,” and predicted this will grow to around 10 percent by 2014. The prevalence of fake reviews is due to the high stakes involved. The Gartner report said some 31 percent of consumers use online review because they find the opinions of a person like themselves to be more credible than advertising. Gartner said studies from a number of university researchers suggest that positive reviews can provide a shot in the arm for many kinds of businesses, from hotels to restaurants to doctors or lawyers.

“In the hospitality industry, you are more likely to see bookings go up when you have better ratings,” said Jenny Sussin, a Gartner analyst and co-author of the report. “For restaurants, a half-star increase in the review average can cause 7:00 pm bookings to go up 30 to 49 percent.”

Sussin said fake reviews can be used by small family operations to Fortune 500 companies. In addition to positive reviews, some fakes are negatives, often aimed at driving business to a competitor. She said the review business has turned into a cottage industry, with writers in places such as India or the Philippines paid as little as $1 to $5 per review. In other cases, some employees or customers are offered incentives

such as gift certificates for reviews, which is also considered deceptive or illegal.

Duncan Simester of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Eric Anderson of Northwestern University found that five percent of reviews for a major apparel maker came from people with no record of purchasing that product.

These questionable reviews were “significantly more negative” than the average, the researchers found, but the motivations were not clear. “These deceptive reviews are written by loyal customers,” they wrote in a research paper submitted to an academic journal. “One explanation for the data is that loyal customers may be acting as self-appointed brand managers... An alternative explanation is that the deceptive reviews are contributed by reviewers who seek to enhance their perceived social status.”

Yelp said recently its automatic filtering rejects about 25 percent of submitted reviews: “Yelp has been on guard against these very same reviews from our earliest days,” a blog post said. The US Federal Trade Commission has also issued fines in such cases, based on its guidance that any payment for reviews or testimonials must be disclosed. But Sussin said the New York case “is the biggest enforcement action we’ve seen” for this type of activity in the United States, and added that “this might deter people.”

Ending anonymity can ‘kill some of the truth’ Google recently stopped allowing anonymous reviews, in part due to concerns about fakery. But Dartmouth University marketing professor Yaniv Dover said there is a downside to ending anonymity, arguing that people may take fewer risks when their identities are known.

“When you kill anonymity and force these social dynamics, you kill some of the truth,” Dover said. “People tend to be more positive (if they are not anonymous). They don’t want to be perceived by their friends as negative.”

While fake reviews are not always easy to spot, there are warning signs. Sussin says that for hotels and restaurants, a lack of detail about the location could be a sign for caution. A reviewer who comments on multiple, unrelated products or services can also be suspicious. Excessive use of superlatives can also be a sign of faking, Gartner said.

Websites often raise flags when they get large numbers of reviews at one time, or if one IP address is tied to multiple reviews in a short time period. Despite the apparently large numbers of fake reviews, most researchers say the system still works fairly well. “The faking may be significant, but there are also market correction mechanisms,” Dover said. “Review systems are basically are a good thing. Any user-generated content can better match producers and consumers.” — AFP

CHIBA: Japan’s auto maker Honda Motor president Takanobu Ito rides a Moto GP machine, which boils water to explain a mechanism of cogeneration system, at the Ceatec electronics trade show in Chiba, Tokyo yesterday.

CHIBA: Japan’s electronics parts maker Rohm employee displays the wrist watch shaped pulse waves sensor at the Ceatec electronics trade show. — AFP photos

Tokyo gadget show offers peek into future Self-driving cars showcased CHIBA: A car that drives itself and glasses that translate a menu as you read it are some of the glimpses of tomorrow on offer at a gadget fair near Tokyo that began yesterday. The CuttingEdge IT & Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition (CEATEC) threw open its doors to thousands of visitors eager to sample the gizmos they will be using in future. The highlight for many is Japanese carmaker Nissan, which showcased self-driving cars that allow the driver to kick back and take their eyes off the road.

A series of sensors constantly monitors the carriageway and objects nearby, turning the wheel automatically to avoid obstacles. “Most accidents are caused by human error,” said Nissan in a release. Vehicle makers are working to integrate automobiles and houses, with the auto able to power the home-especially useful in times of blackouts caused by natural disasters. Honda is showing off a mock installation in which a motorbike powers a gigantic kettle.

“Welcome to the future garage that Honda has designed. This is how automobiles and communities will be connected,” said Honda president Takanobu Ito. Many firms have their eyes on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the possibilities their technologies could offer by then.

Public broadcaster NHK showed off an ultra high-definition 8K screen, which has around 8,000 pixels on each horizontal line.

“We plan to do experimental broadcasting in 8K by 2016 and we are currently trying our best to be ready to broadcast directly in 8K in 2020”, in time for the Tokyo Olympics, said NHK senior engineer Hironori Domen. Other electronics makers were displaying high-resolution 4K televisions, with Panasonic focusing on 4K devices including 20-inch tablets.

“We are displaying 20-inch 4K tablets, which make it possible to integrate what we have seen on paper prints, picture images and movie footage,” said Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga. “This is a potential that 4K displays have. Manufacturers will have to widen this potential beyond televisions.” Augmented

reality, three-dimensional renderings that seemingly exist in the real world, was a big theme at the fair in Chiba. Pioneer showcased new navigation systems that can direct drivers to vacant parking spots with signs that appear in front of them.

Car electronics maker Clarion has a chatty sat-nav capable of carrying on a conversation with the driver, and reminding him or her to take a break. “You have driven for a long time.

How about a cup of coffee? There is a nice cafe nearby that offers tasty sweets,” it says. The system, powered by Google, also finds restaurants by price bracket, offering suggestions when the driver tells it: “I would like a place where I can have lunch for 1,000 yen ($10).”

NTT Docomo demonstrated augmented reality spectacles that can translate a menu in real time. Its latest development combines cameras, computers and know-how to give the wearer a different view of what they are looking at. One function of the gadget overlays the wearer’s first language onto unfamiliar text, making signs and menus instantly understandable-a boon to travellers in Japan, where foreign-language menus are not commonly found off the tourist trail.

“Character-recognition technology enables instant language translation for users travelling abroad and reading restaurant menus and other documents,” Docomo said in a statement. Another application turns any flat surface into a touchscreen, with a finger ring relaying positioning information to the device that lets wearers “touch” tags that only they can see, perhaps to perform an Internet search. NTT Docomo said a user wearing the glasses and ring set could dispense with the need to carry a laptop or a tablet. Other uses include facial recognition that could look up someone’s identity and job title-from a smartphone’s directory. More than 580 companies are taking part in the trade show, which has brought exhibitors from 18 countries and territories. The show runs until Saturday. — AFP

CHIBA: Japan’s electronics giant Sharp unveils the prototype model of the health care chair which has various vital sensors of temperature, pulse waves, blood presure, body weight and others and communicate with health care experts. — AFP

Strap on your computer, wearable tech taking off SAN FRANCISCO: The digital domain is creeping off our desktops and onto our bodies, from music players that match your tunes to your heart beat, to mood sweaters that change color depending on your emotional state - blue for calm, red for angry. There are vacuum shoes that clean the floor while you walk and fitness bracelets, anklets and necklaces to track your calorie burning.

“Everyone agrees the race is just beginning, and I think we’re going to see some very, very big leaps in just the next year,” said tech entrepreneur Manish Chandra at a wearable technologyconference and fashion show in San Francisco Monday that was buzzing with hundreds of developers,

engineers and designers. Wearable technologies have long been a sideshow to mainstream laptop and smartphones, but this year Google’s glasses and rumors of Apple’s iWatch are popularizing the field. Analysts forecast swift growth.

Last year the market for wearable technology - encompassing everything from hearing aids to wristband pedometers totaled almost $9 billion. That should climb to $30 billion by 2018, said analyst Shane Walker at IHS Global Insights.

Humans have been wearing technology for centuries, from strapped-on compasses to pocket watches. The current surging industry is centered in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay area, where mostly smaller startups

SAN FRANCISCO: Claire Collins is given a demonstration of Optinvent ORA-S augmented reality glasses at the GLAZED Conference, a conference for the business of wearable technology. — AP

design their products locally and have them manufactured in Asia to take advantage of cheap labor. Monday’s conference was one of several focusing exclusively on wearable technology in recent years.

As wearable technologies proliferate, humans will need to adapt, said Georgia Tech professor Thad Starner. He advises Google on its glasses, which are lightweight frames equipped with a hidden camera and tiny display that responds to voice commands. Starner has worn his for several years.

“We’re talking about paradigm changing devices,” said Starner. “Capabilities that people haven’t thought of before.”

SAN FRANCISCO: Steven Sherman, project management director for HZO, gives a demonstration of the HZO Waterblock Technology as he places a tablet into water at the GLAZED Conference, a conference for the business of wearable technology. — AP

He said that, unlike computers and tablets that people engage with, wearable computers are designed to be in the background, secondary to the wearer’s attention.

“It seems like a paradox, but when you pull the technology closer to your body, there’s a seamless interaction, it’s more an extension of yourself,” he said.

But there are sure to be cultural and social issues. Google Glass - and some emerging competitors - have raised concerns of people who don’t want to be surreptitiously videoed or photographed. And what about interacting?

At Monday’s conference, attendees slipped on monitors that measured their heart rates and temperatures to reflect whether they really were enjoying a movie, and shot photos through their Google Glasses of Vibease, the world’s first wearable vibrator controlled by smartphones, promising long distance intimacy.

“Do you really want a touch screen on the front of your tshirt? Is it socially acceptable to be poked all over your body for somebody to use your wearable computer?” asked GeneviËve Dion, who directs a fashion and technology lab at Drexel University.

The answer, for some, is no.

In a newly released survey from Cornerstone OnDemand, 42 percent of workers said they would not be willing to strap on wearable tech for their jobs, with older and more traditional employees more reluctant than their counterparts. The survey polled 1,029 Americans aged 18 and over in August, and had a 3.1 percent margin of error.

And then there’s an issue of bandwidth, said Ritch Blasi, a consultant with SVP-Comunicano who researches the wearable technology market. At this point, there simply isn’t enough network service to support universal and constant wireless use, he said. But that too will catch up.

“It almost makes you think everyone is going to turn into a cyborg,” he said, referring to a fictional, prosthetic-laden high tech comic book superhero.

And will they?

“When you look at the world and everything people are doing?” said Blasi, pausing for a moment. “I think the answer to that is yes.”— AP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

New strategy could eliminate most unnecessary thyroid biopsies SAN FRANCISCO: Researchers are recommending a more selective approach to biopsy of thyroid nodules after finding that only three nodule characteristics found on thyroid ultrasound imaging were associated with the risk for thyroid cancer: microcalcifications, size greater than 2 cm, and an entirely solid composition.

“Compared with other existing guidelines, many of which are complicated to apply, following these simple, evidence-based guidelines would substantially decrease the number of thyroid biopsies in the United States, asserted study lead author Rebecca Smith-Bindman, MD, in a statement from the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF), where Bindman is a professor in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

“Right now, we’re doing far too many thyroid biop-

sies in patients who are really at very low risk of having thyroid cancer.” According to information in the UCSF statement, National Cancer Institute data indicate that an estimated 14,910 men and 45,310 women will have received a diagnosis of thyroid cancer in 2013 and that 1,850 of these patients will die as a result of the disease.

As Bindman and colleagues noted in JAMA Internal Medicine, the management of thyroid nodules identified on ultrasound imaging varies widely, and although thyroid nodules are common, most (98.4%) are benign. “[This highlights] the importance of being prudent in deciding which nodules should be sampled to reduce unnecessary biopsies,” wrote Bindman’s group. “Adoption of uniform standards for the interpretation of thyroid sonograms would be a first step toward standardizing the diagnosis and

treatment of thyroid cancer and limiting unnecessary diagnostic testing and treatment.”

The investigators’ retrospective case-control study of patients who underwent thyroid ultrasound imaging from January 2000 through March 2005 showed that a total of 8,806 persons were given 11,618 thyroid ultrasound examinations during the study period. Of those patients, 105 subsequently received a diagnosis of thyroid cancer.

Thyroid nodules were common among persons who were given a thyroid cancer diagnosis (96.9%), and also in patients who were not (56.4%). The only nodule-related ultrasound findings associated with the risk for thyroid cancer were microcalcifications larger than 2 cm and solid rather than cyst-like in composition.

Bindman’s team determined that if one of those characteristics was to be used as an indication for

biopsy, most cases of thyroid cancer would be detected (sensitivity 88%), with a high false-positive rate (44%) and a low positive likelihood ratio (2.0), and 56 biopsies would be performed for each cancer diagnosis. If two of the characteristics were required for biopsy, the sensitivity rate would be lower (52%) but so would the false-positive rate (7%), the positive likelihood ratio would be higher (7.1), and only 16 biopsies would be performed per cancer diagnosis. “Compared with performing biopsy of all thyroid nodules larger than 5 mm, adoption of this more stringent rule requiring two abnormal nodule characteristics to prompt biopsy would reduce unnecessary biopsies by 90% while maintaining a low risk of cancer (5 per 1,000 patients for whom biopsy is deferred),” concluded the authors, who added that their results should be validated in a larger, prospective cohort. — AP

American teens’ dangerous obsession with ‘thigh gap’ Latest weight loss craze

DARFUR: A food supplement for malnourished children, composed of corn, soy, wheat, sugar and oil, donated by the World Food Program, is prepared by volunteers in the Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced persons, El-Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan. Every child under three years old and those with moderate malnutrition up to six years old can receive this supplement. Pregnant and lactating women can also receive the mixture for several months. —- AP

War on illegal drugs ‘failing’ PARIS: The global war on heroin, cocaine and cannabis is failing to stem supply, as prices of these drugs have tumbled while seizures of them have risen, according to a study published yesterday.

