21st Oct 2013

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

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7Kuwait 22 denies 39 taking 20 Security Council seat GCC, Arab League, OIC back Riyadh on UN move

Egyptian forces fire teargas at protesters CAIRO: Egyptian security forces fired bird shot and teargas to prevent supporters of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi from marching yesterday to the site of a protest camp that was destroyed two months ago, a Reuters witness said. The crowd of about 100 people were students from Al-Azhar University, the historic seat of Sunni Muslim learning. They threw rocks at riot police stationed outside the gates of the university, and police threw the stones back. The university is in the same Cairo suburb as the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, scene of one of two pro-Morsi protest camps crushed by security forces on Aug. 14. Hundreds of protesters were killed.

“Rabaa Square is completely off-limits,” a security source said. “Protesters are not allowed to move inside it.” A separate security source said 11 students had

been arrested. Authorities have cracked down hard on Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood. The group was outlawed by a court order after the army overthrew Mursi and installed an interim government in July following massive street protests a year after his election.

Brotherhood leaders, including Morsi, have been arrested on charges of inciting or taking part in violence.

Brotherhood supporters say they will keep protesting until the army-backed government falls. But demonstrations are far smaller than the ones that immediately followed Mursi’s downfall. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that security forces took action after 3,000 students blocked roads around the AlAzhar campus. A few police trucks kept students from moving beyond the front Continued on Page 15

MP wants answers on new banknotes Hashem slams Iraqi lawmaker

By A Saleh KUWAIT: MP Humoud Al-Hamdan has queried Deputy PM and Finance Minister Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah about the new Kuwaiti currency notes. In his inquiry, Hamdan said that according to the Financial Times on Kuwait’s preparations to issue plastic banknotes, the Central Bank has signed a contract with the British De La Rue company to manufacture the new currency. Accordingly, he inquired why the currency will be changed, the project’s cost, whether the same was done in other countries and why this company in particular was chosen and without following the standard tender procedures.

Separately, MP Safa Al-Hashem yesterday criticized her Iraqi lawmaker Alia Naseef for accusing Kuwait of expanding into Iraq by buying more Iraqi territories.

“Naseef’s accusations are groundless,” she stressed, pointing out that despite the

unforgettable sorrows in the souls of each and every Kuwaiti resulting from the Iraqi invasion, Kuwait has had an upper hand over Iraq for years and it was still following wise policies with it.

“Kuwait is simply a democratic country that believes in neighborly and refined political and diplomatic practices.

Therefore I advise this lawmaker to calm down and mind her own country’s affairs.

Why don’t you think more seriously to find solutions and legislations that will help get Iraqis out of their sick sectarian tragedies and poverty despite its wealth?” Hashem suggested.

Notably, Naseef is known for her antiKuwait diatribes and making several offensive statements such as accusing Kuwaitis of trying to purchase Iraqi lands to include them to Kuwaiti territories to expand at Iraq’s expense. She has also criticized the Mubarak port for the same reason and accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi oil.

CAIRO: An Egyptian student of Al-Azhar university kicks a tear gas canister fired by riot police during clashes outside their university campus yesterday following an anti-army protest. — AFP

MANAMA: Kuwaiti diplomats have denied media reports that Kuwait would supplant Saudi Arabia at the United Nations Security Council. Riyadh last week said that it rejected its rotating Security Council seat hours after winning it, saying that the council was incapable of ending wars and resolving conflicts in the Middle East. Reports said that Kuwait was next on the list of Asian countries to take the two-year membership on Jan 1. However, Kuwaiti daily Al Kuwaitya yesterday reported that “diplomatic sources denied the claims that Kuwait had accepted to take the Security Council seat.” The daily did not identify the sources.

The Saudi position was backed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an alliance that brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In a statement released on Saturday, the GCC “commended the call by Saudi Arabia for reforming the Security Council and empowering it to effectively and practically to carry out its duties and to assume its responsibilities towards maintaining international peace and security, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations”.

GCC Secretary General Abdul Lateef Al-Zayani stressed “the significance of the Saudi call to achieve fundamental reforms in the Security Council that will support its role as a United Nations body responsible for all the consequences of the main issues of global peace and security, particularly that our world today is in dire need of the role and international legitimacy of the Security Council amid political and security turmoil.”

Zayani attributed the Saudi decision to turn down the rotating seat to the ineptitude of the Security Council to carry out its duties to render its responsibilities, particularly towards Arab issues. “The rejection is based on Saudi Arabia’s keenness on regional stability and its historic interest in Arab issues and concerns and as well as in international matters and global stability,” he said. “The position of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reflects its commitment to international legitimacy and a sincere desire to activate the role of the Security Council and the various organs and institutions of the United Nations in order to respond to global calls in this regard, and make the world more cooperative, stable and secure,” Zayani said. Arab League Secretary General Nabeel Al-Arabi said that he backed the Saudi position Continued on Page 15

Egypt family rejects Israel honor CAIRO: A member of the family of the first Arab honored by Israel for risking his life to save Jews during the Holocaust says the family isn’t interested in the recognition. The Egyptian doctor, Mohamed Helmy, was honored posthumously last month by Israel’s Holocaust memorial for hiding Jews in Berlin during the Nazis’ genocide, but a family member tracked down by The Associated Press this week in Cairo said her relatives wouldn’t accept the award, one of Israel’s

most prestigious. “If any other country offered to honor Helmy, we would have been happy with it,” Mervat Hassan, the wife of Helmy’s greatnephew, told the AP during an interview at her home in Cairo this week. Mohamed Helmy was an Egyptian doctor who lived in Berlin and hid several Jews during the Holocaust. Last month, he was honored by Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial as “Righteous Among the Nations” - the highest honor given to a non-Jew

Syrian activist keeps toll of war From UK, one man feeds Western media COVENTRY, England: He’s practically a one man band, but Rami Abdurrahman’s influence extends far beyond his modest home in this small English city. The bald, bespectacled 42year-old operates the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights from his house in the cathedral city of Coventry - and a review of recent media coverage suggests its running tally of killings and clashes is the most frequently cited individual source of information on Syria’s civil war for the world’s leading news organizations.

“He’s just everywhere,” said Joshua Landis, the director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. “He’s the go-to guy for figures. ... I can’t think of anybody who comes close.”

Abdurrahman, who says he makes his living from a local clothing shop, says the Observatory relies on four unnamed activists in Syria and a wider network of monitors across the country to document and verify clashes and killings. But as the Observatory has increasingly found itself at the center of Western reporting on Syria’s civil, some say his figures - and his sources - need more scrutiny.

Opponents say Abdurrahman is in cahoots with the opposition forces bankrolled by Gulf Arab states, skewing casualty figures to keep the spotlight off rebel atrocities. Others contend that Abdurrahman is in league with the Syrian regime. They accuse him of overplaying incidents of sectarian violence to blacken the reputation of those trying to topple President

Max 32º Min 19º High Tide 00:22 & 13:55 Low Tide 07:31 & 19:29

Bashar Assad. Abdurrahman sees the competing allegations as evidence that’s he’s being fair; “You know you’re doing a good job when all the sides start to attack you,” he said in a recent interview. Still, one prominent critic says it boggles the mind that a man living in

COVENTRY, England: Rami Abdurrahman gestures during an interview on Oct 10, 2013. — AP Coventry is somehow able to count and categorize the dead in Syria hour by hour, every day of the week. “Something is going on which is quite fishy,” said As’ad AbuKhalil, a professor of Middle Eastern politics at California State University Stanislaus.

Abdurrahman was working on four hours’ sleep when he met AP at Coventry’s drablooking train station earlier this month. He’d planned to get to bed by 10 pm the previous night, but rebel infighting in the Syrian border town of Azaz meant he stayed up until 2 am monitoring developments. He got up again at 6 am to check for overnight updates.

“It’s not a nine-to-five job,” Rami said as he drove across the city, a white dove-shaped air freshener dangling from his rearview mirror.

By his own account, Abdurrahman operates as a kind of human switchboard, fielding calls round-the-clock from Syrian activists, international journalists, and human rights workers.

Particularly intense news days had seen up to 500 calls, he said.

Suspicions have long dogged Abdurrahman. Is the self-exiled Syrian really who he says he is? Who’s behind his organization? And is he accurate enough to justify the world’s reliance on his reporting? Switching from English to Arabic and often speaking through a translator, Abdurrahman - whose real name is Ossama Suleiman - defended his decision to use a pseudonym as part of the Arab tradition of the nom de guerre. He said he received money from a European human rights group, but declined to name it. Only after prodding did he say he had been receiving less than Ä100,000 ($137,000) a year since 2012 in support of his work. “We’re in a state of war,” he said.

Continued on Page 15

for risking great personal dangers to rescue Jews from the Nazis’ gas chambers.

Yesterday, the museum criticized the family’s decision. “We regret that political sentiment seems to have overcome the human aspect and hope one day that the latter will prevail,” Yad Vashem said in a written statement. Typically, the museum tries to track down living family members to present the award in a ceremony, Continued on Page 15

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

LOCAL

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir heading the extraordinary Cabinet meeting yesterday.

Amir briefs Cabinet on visit to US Praise for ‘positive’ political relationship KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah chaired yesterday an extraordinary Cabinet session at Seif Palace, briefing the ministers about his recent visit to the United States where President Barack Obama assured him about his keenness on maintaining close bilateral relations.

The special government meeting was attended by HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim and Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah.

Following the session, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Health Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah stated that HH the Amir explained to the min-

isters results of his recent official visit to the US capital, where he met President Barack Obama.

The US President, during the meeting with HH the Amir, re-affirmed historic and distinguished ties bounding the two friendly countries in various spheres and joint keenness on bolstering mutual cooperation, said Sheikh Mohammad. Discussions between HH the Amir and President Obama in Washington dealt with means of tackling the issue of Kuwaiti detainees in Guantanamo, securing fair prosecution for them, current political developments in the Middle east and their repercussions at various levels, he said, adding that the two leaders discussed, in particular the Palestinian cause, avenues to boost efforts

for establishing viable, just and comprehensive peace in the region, plans to end the tragic conditions suffered by the Syrian people and other issues of joint interest.

His Highness the Amir also informed the ministers about his talks with US Vice President Joe Biden that dealt with promoting the bilateral relations in various spheres between the two countries for service of the common interests of the friendly peoples of Kuwait and the US. Moreover, HH the Amir addressed the ministers about his meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon who lauded Kuwait’s principled stance in support of peace and humanity and affirmed his appreciation for Kuwait’s hosting of the second conference

for donors for Syrian people.

At the local level, Sheikh Sabah expressed satisfaction at the positive relationship bounding the National Assembly and the Government that depicts the joint desire for constructive cooperation, thus bolstering serious and objective supervision, hoping that “such sincere intentions be transformed into the aspired outcome as the citizens aspire to.”

HH the Crown Prince expressed deep appreciation for HH the Amir’s great efforts to raise aloft the name of Kuwait and solidify its high status among nations. For his part, Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim stated that he had sensed, during a recent tour along with members of parliament, leaders’ special respect and admiration for HH the Amir due to

his wisdom and substantial experience as well as his keenness on maintaining Kuwait’s abidance by its principles and stances.

Furthermore, Al-Ghanim affirmed desire, on behalf of the MPs, to cooperate with the government, boost development, serve interests of the homeland and citizens according to the Constitution, laws and supreme national interests. For his part, HH Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah expressed on behalf of the ministers pride of the paramount role of HH the Amir, who, with aid of HH the Crown Prince, has pushed forward national action, enhanced Kuwait’s status, affirming the government serious bids to spare no effort for achieving national objectives in cooperation with the parliament. — KUNA

Govt to present ‘totally different’ program KUWAIT: As the parliamentary term is about to be opened on Oct 29, high ranking officials said the government will present a totally different program from previous ones, besides that all other issues will be settled by dialogue and agreement.

Parliamentary sources hoped the government takes the initiative and announce a positive surprise by presenting its working program to the assembly which is something to be added to its credit, while at the same time it will prevent some MPs who were said to be planning to grill ministers, specially after the council of ministers was able to hold marathon

meetings during the past two months resulting in setting the basis and rules which ministries followed when they put their programs in the program.

High rank ing sources at the Ministry of Planning said Minister Dr Rola Dashti presented the government’s working program to the council of ministers during the session before Eid Al-Adha holiday through lists, priorities and time schedules of major vital projects, which was agreed to complete them within certain dates, adding that the program will be presented again at today’s session.

About the projects that were included in the time schedule, the sources said there are at least 30 projects headed by transforming Kuwait into a financial and commercial center, electronic monitoring of prices, airport development and construction of the third runway which is supposed to be completed at the beginning of 2016.

About the housing projects, the sources said the most impor tant issues in the program is to support the private sector, and there will be a new financing mechanism to enable the private sector to execute the housing project especially in cities.

KUWAIT: Director General of Jahra Seucrity Maj Gen Ibrahim Al-Tarrah honored policemen who arrested suspects who robbed a camp on Liyyah road. He lauded the policemen and their efforts to ensure security and safety of citizens and expats. — By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Kuwait’s chance to restructure debt realistically

By Fadi Majdalani, Ronald Maalouf and Georges Al Feghali KUWAIT: The global financial crisis of 2008 is not yet over for many of Kuwait’s investment companies or for the Kuwaiti economy. Relying on short-term debt to fund illiquid assets, investment companies faced problems once the crisis-hit banking sector turned off the financial tap. Instead of confronting the gap between their assets and liabilities, and their flawed business model, companies secured debt agreements that prevented bankruptcy and proper debt workouts. Fortunately, the expiry of these debt agreements is an opportunity that Kuwait must seize to restructure the investment companies and unlock investment for the broader economy.

Kuwait should instead take a new approach that will identify sound investment companies and close those that are insolvent in all but name. This is in contrast to the debt agreements, known as “extend and pretend”, that keep credit lines open, allowing investment companies not to recognize asset losses. Kuwait’s legal and regulatory framework, which favors debtors, have supported investment companies and put them in a strong position with their bank creditors. Some companies have used “extend and pretend” to keep paying operating expenses.

Stakeholders should follow a three -step process of separating viable from non-viable companies, sustainably restructuring debt, and liquidating non-viable companies in an orderly manner. This process will also restructure investment companies at a time when the banks are

stronger and better capitalized, and so more able to absorb likely losses.

The first step is for the authorities to create an independent task force that will distinguish between investment companies with a future and those that must close. The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) and the Capital Markets Authority should provide the mandate for the task force.

Independence is vital so that the assessment of assets is accurate and honest. In the past, management in some investment companies did not provide frank appraisals of their assets. Such an independent inventory process will facilitate a comparison of the valuation and monetization possibilities for assets and the maturity of debt and liabilities. The task force will be able to ask if companies have solvency levels that they can support or whether their equity has any value.

It can judge whether there is sufficient recurring income from asset disposals, dividends, and fees, to service debt and cover overhead costs, and if there are funds for the business to keep operating and investing.

The second step takes the viable companies and restructures their debt so that they can keep functioning. The point is to have sound information as a basis for action, creditors’ alignment, and innovative long-term solutions.

There are two options available: outof-court work-outs or workouts through the 2009 Financial Stability Law (FSL). Out-of-court work-outs require that the company initially seek an agreement based on the consensus of all its creditors. The regulators can assist in forging the agreement by acting as independent mediators and should not hesitate to become active-

ly involved. The CBK, in particular, can play a role.

If no agreement is reached between the company and its creditors within three to six months, then an FSL work-out is needed. FSL proceedings, which have been little used, facilitate a court-approved restructuring and protect the investment company being pushed directly to bankruptcy by its creditors. The third step is to get non-viable companies out of the market. This means that shareholders have to confront the depletion of their equity and creditors have to accept haircuts (in which the market value of assets is reduced to provide collateral).

Regulators have an important role to play. They should start involuntary liquidations if necessary. They should also be able to replace managers with external liquidators to oversee the closure of non-viable investment companies and the distribution of remaining assets to stakeholders. The regulators should also provide specific rules and guidance that enable shareholders to initiate voluntary bankruptcy proceedings.

The losses in Kuwait’s investment companies have overshadowed the financial sector for too long. Creditors, shareholders, regulators, and managers should recognize that by cooperating they can end this uncertainty.

By doing so, they will free up close to $40 billion of capital that could be productively used elsewhere in the economy.

NOTE: Majdalani is a Partner, MarcAlbert Hamalian and Principal, Maalouf is Senior Associate and Feghali is an Associate

Gulf’s social media usage transforming brand engagement KUWAIT: Increasing social media interaction and high levels of connectivity in the Middle East are transforming the methods of brand engagement by businesses in the region.

“Social media driven digital engagement is a disrupting force that is among the most significant factors driving business today,” said Trixee Loh, senior vice president at Dubai World Trade Centre, speaking ahead of Gitex next week.

“Users are more empowered and vocal than ever, which presents unique opportunities and completely redefines

the concept of ‘business as usual’. The pressure to adapt (digitally) is immense.”

According to Ipsos, the UAE tops the regional internet penetration rate table with 71 per cent, followed by Kuwait (62 per cent), Qatar (61 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (60 per cent). Recent figures from the Dubai School of Government reveal that the Arab region now boasts around 125 million Internet users, 53 million of which actively use social media.

Social media analysts State of Search said that 80 per cent of Internet users in the MENA region spend more than one

hour each day updating their social networking channels.

State of Search adds that there are 36,000 new Facebook users in MENA, while Google figures show there are 100 million YouTube video playbacks in the region every day, as well as an hour’s worth of video uploaded every minute.

“We are living in an increasingly connected society and securing the digital world has become a top priority for most businesses in the region,” said Hisham Surakhi, general manager of Gemalto Middle East.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

LOCAL

Eid sees loads of cash spent, big chunk of it abroad Call to boost local tourism

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Holidays and particularly the Eid holiday is the season of spending.

And due to the long period of this holiday, more money was spent, especially on restaurants, entertainment, and outfits. A great percentage of the spending took place abroad, as thousands of people left Kuwait. According to people who stayed in the country, restaurants and entertainment facilities for kids were the top expenses. Estimates show that more than 250,000 passengers left Kuwait during the Eid holidays. According to General Directorate of Civil Aviation, more than 121,000 passengers left Kuwait through Kuwait International Airport within the first three days, while about 70,000 travelled through land borders.

Hajaj Bukhadour, an economic analyst, believes Kuwait lost another KD 1 billion which the potential tourists may have

spent in Kuwait if it was a touristic country. “All countries pay attention to tourism as it is an important economic source for the country. Unfortunately, Kuwait is not one of these countries and tourism here is appalling. Kuwaitis and expats who have accounts in Kuwaiti banks spent around KD 1 billion during this short holiday inside and outside Kuwait, so if there were tourists visiting Kuwait, they would spent a similar amount here,” he told Kuwait Times.

“If local tourism was attractive this would be an additional income of Kuwait.

Unfor tunately the awareness of the importance of tourism is very low in Kuwait between the people as well as the government and parliament. To have tourism in the country requires having laws for visa and residency and touristic projects to attract tourists and encourage local tourism,” he added.

Kuwait has all basic factors for tourism.

“In Kuwait we have components for

tourism much better that those available in other countries in the region. The weather here is much better than the humid weather is some of these countries. They don’t have anything additional that is not available here. We have sea, desert, shopping malls, entertainment places and everything available in these countries, yet the number of tourist there reaches about 8-10 million people per year, while in Kuwait the number is about 3 thousand only. Also Kuwait is cheaper compared to neighbor countries,” explained Bu Khadour.

This spending affects the local economy negatively. “This way of spending affects our economy and saving system, especially when people spend outside on things that are available in Kuwait. This situation and absence of tourism is a bad signal of the government’s and parliament’s performance,’ he concluded. Yousif Al-Halabi, an expatriate with three children spent this holiday in Kuwait. “I spent

most money on restaurants and entertainment places with the family. Also I gave cash (eidiya) to my children and other visiting kids. I also spent on children’s outfits for Eid. I didn’t travel as the prices of tickets are very high, the situation in some Arab countries is instable and popular tourist destinations are overcrowded, so I enjoyed Eid in Kuwait,” he stated. Um Ayoub, a Kuwaiti mother of four children, preferred to travel to Dubai.

“I’m fed up of the family visits that we have to do every year. So we decided to travel this Eid to Dubai for nine days. I don’t know exactly how much but I know we spent a huge amount of money there.

Mostly we spent on accommodation and tickets. We also spent on food and entertainment, as we visited many facilities such as Ski Dubai, the Global Village and Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi,” she said elaborating that the other expenses were for transportation. We didn’t spend much on shopping,” she sighed.

Dubai named most reputable city in Gulf KUWAIT: Dubai has been named as the most reputable city in the Gulf in a new list published by the New York-based Reputation Institute.

The global advisory firm, placed Dubai 41st position while Abu Dhabi (63rd) and the Saudi holy city of Makkah (86th) were also included in the list of 100 cities.

The Reputation Institute’s rankings surveyed 22,000 people in G8 countries between January and February 2013, according to a statement.

The yearly City RepTrak Study ranks the world’s 100 most reputable cities based on levels of trust, esteem, admira-

tion and respect, as well as perceptions regarding 13 attributes, grouped into three dimensions - advanced economy, appealing environment and effective government.

Dubai, which rose from 47th in the 2012 list, is now ahead of the likes of Los Angeles, Brisbane, Cape Town and Hong Kong in the list.

“People have images of a city on their mind when they are deciding to go on holiday there, to live or work there, or to buy products originated there. Our modeling demonstrates that a city that knows how to effectively manage its rep-

Support for Saudi stance on UNSC seat MANAMA: Bahrain announced yesterday its support for Saudi Arabia’s stance of not accepting the non-permanent seat at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) describing it as “historic, courageous and steady.”

“Saudi Arabia’s honorable decision to apologize for not accepting the non-permanent membership at the UN Security Council reflected clearly and boldly the stances of many countries which share its desire to enable the Council to carry out its duties in achieving justice and maintaining international peace and security effectively and practically,” Bahrain’s Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa said in a statement, forwarded by BNA. Also, the Bahraini premier expressed hope that the UNSC assume its required responsibilities, and that the Saudi stance should be backed strongly at all levels.

In the same context, Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday its full support for the Saudi stance of not accepting the seat, adding that the decision is a clear message in addressing the international double standards on Arab issues.

Moreover, the Ministry, in a statement, forwarded by BNA, said that Kingdom calls for supportive Arab and Islamic stance to attain “the desired momentum to have influence on the international community in order to achieve the desired reform in the manner that reinforces peace and security.”

The United Arab Emirates on Sunday voiced support for Saudi Arabia’s rejection

of a United Nations Security Council seat.

The UAE has followed with great interest the decision of Saudi Arabia to turn down a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, according to a statement issued by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE Foreign Minister, broadcast by the official news agency (WAM).

“The United Arab Emirates understands frustration that prompted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to make this decision, and the reasons given in the official statement of the Saudi Foreign Ministry, including the inaction of the Security Council on a number of regional historic and urgent issues.

This inaction continues to lead to several negative consequences for the security and stability of the region and the rights and lives of its peoples,” Sheikh Abdullah said.

“Affirming its total belief in international mechanisms and teamwork, the UAE considers that Saudi Arabia’s preliminary decision touches the conscience of Arabs and Muslims, especially in relation to the failure of these mechanisms to deal objectively with the issues and concerns of the region, even, in several cases, marginalising the views and stances of these countries on their vital and crucially momentous issues,” he added.

Sheikh Abdullah said that “Based on this, the United Arab Emirates backs the Saudi decision as a judicious and prudent stance which seeks to address the failure of the mechanisms of international teamwork and thus establish more fair and effective foundations for the way the UN Security Council deals with regional issues.”

KUWAIT: Jahra governorate fire department launched an inspection campaign on buildings and facilities that have petroleum tanks - be they above ground or underground - to make sure they have fire licenses and meet conditions of fire prevention.

Director of Jahra prevention department Col Khalid Al-Ajmi said there is coordination between the fire department and KOC to not supply any factory with oil products unless they meet the prevention conditions and have a fire license.

— By Hanan Al-Saadoun

utation can attract more tourists, greater investment or a bigger influx of talent,” said Fernando Prado, responsible for the Place Reputation Unit of Reputation Institute.

The list was topped by the Australian city of Sydney, which received a score of 77.4 on a 100-point scale, followed by Toronto (76.9), Stockholm (76.9), Vienna (76.9) and Venice (75.8).

At the opposite end of the scale are Cairo (46.1), Nairobi (44.4), Karachi (43.5), Tehran (32.1) and Baghdad (28.5).

Prado added: “The cities with the best reputations are those which have been

able to maintain a balance and certain leadership in each of the three dimensions of our model, while those cities with a poor reputation show bias towards fewer of the mentioned dimensions.

“The results of our study also demonstrate that neither the number of inhabitants nor the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an essential factor in the construction of a good reputation. In fact, none of the cities in the top ten of the RepTrak Study appear in the top ten in all of the aforementioned variables,” added Prado.

News

in brief

AL chief visits Kuwait CAIRO: The Arab League said here yesterday its Secretary General Nabil Al-Arabi will visit Kuwait tomorrow to discuss with Kuwaiti officials arrangements for an Arab-African summit due here on Nov 19 and 20. During his two-day stay in Kuwait, Al-Arabi will also discuss with Kuwaiti officials the current situation in the Arab world, an official source of the Arab League said. Before flying to Kuwait, Al-Arabi is set to go to Paris to attend a meeting of the Follow-Up Committee on the Arab Peace Initiative on Monday. He will also take part in a meeting between Arab foreign ministers and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the Middle East peace process, the source added.

Meanwhile, Egypt announced it will take part in the third Arab-African summit in Kuwait in November, Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Bader Abdulati told reporters.

UASC containers transport KUWAIT: United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) transported 4,144 containers to various Kuwaiti ports last month, said a company statement yesterday. The company said in a press release that its vessels had transported 1,860 containers from the Asian region, adding that the UASC also transported 1,146 containers from Europe. The company also transported 938 containers from the Mediterranean region and 200 others from the United States respectively, said the press release. The United Arab Shipping Company was established in 1976.

