15th Oct 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

www.kuwaittimes.net

THULHIJA 10, 1434 AH

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NO: 15959

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Kuwait Times Editor-in-Chief Abd Al-Rahman AlAlyan wishes HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Sabah, HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Cabinet members, Heads of States around the world, citizens, expatriates and our valued readers Eid Mubarak. Kuwait Times will not be published on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Our next issue will be on newsstands on Saturday, Oct 19, 2013.

Muslims urged to heal divisions at hajj zenith Faithful spend day on Arafat as pilgrimage climaxes

MOUNT ARAFAT: Pilgrims pray on a rocky hill called the Mountain of Mercy near the holy city of Makkah yesterday. Joined by their faith and a desire to purify their souls, more than 2 million Muslims from nearly 200 countries gathered on Mount Arafat yesterday. — AP

Max 35º Min 16º High Tide 08:01 & 21:37 Low Tide 02:07 & 15:08

MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia: Some 1.5 million Muslim pilgrims thronged Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia yesterday for the high point of the annual hajj, praying for an end to disputes and bloodshed. Helicopters hovered overhead and thousands of troops stood guard to organise roads flooded with men, women and children.

Chanting “Labaik Allahum Labaik” (I am responding to your call, God), many of them camped in small colourful tents and took shelter under trees to escape temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius. Special sprinklers were set up to help cool the pilgrims.

In his annual sermon, top Saudi cleric Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh urged Muslims to avoid divisions, chaos and sectarianism, without explicitly speaking of the turmoil unleashed by the Arab Spring. “Your nation is a trust with you. You must safeguard its security, stability and resources,” the cleric, who heads Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, said in an address to the Muslim world. “You should know that you are targeted by your enemy... who wants to spread chaos among you ... It’s time to confront this.”

He did not speak specifically of Syria, where Sunniled rebels backed by Saudi Arabia are at war with a regime led by Alawites - an offshoot of Shiism - and closely allied with Shiite Iran and Hezbollah. But the cleric recalled the Islamic prohibition of killing and aggression, while insisting there is “no salvation or happiness for the Muslim nation without adhering to the teachings of the religion.”

Attendance is sharply down from last year, due to fears linked to the MERS virus and to multi-billion-dollar expansion work at the Grand Mosque to almost double its capacity to around 2.2 million worshippers. Governor of Makkah province and head of the central hajj committee Prince Khaled Al-Faisal said 1.38 million pilgrims had arrived from outside of the kingdom while ony 117,000 hajj permits were issued for domestic pilgrims.

Continued on Page 13

Britain to ease visas Riyadh to join Polonium confirmed for China applicants US as shale on Arafat clothing BEIJING: Britain says it will make it easi- which is not part of the EU’s “Schengen er for China’s citizens to obtain visas, as Area” for border-free travel. Business it seeks a bigger share of the multi-bil- people will also be able to apply for a lion-dollar Chinese traveller market “super-priority ” visa, which will be processed within 24 against stiff European comhours rather than a week. petition. Finance minister Some 210,000 visas were George Osborne, who is in issued to Chinese nationChina leading a British trade als in 2012, adding delegation, promised the around £300 million new measures would help ($480 million) to the the tens of thousands of British economy.

Chinese visitors hoping to But Peking University visit Britain.

“Have student Chen Xiao said announced new measures the current British visa to simplify + speed up visa application process was “a applications for visitors nuisance and time confrom #China,” the chancellor suming”. “The amount of of the exchequer wrote on George Osborne forms needed to obtain a his official Twitter account.

“Good for tourism and British business,” British visa isn’t small compared to other countries,” she added. “Also they require Osborne said.

Chinese tourists visiting the you to show proof of assets. So this is a European Union using selected travel challenge for those who come from less agencies will no longer have to file a wealthy backgrounds.”

Continued on Page 13 separate application to visit Britain,

gas producer DAEGU, South Korea: OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia is preparing to be among the first countries outside North America to use shale gas for power generation and thereby save more of its crude oil for lucrative exports. Inspired by a shale gas boom in the United States, which has transformed the country from the world’s largest gas importer to a budding exporter, Riyadh plans to take its first steps to commercialise its own large unconventional deposits.

“We are ready to start producing our own shale gas and unconventional resources in various types in the next few years and deliver them to consumers,” Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Khalid Al-Falih said yesterday at the World Energy Congress in South Korea.

“Only two years after launching our own unconventional gas program, in the northern region of Saudi Arabia, we are ready to commit gas for the development of a 1,000 megawatt power plant which will feed a massive phosphate mining and manufacturing sector,” said Falih.

Continued on Page 13

Iran hopes talks will yield ‘roadmap’ Rouhani calls for academic freedoms

TEHRAN: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani waves to participants as he attends a ceremony to mark the beginning of the university academic year at Tehran University yesterday. — AP

TEHRAN: Iran’s foreign minister said he hoped a “roadmap” for negotiations could be reached in nuclear talks with world powers this week but that a higher-level meeting would probably be needed. The Geneva talks, set to take place today and tomorrow, will be the first such negotiations since President Hassan Rouhani, a reputed moderate, took office in August. “I hope that we will be able to reach a roadmap by Wednesday but... it will probably be necessary to have a new ministerial meeting,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on his Facebook page late Sunday.

A first meeting between Zarif and his counterparts from the six powers took place last month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which was accompanied by a landmark bilateral meeting between him and US Secretary of State John Kerry. The Geneva negotiations will be between Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi and representatives of the P5+1 group made up of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany. The bloc will be led by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

After meeting Ashton in London on Sunday, Kerry said the window for diplomacy with Iran was “cracking open”. But he also warned that

Washington would remain wary during the negotiations, as he spoke to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee summit in Washington via satellite from London. “When President (Barack) Obama says that he will not allow a nuclear-armed Iran, he means what he says. I believe firmly that no deal is better than a bad deal,” Kerry told the powerful lobbying group.

Israel has repeatedly called on its US ally not to fall for “sweet talk” from the new Iranian president, insisting that actions not words are essential to ensure Tehran never acquires an atomic bomb. “It would be a historic mistake to ease the pressure on Iran a moment before the sanctions achieve their objective,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned yesterday.

“Particularly at this moment we must not give up on them, we must keep up the pressure.”

Zarif will take part in the opening sessions in Geneva but Araqchi will lead the Iranian delegation during the talks. The foreign minister said, however, that “if necessary, I will also speak.” “We want to change the approach of the past six years, which have given no results,” he wrote on his Facebook page. Zarif has taken over as Iran’s lead nuclear negotiator, but he has so far refused to be drawn on what Iran might offer in Continued on Page 13

PARIS: Swiss radiation experts have confirmed they found traces of polonium on clothing used by Yasser Arafat which “support the possibility” the veteran Palestinian leader was poisoned. In a report published by The Lancet at the weekend, the team provide scientific details to media statements made in 2012 that they had found polonium on Arafat’s belongings. Arafat died in France on November 11 2004 at the age of 75, but doctors were unable to specify the cause of death. No autopsy was carried out at the time, in line with his widow’s request.

His remains were exhumed in Nov 2012 and samples taken, partly to investigate whether he had been poisoned - a suspicion that grew after the assassination of Russian ex-spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. That investigation is ongoing, conducted separately by teams in France, Switzerland and Russia. In the Lancet report, eight scientists working at the Institute of Radiation Physics and University Centre of Legal Medicine in Lausanne said they had carried out radiological tests on 75 samples.

Thirty-eight samples came from Arafat’s belongings, including underwear, a shapka hat, toothbrush, a hospital cap and sportswear, that were provided by the Palestinian leader’s widow Suha Arafat. These were checked against 37 “reference” samples of cotton clothing

that had been kept in an attic for 10 years and protected from dust. “Several samples containing body fluid stains (blood and urine) contained higher unexplained polonium 210 activities than the reference samples,” says the case report. “These findings support the possibility of Arafat’s poisoning with polonium 210.” The polonium samples were measured at “several mBq”, or millibecquerels, a unit of radioactivity.

Computer modelling, which calculates polonium’s very fast decay, found that these levels “are compatible with a lethal ingestion of several GBq,” or several billion becquerels, in 2004, they said. In addition, says the report, Arafat’s clinical symptoms “could not rule out” polonium poisoning.

These include nausea, vomiting, fatigue and abdominal pain. “Since ingested polonium 210 is eliminated partly through faeces, the gastro-intestinal syndrome, associated with multiple organ failure, could be a predominant cause of death,” the authors suggest.

They acknowledge, though, that Arafat showed no hair loss or decline in bone marrow activity - symptoms that typically occur in radiation poisoning. The team regret that no post-mortem investigation was carried out after Arafat’s death. “An autopsy would have been useful in this case because although potential Continued on Page 13

RAMALLAH: This Nov 9, 2003 file photo shows Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat holding up a map of the controversial Israeli ‘security’ fence during a meeting in this West Bank city with a French solidarity delegation. — AFP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

LOCAL

MPs slam Amnesty for questioning gay ban Call for response from ministry KUWAIT: Several MPs criticized Amnesty International who recently demanded that Kuwait drop announced plans to propose new measures to bar homosexuals from coming to Arab Gulf states. In statements made Sunday, the lawmakers demanded a response from the Foreign Ministry “with strong language” and threatened to hold them accountable otherwise.

“The decision to ban entrance of homosexuals is sovereign and one that the Amnesty International has no right to interfere with”, MP Abdurrahman Al-Jeeran said. He further called upon the organization to “pay attention to the noble goals it was established for and put aside defending deviants and human garbage”.

Furthermore, the same lawmaker urged the organization to “focus attention on the increasing rates of childbirth out of wedlock, abortion, teen pregnancies and other moral crimes in Europe”.

Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International Philip Luther said in a statement released on Friday that Kuwait’s proposal to introduce compulsory medical tests to bar entrance of any migrant worker recognized as homosexual or transgender is “outrageous” and “should be rejected” .

He further called on Kuwaiti authorities to “ensure that people are not harassed and abused because of who they are” and to repeal laws that “criminalize sexual acts between con-

senting adults”.

“I was shocked like every other citizen in Kuwait by these calls, shameless demands, and blatant interference in the affairs of an Islamic state whose people are committed to the teachings and principles of sharia”, MP Mohammad Al-Jabri said.

And while he expressed “regret to hear these shameless demands from an organization that is supposed to be protecting freedom and human rights”, Al-Jabri demanded a response from the Foreign Ministry “that explains the high principles, values, and teachings of Islam that the Kuwaiti people believe in and prohibit the vice-spreading practices that the organization demands”.

Salafist welcome electoral law amendment KUWAIT: A parliament member announced plans to ‘reintroduce’ a draft law to unify classifications of the Kuwaiti citizenship which the legislative committee already rejected last week.

This time, MP Mohammad Al-Enizy said that he plans to ‘coordinate’ with legislative committee members in order to discuss the reasons behind their decision as well as ways to amend the proposal “in order to put it in line with the constitution”.

Al-Enizy’s statements were published by Al-Rai which also quoted MP Abdurrahman Al-Jeeran who announced that the Salafist Islamic Assembly supports a proposal to amend the electoral system and increase the maximum number of votes a citizen can cast to two. “We hope that an amendment allows

wider participation because we are in need for every loyal effort to push the development process forward”, Al-Jeeran explained.

Several members of the opposition which boycotted last July’s polls in protest against a government-amended electoral law had previously announced that they would ‘reconsider’ their stance if the law is amended in the parliament. Al-Jeeran also announced that a parliamentary bloc “that include seven to ten lawmakers representing all constituencies” is set to be announced soon, and added that the group is not likely to carry the ‘Islamist’ or ‘Conservatives’ title “because history shows that many practices carried out under those titles were away from the essence of Islam, and we would like to turn a new page based on coordination”.

Meanwhile, MP Hamdan Al-Azmy gave Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah a “chance to maintain cooperation between the cabinet and parliament”, which he said can be done through a cabinet reshuffle “which eliminates ministers who are unable to work”.

He further told Al-Qabas daily that there are ministers he did not name “who must not continue [being members of ] the cabinet or otherwise the cabinet risks losing support of the parliament’s majority”.

In the meantime, Al-Watan quoted by Kamel Al-Awadhi who identified the housing crisis as “the issue of top importance” which he claimed that once resolved will help address several other problems “in health, education and economy”.

KUWAIT: Firemen in action after fire broke out in a residential building at Al-Othman Street, Hawally, yesterday.

Man held with drugs, fake IDs

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A wanted Iranian was recently arrested with drugs and three fake IDs, said security sources. Case papers indicate that a police patrol suspected the man who drove off when he was asked to pull over but was later stopped near Al-Shaab park.

After investigations, policemen found out that the car he drove was a rented one and he held a fake Civil ID. However, on search-

ing the vehicle, policemen found drugs and three fake IDs. A case was field and the suspect was referred to relevant authorities.

Fire controlled Hawally and Salmiya firefighters were recently dispatched to deal with a fire in a residential building at Al-Othman Street, Hawally. The fire was controlled with no casualties.

Airports, borders, resorts full ahead of Eid holidays KUWAIT: Around 137,000 people left Kuwait and joined 121,000 others who flew out of the country even before the nineday Eid Al-Adha holidays officially began.

This was reported by Al-Qabas yesterday quoting an Interior Ministry source who explained that 17,000 left through the Nuwaiseeb border checkpoint last Tuesday, 24,000 on Wednesday, 32,000 on Thursday, 34,000 on Friday and 30,000 on Saturday.

The same daily quoted General Director of the General Directorate for Civil Aviation, Essam Al-Zamel, last week who said that 121,000 people flew out from the Kuwait International Airport before the holiday.

Meanwhile, government sources quoted

by Al-Watan yesterday said that around 400,000 more are expected to travel starting from today. And despite the large numbers of travelers, reservations at local hotels, resorts, and chalets are full during the holiday, according to sales and marketing managers quoted yesterday by AlWatan daily.

They added that occupancy rates remained high despite price increase of 22 percent compared to the Eid Al-Adha holiday last August. Spending 10 days at the Khairan Resort costs around KD 2,500 during the holiday, the report indicated.

Govt putting final touches to its agenda KUWAIT: Dr Rola Dashti, Minister of Planning and Minister of State for NA Affairs said that the government was serious regarding cooperating with the parliament and was working on two parallel lines: suggesting projects and solutions through a realistic program and a clearly defined development plan.

She added that the government was currently putting the final touches to its agenda and getting it ready to submit it to the parliament by the beginning of the

new parliamentary term. “The new program and agenda will be different from previous ones and will focus on solving problems and meeting citizens aspirations”, she underlined, adding that the new program would act as a road map to solve all deep-seated problems with the housing issue right at the top. Dashti also noted that the government was willing to cooperate with the parliament to provide a house through a strategy mainly based on removing obstacles like long-awaited legislations.

MoE terminates expats with 25 years service KUWAIT: In a bid to place Kuwaitis in leading positions, the Ministr y of Education recently terminated the contracts of all expatriate heads of department (HoDs) working in Ahmadi educational area schools who were in service for 25 years or more.

In this regard, MoE’s Human Resources Manager, Soud Al-Juwaiser asked Ahmadi Educational Zone Director, Mona Al-Sallal to inform all concerned employees and get their signature on notification letters to avoid any possible legal claims. Al-Juwaiser added that terminated expatriates would get the legal termination notice as per the contract signed with them.

Meanwhile, informed sources expressed amazement at delaying such notifications till October while the ministry should have notified the concerned teachers by the end of last year so that

they could make proper arrangements instead of starting the school year as usual, especially since many of them book round tickets because they know they will still be working the following year. “Those who have been in service for 25 years should be rewarded instead of being punished in this way”, stressed the sources pointing out that the delay in notifying the concerned employees and appointing their replacements would create a great deal of confusion, especially since the ministry was still suffering the aftermath of forcing citizens with more than 35 years of service to retire.

Notably, MoE tends to Kuwaitize educational jobs through a plan set in collaboration with teachers colleges to qualify enough Kuwaitis to teach various subjects in a bid to reduce dependence on expatriate teachers.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

LOCAL

Facebook users welcome changes in its settings No impact on overall policy

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Facebook is ready to change its settings which allowed users to hide from the social network’s billion-plus members. Once these changes come into effect, people looking for other people on Facebook will be able to find them easily. Facebook claimed that they made these changes after some users complained that when they tried to find someone they knew personally and weren’t able to, they felt confused.

“This is very good now because we can see everyone. There is no more hiding. But what about a person who changes his name? How can you be sure that she is the real one?” one of the Facebook users asked.

Facebook management said it has no impact on overall policy. According to Michael Richter, Facebook ’s Chief Privac y O fficer, whether you’ve been using the setting or not, the best way to control what people can find about you on Facebook is to choose who can see which part of your online profile. But some experts argued such a change in policy is not

really only about complaints.

“Come on, the reason for these things is not merely about security. The fact is millions of Facebook users are disconnecting every month and it’s very alarming. This was revealed in a survey,” said Mohammad (name changed), CEO of a tech school in Kuwait.

“If Facebook continues to agitate users with their settings and features which are being used on other social media, why not shift to another provider? They are available anyway: Twitter is there and so is Instagram,” he said.

“So to restructure and create more customers, they really have to do something about their features,” he said. According to Mohammad, social media, especially Facebook, is reputed as far as their users are concerned. It unites some families but destroys others.

“Restructuring a company is a huge responsibility which cannot be done in an hour or so. It requires technical know-how and several brains to make it better,” he added.

Facebook admitted to having obtained about 36 percent revenues last year and studies sug-

gest that its expansion in the US, UK and other major European countries has peaked. A few months ago, the world’s largest social network lost 6 million US visitors, which was a 4 percent fall, according to analysis firm SocialBakers. In the UK, 1.4 million fewer users checked in last month and over the last six months, Facebook lost nearly 9 million monthly visitors in the US and 2 million in the UK. Facebook is the most authoritative source on its own user numbers, and the firm will update investors on its performance for the quarter ending March tomorrow. Wall Street expects revenues of about $1.44 billion, up from $1.06 billion a year ago. Wary of competition from services which were invented more for smartphones than the PC, founder Mark Zuckerberg has introduced new initiatives over the last one year designed to appeal to smartphone users.

The most significant is Facebook Home, a software which can be downloaded on certain Android phones to feed news and photos from friends - and advertising - directly to the owner’s locked home screen.

Kuwait warns against illegal pilgrimages MAKKAH: Head of Kuwait Hajj Mission Dr Adel Al-Falah urged pilgrims to heed Saudi authorities’ instructions particularly those related to having Hajj (pilgrimage) permits and joining a legal pilgrimage campaign to enjoy their spiritual journey.

“On the top of those instructions that must be heeded is the warning against joining pilgrimage trips organized by unauthorized Hajj campaigns,” Al-Falah, also Undersecretary of Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, said.

He stressed that these instructions are meant to secure the safety of the pilgrims and the smoothness of the Hajj season.

“The Kuwaiti authorities have done all in

KUWAIT: In collaboration with the Egyptian Cultural office, the Egyptian Community council in Kuwait recently organized a concert to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Victory over Israel (October Victory). The ceremony included musical concerts and recitation of great poems by poet Abdul Hameed Zaqzouq. The ceremony was attended by diplomats and members of the Egyptian community.

— Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

Govt ready to handle any kind of emergencies KUWAIT: Jasim Al-Linqawi, Ministry of Electricity and Water Assistant Undersecretary for Power Distribution Networks Affairs said there are nearly 220 emergency power generators of various sizes and capacities, ready to move any time to provide electricity in case of any technical malfunctions in any area during the Eid holidays or even otherwise.

He said the sector is ready to handle any

kind of emergencies regarding power during the Eid holidays, especially in malls and crowded areas and hospitals.

He said there are four vital departments: power network emergency, emergency services, distribution network and streets illumination.

He said these departments are ready to deal with all kinds of electrical emergencies.

Kuwait takes experimental step towards use of solar power KUWAIT: Kuwait uses more than 500,000 barrels of oil daily to meet the needs of power stations, water and petroleum industries, and these quantities are expected to rise on an annual basis, especially with the expansion of new cities by 2030 when it is expected to reach 800,000 barrels a day. There is a lot of focus on exploring alternate sources of power over fears of losing oil in the future.

Many Gulf countries aspire to take advantage of the sun and turn solar energy into the main source of national income considering the region gets abundant sunlight throughout the year. Tapping into solar energy will also provide remote areas with power and create new job opportunities and revive the economy, especially with the mad rise in fuel prices and its effect on economies of Western countries.

As Kuwait Petroleum Corporation intends to benefit from the sources and applications of renewable energy sources to meet part of the Kuwait oil sector needs, and as part of KPC strategy to manage

emissions of carbon dioxide and other warm gases, KOC, as the largest consumer of oil and gas which operates oil fields and assembly centers is seriously considering using solar power by establishing a small solar power station in Um Qudair field with five megawatt capacity and delivering power to a substation with a capacity of 11 megawatt.

KOC’s solar power project in Um Qudair fields is the first experimental step towards the use of solar power and introducing modern technologies by specialized international companies which will submit details of the station, number of boards, and the technology used in the station during the building of the project, the station’s trial, and exploring its feasibility to deliver power to oil companies.

An official source at KOC said the company presented the solar power station tender last month and will hold a meeting on Oct 29 with 12 international companies, while the tender will be closed by CTC on Dec 3.

power to guarantee full commitment of all Hajjrelated regulations,” Al-Falah asserted.

In this regard, the Kuwaiti authorities have asked ministry of information to ban publication or broadcast of commercials of illegal campaigns in all media outlets. Authorities also demanded Kuwaiti and Saudi airlines not to transport pilgrims who have no pilgrimage permits, he said. Despite these efforts, Al-Falah admitted that Saudi authorities have discovered at least 70 pilgrims, mostly women, who have come from Kuwait but without permits.

He added that Kuwait Hajj Mission has intervened with the Saudi authorities to let them perform their Hajj as they were victims to greedy

Hajj campaigns. “Those campaigns would be punished by relevant Kuwaiti authorities, “ AlFalah vowed. On the other hand, Al-Falah dismissed circulated reports claiming that the Saudi authorities have allocated smaller camping places for Kuwaiti pilgrims than that of their Emirati peers. He asked all people particularly media outlets to double check of any information about Kuwaiti Hajj mission before publishing it. Muslims from around the world pour into Makkah every year to perform Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must perform Hajj at least once in a lifetime. —KUNA

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

LOCAL

letters to Badrya

kuwait digest

Technological advances

No place in heaven for murderers Al-Anbaa

Dear Ms Badrya Darwish,

By Jaafar Rajab

D

ear fools who have either had their good side, animosity or political stupidity taken advantage of time and time again, congratulations for your financial and moral support in murdering people, and for playing a role in the massacres that happened and will happen in Syria and other parts of the world. Congratulations on having your hands stained with the blood of innocent people, and for being a cause of overall misery.

The Human Rights Watch said in a recent report that at least some of the funding that opposition fighters received and used for the Latakia operation in which 190 innocent civilians were killed came from Kuwaitis or people in Kuwait. The government, of course, is either the last to know about this or perhaps knows but is too scared to say anything regarding this situation in which Kuwaiti money was used to fund the killing of innocent civilians.

To those who have spare money they wish to donate: I believe that paying your money to build a school, playground, library or a charitable program to help the poor around the world, is better than going after stories about supporting jihadists and whatever is waiting the supporters in heaven. You know that fundraisers in this case basically fool you in order to become rich at your expense, right?

But I think many here will not find such news problematic since they already have their justification ready for these kinds of situations. “ The donations were made with good intentions”, “funds donated to rebel fighters are aimed at supporting jihadists against infidels” and “a donor is not held responsible from a religious standpoint on how the funds were later used”. These are some ways by which the donors try to avoid taking responsibility for the massacres.

Perhaps a better justification would be one in which fundraisers claim that financial aid to rebel fighters goes into supporting fighting against murderers and therefore serves as a ‘repellant’ to prevent further massacres. Yes, I think most people find that this justification best fits their conscience!

To those who have spare money they wish to donate: I believe that paying your money to build a school, playground, library or a charitable program to help the poor around the world, is better than going after stories about supporting jihadists and whatever is waiting the supporters in heaven. You know that fundraisers in this case basically fool you in order to become rich at your expense, right?

They take your money and use it to build mansions and have multiple wives, then promise you with a ‘house in heaven’ and ‘multiple mistresses at your service’ in the afterlife. All that while your generous donations are actually used to murder human beings.

But it is okay, pay no attention to what I wrote. You can call me a liar, a fraud, a sectarian, or racist. You can call me whatever you want and use a thousand excuses to justify your actions. You might be right, but I am also right when I say that there is no ‘special place’ in heaven for murderers like you. — AlRai

kuwait digest

Copy of native Americans

By Khalid A Al-Awadhi

I

t is known that US natives have a special status, as they have stayed there before Christopher Columbus discovered it, and before the Europeans immigrated there. So the Federal government gives those residents some advantages which are not given to ordinary Americans as a token of appreciation from the American government to tribal groups who lived there since ancient times. For example, native Americans are exempted from paying certain taxes, have hunting rights and certain other rights which ordinary American citizens don’t get.

Whenever the American government wants to utilize some natural resources that belong to the tribal groups, it pays a large amount of money to them so that they can utilize it. After many generations, native Americans have become careless about work and don’t feel ambitious because their food and drinks are easily available to them without any effort but who knows what the future holds?

Regretfully, we Kuwaitis are not very different from native Americans. Jobs are guaranteed, and

with it come salary increases, cadres and allowances, whether we worked for it or not. It’s not important to work for the country to deserve these advantages as being a Kuwaiti is enough.

The state, whether it knows or not, and whether to intends or not, is pushing Kuwaiti individuals to become a copy of the native American whose ambitions were killed as all his instincts were satisfied. It seems that our consecutive governments are happy with this situation and not seeking to change it, and all indicators point that these privileges are making Kuwaitis more dependent and killing their ambition to work until they become like the native Americans one day.

Because if we have “Burqan” today, there will come a day when it becomes dry whether we like it or not, and if fate and blessings stand next to us today, no one guarantees that they will be the same tomorrow. If we don’t help Kuwaitis bear their own responsibilities, appreciate work and seek to innovate and shoulder difficulties, I am sorry to say we’re in danger. — Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

Truth about sectarianism

By Dr Hassan Abbas

R

epeated sectarian insults have become a symphony for daily media and a ‘rich meal’ for national security experts. The newest story came from Iraq when Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr apologized to Sunnis over an incident in which Shiite youngsters offended the fellowship of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). While Al-Sadr’s apology is appreciated, the whole incident begs the question: For how long will trading sectarian insults continue? For how long are people from both sides going to continue offending the others’ beliefs?

Actually, this question is a naive one because the answer can be found in the first sentence of this column. Repeated insults form a rich field for the media and those who live on spreading sectarianism. So the real question is this: For how long are followers from both sectarian beliefs going to fall for sectarianism calls? What has been achieved from exchange of insults aside from hatred and fighting? I am going to assume three possible responses for the last question.

The first response indicates that hatred and fighting are actually the goals behind the endless exchanged insults. In that regard, people insulting believe that what they are doing is holy. But if we think from that narrow perspective, we have to ask this question: Have

those goals been achieved? Has any side been able to eliminate the other? Of course not.

The second response uses the ‘eye for an eye’ concept in an attempt to justify exchanging insults. But is that a way to resolve a problem that affects societies, nations, generations as well as moral and religious responsibilities? Most people would say that if Muslims around the world are surveyed on whether or not offending others is part of religion, a minority would say yes. I personally believe that the number of people who think insults are part of religion is a drop in the ocean of nearly one billion Muslims around the world.

The majority do not see anything wrong in coexistence.

The third response says that insults are only a way to “vent” or release what is kept within. I believe it is the duty of followers of each sectarian group to personally silence anyone who believes in this response!

If you look into the beliefs of the Sunni and Shiite faiths, you will find out that hatred is absent from both sectarian groups. Yes, both have negative positions regarding some beliefs of the other, but those are scholastic opinions that do not reach the level of hatred. Unfortunately, sectarian people use those opinions to fuel hatred in violation of the principles of tolerance found in both beliefs. — Al-Rai

Necessity is the mother of invention but as inventions have become necessity for survival of engineers at least in the mobile phone world, companies are rolling out new technologies on a daily basis to win over others. Needless to say, it is the perfect example of how technology can spoil a generation.

Technological boom in the mobile phone and information technology is making the new generation very lazy. Of course, there are a number of advantages and they help companies, individuals etc to lead a better life. But if we call this development, what are we developing into? And what would be the outcome of it? No one can be blamed for this and no one can stop it also.

Generations born in the 20th century and before have witnessed atrocities of cold-blooded dictators, deadly natural calamities, ravaging epidemics and devastating wars. So they know the meaning of hunger, the importance of life and value of money.

But for the new generation, including me, life has been an easy journey so far. We don’t know what hunger is, we have seen wars only on TV, and technology has improved so much that even natural calamities can be predicted and that’s why we haven’t seen the severity of natural calamity. All we know is how to compare with others and feel bad about what they have that we’re lacking in our own lives and that moment you realize what it is, you’re just a click away from getting it.

Best regards, Antony Augustine Dear Badrya, How sad, unfortunate and funny it is to easily bring sex workers and prostitutes into this country but almost impossible for expats to get a visa to bring their families. Madam, you are doing very good job but who is there to listen to you and us? Human rights are openly being violated here and we are being treated as slaves. May Allah the Almighty bless us.

Regards, Mohammad Yahya Dear Badrya, Wish you a pleasant morning and Eid Mubarak to you and your family members well in advance. I highly appreciate your writing in favor of truth and humanity. Being an expatriate in Kuwait, I feel really touched by your articles and it feels very motherly. I would highly appreciate it if you can write an article on visa availability for dependent parents. My brother and I are working in Kuwait for a reputed shipping company and both of us are drawing a salary of more than KD 500 per month. My father is 71-years-old and mother is about 65 years. As we are their only caretakers, we have been calling our parents to Kuwait for last two years on visit visa but since the beginning of this year, the ministry has implemented a new rule for visitors to stay in Kuwait for three months and there should be a gap of at least six months before applying for a new visit visa. Kindly note that this is not only about my parents but is a common problem of expatriates living in Kuwait. Despite drawing a good income, we can’t keep our parents with us. Being senior citizens, our parents are facing lot of difficulties staying alone in India. As per my knowledge in USA, they provide family visit visa for 10 years and only thing required is to exit the country and once in six months, you can return immediately. Concerned ministry should set some criteria allowing dependent parents to stay permanently with us in Kuwait. We are ready to do anything for this.

Thanks and best regards, Fakhruddin Munim Dear Badrya, Congrats on the bold reporting in Kuwait Times.

Regards, Subhash R

kuwait digest

Empty-handed politicians

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

kuwait digest

‘Unproductive’ govt workers

By Muthaffar Abdullah

W

ith the government’s current formation and characteristics that are too dangerous and need fundamental remedies, starting with high quality of education and linking it to developmental projects, which the current government seems unable to do, the state’s administrative apparatus is the prime hindrance of development.

A job in a government department is one of the dangers the state is surrounded by nowadays. First of all, it drains out public funds only through salaries, allowances, incentives and repeated pay hikes, but also through spending on public and university education that produces incompetent graduates with poor knowledge and skills. So, the waste is effective both ways.

The main motto of local struggle in the past few years has been employment in the government’s public sector and forcing senior officials getting astronomical salaries for bad performances that had been defaming local administration in the long run to retire.

A report by the Civil Services Commission (CSC) on Oct 5, highlighted the concept of distributing income through government jobs as a warning sign for which it should be thanked. CSC report showed the following: “25,000 new applicants for new jobs are incompetent.

Current employees (who include 240,000 citizens amongst a work force of 331,333) are unproductive.

There is a growth in employing both citizens and expatriates. Government employees devour KD 10 billion as payroll.

Citizens receive KD 5 billion in the form of various subsidies, as per the current budget of KD 18.9 billion.

The sum spent on salaries is more political than productive. It is being spent to achieve social stability and has nothing to do with productivity because none is accountable for his or her incompetence, which takes us back to square one”.

The danger in this lies in the fact that those numbers are closely related to the price of oil, that the exaggerated increase in salaries will be controlled by a market beyond our control. Such increases lead to uncontrolled increases in the prices of citizens’ daily needs from the local uncontrolled market. Meanwhile, a large segment of government employees believe that their salaries are well-deserved regardless of their performances, that they will surely escape unpunished for bad ones and that those who work hard will eventually receive nothing more than certificates of gratitude while eventually receiving equal salaries to those who do not work hard. — Al-Jarida

I

n politically mature societies that have both efficient political leaders and voters, accusations and rumors are almost absent during election battles or even during political struggles. Incidents where someone accuses another of lying or other general accusations are rare. Instead, everyone is too busy explaining what they have and promoting their ideologies and point of view for the future.

But the situation is different here. Everyone, including the government, its allies and opposition, are empty-handed. They have no real vision to build the country’s future or workable solutions for its present problems. Therefore, candidates resort during election campaigns to spread accusations, complaints and lies to sugarcoat their incompetence and political failures.

Meanwhile, the opposition has nothing to present or no solutions and alternatives to recommend.

Therefore, they either criticize or point out the same mistakes all the time. And when real challenges are brought up, they make unrealistic, unclear and unstudied statements such as “diversifying sources of national income” and “creating alternatives to oil revenues” yet they cannot explain how diversification happens or what kind of alternatives they are promoting. And even when the government succeeded in taking the first steps to creating alternative revenues by investing in petrochemical industries through the K-Dow project, the opposition foiled the venture. The K-Dow project was a huge and bold step taken by the government at the time to diversify the source of income and change the character of Kuwait’s society. — Al-Qabas

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

LOCAL

Arab economies still face risks, challenges Sheikh Salem addresses WB meeting

KUWAIT: The Eid Al-Adha season provides an opportunity for Kuwaiti small business owners to market their products and handicraft merchandise in a competitive atmosphere that retains the traditional character of the Kuwaiti society.

PIC plans annual production increase by 46pct KUWAIT: Kuwaiti state-owned Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) expects an annual 46pct increase in its production capacity after new strategic projects set for 2030 are completed, according to a senior employee.

The company plans to expand its production from 8.2 million tonnes to 12 million tonnes a year in the olefins, aromatics and specialty chemical sectors as “growth in these sectors will continue in the coming years, and a number of strategic projects have been targeted for execution until 2030,” director of comprehensive planning, Nasser AlEnezi, told the company’s in-house magazine.

It is also keen to discover new investment opportunities to expand upon its production of petrochemical products, namely urea, ammonia, methanol, polypropylene, polyethylene, ethylene glycol, paraxylene, benzene and styrene.

This strategy is being approached on three fronts, building new projects in and out of Kuwait which depend on raw materials, or what is known as feedstock (natural gas in this case), taking over petrochemical companies abroad and integration between the company’s foreign and local-based activities. Newly-assumed projects include the locally-based Olefins III project, the Aromatics Complex II project, a planned Olefins IV project and an integrated refinery and petrochemical project in China.

The company is doing its best to complete the two home -based Olefins III and Aromatics Complex II projects with the support of parent company Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC).

On competition in the global market, he said that “there will be many changes which will aid drawing up the future of petrochemicals globally.”

The most fundamental of these will be the levels of expected supply of shale gas from North America in the coming years and how the global market will react to this.—KUNA

Adel Hamad Al-Ayyar

Spain honors Kuwait diplomat MADRID: The Spanish government decided in its last meeting to honor former Kuwaiti Ambassador to Spain Adel Hamad Al-Ayyar with the order of civil merits medal for his role in bolstering ties between Kuwait and Spain.

Al-Ayyar headed the Kuwaiti Embassy in Madrid between September 2006 and 2013.

The ambassador also received several accolades from the Spanish government for his diplomatic efforts.

During Al-Ayyar’s tenure, His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah visited Spain in 2008.

The Order of Civil Merit was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes “the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and foreign citizens for the benefit of Spain.” — KUNA

WASHINGTON: Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah said here yesterday Arab countries still have major economic risks and challenges in light of regional instability. In a speech he addressed on behalf of the Arab Governors at IMF and World Bank (WB) meetings, Sheikh Salem said that the economies of Arab countries “still face important risks and challenges amidst continued regional tension, instability and political uncertainty emanating from the countries in transition, as well as a slow global recovery.”

He said that “the challenges of political transition have been made substantially more difficult. People’s lives have too often worsened during the transition, creating conditions that should be of considerable concern to all of us, globally.”

“Arab countries are fully aware that much remains to be done to meet the longer-term challenges including deepening economic and social policy reforms, promoting greater economic regional integration and cooperation, diversifying the economic base,” he remarked.

He affirmed that “in facing these challenges, we strongly believe that our global partners can play a key role in supporting ongoing policy reforms in our region, and in complementing existing Arab intra-regional financing initiatives and commitments.”

“Together we urgently need to find solutions.

The international community needs to do much more,” he stressed.

He affirmed that the Arab oil exporting countries “continue to play constructive role in maintaining production levels that bring stability

to the world oil market and in addressing the needs of importing countries.”

He stressed the importance of broader cooperation “between our governments and the IMF and the World Bank Group on the priorities and challenges facing the region and how best to respond to them in a timely manner.”

He emphasized that “there is a real need for greater support for economic development and increased resilience in the face of conflict and insecurity in some parts of our region.”

“We call on the Bank and the IMF to scale-up support substantially to these sub-regions, particularly in Yemen, the Horn of Africa and the countries neighboring Syria, to address the challenges comprehensively,” he stressed.

He added that “to this effect, we call on both institutions for greater commitment and alertness to those countries’ problems, and we stress both institutions to show additional flexibility by willing to accept terms more appropriate and in line to the exceptional circumstances and challenges they face.”

Sheikh Salem also stressed “there are particularly urgent needs for large-scale financial assistance in Arab countries in transition,” saying “these countries need the direct support and engagement of the IMF and World Bank Group to help them formulate short and medium term stabilization and development plans and concrete programs with measurable results that can help catalyze broader financial support.”

“We call on the Bank Group specifically to deploy significantly more of its capital towards creating stability and prosperity in the Arab region, and we call on the Fund to view stabiliz-

ing the Arab region as comparable to stabilizing the Eurozone,” he said.

He added that the IMF and World Bank “should greatly intensify their efforts to help mobilize external financing from other partners in support of the transition countries in economic crisis.”

He stressed that the World Bank- and Fundsupported programs and projects “need to enhance their understanding of the political economy constraints facing countries.”

“It is time for both institutions to demonstrate their relevance to our region beyond the traditional approaches and individual programs and projects, by drawing a new strategy, more appropriate to the new challenges facing the region and demonstrating the kind of strategic value that is called for in this critical moment in its history,” he remarked.

Furthermore, the Kuwait minister expressed “regret” that Arab nationals “remain under-represented in both institutions especially in managerial positions,” urging “the management of the two institutions to step-up efforts to strengthen the recruitment, career progression, and promotion of Arab nationals.”

“On all of the above issues, we would like to emphasize that we, as a (Arab) group, plan to go beyond this annual joint speech during the Annual Meetings, we now need from the World Bank Group and IMF to see detailed action plans and regular updates with real measurable results ... above all results in mobilizing the international community and accessing financial markets to create stability and shared prosperity in the Arab world at this time,” he stressed. — KUNA

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

LOCAL

Co-pilot arrested for attempt to smuggle in 12 Grey Parrots Filipina accuses policeman of rape KUWAIT: Customs officials foiled a co-pilot’s attempt to smuggle 12 exotic birds on a commercial flight that landed in Kuwait on coming from New York. The African Grey Parrots were found inside a closed suitcase placed between the passengers’ luggage and the co-pilot later admitted he was trying to smuggle them. A source in the Customs General Department said that the same co-pilot was previously detained on similar smuggling charges but was released on parole. Each bird costs KD 150 to KD 200 and can be sold for over KD 1,000 in Kuwait, the source added.

Rape case A police officer is being questioned on sexual assault charges filed by a woman living in Farwaniya. A case was filed at the area’s police station where a lawyer from the Philippine’s Embassy escorted the victim who explained that the officer raped her at her apartment which he raided in his police uniform.

Detectives were able to identify the officer based on the descriptions the Filipina national provided. The officer, a Gulf national, was referred to the proper authorities for further action.

Black magic A man was arrested on charges of practicing black magic which were exposed during investigations.

Farwaniya police were approached by a 31-year-old Kuwaiti woman who gave information about an Egyptian man who conned her of KD 800. When summoned for investigations, the man explained that the woman paid him to help her “control” a bank manager using black magic. But when his plans failed, the woman asked for a refund which he refused, prompting her to press scam charges against him. Further investigations revealed that the woman met the 48-year-old at a coffee shop in Farwaniya, which is one of many in the areas he frequents looking for ‘customers’. The man also claimed during questioning that he was involved in illegal relationships with many women who hired him for his sorcery services. He is currently behind bars.

Fintas fights In other incidents, two Arab men received treatment at Adan Hospital after attacking each other with pocket knives during a fight in Fintas, while an Asian man was taken to the Mubarak Hospital after sustaining a stab

injury during a fight in Hawally.

Driver arrested Driver of a sewage tanker was arrested before he could unload the vehicle’s contents into the Gulf waters.

Police approached a truck stopped near the beach in Subbiya when the driver looked like he was getting ready to dump the waste into the water. The Asian man was taken to the nearest police station where he admitted using the same spot to unload sewage he takes from chalets in the area. The man was referred to the proper authorities for further action.

Forgery case Two men were arrested at the Kuwait International Airport when they tried to enter the country with forged passports. Officers escorted the Bangladeshi men from the passports counter to the Jleeb AlShuyoukh police station after it was discovered that their passports were forged. Investigations revealed that the two were previously deported by a court order and attempted to use the forged passports to re-enter Kuwait.

Kuwait Embassy monitoring India cyclone NEW DELHI: Kuwait Ambassador to India Sami AlSulaiman said yesterday the embassy in New Delhi was following closely developments of cyclone Phailin that hit the coastal areas Sunday night.

Cyclone Phailin hit coastal Odisha and Andhra Pradesh eastern and southeastern states of India.

In a statement, Al-Sulaiman said that Indian media have reported the death of five people in a residential building which collapsed due to heavy rains that preceded the arrival of the hurricane.

The embassy, he added, did not receive reports of Kuwaiti citizens in such areas.

Al-Sulaiman added that Kuwaiti citizens are usually located in New Delhi, Mumbai, Madras, Goa, and Kerala cities, which are away from the affected areas.

He said the embassy has contacted Indian disaster management officials, who told the embasy that the early warning system helped to evacuate people before arrival of cyclone.

Sunday night, powerful cyclone Phailin targeted the coastal areas of India’s eastern states which resulted in killing of five people and a trail of widespread destruction.

High speed winds blowing at a speed of 200 km/h at the start of the cyclone uprooted trees.

Indian sources revealed the storm-triggered rains led to flooding in the many coastal areas, besides disrupting road and rail links, adding that weather forecasters have predicted 25cm of rain in parts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh as well. — KUNA

Zain invites customers to enjoy Eid festivities at 360 Mall

Etihad staff donated more than 2,000 blankets and relief good items to Syrian refugees at Emirati Jordanian field Hospital in Al- Mafraq area followed by a visit to Muraijeb Al -Fhood camp.

Humanitarian support to Syrian refugees in Jordan KUWAIT: Volunteers from Etihad Airways and the UAE Red Crescent recently visited the Emirati Jordanian field hospital in Al Mafraq and the Muraijeb-Al-Fhood camp to distribute basic humanitarian relief to Syrian refugees.

The United Nations (UN) released information this week confirming that Syrian refugee numbers now exceed two million, more than half of whom are children. More than 5,000 refugees continue to leave Syria every day.

Etihad Airways and the UAE Red Crescent Authority have been actively involved in

supporting the affected Syrian population since the outbreak of the unrest. Their combined efforts in reaching people inside and outside Syria have played an essential role in providing humanitarian assistance from the United Arab Emirates to the Syrian people.

Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive officer, James Hogan said: “Etihad Airways is very pleased to be able to offer logistics assistance in support of the significant humanitarian aid provided by the UAE government. I am especially proud of our staff both from the UAE and Jordan who have committed their time to provide on-

Dubai property projects need strong funding DUBAI: The sustainability of newly launched projects in Dubai will largely depend on their means of funding, according to a Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) executive. “A lot of ambitious projects [launched recently] need to look at the fundamentals and how they are funded,” said Gaurav Shivpuri, head of MENA capital markets at JLL. “Do they have enough equity in the market? Are the banks ready to fund them? Or are they solely relying on pre sales and if they are solely relying on pre sales then the pricing has to reflect the market demand.”

Shivpuri said that unless new projects have strong fundamentals, it is unlikely they will be built.

He also said that buyers should have a long-term perspective in mind when purchasing property, which would make the market more sustainable.

“The [buyers] have to be careful about why they are buying and the pricing at which they buy,” said Shivpuri.

“As an investor, they should not think about what value should they be flipping at, but if the property was ready what rent would they get out of it.”

According to a JLL report released earlier this month, house prices in Dubai have been increasing at an unsustainable rate and may see a correction over the next 12 months.

The report also attributed the surge in prices to a return of speculative buying which was a major reason for the 2008 property bust.

“The value of a property has to be somewhat linked to the economic environment - the market has not grown by 40 per cent, the GDP has not grown by 40 per cent so how can we explain the rise in rents?” said Shivpuri.

Although the property expert dismissed any immediate bubble fears he warned that a sustained rent inflation could lead to one in the future.

“There is a feeling of far too much growth in any market that goes up by 20 per cent in such a short period of time,” said Shivpuri.

going help to alleviate the stress and suffering in this crisis.”

This Etihad Airways-UAE Red Crescent initiative builds on the work of previous humanitarian missions to distribute relief goods and more than 50,000 airline blankets to refugees in the Al Zaatari camp where volunteers provided hands-on support and made a real positive difference to the lives of the refugees.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, began operations in 2003, and in 2012 carried 10.3 million passengers. From its hub at Abu Dhabi

International Airport, Etihad Airways offers flights to 94 passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas, with a fleet of 80 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and over 83 aircraft on firm order, including 41 Boeing 7879 Dreamliners and 10 Airbus A380s, the world’s largest passenger aircraft. Etihad Airways also holds equity investments in airberlin, Air Seychelles, Virgin Australia and Aer Lingus, will acquire 49 per cent of Air Serbia from January 2014, and, subject to regulatory approval, will acquire 24 per cent of India’s Jet Airways.

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, invited all customers to enjoy a memorable experience in celebration of Eid-Al Adha taking place today and for five consecutive days at 360 Mall. The company’s Eid-Al Adha festivities entitled “Festival of the Sea” comes in collaboration with 360 Mall to offer customers an unprecedented celebration for all age groups.

Zain explained in a press statement that customers and mall visitors are to witness exceptional shows of a series of activities during the five day event. The activities include entertainment shows, acrobatics, children’s face painting and balloons corner, as well as various other family entertaining shows to run for 14 hours continuously every day during the Eid’s holiday.

This event comes after Zain’s previous successful events which resulted to be a huge hit among its customers. The company mentioned that it has sensed an overwhelming response and admiration by the public during the celebrations of Eid Al-Fitr with the experience of the “Frozen Planet”, which has attracted large audiences, hence, its reveal of its Eid- Al Adha festivities.

Waleed Al-Khashti, Zain’s Corporate Communications and Relations Manager said: “On behalf of Zain, I would like to greet the entire Muslim nation on the occasion of Eid- Al Adha Al Mubarak. At Zain, we are committed to draw smiles on people’s faces by sharing the joys of various occasions, ones such as Eid- Al Adha. Through our current and ongoing Eid festivities, we are promising the public an enjoyable Eid journey with the multiple activities that awaits them. Zain is committed to the community as a whole, and our entertaining events resemble our utmost concern to share people’s joys and important occasions.”

As a leading Kuwaiti telecommunications company, Zain is socially dedicated to celebrate all occasions as well as to take part in important celebrations as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy. This way, Zain continues to highlight its commitment to sharing special occasions with the people of Kuwait.

Leadership skills training for young Kuwaitis KUWAIT: The Proteges - the mentorship program that provides young Kuwaities with opportunities to learn life and leadership skills, participated in a series of exclusive events, facilitated

by Kuwait Projects Company (Holding), the strategic Partner for Generation Three of the Proteges . The Proteges participants were given the chance to tour and learn at several of KIPCO’s operating companies led by Abeer AlOmar, Corporate Communications Manager at KIPCO..

Courtesy of United Tower Holding Company, a subsidiary of United Real Estate Company, a group of Proteges had the exclusive opportunity to tour KIPCO tower, on Sept 22.

Before the tour began, the Proteges were welcomed by Ahmad Al-Sumait, Chairman and CEO of United Tower Holding Company and Facilities Manager, Martin Igoe, led the tour. He showed the Proteges around the 60-floor, multifunctional smart building including special access to the residential, retail and office spaces.

The Proteges were shown the process of transformation from construction to finished office spaces. They visited the top floor to admire the unique views of Kuwait.

On Sept 23, Courtesy of Kuwait Hotels Company, the Proteges had the unique opportunity to go behind the scenes of Marina Hotel and learn the skills needed to excel in the hospitality industry. The day started with breakfast buffet. After being welcomed by General Manager Nabil Hammoud, the Proteges were led to a conference room where Human Resources Officer, Ahmad El-Feky introduced each of the department heads, including housekeeping, kitchen, restaurant management, front office, and health club. Each ProtÈgÈ then got the opportunity to choose a department and were given uniforms according to their choices.

They spent the rest of the day learning how to work in each of these departments. ProtÈgÈ Thuraya Al-Otaibi spent her time at the Front Office where she answered calls as the telephone operator, and helped to check visitors in and out of the hotel at the reception desk.

The day ended with a lunch buffet, which ProtÈgÈ Myriam Qutob helped to prepare as

part of her experience in the Kitchen.

Courtesy of United Networks, on Tuesday, Sept 24, a group of Proteges had the opportunity to go behind the scenes at both Marina FM live studio and offices. Salah Al-Mohammad greeted the Proteges and introduced Marina FM’s background and history. Then he led them around the studio, explaining the new technology and the function of each machine. The Proteges were even allowed to try out some of the machines. Next, the Proteges moved to Marina FM’s offices where they had the chance to meet the staff of Marina FM. Salah also took

Together, they made their way to Mina Abdallah where Tony Masefield, Chemical Division Manager welcomed them to the UOP Co. Chemicals Division Plant.

First the Proteges received a short presentation about the company, previously known as Kuwit Chemicals Manufacturing Company Masefield explained the transformation of the company over the years since its inception in 1978. He also explained the uses for the resins produced at the plant.

Next the Proteges strapped on their hardhats and toured the plant. From raw materials to fin-

Many thanks to all The Proteges sponsors including KIPCO and their group of participating companies: Burgan Bank, KAMCO, United Real Estate, Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company, Gulf Insurance Group, OSN, United Networks, Kuwait Hotels Company and United Education Company.

Founded in 2010, The Proteges is a program designed to positively influence the youth of Kuwait, through an inclusive program that combines travel, lectures, group activities, challenges, games and fun. Guided by a team of mentors, The Proteges are encouraged to dis-

ished product, the Proteges witnessed the processes by which the resins are made.

They were even taken into the laboratory where the formulas are created and tested, and visited the control room from which all the machinery and equipment is operated.

Abeer Al-Omar, Corporate Communications Manager at KIPCO commented on the experience: “The commitment of each group company involved in the sponsorship was clear by hosting the Proteges and giving them the opportunity to spend a day of training at their offices “

cover their passions and given the tools to help them excel in their future careers and contribute positively to society. The KIPCO Group is one of the biggest holding companies in the Middle East and North Africa, with consolidated assets of $26 billion as at 31 March, 2013. The Group has significant ownership interests in over 60 companies operating across 24 countries. The group’s main business sectors are financial services, media, real estate and manufacturing.

Through its core companies, subsidiaries and affiliates, KIPCO also has interests in the education and medical sectors.