Researchers analysed data from seven government-funded programmes that tracked the illegal drug market over more than a decade.

Three of the programmes monitored international drugs trafficking; three focused on the United States; and one tracked the drugs business in Australia.

The prices of heroin, cocaine and cannabis tumbled by 81 percent, 80 percent and 86 percent respectively between 1990 and 2007 in the United States when adjusted for inflation, the researchers found. Over the same period, the average purity of these drugs rose by 60 percent, 11 percent and 161 percent respectively.

In 18 European countries, the street price of cocaine and heroin fell by 51 and 74 percent between 2000 and 2009. Neither the purity of drugs seized in Europe nor the price of cannabis on the continent was given in the study. In Australia, meanwhile, the inflationadjusted price of cocaine fell by 14 percent between 2000 and 2010, and that of heroin and cannabis by 49 percent.

“During this time, seizures of these drugs in major domestic markets generally increased,” said the study’s authors, led by Evan Wood of the Urban Health Research Initiative in Vancouver, Canada.

“With few exceptions... illegal drug prices have generally decreased while drug purity has generally increased since 1990,” they added. The global supply of illicit drugs had likely not been reduced in the last two decades, the study said, and the availability of cannabis and opiates like heroin may even have increased.

“These findings suggest that expanding efforts at controlling the global illegal drug market though law enforcement are failing,” said the paper published in the open-access journal BMJ Open. The findings coincide with debate in several countries about whether to loosen laws on certain drugs.

Uruguay in August took a step towards becoming the world’s first nation to produce and distribute marijuana after its lower house of parliament approved a bill putting control of the drug in government hands.

In a 2011 report, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimated the global illegal drug trade to be worth at least $350 billion (259 billion euros) annually. — AFP

American chef turns to Mexico for inspiration NEW YORK: As a promising chef known for his inventive pastries, American chef Alex Stupak took an unexpected turn and sought Mexican food as inspiration for his two restaurants in New York City.

After working for chefs like Grant Achatz and Wylie Dufresne, both leaders in molecular gastronomy, Stupak opened Empellon Taqueria in 2011, followed by Empellon Cocina. His spins on traditional Mexican fare such as tacos and a melted cheese dish called fundidos have won praise.

The 33-year-old, who grew up in Leominister, Massachusetts, spoke about striking out on his own and his desire to own a three-star Michelin Mexican restaurant.

Q: You were known for your ultra-modern desserts. Why did you decide to open two Mexican restaurants?

A: For me to open up a restaurant of third-generation molecular gastronomy, I would be doing what people were expecting me to do. I would have considered it a tremendous failure. I believe creativity is about doing something that’s unexpected.

For me, rather than opening some pastrydriven, modernist restaurant, I found it far more compelling to focus on the cuisine I honestly love eating the most, which is Mexican cuisine.

Q: Were you surprised by the reaction to your decision?

A: It was difficult at first because everything I had expected to happen happened, which was people critiqued me for it or didn’t understand why I would do that. They thought I was taking a step back or thought it was me taking the easy way out. There was a ton of absurdity to it. I’m very much an anarchist and a nihilist and I believe that people are basically sheep. They govern most of their decisions out of fear. I try my hardest to fight against that.

Q: Why do you think some people reacted that way?

A: Unfortunately when people think of Mexican food in the United States they think of one thing which is a taco. I kind of want to begin there. You want to build a serious kitchen with serious cooks that make tacos.

Can you do that? Can you build a taqueria that uses good ingredients. Those are very important things to me.

Q: How did you conceptualize your idea of refined Mexican dishes?

A: Neither of my restaurants are traditional or authentic in any way. They are arguably not even Mexican restaurants. They are American restaurants. At the end of the day, what I try to do is to find a point of inspiration in Mexican cooking. I don’t believe in trying to replicate something I had in Mexico. I just think it would be a futile act.

What’s most important to me is creativity and working on new things.

Q: Did you always want to be a chef?

A: I wanted to be chef when I was 8 to 9 years old. I knew at a pretty young age. In the household I grew up in, my dad did all the cooking. My mom did not. My dad was the first person who taught me how to use salt or chop a garlic glove. I actually got a job as a dishwasher when I was 12. I just did that so I could get into the kitchen to peel potatoes, carrots or whatever food they let me touch.

Q: Where do you see yourself five years from now?

A: I would like more restaurants. I would like to work on arestaurant that will earn three Michelin stars for Mexican food. I would like to build a restaurant that doesn’t serve wine. I would like to build a restaurant that serves only mezcal (a Mexican liquor). I would like to structure a meal in a unique way like they do in Mexico. —- Reuters

WASHINGTON: It’s the latest weight loss craze among American teens striving to emulate the models they see in magazines: the “thigh gap”, in which slender legs, when standing with feet together, do not touch. Experts say the cost of what teens see as an ideal body shape-but really is for most unattainable-is self-esteem problems that can lead to eating disorders, depression and even suicide.

On Tumblr, Pinterest and Facebook, “thigh gap” photos abound: close-ups of sometimes unbearably skinny legs published by young girls eager to show off their success-or bemoan what they see as a failure to whittle away fat.

“My thigh gap is huge,” brags a Tumblr user with the handle foster-the-beatles.

Another user, skinnysizezero, cheers her fellow dieters on, saying: “Together we can lose weight. Together we can be skinny.”

“Together we can be a size zero with a beautiful thigh gap and flat stomach. Together we can be happy and finally say that we love our bodies,” her post pledges.

Another poster, elleskyyy, said she felt better when she “realized I’m getting a thigh gap.”

Meanwhile, a user called “starving for perfection” complained about her “mediocre/nonexistent thigh gap” and flagellated herself for her “fatfatfatfat.”

Experts say the obsession with leg shape is not new, but has been dramatically amplified by social media websites and their 24/7 influence on the lives of American teens.

The fan Twitter account Cara’s Thigh Gap, is dedicated to the extreme slenderness of British model Cara Delevingne, while dozens of Facebook pages and websites propose diets and exercise regimes to achieve the almighty gap.

But clinical psychologist Barbara Greenberg warned that for most women, the “thigh gap” is a pipe dream, even via extreme dieting and exercise. “Most women are not built that way to have that space between their thighs,” she said.

“It is a matter of bone structure,” she explained, which “the majority of women do not have.”

For teenagers, adopting what Greenberg called an “unrealistic obsession” can be dangerous-increasing pressures that can lead to depression, even suicidal behavior, as well as to severe eating disorders, which can cause lasting brain and bone damage. Indeed, starvation diets-and self-loathing-are a common theme on the “thigh gap” pages of young girls.

“Yesterday i had 380 calories but then i ate candys so much that my calorie number switch to ca. 650.... faaaaaaaaaaaaaat,” writes Anastasia, a young German girl, on Tumblr, who prays: “Please God let me be skinny.”

The World Health Organization recommends a daily intake of around 2,500 calories to support the energy needs of a growing teenage girl.

Shannon Snapp, a sociologist at the University of Arizona, blames magazines, movies and television for spreading the “thin ideal,” and urges consumers to stop buying into it.

“That message is internalized by young women and girls: if you want to be successful, if you want to be liked, this is the way you should look,” Snapp said-”thin everywhere except for their breasts.”

“Teenage girls are probably the most likely to be feeling the pressure to look that particular way, because they are going through puberty: for the first time, they are compared to adult women,” she added.

Likewise, San Jose State University sociologist Natalie Boero said the skinny-obsessed “are looking for social acceptance and to fit in.”

“Young women are aware that in a sexist and sizeist culture, their bodies are their currency, and they are looking to increase their perceived social value,” she added.

That’s not how the teenagers themselves always see it, however. One girl, “mannddda,” declares on Tumblr: “I hate when people tell me I’m dumb for wanting a thigh gap and to be skinny. It’s not for anyone else but ME. I wanna look in the mirror and be happy for MYSELF & NO ONE ELSE.” But sociologists say there is an unmistakable trend linking body size with social status.

Abigail Saguy, a body image expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, said: “Attaining thinness is a way of signaling elite social status.” But, worse than that, “fatness not only connotates low social status, but it may predict low social status.”

“Studies show that heavier girls and women are less likely to get hired and when they are hired, they are paid less,” Saguy said, adding that

HOLLYWOOD: A young woman carrying a pizza walks down Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, recently. It’s the latest weight loss craze among American teens striving to emulate the models they see in magazines: the “thigh gap”, in which slender legs, when standing with feet together, do not touch. — AFP larger women are also less likely to marry.

However, a counter-movement against the “thigh gap” is building, with girls also taking to social media to mock the obsession.

One YouTube video, “5 Ways to Fake a Thigh Gap,” posted by “tadelesmith,” suggests, for

example, that girls who want a gap between their thighs should move their legs apart.

And on Twitter, Common White Girl declares herself relieved that her thighs touch, saying: “Not having a thigh gap saved my phone from falling in the toilet.” — AP

Homework involved to apply for health insurance WASHINGTON: Getting covered under President Barack Obama’s health care law might take you more than one sitting. In a media preview, it felt like a cross between doing your taxes and making an important purchase that requires research. “Nothing like this has ever existed before,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

You’ll need accurate income information for your household, plus some understanding of how health insurance works, so you can get the financial assistance you qualify for and pick a health plan that’s right for your needs.

The process involves federal agencies electronically verifying your identity, citizenship and income, and you have to sign that you are providing truthful information, subject to perjury laws. You heard it was going to be like buying airline tickets online? Not quite. But even if it triggers some anxiety, it’s not the government poking into your medical records, as “Obamacare” foes have suggested.

After state health insurance markets open Tuesday, people who don’t have health care on the job can apply online, via a call center, in person or by mail. Trained helpers are supposed to be available, but there may not be enough of them in every state. Foreign language interpreters are available through the call centers.

The main steps are: Identify yourself and your family members.

Provide current information on income, jobs and any available health insurance options.

• Learn how much financial assistance you’re entitled to.

• Shop for a health plan and enroll.

Many people will qualify for tax credits to help buy a private insurance plan. The government will send money directly to your insurer, and you’ll make arrangements to pay any remaining premium.

The poor and near-poor will be steered to Medicaid in states that agree to expand that program. Here’s an overview of what to expect applying online, with tips: Go to healthcare.gov and click on “Get Insurance.” The site has links to every state market. You’ll set up an account and password.

You’ll provide your contact information and the best way to reach you.

Tip - Treat your password like a bank account or credit card password.

Now you can tackle the actual application.

You’ll need birth dates and Social Security numbers for yourself and other family members listed on your federal tax return.

You’ll also be asked if you’re a citizen. Legal immigrants will need their immigration docu• •

ments. Tip - You don’t have to plow through the entire application at once. You can save your work and come back later.

Next, you’ll be asked about income.

You may need your most recent tax return, pay stubs and details on other kinds of income, such as alimony, pensions and rents. You can still apply if you haven’t filed a tax return. You’ll also be asked about access to health insurance through your job. You may be required to take that insurance if available.

Your personal and income details will be routed through a new government entity called the data services hub, which will ping agencies like Social Security, Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service for verification. The feds will also rely on a major private credit reporting company to verify income and employment.

How smoothly all this works is one of the big unknowns. It could get tedious if discrepancies take time to resolve.

Tip - Provide the most accurate estimate of your expected income for 2014. Lowball the number, and you might see a smaller tax refund in 2015. Overestimate and you won’t get as big a tax credit now.

Most people applying will qualify for a tax credit to help pay premiums. The credits are based on your income and keyed to the premium for a benchmark plan known as the “second-lowest cost silver plan” in your area.

With your tax credit, you can finally shop for insurance. Be aware that you’ll probably have to live with your decision until the next annual enrollment period.

You’ll have up to four levels of coverage to consider: bronze, silver, gold and platinum.

Plans at every “metal level” cover the same benefits and have a cap of $6,350 a year in out-ofpocket expenses for an individual, $12,700 for families.

Bronze plans generally have the lowest premiums, but cover only 60 percent of medical costs on average. Policyholders will pay the difference, up to the annual out of pocket cap.

Platinum plans have the highest premiums, but cover 90 percent of costs. Young adults up to age 30 can pick a skinny “catastrophic” plan but you can’t use your tax credit on a catastrophic plan.

Tip - Make sure your doctors and hospitals are in the plan you pick. You’ll have to check the plan’s own website, or better still, call your doctor.

Tip - Your share of the premium could be lower - even zero - if you apply your tax credit to a bronze plan. It’s because the credit is keyed to the cost of a silver plan, which is generally more expensive.—AP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Heavy losses from citrus greening Asian bacteria threatens Florida oranges WASHINGTON: Citrus production in Florida, the world’s second largest orange juice supplier after Brazil, is being threatened by a bacteria from Asia that has scientists racing for a remedy.

Known as citrus greening, the disease makes oranges bitter and fall from the tree before they can ripen.

A bacteria left behind by a tiny insect called an Asian citrus psyllid deprives nutrients from the trees. The disease can remain latent for five years before it begins to show its effects, and by then it is often too late, said Greg Carlton, chief of the bureau of pest eradication and control at the Department of Agriculture in Florida.