The UASC is headquartered in Kuwait.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

LOCAL kuwait digest

In my view

Need for UN reforms highlighted

Hindrance to development

By Muthaffar Abdullah

By Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg

A

S Al-Anbaa

questionnaire by an Arab research establishment disclosed that the prime problem Kuwaitis view as a hindrance to development lies in halting political reforms. Social problems came second while financial and administrative corruption came third. The PM is very lucky because we do not have a minister of tourism otherwise he would face a grilling motion following each vacation because of the thousands flocking abroad to spend them.

The Arab Center for Political Research and Studies recently issued its annual ‘Arab Indicator Report 2012-2013’ on Arab political and socioeconomic concerns. The report reviewed 14 Arab countries including Kuwait and surveyed the opinions of 21,350 people in the period from July 2012 to March 2013.

The questionnaire reviewed the following seven elements: Arab citizens’ opinions on general situations, how far they trust institutions, their political and democratic participation, the role of religion in public and political life, their opinions about the Arab world and Arab revolutions.

The questionnaire showed that 63 per cent of Kuwaitis believe that political conditions in Kuwait are bad and that the prime problem Kuwaitis view as a hindrance to development lies in halting political reforms. Social problems came second while financial and administrative corruption came third.

Political stagnancy by not updating the political process after 52 years since the inception of the constitution was probably the reason behind public grumbling about general situations, which is the main reason behind the state’s power giving way to that of social, sectarian and tribal bonds.

Without going into any further details about citizens’ problems nowadays, political reform is absolutely the solution that requires sincere combating of corruption and stricter law enforcement while planning to shift the state forward.

Kuwait lacks such political, legal and administrative requirements and is accordingly, trying to make up for public grumbling by spending more on pay hikes and public services. Such short-term policies and visions only result in creating more problems for the state and are nothing more than draining the public budget and paving the way for endless greed.

Today’s grants and incentives for both civilians and military be them in services or retired is but a way of wealth distribution regardless of work and productivity. They need strong, national and fearless calls to voice their danger to this country’s future. In short, the state is trying to buy temporary stability and peacefulness with public funds!

— Al-Jarida

kuwait digest

Constitutional amendments

By Dr Hassan Abbas

MP

Yaqoub Al-Sane has announced plans to propose a constitutional amendment which he said is necessary given the population growth. Not only was the call interesting, but the ‘overconfidence’ in his announcement gives the impression that preliminary approval has already become a reality while his proposal is only a formality.

I believe that any talk about constitutional amendments is enough to make every Kuwaiti skeptical and concerned about the future. We do not know what might come out of this amendment despite realizing that it is necessary in principle. We simply are ignorant of what could be going on behind the scenes and whether there is more to Sane’s request than meets the eye.

If we put conspiracy theories aside, and if we consider good intentions behind Sane’s proposal, the question remains: what guarantees are that his request will not be succeeded by other amendments as long as it helps break the phobia of constitutional amendments?

I believe that this question is legitimate especially since Sane’s proposal motivated Salafist Islamist MP Hmoud Al-Hamdan to reignite the traditional war against article 79 of the constitution and open the door for the ‘Islamization’ of the constitution. While the importance of the second article remains a subject of much debate, I believe that the 79th article is the most difficult because it will become ambiguous if reshaped in the way that Islamists want.

It is worth mentioning that HH the Amir rejected a similar attempt to amend article 79 (on March 16, 2012) and explained how the constitution becomes contradic-

tory by an amendment that makes it necessary for a law to meet the Islamic sharia in order to be passed. Such an amendment would require several other amendments in order to address the contradiction, and those steps will also be followed by repercussions that need to be put into consideration.

While I strongly advice reading it and going through the strong arguments that support the Amir’s point, let us put his response aside and discuss the Islamic point of view which Islamists demand as the standard for passing any law in the parliament. What is the definition of Islam from that point of view? Is there a unified point of view for religion in order to be set as a standard?

Aren’t there different interpretations of religious contexts that people are divided over and have as a result become followers of different sectarian groups? Does MP Hamdan believe that his own interpretation of Islamic sharia should be set as the standard?

If followers of the same Islamic school fail to agree on a common judgment, how can a certain point of view be taken as a standard to legislate laws that affect people of different beliefs? And when an issue of disagreement can spark armed conflict between followers of the same belief, what do you think will happen when disagreement happens between one side and another seen as disbelievers?

Constitutional amendments must lead towards more freedoms that translate into absorption of more sectors rather than eliminating them. Only under these circumstances can amendments be considered understandable, logical and acceptable. — Al-Rai

In my view

A strategic contradiction

By Ibrahim Al-Othaimain

US

President Barack Obama’s intended visit early this month to Asia for a weeklong trip to attend two summits was called off as it coincided with the US government shutdown. When looked at in conjunction with his visit to Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar soon after his election it reflects a strategic change in the Obama administration’s policy, shifting its focus from the Middle East to Asia in an attempt to restrict China’s rise. The question here, according to John Mearsheimer, professor of politics at the University of Chicago, is, will politics rather than economy be the deciding factor in restructuring the future of Asia as was the case with Europe in the last century?

In the early ‘60s the Chinese economy was no more than 6 percent of that of the US, whereas it is now more than 50 percent. If the growth rates of the two countries continue the way it is, as predicted by many analysts, the Chinese economy is expected to exceed that of the US within the next decade and to become the largest in the world within the next two decades. In 2009, this prompted the Obama administration to launch strategic economic dialogue with China in an attempt to understand the economic downturn of the US and the rise of the Chinese economy, which is seen by many financial and business experts as a threat to US sovereignty over international economy. China is currently seen as a dynamic contributor to the global economy, and its continued rise may represent a significant threat to the nature of the international system, and a sign of transition to a multipolar world as indicated by prominent US analysts such as Fareed Zakaria in “The Post-American World and The Ride of the Rest”.

There are two different approaches within the United States to deal with China. The first, rebalancing relations and the necessity of the “cooperative absorption” of China, is represented in the writings of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He asserts that Washington should accept the rise of Beijing and stresses the importance of political cooperation between the two countries and close alliances or consultative procedures to avoid conflict over control of the region. The second, confronting the rising influence of Beijing, is represented in the writings of Aaron Friedberg, professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University, who has worked as assistant minister of the US National Security and Director of Policy Planning. In particular in his book, “A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia”, Friedberg analyses strategies followed by the US and China in dealing with each other since the early 90s.

He concludes that China has always been a control-seeking power, and that to confront the growth of China and its mounting ambition, the US has to stand firm in the areas of Chinese influence. Friedberg quotes former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew as saying, “If you cannot stay steadfast in the Pacific region you can never be a world leader”. He says that if the US allows illiberal China to substitute it as a crucial player in this vital region, it will face grave danger regarding its interests and values throughout the world.

Under Obama the US has tended to adopt the confrontational approach. In early 2012, after ten years of war against Afghanistan and Iraq, he announced his new strategy which shifted US attention to Asia and the Pacific Ocean.

audi Arabia stunned the world on Friday by declining to occupy its recently won seat at the United Nations Security Council. The announcement came a few weeks after it had declined its turn to deliver its annual speech before the UN General Assembly. It was the first time that Saudi Arabia had decided to skip the speechmaking at the UN General Assembly annual opening.

But declining a UNSC seat was unprecedented. Saudi Arabia was one of the UN founding members in April 1945, in San Francisco, where Prince Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz, its then foreign minister, represented his country in Charter-signing ceremony. At the time, the world gave a collective sigh of relief that superpowers of the time agreed to a new world order that was supposed to avoid the fate of the previous order, led by the League of Nations, which had failed miserably to maintain peace and security.

So why does a UN founding member decline to take one of its most prestigious perks, a seat at the all-powerful Security Council?

The statement issued by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry gave a number of reasons, including the following: First: “Current working methods, mechanisms and double standard of the Security Council have prevented it from shouldering its responsibilities in maintaining international peace and security.”

Second: “All international efforts at reforming the UNSC, in which Saudi Arabia has taken part, have failed.”

Third: UNSC failure to resolve the Palestinian question over the past 65 years, during which several wars have erupted and threatened international peace and security.

Fourth: UNSC failure to declare the Middle East an area free of weapons of mass destruction.

All four points centered on the fact that Security Council’s membership and working methods reflect a bygone era and are no longer in sync with reality. Although geopolitics has changed drastically, the Council has not changed since 1945, when wartime victors crafted a Charter in their interest and awarded “permanent” seats with “veto power” for five states only. Those five are no longer the major superpowers. For example, Russia’s claim to superpower status is a mere relic from its Soviet past and its participation in the war against Hitler.

In recognition of changing realities, the UN General Assembly has since 1993 attempted to reform the Council but has not been able to reach agreement. A handful of states aspire to “permanent” status for themselves, of course, such as India, Japan, Brazil and Indonesia, but reform efforts go much beyond that.

The reform discussions have revolved around four pivots: First: Membership, or the addition of both permanent members and elected members. Such changes require amendments to the UN Charter, a lengthy and onerous process.

Second: “Working methods” to which the Saudi statement refers, or the procedures of the council and the way it conducts its work. Unlike membership changes, these reforms do not require Charter change and the Council itself can implement them.

Third: The most hotly debated “veto power”, and whether it could (and should) be eliminated or curtailed.

Fourth: “Regional representation”, or arguments for and against supranational organizations, such as the EU or the GCC, as potential candidates for Council membership.

Despite much work done since 1993, none of the reform attempts has succeeded. Key reason is refusal by the permanent five (P5) to consider any changes.

The timing of the Saudi decision on Friday appeared to be related in particular to the failure of the UNSC to stop the carnage perpetrated by the Syria regime. Over the past 30 months, the Syrian regime has killed over 100,000 of its own people, while forcing seven million Syrians to be either refugees outside their country, or displaced inside it.

UN human rights agencies and special commissions have documented crimes committed by the Syria regime, including mass killings, torture, rape, collective punishment and wholesale destruction of towns and neighborhoods.

They have also named key officials who are believed to be behind crimes against humanity committed in Syria.

The regime in Syria has clearly gone beyond the pale of accepted conduct within its own borders. Its behavior has also spilled over to neighboring countries and threatened to destabilize them.

Despite all those developments, the Security Council has repeatedly failed to shoulder its responsibilities under the Charter, because Russian vetoes have prevented it from adopting meaningful resolutions. But lack of leadership on part of the other 14 UNSC members has made it easy for the Russian to succeed.

A Russian-brokered deal was adopted by the Security Council on Sept 27, but so far it has played in the hands of the Syrian regime, by giving it legitimacy as an international partner in the implementation of the deal. The resolution dealt only with chemical weapons and has given the regime room to maneuver and time to inflict more pain on its opponents, while it shields it from international sanctions.

While the UNSC resolution was based on Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, it was rendered ineffectual, as Russia had wanted, because it required that any further action be referred back to the Council. In other words, any further action on Syria’s chemical weapons would have to face another Russian veto.

Gone from UNSC discussions was any talk about accountability of Syrian officials or international justice for their victims.

The toothless UNSC resolution has made matters worse for those victims. The Syrian regime interpreted it as a “victory,” emboldening its leaders to come out from hiding and make believe to their captive Syrian audiences that Assad still mattered as a statesman instead of their ruthless executioner. The regime may now feel that it is immune from outside intervention, so long as it refrained from using chemical weapons again and appeared to cooperate in their dismantlement.

It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia decided not to give its annual UNGA speech on Sept. 30, just three days after the UNSC ill-advised resolution of Sept 27. Its decision this week to forgo a seat on the Council came as evidence was mounting that the Syrian regime had drawn the wrong conclusions and continued to inflict more pain and suffering on its people, benefiting from unlimited Russian support.

It is also interesting that the only criticism that has come out against the Saudi decision appeared in Russian media.

Russia is the main beneficiary of the current UNSC setup, which gives it the appearance of a superpower, and of the UNSC resolution of Sept 27, which shielded the Syrian regime, its key ally, from international action.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

LOCAL

KUWAIT: A fire broke out in a carpentry shop in Shuwaikh yesterday. Industrial Shuwaikh fire center dealt with it and put out the fire in a record time. No injuries were reported.— by Hanan Al-Saadoun

Al-Shimali to launch mega joint project in Vietnam KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Oil Minister Mustafa Al-Shimali is due to fly to Vietnam today to take part in inauguration of a joint oil complex venture. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said in a statement on Sunday the minister, also the KPC Board Chairman, would head a delegation of ranking officials in the ceremonial corner stone laying. The KPC subsidiary, Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), will also take part in the ceremonial start of the construction, it added.

Al-Shimali’s delegation, including KPC Chief Executive Officer Nizar Al-Adsani and board members, will hold talks with senior Vietnamese officials namely the prime minister, the minister of commerce and the KPI team tasked with participation in the project execution.

The complex is projected to put out 200,000 barrels per day and secure a safe exit for 200,000 barrels of Kuwaiti crude daily.

The major venture, grouping the KPI, the Japanese companies Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. and Mitsui and the Vietnamese corporation PetroVietnam, is projected to cost approximately USD nine billion. Share of the KPI and Kosan stands at 35.1 percent each, PetroVietnam 25.1 percent and Mitsui 4.7 percent.

The KPC statement quoted Al-Shimali as affirming that the corporation had been ensured of the venture feasibility and facilities for its execution, forecasting end of the construction by 2016, noting that it will be commercially operational in the first half of 2017.

Al-Shimali underscored necessity of the project as it would mark strategic development of the KPI and gain a foothold for the Kuwaiti oil industry in highlydeveloping oil markets. — KUNA

Jahra police arrest thief inside municipality yard ‘Social Care’ girl missing KUWAIT: Jahra police arrested a thief inside a municipality yard where impounded cars are kept, while a search is ongoing for his accomplice who managed to escape. The two were reportedly trying to steal spare parts from impounded vehicles when they were confronted by two security personnel.

One of the suspects managed to escape but the other tried to fight off the guards with a knife. He was eventually restrained following the fight in which the two security guards were injured. While waiting for police, the second suspect returned to the scene with his car in an attempt to free his accomplice.

He eventually escaped again when his attempt failed. His accomplice, a Kuwaiti man, was taken to the Sulaibiya police station where he was charged with attempted burglary and attempted murder. Investigations are ongoing in search for the runaway suspect.

Angry detective A search is on for a police detective who targeted his exwife’s house with gunshots on two separate occasions according to the woman’s account. The first incident happened last Monday when the woman reported that her ex-husband fired gunshots outside her Sulabiya house. While investigations were still ongoing, the woman made an emergency call Friday night and reported that the man repeated his action and escaped.

Fatal crash A man died and another was injured in a car accident on Abdaly Road. Paramedics accompanied by police rushed to the scene where the accident was reported and pronounced the Kuwaiti driver dead. A Kuwaiti man who was in the passenger’s seat was taken to Jahra Hospital while the dead man’s body was transported to the forensic department. An

Khairan hosts 6th Baghli Award for Grateful Sons KUWAIT: General manager of Khairan Resort, a Touristic Enterprises Company ( TEC) facility, Adnan Zainuddin, stressed that TEC is keen on communicating with visitors of all its facilities as well as coordinating with all concerned bodies and establishments. He added that the company also supports all activities held by other establishments such as the AlBaghli Award for Grateful Sons that is

being held for the 6th consecutive year at Khairan under the patronage of the chairman of board of Kuwait Society for Caring for and Rehabilitating the Elderly, Taher AlBaghli. Zainuddin added that this year’s award will be held under the title of ‘6th Generation Forum’. He also noted that a special open day would be held at Khairan to host participants and guests.

Ibrahim Al-Baghli

Adnan Zainuddin

Speaking on the occasion of declaring the intention to hold this year’s award ceremony on Thursday, Oct 24 from 10 am till midnight.

Zainuddin thanked Al-Baghli and the award organizers for choosing the resort as the venue for the award for the sixth year in a row. He also noted that the open day activity would be dedicated to residents of old-age homes, senior citizens receiving special care in their own houses and the volunteers serving them including scouts, high school graduates, their families and resort visitors.

“The award aims at encouraging showing gratefulness to parents,” stressed Zainuddin, noting that the resort had prepared a special recreational program for the occasion in collaboration with the organizing committee headed by the manager of the geriatric department at the ministry of social affairs and labor Ali Hassan. On his part, Al-Baghli said that the award aims at bringing different generations closer together and encouraging young people to take part in the award’s various activities and competitions such as short story writing and photography.

investigation was opened to determine the reasons which led to the victims’ vehicle to lose balance and overturn.

Bootlegger held A man was arrested in Farwaniya with possession of alcohol prepared for sale. The Indian man was pulled over at a late hour of night before patrol officers searched his car when they noticed that he became nervous. The Indian man was placed under arrest after police found 48 liquor bottles which he confessed he was offering for sale. The man was taken to the authorities to face charges.

Girl missing Officers at the Industrial Shuwaikh police station were approached by staff from a social care house to report a female resident missing. In their statements to police, the staff members indicated that the 22-year-old went out on the first day of Eid Al-Adha but failed to come back. Her information were circulated to patrol officers and Kuwait City detectives to assist in search operations.

Forged passports Two stateless residents were sent back to Kuwait late Friday night only hours after they arrived in Doha using forged European passports. Local authorities were contacted by their Qatari counterparts requesting permission to repatriate the two women who also carried ‘Article 17’ Kuwaiti passport issued temporarily to stateless residents.

The two reportedly tried to leave for Brussels through Doha International Airport using forged Belgian passports. They were referred to State Security Service after being sent back to Kuwait and are under investigation to reveal the source of the passports.

Ministry foils attempt to raise foodstuff prices KUWAIT: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said yesterday it managed to discover 7,000 tons of foodstuffs stored by 36 companies in a bid to raise their prices illegally.

The goods include vegetables and fruits, and were detected during a crackdown following an inspection of the prices that showed an abrupt hike during the Eid AlAdha, Muslims’ grand feast, holiday.

The crackdown targeted the central market of Grocery marketplace in Al-Sulaibiya area, where a quantity of 6,500-7,000 tons of foodstuffs were found, according to a statement by the Ministry.

The inspection team of the Ministry took the necessary legal measures against the 36 companies involved and forced them into bringing the foodstuffs in question to the market, the statement said, expecting that the prices will be back to normal in the coming days.

The Ministry affirmed its resolve to apply the law on any company that seeks illegal gains through fraudulent prices hikes or undermine the rights of consumers.

It urged the citizens to report any irregularity or fraudulent commercial practice to the ministry’s organs or its hotline: 135. — KUNA

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

LOCAL

Bangladesh Foreign Minister

Steps taken to organize labor forces abroad • Islamist groups’ trials are fair and one of the most transparent worldwide. The people elected us on the basis of our promise to prosecute war criminals in order to turn this page in our history.

• Bangladesh’s embassy in Kuwait remained open until Sept 19, 1990, defying the Iraqi regime’s orders.

• We call for a peaceful and direct solution to the Syrian crisis in order to prevent further unjustifiable suffering for civilians.

By Adnan Al-Rashid and Mohammad Al-Husseini DHAKA: Bangladesh is taking new measures to regulate its national manpower working abroad, including non-forgeable special cards that will be handed to every worker and document their working career.

This was revealed by Bangladesh’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Dipu Moni during an interview with Al-Anbaa daily, in which she further indicated that Bangladeshi workers will undergo training and “educational courses’ about the countries they go to.

Acknowledging Kuwait’s need for skilled workers, Moni assured that her country is capable of providing them. At the same

Q: What are the issues of mutual interest that were discussed during your meeting with Kuwaiti officials?

A: Bangladesh shares exceptional ties with Kuwait. Kuwait recognized Bangladesh on November 1973 following a historic meeting between then Bangladeshi Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah who was Kuwait’s foreign minister at the time. Bangladesh’s image in Kuwait was bolstered by the great support it showed to Arab countries during the 1973 ArabIsraeli conflict. As foreign minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah played a mediator role between Bangladesh and Pakistan

importance of that summit stemmed not only from being the only forum that gathered all Asian leaders in one place, but also provided the platform to trigger joint activity in the future.

Rahman met Sheikh Sabah during the summit and had a fruitful discussion regarding mutual interests. HH the Amir pointed out the deep-rooted friendly relations between the two countries. I also had the opportunity to meet Kuwait’s Prime Minister during the summit.

During a formal visit to Kuwait on June 18, 2013, I had the opportunity to meet with His Highness the Amir and His Highness the Prime Minister. The visit also featured the first meeting of the joint committee with participation of Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, and we discussed a full list of bilateral issues. The visit was very successful as we signed a joint statement to announce cooperation in various important fields including energy, oil, infrastructure development, human resources development, labor movement, trade, education, health and agriculture. A meeting of the joint work group as part of the technical and economic cooperation agreement between the two countries is scheduled later this year, during which we look forward to discuss cooperation that allows us to propose investment projects including the establishment of an oil refinery in Bangladesh as part of government to government (G2G) cooperation.

Q: What economic issues that you believe require more focus between Kuwait and Bangladesh?

A: As I said earlier, we need to focus on investment cooperation between our two countries. Bangladesh has an excellent investment system and reliable supply of workforce at a competitive price rate. Many countries including China and Korea started multiple productivity projects in many locations allocated for export and other fields. Public and private sector investors in Kuwait are invited to Bangladesh which will

Adnan Al-Rashid with Dr. Dipu Moni.

Bangladesh’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Dipu Moni international conflicts. Bangladesh reiter- refugees in Bangladesh currently stands at ates the need to reaching an immediate around 500,000, with around 29,000 living solution to the Syrian crisis that can end in refugee camps near the border with the unjustifiable suffering of civilians. As a Myanmar.

Finding a solution for this crisis was the member of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Bangladesh categorically con- main topic of discussion during Prime demns the use of chemical weapons by any Minister Sheikh Hasina’s formal visit to party and under any circumstance. We are Myanmar in 2011. The government in closely monitoring the situation and Syria, Myanmar agreed to return the refugees and I would like to express support to the back to their original lands at the time, but central role that the United Nations plays in after the racial and religious attacks that resolving the Syrian crisis while at the same took place recently in Rakhine state of time reiterate the need to immediately Myanmar, many Rohingya Muslims stop the killing in Syrian as well as the suf- returned again to Bangladesh. And like we fering of Syrian people inside their coun- did the first time, we provided them with shelter, food and healthcare, but at the tries and refugees in nearby states.

You are probably aware of the position same time we are helping them to return of the government of Bangladesh that wel- home after violence scaled down. This step comes the agreement to dispose of chemi- is necessary because our previous experical weapons in Syria, which was reached ence showed that allowing Rohingya during negotiations between the United Muslims to remain in Bangladesh has States and Russia on Sept 14, 2013 in encouraged mass exodus; something that Geneva. Bangladesh sees a solution an already overpopulated country like through joint cooperation between all con- Bangladesh cannot afford. We believe that cerned countries that are required to take the problem that originated in Myanmar into account addressing the Syrian people’s must be resolved by the government in ambitions of having a peaceful and stable Myanmar. The issue lies in ethnic and relistate, maintaining national sovereignty, gious discrimination. Once that is addressed and Rohingya Muslims are given independence and unity. full citizenship rights, the problem will be Q: Do you believe that your position resolved.

We have explained our position to the on Syria can lead to repercussions on your relations with other Asian countries government in Myanmar, and also requested assistance from other countries in the such as China and Russia?

A: We do not see any changes in region, the Muslim world and the globe, in Bangladesh’s relationship with China and addition to international organizations Russia with regards to the Syrian issue. such as the United Nations, the NonBangladesh seeks a peaceful and diplomat- Aligned Movement and the Organization ic solution to the crisis where the United of the Islamic Conference in order to convince Myanmar’s government to take those steps in order to end the problem. Our efforts are ongoing in this regard.

Al-Anba’s delegation during their meeting with Dr. Dipu Moni. time, she urged her citizens to respect the law in the countries they live in and indicated that a crime once committed “cannot be justified” while the criminal must face punishment. On other hand, the minister said that workers sometimes fall victim to sponsors who “take advantage’ of their needs, which leads to problems.

Moni also defended putting Islamist groups on trial “for their responsibility for crimes against civilians during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971” in which 3 million civilians died. By putting the groups to trial, Moni said that this action fulfils her Bangladesh Awami League promise to “prosecute criminals’.

“We are fulfilling our promise made during the 2008 elections which our party won by 90 percent as the overwhelming majority of Bengalese people demanded the prosecution of the perpetrators,” she said, adding that putting the past behind in order to seek peace “can only be achieved through prosecuting those responsible for the crimes”.

Explaining that the trial is currently in the appeals stage, Moni insisted that the trial procedures are carried out “with utmost transparency and justice” as suspects enjoy full rights to defend themselves. She explained that a retrial cannot be requested once the verdict is issued, but noted that an official pardon from the state’s president can be requested.

which led to mutual recognition between the two countries and opened the door for Bangladesh to participate in the 1974 Organization of the Islamic Conference Summit in Lahore, Pakistan.

Bangladesh expressed undeniable condemnation to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, and sent an army battalion to join 27 other countries that formed the allied forces which fought against the invaders. Bangladesh also supported the United Nations resolutions that condemned the invasion and demanded unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi forces.

The embassy of Bangladesh in Kuwait remained opened until September 19, 1990, defying the Iraqi regime’s orders, which reflected positively on the country’s relations with Kuwait and international relations in general.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has twice taken the same foreign policy approach to build good relations with all countries. Kuwait was among the first Asian countries that Sheikh Hasina visited in 2010. Former Bangladeshi President Zillur Rahman participated in the first Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit held in Kuwait on Oct 2012, which helped rejuvenate ties between the two countries. A founding member of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit, Bangladesh looks at its membership as an active way to boost integration between Asian states. The

reflect positively on the two countries.

Kuwait and Bangladesh share a trade agreement which require efforts to boost cooperation in this field. Bangladesh has a list of high quality exports in multiple industries including garments, pharmaceutics, frozen fish and vegetables, halal meats, ceramics, melamine products, and handicrafts. Kuwait can adopt a custom tariff or other procedures for these products to access the Kuwaiti market.

Kuwait can also make use of Bangladesh’s agricultural expertise.

Bangladesh manages to feed 160 million people using a small area of land that reaches 556,000 sq m. Bangladesh’s agricultural projects in Third World countries, especially in Africa, are gaining worldwide recognition. Similar projects can be carried out through Kuwaiti funding and Bangladeshi manpower.