Proteges training in Marina Hotel the Proteges to the recording area where songs and Jalsat are normally recorded. At the end of the tour the Proteges had the chance to record a dedication to the rest of the Proteges and choose a song to be aired later that day.

On Sept 25, a group of Proteges were given a private tour of United Oil Projects Co. Chemicals Division in Mina Abdallah, courtesy of Qurain Petrochemical Industries Co. The Proteges began their day at KIPCO Tower where they were met by Abeer Al-Omar, Corporate Communications Manager at KIPCO and Ahmad Al-Masqati, Head of PR at QPIC.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

Two arrested for shooting five at Hmong festival in US

Experts mull Syrian war crimes tribunal Page 8

Page 9

ALEPPO: Picture shows opposition fighters helping a comrade who was shot in the leg by a sniper during clashes in the Salaheddin district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. — AFP

Car bomb kills 27 in Syria Four kidnapped aid workers freed DAMASCUS: A car bomb killed at least 27 people in a rebel-held area of northwestern Syria yesterday as suspected jihadists freed four out of seven aid workers kidnapped in the increasingly volatile region.

The bombing and Sunday’s kidnappingboth carried out in Idlib province, where rebels hold vast swaths of territory-underscored the descent into chaos in several rebelheld areas, which have seen a recent spate of internal clashes, kidnappings and other attacks.

The United States meanwhile stepped up its calls for a peace conference between President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime and the increasingly divided rebels, talks rejected by a leading faction of the Western-backed opposition.

The blast in the town of Darkush killed at least three children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that the death toll could rise because many of the wounded were

in serious condition.

Activists said the blast targeted the market area of the town, which is a few kilometres (a couple of miles) from the border with Turkey, on the Orontes river. Four of the kidnapped aid workers were meanwhile freed “safe and sound” yesterday, Red Cross spokesman Ewan Watson told AFP, adding that the group was awaiting further information about the others.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said the six members of the International Committee of the Red Cross and a member of the Syrian Red Crescent were kidnapped by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an Al-Qaeda-linked rebel group.

The ICRC has not commented on the nationality of those abducted, though it had earlier said that most of the group were Syrian. There has been no claim of responsibility.

Rebels control large swathes of Idlib, and kidnappings have become increasingly common in rebel-held parts of Syria, targeting

both journalists and aid workers. The Red Cross, a rare aid group working on both sides of the conflict, said the team had travelled to Idlib on October 10 to assess the situation at health facilities and deliver aid.

“We don’t have any intention of stopping our activities in Syria, but of course this situation makes us reflect and take a close look at our operations,” Watson had earlier told Swiss radio.

Kerry says ‘urgent’ need for peace talks On the political front, the United States said there was an “urgent” need to set a date for so-called Geneva 2 peace talks, despite the rejection of the process this week by a leading opposition group.

“We believe that it is urgent to set a date to convene the conference and work toward a new Syria,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said after meeting UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in London.

“There has to be a transition government,”

he said. “This will require all the parties to come together in good faith.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had earlier called on Washington to bring the Syrian opposition to the talks proposed for mid-November.

The call came a day after the Syrian National Council (SNC) — a key component of the National Coalition recognised by most Arab and Western governments-ruled out attending any Geneva peace talks, and said it would quit the umbrella group if it participated.

Washington threatened military strikes in response to August 21 sarin gas attacks in the Damascus suburbs that killed hundreds of people, but the punitive action was averted by a US-Russian deal under which Syria is turning over its chemical arsenal for destruction.

SNC chief George Sabra said his group would boycott the Geneva talks because the international community had failed to punish the gas attack or address the plight of civilians

in neighbourhoods besieged by regime troops. On Sunday, the ICRC said it and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) had evacuated 3,500 people from one such Damascus neighbourhood, Moadamiyet al-Sham, over 24 hours.

Most were women and children “in a state of major fatigue and were very scared,” SARC head of operations Khaled Erksoussi told AFP. Moadamiyet al-Sham was targeted in the August 21 sarin attack, which the opposition and Western governments blame on Damascus. Assad has denied his forces were responsible.

Experts sent by the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have begun verifying and destroying Syria’s chemical arsenal. The joint team of 60 experts and support staff have been in Syria since October 1, carrying out the terms of a Security Council resolution enshrining the USRussian deal. — AFP

Cyclone survivors return home to destruction GOPALPUR: Hundreds of thousands of people who fled India’s strongest cyclone in 14 years returned home to scenes of devastation yesterday, as survivors stranded at sea during the storms were finally rescued.

One million people were forced to seek refuge in shelters after the terrifying cyclone struck eastern India on Saturday, killing at least 22 people and leaving a trail of destruction along the coast.

Cyclone Phailin pounded the states of Orissa and to a lesser extent Andhra Pradesh, bringing winds of more than 200 kilometres an hour (125 miles per hour), uprooting trees, overturning trucks, and knocking out power lines.

“The death toll from the cyclone in Orissa has now gone up from 17 to 21. The deaths are mostly due to falling walls and tree branches,” Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra, the state’s special relief commissioner, told AFP by phone. One person was also killed in Andhra Pradesh, officials have said.

Loss of life was minimised after one million people spent the night huddled in shelters, temples and schools during the ferocious storm, in what officials said was India’s largest ever evacuation operation.

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee led a chorus of praise for the evacuation effort and the “high level of preparedness” as well as for the accurate forecasting of the country’s weather bureaus.

Relief agencies said government officials seemed to have learnt the lessons from 1999, when a cyclone tore through the same region, killing more than 8,000 people

and devastating crops and livestock.

“The government and the community were more aware this time and better prepared, it was a collective effort and a successful one,” Manish Choudhary, a director of the Indian Red Cross Society, told AFP. Although some reluctant residents were threatened with prosecution if they did not evacuate on Saturday, others, recalling the trauma of 1999, packed into auto-rickshaws, trucks and buses and fled.

“The government didn’t help us at all (in 1999),” said Gopal Behra from Sunapur village in Orissa’s hardest-hit district of Ganjam. “They came, took a cursory glance and left. They switched their phones off when we needed them the most. So we took things into our own hands and left the village,” he said.

Officials in Orissa said 873,000 people moved before the cyclone made landfall on Saturday evening, while at least another 100,000 were evacuated in Andhra Pradesh.

Residents were also evacuated from coastal regions of West Bengal state.

Many returned home on Monday to discover their homes, many flimsy mud and thatch dwellings, and their businesses damaged or destroyed. Most were resigned to getting on with the job of rebuilding rather than waiting for rescue workers.

“I left everything (behind) and when I came back nothing was here,” said Bhagwan, 50, who uses one name, a coconut seller from the town of Gopalpur, as he sat on the ground in front of his destroyed shop. — AFP

RANCHI: Indian residents stand in the waters of the overflowing Swarnrekha river following heavy rains due to Cyclone Phailin at Gaghra village in Ranchi district, capital of Jharkhand state yesterday. Hundreds of thousands of people who fled India’s strongest cyclone in 14 years returned home to scenes of devastation, as survivors stranded at sea during the storms were finally rescued. — AFP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

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

Hope glimmers for demoralised tourist industry CAIRO: Morale in Egypt’s tourism industry is at rock bottom; a summer of bloodshed has frightened away all but the bravest foreign visitors from Cairo and the pyramids, and things are little better in the Red Sea beach resorts. Yet if the business could survive the 1997 bloodbath at Luxor, when Islamist militants killed dozens of tourists at a pharaoh’s temple, it can probably recover from its current convulsions. Already visitors are gradually returning after the worst civil violence in Egypt’s modern history, offering hope to an industry that has been brought to its knees, depriving millions of their livelihood and the economy of badly needed dollars.

However, Egyptians know that numbers can never climb back to anywhere near their 2010 peak as long as security crackdowns, street protests and militant attacks on the government persist. Like other countries in trouble, Egypt could try an advertising campaign to lure back the Europeans, Asians, Americans and Gulf Arabs who are now largely holidaying elsewhere. But for now it won’t even bother. “There is really no point in trying to embark on a PR campaign,” said Karim Helal, an adviser to Egypt’s tourism minister. “If you cannot convey the feeling that it is safe, nobody will come,” said Helal, a dive company owner turned investment banker.

Egypt has endured almost constant upheaval since a 2011 popular uprising toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak, but things have got much worse since the army’s removal of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July and the bloodshed that followed. As international media broadcast scenes of mosques and morgues filled with bodies, governments in the main tourist markets issued warnings on travelling to Egypt. Visitors are a rare sight in Cairo these days, even

though October had always marked the start of the peak season when a gentle breeze from the Nile eases the stifling heat. In July, only about one in six of the capital’s hotel beds were occupied, according to research firm STR Global.

Even in the Red Sea resorts, largely shielded from the violence in the big cities, occupancy rates are drastically down. In Hurghada, a destination usually popular with Russians fleeing their bitter winters, only 11,000 of 50,000 hotel rooms are occupied, provincial governor Ahmed Abdullah told Reuters.

Nobody has felt the consequences more than the many Egyptians - from hotel workers to guides and gift shopowners - who rely for their living on tourism, traditionally a pillar of the economy and the second biggest foreign currency earner. Horse carriage driver Ramadan Iraqi has lost hope that he will soon see tourists return to the five-star Cairo hotel which once gave him work.

He cuts a lonely figure late at night in Zamalek, an upscale district on an island in the Nile, searching for a customer so he can feed his family of six. “I am an old man,” said Iraqi, 55. “What am I supposed to do?” It’s been 20 days since anyone rode in his carriage along the Nile embankment. Iraqi can scarcely feed his gaunt horse and can no longer afford medicine to ease severe pain in his knee.

Such individual misery is reflected at a national level. Tourism earned Egypt $9.75 billion in the 2012-2013 financial year which ended in June, before the worst violence erupted. Even so, that was down from $11.6 billion in 2009-10, the peak before the overthrow of Mubarak. In July and August, tourist arrivals crashed by 45 percent, Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou said. He estimated losses since the army takeover at $1 billion per month.

There are no signs Egypt’s divisions will soon heal. People continue to die in protests in cities and towns. Adding to foreigners’ anxiety, police and soldiers are coming under almost daily attack from Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula, site of the Sharm el-Sheikh resort. A Sinai-based group said it tried to kill the interior minister in September in Cairo in a suicide bombing, and earlier this month two rocket-propelled grenades were fired at a satellite station in a suburb of the capital.

Anyone who wants to visit Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the rallying point for Egyptians during the 18-day revolt that toppled Mubarak, may think twice about going. Soldiers manning armoured personnel carriers and riot police keep a close eye on it and try to keep members of Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood from protesting. Only a few hundred metres away stands the Egyptian Museum, which houses some of the greatest pharaonic treasures including King Tutankhamen’s burial mask.

Nevertheless, Egypt has been here before. On Nov 17, 1997 gunmen descended on Queen Hatshepsut’s temple near the Nile town of Luxor. In a short time they shot or hacked to death 58 tourists and four Egyptians in their campaign for what they regarded as a pure Islamic state. The following January and February, visitor numbers were down almost 60 percent from the previous year. Hotel occupancy rates collapsed from 70 percent just before the massacre to just 18 percent.

Yet the indus1try staged a remarkable comeback. In 1999 almost 4.5 million visitors came to Egypt, well up on the 3.7 million in 1997. At that time Mubarak’s security apparatus was able to keep the streets much quieter than they are now. Nevertheless, hope

remains that the industry can again recover, if more slowly. Holidaymakers from Germany, one of Egypt’s biggest markets, have been starting to return since last month, when the Berlin government relaxed a travel advisory that had said tourists should stay away from Egypt entirely.

Tour agents and operators said many clients were still opting for quieter destinations. “Bookings to Egypt are coming back but they have not caught up to levels seen a year ago,” said a spokeswoman for the Lastminute.de booking website.

“Customer interest is there, but it’s cautious. Bookings to the Spanish islands or the Turkish Riviera have increased instead.” But some were surprisingly upbeat. “Weekly bookings are above those seen one year ago,” said a spokesman for DER Touristik, one of Germany’s biggest tour operators. “We have cut capacity but can react quickly to demand. We expect a swift recovery for tourism to Egypt and expect a wave of demand for March and April.”

Most Germans seeking Egyptian winter sun are heading for the beach. TUI Germany, along with its rivals, has not resumed trips to Luxor or Nile river cruises in accordance with German foreign ministry advice to avoid overland travel in those areas. But the company, which is part of Europe’s largest tour operator TUI Travel, can fly guests directly to Cairo. The United States, Britain and Russia still have strict travel warnings.

However, Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Tourism Operators of Russia, told Reuters that tens of thousands are ready to visit their favourite destination, Hurghada, immediately if Moscow eases its warning.

Some hotel operators, like Alexander Suski of Kempinski Hotels, expect Egypt to bounce back one day. “We really still

believe in Egypt as a destination,” said Suski, who thinks a recovery would be possible in two to three years and has no plans for the hotel group to leave Egypt.

Austrian-based Kempinski already runs an upmarket hotel in Cairo which opened shortly before the 2011 uprising, and another on the Red Sea near Hurghada. A third on the outskirts of Cairois due to open next year.

However, much depends on whether Egypt can regain some degree of stability following the long period of turmoil.

Capital Economics estimated the industry’s losses ranged from $250 million to $650 million a month. William Jackson, an economist at the London-based group, said a rebound is possible, but that “the events over the past two and a half years give us every reason to be cautious about thinking that will happen”.

There are bright spots; unlike in 1997 Islamist militants have not targeted tourists. Cairo visitors are probably at much greater risk crossing the road through the capital’s anarchic traffic than they are of getting caught up in the street violence, which affects only small areas of a huge city.

In the meantime some tourists are enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the riches of the Egyptian Museum or the Sphinx up close, without being jostled by tour groups. “It’s paradise: the pyramids, the museum, everywhere is empty because of the situation,” said Alvero Rocca from Argentina, a countr y which has endured its own upheavals in recent decades. “For Westerners, perhaps it’s more problematic ... We in Argentina are more used to the chaos,” Rocca said at Cairo’s Khan al-Khalili bazaar which was nearly empty of tourists. “For us it’s better. I know for Egypt’s economy it’s a catastrophe.” —Reuters

Experts mull Syrian war crimes tribunal Effort ‘not an academic exercise’

JERUSALEM: Israel’s President Shimon Peres (right) listens to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speech during the opening session of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament yesterday. — AP

Easing pressure on Iran ‘historic mistake’: Israel JERUSALEM: Easing pressure on Iran over its nuclear program would be an “historic mistake,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned yesterday, a day before world powers resume talks with Tehran. “It would be an historic mistake to ease up on the pressure now, a moment before the sanctions achieve their objective, and particularly now, we must not give up on them but continue the pressure,” Netanyahu said at the opening of the Israeli parliament’s winter session. His stark warning was an unvarnished appeal to the West to avoid making any concessions to Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani, whose conciliatory tone has raised hopes of a breakthrough in the decade-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

As the parties readied to meet in Geneva for two days of talks starting on Tuesday, Israel’s premier sought to drive home the message that any move to soften the economic sanctions would be handing a victory to Tehran’s hardliners. It was the sanctions, Netanyahu said, that had brought Iran’s economy “close to breaking point” and forced a tactical change in Iran’s plans to develop nuclear weapons, prompting Tehran to offer to carry out a “meaningless change” in its nuclear program.

“Iran can quickly enrich uranium from a low level of 3.5 percent to a high level of 90 percent.. (and) is willing today to give up on the enrichment to the interim level of 20 percent - which is no longer important for it - in exchange for a significant easing

of the sanctions,” he charged. “This means Iran is willing to give very little and receive a great deal,” he said, warning that accepting such a deal could bring about “the collapse of the entire regime of sanctions.”

Any move to let up on Iran would only strengthen its “uncompromising elements” and its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “will be perceived as the winner,” Netanyahu said. The Geneva meeting will be the first such talks since Rouhani took office in August, pledging to engage constructively to resolve the nuclear question and ultimately to secure the lifting of crippling Western sanctions. The West has responded positively to Rouhani’s overtures sparking Israeli fears that the sanctions could be significantly softened, or even ended.

But Israel’s President Shimon Peres said the world must judge Iran by its actions and not its words. “The sweet words of Rouhani are pleasing to the ears of all who are tired of (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad’s lack of restraint,” he said of Iran’s belligerent former president. “But it is up to the word to judge Iran by its actions and not by its declarations... Actions should be credible, transparent, not partial and not delayed,” he told MPs at the parliamentary ceremony. Israel has refused to rule out a military strike to prevent Iran from going nuclear, with Netanyahu telling the UN General Assembly earlier this month that the Jewish state would act unilaterally if necessary. — AFP

WASHINGTON: When the guns fall silent in Syria and the killing eventually stops, a key part of helping a traumatized people rebuild and heal will be bringing to justice those behind years of shock ing brutality. Even though there is no end in sight yet to the grinding war in which some 110,000 people have died, a group of international judges and experts is already working to give the victims a voice through a special court. “This has never been done before,” said David Crane, who has led the project to draft a 30-page blueprint for a Syrian Extraordinary Tribunal to Prosecute Atrocity Crimes setting out in detail the possible make-up of any eventual court.

Crane, the founding chief prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone an international war crimes tribunal that convicted Liberian warlord Charles Taylor - gathered a dozen legal experts to draw up a “starting point” for discussions. “Usually, the international community just sits back and waits and when a political solution is done and the killing stops, everybody scrambles to try figure out what to do,” Crane told AFP. “I thought ‘Well let’s be ready and have this on the shelf.’”

Working with the Syrian opposition, nongovernmental organizations and staff at the University of Syracuse where he is now a professor, Crane’s team has mapped out the atrocities committed in Syria since the war began in March 2011. The catalog of horror stretches into three volumes and is growing. Draft indictments have even been prepared against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his “top 10 henchmen,” Crane said, adding that others have also been drafted for some opposition commanders, as well as foreign fighters. He did

not detail any of the indictments, stressing any charges would be up to the court’s eventual chief prosecutor. In the initial stages of the war, about 90 percent of the atrocities were being committed by the regime, but now Crane estimates that it’s “about 50-50”. “First it was a civil war, it was bloody and problematic, but now it’s gotten personal. And it’s gotten bloodier, the longer this thing goes on, the less likely a peaceful transition will happen,” he said.

How any future court will be composed and the role of The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) is still up for debate. But Crane insisted the effort was “not an academic exercise”. “It’s put together by seasoned practitioners who have been working for over 20 years in this business, looking at both not just the law, but also the practicalities, the politics and diplomacy of what it takes build a domestic court, a regional court or assist the permanent court,” he added.

After two years of work, the draft blueprint says there was a strong feeling that any court “should be domestic, but with international elements,” for example two Syrian judges sitting with an international colleague. Its purpose “would be to prosecute those most responsible for atrocity crimes committed in Syria by all sides of the conflict when the political situation permits.” There’s a strong preference for the court to be based inside Syria. “We found in Sierra Leone that a court that sits right in the scene of the crime is much more effective,” Crane explained. “At the end of the day, we tend to forget this, these tribunals are about the victims and they have to be seen as such... It has to be right there so the people of Syria can see justice truly being done.”

Syrians find safety for Eid in Iraq KAWERGOSK , Iraq: Shaqlawa Mohammed Rashid sits at the entrance of a white tent in a refugee camp in northern Iraq, reflecting on what will be her first Eid al-Adha holiday outside Syria.

The 16-year-old girl smiles at her mother Barshan, who sits next to her on a dusty carpet with a cloth covering half her face to shield it from the sun and dust, and whispers comfortingly: “Our situa-

tion here is temporary.” They are two of almost 14,000 Syrian Kurds in the Kawergosk refugee camp who will be spending Eid al-Adha - the Feast of Sacrifice, which is the biggest Muslim holiday of the year - away from their home country.

But while they are far from their homes, the refugees have escaped the brutal Syrian civil war and found safety in the camp near Arbil, the capi-

Naked sculpture hidden ahead of Iran nuke talks GENEVA: A relief carving of a naked man at the UN’s Geneva headquarters was covered up yesterday, apparently to spare the blushes of Iranian diplomats ahead of fresh talks on the country’s nuclear drive. UN officials would not comment on why the wall relief, inspired by Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam”, had been masked by a large white screen, referring questions to the Swiss authorities. But Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve claimed that the aim was to avoid offending the Islamic republic’s delegation for the talks taking place today and tomorrow.

Iranian men are expected to cover their arms and legs in public, with women further obliged to cover their hair and wear loose clothing in line with the hardline interpretation of Islam endorsed by power-

ful clerics in the country. Donated by Britain to the UN’s forerunner the League of Nations in 1938, the larger-than-life reclining figure was sculpted by Eric Gill, and tops the entrance to the building’s Council Chamber where the talks are due to take place.

Swiss officials declined to address the newspaper’s claim, telling AFP that the aim was to provide a neutral backdrop at the entrance to the meeting hall. Although the talks are to take place in the UN’s 1930s-era Palace of Nations, the world body is not their official host. Instead, Switzerland was asked to organise the meeting by the socalled P5+1 group made up of the five permanent UN Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany. — AFP

It could well be that the ICC could be called upon to try Assad - although Syria is not yet a signatory to the court - while lower-level officials may be brought before some kind of domestic or regional tribunal. One of the thorniest issues will be whether the death penalty is retained. Under ICC rules, there is no capital punishment. And any international court would likely bar it too. But many Syrians want it kept on the books. “At the end of the day, which is a very Middle Eastern perspective, they want revenge,” Crane said. “The concept of an eye for an eye goes back thousands of years.” Crane has already briefed the ICC on the blueprint and it has been read with interest by officials at the US State Department, which says it wants to support the Syrian people in setting up accountability mechanisms.

“What’s happened in Syria has shocked our moral consciences, whether that’s chemical weapons or whether it’s 100,000 people dead,” a senior State Department official said.

Over the decades, various legal mechanisms have been adopted after conflicts in places like Rwanda, Bosnia and Iraq. And while many Syrians are deeply committed to justice and reconciliation, the US official said, there are a lot of “var ying opinions from Sy r i a n s o n t h e i n s i d e a n d t h e o u t s i d e.”

“Because there are a lot of manifestations of criminal accountability for Syrians, understanding all of the pros and cons of each of those processes is incredibly important,” the official added. All agree though that when the time comes, how justice is handed down to those with blood on their hands has to be determined by Syrians - the very people who have suffered the most. —AFP

KAWERGOSK, Iraq: A Syrian-Kurdish refugee family stands outside tents provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the Quru Gusik (Kawergosk) refugee camp, 20 km east of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on Oct 10, 2013.— AFP

tal of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. “We came from Mazzeh in Damascus. We left it because of the situation there ... where we could not go to school or go out of our houses” because of the “threat of being slaughtered or killed or kidnapped,” Shaqlawa says. “This is our first Eid outside Syria. In the past, we used to prepare sweets and visit each other. I used to buy new clothes and go out with my friends” to amusements parks or restaurants. But that all changed due to the deadly violence of the civil war between President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels seeking his overthrow. Shaqlawa says she spent last Eid al-Adha in Damascus with her family. “But we would not go out of the house back then,” she says. “The situation here is ... better because there is safety.” The Kawergosk camp was established in August as tens of thousands of refugees, most of them Syrian Kurds, flooded into northern Iraq, leaving aid agencies scrambling for critical infrastructure and supplies. Fighting between jihadists and Syrian Kurdish forces helped drive the exodus, and there are now more than 185,000 Syrian refugees in the three-province Kurdistan region of Iraq, according to the United Nations.

Near Shaqlawa’s tent, Naras Qassem, also 16, is busy washing clothes in a large metal pot. “We came from Hasakeh, where there were explosions,” Naras says. “We are happy, because we are safe. In Syria, there was no food, but here everything is available.” Now, “in Hasakeh, there is no Eid. Even the last Eid al-Adha was not like the ones before. This Eid is better because of safety, and it will be better than Eid in Syria.” But she adds: “My little sister’s wish is to buy clothes for Eid. We have not bought anything new, as we do not have the money for that.”—AFP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

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

Hunter found alive after 19 days in California forest UKIAH: A 72-year-old hunter who got hurt in a Northern California forest and was lost for 19 days survived the ordeal by eating squirrels and lizards and covering himself with leaves to stay warm, authorities said Sunday.

Gene Penaflor, 72, of San Francisco, was found Saturday in Mendocino National Forest by other hunters who carried him to safety in a makeshift stretcher, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said in a written statement. Penaflor had

been missing since Sept. 24 when he didn’t meet up with his hunting partner for lunch, sheriff ’s Detective Andrew Porter told the Ukiah Daily Journal (http://bit.ly/1ekjENg ).

The two had split up for several hours to hunt deer, and during his hike, Penaflor fell and struck his head. He later told detectives he woke up disoriented amid thick fog. He walked for a time but stopped when he didn’t know where he was. Porter said Penaflor decided to

spend the night near a water source to tend to a cut on his chin. The next two days, he saw a helicopter and tried to send a smoke signal but no one saw him.

He said he sustained himself on squirrels, lizards, a snake, berries and algae. To keep dry and warm from the rain and snow, he crawled under a large log and covered himself with leaves and grasses, authorities said. He saw deer but didn’t have the energy to shoot them, Porter said. “He knew at some point he was going to die,

but he figured he’d last as long as he could,” the detective said.

The sheriff’s office said an initial search involving several agencies was called off when a storm was on its way and there was no sign of Penaflor.

The search was reactivated Saturday, and a group of hunters found Penaflor when someone in the group heard a voice calling for help from the bottom of a canyon. He was located about 3 miles from where he had disappeared.

Penaflor’s son, Jeremy, told the Daily Journal his father was in good condition after being airlifted to Ukiah Valley Medical Center. After learning that Penaflor had gone missing, his family had been staying in the town closest to his hunting camp. “I had faith that my dad was still alive,” the son said. “With the knowledge that he had, and what he knew how to do, 14 days was nothing to him. I think after 14 days, I would have freaked out.” —Reuters

Two arrested for shooting five at Hmong festival in US Men taken into custody face multiple charges

MICHIGAN: In this Nov. 2, 2010, file photo then-Michigan Attorney General-elect Bill Schuette speaks in Detroit. After the Supreme Court ruled a decade ago that race could be a factor in college admissions in a Michigan case, affirmative action opponents persuaded the state’s voters to outlaw any consideration of race. Now, the high court is weighing whether that change to Michigan’s constitution is itself discriminatory. — AP

High court weighs Michigan ban on affirmative action WASHINGTON: After the Supreme Court ruled a decade ago that race could be a factor in college admissions in a Michigan case, affirmative action opponents persuaded the state’s voters to outlaw any consideration of race.

Now, the high court is weighing whether that change to Michigan’s constitution is itself discriminatory. It is a proposition that even the lawyer for civil rights groups in favor of affirmative action acknowledges a tough sell, at first glance.

“How can a provision that is designed to end discrimination in fact discriminate?” said Mark Rosenbaum of the American Civil Liberties Union. Yet that is the difficult argument Rosenbaum will make on Tuesday to a court that has grown more skeptical about taking race into account in education since its Michigan decision in 2003.

A victory for Rosenbaum’s side would imperil similar voter-approved initiatives that banned affirmative action in education in California and Washington state. A few other states have adopted laws or issued executive orders to bar race-conscious admissions policies.

Black and Latino enrollment at the University of Michigan has dropped since the ban took effect. At California’s top public universities, African-Americans are a smaller share of incoming freshmen, while Latino enrollment is up slightly, but far below the state’s growth in the percentage of Latino high school graduates.

The case is the court’s second involving affirmative action in as many years. In June, the justices ordered lower courts to take another look at the University of Texas admissions plan in a ruling that could make it harder for public colleges to justify any use of race in admissions.

For Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, whose office is defending the measure known as Proposal 2, the case is simple. “We are saying no preferences.

We’re not discriminating. We’re saying equal treatment,” Schuette said.

But the federal appeals court in Cincinnati that ruled on the dispute concluded that the matter was not that straightforward. The issue, according to the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals, was not affirmative action, but the way in which its opponents went about trying to bar it.

That is why the ACLU’s Rosenbaum said, “This is a case about means, not about ends. It is not about whether a state can choose not to have” affirmative action. In its 8-7 decision, the appeals

court said the provision runs afoul of the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment because it presents an extraordinary burden to affirmative action supporters who would have to mount their own long, expensive campaign to repeal the constitutional provision.

That burden “undermines the Equal Protection Clause’s guarantee that all citizens ought to have equal access to the tools of political change,” Judge R. Guy Cole Jr. wrote for the majority on the appeals court. The governing boards at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and other public colleges set admissions policies at the schools, which included the use of affirmative action before the amendment passed.

Other groups seeking changes in admissions still could lobby the policymakers at the schools. Only proponents of affirmative action would have to change the constitution, the appeals court said.

The appeals court vote broke along party lines, and there were other oddities.

Two Republican-appointed judges sat out the case because of their ties to Michigan schools. One judge in the majority, Martha Craig Daughtrey, is a senior judge and typically would not be allowed to take part in the full appeals court hearing. But she sat on the original three-judge panel that heard the case.

Civil rights and education experts who are not involved in the case at the high court said they expect the justices to overturn the 6th Circuit ruling. Harvard University Law School professor Tomiko Brown-Nagin said five of the Supreme Court justices “are skeptical of race-conscious affirmative action” and could be expected to side with Michigan. Those justices are Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

But Brown-Nagin said impact of such a ruling would be muted because “affirmative action already is on life support.”

Peter Kirsanow, a Republican member of the US Commission on Civil Rights and an opponent of racial preferences, was more blunt. “I would eat a copy of the 14th Amendment if in fact the court upholds the 6th Circuit’s decision,” Kirsanow said.

Justice Elena Kagan will not take part in the Michigan case, just as she excused herself from last term’s case about the University of Texas admissions program.

Kagan worked on the cases while serving in the Justice Department before she joined the court. —AP

TULSA: Two men were in custody yesterday suspected in the shooting of five people at a traditional Hmong New Year’s festival that rattled the peaceful, tight-knit immigrant community in east Tulsa.

Some feared that the rampage could deter other Hmong from attending upcoming cultural celebrations, including one set for later this month. “It’s really sad because a lot of people do not feel safe to go to the other New Year’s celebrations. I know there are people who don’t want to attend that anymore,” said Joua Xiong, who attended Saturday’s celebration along with hundreds of other Hmong people and heard the gunfire break out. “It’s very sad because this is the only time we really get to embrace our culture and unite as one.

Hmong are an Asian ethnic group hailing from countries including Laos, China, Vietnam and Thailand. The Hmong population in Tulsa is between 3,000 and 4,000. Many Hmong have traveled to Tulsa from across the country during recent years seeking jobs.

Two men have been taken into custody and face multiple charges in the wounding of five people at Saturday’s festival, authorities said Sunday. Authorities were holding 21-year-old Boonmlee Lee and 19-year-old Meng Lee, both of Tulsa. Each faces five counts of shooting with intent to kill plus firearms charges.

It was not clear from jail records whether each had an attorney. Police spokesman Capt.

Steve Odom said a gun was recovered but that it will have to be tested to see if it is linked to the Saturday night shooting. Odom said the alleged shooters and the victims were all Hmong and that there was “probably a relationship” between the men charged and the victims.

The suspects were arrested shortly after the attack, which happened about 8 pm. A police helicopter that was in the area spotted a car

driving away from the scene with its headlights off and notified officers on the ground, who pulled it over.

The suspects had thrown clothes and a semiautomatic handgun believed to have been used in the attack out of the vehicle, police said. A witness at the party described the chaotic scene, as people lined up to get dinner were

TULSA: This photo provided by the Tulsa County Jail shows Boonmlee Lee, 21, one of two men facing multiple charges in the shooting of five people at a traditional Hmong New Year’s festival in Tulsa, Okla., Saturday. —AP

sent running and ducking for cover when the shots rang out. There were at least 200 people at the celebration, which festival-goers likened to a Thanksgiving celebration in America.

For Xiong, who was walking with her family to get dinner Saturday night at the festival, she heard a loud ‘pop’ sound, but didn’t think anything of it at first, believing it was a balloon.

“Then I realized we didn’t have any balloons over there, and then everyone started standing up and taking cover,” she said in an interview Sunday with The Associated Press. “Some people were crying already, and that scared us.”

Spokeswomen for the two Tulsa hospitals where the victims were transported said they could not release information on the condition of the wounded Sunday, citing the ongoing police investigation.

Xiathao Moua, the president of the Hmong American Association of Oklahoma, Inc., said he visited the two hospitals Sunday morning and said even though the victims sustained injuries from the shooting, they are expected to live. He would not elaborate further on the nature of the injuries to the victims, citing privacy concerns.

Moua described hearing the shots ring out Saturday night as some party guests were toasting with champagne and waiting in line to get dinner. What happened next, he said, was chaos and confusion.

“The emcee at the ceremony, he was on the stand and he told everybody to lay down under the table and the floor,” he said.

Moua also said he asked the victims at both Tulsa hospitals if they knew why they were targeted by the violence or if they could describe the shooters, but they could not, he told the AP on Sunday. The names of the victims, who police say are all hospitalized, weren’t released. —AP

Justice’s wheels slowed as shutdown hits courts HELENA: The government shutdown is slowing the wheels of justice in federal courts by delaying civil cases, forcing prosecutors to operate with skeleton staffs and raising uncertainty about the system’s immediate future if the stalemate continues past Thursday.

That’s when federal courts officials expect the reserve funds they have been using since the Oct. 1 start of the shutdown will run out.

Criminal cases, which are required by law to go to a speedy trial, are still moving ahead, as are most bankruptcy cases and appeals. Civil cases and those in immigration court, however, are feeling the greatest impact from the shutdown.

“The Constitution tells us what we have to do and we can’t control our workload. It walks in the door, whether we’re funded or not funded,” said US District Court Chief Judge Loretta Preska in New York, who has put all civil cases except those already in trial on hold at the request of the US Attorney there.

She said the nearly 450 district court employees that serve the New York metro area will report to work to keep criminal cases on track even if funds run out. Officials at courts based in San Francisco, Philadelphia and St. Louis, Mo., also say their employees will work.

Prosecutors, staff and experts from other federal agencies such as the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency needed to help try civil cases have been furloughed. US attorneys requested judges to temporarily set aside some cases, while a few districts have requested a blanket halt to all civil cases.

In Los Angeles, 51 federal prosecutors and nearly 50 staff working civil cases have been sent home, leaving the Justice Department to file stay requests as deadlines approach. Some requests have been granted, others denied, US Attorney AndrÈ Birotte Jr. said. In Montana, US Attorney Mike Cotter has requested stays in more than a dozen civil cases, with more to come.

Just over half of Cotter’s staff has been fur-

loughed, and while those who have been sent home are eligible for unemployment benefits, some of those who are working without a paycheck are considering borrowing money or dipping into retirement savings to make ends meet, he said. “We all have bills, car payments, mortgages and medical payments to make,” Cotter said. Immigration court proceedings are largely shut down, too. Rafael Sanchez has been waiting two years to make his case for a green card after he and his family from Bogota, Colombia, overstayed their U.S. tourist visa in 1997. Their New Hampshire court hearing scheduled for Wednesday (Oct. 9) was canceled because of the shutdown. Sanchez’s daughter Karina, a high school senior, is not sure how she’ll be able to go to college. Without a green card, she won’t qualify for financial aid.

Her father said that after coming from a country with so much corruption and violence, he doesn’t understand why the leaders of this country of plenty can’t work together. “At what point do the politicians think about how many lives are dependent on them?” he said.

Decisions on whether to delay civil cases vary district by district, and often, case by case.

In New York, Preska issued an order stopping all civil cases, except civil forfeiture cases.

An exception is the government’s suit against Bank of America Corp. over high-risk mortgages sold before the financial crisis by Countrywide Financial, which the bank acquired in 2008.

In Washington, the Justice Department was recently denied a request prompted by the shutdown to push back a November trial in its antitrust lawsuit aimed at blocking the merger of American Airlines and US Airways.

In Pennsylvania, Justice Department attorneys have asked a judge to delay Geneva College’s lawsuit challenging federal health care reform mandates that would require the Christian school to provide employee health insurance that covers forms of birth control it finds objectionable.

LONDONDERRY: In this Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013 photo, Karina Sanchez discusses the impact the government shutdown has had for her, during an interview at her home in Londonderry, N.H. Her father has been waiting two years to make his case for a green card since the family from Bogota, Colombia, have been living illegally in the US since 1997. — AP Attorneys for Geneva College say a delay is unfair unless the government also delays the reforms from taking effect Jan. If the shutdown goes on into the second half of October, juror reimbursement funds could run out - which would force courts to issue IOUs to jurors for their service. Courts may have to grapple with security issues: the U.S. Marshal service has been working without pay, but it’s unclear how long that can continue, said Charlie Hall, a spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.—AP

Riot police break up party in Washington college town

BELLINGHAM: In this photo provided by Lauren Boushey, hundreds of college-age revelers crowd a street late Saturday, in Bellingham, Washington, as police try to disperse the crowd. Multiple partiers were arrested during a melee late Saturday and early Sunday in Bellingham, according to police Sgt. Mike Scanlon. — AP

SEATTLE: Hundreds of college-age revelers in Washington state - thwarted in efforts to continue a large party - threw projectiles at police who responded with pepper spray to disperse them, authorities said.

Three people were arrested during the melee late Saturday and early Sunday in the scenic college town of Bellingham, about 75 miles north of Seattle.

“There was drinking, it became disorderly and pretty much an out and out riot,” Bellingham police Sgt. Mike Scanlon told The Associated Press.

Several police officers suffered minor injuries from broken glass, and police cars and a public bus were damaged, police said in a news release Sunday. Scanlon said the unrest began as police dispersed a noisy party that had drawn a few

hundred people. Lauren Boushey, 20, a junior at Western Washington University in Bellingham who was at the apartment complex party, said it broke up around 9 p.m. and police officers politely asked people to go home.

“It was set up to be ... this really nice night and nothing reckless or ridiculous like it turned into,” she said Sunday, noting that the party wasn’t connected to the ensuing ruckus. People lingered and a crowd started forming a block away, she said.

Many of the revelers moved to nearby Laurel Park, where they were joined by even more people, Scanlon said, calling it a “large, intoxicated, disorderly crowd.”

The situation “finally boiled over,” he said. “ They began hurling projectiles at police.”

Bottles, cinder blocks, dinner plates and patio

furniture were among the items thrown at officers, police said.

Up to 500 people had converged on the park as police worked to disperse them, at one point using pepper spray, Scanlon said. It took about 45 minutes to clear the area and restore order.

Boushey said she saw several people throwing bottles and beer cans at police officers and provoking them. She saw multiple officers get hit by bottles.

“They got this horrible ignorant mob mentality,” she said. “It was so sad and disrespectful to watch.”

She said there was a large police presence during the melee and at one point, what she called a “riot tank” rolled through with police officers hanging off the sides and loudspeakers warning people to disperse.—AP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

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

Cremation calls as Nazi’s body sparks anger in Rome ROME: The death in Rome of a Nazi war criminal has sparked furore after the Vatican banned a church funeral, Argentina refused the body and relatives of his victims called for him to be cremated.

Eich Priebke, who was found guilty of a 1944 massacre in Rome and had been living under house arrest in the city, died last week aged 100.

The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre, which hunts Nazis around the world, said the body should be sent back to his native Germany which has laws that would prevent a neo-Nazi gathering.

As his body lies in a Rome hospital morgue, debate rages over what to do with the mortal remains of a man who never expressed any regret, insisting to the end that he was just following orders.

Tensions are running particularly high ahead of the 70th anniversary of the deportation of the Jews of Rome from the city’s ancient Jewish Ghetto by Nazi troops on October 16, 1943.

There is concern that any ceremony could draw far-

right sympathisers after a group tried to lay flowers at the house where he died and a scrawl reading “Honour to Priebke” next to a black swastika symbol appeared on a wall nearby.Priebke’s lawyer Paolo Giachini had initially said that the former SS officer would be buried near his wife in Argentina, where he lived for 40 years after the war-but Argentina refused. Rome religious authorities have also said there can be no church funeral for him in the city.

Giachini on Monday threatened to hold a ceremony in Rome’s Villa Borghese park, or “in the street if the church will not agree to hold a funeral.” “His children want him to have a Catholic funeral. They want the wishes of their father, who was always a Christian man, to be respected,” he said.

After the war, Priebke escaped from a British POW camp and was supplied with Vatican travel documents by a Catholic bishop. He lived for nearly 50 years in Argentina, before being arrested in 1994 and then extradited to Italy in 1996 for trial.

He was sentenced to life in prison in 1998 for his role in the bloodbath at Rome’s Ardeatine caves that left 335 people dead, including 75 Jews.

But because of his age and ill-health he was allowed to serve out his life sentence at Giachini’s home.

Antonio Curcio, priest at the nearby Immaculate Saint Mary of Lourdes, told Il Messaggero he would perform a funeral rite at a private ceremony if asked.

“We have been told not to hold a funeral for Priebke in any Rome church. If the family asks for a private rite at home... it cannot be denied to any Christian,” he said.

With churchyards across Rome saying they will not accept the Nazi’s body, the Italy Star Association suggested he be interred in the German cemetery in nearby Pomezia. World War II veteran Harry Shindler, one of the association’s representatives, said Priebke “would be in good company because other German soldiers who took part in the massacre are buried there.”

Officials in Pomezia have already spoken out against the idea, saying the Nazi’s tomb risks becoming a cult

attraction. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre said he should be sent to Germany and cremated. “That would be the most efficient way to leave no trace of a Nazi criminal like Priebke,” director Efraim Zuroff told La Stampa daily.

“Hitler’s body was also burnt and that was the best solution because it allowed the destruction of everything Nazism represented,” he said. Relatives of Priebke’s victims said he should be cremated and the ashes scattered in secret.

“He was a man without pity,” Amedeo Tedesco, whose father was killed aged 31 in the massacre, told Il Messaggero. “The best thing would be to cremate him and scatter the ashes to the wind without revealing where,” he said. “He should be forgotten and never spoken of again. Burying him in Rome would bring fanatics to his tomb,” he added. Carlo Stilli, whose father-in-law was killed, said the wounds were far too fresh to consider Rome housing Priebke’s body. “How can the city take in the body of its enemy? There is no room here for a creature so utterly obscene,” he said. — AFP

More migrants reach Italy, govt prepares to boost sea patrols Boat carrying 137 migrants reaches Lampedusa

MOSCOW: People detained by police line up for identity checking at a vegetable warehouse in Moscow’s outskirts, yesterday. Police in Moscow rounded up over a thousand employees of a vegetable warehouse yesterday, a day after riots on the Russian capital’s southern outskirts. — AP

380 arrested in Moscow race riot MOSCOW: Moscow police arrested more than 380 people Sunday during a race riot in which nationalists outraged by a murder blamed on a migrant smashed shop windows and assaulted security guards.

The crowd chanted “Russia for Russians!” and other neo-Nazi slogans during a protest that swelled to more than 1,000 people in an industrial district of southern Moscow and prompted police to order a city-wide security alert.

Witnesses reported police helicopters circling over the southern Biryulyovo district in scenes reminiscent of a war zone and not witnessed in Moscow since President Vladimir Putin returned to power for a third term in May 2012.

“I cannot believe this is happening in our city,” one middle-aged woman told Russian state television. “I am afraid to let my children out on the street,” said another woman. A Moscow police spokesman told Russian media that the city’s entire active security force had been mobilised several hours into the riot.

“Five police officers were injured while making arrests,” the RIA Novosti news agency quoted a police spokesman as saying. “Four of them were treated at the scene and another one-a commander of an OMON (riot police) battalion-sustained serious injuries.”

Police said they had cut off all traffic in the Biryulyovo district and shut down a major highway as a precaution. The riot broke out in the afternoon when an organised group of several hundred youths dressed predominantly in black jumped out of a street underpass and attacked a vegetable market where they though the suspected killer was hiding.

They were outraged over the murder on Thursday of a 25-year-old local man named Yegor Shcherbakov. Police said he was stabbed by an unknown assailant in unclear circumstances while his fiancee-identified only by her first name Ksenya-watched.

The killer fled the scene but was caught on surveillance cameras that suggested he could have been from Central Asia or the Caucasus.

“I know they will find the killer,” Ksenya told Russian state television.

The incident prompted an emergency

Moscow security meeting and promises of urgent action from the city’s most senior police officials. “Every measure will be taken to stop the criminal,” district police chief Alexandre Polovinko said at the scene of the protest. “ The best investigators have been assigned to the case.” Witnesses said the protesters threw empty beer bottles at shop windows and hurled clubs and even hammers at a riot police force that rushed to the scene in about a dozen buses.

Security officials said they had arrested about 380 people in Biryulyovo and 60 others in a separate protest in northeastern Moscow that appeared to be unrelated and sparked by still unclear circumstances.

Ethnic tensions have simmered for years in Moscow and other major Russian that have been flooded by migrant labourers from predominantly Muslim regions of the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Sunday’s riot was the largest since 5,000 football fans and nationalists protested on Moscow’s central Manezh Square in December 2010 over the killing by a man from the Caucasus of an ethnic Russian supporter of a local club.

Putin surprised many observers at the time by attending the funeral of the slain Moscow football supporter despite the presence at the ceremony of some of the city’s most ardent nationalists.

Ways to stem the migration of ethnic Muslim labourers to big Russian cities was also a major theme of last month’s Moscow mayoral elections won by Putin ally Sergei Sobyanin.

Southern migrants frequently endure poor labour and living conditions and are increasingly regarded with disdain by many Muscovites. Veteran nationalist lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky told Russian state television that the latest murder in Moscow meant it was time for the authorities to crack down on migrants.

“Moscow is overflowing with migrants,” Zhirinovsky separately wrote on his Twitter account. “We need a three-year programme that, once completed, will rid us of this foreign work force.” — AFP

PRETORIA: French President Francois Hollande (2L) walks with officials upon arrival at the Union Buldings in Pretoria yesterday. Hollande arrived in South Africa for a twoday state visit in which he is set to push for greater cooperation on African crises with the continental powerhouse. — AFP

ROME: A migrant boat carrying 137 people reached Italy from North Africa yesterday as the Italian government prepared to launch new naval and air patrols to prevent repeats of shipwrecks which have drowned hundreds of Africans this month alone.

The boat docked early yesterday in the port of the southern island of Lampedusa and the migrants, mostly Syrians, were in good condition, a coastguard spokesman said. Separately, more than 200 migrants arrived in ports in eastern Sicily after being rescued on Sunday by an Italian merchant ship and by a coastguard cutter.

The new arrivals follow the deaths of more than 350 people, mostly Somalis and Eritreans, in a shipwreck in the area on Oct. 3. Last Friday, at least 34 more migrants drowned when their boat capsized, though the true figure may be above 200.

Lampedusa, which lies southwest of Sicily and just 70 miles (113 km) from the coast of Tunisia, has been a stepping stone for migrants seeking a better life in Europe for two decades.

Now the Syrian civil war and unrest in Egypt and other Arab and African countries are fuelling the flow of refugees, many of whom have had to pass through an increasingly unstable Libya.

Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s government was due yesterday to endorse plans to ramp up its surveillance capacity in the Mediterranean this week to try to prevent more tragedies. Defence Minister Mario Mauro said on Sunday Italy would triple its presence in the area. Some newspapers said unmanned drone aircraft based in Sicily could be used to identify the flimsy and overcrowded migrant vessels.

Italy’s plans to expand its sea operations come amid calls for greater EU action and as beleaguered Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, who was kidnapped for several hours last week, sought Europe’s help to stem the migrant flow.

The instability in North Africa and the Middle East has removed many controls which used to

prevent the boats leaving and the EU has struggled to provide a comprehensive response.

“Our country is in what I’d call an atypical condition. Border control is impossible,” Ali Zeidan said yesterday in an interview with Italy’s la Repubblica newspaper.

“We need Europe’s support to control the borders, to train our personnel, to use satellites to keep track of these flows. It’s a phenomenon that is much bigger than the capabilities of a single state.”

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso was heckled when he visited Lampedusa last week by islanders who said the EU was partly responsible for the Oct. 3 ship-

wreck.

Italy and Malta, the main points of arrival for most migrants from North Africa, have asked for more EU funds and have called for the migrant emergency to be put on the agenda of the next European Council meeting on Oct. 24-25.

Italy, deep in recession and pressed by EU budget rules to curb public spending, has received more than 30 million euros to help its overwhelmed immigration centres. European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malstrom has called for Europe’s frontier agency Frontex to be strengthened to be able to deploy search and rescue operations in a zone stretching from Cyprus to Spain. — Reuters

MALTA: A migrant and her daughter make their way across the yard at the Hal Far Open Centre in Malta yesterday. The migrant, part of a group of 147 were rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta and brought to Malta after their boat capsized 110 miles south of the Island. Another group of 56 migrants were taken to Lampedusa, whilst 34 bodies were also recovered. — AFP

Merkel starts crucial week of talks on new government BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel is likely to pick a new coalition partner this week before moving on to detailed negotiations that could produce a new German government within about two months.

While the rest of Europe is waiting for clarity in its pivotal economy, Merkel has moved slowly since the Sept.

22 election towards making a deal with her two potential partners. She meets the Social Democrats on Monday (1400 GMT) and the Greens today.

Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), emerged as the dominant force from the election but, with 311 of the 631 seats in the Bundestag (lower house), they lack a majority.

She had a first round of preliminary talks last week with the SPD, the largest opposition party with 193 seats, and the Greens, the smallest with 63 seats. No decisions were reached and neither party showed much desire to join her after her last partners, the Free Democrats, failed to win enough votes to remain in parliament.

The battered SPD is seen as Merkel’s most likely ally, in a revival of the right-left ‘grand coalition’ that ruled from 2005-09. But Germany’s oldest party is split on whether to join Merkel again after seeing its support crumble as her junior partner before.

“Yesterday’s talks will be of decisive importance to answer the question of whether there is a stable foundation for full coalition negotiations,” said SPD deputy leader Andrea Nahles.

The possibility that talks could take months worries Germany’s European partners, who fear the negotiations could delay decisions on measures to fight the euro zone crisis - such as a plan for banking union.

Merkel has kept the option of a coalition with the Greens alive, despite resistance from the CSU. Tensions are high between the CSU and the Greens, a left-leaning party with roots in the 1970s peace and anti-nuclear movements.

Although the CDU/CSU-Greens coalition is considered less likely, Merkel, a former environment minister, has nurtured the idea for years and promoted conservative lawmakers open to a newfangled alliance with the old political enemy. She may need the Greens if the SPD baulks. SPD leaders have promised the party’s 472,000 grassroots members, many opposed to another coalition with Merkel, the chance to vote on any government agreement - an unprecedented and risky plan that could backfire.—Reuters

UK police issue images of man in new Maddie appeal LONDON: British detectives investigating the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal yesterday published two new electronic images of a man they want to contact in a major appeal which will also be shown in Germany and the Netherlands.

Police said the man is of “vital importance” and the two images have been drawn up based on statements and descriptions from two different witnesses who saw the man in the area of Praia da Luz town.

A primetime British television programme will also present a fresh timeline of events surrounding the disappearance of the British girl from her family’s holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort just a few days before her fourth birthday.

The witnesses described the man in the efit as being white, aged between 20-40 years old, with short brown hair, of medium build, medium height and clean shaven.

One of the images shows him with a fuller jaw than the other. Portuguese authorities closed their investigation in 2008, but London’s Metropolitan Police spent two years reviewing the evidence and opened their own probe in July this year.

“Whilst this man may or may not be the key to unlocking this investigation, tracing and speaking to him is of vital importance to us,” said Detective Chief Inspector Andy

Redwood, Scotland Yard’s senior investigating officer in the case.

“We have witnesses placing him in the resort area around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.” Praia da Luz is a “popular holiday destination for many nationalities”, Redwood said, adding that he would be travelling to the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland “to seek the support of the public there.”

The Crimewatch show will include a new 25-minute reconstruction as well as live interviews with Gerry and Kate McCann, who launched a global media campaign to find their daughter and still hold out hope she is alive.