“Through the years we have seen more and more insects and disease,” said Carlton, who has watched the problem balloon since it first arose in 2006. “Last year about 20 percent of our fruits dropped on the ground. And we will start the harvest season in a few weeks-we are not sure whether we will get that drop again.”

In the 1990s, Florida citrus growers produced more than 200 million boxes, but this year that is expected to drop to 133 million, he said. Official forecasts are due October 11.

Meanwhile, the costs of producing the fruit have more than doubled, from a cost of $800 an acre to $1,900 per acre in recent years, due to the high costs of controlling the pest.

“If we don’t find a cure, it will eliminate the citrus industry in Florida,” said Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Florida.

“And we will end up paying $5 for an orangeand it’ll have to be one imported from someplace else.” Nelson helped garner $11 million in federal aid to finance research against the dis-

ease. The citrus industry generates $9 billion a year and nearly 76,000 jobs in Florida, making it an important economic engine for the southern state. The disease has already cost $4.5 billion and 8,200 jobs since 2006, said Michael Sparks, chief executive officer of the Florida Citrus Mutual, citing a study done at the University of Florida. “We have been hit hard, but we have put our full faith in our future into research. In fact, in the last seven years we have spent nearly $70 million in research,” he said.

Growers have cut down vast numbers of infected trees and are using insecticides more frequently, as well as providing nutrients to bolster the trees’ health.

Sparks described these as “significant” changes that “we believe will keep us on course until a solution has been identified.”

Florida of course is not alone in facing heavy losses from citrus greening. Texas and California have also struggled with their oranges, grapefruit and lemons. Greening has also hit Brazil-the top orange producer in the world-along with other countries. US and Brazilian experts are sharing resources in the hopes of finding a way to eradicate the bacteria.

“People are thinking of making engineered plants that are resistant, like GMO-citrus,” said Abhaya Dandekar, a molecular biologist at the University of California, Davis.—AFP

X Rhino horn poaching hits new record in South Africa JOHANNESBURG: The number of rhinos killed by poachers has hit a new annual record in South Africa, raising worries of a downward population spiral in a country that is home to almost all of Africa’s rhinos.

As of the end of September, 704 rhinos had been killed by poachers in South Africa, exceeding the annual record of 668 set in 2012, according to data provided by the Environmental Affairs ministry yesterday.

If the trend keeps at its current pace, more than 1,000 rhinos would be killed in 2014, putting the species on the brink of a population decline that the ministry has said could lead to the end of wild rhinos in about a decade. The greatest threat to the estimated 22,000 rhinos in South Africa comes from those trying to cash in on the black market value of their horn, which sells at prices higher than gold. Many of the poachers come from neighboring Mozambique and sell the horn to crime syndicates to feed rapidly rising demand in Southeast Asia, where the horn is thought by some to cure cancer and tame hangovers.

“We need people to be ashamed of this.

The fact that our rhinos are killed is because there is a market out there. There are people who are coming to steal our heritage,” said Fundisile Mketeni, a top biodiversity official at the ministry. He said a baby boom among rhino stocks is softening the blow, while the ministry has mounted a global campaign to shut the doors for illegal exports to places such as Vietnam, China and Thailand, which are the main consumers of the contraband.

ARMS RACE Most of the killings are taking place in the flagship Kruger National Park, which borders Mozambique. The park covers an area about the size of Israel and has been the focus of an arms race between poachers and rangers. The park service has been turning its rangers into soldiers, using drones to patrol airspace and sending out crack units by helicopter once suspected poachers have been sighted. “The poaching syndicates are determined to carry on with their nefarious acts, using the poverty that is prevalent in Mozambique and South Africa to recruit poachers,” said Ike Phaahla, a spokesman with South African National Parks.

Up until about 2010, only a handful of rhinos were poached but the number shot up when rumors circulated at about that time that a Vietnamese minister’s relative was cured of cancer by the horn. There is no basis in science to support the claim. In traditional Chinese medicine, the horn was used to treat maladies from rheumatism to devil possession. Now, many newly rich Vietnamese consume it after a hard night of partying. Rhino horn, once seen as a treatment only for royalty, is being swallowed by a small segment of the Vietnamese population who can afford prices of about $65,000 a kilogram, conservation groups say. Due to the high costs, much of the so-called rhino horn sold at pharmacies in major cities is fake, with buffalo horn the main substitute.

“There is a small group who have the money for rhino horn. —Reuters

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 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

Biman Bangladesh country manager honored with award

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.

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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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angladeshi community Kulaura Social Welfare Origination Kuwait branch’s members met with Biman Bangladesh country manager Dibankar Dewanjee at his office and honored him

with an award. KSWO President Shakh Nizamur Rahman Tipu, General Secretary Poet Md Abdul Salam, Advisor Md Alom Selim Nayor Ali, and member Babul were present

Enjoy the taste of true Espresso at Vergnano Cafe at Olympia Complex

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he superior quality of the blends comes from the meticulous selection of the best raw materials available, and from an extraordinary production process. Cafe Vergnano is the first to introduce an innovation that brings all the passion and pleasure of the perfect

espresso to everyday life at home.

Espresso is now available in Kuwait, through Al-Sanabel Al-Thahabiya Est. Tel: 22413795/98. Espresso Vergnano can be ordered through www.taw9eel.com Espresso Vergnano capsules are compatible with other espresso machines.

ICS hosts ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’

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ndian Cultural Society is going to host “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” with King of Comedy Raju Srivastav and leading playback singer Javed Ali on Friday, October 4 at 7 pm at AIS Auditorium Maidan Hawally near police station Kuwait.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds showrooms touch century mark

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Prathibha Kuwait conducts literary meet ew generation writers are searching the ideas from the disturbance and feelings, says Prathibha Kuwait, an association of Malayalam writers in Kuwait. It conducted 30th monthly meeting at Fahaheel. PN Jyothidas released ìOnamî, its little magazine for the month of September by handing over a copy to Jawahar K Engineer, editor-in-charge. Jyothidas presented a paper on ìManjî (Mist), a novelette written by MT Vasudevan Nair, famous Malayalam writer. Abdul Latheef Neeleswaram presided the function. Preman Illath, Jawahar K Engineer and KM Reaz participated in the discussions. Articles are invited for the next issue of the little magazine to prathibhakwt@gmail.com, prathibhakwt@yahoo.com. Discussions will be held on the articles during the monthly meeting.

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Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

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rare privilege not just for Malabar Gold & Diamonds, but for the worldwide retail jewelry sector, was attained with the grand inauguration of the brand’s 100th showroom at sector 43, Gold Souk, Gurgaon on Saturday, September 28, 2013. The world-class showroom was inaugurated by cricket legend and Padma Bhushan Kapil Dev in the presence of Malabar Group chairman MP Ahammed, Group Executive Director Asher O, Directors and distinguished guests.

Celebrating 20 glorious years of business with 100 retail outlets and 10 wholesale divisions in India and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, structured on a robust and holistic base, is managed by a 7,000 strong team and supported by 1,600 investors. With a turnover of Rs 22,000 crores, it is among the leading international jewelry brands.

“The 20th anniversary celebration is dedicated to our customers as a thank you gesture for appreciating our innovations and pioneering efforts, in jewelry retail, for the last two decades. As part of this, we will be offering customers exclusive privileges during the 23 days celebrations,” said Ahammed. To mark this achievement, the jeweler announced free gold medal offers throughout GCC

and India. Around 400,000 medals are planned to be distributed to its customers as gifts for purchases. The customers can avail the free gold medals with every jewelry purchase worth AED 3,000 or equivalent and above. This offer is valid until October 20.

In the newly opened showroom, Malabar Gold & Diamonds showcases an extensive range of collections such as Ethnix - hand crafted designer jewelry, Era - uncut diamond jewelry, Divine Indian heritage jewelry, Starlet - specially designed for kids and the Precia - a collection of precious gems jewelry.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds also has an exclusive collection of stunning diamond jewelry under its Mine collection.

Besides, the showroom displays silver articles and premium national and international watch brands like Rado, Tissot, Titan, and Fastrack among others.

Following the inauguration of Gurgaon showroom and commencement of the 20th anniversary celebrations, Ahammed spoke about the company’s expansion plans which will be focused on more exclusive clientele from across the globe.

“We have chalked out a long-term strategy to attract more and more young men and women and to widen our product offerings to a more global audience.

APAK to celebrate Onam

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ngamaly Pravasi Association Kuwait (APAK) is a registered association in Kuwait with the Indian Embassy in Kuwait, having more than 500 family members. APAK is aimed in promoting socio-cultural activities and create harmony among Indian families especially Keralites living in Kuwait.

APAK is planning to celebrate national festival “Onam” on Friday, October 4, 2013 at Indian Central School Auditorium, Abbassiya at 10:30 am till 5:00 pm. The Chief Guest is V J Kurian Managing Director of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL).

Famous film/comedy artists Saju Kodiyan and Sajan Palluruthy team from Kerala will attend the event and lead the Onam

programs. A musical concert leads by famous playback singers and team will entertain the crowd along with various Dance events performed by the leading stage artists.

APAK advisory board Chairman Jacob Pynadath inaugurated and Releasing the Onam 2013 flyer hand over to programme committee Convenor Johnson Ouesph. President Bacon Joseph presided the meeting. General Secretary Martin Kurian welcomed the meeting and Treasurer Sajeev Paul delivered vote of thanks. Saju Geo Thachil, Nigi paily and Jose Augusthy addressed the meeting.

The company is embodying a change to help scale greater heights and to serve discerning customers better. As a step in this direction, Pink chic - the new mini boutique, Everafter - wedding bands and Valent- men’s brand will be launched during the span of the 20th anniversary celebrations. We are looking at a younger and more elite crowd that has a strong affinity towards the latest trends.

Malabar’s new avatar in verticals is all set to create a mark within this niche.” said Ahammed.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony Kapil Dev said, “I would like to congratulate Ahammed and the entire team at Malabar on this golden century. Malabar Gold & Diamonds, with their deep-rooted business ethics and the goodwill that they have created over the years, is sure to go a long way, both in India and in global markets. I wish them all the best.”

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Harley-Davidson Open House in Kuwait introduces 2014 line-up

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

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arley-Davidson Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has announced its 2013 schedule for the Open House Days in MENA region under the theme “Come Together, Change Lives” as it gathers riders in support of the United Nations World Food Programme for the third consecutive year while unveiling the iconic new 2014 models.

The Open House will be held on the October weekend falling between the 24th and 27th, and will be attended by Harley and non-Harley riders in countries across the GCC, Levant and North Africa. As in 2012, the Open House will feature a parade ride to build camaraderie and community while coming together for an excellent cause. In Kuwait, the “Come Together, Change Lives” Open House will be held on October 25.

The line up will include motorcycles by Project RUSHMORE, a comprehensive effort by HarleyDavidson to fundamentally improve every aspect of the riding experience for owners of its Touring motorcycles. After years of imagining, planning, styling and

engineering, and countless hours of riding with and talking to its customers, Harley-Davidson’s Project RUSHMORE presents the full range of 2014 Touring and Trike models that are smart, comfortable, responsive and simply stunning.

“Come Together, Change Lives” event will take place in support of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, which feeds over 90 million people in 80 countries on average each year. Riders will be invited to purchase Harley-Davidson pins, with proceeds going to WFP. “We are delighted to be able to welcome riders and non-riders to Harley-Davidson’s 2013 Open House, where we will introduce them to our new 2014 models.

This year, we are particularly excited because we’re unveiling new motorcycles upgraded by the customerdriven Project RUSHMORE, which transforms the riding experience through category-leading technologies.

And as in previous years, the community of riders in

Kuwait will join up for a celebratory ride while also coming together to support the fight against child hunger,” said Elsa Abi Nader, Harley-Davidson Marketing Manager for MENA. 2014 is an exciting year for Harley-Davidson Motor Company; as it reveals a new motorcycle line that includes seven Touring, Trike and Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) models transformed by Project RUSHMORE, a customer-driven effort by HarleyDavidson to fundamentally improve every aspect of the riding experience. Additionally there is a limitedproduction factory-custom CVO Softail Deluxe model, the restyled Dyna Fat Bob model, and the introduction of ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) for all Sportster models (excluding Iron 883). With additional enhancements across its motorcycle product range, Harley-Davidson enters 2014 poised to retain its position as America’s leading motorcycle manufacturer.

EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Embassy of Australia has announced that Kuwait citizens can apply for and receive visit visas in 10 working days through www.immi.gov.au. All other processing of visas and Immigration matters are handled by the Australian Visa Application Centre located in Al Banwan Building, 4B, 1st Floor, Al Qibla Area, Ali Al Salem Street, Kuwait City. Visit. www.vfs-augcc.com for more info. The Embassy of Australia does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters is conducted by the Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: Info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VIS), immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office), Tel: +971 4 205 5900 (VFS), Fax: + 971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). Notary and passport services are available by appointment. Appointments can be made by calling the Embassy on 22322422. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-imenquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF GREECE The Embassy of Greece in Kuwait has the pleasure to announce that visa applications must be submitted to Schengen Visa Application Centre (VFS office) located at 12th floor, Al-Naser Tower, Fahad Al-Salem Street, Al-Qibla area, Kuwait City, (Parking at Souk Watia). For information please call 22281046 from 08:30 to 17:00 (Sunday to Thursday). Working hours: Submission from 08:30 to 15:30. Passport collection from 16:00 to 17:00. For visa applications please visit the following website www.mfa.gr/kuwait.