It is already well-known that Kuwait is one of the largest countries in recruiting Bangladeshi labor forces, and we expect more employment for skilled and semiskilled Bangladeshi workers. Kuwait can also allow Bangladeshi residents to issue visas for their families, children and relatives.

Q: Where does Bangladesh stand over the Syrian crisis?

A: Bangladesh believes in a peaceful solution through diplomatic means for all

Mohammad Husseini with Dr. Dipu Moni Nations plays a pivotal role. As I noted earlier, Bangladesh welcomes the framework agreement between the United States and Russia to dismantle Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons.

Q: What future steps do you believe are necessary to take in order to end the crisis of Myanmar’s Muslim community, especially that you are directly concerned with this issue?

A: During our liberation movement in 1971, more than 10 million people were displaced and many of them became refugees in nearby India. Therefore, we understand the suffering that people around the world experience as a result of violence. The suffering of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar has always been a cause of deep distress for us as they have been escaping violence and seeking shelter in Bangladesh since the early nineties of the past century. The number of Rohingya

Q: What is the nature of your foreign relations with Pakistan? And how do you believe those relations can be improved?

A: First of all, I would like to indicate that we share important relations with Pakistan which can become a source of mutual benefit for people of both countries. We are glad to witness the democratic process in Pakistan and the smooth transition of power that took place during the recent elections there. We have congratulated the new Pakistani prime minister after assuming his duties, and reiterated our government’s full support towards improving bilateral relations. In addition to the good political intentions, we have bilateral mechanisms that are ready to be used in order to improve the relationship through a sustainable process.

In addition to bilateral agreements, Bangladesh and Pakistan work together in several regional organizations including the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), as well as international organizations such as the United Nations. We continue to work side by side to achieve what best serves developing countries.

While preserving stable relations based on cooperation in multiple fields including trade, we are working with Pakistan to address the pending issues through solutions that reflect positively on our mutual relations. I believe that total utilization of cooperation fields between the two countries requires making use of the existing institutional mechanisms. I also believe that we can benefit from political discussions as both of our countries contain a forum for parliamentarians that needs to be fully utilized. Meanwhile, improving communication between people of the two countries can play a major role in pushing bilateral relations forward.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

LOCAL

Khaleda Zia with Adnan Al-Rashid (right) and Mohammad Al-Husseini

Khaleda Zia:

Bangladesh takes pride in participating in Kuwait Liberation War • Sheikh Hasina was the first to ask for a transitional government in 1996, and she was granted that wish, yet now refuses to do the same.

• Leaving the local administrations’ elections for us was a maneuver to convince us that the elections are fair, but we will not fall in the trap.

• The ‘Bangladeshi Spring’ was in 1990 when the military government was overthrown.

• Accusations against us of putting pressure on the army to interfere are unrealistic because we believe in dialogue and the importance of preserving democracy.

By Adnan Al-Rashid and Mohammad Husseini DHAKA: One of the most influential personalities in her country, Begum Khaleda Zia has an unmistakable impact on Bangladesh’s political life which she first entered after the assassination of her husband, former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman. A former prime minister in her own right, Zia is now recognized as the leader of the opposition; a title she held since her party lost the 2008 elections in favor of the Bangladesh Awami League. Despite multiple arrests during the term of former President General Hussain Ershad, Khaleda Zia continued going forward until she became the leader of Bangladesh’s biggest opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Al-Anbaa met Zia as Bangladesh prepares to enter a critical phase in its political scene, especially with the strong conflict between the government and opposition, and in light of the opposition’s demand to have the next elections carried out under an unbiased, transitional government ‘capable of organizing fair elections’. Zia insists that her party, along with 18 opposition parties and around 90 of the public, demand a transitional government, announcing at the same time plans to ‘withdraw immediately’ from the elections if the polls are conducted by the current government.

During the interview with Al-Anbaa, Zia spoke about her vision to allow young people to take part in state management, as well as her future plans for change which are based on four main fields that include combating terrorism and corruption as well as encouraging foreign investment and girls’ education. And while acknowledging Kuwaiti-Bangladeshi relations which she described as ‘ties of blood’ after Bangladeshi troops took part in the 1991 Liberation War of Kuwait, Zia said that she will continue communicating with other Muslim countries to benefit from Bangladeshi labor forces. Zia was also asked about the Rohingya Muslims crisis, on which she reiterated her country’s position in dealing with this case from a humanitarian perspective, and demanded action from the international community to grant full rights to Myanmar’s Muslim community.

Q: We would like to begin our meeting by discussing the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Kuwait, especially that you previously held the decision maker’s position in improving those relations.

A: Stemming from the fact that the majority of Bangladesh’s population are Muslims, the late President Ziaur Rahman’s vision when he established the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was clear towards improving relations with Muslim countries. He gave top priority to this goal, and transformed it into an article in the constitution in order to achieve it.

I believe that Bangladesh shares one of the most friendliest relations with Kuwait among its relations with other countries. They can also be considered brotherly relations; which is something we feel deep within our hearts rather than being spoken from a diplomatic standpoint. The best example to support my argument is when Kuwait was invaded by the Iraqi forces, and our army participated in the Kuwait Liberation War during which people of the two countries became connected with blood ties. I remember after the liberation, I stopped in Kuwait on my way back from an official visit to Saudi Arabia. The late Amir His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah had just returned to Kuwait, and the country was still suffering from destruction. Despite that, I received a warm welcome and was offered a private jet to Dhaka.

Q: There is widespread talk about potential changes if elections took place on time, but you as the opposition still threaten to boycott the polls if your demands are not met.

A: Bangladesh is going through a phase in which the people are conflicted. The current government wants to oversee the elections, but we along with parties in the ruling coalition insist that the elections must be held under an unbiased, transitional government that carries out a caretaker government’s duties at that time.

[Bangladesh’s Prime Minister] Sheikh Hasina demanded an unbiased government in 1996 along with Islamist groups. They forced us at that time to amend the constitution in order to create this kind of government which has overseen the last three elections. Despite this, Sheikh Hasina’s government is now denying our demands and in reality wants to control the elections which they plan to enter with MPs who enjoy full privileges that give them the advantage against the opposition.

Furthermore, election committees are formed by two parties in the ruling coalition. By being the head of government, Sheikh Hasina can direct and even put pressure on them which will definitely affect the results.

Al-Anba’s team during a meeting with Khaleda Zia as Kuwait’s ambassador Ali Al-Thufairi looks on.

I would like to give an example in the supplementary elections that were held to fill some vacant seats. The seats were won by the ruling coalition as a result of their total control.

Meanwhile, the local administrations’ elections were left for us as a political maneuver to convince us that the elections are fair, but we will not fall in the trap.

The prime minister plans to open projects, use aerial transportation, the military and public administrations in her reelection bid, which does not translate into equal opportunities.

Q: Can we expect a ‘Bangladeshi Spring’ similar to the Arab Spring?

A: I believe that the situations in the Arab world and Bangladesh are different and therefore cannot be compared with each other. We are a democracy-loving nation, and our true spring began in 1990 when democracy was retained after the overthrow of military rule.

Our people believe that the transition of power can only take place through democracy, but at the same time demand to take part in elections that guarantee equal opportunities for all parties.

Q: There are comparisons between the situation in Bangladesh and that of Egypt, and people who believe that you as an opposition will lead demonstrations in order to put pressure on the army to interfere. You are also being accused of being ‘not against’ a situation in which the army takes over a transitional period temporary in place of the Bangladesh Awami League.

What is your response?

A: Such accusations are untrue of course because we believe in dialogue and in the need to protect democracy which I worked for personally for nine years. I would like to bring to your attention the fact that parties in the current government tried to get the army involved as we all remember their participation in the 1982 elections called by then President General Hussain Ershad, thus giving legitimacy to those elections. And when the army took over the government in 2007, they said that the movement was aimed against me. This means that they are the ones who call for the army’s intervention.

Sheikh Hasina’s term completes at the end of October, and we are calling for dialogue. We did not call for any political movement that violates the democratic process. The problem is not in us, but with the government that turns a deaf ear and refuses to listen to any argument.

Q: Do you not believe in the judiciary and the Supreme Court’s position regarding an unbiased government?

A: First of all, the Bangladeshi judiciary needs to be independent. We regret to say that this is not the case in Bangladesh nowadays.

We no longer have faith in the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court because the recent appointments there brought members from the ruling coalition to it.

But despite that, I say that when the Supreme Court made its decision regarding the constitutional amendment in favor of canceling the unbiased government during the elections period, the same verdict indicated that an unbiased government is still needed to oversee the two upcoming elections which is something that the current government refuses to honor.

I reiterate our belief that smooth transition of power cannot be achieved unless under an unbiased government. The problem we face lies in the presence of authorities that ‘control’ the court that does not enjoy independence when it looks into political issues. We find that

Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia it goes to the government directly for consultation, which ultimately affects its judgment.

Q: At which date do you plan to announce withdrawal from the elections?

A: Whenever the government makes a unilateral decision to personally organize the elections; we will immediately announce our withdrawal.

Q: Which parties are likely to join you?

A: Ninety percent of the people support a transitional, unbiased government to oversee the elections. Eighteen parties allied with us at the moment agree on this notion. These include former presidents Badruddoza Chowdhury, Hussain Ershad and Dr Kamal Hussain as well, so we can say that almost all parties except for the ruling party plan to boycott elections held by the present government.

Q: India usually plays a main role in the Bangladeshi elections judging from its influence on the political scene. And while it traditionally leans towards Sheikh Hasina, there has been talk recently about ‘Indian openness’ towards the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Is this true? And to what extent does the Indian influence impact the elections?

A: The majority of Bangladeshi people are Muslims, but this does not mean that citizens of other beliefs do not enjoy full citizenship rights. We all are Bangladeshi and there is no difference between each other. Furthermore, we do not accept foreign intervention in our personal affairs, whether it is from India or any other country. We assume good relations from our neighbors. When I went to India following an invitation from the Indian government, I focused on the need to improve relations with the Indian people especially in trade. Of course there are points of conflict between us and different visions regarding some issues, but that should not affect the bilateral relations especially that Indian officials insist that they share equal relations with all members of the Bangladeshi community.

Q: Observers in Bangladesh’s political scene believe that the ruling family started losing popularity following its conflict with Islamists. However, their overwhelming victory in the last elections was a result of public disapproval of your party’s performance.

Have you carried out self-accountability since? And what are the factors through which you urge those who voted against you the last time to change their minds?

A: We have plans for change in four main fields: fighting corruption, combating terrorism, encouraging foreign investment and improving education especially with regards to girls’ education. What the current government

did was put pressure on those who have Islamic orientation, which is wrong. We respect the society’s Islamic identity and work to protect it. We will not carry out the same mistakes.

We also seek to communicate with Muslim countries to allow for requirement of skilled and unskilled labor forces from our country which stopped being sent to many countries including Kuwait.

The main problem which led us to the point we are at today lies in the fact that the current government does not look up to Muslim countries but instead thinks from a completely different standpoint. Furthermore, it practices discrimination internally as labor forces are selected on partisan basis instead of qualification, which led to the spread corruption. As for us, we plan to adopt an opposite approach, fight corruption and restore people’s faith.

Q: Bangladesh’s society has a very large segment of young people. Do you have visions to increase the number of young politicians in your party? And have you prepared leaders to take over leadership after you?

A: I agree that young people make the majority of our society, and therefore the priority of the upcoming government needs to be focused on young people by providing jobs and training to be qualified for employment.

Young people have always been a focal point for our party. We pushed a large youth group the last time; and we plan to give them responsibility over state management the next time.

Among young members in the party is my son, Tariq, who plays a pivotal role in reinforcing the youth presence in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and is seen to have the qualities to assume leadership when the right time comes.

Q: What is your vision to solve the Rohingya Muslim crisis? And how do you assess the current government’s performance in this regard?

A: We look at the issue from a humanitarian standpoint. The Rohingya Muslims are citizens of Myanmar and with whom we share brotherly relations. It is our duty to help them but not at the expense of losing citizenship of their country. The international community must interfere to protect the Rohingya Muslims’ rights in their country of Myanmar. Several problems happened during my previous time at the government, and we welcomed large number of refugees. But at the same time, we never stopped to put pressure through the international community on their government to allow the refugees to return to their home country because our economy and land area cannot sustain their presence, not to mention that separating them from their original society is unacceptable. Unfortunately, the current government failed to follow this strategy or take necessary measures to address this issue.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Australia facing worst bushfire in 40 years

Iran’s parliament chief warns over nuke pressures Page 9

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HAMA: A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) yesterday allegedly shows Syrian rescuers and soldiers working on the site of a car bomb attack in the government-held city of Hama in central Syria. “A violent explosion shook the Sinaa highway in Hama city, followed by intense gunfire” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “Several people were killed or wounded” reported state television. — AFP

Suicide bomber kills 31 in Hama Syria conference set for Nov 23-24 BEIRUT: An international conference aimed at ending Syria’s civil war will be held in Geneva in late November, the head of the Arab League said yesterday, after weeks of diplomacy to bring the opposing sides to the negotiating table. Even as the announcement was made, violence continued in Syria. A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden truck blew himself up at a government checkpoint on the edge of the central city of Hama, killing 31 people, according to both activists and the state media. League chief Nabil Elaraby said the Geneva conference, which the US and Russia have been trying to convene for months, would be held on Nov. 23 and 24. The gathering aims to broker a political compromise to end the fighting in a conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people, devastated the nation’s economy and forced some 2 million Syrians to seek refuge abroad. Despite Elaraby’s remarks at League headquarters in Cairo, it remains unclear whether the warring sides in the conflict are ready to sit down together. Even Elaraby, who spoke to reporters along with Arab

League-UN envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, acknowledged that the proposed conference still faces “many difficulties.”

The main Western-backed opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Coalition, is scheduled to hold a meeting on Nov. 1 to decide whether or not to attend a Geneva conference.

One of the most prominent factions within the Coalition, the Syrian National Council, has publicly opposed taking part in peace talks with the regime. In the past, the Coalition has said in the past that it will only negotiate if it is agreed from the start that Assad will leave power at the end of a transition period. Many rebel fighters inside Syria flatly reject negotiating with Assad’s regime. “This is a conspiracy against the Syrian people,” said opposition figure Bassam al-Dada.

“The most important request of the Syrian people - the distancing of Bashar (Assad) from the transitional period - was ignored,” he said. The Geneva talks have been put off repeatedly for months, in part because of fundamental disagreements over Assad’s fate. The regime has

rejected demands for Assad to leave, saying the president will stay at least until the end of his term in mid-2014, and he will decide then whether to seek re-election. The regime has refused to negotiate with the armed opposition.

Islam Alloush, a spokesman for one rebel group, Liwaa al-Islam, said that holding a conference that involved the Syrian regime could make the conflict worse, by emboldening government forces to act more harshly on the ground. “This is very, very sensitive. We have to be extremely careful,” Alloush said. “It could produce more negative results.”

Meanwhile, Syrian rebels drove a truck laden with over a ton of explosives into the government post at the eastern entrance of Hama, the state news agency SANA said. A nearby truck carrying gasoline cylinders was caught up in the explosion, prompting a series of other blasts.

Footage aired on Syrian television showed rubble, fires, and bodies on the ground. The Britishbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra had carried

out the attack. Both SANA and the Observatory said at least 30 people were killed. It was the second deadly assault on a checkpoint in two days.

On Saturday, rebels led by fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra set off a car bomb while assaulting a checkpoint near Damascus, killing 16 soldiers.

The high-profile role played by Jabhat al-Nusra and other al-Qaeda-linked militants, who have become some of the most powerful rebel factions, is yet another obstacle standing in the way of a negotiated settlement.

Also yesterday, activists said they were still searching for news of imprisoned Syrian women who were meant to be freed as part of an ambitious three-way hostage release deal that was implemented Saturday.

A pro-government Syrian newspaper, alWatan, said yesterday 128 women were released, citing “media sources.” But Syrian activists contacted throughout the country said they had not been able to confirm if any women were freed.

Syrian officials would not comment, and official state media did not mention the issue. The

hostage deal released nine Lebanese Shiites abducted in Syria and two Turkish pilots held hostage in Lebanon. They returned home Saturday night.

The deal, mediated by Qatar and Palestinian officials, also was meant to include freeing dozens of women held in Syrian government jails to satisfy the rebels who abducted the nine Lebanese a year and a half ago. The Turkish pilots were kidnapped in August by gunmen in Lebanon to pressure Turkey to help release the Lebanese pilgrims. Turkey is believed to have some clout with some brigades of Syrian rebels.

Their abductions showed how the chaos from the Syrian civil war, now in its third year, has spilled across the greater Middle East. The hostage deal is one of the more ambitious negotiated settlements to come out of Syria’s civil war, where the warring sides remain largely opposed to any bartered peace. It suggests that the parties - and their regional backers - may be more prepared to deal with each other than at any other previous time in the conflict. — AP

US Navy’s largest destroyer ready to go into water BATH: After embarrassing troubles with its latest class of surface warships, the US Navy is hoping for a winner from a new destroyer that’s ready to go into the water.

So far, construction of the first-in-class Zumwalt, the largest US Navy destroyer ever built, is on time and on budget, something that’s a rarity in new defense programs, officials said. And the Navy believes the ship’s big gun, stealthy silhouette and advance features will make it a formidable package.

The christening of the ship bearing the name of the late Adm. Elmo “Bud” Zumwalt was canceled a week ago because of the federal government shutdown. Without fanfare, the big ship will be moved to dry dock and floated in the coming days. Meanwhile, the public christening ceremony featuring Zumwalt’s two daughters will be rescheduled for the spring. Adm. Zumwalt served in destroyers during World War II and was awarded a Bronze Star for valor at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. As the nation’s youngest chief of naval operations, appointed at age 49 by President Richard Nixon, he fought to end racial discrimination and allowed women to serve on ships for the first time. Like its namesake, the ship is innovative. It is

so big that Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics subsidiary, built a 106-foot (32-meter)-tall, $40 million “Ultra Hall” to accommodate its large hull segments. The ship is 100 feet (30 meters) longer than the existing class of destroyers. It features an unusual wave-piercing hull, electric drive propulsion, advanced sonar and guided missiles, and a new gun that fires rocket-propelled warheads as far as 100 miles (160 kilometers). Unlike warships with towering radar- and antenna-laden superstructures, the Zumwalt will ride low to the water to minimize its radar signature, making it stealthier than other warships. Originally envisioned for shore bombardment, the ship’s size and power plant that can produce 78 megawatts of electricity - enough to power 78,000 homes - make it a potential platform for futuristic weapons like the electromagnetic rail gun, which uses a magnetic field and electric current to fire a projectile at seven times the speed of sound.

There are so many computers and so much automation that it’ll need fewer sailors, operating with a crew of 158, nearly half the complement aboard the current generation of destroyers. “The concept of the Zumwalt is sort of a bridge between the traditions of the past and the new

world of networked warfare and precision guided munitions,” said Loren Thompson, defense analyst at the Lexington Institute. “It’s not so much a radical concept as it is an attempt to pull off a full range of missions with a ship that has one foot in the present and one foot in the future.” The Navy once envisioned building more than 20 of the ships. But the ship has so many sophisticated features and its cost grew so high that senior Navy officials tried to kill the program. Instead, it was truncated to just three ships, the first being the Zumwalt. The Zumwalt will cost more than $3.5 billion - about three times that of current destroyers - but the program has not been beset by big cost overruns or delays, officials said.

The fact that construction has gone smoothly is a relief for the Navy, which has dealt with embarrassing troubles on its new class of speedy warship, dubbed the “littoral combat ship.” Those smaller ships, designed to operate close to shore in littoral waters, have been plagued by escalating costs, production delays and mechanical problems.

Mission modules that give them the flexibility to perform roles including anti-submarine warfare and minesweeping are not ready, even though the first ships have been commissioned. —AP

MANAMA: Bahraini protestors run for cover from tear gas and bird shots fired by riot police during clashes following the funeral of Hussain Mahdi Habib in the village of sitra, south of Manama, yesterday. Habib, 20, a political prisoner who escaped from prison on May 19, was found the day before after he was allegedly shot dead near Al Malkiyah coastal village. — AFP

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

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

Fate of Syria detainees unclear after hostage deal

TYRE: Abbas Hammoud, one of the nine Lebanese pilgrims held hostage in Syria for 17 months, is kissed by his daughter Fatima upon his arrival at his home in the coastal city of Tyre in south Lebanon yesterday. The nine Shiite arrived in Beirut overnight after being freed in an exchange that also released two Turkish Airlines pilots seized in Lebanon. — AFP

Syria’s civil war plays out on social media BEIRUT: Amid all the bloodshed, confusion and deadlock of Syria’s civil war, one fact is emerging after 21/2 years - no conflict ever has been covered this way. Amateur videographers - anyone with a smartphone, Internet access and an eagerness to get a message out to the world - have driven the world’s outlook on the war through YouTube, Twitter and other social media.

The tens of thousands of videos have at times raised outrage over the crackdown by the regime of President Bashar Assad and also have sparked concern over alleged atrocities attributed to both sides.

The videos have also made more difficult the task of navigating between truth and propaganda - with all sides using them to promote their cause. Assad opponents post the majority of videos, and nearly every rebelheld area or brigade has a media office that produces and disseminates them. To a lesser degree, regime supporters produce some videos - but they also pick apart opposition videos, trying to show they are fake.

In the Vietnam War, the 1991 Gulf War and the second Gulf War in 2003, foreign media directly covered the conflicts, often with reporters embedded with or accompanying the American military.

Media organizations, including The Associated Press, have sent teams to Syria to cover events directly, often at great risk. But they are for temporary stints and are limited both by government regulations and by war zone dangers, ranging from random bombardment to kidnappings. At least 28 journalists were killed in Syria in 2012.

That has forced international media to cover the war to a large extent from the outside, and the flow of videos is one element taken into account in the reporting. The videos have undeniably ensured that details of a bloody conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people and ravaged the country do not go unnoticed, providing a look at the horrors of war: villagers digging with through destroyed buildings with their bare hands for survivors; massacre victims in pools of blood; children with grave wounds from heavy bombardment.

“In the past, if the media wasn’t there to cover an event, it was like it never happened,” said Yuval Dror, head of the digital communication program at Israel’s College of Management Academic Studies.

The phenomenon of amateurs chronicling the war themselves “is changing the rules of war,” he said. “There are no restrictions. It’s cheap, it’s easy and you don’t need permission from anyone to do it.”

Magda Abu-Fadil, veteran journalist and director of the Beirut-based Media Unlimited, said that while some professionals in the field have covered the war, it has mostly been “citizen journalists, activists, warriors and anybody with a mobile device, Internet connection or functioning telephone line.”

“We’re being bombarded with messages from every direction at breakneck speed, the likes of which we’ve never seen before,” she said. The world’s response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria was driven in part by opposition activists documenting a suspected sarin attack outside Damascus on Aug. 21, with images of choking, convulsing victims, as well as the bodies of victims, including children. The Syrian government denied it was behind the attack, blaming it on extremists among the rebels.

The U.S. and its allies used those videos to build a case against Damascus, at first threatening to bomb Assad regime targets in retaliation, then agreeing to a compromise by which Syria would join the international treaty banning chemical weapons and give up a toxic arsenal it long kept secret.

The White House assessment on the attack cited more than 100 videos and “thousands of social media reports from at least 12 different locations in the Damascus area,” along with other U.S intelligence information.

The report said the opposition “does not have the capability to fabricate all of the videos, physical symptoms verified by medical personnel and NGOs, and other information associated with this chemical attack.”

Jamal Flitani, a 24-year-old video activist, was among those who rushed to Damascus suburbs of Zamalka and Ein Tarma to record the aftermath of the attack.

“I honestly never thought our videos would be adopted by the US administration and Western governments. ... We were simply doing our duty,” he said. Flitani is an engineering student, but when the uprising against Assad began in early 2011, he and his friends began shooting video of protests with their

cellphones.

“Only after we saw similar videos and photos being used on satellite TVs and international agencies, only then did we start realizing the importance of our work,” added Flitani, who now heads an opposition media office in Douma. Almost every oppositionheld neighborhood now has a media center complete with high-definition cameras, satellite connections and software for secure uploading, many of them funded by Gulf Arab supporters. Syrian video activists regularly receive training from NGOs, with funds from abroad.

The government and its supporters regularly post images and videos of rebel bombings inside regime-held territory. State media even airs rebel video claiming to show regime massacres, bringing in analysts to dissect the videos and suggest forgery.

Government supporters challenged the video of the Aug. 21 attack. Mother Agnes Mariam al Salib, a Catholic nun who has lived in Syria for decades, produced a detailed study after poring over dozens of the videos, citing alleged discrepancies she said showed they were staged. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cited her report to back up claims rebels carried out the gassing.

Assad, who maintains a modern media machine that includes Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram accounts, ridiculed the US reliance on such video. “We’re not like the American administration. We’re not social media administration or government. We are the government that deals with reality,” he said in an interview with CBS News last month.

The videos can be a double-edged sword.

They provide a crucial glimpse into the war and sectarian massacres that may otherwise have remained secret, but they also are a potentially warped vision.

Several videos on social media sites turned out to be hoaxes, including one that purported to show soldiers burying a rebel alive, and another that alleged to show Assad supporters pouring fuel on prisoners, striking a match and burning them. The news media’s use of YouTube video as a primary source “is really unexplored territory,” said Philip Seib, professor of journalism and diplomacy at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

“One of the biggest issues involves verifying the content because sometimes you don’t know where these YouTube videos are coming from,” Seib said. “There is a higher responsibility for the news organizations that decide to disseminate YouTube videos to verify before they disseminate it.”

Asked if this is the first time a conflict is being mainly covered by YouTube and social media, Seib said, “In terms of the heavy reliance on YouTube, it probably is.”

But he added that there should be caution about “overstating the influence of YouTube. I think it is a big factor but not the determinative factor in shaping opinion about the war.”

YouTube, an arm of Google, Inc., did not immediately reply to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Like most news organizations, the AP runs user-generated content to supplement its own newsgathering. It only uses the material from channels that have proven reliable in the past, with video that has been authenticated and verified, and always works to ensure the content is aligned with its own reporting.