Police said at the weekend that the timeline around the incident had also significantly changed, with further details to be released during the show. Ahead of the broadcast Madeleine’s parents told the BBC of the pain they still feel.

“When it’s a special occasion, when you should be at your happiest, and Madeleine’s not there, that’s when it really hits home,” Gerry McCann said. “Obviously, Madeleine’s birthday goes without saying.”

Kate McCann added: “It’s when you have big family occasions really. That’s it, isn’t it?

‘Family occasion’ and you haven’t got your complete family.” — AFP

LONDON: Handout electronic images obtained yesterday from the British Metropolitan Police show a man detectives want to contact in connection with the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal. Police said the man is of “vital importance” and the two images have been drawn up based on statements and descriptions from two different witnesses who saw the man in the area of Praia da Luz town. — AFP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

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

Taleban leader says group to fight US-Afghan deal KABUL: The secretive leader of the Afghan Taleban pledged yesterday that his followers will keep fighting if the government in Kabul signs a crucial security deal with the United States.

Mullah Mohammad Omar also called on his fighters to intensify their insurgent campaign against Afghan and NATO forces, and urged all Afghans to boycott next year’s elections, including the vote to elect a successor to President Hamid Karzai.

The message from the Taleban leader came in an email distributed to media on the eve of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. Violence across Afghanistan has spiked as insurgents try to retake

territory ahead of the full NATO pullout at the end of 2014. The Taleban, whose weapon of choice is roadside bombings and suicide attacks, have been blamed for the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties.

On Saturday, Karzai and US Secretary of State John Kerry reached an agreement in principle on the major elements of a deal that would allow American troops to stay in Afghanistan after 2014 and allow the US to lease a number of military bases around the country.

However, key issues, such as immunity for American troops who will stay on, remain unresolved. The jurisdiction over those forces must still

be worked out, and US officials have said this was a potentially deal-breaking issue.

Karzai has called tribal elders for a meeting of a consultative national assembly, known as Loya Jirga, for next month. In his message, Omar warned members of the Loya Jirga not to approve the U.S.-Afghan deal.

“Those who would sign this could not be called a representative Loya Jirga of the country. Their decisions are not acceptable,” Omar said. “The invaders should know that their limited bases will never be accepted. The current armed jihad will continue against them with more momentum.”

The reclusive Taleban leader has not been seen

since he vanished shortly after the American invasion on Oct. 7, 2001. But messages in his name are regularly issued by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - as the country was known under the Taleban regime.

In his message, Omar also called on Afghans to boycott the April 5 elections. Karzai is not eligible for a third term and 27 candidates have declared their candidacies to replace him.

“The votes of the people have no value in the elections, nor will participation benefit. Therefore, the Islamic Emirate rejects these elections and urges the people to avoid participation in them,” the message said. — AP

Outrage in India as temple stampede toll hits 115 Medics battling to save lives of survivors

ISLAMABAD: Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, head of the banned Pakistan’s charity organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), looks at relief supplies for earthquake survivors in southwest Pakistan, in Islamabad yesterday. JuD, which is known as one of Pakistan’s biggest charities, is taking part in the relief work in southwest Pakistan where a quake left at least 376 people dead. — AFP

India, US hampering Pakistan quake relief ISLAMABAD: The founder of a militant Islamist group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks yesterday accused the US and India of trying to hamper efforts to help victims of Pakistan’s earthquake.

Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who has a $10 million US government bounty on his head, said joint US-Indian efforts to block funds for his Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) organisation were aimed at stopping its relief work in Baluchistan, hit by a powerful quake last month.

JuD is seen as a front for Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT ), which Saeed founded and which investigators blame for the three-day carnage in Mumbai that killed 166 people.

The United States and India agreed on Sunday to step up cooperation to prevent the financing of extremist movements linked to Pakistan, including JuD and LeT. But JuD denies terror accusations, and in Pakistan is known for its relief work after natural disasters, particularly the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and 2010 floods.

“Their aim is to hamper the relief work of our charity Falah-e-Insaniyat foundation in the earthquake hit Baluchistan, that’s why they are trying to stop our funding,” Saeed told reporters.

The 7.7-magnitude quake shook the southwestern province of Baluchistan on September 24, killing more than 370 people and leaving more than 100,000 homeless. Both LeT and JuD are listed as terror organisations by the United Nations, but JuD operates freely in Pakistan and, despite the bounty on his head, Saeed lives openly.

Meanwhile, United States special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan James Dobbins arrived in Islamabad to finalize the agenda of a meeting scheduled to take place between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and US president Barack Obama, said officials yesterday.

During his stay here, the US envoy is scheduled to hold talks with Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz to discuss the agenda of the meeting to be held between Sharif and Obama in Washington on Oct 23. The two diplomats will also finalize potential points to be raised during the meeting between Prime Minister Sharif and the US president.

The two diplomats would also discuss the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 just after the sessions of meetings in Afghanistan between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US Secretary of State John Kerry on Oct 13. The Afghan President and US Secretary of State met to discuss longdelayed security deal on the future of US forces in Afghanistan after withdrawal of foreign forces.

Earlier, last month, US special envoy had also acknowledged that Islamabad had increased its support to the Afghan peace process. Dobbins said in September, “Pakistan has also, particularly over the last six months or so, become active in supporting an Afghan reconciliation process and urging the Afghan Taleban to participate in that process.” — Agencies

RATANGARH: Outrage mounted in India yesterday after at least 115 devotees were crushed to death or drowned near a Hindu temple, the site of another deadly stampede only seven years ago.

As survivors of Sunday’s tragedy on a bridge recounted how desperate mothers threw their children into the water below, authorities came under fire over policing levels amid claims the panic was aggravated by baton-charging.

Medics were also battling to save the lives of 10 people classified as critically ill after the stampede in the town of Ratangarh in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. “The death toll has now gone up to 115 and more than 110 injured,” deputy police inspector general D. K. Arya told AFP. “Ten of those are in a very critical state.” An AFP journalist at the site said the operation to recover the bodies had been finished and police investigators were now scouring the site. The tragedy cast a long shadow over celebrations marking the end of one of the holiest festivals in the Hindu calendar.

Police said the panic had been sparked by rumours that the bridge was about to collapse. Up to 400,000 devotees were already inside or around the temple when the stampede took place while there were around 20,000 people on the bridge which spans the river Sindh.

Large crowds began converging on the site from early morning, according to witnesses, on the penultimate day of the nine -day Navaratri festival which is dedicated to the worship of the Hindu goddess Durga.

The disaster comes only seven years after another stampede outside the same temple when more than 50 people were crushed to death while crossing the river, after which authorities built the bridge.

“Cops learnt no lessons from 2006 stampede,” read a headline in The Hindustan Times, saying the tragedy “underlines the sheer ineptitude of the authorities responsible for the safety and security” of devotees.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a senior figure in the Bharatiya Janata Party, was facing calls to resign over the tragedy. “Had there been adequate police, administration and health officials at the temple site, the loss of lives could have been averted,” said Kantilal Bhuria, the leader of the Congress party in the state. Manoj Sharma, one of the survivors, described a scene of utter mayhem.

“People were jumping off the bridge to

DATIA: In this Sunday photo, Indian villagers gather as policemen, in uniform, arrive at the scene of a deadly stampede on a bridge across the Sindh River in Datia district in Madhya Pradesh state, India. Pilgrims visiting a temple for a popular Hindu festival in India stampeded on fears a bridge would collapse, and more than 100 people were crushed to death or died in the river below, officials said yesterday. — AP

save themselves, but they could not swim against the tide. I also saw children being tossed from the bridge, only to be washed away,” he told the Times of India.

“I saw a mother desperately trying to protect her baby amidst the swelling, rushing crowds. But both died before my eyes. It was most horrific incident of my life.”

Man Singh, a fruitseller who had set up shop near the temple, told how people caught up in the crush in the bridge tried to save themselves with the clothes of some of the female victims.

“Some pulled sarees off the bodies, making ropes out of them, and tried to lower themselves into the river but they weren’t able to save themselves and ended up drowning as the river was flowing fast,” Singh told AFP. Singh also cast doubt on the official toll, saying some survivors had already left with the bodies of their loved ones before rescue services arrived.

Another survivor told the CNN-IBN news channel that the police had charged into the crowds, wielding baton sticks known as lathis.

“There was a huge crowd and the police started lathi-charge. It caused panic and the peo-

Small Delhi University shop at centre of India publishing row NEW DELHI: A cramped, one-room shop tucked away in Delhi University seems an unlikely battleground for a publishing war that, academics warn, threatens quality of and access to education in the world’s second most populous nation.

The busy shop, where photocopiers churn out papers for a steady stream of students for a small fee, is at the centre of a court battle brought by three venerable academic presses over the interpretation of India’s copyright law.

The lawsuit, filed by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press and Taylor & Francis against Delhi University and the shop threatens production of “course packs”-de facto “textbooks” made of photocopied portions of various books.

Course packs are common throughout much of the developing world-where most university students cannot afford to purchase new or even second-hand textbooks-and are seen as key to the spread of education there.

Distinguished Indian academics have lined up to express dismay over the suit, including Nobel Prize winner and Harvard University professor Amartya Sen, warning that these packs could become expensive, or unavailable altogether, hitting students hard.

“As an OUP (Oxford University Press) author I would like to urge my publisher to not draw on the full force of the law to make these course packs impossible to generate and use,” Sen wrote in an open letter last September, a month after the case was filed in the Supreme Court.

“Educational publishers have to balance various interests, and the cause of (access to) education must surely be a

very important one,” he wrote. Experts fear that the case could set a precedent that forces the closure of such shops in India. Universities that still want to provide packs to their students could instead be forced into potentially expensive licensing arrangements with publishers to reproduce the texts.

Amita Baviskar, associate professor at the Institute of Economic Growth at Delhi University, who has campaigned against the suit, calls it “a case of big-name publishers bullying academics, students and a small shop to make more profit”.

“If the court rules in favour of the publishers, access to educational material will become more expensive and the quality of students’ learning will suffer. Students will struggle without course packs,” Baviskar told AFP. Indian copyright law already allows students and academics to photocopy textbook excerpts freely for educational use, under a “fair dealing” provision, according to Baviskar. Publishers, however, argue that this provision, while allowing an individual to copy small numbers of pages for academic use, doesn’t extend to a profit-making photocopying shop generating entire course packs.

According to Sudhir Malhotra, president of the Federation of Indian Publishers, “a photocopying shop which copies excerpts from various books and then sells the resulting course pack for a profit... this is not fair use, this is commercial exploitation of private property”.

“It’s not as if photocopiers are doing it for free. So why blame publishers for wanting their share?” Malhotra told AFP. The practice of copying textbook excerpts is “typical of emerging

NEW DELHI: An Indian shop employee sorts photocopied material at the Rameshwari Photocopy Service shop, located on the Delhi University premises, in New Delhi on September 18, 2013. A cramped, one-room shop tucked away in Delhi University seems an unlikely battleground for a publishing war that, academics warn, threatens quality of and access to education in the world’s second most populous nation. — AFP economies”, according to copyright experts like Jeremy de Beer, associate professor of law at the University of Ottawa in Canada.

His published work on the issue includes a 2010 book on copyright law and access to education in eight developing nations, including South Africa, Senegal, Egypt and Kenya.

“What I found was that most universities lack the resources to buy brandnew copies of academic books, so photocopying is integral to the education there,” de Beer told AFP in a phone interview.

Most libraries de Beer visited

housed only one copy of each textbook on the syllabus, making it necessary to photocopy whole books, he said.

Publishers do not expect a massive boom in textbook sales even if the lawsuit succeeds, he said. Instead Indian universities are expected to be pushed into new copying arrangements with publishers.

“As far as this case in India is concerned, publishers have an ulterior motive. They want to create a system whereby the university obtains a copying licence from the publisher in exchange for a flat fee per student,” de Beer said. — AFP

ple were killed,” the unnamed witness told the network.

Uma Shankar Gupta, the state’s home minister, said authorities had not yet determined why the stampede had broken out, but downplayed suggestions that security was inadequate.

“There were safety measures in place, this is an annual event,” he told reporters. “We don’t yet have information on how this happened, as our focus is on the rescue effort.”

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the condolences for the victims.

“On this day of festivities, our hearts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” Singh said in a statement. India has a long history of deadly stampedes at religious festivals, with at least 36 people trampled to death in February as pilgrims headed home from the Kumbh Mela religious festival on the banks of the river Ganges.

Some 102 Hindu devotees were killed in a stampede in January 2011 in the state of Kerala, while 224 pilgrims died in September 2008 as thousands of worshippers rushed to reach a 15th-century hill-top temple in Jodhpur. — AFP

Dhaka garment factory workers detain boss DHAKA: Workers at a Bangladeshi garment factory yesterday freed a garment factory boss they had held captive in his office for more than 18 hours after he paid a promised bonus.

The incident was the first involving the forced confinement of a factory boss in months of confrontation between management and workers earning minimum wages equivalent to $38 a month, half what Cambodian garment workers earn.

A trade union leader said the incident was a “positive development” as workers had achieved their aim “peacefully”. Police said workers went to the Tuba Group factory on Saturday to demand payment of their bonus for the Eid al-Adha holiday in overwhelmingly Muslim Bangladesh.

They forced their way into the office of owner Delwar Hossain and locked him in when he said no money was available. Police, relatives of the owners and the factory owners’ group, the BGMEA, launched talks with the protesters and a police official said Hossain was released after bonuses were paid to 900 workers late on Sunday.

“I see it as a positive movement as the workers were not violent and were able to realise their demand peacefully,” said Amirul Haque Amin, president of the National Garment Workers’ Federation trade union.

An official of the BGMEA said bonuses totaling 5 million taka ($64,000) were paid. Each worker was to receive a month’s wages, which can range up to the equivalent of $155 for an experienced employee.

S.M. Mannan, a BGMEA vice-president, said his group had issued instructions to pay bonuses. “If any owner does blunder, we cannot take responsibility for him,” he told Reuters. Workers have at times staged violent protests to seek an increase in the minimum wage to $100, with demonstrations shutting down more than 600 factories last month.

A series of accidents, including a building collapse in April that killed more than 1,100 people, has raised global concern over standards in Bangladesh’s $22 billion garment industry.

Garments are a vital sector for Bangladesh and its low wages and duty-free access to Western markets have helped make it the world’s second-largest apparel exporter after China.

The recent accidents have put the government, industrialists and the global brands that use the factories under pressure to reform an industry that employs four million and generates 80 percent of Bangladesh’s export earnings. — Reuters

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

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

Chinese investigators given jail terms for torture of party official BEIJING: Six Chinese Communist Party officials have been sentenced to between four and 14 years in jail for torturing another official to death, lawyers and his ex-wife said yesterday, in a case that shed light on the workings of the party’s judicial system.

The sentences marked a rare instance of legal punishment handed down over the abuse of a party official detained under the organisation’s secretive extralegal detention process, lawyers for the family of the dead man said.

A court in the eastern city of Quzhou issued the verdicts on Sept. 30, a decision not reported by Chinese media. The trial had opened on Sept. 17.

The six officials were convicted of intentional infliction of harm leading to death over the drowning in April of Yu Qiyi, 42, a chief engineer for a stateowned investment firm in the nearby city of Wenzhou. Yu had been dunked repeatedly in a bucket of ice-cold water.

It is not precisely clear why Yu was

being investigated, although it was possibly related to a land deal, according to his family’s lawyers. Yu had spent 38 days under “shuanggui”, a form of detention imposed on party officials being investigated for disciplinary violations.

Five officials from the party’s corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, were given sentences of four to 14 years, according to a lawyer for one of the accused and lawyers representing Yu’s family. The five were Zhang Fangchao, Li Xiang, Cheng Wenjie, Wu Zhiwei and Nan Yu. Gu Chenfu, from the local prosecutor’s office, was sentenced to eight years.

The six had faced a maximum penalty of death. “In reality, they want to control the scope of people who can be targeted for this,” said Pu Zhiqiang, a lawyer for Yu’s family, referring to the trial.

“But the fact that members of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection can face these kinds of criminal penalties, this is already rare.”

“Shuanggui” refers to the time and place at which party members summoned by the commission must appear for questioning. Family members are often kept in the dark and detentions can last for an indefinite period.

Two other Communist Party officials died while under “shuanggui” between April and June this year, according to lawyers involved in those cases.

Chi Susheng, a lawyer for Li Xiang, called her client’s jail term of 10 years unreasonable, adding the accused had appealed. All six men had testified that Yu was deprived of sleep and beaten during his extra-judicial detention, according to a defence statement by Chi, who cited testimony from the accused.

Her statement was seen by Reuters.

But they insisted they had treated Yu harshly at the behest of more senior officials in the commission, according to the statement. “The higher-up officials have not been held accountable, don’t you think this is unfair?” Yu’s ex-wife, Wu

Qian, told Reuters by telephone from Wenzhou. “We are very dissatisfied that the main culprits have not been brought to justice.”

Pu said the party was making the six officials scapegoats. Reuters was not immediately able to locate lawyers for the other five jailed officials. Neither the government nor the party has publicly given an account of what happened. The trial has not received any coverage in state-run media.

An official from the Quzhou court, who declined to be identified, told Reuters she was aware of the case but declined to confirm the sentences.

During the two-day closed-door trial, lawyers representing Yu’s family were thrown out of court.

Investigators put Yu’s head in a bucket of ice-cold water and held it down repeatedly, eventually causing his death, according to lawyers for his family. Yu was also beaten and his body scarred by what appeared to be

cigarette butt marks.

The verdicts come as China wages war on corruption. President Xi Jinping has pledged to go after “tigers” and “flies” in the battle against graft, referring to both political heavyweights and low-ranked officials.

Ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai, who was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of corruption and abuse of power last month, was subjected to “shuanggui” for 17 months.

During his trial, Bo recanted an earlier confession to party investigators saying it was made under psychological pressure. Pu said it was unlikely that officials would do away with “shuanggui” as a tool to fight corruption, but Yu’s case might prompt them to rethink the brutality of the system.

“The lesson that should be learned from this case is that if you wantonly beat a person to death, your organisation will not stand up to fight for you,” he said. —Reuters

Malaysian court rules use of ‘Allah’ exclusive to Muslims Catholic newspaper loses fight

MANILA: Volunteer-members of the Christian sect the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ), prepare to distribute food supplies to the indigent in Manila, Philippines, yesterday. The evangelical mission by one of the country’s largest Christian sects paralyzed traffic in Manila and forced the cancellation of classes in several cities of metropolitan Manila as thousands trooped to several distribution areas. — AP

Influential Chirstian sect shuts down Manila MANILA: More than 1.5 million people converged on the Philippine capital yesterday for a powerful Christian sect’s evangelical event, causing traffic chaos that shut down large parts of the megacity.

The gathering of the secretive and politically influential Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) in the historic district of Manila forced all schools and some government offices to close.

The Supreme Court, as well as some basketball games in the highly popular college league, were also suspended, while Manila’s governing authority urged private employers to give their staff a paid day off to avoid the traffic.

“We really apologise for those who were inconvenienced. Maybe they can just pass this off as a minor sacrifice to help their countrymen,” Iglesia ni Cristo spokesman Edwin Zaballa told AFP. Iglesia ni Cristo, which is believed to have about three million members, held the event ostensibly as a medical and charity mission, with its followers giving aid to residents of huge slums.

Zaballa said it was also part of year-long celebrations across the country to mark the lead-up to its centenary in 2014, and “to spread the word”. Between two and three million people attended the event either as a church follower or aid recipient, according to Manila’s police chief, Isagani Genade.

The organisers estimated the crowd at between 1.5 million and two million people.

The event is one of many ostentatious displays of faith in the mainly Catholic Philippines, where religious leaders also wield heavy political influence. However, not everyone attending was celebrating.

In a square fronting Manila’s central post office, tempers frayed during the fierce afternoon heat as men, women and children jostled while waiting for medical care offered by the group. “This is madness. I have been here since dawn to get a free

medical check-up, but I will get more sick in this heat,” said factory worker Flor Kato, a 40-year-old mother of five who was complaining of chest pains.

Several people fainted due to the heat, while others simply gave up in frustration.

Founded by Felix Manalo in 1914, Iglesia ni Cristo exerts huge political influence in the Philippines, despite being outnumbered by the country ’s more than 75 million Catholics.

Its followers are instructed to vote as a bloc, so politicians often seek their leaders’ anointment during election season. Its teachings are more conservative than the Catholic Church, with its followers not allowed to marry non-members.

Former members say claim they were also required to give 10 percent of their salaries to the church, though Zaballa said this was not the case and instead “members are encouraged to contribute any amount they can”.

When Erano Manalo, Felix’s son and successor as leader of the church, died in 2009, then-president Gloria Arroyo declared the day of his funeral a public holiday.

In a major show of force last year, sect members held peaceful rallies across the Philippines to protest the ouster of grafttainted Supreme Court chief justice Renato Corona, who had known links with its leaders. That rally was also taken as a sign of a breaking of ties with President Benigno Aquino, who had won the support of the church in the 2010 elections but then spearheaded Corona’s impeachment.

Zaballa said yesterday’s gathering was merely an evangelical exercise. “We do not mean it as a show of force,” he said. But Senator Miriam Santiago, a politician known in the Philippines for speaking against powerful interests, disagreed.

“There is a message behind the INC event today. If you are a politician and you don’t get it, you are a fool,” Santiago posted on Twitter. — AFP

Cambodia to hear closing statements in K Rouge trial PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s war crimes court will this week edge closer to delivering justice to Khmer Rouge victims as it begins hearing final statements in the much-delayed trial of former regime leaders.

Nearly four decades after the country’s “Killing Fields” era, the UN-backed court will on Wednesday enter the last phase of the trial of “Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea, 87, and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan, 82. The trial is widely seen as a milestone in the still-traumatised nation’s quest for justice, particularly given the ages of the frail suspects.

Another defendant, former foreign minister Ieng Sary died aged 87 in March this year, while the case against his wife Ieng Thirith-also an ex-minister-was suspended after the court ruled dementia left her unfit to stand trial.

Led by “Brother Number One” Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the communist Khmer Rouge were responsible for one of the worst horrors of the 20th century, wiping out up to two million people through starvation, overwork and execution in the late 1970s.

“Victims have been waiting for more

than 38 years to see some kind of justice.... this waiting period will soon end,” court spokesman Lars Olsen told AFP. Hundreds of Cambodians are expected to travel to the capital to attend the hearing of the closing statements, although interest in the trial has been muted among the wider public.

“The victims deserve to have a sense of closure,” said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, which researches the regime’s atrocities. “While we move on, we should not forget the past.

Genocide is part of our identity. It is us.”

The final statements-including by the defendants-should be heard by the end of the month, while the court expects a verdict in the first half of 2014. The court split the complex case into a series of smaller trials, amid fears that the ageing defendants will not survive.

Yet the first trial has still been dogged by delays caused by cash shortages, strikes, alleged political interference as well as the poor health of the accused. Proceedings, which began hearing evidence in late 2011, have focused on the forced movement of people from Phnom Penh and related charges of crimes against humanity.—AFP

PUTRAJAYA: A Malaysian court ruled yesterday that a Christian newspaper may not use the word “Allah” to refer to God, a landmark decision on an issue that has fanned religious tension and raised questions over minority rights in the mainly Muslim country.

The unanimous decision by three Muslim judges in Malaysia’s appeals court overturned a 2009 ruling by a lower cour t that allowed the Malay-language version of the newspaper, The Herald, to use the word Allah - as many Christians in Malaysia say has been the case for centuries.

“The usage of the word Allah is not an integral part of the faith in Christianity,” chief judge Mohamed Apandi Ali said in the ruling. “The usage of the word will cause confusion in the community.”

The decision coincides with heightened ethnic and religious tension in Malaysia after a polarising May election, in which the long-ruling coalition was deserted by urban voters that included a large section of minority ethnic Chinese. In recent months, Prime Minister Najib Razak has sought to consolidate his support among majority ethnic Malays, who are Muslim by law, and secure the backing of traditionalists ahead of a crucial ruling party assembly this month.

His new government - dominated by his Malay-based United Malays National Organisation - has toughened security laws and introduced steps to boost a decadesold affirmative action policy for ethnic Malays, reversing liberal reforms aimed at appealing to a broader section of the multi-ethnic country.

In its case, the government argued that the word Allah is spe-

KUALA LUMPUR: Muslim Protestors display a banner during a demonstration against a Malaysian Catholic newspaper using the word ‘Allah’ at the court of appeal in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur yesterday. An appeals panel ruled yesterday, that a Malaysian Catholic newspaper could not use “Allah” to refer to the Christian god in a case that sparked attacks on churches three years ago. — AFP cific to Muslims and that the thenhome minister’s decision in 2008 to deny the newspaper permission to print it was justified on the basis of public order.

About 200 Muslims outside the court in the administrative capital Putrajaya, greeted the decision with shouts of “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest). “As a Muslim, defending the usage of the term Allah qualifies as jihad. It is my duty to defend it,” said Jefrizal Ahmad Jaafar, 39. Jihad is Islamic holy war or struggle.

Lawyers for the Catholic paper had argued that the word Allah

predated Islam and had been used extensively by Malay-speaking Christians in Malaysia’s part of Borneo island for centuries. They say they will appeal against yesterday’s decision to Malaysia’s highest court.

“The nation must protect and support the rights of the minority,” said Father Lawrence Andrew, the founding editor of the Herald. “God is an integral part of every religion.”

Christians in Indonesia and much of the Arab world continue to use the word without opposition from Islamic authorities. Churches in the Borneo states of Sabah and

Sarawak have said they will continue to use the word regardless of the ruling.

The paper won a judicial review of the home minister’s decision in 2009, triggering an appeal from the federal government. The court ruled yesterday that the constitutional rights of the publisher had not been infringed.

Ethnic Malays make up 60 percent of Malaysia’s 28 million people, with Chinese accounting for more than a quarter and ethnic Indians also forming a substantial minority. Christians account for about 9 percent. — Reuters

Australia’s Labor appoints eleven women to frontbench SYDNEY: Australia’s new Labor chief Bill Shorten yesterday appointed 11 women to his frontbench, including his deputy, describing Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s inclusion of just one as “ridiculous”.

Shorten, who won a vote to become opposition leader on Sunday, also cautioned Abbott against playing “political games” by threatening fresh elections next year over a deadlock on climate change policy.

The former union chief unveiled a new 30person cabinet including ex-health minister Tanya Plibersek as his deputy, ex-finance minister Penny Wong as Senate leader and nine other women-a balance he described as “particularly pleasing”.

Labor delivered Australia its first female premier, Julia Gillard, in a leadership coup in 2010. She was prime minister until being ousted in June by her predecessor Kevin Rudd who went on to lose last month’s elections to Abbott.

Gillard congratulated Plibersek, the daughter of Slovenian migrants, on her promotion, paying tribute to her “achievement and vision, wit and warmth” on Twitter. “I don’t think that there are many countries in the world where someone whose parents came here with nothing but a suitcase each could ever aspire to being a member of parliament, let alone taking on this responsibility that my colleagues have entrusted me with,” Plibersek said.

A public debate over sexism raged during Gillard’s time in office and it was revived after the election when Abbott appointed just one woman to his cabinet-Foreign Minister Julie Bishop-and made himself the minister for women.

“We are on track in Labor to have more women lined up in positions of influence in the shadow executive of Australia than has been seen either in a government or indeed in an opposition ever,” said Shorten.

“There were six women in the last Labor cabinet, there’s one now in the (Abbott government’s) coalition cabinet. That is ridiculous.” Shorten said Abbott’s ministry “pre-

sumes a very old-fashioned view of the world”.

He also took aim at the conser vative leader’s repeated warnings that Labor respect his “mandate” to repeal their hard-fought corporate pollution tax, which was among his key campaign promises.

“If Mr Shorten is fair dinkum about democratic politics and if he is fair dinkum about heeding the voice of the people, he will accept that the last election was a referendum on the carbon tax,” Abbott told reporters.

“The carbon tax was decisively rejected.

The only people who don’t understand that seems to be the members of the parliamentary Labor Party.”

Abbott has threatened to dissolve both houses of parliament and return to the polls if Labor frustrates his ambitions to overturn the levy. “The idea that you might call a double dissolution to play some game-this nation doesn’t have time to waste, the rest of the world is not waiting for Australia to work things out,” said Shorten.

“Look at the pandemonium in the United States when they have budget shutdowns.

Nations can’t afford political games.” Shorten pledged to “draw a line under the division of the past” that saw two Labor party coups in as many terms in office, saying “we will have zero tolerance for disunity”. —AFP

SYDNEY: A police officer walks next to burnt vehicles following a fire at Sydney’s Olympic Park yesterday. Eighty cars were destroyed or badly damaged in a devastating fire at Sydney’s Olympic Park which investigators yesterday said was likely started by a “stupid” individual discarding a cigarette. — AFP

NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

MOUNT ARAFAT: Pilgrims perform noon prayers outside the Namira mosque yesterday. — AFP

Polonium confirmed on Arafat clothing

Iran hopes talks will yield ‘roadmap’

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

polonium poisoning might not have been identified during that procedure, body samples could have been kept and tested afterwards.”

On July 3 2012, one of the authors, Francois Bochud, who is head of the Institute of Radiation Physics, told AlJazeera that the team “did find some significant polonium” in Arafat’s belongings. “If (Suha Arafat) really wants to know what happened to her husband (we need) to find a

sample - I mean an exhumation - should provide with a sample that should have a very high quantity of polonium if he was poisoned,” he told the Mideast TV news channel. Beatrice Schaad, head of communications at the Vaudois University Hospital Centre (CHUV) which is in charge of the institute, said the case report was the “scientific version” of what was given to the media. “There is nothing new compared with what was said” in 2012, she told AFP. “There is still no conclusion that he was poisoned.” — AFP

Britain to ease visas for China applicants Continued from Page 1 Analysts say Britain has missed out on benefiting from Chinese tourists’ spending power, partly because of its visa rules. According to the UN’s World Tourism Organization, China has become the world’s most valuable source of tourists, with expenditure on overseas travel reaching $102 billion in 2012. But France attracted 1.4 million tourist trips from China last year, around six times as many as Britain, Franzisk a Brandenburger of research firm Euromonitor International wrote in a recent note.

Among western European countries, Britain was also behind Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Spain, the company said, leaving it in sixth place. “Currently the majority of Chinese tourists opt for other European destinations as a consequence of the visa application process,” wrote Brandenburger. “Europe has laid out the red carpet to Chinese consumers.” During his visit, Osborne is trying to win over a Chinese government that has rebuffed Britain due to a meeting last year between Prime Minister David Cameron and the Dalai Lama.

In a speech at Peking University yesterday, Osborne insisted “there is no country in the West more open to

investment - especially from China” than Britain. “There are some in the West who see China growing and they are nervous,” he said. “They think of the world as a cake - and the bigger the slice that China takes, the smaller the slice that they will get. “I totally and utterly reject this pessimistic view. If we make the whole cake bigger, then all our peoples will benefit. “I don’t want Britain to resent China’s success, I want us to celebrate it. I don’t want us to try to resist your economic progress, I want Britain to share in it.”

At the weekend a deal was announced between a Chinese construction group and British firms to develop a business district around Manchester airport, Britain’s third busiest. Meanwhile Energy Secretary Ed Davey said it was “possible we will see massive Chinese investment” in Britain’s power sector, “not just in nuclear but across the board”. Osborne is in China with London mayor Boris Johnson, who welcomed the visa plans. “When Chinese tourists come to London classically they spend very considerable sums of money - it’s good news for the city. If it doesn’t happen it’s a missed opportunity and I don’t want to see that business going to Paris.” Beijing’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying welcomed the changes. “We see this as a positive development,” she said. — AFP

Muslims urged to heal divisions at hajj ...

Continued from Page 1 This puts the total number of pilgrims this year at almost 1.5 million, less than half of last year’s 3.2 million, after Riyadh slashed hajj quotas.

Prince Khaled told the official SPA news agency late Sunday that authorities had turned back 70,000 nationals and expatriates for not carrying legal permits and had arrested 38,000 others for performing the hajj without a permit. Authorities have also seized as many as 138,000 vehicles for violating the hajj rules, and owners will be penalised, the prince said.

Saudi health authorities have stressed that no cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus have been detected so far this pilgrimage. The disease has killed 60 people worldwide, 51 of them in Saudi Arabia. The pilgrims arrived at Arafat from nearby Mina where most of them spent the night following the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who performed the rituals 14 centuries ago.

They had moved to Mina on Sunday from the holy city of Makkah, home to the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest place of worship, which houses the cube-shaped Kaaba towards which all Muslims pray five times daily.

On reaching Arafat, they crowded onto the hill and the vast plain surrounding it to pray until sunset, when they are due to set off for Muzdalifah for a ritual on Monday

symbolising the stoning of the devil.

“I will pray the whole day for God to improve the situation for Muslims worldwide and an end to disputes and bloodshed in Arab countries,” 61-year-old Algerian pensioner Saeed Dherari said. “I hope that God will grace all Muslims with security and stability,” said 75year-old Ahmad Khader, who hails from the southern Syrian province of Daraa. “The regime is tyrannical and I pray for God to help the oppressed people,” he said, referring to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s embattled government.

Egyptian Ahmad Ali, who is performing hajj for the first time, prayed for peace after hundreds were killed in recent months in fighting between security forces and Islamist supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. “I pray for Egypt to enjoy security and stability and for the people to reach understanding and reconciliation,” Ali told AFP. The hajj, which officially ends on Friday, is one of the five pillars of Islam that every capable Muslim must perform at least once.

After praying on Mount Arafat, the faithful descended to Muzdalifah, where they were to spend the night before today’s symbolic stoning of the devil and celebration of Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice. A majority of the pilgrims walked the 5-km distance while others took buses and trains, some riding on the roofs. — AFP

return for relief from EU and US sanctions, which have badly hit the country’s oil exports and its access to global banking. “We will present our views, as agreed, in Geneva, not before,” Zarif tweeted.

Araqchi said Sunday that the “plan that will be presented by Zarif to the P5+1 countries during the opening session... has been prepared so that there can be no pretext to refuse it.”

He did not give further details of the plan, but said Iran would not accept any demand to hand over its stockpiles of enriched uranium. “We will negotiate about the volume, levels and the methods of enrichment but shipping out the (enriched) material is a red line for Iran,” Araqchi said.

Iran currently has 6,774 kilograms of low-enriched uranium, and nearly 186 kilograys of material enriched to 20 percent, as well as 187 kilograys of the 20 percent material converted to uranium oxide for use in fuel plates.

The 20 percent enriched uranium is the source of the greatest concern for the West and Israel, which fear Tehran could divert some of it for further enrichment towards the more than 90 percent level required for a nuclear weapon. Iran insists that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, and has defied repeated ultimatums from the UN Security Council to suspend all enrichment.

Separately, Iran’s president stepped up his challenge to hardline factions yesterday, calling for the lifting of restrictions on academic freedoms and for granting Iranian scholars more opportunity to take part in international conferences. The message from Rouhani underscores the increasing friction between his moderate-leaning views and entrenched forces such as a student wing of the powerful Revolutionary Guard, which has questioned the scope of the new president’s overtures to Washington.

Rouhani’s call points to potential deeper political fissures. Iran’s top policymaker, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has endorsed Rouhani’s outreach to the US, but some of the forces coming under the president’s criticism also are controlled by Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters.

Rouhani, who took office in August, has previously called for lifting curbs on social media access and urged police not to crack down on perceived violations of Islamic dress codes for women.

“This is a shame for an administration that its students and professors are not able to express their viewpoints,” Rouhani told Tehran University students and professors.

“This administration will not tolerate factional pressures on universities.”

He also urged authorities not to

block scholars from taking part in international gatherings, calling it “scientific diplomacy”. “I urge all security apparatuses, including the intelligence ministry, to open the way for this diplomacy. Trust the universities,” said Rouhani.

In recent years, many professors and student activists at Iranian universities were expelled or went into forced retirement under pressure from hardline groups. Rouhani also reiterated his promises for greater outreach to the world. “We should have solidarity and peaceful co-existence with all friendly countries or even with all the world’s nations,” he told the gathering.

The Tehran Jewish Association, in a statement made available to AP yesterday, supported Rouhani’s international outreach and urged President Barack Obama and other Western leaders to use the “golden opportunity” to seek better relations with Iran. Iran and the United States broke ties after the storming of the US Embassy in Tehran in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. “If the US and global community do not use this golden opportunity, which may not be repeated, then they have helped pessimists and enemies of normalization of ties between US and Iran,” said the statement. Iran’s 30,000-member Jewish community is the biggest in the Middle East outside Israel. — Agencies

Riyadh to join US as shale gas producer Continued from Page 1 The Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Maaden) plans to invest in a phosphate project which is part of a new industrial city called Waad al Shimal City for Mining Industries, with production expected to start by the end of 2016. By unlocking its gas reserves, the world’s top oil exporter could use the fuel to power its domestic economy and allow more room for oil sales to world markets.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi has given an estimate of over 600 trillion cu ft of unconventional gas reserves, more than double its proven conventional reserves. That would put Saudi Arabia fifth in a 32-country shale gas reserves ranking compiled for the US Energy Information Administration. China tops the list and has already signed production-sharing deals and awarded exploration blocks as it targets output of 6.5 billion cu m a year by 2015. But Riyadh - hampered by scarce water and prices fixed far below production costs - is unlikely to produce much shale gas this decade. Neighbouring Oman is likely to lead the way with development of tight gas that could start commercial production by 2017 and yield up to 30 trillion cu ft.

Saudi Aramco meanwhile has been mapping unconventional reserves in the hope it will help meet an

expected doubling of demand by 2030 in a country that bans gas imports. It has carried out appraisal drilling and piloting of three prospective areas for unconventional gas in the northwest, in south Ghawar and for condensate-rich shale gas in the Rub’ al-Khali. The gas will feed a proposed power plant in Jizan, which will be connected to a 400,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery. The Saudi state oil giant hopes to complete the project by early 2017, Falih said.

Industry sources have said this could be delayed by up to a year because work on associated infrastructure is running behind schedule. The Aramco chief said Riyadh is making massive investments to maintain the world’s largest spare oil production capacity of more than 2 million bpd. “As part of our drive to become the world’s most integrated energy company, we have increased our annual capital budget tenfold from $4 to $40 billion in the last 10 years,” the Aramco boss said. “In the past two years alone, we have swung our production by more than 1.5 million bpd in order to address market supply imbalances,” Falih said. Saudi Aramco is also on track to increase the average recovery rate of its conventional oil to 70 percent - more than double the current world average, he said. — Reuters

14

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Issues

Africa ultimatum dilemma for West

By Aymeric Vincenot

he African Union’s demand for the International Criminal Court to defer trials against Kenya’s leadership is unlikely to get UN Security Council support but poses a dilemma for Western powers, analysts say. An AU summit on Saturday stopped short of withdrawing from The Hague-based ICC, but it urgently asked for the deferral of the cases against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto so they can fulfil their duties to run the country. “This declaration sends the wrong message, that politicians on the African continent will place their political interests above those of victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide,” said Tawanda Hondora, an Amnesty International deputy director.

The Kenyan leaders have been charged with crimes against humanity for allegedly masterminding the ethnic violence that left at least 1,100 dead after disputed 2007 elections. Justice for the victims and a clear stand against immunity for heads of state would be among the key arguments against a trial deferral, analysts said. “There is no chance that immunity would be granted. It is a core principle of the Court: everyone must answer for his actions and especially those who are the most responsible,” said Herman van der Wilt, an international criminal law professor at Amsterdam University.

As for postponing the Kenyan trials, he added: “I can’t predict but I think it is very unlikely” because the permanent members of the Security Council can use their veto power and two members, he said, “France and Britain have always been very supportive of international justice.” But now a new dynamic has entered into the debate that could influence the decision-making: the attack last month by the AlQaeda-linked Somali group Shabab on a Nairobi shopping mall that left at least 67 people dead. “The dynamic and the politics around Kenya have changed. The attack at Westgate mall has probably shifted the priorities for two countries, France and Britain,” said Anton du Plessis, managing director for the Institute for Security Studies in Johannesburg.

Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at the Chatham House think-tank, also pointed to the dilemma facing the Western powers, who sit on the Security Council. He said they find the Kenya case “uncomfortable”. “Kenya is economically and strategically important for Western countries... (they) also can’t ignore that Uhuru Kenyatta was elected through a credible electoral process (in March),” Vines said. “This is new ground for Western partners on how to navigate their interests versus values in this case.”

Kenya had tried unsuccessfully in May to get action from the Security Council, which can defer ICC proceedings for one year. The Kenyan newspaper the Nation has argued that this time the request would get more attention as some African nations have accused the ICC of acting like a neo-colonialist institution that has singled out Africans. The court founded in 2002 has so far issued indictments related to conficts in eight countries, all in Africa. “The visible anger by African states during the (AU) meetings in Addis Ababa... (have) guaranteed to make the Security Council notice the application,” the paper wrote.

Du Plessis said he “would be very surprised” if the Security Council agreed to the deferral. But he stressed that the AU summit did not go as far as to pull out of the court and recognised “that they need to follow legal routes”. “What is important is that the fears that some analysts had, that there might be more support amongst the AU body for a massive withdrawal (from the ICC), were perhaps exaggerated,” he added. Still, it remains unclear what action the AU could take next if the Security Council does turn down its request. The bloc has warned it would support a no-show by Kenyatta at the ICC - his trial date is November 12 - if a deferral is denied. — AFP

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One side has two voices in US race case

By Joan Biskupic he US Supreme Court today will delve into a decades-old debate over university admissions policies that favor racial minorities, hearing a Michigan case that picks up where the justices left off last session in a dispute from the University of Texas.

Unlike the Texas case that tested a specific affirmative action practice, this new dilemma revolves around a broad state constitutional amendment. In a twist, the two groups in the Michigan case that favor affirmative action to help minorities have put forward divergent views. They will split their side’s half hour of oral argument, each taking a different tack in hopes of influencing a court dominated by ideologically conservative justices.

They so differentiated their positions in filings to the court last month that the justices took the rare step of granting a request for divided argument at the court’s lectern. Michigan, where voters in 2006 approved a ban on all “preferential treatment” based on race in education, will have the other half hour to itself. The country’s struggle with the issue traces back to the early 1960s when President John Kennedy first told federal contractors to take “affirmative action” to hire minorities. The Supreme Court has been the arbiter of disputes over universities’ consideration of applicants’ race since the groundbreaking Bakke case in 1978, when it forbade quotas but said schools could weigh race with other factors.

The new Supreme Court case does not directly test Bakke, but it could determine how easily states can end the affirmative action that the 1978 case endorsed. A ruling could affect bans in place in Michigan and seven other states: Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington. While they vary in the breadth and tone of their arguments, those challenging the Michigan ban say it unconstitutionally altered the state political process related to admissions policies along racial lines.

Specifically, challengers say that because of the ban, advocates for racial preferences in admissions may not directly lobby universities the way those seeking to employ other advantages, such as family alumni status, can. Rather, such advocates must first undertake to win a new amendment to the state constitution, reversing the 2006 one. It is difficult to predict how the justices might rule, but their acceptance of Michigan’s appeal of a lower-court decision relying on the political-

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process theory and their increasing rejection of racial policies suggests they might be poised to uphold the ban.

One group opposed to the ban, from the University of Michigan, employs measured rhetoric, relies on more recent cases joined by conservative justices and tries to assure the court it can rule narrowly when striking down the Michigan ban. The other group, a longstanding Detroit-based coalition advocating for minority rights, is pushing a more expansive legal rationale and, in more impassioned rhetoric, invokes the orations of two late champions of racial justice in the 1960s, Martin Luther King and President Lyndon Johnson.

The twin approaches offer a window into strategies used to address a court majority increasingly skeptical of racial-based remedies. Usually when there are multiple parties on one side of a dispute, only one lawyer from their combination gets to argue, such as during last term when several civil rights groups were defending US voting rights law and, in a separate case, challenging an Arizona measure that required people seeking to register to vote to prove citizenship.

In last term’s affirmative action case, brought by a white student who asserted she was rejected at the University of Texas while minority students with lower scores were admitted, the justices sidestepped the constitutional challenge by a vote of 7-1. They returned the case to a lower court for review under a somewhat tougher standard for universities trying to justify giving blacks and Hispanics a boost in admissions. The new case, like last term’s, will be heard by only eight of the nine justices. Elena Kagan, who before her 2010 court appointment was the US solicitor general and handled some affirmative action litigation, is not participating.

A ruling in the case, Schuette v Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, is expected before the term ends in June 2014.

Picking up the mantle of the assassinated Kennedy, Johnson in 1964 sought to counter the effects of longstanding race discrimination in America with executive orders and by signing several milestone laws including that year’s groundbreaking Civil Rights Act. As such measures proliferated, whites who believed they were rejected because of “reverse discrimination” sued. In the Supreme Court’s first review of campus affirmative action, brought by white aspiring medical student Allan Bakke against the University of California, Davis, the court forbade racial quotas but said that universities could weigh race with other factors in admissions.

Three decades later, that legacy is on shaky political and judicial ground. Chief Justice John Roberts, now leader of the five-justice wing on the court’s right, wrote in 2007 that “the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” Tuesday’s dispute goes back a decade, to a 2003 Supreme Court decision upholding the University of Michigan’s use of affirmative action. To try to stop the university’s practices, voters then adopted Proposal 2, which among its sweeping prohibitions, targets “preferential treatment ... on the basis of race” in education.

The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, a Detroit-based group led by lawyer George Washington, who acknowledges a “militant” approach to preserve racial policies, immediately sued. A second group, made up of University of Michigan students and faculty, known by the lead plaintiff Chase Cantrell, also sued.

After the cases were combined, the US Cour t of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled against Michigan, declaring Proposal 2 violates equality rights by changing the political process for minorities. In a broadly written opinion, the appeals court relied on Supreme Court decisions from 1969 and 1982 involving racial bias and political rights.

The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action is seeking a sweeping decision along the lines of the appeals court, arguing that Proposal 2 broadly deprives blacks, Latinos and other minorities of their rights. In an interview, Washington said his group was trying to reach audiences beyond the marble-columned courthouse.

Several busloads of students will be traveling from Detroit for the case today, Washington said. “I think (the justices) have to understand that people feel very, very passionately about their own futures and their children’s futures.” The Cantrell plaintiffs, represented by Mark Rosenbaum of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, stressed in an interview that he will not ask the court to focus on blacks or Latinos hurt by the amendment, but rather to focus on the inequality of the process itself. In another difference, he emphasizes recent Supreme Court precedent targeting government use of race as a “predominant factor,” for example, in drawing congressional districts deemed unconstitutional. Michigan solicitor general John Bursch, who will present the state’s side Tuesday, will argue that the state amendment does not advantage or disadvantage any race in the admissions process: “It prohibits making a racial classification in the first place.” — Reuters

G20 tries to get its mojo back

By Jason Lange op officials for the world’s biggest economic powers get nostalgic over how they mobilized to save the world from economic collapse in 2008. They are not nearly so glowing about their current muddle. At meetings held in Washington last week, there was a sense that the Group of 20, which brings together policymakers who oversee the vast majority of global output, has grown bogged down by a sprawling agenda no longer focused by crisis. “It’s very difficult to coordinate and to come up with meaningful results,” said Ksenia Yudaeva, a deputy central bank governor for Russia, which organized this year’s G20 meetings. “Every step in right direction gets smaller and smaller.”

Gone are the heady days of 2008 and 2009 when leaders at G20 summits hashed out major deals on fiscal stimulus and trade policy to counter a global financial crisis that threatened worldwide depression. In 2010 and 2011, the group was a forum for prodding European officials to come up with a plan to keep the euro zone from breaking up. Since then, the list of issues on the G20 agenda has ballooned. It now includes everything from climate change and food security to youth unemployment, as if the body were a mini United Nations.

“What’s happened is that the objective of the G20 has become confused,” said Martin Parkinson, Australia’s treasury secretary. He said the body needs to focus more squarely on its core mission of making the global economy stronger and more stable. Some of the chal-

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lenges before the group are so great they will not be resolved anytime soon. The world’s economy remains dangerously unbalanced, economists and officials agree, with countries like China relying too heavily on exports and others like the United States depending too much on imports. This leads to uncontrollable capital flows that can inflate dangerous bubbles.

Policymakers are still dealing with the wreckage of a burst debt bubble that cratered the U.S. housing market. They worry that super-low interest rates used to fight recession in advanced economies may have created new bubbles around the world. While the G20 meetings on Thursday and Friday were dominated by concerns about a political crisis in Washington that could trigger a US debt default, officials also spent time trying to figure out how they might get their mojo back.

Finance ministers and central bankers tried to make their common statement as short as possible and also held meetings on how to trim the number of issues the forum should address. Australia, which will host G20 meetings next year, hopes to put a brake on some of the mission creep. Parkinson said he hopes to focus next year on tying up loose ends, such as implementing new financial regulations leaders have already agreed to undertake. “If we really want to have success at a G20, then we have got to have discipline over what we put on (the agenda),” he said.

Part of the problem is that the G20 came into its own during the greatest financial panic since the Great Depression. Emergencies have a way of focusing leaders’ attention and agendas. Now that the world econo-

my is recovering, it’s harder to reach deals or even agree on what needs fixing first. “We have drifted a bit,” said Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Another reason the G20 agenda has become unwieldy is simply the size of the forum. With so many players at the table, representing disparate economic and political systems ranging from Western, free-market democracies to the likes of China, with a command economy dominated by the state, agreeing on a tight, common-interest agenda is a taxing proposition.

“Each country gets one thing added to the agenda.

Next thing you know you have an encyclopedia that comes out of the leaders’ statements,” said Faryar Shirzad, global head of government affairs at Goldman Sachs. The G20 includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

The membership list is unlikely to be trimmed anytime soon, however. Previous economic forums were dominated by rich nations that no longer account for the majority of global economic growth, and a primary rationale for the group’s formation was to foster more cooperation among advanced and emerging economies. “There isn’t another forum that would get us all at the table,” said British Finance Minister George Osborne. Leaders want to have that table ready if they need to spring to action once again. “If there’s a real crisis ... I think that’s very important that we’re all intimate,” Osborne said. — Reuters

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

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Balotelli tired of being in ‘eye of cyclone’ ITALY: Mario Balotelli is tired of being in the eye of a hurricane, the president of the Italian soccer federation (FIGC) said yesterday after the maverick international became embroiled in another row. “It’s a demanding period for Mario and we have to understand the media pressure on him is excessive,” Giancarlo Abete told RAI radio, a day after the AC Milan forward allegedly pushed away a television camera during a media scrum at Naples railway station.

“He can’t take one step, or write one word, without it being interpreted in any number of different ways. He’s a bit tired of always being in the eye of the cyclone. “He’s a 23-yearold lad who needs to grow and improve but the pressure on him is too great.” There were chaotic scenes as Italy arrived in Naples by high-speed train on Sunday evening for their World Cup qualifier at home to Armenia today.

The squad were greeted by a media scramble at the station and Balotelli, who has a habit of getting involved in controversial incidents, appeared to push away a TV camera after it apparently clipped him on the arm as he walked by.—Reuters

Phoenix 5, Carolina 3; Los Angeles 3, Florida 0; Winnipeg 3, New Jersey 0; Anaheim 4, Ottawa 1.

San Jose Anaheim Calgary Phoenix Los Angeles Vancouver Edmonton Colorado St. Louis Chicago Minnesota Winnipeg Dallas Nashville

Toronto Boston Montreal Detroit Tampa Bay Ottawa Florida Buffalo Pittsburgh Carolina NY Islanders Columbus New Jersey NY Rangers Washington Philadelphia

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division 5 1 0 23 3 1 0 10 3 2 0 17 3 2 0 13 3 2 0 18 1 2 2 11 2 4 0 13 0 5 1 6 Metropolitan Division 4 1 0 20 2 2 2 13 2 2 1 16 2 2 0 11 0 3 3 11 1 4 0 9 1 4 0 13 1 5 0 8

Tsonga forced to push on

MADRID: Swansea City forward Michu says he is not thinking about the possibility of joining one of Europe’s heavyweight clubs after finally breaking into the Spanish national team this month.