AUK Professor Mohsen Bagnied discusses economic implications of Arab Spring

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r Mohsen Bagnied, Chairman of the Department of Marketing and Management, College of Business and Economics, presented his latest research contribution in the 2013 Inaugural International Conference on Leadership, Management and Strategic Development. The conference was organized by the Global Institute for Leadership and Management Development on May 13-15 at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) in Saint Thomas. In his paper, “Economic Implications of the Arab Spring: A Framework for Future Development”, Dr Bagnied and Dr Mark Speece (the coauthor of the paper) proposed a framework which can guide policy in the Arab Spring countries toward sustainable development and economic reform. The paper touches briefly on the implications of the proposed model in Egypt,considered by the authors to be the most important Arab Spring country because of its traditional leading role in the Arab world.

The conference was followed by UVI’s 18th Global Leadership Development Course, which included presentations

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EMBASSY OF INDIAN The Embassy of India will remain closed on the following dates during the month of October 2013.

Oct 2, 2013, Wednesday - Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, Oct 13, 2013, SundayDussehra (Vijaya Dashami), Holiday for Eid ul Zuha will be intimated after declaration of the same. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF US

by Scholars from different parts of the world. Representing Kuwait, Dr. Bagnied gave a talk on global leadership as it concerns US involvement in world affairs. Dr Bagnied stressed the importance of genuine involvement in human sufferings from a global perspective.

“We need to fight for peace everywhere not just here,” he said “We need to fight for people in Burma and Syria or the

same things that are happening there will come here.” When asked about the way to establish global awareness among American youth, Dr Bagnied pointed to education as the gateway to establishing “dynamic leadership among communities.”

Alongside his scholarly contribution, Dr Bagnied chaired three conference sessions on different topics related to

leadership development. He was also featured in a morning radio show in Virgin Island, where he discussed his research, and talked about life in Kuwait.

“I was proud to follow the reactions on my radio interview and find that some followers have actually expressed interest in visiting Kuwait,” said Dr Bagnied.

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 BHUTAN The Royal Bhutanese Embassy in the State of Kuwait would like to inform all concerned that its chancery has shifted to its new premises in South Surra, Al-Salaam, Block 3, Street 308, House 3. Telephone:2521360125213602,Fax: 25213603 and Email: bhutankuwait@gmail.com.

The 1st and 2nd prize winners of floral carpet competition organized by Kalpak, Kuwait pose before the design, last Friday at United Indian School, Jleeb.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

03:15 04:05 04:30 04:55 05:20 05:45 06:35 07:00 07:25 08:15 09:10 10:05 11:00 11:55 12:20 12:50 13:45 Baker 14:40 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:25 17:50 18:20 19:15 19:40 20:10 20:35 21:05 22:00 22:25 22:55 23:50 00:45 01:35 02:25

Bondi Vet ER Vets ER Vets Animal Battlegrounds Baboons With Bill Bailey Roaring With Pride Call Of The Wildman Monkey Life Bondi Vet The Most Extreme Your Pet Wants This Big Five Challenge Animal Cops Houston Animal Battlegrounds Call Of The Wildman Wild Animal Repo Weird Creatures With Nick Big Five Challenge Baboons With Bill Bailey Monkey Life The Most Extreme Talk To The Animals Talk To The Animals Pandamonium Monkey Life Call Of The Wildman Animal Battlegrounds Baboons With Bill Bailey Big Five Challenge Amazon Abyss Amazon Abyss Mekong: Soul Of A River Animal Cops Houston Crime Scene Wild Untamed & Uncut Big Five Challenge

03:15 03:45 04:15 05:00 05:20 05:35 05:45 06:00 06:15 06:35 06:50 07:00 07:15 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:15 09:45 10:15 11:05 11:55 12:25 13:10 13:40 14:10 14:40 15:30 16:25 17:10 17:40 18:10 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:50 21:20 22:05 Story 22:55 23:40 00:15 00:45 01:15 01:45 02:15

Rev. Last Of The Summer Wine The Weakest Link Tweenies Boogie Beebies The Large Family Nina And The Neurons Jackanory Junior Tweenies Boogie Beebies The Large Family Nina And The Neurons Jackanory Junior Last Of The Summer Wine Roger & Val Have Just Got In The Weakest Link Eastenders Doctors Himalaya With Michael Palin New Tricks Last Of The Summer Wine The Weakest Link Roger & Val Have Just Got In Eastenders Doctors New Tricks Himalaya With Michael Palin The Weakest Link Eastenders Doctors New Tricks One Foot In The Grave Dead Boss Mistresses Lead Balloon Alan Carr: Chatty Man Steve Coogan: The Inside

03:10 03:35 04:05 04:50 05:35 06:30 07:00

Design Rules Great British Menu Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt Britain’s Dream Homes Great British Menu Extreme Makeover: Home

Bedlam Gavin & Stacey One Foot In The Grave Dead Boss Eastenders Doctors Alan Carr: Chatty Man

Edition 07:40 Bargain Hunt 08:25 Homes Under The Hammer 09:20 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 09:45 Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey 10:35 Come Dine With Me 11:25 Celebrity MasterChef 12:20 Celebrity MasterChef 12:45 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 13:25 Antiques Roadshow 14:20 Holmes On Homes 15:50 Bargain Hunt 16:35 Cash In The Attic 17:20 Antiques Roadshow 18:15 Homes Under The Hammer 19:10 Food & Drink 19:40 Food Glorious Food 20:30 Come Dine With Me 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Cash In The Attic 23:45 Homes Under The Hammer 00:40 Come Dine With Me 01:30 Celebrity MasterChef 02:25 Britain’s Dream Homes

03:00 Mythbusters 03:50 Border Security - Series 6 Specials 04:15 Auction Hunters 04:40 Baggage Battles 05:05 How Do They Do It? 05:30 How It’s Made 06:00 Sons Of Guns 07:00 Mythbusters 07:50 Yukon Men 08:40 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior 09:30 Border Security - Series 6 Specials 09:55 Auction Hunters 10:20 Baggage Battles 10:45 How Do They Do It? 11:10 How It’s Made 11:35 Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell 12:25 Ed Stafford: Naked And Marooned 13:15 Car vs Wild 14:05 Border Security - Series 6 Specials 14:30 Auction Hunters 14:55 Baggage Battles 15:20 Finding Bigfoot 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 Baggage Battles 21:10 How Do They Do It? 21:35 How It’s Made 22:00 Ben Earl: Trick Artist 22:50 The Big Brain Theory 23:40 Mythbusters 00:30 Ben Earl: Trick Artist 01:20 The Big Brain Theory 02:10 Mythbusters

03:00 03:45 04:30 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

Deadly Women I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghost Lab Nightmare Next Door 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

18:40 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:15 23:40 00:30 01:20 02:10

On The Case With Paula Zahn Dr G: Medical Examiner Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill LA: City Of Demons I Was Murdered I Was Murdered I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghost Lab LA: City Of Demons

03:35 Unchained Reaction 04:25 Superships 05:15 The Gadget Show 05:40 Tech Toys 360 06:05 Superships 07:00 Scanning The Skies 07:50 Sci-Trek 08:40 The Gadget Show 09:05 Tech Toys 360 09:30 Finding Bigfoot 10:25 Engineered 11:20 Scrapheap Challenge 12:10 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 13:00 Sci-Trek 13:50 Sci-Fi Science 14:20 The Gadget Show 14:45 Tech Toys 360 15:10 Scanning The Skies 16:00 Sport Science 16:55 Superships 17:45 Thunder Races 18:35 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 19:30 Deadliest Space Weather 19:55 Deadliest Space Weather 20:20 Super Comet: After The Impact 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 Tech Toys 360 22:00 Deadliest Space Weather 22:25 Deadliest Space Weather 22:50 Super Comet: After The Impact 23:40 The Gadget Show 00:05 Tech Toys 360 00:30 Sci-Fi Science 01:00 The Gadget Show 01:25 Tech Toys 360 01:50 Thunder Races 02:45 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman

03:25 04:20 05:10 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:35 10:30 11:20 12:10 13:05 13:55 14:50 15:45 16:40 17:35 18:25 18:50 19:20 20:10 21:05 22:00 22:55 23:50 00:45 01:35 02:30

03:00 03:20 03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50

I Shouldn’t Be Alive Venom Hunter Biblical Mysteries Explained Three Men Go To Venice When Disaster Strikes Victory By Design 3 Men Go To New England Commander In Chief Showdown: Air Combat I Shouldn’t Be Alive Venom Hunter Biblical Mysteries Explained Mummy Autopsy World’s Busiest When Disaster Strikes Greatest Tank Battles Daredevils Hero Factor Hero Factor Empire Victory By Design Biblical Mysteries Explained Empire Aircrash Confidential Secret Service Secrets Victory By Design Empire Aircrash Confidential

The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck

ARCTIC BLASTS ON OSN MOVIES ACTION

05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:25 11:50 12:15 12:35 13:00 13:25 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:10 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 23:35 00:00

Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Austin And Ally Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Jessie Good Luck Charlie Sofia The First Doc McStuffins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Jessie Jessie Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Gravity Falls Shake It Up Shake It Up Austin And Ally Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm Shake It Up My Babysitter’s A Vampire That’s So Raven Gravity Falls 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 Shake It Up That’s So Raven Jessie A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody

03:20 Handy Manny 03:40 Special Agent Oso 03:50 Special Agent Oso 04:00 Timmy Time 04:10 Imagination Movers 04:35 Little Einsteins 05:00 Jungle Junction 05:15 Jungle Junction 05:30 Little Einsteins 05:50 Special Agent Oso 06:00 Special Agent Oso 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Jungle Junction 06:45 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:30 Higglytown Heroes 07:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:10 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 08:35 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 08:50 Doc McStuffins 09:05 Doc McStuffins 09:20 Zou 09:35 Henry Hugglemonster 09:50 Henry Hugglemonster 10:00 Sofia The First 10:25 Higglytown Heroes 10:40 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 10:55 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 11:20 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 11:45 Mouk 12:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 12:05 Art Attack 12:30 Doc McStuffins 12:45 Doc McStuffins 13:00 Zou 13:15 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 13:30 Henry Hugglemonster 13:45 Henry Hugglemonster 13:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 14:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 14:45 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 15:00 Lilo And Stitch 15:25 Mouk 15:40 Higglytown Heroes 15:55 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 16:10 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 16:20 The Hive 16:30 Zou 16:45 Lilo And Stitch 17:10 Doc McStuffins 17:25 Doc McStuffins 17:40 Higglytown Heroes 17:55 Zou 18:10 Henry Hugglemonster 18:25 Henry Hugglemonster 18:35 Sofia The First 19:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 19:05 Pajanimals 19:25 Doc McStuffins 19:40 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 19:45 Zou 20:00 Pajanimals 20:15 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 20:30 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 20:45 Doc McStuffins 21:00 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 21:25 Pajanimals 21:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:05 Timmy Time 22:20 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 22:30 Jungle Junction 22:45 Handy Manny 23:00 The Hive 23:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 23:35 Jungle Junction 23:50 Special Agent Oso 00:05 Special Agent Oso 00:15 Imagination Movers 00:40 Jungle Junction 00:55 Jungle Junction 01:10 Handy Manny 01:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 01:55 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 02:00 Little Einsteins 02:25 Special Agent Oso 02:40 Special Agent Oso 02:50 Imagination Movers

04:30 Supertramps 06:00 A Fairy Tale Christmas 08:00 Krazzy Planet 10:00 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva LA Fiesta!

11:30 Bushwhacked 13:00 The Great Bear 14:30 The Adventures Of Don Quixote 16:00 Jingle All The Way 18:00 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva LA Fiesta!

20:00 Arthur’s Missing Pal 22:00 The Adventures Of Don Quixote 23:30 Krazzy Planet 01:00 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva LA Fiesta!