The AP also has a correspondent based in Damascus and uses a variety of other sources of information, including U.N. agencies, NGOs and relief and aid organizations, as well as journalists, doctors and others inside Syria. In addition, AP monitors Syria’s state-run media for the government perspective and images, and AP teams have made numerous trips to Damascus when given permission from the Assad administration.

Elliot Higgins, author of the popular Brown Moses blog, which has tracked the civil war since March 2012, said he scrutinizes videos for potential problems, including comparing them to satellite imagery. From his home in England, he monitors 650 YouTube channels daily, looking for images of types of arms being used and the evolution of rebel groups.

Syria imposed a near blackout at the beginning of the uprising in 2011, expelling foreign journalists. The government continues to restrict the movements of local and foreign media, who have to go through a stifling process to get visas to Damascus. Journalists who sneak into opposition-held territory through Turkey face the threat of arrest, kidnapping, injury and death.—AP

BEIRUT: The fate of dozens of Syrian women detainees who were to be freed in exchange for nine released Lebanese hostages was unknown yesterday.

On Saturday, the nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims kidnapped 17 months ago by rebels in northern Syria were set free, as were two Turkish pilots taken hostage in Lebanon in August, as part of an exchange mediated by Beirut and Doha.

Lebanese authorities repeatedly thanked Damascus Saturday for accepting the rebels’ demand to set free 100 to 200 women detainees held in regime jails.

A day earlier, Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel had said a senior security official who secured the deal would hand over a list of some 200 names of women detainees to Damascus, and that the Syrian authorities were “cooperating very well” on the issue.

But since then there has been no official word on whether the Syrian women have been set free, and Syrian authorities have made no statements on the matter.

Several Lebanese officials speaking to national broadcasters have given reporters the same answer, claiming the women “are supposed to have been set free.” Sources close to the negotiations said the women were supposed to have been put on

planes from Damascus to Turkey yesterday.

But Syrian activists, including several in Turkey, said they had no news of the women’s arrival. “There is no confirmed information” on whether the women have indeed been released, said Syrian human rights activist Sema Nassar.

“I think it’s just going to be rumours until we have something solid. What’s noteworthy is any media that supports the Syrian government doesn’t even mention the women detainees,” said another activist, Rami Jarrah.

London-based Arab newspaper Al-Hayat reported that “122 women detainees have been set free... as part of the three-way exchange,” but did not provide further details. Lebanese independent television channel LBC also said the women detainees have been set free.

Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat said “the Syrian authorities have set free 158 women detainees, and gave them the choice to travel wherever they wanted.”

The paper also said the Syrian rebel Northern Storm brigade, which had held the Lebanese hostages for 17 months, “received 100 million euros” as part of the deal.

Tens of thousands of people are being detained by the Syrian regime, many of them without trial, activists say. — AFP

Suicide bombings kill at least 12 across Iraq No one claims responsibility for blasts BAGHDAD: A wave of suicide bomb attacks on security personnel and government buildings killed at least 12 people across Iraq yesterday, police said. In what appeared to be coordinated strikes, bombers, some driving cars packed with explosives, attacked sites in the town of Rawa, 260 km (160 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

Another bomber hit a busy street in the northern city of Samarra.

No one claimed responsibility for the blasts, though Sunni Muslim insurgents, including al Qaeda, have regularly targeted security personnel and others working for the Shi’ite-led government.

One attacker drove a car up to a checkpoint on the main road into Rawa and blew himself up, officers told Reuters. Another targeted a police station and a third the house of the mayor, seri-

ously wounding him and killing at least three others. Two other suicide bombers wearing police uniforms set off their explosive vests inside Rawa’s local council building, killing three people including the organisation’s deputy head, police said. A series of attacks on Rawa last month was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which was formed earlier this year in a merger between al Qaeda’s Iraqi and Syrian affiliates. Around 7,000 people have been killed in acts of violence so far in 2013, reversing a decline in sectarian bloodshed that since it last climaxed in 2006-07.

A suicide bomber blew himself up near the house of a senior policeman on the southern outskirts of Samarra, 100 km north of Baghdad, police told Reuters. The attacker drove up to a group of people who had gathered at the scene

of an earlier, smaller explosion close to the house of senior police officer Nasser Dawood, added. A suicide bomber in a car drove up to a group of people who had gathered at the scene of an earlier, smaller explosion close to the house of senior officer Nasser Dawood.

He was away when the bomber set off his explosive, but most of those killed and wounded in the blast were members of his family, the force said. Al Qaeda’s Iraqi affiliate was forced underground in 2007 but has since regrouped, invigorated by the war in Syria and growing resentment of the government that came to power after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The militants have accused the government of marginalising their minority sect since the overthrow of Sunni strongman Saddam Hussein. Hardline Sunnis regard Shi’ites as apostates. — Reuters

Iran’s parliament chief warns over nuke pressures TEHRAN: Iran’s parliament speaker warned yesterday that lawmakers could intervene in ongoing nuclear talks with calls for stepped up atomic work if the West presses too hard for concessions.

The message from Ali Larijani - less than a week after talks resumed - appears aimed at both envoys from the West and Iran’s negotiation team, which is led by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. It also highlights the political jockeying inside Iran between backers of moderate-leaning President Hassan Rouhani and hard-liners wary of his outreach to Washington.

Larijani’s comments follow appeals by some members of the US Congress to tighten sanctions on Iran despite the nuclear negotiations and historic diplomatic breakthroughs last month, including President Barack Obama’s telephone chat with Rouhani. Larijani, meanwhile, told Iran’s representatives that parliament would not permit world powers to impose “special measures” on the country beyond the obligations laid out by the UN treaty overseeing nuclear activity, such as UN monitoring and inspection.

Iran’s ruling clerics approve all major policies and decisions, but parliament holds enough clout to potentially disrupt talks in response to Western demands to curb the program. Such resistance from Iran’s parliament could throw doubts on Rouhani’s ability to strike a deal with world powers in the same way that protests in Congress could stand in the way of potentially easing sanctions.

Details from last week’s talks have remained tightly guarded, but short-range priorities have been made clear. The U.S. and allies seek to roll back Iran’s highest-level uranium enrichment, which is several steps away from weapons grade. Iran wants the West to start withdrawing sanctions, which have hit Iran’s vital oil exports.

The next round for talks is scheduled in Geneva for Nov. 7-8 between Iran and a sixnation group, the permanent UN Security Council members and Germany. The West and others fear that Iran could eventually produce a nuclear weapon. Iran insists it only seeks reactors for energy and medical use.

The semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Larijani as saying that Iran’s nuclear program cannot be pushed beyond the requirements of the U.N.’s nuclear non-proliferation treaty, or NPT, which Iran has signed.

“Iranian negotiators should be fully aware of this,” Larijani said. “If parliament feels another powerful party has a double-standard and unjustifiable attitudes, it will approve necessary measures on amount and diversity of nuclear activities.”

Larijani did not elaborate, but said there is “no room for trust” yet with the US. On Saturday, Iran’s deputy foreign minister and one of Iran’s nuclear negotiators, Abbas Araghchi, told state TV that Washington holds a “main part of the responsibility in the confidence-building process” - which he described as a “correction” of past policies that include sanctions.—AP

JERUSALEM: Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, yesterday. — AP

Israel to get US briefing on Iran nuclear talks JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday world pressure on Iran must be maintained, as an Israeli delegation travelled to Washington to be briefed on talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Israel has been alarmed by the mounting emphasis on diplomacy with the new Iranian government of President Hassan Rouhani to allay concerns about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, fearing that Western governments may ease crippling sanctions before securing any real policy change.

“As long as we don’t see actions but only words, the international pressure must continue and increase,” Netanyahu said. He said that the greater the pressure on Iran, “the higher the chance its military nuclear programme will be dismantled.”

The Israeli premier also warned of legitimising what he called Tehran’s “rogue regime”. Netanyahu’s remarks came as a senior Israeli delegation was on its way to Washington for updates on talks between the major powers and Iran over its nuclear programme which resumed in Geneva on Tuesday.

Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz and a team of officials from intelligence services and the foreign and defence ministries were to participate in the bi-

annual strategic dialogue, a statement from his office said.

“This year the dialogue will focus on the nuclear talks with Iran and other regional issues,” it said of the meetings which are the “central forum” for deepening bilateral cooperation and coordination over issues in the region.

A spokesman for Steinitz said the minister will make a stop in Canada for talks with senior officials there on Monday before heading to the United States.

Ahead of the visit, a senior Israeli official was briefed by the US as well as a British delegation to the Iran talks, which flew in to update the Israelis, the Haaretz newspaper reported.

French and German officials also briefed their Israeli counterparts by phone on the substance of the Geneva talks, the paper said.

Netanyahu is also due to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry this week in Rome for updates on the P5+1 talks as well as peace negotiations with the Palestinians, the State Department has said.

Israel, which has the Middle East’s sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, has repeatedly threatened to take unilateral action if necessary to keep Iran from developing the capability to build a bomb of its own. — AFP

NORTH DARFUL: Jordanian members of the African Union - United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur Formed Police Units loead the coffin of a fallen comrade onto an aircraft in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan, yesterday. UNAMID organized a respect ceremony at the airport in El Fasher, North Darfur, to three fallen peacekeepers before their bodies were flown to Khartoum and then repatriated to Senegal. — AP

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

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

Bill Young remembered for his 43 years in Congress ST PETERSBURG: Senior US House Republican Bill Young was being remembered as a defense hawk, with a passion for looking after the needs of men and women in uniform and those of his constituents back in Florida. Young died Friday at age 82, a week after announcing from his hospital bed that he wouldn’t seek a 23rd term.

“It’s only been a week since we began trying to imagine the House without Bill Young - an impossible task in its own right - and now he is gone,” House Speaker John Boehner, said in a statement. “In our sorrow, we recall how not a day went by without a colleague seeking Bill’s counsel as he sat on his perch in the corner of the House floor. Looking out for our men and women in uniform was his life’s work, and no one was better at it. No one was kinder, too.”

Florida was always top priority. Young brought hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks back to the Tampa Bay area in his 43 years in Congress, and built up a defense contracting industry in the region, creating jobs and stirring the economy.

“His loss is a great one for his constituents,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said in a statement.

“For over 13 years, I considered Bill to be a dear friend

and a colleague that could always be counted on to provide sage advice based on decades of experience.”

First elected to the House in 1970, Young was one of the strongest supporters in Congress of defense. So he made headlines in 2012 when he said the United States should withdraw its forces from Afghanistan. Young told The Associated Press at the time that “we’re killing kids who don’t need to die,” and reflected the growing weariness with a conflict that had dragged on for more than a decade.

Young, who had been involved in Florida politics since 1957, was considered the elder statesman of the state’s Republican Party and in the U.S. House of Representatives. In recent years, Young became increasingly frail and relied on a wheelchair. He was quoted by The Tampa Tribune recently as saying that his decision to retire and not seek re-election in 2014 was based on both his health and a desire to spend more time with his family.

His chief of staff, Harry Glenn, said in an email that Young died at 6:50 p.m. at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where he had been for nearly two weeks with back problems that stemmed from a 1970 small plane crash. The email included a statement from

Young’s family, saying relatives were with Young when he died from complications related to a chronic injury.

The congressman was a longtime member of the House Appropriations Committee, where he focused on military spending. He and his wife frequently visited ailing service members at hospitals in the Washington area.

According to the newspaper, the congressman received a call Wednesday from former President George W. Bush, who thanked Young for his support of the military.

President Barack Obama issued a statement saying Young “will be remembered for his advocacy and support for the armed forces, service members, and their families as well as his statesmanship and long history of working across the aisle to keep our country moving forward.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a written statement, “As Florida’s longest serving member of Congress, Bill will be remembered as a true statesman and champion for the Tampa Bay area.”

Former Gov. Charlie Crist lives in a part of St. Petersburg that used to be in Young’s district before the lines were redrawn. During his time as governor, Crist

said he considered Young for a US Senate appointment, though ultimately chose someone else.

“He was an absolute giant in Florida politics,” Crist said. “He was a true gentleman, kind to all.” Florida Republican Party Chairman Lenny Curry said Young “always stood up for the Sunshine State and fought for the best interests of its citizens.”

His counterpart, state Democratic Party Chair Allison Tant said in a statement that for more than 40 years, “Young’s dedication to Florida and consistent civility has set the standard for all of Florida public servants.”

Charles William Young was born in Harmarville, Pa., and later moved to Indian Shores, Fla., a small Gulf Coast community in Pinellas County. He served in the Army National Guard from 1948 to 1957, then became an aide to US Rep. William Cramer from 1957 to 1960. From 1961 to 1971, he served in the Florida Senate. Young and his wife, Beverly, had three children. Young’s district, which encompasses almost all of densely populated Pinellas County, was already expected to be up for grabs in the 2014. His death makes it likely that Democrats will pour additional resources into the race. A special election will be held to finish his term. — AP

Hillary campaigns in VA for McAuliffe First political event since departing Obama administration

CARTAGENA: Men work in the final preparations for the 82nd Interpol General Assembly at ther Julio Cesar Turbay Convention Center in Cartagena, Colombia yesterday. Cartagena will host the 82nd Interpol General Assembly between October 21 and 24. — AFP

Train kills 2 workers amid SF Bay strike OAKLAND: A San Francisco Bay Area commuter train returning from routine maintenance struck and killed two workers who were inspecting the tracks Saturday afternoon - an accident that comes amid a strike that has shut the Bay Area Rapid Transit system down to riders for the past few days.

The four-car train was being run in automatic mode under computer control at the time of the accident, BART’s Assistant General Manager Paul Oversier said at a news conference. There were several people aboard the train, Oversier said, but he would not say who had been the operator. In an earlier statement, BART said only that the person was an experienced operator.

One system employee and one contractor were killed in the accident in the East Bay city of Walnut Creek shortly before 2 p.m. The train had been at a yard where workers had been cleaning off graffiti, BART officials said.

“This is a tragic day in BART’s history,” the system’s general manager, Grace Crunican, said. “The entire BART family is grieving.”

Officials from the unions representing BART’s train operators and some of the system’s other workers have warned of the danger that could come with allowing managers to operate trains as BART had planned to do in case of a strike. The unions have been on strike since Friday.

One of the unions on strike, Amalgamated Transit Union 1555, announced that its 900 workers would not be picketing on Sunday out of respect for the victims and their families. Also Saturday, ATU local president Antonette Bryant said she was taking a final contract offer from BART before members for a vote, but expects it will be rejected.

“It’s our hope we can get it to members this week,” Bryant told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. She said she expects the vote to be “a resounding no.” Bryant later issued a statement, saying Saturday’s accident was a “terrible human tragedy.”

The two workers killed were performing track inspections about a mile from the Walnut Creek station in an area some 25 miles northeast of San Francisco, BART said. They were responding to a reported dip in the

track and both had extensive experience.

“They understand the railroad, they understand how to work around moving trains,” Oversier said. “They were doing today what they have done 100 if not 1000 other times in their career.”

The procedures for such maintenance require one employee to inspect the track and the other to serve as a lookout for oncoming traffic, BART officials said. They did not immediately say whether that procedure had been followed.

Police placed yellow tarps over the two dead who were about 100 yards apart on the tracks. The victim’s names and ages were not immediately released. Oversier said that the BART worker who was killed is a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

BART officials wouldn’t address questions on the union’s warnings about train safety during a walkout. “The labor issues are not in the forefront of our mind,” Oversier said.

“We’ve just lost two people in the BART family.”

The National Transportation Safety Board announced late Saturday that it has informed BART and the California Public Utilities Commission that the federal agency will take over the investigation.

The deaths were the first of a BART employee in five years. In October 2008, about one stop down on the same line, 44year-old BART employee James Strickland was hit from behind while inspecting the tracks. Trains in both directions were sharing the same stretch of track at the time because of maintenance and Strickland had apparently been unaware.

Before Saturday’s accident, union leaders spent much of the day attempting to convince the riders who make 400,000 daily trips on the system that workers’ demands are not unreasonable amid increasing hostility in social media and other outlets. There was general agreement by both sides on on the economic parts of the contract, but union officials said they came to an impasse over work rules, including the length of the work day and when overtime pay kicks in.—AP

SANTIAGO: Chileans hold signs as they protest against Colombian immigration in Antofagasta, some 1400 km north of Santiago, on Saturday. Chileans protest against masive Colombian migration, which they blame for the rise of crime and the lack of jobs. According to official figures there are over 11,000 Colombians in Antofagasta, the fifth largest city of the country. — AFP

FALLS CHURCH: Hillary Rodham Clinton rallied supporters of Virginia Democrat Terry McAuliffe Saturday, pointing to the race as a sign that divisive politics is giving way to “common sense and common ground.”

In her first public political event since departing the Obama administration, Clinton noted the end of the 16-day partial government shutdown, which affected many Virginians. More than 800,000 government workers were furloughed while Democrats and Republicans in Congress engaged in a partisan brawl over funding the country’s new health care program, funding the government and raising the debt ceiling before reaching an eleventh hour compromise.

Clinton said the nation was watching the Virginia race to see whether voters “lead the way of turning from divisive politics, getting back to commonsense and common ground.” “We cannot let those who do not believe in America’s progress to hijack this great experiment,” Clinton added, endorsing her longtime family friend at an event billed, “Women for Terry McAuliffe.”

The former secretary of state has largely avoided politics this year, raising money at private fundraisers for McAuliffe and one scheduled Monday for the New York mayoral campaign of Bill de Blasio, a former campaign aide.

McAuliffe was a top fundraiser for the campaigns of both former President Bill Clinton and Mrs. Clinton and later served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Democrats consider Clinton to be the party’s leading contender to succeed President Barack Obama, her onetime rival, if she decides to run for president again in 2016. While Saturday’s event aimed to energize voters for McAuliffe, it evoked Clinton’s lengthy bid in 2008 to become the first woman to win the White House. The crowd broke into chants of “Hillary” as McAuliffe introduced her, and Clinton confessed that she had “been out of politics for a few years now.”

When Clinton told the audience that her time traveling the globe had allowed her to think about “what makes our country so great, what

kind of leadership is required to keep it great,” a man in the audience shouted, “Yours!”

Independent polls show McAuliffe has built a lead over Republican Ken Cuccinelli with more than two weeks until the Nov. 5 election, helped by an advantage among women and voters in northern Virginia. Both blocs were crucial to Obama’s victories in Virginia during his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.

Cuccinelli’s campaign said Clinton’s appearance brought back memories of McAuliffe’s fundraising role during Bill Clinton’s presidency, when some prominent donors stayed overnight at the White House in the Lincoln Bedroom.

“If there was any doubt that Terry McAuliffe would bring Washington, D.C., big-government politics to Richmond, today is your proof,” said

Cuccinelli spokesman Richard T. Cullen.

A longtime advocate for women and children, Clinton said the energetic McAuliffe would be a “24-7 governor” who would do the right thing for women and “stand up against attempts to restrict women’s health choices and ban common forms of birth control.”

She said the recent shutdown, which has hit many Virginia voters hard, was an example “of the wrong kind of leadership, when politicians choose scorched earth over common ground.”

Clinton said many workers had been furloughed, businesses had been hurt and children had been thrown out of early childhood education programs. “That is not the kind of leadership we need in Virginia and America today,” Clinton said. — AP

FALLS CHURCH: Gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe speaks to supporters as Hillary Clinton looks on during a Women for Terry Endorsement Event at the State Theatre on Saturday in Falls Church, Virginia. Hillary Clinton endorsed Gubernatorial candidate McAuliffe during his politcal race for the Governor’s office against Ken Cucccinelli. — AFP

US state to review tough death penalty provision ATLANTA: The first US state to pass a law prohibiting the execution of mentally disabled death row inmates is revisiting a requirement for defendants to prove the disability beyond a reasonable doubt - the strictest burden of proof in the nation. A state House committee is holding an outof-session meeting Thursday to seek input from the public.

Other states that impose the death penalty have a lower threshold for proving mental disability, and some don’t set standards at all.

Just because lawmakers are holding a meeting does not mean changes to the law will be proposed, and the review absolutely is not a first step toward abolishing Georgia’s death penalty, said State Rep. Rich Golick, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee.

Georgia’s law is the strictest in the US even though the state was also the first, in 1988, to pass a law prohibiting the execution of mentally disabled death row inmates. The US Supreme Court followed suit in 2002, ruling that the execution of mentally disabled offenders is unconstitutional.

The Georgia law’s toughest-in-the-nation status compels lawmakers to review it, Golick said. “When you’re an outlier, you really ought not to stick your head in the sand,” he said. “You need to go ahead and take a good, hard look at what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, weigh the pros and cons of a change and act accordingly or not.”

Thursday’s meeting comes against the backdrop of the case of Warren Lee Hill, who was sentenced to die for the 1990 beating death of fellow inmate Joseph Handspike, who was bludgeoned with a nail-studded board as he slept. At the time, Hill was already serving a life sentence for the 1986 slaying of his girlfriend, Myra Wright, who was shot 11 times.

Hill’s lawyers have long maintained he is mentally disabled and therefore shouldn’t be executed. The state has consistently argued that his lawyers have failed to prove his mental disability beyond a reasonable doubt.

Hill has come within hours of execution on several occasions, most recently in July. Each time, a court has stepped in at the last minute and granted a delay based on challenges raised by his lawyers. Only one of those challenges was related to his mental abilities, and it was later dismissed.—AP

Police capture two US prisoners freed by mistake PANAMA CITY BEACH: Two convicted killers who were freed from prison by phony documents were captured together without incident Saturday night at a Florida motel, authorities said. Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker, both 34, were not armed when they were taken into custody at the Coconut Grove Motor Inn in a touristy area of Panama City Beach, near puttputt courses and go-kart tracks. Several hours earlier, their families had held a news conference urging them to surrender.

Jenkins and Walker were both serving life sentences at Florida’s Franklin Correctional Facility before they were released within the last month. The bogus paperwork, complete with case numbers and a judge’s forged signature, duped prison officials and reduced their sen-

ORLANDO: Lillie Danzy, mother of escaped inmate Charles Walker, makes a plea for her son to turn himself in to authorities during a news conference at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando, Fla., Saturday. — AP

tences to 15 years.

Jenkins was released first on Sept. 27. His uncle and father figure, Henry Pearson, said when prison officials called him in Orlando he jumped in the car with fresh clothes for Jenkins and picked him up from prison.

He drove him to see his mother and grandmother. Jenkins hung around Pearson’s home for a couple of days and registered as a felon Sept. 30 at an Orlando jail, as he was required by law. He filled out paperwork, had his photograph taken and his fingerprints were checked against a database to make sure he didn’t have any outstanding warrants for his arrest.

The Orange County jail official who interacted with him had no idea he was supposed to be locked up, Sheriff Jerry Demings said. Pearson planned a birthday party for Jenkins on Oct. 1, but he didn’t show. Pearson thought little of it because Jenkins had friends in the area, and after all, he had been locked up since the 1998 killing and botched robbery of Roscoe Pugh, an Orlando man.

About a week later, on Oct. 8, Walker was let out of the same prison when similar legitimatelooking documents duped prison officials. His mother, Lillie Danzy, said the family thought their prayers had been answered when she got a call saying her son was being released. She called prison officials back to make sure it was actually happening.

There wasn’t time to pick him up, so prison officials took him to a bus station, gave him a ticket - as they would any other ex-inmate - and sent him along. Walker had been in prison since his conviction of second-degree murder in the 1999 Orange County slaying of 23-year-old Cedric Slater. Like Jenkins, he registered at the Orange County jail three days after his release without raising any alarms.

He knocked around town and went to church last Sunday, but at some point, he and Jenkins went underground. On Tuesday, one of Pugh’s relatives contacted the state attorney’s office to let them know Jenkins had been let out. Pugh’s family had been notified by mail, which is typical for families of violent crime victims.—AP

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

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

SPD lists demands for entering coalition with Merkel BERLIN: Leaders of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) have told party members they will wring concessions from Angela Merkel if they start coalition talks, including on a minimum wage, equal pay and a financial transaction tax. According to an internal document seen by Reuters yesterday, the SPD will say 10 demands are nonnegotiable, including a minimum wage of 8.50 euros per hour, equal pay for men and women, greater investment in infrastructure and education, and a common strategy to boost euro zone growth and employment.

The document was prepared by SPD leaders for a meeting on Sunday at which about 200 senior members from across Germany will vote on whether to start talks on forming a government with Merkel’s conservatives.

The party will also demand equal pensions for seniors in the former West and East Germany, the ability to

have dual citizenship, and measures to make it easier to combine work with family life. No mention is made in the document of tax increases for the wealthiest, which the SPD had campaigned on during September’s election but which the chancellor has ruled out.

Merkel’s conservative bloc - her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) - emerged as the strongest political force in the Sept. 22 election but fell several seats short of a parliamentary majority, forcing them to seek a coalition ally.

The SPD, which came a distant second to Merkel, was seen as the most likely partner from the start, but the party is keen to avoid a rerun of its 2005-2009 ‘grand coalition’ with Merkel. It emerged from that with its worst election result since World War Two, making many

members sceptical about another union.

“This time I can guarantee that we will not strike a coalition agreement in which we do the opposite of what we pledged in the election,” SPD Chairman Sigmar Gabriel told German newspaper Bild on Saturday.

Erwin Sellering, the SPD state premier of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, said in an interview in Welt am Sonntag newspaper yesterday that Merkel should not think her poll lead allowed her to call all the shots.

“If we are not able to push through enough of what we have pledged, then we must say to voters: ‘sorry but we are not available’... fresh elections are nothing alarming for us.”

A draft of the declaration Gabriel will ask SPD leaders to sign on Sunday says the party “agrees to enter formal coalition talks with the intention of forming a govern-

ment.” If Gabriel secures party backing, as expected, talks on coalition policies and cabinet posts would begin on Wednesday. They could last more than a month.

German voters, international investors and Berlin’s European allies have mostly been expecting a grand coalition and few expect any partnership deal to greatly alter Merkel’s domestic and foreign policy agenda.