The 27-year-old, who moved to the Premier League from La Liga side Rayo Vallecano in 2012 for what has proved a bargain fee of around two million pounds ($3.2 million), signed a new four-year contract with Swansea in January, according to club’s website (www.swanseacity.net).

Vicente del Bosque called Michu into the world and European champions’ squad for the first time this month to replace the injured David Villa and included him in the starting lineup for Friday’s 2-1 World Cup 2014 qualifying win at home to Belarus. He toiled for an hour without much success before being replaced by Alvaro Negredo but Del Bosque praised him afterwards for his efforts and suggested he would have another chance to prove he deserves to be in the squad for the finals in Brazil.

Spain play their final Group I qualifier against Georgia in Albacete on Tuesday and a point will be enough to make sure of top spot ahead of France. “I am not thinking about that at the moment,” Michu, whose full name is Miguel Perez Cuesta, said in an interview with Marca sports daily published on Monday when asked about the possibility of moving to a “top” club. “I am enjoying myself very much at Swansea,” he added. “It’s a modest team but we are competing in Europe and we already won a title last season, the first in the club’s history.”—Reuters

VIENNA: Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be forced to push on this week with a fragile knee as the final rush to the ATP year-end event enters the last three weeks of qualifying time for the eight-man wrapup in London. Tsonga has returned to the Austrian Open for the first time since his debut appearance which resulted in a 2011 title. Though he might prefer to rest his knee, last week’s Shanghai Masters semi-finalist knows that only a determined effort indoors at the Stadthalle will suffice.

Tsonga stands provisional ninth in the points race to the World Tour Finals starting on November 4. He has a bye in the Vienna first round - all the better to help him recover from his day-long flight from Asia - and will play the winner from German Daniel Brands and Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurur in the second round.

“If I want to go to London, I have to play,” Tsonga admitted before leaving Asia after his loss to eventual Shanghai champion Novak Djokovic. “I will play, and that’s it.

“I just have to play and try to win as much as possible. That’s it.” The former Australian Open finalist is in slightly better position than he lets on, with Scot Andy Murray already qualified but not playing at the year-ender as he recovers from February back surgery. —AFP

Ducks roll past Senators

NHL results/standings

Western Conference Pacific Division W L OTL GF 5 0 0 24 4 1 0 18 3 0 2 18 4 2 0 17 4 2 0 16 3 3 0 17 1 3 1 17 Central Division 5 0 0 18 4 0 0 19 3 1 1 15 2 1 2 14 3 3 0 17 2 2 0 9 2 3 0 9

Michu happy at Swansea

GA 7 12 17 17 14 20 25

PTS 10 8 8 8 8 6 3

4 7 13 12 16 11 15

10 8 7 6 6 4 4

15 5 10 13 14 16 24 16

10 6 6 6 6 4 4 1

13 18 13 10 21 25 20 17

8 6 5 4 3 2 2 2

Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

ANAHEIM: Corey Perry scored two goals and Jonas Hiller made 30 saves as the Anaheim Ducks beat Bobby Ryan and the Ottawa Senators 4-1 Sunday for their fourth straight victory.

Captain Ryan Getzlaf and Nick Bonino also scored for the Ducks, who were Mighty again on a throwback night celebrating the 20th anniversary of the franchise’s 1993 debut. The Ducks wore their original eggplant-and-teal jerseys while racking up a franchise-record 56 shots against the Senators, who lost their fourth straight. Ryan scored his 150th career goal amid boos from the sellout crowd in his first game back in Anaheim since the Ducks traded the high-scoring forward last summer.

Anaheim surpassed its previous club record of 54 shots, set in March 2009 against Edmonton. Ottawa also set a franchise record for shots allowed, surpassing the 51 shots yielded twice before.

Hiller improved to 3-0 with several outstanding saves while wearing a throwback mask painted with the Ducks’ old logo and a cartoon version of Wild Wing, the Ducks’ mascot.

Kane added an empty-net goal with 57 seconds remaining for his third of the season, and Andrew Ladd beat Schneider 20 seconds later. Montoya was making his first start of the season.

COYOTES 5, HURRICANES 3 Rob Klinkhammer scored his second goal of the game 22 seconds into the third period to help Phoenix get the victory. Shane Doan, Mikkel Boedker and Lauri Korpikoski

had Phoenix’s other goals. Mike Smith made 31 saves for the Coyotes, who closed a five-game road trip by winning the final three.

Eric Staal, Riley Nash and Jeff Skinner scored for the Hurricanes. Cam Ward made nine saves after coming on with 10:08 left in the second period to replace starter Anton Khudobin. Khudobin suffered a lower-body injury when he skated out to play the puck. Ward allowed three of Phoenix’s goals. — AP

KINGS 3, PANTHERS 0 Ben Scrivens made 20 saves for his third career shutout, leading Los Angeles to its third consecutive win.

Jordan Nolan had a goal and an assist. Justin Williams and Daniel Carcillo also scored for the Kings. Scrivens, acquired in a trade with Toronto in June, made his first start of the season.

Regular goalie Jonathan Quick rested while Scrivens recorded his first shutout since a 3-0 victory for the Maple Leafs at Florida on Feb. 18. Jacob Markstrom had 26 saves for Florida, which has lost four of its past five games.

JETS 3, DEVILS 0 Al Montoya made 24 saves for his fourth NHL shutout as Evander Kane scored twice for Winnipeg.

The Jets snapped a three -game losing streak to improve to 3-3-0. Kane opened the scoring early in the second period, carrying the puck the length of the ice and banking it off Devils defenseman Andy Greene’s leg and past goalie Cory Schneider. The goal came after New Jersey (0-3-3) failed to score on a two-man advantage.

ANAHEIM: Jakob Silfverberg No. 33 of the Anaheim Ducks pursues the puck in this file photo. — AFP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

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Vettel on course to rewrite F1 record books SUZUKA: With Sebastian Vettel’s fourth successive Formula One title now just a formality, the more intriguing question is whether the Red Bull driver can go on to match a record that has stood for 60 years. The 26-year-old should become the sport’s youngest quadruple champion in India next week with the German 90 points clear of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, the only man still mathematically in contention, and four races remaining.

After winning Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, Vettel needs only to finish fifth at the Buddh Circuit to be sure of the title and will not need to score another point if Alonso fails to finish first or second.

The champion has won the last five races and is on track to close out the season with nine successive victories, a feat only one driver has ever managed Italian Alberto Ascari with Ferrari in 1952-53. “Sebastian has won every race

since the summer break, which is an incredible achievement. There’s still four races to go,” Red Bull principal Christian Horner told reporters.

“Our target is to try to carry this momentum into the last four races. I don’t think any of us could have imagined that he would have had the run of success that he has. The way he’s driving at the moment is quite supreme.”

Vettel is only the sixth driver to win five times in succession, the most recent being Michael Schumacher with Ferrari in 2004 when the seven-times champion went on to win seven in a row.

Schumacher also holds the record of 13 wins in a season, another milestone that Vettel can match after taking his current tally for the year to nine with a per formance that Horner hailed as exemplary.

Asked whether he would rather join Schumacher and the late Argentine

Juan Manuel Fangio as the only drivers to have won four successive titles, or win every race on the calendar, Vettel said he preferred the second option.

“You know, I love racing,” he said. “It’s incredible what has happened over the last couple of years but nothing has changed in the way that I still love racing. I love the challenge.”

The German had dropped to third at the first corner of the race at Suzuka, after being pipped to pole by Australian team mate Mark Webber and then overtaken at the start by Romain Grosjean’s Lotus while having a brush with Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton.

A two-stop strategy, with Webber switched to three, then brought the race to him. “He picked up a bit of damage from the incident with Hamilton that took about 20 points of downforce off the front wing, so he had a damaged car,” said Horner.

“And he just managed to adapt. He

played the think ing game ... he watched, he waited in that first stint. He preserved the tyres.

“He knew he wasn’t going to get priority at that first stop because we had discussed it before the race and the lead car would get priority. So he was very, very smart in the way he handled the race.”

Sunday’s win was Vettel’s fourth in five years at Suzuka and that wealth of experience also paid off. In 2011, when he won his second title at the Japanese circuit, he had led only to be reeled in late in the race by those who had more left in their tyres. Vettel ended up third.

“We lapped slower than the others who were on fresh tyres in order to push them later in the race,” he said on Sunday. “ We had a similar race in 2011, where I think I came in always as the first and I was under enormous pressure towards the end of the race and

got passed by two cars.

“So this time we did it the other way around.” The title will have to wait a few more days but it was always a long shot for Suzuka, depending on Vettel winning and Alonso finishing outside the top eight, even if Red Bull’s domination this season has been such that some observers clearly felt they should have wrapped it up.

“I am absolutely gutted to have achieved a one-two finish in one of the best races strategically and operationally ... the whole team is massively pissed off,” joked an incredulous Horner when it was put to him that he might be feeling disappointed.

“We came here to try and win the race today and the championships will take care of themselves. We’ll go to India and we’ll attack that weekend as we have here and if we score more points than the others then we’ll win the championship.”—Reuters

Walker wins trip to Masters

BEIJING: Intxausti Elorriaga Benat of the Movistar team celebrates on the podium after winning the fourth stage of the 2013 Tour of Beijing cycling race.—AFP

Intxausti wins Tour stage BEIJING: Spain’s Benat Intxausti launched a dominant attack on the long final climb of the day to win the fourth stage of the Tour of Beijing yesterday and seize the leader’s red jersey.

The Movistar rider made his move just over two kilometres from the finish in Mentougou, in the hills northwest of the Chinese capital.

With some of the competition’s top contenders, including world champion Rui Costa of Portugal and Germany’s defending title holder Tony Martin in the chasing group, Intxausti had to put in everything, grimacing with effort and regularly glancing behind.

In the event it was Ireland’s Daniel Martin who mounted the most effective counter-attack, and looked for a time as though he could reel in the Spaniard but the 27-year-old held on to cross the line three seconds ahead.

With a 10-second time bonus for winning the 150.5-kilometre stage, the win sent Intxausti straight to the top of the overall classification, holding a virtually unassailable 10-second lead on Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) with only the flat final stage in Beijing to go.

“I am really happy this is my first win since the Giro, because the Vuelta didn’t go really well. I am now ending the sea-

son very well,” Intxausti said, according to a statement put out by the event organisers.

He said he was dedicating his win to a friend who died after being crushed by a garage door in 2011. Intxausti was with him at the time of the accident.

The team plan had been to put both world champion Rui Costa and himself in contention on the final climb, Intxausti said.

“Yes at the start of the day the plan was for Rui Costa and for me, so we had both options. In the last two kilometres, I tried to attack so that I could win the stage. Also, we worked hard to take the bonifications, because they were also important.”

He continued: “It was a very close finish; I could see Daniel Martin was very close to me. I went full gas to the end so I could raise my hands with enough time.” The other placings also mirrored the stage result, with his fellow countryman David Lopez, of Team Sky, in third, Movistar teammate Costa fourth, and Romain Bardet of France (Ag2r-La Mondiale) in fifth.

Tony Martin, the London Olympics silver medallist who won both the first two editions of the Tour of Beijing, stood sixth. —AFP

PARIS: France’s Jason Lamy Chappuis poses with his national flag in Paris after being chosen as his countryís flag bearer at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi yesterday. —AFP

SAN MARTIN: Jimmy Walker never had more fun in such miserable weather. The temperature was just above freezing, and it felt worse in a light rain. It was the kind of day to stay indoors, except that he was with his father and a longtime business supporter. And they were playing Augusta National.

“I think that’s the only place on the planet you will go out and play when it’s 38 and drizzling,” he said. “What a great experience - my dad, staying in the cabins, played the Par 3 course. We did it all. It was ridiculous.” Thanks to a steady hand Sunday in a tense duel at the Frys.com Open, Walker gets to go back in even better circumstances.

Walker finally took the lead with a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 15th hole at CordeValle and closed with three pars for a 5-under 66 to win for the first time in his 188th start on the PGA Tour, and earn his first trip to the Masters.

Not that he needed a reminder, but tournament officials stuffed a yellow “Masters 2014” flag into the silver trophy. “It’s cool,” Walker said.

“To be able to go back and play in the tournament, it’s another dream come true. It’s going to be amazing.”

Sunday proved to be little more than a learning experience for Brooks Koepka, the 23-yearold from Florida who helped make it easier on Walker over the final two holes. Koepka had control of the tournament all weekend, even building a four-shot lead with 11 holes to play, when he missed a 3-foot par putt on the ninth hole that changed the dynamics of the final round and eventually led to his demise. Koepka missed a 6-foot par putt on the 11th hole to lose the outright lead. He made a few short putts to settle his nerves - 3 feet for birdie on the 12th, 6 feet for par on the 14th to stay tied - but the crucial moment came on a 6-foot birdie at the 15th that again missed to the left.

Trailing for the first time, Koepka pulled his tee shot on the 16th and had to scramble for bogey, and then hit 3-wood on the 297-yard 17th hole into the water, making another bogey and ending his hopes.

Koepka tried not to let the back nine ruin what has been - and still is - an amazing season.

He had no status on any tour, and then won three times on the Challenge Tour to earn a European Tour card. He showed so much promise that the Frys.com Open offered him an exemption without him asking, and he played

SAN MARTIN: Jimmy Walker poses with the winner’s trophy after winning the Frys.com Open at the CordeValle Golf Club. —AFP go to Maui in January for the Tournament of between stops on Scotland and Shanghai.

He was close to earning a PGA Tour card. Champions, another place he has never been, Koepka wound up tied for third, which gets him and he is assured a spot in the PGA into Las Vegas next week before heading back Championship for only the fourth time in his career. to Shanghai and the BMW Masters.

“I felt like I was good enough to be in them, “I can’t get too down on this week,” Koepka said. “I know I’ll be criticized. But this year has play in them,” Walker said. “There’s always this been amazing. This week I played well. It hap- big pressure to get into Augusta, and I would press here, press there. You want to be playing pens to the best of them.”

Vijay Singh closed with a 68 and wound up in the big stuff. That’s what I’m aspiring to do with the 27th runner-up finish of his Hall of play against the world’s best.” The Masters flag Fame career, and his best result since he sued in the trophy was a subtle reminder of the new the PGA Tour in May over its procedure in inves- season.

The Frys.com Open previously was part of tigating Singh’s admission that he used deer the Fall Series, a chance for most players to antler spray.

Koepka tied for third with Kevin Na (64), chase their PGA Tour cards after the FedEx Cup Puerto Rico winner Scott Brown (64) and Hideki was over. The winner wasn’t given a spot in the Matsuyama, the 21-year-old Japanese star who Masters. Now, it’s the first official event of the has joined the PGA Tour. Matsuyama, who tour’s new 2013-14 season, treated with equal played in the Presidents Cup last week, birdied weight as the Phoenix Open and Pebble Beach, the Honda Classic and Houston Open. Walker his last three holes for a 66.

Billy Hurley III closed with a 68 and NCAA also cracked the top 50 in the world ranking for champion Max Homa from Cal birdied two of the first time in his career. “Highest I’ve ever the last three holes to tie for ninth. That gets been ranked,” Walker said. “I feel like I’ve got a nice trend curve going, and I just want to keep them in Las Vegas.

Along with the Masters, Walker also gets to going up.”—AP

Cochran clinches SAS Championship CARY: Russ Cochran holed an 8-foot putt on the final hole Sunday for his fourth straight birdie and a onestroke victory over David Frost in the SAS Championship.

“David played a great round, and I knew someone was going to play well,” Cochran said. “I was hoping to hang around there and kind of catch fire. And it took every hole to do that. “ We knew we needed to make birdies, especially after the bogey on 13.”

The 54-year-old Cochran, also the 2010 winner at Prestonwood Country Club, closed with a 5-under 67 to finish at 17-under 199. The lefthander won the Principal Charity Classic in June in Iowa. He has five Champions Tour victories after winning once on the PGA Tour.

Frost finished with a 66. He missed a short birdie putt on No. 17 and also settled for par on 18. “It’s such a hard tournament to win, especially from the lead because you know everyone is back there firing at the hole,” Cochran said. “The drive on the 18th hole was a big deal because you’ve made these birdies now, and you don’t ever want to give a guy like David Frost another chance.

“He’s a tremendous player, one of the best putters and short game guys I’ve ever seen. He is unbelievable.” Kirk Triplett was third at 14 under after a 68.

Gary Hallberg (66) was fourth at 13 under, and Michael Allen (70) and Anders Forsbrand (69) followed at 11 under. With the top-10 finish, Forsbrand qualified for the Greater Hickory Classic next week at Rock Barn.

Bernhard Langer, the 2012 winner, tied for eighth at 9 under. Langer, two strokes behind Cochran entering the round, had a 73. Charles Schwab Cup points leader Kenny Perry shot a 72 to tie for 11th at 8 under. With the victory, Cochran moved into sixth place in the Schwab Cup race. —AP

CARY: Russ Cochran holds the trophy after winning the SAS Championship held at Prestonwood Country Club.—AFP

World team bags Handa Cup NASHVILLE: Australia’s Jan Stephenson made a 30-foot birdie putt for the deciding points Sunday in the World team’s first victory in the Legends Tour’s ISPS Handa Cup. Stephenson shot a 1under 71 to edge Sherri Turner by a stroke, and the World team went on to beat the United States 27-21 in the 45-and-old competition at Hermitage Golf Club. The Americans won the event the first six times and retained the cup last year with a tie in Orlando, Fla. “It took a few years for the World team to practice and get better and better and better,” World captain Pia Nilsson said. “We were a

team this week, and the passion was so strong. This is just going to make this competition even better, to grow in the future.”

JoAnne Carner captained the US team. “You hate to lose, but the way the World team played this week I have no repercussions, whatsoever,” Carner said. “They just outplayed us.”

The World team took a 14-10 lead into the 12 singles matches, with each match worth two points.

In the best match of the day, American Beth Daniel beat Laura Davis 66-67. “It was like a boxing match out there - really good golf shots and a lot of fun,” Daniel said.

Trish Johnson, Helen Alfredsson, Alison Nicholas, Lorie Kane and Mieko Nomura won matches for the World team. Johnson beat Rosie Jones 66-69, Alfredsson topped Barb Mucha 66-69, Nicholas defeated Nancy Lopez 7275, Kane edged Christa Johnson 69-73, and Nomura beat Pat Bradley 68-76.

For the United States, Cindy Rarick beat Jenny Lidback 74-78, Laurie Rinker topped Jane Crafter 67-72, Nancy Scranton edged Liselotte Neumann 72-73, and Cindy Figg-Currier beat Alicia Dibos 68-73. American Betsy King tied at 71 with Gail Graham. —AP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

S P ORTS

Red Sox tame Tigers BOSTON: With one swing, David Ortiz tied the game and helped the Boston Red Sox send the AL championship series to Detroit tied one game apiece.

Ortiz’s grand slam erased an eighth-inning deficit and ended Detroit’s unprecedented run of pitching dominance, then Jonny Gomes scampered around the bases with the gamewinning run in the ninth to give Boston a 6-5 victory over the Tigers on Sunday night.

“We need it, man. We need start some momentum going on,” Ortiz said. “The whole regular season, you haven’t seen a team shutting us down for 14, 15 straight innings like they have the past couple of days. If you look at the way they’ve been pitching, (it’s) unbelievable. It’s up to us make an adjustment.” One night after Anibal Sanchez and four relievers came within two outs of the first combined postseason no-hitter in baseball history, Max Scherzer struck out 13 and held Boston hitless for 5 2-3 innings. But the Red Sox loaded the bases against three relievers in the eighth and then closer Joaquin Benoit came in to face Ortiz.

The Red Sox designated hitter lined the first pitch into the glove of the Red Sox bullpen catcher, sending right-fielder Torii Hunter head-first over the chest-high wall after it.

Hunter came out only after his teammates had waved for the Detroit medical staff to come out and help him.

“I jumped up. I thought I had a beat on it,” said Hunter, who came up in the Minnesota Twins organization with Ortiz and remains friends with the Red Sox slugger. “Next thing, I know I’m falling over the fence.”

The fans waited until the trainers verified that Hunter was OK to start chanting, “Papi!” and call Ortiz out of the dugout for a curtain call. It was the first career postseason grand slam for a star of the 2004 playoff run that ended in Boston’s first World Series title in 86 years.

“That’s what he does. He’s an amazing hitter,” said Scherzer, who took a no-hitter and a 5-0 lead into the sixth inning but could only watch as the Detroit relievers blew it. “He’s an amazing postseason hitter. He’s clutch. Any

given moment, a swing of the bat he can always take you deep.”

Koji Uehara retired the Tigers in order in the top of ninth, then Rick Porcello came on for the bottom half. He gave up a leadoff infield single that left Gomes at second when shortstop Jose Iglesias threw the ball into the Boston dugout.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a foul popup but stayed at-bat when it glanced off first baseman Prince Fielder’s glove when he got tangled up with a fan. Gomes moved to third on a wild pitch, and then Saltalamacchia hit one through the drawn-in infield to drive in the game-winner.

“It’s playoff baseball,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “Looked like we had one in hand and we let one get away, there’s no question about that. But there have been two great games.”

Boston’s comeback came a few hours after Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass with 5 seconds left to complete the New England Patriots’ comeback over the New Orleans Saints. The score was greeted with cheers by Red Sox fans waiting for the baseball game to start. Game 3 of the ALCS is in Detroit today, when Justin Verlander faces Boston’s John Lackey.

Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila homered off Clay Buchholz as Detroit scored four in the sixth inning to open a 5-0 lead. The Red Sox got one in the bottom half but were four outs from falling behind 0-2 in the series when Ortiz tied it.

“The guy’s an actor at work,” said Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino, who had Boston’s first hit off Scherzer on a single with two outs in the sixth. “It’s fun to watch. It’s great to see.

He’s always upbeat and always positive. He always likes to go up and swin g the bat. That’s what he always wants to do.”

It was an unprecedented third consecutive playoff game in which a Tigers starter took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning. That had never been done even twice in a row before this year’s Detroit staff, which boasts the AL ERA leader, the major league leader in wins and the 2011 AL Cy Young winner and MVP.—AP

BOSTON: Red Sox’s David Ortiz lifts Koji Uehara after Game 2 of the American League baseball championship series against the Detroit Tigers.—AP

ABU DHABI: AB de Villiers (centre-back) of South Africa bats as Pakistanís cricket team fields during their first Test at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. —AFP

Pakistan hit back after Amla’s ton ABU DHABI: A Pakistan attack had South Africa in difficulties with Hashim Amla’s fighting hundred proving useful on the opening day of the first Test in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

The 30-year-old right-hander made an unbeaten 118 for his 20th Test hundred to help South Africa, who won the toss and batted, foil a spin-cum-pace Pakistan attack, helping his team reach 245-8 at close at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

Number ten Dale Steyn was unbeaten on 13.

The prolific batsman from Durban added 61 for the fourth wicket with AB de Villiers (19), and another valuable 95 for the fifth with Jean-Paul Duminy (57) to stop Pakistani bowlers from running away after they had wrecked the top-order.

Amla has so far hit 13 boundaries during his 250-ball knock. Currently the number one batsman in Test rankings, Amla reached a hundred with a single off spinner Zulfiqar Babar, taking 201 balls. Just when it looked as though Amla and Duminy would see off the day, left-armer Babar (3-89) struck twice, dismissing Duminy and Faf du Plessis in the space of six runs to bring Pakistan back in the game.

Duminy, who had not played a Test since rupturing his Achilles tendon on the tour of Australia in November last year, hit six fours and a six before sweeping Babar straight into the hands of a deep fine-leg fielder.

Du Plessis edged Babar to slips on one, thrilling the roughly 2,000 fans celebrating the Eid holiday. Pakistan had looked to Saeed Ajmal for the breakthrough, but the off-spinner looked off colour on his 36th birthday, conceding 57 runs and managing only Vernon

Philander’s wicket.

Pakistani pacemen Mohammad Irfan (2-42) and Junaid Khan (1-52) had generated lively pace, with Irfan taking two early wickets in the first session.

Irfan, the tallest ever player at seven feet one inch (2.1 metres), lifted one to Alviro Petersen (three), whose fended push was well caught by Shan Masood at short-leg, and then had Graeme Smith for 15 in his fourth over.

Smith, who is playing his first international match since an ankle injury earlier this year, hit Irfan for two well-timed boundaries but the lanky paceman had the last laugh, dismissing the South African skipper caught behind.

Pakistan successfully took a review after Australian umpire Rod Tucker initially turned down a confident appeal. Kallis, who is also play-

ing his first Test since February this year, looked rusty before he edged a sharp incoming delivery from Khan for wicket-keeper Adnan Akmal to take a smart low catch. South Africa were struggling at 66-3 at lunch.

De Villiers helped Amla take South Africa past the 100-mark before he fell, run out for 19. He defended a slower one from Babar and as the ball rolled to first slip, Younis Khan threw the ball to Akmal who saw the batsman out of his crease and dislodged the stumps.

Pakistan chose two pacemen and as many spinners, with 34-year old Babar and opener Shan Masood making their debuts.

South Africa entered the match with three frontline pacemen and Peterson as only spinner.

The second and final Test will be played in Dubai from October 23.—AFP

SCOREBOARD ABU DHABI: Scorboard at close on the opening day of the first Test between Pakistan and South Africa at Sheikh Zayed Stadium yesterday: D. Steyn not out 13 South Africa 1st Innings Extras: (1b, 4lb, 1nb) 6 A. Petersen c Masood b Irfan 3 TOTAL: (for 8 wickets, 90 overs) 245 G. Smith c Akmal b Irfan 15 Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Petersen), 2-19 (Smith), 3Hashim Amla not out 118 43 (Kallis), 4-104 (de Villiers), 5-199 (Duminy), J. Kallis c Akmal b Khan 5 6-205 (du Plessis), 7-217 (Peterson), 8-222 A.B. de Villiers run out 19 (Philander).

J.P. Duminy c Shafiq b Babar 57 Bowling: Irfan 16.2-3-42-2 (1nb), Khan 18.4-2F. du Plessis c Shafiq b Babar 1 52-1, Babar 27-3-89-3, Ajmal 28-6-57-1.

R. Petersen b Babar 5 V. Philander lbw b Ajmal 3

World doping agency probing Jamaica

and test

lete NEW YORK: The world’s anti-doping authority is launching an “extraordinary” audit of Jamaica’s drug-testing agency following allegations that its policing of the island’s sprinting superstars led

by Usain Bolt all but collapsed in the months before they dazzled at the London Games, The Associated Press has learned.

WADA’s probe follows data the former executive director of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission revealed to the Caribbean’s oldest newspaper indicating a near complete breakdown in JADCO’s out-of-competition testing from January 2012 to the July opening of the Olympics.

In an interview with The Associated Press, JADCO chairman Herbert Elliott dismissed Renee Anne Shirley’s figures as lies and described her as “a bit demented” and “a Judas.” But the World Anti-Doping Agency tells a different story: WADA confirmed to the AP that there was, as Shirley asserted, “a significant gap of no testing” by JADCO as athletes trained in the months ahead of the Games - and that it is concerned enough to investigate.

International Olympic Committee medical chiefs, WADA and Britain’s anti-doping agency, which also worked on London’s massive drugtesting program, revealed to the AP that they were kept in the dark about the Jamaican testing lapses that Shirley exposed in her August letter to The Gleaner.

“There was a period of - and forgive me if I don’t have the number of months right - but maybe five to six months during the beginning part of 2012 where there was no effective operation,” WADA Director General David Howman said in an interview. “No testing. There might have been one or two, but there was no testing.

So we were worried about it, obviously.”

Jamaican stars didn’t go completely untested into the Games. Track and field’s governing body, the IAAF, says it extensively tested elite Jamaicans and that Bolt was tested more than 12 times last year. History’s fastest human has never failed a drug test. In London, Jamaica won 8 of 12 individual sprint medals. Bolt became the first man to win both the 100 and 200 meters at consecutive games and anchored Jamaica’s relay victory in world-record time.

It isn’t possible to judge with any certainty whether the gaps in Jamaica’s testing might have

opened a door to cheating, particularly because other agencies involved refuse to give a complete picture of exactly how many tests they conducted on the Jamaicans in 2012.

The Shirley revelations, however, have been alarming enough to prompt action: While WADA has audited Jamaica’s testing regime in the past, Howman said its new trip is in direct response to the problems Shirley exposed and the positive doping tests this year of five athletes who competed for Jamaica in London. “It’s an extraordinary visit,” Howman said. Jamaica is “a high priority ... they’re on our radar.” WADA is unhappy that Jamaica hasn’t agreed to a swift inspection.

Elliott said JADCO couldn’t accommodate the auditors at the date WADA wanted and now isn’t expecting the visit before the end of the year.

“It doesn’t over-impress us,” Howman told the AP. “If there’s going to be that sort of delay, you need to have a better reason.”

WHO KNEW? Shirley says JADCO conducted 96 tests in competition in 2012 before the Olympics, all in May and June at an invitational meet and the national trials. But away from the competitive events, there was no Jamaican testing for five of the seven months before the opening of the Games, Shirley asserted.

To catch and deter cheats, a combination of in- and out-of-competition testing is vital. But after 10 tests in February and a solitary test in April, JADCO’s out-of-competition program stopped, according to Shirley’s figures. Shirley later gave the same figures to Sports Illustrated, where they generated more worldwide attention than her letter to The Gleaner.

“It irritated me as a Jamaican: one test out of competition, for what, five months or four months?” Shirley said in a telephone interview.

“Given that it was an Olympic year, I felt that more could have been done.”

IOC medical commission Chairman Arne Ljungqvist and Patrick Schamasch, who retired as IOC medical director after London, said they weren’t told of this testing gap. They said they could have ordered additional tests on Jamaica’s team had they known. The IOC did a total of 3,800 urine and 1,200 blood tests in London.

“For certain, we weren’t informed of anything about Jamaica,” Schamasch said. “Had we been

told that JADCO wasn’t able to test beforehand we possibly could have readjusted our aim a little bit.”

Ljungqvist said: “Jamaica is far from being alone, you know? We know that out-of-competition testing in the proper way is not being conducted unfortunately in many parts of the world.

One shouldn’t single out Jamaica.”But Jamaica isn’t just any country: Led by Bolt, it dethroned the United States as the dominant sprinting power at the last two Olympics, in Beijing and London - and that demands a higher degree of vigilance.

Usain Bolt “It’s almost abnormal, OK? Let’s face it. For a country of less than three million people,” said Shirley. “What, you’re saying there’s something peculiar in the water in Jamaica?”

Howman told the AP that even WADA learned only after the Games - from Shirley - of the agency’s testing voids. He added that although JADCO was under no obligation to inform anyone earlier, “you’d expect it.” “We didn’t know,” he said. “We had no knowledge of anything that was down there until we heard from her.”

WHAT DOES JADCO SAY? Elliott, the JADCO chairman, bristles at mention of Shirley’s name: “Ms. Shirley has done this country and herself a great deal of harm by say-

ing things that are not totally in keeping with the truth,” he said in a phone interview.

JADCO’s and Shirley’s overall testing figures for 2012 actually agree. Both say JADCO did a total of 179 tests - 108 in competition and 71 out of competition. But Shirley gave month-bymonth figures. JADCO didn’t. The AP pressed Elliott for them. “Maybe I’ll have the figures tomorrow,” he replied.

But when called repeatedly 24 hours later, Elliott didn’t pick up the phone. He also didn’t respond to a text message. Without those figures, AP could not verify his claim that Shirley’s

The main obstacle he cited to out-of-competition testing was that “most of our athletes were off the island. We had them overseas preparing for the Olympics.” “Therefore we asked IAAF ... to test them overseas out of competition. All right?

And they did,” he said. He also said: “We’ve done tests WADA doesn’t know about.” He didn’t provide details. Shirley left JADCO this February.

“The board and I did not get along, and there were other problems in the system. It overwhelmed me,” she said. Elliott said she was fired.

He wouldn’t say why. “She has her axe to grind,” he said.

statistics were wrong. “Not all of them are lies. I mean, you know, she has exaggerated,” he said.

Shirley’s detailed breakdown showed the bulk of out-of-competition tests - 60 of the 71 - were done only after the London Games, after she took over at JADCO in July of 2012. In Sports Illustrated, she described finding the agency woefully understaffed.

Elliott confirmed to AP “there was no money in the coffers” when he was named JADCO’s chairman in February 2012. Also hampering the agency’s work was that 400 of its testing kits were out of date and therefore unusable, he said.

He said JADCO borrowed kits from other Caribbean nations and from “people in Florida who we know.”

DID OTHER AGENCIES TEST? Absolutely. The IAAF’s out-of-competition testing program for Jamaica concentrated on athletes’ training camps and “was robust and comprehensive,” spokesman Chris Turner said by email. Elliott claimed testers descended “in droves every day” on Jamaica’s pre-Olympic track-and-field camp in Birmingham, England, in the weeks immediately before the games.

“Some of our athletes were raising hell that they were tested every day, and not only with urine, but blood,” he said. “I don’t think they could have done more testing. They were testing every athlete in our camp, sometimes twice a day.” Shirley also acknowledges that other agencies policed the Jamaicans. “I’m pretty sure that all of the athletes who went to London were tested at least once and the majority of them more than once,” she told the AP. On Bolt, specifically, she added: “I am positive that he got tested in double figures” in 2012.

But the exact extent of testing on Bolt and his teammates is tightly guarded. When Bolt’s agent, Ricky Simms, tells the AP “he’s tested almost every week,” the public has no way of verifying that. The IOC tested the top five finishers after each event in London. That means Bolt as well as teammates Yohan Blake (100 and 200 silver; relay gold), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (women’s 100 gold; 200 and relay silver), and Veronica Campbell-Brown (100 bronze; relay silver; 4th in 200) must have been tested multiple times in London. But the IOC refuses to give specific testing numbers for the Jamaicans. Bolt and Simms say they don’t tally up his tests. “I don’t even know where we’d go to find that information,” said Simms.—AP

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

S P ORT S

Scots desperate to end Hampden winless run GLASGOW: Scotland manager Gordon Strachan says his side don’t fear playing at Hampden as they look to end a two-year winless run at the national stadium. The Scots will bring the curtain down on another unsuccessful World Cup qualification campaign when Croatia visit Hampden today.

Strachan’s side haven’t won at the national stadium in over two years and have only collected two points from their four previous home matches in the campaign.

“It is just us, we have to play better,” Strachan said. “We have to use what we have-plenty of enthusiasm and a willingness to work when we haven’t got the ball. And we need to use that to create more space for us when we have the ball.

“I don’t detect any fear in the players at playing at Hampden. It just needs us to use the ball better and use our energy to create space for players and things like that. That is what we have been working on all week.

“They are a good bunch of lads to work with.

Their enthusiasm in training has been very good so it should be there when you come to a game, because that is the best part of it.”

Scotland’s record at Hampden may be poor but away from home Strachan’s side have collected wins in Croatia and Macedonia.

And the Scotland boss said he had been working on systems with his players to end the Hampden hoodoo. “We have been working on things to create space when we are further up the

pitch, to use our athletic ability,” Strachan said.

“There are systems away from home we think we can rely on. I wouldn’t say we’ve cracked it because you never know what’s round the corner, but there are things we are comfortable with.

“At home I want to see more energy off the ball, give the player in possession more options.

That involves lots of work. “I’ve always said it’s not nights out or going to the go-karts or playing golf that makes team spirit; it’s winning.

“When you win a game, like against Croatia or Macedonia, and you’re in the dressing room, the atmosphere is great and it does develop team spirit. Everybody gets a kick from a win.”

Croatia lost 2-1 at home to Belgium on Friday, ending their slim hopes of topping Group A, but

will be keen to end their campaign with a win as they head into the play-off ties looking to book a place in Brazil. However, Scotland defender Charlie Mulgrew insists the Scots will be equally eager to end the campaign on a high against the group runners-up. “The last wee while has been pretty good so we want to end the campaign on a high. It would be nice to finish with a good result,” he said.

“There was a lot of hard work that night in Croatia. The manager put his ideas across and the team carried them out very well.”

Striker Jordan Rhodes and full-back Lee Wallace have both pulled out through injury with Mother well’s Steven Hammell called up to Strachan’s squad. — AFP

England seek to polish off World Cup campaign

Andre Schuerrle

Pride at stake as Germans hunt revenge in Sweden STOCKHOLM: With only pride at stake for Sweden and Germany in today’s World Cup qualifier, the Germans come to Stockholm to settle a score following last year’s dramatic draw in Berlin.

The final qualifier is meaningless for both sides with Germany already confirmed as Group C winners while second-placed Sweden face a two-legged play-off in November in order to claim their Brazil berth.

Erik Hamren’s Sweden are chasing a confidence-boosting win while the Germans have a score to settle, after throwing away a four-goal lead as last October’s World Cup qualifier in Berlin ended 4-4. Swedish superstar striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is suspended this time, sparked a stunning second-half fight-back from 4-0 down in the German capital before the Swedes’ scored a 93rd-minute equaliser.

The draw proved to be the only points dropped so far in Germany’s qualifying games for Brazil and Joachim Loew’s team are chasing their ninth win from 10 matches on Tuesday.

Their 3-0 win over Republic of Ireland in Cologne last Friday secured Germany’s World Cup place, while Sweden beat Austria 2-1 to confirm second place.

“We’re happy to qualify but we definitely have a score to settle against Sweden,” said Loew, whose side lead the series with 14 wins from 35 games compared to the Swedes’ 12 victories, with nine draws. “I might switch things up but we want to win in Sweden.”

Chelsea winger Andre Schuerrle, who scored Germany’s second goal against Ireland, said the visitors are highly motivated.

“There is still a score to settle, we want to win the game, even if the ticket for Brazil has already been decided,” said the 22-year-old.

Having last lost either a World Cup or a European Championships qualifier in October 2007, Germany are looking to extend their unbeaten run to 32 qualification matches.

If Sweden are to end that run, they will have to do so without Ibrahimovic after the 32-yearold picked up a yellow card in Friday’s win over Austria in Solna. The Paris St Germain star produced the crucial winner with the match edging towards a 1-1 draw when he brilliantly brought down a long ball and slotted home a left-footed shot in 86th minute.

Germany will be without Sami Khedira after the Real Madrid defensive midfielder also picked up one yellow card too many against the Irish.

Loew will again be without first-choice strikers Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez having used Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil as a lone forward in Friday’s win.

Untested striker Max Kruse is likely to start up front, while Toni Kroos is expected to drop into the holding midfield role alongside Bayern Munich team-mate Bastian Schweinsteiger, who wins his 100th cap. Dortmund’s Mats Hummels is set for a recall at centre-back having sat out the last three internationals after losing his place due to poor form.—AFP

Uruguay resigned to World Cup playoff BUENOS AIRES: Uruguay, semi-finalists at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, will be under no illusion about their prospects today when they seek an unlikely high-scoring triumph over Argentina.

Only a crushing victory at the Centenario, in one of South America’s ‘clasicos’, coupled with a win for either Chile or Ecuador who meet in Santiago at the same time (2330 GMT), would secure qualification for next year’s finals. For Uruguay, that seems unlikely as captain Diego Lugano admitted when he made clear that a playoff against Jordan was now their main objective.

“Although there are still chances of qualifying in fourth place, the big objective, to be realistic, is the clash with Jordan in the playoff,” Lugano said after Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat by Ecuador in Quito.

Even without Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain, Argentina are clear favourites for another win, in one of the world’s oldest international rivalries, which would prevent Uruguay claiming an automatic place in Brazil.

“We have evidently once again taken the

longest road to qualify, but the most important thing in all this is to be at the World Cup,” Lugano told El Pais, in an interview published on Sunday on the Uruguayan daily’s sports website (www.ocaciondigital.com.uy).

“Four years ago, we suffered in such a decider against Costa Rica and then had a great World Cup so all we want is to get to Brazil and it doesn’t matter in what position nor on which day.” Qualifying via a playoff is a familiar route for Uruguay. They had to beat Costa Rica over two legs to reach the 2010 finals.

This time, with Argentina and Colombia already qualified, Ecuador, Chile and Uruguay are vying for the remaining two direct berths and November’s two-legged playoff against Asia’s Jordan. Coach Oscar Tabarez admitted to having accepted Uruguay would need a playoff to reach Brazil. “We’ve been putting information together because we recently saw that it was most probably we’d be going to Jordan,” Tabarez told a news conference on Sunday. “There’s nothing impossible in football, but also there aren’t things which escape all logic.”—Reuters

LONDON: England conclude their World Cup qualification campaign against Poland today, needing a victory to reserve a berth in Brazil and avoid another night of Wembley Stadium infamy.

Wembley was the setting when the Poles denied England a place at the World Cup in 1973 and it was also the backdrop for a 3-2 loss to Croatia on a rain-sodden night in 2007 that prevented England reaching Euro 2008.

Alf Ramsey, architect of England’s 1966 World Cup triumph, and Steve McClaren paid for those failures with their jobs, but current manager Roy Hodgson approaches the game buoyed by a 4-1 success against Montenegro.

A point clear at the top of European qualifying Group H, England need only match second-place Ukraine’s result away to San Marino, but with the Ukrainians almost certain to win in Serravalle, Hodgson’s side will not be making calculations.

Poland’s 1-0 loss in Ukraine on Friday means that Waldemar Fornalik’s side can no longer qualify, but with 18,000 Polish supporters expected at Wembley, Hodgson does not anticipate a straightforward evening. “I can’t imagine they will take their foot off the pedal,” he said. “ They will want to come here and get another good result just like Poland did in 1973. We are going to be preparing for the very best Poland can be. “If we are lucky and they decide not to turn up and allow us to stroll through them, so be it. But I am not expecting it.”

It may be Fornalik’s last game in charge of Poland but visiting captain Jakub Blaszczykowski says that he and his teammates are determined to end the campaign on a positive note. “There are sure to be many Polish fans there. We want to thank them with a good game and the right result,” said the Borussia Dortmund winger.

“It doesn’t matter that we only have honour to play for. Matches at Wembley are always very important to us.”

Both teams will be without important players in the full-back positions. Poland rightback Lukasz Piszczek is out and England have left-back Ashley Cole injured and right-back Kyle Walker suspended.

Leighton Baines, who impressed against

LONDON: England goalkeeper Joe Hart makes a save during a training session at facilities in London Colney. England will play Poland in a World Cup Group H qualification soccer match at Wembley stadium in London today. — AP

Montenegro, will once again deputise for Cole, while Hodgson must choose between Manchester United duo Phil Jones and Chris Smalling as Walker’s replacement.

Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend, star of the victory over Montenegro on his international debut, is expected to hold onto his place on the righthand side of the England attack.

Speaking about his performance on Friday to his club’s website, Townsend said: “It hasn’t sunk in at the moment and I haven’t allowed it to because we’ve got another big game today. “That’s the best thing, to keep my feet on the ground and try not to get carried away.” Should England slip up, they have the safety net of a place in the European qualifying play-offs, but a second-place finish in the group would represent a huge disappointment when Brazil is within sight.

It would also oblige the Football Association to scrap plans for a couple of friendly matches in November, with games

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

World Cup European Qualifiers Lithuania v Bosnia and Herzegovina

20:00

Aljazeera Sport +4 Greece v Liechtenstein

20:00

Aljazeera Sport +1 Portugal v Luxembourg

20:00

Aljazeera Sport HD 4 Turkey v Netherlands

21:00

Aljazeera Sport HD 5 Sweden v Germany

Raul Jimenez 21:45

Aljazeera Sport HD 3 Italy v Armenia

21:45

Aljazeera Sport Spain v Georgia

22:00

Aljazeera Sport HD 2 Montenegro v Moldova

22:00

Aljazeera Sport +4 France v Finland

22:00

Aljazeera Sport +2

African Qualifiers 2014 Ghana v Egypt Aljazeera Sport +2 Diego Lugano

against Uruguay and old rivals Germany reportedly pencilled in for the dates of the play-off games-although the Uruguay match is almost certainly going to need to be rescheduled as they look set to face a play-off.

Hodgson will want to see his side preserve their unbeaten record in the group as well, with fellow pool leaders Belgium, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain the only other European teams still to taste defeat.

Fornalik has sounded a warning by saying that “nothing else will do” but victory for his side, but Baines says that England’s players will not want for motivation.

“Qualifying for a World Cup is as big a carrot as you could probably dangle in front of any player,” said the Everton left-back.

“The magnitude of the game is something we are all aware of. On Friday (against Montenegro) we had to make sure it was in our own hands and we have to go and finish the job now.”— AFP

19:00

Honduras get second chance at WCup spot JAMAICA: Honduras get a second chance to seal their place in next year’s World Cup when they face Jamaica today in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.

Honduras were just minutes away from qualifying on Friday when they beat Costa Rica and Panama scored an equaliser against Mexico. Had Panama and Mexico drawn, Honduras would have joined the United States and Costa Rica as CONCACAF’s three automatic qualifier.

But a spectacular late winner from Mexico’s Raul Jimenez not only revived Mexico’s World Cup hopes but also put the Honduras celebrations on hold.

Honduras need only a draw from Tuesday’s match at Jamaica, who have yet to register a single win in the six-national final phase of CONCACAF qualifying.

Honduras could still qualify automatically if they lost and they retained a better goal difference than Mexico. They are already assured of at least a playoff spot against Oceania win-

ners New Zealand.

Mexico are the only team with a mathematical chance of leapfrogging Honduras for the third automatic place but have no guarantees of their own.

Leading Panama by three points heading into the last round, Mexico only need a draw in their final match at Costa Rica to score the playoff shot.

The odds are still in Mexico’s favour but should they lose, Panama, who have never made it to the World Cup, could overtake them for the playoff berth.

To do that, they would have to beat the visiting Americans and finish with a better overall goal difference, but their chances have received a boost with U.S. coach Juergen Klinsmann resting some of his key players.

Landon Donovan (ankle) and Jermaine Jones (knee) were both released because of injuries while Matt Besler and Tim Howard were given a break as part of a planned rotation of players. — Reuters

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

S P ORT S

The Polish hero who stopped England WARSAW: Through the windows of the bus that took them to Wembley, Poland’s players saw English fans flashing five, sometimes all 10 fingers: one for each goal they believed Alf Ramsey’s team would score. Their confidence before that Oct. 17, 1973 match England needed to win to qualify for the 1974 World Cup was understandable: England had become world champions in that same stadium just seven years earlier.

But the fans underestimated Jan Tomaszewski.

With save after save, playing with an injured hand, Tomaszewski became “the man who stopped England.”

England and Poland meet in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night, when Joe Hart will be the goalkeeper under most pressure because he has been so error-prone of late. But as he pulls on his gloves and stares down the field at Poland players wanting to make his poor start to the season worse, Hart could perhaps draw inspiration from the heroics 40 years earlier of the Polish ‘keeper with shoulder-length rock-star hair.

In an Associated Press interview, Tomaszeswki recounted how in 1973 the crowd yelled “animals, animals” at the Poland squad as the players filed onto the pitch in their red jerseys.

“You could not hear your own thoughts,” he recalled. Tomaszewski was so stressed he almost gifted the ball to England striker Allan Clarke after two minutes. But from that point on, he put in the performance of a lifetime. England threw everything at Tomaszewski, and got 26 corners compared to Poland’s two. “I’ve never played in a more one-sided game in my life,” England’s Norman Hunter said years later in a television interview.

With acrobatic dives and a dose of luck, Tomaszewski kept out a barrage of goal-bound shots and headers. He recalled, in particular, a volley by Clarke from five yards (meters) out.

“I blindly threw myself to the left and felt the ball hit me and it was out. And then I saw Clarke standing there and looking at me: how was it possible? But I also saw in his eyes a professional appreciation of the adversary.”

After 55 minutes of frustration, the unthinkable happened for England. Hunter missed a tackle on Grzegorz Lato, on the half-way line as he was sprinting down Poland’s left wing. Lato veered inside and passed to Jan Domarski. His shot streaked under Peter Shilton.

Hunter wished a hole could have opened up and swallowed him. “That’s probably one of the worst feelings I’ve ever had on a football field,” he said.

Later, Clarke scored from the penalty spot to level the scores at 1-1.

“He is standing there, hands akimbo, as if ready to dance. That showed how great he was, his body language gave nothing away,” Tomaszewski said. “The referee whistles. He runs up sort of casual, I go to one corner, he shoots in the other one. That’s top class.”

But with more saves from Tomaszewski and a goal-line clearance, Poland denied England the winner it needed. The “Miracle of Wembley” was complete. Poland, instead of England, went to the World Cup in Germany. There, it beat Brazil 1-0 in the match for third place. Ramsey was replaced as England

Newell’s win over River BUENOS AIRES: Newell’s Old Boys beat River Plate 1-0 in Rosario on Sunday to stay three points clear at the top of the Argentine Inicial championship.

Victor Lopez scored the only goal 10 minutes from time after the match at the Marcelo Bielsa stadium was interrupted for 23 minutes in the second half due to a lighting failure.

Newell’s enjoyed more possession but missed the firepower up front of top scorer Maxi Rodriguez, who was away on international duty with Argentina.

The introduction of substitute David Trezeguet, on loan from River, was the catalyst for the goal scored seconds after the former France striker came on.

A free kick from the left was headed upwards by Newell’s midfielder Pablo Perez and central defender Lopez nipped in to head home from one metre past goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero.

River claimed they showed have been awarded a penalty in added time when striker Federico Andrada went down in the box - and TV replays appeared to show he had his ankle clipped by Gabriel Heinze - but the referee waved play on.

Newell’s remain three points ahead of Arsenal with San Lorenzo and Boca Juniors three points further back. Boca’s push to keep pace with the leaders suffered a setback when they were held 1-1 by Rosario Central at La Bombonera.

Boca went ahead in the 13th minute when striker Emmanuel Gigliotti scored his fifth goal in five matches with a low shot from outside the box.

Central’s deserved equaliser came in the final minute from veteran former Uruguay striker Sebastian Abreu and was the first Boca have conceded in five matches.

“We have to admit they played better than us, they controlled the match but we were 1-0 up and had three chances to settle the match,” Boca coach Carlos Bianchi told reporters.

Bianchi said that being without midfielder Fernando Gago, who is nursing an injury, was no excuse for the dropped points.

“We had a bad day just when he wasn’t there but we must try to play well without him, or Roman (Riquelme),” Bianchi said.

Racing Club’s record worst start to a season was extended to 11 games without a victory after a 1-0 defeat at Estudiantes left them at the foot of the standings with just two points.

Estudiantes ended a run of six matches without a victory thanks to an own goal by Racing defender Jose Luis Gomez less than a minute after halftime.

Racing were under caretaker Nacho Gonzalez, in charge for one match before Reinaldo Merlo’s return for a third spell in charge from late yesterday.

Merlo, the team’s third coach this season after the departure of Luis Zubeldia and Carlos Ischia, steered Racing to the last of their seven league titles in 2001.

Arsenal came from a goal down to beat nine-man San Lorenzo 2-1 at home on Saturday with two late goals from former Saints striker Julio Furch.

San Lorenzo’s midfielder Leandro Navarro was sent off in the 48th minute and defender Santiago Gentiletti in the 64th, both for second bookings. — Reuters

ARGENTINA: Boca Juniors’ midfielder Gonzalo Escalante (top) vies for the ball with Rosario Central’s midfielder Diego Lagos during their Argentine First Division football match. — AFP

manager six months after the upset, one of the biggest in World Cup history.

Too emotional to sleep that night, Tomaszewski went out the next morning for an early stroll to discover his name plastered on Britain’s front pages.

“They did not know our names so they took the first one from the lineup,” he said modestly. “The man who stopped England was made of 12 parts: (coach) Kazimierz Gorski and 11 players who he precisely placed on the pitch like pieces in a puzzle.

“I made plenty of mistakes at Wembley, but my colleagues saved me. They made mistakes, and then I saved them.”