02:45 Arthur’s Missing Pal

04:00 Princess Lillifee 05:45 Mission: Impossible III 08:00 True Justice: Dead Drop 10:00 Batman: Year One 11:30 Outlaw Country 13:30 Project Nim 15:30 True Justice: Dead Drop 17:30 Seeking Justice 19:30 The Dark Knight Rises 22:30 Leaves Of Grass 00:30 The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption 02:15 True Justice: Dead Drop

OFFICE SPACE ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY

06:00 Kid vs Kat 06:10 Scaredy Squirrel 06:35 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 07:00 Max Steel 07:25 Phineas And Ferb 07:50 Slugterra 08:15 Crash & Bernstein 08:40 Kickin IT 09:05 Kickin IT 09:30 Phineas And Ferb 09:55 Phineas And Ferb 10:20 Lab Rats 10:45 Lab Rats 11:10 Kick Buttowski 11:35 Max Steel 12:00 Zeke & Luther 12:25 Zeke & Luther 12:50 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 13:15 Scaredy Squirrel 13:40 Pair Of Kings 14:05 Pair Of Kings 14:30 Phineas And Ferb 14:55 Phineas And Ferb 15:20 Slugterra 15:45 Max Steel 16:10 Pair Of Kings 16:35 Crash & Bernstein 17:00 Lab Rats 17:30 Kickin IT 18:00 Kickin IT 18:25 Phineas And Ferb 18:35 Phineas And Ferb 18:50 Phineas And Ferb 19:00 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 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 21:45 Phineas And Ferb 21:55 Phineas And Ferb 22:10 Phineas And Ferb 22:20 Phineas And Ferb 22:35 Scaredy Squirrel 23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00am KSA

03:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 03:25 Food Wars 03:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:15 United Tastes Of America 04:40 Chopped 05:30 Iron Chef America 06:10 Food Network Challenge 07:00 Unwrapped 07:25 Unwrapped 07:50 Tastiest Places To Chowdown 08:15 Kid In A Candy Store 08:40 Jonathan Phang’s Caribbean Cookbook 09:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 09:30 The Next Iron Chef 10:20 Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam 10:45 Aarti Party 11:10 Unwrapped 11:35 Unique Sweets 12:00 Amazing Wedding Cakes 12:50 Reza’s African Kitchen 13:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 13:40 Charly’s Cake Angels 14:05 Siba’s Table 14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 14:55 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 15:20 Symon’s Suppers 15:45 Chopped 16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 17:25 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:40 Guy’s Big Bite 19:05 Siba’s Table 19:30 Charly’s Cake Angels

19:55 Recipes That Rock 20:20 Chopped 21:10 Chopped 22:00 Charly’s Cake Angels 22:25 Charly’s Cake Angels 22:50 Unique Sweets 23:15 Unique Sweets 23:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:30 Food Wars 00:55 Tastiest Places To Chowdown 01:20 Outrageous Food 01:45 Charly’s Cake Angels 02:10 Charly’s Cake Angels 02:35 Unique Sweets

03:00 The Colbert Report 03:30 Louie 04:00 Legit 04:30 The League 05:00 Hot In Cleveland 05:30 Raising Hope 06:00 Seinfeld 06:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 07:30 All Of Us 08:00 The Neighbors 08:30 Friends 09:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 10:00 Seinfeld 10:30 All Of Us 11:00 Hot In Cleveland 11:30 The Crazy Ones 12:00 Arrested Development 12:30 Friends 13:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 14:00 The Neighbors 14:30 Seinfeld 15:00 All Of Us 15:30 Friends 16:00 Raising Hope 16:30 The Crazy Ones 17:00 Arrested Development 17:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 18:00 The Colbert Report 18:30 The Neighbors 19:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 20:00 Breaking In 20:30 Whitney 21:00 Whitney 22:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 23:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 23:30 The Colbert Report 00:00 Louie 00:30 Legit 01:00 The League 01:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 02:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 22:00 23:00 00:00

The Americans Grey’s Anatomy Grey’s Anatomy 24 Switched At Birth Suits Grey’s Anatomy Grey’s Anatomy Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Suits 24 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Suits Warehouse 13 Bones Justified The Americans 24

04:15 Striking Distance 06:15 Warbirds

08:00 Mine 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 Factor 01:00

04:15 06:00 Mine 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 Factor 23:00 01:00

True Justice: Vengeance Is Interview With A Hitman Wild Wild West Arctic Blast Interview With A Hitman Burden Of Evil Arctic Blast Covert One: The Hades The Raid: Redemption

Warbirds True Justice: Vengeance Is Interview With A Hitman Wild Wild West Arctic Blast Interview With A Hitman Burden Of Evil Arctic Blast Covert One: The Hades The Raid: Redemption Botched

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 Mom 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 00:00 02:00

Lying To Be Perfect Gabe The Cupid Dog A Thousand Words Mrs. Miracle Lying To Be Perfect The Year Dolly Parton Was My

05:00 07:30 09:00 10:45 12:30 15:30 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00 01:15

Catch Me If You Can Hidden Crimes Boy Second Chances Hindenburg Ring Of Deceit Matching Jack Return One Day Flight Matching Jack

04:30 06:30 08:30 10:45 13:00 15:30 17:00 19:15 21:00 23:15 01:15 02:45

03:00 ICC Cricket 360 03:30 NRL Full Time 04:00 Trans World Sport 05:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 06:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 07:00 Champions League Twenty20 10:00 NRL Full Time 10:30 Futbol Mundial 11:00 Currie Cup 13:00 ICC Cricket 360 13:30 Live Champions League Twenty20 16:30 Futbol Mundial 17:00 ICC Cricket 360 17:30 Live Champions League Twenty20 20:30 European Tour Weekly 21:00 Inside The PGA Tour 21:30 Trans World Sport 22:30 NRL Full Time 23:00 Futbol Mundial 23:30 Super League 01:30 Currie Cup

Mrs. Miracle Tower Heist Office Space A Few Best Men Under New Management Office Space

The Crucible Beneath Hill 60 Departures The Tree Of Life Tora! Tora! Tora!

Ceremony The Tree Of Life Resolution 819 Final Analysis The Door In The Floor Ceremony Final Analysis

03:00 StreetDance 2 05:00 Christmas Comes Home To Canaan 07:00 Madea’s Big Happy Family 09:00 The Big Year 11:00 The Darkest Hour 13:00 Men In Black 3 15:00 Shark Tale 17:00 The Big Year 19:00 Here Comes The Boom 21:00 Another Happy Day 23:00 House At The End Of The Street 01:00 Blue Lagoon: The Awakening

05:00 WWE Experience 06:00 UFC - The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 07:00 Trans World Sport 08:00 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 08:30 European Senior Tour Highlights 09:30 Futbol Mundial 10:00 Live F1 H2O World Championship 11:00 NHL 13:00 Futbol Mundial 13:30 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 14:00 European Senior Tour Highlights 15:00 European Challenge Tour Highlights 16:00 Top 14 18:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 19:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 20:00 NHL 22:00 This Week In WWE 22:30 Inside The PGA Tour 23:00 European Tour Weekly 23:30 Champions League Twenty20 02:30 NRL Premiership

03:40 05:10 07:00 08:50 Street 10:40 12:30 14:10 16:00 Hood 17:45 19:40 22:00 01:10 02:45

03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00 Rides 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 Rides 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:30 00:00 00:30 01:00 Rides 02:00

The Law And Jake Wade The Asphalt Jungle Adventures Of Don Juan The Barretts Of Wimpole Ziegfeld Follies The Gazebo The Asphalt Jungle The Adventures Of Robin Young Cassidy North By Northwest Ryan’s Daughter Many Rivers To Cross Ryan’s Daughter

The Food Truck The Food Truck Bizarre Foods America Xtreme Waterparks World’s Greatest Motorcycle Globe Trekker Departures Airport 24/7: Miami Airport 24/7: Miami World’s Greatest Motorcycle Xtreme Waterparks Xtreme Waterparks Ultimate Braai Master Bizarre Foods America International House Hunters International House Hunters International House Hunters International House Hunters Hotel Impossible Special Destination Weddings Destination Weddings Ultimate Braai Master Bizarre Foods America International House Hunters International House Hunters Descending Departures Airport 24/7: Miami Airport 24/7: Miami Xtreme Waterparks Xtreme Waterparks World’s Greatest Motorcycle Off Limits

Classifieds WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1 RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

SHARQIA-2 RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM

SHARQIA-3 EMPIRE STATE (DIG) PLANES (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG)

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-1 MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) 1:45 PM RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) 4:00 PM NO FRI+SAT ATTARINTIKI DAAREDI (DIG) (TELUGU) 4:00 PM FRI+SAT MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) 6:00 PM NO FRI+SAT RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) 8:15 PM RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) 10:15 PM MUHALAB-2 EMPIRE STATE (DIG) PLANES (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) MUHALAB-3 RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) FANAR-1 EMPIRE STATE (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM

1:00 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

FANAR-2 KIKORIKI: TEAM INVINCIBLE (DIG) 1:30 PM KIKORIKI: TEAM INVINCIBLE (DIG) 3:30 PM PRISONERS (DIG) 5:30 PM PRISONERS (DIG) 8:30 PM PRISONERS (DIG) 11:30 PM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (26/09/2013 TO 02/10/2013) FANAR-3 RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) PLANES (DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG)

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

FANAR-4 RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

MARINA-1 MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-2 RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

MARINA-3 PLANES (DIG-3D) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 11:30 PM

AVENUES-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

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-2 Seats-140 GETAWAY (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG) GETAWAY (DIG)

2:15 PM 4:15 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

AVENUES-3 RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) PENGUINS (DIG-3D) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 11:30 PM

AVENUES-4 EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) RUNNER RUNNER (DIG)

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 11:45 PM

360º- 1 EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG)

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 11:45 PM

360º- 2 MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG)

2:15 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM

360º- 3 PENGUINS (DIG-3D) PENGUINS (DIG-3D) PENGUINS (DIG-3D) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG)

Accommodation available with Tamil Muslim family for family/ladies/bachelors in Hawally Dawar Sadiq.

Call 97988528, 66594790.

(C 4520) 28-9-2013

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.1 RUSH (DIG) PLANES (DIG-3D) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.2 EMPIRE STATE (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) MALAVITA (THE FAMILY)(DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG) EMPIRE STATE (DIG)

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:15 PM 1:15 AM

AL-KOUT.3 PRISONERS (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) PRISONERS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

ACCOMMODATION

Siddeeqa. (C 4519) 26-9-2013 I, Byju Kandankulangara Vaylil holder of Indian Passport # H3127996 hereby change my name to Faiju Kandankulangara Vayalil.

(C 4517)

CHANGE OF NAME I, Palleemeera Mutterahamath, holder of Indian Passport No. L0083056, issued at Hyderabad, A.P, hereby change my name to Palleemeera Mukthiyar.

(C 4525) 2-10-2013 I, Pallippadan Joseph Francis holder of Indian Passport No: A4917770 hereby change my name to Pallippatt Joseph Francis.

(C 4523) 1-10-2013

2:30 PM 5:30 PM 8:30 PM 11:30 PM

I, Bondalapati Venkata Ramana Devi, holder of Indian Passport No. J5550579, hereby change my name to Syeda Ayisha

FOR SALE Definitive speaker, subwoofer & Denon receiver, Definitive Studio 65 (one pair) KD 160, Definitive Supercube, reference subwoofer KD 240, Denon AVR 3311.7.1 receiver KD 250.

Please contact: 99725095.

(C 4521) 30-9-2013

the Manager Kuwait State Life office.

Phone: 22452208. (C 4524) 1-10-2013

SITUATION VACANT Required house driver, KD 130, housemaid KD 70, visa and ticket provided. Indian, Christian only. Mobile: 67696227. (C 4522) 30-9-2013

MATRIMONIAL Marriage proposal invited for Pakistani Muslim family daughter, Pharmacist, on job, Kwt. Resident, tall, smart, from reasonable boy match through parents.

Email: contact9132000@gmail.

(C 4526) 2-10-2013

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION

Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is

1889988 112

LOST Original document policy No. 633001498, Nabila Zubair Khan DV the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan, Gulf Zone is reported to have been lost.

Anyone finding the same or claiming any interest in it should communicate with

Prayer timings Fajr: Shorook Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

04:21 05:40 11:38 15:03 17:37 18:54

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines BBC JZR JZR FDB THY ETH GFA UAE ETD FDB MSR OMA QTR THY DHX FDB BAW KAC FDB IRM JZR JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY IRM FDB QTR IRA ETD QTR UAE TGZ GFA MEA IAW MSC IRM TMA UAE JZR JZR MSR CLX IYE KAC QTR FDB KAC

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 2/10/2013 Flt Route 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 8063 DUBAI 764 SABIHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 643 MUSCAT 138 DOHA 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 157 LONDON 412 MANILA 53 DUBAI 1186 TEHRAN 529 ASYUT 555 ALEXANDRIA 382 DELHI 206 ISLAMABAD 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 344 CHENNAI 284 DHAKA 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 1186 TEHRAN 55 DUBAI 132 DOHA 603 SHIRAZ 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 6130 DOHA 4987 DUBAI 1553 BATUMI 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 157 BAGHDAD 403 ASYUT 1188 MASHAD 213 BEIRUT 871 DUBAI 561 SOHAG 165 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 792 LUXEMBOURG 826 SANAA 672 DUBAI 140 DOHA 57 DUBAI 790 MEDINAH

Time 00:05 00:20 00:40 01:10 01:40 01:45 01:55 02:25 02:30 03:10 03:15 03:20 03:30 04:35 05:10 05:50 06:30 06:15 07:45 07:55 06:40 06:20 07:30 07:25 07:50 08:05 08:20 08:15 08:25 08:50 09:10 09:15 09:25 09:25 09:30 10:00 10:05 10:35 10:40 10:55 11:00 11:35 11:45 12:00 12:45 12:00 11:35 13:00 13:15 13:30 13:40 13:45 13:50 13:55

IRC MSR SVA KAC JAV RJA VIS KAC JZR QTR ETD UAE JZR JZR ABY SVA GFA JZR NIA QTR RBG FDB GFA MSC MSR JAI JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC FDB OMA ABY ETD MEA AXB KLM ALK UAE QTR ETD GFA JAI FDB AIC JZR JZR JZR DLH JAI MSR THY