The chancellor’s talks with the environmentalist Greens broke down last week, strengthening the SPD’s hand. Such a partnership would enjoy an overwhelming majority in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, and find it easier to push legislation through the Bundesrat, the upper house where the governments of Germany’s 16 federal states are represented. The SPD will seek final approval of any coalition deal in a poll of its members. — Reuters

Luxembourg’s veteran PM battles for re-election Polls show CSV expected to lose seats in parlaiment

BELGRADE: In this Friday, May 4, 2001 file photo, Jovanka Broz, the widow of former Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito stands by his tomb after laying a wreath during a ceremony in Belgrade, Serbia. — AP

Tito’s widow, First Lady of Yugoslavia, dies aged 88 BELGRADE: Jovanka Broz, who spent three decades as Yugoslavia’s First Lady but was left stateless and forgotten as war shattered the socialist federation built by her husband ‘Tito’, died yesterday in a Belgrade hospital.

State television RTS said Broz had died of cardiac arrest. She was 88 and had lived largely in isolation since the death of Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito in 1980, squirreled away in a crumbling state-owned villa in the Serbian capital without a passport or ID. Born in Croatia, Broz became a nurse with Tito’s Partisan fighters in World War Two, then his personal secretary and finally his third wife in 1952.

Tito was 32 years her senior, and presided over a federation of 22 million people balanced between Cold War East and West.

Unlike the grey, staid Communist leaders of the Soviet bloc, Tito and his wife revelled in ostentation and glamour. Dead three days short of his 88th birthday, Tito’s funeral gathered heads of state and dignitaries from across the Cold War divide, including Britain’s Margaret Thatcher and ailing Soviet president Leonid Brezhnev.

His wife had already been removed from the public eye in the late 1970s, as the party elite had grown increasingly suspicious of her influence over the elderly president. Soon after Tito’s funeral, authorities confiscated all property and personal belongings of the couple and placed Broz under virtual house arrest in a dilapidated government-owned villa in Belgrade’s hilltop Dedinje district.

With Tito gone and the Cold War over, his

widow looked on as nationalist tensions tore apart Yugoslavia in the 1990s, spawning seven new states during a decade of war and ethnic cleansing that killed more than 125,000 people.

Nationalists chipped away at Tito’s reputation and legacy, deconstructing the personality cult built around him in an effort to undermine the mantra of ‘Brotherhood and Unity’ that underpinned Yugoslavia.

His widow was boxed away, out of sight.

She lived on a state pension, the villa gradually falling into disrepair. Then in 2006, responding to a public appeal from Broz’s sister, democrats who took power in Serbia with the fall of nationalist strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, undertook to fix the leaking roof and reconnect the heating.

“I remember that it was minus 11 (Celsius) outside and there was no heating in the house,” Serbian Trade Minister Rasim Ljajic, who visited Broz in the winter of 2005, said in a recent interview with the Serbian daily Politika.

“It was unbearable,” he said. “Jovanka was wearing all her winter clothes.” In 2009, Broz was finally granted a Serbian passport, and though she rarely spoke publicly, she was seen once a year at Tito’s mausoleum on the May 4 anniversary of his death.

In one of her last interviews, Broz told the Serbian daily Blic that she absolved Tito of responsibility for her estrangement towards the end of his rule. “Tito loved me until his death,” she said. Blic reported that she had asked to be buried next to Tito. — Reutres

MALE: Former Maldivian president and presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed (C) smiles after speaking to reporters in Male yesterday, a day after police in the Maldives forced postponement of presidential polls, declaring the vote illegal in a decision that sparked international concern. — AFP

Challenger wants Maldives’ president Hassan to resign MALE: The leading candidate in the Maldives’ troubled presidential election demanded yesterday that the president resign and allow the parliamentary speaker to take over the government and oversee a fresh poll.

Speaking to reporters a day after police stopped officials from holding a scheduled revote of last month’s election, Mohamed Nasheed accused President Mohamed Waheed Hassan of working with the country’s defense minister and police chief to obstruct the vote.

The move by the police to stop Saturday’s revote came as the latest blow to this Indian Ocean island nation, which has seen much upheaval in its first five years as a democracy.

Failing to elect a president by Nov. 11, when Hassan’s term ends, could bring about a constitutional crisis in the country.

The Supreme Court earlier this month annulled the results of the Sept. 7 election, agreeing with a losing candidate that the voters’ list had made-up names and names

of dead people. Nasheed led that election with more than 45 percent of the vote, but failed to secure a majority for an outright win.

Nasheed said Sunday that he has lost all hope that an election will ever be held during Hassan’s tenure, accusing Hassan, Defense Minister Mohamed Nasim and Police Chief Abdulla Riyaz of wanting to stay in power without having a new vote.

“It is very evident that they have been obstructing the election and it is also very evident the game they are trying to play,” Nasheed told reporters, adding that Hassan, Nasim and Riyaz want to take Maldives into a “constitutional void” and stay in power for a long time.

“We believe that the only prudent way forward and a possible solution is for Dr Waheed (Hassan) to resign and the speaker of Parliament to take over government until Nov. 11, for the election to be held under his tenure and not under the unelected ... rule of Dr Waheed,” Nasheed said.—AP

LUXEMBOURG: Voters in tiny but wealthy Luxembourg went to the polls yesterday, with Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, Europe’s longest-serving leader, facing a tough battle to extend his 18-year rule after a spy scandal.

Just under 240,000 people were called to the ballot box in the EU’s richest state per capita for an election brought forward by seven months after the discovery of misconduct in the secret services.

Juncker’s centre-right Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) has won every election bar one in Luxembourg since its establishment in 1944 but the prime minister’s coalition with the socialist party splintered over misdemeanours by the SREL spy agency. The 58-year-old Juncker came under fire for concentrating too much on his role as head of the eurozone finance ministers during the bloc’s debt crisis and taking his eye off domestic issues. The SREL, which Juncker oversees, was accused of a series of scandals ranging from illegal phone-tapping to dodgy dealing in luxury cars.

Casting his vote, Juncker said: “I want the CSV to remain the strongest party so that we can govern for the next five years. If this is not the case, I will be an opposition MP.” Polls show the CSV is expected to lose seats in the 60-member parliament but likely to remain the country’s dominant political force.

Though Luxembourgers deem Juncker competent to continue to steer the state, surveys show a younger generation of politicians increasingly picking up support, notably 40year-old Liberal Party chief Xavier Bettel.

Also expected to make gains in the weekend vote is Greens newcomer Francois Bausch. who for the past three years has run the Luxembourg town hall with Bettel. Bettel and Bausch have made no secret of their hopes of forming a coalition government without Juncker’s Christian Democrats.

But they would need backing from the Socialists, who withdrew their support from Juncker amid the spy scandal. Socialist leader Etienne Schneider said it was “time for change” on his Facebook page.

“If it’s possible to carry out ... real reforms aimed at modernising the state and giving it a new impetus, then yes, I’m in favour of a threeway coalition,” added Schneider, who has made no secret of wanting to become prime minister.

“Today I really want to become prime minister to give a new dynamic to the country and reform it from top to bottom,” said the 42-yearold outgoing economy minister.

On the campaign trail, Juncker hammered home the message that a three-party coalition for Luxembourg-which would be the first of its kind-would undermine the nation.

He has nevertheless said he would be pre-

pared to govern in a two-way coalition with the socialists, greens or liberals. The CSV campaigned on Juncker’s experience-he has spent nearly half his life in government-and a need for stability in the tiny Grand Duchy wedged between France, Germany and Belgium.

Although the small nation remains comparatively wealthy, unemployment has edged up to nearly seven percent and debt has trebled in the past 15 years. Polls closed at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) with early results expected today. Nine parties in all are running in the elections, from the extreme left-wing Dei Lenk to populist rightwing group ADR. — AFP

LUXEMBOURG: Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and his wife Christiane leave a polling station after casting their vote yesterday in Luxembourg. The European Union’s wealthiest nation per capita holds snap elections after a scandal over misconduct by the secret service fractured the coalition government headed by Juncker’s Christian Social People’s Party. — AFP

Hollande faces backlash in schoolgirl deportation row PARIS: President Francois Hollande was widely criticised yesterday for offering to allow a deported immigrant teenager back into France without her family, and a poll showed his approval ratings at a record low.

Hollande waded into the dispute on Saturday when he offered Leonarda Dibrani, a teenager of Roma origin ordered off a school bus and deported to Kosovo, the chance to return to France to finish her studies, but only if she did so alone.

The proposal drew angry condemnation, including from Dibrani, who said that she would not return alone, exposing Hollande to fresh attacks on his leadership.

“What do 80 percent of the French think about this?” Francois Bayrou, a centrist party leader who ran against Hollande in round one of the 2012 presidential election, told i>Tele.

“They think the state has totally lost its compass, deciding one thing and then deciding its exact opposite one minute later... Hollande’s authority is significantly weakened here.”

Dibrani’s expulsion after her family failed to obtain political asylum has tested Hollande’s ability to handle the issue of illegal migration, a source of increasing public frustration in France.

Students protested to demand the 15-yearold schoolgirl be allowed back, even as opinion polls showed that most French wanted the family out.

Opponents from the centre-right UMP party accused Hollande of being so obsessed with satisfying his Socialist base that he had betrayed the will of the public. Even Socialists appeared dissatisfied with the president’s attempt at a compromise.

Minutes after Hollande’s TV appearance, in which he said police had followed rules but lacked tact in doing so, Socialist Party leader Harlem Desir appeared on a different channel saying Dibrani’s family should be let back into France.

“I am going to talk to the president and the government about this,” said Desir. He added that he wanted “all the children of Leonarda’s family to be able to finish their studies in France, accompanied by their mother.”

A poll in the JDD weekly newspaper showed

Hollande’s approval rating had sunk to 23 percent, the lowest level in his presidency and beating record low popularity ratings set by his centre-right predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy.

But while Hollande wilts under grim economic data and attacks on his authority, his tough-talking Interior Minister Manuel Valls has become France’s most popular minister.

A JDD poll published this month showed Valls had the support of 61 percent of the French, far ahead of any other minister. By emphasising a tough stance on Dibrani’s family, rather than the offer to allow her back, he appears to have come out of the Dibrani affair unscathed.

“Nothing will make me deviate from my path,” Valls told the JDD in an interview published on Sunday. “The law must be applied and this family must not come back to France.”

Valls has toughened his rhetoric against illegal migration and makeshift Roma camps as the far-right National Front party has surged in popularity ahead of municipal and European elections next year.

Dibrani, who was born in Italy, and her five brothers and sisters attended school in France, where they arrived in 2009. But an official report showed their attendance record was patchy and said the family’s attempts to assimilate were disappointing.

Repeated requests for asylum by her father, Reshat, who is from Kosovo, were undermined by the fact that he lied about their nationality.

French-speaking Leonarda, speaking from a house in the Kosovo cit y of Mitrovica, criticised Hollande as “having no heart”, and said her family would return to France anyway. — Reuters

MITROVICA: Leonarda Dibrani (2L), the 15 year-old Roma schoolgirl whose deportation from France sparked a huge outcry, sits among her family members her father Resat (L), and her brothers (from L) Hasan, Ronaldo, Rocky in their temporary home in Mitrovica yesterday. — AFP

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

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

Malaysian leader strengthens hand in party polls KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak strengthened his hand in ruling-party elections, but analysts said questions remain over his stop-start plans for reforms amid resistance from conservatives.

Najib was unopposed as president of the long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in the party’s polls, the final results of which were tallied late Saturday. But other posts were closely watched to determine whether Najib was losing ground to powerful conservatives, upset with his earlier pledge to liberalise a controversial system of preferences for the Muslim Malay majority and with other reforms.

Analysts said Najib appeared to have held off conservatives, for now. “On the surface of it, Najib’s leadership of the party is undisputed,” said Ibrahim Suffian, director of leading polling organisation Merdeka

Centre. “His team will be able to push some reforms, but the right-wing element of the party is not extinguished. There will have to be some compromise.” The Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition, through which UMNO has ruled the multi-ethnic, Muslimmajority country for decades, has won national elections by diminishing margins as voters tire of its racebased politics and authoritarian rule.

Najib, now 60 and in office since 2009, responded by advocating political and economic reforms to win back support, but has been restricted by hardliners keen to protect Malay dominance.

Najib has already backtracked on key reform moves including a cautious pledge to weaken UMNO’s decades-old affirmative-action policies for Malays in education, housing and economic opportunities.

The system is resented by the sizeable ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities and economists see it as a drag on national competitiveness. Najib was seen to be under heightened pressure from UMNO rightwingers since the May general election, in which he led Barisan to its worst showing ever although it clung to power.

But in the party polls the three UMNO vice-presidents, who are close to Najib, defended their positions.

They narrowly fended off a challenge by Mukhriz Mahathir, son of conservative former strongman leader Mahathir Mohamad.

“I believe this team can carry out the transformation agenda to advance the country,” Najib was quoted by the national news agency Bernama as saying yesterday.

Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director of Singapore’s Institute

of Southeast Asian Studies, said Najib had a firmer mandate but may be held back by his “own timidity”.

“It’s a mixed bag where reforms are concerned. I don’t think UMNO or Najib himself is totally clear where they want Malaysia to go,” he said. Mahathir ruled Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 with an iron fist, developing it from a rural backwater to an economic success.

But he was widely accused of trampling rights and allowing corruption to flourish.

Though retired, he is now viewed as the focus of conservative resistance to reforms. Barisan has steadily ceded parliamentary ground in recent elections to a multiracial opposition alliance. The alliance advocates an end to corruption and UMNO authoritarianism, and calls for replacing the race-based Malay preferences with needs-based social aid. — AFP

Australia facing worst bushfire in 40 years Winds, heat keep wildfire risk high

MOSCOW: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reviews the honor guard upon his arrival, at the Government Airport Vnukovo-2 outside Moscow, Russia, yesterday.

Singh arrived in Moscow on an official visit on Sunday, where he will take part in the 14th annual Russia-India summit. — AP

India PM leaves for Russia, China NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left yesterday for a four-day trip to Russia and China aimed at strengthening trade ties and addressing a festering border dispute with Beijing.

The prime minister will also look to secure energy, defence and other economic deals in both countries. In a statement before leaving India, the 81-yearold spoke of the longstanding defence and trade ties with Russia.

“The scope of our relationship with Russia is unique, encompassing strong and growing cooperation in areas such as defence, nuclear energy, science and technology, hydrocarbons, trade and investment,” he said in a statement.

Singh added he would try to address “areas of concern” during his visit to Beijing. “India and China have historical issues and there are areas of concern,” he said, adding they would not affect “the overall atmosphere of friendship and cooperation”.

India seeks a breakthrough in a border row with China that has soured relations for decades, after the leaders of the two Asian giants pledged earlier this year to build trust. Singh will meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today with the focus on arms purchases.

India, which is spending billions of dollars upgrading its military, has been Russia’s top weapons buyer for years.

Both countries will also be looking to seal accords on the next phase of a Russianbuilt nuclear power project on India’s south coast.

The project is designed to help meet India’s surging demand for electricity, but

has been dogged by delays and protests over safety. Singh will head to China on Tuesday looking to forge closer economic ties and ink a pact to ease tension along their disputed border in a remote Himalayan region, following a flare-up in April. India accused Chinese troops of intruding nearly 20 kilometres (12 miles) into Indian-held territory, sparking a three-week standoff that was only resolved when troops from both sides eventually pulled back. China and India fought a brief war in 1962 and the border between the two nations has never been properly demarcated, although they have signed accords to maintain peace.

Singh and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang will hold talks Wednesday on the issue, after both pledged to resolve the dispute during Li’s visit to India in May. Singh will also seek progress on closing the trade gap, including through increased Chinese investment through Chinese industrial parks in India.

China is India’s biggest trading partner, with two-way commerce totalling $67.83 billion last fiscal year, up from $2.1 billion in 2001-02. But India’s trade deficit with its neighbour soared to $40.77 billion last year from just $1.08 billion in 2001-02, Indian figures show.

Singh said the world’s two most populous countries have a “growing congruence of regional, global and economic interests”. “The list of areas of our bilateral cooperation is impressive-trade, investment, infrastructure, trans-border rivers, energy, agriculture, science and technology... we hope to take for ward our engagement in many of these areas during my visit,” he added. — AFP

Bodies of 6 more Laos air crash victims found BANGKOK: Search teams have pulled six more bodies of air crash victims from the Mekong River in Laos, the national carrier said yesterday, taking the number of corpses recovered to 38.

In the nation’s worst known air disaster, all passengers and crew on the Lao Airlines turboprop ATR-72 died after the plane plunged into the river in bad weather on Wednesday near Pakse airport in Champasak province.

More than half of the 49 passengers and crew were foreigners from some 10 countries. Search teams from neighbouring Thailand have been scouring the river for bodies along with experts from the airline and the French-Italian aircraft maker.

But they have been hampered by strong currents which have swept some bodies several kilometres away from the crash site. “Now the total found bodies are 38,” Sengpraseuth Mathouchan, the airline’s vice-president, said in a statement Sunday, after six more bodies were found overnight.

“Lao forensic teams and experts from Thailand are continuing to identify” the bodies, he said, adding “our thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by this terrible tragedy”.

On Saturday the airline said it had identified 14 of the 32 bodies hauled from the river by that point. Two Australian passengers, the Cambodian captain and several members of the crew were among those named so far.

The airline has revised the passen-

ger list to show that a Canadian citizen was also on board when the plane went down. According to an updated passenger list released late Saturday by the airline, there were 16 Laotians, seven French travellers, six Australians, five Thais, three South Koreans, two Vietnamese, and one national each from the United States, Canada, Malaysia, China and Taiwan.

There were also five crew, including the Cambodian captain. Volunteers have fought strong currents in the painstaking search for bodies from the plane, most of which has sunk and is believed to have broken up. In some cases, rescue teams have plucked the dead from turbulent waters many miles from the crash site.

Founded in 1976, Lao Airlines serves domestic airports and destinations in China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Impoverished Laos, a oneparty communist state, has seen 29 fatal air accidents since the 1950s, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

In 2010 the United Nations’ air safety arm, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, found Laos was just above the world average for all factors except airworthiness and operations, which were recorded as marginally below global norms.

Previously the country’s worst air disaster was in 1954 when 47 people died in an Air Vietnam crash near Pakse, the organisation said. — AFP

SYDNEY: Australian fire services warned yesterday that parts of New South Wales were facing the most dangerous combination of warm, dry weather and strong winds in more than 40 years as major wildfires swept the state.

Fire crews ramped up containment efforts around several of the blazes with the weather forecast to deteriorate and officials warning of “unparalleled” dangers.

More than 200 homes have already been destroyed and another 120 damaged by the wildfires, which broke out across New South Wales state in unseasonably warm weather earlier this week, fanned by extremely high winds.

The worst of the fires, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, plunged the city last week into an eerie midday darkness as plumes of smoke and ash filled the sky. One man has died so far trying to protect his property.

Firefighters had a reprieve on Friday and Saturday with an easing in the weather, but containment and property protection efforts were stepped up on Sunday ahead of an expected intensification in weather conditions set to include warmer temperatures and 100 kilometre per hour (60 mile per hour) winds. New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said there would be several extremely difficult days ahead for fire crews.

“We’ve got what would be unparalleled in terms of risk and exposure for the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury communities throughout this week,” Fitzsimmons told reporters.

“If you are to draw a parallel, and it’s always dangerous to draw a parallel, at best you’d be going back to time periods in the late 60s.” “The reality is, however, these conditions that we’re looking at are a whole new ball-game and in a league of their own.”

State premier Barry O’Farrell said crews had carried out controlled burn operations through the night to strengthen buffer zones around the major Blue Mountains fires and “are on alert to switch to active firefighting if properties come under threat”.

A total fire ban was in place in the Greater

BELL: A New South Wales Rural Fire Service volunteer puts out a fire in the town of Bell, Australia, yesterday. Firefighters battling some of the most destructive wildfires to ever strike Australia’s most populous state were focusing on a major blaze yesterday. — AP Sydney and three other regions across the state until further notice. An emergency warning was issued for the Blue Mountains village of Bell on Sunday morning, with residents urged to evacuate, if they were able, or to “take shelter in a solid structure when the fire front arrives”.

Villagers in Mount Wilson and Mount Irvine were ordered to bunker down in their homes because it was “not safe to leave” with fire cutting off access roads, while residents of nearby Bilpin were warned if they did not evacuate they could be isolated, without power, for several days. Assistant police commissioner Alan Clarke said mandatory evacuation orders would be enforced in some areas, describing the risk as “far more extreme” than in past fires. “Police will be doing forced evacuations if the risk is necessary,” Clarke told reporters.

“At the end of the day we hope we have

buildings standing, but if we don’t have buildings standing we don’t want bodies in them.”

“It’s important to understand that the single tragedy that we’ve had in these fires so far has been the tragic circumstances where an individual chose to remain and fight a fire. It is extremely dangerous circumstances.”

Conditions are expected to hit their worst on Wednesday and Fitzsimmons said contingency plans were being drafted for various fire trajectories. “We’ve seen some extraordinary devastation and destruction already in recent days and there is very real potential for a whole lot more to come,” he said.

Wildfires are common in Australia’s summer months, which run from December-February, but an unusually dry and warm winter and record spring temperatures has seen the 2013/14 fire season start early. — AFP

Filipino sultan who claimed Malaysian region dies at 75 MANILA: A Philippine sultan whose armed followers invaded a vast Malaysian region, sparking a security crisis that left dozens of people dead earlier this year, died yesterday of multiple organ failure. He was 75.

Sultan Jamalul Kiram III’s wife, Fatima Celia, told The Associated Press that her husband died in her arms at a Philippine hospital. She said that before he died, he ordered his family and followers to keep alive the historic territorial claims to Sabah state in neighboring Malaysia.

Although largely forgotten and dismissed as a vestige from a bygone era, Kiram’s Muslim sultanate, based in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, stirred up a security crisis in Malaysia when his younger brother and about 200 followers, dozens of them armed, barged into Sabah’s coastal village of Lahad Datu in February.

Stunned, Malaysia responded by sending in ground troops and launching air strikes.

Dozens of people were killed in weeks of sporadic fighting before the standoff eased.

Malaysia has governed the resource-rich frontier region of timberlands and palm oil plantations in northern Borneo as its secondlargest federal state since the 1960s. The Kiram sultanate, which emerged in the 1400s, built a legend for its wide influence at the time and its feared Tausug warriors. Chinese and European leaders once sent vassals to pay homage to their powerful forebears, sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani said. The Sulu sultanate preceded both the Philippine republic and Malaysia by centuries.

But overrun by history, the Kirams now carry royal titles and nothing much else. “I’m the poorest sultan in the world,” an ailing Kiram said in an interview in March at his rundown residence in a Muslim village in Manila, the Philippine capital.

The Kirams claim Sabah has belonged to their sultanate for centuries and was only leased to Malaysia, which they say pays them a paltry annual rent. Malaysian officials contend the payments are part of an arrangement under which the sultanate has ceded the 74,000 square kilometers (28,000 square miles) of Sabah territory to their country.

Philippine presidents have relegated the volatile feud to the backburner despite efforts by the Kirams to put it on the national agenda.

Kiram’s sultanate still has hundreds of followers in Sulu and nearby southern provinces,

TAGUIG: Relatives and followers carry the coffin of Filipino Sultan Jamalul Kiram III towards the Blue Mosque in Maharlika village, Taguig city, south of Manila, Philippines yesterday.

Kiram died at the age of 75 due to multiple organ failure. — AP

which are among the Philippines’ poorest and are troubled by Muslim rebels, al-Qaeda-linked extremists and outlaws.

Kiram’s family said he would be buried in his hometown of Maimbung in Sulu. He had

eight children with two wives and will likely be replaced by a younger brother, Esmail Kiram II, in a succession often marred in the past by clan infighting and claims by fake descendants of the once-powerful Muslim royalty. — AP

SAMBA: Indian migrants, from border village Suchetgarh Kullian of Samba district, arrive at a community hall converted into a migrant camp in Samba, about 45 kms from Jammu yesterday. India expressed concern yesterday, over cross-border firing by Pakistan’s troops in Kashmir amid reports two soldiers were injured in the latest military flare-up in the disputed Himalayan region. — AFP

MONDAY, OCTOMBER 21, 2013

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Focus

Shutdown leader Ted Cruz, a US conservative star

By Ramon Sahmkow angerous demagogue or a champion of the common folk? Savvy strategist or “wacko bird”? Love him or hate him, Ted Cruz’s national profile has soared during the recent government shutdown. Cruz, a 43 year-old Republican senator from Texas, led the charge by the party’s ultraconservative Tea Party faction to shut down the federal government, in the process pushing the United States to the brink of default. Polls show popular support for the Republican Party, blamed for the shutdown, at an all-time low.

But his support among hardline conservatives has strengthened. Backing for Cruz from conservative Republicans is at 74 percent - a 27 percent jump from July, according to a recent Pew poll. Even though he is just completing his first year in the US senate, the flamboyant politician appears to be positioning himself for a run as president in the 2016 election. Yet Cruz has angered senior politicians in both parties for showing little deference to seniority and taking over the spotlight from more experienced party stalwarts.

A master orator with a clear sense of mission, he appears to revel in defying the Washington establishment - a trait on full display as he spoke for more than 21 hours straight to try to block a stopgap spending bill in the leadup to the shutdown. Many fellow Republicans have blasted Cruz for convincing Tea Party adherents in the House of Representatives to shut down the government in a doomed quest to defund President Barack Obama’s crowning domestic achievement, the Affordable Care Act. Informally known as Obamacare, the program expands healthcare benefits to millions of Americans.

Cruz and many conservative Republicans see the Act as the first step towards European-style socialism in the United States. It was up to senior Republican Senators to wave the white flag and bargain a truce with Obama’s Democrats. In the end the Republicans emerged from the government shutdown with no concessions. An exasperated John McCain, the 2008 presidential candidate, once derided Cruz and two other Tea Party lawmakers as “wacko birds on the right.”

Republican luminaries such as Karl Rove and Grover Norquist have also lined up to criticize Cruz. The criticism however does not seem to faze him. “I don’t work for the party bosses in Washington. I work for the people of Texas.

And I fight for them,” Cruz said Sunday in an interview on CNN’s State of the Union. “America, like the world, is in an era where we worship celebrities, whether a rock star or a politician,” said Susan McManus, a political scientist at the University of South Florida.