Poland’s then-communist government blocked British clubs, including Tottenham, from recruiting Tomaszewski with rules barring players under 30 from moving abroad.

“I never regretted it,” said Tomaszewski, now 65 and a lawmaker. “We won the hearts of the Poles. We were heroes. We were received by kings, presidents and government leaders. You cannot buy that with any money.” — AP

Negredo keen to take his chance

Karim Benzema

France out to win hearts and minds PARIS: With results elsewhere Friday guaranteeing France a World Cup qualifying play-off spot, Les Bleus tackle Finland in their final Group I match at the Stade de France today with another challenge altogether.

A poll published on Sunday in Le Parisien newspaper found that 82 percent of French people have a “bad opinion” of the national football team while 54 percent expect them to fail in their bid to reach Brazil next year.

While France’s bid to reach the global footballing showpiece is likely to rest on a two-legged play-off clash in November, barring an unlikely Spanish defeat to Georgia today, it seems Didier Deschamps’s players face an infinitely tougher task in winning over the hearts and minds of their countrymen. It is the personalities of the players who infamously refused to get off the team bus and train one day during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa that still irks the French public.

It seems they have not been forgiven. Judged unpleasant (85 percent), overpaid (86), individualist (84), talentless (76) and vulgar (73), it seems almost as if the French public would rather see their national team fail. And yet it can’t all be doom and gloom as six million people tuned their televisions into a festival of attacking and creative football as France dismantled Australia 6-0 at the Parc des Princes on Friday.

Yet even then, on what was supposed to be a celebratory evening, there was more than a hint of the

antagonistic relationship between players and fans. Star forward Karim Benzema was jeered more than cheered when he entered the fray as a second-half substitute for Olivier Giroud, paying for a run of 1,222 minutes without scoring in the blue shirt of the national team.

When he did find the net, six minutes after his introduction, he did seem to be forgiven his previous profligacy. Marseille playmaker Mathieu Valbuena was roundly booed every time he touched the ball, paying for his association with the fierce and bitter rivals of the host club at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain.

Valbuena, though, failed to let the moment pass and his reaction could only serve to further tarnish an already strained relationship.

“Not much affects me. You have to forgive them, maybe they thought Paris were playing,” said the diminutive midfielder after the game. “You can’t turn idiots into intelligent people. It’s a shame because when you’re wearing the France shirt they should get behind us, but it doesn’t bother me.”

Perhaps it wasn’t just a case of Valbuena being a Marseille player in PSG’s stadium, though, as the Le Parisien poll suggested. When asked which of six star players was their favorite, the respondees shunned the likes of Valbuena, Benzema, Franck Ribery, Samir Nasri and even Blaise Matuidi, plumping instead by a wide margin for Tottenham’s low-profile goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.—AFP

MADRID: World champions Spain can seal their place in next year’s World Cup in Brazil with just a point when they host Georgia in Albacete today.

The task appears a simple one against a side ranked 97 in the world given La Roja have never lost a World Cup qualifier on home soil.

However, despite weaving a relatively comfortable passage through a tricky group that includes 1998 world champions France, Vicente del Bosque’s men have come in for some criticism for their lack of cutting edge in recent games.

Friday’s 2-1 win over Belarus did little to convince the doubters with Spain producing just three shots on target throughout the 90 minutes.

Del Bosque sprung a surprise by starting Michu up front on his debut against the Belarussians, but it wasn’t until Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo was introduced that they started to pose a more serious threat. And after Xavi had given the hosts the lead, it was Negredo who headed home his third goal in four internationals this season to make the game safe 15 minutes from time.

That goal took Negredo’s overall tally for his country to nine in just 18 games at a very impressive strike rate of a goal every 78 minutes. And Del Bosque is expected to hand him a rare start in a competitive international as he looks to wrap up qualification in style.

“It is very difficult in the national team, there are many good players and that is why when we go out onto the field we all give everything,” he said.

“Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t. The truth is in the last few games I have had good luck and I need to take advantage of that.”

Spain needed a 85th minute winner from Roberto Soldado to beat Georgia in their opening game in the group last September.

And while Negredo admits his side have had trouble breaking down limited teams recently, he believes their tried and trusted short passing style is still the best way forward. “It will be difficult because Georgia will stick 11 players in their half, but we have a way of playing we need to maintain,” said Negredo.

“Despite the fact that many games have become more difficult for us, there are very few games we haven’t won. We need to keep the ball and take advantage of the chances we have.”

Del Bosque’s patience with Iker Casillas’ lack of first-team action at Real Madrid ran out on Friday as Victor Valdes replaced the 32-year-old in goal and now seems certain to retain his place until Casillas’ position as back-up to Diego Lopez at Real changes.

Andres Iniesta should though return to the starting line-up after he only featured as a second-half substitute on Friday due to a slight muscular problem.

And there could even be a change at centreback as Gerard Pique finished the Belarus game struggling with a minor injury so Inigo Martinez may get his first taste of competitive international action. — AFP

Alvaro Negredo

Footballers striving to bring joy to war-torn Syria SINGAPORE: For Anas Makhlouf and his Syrian team, even the so-called home games in the Asian Cup qualifying campaign are played a long way from the fans who desperately want them to win so they’ve got something to celebrate amid a bloody civil war.

The Syria national team coach gets his team of mostly foreign-based professionals together for a few days around sanctioned international dates for football, and really can only hope they can compete fueled by emotion.

“Everyone knows about our bad situation but we try to do something for our people over there to help them to be in a good situation,” Makhlouf said. “The Syrian people, they love football and they are looking for a good team and a good result and that’s why we have to do this for them.”

This week they’re in Singapore, preparing for an Asian Cup group match. They’ve got one point from two matches and are in third place in Group A, just ahead of Singapore and well behind Oman and Jordan. They’re playing their next two home games in Oman and Iran. Still, the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia is on the radar.

Makhlouf knows three points in Singapore on Tuesday will be crucial to get the qualifying campaign back on track and bring some joy to the people of Syria amid a conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people, forced more than 2 million Syrians to flee the country and caused untold suffering - psychological, emotional and physical - across the nation.

“The players are aware of the fans feelings, our fans who are following us through the internet or live communications, we know how much our supporters are waiting to feel happy especially that tomorrow is the Eid day,” Makhlouf said Monday. “We wish them, we wish our Syrian people all the best and peace.

“I hope tomorrow we will give them a small present on this occasion.” The Syrian squad assembles in Beirut for training

camps, bringing professional players from across the region and a few from Damascus. “We can only have the players on FIFA days for short camps of two or three days and this doesn’t help working on the coherence of the team but we hope this doesn’t affect them because most of the players have been playing together for a while,” Makhlouf said.

Singapore coach Bernd Stange knows from experience the kind of challenges

SINGAPORE: Sanhareb Malki, team captain of Syria’s soccer team (right) and his team participate in a training session. Syria will play Singapore during their 2015 Asian Cup qualifier soccer match today. — AP

that Makhlouf faces preparing a team for an international tournament. He coached the Iraq national team from 2002-04.

After the US-led invasion in 2003, “there was nothing left - not footballs, no equipment. It was very difficult,” Stange said. “We couldn’t play any matches in Iraq.”

“But the players are very, very motivated to play for their country, to show the people who suffer at home under very difficult circumstances that, ‘We are here, we want to deliver something.’ And it was very dangerous to play against Iraq. Even in this difficult time, (Iraq) had their most successful period.”

Iraq produced some stunning upsets to win the 2007 Asian Cup, including a group-stage win over an Australian team playing in the continental tournament only a year after a narrow loss to eventual champion Italy in the second round of the World Cup. Syria captain Sanhareb Malki said it would give the Syrian people a significant boost if his team could achieve anything near that.

“It would give happiness to the people on this tragic period for us, for the moment,” Malki said. “It’s like Iraq ... we need to try to do the same.

“Everyone in Syria loves football - they follow us on Facebook, Twitter, on this kind of things. They try to send us messages to encourage our team, because we can’t play at home. For these kinds of people we need to give everything and we will fight.”— AP

Walker wins trip to Masters

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

16

England seek to polish off World Cup campaign

18

World doping agency probing Jamaica

Page 17

FOXBOROUGH: New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley (22) eludes a tackle by New Orleans Saints linebacker Ramon Humber (53) in the third quarter of an NFL football game. — AP

Patriots knock down Saints, Packers roll FOXBOROUGH: Tom Brady’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Kenbrell Thompkins with 5 seconds left gave the New England Patriots a wild 30-27 win and knocked the New Orleans Saints from the ranks of the unbeaten Sunday.

It capped a 70-yard drive in which the Patriots marched downfield with no timeouts after getting the ball with 1:08 to go.

The Saints (5-1) had taken a 24-23 lead with 3:29 remaining on Drew Brees’ 34yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills, but couldn’t put away New England.

The Patriots (5-1) survived an interception by Keenan Lewis on their first snap after Garrett Hartley’s 39-yard field goal made it 27-23.

PACKERS 19, RAVENS 17 Aaron Rodgers threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson, Mason Crosby kicked four field goals as Green Bay held on to beat Baltimore.

Eddie Lacy rushed for 120 yards to fuel the Packers’ first road win of the season.

Green Bay (3-2) took a 16-3 lead into the fourth quarter and was up 19-10 with 4 minutes left, but the Ravens (3-3) kept coming back.

After Baltimore closed to 19-17 on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Dallas Clark with 2:04 remaining, Rodgers clinched the victory with a 52yard completion to Jermichael Finley on a third-and-3. Rodgers went 17 for 32 for 315 yards.

Despite playing without injured linebacker Clay Matthews, the Packers limited Baltimore to 47 yards rushing and registered five sacks, including three by AJ Hawk. The defending Super Bowl champion Ravens had won 13 straight at home against NFC foes.

BRONCOS 35, JAGUARS 19 Peyton Manning threw for two scores and Knowshon Moreno ran for three to lead Denver to a tougher-than-expected victory over winless Jacksonville.

The Broncos (6-0) came in as 27-point favorites, and much of the pregame hype centered on whether they’d cover the spread and when Manning would come out of the game. Neither happened.

Manning finished 28 for 42 for 295 yards, but lost two fumbles and threw a pick-6 — a 59-yard interception return by Paul

Posluszny that pulled the Jaguars (0-6) within 14-12 at halftime. It was a two-point game late in the third quarter, before Moreno scored his last touchdown, an 8yard run, for a 28-19 lead. Moreno finished with 42 yards. Justin Blackmon had 14 catches for 190 yards for Jacksonville.

CHIEFS 24, RAIDERS 7 Jamaal Charles ran for two touchdowns and the Kansas City defense harassed Oakland quarterback Terrelle Pryor into throwing three second-half interceptions as the Chiefs remained unbeaten.

After winning just twice last season, Kansas City (6-0) continued the secondbest start in franchise history. The Chiefs won their first nine games during the 2003 season.

The Chiefs piled up 10 sacks while ending a three-game skid to the Raiders (2-4), and a six-game losing streak against them at Arrowhead Stadium.

Pryor threw for 216 yards and a touchdown, but his interceptions proved costly.

The first led to Charles’ go-ahead touchdown run, the second led to Ryan Succop’s fourth-quarter field goal, and Husain

Abdullah returned the last one for a touchdown to seal the win.

STEELERS 19, JETS 6 Ben Roethlisberger threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders and Shaun Suisham kicked four field goals as Pittsburgh won its first game of the season.

The Steelers (1-4) were off to their worst start since 1968, when they lost their first six games during a season in which they finished 2-11-1. Sunday’s victory was also the 600th in franchise history, including the postseason, as Pittsburgh became only the fourth team to reach the milestone.

Pittsburgh was coming off a bye-week break and appeared quite a bit sharper than New York (3-3), which had a short week to prepare after a 30-28 win at Atlanta last Monday night.

Geno Smith was intercepted twice by a Steelers defense that entered the game as the only team in the league without a takeaway.

PANTHERS 35, VIKINGS 10 Cam Newton threw three touchdown

passes and ran for another score as Carolina romped past Adrian Peterson and Minnesota.

Peterson finished with 62 yards on 10 carries and 21 yards on three receptions, but the Vikings (1-4) trailed the whole game and didn’t have much use after halftime for Peterson. The NFL MVP learned Friday that a 2-year-old son of his died in South Dakota of injuries from alleged abuse.

Matt Cassel threw two interceptions, both to Mike Mitchell, and the Panthers (23) responded each time with a touchdown.

Whether the team was distracted by the tragedy or not, the Vikings were thoroughly embarrassed on both sides of the ball.

49ERS 32, CARDINALS 20 Vernon Davis caught touchdown passes of 61 and 35 yards and finished with a career-best 180 yards receiving, leading San Francisco to its third straight victory.

Colin Kaepernick threw for 252 yards and Frank Gore ran for 101 yards on 25 carries. Kendall Hunter ran for a 6-yard touchdown that sealed it for the 49ers (4-2) with

NFL results/standings Green Bay 19, Baltimore 17; Cincinnati 27, Buffalo 24 (OT); Detroit 31, Cleveland 17 St. Louis 38, Houston 13; Carolina 35, Minnesota 10; Kansas City 24, Oakland 7; Pittsburgh 19, NY Jets 6; Philadelphia 31, Tampa Bay 20; Denver 35, Jacksonville 19; Seattle 20, Tennessee 13; New England 30, New Orleans 27; San Francisco 32, Arizona 20; Dallas 31, Washington 16.

American Football Conference National Football Conference AFC East NFC East W L T OTL PF PA PCT Philadelphia 3 3 0 0 166 179 .500 New England 5 1 0 0 125 97 .833 Dallas 3 3 0 0 183 152 .500 Miami 3 2 0 0 114 117 .600 Washington 1 4 0 0 107 143 .200 NY Jets 3 3 0 0 104 135 .500 NY Giants 0 6 0 0 103 209 0 Buffalo 2 4 0 1 136 157 .333 NFC north AFC North Detroit 4 2 0 0 162 140 .667 Cincinnati 4 2 0 0 121 111 .667 Chicago 4 2 0 0 172 161 .667 Baltimore 3 3 0 0 134 129 .500 Green Bay 3 2 0 0 137 114 .600 Cleveland 3 3 0 0 118 125 .500 Minnesota 1 4 0 0 125 158 .200 Pittsburgh 1 4 0 0 88 116 .200 NFC South AFC South New Orleans 5 1 0 0 161 103 .833 Indianapolis 4 1 0 0 139 79 .800 Carolina 2 3 0 0 109 68 .400 Tennessee 3 3 0 1 128 115 .500 Atlanta 1 4 0 0 122 134 .200 Houston 2 4 0 1 106 177 .333 Tampa Bay 0 5 0 0 64 101 0 Jacksonville 0 6 0 0 70 198 0 NFC West AFC West Seattle 5 1 0 0 157 94 .833 Kansas City 6 0 0 0 152 65 1.000 Denver 6 0 0 0 265 158 1.000 San Francisco 4 2 0 0 145 118 .667 San Diego 2 3 0 0 125 129 .400 Arizona 3 3 0 0 111 127 .500 Oakland 2 4 0 0 105 132 .333 St. Louis 3 3 0 0 141 154 .500

6:35 remaining.

Rookie safety Eric Reid made his teamleading third interception and also recovered a fumble to stop an Arizona drive deep in 49ers territory in the third quarter.

San Francisco forced four turnovers for the second straight game. Arizona (3-3) lost star defensive end Calais Campbell to an apparent right leg injury late in the game.

RAMS 38, TEXANS 13 Sam Bradford threw three touchdown passes and St. Louis added a score on defense and special teams as the Rams stunned mistake-prone Houston.

The Rams (3-3) were up 24-6 early in the third quarter before rookie Daren Bates returned Keshawn Martin’s fumble on a kickoff return for a touchdown.

Alec Ogletree pushed the lead to 38-6 when he took an interception by T.J. Yates back 98 yards for a touchdown. Yates was in after Matt Schaub sustained an apparent right ankle injury.

Schaub didn’t have a turnover after throwing six interceptions, three of them returned for touchdowns in the past three games.

But several other Texans had key gaffes as preseason Super Bowl hopeful Houston (2-4) lost its fourth straight game.

SEAHAWKS 20, TITANS 13 Marshawn Lynch ran for two touchdowns and had 155 all-purpose yards, Richard Sherman came up with his third interception of the season as Seattle finally shook Tennessee in the fourth quarter.

Seattle (5-1) won its 11th straight at home despite a long list of mistakes that allowed the Titans (3-3) to hang around into the fourth. There was a careless turnover, missed defensive assignments and a comical muffed field goal attempt that led to the Titans’ only touchdown on the final play of the first half. But the Seahawks made enough plays thanks to Lynch, quarterback Russell Wilson and Sherman’s interception to remain on top of the NFC West. Lynch had TD runs of 3 yards and 1 yard.

BENGALS 27, BILLS 24 Mike Nugent hit a 43-yard field goal with 6:44 left in overtime. Brandon Tate’s 29-yard punt return to the Bills 33 set up the decisive score. Andy Dalton went 26 of

40 for 337 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception. He bounced back after a two-game touchdown drought and led the Bengals (4-2) to their first road win of the season.

The Bills (2-4) were led by quarterback Thad Lewis, starting in place of injured rookie EJ Manuel. Lewis went 19 of 32 for 216 yards and two touchdowns after being promoted off the practice squad last week. Both touchdown passes came in the fourth quarter, including a 40-yarder to Marquise Goodwin with 1:08 remaining.

Lewis also scored a touchdown rushing in making only his second career start.

LIONS 31, BROWNS 17 Matthew Stafford threw three of his four touchdown passes in the second half, rallying Detroit.

The Lions (4-2) outscored the Browns 24-0 in the second half, sealing their win when Stafford hooked up with tight end Joseph Fauria with 2:01 left. Fauria caught three TD passes for the Lions, who played like a completely different team in the second half after being dominated up front and trailing 17-7 at the half. The Browns (33) had their chances at a comeback end when quarterback Brandon Weeden’s baffling shovel pass with 4:36 left was intercepted by linebacker DeAndre Levy.

Lions running back Reggie Bush finished with 135 total yards, 121 in the second half. Stafford finished 25 of 43 for 248 yards.

EAGLES 31, BUCCANEERS 20 Nick Foles threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth, leading Philadelphia over winless Tampa Bay. Foles finished a long first-quarter scoring drive with a 4-yard run and threw TD passes of 12 and 36 yards to DeSean Jackson.

With the injured Michael Vick active but not playing, Foles made his seventh career start and beat the Bucs (0-5) for the second time. He was 1-5 as a rookie a year ago, with that victory also coming at Tampa Bay. But unlike last December, he didn’t have to throw a last-second TD pass for the win. He gave the Eagles (3-3) the lead for good with a 47-yard scoring pass to Riley Cooper in the third quarter, then gave his team breathing room with his second TD pass to Jackson.—AP

Business TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

EU makes progress on Banking Union: Official Page 25 QNB financial results for nine months Page 26

Global Energy meet highlights challenge of growing demand

The Regency Hotel, changing with the times

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STOCKHOLM: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ Torsten Persson (from left), Per Krusell, Staffan Normark and Per Stromberg announce that Americans Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert Shiller are the winners of the Nobel prize for economics during a news conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm yesterday. — AFP

Three US economists win Nobel Study on movement of stock, bond and house prices STOCKHOLM: Three American professors won the Nobel prize for economics yesterday for shedding light on how stock, bond and house prices move over time - work that’s changed how people around the world invest. Two of the winners - Eugene Fama, 74, and Lars Peter Hansen, 60 - teach at the University of Chicago. The third, Robert Shiller, 67, is a professor at Yale University and is well-known as a creator of the well-known Case-Shiller index of home prices.

The three economists were honored for separate research that collectively expanded the understanding of asset prices. Beginning in the 1960s, Fama showed that prices change so quickly and efficiently to reflect new information that investors can’t outperform markets in the short term. This was a breakthrough that helped popularize index funds, which invest in broad market categories instead of trying to pick individual winners.

Two decades later, Shiller reached a separate conclusion: That over the long run, markets can often be irrational, subject to booms and busts and the whims of human behavior.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences noted that the two men’s findings “might seem both surprising and contradictory.”

Hansen developed a statistical method to test theories of asset pricing. The three economists shared the $1.2 million prize, the last of this year’s Nobel awards to be announced.

“Their methods have shaped subsequent research in the field and their findings have been highly influential both academically and practically,” the academy said.

Yesterday morning, Hansen said he received a phone call from Sweden while on his way to the gym. He said he wasn’t sure how he’ll celebrate but said he was “still working on taking a deep breath.” Shiller, famous for having warned against the bubbles in technology stocks and housing that burst over the past two decades, said he responded with disbelief when he received a phone call about the Nobel. “People told me they thought I might win,” Shiller told The Associated Press. “I discounted it.

Probably hundreds have been told that.”

Of the three winners, Fama was the first to expand the knowledge of how asset prices move. His work helped revolutionize investing by illustrating how hard it was to predict the movement of individual stock prices in the short run. It was a finding that spurred wider acceptance of index funds as an investment tool.

Shiller showed that in the long run, stock and bond markets tend to behave more irrationally than economic fundamentals would suggest. That encouraged the creation of institutional investors, such as hedge funds, that take bets on market trends. In the late 1990s, Shiller argument the stock market was overvalued. “And lo and behold, he was proven right” when the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, said Nobel committee secretary Peter Englund.

“He also predicted for a long time that the housing market was overvalued, and again he was proven right,” Englund said.

The US housing market suffered a crash in 2007 that helped fuel the global financial crisis. Englund said he believes the three laureates agree on the findings for which they were awarded, even though Fama and Shiller have different “interpretations of the real world.”

“It’s no secret that for Eugene Fama, the sort of null hypothesis is that markets work well and he is willing to believe that until he is proven otherwise, whereas for Robert Shiller, I think his null hypothesis is that there are periods of excessive optimism and pessimism,” Englund said. The Case-Shiller index, a leading measure of US residential real estate prices, was developed by Shiller and Karl Case, a Wellesley College economist. In the 1980s, Hansen developed a statistical method to better assess theories such as those of Fama and Shiller.

“These are three very different kinds of people, and the thing that unites them all is asset pricing,” says David Warsh, who tracks academic economists on his Economic Principals blog. Fama said his work came at a time when computers were starting to be used by statisticians and economists. Many of them were studying stock prices because they were the most easily available data. — AP

STOCKHOLM: Portraits of US economic scientists (left to right) Eugene F Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert J Shiller. — AFP

Default looming, Day 14 of shutdown, no solution WASHINGTON: With rising anxiety in the markets at home and abroad, Congress and the White House moved perilously closer to a default yesterday with much of the government closed and Senate Democratic and Republican leaders still at odds in negotiations to end the crises.

Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke by phone Sunday but failed to agree on a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing authority above the $16.7 trillion debt limit or reopen the government. Congress is racing the clock with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warning that the US will quickly exhaust its ability to pay the bills on Thursday.

Separately, a bipartisan group led by Sen Susan Collins, R-Maine, met for two hours yesterday morning on a possible solution to the impasse. “ We’re making ver y good progress, but there’s still many details to be worked out,” Collins said before joining her GOP colleagues at a meeting with McConnell. “ We don’t have a finished, agreed-upon product yet but I think we had an excellent meeting. And we’ll get together later today.” There was no certainty that the growing anxiety among financial leaders around the world would provide the necessary jolt to Senate leaders, who represent the last, best chance for a resolution after talks between President Barack Obama and House Republican leaders collapsed.

Sen Joe Manchin said yesterday that investors are growing increasingly “skittish” about the possibility of default. The bond markets were closed for Columbus Day, and by mid-morning the stock market was down modestly, with both the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index losing less than 1 percent.

Trading in Asia was muted, with markets in Tokyo and Hong Kong closed for holidays.

The shutdown has furloughed 350,000 federal workers, impeded various government services, put continued operations of the federal courts in doubt and stopped the IRS from processing tax refunds. Some parks and monuments remain closed, drawing a protest at the National World War II. Memorial on Sunday that included tea party-backed lawmakers who had unsuccessfully demanded defunding of Obama’s

WASHINGTON, DC: A biker rides past the US Capitol yesterday in Washington, DC. With the government shutdown going into the fourteenth day and the deadline for raising the debt ceiling fast approaching, Democrats and Republicans are still at a stalemate on agreeing on a budget. —AFP

3-year-old health care law in exchange for keeping the government open. Economists see greater financial danger from an historical default. Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, spoke fearfully about the disruption and uncertainty, warning on Sunday of a “risk of tipping, yet again, into recession” after the fitful recovery from 2008.

Reid and McConnell - five-term senators hardened by budget disputes and years of negotiations - are at an impasse over the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration and whether to undo or change them as part of a budget deal. Republicans want to keep the spending at the deficit-cutting level of the 2011 budget law while Democrats are pressing

for a higher amount.

“I’m optimistic about the prospects for a positive conclusion to the issues before this country today,” Reid said as the Senate wrapped up a rare Sunday session.

McConnell insisted a solution was readily available as he embraced the proposal from a bipartisan group of 12 senators, led by Collins and Manchin, that would re-open the government and fund it at current levels for six months while raising the debt limit through Jan. 31.

It also would give agencies greater flexibility in dealing with the automatic budget cuts, delay the medical device tax for two years and establish income verification for individuals receiving subsidies to buy health insurance. —AP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

BUSINESS

Global Energy meet highlights challenge of growing demand WEC lays challenges of population growth

YANGON: A man walking along railway tracks past old apartment blocks in Yangon. Demand for property in Yangon has surged as Myanmar undergoes rapid change since shedding the isolation of junta rule.

Sales prices have doubled or even trebled over the past two years in some neighborhoods and developers are scrambling to build new properties. — AFP

Asian shares mostly slip as US debt talks drag on HONG KONG: Asian markets slipped yesterday, with traders growing nervous that talks to raise the US borrowing limit remain deadlocked just days before the deadline to avoid a default.

Republicans and Democrats were unable to find a compromise after a rare Sunday session to hammer out a budget deal to reopen the government, which has been partially shut down for two weeks.

Adding to selling pressure was a disappointing batch of Chinese trade figures at the weekend that indicated a recent pick-up in the world’s number two economy may not be as strong as hoped.

Sydney fell 0.44 percent, or 23.0 points, to 5,207.9, Seoul eased 0.23 percent, or 4.63 points, to 2,020.27 and Singapore was off 0.58 percent in the afternoon. However, in late trade Shanghai was up 0.62 percent despite the weak data at the weekend, with investors buying consumer-related shares owing to a bigger jump in inflation than expected.

Tokyo, Hong Kong and Jakarta were closed for public holidays. With the US expected to run out of cash to pay its bills on Thursday, focus is on Washington, where President Barack Obama has urged Republicans to agree to a debt ceiling hike.

Failure to raise the spending limit would mean a default that could have a devastating effect around the world.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he would meet with his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, their second talks in as many days. “Americans want Congress to compromise. Americans want Congress to give the economy certainty and security, not more indecision and doubt,” he said. After the talks he added: “I’m optimistic about the prospect for a positive conclu-

sion.” Republican Senator Bob Corker said he was confident an agreement can be reached. “This is something that’s wreaking havoc around the world and will affect economic growth, and I do hope that over the next week we’ll reach a conclusion and I think we will,” he said.

China and Japan-who between them hold more than $2.4 trillion of US debt have urged the US to get its house in order and avert a default. On currency markets the dollar weakened, buying 98.24 yen compared with 98.59 yen, while the euro was at $1.3563 against $1.3546. The single currency eased to 133.24 yen from 133.55 yen. US stocks ended the week on a high on Friday as dealers bet lawmakers would eventually reach a deal.

The Dow rose 0.73 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 0.63 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.83 percent. China said Saturday that an unexpected drop in exports led to its trade surplus narrowing to $15.2 billion in September from $28.6 billion in August. Overseas shipments fell 0.3 percent yearon-year to $185.64 billion, while imports increased 7.4 percent to $170.44 billion, indicating potential headwinds for the economy, which relies heavily on global demand for its products.

Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a surplus of $27 billion. Data yesterday showed inflation at a seven-month high of 3.1 percent in September, up from 2.6 percent in August and higher than expectations of 2.9 percent. In oil trade New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November was down 29 cents at $101.73 in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude for November eased 17 cents to $111.11. Gold cost $1,273.31 at 0650 GMT compared with $1,290.30 on Friday. — AP

DAEGU, South Korea: The challenge of providing sustainable energy to a growing global population at a minimal environmental impact dominated debate at the World Energy Congress yesterday.

“Today, less than one-third of the world’s seven billion people consume more than two-thirds of its primary energy supplies,” Khalid Al-Falih, the president of the world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, said in a keynote address.

“But by 2050, a total of nine billion people will aspire to a prosperous life,” Falih said. In a report released yesterday at its triennial congress being held in Daegu, South Korea, the World Energy Council (WEC) laid out a host of challenges posed by that population growth, coupled with accelerated urbanization. The report built two energy scenarios-labelled “Jazz” and “Symphony”-for the world over the next four decades. Under the Jazz scenario, which envisages a market-led energy policy focused on energy access, affordability and quality of supply, total primary energy supply could increase by 61 percent by 2050.

The government-led Symphony scenario-focused on environmental sustainability and energy security-envisages an increase of 27 percent. But while both sce-

narios see a significant increase in energy access, the rate of that increase will remain insufficient.

Globally, between 730 million and 880 million people will still be without access to electricity in 2030, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa, and this figure would only decrease to 319 million and 530 million people by 2050, it said. “While there will be opportunities in the future for a range of technology solutions, the ultimate issue is that demand continues to grow at an unsustainable rate,” said Karl Rose, the Council’s director of policy.

Under both scenarios, Asia will account for nearly 50 percent of global energy consumption by 2050.Ensuring energy supplies will require enormous investment over the next two decades which Falih estimated at around $40 trillion.

“That’s virtually the annual GDP of China, the EU, and the US combined,” the Aramco head said. The WEC report put required investment in electricity generation alone at between $19 trillion and $25 trillion to meet demand levels in 2050.

While renewable energy is projected to increase rapidly, the Council said fossil fuels would continue to dominate the global energy mix, largely due to the demand for transport fuel. As a result,

S Korea postpones Kaesong foreign investment event SEOUL: South Korea said yesterday it had postponed a planned investment road show aimed at drumming up foreign interest in the Kaesong industrial zone run jointly with North Korea.

A Unification Ministry official said the move reflected a recent downturn in cross-border relations and slow progress at talks aimed at resuming full operations at Kaesong. The investment event had been scheduled for October 31 at the Kaesong complex, which lies 10 kilometres (six miles) inside the North Korean border. “The delay was inevitable due to the lack of progress at talks with North Korea to enhance communication, and travel to and from Kaesong,” the ministry official said.

The North was notified of the postponement last Friday, he added.

No new date for the road show has been set. North Korea effectively shut down Kaesong when it withdrew its 53,000 workers from the complex in April, at the height of a surge in military tensions on the Korean peninsula. As those tensions eased, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed last month to reopen the industrial park, but relations have since soured again, with the North railing against what it sees as the South’s “hostility”.

It was South Korea that had pushed for encouraging foreign investment in Kaesong, believing the presence of overseas firms would make it harder for Pyongyang to shut down the complex in the future. But many experts question who would be attracted by a project run by two countries that are still technically at war. — AFP

Accounting body rejects cash conditions from EU parliament LONDON: The group which writes global accounting rules said the European Parliament was threatening its independence by calling for a fundamental change to the way it sets standards, and linking it to future funding. The parliament wants the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to include a specific reference to “prudence” in its basic tenets, to put pressure on accountants to err on the side of caution when scrutinizing losses at banks. In a draft law, it wants to make future contributions from the European Union - which provides about a third of funding for the IASB - effectively conditional on this reform.

Lawmakers believe the prudence reference could help avoid a repeat of the 2007-09 financial crisis in which EU taxpayers had to put billions of euros into struggling banks. IASB Chairman Hans Hoogervorst described the parliament’s stance as “highly worrisome”. “This is something we cannot accept,” he told a meeting of his body’s advisory council yesterday. “If Europe is going to do this, other parts of the world might be encouraged to do so. It’s a threat to our independence,” he said.

The European Parliament’s work is being led by lawmaker

Theodor Dumitru Stolojan, whose office did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The IASB writes book-keeping rules used in over 100 countries, including the European Union, but not the United States. In 2012, the EU provided 7.1 million pounds or roughly a third of the 20 million pounds the IASB received that year. In an amendment to a draft law on future contributions to the IASB, the European Parliament wants to make funding conditional upon the body giving serious consideration to amending its basic tenets, known as the conceptual framework, and wants it to insert a reference to “prudence”.

‘Cookie Jar’ “Co-financing should be given to the bodies in question only if it is clear that... accounting concepts, in particular with regard to ‘prudence’ ... are appropriately considered in the revision of the conceptual framework,” says the amendment, seen by Reuters.

A specific reference to prudence was dropped by the IASB in 2010 to help align IASB and US accounting rules. US critics say prudence introduces a bias into financial reporting when it is

meant to be a neutral snapshot. There is also a risk of creating “cookie jar” accounting, meaning companies downplay profits in good years to smooth out a rockier performance in tougher years, the critics say. Hoogervorst said many of the EU member states, who have joint say with parliament over funding, oppose the linkage. Britain, however, has just thrown its weight behind the reintroduction of prudence. The spat over funding is a further sign of policymaker frustration at the speed of reform in accounting rules for banks after the financial crisis. In 2008, during the financial crisis, world leaders called on the IASB and its US counterpart, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, to force banks to recognize souring loans much earlier so they can take speedy action and avoid calling on taxpayers.

So far the two boards have failed to find a common solution despite several drafting changes. “We have to think about the credibility of standard setting. We have had five years and six models. It’s decision time,” Hoogervorst said. “We have certainly not thrown in the towel. We are determined to get this done.” He was “quite confident” the reform being proposed by the IASB would lead to a significant increase in provisioning by banks to quell U.S. criticism it was being too light touch. — Reuters

both the scenarios put forward by the WEC envisage CO2 emissions wellbeyond the target levels deemed necessary to meeting the UN-set target of limiting global warming to 2 C (3.6 F) over pre-industrial levels.

“At a time of unprecedented uncertainty these scenarios provide a stark warning to our energy future,” said WEC Secretary General Christoph Frei. “Our findings challenge our understanding of and current ability to deliver the resilient infrastructure that we need to face the changes we expect to occur over the coming decades,” Frei said. Some major oil-producing countries are looking to diversify their energy sources and reduce domestic demand for oil, but largely in an effort to protect boost lucrative oil exports on which their economies depend.

The United Arab Emirates is a massive investor in solar energy, but is also aiming for a one-third increase in oil output by 2017. “We need to stop thinking that one form of energy will replace the other,” UAE Energy Minister Suheil Al-Mazrouei told AFP in Daegu. “We need to think of them as complementing each other, and each country needs to have its own ideal mix,” he said. — AFP

Dollar down as debt default looms SINGAPORE: The dollar weakened in Asian trade yesterday as lawmakers in Washington struggle to agree a budget deal that will avoid a damaging debt default. In Singapore afternoon trade, the greenback slipped to 98.27 yen from 98.59 yen in New York late Friday.

The euro rose to $1.3565 from $1.3546 but dipped to 133.30 yen from 133.55 yen. Japanese markets are closed for a public holiday. Republicans and Democrats were unable to find a compromise after a rare Sunday session to hammer out a deal to reopen the federal government and raise the country’s borrowing limit before a October 17 deadline.

The government partially shut down on October 1 after lawmakers failed to agree a new budget. Harry Reid, the Democratic Leader in the Senate, painted an optimistic picture of the dialogue late Sunday with Republicans, though nothing concrete was disclosed.

Failure to lift the debt limit by Thursday would leave the government unable to pay its bills or service its debts, leading to a devastating default that analysts warn will tip the global economy back into recession.

“So far, markets have not panicked because both parties have come out to reassure that they are working towards a compromise after every failed vote, keeping alive hopes for a last-minute deal,” DBS Bank said in a note. The Singapore bank however held a dim view of any stop-gap measures to extend the deadline for the debt default.

“The Senate has reportedly taken over negotiations and is looking to extend the deadline to next March in exchange for watering down the next round of (public spending cuts) due next year,” it said.

“Even if a compromise can be reached, this will only provide a temporary relief for the US dollar, and sets the stage for more budget fights ahead of next year’s midterm elections.”

The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies. It slipped to Sg$1.2458 from Sg$1.2487 in Tokyo on Friday, to Tw$29.39 from Tw$29.40, and to 10,940 Indonesian rupiah from 11,463 rupiah. The greenback edged up to 1,072.31 South Korean won from 1,070.34 won, to 43.16 Philippine pesos from 43.10 pesos, and to 61.23 Indian rupees from from 61.16 rupees, while holding steady at 31.31 Thai baht.

The Australian dollar weakened to 94.68 US cents from 94.74 US cents on Friday, while the Chinese yuan bought 16.07 yen from 16.09 yen. — AFP

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal Irani Riyal

2.878 4.647 2.672 2.163 2.924 231.500 36.585 3.642 6.574 9.072 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

75.684 77.982 737.170 753.820 77.292

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 271.01 278.70 318.39 388.05 282.80 458.26 2.98 3.639 4.578 2.158 2.868 2.666 77.06 752.70 41.03 402.49 735.46 78.09 75.54

SELL CASH 272.000 279.000 318.000 390.000 285.500 462.000 3.000 3.700 4.820 2.500 3.300 2.760 77.400 753.500 41.100 407.500 741.500 78.500 75.800

Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

3.000 10.015 3.065 3.860 89.290

Bahrain Exchange Company CURRENCY

BUY

SELL

Europe Belgian Franc British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Romanian Leu Slovakia Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Turkish Lira

0.007366 0.448723 0.006648 0.047494 0.379246 0.043353 0.081774 0.008124 0.039966 0.306721 0.140278

0.008366 0.457723 0.018648 0.052494 0.386746 0.048553 0.81774 0.018124 40.044966 0.316921 0.147278

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for 1000 Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for 1000 Syrian Lira Morocco Dirham

42.900 40.717 1.324 173.730 400.790 1.904 3.083 35.025

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer Euro Sterling Pound Canadian dollar Turkish lira Swiss Franc Australian Dollar US Dollar Buying

283.700 390.000 458.350 279.510 143.090 317.870 274.050 282.500 GOLD

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

248.000 125.000 65.000

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 283.150 276.220 456.285 385.340 312.980 747.655 77.070 78.620 76.375 399.145 41.040 2.155 4.553 2.669 3.640 6.551 695.475

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar

Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint

Bangladesh Taka Chinese Yuan Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Korean Won Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee

Australasia 0.259152 0.229085

0.270652 0.238565

America 0.268140 0.279300 0.279800

0.276640 0.283650 0.283650

Asia 0.003260 0.044844 0.034466 0.004365 0.000020 0.002825 0.003408 0.000253 0.085039 0.002937 0.002526

0.003860 0.048344 0.037216 0.004766 0.000026 0.003005 0.003408 0.000268 0.091039 0.003107 0.002806

Philippine Peso Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

0.006415 0.000069 0.223432 0.022498 0.001827 0.009525 0.008703 Arab 0.745268 0.038500 0.000078 0.000183 0.395501 1.0000000 0.000139 0.022687 0.001200 0.730072 0.077133 0.074937 0.001929 0.168969 0.140278 0.076178

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

0.006695 0.000075 0.229432 0.030998 0.002407 0.009705 0.009253

0.753268 0.041600 0.000080 0.000243 0.403001 1.0000000 0.000239 0.046687 0.001835 0.735752 0.078346 0.075637 0.002149 0.176969 0.147278 0.077327

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 283.150 387.000 455.450 275.600 4.625 41.075 2.161 3.640 6.565 2.670 754.150 77.150 75.650

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

BUSINESS

The Regency Hotel, changing with the times Balsamico Restaurant serves a new culinary experience: Loughland here at the hotel. If the parents were married here in 1980s, now the children are married here in 2010s. This is quite an exciting concept. There is a huge representation and a lot of sentimentality and memories that are attached to the Regency. As a Kuwaiti hotel, it does hold very fond memories of an eventful past, something that we are very proud of and wish to cherish and continue for many years to come as a service-proven hotel,” he added.

By Sajeev K Peter KUWAIT: The Regency Hotel, Kuwait’s topmost luxury five-star hotel, is developing fast in tandem with the emerging trends in the hospitality industry and changing customer needs, said Russell Loughland, Director of Sales & Marketing.

In conversation with Kuwait Times during an interview, he said The Regency has recorded significant growth in its revenues this year over the previous year, marking a major milestone in its history.

“In many ways, The Regency Hotel is a unique five-star property. It is identified as the first and only independently-owned Kuwaiti five-star hotel”, he remarked.

“We are gifted because we are not part of a chain or brand. We are not restrained by corporate handcuffs. We are masters of our own destiny, on the ground and in the field in Kuwait. We don’t have to get approval either from a corporate regional office or from a global head office,” said Loughland.

“It means benefit to our customers, because we can react faster. We engage with our customers on a daily basis-upon checking, during their stay and upon departurewhether they are business guests or leisure travelers. The Regency has the benefit of being able to react faster, develop levels of excellence based on customer comments not the next day or next week, but immediately,” he pointed out.

Revitalization “Last year, we embarked on a complete revitalization of all our standards, not just the standards of service, but the way we interact and engage with our customers. We revisited the existing customers who have been with us for many years. We also introduced new markets and gained significant increases in sales from other GCC states, both corporate and leisure businesses. We embraced families as the cornerstone of our leisure business, catering to them especially during weekends and holidays such as Eid Al-Adha celebrations.

“We looked at new areas of potential development and sub-segmentation such as online and social media networks,” he said.

According to Loughland, The Regency’s contacts of engagement with guests and social

KUWAIT: The Regency Hotel Director of Sales & Marketing Russell Loughland during the interview. media followers skyrocketed over the last eight months.

“We are quite proud of their responses and comments. The contribution made by these individuals, supporters and followers to our ability to develop new concepts has been incredible. We thank them for that as they are very much now an integral part of the development of The Regency as a leading five-star supplier of hospitality,” he acknowledged.

“These people, with whom we engage with or talk to daily on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Foursquare, are actually becoming our hospitality experts. They are like our consultants. At times, they even give us creative ideas, opinions and suggestions and can point very clearly the way forward from the consumer point of view, which is invaluable,” he said.

Evolution Giving an overview of the growth and development of the hotel, Loughland said, The Regency as a property has undergone huge change from the early 1990s. The history and tradition of the hotel is well-known, he said.

“Today, we are happy when we hold marriage ceremonies of a second generation

New programs The Regency Hotel has introduced many new programs. The hotel has designed a program targeting the business traveler segment offering extraordinary value to stressed executives who travel frequently in an out of airports. The program offers the business traveler a seamless and tireless experience helping him to execute a most effective level of business, he informed.

Similarly, in recognition of the hard work of administrators and secretaries, The Regency has introduced a rewards program.

“Basically, the more people booked in terms of rooms, restaurants, conference room meetings or weekend stays, the host/cashier will receive points value based on the booking as loyalty reward. Redemption is also possible for travel abroad or stay in other hotels as we encourage people to travel more with these rewards and recognize the efforts of the bookers,” he added.

The Regency also has a partnership privilege program for large corporate companies, he informed. “ The development of the concept of Regency has extended further. Currently, we are supplying catering to a number of hospitals in Kuwait for their staff and patients. We provide catering for four lounges in the Kuwait International Airport. There are also a number of new projects that are indirectly linked to Regency brand,” he added.

The Regency Hotel has recorded a 35 percent higher revenue year-on-year this year over 2012 which is very good, he said. “So the bigger picture is The Regency is changing; it is developing, pretty fast,” Loughland said.

Cuisines The Regency has two restaurants. The Silk Road Restaurant, a large sun terrace restau-

KUWAIT: Italian specialty head chef Carmine De Filippo poses at the kitchen of Balsamico Restaurant at the Regency Hotel. — Photos by Sajeev K Peter rant overlooking the gardens and swimming pools, offers sumptuous international buffets - breakfast, lunch and dinner. It also provides a complete ala carte service to the guest,” Loughland said.

“On the other hand, Balsamico is much more refined and sophisticated. It is an elegant fine dining Italian restaurant,” he said.

Loughland however clarified that Balsamico is not designed to compete with other Italian restaurants in town.”It is designed to create a new culinary experience for our guests and offers the real taste of Italy. To do that, we have to have Italian experts. So, we have an Italian Restaurant Manager Gianpiero Ciceri and Italian specialty head chef Carmine De Filippo.

“At Balsamico, we try to make authentic Italian food. For that, we use only Mediterranean ingredients. We import 90 percent of our products,” said Head Chef De Filippo, while talking to Kuwait Times.

“This is a very special restaurant and different from other Italian restaurants in Kuwait in terms of food and service,” he pointed out.

“For me, the guest is my king. We try to

improve upon the suggestions and comments of the guests. Every region has its own taste and culinary diversity. So, I also try to adapt to the local flavor as much as possible without compromising on the authenticity of the Italian food,” he mentioned.

Giving a clue to the success of De Filippo as chef, he said, “I attend to minute details, from preparation of the ingredients to cooking. If I’m not happy with the taste and quality, I will repeat the procedure to make the dish 100 percent perfect,” he said.

“I know very well that we receive very important people here every day as our guests. So, I want to utilize this opportunity as a chef and prove my mettle,” he said.

Talking about the menu, he said it does not represent one region of Italy alone. “It is a mixed bag. If some dishes are from northern Italy, some are from the central and southern parts of Italy. We try to serve a variety of dishes by rotating them frequently.

“Personally speaking, I’m a seafood specialist, coming from Napoli, Milano. But we also serve very good vegetarian and meat dishes here,” De Filippo, who worked in the hotel industry for more than 10 years added.

China inflation touches 7-month high in Sept Govt option to boost growth under stress

CHICAGO: Lars Peter Hansen, the David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, with his wife Grace Tsiang.—AFP

Profiles of the Nobel economics laureates STOCKHOLM: US trio Robert Shiller, Eugene Fama and Lars Peter Hansen won the Nobel Economics Prize yesterday for their work on spotting trends in markets.

Here are brief profiles of the three laureates, who belong to two separate schools of economists: Fama and Hansen are neo-classicists, while Shiller is an expert on behavioural finance.

ROBERT SHILLER: Aged 67, Shiller is the most well-known of the 2013 laureates, and is regularly interviewed on US television about the state of the economy. A professor of economics and finance at Yale University, he was born in Detroit in 1946. In 2011, media outlet Bloomberg named him one of the 50 most influential people the in the financial world. After earning his PhD at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he focused his studies on financial markets and the behavior of various actors and the public on the markets. A pioneer in the field of behavioral finance, he argues that people’s reasoning is not systematically rational. “Finance drew me in because it’s so fundamental to human activity and it follows precise mathematical relations but there’s an element of imprecision in it that reflects human nature. Altogether I found it a fascinating and important field,” Shiller told the Nobel website. He developed a real estate price index in the United States, called the Case-Shiller that is published monthly by the credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s. The index supported his prediction of the subprime crisis in 2007-2008, demonstrating that the financial sector had fed a speculative bubble. His book “Irrational Exuberance” from 2000 has been a big success in bookstores.

EUGENE FAMA: Aged 74, Fama was born in Boston and initially studied French at university. “In my junior year in college I was getting kind of tired of French and so I took an economics

course and I loved it. The rest of my two years in college I spent in economics,” Fama told the Nobel website. He went on to receive his PhD in economics at the University of Chicago in 1964, where he has remained throughout his career.

Known as the “father of modern finance”, his research is well known in both the economics and investment community and he is one of the economists most frequently cited by his peers. He focuses much of his study on the relationship between risk and return and implications for portfolio management. His work is required reading for any finance student.

With a colleague, Kenneth French, he developed a model to describe the return on shares. Fama is not just a theorist-he is also the director of and a consultant to Dimensional Fund Advisors, an investment advising firm. He is known for his unwavering convictions, and in a 2010 interview with The New Yorker he defended the idea that the 2008-2009 crisis was not the result of the collapse of the subprime market nor a speculative bubble on the market, but rather a cyclical occurrence. “The rest of the world got converted to the notion that markets are pretty good at allocating resources,” he said, arguing against government regulation. An avid windsurfer, golfer and opera buff, he has four children and 10 grandchildren.

LARS PETER HANSEN: Aged 61, he was born in Champaign, Illinois. He received his PhD at the University of Minnesota in 1978, and has since 1990 worked at the University of Chicago. An accomplished mathematician, he is considered an expert in econometrics after developing a statistical method for testing rational theories of asset pricing. A neo-classicist, he has published four books, including one with the 2011 Nobel economics laureate Thomas Sargent. Of this year’s laureates, he is the one least in the media spotlight and less known. He is married and has one son. —AFP

BEIJING: Chinese inflation hit a seven-month high of 3.1 percent in September, data showed yesterday with analysts warning further upward pressure on prices would restrict the government’s options to boost the economy. The rise in the consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation in the world’s second-largest economy, was sharply up from the 2.6 percent logged in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). It was also ahead of expectations of 2.9 percent in a poll by Dow Jones Newswires. A spike in food prices was the main driver of the increase, and authorities blamed national holidays in late September and early October, along with floods and drought in some areas. Cooling temperatures with the onset of autumn, rising travelling costs and a hike in fuel prices were also factors, NBS analyst Yu Qiumei said in a statement. In the first nine months of the year, the CPI was at 2.5 percent, the NBS said.

September’s figure was still below Beijing’s annual target of 3.5 percent for the year, but higher than the central bank’s benchmark oneyear deposit rate of three percent, meaning savers’ bank deposits will lose purchasing power over time.

Economists warned that inflation was likely to

pick up further in the rest of the year, leaving the government little leeway for policy easing. “CPI inflation will be edging towards the cap at 3.5 percent and home prices are rising at annual rate around 9.0 percent,” analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong said in a research note. “We expect Premier Li (Keqiang) will very likely ‘taper’ his pro-growth rhetoric and will gradually gear towards a more neutral stance,” they added.

China is a major driver of the global economy but is coming off its worst annual economic performance since 1999, after gross domestic product (GDP) managed an expansion of just 7.7 percent last year. In the final three months of 2012, growth accelerated to 7.9 percent, but has since slowed to 7.7 percent in the January-March period and 7.5 percent in the second quarter.

The government has introduced some measures to stimulate growth since late June, including a mini fiscal stimulus for rail and urban fixedasset investment, tax cuts and keeping monetary policy loose. China’s producer price index (PPI), which measures goods prices at the factory gate, rose 0.2 percent month-on-month in September, according to the NBS. It edged up from 0.1 percent in August,

which was the first increase in six months and came after five months of falling producer prices. The PPI figure “shows that market demand is becoming more active and the macro economy is stabilizing and rebounding”, Yu said.

Yao Wei, a Hong Kong-based economist with Societe Generale, said the improvement suggested some industrial producers had resumed, but cautioned that the development might not be sustainable. “The question is how long it could last if the momentum of infrastructure investment were to be dampened by limited credit easing,” she said in a research note.

China’s economy has shown signs of rebounding after a string of strong data in recent months indicated growth may accelerate.

The government announced two weeks ago that Chinese manufacturing activity strengthened last month to its highest level in 17 months, while a closely watched private survey released

by HSBC showed a slight gain from August.

But an unexpected drop in September’s exports, which analysts said was due to the national holidays and a strong local currency, has cast some shadows on the outlook for recovery. The government is scheduled to release GDP growth for the third quarter on Friday.— AFP

Rising onion costs send India inflation to record MUMBAI: A four-fold surge in the cost of onions helped push Indian inflation to a seven-monthhigh in September, data showed yesterday, fuelling expectations of another interest rate hike as authorities struggle to get the economy back on track. The Wholesale Price Index hit 6.46 percent last month, from 6.10 percent in Augustand much higher than analyst forecasts of 6.0 percent-driven by surging vegetable and fuel prices. “Rising input costs have pushed up core inflation,” said Rupa Rege Nitsure, economist with state-run Bank of Baroda.