6692 MASHAD 575 SHARM EL SHEIKH 500 JEDDAH 788 JEDDAH 621 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 640 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 3102 KABUL 538 SHARM EL SHEIKH 535 CAIRO 134 DOHA 303 ABU DHABI-INTL 857 DUBAI 357 MASHAD 777 JEDDAH 127 SHARJAH 510 RIYADH 215 BAHRAIN 177 DUBAI 251 ALEXANDRIA 144 DOHA 553 ALEXANDRIA 63 DUBAI 219 BAHRAIN 405 SOHAG 606 LUXOR 572 MUMBAI 787 RIYADH 166 PARIS 102 NEW YORK 786 JEDDAH 774 RIYADH 10-FebCAIRO 674 DUBAI 618 DOHA 61 DUBAI 647 MUSCAT 129 SHARJAH 933 ABU DHABI-INTL 402 BEIRUT 489 COCHIN 417 AMSTERDAM 229 COLOMBO 859 DUBAI 136 DOHA 307 ABU DHABI-INTL 217 BAHRAIN 576 COCHIN 59 DUBAI 975 CHENNAI 185 DUBAI 239 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 135 BAHRAIN 636 FRANKFURT 574 MUMBAI 614 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL

14:25 14:15 14:30 15:00 15:10 15:55 16:00 15:50 16:10 16:15 16:35 16:55 16:50 17:50 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 18:00 18:25 18:30 18:55 19:05 19:15 19:30 19:35 16:15 18:40 19:35 18:30 19:25 18:15 19:25 19:10 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:05 20:15 20:35 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:30 21:45 22:05 22:20 22:25 22:40 22:30 23:00 23:10 23:20 23:30 23:45

Airlines AIC JAI UAL DLH MSR FDB THY THY ETH UAE FDB MSR OMA ETD QTR QTR JZR FDB GFA THY JZR KAC BAW FDB IRM JZR KAC KAC ABY KAC UAE FDB KAC ETD QTR IRA IRM UAE JZR GFA QTR KAC TGZ MEA IAW KAC JZR KAC MSC JZR KAC IRM JZR TMA

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 2/10/2013 Flt Route 982 AHMEDABAD 573 MUMBAI 981 WASHINGTON 637 FRANKFURT 615 CAIRO 8064 DUBAI 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 621 ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 613 CAIRO 644 MUSCAT 306 ABU DHABI 139 DOHA 149 DOHA 560 SOHAG 70 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 164 DUBAI 537 SHARM EL SHEIKH 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 1187 TEHRAN 534 CAIRO 789 MADINAH 671 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 787 JEDDAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 117 NEW YORK 302 ABU DHABI 133 DOHA 602 SHIRAZ 1187 TEHRAN 4987 BEIRUT 356 MASHHAD 214 BAHRAIN 6131 DOHA 541 CAIRO 1554 BATUMI 405 BEIRUT 158 AL NAJAF 175 FRANKFURT 776 JEDDAH 103 LONDON 406 SOHAG 786 RIYADH 785 JEDDAH 1189 MASHHAD 176 DUBAI 223 DUBAI

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:20 00:25 00:30 00:30 01:55 02:20 02:40 02:45 03:45 03:50 04:15 04:20 04:20 04:25 05:15 05:35 06:30 07:00 07:10 07:25 08:00 08:25 08:25 08:55 09:10 09:15 09:25 09:30 09:35 09:50 09:55 10:00 10:15 10:25 10:25 10:30 10:50 11:00 11:25 11:30 11:30 11:35 11:55 12:00 12:10 12:25 12:30 12:35 12:50 13:00 13:10 13:20 13:45

MSR UAE IYE FDB CLX QTR MSR KAC IRC SVA KAC KAC JAV RJA JZR QTR ETD JZR ABY UAE SVA GFA JZR JZR NIA RBG QTR FDB GFA JZR KAC MSC MSR JAI FDB ABY KAC KAC OMA KAC MEA DHX KLM ETD ETD ALK UAE KAC KAC QTR GFA FDB KAC JAI JZR KAC JZR

611 872 827 58 792 141 576 673 6693 503 617 773 622 641 238 135 304 538 128 858 511 216 184 266 252 554 145 64 220 134 283 404 619 571 62 120 361 331 648 351 403 171 417 934 308 230 860 381 301 137 218 60 205 575 554 415 528

CAIRO DUBAI RIYAN MUKALLA DUBAI GIALAM DOHA SHARM EL SHEIKH DUBAI MASHHAD MADINAH DOHA RIYADH AMMAN AMMAN AMMAN DOHA ABU DHABI CAIRO SHARJAH DUBAI RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA ALEXANDRIA DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DHAKA ASYUT ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH COLOMBO TRIVANDRUM MUSCAT KOCHI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DAMMAM SHARJAH ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI DELHI MUMBAI DOHA BAHRAIN DUBAI ISLAMABAD ABU DHABI ALEXANDRIA KUALA LUMPUR ASYUT

14:00 14:15 14:30 14:30 14:45 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:25 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 20:05 20:15 20:15 20:30 20:35 20:40 20:45 20:50 20:50 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:50 22:05 22:05 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:40 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:20 23:50 23:55

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 328

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) Emotional seriousness, a sober orientation and a practical awareness of time management are keynotes of your deepest feelings. There is a tendency to be too strict with yourself. You may insist that whatever does not contribute to security and other long-term goals is trivial. Obtaining and exchanging information takes on more significance. Making decisions based on the facts will bring you much recognition. Be prepared—this could be a busy day. The positive results will depend on your actions. You attract money just now. You may have insights with regard to your living situation or life circumstances and now is a good time to discuss any changes or ideas with your loved ones. Your loved ones see and value your unique qualities.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Faith, optimism and the desire to explore all kinds of new horizons are some of the focal points in your life. Just hearing from a co-worker who may be in another country or another state has your heart skipping a few beats. Thinking of the next vacation or the opportunity to travel for the company keeps your mind traveling. It is a good thing you have a routine to follow in your work or there would be too many mistakes as your mind travels over the next trip opportunity. This is a rewarding day in that much can be accomplished. If you get ahead of yourself you might be able to knock off a little early toward the end of the week and do a little camping or find a weekend job that will help create a little extra traveling money.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. An ugly evil-looking old woman.

4. A lamellar mixture of cementite and ferrite formed during the cooling of austenite.

12. Former measure of the US economy.

15. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.

16. Distributed equitably in limited individual portions.

17. Of or relating to a member of the Buddhist people inhabiting the Mekong river in Laos and Thailand.

18. The month following July and preceding September.

19. The act of building or putting up.

20. (Judaism) Sacred chest where the ancient Hebrews kept the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments.

21. A cadenced trot executed by the horse in one spot.

23. Headdress that protects the head from bad weather.

24. Deduce (a principle) or construe (a meaning).

26. A spoon-shaped vessel with a long handle.

27. A numerical scale used to compare variables with one another or with some reference number.

29. A low woody perennial plant usually having several major branches.

32. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

36. Fatty pinkish flesh of small salmon caught in the Pacific and Great Lakes.

37. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity.

38. (astronomy) A measure of time defined by Earth's orbital motion.

39. (the feminine of raja) A Hindu princess or the wife of a raja.

41. Take control of.

45. An aromatic ointment used in antiquity.

46. A recurring sleep state during which dreaming occurs.

47. Before noon.

49. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 100 liters.

50. An island in the Aegean Sea in the Saronic Gulf.

52. A large family of trees, shrubs, vines, and herbs bearing bean pods.

55. Diabetes caused by a relative or absolute deficiency of insulin and characterized by polyuria.

56. An anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions.

57. Very small.

59. A port city in southwestern Iran.

61. A thrusting blow with a knife.

64. A light touch or stroke.

66. The sciences concerned with gathering and manipulating and storing and retrieving and classifying recorded information.

67. Doglike nocturnal mammal of Africa and southern Asia that feeds chiefly on carrion.

69. Of or relating to rabbis or their teachings.

74. The month following March and preceding May. 75. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

78. Of or belonging to an aecium.

79. The 17th letter of the Greek alphabet.

80. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

82. Widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions for its fragrant flowers and colorful fruits.

83. Cooking utensil consisting of a wide metal vessel.

84. Genus of beetles whose grubs feed mainly on roots of plants.

85. The main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants.

DOWN 1. A collection of objects laid on top of each other.

2. Wild sheep of northern Africa.

3. Mentally or physically infirm with age.

4. Manufactured in standard sizes to be shipped and assembled elsewhere.

5. Worn or shabby from overuse or (of pages) from having corners turned down.

6. Goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment.

7. Evergreen trees or shrubs of mountains of Australia and Tasmania.

8. A globular water bottle used in Asia.

9. Having been introduced to something new.

10. Being one more than nine.

11. Having a specified kind of border or edge.

12. Sea milkwort.

13. A lawman concerned with narcotics violations.

14. Tall coarse perennial American herb having small white flowers followed by blackish-red berries on long drooping racemes.

22. A soft mineral (calcium fluoride) that is fluorescent in ultraviolet light.

25. Remove the fangs from (canines, snakes, etc.).

28. A soft gray ductile metallic element used in alloys.

30. A minor Hebrew prophet (8th century BC).

31. A line on a sphere that cuts all meridians at the same angle.

33. A set of tags and rules (conforming to SGML) for using them in developing hypertext documents.

34. Rupture in smooth muscle tissue through which a bodily structure protrudes.

35. Wish harm upon.

40. Submerged aquatic plant having narrow leaves and small flowers.

42. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

43. Having the leading position or higher score in a contest.

44. A quantity of no importance.

48. Shad-like North American marine fishes used for fish meal and oil and fertilizer.

51. Take in, also metaphorically.

53. A French abbot.

54. A highly unstable radioactive element (the heaviest of the halogen series).

58. A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance.

60. Situated at an apex.

62. Reed maces.

63. American professional baseball player who hit more home runs than Babe Ruth (born in 1934).

65. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

68. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery.

70. A small cake leavened with yeast.

71. (Greek mythology) Winged goddess of victory.

72. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy.

73. A musical notation written on a staff indicating the pitch of the notes following it.

76. A rapid bustling commotion.

77. Game in which matchsticks are arranged in rows and players alternately remove one or more of them.

81. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

If you need a loan, today is a good day to request one. Positive results come from your investments and earning potential—a raise is also in the works.

There is a desire to be in control this morning as you will want to participate in some decision or important vote. You make a positive difference as you speak and guide others with your insight. It is good to have a presentation available for others to review and to influence the group toward a good decision. You would make a good manager and you wait your time until it happens, soon. This can be an expansive, creative and even romantic phase—a time you will look back on with pride. You may find yourself being put to good use by your friends this afternoon.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) If professional advice is needed you will have positive results. Challenges provide you with choices to either move in a new direction or work to overcome the challenge. This is a good time to be creative and secure the positive. Your current situation may demand some reevaluation or otherwise challenge your ideas. You will overcome any difficulty in communication. Any frustration with connections or timing will be of short duration. You may find this a crucial time during which—depending on circumstances of your standing or growth in the company for which you work—you reach new heights of accomplishment. This will bring about great discipline and a concentration or focus. New opportunities open up soon that will show off your talents.

Leo (July 23-August 22) If you want to begin a new work or personal project, today and tomorrow are good times. You appreciate an inventive approach and may value joint or unconventional ideas. Thinking you may need some health improvement, consider a hair analysis to discover which nutritional foods would be most important and beneficial for you. Physical complaints can be helped through proper supplements. You will naturally lose weight as you go along with a healthy program. A need to be healthy and more energetic takes hold now. As you begin to get healthier you encourage others. A co-worker friend may have unique ways of displaying pictures and you could find that you enjoy checking out the latest. You may want to display a few pictures.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) This today is a great day to be with others and to work together. You may be asked to step a bit beyond your own work and help out if another co-worker is absent.

Tensions may be high because of the lack of help today but you can get through the day with a smile on your face. You could be the chef at a famous restaurant or making cakes for a wedding. Whatever the case, timing is important and you will be able to help meet the schedule. Perhaps you have not felt rewarded for your hard work or someone else has had control of where you want to work. Your efforts and attitude will get you where you want to go. Bigger and better is the theme when it comes to creativity, romance and selfexpression. Taking safe chances ends in a positive.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) You have contact with many people today and are privy to stimulating information—professional and personal. You have no trouble putting your feelings into words; in fact, you may have to exercise some control over your tongue. As you gain information, you gain insight into the different personalities you see. If you are in a position to hire people you will be reading resumes as well as communicating personally with people. Take notes of each interview and then you can review the interview honestly.

You keep busy today and you are absorbed in your work. If you are a detective, it won’t take you very long to line up all the clues by dates and come up with the right answer. You might find something for your own investment while shopping with a friend.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) “Do not confuse me with the facts,” is your motto now, as you tend to lose sight of the details in favor of seeing the underlying connections that link them together. This can make the way you think and communicate very inspired and inspiring, but it can also lead to confused decision making and difficulties in making yourself understood by others. Circumstances could dictate your taking action—much can be accomplished with your insight. A need to be the center of attention takes hold and there is a craving to give and to be appreciated for your gifts. This can be an expansive, creative and even romantic phase—a time you will look back on with pride and fondness. You are able to enjoy and feel especially kind toward a friend or loved one.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) The good life and all that is fine and luxurious are what many of us try to achieve. You may have plans but you will find they will need adjusting from time to time in order to see the end result more clearly in your mind’s eye. Today you will get some insight into one or more adjustments to your future plans. They will be positive as you begin to get a better perspective on your plans. Investments can be good, well-built furniture that needs a new coat of varnish or some slight repair. This furniture could make a nice addition to the furniture in your home or it could make a good resale item. Some issue that needs to be brought to the attention of the city council may be in discussion around your house tonight; you have ideas.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) There are good practical job-related thoughts. You have the ability to communicate with superiors or describe what you see. Others may want you to speak for them. You are appreciated for your ability to quickly step in and accomplish what is needed. Everything may be pouring in at once and it’s all good news. Your career direction gets some encouragement and life’s problems should find easy solutions. You may benefit from an older person or one in authority. If you live by yourself, you might consider the company of an animal or create some relaxing space, perhaps for reading or just meditation. You could fill this area with a beautiful fish tank or perhaps plants with lighting that you could change according to mood.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Work and career should be a primary focus at this time. An opportunity to make good decisions, and to make clear choices, is yours. You will prosper by pursuing your dreams of how life could be. Don’t be afraid to project your image and make those dreams real. Ideas of group cooperation could further your career. A group meeting may give you the opportunity to speak up and show off your talent to be expressive and have good ideas. You are at your most practical and what happens now may have a lasting effect on your life direction. A change in financial status is possible and can lead in unexpected directions. There are new spending patterns, perhaps focused on high-tech interests. You need extra sleep and wholesome meals at this time.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Your work or career is in real harmony with the rest of your life. You could gain from observing the more experienced as well as the young people today. Experience combined with new vision will motivate you forward into new horizons.