A Texas-raised, Harvard-educated lawyer with a Cuban father and an American mother, Cruz joined George W Bush’s legal team to argue the 2000 Florida presidential recount. He later served under Bush in the Justice Department and the US Federal Trade commission. In 2003 he returned to Texas and was appointed solicitor general, where he served for five years, arguing many times before the US Supreme Court. In 2011 he ran for Senate with support from the Tea Party - anti-government, anti-tax, and pro-life and pro-gun conservatives who thrive in politically conservative Texas. He defeated the establishment Republican party candidate, then steamrolled his Democratic opponent in the 2012 election.

Cruz may have a Hispanic last name and enjoy plenty of support in Hispanic-heavy Texas when he was elected, but he is a staunch opponent of immigration reform, a vital issue in the Hispanic community. “He’s an ideologue,” said McManus. “He has a position and doesn’t stride from it, doesn’t apologize.” A run for president in 2016? Former House majority leader Tom DeLay, a fellow Texan, has nothing but praise for Cruz. “Out here in the real world, outside of New York and Washington, DC, these people think Ted Cruz is a hero,” he recently told CNN. “They think that those Republicans in the House are heroes. And they think that Obama is destroying this country,” DeLay said.

Could he run for president? The Texas senator clearly seems to be firing up the base in preparation for an attempt to win the Republican nomination, though he sidestepped the question Sunday, telling CNN his “focus is entirely on the US Senate”. Nevertheless, “he’s gambling that he can” make a serious White House bid, said McManus. He’s betting on the chance “that Obamacare is going to ruin the American economy, and he will be able to say ‘I told you so’.”

Cruz however has a secret absent from his official website senate biography: He was born in Calgary, Canada. As the son of an American, Cruz was entitled to US citizenship at birth. Nevertheless, his foreign birthplace could become a point of contention during his bid for president, a job restricted to natural-born citizens. — AFP

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

Obama has weak hand with Congress

By Jeff Mason espite his win last week in a debt ceiling standoff with Republicans, President Barack Obama has limited ability to achieve his policy goals through legislation, which could result in increased use of executive powers, administration officials and Democratic strategists said. The 16-day partial government shutdown highlighted Obama’s challenges in basic governing. Although he refused to concede to Republicans in exchange for reopening the government and raising the US borrowing limit, he could not block the emergence of what he called a “manufactured” crisis.

The president would now like to seize momentum to push forward three legislative priorities: the farm bill, immigration reform and a more lasting budget deal. But his chances of progress on those issues, particularly immigration reform, depend on convincing embittered Republicans to work with a White House many of them detest. That leaves Obama more or less at the same strategic juncture he encountered before the shutdown began.

“His only play is to just keep being consistent about trying to find ways for bipartisan cooperation on the things that need congressional action and then try to continue what he’s been doing for years now ... and that’s looking for ways to move the ball through executive action,” a senior White House official told Reuters. “In that sense, nothing has

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changed in our approach except that we and the whole town had to burn however many weeks on this detour - which is a shame.” Already this year, Obama has relied on executive actions to enact climate change and gun control policies that had weak congressional support. He could use the same authority to bypass lawmakers on other regulatory questions.

But that strategy has limits. Some of the administration’s climate rules are being challenged at the Supreme Court, and Obama still needs Congress to enact the major reforms that his advisers hope will define his legacy. “Obama did himself no favors when it comes to his own policy priorities,” said an aide to John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives. “His refusal to negotiate in good faith makes it difficult for our members to work with him on other big priorities. Immigration reform, already a huge task, looks even tougher.”

The error-filled rollout of Obama’s signature healthcare program hurts his ability to focus on other domestic policy goals as well. Republicans plan to hammer the administration in coming weeks over flaws that have prevented people from signing up for health insurance through new exchanges. House Republican efforts to delay or defund the healthcare law, popularly known as Obamacare, triggered the partial government shutdown.

Lawmakers’ votes on Wednesday to prevent the United States from going into default showed a narrow pathway to

finding bipar tisan suppor t. The Democratic-led Senate passed the measure to reopen the government and extend the debt ceiling on an 81-18 vote, while the Republican-controlled House passed it 285-144. That vote tally - 87 House Republicans supported the bill combined with rock-solid unity among Democratic lawmakers, gives Obama’s allies hope he can build other coalitions.

“I will look for willing partners wherever I can to get important work done,” the president said on Thursday. “And there’s no good reason why we can’t govern responsibly, despite our differences, without lurching from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis.”

The first test of whether lawmakers can avert another crisis comes as a bipartisan panel considers a plan, due by Dec. 13, to reduce the deficit. Under the compromise forged last week, the government would be funded through Jan. 15 and the debt ceiling lifted through Feb 7.

That tight time frame does not allow much room for the president’s other policy priorities to gain traction. Democrats believe, however, that Obama’s bargaining hand may be strengthened by the thrashing Republicans took in opinion polls over their handling of the shutdown. “This shutdown re-emphasized the overwhelming public demand for compromise and negotiation. And that may open up a window,” said Ben LaBolt, Obama’s 2012 campaign spokesman and a former White House aide. “There’s no doubt that some Republican members

(of Congress) are going to oppose policies just because the president’s for it. But the hand of those members was significantly weakened.”

If he does have an upper hand, Obama is likely to apply it to immigration reform.

The White House had hoped to have a bill concluded by the end of the summer. A Senate version passed with bipartisan support earlier this year but has languished in the Republican-controlled House. “It will be hard to move anything forward, unless the Republicans find the political pain of obstructionism too much to bear,” said Doug Hattaway, a Democratic strategist and an adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. “That may be the case with immigration - they’ll face pressure from business and Latinos to advance immigration reform,” he said. A White House official said Obama’s options for using executive action to advance immigration reform were largely exhausted. Last year, his administration relaxed deportation rules for children who came to the United States illegally with their parents. The move helped boost his support among Hispanics, a key voting bloc, in last November’s election. If a package of immigration measures does not move soon, Democrats hope the results will show up in Republican defeats in next year’s congressional elections. If Democrats regain control of the House, the way could be smoothed for comprehensive immigration reform in the second half of Obama’s final term. —Reuters

Press freedom vs security a ‘false choice’

By Colleen Slevin overnments that try to force citizens to decide between a free press and national security create a “false choice” that weakens democracy, and journalists must fight increasing government overreach that has had a chilling effect on efforts to hold leaders accountable, the president and CEO of The Associated Press said yesterday.

Gary Pruitt told the 69th General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association that the US Justice Department’s secret seizure of records of thousands of telephone calls to and from AP reporters in 2012 is one of the most blatant violations of the First Amendment to the US Constitution the 167-year-old news cooperative has ever encountered.

The Justice Department action involving the AP resonated far beyond the U.S., including Latin America, where journalists for decades have fought to exercise press freedoms under authoritarian regimes, Pruitt said. “ The actions by the Department of Justice could not have been more tailor-made to comfort authoritarian regimes who want to suppress the news media. ‘ The United States does it too,’ they can say,” Pruitt said. A free and independent press “differentiates democracy from dictatorship; separates a free society from tyranny,” he said.

“Governments who try to set up a situation where citizens think they

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must choose between a free press and security are making a mistake that will ultimately weaken them, not strengthen them. It’s not a real choice. It is a false choice.”

Pruitt said he was encouraged by proposed Justice Department guidelines, introduced after the records seizure, that would give news media advance notice of subpoenas so the press can challenge those actions in court; protect not just phone records but

reporters’ email, text messages and other forms of electronic communication; and guarantee that journalists won’t be prosecuted for doing their jobs. “But you can bet that we will be watching closely to make sure they are implemented and enforced,” Pruitt said. In 2012, the Justice Department secretly obtained records of work, cell and home numbers of AP journalists, as well as AP bureau numbers in New

York, Washington, DC, Hartford, Conn., and the AP number in the U.S. House of Representatives press gallery. It did so after an AP story revealed the foiling of a plot in Yemen to bomb a US-bound airliner at a time the Barack Obama administration was insisting publicly that it had no information about terrorist organizations plotting attacks on the United States in that period. The Justice Department was trying to identify

Gary Pruitt, president and CEO of The Associated Press, makes a point on press freedom while delivering a speech at the 69th General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association at a hotel in downtown Denver on Saturday. — AP

who leaked information for the AP story - but it didn’t tell the AP about its phone records seizure until a year after the story ran.

The seizure was “hardly a surgical strike on a few carefully chosen targets. It was overbroad, sloppy and a fishing expedition into a wide spectrum of AP news journalism and journalists - most of whom had nothing to do with the issues in question here,” Pruitt said.

It also differed from the National Security Agency’s broad monitoring of global communications because it was specifically directed at locating the source of AP’s reporting. Just as alarming, the seizure has intimidated both official and nonofficial sources from speaking to the AP and numerous other news organizations, even about stories not related to national security, Pruitt said. “Now, the government may love this. I think they do. But beware a government that loves secrecy too much,” he said. And the challenge isn’t going away, Pruitt said. “The attack on journalism - here in the United States and throughout the rest of the world - is not going to cease any time soon. In fact, I think it will become even more difficult to counter as technology gives governments very powerful tools to monitor the actions and communications of citizens and journalists,” he said. The Miamibased Inter American Press Association has about 1,400 member news organizations and promotes press freedoms throughout the Americas. — AP

NEWS

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Syrian activist keeps toll of war

Egypt family rejects Israel honor

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

“It’s difficult to be completely transparent.” Abdurrahman, born in the Syrian city of Banias, says government harassment of his family first sparked his interest in human rights work. The Assad regime locked him up three times for links to Amnesty International before he finally fled for Britain in 2000, moving to Coventry, about 160 km northwest of London, where the revenue from the clothes shop helps support him, his wife, and their young child. He launched the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in May of 2006, saying the activists he met while in Syria formed the group’s core. Counting the words out with his hand, Abdurrahman said his modus operandi was: “Document, verify, and publish.” That methodology has been put to the test in Syria, where both sides stand accused of peddling misinformation. Abdurrahman said his work was like navigating a “sea of lies”. Abdurrahman boasts 230-odd informants on the ground, ranging from Syrian journalists who leak him stories on the sly to employees of military hospitals who fill him in on army casualties. He said he sticks to the journalistic gold standard of only accepting a story once it had been confirmed by a second source.

He claims to have rarely gotten it wrong, saying he could think of only two cases in which he overstated casualty figures. Other mistakes, such as confusing a car bombing with a mortar strike, were more common, but in every case he insisted errors were corrected. “We’re human, we make mistakes,” he said. “But it’s our intention not to repeat them.”

Abdurrahman’s accuracy matters because so many news organizations use his reporting. A review of stories published by three major newswires, including AP, over the past year show he’s cited more often than SANA, Syria’s government-run news agency. Experts attribute the exposure to Abdurrahman’s non-stop publication schedule, and the fact that so many observers are barred from Syria and that others are at risk of kidnapping or worse. That means journalists, human rights groups, and even the United Nations which put out its own death toll at more than 100,000 back in July - have to rely at least in part on his figures.

That level of prominence worries those who harbor doubts about his organization. “Let’s assume good faith,” said Nadim Shehadi, with London’s Chatham House think tank. “Let’s assume he’s genuine, and qualified, and everything. He relies on too many sources to be able to check.”

The problem with checking what’s going on in Syria is that few people can gain access to the areas involved, said human rights researcher Cilina Nasser, who has collaborated with Abdurrahman in compiling casualty figures on several mass killings.

Nasser, who works for London-based Amnesty International, described Abdurrahman as careful and “usually accurate”. Her opinion was largely seconded by Lama

Fakih, a researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch. “In broad strokes, the reporting is solid,” she said.

Nasser said it was important to keep in mind that everyone from Abdurrahman to the journalists charged with following up on his figures - labors under the same handicap.

“There’s always something missing,” she said, “which is us being on the ground.”

Abdurrahman also rages at the “hypocrisy” of the international community in focusing on chemical weapons and overlooking the “endless bloodbath” in war-ravaged Syria.

“In Syria, out of more than 120,000 people killed, 500 were killed with chemical weapons. Are these more horrendous deaths than the others?” the moustachioed Abdurrahman told AFP in an interview in London.

Abdurrahman, wearing a dark suit, gestured feverishly with his hands to show his frustration and disgust at the situation. “Nothing has changed at all. The clashes continue.

Blood continues to be spilled and the intensity of the conflict increases,” he says, speaking in Arabic through a translator. “With the focus on chemical weapons, we forget about the daily deaths of the Syrian people by shelling, tank fire, gunfire, car bombs, mortars falling on civilian areas.”

Abdurrahman says that according to his figures the conflict is still killing 4,000 to 5,000 people a month, from soldiers, militia members and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters to rebels, jihadis and civilians. “The regime commits dozens of atrocities every day,” says Rahman, but he adds that the other side is also responsible for war crimes, as Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Al-Nusra front try to establish an “alternative dictatorship”. Many of the pictures and videos of the conflict that the Observatory has collated on its website are so gruesome they are almost unwatchable.

During his interview with AFP he takes some 20 calls, while his phone pings constantly with the sound of email alerts. In recent months Abdurrahman says he has had to step up security. “Because of the constant threat by jihadists, by the regime militias, by the regime itself and by warlords, I had to take extra precautionary measures.” With his work for the Observatory taking up most of his time, he has left his day job of running the clothes shop to his wife. His family life has also suffered. “I don’t have time. My wife takes care of the shop. I don’t have time for my daughter, who is seven,” he says. “I have two children - the Observatory and my daughter. Possibly, she was neglected. I might look like I haven’t had much sleep and I have all kinds of illnesses, but our suffering is nothing compared to the sufferings of our people in Syria,” he adds.

“Since I was young, I have always dreamed of democracy and freedom from oppression. Hopefully one day I will see that.” But the immediate future is bleak, he says. “If the situation continues, if there’s no changes, I see only civil war. I see Somalisation, and a new Afghanistan.” -— Agencies

Egyptian forces fire teargas at protesters Continued from Page 1 entrance of the facility. “We want the return of legitimate rule to Egypt, we want the return of President Morsi” said Mohamed Magdi, a commerce student. “We are unarmed students. We just approached them and said ‘you are our police’ and then they attacked us.”

The students had been protesting for the second day on campus in support of Morsi. Graffiti scrawled on university buildings condemned General Abdel Fattah AlSisi, the army chief who toppled Morsi, as a murderer and traitor. The students’ protest started with a march inside campus, where protesters hurled stones at the administrator’s offices, smashing windows and breaking doors, said Ibrahim El-Houdhoud, deputy head of the university. “We will take measures to continue studies even with the continuation of the demonstrations,” he said. He told satellite news channel Al-Jazeera Mubashir

Misr that he warned protesters against leaving campus and clashing with security forces. The protesters however ignored the advice, marching out of the main gates to hold “prayers for the dead” - honoring students killed in earlier clashes between security forces and protesters in July.

The protests come amid heated debate over a new law that would place tougher restrictions on demonstrators, which includes imposing heavy fines and possible jail time on violators. The army rejects allegations from the Brotherhood that it deposed Morsi in a coup and says it was responding to the will of the people. The government refers to the Brotherhood as “terrorists” and does not distinguish between the movement and Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in the lawless Sinai Peninsula who carry out almost daily attacks on security forces.

The Brotherhood describes itself as a peaceful movement. — Agencies

but in the case of Helmy, who died in 1982 in Berlin, Yad Vashem said it had not been able to find any living relatives.

With the help of a German historian, the AP obtained the certificate of inheritance of Helmy’s wife Emmi, who died in 1998. The document contained the names of three relatives in Cairo, and when contacted by the AP, Hassan agreed to share her memories of Helmy.

Hassan said the family wasn’t interested in the award from Israel because relations between Egypt and Israel remain hostile, despite a peace treaty signed more than three decades ago. But, she cautioned, “I respect Judaism as a religion and I respect Jews. Islam recognizes Judaism as a heavenly religion.”

The family’s reluctance to accept the prize highlights the lingering hostility toward Israel felt by many Egyptians, even after the two countries signed a historic peace treaty in 1979. While security ties between the nations are tight, political relations have always remained cool and many ordinary Egyptians remain hostile to the Jewish state. Holocaust denial is also common throughout the Arab world, where recognition of the Holocaust is often seen as undercutting Palestinian suffering. “Helmy was not picking a certain nationality, race or religion to help. He treated patients regardless of who they were,” she said.

Dressed in a veil, the 66-year-old woman from an upscale neighborhood of Cairo was pleased to talk about her husband’s great-uncle. She and her husband, who did not want to give his name to the AP, say they visited Helmy regularly in Germany. Helmy was born in 1901 in

JERUSALEM: In this Sept 30, 2013 file photo, Irena Steinfeldt, an official at Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, shows a certificate recognizing Mohamed Helmy, an Egyptian physician in Berlin, as ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ for saving a Jewish family during the Holocaust. — AP Khartoum, in what was then Egypt and is now Sudan, to an Egyptian father and a German mother. He came to Berlin in 1922 to study medicine and worked as a urologist until 1938, when Germany banned him from the public health system because he was not considered Aryan, said Martina Voigt, the German historian, who conducted research on Helmy.

When the Nazis began deporting Jews, he hid 21-year-old Anna Boros, a family friend, at a cabin on the outskirts of the city, and provided her relatives with medical care. After Boros’ relatives admitted to Nazi interrogators that he was hiding her, he arranged for her to hide at an acquaintance’s house before authorities could inspect the cabin,

according to Yad Vashem. The four family members survived the war and immigrated to the US. “I think it’s remarkable, it’s inspiring,” said Irena Steinfeldt, director of Yad Vashem’s “Righteous Among the Nations” department. After the war, Helmy picked up his work as a physician again and married Emmi. The couple never had any children. “They did not want to have children for fear of the wars,” remembered Hassan. “They did not want them to see the horrors of war.” Yad Vashem says it has other names of relatives of Helmy that appeared in his will as his heirs and Yad Vashem forwarded this information to the Egyptian ambassador in Israel and were informed that authorities in Egypt were looking to find them. — AP

Kuwait denies taking Security Council...

Continued from Page 1 and expressed hope that it would “stimulate the efforts that have been exerted for years to reform and enhance the Security Council”. “We do stress the significance of the Saudi statement on the inaptitude of the Security Council to solve several vital issues, such as the Palestinian issue, to put an end to the humanitarian tragedy in Syria and to rid the Middle East of the weapons of mass destruction,” he said. “The Security Council needs a comprehensive reform that includes determining the scope of the use or the threat to use the veto by its five permanent members,” he said.

Arabi told reporters that Saudi Arabia was right to object to the Security Council’s management methods and the fact that it failed in its responsibility to secure international peace, “which it is not doing at all”. He said Arab states, including Palestine and Syria, were the worst affected by the Security Council’s weakness in the last six decades. His remarks come a day after Arab nations urged Saudi Arabia to reverse its decision to reject a seat on the 15-nation Security Council.

Arab ambassadors to the UN said it was crucial for Saudi Arabia to represent the Arab and Muslim world on the council “at this important and historical stage, specifically for the Middle East region.” Saudi Arabia won a prized two-year seat on the Security Council on Thursday, but a

day later Riyadh said it would not take it up because of the world body’s “double standards” on Syria and other Middle East hotspots. “Work mechanisms and doublestandards on the Security Council prevent it from carrying out its duties and assuming its responsibilities in keeping world peace,” the Saudi foreign ministry said, calling for reforms of the council.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu supported Saudi Arabia in a statement yesterday, hoping Riyadh’s refusal to take its seat would “accelerate the reform process at the Security Council by strengthening its transparency and representativeness.” Ihsanoglu said the 57-member pan-Muslim body he presides has a “direct and vital interest in reforming the Security Council” and demands a “representation in the body that suits their demographic and political weight.”

Many diplomats and analysts have said the Saudi protest was a message to the United States that it wanted a tougher stance on Syria and was angry that Washington had opened contacts with Tehran, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. In Doha, Khalid AlAttiya, the Qatari foreign minister, reportedly expressed his support in a tweet to his Saudi counterpart. “My dear brother Prince Saud Al Faisal: When you get upset, you confuse the world. Thank you,” he posted on the microblog. — Agencies

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

S P ORTS Luke the latest Whitelock to become an All Black

Arnold eyes Socceroos job SYDNEY: Former Socceroos coach Graham Arnold would be willing to have another crack at the job to take Australia to the World Cup finals in Brazil next year-but only on his terms.

The Central Coast Mariners coach was in charge of the national side on an interim basis in 2006-07 and has been tipped, along with Western Sydney’s Tony Popovic and Melbourne victory’s Ange Postecoglou, as a candidate to replace Holgier Osieck.

Osieck was summarily dismissed last weekend following the Socceroos’ second successive 6-0 defeat in friendlies, which prompted a wave of soul-searching in the local media. “It would be an honor to coach my country ... but there’s a lot of thinking to do on my side of it as well,” Arnold told reporters after his side’s A-League match with Melbourne Heart.

“You’ve got to think about it from the coach’s side of it as well because, no one has asked us to ... we didn’t apply for the job and it’s just been put out there that we are candidates for the job.

“So we also, whether it’s myself or Tony or Ange, we also have a say in what the job is about, and if we do want the job. “So at this point in time, thats the thing that is all up in the air.”—Reuters

WELLINGTON: Luke Whitelock’s versatility has helped him emulate older brothers Sam and George by becoming an All Black after the Canterbury loose forward was selected yesterday for New Zealand’s northern hemisphere tour in November.

Whitelock, who had been involved in the wider training squad this year, was selected ahead of players like Brad Shields and World Cup winner Victor Vito for his ability to play blindside flanker as well as number eight, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen told reporters in Dunedin.

“We are looking for someone that can support Kieran Read in that position but has utility value as well,” Hansen said of the 1.90 metre-tall, 22-year-old Whitelock.

“We don’t have someone putting their hand up and saying I am a genuine number eight if we lose Kieran Read.” Winger Frank Halai, prop Joe Moody and lock Dominic Bird have also been named in the side after also having extended training squad roles with the team this year.

Uncapped scrumhalf TJ Perenara (ankle stress fracture) and lock Luke Romano (groin) have also returned to the squad after they were both ruled out earlier this year with injuries.—Reuters

Lucky Ryder ready to return WELLINGTON: Batsman Jesse Ryder will return to top-level cricket in New Zealand next week, ready to put behind him a year in which he served a sixmonth doping ban and survived an assault that left him in a coma with serious head injuries.

The 29-year-old, who had been in self-imposed exile from the New Zealand team following another breach of team discipline, makes his return to the field for his new first-class side Otago against his former team Wellington next week.

“After this year, you could probably say that I’ve been through the worst things you could go through, for my career at least anyway,” Ryder told Fairfax Media yesterday.

“The drug thing, that could have been my career over if I’d been given a two-year ban, which had been a possibility. Then with what happened in Christchurch, that too could have easily been the end of it for my career.

“I wouldn’t look at it like I’ve been given a second chance at life. I’m just lucky, I guess.” Ryder spent almost a week in hospital in late March after an incident outside a Christchurch bar left him with a fractured skull and rib injuries. He was kept in an induced coma for more than two days.—Reuters

Coyotes shock Red Wings

PHILLIP ISLAND: Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo of Spain poses with his trophy on the podium after winning the Australian MotoGP Grand Prix. —AFP

Lorenzo wins Down Under PHILLIP ISLAND: Jorge Lorenzo’s MotoGP title defence remains alive after the Spaniard won an incident-packed Australian Grand Prix yesterday, as championship leader Marc Marquez suffered a disastrous disqualification due to a howling team error.

With tyre problems forcing riders to change bikes mid-race in a MotoGP first, the battle between the two-time world champion Lorenzo and Honda’s 20-year-old wunderkind fizzled out in the 14th lap when Marquez was shown the dreaded black flag for failing to pit during the mandated window.

Riders were ordered to pit by the end of the 10th lap at the latest out of safety fears, but Marquez sped past the Honda garage as his team believed completing lap 11 was allowed.

“The plan we had was not correct, we thought that we could do that lap. We thought we could go into the pit at the end of lap 11,” Marquez told reporters at the Phillip Island circuit.

“The problem was not with the pit board, that was fine, when I saw ‘Box’ I came in. Now we need to forget about it and just concentrate in Motegi.”

Having had the chance to wrap up the title in his debut season on Sunday and become motorcycling’s youngest premier class champion, a crushed Marquez slumped in a chair in his team’s garage with his head in his hands as Lorenzo toasted victory ahead of Honda’s Dani Pedrosa and third-placed team mate Valentino Rossi.

“I said on Thursday that the championship is very long. Today this happened and maybe in Motegi it’s something else,” Marquez added.

“I know we’re going in the right way, I feel so good on the bike. I could have fought for the podium or the victory today.” Team principal Livio Suppo apologised to his rider.

“Everybody understood correctly instead of us,” an embarrassed Suppo said. “Of course we are sorry (to Marc). It’s the first time I’ve seen him in a very disappointed situation and he reacted as expected.”

Pole-sitter Lorenzo was a deserving winner, however, having endured enormous pressure from the two Honda riders amid chaotic race conditions at the bucolic seaside track.

The win breathed new life into his title defence, trimming fellow Spaniard Marquez’s

lead to a more precarious 18 points with two races left in Japan’s Motegi and Valencia.

“Today has been a crazy race,” the affable 26year-old said after celebrating his first win Down Under. “With this changeover of bikes in the middle, we practised a lot before the race.

So that was one of the keys. “Now, (the title defence) is still very, very tough ... Let’s see what happens in Motegi.”

Lorenzo enjoyed an excellent start off the grid but was under heat within seconds, losing the lead briefly to Marquez in the first lap before snatching it back.

While placing riders and their teams under additional strain, the overhauled race added an intriguing tactical element as Pedrosa changed his bike first followed by Lorenzo a lap later.

Marquez wobbled dangerously as he wore his tyres to breaking point before the changeover and narrowly averted catastrophe as he emerged from pit-lane to brush Lorenzo, charging up the inside on his Yamaha and desperate to snatch back the lead. Lorenzo snuck past, leaving a wobbling Marquez in his wake, and powered away to win by nearly seven seconds after twice being denied at Phillip Island

by Australian Casey Stoner.