India’s Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia admitted that inflation was high. “I agree that inflation rate is still on the high side, but it will soften in a month or so,” Ahluwalia told reporters in capital New Delhi.

The scandal-tainted Congress-led government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is anxious to tame inflation and revive the economy as it seeks a third term in office with elections due

by May 2014. The main driver of the surge in inflation was food prices, which rose 18.40 per-

HYDERABAD: An Indian trader counts money as he deals in onions at a wholesale market yard in Hyderabad. A four-fold surge in the cost of onions helped push Indian inflation to a sevenmonth-high in September, data showed yesterday.—AFP

cent year-on-year while the cost of onions, regarded as a cooking essential, increased 322 percent owing to a supply shortage.

Fuel prices jumped 10 percent, data showed.

Onion prices have surged due to irregular supplies, which policymakers have blamed on hoarding by a section of traders in Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The cost of a kilogram of the humble root vegetable-an essential in Indian curries-spiralled to a record 90 rupees in some Indian markets last month.

Prices then eased to near 60 rupees a kg and are expected to fall further, analysts said. “But food inflation coupled with weak growth could become an election issue against the government,” said A Prasanna, economist with I-Sec, an equity research firm.

This is the fourth successive month that wholesale inflation has been above the Reserve Bank of India’s comfort zone of 5.0 percent, which increase the odds for the bank to raise interest rates again when it next meets. India’s new central bank governor Raghuram Rajan surprised markets last month by hiking interest rates as inflation began to creep up.

Rajan had earlier warned he was prepared to take unpopular steps to bring the economy back up to speed. “Concerns over inflation remain. We expect a 25 basis point hike in interest rates,” said Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist with rating agency Crisil. Prasanna also forecasts a similar rise in rates when the RBI meets on October 29 for its quarterly monetary policy decision. The government also revised upwards July’s inflation reading to 5.85 percent from 5.79 percent reported earlier. —AFP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

BUSINESS

Oil eases on Iran talks, US budget deadlock LONDON: Global oil prices fell towards $110 per barrel yesterday on expectations that Iranian nuclear talks will ease tensions, while a looming deadline to head off a US default stoked worries about the outlook for demand. Brent futures fell by a dollar to $110.28 before paring some losses to trade down about 83 cents at $110.45 at 1039 GMT. US oil pared early gains and was down 75 cents at $101.27 a barrel.

“Oil is falling on the possibility of talks with Iran bearing fruit. That possibility is the main factor. The U.S. budget deadlock is also weighing,” said Christopher Bellew, an oil trader at Jefferies Bache.

Talks about Iran’s nuclear program are due to start in Geneva today and will be the first since the election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who has tried to improve ties with the

Gold firms above 3-month low, focus on US deadline LONDON: Gold firmed yesterday as the US fiscal impasse remained unresolved, but was still close to three-month lows on speculation an eleventh hour solution to the debt crisis will be found.

Senate negotiations to resolve the US fiscal crisis made progress on Sunday and, while there no guarantees of an end to the government shutdown, many in the market believe a deal to raise the borrowing ceiling will emerge. Congress has until Oct 17 to raise the debt ceiling, or risk defaulting.

“There is a bit of strength today because there is no deal yet, which was really expected last night, but this is an intra-day short covering position and not a big move,” Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar said. “I’m trying to think of anything that could send gold higher and that would be a default by the US but it is unlikely to happen...they will get a temporary deal and then they will thrash out a more longer-standing deal later.”

Spot gold rose 0.7 percent to $1,281.96 an ounce by 1135 GMT. US gold futures for December were up $13.50 an ounce at $1,281.70. Bullion fell to its lowest since July 10 at $1,262.14 an ounce on Friday, after more than 3 million ounces or 26,000 lots changed hands on the Comex December futures contract in just 15 minutes, prompting a near $30 drop in prices and a brief trading halt.

Gold has not seen a lot of safe-haven bidding over the last two weeks, when parts of the US government have been shut down due to the budget impasse. Instead, prices have been hurt by large sell orders, amplified by technical selling. Earlier this month, another big trade sent prices lower by $25 an ounce in a short period of time.

With no Commitment of Traders report on Friday, due to the US government shutdown, it is difficult to gauge the extent of speculative positioning and whether the move that began early last week is driven by the short or long side, ANZ said in a note.

“We view that long liquidation would be much more harmful to sentiment.”

The last time high tension emerged over talks to lift the US debt ceiling, in 2011, gold hit record highs. This year, sentiment towards bullion is much less positive, analysts said. The metal has lost nearly a quarter of its value this year on expectations the US Federal Reserve will soon end its stimulus program, which has kept interest rates low and stoked inflation fears.

Many in the market now expect the Fed to begin stimulus tapering only after the uncertainties over the US budget are resolved. As a gauge of investor sentiment, holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 5.40 tons to 890.98 tons on Friday. Silver rose 1.4 percent to $21.48 an ounce. The metal posted a 2.4 percent weekly loss, its worst in four weeks.

Spot platinum was up 0.9 percent at $1,375.24 an ounce. Spot palladium rose 0.1 percent to $712.75 an ounce. — Reuters

West to pave the way for an end to sanctions.

Iran’s nuclear negotiator voiced hope yesterday that his country and world powers could agree on a road map to resolve a standoff that has helped support oil prices for nearly a decade.

Years of sanctions have cut Iranian oil exports by more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd).

Bellew said declines in Brent would be limited, however, by expectations that any easing in sanctions will not come quickly.

Citi analysts said in a note to clients that hopes for the Iranian talks were probably running too high. “There are several large obstacles that need to be confronted before a significant lifting of sanctions could be at hand. These obstacles are both regional and domestic,” they said.

The spread between Brent and W TI has

widened in the past two weeks as the US budget crisis has weighed more heavily on its domestic contract than on Brent. Weekend talks to avert a US government debt default showed signs of progress on Sunday, but there were still no guarantees that a government shutdown was about to end. The prospect of a debt default in one of the world’s largest oil consumers has had an adverse effect on the demand outlook, though a weaker dollar has offered some support for oil by making the dollar- denominated commodity cheaper for importers.

“Markets are hamstrung by what’s going on in the US If they go over the deadline, that will make people really nervous,” Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets in London, said.

An unexpected decline in Chinese exports in

September also weighed on oil prices. Exports fell an annual 0.3 percent in September versus market forecasts for a rise of 6 percent, reflecting weak global demand and going against a recent slew of data that pointed to a stabilising Chinese economy.

Nevertheless, data over the weekend showed China’s crude oil impor ts rebounded in September to a record high of 6.25 million bpd, up 28 percent on the year and topping the previous record of 6.15 million bpd in July. “While the rebound was in part due to restocking and pre-holiday front-loading, underlying demand will likely remain healthy in the fourth quarter on year- end manufacturing activity,” Sijin Cheng, commodity analyst at Barclays in Singapore, said in a note. Chinese GDP data will be released on Friday. — Reuters

Connected cars on the fast lane Auto industry’s global market volume to reach 110bn euros by 2020

Booz & Company report DUBAI: By 2020, the connection of a car with its environment will be significantly strengthened and thus become an important feature for differentiation in the competition of automobile manufacturers (OEMs). The truth is, connected devices are possible because of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications - which use wireless data networks, sensors, software to conduct remote monitoring, measurement and condition recording, in-field data collection, and other sophisticated processes.

This eliminates manual, time-consuming work and minimizes human intervention.

Within the automotive industry, M2M’s potential is considerable; after all, in this day and age, safety and assistance systems are increasingly becoming standard in every vehicle. Indeed, thanks to mobile internet connections, automobiles can now inform drivers in real-time about dangerous spots and accident sites. And, in the future, this technology will further assist the driver in reaching his destination in a safe manner. In fact, according to a Connected Car 2013 study conducted by engineers at management consulting firm Booz & Company - in collaboration with the Center of Automotive Management - by 2015, car manufacturers worldwide would have generated 19 billion euros thanks to connected safety features and safe driving components.

ENORMOUS POTENTIAL The connection of passenger cars to the Internet is the next digital wave and so, unsurprisingly, the M2M market is expanding rapidly. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, it is estimated to reach over $2 billion by 2016, representing 6.1% of the global M2M market, driven mainly by the demand of new vertical services. Automotive M2M services are expected to have a large share of this new revenue by 2016, with 12 million automotive M2M connections, up from just three million in 2012.

Such rapid growth presents companies with a unique opportunity.

“To successfully enter the market, however, they must develop the right business model, and partnerships to provide the end-to-end innovative services that consumers and businesses expect,” said Bahjat El-Dar wiche, a Partner with Booz & Company. “In particular, telecom companies will need to determine their growth strategy based on their core capabilities and their positioning in the overall M2M ecosystem.”

He also added, “They will have to develop right-to-win capabilities including vertical innovation, solutions development and management, end-to-end horizontal plat-

forms, and commercialisation. Some of these capabilities can be achieved through internal development, while others may require acquisitions or creating collaborative business partnerships of a kind that are very different to the contractual relationships that currently exist.”

By building these capabilities, telecom companies will be able to deliver on the two sets of services required by connected cars: core and value added.

Core services include fleet management, usage-based insurance, driver intelligence, and road tolling. Value-added services include driving and green reports, navigation and mapping, remote vehicle diagnostic, weather and traffic reporting, and social media connectivity.

THE GLOBAL MARKET By 2020, the automotive industry’s connected safety features and safe driving components are set to generate up to 49 billion euros in global sales volume. In addition, according to Booz & Company’s study, China and the US will lead the sales markets for OEMs with integrated Connected-Car products. In parallel, the analysis reveals that growth will occur particularly between 2015 and 2020 - driven by the product segments “Safety” and “Driver Assistance”.

However, the enormous sales and growth potentials form only one part of the argument for car manufacturers and suppliers to strategically open up the market to this segment.

The connection of a car creates completely new customer contact points, provides the OEMs with manifold opportunities for a stronger personalization of the range of vehicles and offers substantial added value for driver and manufacturers.

However, if an OEM doesn’t take these chances, he risks losing market shares to the competitors in the short-term rather than in the mid-term.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY Driver intelligence services can monitor the driving behavior of new, young drivers along with older ones. Insurance companies can then personalize premium based on driving behavior rather than age alone.

Moreover, parents can receive reports on the driving behaviors of their teenagers.

Finally, road tolling services enables customers to pay tolls through devices attached to their cars, based on their geographic location (geo-fencing). This allows governments, highway, and road operators to reduce costs associated with building and maintaining road toll stations, and saves time for drivers.

“With support from governments, insur-

Bahjat El-Darwiche ance companies, automotive players, and technology vendors such value-added services are becoming integral to connected cars in both developed and developing nations,” explained Bassam Hajhamad, a Principal with Booz & Company. “Although only a few of these services are on offer in the MENA region, providing them will be an important part of the growth in the automotive M2M market. The challenge will be to elaborate the correct business and distribution models.”

In terms of business models, successful automotive M2M providers are increasingly subsidizing the cost of devices and set-up fees to promote device penetration in the market. These firms lease device to users, or provide them for free and only charge a monthly subscription. “ This technique is facilitating the entrance of telecom operators into the automotive M2M market as they master the monthly subscription fees models - a departure for telecoms players used to annual contracts,” stated Hajhamad.

“Another model, used for road tolling services, is pay-per-usage which charges a commission for each toll payment or for the distance driven.”

YOUTH GENERATION In reality, for a long time, the younger generation was identified as digital avantgarde and thus was a key target group for new Connected-Car products. However, convenience and driving safety for older

Bassam Hajhamad drivers and passengers is equally important. And, it can be achieved via internetbased safety, assistance and so-called ‘wellbeing’ products - such as fatigue, wellbeing and vitality assistants.

In effect, those are the very market segments which promise the highest sales and return potentials in the Connected-Car market for the automobile industry.

DISTRIBUTION MODELS The first is a business-to-business-toconsumer (B2B2C) or business-to-government-to-consumer (B2G2C) model that distributes products to insurance companies, telecom operators, or governments which then provide the M2M services to fee-paying customers.

In the alternative model, business-toconsumer-to-business (B2C2B), the automotive M2M provider sells devices directly to consumers. The consumers use the devices to produce driving reports that they share with insurance companies to obtain better rates. Automotive M2M services in the Middle East are a growth market thanks to the new digitization trends that are driven by government initiatives, combined with growing demand from Generation-C and enterprise customers.

As part of their digital agenda, telecom operators in the region can grab the first mover advantage if they move fast to build the correct capabilities, partnerships, and models that will help transform our cars into the next digital device.

US never defaulted on its debt? Not so fast But, young nation had always dramatic excuses WASHINGTON: The same proud claim is made every time Washington wrestles with the debt limit: The United States has never defaulted. But the record’s not that clean. America has stiffed creditors on at least two occasions. Once, the young nation had a dramatic excuse: The Treasury was empty, the White House and Capitol were charred ruins, even the troops fighting the War of 1812 against the British weren’t getting paid.

A second time, in 1979, was a back-office glitch that ended up costing taxpayers billions of dollars. The Treasury Department blamed it on a crush of paperwork partly caused by lawmakers who this will sound familiar - bickered too long before raising the nation’s debt limit. These lapses, little noted outside financial circles in their day, are nearly forgotten now as Thursday’s deadline for a debt limit increase approaches, leading to pronouncements that the US could default for the first time if Congress extend the federal government’s borrowing authority so it can pay its bills.

Indeed, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew frequently declares that the United States has always met all of its obligations; a Treasury spokeswoman declined to discuss any possible exceptions. President Barack Obama, reminding

Congress of the urgency of raising the debt limit before a Thursday deadline, warned of “the chaos that could result if, for the first time in our history, we don’t pay our bills on time.” Historian Don Hickey isn’t surprised that the default in November 1814 gets overlooked. After all, he titled his book, “The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict.”

“He doesn’t know his history,” Hickey said of the president. “It’s that simple.” To be fair, not many people do. The failure to pay some bondholders on time doesn’t make it into many history texts, said Hickey, a professor at Wayne State College in Nebraska. And the narrow lapses of the past don’t compare with the kind of turmoil Lew predicts would occur these days if Treasury couldn’t borrow enough money to pay what it owes to all sorts of people, from overseas bondholders to Social Security pensioners. If that’s a financial hurricane, the 1979 Treasury bill glitch was more like a draft of chilly air.

Conservative tea party Republicans who have called on Obama to defund his health care overhaul law weren’t the first to make the debt limit a bargaining chip. Over the years, congressional Democrats and Republicans alike have held it up for strategic reasons.

In 1979, it was lawmakers determined to

attach a strong balanced budget amendment to the bill. They finally relented, the day before federal Social Security pension checks were expected to start bouncing.

The tumult contributed to Treasury’s failure to redeem $122 million in maturing T-bills, touted as one of the world’s safest investments. Some investors that April and May waited more than a week for their money. Treasury blamed problems with its newfangled word-processing equipment. The system was stressed, officials said, when the booming popularity of T-bills collided with the last-minute debt ceiling increase from Congress.

Investors called it a “default” and sued for interest to cover the gap. Treasury called it a “delay.”

Most Americans didn’t notice at all. But the bond market did. T-bill interest ticked up 0.6 percent, a lasting bump that added about $12 billion to the cost of paying the national debt, according to a 1989 study in The Financial Review journal. It’s title: “The Day the United States Defaulted on Treasury Bills.”

That certainly counts as a default, even though it was unintentional, said Urban Institute economist Donald Marron, a former member of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. — AP

WASHINGTON: Reporters wait outside the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington. The federal government remains partially shut down and faces a firstever default between Oct 17 and the end of the month. — AP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

BUSINESS

Euro-zone industrial output edges up BRUSSELS: Industrial production in the euro -zone rose by one percent in August, official Eurostat data showed yesterday, in a tentative sign the currency bloc’s struggling economy is beginning to revive.

The better-than- expec ted rise, which was most pronounced in Germany and bailed out Por tugal,

comes a month after industrial production dropped by one percent. And compared to last year, industrial production in August sank by 2.1 percent in the euro-zone and fell 1.6 percent across the whole 28-member European Union. Across the EU, industrial production inched up by 0.5 percent in August from a month before. Last week

the International Monetary Fund raised its growth outlook for the bloc to a still recessionary minus 0.4 percent and said the bloc was only “crawling out of recession”.

The European Central Bank meanwhile has expressed doubts that the euro-zone, which ended an 18-month recession in the second quarter this

year, has definitely turned the corner.

At Capital Economics in London, economist James Howat reiterated that caution, commenting that despite the production rise in August “the euro-zone industrial sector is unlikely to have provided much of a boost to the wider economy in the third quar ter.” The increase was higher than the consen-

sus forecast of an increase of 0.8 percent, “but the rise was worr yingly dependent on Germany, where production surged 1.8 percent in August,” he noted. The rise in French output “barely reversed big falls in the preceding three months, and Italian production fell for the second month,” he added. —AFP

EU makes progress on Banking Union: Official ‘Deal on legal basis for SSM possible’

WASHINGTON: Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram (second from right) and others pose for photographers after their bi-lateral meeting with the US financial delegation at the International Monetary Fund on Sunday in Washington. — AP

Russia holds benchmark rate steady, hints of cut MOSCOW: Russia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the 13th month running yesterday while hinting of a possible monetary policy easing before the year-end.

The bank’s board of governors left its new benchmark rate-the one-week repo rate at which it lends money to financial institutions — unchanged at 5.5 percent. It cited both “the maintenance of low growth rates in the Russian economy” and stillstrong consumer demand and employment rates for its decision to leave the benchmark untouched.

Russia’s growth slowed to 1.4 percent in the first six months of 2013 — significantly worse than the five-percent expansion forecast by the government at the start of the year. But the bank had been unwilling

to cut rates because annual inflation rates had spiked to more than seven percent over the summer months. The bank noted on Monday that interest rates have recently come off their recent peaks and had drifted closer to the 5.0-6.0 percent annual target.

The bank most notably removed from its official statement a reference to no change being made to the benchmark rate “in the immediate future”. The Londonbased Capital Economics consultancy called the bank’s statement “marginally more dovish” than the one issued last month. “Given the more dovish tone of today’s statement, the first move (to cut rates) may still come by the end of the year,” Capital Economics said in a note. The central bank scheduled its next rate-setting meeting for November 8. —AFP

Reliance Industries net profit up 1.5%, meets estimates MUMBAI: Reliance Industries, India’s largest private firm, yesterday said its quarterly net profit edged up 1.5 percent, matching estimates, as higher sales offset the impact of weak margins from refining operations.

The energy giant, controlled by India’s wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani, said net profit for the second quarter ending September rose to 54.90 billion rupees ($900 million), from 54.09 billion rupees from a year earlier. “Reliance’s first half [April-September] performance reflects the resilience of our business model in a period of volatility and uncertainty,” Ambani said in a statement.

Turnover rose 14 percent to 1.65 trillion rupees. The earnings met analysts’ expectations of a 54.8 billion rupee profit. Analysts have been concerned in recent months about Reliance’s ability to boost gas production from its oil blocks off India’s east coast. Crude oil production from Reliance’s main oil field KG-D6 fell 41 percent year-onyear to 1.0 million barrels of crude oil, a company statement said.

Natural gas production slid 52 percent to 94.6 billion cubic feet (BCF), over levels a year earlier. Reliance has attributed the fall in production to “geological complexity and natural decline in the fields.” Last month, the government said that it is considering the appointment of global experts to investigate the decline in Reliance’s gas output, which has been falling for three years.

Reliance’s gross refining margins (GRMs) for the first quarter fell 19 percent to $7.7 a

barrel from $9.5 a year earlier. In 2011, British energy giant BP paid $7.2 billion to acquire a 30 percent stake in 21 of Reliance’s oil and gas fields. Reliance hopes that BP’s deepwater drilling expertise will give the Indian giant the skills to develop hard-to-exploit reserves and find more oil.

Reliance operates the world’s largest oilprocessing complex in Jamnagar, where two adjacent refineries have a combined capacity to process 1.24 million barrels of oil a day. Reliance has built up a war chest for acquisitions, with cash reserves of 905.40 billion rupees ($14.5 billion) as of the September-end quarter.

The energy behemoth has been scouting for acquisitions and looking to diversify its revenue sources by expanding into financial services, retailing, hotels and communications. The company said revenues for its retail business rose 31 percent to 34.56 billion rupees. It now operates more than 1,550 stores in 136 cities across the country. Ambani has also announced a foray into the Indian media sector as well as telecom. In June, Mukesh and younger brother Anil, who fought a very public feud for spoils of their father’s business empire, announced a $2.1-billion deal to share telecom tower infrastructure, cementing a reconciliation between the once-warring siblings.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom unit of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, signed the agreement with Reliance Communications, the flagship firm of the Anil Ambani group, to share the latter’s telecom tower equipment. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell walks to his office after arriving on Capitol Hill yesterday in Washington. The federal government remains partially shut down and faces a first-ever default between Oct 17 and the end of the month. —AP

LUXEMBOURG: The EU has made headway on its new bank supervision regime and can now speed up work on a wider framework to prevent failing lenders collapsing the economy, officials said yesterday.

European Central Bank executive board member Joerg Asmussen said officials had made recent progress on sticking points holding up the Single Supervisory Mechanism.

“We are very confident that European Union finance ministers can now agree the legal basis for the SSM,” Asmussen said. “We can (now) really speed up preparations ... (for) a Banking Union,” he said, referring to the regime to supervise and if necessary close European banks before they can damage the economy.

Asmussen did not detail what the problems had been but EU and UK sources said the issue was British reservations over the SSM. Non-euro Britain is home to the European Banking Authority, which is supposed to oversee all banks in the bloc, while the SSM is to be run by the ECB. Britain, jealous to safeguard the interests of London as one of the world’s biggest financial centres, had been concerned that the SSM could in practice control the EBA given that the 17 euro-zone members would likely vote as a bloc. To avoid this, it secured agreement in December that there would have to be a ‘double majority’ in both the SSM and the 11 noneuro members grouped in the EBA on any action. A UK diplomatic source said London had won fresh assurances that this would be the case and accordingly, EU finance ministers could clear the SSM when they meet here today.

The SSM is to be complemented by a Single Resolution Mechanism and a Deposit Guarantee regime to complete the Banking Union. This is meant to provide a comprehensive, single regulatory framework to prevent taxpayers having to mount the disastrously expensive bailouts which led to the years of austerity and recession the euro-zone is only now emerging from.EU FMs tackle dispute over ‘Banking Union’

The Irish news, plus the fact that further aid for twice-bailed out Greece is not pressing, highlights how far the 17-nation euro-zone has come since the dark days of 2009-10. Now the spotlight and the controversy is on what comes next. At the height of the global financial meltdown, ambitious plans to ensure that the taxpayer would no longer have to foot the bill for bailing out overextended banks made sense, along with much tighter economic policy coordination adopted by EU governments.

But as the pressure has eased and the European economy stabilized, national concerns have resurfaced, making implementation of the mooted “Banking Union” ever more difficult. The 17-eurozone ministers meet in Luxembourg, followed by talks today with their 11 non-euro colleagues hoping for progress on a hugely complex issue surrounded by political sensitivities. In a research note entitled, “EU Banking Union: Right idea, poor execution,” Deutsche Bank said the plan “has a sound economic rationale and would, if it were implemented in a consistent fashion, substantially strengthen financial stability in Europe and in the euro area in particular.”

The problem, however, is that it suffers “from two very fundamental contradictions.” “On the one hand, there is a schizophrenic attitude of member states with regard to the necessary degree of supra-nationality to preserve a financially stable internal market for financial services. “On the other, there are the contrasting expectations and motives of member states with regard to Banking Union,” it said.

Driven by the debt crisis, the euro-zone has already agreed a Single Super visor y Mechanism, due to be operational late next year, to regulate the sector under the European Central Bank. The next step is a Single Resolution Mechanism, open also to non-euro members who want to take part, to close banks that cannot be rescued. Top EU and ECB officials say the SRM is essential to complement the SSM. But many member states, including EU

powerhouse Germany, are reticent, especially over how to fund the SRM’s role which Berlin feels requires changes to the bloc’s core treaties-a fraught prospect.

A stop-gap solution might be to tap the European Stability Mechanism, the euro-zone’s bailout fund, which has already helped Spanish banks. One EU official, conceding that the SRM “is still quite some way away” from agreement, said “the assumption is that the ESM could play a role” and then be repaid by an industry levy.

There is an immediate problem too. The ECB is supposed to carry out tough tests next year to see if the banks are strong enough to survive another crisis or need more capital. Under new rules, a bank found to be short of capital must first seek fresh funds on the markets, then progressively “bail-in” creditors and potentially larger uninsured depositors. If all that fails, governments may have to make up the shortfall in the interim. Significantly, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said last week that such government aid would not be counted against member states as they try to meet EU deficit and debt limits.

Another concern is that the ECB could face a conflict of interest if it were to house the SRM and so the new body is destined at least initially to come under the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm. That option, however, stokes many of the reservations noted by Deutsche Bank. A Deposit Guarantee System to assure depositors their money is safe, even at times of stress, would complete the ‘Banking Union,’ so ensuring a comprehensive, single regulatory framework run from the centre to bolster the single currency area. With so many outstanding issues to be resolve, the outlook for that overall solution is not good. The reaction to the SRM “reveals fundamental opposition rather than mere technical concerns ... member states are unwilling to face up to the logical consequences ... for national sovereignty,” Deutsche Bank said. “Unless this changes, Banking Union will fail.” — AFP

ERG plans to expand wind power in Brazil VIENNA: Italian energy group ERG plans to invest in wind power in Brazil and Europe, accelerating its expansion in the sector after its recent decision to exit the refining sector. ERG, over 60 percent controlled by Italy’s Garrone family, completed the acquisition of wind power assets from France’s GDF Suez this year to become Italy’s largest wind energy player and one of the top ten in Europe.

Presenting the group’s strategy in Vienna on Saturday, ERG chief executive Luca Bettone said ERG planned to invest in countries and areas which had strong wind conditions and were less dependent on government subsidies, such as

South America. “This company must look to growth and, since we are now the biggest wind player in Italy, must try to move outside our national borders,” Bettone said in comments that were embargoed until Monday. “ There are opportunities in this country (Brazil) and we think we’ll enter the market with acquisitions.”

ERG has transformed itself in recent years into a renewable energy company in order to counter declining profits at its refinery business. Last week it struck a deal to sell its remaining stake in the ISAB oil refinery in Sicily to Russia’s Lukoil for around 400 million euros - a sale Bettone said would yield no special dividend from the pro-

ceeds. ERG, which is now targeting a 20 percent rise in core earnings next year to around 600 million euros ($813.75 million), intends to invest some 500 million euros to 2015 to focus on renewable energy. In Europe, Bettone said, the company aimed to enter the Spanish market while strengthening its position in Bulgaria and Romania where it has wind power assets. He also confirmed that TotalErg - the joint venture between ERG and France’s Total - was interested in the Italian petrol distribution network that Shell is selling. TotalErg has a market share in Italy of 12 percent which would rise to 18 percent with the Shell network. — Reuters

Spanish bank debt to ECB at lowest for 18 months MADRID: The net debt owed by Spanish banks to the European Central Bank fell in September to the lowest level for 18 months, data from the Bank of Spain showed yesterday.

Net debt to the ECB totalled 241.1 billion euros ($326.3 billion) in September, a 36-percent drop from the level 12 months ago, the Bank of Spain said, a sign that Spanish banks were finding it easier to raise funds on the debt market. It was the lowest amount since March 2012 when Spanish banks owed the ECB 227.6 billion euros, and well below the peak of 388.7 billion euros owed in August 2012, but double the 118.9 billion euros owed at the end of 2011.

Spanish banks were almost shut out of international debt markets last year owing to concern that the country may need a sovereign bailout and concerns over their balance sheets, which are loaded with piles of bad loans following the collapse of a property bubble in 2008.

But Spanish bank borrowing from the ECB has fallen steadily since the central bank chief Mario Draghi vowed last year to buy sovereign debt of euro-zone countries that had requested aid.

Madrid secured a rescue loan in June 2012 of up to 100 billion euros from its euro-zone partners to underpin Spanish banks. Spain, the euro zone’s fourth-biggest economy, has so far withdrawn 41.3 billion euros from the euro zone rescue loan.

The government estimates the Spanish economy emerged this quarter and will post growth of 0.7 percent next year while the jobless rate will remain high at 26.6 percent.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose conservative government has imposed an austerity regime to fix the state’s accounts, expects the public debt this year to rise to the equivalent of 94.2 percent of total economic output and to 98.9 percent next year. —AFP

NEW YORK: A sign for Wall Street is seen before the opening bell. US stocks opened sharply lower yesterday with the government faced with just four days to resolve the political deadlock over the budget and debt before being forced to default on its bills. —AFP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

BUSINESS

Al-Hilal Bank’s debuting ‘Sukuk’ oversubscribed at $6.3 billion ABU DHABI: Al-Hilal Bank (AHB), rated A1by Moody’s and A+ by Fitch, priced its highly successful debut $500 million Sukuk issued at par with 3.267 per cent semi-annual profit rate with a spread of 170 bps over the US Dollar at 5-year mid swaps (MS). AHB, Citigroup, HSBC, NBAD and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint-Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners, with BIBD, Maybank IB, SIB and UNB acting as co-Managers.

Bookbuilding began on September 29, 2013 with the release of initial price thoughts at MS + 190bps area at Middle East open. This ensured good momentum in the bookbuilding process, with the orderbook oversubscribed several times and topping $4.75 billion before price guidance was released. On October 1, 2013 London morning, a final price guidance of MS + 170bps was released to investors and the deal was priced at the final price guidance at

1:15pm London time.

Despite considerable volatility in the international market, AHB was able to take advantage of the resilience of the Sukuk market and the strong pent-up demand for quality issuers among Islamic investors to successfully price a transaction. The orderbook was more than 12 times oversubscribed - the highest oversubscription witnessed in any senior offering by a GCC bank.

A successful marketing strategy was undertaken by AHB’s senior management team starting September 22, 2013 involving a series of fixed-income investor meetings in the key financial centres of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and London.

AHB’s credit story appealed to a highquality investor base resulting in a welldiversified orderbook across geographies and investor types. The geographical distribution of the issue was as fol-

Mackeen Technology to showcase security & data storage solutions EMC Forum 2013 in Doha DOHA: Mackeen Technology, one of the fastest growing technology companies in Qatar, will showcase leading security and data storage solutions that can complement enterprise transitions towards Cloud Computing and Big Data during the 2013 EMC Forum to be held on October 9, 2013 at St. Regis Hotel, Doha, which is specifically designed for professionals looking for IT transformation to the cloud.

Mackeen, a Silver Sponsor of the event, will be exhibiting its integrated security systems, network storage solutions and integrated monitoring solutions. The forum will be an ideal platform to highlight the complementary strengths of the two companies: while EMC has established its name in IT infrastructure solutions including storage, Cloud Computing and Big Data, Mackeen is known for its robust security solutions as well as storage management systems. EMC and Mackeen recently established a particular tie-up to act hand in hand in the surveillance arena.

“Today’s storage solutions need to be in step with the growing needs of the modern enterprise as it moves to the internet cloud and handles huge amount of information. Nowadays, organizations require the full breadth of voice, video and text storage protected by reliable advanced security measures.

EMC Forum 2013 is an ideal venue to show how Mackeen Technology’s indepth knowledge and experience can support this rapid transition to cloud computing, big data and other industry catalysts,” said Salman Kaldari, CEO, Mackeen Technology.

“Moreover, aside from being one of the region’s leading IT events, EMC Forum also complements our core corporate values. It will provide us with key insights on how to consolidate the

Salman Kaldari, CEO, Mackeen Technology strengths of EMC and our own to bring the best value to IT-reliant organizations,” added Kaldari.

The core activities of Mackeen Technology cover Security and Integration, Documents Archiving, ATM Monitoring and Management, IP Telephony and Contact Center Services, and Channel Development and Outsourcing. Among the various economic sectors it covers are Real Estate and Construction, Financial Services, Healthcare, Technology, Education and Transportation.

Mackeen Technology offers complete enterprise technology and system integration solutions since 2010. Its core ser vices include Security and Integration, Documents Archiving, 24/7 ATM Monitoring and Management, IP Telephony and outsourcing and building of Contact Center Services, and Channel Development. The company manages overseas branches in Saudi Arabia and Sudan and is eyeing other Middle Eastern growth markets.

Global stocks downbeat on US budget struggle LONDON: European stocks mostly retreated yesterday with investors increasingly edgy over the approaching US debt deadline that has until now failed to overly alarm markets.

But a growing chorus of officials warned that a failure by US leaders to end the deadlock would have catastrophic consequences that could affect the entire global economy.

Adding to selling pressure was a disappointing batch of Chinese economic data, while on the corporate front shares in French car giant Peugeot dived. In London, the benchmark FTSE 100 index stayed just in the green with shares up 0.05 percent to stand at 6,467.37 points in afternoon trading.

Stocks were lower on Wall Street in early trading yesterday after a breakdown in budget talks brought the nation closer to a potentially disastrous default on its debt. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 70 points, or 0.5 percent, at 15,166 after the first halfhour of trading Monday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down eight points, or 0.5 percent, at 1,695. The Nasdaq composite fell 14 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,778. The United States will reach the limit of its borrowing authority on Thursday, according to estimates from the Treasury Department. If the debt ceiling is not raised, investors fear the US could default on its borrowings in the coming weeks.

Frankfurt’s DAX 30 fell 0.21 percent to 8,706.47 points and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.27 percent to 4,208.37. “It’s hard to think about anything else but the budget negotiations in the United States this week! The October 17 date is nearing fast,” economists from brokerage Aurel BGC in Paris said. US stocks opened sharply lower yesterday after a weekend that saw no progress in the talks between the White House and Republicans.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 76.10 points (0.50 percent) at 15,161.01. The broader S&P 500 lost 8.41 (0.49 percent) to 1,694.79, and the Nasdaq Composite gave up16.27 (0.43 percent) to 3,775.60. “ The continued division between Republicans and Democrats in reaching a conclusion to the US debt ceiling is hampering upside in equity markets,” said Brenda Kelly, senior market strategist at traders IG. On the foreign exchange market, the US budget impasse was weighing on the dollar.

The European single currency rose sharply against the greenback to $1.3591 from $1.3543 in New York late on Friday. The dollar

fell to 98.13 yen from 98.58 yen. Sterling rose to 84.87 pence to the euro and to $1.6014.

With the US expected to run out of cash to pay its bills on Thursday, President Barack Obama has urged Republicans to agree to a debt ceiling hike.

Failure to raise the spending limit would mean a default that could have a devastating effect around the world. EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn warned the crisis “could have potentially dramatic consequences on the world economy and on the still nascent recovery in Europe.”

While China and Japan-which between them hold more than $2.4 trillion of US debthave urged the United States to get its house in order and avert a default. The price of gold rose to $1,276 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, from $1,265.50 on Friday.

EU finance ministers meet Meanwhile in Luxembourg, EU finance ministers are again this week trying to resolve deep differences over how to supervise, and if necessary close, failing banks before they can plunge the economy into crisis. Ireland was among the worst affected by the collapse of its banks but over the weekend announced it would exit its three-year, 85-billion-euro bailout program on schedule in December.

The Irish news, plus the fact that further aid for twice-bailed out Greece is not pressing, highlights how far the 17-nation eurozone has come since the dark days of 200910. The 17-eurozone ministers met yesterday in Luxembourg, to be followed by talks today with their 11 non-euro colleagues hoping for progress on a hugely complex issue surrounded by political sensitivities.

In company news yesterday, shares in French auto group PSA Peugeot Citroen plunged on rumors that the struggling company will raise new capital, and amid talk it might tie up with a Chinese firm.

The shares dived 9.34 percent to 11.21 euros. The group, a top name in French industry, is in trouble and struggling to carry through a deep restructuring with job cuts and a plant closure.

Shares in French software group Dassault Systemes fell by 9.64 percent on a profits warning. In Asia on Monday, China said that its inflation reached a seven-month high in September. China’s consumer price index rose sharply to 3.1 percent last month, the government said yesterday from 2.6 percent in August. — Agencies

lows: 37 per cent to the UAE, 21 per cent to the rest of the Middle East, 22 per cent to Asia, 17 per cent to Europe, and 3 per cent to US offshore investors. Banks subscribed to 48 per cent of the issue while the remaining distribution by investor type was Funds 31 per cent, Sovereign and Supra National Agencies 13 per cent, Private Banks 4 per cent and Insurance Funds 4 per cent.

The Trust Certificates will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange under AHB’s $2.5 billion Trust Certificate Program.

corporates enjoy from the Islamic Capital Markets. Investors’ strong interest resulted in the order book reaching $6.3 billion, more than 12 times that of the offered amount. This is a highly successful result that further confirms the credibility of Al Hilal Bank and investors’ confidence in the promising outlook for the institution. The outcome is a testament to the invaluable support provided by our shareholder, the Government of Abu Dhabi, and is part of the ongoing visionary leadership of the UAE.”

Chairman’s statement “We are very pleased with the excellent market reception to Al Hilal Bank’s pioneering Sukuk issue. The highly successful offering demonstrates the confidence which international investors place in the UAE and its Islamic banking market and confirms the access to funding which our financial institutions and

Statement from Al Hilal Bank’s CEO Mohamed Jamil Berro “Al Hilal Bank priced its highly successful debut international Sukuk on October 1, 2013 representing its first international Sukuk transaction. The success of Al Hilal’s inaugural Sukuk reiterates the importance of an investor base that is focused and attentive to Islamic

banking. The overwhelming demand was an affirmation of Al Hilal’s credit standing in the international financial community as well as AHB’s strong growth. This milestone provides AHB with further dynamics for its future Sukuk issuances and the overwhelming success proves that the investors around the globe are highly receptive to our institution. The 5-year offering was more than 12 times oversubscribed, with an orderbook of $6.3 billion, resulting in the most oversubscribed senior issuance by any GCC bank and also representing the strength of the AHB name in the international market. We are also proud that the Sukuk priced at the tightest spread ever achieved by any Middle Eastern Islamic bank. This successful Sukuk issue will further strengthen AHB’s balance sheet and its ability to fulfill its commitment to the economic development of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.”

QNB financial results for 9 months ended Sept 30, 2013 DOHA: QNB Group, the World’s Strongest Bank and the leading bank in the Middle East and North Africa, announced its results yesterday for the nine months ended 30 September 2013. These results include the financial results of NSGB in Egypt, in which the Group concluded the acquisition of a controlling stake amounting to 97.12 percent in March 2013.

For the nine months of 2013 Net Profit was QR7.1 billion ($2.0 billion), up by 14.1 percent compared to the same period last year. The Group’s prudent cost control policy and strong revenue generating capability allowed it to maintain an efficiency ratio (cost to income ratio) of 20.4 percent, which is considered one of the best ratios among financial institutions in the region.

Total assets increased by 24.5 percent from September 2012 to reach QR437 billion ($120.0 billion), the highest ever achieved by the Group. This was the result of a strong growth rate of 27.4 percent in loans and advances to reach QR304 billion ($83.5 billion).

The Group was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans at 1.6 percent, a level considered one of the lowest amongst banks in the Middle East and Africa, reflecting the high quality of the Group’s loan book and the effective management of credit risk. The Group’s conservative policy in regard to provisioning continued with the coverage ratio reaching 119 percent in September 2013.

At the same time QNB Group increased customer funding by 23.3 percent to QR331 billion ($91.0 billion). This led to the Group’s loan to deposit ratio to reach 92 percent. In order to diversify its source of funds, in April QNB Group announced the successful comple-

tion of a bond issuance under its Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) program in the international capital markets. Under this program a USD1.0 billion tranche was issued on 22 April 2013 with a 7 year maturity and an attractive coupon rate of 2.875 percent. The Reg S issue generated strong interest from investors around the world.

Total Equity increased by 10.5 percent from September 2012 to reach QR51 billion ($14.0 billion) as at 30 September 2013. Earnings per Share reached QR10.2 ($2.8), compared to QR8.9 in September 2012. The capital adequacy ratio stood at 14.6 percent as at 30 September 2013, higher than the regulatory requirements of Qatar Central Bank and the Basel

Committee. The Group is keen to maintain a strong capitalization in order to support future strategic plans.

As a result of the Group’s high credit ratings and outstanding asset quality, it was selected as one of the world’s 50 safest financial institutions by Global Finance.

QNB Group tops the list in the Bloomberg Markets magazine’s annual ranking of the World’s Strongest Banks. 2012 was the first time that QNB was included in the list of eligible banks (78 banks were eligible globally) as a result of achieving more than $100 billion of assets.

QNB Group opened a representative office in China and established a fully owned subsidiary in

India under the name of “QNB (India) Private Limited”. Based on the Group’s continuous strong performance and the expanding international presence, the bank is currently ranked as the most valuable brand in the MENA region, with a world ranking of 120 (Brand Value: $1.31 billion).

With the addition of NSGB, the new subsidiary in India and the new office in China, QNB Group’s presence through its subsidiaries and associate companies increased to 26 countries providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services. The total number of staff is almost 13,500 operating from over 570 locations and with an ATM network of more than 1,200 machines.

Investcorp appoints Lionel Erdely as Head of Hedge Funds, CIO

Mohammed Al-Shroogi - Investcorp’s president for Gulf business

Savio Tung

MANAMA: I nve s tco r p’s N e w Yor k- b a s e d Hedge Fund group announced yesterday that industry veteran, Lionel Erdely, will join the f i r m a s H e a d o f H e d g e Fu n d s a n d C h i e f Investment Officer.

Erdely will join Investcorp from Lyxor Asset M anagement, a subsidiar y of S ociete Generale Group with approximately$100 billion of assets under management, where he has served as Chief Investment Officer since 2004 and CEO of Lyxor Inc since 2009. During his 11 year tenure at Lyxor he was instrumental in expanding the firm’s alternative investment business globally and growing its roster of large US-based institutional investors.

E rd e l y s e r ve d a s C h a i r m a n o f t h e f i r m’s Investment Committee for alternative investments as well as a member of the Management and the Executive Committee.

In his new role with Investcorp, Erdely will be responsible for overseeing the hedge fund group’s strategic direction and investment decisions, as well as managing all day-to-day operations. In addition he will be a member of the firm’s management committee. Erdely will report to Savio Tung, Chief Executive Officer, North America.

Mohammed Al-Shroogi, President for Gulf Business at Investcorp said in this occasion: “I am pleased to welcome Lionel as the senior

executive on our Hedge Funds team. We believe that Lionel’s experience and extensive investment background will further enhance Investcorp’s leadership position in the Gulf. As we move forward with our expansion plans and active investment strategies, we look for-

ward to benefiting from his experience which will be essential in identifying new opportunities for our hedge funds line of business.”

“Lionel ’s leadership and international inves ting experience, cou pled with his demonstrated ability to successfully manage a large amount of capital through all economic cycles is an indispensable asset that will help guide the strategic direction of our hedge funds business,” said Tung.”We look forward to the meaningful contributions he will make to our firm and our global investors.”

As of June 30, 2013, Investcorp’s hedge fund group had approximately $4.2 billion of assets under management, including $2 billion allocated to the Single Manager Platform, the firm’s hedge fund seeding business that was established in 2004.

“Investcorp is a highly respected pioneer in alternative investments, especially with regard to the foresight it had in identifying the role of emerging hedge fundmanagersas a source of Alpha for investors,” said Erdely. “I look forward to carrying on the tradition of Investcorp’s well respected hedge fund franchise.”

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

technology

Cyber warrior shortage hits anti-hacker fightback LONDON: For the governments and corporations facing increasing computer attacks, the biggest challenge is finding the right cyber warriors to fight back. Hostile computer activity from spies, saboteurs, competitors and criminals has spawned a growing industry of corporate defenders who can attract the best talent from government cyber units.

The US military’s Cyber Command is due to quadruple in size by 2015 with 4,000 new personnel while Britain announced a new Joint Cyber Reserve last month. From Brazil to Indonesia, similar forces have been set up. But demand for specialists has far outpaced the number of those qualified to do the job, leading to a staffing crunch as talent is poached by competitors offering big salaries.

“As with anything, it really comes down to human capital and there simply isn’t enough of it,” says Chris Finan, White House director for cyber security from 2011-12, who is now a senior fellow at the Truman National Security Project and working for a start-up in Silicon Valley. “They will choose where they work based on salary, lifestyle and the lack of an interfering bureaucracy and that makes it particularly hard to get them into government.”

Cyber attacks can be expensive: one unidentified London-listed company incurred losses of 800 million pounds ($1.29 billion) in a cyber attack several years ago, according to the British security services.

Global losses are in the range of $80 billion to $400 billion a year, according to research by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies that was sponsored by Intel Corp’s McAfee anti-virus division. There is a whole range of attacks. Some involve simply transferring money, but more often clients’ credit card details are stolen. There is also intellectual property theft or theft of commercially sensitive information for business advantage.

Victims can also suffer a “hacktivist” attack, such as a directed denial of service to bring a website down, which can cost a lot of money to fix.

Quantifying the exact damage is almost impossible, especially when secrets and money are not the only targets. While no government has taken responsibility for the Stuxnet computer virus that destroyed centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility, it was widely reported to have been a US-Israeli project.

Britain says it blocked 400,000 advanced cyber threats to the government’s secure intranet last year while a virus unleashed against Saudi Arabia’s energy group Aramco, likely to be the world’s most valuable company, destroyed data on thousands of computers and put an image of a burning American flag onto screens.

Going viral?

Most cyber expertise remains in the private sector where companies are seeing an steep increase in spending on security products and services.

Depending on the cyber threat, a variety of firms are bidding for cyber talent. Google is currently advertising 129 IT security jobs, while defence companies such as Lockheed Martin Corp and BAE Systems are looking to hire in this area.

Anti-virus maker Symantec Corp is also doing good business. “The threat environment is exploding,” Chief Executive Steve Bennett told Reuters in an interview in July.

The perception of an increased threat, has also led to explosive demand for the best talent.

The US Bureau of Labour Statistics says the number of Information Technology security roles in the U.S. will increase by some 22 percent in the decade to 2020, creating 65,700 new jobs. Experts say it is a similar situation globally, with salaries often rising 5-7 percent a year.

“Recruitment and retention in cyber is a chal-

lenge for everybody working in this area,” says Mike Bradshaw, head of security and smart systems at Finmeccanica IT unit Selex. “It’s an area where demand exceeds supply... it’s going to take a while for supply to catch up.”

A growing number of security firms - such as UK-based Protection Group International (PGI) now also offer cyber services. PGI started out providing armed guards to protect merchant ships against pirates but has now hired former staff from Britain’s GCHQ eavesdropping agency.

Country or cash?

A graduate with a good computer studies degree can walk into a $100,000 salary with a similar amount upfront as a golden handshake, several times what the U.S. National Security Agency would be likely to offer.

Western universities turn out far too few graduates with the necessary computer skills while some students complain that many of the courses on offer are too theoretical for the challenges of cyber warfare.

But applicants need not have a computer science degree to get lucrative jobs as long as they can do the hardest-to-fill jobs such as finding bugs in software, identifying elusive infections and reverse engineering computer viruses that are found on computers, said Alan Paller, founder of the non-profit SANS Institute in Washington.

SANS has worked with officials in Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and other states to sponsor hacking contests that test skills in those and other areas. Educational background does not necessarily help in these contests.

Those who have “very good” skills in the mostneeded areas can earn $110,000 to $140,000, while the very top get paid as much as $200,000 in private sector jobs, according to Paller.

While the private sector offers big cash, the gov-

ernment is still able to retain some talent by appealing to people’s sense of public service and patriotism.

“I want to serve my country. What I am doing is important,” one hacker who conducts classified research for the US military told Reuters at the Def Con hacking conference in July. He declined to provide his name because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

There is also an expectation that government workers can move to more lucrative jobs in the private sector after several years in public service.

But some senior officers in Western militaries still fear they may struggle to attract the requisite talent, citing both cultural and administrative problems.

General Keith Alexander, head of both the NSA and Cyber Command, told Reuters earlier this year finding the right talent was a priority. He has attended events such as the Def Con hacker conference, trading his uniform for a black T-shirt.

Hiring outsiders has long been thought to be a tactic employed by the United States as well as China and Russia.

Western security officials believe Russia, China and other emerging cyber powers such as Iran and North Korea have cut deals with their own criminal hacker community to borrow their expertise to assist with attacks.

Russia and China, which have been accused by the West of mounting repeated attacks on government and commercial interests, deny direct involvement in hacking.

“We are at the very beginning of this process and we are building it brick by brick,” says Colonel Gregor y Conti, head of the cyber Security Department at the US Military Academy, West Point. “It’s going to be like the creation of the air force - a process of several decades getting the right people and structures.” — Reuters

Twitter pays engineer $10m as Silicon Valley tussles for talent

SAN JOSE: Software engineer and entrepreneur Jeff Lyon sits next to a computer showing the “Flagger” program he developed in San Jose, Calif. — AP

Growing backlash to govt surveillance SAN JOSE: From Silicon Valley to the South Pacific, counterattacks to revelations of widespread National Security Agency surveillance are taking shape, from a surge of new encrypted email programs to technology that sprinkles the Internet with red flag terms to confuse would-be snoops. Policy makers, privacy advocates and political leaders around the world have been outraged at the near weekly disclosures from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden that expose sweeping US government surveillance programs.

“Until this summer, people didn’t know anything about the NSA,” said Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University co-director Amy Zegart. “Their own secrecy has come back to bite them.” Activists are fighting back with high-tech civil disobedience, entrepreneurs want to cash in on privacy concerns, Internet users want to keep snoops out of their computers and lawmakers want to establish stricter parameters.

Some of the tactics are more effective than others. For example, Flagger, a program that adds words like “blow up” and “pressure cooker” to web addresses that users visit, is probably more of a political statement than actually confounding intelligence agents. Developer Jeff Lyon in Santa Clara, Calif., said he’s delighted if it generates social awareness, and that 2,000 users have installed it to date. He said, “The goal here is to get a critical mass of people flooding the Internet with noise and make a statement of civil disobedience.”

University of Auckland associate professor Gehan Gunasekara said he’s received “overwhelming support” for his proposal to “lead the spooks in a merry dance,” visiting radical websites, setting up multiple online identities and making up hypothetical “friends.” And “pretty soon everyone in New Zealand will have to be under surveillance,” he said. Electronic Frontier Foundation activist Parker Higgins in San Francisco has a more direct strategy: by using encrypted email and browsers, he creates more smoke screens for the NSA. “Encryption loses its’ value as an indicator of possible malfeasance if everyone is using it,” he said. And there are now plenty of encryption programs, many new, and of varying quality. “This whole field has been made exponentially more mainstream,” said Cryptocat private instant messaging developer Nadim Kobeissi.

This week, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University released a smartphone app called SafeSlinger they say encrypts text messages so they cannot be read by cell carriers, Internet providers, employers

“or anyone else.” CryptoParties are springing up around the world as well. They are small gatherings where hosts teach attendees, who bring their digital devices, how to download and use encrypted email and secure Internet browsers.

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you are doing, if the NSA wants to find information, they will,” said organizer Joshua Smith. “But we don’t have to make it easy for them.” Apparently plenty agree, as encryption providers have seen a surge in interest. Pretty Good Privacy, or PGP, a free encryption service was being loaded about 600 times a day in the month before Snowden’s revelations broke. Two months later, that had more than doubled to 1,380, according to a running tally maintained by programmer Kristian Fiskerstrand.

Andrew Lewman, executive director of TOR, short for The Onion Router, said they don’t track downloads of their program that helps make online traffic anonymous by bouncing it through a convoluted network of routers to protect the privacy of their users. But, he said, they have seen an uptick. “Our web servers seem more busy than normal,” he said. Berlin-based email provider Posteo claims to have seen a 150 percent surge in paid subscribers due to the “Snowden effect.”

Posteo demands no personal information, doesn’t store metadata, ensures server-to-server encryption of messages and even allows customers to pay anonymously - cash in brown envelopes-style.