You will enjoy creating new goals. Suggestions and proposals may be accepted from the company in which you work. Perhaps some monetary rewards can be expected as your proposals may save the company much money. You will have some good opportunities to move forward in your career. Community problems come to your attention this afternoon and changes here are possible as well. This may involve transportation situations: school buses, city buses, parking, etc. Plan ahead and gather support.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

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Rio de Janeirodreams of (being) Hollywood

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or Mayor Eduardo Paes, it’s not enough that Rio de Janeiro is both an Olympic and a World Cup host city. He’s determined to turn Rio into a Woody Allen city, too, and has gone to extraordinary lengths to persuade the director to shoot a movie here, meeting with Allen’s sister, dispatching him handwritten notes and even pledging to underwrite 100 percent of production costs. Allen hasn’t taken Paes up on his offer, but the mayor continues to lobby hard. Scoring a film by the legendary director would help cement Paes’ vision for the city: to turn Rio into a cinema hub, the Los Angeles of South America.

While Hollywood needn’t watch its back just yet, there’s no doubt that Brazil’s film industry is booming. The country is on track to make 100 feature films this year, up from 30 in 2003, and it’s increasingly sought out by foreign productions cashing in on the government’s generous subsidies and incentives. New studio complexes are in the works, and cinemas are mushrooming across Brazil to keep pace with ever-growing numbers of movie-goers, many of them new members of the middle class who were pulled out of poverty by a decade of booming economic growth.

“The big shift is that now many more people have disposable income,” said Adrien Muselet, chief operating officer

of RioFilme, the city government’s film finance company. “Once you’ve covered your basic necessities, bought your fridge and your washing machine, what do you want next? Fun. And for many people, that means the movies.” The new viewers have helped push Brazil’s box office gross from $327 million in 2008 to $737 million last year, according to the trade publication Filme B. That puts Brazil among the top 10 movie consuming countries in the world, said Muselet, and the industry is taking note.

With its population of 204 million, this South American giant is increasingly factoring into the major United States studios’ strategic calculations. “When you take an American blockbuster and you set it here in Brazil, even for just a couple of scenes, it just explodes in the box office here,” said Muselet, pointing to “Breaking Dawn,” part of the “Twilight” series of teen vampire movies, which was filmed partially on location in Rio and the coastal colonial city of Paraty.

Brazilians flocked to the movie, and the country ended up being the film’s second biggest market.

Other big Hollywood productions such as “Fast Five” of the “Fast and Furious” franchise and the Sylvester Stallone vehicle “The Expendables” were also partially shot here in recent years. “Billy Elliot” director Stephen Daldry’s “Trash” is

currently rolling. Rio officials also hope movies made here will help burnish the image of a city mostly notorious for its grinding poverty and drug-fueled violence, particularly as Rio gears up to host next year’s soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

In a bid to attract more foreign productions, Rio’s state government created an agency to walk teams through Brazil’s Byzantine bureaucracy, helping them get the dizzying number of permits and permissions needed to shoot. The Rio Film Commission also hopes to increasingly help foreign productions find Brazilian investors, allowing them to qualify for the government subsidies and incentives that make up the lion’s share of practically all movie budgets here.

Producer Aaron Berger, an American who works in both Rio and Los Angeles, said the subsidies helped get thing rolling for his series “Gaby Estrela,” which is about to premier on Globo TV’s kids cable channel Gloob. “It was a tremendous boost for us,” he said. Over the past decade, the federal government has spent more than $450 million on films, and many state and city governments also invest in movies made locally, provided they meet requirements that typically include hiring at least a certain number of local employees.”—AP

Lady Gaga

Miley Cyrus

aimed to ‘make history’ with video awards performance

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to perform at 1st YouTube Music Awards

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ouTube is launching its own music awards and Lady Gaga will perform at the first-time event. The Google Inc-owned company announced yesterday that Eminem and Arcade Fire also will perform at the YouTube Music Awards on Nov 3. It will take place at Pier 36 in New York City and stream live online.

The awards show will honor “artists and songs that YouTube fans have turned into global hits over the past year.” Nominees will be announced Oct 17. Actor Jason Schwartzman will host the YouTube Music Awards. A press release says the awards show will also feature events from Seoul, Moscow, London and Brazil.—AP

File photo shows Lady Gaga arrives at the Versace atelier in Milan, Italy.—AP

Style Network’s

Argentina’s director Juan Jose Campanella talks during an interview at the Rio Film Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday.—AP photos

Rihanna

reality series lands at Bravo

Imprisoned Bollywood actor released for 2 weeks

ormer Disney star Miley Cyrus says she was out to shock and “make history” and is unapologetic for her raunchy performance at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards.

In a documentary, “Miley: The Movement,” airing on MTV today, the 20-year-old singer and actress comes across as a shrewd, ambitious performer determined to see her single, “We Can’t Stop,” hit No. 1 and put her roots as the wholesome Disney Channel star of “Hannah Montana” far behind her.

who was featured in Thicke’s summer hit, the multimillion-selling single “Blurred Lines.”

Notably absent is Cyrus’ former fiance, “Hunger Games” actor Liam Hemsworth. Hemsworth, 23, and Cyrus called off their engagement this month, ending a four-year relationship. “We decided to focus on the music and the professional side,” is all that Dave Sirulnick, an executive vice president at MTV and the executive producer of the film, would say about Hemsworth’s absence.

At a preview of the film, Sirulnick said the ex-

Cyrus refers to her performance during the August awards show with singer Robin Thicke and an oversized foam finger as a “strategic, hot mess.” The VMA show was “meant to push the boundaries,” she says, adding she wanted the act to be memorable along the lines of pop star Britney Spears’ kiss with Madonna at the same award show a decade ago.

“That’s what you’re looking to do, make history.” Spears, who begins a two-year stint in Las Vegas in December at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, and other child stars faced personal struggles transitioning to adult careers. But Cyrus sees it as starting as a new artist. “I felt like I could finally be the bad girl I really am,” she says in the documentary.

Cyrus’ appearance - gold fingernails, tattoos and short, platinum hair - is a far cry from her days as the teenage star in “Hannah Montana,” which ran from 2006-11. Reinforcing her image, File photo shows singer Miley Cyrus she posed topless for the cover of the Oct 12 at the MTV Video Music Awards in the issue of Rolling Stone magazine and for one of Brooklyn borough of New York.—AP various covers for her album “Bangerz,” out Oct 8. Cyrus also shed her clothes in the music video track of the song “Wrecking Ball.” tent of the media reaction to Cyrus’ VMA perforThe hour-long documentary was shot over mance surprised everyone. “As she said, people about three months before and shortly after the had this image of her as one thing and then here VMAs. It follows Cyrus at home in Los Angeles she came with something that nobody was ready with her dogs, during appearances to promote for or expecting,” he said.—Reuters “We Can’t Stop,” and in rehearsals. The film touches on her childhood with her country singer father, Billy Ray Cyrus, and her mother, Tish. It also includes clips with her idol, Spears, and music collaborators, producer Mike WiLL and rapper and record producer Pharrell Williams,

‘Captain Phillips’ to open in IMAX on October 11 Rihanna

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ood news, Style Network viewers: If you were eagerly awaiting Rihanna’s fashion competition series, it will still go on. Originally ordered to series by Style Network, “Styled to Rock” will now air on Bravo, TheWrap has learned. It will premiere on Friday, Oct 25 at 8/7c. “Styled to Rock” features 12 designers fighting for a $100,000 cash prize, a feature in Glamour Magazine and the chance to become a member of Rihanna’s design team. Music artist/producer Pharrell Williams, model Erin Wasson and Rihanna’s personal stylist, Mel Ottenberg, will mentor the contestants.

With Rihanna executive producing, the freshman series landed some big name judges, including Miley Cyrus, Carly Rae Jepsen, Khloé Kardashian, Kylie Minogue, Kelly Osbourne, The Band Perry, Naya Rivera, Big Sean, and Ne-Yo. Alongside Rihanna, Shed Media US, Overbrook Entertainment and Marcy Media Films are producing.

“Styled to Rock” is the latest Style Network show to move to a sister NBCUniversal network after Style was shuttered last week and replaced by Esquire Network.

TheWrap reported exclusively last week that Style series “Tia & Tamera” and “Giuliana & Bill” have moved to E!. It will also air the remaining new episodes of “Giuliana & Bill’s” sixth season next year. Both series are under consideration for renewal. The fate of other Style Network series is still under consideration. The male-centric Esquire Network replaced Style Network in 75 million homes last Monday. Its programming currently includes five new original primetime series and shows mined from sister NBCU networks and other content providers.—Reuters

Indian Bollywood actor Sanjay?Dutt gestures as he speaks to the media at his residence after arriving from Yerwada prison in Mumbai yesterday.—AFP

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ollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was temporarily released yesterday from an Indian prison where he is serving time for illegal possession of weapons linked to the 1993 terror attack in the financial capital of Mumbai. The 54-year-old actor said he would spend his two weeks of leave, granted by prison authorities for good behavior, at home with his family.

“I am a law-abiding citizen,” he told reporters after leaving Yerawada Central Jail in Pune, a city near Mumbai. “I will go back at the given time.”

Dutt became popular for his Hindi film roles as a reformed thug who follows the teachings of pacifist freedom fighter Mohandas Gandhi. According to industry estimates, he is currently involved in projects worth at least $20 million. He was convicted for illegal possession of weapons linked to the 1993 terror attack, when 13 powerful bombs packed into cars and scooters exploded over a two-hour period across Mumbai. The bombs killed 257 people and injured 720.

He has said he knew nothing about the bombing plot, and wanted the guns to protect his family - his mother was Muslim and his father Hindu - after receiving threats during the religious riots that preceded the bombings. The Supreme Court in March confirmed his conviction, but reduced his sentence to five years from six, including 18 months already served.—AP

Actor Tom Hanks arrives at the special screening of the feature filmCaptain Phillips at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday.—AP photos

Director Paul Greengrass arrives at the special screening of the feature film “Captain Phillips”.

aptain Phillips” has been remastered for IMAX and will open in select IMAX theaters when it debuts in theaters Oct 11, the company announced on Monday. Paul Greengrass’ retelling of the eponymous captain’s fight against crusading Somali pirates will premiere at the New York Film Festival before opening in theaters.

His yarn focuses on the relationship between Phillips (Tom Hanks) and the captain of the pirates, Muse.

‘United 93,’ Paul Greengrass is adept at taking subject matter based on real historical events and transforming it into a rich entertainment experiences for global audiences,” Greg Foster, CEO of IMAX Entertainment and Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp, said in a statement. “We’re also excited to team up once again with Tom Hanks, who always delivers the kind of powerful performance that resonates with IMAX moviegoers.”—Reuters

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The captain’s books served as the source material for Billy Ray’s screenplay. “As he’s proven before with acclaimed projects including

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Jolie Australia

Busan festival looks to unearth gems of Asian film A Bhutanese film directed by a monk opens

to direct film in

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Angelina Jolie

ollywood A-lister Angelina Jolie will direct her new film “Unbroken” in Australia, using Sydney and rural parts of New South Wales state as locations, it was announced yesterday. The World War II movie is only Jolie’s second foray into directing, after the critically-acclaimed 2011 movie “Land of Blood and Honey”, and the actress has been in Sydney with her children in recent weeks scouting locations.

NSW deputy premier Andrew Stoner said the Universal Pictures production would inject millions of dollars into the state’s economy and was expected to create 300 jobs for crew alone, with more for cast and extras.

“This great news confirms NSW’s international status as Australia’s premier location for large-scale film production, and demonstrates the world-class standards of our film production industry,” he said.Unbroken, based on the best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand, follows the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis Zamperini.Along with two other crewmen, he survived in

a raft for 47 days after a WWII plane crash, only to be caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-ofwar camp.