Still enjoying a strong lead, the championship may be Marquez’s to lose but the rookie is likely to come under fierce scrutiny from the resurgent Lorenzo and Pedrosa, who lies third in the championship and retains a mathematical chance of winning the title.

Winner at Sepang last week, Pedrosa has been irked by his team mate’s aggressive riding and there appeared little friendly about their rivalry during a fierce skirmish on the opening lap.

With the race reduced by a lap to 26 on Saturday and riders ordered to change bikes, officials announced only hours before that it had been cut again to 19 due to safety fears over the tyres’ degradation on the circuit’s newly-laid asphalt.

Lorenzo had earlier complained the overhaul was in itself a safety risk and appeared to be right as riders nearly came to grief when rejoining the fray from pit-lane. The Moto2 category, won by Spaniard Pol Espargaro, was also reduced to a nub of a race due to the tyre concerns, the original 25 laps cut to 13. Spaniard Alex Rins won the Moto3 category. —Reuters

Jin takes Perth title PERTH: Former world number one amateur Jin Jeong overcame a bout of nerves to beat England’s Ross Fisher in a play-off to win his maiden professional title at the Perth International yesterday.

The 23-year-old South Korean tapped in from close range after Fisher missed a fourmetre effort for par on the 18th, the first playoff hole, to win the $2 million event which was co-sanctioned by the European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia.

“I was nervous, I was shaking but I controlled myself pretty well all day I thought,” Jin told reporters after carding a three-under 69 in the final round. “I don’t know what I’ve done to be honest.

“I was struggling quite a bit when I was turning pro, but it was going to happen in the learning circuit I guess. “I had played play-offs in mini tour events, but playing with Ross Fisher, he’s one of my heroes. Playing with him in the play-off, it was unbelievable.”

Trailing overnight leader Brody Ninyette by a stroke, Jin got off to a nightmarish start with a double bogey on the par-four first hole after four putting.

He kept his composure, though, to gain five strokes over his next 17 holes to finish tied with former Ryder Cup player Fisher on 10-under for the tournament after the Englishman finished shot a 68. Jin, who has played on the Challenge Tour this season and was due to take part in the second stage of the European Tour’s qualifying school, earned a two-year exemption after his victory.

Jin Jeong Local hope Ninyette, who had a three-shot lead at one point, dropped three bogeys in his final six holes to finish two strokes off the pace.

He signed off with an even-par 72 to be tied for third spot with compatriot Dimitrios Papadatos and England’s Danny Willett.

Fisher’s runner-up finish with a closing 68 saw him climb to the top-60 in The Race to Dubai and should earn him a place at the World Tour championship next month. “Obviously it would have been lovely to have come here and won, but that’s golf,” Fisher said.

“Unfortunately I came up a little bit short, but I can be very pleased the way I played today. I hung in there really well; it was always going to be tough. “There are some good names up there and I knew I needed to just play really well. I felt like I did that.” —Reuters

GLENDALE: Coyotes goalie Mike Smith scored a goal from his own crease with just over a second left to punctuate Phoenix’s 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

Smith was already having a good night before sending a wrist shot the length of the ice into the vacated Red Wings net. Smith made 31 saves before scoring his first NHL goal.

Mike Ribeiro scored twice in the third to extend his point streak to six games and help the Coyotes storm back from an early 2-0 deficit. Martin Hanzal’s goal at 7:08 of the third, in his 400th NHL game, put Phoenix ahead 3-2. That came 2:01 after Ribeiro had tied it.

His third of the season with 6:46 remaining gave Phoenix a 4-2 lead before Smith capped the win in dramatic fashion. Antoine Vermette started the comeback in the second after Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi gave the Red Wings the lead in the first.

Jimmy Howard made 28 saves in his return to the ice after missing three games because of a bruised left hand for Detroit, which had a four-game winning streak snapped.

PENGUINS 4, CANUCKS 3, SO Evgeni Malkin scored in the third round of the shootout and Marc-Andre Fleury made the deciding stop on Ryan Kesler as the Pittsburgh Penguins remained unbeaten at home with a 4-3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks.

Sidney Crosby moved into a tie atop the NHL leaderboard with his seventh goal of the season, and had two assists.

Chris Kunitz netted his fourth goal and added two assists, and rookie defenseman Olli Maatta scored his first NHL goal for the Penguins, who won for the 20th time in 22 home games.

Crosby extended his point streak to eight games, his longest stretch to start a season. Crosby, who leads the NHL with 17 points, has recorded multiple points in four consecutive games.

Fleury stopped 36 shots for his seventh win. Roberto Luongo, who made 25 saves, turned aside Crosby and Jussi Jokinen in the shootout before Malkin scored.

Zack Kassian scored in the third period, and Alexander Edler and Brad Richardson added goals for the Canucks. Kevin Bieksa had three assists.

OILERS 3, SENATORS 1 Ryan-Nugent Hopkins scored two goals, including one into an empty net, to help Edmonton beat Ottawa and snap a five-game losing streak. Jordan Eberle added a goal, and Devan Dubnyk made 35 saves for the Oilers (2-6-1).

Chris Neil had the only goal for the Senators (3-3-2), and Robin Lehner made 18 saves in his second start of the season. An extended power play early in the third period failed to provide the Oilers with any insurance.

Ottawa failed to capitalize on momentum created by killing off a 5-on-3 power play that lasted a full 2 minutes.

DEVILS 4, RANGERS 0 Cory Schneider made 22 saves for his first shutout with New Jersey as the Devils became the last NHL team to win a game this season by beating the New York Rangers.

Andrei Loktionov, Adam Henrique, Michael Ryder and Dainius Zubrus scored for the Devils (1-4-3), who ended their worst start to a season with a laugher against the injury-depleted Rangers. New York (2-5) has only two wins on its season-opening, nine-game road trip. Jaromir Jagr and Marek Zidlicky added two assists apiece. The shutout was the 10th of Schneider’s NHL career. Henrik Lundqvist made 15 saves for the Rangers.

HURRICANES 4, ISLANDERS 3 Jiri Tlusty scored his first two goals of the season, and Cam Ward made 22 saves as Carolina held on for a win over the New York Islanders.

Tlusty netted his first goal 1:05 into the second, jamming a loose puck past Evgeni Nabokov. Jordan Staal added his first with a wrist shot from the left circle at 6:36, and Jeff Skinner made it 3-0 at 13:37 with his third. He leads the Hurricanes (4-2-3) with nine points.

Matt Moulson broke through for the Islanders with his third of the season on the power play with 1:07 left in

Mike Smith plays a shot in this file photo. the second. John Tavares assisted, giving him a seven-game point streak. The Islanders captain has four goals and six assists during the streak. Tlusty scored his second of the game 11:06 into the third. New York’s Frans Nielsen scored his fourth on a power play at 13:19 of the third before Kyle Okposo made it 43 with 1:01 left. The Islanders (3-3-2) sustained their first regulation loss in five home games. New York had posted two wins and two shootout losses at Nassau Coliseum. The Hurricanes are 21-5-5 in their last 31 games against New York and 10-1-2 in their past 13 visits to Long Island.

BRUINS 5, LIGHTNING 0 Tuukka Rask stopped 23 shots and five Boston players against Tampa Bay. Rask made a nifty glove save on Steven Stamkos’ point-blank redirection in the third period. It was the goalie’s first shutout this season and 17th in the NHL. David Krejci, Adam McQuaid, Patrice Bergeron, Chris Kelly and Shawn Thornton scored for the Bruins, who have won six in a row against Tampa Bay. Boston leads the all-time series 50-20-9.

Krejci stopped a nine-game goal drought to put the Bruins up 1-0. He has a point in four straight games. After McQuaid scored his first goal in 24 games at 4:37 of the second, goals 55 seconds apart later in the period by Bergeron (14:52) and Kelly (15:47) made it 4-0. Thornton extended Boston’s advantage to 5-0 just 34 seconds into the third as the left wing ended his 29-game goal drought.

Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop allowed four goals on 17 shots before being replaced.

CAPITALS 4, BLUE JACKETS 1 Braden Holtby made 37 saves, and Martin Erat assisted on three Washington goals in a win over Columbus. Joel Ward and Brooks Laich scored in the second period for the Capitals, and Troy Brouwer and Alex Ovechkin gave Washington a cushion early in the third.

Artem Anisimov spoiled Holtby’s shutout bid at 15:05 of the third. The Capitals snapped a two game skid and finished their five-game homestand 23. Sergei Bobrovsky had 35 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have lost four straight.

BLACKHAWKS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 1 Bryan Bickell sparked Chicago’s big second period with his first goal of the season, helping the Blackhawks beat Toronto.

Brandon Pirri added a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who have won four of five. Michael Kostka scored his first career goal against his former team, and Corey Crawford had 19 saves. Toronto center Dave Bolland was scoreless in his first game in Chicago since he was traded to his hometown Maple Leafs in June.

Nazem Kadri scored his third goal for the Maple Leafs, who have dropped two in a row. Jonathan Bernier made 37 saves.

PREDATORS 2, CANADIENS 1 Seth Jones’ goal with 1:27 left spoiled a 35-save performance by Montreal’s Carey Price and helped Nashville to a win.

Captain Shea Weber also scored for the Predators (4-3-1), who got 28 saves from Pekka Rinne. Brendan Gallagher scored the only goal for Montreal (4-3).

It was Montreal’s second game of a five-game homestand after last week’s successful Western road trip. Montreal beat the Blue Jackets 5-3 on Thursday.

The Canadiens had a four-game winning streak snapped. Nashville earned seven of 10 points in five games at home before the trip to Montreal.

Weber opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 12:31 of the first period. Gallagher made it 1-1 at 7:02 of the second.

PANTHERS 2, WILD 1 Brad Boyes and Jonathan Huberdeau scored in a shootout, lifting Florida over Minnesota and snapping a three-game losing streak.

Boyes’ backhander went through the legs of goalie Josh Harding for the winner. Huberdeau beat Harding on the stick side for the first shootout goal.

Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu were turned aside by Florida’s Tim Thomas in the tiebreaker. Aleksander Barkov scored in regulation for Florida, and Thomas made 31 saves.

Jonas Brodin scored a goal for Minnesota, and Harding stopped 21 shots. The Wild lost their third straight and managed two or fewer goals for the seventh time this season.

AVALANCHE 4, SABRES 2 Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan O’Reilly each had a goal and an assist to lead Colorado past Buffalo.

Paul Statsny also scored, and JeanSebastien Giguere made 28 saves for the Avalanche, who bounced back from their first loss of the season on Thursday.

Cody Hodgson and Marcus Foligno scored for Buffalo, which got more than one goal for only the third time in 10 games this season. The Sabres are winless in six home games after finishing a stretch of four games in six days.

The Avalanche scored four times in the first 32 minutes. That was more than enough against the Sabres, who haven’t scored more than three regulation goals in a game this season.

KINGS 5, STARS 2 Drew Doughty scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and Justin Williams had two goals and an assist in Los Angeles’ victory over Dallas.

Kyle Clifford added a third-period goal, and Matt Greene scored a deflected empty-net goal from deep in the Kings’ end with 29 seconds to play.

Anze Kopitar had three assists in the Kings’ return to Staples Center after going 3-1-0 on a four-game trip.

Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley scored for the Stars, who have lost three of four. Jamie Benn had two assists and Dan Ellis stopped 29 shots in his fourth straight start in place of injured Kari Lehtonen. Jonathan Quick made 27 saves for Los Angeles, which has won five of six overall.

SHARKS 6, FLAMES 3 Joe Pavelski scored two power-play goals, helping to keep San Jose unbeaten at home with a win over Calgary. Brent Burns, Scott Hannan, Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture also scored for the Sharks, who have won their first five home games.

Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund and Jiri Hudler scored for the Flames, who lost their second straight after opening the season 4-0-1.

Antti Niemi stopped 16 shots to earn his 11th career win over the Flames, his most against any team.

Karri Ramo made 30 saves in his first start since the season opener. —AP

NHL results/standings Pittsburgh 4, Vancouver 3 (So); Edmonton 3, Ottawa 1; Colorado 4, Buffalo 2; Nashville 2, Montreal 1; Boston 5, Tampa Bay 0; Florida 2, Minnesota 1 (SO); New Jersey 4, NY Rangers 0; Carolina 4, NY Islanders 3; Washington 4, Columbus 1; Chicago 3, Toronto 1; Phoenix 5, Detroit 2; San Jose 6, Calgary 3; Los Angeles 5, Dallas 2.

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

Western Conference Pacific Division W L OTL GF 7 0 1 39 6 1 0 24 5 2 2 27 6 3 0 24 5 3 1 26 3 2 2 23 2 6 1 26 Central Division 7 1 0 27 5 1 2 23 5 1 1 27 4 3 1 16 3 3 3 19 4 4 0 21 3 4 0 17

GA 16 16 26 22 26 26 36

PTS 15 12 12 12 11 8 5

12 19 19 21 22 22 22

14 12 11 9 9 8 6

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Detroit 6 3 0 24 23 12 Toronto 6 3 0 30 22 12 Boston 5 2 0 20 10 10 Montreal 5 3 0 26 15 10 Tampa Bay 5 3 0 26 21 10 Ottawa 3 3 2 21 24 8 Florida 3 6 0 20 32 6 Buffalo 1 8 1 13 28 3 Metropolitan Division Pittsburgh 7 1 0 31 19 14 Carolina 4 2 3 22 26 11 NY Islanders 3 3 2 25 23 8 Washington 3 5 0 21 25 6 New Jersey 1 4 3 17 26 5 NY Rangers 2 5 0 11 29 4 Columbus 2 5 0 16 21 4 Philadelphia 1 7 0 11 24 2 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

S P ORTS

Red Sox tame Tigers to advance to World Series BOSTON: When Shane Victorino signed with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent in the offseason, they were coming off a lastplace finish that was their worst in almost half a century. They had fired their manager for the second year in a row. He believed they could turn it around. And quickly.

Victorino brought the Red Sox one big step closer to completing their comeback, sending them to the World Series with a seventh-inning grand slam that gave Boston a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 of the AL championship series Saturday night.

The Red Sox will open the Series on Wednesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, the team they swept in 2004 to end their 86-year title drought. The Cardinals won the NL pennant on Friday night by eliminating the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.

“It’s one of those moments you live for,” Victorino said as he wandered around the Fenway Park infield while Red Sox fans serenaded him with his theme song, Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” and its chorus, “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘Cause every little thing is gonna be all right.”

“Just listen to the crowd,” Victorino said, referring then to the Boston Marathon bombings that left the city reeling during the first month of his first season in town.

“The one thing I came here to do is to be a part of this city. With all we went through as a city, there’s definitely a bond.”

Detroit took a 2-1 lead in the sixth and 21-game winner Max Scherzer protected it until the seventh, when Boston loaded the bases on a double, a walk and an error by rookie shortstop Jose Iglesias, traded by the Red Sox in July.

Victorino fell behind Jose Veras 0-2 but lofted a hanging curveball over the Green Monster to set off a celebration in the Red Sox dugout and in the Fenway Park stands.

“It’s been a special ride, and we’re still going,” second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. “We’re not going to stop. We know what our goal is. We want to win the World Series.”

Junichi Tazawa got one out for the win, Craig Breslow pitched a scoreless eighth and series MVP Koji Uehara got the last three outs before the Red Sox poured out of the dugout to begin their now-familiar celebration on the mound.

“The way I would sum it up is that I thought their starters were good,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “I thought their bullpen was great.”

Uehara, who inherited the closer job after the team’s first two choices were injured, posted three saves and a win in the series. Then he joked about pitching so well under pressure. “To tell you the truth, I almost threw up,” Uehara kidded through a translator.

It’s the 13th AL pennant for the Red Sox and their first since 2007, when they swept the Colorado Rockies to win it all for the second time in four seasons. Boston swept the Cardinals in ‘04, winning Game 4 in St. Louis to clinch the title that put an end to generations of disappointment.

The latest trip comes one year after a 69win season that prompted the team to jettison its high-priced stars, rebuild the roster and bring in manager John Farrell to replace Bobby Valentine. Victorino was one of the biggest additions, and he delivered

on Saturday as he did for much of the season.

“Since the first day of spring training, there wasn’t one person more important than the next,” said outfielder Jonny Gomes, another newcomer, who doubled to lead off the seventh, missing a homer over the Green Monster by no more than a foot. “We’re all pulling in the same direction.”

Scherzer got one out in the seventh but left after walking rookie Xander Bogaerts to put runners on first and second. Drew Smyly got Jacoby Ellsbury to hit a grounder up the middle, but it popped out of Iglesias’ glove behind second base and everyone was safe.

Veras came in and quickly got ahead of Victorino. But he hung a curveball and Victorino sent it toward the 37-foot leftfield wall, which had already knocked down two Red Sox line drives.

This one left no doubt. It was the second career postseason slam for Victorino, who also had a record-setting hit-by-pitch in the sixth but failed to get a bunt down in the third.

“He’s come up big a number of times this season, none bigger,” Farrell said.

“Probably the last thing we’re thinking of, that he’s going to hit a ball out of the ballpark, and thankfully the curveball stayed (up).” Scherzer and Clay Buchholz also matched up in Game 2, when the Tigers right-hander took a no-hitter and a 5-0 lead into the sixth. The Red Sox rallied against the Detroit bullpen, tying it on David Ortiz’s eighth-inning grand slam and winning it in the ninth on Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s walkoff single through a drawn-in infield.

Both starters gave up hits in the first inning in the rematch, but it remained scoreless until Bogaerts doubled off the Green Monster with two outs in the fifth and scored on Ellsbury’s single.

But the Tigers took the lead in the bottom half, chasing Buchholz with a walk and Miguel Cabrera’s single before Franklin Morales walked Prince Fielder on four pitches to load the bases with nobody out.

Victor Martinez lined one high off the Green Monster to make it 2-1, holding at first with a two-run single. Brandon Workman came in and got Jhonny Peralta to hit a hard grounder to Pedroia, who chased down Martinez in the basepath for one out and then threw home to get Fielder in a rundown. Saltalamacchia ran him back to third and dove, somersaulting over him while making the tag.

Workman struck out Alex Avila looking to end the inning. Scherzer worked out of a jam in the bottom half after putting runners on second and third with one out. He allowed three runs on four hits and five walks, striking out seven in 6 1-3 inning.

Buchholz gave up two runs on four hits and two walks, striking out four in five-plus inning.

Scherzer walked the first two batters in the third, but Victorino popped up a bunt and Scherzer made a sliding catch for the first out.

Pedroia hit a high drive that was just foul of the Carlton Fisk pole above the Green Monster. After it was confirmed by replay, he hit a hard grounder down the line that Cabrera fielded, easily stepping on third base before throwing to first for the double play.—AP

BOSTON: Red Sox’s Jonny Gomes dives into second base after hitting a double to left field in the seventh inning during Game 6 of the American League baseball championship series against the Detroit Tigers. —AP

Photo of the day

Blake Aldridge dives from the 27m platform at the Blue Lagoon during the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, Abereiddy, Wales, UK. —www.redbull.com

Gasquet, Halep win Kremlin Cup titles MOSCOW: Top-seeded Richard Gasquet of France won the 10th title of his career by rallying to beat qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Kremlin Cup. Simona Halep of Romania claimed the fifth title of her career by beating Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the women’s final.

After trading sets, Gasquet trailed 4-3 in the decider but broke back to 4-4 in a game that went to seven deuces with Kukushkin constantly failing on his forehand shots.

Gasquet served at love to go 5-4 ahead and converted his first match point when Kukushkin’s forehand cross sailed wide.

With the victory, Gasquet overtakes fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quest for the eighth spot in the season-ending ATP Tour Final in London next month.

It was Gasquet’s third title of the season. Kukushkin was playing in his first final since winning his only title in St. Petersburg in 2010. He was only the second qualifier to reach the final here since PaulHenry Mathieu won the title in 2002.

The 18th-ranked Halep has dropped only one set in four final appearances since winning her maiden title in Nurnberg, Germany, in June. Halep constantly trapped Stosur in the corners and beat the 2011 US Open champion with precise crosses and shots down the line.

Stosur, who lost the 2012 final here, saved 11 break points in the first set before Halep dominated the tiebreaker. The fifth-seeded Halep jumped to a 4-1 lead in the second and sealed the victory with

MOSCOW: Romania’s Simona Halep kisses her trophy after her victory over Australia’s Samantha Stosur in the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament final match. —AFP a break on her first match point, Halep said. With the victory, Halep in her last six matches before yeswhen the seventh-seeded Stosur is projected to rise to a career high terday, was looking to win back-to15th in the W TA Tour rankings back titles after winning the fifth netted her return. crown of her career in Osaka, Japan, “It’s an incredible year for me today. and I enjoy every moment of it,” Stosur, who hasn’t dropped a set last Sunday. —AP

Missouri takes control of SEC East COLUMBIA: A week after knocking off Georgia on the road, No. 14 Missouri followed it up by blowing out No. 22 Florida 36-17 in Columbia, Missouri to take control of the SEC East. In College Station, Texas, No. 24 Auburn used a late score to beat Johnny Manziel and No. 7 Texas A&M 45-41.

It was a Saturday filled with upsets in the Southeastern Conference and most played in favor of Missouri. The Tigers (7-0, 3-0) manhandled the Gators with backup quarterback Maty Mauk making his first start. Furthering Missouri’s cause, Vanderbilt rallied to beat No. 15 Georgia 31-27 in Nashville, Tennessee, and Tennessee kicked a last-second field goal to beat No. 11 South Carolina 23-21. Also, Mississippi beat No. 6 LSU 27-24 on a 41yard field goal with 2 seconds to go.

The result is Missouri is the only team in the division that has lost less than two games. The Tigers outgained Florida 500151, not missing a beat without injured quarterback James Franklin.

Auburn, which didn’t win an SEC game last season, suddenly looks like a it could be in the mix for a West title. The Tigers (61, 3-1) won a back-and-forth game with A&M (5-2, 2-2), with Tre Mason scoring the

go-ahead touchdown in the final two minutes. Manziel threw for 454 yards, accounted for five touchdowns, left the game for a series with a shoulder injury and threw two interceptions for A&M. AJ McCarron threw three touchdown passes and Kenyan Drake rushed for 104 yards and two scores to lead No. 1 Alabama to a 52-0 win over Arkansas.

No. 2 Oregon downed Washington State 62-38 as Marcus Mariota threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another. Carlos Hyde ran for 149 yards, including 106 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, to lead No. 4 Ohio State to a 34-24 victory over Iowa. At Stanford.

California, Tyler Gaffney ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns in No. 13 Stanford’s 24-10 win over UCLA. In other games, No. 12 Baylor trounced Iowa State 71-7, No. 16 Texas Tech beat West Virginia 37-27, No. 17 Fresno State defeated UNLV 38-14 and No. 18 Oklahoma had a 34-19 victory over Kansas.

No. 20 Washington lost 53-24 to Arizona State, No. 21 Oklahoma downed TCU 24-10, No. 23 Northern Illinois beat Central Michigan 38-17 and No. 25 Wisconsin ran past Illinois 56-32. —AP

Haas downs Haase for second Vienna title VIENNA: Tommy Haas won his second Austrian Open title yesterday, a dozen years after claiming his first, with a 6-3, 46, 6-4 defeat of Robin Haase.

Victory over the Dutchman took two and a quarter hours and denied Haase his third trophy in Austria after twice winning on clay at Kitzbuehel.

Haas first won in Vienna in 2001 having lost the final the year before to Tim Henman. “It was really tough, I had to play well,” said the 35-year-old German. “I played the big points well in the important moments.” Haas, who also won Munich on clay in the spring, stayed in the race for one of the four spots remaining in the eight-man World Tour Finals starting in a fortnight in London.

He currently stands provisional 12th. “I still have a small chance, but I have to play extremely well,” Haas said of the slim

possibility of earning a place in the season wrap-up for the first time.

He will try to push his case over the final two weeks of the regular season in Valencia next week followed by the Paris Masters.

“It may mean that I have to win Paris,” he said. “I have to give my best tennis, nothing is impossible. I want to play good tennis for the rest of the season.”

Haas, with 15 career titles from his 27 finals, hit back after going down an early break in the first set against Haase, with the German winning six of the next seven games to claim the set and begin the second with a break of serve.

Haase broke back and eventually squared the final at one set each on a lob winner. In the deciding set, Haas broke for 5-4 and took victory a game later on his opponent’s long forehand. —AFP

Dimitrov stuns Ferrer to win Stockholm title STOCKHOLM: Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov battled back from a set down to stun top seeded David Ferrer and claim his first ATP title in Stockholm yesterday.

The 28th-ranked Dimitrov won through 2-6, 63, 6-4 against world number three Ferrer for the 22-year-old’s first victory over the Spaniard in four meetings.

The boyfriend of Russian star Maria Sharapova mixed up his game to ambush the more experienced Ferrer, playing in his 40th final. “(It’s a) dream come true,” said an emotional Dimitrov, competing in just his second final.

“Everyone has always told me how important a step this is.” —AFP

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

S P ORTS

Velasquez stops Santos

FONTANA: Scott Dixon of New Zealand driver of the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda poses with the Astor Cup after winning the IZOD IndyCar Series Championship by finishing fifth at the IZOD IndyCar Series MAVTV 500 World Championship. —AFP

Dixon wins IndyCar title FONTANA: New Zealand driver Scott Dixon has won the IndyCar championship, using a fifth-place finish at Auto Club Speedway to deny Helio Castroneves his first title.

Will Power of Australia won Saturday’s season finale - a year after he crashed in this race to blow his own title chances and salvage the night for Penske Racing.

The big prize went to Dixon, who won his third series title and gave Target Chip Ganassi its 10th championship since 1990.

He was the final car on the lead lap, and beat Helio Castroneves by 27 points for the title. It wasn’t incident-free as Dixon nearly overheated late in the race.

“We were freaking out,” admitted team manager Mike Hull. Penske has been denied in the season finale six times since Sam Hornish won the organization’s last IndyCar championship in 2006.

This one slipped away in spectacular fashion as Castroneves led the points after 14 races this season and took a 49-point lead over Dixon into the Houston doubleheader two weeks ago. But a gearbox issue in the first race, which Dixon won, saw his lead sliced to just eight points.