CEO Patrick Loehr, who responded to The Associated Press by encrypted email, said that subscriptions to the 1 euro ($1.36) per month program rose to 25,000 in the past four months. The company is hoping to offer an English-language service next year. Federation of American Scientists secrecy expert Steven Aftergood said it is crucial now for policymakers to clearly define limits.

“Are we setting ourselves up for a total surveillance system that may be beyond the possibility of reversal once it is in place?” he asked. “We may be on a road where we don’t want to go. I think people are correct to raise an alarm now and not when we’re facing a fait accompli.”

US Sen Ron Wyden, who introduced a bipartisan package of proposals to reform the surveillance programs last month, told a Cato Institute gathering Thursday that key parts of the debate are unfolding now. “It’s going to take a groundswell of support from lots of Americans across the political spectrum,” he said, “communicating that business as usual is no longer OK, and they won’t buy the argument that liberty and security are mutually exclusive.” — AP

SAN FRANCISCO: Among Twitter Inc’s highestpaid executives, Christopher Fry’s name stands out. The senior vice president of engineering raked in $10.3 million last year, just behind Twitter Chief Executive Dick Costolo’s $11.5 million, according to Twitter’s IPO documents. That is more than the paychecks of executives such as Chief Technology Officer Adam Messinger, Chief Financial Officer Mike Gupta and Chief Operating Officer Ali Rowghani.

Welcome to Silicon Valley, where a shortage of top engineering talent amid an explosion of venture capital-backed start-ups is inflating paychecks. “The number of A-players in Silicon Valley hasn’t grown,” said Iain Grant, a recruiter at Riviera Partners, which specializes in placing engineers at venture-capital backed start-ups. “But the demand for them has gone through the roof.”

Stories abound about the lengths to which employers will go to attract engineering talent in addition to the free cafeterias, laundry services and shuttle buses that the Googles and Facebooks of the world are already famous for.

One start-up offered a coveted engineer a year’s lease on a Tesla sedan, which costs in the neighborhood of $1,000 a month, said venture capitalist Venky Ganesan. He declined to identify the company, which his firm has invested in.

At Hotel Tonight, which offers a mobile app for last-minute hotel bookings, CEO Sam Shank described staging the office to appear extra lively for a prospective hire. He roped in two employees for a game of ping-pong and positioned another group right by the bar. It worked: the recruit signed on and built a key piece of the company’s software.

In Fry’s case, his compensation came mostly in the form of stock awards, valued last year at $10.1 million, according to Twitter’s IPO documents registered with securities regulators. He drew a salary of $145,513 and a bonus of $100,000. Some might call that underpaid. Facebook Inc’s VP of engineering, Mike Schroepfer, took in $24.4 million in stock awards the year before the social network’s 2012 initial public offering. He also drew a salary of $270,833 and a bonus of $140,344. But

Facebook that year posted revenue of $3.71 billion, 10 times more than Twitter’s $317 million.

Grant said more than three-quarters of candidates who took VP of engineering roles at his client companies over the last two years drew total cash compensation in excess of $250,000.

Many also received equity grants totaling 1 to 2 percent of the company, the recruiter added.

Lore of 10x The hot demand for engineers is driven in part by a growing number of start-ups, venture capitalists say. Some 242 Bay Area companies received early-stage funding - known as a seed

round - in the first half of this year, according to consultancy CB Insights. That is more than the number for all of 2010.

Another factor is the increasing complexity of technology. Many in Silicon Valley like to discuss the lore of the “10x” engineer, who is a person so talented that he or she does the work of 10 merely competent engineers. “Having 10x engineers at the top is the only way to recruit other 10x engineers,” said Aileen Lee, founder of Cowboy Ventures, an early-stage venture fund.

Former colleagues said Fry, who joined Twitter earlier this year, fits the bill. The messaging service poached him from software giant Salesforce.com Inc, where Fry had worked in various positions

since 2005, rising from engineering manager in the Web Services team to senior VP of development. Perhaps most attractive to Twitter is the fact that Fry joined Salesforce when it was also a 6-year-old company with big ambitions of taking on the software establishment. At that time, Salesforce’s product development needed help, Fry has said in previous interviews. He whipped them into shape, helping build the company into one of the hottest enterprise-software providers in the industry today.

Twitter has had its share of technical problems, such as the notorious “fail whale” that regularly appeared on screens during outages. That made Fry’s experience all the more valuable. “All it takes is a couple of bad incidents where Twitter is down, or there’s a security breach. That could be the end of the company,” said Chuck Ganapathi, an entrepreneur who previously worked with Fry at Salesforce, where he was senior vice president for products. “You need somebody of this caliber to run it.” Neither Twitter nor Fry responded to requests for comment.

Personal drum studio Today, even entry-level engineers can draw lucrative salaries in the Valley. Google Inc offered $150,000 in annual wages plus $250,000 in restricted stock options to snag a recent PhD graduate who had been considering a job at Apple Inc , according to a person familiar with the situation. The average software engineer commands a salary of $100,049 in Silicon Valley, according to Dice, a technology-recruitment service. That is down from $113,488 last year, due to an increase in hiring of less experienced engineers, said a Dice spokeswoman.

By comparison, the average salary for all professions in San Francisco’s Bay Area is $66,070, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other jobs in the area can command higher wages - physicians make $133,530, a lawyer about $174,440 and a civil engineer makes $107,440 - but the tech industry often offers restricted stock or options on top of salaries. — Reuters

Serbians buy ‘solidarity meal’ for poor BELGRADE: Every morning at rush-hour in a Belgrade bakery, Lidija Milanovic buys her usual breakfast-two croissants. But she takes only one, leaving the other for someone who cannot afford it. In Serbia, a country hard-hit by the economic crisis, three young Internet workers have launched a website to help the poor which calls on citizens to buy an additional “solidarity meal” that will be offered to those in need.

“It’s great that someone has found such a simple way to help people, without spending a lot of time or energy,” said Milanovic, a 37year-old businesswoman who learned about the initiative on social networks. Jovana Bogavac, a high school student queueing behind Milanovic, was curious about what was going on. After hearing an explanation of the project-called “Solidarity Grub” (Solidarna Klopica) — she decided to join in.

“A great idea! In this neighbourhood I often see people digging in garbage cans for food, but I didn’t feel comfortable approaching them to offer help. This is the way to do it,” she said. Official statistics show that 9.2 percent of Serbia’s 7.2 million people live in absolute poverty, on less than one euro ($1.35) a day. Almost one-fifth of the population lives on less than four euros a day.

For children, the number living in absolute poverty rises to 12.2 percent, and 6.2 percent suffer from malnutrition. Solidarity Grub was started in April by three 20-something employees at Internet portal Kioskpages.com, an online catalogue of goods, services and special promotions. They say they were inspired by an online video about people in Italy leaving coffees for the homeless.

BELGRADE: A picture shows a woman in a Belgrade bakery with a poster stuck in the shop window saying that the bakery is part of an initiative called ‘Solidarity Grub’. — AFP

“We liked the idea,” coordinator Nina Milos, 24, told AFP, but they wanted to offer more so “we opted for food.” The trio first contacted bakeries, since they wanted lots of people to participate and baked goods are relatively affordable. Their website advertises the bakeries and includes an interactive map locating them (kioskpages.com/lp/mapa-solidarneklopice). So far some 60 bakeries have joined in.

Poverty and empathy Surprisingly, in a country where the unemployment rate stands at 24 percent, the action has spread. “This project is successful because it doesn’t require much personal engage-

ment, and the costs are minimal,” said psychologist Anika Stojanovic. “Also, as previous experience has shown us, people with the lowest or lower income react faster and stronger to projects like this, because they can imagine themselves in such a needy situation.” At the bakery where Milanovic buys her morning croissants, saleswoman Silvija said the project has been a success.

“At first I didn’t believe in it... but there are more and more people who are leaving food for others,” she said, putting collected food in a basket in the window so those who are hungry can see it’s available. A poster in the window also advertises that the bakery is part of the initiative.— AFP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Taiwan looks to first vaccine against fatal H7N9 avian flu TAIPEI: Taiwan is scheduled to roll out its first vaccine against the H7N9 strain of avian flu in late 2014, after the island confirmed the first outbreak of the deadly virus earlier this year, researchers said yesterday.

Health authorities in Taiwan confirmed in April that a 53-year- old Taiwanese man, who had been working in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, showed symptoms three days after returning home via Shanghai.

The man, who was infected in China, was in serious but stable condition

when he was hospitalised.

Although the patient was eventually discharged, the outbreak prompted Taiwanese authorities to gear up research on a vaccine against the strain of avian influenza, given the ever closer exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

“We plan to start Phase II clinical trial in March,” which will contain 300 clinical cases, Su Ih-jen, director of the National Institute of Diseases and Vaccinology at the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI), told AFP. After that, the project is scheduled

to move into Phase III clinical trial in June, with 1,000 people being tested, he said.

The NHRI is able to produce 200,000 doses of the cell-based vaccine once the project clears the Phase III trial stage, he said. Su termed as “one of the most deadly diseases” threatening human beings.

“As of now H7N9 is the virus most likely to cause comprehensive transmission throughout the world as studies show that it can be spread through upper respiratory tract,” Su said.

He was comparing it to the H5N1 strain of avian flu, which affects airways and lungs, or the lower respiratory tract. Since 2003, the H5N1 strain has killed more than 250 people in a dozen countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

As of August, WHO has been informed of a total of 135 laboratoryconfirmed human cases with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus, including 44 deaths. Most of the cases were recorded in China.

Following its first outbreak, Taiwan

had brought forward plans to ban the killing of live poultry in traditional markets by a month, to May 17.

Under the ban, market vendors will not be allowed to sell birds they have killed themselves, only poultry supplied from Taiwan’s 79 approved slaughterhouses.

There are about 870,000 Taiwanese people living in China. Trade and crossstrait travel have soared in recent years, after decades of tension since the two sides split in 1949 at the end of a civil war. —AFP

UN agency urges China to drop HIV spa ban 780,000 people living with HIV in China

MADRID: Spaniards born with severe defects wait for the trial against German company Gruenenthal Group to start at the Court in Madrid, Spain, yesterday. Spaniards born with severe defects after their mothers used the drug Thalidomide during their pregnancies are suing its producer, the German company Gruenenthal Group. — AP

Spain court hears case against German maker of thalidomide MADRID: A Madrid court yesterday began hearing Spain’s first lawsuit against German firm Grunenthal, the manufacturer of the morning sickness drug thalidomide which caused birth defects in thousands of babies.

The lawsuit was filed by Avite, an association representing Spaniards born with severe defects after their mothers took the drug during their pregnancies.

The group is seeking compensation of 204 million euros ($276 million) from the company for its roughly 180 members. The group said on its website that it hoped that the “historical lawsuit” would “appease the suffering of Spanish victims, which began in their mothers’ wombs and continues today, with the amputation of their arms and legs”.

Thalidomide was originally marketed as a sedative, but from the late 1950s was prescribed to women around the world to combat morning sickness.

Many of the children of the mothers who took the drug were born with abnormally short limbs and in some cases without any arms, legs or hips. In late 1961 the drug was withdrawn from the British and German markets.

But it continued to be sold in other countries including Spain, Canada and Japan for several more months. The drug is estimated to have caused deformities in 10,000-20,000 babies in some 40 countries.

Grunenthal has refused to accept liability but last year it issued its first ever apology for the scandal, saying it was “very sorry” for its silence towards victims of the drug.

Avite estimates up to 3,000 babies may have been born with deformities in Spain because of the drug. “If the verdict agrees with our complaint, the German firm Grunenthal will officially be considered for the first time in history as being responsible for what has happened,” the association said on its website. —AFP

China punishes medical workers in milk case BEIJING: Chinese authorities in the northern city of Tianjin have punished 13 medical workers for taking bribes from Danone S.A. to recommend the French food maker’s infant formula, the local government said yesterday.

The move comes after the official China Central Television (CC T V ) reported in September that Danone bribed doctors and nurses to recommend its Dumex milk powder brand at one Tianjin hospital.

The CCTV report led to Tianjin’s government and police launching an investigation into the bribery charges. Danone also said it had launched an investigation.

The “serious violators” received penalties ranging from cancellation of medical licences to salary deductions, Tianjin’s government said in a statement on its website.

Several of them had to go through Communist Party disciplinary procedures.

Athena Wang, the spokeswoman for Dumex China, told Reuters the company had no further comment, but reiterated that it had launched and completed an

investigation.

Local government investigators said the workers were among 116 people from 85 hospitals and health groups who took bribes from Danone to give talks to parents of newborns, recommend Dumex formula and give out product samples, the statement said.

World Health Organization guidelines, implemented in China, say doctors must advise new mothers to breastfeed unless there are medical reasons to use formula instead.

Infant formula has been controversial in China since a scandal in 2008 when the industrial chemical melamine was added to baby milk and killed at least six children and left thousands ill.

The incident seriously damaged consumer confidence in local firms and led to international competitors gaining market share.

Corruption is widespread in the the health care system, fuelled in part by low salaries for doctors and nurses. — Reuters

BEIJING: China plans to ban HIVpositive people from spas, hot springs and public bathhouses, provoking condemnation yesterday from the United Nations’ AIDS agency and outrage from campaign groups.

The proposed Ministr y of Commerce rule is the latest instance of enduring discrimination against HIV carriers in the world’s most populous country. China bans those with the virus from becoming civil servants, and HIV-positive people face the possibility of losing their jobs if their employers discover their status, while some have sought hospital treatment only to be turned away.

The draft regulation posted online by China’s State Council, or cabinet, orders spas and similar establishments to prominently display signs prohibiting “people with sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and infectious skin diseases”.

Hedia Belhadj, China country coordinator for UNAIDS, said Monday the organisation was concerned by the provision, and called for it to be removed. She pointed out there is no risk of transmission of HIV in a spa or bathhouse setting. “UNAIDS recommends that restrictions preventing people living with HIV from accessing bath houses, spas and other similar facilities be removed from the final draft of this policy,” Belhadj told AFP. She urged that “any other policies preventing people living with HIV from accessing public or private services also be revised”.

UNAIDS estimates that there are 780,000 people living with HIV in China.

Chinese campaign groups blasted the proposed rule. “The only value of this draft law is in discriminating against those with AIDS,” Yu

MUMBAI: In this picture taken on April 20, 2001, Indian marketing executive of Cipla Ltd. Shailesh Pednekar poses with samples of his companies anti-AIDS drugs in Mumbai. — AP Fangqiang, director of the Nanjingbased anti-discrimination NGO Justice for All, told AFP. His organisation and five other domestic NGOs are seeking to collaborate on a response, he added.

“This law must be changed. All the HIV NGOs know this new rule, and they want to fight it,” Yu said.

China only lifted a long-standing ban on foreigners with HIV entering the country in 2010, although in recent years top officials have begun speaking more openly about HIV prevention and control.

The country has also made strides in expanding access to free antiretroviral drugs for HIV-positive

people. But discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS remains an issue at hospitals, workplaces and other establishments across the country.

In January a draft regulation in south China’s Guangdong province would have banned people with HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases from becoming teachers.

Officials dropped the provision in April after an outcry from rights groups.

Most attempts by HIV-positive people to sue over discrimination have failed. But, in the first judgement of its kind, earlier this year a plaintiff who had been denied a

teaching job after it was revealed that he was HIV-positive was awarded 45,000 yuan ($7,400) from a county education bureau in east China’s Jiangxi province, state media reported.

It marked a milestone that activists have cited as a cause for hope in future legal battles.

Campaign groups and international organisations say that widespread stigmatisation of those with HIV in China has complicated efforts to curb its spread. Addressing the “stigmatisation and discrimination against people living with HIV is essential in the national response,” Belhadj said. — AFP

Elders fear they will suffer alone as world ages faster BEIJING: The world is ageing faster than ever before. By the year 2050, for the first time in history, adults over the age of 60 will outnumber children under the age of 15. That leaves families and governments struggling to answer the question: Who will care for the old?

In many cases, the answer is nobody. Most countries are simply not prepared to deal with their swelling populations of older people, according to a report just released by the United Nations and an elder care group. Only one in five older people worldwide has a pension, let alone health care. And social and economic pressures are eroding the traditional structures where families look after their old.

Despite this increasingly urgent dilemma, many older people remain invisible to much of society, their concerns and needs ignored. So Associated Press photographers fanned out across the world to bear witness to their worries and ask two key questions: As you grow older, what are you most afraid of? And what is the biggest problem facing the elderly in your country?

The responses highlight fears about a lack of food and housing, forced dependence upon children and simply being alone. As 80-year-old Pedro Vega Yucra of Peru puts it: “As you become old, no one cares.” — AP

CHONGQING: An elderly man sits on a bench in Chongqing, China on March 19, 2013. With the world’s population aging faster than ever before, families and governments are struggling to decide who is responsible for the care of the elderly. — AP

Study ties chemical to miscarriage risk

TILLABERI: A picture taken yesterday in Tillaberi shows children suffering from malnutrition at a hospital in Tillaberi, western Niger. A United Nations report says over 360 children under the age of five have died of malnutrition in the West African nation of Niger during first nine months of this year. — AFP

BOSTON: New research suggests that high levels of BPA, a chemical in many plastics and canned food linings, might raise the risk of miscarriage in women prone to that problem or having trouble getting pregnant.

The work is not nearly enough to prove a link, but it adds to “the biological plausibility” that BPA might affect fertility and other aspects of health, said Dr. Linda Giudice, a California biochemist who is president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. The study was to be presented Monday at the group’s annual conference in Boston. Last month, ASRM and an obstetricians group urged more attention to environmental chemicals and their potential hazards for pregnant women.

BPA, short for bisphenol-A, and certain other environmental chemicals can have very weak, hormone-like effects. Tests show BPA in nearly

everyone’s urine, though the chemical has been removed from baby bottles and many reusable drink containers in recent years. The federal Food and Drug Administration says BPA is safe as used now in other food containers.

Most miscarriages are due to egg or chromosome problems, and a study in mice suggested BPA might influence that risk, said Dr. Ruth Lathi, a Stanford University reproductive endocrinologist. With a federal grant, she and other researchers studied 115 newly pregnant women with a history of infertility or miscarriage; 68 wound up having miscarriages and 47 had live births.

Researchers analyzed blood samples from when the women were discovered to be pregnant and divided them into four groups based on BPA levels. Women in the top quarter had an 80 percent greater risk of miscarriage compared

to those in the bottom group even though they were similar in age and other factors. However, because the study is relatively small, there was a big range of possible risk - from only slightly elevated to as much as 10 times higher.

“It may be that women with higher BPA levels do have other risk factors” for miscarriage that might be amplified by BPA, Lathi said. The study is not cause for alarm, but “it’s far from reassuring that BPA is safe” for such women, she said.

To minimize BPA exposure, avoid cooking or warming food in plastic because heat helps the chemical leak out, she said. Don’t leave water bottles in the sun, limit use of canned foods and avoid handling cash register receipts, which often are coated with resins that contain BPA. “It’s impossible to avoid it completely,” Lathi said. —AP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

China marks 10 years of manned spaceflight Space program points to rising global stature BEIJING: China marks 10 years since it first sent a human into space today, with its ambitious program rocketing ahead while rival NASA is largely closed due to the US government shutdown. Yang Liwei orbited the Earth 14 times during his 21-hour flight aboard the Shenzhou 5 in 2003, blazing a trail into the cosmos for China. More than 40 years after Yuri Gagarin’s groundbreaking journey, the mission made China only the third country after the former Soviet Union and the US to carry out an independent manned spaceflight.

At the time, Beijing was so concerned about the viability of the mission that at the last minute it cancelled a nationwide live television broadcast of the launch. But since then, China has sent a total of 10 astronauts-eight men and two women-into space on five separate missions, and launched an orbiting space module, Tiangong-1. Its latest manned trip, the Shenzhou 10 in June, was not only greeted with wall-towall TV coverage, but also attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who told the crew their 15-day mission represented a step towards making the country stronger and a “space dream” for the Chinese people. Chinese firms have seized on the anniversary to promote goods from watches to engine oil, including a 9,800 yuan ($1,600) set of teapots said to be signed by all its space voyagers.

Beijing sees the multi-billion-dollar military-run space program as a marker of its rising global stature and mounting technical expertise, as well as the ruling Communist Party’s success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation. Its ambitious plans for the future ultimately include landing a Chinese citizen on the moon, with an unmanned moon rover to be launched by the end of this year, a fourth launch centre opening in two years’ time, and a permanent orbiting space station to be completed by 2023.

Around the same time, the International Space Station operated by the US, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe will be retired. It is a symbolic coincidence and a reflection of shifting power balances back on the Earth, analysts say. The rapid, purposeful development of China’s space program is in sharp

contrast with the US, which launched its final space shuttle flight in 2011 and whose next step remains uncertain amid waning domestic support for spending federal dollars on space exploration. Last week space conference organisers said NASA personnel were not legally allowed to read their emails due to the US government shutdown, and visitors to NASA’s website were met with a notice reading: “Due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available. We sincerely regret this inconvenience.”

More than military benefits Yang’s flight into space 10 years ago “was a highly visible sign of China’s rapid technological and industrial progress”, said Morris Jones, an independent space analyst based in Sydney. “The implications go beyond spaceflight.” Much of the technology used in space exploration can have military benefits, such as in tracking missiles, experts say. But they also note that China has reaped other, less-tangible advantages from the program.

“The regional benefits that China has gotten from being seen as the regional space leader have really translated into military and economic prestige,” said Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor of national security affairs at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and an expert on Chinese space activities. “It’s got economic advantages in that the rest of the world doesn’t see China as just capable of producing knock-off designer clothes,” she added. “It has benefits in terms of education; students get interested in technology.”

China is still behind the achievements of the US and Soviet Union-both of which it has learned from-and years away from launching its space station. But Yang himself, now deputy director of China’s manned space agency, said it has already received proposals from developing countries interested in riding its coattails into orbit. “We would like to train astronauts from other countries and organisations that have such a demand, and we would be glad to provide trips to foreign astronauts,” he said at a United Nations/China Workshop on Human Space Technology in Beijing last month, accord-

ing to the official Xinhua news service. Pakistan has said it hopes to be among the first to take the opportunity. The timing of China’s space station launch and the absence of US activities “will de facto make them a space leader”, said Johnson-Freese. China’s 30-year space plan was “a long-term

approach that has long-term advantages”, she added.

“Technologically, it’s not that China is leaping forward,” she said. “It’s that they have the political will because they don’t have to respond to the will of the electorate to keep this going, which of course is very hard in democracies.” — AFP

BEIJING: In a file picture taken on August 30, 2013 a man tries out a Chinese Taikonaut (astronaut) suit at a space exhibit in the Science and Technology Museum in Beijing. China marks 10 years since it first sent a human into space today, with its ambitious program rocketing ahead while rival NASA is largely closed due to the US government shutdown. — AFP

W H AT ’ S O N

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

Bayt Abdullah invited to ‘Peter Pan on Ice’ show SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! Let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

Greetings

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ayt Abdullah children and their families are invited to attend the ‘Peter Pan on Ice’ show which takes place today at the Ice Skating Rink, a senior Touristic Enterprises Company official announced yesterday. Vice President for Entertaining Affairs Khalid bin Sabt further indicated that the international show is hosted throughout the Eid Al-Adha holiday with two shows a day.

AUK Library signs agreement with MAJCSC

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appy 19th birthday dearest Neehara!

Today is your special day to shine!

Youíre a beautiful girl with a beautiful personality. We wish you the very best in life and pray that all good things come your wayÖ You are a gem to all of us and we love you in every way! With everlasting love from your Amma, Appi, Akki, Nangi and chchiamma!

Announcements Burgan Bank’s Airport Branch resumes normal working hours during Eid urgan Bank announced that its airport branch will resume normal working hours during the upcoming Eid Al-Adha holiday. The branch will commence operations from 8:00 am to 10:30 pm, in an effort to accommodate banking requirements for travellers’ during the public holiday. For more information on any products or services, customers are required to contact Burgan Bank’s call center 1804080 during the Eid holidays. On this occasion, Burgan Bank extends its best wishes and greetings to the public on the coming of Eid Al-Adha.

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Gulf Bank closes during Eid ulf Bankís Head Office and all branches will be closed from Monday, October 14 to Thursday, October 17. The bank will commence normal working hours on Sunday, October 20, 2013. On this blessed occasion of Eid Al-Adha, Gulf Bank would like to convey its sincere congratulations and best wishes to the Amir of the State of Kuwait His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah, and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. May Allah the Almighty safeguard and preserve them for their nation, as well as to the government and people of Kuwait.

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T

he growing collaboration between The American University in Kuwait and the Mubarak Al-Abdullah Command and Staff College (MAJCSC)in the area of non-military academic courses and lectures was sealed recently with an agreement allowing the military students’ access to the AUK Library for the provision of information resources to 130 students and staff working on their research papers. The agreement provides MAJCSC with access to the AUK Library’s extensive print and electronic resources, which include borrowing privileges and access to full-text scholarly e-content via the library’s on-line databases.

This initiative was instigated by MAJCSC Directing

Staff, Colonel Stephen Kilpatrick, Wing Commander Mark Presley, Lt Col Abdullah Al-Dosari, Lt Col Jassem Nasrallah. The initiative received the support and approval of Brigadier Abdullah Dashti, who endorsed the idea of extending MAJCSC students’ access to a wider array of information resources. Proposing this initiative to the Interim President of AUK, Dr Nizar Hamzeh, he wholly supported it and worked with the AUK Library Director, Asma Al-Kanan, to translate the initiative into actual collaboration between the AUK Library and the MAJCSC. Following the signing of the agreement, the College students and staff visited the AUK Library for an orientation session and a chance to

explore the facilities and to talk to the Library personnel.

The collaboration between the AUK Library and MAJCSC comes as part of AUK’s policy to reach out the wider Kuwaiti community and support the national interest. The new agreement will enable MAJCSC students to access world-class academic publications needed for their research in the area of defense and security. Both AUK and Mubarak Al-Abdullah Command and Staff College look forward to extending and deepening their growing collaboration.

KDNA to conduct henna designing competition ozhikode District NRI Association (KDNA) will conduct a Henna Designing competition for women contestants in Kuwait on the occasion of ìMalabar Mahotsava 2013î on November 15th†2013 at 10 am at Indian Central School, Abbassiya. Fabulous prizes will be given to the best designers.† The winners will be eligible for 1st, 2nd†and 3rd†prizes sponsored by Malabar Gold & Diamonds. Interested contestants may please contact 97797680. There will be a special stall with Henna & other accessories required for the competition at Malabar Mahotsava “Mananchira Squareî.

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KERA painting competition for children rnakulum Residents Association (KERA) is organizing a Drawing/Painting Competition named KERA †MAZHAVILLU 2013 as part of their Onam celebrations, for children aged below 16years, of Ernakulam residents of Kuwait. The competitions will be conducted on Friday, 11th October 2013 at the United Indian School, Abbassiya from 01:30 PM onwards. KERA officials have welcomed everyone to the program and mentioned that the subject matter of the competition is ìThiruvonamî, the national festival of Kerala.

Rules and regulations of the competition will be as follows. Children of age group from 3-7 years will compete in the Sub-juniors group and will have to paint the A4 size picture provided during the competition within the fixed time, with Crayons/Colouring pencil. Children of age group from 8-11years will compete in the Juniors group and will have to paint the A4 size picture provided during the competition within fixed time, with Water color.

Children of age group from 12-16years will compete in the Seniors group and will have to draw picture based on the theme announced, on an A3 sized paper provided during the competition and then paint the picture within fixed time, with water colour.

Painting materials like Crayons, Colour pictures, water colour, Paint Brush etc. are to be brought by the participants.

1st, 2nd & 3rd†place winners of the competition will be prized during the Vasantholsavamî program of KERA. Those who are interested to participate in the competition shall contact KERA write to kera2011ekm@gmail.com to register their names on or before 7th October 2013.

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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

A combo of pictures shows Jleeb based artist Johnarts presenting his caricatures to nine visiting celebrities in a day, last month at many locations in Kuwait.

Focus conducts Abbasiya zonal CADD / Revit training program

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orum of CADD (FOCUS-Kuwait) conducted one day zonal training workshop on “CADD/Revit” (BIM) software. The workshop held at Pravasi Auditorium Abbasiya, attended by large number of members from among the FOCUS Units belongs to the Abbasiya Zone. AlMulla exchange finance manager John Simon inaugurated the training program FOCUS President Salimraj presided in the meeting, The faculties of FOCUS in-house training team Shaji Thankachan, S. Ratheesh Kumar, CO Koshy

and Shaheer led different sessions to utmost satisfaction and appreciation of all attendees.

FOCUS secretary Ratheesan proposed the welcome address and Treasurer MD Joseph extended vote of thanks.

This successfully conducted training workshop was commendably co-ordinated by Joji Alex, Shibu Samuel, Mohammed Niyas, Nadirsha, Shaju M Jose, Shaji Kutty, Kamarudheen, Manoj Mathew and Bino Paul.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

TESOL Kuwait ‘Job-Alike’ and Toastmasters at AUK

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Embassy of Australia has announced that Kuwait citizens can apply for and receive visit visas in 10 working days through www.immi.gov.au. All other processing of visas and Immigration matters are handled by the Australian Visa Application Centre located in Al Banwan Building, 4B, 1st Floor, Al Qibla Area, Ali Al Salem Street, Kuwait City. Visit. www.vfs-augcc.com for more info. The Embassy of Australia does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters is conducted by the Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: Info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VIS), immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office), Tel: +971 4 205 5900 (VFS), Fax: + 971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). Notary and passport services are available by appointment. Appointments can be made by calling the Embassy on 22322422.

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ince their launch in December, 2012, TESOL Kuwait, the local association of teachers of English to speakers of other languages, has become very popular, with approximately 500 members. On Saturday, October 5, 2013, they held another highly successful open meeting, this time at the American University of Kuwait (AUK).

Educators had the chance to participate in a free event called “Network Connecting: Common Challenges and Sharing Successes.” The many teachers who attended this session had the chance to find out how professional development can be more than just workshops and presentations. The purpose of this ‘JobAlike’ session was to provide an opportunity for teachers and administrators with similar job responsibilities to join together in a facilitated, highly interactive way.

Participants in similar jobs gained the chance to network and develop connections with other professionals focusing on common challenges and successes.

TESOL Kuwait has a number of special interest groups, and one of them is unique in that it is the first in the world to combine the goals of TESOL and the international association for public speaking, leadership, and communication: Toastmasters. At the Saturday event, TESOL Toastmasters hosted an organizational meeting of Toastmasters. Distinguished Toastmasters provided highly entertaining demonstration speeches, and teachers had the opportunity to improve their public speaking skills.

Members who attended TESOL Kuwait’s open meeting at AUK included educators of all academic levels ranging from pre-school teachers to university instruc-

tors. TESOL President, Yvonne Johnson, led the event with detailed information on their upcoming conference, which promises to be an event not to be missed!

International key note speakers are flying in from the USA, and other experienced TESOL specialists will be offering workshops, presentations, and poster sessions at the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) over a two day period from November 15-16, 2013. There is also a pre-conference at Australian College of Kuwait on 14 November, as well as a conference dinner with the keynote speaker at the newly refurbished Radisson Blu Hotel (formerly the Radisson SAS) on November 15.

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EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-imenquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF GREECE The Embassy of Greece in Kuwait has the pleasure to announce that visa applications must be submitted to Schengen Visa Application Centre (VFS office) located at 12th floor, Al-Naser Tower, Fahad Al-Salem Street, Al-Qibla area, Kuwait City, (Parking at Souk Watia). For information please call 22281046 from 08:30 to 17:00 (Sunday to Thursday). Working hours: Submission from 08:30 to 15:30. Passport collection from 16:00 to 17:00. For visa applications please visit the following website www.mfa.gr/kuwait. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF 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:25213601- 25213602,Fax: 25213603 and Email: bhutankuwait@gmail.com. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF US

The US Embassy in Kuwait has new procedures for obtaining appointments and picking up passports after visa issuance. Beginning August 9, 2013, we now provide an online visa appointment system, live call center, and in-person pick-up facilities in Kuwait. Please monitor our website and social media for additional information.

This new system offers more flexibility for travelers to the US and to meet the increase in demand for visa appointments.

The general application steps on the new visa appointment system are: 1. Go to www.ustraveldocs.com/kw (if this is the first time on ustraveldocs.com, you will need to create a profile to login).

2. Please complete your DS-160 Online Visa Application which is available at ceac.state.gov/genNIV. 3. Please print and take your deposit slip to any Burgan Bank location to pay your visa application fee.

4. Schedule an appointment for your visa interview online at www.ustraveldocs.com/kw or by phone through the Call Center (at +965-2227-1673).

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 BANGLADESH Children practice Indian classical music yesterday as part of Vijayadashami (victory on the 10th day) Festival in the house of Santhanam in Salmiya. Scores of families and children who learn music visited the house of Santhanam who for the past five years has celebrated the nine-day Navarathri festival.

The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait will remain closed from till Thursday, October 17, 2013 on the occasion of Holy Eid-ul-Adha.

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EMBASSY OF SOUTH AFRICA On the occasion of Eid-Al-Adha, the South African Embassy will be closed from Tuesday, October 15, 2013 to Thursday, October 17, 2013. The Embassy will resume it’s normal working hours on Sunday, October 20, 2013, from Sunday to Thursday. Please note that the working hours will be from 8:00 to 16:00 & the Consular Section operation hours will from 8:30 to 12:30. For emergencies, please contact: 94924895.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

03:15 Snow Leopards Of Leafy London 03:40 Snow Leopards Of Leafy London 04:05 Mekong: Soul Of A River 04:55 Animal Battlegrounds 05:20 Baboons With Bill Bailey 05:45 Animal Airport 06:10 Animal Airport 06:35 Call Of The Wildman 07:00 Monkey Life 07:25 Pandamonium 08:15 The Most Extreme 09:10 Talk To The Animals 09:35 Talk To The Animals 10:05 Big Five Challenge 11:00 Animal Cops Houston 11:55 Animal Battlegrounds 12:20 Call Of The Wildman 12:50 Swamp Brothers 13:15 Swamp Brothers 13:45 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 14:40 Big Five Challenge 15:30 Baboons With Bill Bailey 16:00 Monkey Life 16:30 The Most Extreme 17:25 Extraordinary Dogs 17:50 Extraordinary Dogs 18:20 Baby Planet 19:15 Monkey Life 19:40 Call Of The Wildman 20:10 Predator’s Prey 20:35 Cheetah Kingdom 21:05 Big Five Challenge 22:00 Beast Lands 22:55 Swimming With Monsters: Steve Backshall 23:50 Swimming With Monsters: Steve Backshall 00:45 I’m Alive 01:35 Untamed & Uncut 02:25 Big Five Challenge

03:30 Doctor Who Confidential 03:35 One Foot In The Grave 04:05 The World Of Stonehenge 05:00 Tweenies 05:20 Boogie Beebies 05:35 The Large Family 05:45 Nina And The Neurons 06:00 Jackanory Junior 06:15 Tweenies 06:35 Boogie Beebies 06:50 The Large Family 07:00 Nina And The Neurons 07:15 Jackanory Junior 07:30 One Foot In The Grave 08:00 Lead Balloon 08:30 The World Of Stonehenge 09:20 Eastenders 09:50 Doctors 10:20 Dalziel And Pascoe 11:10 The Weakest Link 11:55 One Foot In The Grave 12:25 The World Of Stonehenge 13:15 Lead Balloon 13:45 Eastenders 14:15 Doctors 14:45 The Weakest Link 15:30 Dalziel And Pascoe 16:20 The World Of Stonehenge 17:10 Eastenders 17:40 Doctors 18:10 The Weakest Link 19:00 Keeping Up Appearances 19:30 Alan Partridge’s Mid-Morning Matters 20:00 Bedlam 20:50 Gavin & Stacey: Christmas Special 2008 21:50 Getting On 22:20 Gates 22:45 The Fat Fighters 23:35 Keeping Up Appearances 00:05 Alan Partridge’s Mid-Morning Matters 00:30 Bedlam 01:15 Eastenders 01:45 Doctors 02:15 The Fat Fighters

03:15 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 03:40 Great British Menu 04:05 Cash In The Attic 04:50 Bargain Hunt 05:35 Britain’s Dream Homes 06:30 Great British Menu 07:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 07:45 Bargain Hunt 08:30 Homes Under The Hammer 09:25 Food & Drink 09:55 Food Glorious Food 10:40 Come Dine With Me 11:30 Celebrity MasterChef 12:00 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 12:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 13:15 Antiques Roadshow 14:10 Phil Spencer - Secret Agent 15:00 Phil Spencer - Secret Agent 15:50 Bargain Hunt 16:35 Cash In The Attic 17:20 Antiques Roadshow 18:15 Homes Under The Hammer 19:10 Hairy Bikers’ Bake-ation 20:00 Tareq Taylor’s Nordic Cookery 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 02:20 Britain’s Dream Homes

03:00 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:05 05:30 06:00 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 09:55 10:20 10:45 11:10 11:35 12:25 13:15 14:05 14:30 14:55 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 20:45 21:10 21:35 22:00 22:50 23:40 00:30 01:20 02:10

Mythbusters Border Security Storage Hunters Baggage Battles How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Sons Of Guns Mythbusters Finding Bigfoot American Chopper Border Security Storage Hunters Baggage Battles How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Ben Earl: Trick Artist The Big Brain Theory Mythbusters Border Security Storage Hunters Baggage Battles Countdown To Collision American Chopper Ultimate Survival Dirty Jobs Mythbusters Sons Of Guns Storage Hunters Baggage Battles How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Sons Of Guns Amish Mafia Warlock Rising Sons Of Guns Amish Mafia Warlock Rising

03:00 03:25 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

I Was Murdered I Was Murdered 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...

On The Case With Paula Zahn Solved Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn

15:20 15:45 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 Jones 19:30 Jones 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40 00:30 01:20 02:10

Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth...

Disappeared Solved Forensic Detectives True Crime With Aphrodite True Crime With Aphrodite Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill On The Case With Paula Zahn Nightmare Next Door I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghost Lab On The Case With Paula Zahn

03:35 Thunder Races 04:25 Space Pioneer 05:15 The Gadget Show 05:40 How Tech Works 06:05 Superships 07:00 Weird Or What?

07:50 Plastic Fantastic Brain 08:40 The Gadget Show 09:05 How Tech Works 09:30 Sport Science 10:25 Superships 11:20 Thunder Races 12:10 Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman 13:00 Bang Goes The Theory 13:25 Bang Goes The Theory 13:50 Sci-Fi Science 14:20 The Gadget Show 14:45 How Tech Works 15:10 Weird Or What?

16:00 Sport Science 16:55 Superships 17:45 Thunder Races 18:35 Space Pioneer 19:30 Weird Or What?

20:20 Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger 20:45 Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 How Tech Works 22:00 Weird Or What?

22:50 Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger 23:15 Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger 23:40 Dark Matters 00:30 Sci-Fi Science 01:00 The Gadget Show 01:25 How Tech Works 01:50 Weird Or What?

02:45 Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger

03:25 04:20 05:15 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:35 10:30 Above 11:20 12:10 13:05 13:55 14:50 15:45 16:40 17:35 18:25 19:20 20:10 21:05 22:00 22:55 23:50 00:45 01:35 02:30

Survivorman: Ten Days American Car Prospector Decoding Disaster Out Of Egypt Survivorman: Ten Days American Car Prospector How We Invented The World History Cold Case USA The First World War From Out Of Egypt American Car Prospector How We Invented The World Decoding Disaster Empire Doomsday - World War I Out Of Egypt How We Invented The World Survivorman: Ten Days True Stories American Car Prospector Ultimate Warfare True Stories Baker Boys: Inside The Surge Murder Shift Ultimate Warfare True Stories Baker Boys: Inside The Surge

03:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 03:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN ON OSN MOVIES ACTION

03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 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 00:20 00:45 01:05 01:30 01:50 02:15 02:35

Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck 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 Dog With A Blog 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 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place

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 Mouk 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 Higglytown Heroes 12:20 The Hive 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 Higglytown Heroes 14:55 The Hive 15:05 Doc McStuffins 15:20 Zou 15:35 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 15:50 Mouk 16:05 Art Attack 16:30 Goof Troop 16:55 Tarzan 17:20 Quack Pack 17:45 Lilo And Stitch 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 Goof Troop 20:55 Tarzan 21:20 Quack Pack 21:45 Lilo And Stitch 22:10 Sofia The First 22:35 Doc McStuffins 22:50 Pajanimals 23:05 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 23:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 23:35 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 23:50 Zou 00:10 Doc McStuffins 00:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 00:50 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

10:00 The Wild Thornberrys Movie 11:30 The Elf Who Stole Christmas 13:00 Twigson 14:30 Over The Hedge 16:00 Cinderella 18:00 The Wild Thornberrys Movie 20:00 Charlotte’s Web 22:00 Over The Hedge 23:30 Cinderella 01:00 The Ugly Duckling In Tales Of Mystery 02:45 Charlotte’s Web

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 19:45 22:00 00:00 02:00

EARNEST SCARED STUPID 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 Pokemon Bw: Adventures In Unova 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 15:05 Phineas And Ferb 15:20 Pokemon Bw: Adventures In Unova 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 Unique Sweets 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 19:05 19:30 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40 00:05 00:30 00:55 01:20 01:45 02:10 02:35

Guy’s Big Bite Siba’s Table Charly’s Cake Angels Recipes That Rock Chopped Chopped Recipes That Rock Recipes That Rock Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Food Wars Tastiest Places To Chowdown Outrageous Food Recipes That Rock Recipes That Rock Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

03:00 The Colbert Report 03:30 Louie 04:00 Legit 04:30 The New Normal 05:00 Breaking In 05:30 Whitney 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 Breaking In 11:30 Whitney 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 Whitney 16:30 Whitney 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 Last Man Standing 21:00 Community 21:30 The Office 22:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 23:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 23:30 The Colbert Report 00:00 Web Therapy 00:30 Legit 01:00 The New Normal 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 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

Scandal Perception Warehouse 13 24 Switched At Birth Suits Perception Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Suits 24 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Suits The Carrie Diaries The X Factor U.S. Red Widow Scandal 24

04:00 Meskada 05:45 Captain America: The First

Avenger 08:00 Lords Of Dogtown 10:00 The Adventures Of Tintin 12:00 The Blood Bond 13:30 The Rescue 15:15 The Adventures Of Tintin 17:15 Covert One: The Hades Factor 20:15 The Rescue 22:00 Resident Evil: Damnation 00:00 Mafia 02:00 No Man’s Land: The Rise Of Reeker

04:00 06:00 Life 08:00 10:15 12:15 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 00:00 02:00

Beverly Hills Cop 2 True Justice: One Shot, One John Carter Source Code Justice League: Doom Pizza Man Source Code The Speed Of Thought Pizza Man Taxi Driver Gangs Of Brooklyn London Boulevard

04:00 Hit List 06:00 The Brothers Solomon 08:00 Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol 10:00 I Think I Do 12:00 Hit List 14:00 Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach 16:00 I Think I Do 18:00 Ernest Scared Stupid 20:00 Calendar Girls 22:00 Venus & Vegas 00:00 How To Make Love To A Woman 02:00 Calendar Girls

03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00 01:00

The Wishing Well Klitschko No Surrender The Wishing Well One Angry Juror Love Finds A Home Web Of Lies The Trial Rabbit Hole Lawless The Raven Web Of Lies

03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00 Dying 01:00

Gone Rabbit Hole The Imposter Jakob The Liar StreetDance 2 The Preacher’s Wife Jack The Bear StreetDance 2 Wind Chill Mahler On The Couch The Most Fun You Can Have The Daughter

03:00 Five 05:00 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted 07:00 Joyful Noise 09:00 Dolphin Tale 11:00 Premium Rush 13:00 Katy Perry The Movie: Part Of Me 15:00 Like Crazy 17:00 Dolphin Tale 19:00 The Girl 21:00 Anna Karenina 23:15 The Five Year Engagement 01:30 Chronicle

04:30 The Elf Who Stole Christmas 06:00 The Happy Cricket 08:00 The Ugly Duckling In Tales Of Mystery

Carnage A Monster In Paris Flower Girl Arthur Christmas The Double Madea’s Big Happy Family Flower Girl Midnight In Paris The Bourne Legacy Underworld: Awakening Madea’s Big Happy Family Midnight In Paris

00:30 The Daily Show 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Saturday Night Live 02:30 The League 03:00 Ben And Kate 03:30 Ben And Kate 04:00 Seinfeld 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 All Of Us 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Seinfeld 08:30 All Of Us 10:00 Hot In Cleveland 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:30 Seinfeld 13:00 All Of Us 15:00 Hot In Cleveland 15:30 The Daily Show 16:00 The Colbert Report 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 The Simpsons 18:30 The Mindy Project 19:30 Hot In Cleveland 20:00 Parks And Recreation 20:30 Wilfred 21:00 The Daily Show 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Veep 22:30 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 23:00 The League 23:30 Parks And Recreation

03:00 Currie Cup 05:00 ITM Cup 07:00 Darts Grand Prix 11:00 ICC Cricket 360 11:30 Champions League Twenty20 14:30 Total Rugby 15:00 Inside The PGA Tour 15:30 European Tour Weekly 16:00 Live PGA European Tour 20:00 Trans World Sport 21:00 Live Darts Grand Prix 01:00 Total Rugby 01:30 Amlin European Challenge Cup

05:00 UFC - The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 06:00 UFC - Unleashed 07:00 The Rugby Championship 09:00 ICC Cricket 360 09:30 NRL Full Time 10:00 Futbol Mundial 10:30 Total Rugby 11:00 Darts Grand Prix 15:00 UFC - Primetime 2011-13 15:30 UFC Prelims 17:30 UFC - Maia vs. Shields 20:30 UFC - The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 21:45 Live Amlin European Challenge Cup 00:00 Live PGA Tour

03:55 07:00 08:50 11:05 13:00 14:40 16:00 17:40 20:05 22:00 23:55 01:30

Seven Days In May Mildred Pierce The Unsinkable Molly Brown The Sandpiper Agatha The Cabin In The Cotton Anna Karenina Mogambo The Prodigal Scarecrow Point Blank Scarecrow

03:00 04:00 05:00 05:30 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 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30 00:00 00:30 01:00 Rides

Descending Travel Testers Xtreme Waterparks Xtreme Waterparks World’s Greatest Motorcycle Wild Carpathia 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 Soul Seeker Ultimate Braai Master Bizarre Foods America International House Hunters International House Hunters Airport 24/7: Miami Airport 24/7: Miami Monumental Mysteries Airport 24/7: Miami Airport 24/7: Miami Xtreme Waterparks Xtreme Waterparks World’s Greatest Motorcycle

Classifieds TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

Kuwait SHARQIA-1 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 RAMAIYA VASTAVAIYA (DIG) (TELUGU) FRI THE BUTLER (DIG) NO FRI DIANA (DIG) DIANA (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) SHARQIA-2 KHUMBA (DIG-3D) KHUMBA (DIG-3D) KHUMBA (DIG-3D) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) RUSH (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) SHARQIA-3 BADGES OF FURY (DIG) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) RUSH (DIG) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) MUHALAB-1 ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) RAMAIYA VASTAVAIYA (DIG) (TELUGU) NO TUE+WED BOSS (DIG) (HINDI) TUE+WED QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) MUHALAB-2 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 KHUMBA (DIG) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 ( DIANA (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) MUHALAB-3 ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) RUSH (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) FANAR-1 BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) DIANA (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) DIANA (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) FANAR-2 KHUMBA (DIG) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC)

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 4:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

12:45 PM 2:30 PM 4:15 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM

Tel: 66507741. (C 4533)

KNCC EID AL ADHA PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (10/10/2013 TO 16/10/2013) KHUMBA (DIG) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC)

5:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-3 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 ( RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) NO TUE+WED BOSS (DIG) (HINDI) TUE+WED RUSH (DIG) NO TUE+WED BOSS (DIG) (HINDI) TUE+WED RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) MARINA-1 THE BUTLER (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) DIANA (DIG) DIANA (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) MARINA-2 QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) RUSH (DIG) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC)

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM

AVENUES-1 THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:15 PM

7:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

2:00 PM 4:00 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-3 RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG)

360ยบ- 1 QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC)

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 1:00 AM

360ยบ- 2 THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

360ยบ- 3 KHUMBA (DIG-3D) KHUMBA (DIG) KHUMBA (DIG-3D) KHUMBA (DIG-3D) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG)

1:15 PM 3:15 PM 5:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM

AL-KOUT.1 RUSH (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) RUSH (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG)

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.2 DIANA (DIG) DIANA (DIG) DIANA (DIG) DIANA (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG)

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 AM

Mitsubishi Pajero for sale 1996 model, color red, passing up to Aug 2014, used by a lady. Contact: 97277139.

UK expat leaving Kuwait wants to sell Nissan Extrra 4x4, model 2009, silver color, full option, 99000 km, fully maintained Nissan Babtain Company, price KD 3650 only, serious buyers can contact: 50687350.

FOR SALE Mitsubishi Galant model 2000, full condition.

Contact: 94033908.

15-10-2013 Mitsubishi jeep Nativa model 2011, white color, alloy rim, 6 cylinder engine, 4 wheel drive, automatic gear, excellent condition, installment possible. Cash price KD 2900, negotiable.

CHANGE OF NAME I, Mohammed Ali Khan, S/o Hussan Sha Khan, date of birth: 05.06.1973, Passport No. E9102180 residing at No. 3/58, Periya Pallivasal Street, Mel Kavarapet Post 607 112, shall henceforth be known as MOHAMMED ALI. (C 4534) 12-10-2013

From Adeb Shams - as per the birth certificate - 15days-old to Adeb Ibrahim.

Tel: 66993190.

(C 4530) 6-10-2013 I, Livina Fatima Baretto, resident of Goa and holder of Indian Passport No. K4654795 issued at Kuwait, hereby change my surname to Da Costa. Hence I will be called Livina Fatima Da Costa from now onwards.