The book sat atop The New York Times bestseller list for more than 146 consecutive weeks and is one of the best-selling non-fiction titles since the list began in 1942. The film will feature Jack O’Connell (300: Rise of an Empire) as Louis Zamperini plus rising stars Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy), Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and Finn Wittrock (All My Children).It will be the latest in a series of large-scale production wins for New South Wales, with other recent successes including “The Wolverine”, “The Great Gatsby”, and “Lego”.—AFP

‘highlights Gravity’personal adversity in deep space journey

This undated handout photo shows director Kytentse Norbu on the set of ‘Vara: A Blessingh’ which opens the 18th Busan Film Festival this year.—AFP

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sia’s largest cinema festival in South Korea on Thursday, a selection organizers say celebrates the diversity of talent in a region where box office takings are overshadowing Hollywood. “Vara: A Blessing” directed by Khyentse Norbu—who will miss the festival because he is taking part in a silent mountain retreat—is the first of 301 movies to be screened at the 18th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

“When we received word that ‘Vara’ had been selected as the opening film, both Khyentse Norbu and I was incredulous,” producer Nanette Nelms told AFP, praising the festival for its “curatorial courage.”

The story of a woman’s fight against daily adversity will be among 95 world premieres in a program that includes works from Central Asia as well as a World Cinema section drawing together 50 productions. With films from 70 countries screening over 10 days, an impressive lineup of both Asian and international filmmakers will be in attendance, led by Academy Award-

nominated actor Ken Watanabe who stars in the Japanese remake of “Unforgiven”, Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Academy Award winner.

The presence of a number of internationally funded, Asianproduced films in Busan highlights the erosion of cinema’s traditional geographical boundaries as filmmakers look beyond single markets. Box office takings in Asia are currently growing faster than those of North America. The US-based Motion Picture Association recently reported that box office receipts from the Asia-Pacific region grew by 15 percent to $10.4 billion in 2012, compared to 6.0 percent growth in North America to $10.8 billion over the same period.

Five of the world’s top 10 box office markets are now in the Asia-Pacific region, led by China where cinema takings for the first half of this year hit $1.8 billion, up 36 percent year-on-year. Industry insiders predict that market alone will surpass North America by 2020.

The festival also comes on the back of a record-breaking first six months

of the year for the South Korean film industry. “The industry continues to grow very quickly, while we’ve been surprised by its reach world-wide,” said Busan festival director Lee Yong-Kwan.

A record 98.5 million admissions were collected over the first half of 2013, a year-on-year rise of 18.3 percent driven by local productions. Included among the box office hits to be screened in Busan is Bong Joon-Ho’s critically acclaimed smash “Snowpiercer”, a rare English language film to come out of Korea.

Starring “Captain America” star Chris Evans and British actress Tilda Swinton, it has taken an estimated US$60 million from the domestic box office.

The science fiction adventure, which depicts a future where life on the planet has been threatened by a failed global warming experiment, will screen as part of the Gala Presentation program.—AFP

Mexico sees second film box office record this year

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This film image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Sandra Bullock in a scene from Gravity.—AP photos

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atching an astronaut tumbling into the void of deep space might make a mere mortal’s own adversities seem rather small.

But “Gravity,” a drama starring Sandra Bullock and showing in US theaters on Friday, was born out of the setbacks suffered by one man in the midst of the last recession: its director and co-writer, Alfonso Cuaron. The Mexican filmmaker had already achieved international success with films like “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” in 2004 and “Children of Men” in 2006. But in 2009, financing on a new film fell apart, leaving him in the lurch. “That was just one element of a period of adversities that was striking my life,” Cuaron told Reuters. “And sometimes adversities are like that They come in big waves.”

The 51-year-old filmmaker and son Jonas Cuaron, 30, decided they would not sit around licking their wounds, and quickly got to work on a script about adversity, weaving the theme through tense and gripping action. They soon settled on space, a fascination for the Cuarons. “We said ‘let’s take a character in a very adverse situation’ and we starting ping-ponging and this image came up of this

astronaut just spinning into black emptiness,” said Jonas Cuaron.

And that is pretty much how “Gravity” begins, with Bullock playing novice astronaut and engineer Dr Ryan Stone alongside George Clooney as mission commander Matt Kowalski. Their space station is hit by debris from the demolition of an obsolete satellite, sending the two reeling into deep space with depleting oxygen and remote chances of returning to Earth. Ryan Stone soon finds herself alone, drifting into the void, with a tragic backstory that diminishes her desire to get home. For Alfonso Cuaron, Stone is a “victim of her own inertia, living in her own bubble.”

“She has to learn to come out of the bubble, shed her skin to begin a journey of rebirth,” Cuaron said. The filmmakers and Warner Bros. Pictures ended up spending some $80 million to make the 3D film, with technological innovations that reproduce space and zero gravity in ways never seen on screen. The trade publication Variety calls “Gravity” a “whiteknuckle space odyssey, a work of great narrative simplicity and visual complexity.” The film opens this weekend in US theaters after showing at both the Venice and

Toronto film festivals to critical acclaim.

Bullock’s ‘amazing precision’ Bullock, as it happens, knows adversity and is known for having weathered it rather stoically. Right after reaching what might have been the pinnacle of her career by winning her best actress Oscar for “The Blind Side” in 2010, she learned that her then-husband, Jesse James, was having an affair and she dropped out of the public eye to raise her adopted son. Cuaron went to Bullock’s hometown of Austin, Texas, to meet for the first time and talk about the “Gravity” role, and agreed adversity was very present in both their lives.

She had, in Cuaron’s words, “an amazing insight about that and an amazing maturity and clarity about that experience.” He knew after that he wanted her to do the film. Bullock, 49, said the physical demands of the role were less daunting that the emotional ones, especially because she had to make the emotions sync up with the elaborate technology and the tight shots. —Reuters

(From left) file photo shows screenwriter Jonas Cuaron, actors Sandra Bullock, George Clooney and director Alfonso Cuaron pose for photographers as they arrive for the screening of ‘Gravity’. —AP

exico’s box office record was broken for the second time in less than four months thanks to a comedy about a playboy whose life is upended by a baby’s arrival. The movie, “Instructions Not Included,” has been seen by nearly 8.7 million people in just 10 days in Mexican theaters, garnering $27.3 million, according to Mexican broadcaster Televisa, the film’s co-producer.

The film, starring and directed by popular Mexican comic Eugenio Derbez, had already broken a record in the United States by becoming the most seen Spanish-language movie in US box office history. In Mexico, the movie shattered the previous record set this year by another comedy, “Nosotros Los Nobles” (“We Are the Nobles”), which attracted more than 7.2 million over 15 weeks on movie screens.

The old record was held by “The Crime of Father Amaro,” a drama that was seen by 5.2 million people in Mexican movie

theaters in 2002. “Instructions Not Included” is the tale of Valentin, a bachelor from Acapulco who suddenly must raise a baby girl when a former lover leaves the one-year-old child on his doorstep.—AFP

File photo shows actress Malin Akerman in New York.

From left, actors Marcia Gay Harden, Bradley Whitford, Malin Akerman, Bailee Madison, Natalie Morales, Albert Tsai, Michaela Watkins, and Ryan Scott Lee arrive at the PaleyFest Previews: Fall TV show “Trophy” at The Paley Center for Media.

AFI Fest sets ‘Out of the Furnace’ Premiere, ‘Walter Mitty’ Screening, Bruce Dern Tribute

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cott Cooper’s “Out of the Furnace,” a thriller starring Christian Bale, Casey Affleck and Woody Harrelson, will make its world premiere at the 2013 AFI Fest in Hollywood, part of an expanded group of centerpiece galas that will also include a screening of Ben Stiller’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and a tribute to Bruce Dern coupled with a screening of Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska.” All three red-carpet galas will take place at the TCL Theatre, formerly Grauman’s Chinese.

“Out of the Furnace,” co-written by Cooper and Brad Ingelsby and directed by Cooper, follows a pair of brothers, with the older sibling (Bale) forced to go head-to-head with a vicious crime ring when his younger brother disappears. The film is scheduled for release by Relativity on Dec 6. In addition to Bale, Affleck and Harrelson, the cast includes Sam Shepard, Zoe Saldana, Forest Whitaker and Willem Dafoe. It is Cooper’s first film since “Crazy Heart,” for which Jeff Bridges won an Oscar. Payne’s “Nebraska” stars Bruce Dern as a man who is convinced that the sweepstakes letter he’s received guarantees him $1 million, and who

takes a road trip with his son (Will Forte) in an attempt to claim his winnings. The film, which won raves at Telluride and for which Dern was named best actor by the Cannes jury, will be accompanied by a tribute to the veteran actor, whose career encompasses everything from killing John Wayne in “The Cowboys” to winning an Oscar nomination for “Coming Home” and an Emmy nod for “Big Love.”

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (left) is director-star Ben Stiller’s adaptation of the James Thurber story, which served as the inspiration for a 1947 movie starring Danny Kaye. Stiller’s co-stars include Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt and Sean Penn. The film premieres on Saturday at the New York Film Festival and has picked up strong advance buzz from early screenings. Previously announced films scheduled for AFI Fest, which is presented by Audi, include John Lee Hancock’s “Saving Mr Banks” and the Coen brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis.” A scheduled gala screening of Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher” has been canceled, because the film has been delayed until 2014. French New Wave director Agnes Varda will serve as guest artistic director.—Reuters

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Saint Laurent, Elie Saab are saleable, predictable

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t’s a tricky balancing act for Paris fashion designers to express their individuality and still bear witness to the trends. A case in point is Saint Laurent’s Hedi Slimane whose spring-summer 2014 show - one of the biggest of Monday’s ready-to-wear collections stuck steadfastly to his obsession with Rock ‘n’ Roll styles, showing him impervious to the current fashion conversation. Some called it bold, others out of touch - but most remained baffled.

Whatever it may be, it intentionally produced a saleable collection of early 80s sparkling disco dresses, that will continue to attract young hipsters and carry on the house’s reportedly buoyant sales figures.

Elie Saab, too, produced a collection that didn’t stray far from his signature va-va-voom silhouettes and feminine cinched waists that will please his loyal clientele, though it packed no great creative surprises. But is being commercial,

to the detriment of the artistic, necessarily a bad thing? Other shows of the day included Stella McCartney’s beautiful display that played with undressing and hinted at nudity, and Giambattista Valli who, too, exposed inches of flesh in the leg and midriff.

SAINT LAURENT Models present creations for Saint Laurent during the 2014 Spring/Summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show in Paris. — AP/AFP photos

GIAMBATTISTA VALLI

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ummer was literally in the air at Giambattista Valli’s Paris show. A lack of effective air conditioning heated guests beyond comfort. When the show began intense white light bulbs turned on, upping the temperature even more.

Several models broke out into a sweat under this bright science lab decor. The collection’s aesthetic also showed that Valli is one designer who embraces heat wholeheartedly. The first looks in black and white featured ultra mini skorts (a skirt with shorts underneath), elegant crop tops, and below-the-

knee slit skirts that exposed the leg right up to the hip. Wide fabric swirl details provided the otherwise simple show’s creative elements, creating an ascending silhouette around the midriff like an unfurling flower. But apart from a great flash of bright yellow on a micro dress and 3-D appliqued flowers, Valli seemed to have lost some of the energy seen in his diaphanous couture show in July. — AP

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lifestyle F a s h i o n

ELIE SAAB ELIE SAAB Elie Saab channeled the colors of flowers for parts of his spring-summer 2014 show. The Lebanese designer’s usual explorations of cinched high-waisted, narrow plunging gowns were thus given splashes of camellia white, eglantine rose, bougainvillea and verdant green “herbe de tendresse.” The rose-bed palette gave way to some lace dresses fabricated using needlepoint, which the program notes say aimed to “imitate the wild foliage of a garden.” But Saab isn’t wild enough. There were a couple of interesting new looks such as a long hanging vivid red dress with sporty vest straps that swept the floor nicely, but the designer needs to stray more often from his rather restrictive and commercially-minded bread-and-butter silhouettes.

Jolie to direct film in Australia

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Lagerfeld mixes art and fashion at

Models present creations as part of Chanel’s ready-towear Spring/Summer 2014 fashion collection, presented yesterday in Paris.— AP/AFP photos

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rt met fashion on the Paris catwalk yesterday as designer Karl Lagerfeld conjured up a vast modern art gallery full of Chanel-inspired works as the backdrop to his latest collection. The walls of Lagerfeld’s gallerybuilt inside Paris’s Grand Palais-were dotted with abstract works, some already in demand from real art galleries.

Paintings bore the famous Chanel logo while sculptures included a classic black quilted handbag suspended upside down with its chain trailing on the ground.

Singer Katy Perry was among those on the front row along with fashion photographer Mario Testino and model Ines de La Fressange. On the catwalk, color took centre

stage with silk print dresses inspired by an antique German paint chart and suits that came in the usual flattering shapes but with plenty of modern detail for spring/summer 2014. Other looks that stood out included pink knit dresses and loose black trousers with a wide black and pink woven knit around the waist.

Following on from the “stocking boot” of Lagerfeld’s earlier 2013 collections, footwear consisted of woolly socks attached to black and white patent leather court shoes.

Speaking afterwards, Lagerfeld highlighted the collection’s “jackets with no front, sleeveless dresses looking like suits... and prints (with) over 150 colors”. The designer said he had

wanted to create a sense of light-heartedness. “There should be a relationship between fashion and art because art shouldn’t take itself too seriously and fashion either,” he said.

“So it’s about a kind of likeness between the two, like in the days of Andy Warhol-he was the only one who saw that fashion and art could go well together. After that they became too serious,” he said. Art galleries had already been in touch about many of the works created for the set, Lagerfeld said, adding however that they were not for sale.

The Chanel show came on the penultimate day of the Paris collections. Nine days of ready-to-wear fashion shows for spring/summer 2014 are due to wrap up today.—AP