(C 4528) 5-10-2013

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION

Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is

1889988

Prayer timings Fajr: Shorook Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

04:30 05:49 11:34 14:51 17:18 18:35

112

No: 15959

1:45 PM 4:30 PM 7:15 PM 10:00 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-2 BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG)

9:00 PM 11:30 PM

Indian Computer Engineer, B.Tech (information technology), networking, CCNA certified, 3 years experience in Kuwait, Article 18 visa seeks job. Contact: 99561274, email: mahesh88.gv@gmail.com (C 4535) 12-10-2013

4:45 PM

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-3 KHUMBA (DIG-3D) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 KHUMBA (DIG-3D) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM

RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG)

SITUATION WANTED

1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:30 PM

AL-KOUT.3 KHUMBA (DIG) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) KHUMBA (DIG) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC)

1:30 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

AL-KOUT.4 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 MAN OF TAI CHI (DIG) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 THE BUTLER (DIG) MAN OF TAI CHI (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

BAIRAQ-1 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 KHUMBA (DIG-3D) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines BBC QTR JZR JZR PIA FDB THY ETH GFA UAE ETD FDB RJA MSR OMA QTR THY DHX KAC KAC BAW FDB KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC UAE ABY FDB IRA QTR ETD TSY GFA MEA JZR JZR TMA ABY UAE MSR THY KAC QTR FDB SVA

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 15/10/2013 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 148 DOHA 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 239 ISLAMABAD 8063 DUBAI 764 SABIHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 67 DUBAI 642 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 612 CAIRO 643 MUSCAT 138 DOHA 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 412 MANILA 416 JAKARTA 157 LONDON 53 DUBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 206 ISLAMABAD 302 MUMBAI 503 LUXOR 284 DHAKA 352 COCHIN 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 55 DUBAI 605 ISFAHAN 132 DOHA 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 801 BEIRUT 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 561 SOHAG 213 BEIRUT 123 SHARJAH 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 766 ISTANBUL 514 TEHRAN 140 DOHA 57 DUBAI 500 JEDDAH

Time 0:05 0:05 0:20 0:40 1:05 1:10 1:40 1:45 1:55 2:25 2:30 3:10 3:10 3:15 3:20 3:30 4:35 5:10 6:15 6:35 6:30 7:45 7:55 7:25 7:50 7:40 8:15 8:05 8:25 8:50 9:15 9:20 9:25 9:30 10:00 10:40 10:55 11:35 12:00 12:00 12:40 12:45 13:00 13:10 13:40 13:45 13:50 14:30

FDB KAC KAC SYR RJA QTR ETD UAE ABY UAL GFA SVA JZR JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC QTR FDB GFA KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC AXB JAI FDB OMA ABY MEA IRA MSR KLM ALK UAE ETD QTR GFA JAI FDB AIC JZR JZR UAL JZR DLH JAI MSR THY

8051 546 562 341 640 134 303 857 127 982 215 510 177 777 104 166 786 542 144 63 219 618 774 742 678 674 393 572 61 647 129 402 619 618 415 229 859 307 136 217 576 59 981 239 185 981 135 636 574 614 772

DUBAI ALEXANDRIA AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA LATAKIA AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA DOHA ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI SHARJAH WASHINGTON DC DULLES BAHRAIN RIYADH DUBAI JEDDAH LONDON PARIS JEDDAH CAIRO DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA RIYADH DAMMAM MUSCAT DUBAI KOZHIKODE MUMBAI DUBAI MUSCAT SHARJAH BEIRUT LAR ALEXANDRIA AMSTERDAM COLOMBO DUBAI ABU DHABI-INTL DOHA BAHRAIN COCHIN DUBAI CHENNAI AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN FRANKFURT MUMBAI CAIRO ISTANBUL

14:35 14:15 14:40 15:15 15:55 16:15 16:35 16:55 17:10 17:15 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:50 18:45 18:40 18:30 18:15 18:25 18:55 19:05 19:10 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:25 19:15 19:35 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:15 20:20 20:30 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:30 21:45 22:05 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:40 22:40 23:00 23:10 23:20 23:30 23:45

Airlines AIC AXB JAI MSR DLH PIA KLM JZR BBC FDB PIA THY THY ETH UAE FDB MSR OMA ETD QTR QTR JZR RJA GFA THY KAC JZR BAW FDB KAC KAC ABY UAE FDB ETD IRA QTR KAC GFA KAC KAC MEA JZR KAC KAC ABY JZR TMA MSR THY UAE

Departure Flights on Tuesday 15/10/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA 490 MANGALORE 573 MUMBAI 615 CAIRO 637 FRANKFURT 206 LAHORE 411 AMSTERDAM 502 LUXOR 44 DHAKA 8064 DUBAI 240 SIALKOT 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 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 545 ALEXANDRIA 164 DUBAI 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 513 TEHRAN 561 AMMAN 126 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 56 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 604 ISFAHAN 133 DOHA 101 LONDON 214 BAHRAIN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 405 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 785 JEDDAH 677 MUSCAT 124 SHARJAH 176 DUBAI 223 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 767 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 872 DUBAI

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:15 00:20 00:30 00:30 00:45 00:55 01:30 01:30 01:55 02:20 02:20 02:40 02:45 03:45 03:50 04:15 04:20 04:20 04:25 05:15 05:35 06:35 07:00 07:10 07:20 07:25 08:25 08:25 09:15 09:25 09:30 09:50 09:55 10:15 10:20 10:25 10:25 11:25 11:30 11:45 11:55 12:25 13:00 13:00 13:20 13:20 13:45 14:00 14:10 14:15

FDB QTR TSY KAC FDB KAC SVA KAC SYR KAC RJA JZR QTR ETD JZR ABY UAE GFA SVA UAL JZR JZR QTR FDB GFA JZR AXB KAC JAI FDB ABY OMA KAC KAC MEA IRA MSR DHX KLM ETD ALK UAE KAC QTR KAC GFA FDB KAC JAI JZR KAC JZR

58 141 802 673 8052 617 501 773 342 741 641 238 135 304 538 128 858 216 511 982 184 266 145 64 220 134 394 283 571 62 120 648 343 351 403 618 607 171 415 308 230 860 381 137 301 218 60 205 575 554 411 528

DUBAI DOHA CAIRO DUBAI DUBAI DOHA JEDDAH RIYADH LATAKIA DAMMAM AMMAN AMMAN DOHA ABU DHABI CAIRO SHARJAH DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN KOZHIKODE DHAKA MUMBAI DUBAI SHARJAH MUSCAT CHENNAI KOCHI BEIRUT LAR LUXOR BAHRAIN DAMMAM ABU DHABI COLOMBO DUBAI DELHI DOHA MUMBAI BAHRAIN DUBAI ISLAMABAD ABU DHABI ALEXANDRIA BANGKOK ASYUT

14:30 14:55 15:00 15:05 15:15 15:45 15:45 16:00 16:15 16:30 16:55 17:05 17:20 17:20 17:40 17:50 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:30 18:30 18:40 19:25 19:35 19:50 20:05 20:15 20:15 20:35 20:40 20:45 20:55 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:20 21:30 21:50 22:05 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:40 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:20 23:40 23:55

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 341

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) ARIES You have excellent drive to accomplish your personal goals all the way through the end of this month. It is time for a little pat on the back but it is not time for you to relax just yet; there is more to be done. If you work with a group of people in a team sort of atmosphere, pace yourself so that you can accept a leader's role as well as a follower's role; you will get a turn at both. You may be communicating with others through your psychic mind instead of verbally. One of your most important jobs this month is to clear away anything that does not help you or your team to move forward.

Relationships this evening are an intricate part of your life. You do what you can to understand, help or share in some quest or venture that will benefit the family.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) This may be a challenging day in which you will need to put in a little extra effort into doing what is asked of you. One of the problems could be a teammate or coworker is absent and you have the information needed to adjust the work schedule to help the work day go smoothly. You will do so well that you may gain the attention of a supervisor. Easy does it; there is no reason to over extend your energies and make yourself exhausted. It is ideas that count for you now, more than narrowly personal concerns. The new and the unusual are the things that instinctively appeal to you this afternoon and on the way home you might consider stopping at the library to get a grasp on some writer's intelligent viewpoint. Get out-of-doors to exerc

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. The bill in a restaurant.

4. Brought together into a group or crowd.

11. A system of one or more computers and associated software with common storage.

15. (informal) Of the highest quality.

16. Large mackerel with long pointed snout.

17. The function or position properly or customarily occupied or served by another.

18. An informal conversation.

20. Type genus of the Nepidae.

21. A male monarch or emperor (especially of Russia prior to 1917).

22. A coagulation factor (trade name Hemofil) whose absence is associated with hemophilia A. 23. A metallic element of the rare earth group.

26. Genus of fern having only one species.

28. A domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building especially the east end of a church.

31. The capital of Egypt and the largest city in Africa.

32. A living organism characterized by voluntary movement.

36. Hairy perennial Eurasian herb with yellow daisylike flowers reputed to destroy or drive away fleas.

38. Type genus of the Anatidae.

39. An interest followed with exaggerated zeal.

40. An accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape.

43. The compass point that is one point west of due north.

44. Not elegant or graceful in expression.

48. Being deficient in moisture.

49. A bachelor's degree in science.

50. A man who serves as a sailor.

51. An American doctorate usually based on at least 3 years graduate study and a dissertation.

55. A hard gray lustrous metallic element that is highly corrosion-resistant.

56. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was formed by an explosion.

61. A member of a Turkic people of Uzbekistan and neighboring areas.

64. An anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and characterized by such symptoms as guilt about surviving or reliving the trauma in dreams or numbness and lack of involvement with reality or recurrent thoughts and images.

67. An infection of the sebaceous gland of the eyelid.

68. Of or at or relating to an anode.

71. A colloid in a more solid form than a sol.

72. A series of waterfalls in Yosemite National Park in California.

74. A workplace for the conduct of scientific research.

75. Fiddler crabs.

76. Something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted.

77. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

DOWN 1. Measuring instrument for indicating speed of rotation.

2. A dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain.

3. A signal transmitted along a narrow path.

4. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

5. A starch made by leaching and drying the root of the cassava plant.

6. Pertaining to filberts or hazelnuts.

7. A watery solution of sugars, salts, and minerals that circulates through the vascular system of a plant.

8. Any of various small terrestrial isopods having a flat elliptical segmented body.

9. Angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object).

10. The longer of the two telegraphic signals used in Morse code.

11. Any of various plants of the genus Althaea.

12. Any orchid of the genus Disa.

13. Small beads made from polished shells and formerly used as money by native Americans.

14. The muscular back part of the shank.

19. A genus of delicate ferns belonging to the family Osmundaceae.

24. A thick and heavy shoe.

25. Top part of an apron.

27. United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946).

29. Having a horizontal surface in which no part is higher or lower than another.

30. (Judaism) The ceremonial dinner on the first night (or both nights) of Passover.

33. A communist state in Indochina on the South China Sea. 34. A midnight meeting of witches to practice witchcraft and sorcery.

35. Of or relating to a dialect of Sotho or the Bantu people who speak it.

37. An embarrassing mistake.

41. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

42. The quarter of many North African cities in which the citadel is located.

45. Type genus of the Pipridae containing the typical manakins.

46. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

47. A flourish added after or under your signature (originally to protect against forgery).

52. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity.

53. A mountain peak in the Andes in Bolivia (21,391 feet high).

54. A family of Ural-Altaic languages.

57. A member of the Nahuatl people who established an empire in Mexico that was overthrown by Cortes in 1519.

58. A promontory in northern Morocco opposite the Rock of Gibraltar.

59. A military trainee (as at a military academy).

60. An ancient upright stone slab bearing markings.

62. Knock unconscious or senseless.

63. Scottish explorer who led Arctic expeditions that yielded geographic discoveries while searching for the Northwest Passage (1777-1856).

65. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

66. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

69. An elegantly dressed man (often with affected manners).

70. The starting place for each hole on a golf course.

73. A soft gray malleable metallic element that resembles tin but discolors on exposure to air.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

There are many more rewarding days this month than challenging. You will be reaping the rewards of your hard work, even though it may only be the good feeling that comes when you do your best. You are at your most practical when it comes to dealing and working with others, so don't hold back. You know just what to do and can act without haste and emotion. You may be called on to make use of your common sense. This is a day when you can expect good results from your hard work. A visit to a friend's home or neighbor's home this afternoon gives you ideas on how you can expand your storage space. You may even get to display someone's art or hobby if you learn how to build a few shelves along one wall of your family room.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) This could be a challenging day. There is an open door to success and you will find it. Quick answers, great wit and a surplus of insights and solutions are available to you. You have a good attitude and others notice your willingness to lend a helping hand, regardless of your own progress. Balance is very important. It is good to perform well on the job but it is equally good to give some of your energies toward building a balance in your life. If you take long workdays and bring your work home, you may find little or no life is built around relationships or just enjoying other things besides work. When you leave work, leave your work behind. Tonight would be an excellent time to talk about or plan a vacation.

Leo (July 23-August 22) A round-table discussion this morning may spur your own thinking toward improving your surroundings or life situations. The business for which you work may be planning to make some updates in office space or perhaps placement of offices. Ideas are flowing and new, inexpensive equipment or furniture gives you ideas that will help your office and your own home environment. Talking with a co-worker friend this afternoon you may consider a class to expand your philosophy. Perhaps a creative writing class, oil painting, skydiving, in-line skating, astrology, astronomy or some other subject would help to pique your interest. Interior design is certainly a consideration. You may find yourself enjoying a long conversation with your family.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) This is the time to improve your health or begin a preventive health care program. The root cause of any physical problem can be found and eliminated now. It may be hard to organize or persevere in matters of importance this morning. Everything may seem to have hidden parts that bog down the progress of completion. Do not force things. Be patient and let the chaos blow itself out. New understandings about responsibilities, expectations and authorization with authorities or someone older make a step in the positive direction. Perhaps there are fewer responsibilities and a better pay scale. The afternoon energies are more geared toward solving and completing work issues. Plan an evening alone with your loved one--perhaps dinner out.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) A short trip or a vacation may be enjoyed this monday. If working, you may find some unfinished business needs your attention. A puzzle has an easy answer if you step back to look at the whole picture. You really want to achieve and your determination may lead you to be too strict with yourself. Laugh and use this awareness to learn and grow. Deeper concentration this afternoon will allow you to rise above your own capabilities. Superiors are impressed with your work. This afternoon and evening are favorable for dealing with friends and family members regarding personal matters. It could be that simply giving people the attention they need is where your time will be best spent.

Chatting or cooking together could be a fun part of this.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Things are happening and your career or path, depending upon your own ambition and drive, is strong at this time. You are able to use good common sense and can feel the trends and make the right moves. You get ahead by taking action. A partner or co-worker is attuned to your goals--you will find working together very productive. This should be a fairly easy, calm day that finds everything running in a smooth manner. A shopping trip this afternoon will give you an opportunity to find just what you want for a special friend. This friend may be moving and you will want to share good wishes for his or her future in a new place. In this great time of technical equipment, you will be as close as a phone call away. Smile . . . It is contagious.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) If you are looking for some professional advice this monday, you will find an interested person tuned to your frequency. Help or advice is available for the asking. You appreciate others who have been successful and may surround yourself with those in power--be they politicians, officials or what have you. Your sense of quality and discrimination may amount to some sort of livelihood for you. You could make your living with your good taste. In addition, you have an innate sense of how to work with and guide others in making decisions. You become more insightful and innovative in your ideas and ability to communicate. Unique and unconventional approaches to study or research may be in the future. Try a new fish recipe this evening.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You may be thinking of dieting today, but you might look through some of the recommended diets for your particular life style. Make your nutrition as balanced as possible--start on your new diet today! There is no lack of energy or drive here--nothing can stand in your way. Everything is poured into making the right moves and the correct decisions. You are outgoing, enthusiastic and always diplomatic--everybody's favorite. You have a natural instinct for making the correct move at the right time.

Politics or some public career seems certain. A co-worker may need your advice. You have a no-nonsense approach and are willing and able to lend others your rational advice. You penetrate to the realities and see the necessity for accepting life as it is.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You are driven when it comes to fulfilling your ambitions and carving out a career. Your enthusiasm is high and you are motivated to be successful. You set the example for others to follow and if you are in retail you may find that your customers come to you just to gain a little insight into their lives as well as to purchase an item or two. Your noon break may be a little later than usual today. A friend or co-worker wants to join you and the conversation may prove to be insightful. Life becomes a little easier as you mature or as the planets move through the cycle; you learn to ask yourself questions that pertain to truth and realistic thinking. Guard your flow of thinking toward a healthy balance of study, work, amusement and relaxation.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Others want to show their appreciation for your ability to act and get things done. Expressing your talents in the working world is very important for you. It is time to put aside the things that occupy your space or slow your progress. Make a determined effort to gain some progress on a specific path. You will begin to see results and be pleased at your hard work. Outer circumstances are favorable and it should be easy for you to push forward in projects and in all aspects of your life. Things may seem almost magical in the way they work out in positive ways. A new romantic attraction can be quite intense right now. Stay aware of your real needs and stay away from the temptations that may lead you away from your goals. Horoscopes october 2013

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

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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

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

lifestyle G o s s i p

Conrad

‘Hills’ star announces engagement

L

C is getting married. “The Hills” and “Laguna Beach” star Lauren “LC” Conrad announced Sunday she’s engaged to musician William Tell. The 27-year-old reality TV star and fashion designer posted a photo of her engagement ring on her blog and wrote that she was “beyond thrilled.” Conrad’s dating life was famously chroni-

cled on the MTV reality series “Laguna Beach” and then its spin-off “The Hills.” After leaving “The Hills” in 2009, Conrad launched a series of young adult novels based on her life in Los Angeles.

Marsh dumped

after affair reports

K

ym Marsh has reportedly been dumped by her husband after she allegedly had an affair. It has been claimed the ‘Coronation Street’ actress cheated on Jamie Lomas - who she married in September 2012 - with her co-star Oliver Mellor and it is said he is “absolutely devastated”. An insider told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: “Kym has been having an affair since February and kept it a secret. Jamie found out a few days ago and is absolutely devastated. “It was a bolt out of the blue.

He doesn’t think there is any opportunity for them to get back together. He’s told her it’s over.” Jamie is apparently concerned for the effect the affair will have on their twoyear-old daughter Polly and Kym’s elder children David, 17, and 15-year-old Emily, from a previous relationship. The source added: “For Jamie the worst part is that it all

Cuban-American novelist Oscar Hijuelos dies at 62

started while he was away in America trying to get jobs and bring in more money for the family. “He is really worried about the kids and how they are feeling. He’s not in a good place. He is furious. “He is no angel but he can’t believe she kept it a secret for such a long time.” Meanwhile, the ‘EastEnders’ actor seems to have demanded a showdown with Oliver after a tweet which he later deleted - insisted they needed to talk. He wrote: “You need to come see me.” A source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “Jamie flipped out when he heard the news about Kym and Oliver. “He hit the roof and said he wanted to get his hands on Oliver.”

C

uban-American writer Oscar Hijuelos, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his best-selling novel “The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love,” has died at the age of 62, the New York Times reported on Sunday. Hijuelos, who in 1990 became the first Cuban-born novelist to receive the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, died in Manhattan after collapsing on a tennis court, the Times reported, citing his wife, Lisa Marie Carlson. Born in New York City to Cuban immigrant parents, Hijuelos published his first novel, “Our House in the Last World,” in 1983. “The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love,” his second novel, told the story of a pair of Cubanborn brothers, both musicians, who emigrate to New York City in the 1950s and achieve short-lived fame after appearing on the “I Love Lucy” show. The book was later adapted for a 1992 Hollywood film starring Antonino Banderas and Armand Assante. Hijuelos went on to publish more novels, including “he Fourteen Sisters of Emilio Montez O’Brien” and “Mr Ives’ Christmas.” In 2011 he published a memoir, “Thoughts Without Cigarettes.”

Jenny McCarthy may be axed from ‘The View’

T

Jackman raises $1.85m with birthday benefit

H

Jon Bon Jovi walks fan down the aisle

J

on Bon Jovi walked a fan down the aisle on her wedding day. The 51-year-old singer surprised glowing bride Branka Delic at her wedding to Gonzalo Cladera at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, on Saturday. She said: “I have memories for life which I’ll never forget. Such an amazing man to take time from his schedule to come walk this crazy Aussie down the aisle... Jon..... I salute!” Two months ago Delic had started an online petition, BonJoviWalkMeDownTheAisle.com, to have him at her nuptials which took place at the same chapel where he married his high school sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley, in April 1989. Later, the musician took to his Twitter page to congratulate the happy couple, writing: “Branka & Gonzalo!

May you have a lifetime of happiness, love & memories together - ALWAYS! (sic)” The ‘Always’ singer - who played with his band Bon Jovi at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night as part of their ‘Because We Can’ tour - also posted an image of him with Branka at the chapel on the social networking website. The bride wore a jewel encrusted wedding dress, red high heels and carried a bouquet of flowers as she walked down the aisle with Jon - who was dressed casually in a white shirt and a pair of jeans.

ugh Jackman threw himself a birthday party with 4,500 guests, but they had to pay to attend. The actor spent his 45th birthday Saturday at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, where he sang, danced and told stories for “One Night Only,” a benefit concert that raised $1.85 million for the Motion Picture & Television Fund. “This is probably the most narcissistic way to spend your birthday,” he said after the show. “I chose my favorite songs and told stories about my life.” Backed by a 17member orchestra, Jackman performed a variation of his recent Broadway show, with personal stories, a few film clips and selections from classic Hollywood musicals including a tap-dancing routine during “Singin’ in the Rain.” He talked about his family, sang a tribute to his wife and shared music and images of his native Australia. “A lot of guys would say to their wife, ‘Do you mind if I go play golf with my buddies?’

That’s how I am about the show,” he said. “I

love it. If there’s a song I don’t like, I cut it and bring in a new song. Everything is something I want to do. So to be here tonight, supporting this cause - and it couldn’t have been a more generous crowd if it tried - in every way it was great.”

Jackman said he donated his birthday performance to the Motion Picture & Television Fund because it offers “that unconditional helping hand you get in a family.” The organization provides health care and other services to entertainmentindustry workers and retirees. Cybill Shepherd, Bryan Singer, Darren Criss and songwriter Carole Bayer Sager were among the famous faces in the industry-heavy audience for the two-and-a-half-hour show, which ended with Jackman auctioning off an electric Fiat, a pair of Wolverine claws and two sweaty undershirts he wore during the night’s performance. The shirts went for $11,000 each.

he former Playboy model has raised eyebrows with her controversial hosting style on the US chat show and is proving less popular with viewers than former co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck according to new figures, allegedly prompting ABC bosses to consider letting her go. A source told RadarOnline.com: “ABC has begun doing deep research on Jenny’s work on the show and the initial findings are that viewers want to tune out the second she opens her mouth! “The data has revealed that she is far more off-putting than Elisabeth.” The decision about whether to fire the loud-mouthed blonde is said to lie entirely with veteran presenter Barbara Walters, 84, who is retiring from the show next summer. The production insider added: “[Barbara] isn’t looking for a replacement for Jenny yet, she is obsessed

with ratings and the longevity of the show, so Jenny needs to turn it around or she will be gone. “If Barbara wants her out, they will buy out her contract. Right now they’re just trying to adjust Jenny’s performance on the show so that she comes off as more appealing, but that’s an uphill battle.”

Controversial character Jenny has come under fire for claiming her nine-year-old son Evan’s autism was caused by childhood immunisations. According to The Wrap, ‘The View’ has seen minor dips in viewing figures since Jenny joined, averaging at 3.023 million total viewers compared to the 3.239 million it had in the first three weeks of its last season.

Kris accused of cheating on Bruce

K

ris Jenner’s sister has alleged the star cheated on Bruce Jenner. Karen Houghton alleges 57-year-old Kris confessed to her that she’d had an affair during her 22-year marriage to the former Olympic athletics champion, following news the couple who have daughters Kendall, 17, and Kylie,16, together have separated.

Karen told America’s Star magazine: “Kris has admitted to cheating. It’s so funny because I could never see a guy cheating on her. She’s so powerful.” Karen believes Bruce has been faithful throughout their relationship, and although the pair have insisted they are not getting a divorce Karen thinks her sibling will move on a lot faster than her husband. She said: “I do not believe that [he] has ever cheated on Kris ... And I don’t think he ever will, if they stay together.” “[If the separation ends in divorce] Bruce will find someone else. But I guarantee you, Kris will find someone in two days. I promise!” Karen thinks Kris has a “hole in her” and doesn’t think she is entirely

happy which is why she spends her time working as a manager for her children, including 34-year-old Kourtney, 32-year-old Kim, 29-year-old Khloe, and 26year-old son Rob, her offspring with her late ex-husband Robert Kardashian. Karen added: “My sister is a person who likes to stay really busy, focused, in control, done, done, ABC, you know. “And even a little bit anal. But I think that’s because when you have situations inside of you that aren’t filling your complete happiness, there’s a hole in you. And I think right now, Kris has that hole in her because of what’s going on with the family right now.” Bruce was married twice before he met Kris. He has four other kids, two from his first marriage to Chrystie Crownover, Casey and Burt, and sons Brody, 30, and Brandon, 32, from his second marriage to Linda Thompson.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

lifestyle F e a t u r e s

YSL muse auctions off huge fashion collection

A

huge collection of haute couture and ready-towear fashion owned by the model who inspired Yves Saint Laurent’s famous “Le Smoking” tuxedo went under the hammer yesterday in Paris. The collection-the biggest of its kind-contains some 12,000 garments and accessories and attracted keen interest from private collectors, museums and fashion lovers. Danielle Luquet de Saint Germain built up her collection as a model and muse for Saint Laurent and later as an artistic advisor at Christian Dior.

“It breaks my heart to see these dresses go one after the other,” she told AFP by telephone, explaining that she no longer had the energy to maintain the collection. Among around 300 lots that went under the hammer was a long black robe in sheer black chiffon with a band of ostrich feathers around the hips. Made in 1968 with Luquet de Saint Germain as the model, the dress fetched 119,000 euros ($160,000), far in excess of its 13,000 to 15,000-euro estimated price.

The collection could be seen as a “witness to the significant moments in fashion history” in the last quarter of the 20th century, said auction house Hotel Drouot.

Luquet de Saint Germain spent 10 years at Yves Saint Laurent before taking up the role of artistic advisor at Christian Dior. Speaking in 1969, Saint Laurent said of her: “I had nothing to teach her; on the contrary, it was she who helped free me of outdated references.” In addition to working at Christian Dior, she also helped French designer Claude Montana with his first collection.

The model, who has lived in Geneva since 1978 and did not attend the sale, maintained a strong interest in haute couture over the years, becoming a client of Azzedine Alaia and Christian Lacroix, whose creations feature in the collection. “The collection is the thread of my life. I kept everything that I found significant, as a baseline for those who love fashion.... Nothing is outdated. Everything is so beautiful,” she said.

Other designers represented at the sale include Montana, Paco Rabanne and Thierry Mugler.

Yesterday’s auction was the first of a number which will be held until all 12,000 items have been sold. Just compiling the inventory of items to be auctioned took five weeks, according to auctioneers Gros & Delettrez which organised the sale. Francoise Sternbach, of the French Union of Professional Art Experts, told trade journal Women’s Wear Daily earlier this year the collection was of a very high quality. Luquet de Saint Germain had a “strong eye, she did not pick any pieces that were banal” with many “one-offs, prototypes, designed especially for her,” she said. — AFP

The latest work from street artist Banksy is seen through a chain link fence in the Lower East Side neighborhood of New York City. — AFP

Banksy sells art for $60 in New York W orld-famous British street artist Banksy flogged original canvases for just $60 in Central Park over the weekend as part of a month-long residency in New York. While his work can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, his website announced that minimal interest and sluggish sales resulted in takings of just $420. The stall was set up on day 13 of his pop-up exhibition in New York, announced each day on the website www.banksyny.com and posted to his instagram account.

The England-based graffiti maestro, who has never been formally identified, has promised to unveil a new piece of art on each day of the month somewhere in the city. Banksy said the stall was a one-off that would not open again, likely to disappoint fans crushed at missing the chance to snap up an affordable original. The white canvases with black spray-painted images were advertised for $60 each with another sign that said: “this is not a photo opportunity.”

A short video showed the vendor-wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap-yawning, then munching on his lunch to pass the time before the first sale at 3:30 pm. A woman who bought two small canvases for her children, but only after negotiating a 50 percent discount. Half an hour later, a woman from New Zealand bought two. A man from Chicago then bought four to decorate his new house. By 6:00 pm, total takings for the day were $420, according to the video.

Banksy’s stencilled designs, known for their irreverent humor and political activism, have propelled him from a graffiti rebel to reluctant star. He has spoken out against the exorbitant sums paid for his art and invites people to download photographs of his work for free from his website. The free New York show called “Better Out Than In” has whipped up huge excitement in the city as fans rush to track down the different piece of work each day. His Instagram account has more than 152,000 followers and his @banksyny Twitter

Pull&Bear unveils campaign showcasing latest trends S

port mixes with the latest trends in Pull&Bear’s new Autumn-Winter 2013/14 season. A campaign captured by the lens of Spanish photographer Txema Yeste in London’s German Gymnasium, an old building used as the venue for the United Kingdom’s National Olympic Games in 1866 and decorated for the occasion by the London-based set designer Robert Storey.

Models Kel Markey, Anastasia Kolganova, Sung Hee Kim, Adrien Sahores, Victor Nylander and Harry Uzoka mingle with professional gymnasts to create an epic video clip by British director Liam Gleeson with a soundtrack by The Antlers, an indie group from New York’s Brooklyn district.

Women Autumn 2013 is marked by contrasts: An ambiguous mix of mannish and feminine style, and a sharp contrast between elegance and grunge. Baroque and Byzantine influences are fused and combined with sporty and punk rock looks.

Seattle checked The season sets off with a trend reborn from Seattle’s ‘grunge’ movement from the 1990s, spearheaded by bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam or Soundgarden. Classic tartan checks feature on shirts, trousers, overcoats or jackets teamed with more feminine garments like dresses in red and black floral prints. The palette of colors is completed with grey melange, together with marbled and tinted effects to create a faded look. This collection is all about detail, with patches, T-shirts with messages or rock bands, baby doll style dresses, biker jackets, ripped or unstitched jeans and military safari jackets in khaki tones.

Black and blue Sports are the underlying theme in this line, combining ultra high-tech and sophisticated lines for a deluxe sporty look. The fabrics and the finishes are the stars of this particular show, ranging from high-tech elements such as neoprene or geometric and ornamental quilting, to leather finishes. The cuts feature cocooning sleeves, pencil skirts, wrap-over and origami skirts, raglan sleeves or crop tops. Klein blue is combined with white, black and mustard, together with metallic tones in silver and wet look fabrics in natural shades.

Oriental Baroque Baroque prints in black and gold feature on garments in oriental style, with the spotlight on cigarette trousers with contrasting tone waistbands, skirts in a selection of cuts and colors, bomber jackets, sweatshirts and knitwear with gold laminates. The range features quilted fabrics with embroidered designs and black Astrakhan for overcoats.

Le cravate A tribute to the English dandy: Tie prints are combined with waistbands and pipingin contrasting tones. The key lies in creating a total look for jackets and trousers in the same print. Another strong feature is the masculine two-tone vertical stripe, all in grey melange together with black, burgundy and bottle greens. 1940s dress shoes, cigarette trousers, destructured blazers, wrap-over skirts and oversized shirts are mixed with college-style T-shirts and sweatshirts, wide rugby stripes or bomber jackets and baseball jackets, for a younger feel.

Byzantine folk This revamped folk look casts its gaze on the traditions of the Middle East, taking its references from Byzantine prints and fabrics, Persian rugs, Russian folklore and sacred art. A mix of floral prints, tapestries and borders in flowing, feminine fabrics are combined with thicker materials such as knitwear or fur. The key garments are jumpsuits, wrap-over skirts, kimonos, quilted garments or thick yarn embroidery detail.

The color palette is based on black, burgundy, maroon, old gold and turquoise.

Man Jeans in the deepest indigo and the world of denim laundries; the street style of Emos, Goths, grunge or skaters; the ‘Cafe Racers’ dedicated to the peculiar art of restoring motorbikes in 1950s England; and mountains and open air winter sports. Four totally unrelated worlds, yet which set out this season’s hottest trends.

Indigo revolution Our inspiration stems from the world of denim laundries:

The way this fabric is worked, the finishes and treatments applied during the washing process... during the course of the coming season, legendary indigo will combine with other tones to form an epic trilogy: Whites and light greens to start, followed by tans and mustards, before ending with burgundy.

Acid zombie A mixture of ‘tribes’ - Emos, Goths, grunge and skaters come together under the influence of the urban art of Parra, Roa or Blu Blu, amongst others, and the influence of zombie Bmovies. Denim jeans withstand some tough stone washes for an ‘acid wash’, oversized check print shirts with an aged appearance, skinny leg trousers and black above all other colors, with splashes of blues and reds.

Motorhall ‘Cafe Racer’ was a style of biking that was popular in the UK back in the 1950s, mainly among the ‘Rockers’ and which became an authentic way of life. Groups such as ‘Deus Ex Machina’, ‘Blitz’, ‘El Solitario MC’ and the ‘Borso Brothers’ emerged from this art, whose websites, videos and visual approach are the inspiration for styles such as moleskin leather biker jackets and over-shirts. We’ve created the total look with biker jeans, black or grey shirts and T-shirts and knitwear with Mexican tattoo designs, chiefly influenced by tattooist JoshSutterby.

Little Mountain Life in the mountains and outdoor activities in cabins, lakes and snowy forests. Postcards from our imagination that bring to mind quilted parkas, Jacquard knitwear, items in corduroy and thick knit socks, this time mixed with more high-tech, upto-date details, in a palette of colors featuring oranges, yellows, greens and burgundies to brighten up those dull grey winter days.

account has more than 21,000.

The show has also included mixed traditional stencil designs with installation art. One of the highlights is a slaughterhouse delivery truck stuffed with soft toy animals, which appeared first in Manhattan’s uber trendy meatpacking district. Called “The Sirens of the Lambs,” the cuddly toy pigs, sheep, chickens and cows are operated by puppeteers and will tour the city for the next two weeks. A New York delivery truck converted into a mobile garden, featuring a rainbow, waterfall and butterflies, also visits a different place each day at dusk.— AFP

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

lifestyle F e a t u r e s

The blue kitchen, living room and the den on display at the Louis Armstrong House Museum.

Louis Armstrong house marks 10 years as NYC museum

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The mirrored bathroom is on display at the Louis Armstrong House Museum.

A trumpet belonging to Louis Armstrong is on display for patrons at the Louis Armstrong House Museum.

o mark the 10th anniversary of the Louis Armstrong museum in the modest brick house where he lived for 28 years, curators are unveiling one of the jazz trumpeter’s most unusual artifacts - a plaster mask that had been stored in a cupboard for decades. Armstrong, who documented his career in unusual ways, had the life mask with a painted bronze-patina finish made in the 1950s. David Reese, curator of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, said it reveals creases on his forehead, bags under his eyes and scars on his lips from a lifetime of hornplaying.

Museum officials still aren’t sure who made the mask, but a photo of Armstrong proudly holding it alongside an unidentified couple may provide clues. Armstrong must have been pleased with it because there are photos showing it hanging in the house at the top of the stairs. His two-story home in the Corona section of Queens is remarkably understated for the charismatic performer whose improvisational playing style and raspy singing won him fame as far back as the 1920s.

The house and its furnishings, including a funky, blue wood-lacquered kitchen, are virtually unchanged from when Armstrong lived there with his wife, Lucille, from 1943 to 1971, when he died from a heart attack in his bedroom at age 69. The man known as Satchmo could have lived in a house with “a pool in the shape of a trumpet” but chose to stay in the working-class neighborhood, said Michael Cogswell, director of the national and city landmark.

“Louis wasn’t treated as a celebrity here,” Cogswell said. He could go to the corner barbershop and “wait his turn in line with the other men from the community.” When Armstrong’s bus would return from a tour, children from the block would help carry his trumpet and suitcases inside the house. “Then Lucille would fix up bowls of ice cream for everybody, and they would watch Westerns together on TV,” Cogswell said.

After Lucille died in 1983, Armstrong’s vast collection of home-recorded tapes, photographs, scrapbooks and other material was

A written note and eyeglasses belonging to Louis Armstrong on display.

donated to Queens College by the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. It is the largest publicly held archival collection devoted to a jazz musician in the world. “The house was frozen in time. It was stuffed,” Cogswell said.

“Louis was a packrat.”

Queens Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras said the museum has a long-standing history “as being a mini-mecca for jazz lovers” and that Armstrong’s “spirit and love of music is still very much a part of the community.” Along with the life mask, a 10th anniversary exhibition focuses on Armstrong’s six-week tour of South America in 1957. Armstrong was still reeling over the “Little Rock Nine” school integration crisis in Arkansas weeks earlier, and a photograph shows him in his Buenos Aires hotel room defiantly hanging up on the US ambassador, who had

asked him to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at that evening’s concert.

More than 100,000 people have visited the museum since its opening. A new visitor and state-of-the-art multimedia exhibition center with a 72-seat jazz club across the street is scheduled to open in 2016. The massive archive will be moved there, allowing its current exhibition space - the Armstrongs’ basement recreation room - to return to the way it looked originally. “We want to be in our own way the Graceland of New York City,” Cogswell said. — AP

The dressing room is on display at the Louis Armstrong House Museum.

Where to find JFK history 50 years after his death

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hree cities loom large in the life and death of John F Kennedy: Washington, DC, where he was president and senator; Dallas, where he died; and Boston, where he was born. With the 50th anniversary of his November 22, 1963 assassination at hand, all three offer places where you can learn more about him or honor his legacy. Here’s a list of museums, monuments, historic sites and events in those cities and a few others around the country.

Boston area Tour: A walking tour of downtown Boston looks at JFK as an emerging politician in the context of his Irish immigrant ancestors and family political connections, with stops at the JFK statue on the Boston State House lawn; the Union Oyster House, where he often dined in an upstairs booth; the Parker House hotel, where he proposed to Jacqueline Bouvier, and Faneuil Hall, where he gave his last speech in the 1960 campaign. The $12 tour meets Wednesday-Saturday, 11:30 am, Boston Common Visitor Center, 139 Tremont St, Presidential Library and Museum: The I.M. Pei-designed museum houses permanent displays on the campaign trail, Kennedy’s family and the first lady, along with special exhibits on the Cuban missile crisis and Jackie’s White House years.

Birthplace: Kennedy, one of nine children, was born at 83 Beals St, in Brookline, a Boston suburb, in 1917. The house is a

National Park site.

Hyannis: In the 1920s, JFK’s father Joseph bought a waterfront vacation home for his family in Hyannis Port on Cape Cod, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Boston. Other family members including JFK bought property nearby. A seasonal cruise operates through Oct 27 offering views of the Kennedy Compound from the water, The privately operated JFK Hyannis Museum, open through November, has an exhibit on his last visits to the Cape.

Dallas area Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza: Kennedy’s assassin Lee Harvey Oswald fired at the president’s motorcade from a window on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. The site is now the Sixth Floor Museum. The privately operated museum has exhibits about the assassination and is hosting a series of talks by individuals connected to the events of that day, including authors of several new books; 411 Elm St. Memorial ceremony: On Nov 22, church bells will toll citywide at 12:25 pm, followed by a moment of silence at 12:30 pm, the time of the shooting. Events in Dealey Plaza will include Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough reading JFK speeches, a performance by the US Naval Academy Men’s Glee Club, a military flyover and prayers. Public viewing screens will be set up around the city to broadcast the event for members

In this Aug 26, 2009 file photo, visitors view the tomb of former President John F Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va, Wednesday, Aug 26, 2009.

of the public who were not among the 5,000 lucky enough to get tickets.

Other local sites connected to the assassination: Love Field airport (where JFK landed in Dallas and where Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president to replace him); Parkland Hospital (where Kennedy was taken and where Oswald died after being shot by Jack Ruby); and a marker in the Oak Cliff neighborhood at 10th and Patton streets where Oswald shot a police officer, JD Tippit. A 99-cent app, “JFK in Dallas 50,” offers an interactive map of Dallas, video and images related to the shooting.

Dallas LOVE Project: Dallas was branded the “City of Hate” after the killing. Some 30,000 works of art reflecting on Dallas as a city of love are going up around town this fall to mark the anniversary.

JFK Tribute: This sculpture of Kennedy in Fort Worth marks the spot where JFK spoke the morning of Nov 22 to crowds gathered outside his hotel, now the Fort Worth Hilton.

Amon Carter Museum of American Art: Through Jan 12, the museum hosts “Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs John F Kennedy,” which includes a Picasso and other works of art that were originally loaned by local collectors for a display in the hotel suite where the Kennedys spent the night before his assassination.

University of Texas at Arlington Libraries: An exhibit of 80

photos shows JFK and the first lady during their visit to Fort Worth, just before he arrived in Dallas.

In this Sept 12, 2000 file photo, a memorial statue of President John F Kennedy stands on the grounds of the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston.

This handout photo provided by the Newseum, and the estate of Jacques Lowe, shows John F. Kennedy at a news conference in Omaha, Neb in 1959. — AP photos

Washington DC area Arlington National Cemetery (Virginia): Kennedy’s gravesite is marked with an eternal flame, in accordance with his widow’s wishes.

Newseum: Through Jan 5, this privately operated museum hosts three exhibits related to JFK: “Creating Camelot,” family photos; “Three Shots Were Fired,” including artifacts like the Zapruder movie camera, which captured the shooting on film; and “A Thousand Days,” a short documentary about JFK’s 1,000day administration. On Nov 22, the Newseum hosts a “JFK Remembrance Day” including discussions and a three-hour rebroadcast of CBS News’ live coverage of the assassination. An evening program, “Eyewitness to History: The JFK Assassination 50 Years Later,” is scheduled for Nov 20.

Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History: Items related to the Kennedys can be found in exhibits on presidential elections and first ladies’ inaugural gowns. — AP

lifestyle

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

F e a t u r e s

File photos show people working on the restoration of the 15th century Early Flemish polyptych panel painting ‘The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’ by Jan and Hubert van Eyck in the Museum of Fine Arts in Gent. — AFP photos

Flemish masterpiece ‘Mystic Lamb’ under the microscope

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plit, stolen, even stashed in a salt mine, one of the world’s most mythical oils, Flemish masterpiece “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”, is undergoing its most ambitious clean-up in 600 years. By Flemish primitive masters Hubert and Jan Van Eyck-though Hubert remains something of a mystery-the 24-panel work is also known as the Ghent Altarpiece or Lamb of God, and features the first known nudes in Flemish art, Adam and Eve. Its unusually eventful past as well as questions over its genesis pose an extra challenge to the five-year restoration project taking place in full public view at the Ghent Fine Arts museum (MSK), with details also on website closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be.

“We’ll never find the exact original state, it just isn’t possible!” project leader Livia Depuydt-Elbaum told AFP. “With time, colors fade, materials alter. But we can get closer than has ever been possible before.” After a year at work, stateof-the-art analysis has also shown that the wood in two panels was carved out of the same tree. Infrared reflectography has revealed an early sketch hidden under layers of paint. “It is a much finer work than ever said before, which uses extremely complex painting techniques,” said art historian Helene Dubois after poring over St John the

Baptist’s robe with a special 3-D microscope at the Ghent museum. Visitors to the museum in the Belgian city can see the work in progress behind a large glass panel.

‘No catastrophic gaps’ Already the iconic Van Eyck reds and greens, the optical effects and mastery of detail such as fabric patterns and jewels are emerging from beneath old dulled varnishes.

Hopes are that the 1.2-million-euro ($1.6 million) project will clear up questions about the creation of the work-how long it took to complete, which of the brothers or their assistants painted what? Little is known about the Van Eyck family and although Jan’s works are famous, not a single painting has been attributed with certainty to Hubert.

Some even doubt his existence.

“We have noticed huge differences in painting technique,” said Dubois. “There are very big differences in quality not only between the panels but also between different parts of one panel.” In the first months, conservationists researched the work’s chaotic history before painstakingly scraping off coats and coats of yellowing varnish and layers of over-paint at a rate of just four square centimeters a day.

“All in all there are no catastrophic gaps, no faces or key elements have been badly damaged or attacked,” said Depuydt-Elbaum. The worst problem area is a large white spot in St John the Evangelist’s robe, she said. That panel was either badly restored in the past or left too close to a window in the almost 100 years the work spent in a Berlin museum, where its side panels were sawn apart to separate back and front.

From its start, the talk of Europe Made of 12 oak panels painted on both sides, the massive altarpiece from its beginnings was the talk of Europe, attracting kings and queens to St Bavo’s cathedral in Ghent-even German artist Albrecht Durer made the trip in 1521. According to letters etched into the frame that make up a chronogram in Roman numerals, the immense 4.4 x 3.4-metre (yard) work dates to 1432 — although art historians squabble about whether it was really finished by then.

The red capital letters are part of a four-line verse stating that Hubert Van Eyck, “a greater man than whom cannot be found,” began the work, but that it was completed by Jan, “the second greatest artist.”

With the Reformation, Protestants attacked Ghent in

the 16th century and the altarpiece was hauled up to safety in the St Bavo tower. Two centuries later, panels that had been seized by the French were returned to the church by the Duke of Wellingon after his victory at Waterloo against Napoleon. Ghent sold them not long after to an art dealerwith the exception of the Adam and Eve panels whose nudity was a moral shocker at the time-from where they wound up in the hands of the king of Prussia before heading home. In 1934, two of the panels were stolen in Ghent and one-The Just Judges remains misssing to this day.

Sent to the Vatican for protection during World War II, the panels went instead to France and were seized by the Nazis, who later hid them in a salt mine in Austria. There they were saved from planned destruction by the 3rd US Army. Art historian and restorer Dubois said she first saw the work at age 15 and was transfixed. “It inspired me to become who I am,” she said. “After 600 years, this work has not yet delivered all its secrets.”—AFP

Director secretly shoots feature at Disney parks

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Photo shows Dolores Del Rio in a scene from the film ‘Maria Candelaria,’ 1944, directed by Emilio ‘El Indio’ Fernandez, and cinematography by Gabriel Figueroa.

‘Enemigos,’ 1933, directed by Chano Urueta and cinematography by ‘La Perla,’ directed by Emilio ‘El Indio’ Fernandez, and cinematography by Gabriel Figueroa.

Gabriel Figueroa.

— AP photos

Under the Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa-Art and Film

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rom the early 1930s through the early 1980s, the Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa (1907-1997) helped forge an evocative and enduring image of Mexico. Among the most important cinematographers of the so-called Golden Age of Mexican Cinema, Figueroa worked with leading directors from Mexico, the United States and Europe, traversing a wide range of genres while maintaining his distinctive and vivid visual style.

In the 1930s, Figueroa was part of a vibrant community of artists in many media, including Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, Edward Weston and Manuel Alvarez Bravo, who sought to convey the country’s transformation following the trauma of the Mexican Revolution. Later, he adapted his approach to the very different sensibilities of directors Luis Bunuel and John Huston, among others.

Figueroa spoke of creating una imagen mÈxicana. His films are an essential part of the network of appropriations, exchanges and reinterpretations that formed Mexican visual identity and visual culture in the mid-twentieth century and

s a kid, Randy Moore was haunted by Disney World, where he made an annual trip during summers with his dad. So as an adult, and a filmmaker, Moore wanted to capture and question the allure of such manufactured-fantasy.

The result is “Escape From Tomorrow,” which was shot guerrillastyle at Disneyland and Disney World without permission from the famously proprietary Walt Disney Co., and which has actually made it to the screen. “I was pretty confident that Disney wasn’t about to go out of their way and give me permission,” Moore said, “so I didn’t ask them for it.”

The writer-director insists there was no other way to tell his story of a frustrated family man who begins losing his grip on reality during a trip to Disney World. So Moore and his crew bought season passes to Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and Disney World in Orlando, Fla, and used hand-held digital cameras to shoot scenes and tiny digital audio recorders to capture sound. They repeatedly rode It’s a Small World and other trademark Disney attractions to film from various perspectives - just like any other theatrical feature.

“Escape From Tomorrow,” available on video-on-demand and in select theaters Friday, first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. The black-and-white indie film quickly built a buzz based on its surreptitious shooting style and dark take on Disney, including the movie’s poster with what looks to be Mickey Mouse’s oversized hand covered in blood. The film also picked up its share of skepticism that it would ever be released. Representatives from Disney, which has a history of aggressively protecting its image, brands and intellectual property, did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

The company also hasn’t spoken to Moore or the film’s distributor. “We’ve had no contact with Disney at all whatsoever,” Moore said. But if anyone from the Mouse House, as it is known in the industry, did contact him, he wouldn’t be afraid. “I would ask them if they liked it or what they thought about it,” he said.

The director was afraid, however, during the crew’s secret filming outings at Disneyland and Disney World, but not because they were filming illegally. “What I was worried about was letting down my cast and crew, who had come on this ride with me,” he said. “As a first-time director, I think the hardest thing is getting everyone to see your vision and believe in it and want to help you to achieve that.”

He never intended to make a guerrilla film, he said: “The style of the film came from the story, and ... there was no other way we could make it. I hope to God the next thing I do doesn’t require this same style. It’s traumatizing.” Yet for Moore, again, it’s not about copyright violations and the wrath of Disney, but rather the time limits inherent in such shooting. “We believe that

the film fell under the fair-use doctrine as a parody of an idyllic day at Disney World. Branding is so much a part of our culture, and it’s everywhere.

And (Disney) is everywhere. They’re so ubiquitous, you can’t get away from them even if you tried... To not be able to comment or critique or parody that (ubiquity), I just think it’s morally unacceptable.”— AP

Jack Dalton as Elliot closing the door in a scene from ‘Escape from Tomorrow,’ a feature film by writer/director Randy Moore.

Roy Abramsohn as Jim losing his head in a scene from ‘Escape from Tomorrow.’

beyond. The exhibition features film clips, paintings, photographs, posters and documents, many of which are drawn from Figueroa’s archive and the Televisa Foundation collections. In addition, the exhibition includes work by contemporary artists and filmmakers that draw from the vast inventory of distinctly Mexican imagery associated with Figueroa’s cinematography.

In Los Angeles, the exhibition is co-presented by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is generously supported by the Televisa Foundation, the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (Conaculta), and the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA). The exhibition “Under the Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa - Art and Film,” is on view at LACMA from September 22, 2013 through February 2, 2014, in Los Angeles.-www.lacma.org Roy Abramsohn as Jim freaking out during a ride in the amusement park on the last day of his family vacation in a scene from ‘Escape from Tomorrow,’ a feature film by writer/director Randy Moore.—AP photos

Flemish masterpiece ‘Mystic Lamb’ under the microscope

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

A picture taken on October 27, 2010 shows Lebanese singer Wadih El-Safi acknowledging the audience during a concert at the Opera House in the Syrian capital, Damascus.—AFP photos

Wadih El-Safi Frank Sinatra of the Middle East

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lassical Lebanese singer and actor, Wadih El-Safi, died at the age of 92 on Friday evening after being taken to the hospital due to illness, reported the official Lebanese news agency. “The artist was present at the home of his son Tony in Mansuriyya (East Beirut) and was immediately taken to hospital after he fell ill at 7:30 pm. He died at the hospital,” a statement from the agency said.

His funeral will be held today at St George’s Cathedral in downtown Beirut. Safi was moved months ago to Mount Lebanon hospital after suffering from fractures and swelling of the lungs that affected his heart, according to the An-Nahar Lebanese newspaper.

In September 2012, several media outlets announced that the singer’s health deteriorated dramatically following surgery to a broken leg.

Wadih is known to have enriched the Arab music library with outstanding works of art. He is a singer, a composer and considered one of the musical giants in Lebanon and the Arab world.

His first appearance was at the Lebanese song competition in 1938, in which he won the first place amongst 40 other contestants.

On social media, an outpour of grief has been seen since the news was first announced. Several Twitter users have wished Safi to “rest in a musical heaven.” “#RIP Wadih El-Safi, a cultural icon, a Christian loved by Muslims, A Lebanese loved by all Arabs. Simply a legend,” tweeted Egyptian journalist and blogger Nervana Mahmoud.

American-born Arabic singer Lara Scandar tweeted: “A pillar of Arabic music was taken away but we’ll never forget the art he left behind. Rest in heavenly peace Wadih El-Safi.” Other users described Safi as the “The Frank Sinatra of Lebanon and the Middle East.”

Musical career Wadih El-Safi is a classically trained tenor, having studied at the Beirut National Conservatory of Music. He became nationally known when, at seventeen, he won a vocal competition sponsored by the Lebanese Broadcasting Network. Safi began composing and performing songs that drew upon his rural upbringing and love of traditional melodies, blended with an urban sound, and creating a new style of modernized Lebanese folk music In 1947, Safi traveled to Brazil, where he remained until 1950. Safi toured the world, singing in many languages, including Arabic, Syriac, French, Portuguese and Italian. In the spring of 1973, Safi recorded and released a vinyl single with the songs “Grishlah Idi” lyrics by Ninos Aho and “Iman Ya Zawna” (lyrics by Amanuel Salamon), first one in Western Syriac and second one in Eastern Syriac. The music arrangements were done by Nuri Iskandar and the songs were produced especially for an Aramean Festival, which occurred in the UNESCO building in Beirut at that time where Safi participated as a singer.

Songs and recordings Safi has written over 3000 songs. He is well known for his mawawil (an improvised singing style) of ataba, mijana, and Abu el Zuluf. He has performed and recorded with many well-known Lebanese musicians including, Fairouz, and Sabah.—Al-Arabiya and Wikipedia

A combo of pictures shows Lebanese singer Wadih El-Safi performing and appearing in various events through his eventful life as a musician.