Then in the second race, Castroneves drove over a bump in the track to cause a catastrophic failure to his gearbox. Dixon finished second and left Houston with a 25point lead. It backed Castroneves into a position of almost certainly needing to win Saturday night’s finale to salvage the title.

But with the big boss on his pit stand calling the race - Penske told The Associated Press before Houston he’d call the final three races of the season and “if there’s any mistakes, any issues, you can blame it on me” - Penske made a mistake.

He called Castroneves to pit lane before the pits were open during a late caution, and Castroneves was penalized by IndyCar. He went from fourth to eighth after the drive-thru penalty.

“I’m so sorry,” Penske radioed.

Castroneves downplayed the mistake.

“That was just a blip on the radar,” he said.

Instead, contact later with Dixon teammate Charlie Kimball broke Castroneves’ front wing. The stop to replace it dropped him a lap down, and Castroneves was the first car a lap down with his sixth-place finish.

For Power, who was racing as much to help Castroneves win the title as he was for himself, ended the night with what he called “the most satisfying win of my life.”

Power had gone into the finale three years in a row with the championship on the line, but hit a seam in the speedway last year and crashed. He’s struggled most of this year and didn’t pick up his first win of the

year until Sonoma in August. He then added another victory two weeks ago at Houston, and Saturday night’s win was his second career victory on an oval.

“I wanted to do it so badly all year,” Power said. “I knew in the early ovals, I just was kind of conservative because I just wanted to finish every lap. And this time I’m going for it.”

Only nine cars were running at the end, and a six-car accident just past the halfway mark sent Justin Wilson to a local hospital for evaluation. IndyCar medical director Dr. Michael Olinger said Wilson suffered nonoperable fractures to his pelvis and a small pulmonary contusion.

The accident began when Wilson’s car wiggled as his rear tire was caught in a seam on the track. The Brit tried to save it as his car began to spin toward the wall, but as he lost control, Tristan Vautier drove directly into the side of Wilson’s car.

“I didn’t see him before I hit him. There was a big cloud of smoke. Didn’t see what was happening,” Vautier said. It took the safety team several minutes to get Wilson out of his car. He was placed on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

The accident also collected Josef Newgarden, who in trying to avoid Wilson drove into Oriol Servia. James Jakes was also knocked out of the race, and in-car cameras showed a huge piece of debris sailing over his head.

“We were on the outside and in the smoke you lose perception of everything,” Jakes said. “We lost our vision and then I got hit with the debris. Tough after starting fifth.” Simona de Silvestro’s car suffered damage, but she was able to continue.

Before that, Carlos Munoz was impressive driving as the emergency replacement for E.J. Viso, who didn’t make the trip to Fontana. Andretti Autosport said Viso was ill, although reports out of Venezuela indicated Viso could be affected by an investigation into the funding of motorsports drivers in that country. So Munoz was given Viso’s car to drive Saturday night, hours after winning the Indy Lights race for the second consecutive year. Munoz, who finished second in the Indianapolis 500 this year, drove as high as second and was mixing it up with the leaders. But he was aggressive - too aggressive for Castroneves’ team owner’s liking — and Penske urged Castroneves to get away from Munoz.

It proved to be the correct advice when Munoz spun on Lap 101, ending his night.

“You were smart there. He was in totally over his head,” Penske radioed Castroneves.—AP

HOUSTON: Cain Velasquez stopped Junior Dos Santos in the fifth round Saturday night at UFC 166 to retain the heavyweight title.

Dos Santos came out firing to start the final round, but Velasquez (131) worked him down to the mat only to have Dos Santos (16-3) get back up against the Octagon walls.

The two traded lefts before Velasquez landed a left and took Dos Santos down head-first to the mat, causing referee Herb Dean to stop the bout at 3:09.

“It was a pretty tough fight,” Velasquez said. “It was very difficult. It was a tough night. I give him a lot of credit, he is a tough fighter. We were ready for everything. We trained hard in camp and prepared for everything. I tried to get him down this time. I was trying to throw crisper punches this time. I love the competition.”

The fight was third between the two. Dos Santos beat Velasquez in 1:04 in the first meeting in 2011, and Velasquez won the second by unanimous decision in 2012.

“I’m definitely satisfied,” Velasquez said. “I just hope there are no more excuses on his part.

That’s it. We don’t look for the finish. We just put more pressure on and when it happens, it happens.”

In the co-main event, Daniel Cormier (13-0) unanimously outpointed Roy Nelson (20-9) in a heavyweight bout, with all three judges scoring it 30-27.

Velaquez took Dos Santos down twice in a row midway through the third round with several rights and pounced on him on the ground, but Dos Santos was able to make it to his feet.

In the post-fight press conference Dana White said he thought the fight should have been stopped in the third round.

“I’ve been around this sport and boxing for a long time and seen men who are too tough for their

own good,” White said. “I think Junior Dos Santos is one of them in the last Cain fight and this Cain fight. I think that fight should have been stopped. I don’t think he should have taken more punishment.”

Velasquez remained on the attack, landing several rights with Dos Santos up against the wall, opening up cuts on Dos Santos’ left ear and mouth.

Velasquez continued the attack to begin the fourth round, landing several combinations in the first 40 seconds of the fourth round, and he continued the assault up against the Octagon wall. Dos Santos was able to break free and land a left.

However, Velasquez landed more combinations, including a left that opened up a cut above Dos Santos’ right eye that stopped the fight for a moment before it was determined he could continue.

Following the restart, Velasquez continued to land combinations, with Dos Santos getting in a left once. “He beat me up. What can I say?” Dos Santos said in the ring after the fight. “He’s a great fighter.

I just want to give a good fight to the fans.” Dos Santos was not in the post-fight press conference.

Velasquez landed several lefts to start the second round and a kick to the head as well, cutting Dos Santos on the bridge of his nose.

Velasquez had Dos Santos locked up against the walls of the Octagon several times in the second round, but Dos Santos landed a right at the end of the second round.

Velasquez took Dos Santos to the mat midway through the first round, but was unable to land any hard shots, and Dos Santos got to his feet. The t wo went a f t e r i t f ro m t h e s t a r t , w i t h Velasquez landing a couple lefts, and Dos Santos hitting an upper-

HOUSTON: UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (left) and former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos fight for the UCF World Heavyweight title. —AP cut to go along with two lefts.

The crowd was firmly in Velasquez’s corner throughout the fight, yelling “Si, se puede” numerous times for the Mexican.

In the co-main event, Cormier took Nelson down in each of the three rounds, including less than a minute into the bout, but he could not keep Nelson down. Cormier controlled the bout, landing more strikes than Nelson, but Cormier was not able to land combinations.

Gilbert Melendez (22-3) earned his first UFC win, defeating Diego

Sanchez (26-6) by unanimous decision - 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 - in a lightweight bout. Melendez opened up a cut over Sanchez’s left eye with a right hook with two minutes left in the first round.

The referee stopped the fight midway through the second and third rounds when the cut reopened but in both instances, the fight was continued. Sanchez came back with an uppercut and a flurry in the third round as the sellout crowd chanted “Diego!

Diego!”—AP

Provodnikov pounds Alvarado BROOMFIELD: Ruslan Provodnikov wore down Mike Alvarado all night with blow after powerful blow until Alvarado couldn’t answer the bell to start the 11th round.

The Russian bruiser nicknamed the “Siberian Rocky” stunned Alvarado to capture the junior welterweight title Saturday.

Provodnikov (23-2) knocked down Alvarado (34-2) twice in the eighth round with a series of punches near the ropes and finished him off late in the 10th. The fight was halted by referee Tony Weeks, who asked Alvarado a few times if he wanted to continue and Alvarado responded that he didn’t.

Promoter Bob Arum, who represents Alvarado, said his boxer might have suffered a concussion.

Provodnikov didn’t have trainer Freddie Roach in his corner. Roach remained in the Philippines to work out with Manny Pacquiao, who fights Brandon Rios next month in Macau.

“My team told me, ‘You’re ready, come out and become a champion,’” Provodnikov said through a translator. Not even chants from the home crowd could lift Alvarado, who grew up in Denver and was wearing blue-and-orange trunks in honor of the Denver Broncos. Alvarado

got lured into Provodnikov’s kind of fight - more brawling than boxing - and never recovered. This was quite a contrast to Alvarado’s win over Rios seven months ago, when he had a near flawless fight. “It just wasn’t Mike’s night. He was too defensive,” said Shann Vilhauer, the trainer for Alvarado. “I think he just started reading all these clips after the (Brandon) Rios fight, that he was a great boxer and he got away from what he’s best at. This guy (Provodnikov) was tailor made for him. He didn’t take advantage.”

After the fight, Alvarado said that Provodnikov threw the hardest punches he has ever encountered. He also said manager Henry Delgado stopped the fight and that he agreed with the decision.

“It was not worth taking more punishment because the damage could be permanent,” Alvarado said. “It just wasn’t my night. I have a lot of heart. I’m not a quitter.”

This was the biggest bout in the area since former World Boxing Council lightweight champion Stevie Johnston fell to Jose Luis Castillo in 2000. It also was the first time HBO has televised a live fight from Colorado. Provodnikov didn’t pay any attention to the pre-fight “boos,” or the crowd constantly chanting, “30-3,” the city’s area

code. “If you want to be a world champion, you have to risk it - go and fight the best, go to his hometown,” Provodnikov said.

With the win, Provodnikov could likely be in line for the winner of Pacquiao and Rios. The other likely candidate is Timothy Bradley Jr., a fighter Provodnikov lost to in a memorable bout last March.

A rematch with Alvarado isn’t out of the question, either. “Unbelievable,” said Arthurt Pelullo, the president of Banner Promotions which represents Provodnikov.

“He had a great game plane. Even though Freddie wasn’t here, he stuck to the game plan.

Alvarado is a tough son of a gun. He was the kind of kid you’ve got to give respect to. He’s a champion.”

On the undercard, Juan Diaz (38-4) landed jab after jab on Juan Santiago (14-11-1), but couldn’t put him away in a lightweight fight. Diaz’s dominating performance led to a unanimous decision as he remained unblemished in his third fight back after a two-year layoff.

Diaz, a former titleholder nicknamed “Baby Bull,” got burned out on boxing and took some time off, even opening a trucking company in Houston.—AP

Whatmore wary of S Africa comeback DUBAI: Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore drew on bitter personal experience to warn his players that world number one Test team South Africa can bounce back in the second Test starting in Dubai on Wednesday.

Pakistan won the first Test in Abu Dhabi by seven wickets on Thursday, but Whatmore recalled a personal experience of South Africa’s resilience when he was the coach of Sri Lanka in 2000/2001. “ This South African unit is quite resilient,” said 59-year-old Whatmore yesterday. “I’ve had first hand experience in Sri Lanka where they lost by an innings in Galle and came back to win in Kandy,” said Whatmore of the series in Sri Lanka.

“I think there was a drawn game in Colombo so it was 1-1 in the series, so you leave them off at your peril.” South Africa’s unbeaten series run away from home since losing to Sri Lanka in 2006 is also under threat and Whatmore, born in Sri Lanka but who emigrated with his family aged eight, said Pakistan will do their best to win. “ Well 1-0 is just as good as I think because a hard fought draw is also very important for any team, having been 1-0 up in the series, but we enter the game to win,” said Whatmore, whose team lost to Zimbabwe in the second Test in a 1-1 drawn series last month.

Pakistan have an incentive of jumping to fourth from sixth in the Test rankings if they win or square the series. Whatmore, who played seven Tests and one limited overs international for Australia, refused to agree that Pakistan’s win was an upset.

“I wasn’t surprised we did well, people leading up to this series in Pakistan were alluding to the fact that we lost against Zimbabwe and here you are going to play the No. 1 team in the world, no chance. “But that was never the case, in my mind I knew

that we can be competitive.”

Whatmore, who coached Sri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup title, said different conditions and of some personnel, especially in the top order, paid off.

“I’ve alway said we’re better prepared against this opposition than we were the last time we played them in South Africa notwithstanding their number one ranking,” said Whatmore of Pakistan’s 3-0 humiliation earlier this year.

“That conditions are different that’s pretty obvious and we’ve had a slight change of personnel in the eleven I think it’s a combination of those reasons that gave us a good competitive effort over four days,” said Whatmore.

Pakistan played debutant opener Shan Masood who put on 135 runs for the opening stand in Abu Dhabi. Masood, who replaced experienced but out of form Mohammad Hafeez, hit 75 in the first innings to help Pakistan gain a big 193-run lead. South Africa then slumped to 232 in their second innings which gave Pakistan a 40-run target to win. South African coach Russell Domingo blamed poor batting in the first innings, folded at 249.

“That’s why we lost the Test, we couldn’t stretch our first innings because if you look at the stats in Dubai and Abu Dhabi the first innings sets the game, so a lot of questions can be asked of the bowlers but it was ultimately the batters who let us down,” said Domingo, who took over from Gary Kirsten in June this year.

Domingo hoped his team would execute the match strategy better. “Look, the South African side play a certain way over a period of time and we know we were outplayed and we know we need to improve, the plans won’t change massively but we need to execute them a lot better,” said the coach.—AFP

Marine Sports Club head praises Kuwait jet-ski team

KUWAIT: Board Chairman of the Kuwaiti Marine Sports Club Major General Fahad AlFahad praised the Kuwaiti national jet-ski team’s achievements at the International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA) championship held in the US state of Arizona.

“The athletes have proved their technical capabilities as the club was able to prepare them to compete in various regional and international tournaments,” Al-Fahad told KUNA here.

Winning 20 medals, including five gold, six silver and nine bronze, maintaining the first place globally along with the US, Thailand and Norway, as well as receiving a full mark (300 points) amid such a competitive tournament with the participation of 40 countries is “an unprecedented accomplishment, which reflects the fruitful efforts of the club,” he added.

Al-Fahad said “this achievement shows the exquisite potential of Kuwaiti youth and

their capabilities of being the best ambassadors for their country in the biggest world championship that includes at least 3,000 athletes.” —KUNA

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

S P ORTS

Ahly restore Egyptian pride after shootout JOHANNESBURG: Al-Ahly restored some Egyptian football pride yesterday by squeezing into the CAF Champions League final after a penalty shootout.

The Cairo ‘Red Devils’ won the spot-kick duel with Cameroonian visitors Coton Sport 7-6 in Red Sea resort El-Gouna after a 1-1 draw behind closed doors.

A 1-1 first leg draw in Garoua two weeks ago meant a 2-2 aggregate tie as the clubs sought a final showdown with South African side Orlando Pirates.

Needing to score to level the shootout, Jacques Haman blazed over and Ahly kept alive hopes of a record eighth Champions League title.

The outcome was a massive relief for Egypt after a national side packed with Ahly stars was humili-

ated 6-1 by Ghana in a World Cup play-off five days ago.

Ahly went ahead inside three minutes with a simple goal as Sayed Moawad crossed and Abdullah Al-Saied towered above two defenders to nod the ball wide of Luc Feudjou.

The home side ‘owned’ the ball in the first quarter of the game with timid Coton repeatedly running around trying to gain possession.

But it took Ahly until midway through the half before they threatened to score again with chances falling to Walid Soliman and Rami Rabiea in quick succession.

Unmarked Soliman hurried a shot that finished well off target and a looping Rabiea header off an Ahmed Fathy free-kick landed on top of the net.

Coton finally came alive during

the 10 minutes before half-time and gave the record seven-time champions several scares.

Ewangue Mbongo got past a defender and goalkeeper and captain Sherif Ekramy used his legs to block a close-range shot.

Kingue Mpondo came even closer three minutes later, hitting the post after stretching to connect with a partially cleared cross.

After 35 largely idle minutes, Ekramy was suddenly the busiest footballer in El-Gouna and needed two attempts to hold a snap shot from teenager Alexis Kada.

Coton were on a roll and had appeals for a penalty rejected by the Mauritian referee, with television replays suggesting a collision between two players did not warrant a spot-kick.

The half-time whistle was a relief

to the Cairo ‘Red Devils’, who were lucky to be one goal ahead on the day and on aggregate.

Coton continued to press as the second half progressed without creating any clear cut chances on a clear, hot afternoon in north-east Egypt.

But with 65 minutes gone the Cameroonians deservedly levelled when several Ahly defenders failed to cut off a low cross and Kada netted with with a close-range tap.

Pirates qualified Saturday by drawing 1-1 with Esperance on the outskirts of Tunis to advance on the away-goal rule after a goalless first leg.

Rooi Mahamutsa put the Buccaneers ahead with a flying header off a corner on 52 minutes and Iheb Msakni swept home a low cross soon after. —AFP

HURGHADA: Egypt’s footballer Ahmed Abud El-Zaher (left) of Al-Ahly vies for the ball against Cameroon’s Stephane Kingue Mpondo of Coton Sport during their African Champions League semi-final football match. —AFP

Fiorentina stun Juve

GERMANY: Hamburg’s Heiko Westermann (left) vies for the ball with Stuttgart’s Vedad Ibisevic during the German First Division Bundesliga football match. —AFP

Hamburg hold Stuttgart BERLIN: Hamburg remain unbeaten in three league games under coach Bert van Marwijk after picking up a point in their thrilling 3-3 draw with 10-man VfB Stuttgart yesterday.

Ex-Holland coach Van Marwijk took charge in September after predecessor Thorsten Fink was fired following a disastrous start to the season, including a 6-2 drubbing at Borussia Dortmund.

Hamburg captain Rafael van der Vaart earned his side a point when he equalised for the third time for the hosts on 67 minutes on Van Marwijk’s home debut.

Stuttgart spent the last six minutes with 10 men after Germany Under-21 centreback Antonio Ruediger was shown a straight red for hitting Dutch midfielder Van der Vaart in the ribs.

“We have improved again and are playing football the way I like it,” said Van Marwijk as Hamburg rallied at 3-2 down after ex-Arsenal defender Johan Djourou conceded a second-half own goal.

“We had a couple of really nice attacks, which pleased me. We had a bit of bad luck with the own goal.” After a draw at Frankfur t and a 5-0 hammering of Nuremberg, the point kept Hamburg 15th, having been in the bottom three when Van Marwijk took over, while Stuttgart are eighth.

Wolfsburg moved up to ninth with a 2-1 win at Augsburg with Wolves ex-Bayern Munich midfielder Luiz Gustavo heading the first-half winner.

On Saturday, European champions Bayern extended their unbeaten Bundesliga run to 34 games by coming from behind for a 4-1 home win over Mainz to go back to the top.

Having last lost in the German league back in October 2012, Bayern are now just two matches short of equalling Hamburg’s 30-year-old, 36-match streak.

Bayern were punished for a poor firsthalf in Munich when Mainz striker Shawn Parker fired home after capitalising on a mistake by centre-back Jerome Boateng.

But Bayern roared back when Germany

midfielder Mario Goetze came off the bench for the second-half and played a key part in the hosts’ first three second-half goals.

His dream pass through to Arjen Robben allowed the winger to equalise on 50 minutes and two minutes later, Goetze combined with the Dutchman for Germany’s Thomas Mueller to fire home to make it 2-1.

With Bayern finally making their 80 percent possession pay off, Goetze fired in a cross for Mario Mandzukic to score their third on 69 minutes.

And when Bayern vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger was fouled in the area, Mueller stepped up to drill home the penalty for his second of the game eight minutes from time.

Bayer Leverkusen had briefly gone top on Friday thanks to a controversial ‘phantom’ goal in their 2-1 win at Hoffenheim.

The German Football Federation (DFB) will investigate today while Hoffenheim have called for a replay after Stefan Kiessling’s 70th-minute winner came in bizarre circumstances. Replays showed his header only ended in the back of the net after flying through a hole in the side netting.

Schalke 04, who host Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday, needed a 91st-minute winner from Roman Neustaedter to seal a 3-2 win at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig.

Dortmund, who are at Arsenal tomorrow in the Champions League, stayed second with a hard-fought 1-0 win at home to Hanover 96.

Germany winger Marco Reus hit the winning penalty after just four minutes when Hanover’s Japan defender Hiroki Sakai fouled left-back Erik Durm in the area.

Borussia stay second and level on 22 points with third-placed Leverkusen, just a point behind Bayern.

Second-from-bottom Freiburg picked up a point with a goalless draw at Werder Bremen, while Eintracht Frankfurt drew 1-1 at home to Nuremberg. —AFP

German Bundesliga results/standings Hamburg 3 (Lasogga 22, Beister 55, Van der Vaart 67) VfB Stuttgart 3 (Maxim 3, Gentner 37, Djourou 64-og); Augsburg 1 (Werner 10) VfL Wolfsburg 2 (Arnold 35, Luiz Gustavo 42).

German Bundesliga table after yesterday’s match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund Bayer Leverkusen Hertha Berlin Schalke 04 M?nchengladbach Hanover 96 VfB Stuttgart VfL Wolfsburg Werder Bremen Hoffenheim Eintracht Frankfurt Augsburg Mainz 05 Hamburg Nuremberg Freiburg Braunschweig

9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

7 7 7 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 2 2 3 3 2 0 0 1

2 1 1 3 2 1 1 3 0 3 4 4 1 1 3 6 5 1

0 1 1 2 3 4 4 3 5 3 3 3 5 5 4 3 4 7

19 22 20 15 17 19 11 19 11 9 21 12 10 13 20 10 9 7

4 7 9 9 19 14 12 13 12 12 22 14 17 21 22 18 18 21

23 22 22 15 14 13 13 12 12 12 10 10 10 10 9 6 5 4

MILAN: Giuseppe Rossi scored a hat-trick for Fiorentina in a stunning come-from-behind 4-2 win over Juventus yesterday which helped Roma maintain their fivepoint lead at the top of Serie A. Roma’s 2-0 defeat of Napoli on Friday opened up a five-point cushion over both Rafael Benitez’s side and Juventus ahead of the latter’s visit to Florence.

And despite Juventus holding a 2-0 lead at the half-time interval following a Carlos Tevez penalty and a strike from Paul Pogba, the champions crumbled during 14 second-half minutes in which ‘La Viola’ staged a remarkable comeback.

Roma now have a maximum 24 points from eight wins with Napoli back up to second at five points adrift with Juventus, suffering their first defeat of the season, slipping one place to third.

Juventus coach Antonio Conte insisted his side had not been sidetracked by thoughts of their Champions League trip to Real Madrid on Wednesday.

But while claiming Juve dominated throughout, he admitted his side were unrecognisable late in the second half. “We dominated them in every department and had the game wrapped up,” said Conte.

“Then the unimaginable happened-we lost a game that we were dominating. Those 10 minutes changed everything and we conceded some strange goals. It just wasn’t like us.”

Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella said: “ This is the best result ever. It’s already difficult to score against Juve, so putting four past them gives us immense satisfaction.”

Fiorentina’s win was not the only shock of the day, however, with Atalanta securing a precious 2-1 win at home to Lazio thanks to German Denis’s 84th minute winner. Early season surprise packages Verona kept their place in the top five thanks to a 3-2 win over Parma which came courtesy of two penalties from Jorginho in the 61st and 88th minutes.

Verona, one of three promoted teams from Serie B, now sit fourth, eight points behind Roma and one ahead of Fiorentina although both sides could be overtaken by Inter if Walter Mazzarri’s men beat Torino in yesterday’s late match.

Sampdoria, meanwhile, had Nicola Pozzi’s penalty strike in the sixth minute of added-on time to thank for a 2-1 away win at new boys Livorno.

It was the struggling Genoa

ITALY: Juventus’ Carlos Tevez, of Argentina (with back to camera at center) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a penalty during a Serie A soccer match against Fiorentina. —AP club’s first win of the campaign and moved them two places above the relegation zone.

It leaves Bologna as the only team in Serie A without a win. After a 2-1 defeat away to promoted Sassuolo, Stefano Pioli’s men prop up the table with three points from a possible 24.

Sassuolo coach Eusebio di Francesco, celebrating his side’s first win in Serie A, took the opportunity during his post-match interview to make amends of a personal nature.

“It’s my wife’s birthday today, but I totally forgot. I’d like to wish her happy birthday now,” said Di Francesco. Rossi’s triple strike means the former Manchester United striker is now Serie A’s top scorer with eight goals from eight games.

He helped spark the fightback when he beat Gianluigi Buffon from the penalty spot in the 66th minute after Ghanaian Kwadwo Asamoah was adjudged to have fouled Matias Fernandez.

Rossi levelled for the hosts when he held off the threat of Pogba on the edge of the area and sent a superbly-struck angled shot across Buffon and into the net.

Just as Arturo Vidal, who started on the bench after missing training due to a late return from Chile, was preparing to replace Claudio Marchisio for the final quarter hour Fiorentina took the lead.

Juve’s defence was in disarray when Borja Valero saw Joaquin

unmarked to the right of the area and the Spaniard made no mistake, beating Buffon with a precise rightfoot shot at his near post to claim

his first goal in Serie A. Two minutes later Rossi grabbed his third when Fiorentina caught Juve sleeping on the counter-attack. —AFP

Italian League results/standings Atalanta 2 (Cigarini 41, Denis 84) Lazio 1 (Perea 53); Fiorentina 4 (Rossi 66-pen, 76, 80, Joaquin 78) Juventus 2 (Tevez 37-pen, Pogba 40); Genoa 2 (Gilardino 22, 50) Chievo 1 (Bentivoglio 47); Verona 3 (Cacciatore 9, Jorginho 61-pen, 88-pen) Parma 2 (Parolo 19, Cassano 25); Livorno 1 (Siligardi 90+2) Sampdoria 2 (Eder 19-pen, Pozzi 90+6-pen); Sassuolo 2 (Berardi 12-pen, Floro Flores 17) Bologna 1 (Diamanti 34-pen).

Italian Serie A table ahead of yesterday’s late match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Roma Napoli Juventus Verona Fiorentina Inter Milan Atalanta AC Milan Lazio Udinese Cagliari Torino Parma Livorno Genoa Sampdoria Catania Sassuolo Chievo Bologna

8 8 8 8 8 7 8 8 8 8 8 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

8 6 6 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0

0 1 1 1 3 2 0 2 2 1 4 3 3 2 2 3 2 2 1 3

0 1 1 2 1 1 4 3 3 4 2 2 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 5

22 18 16 16 17 16 11 14 12 9 10 10 13 9 8 8 6 7 6 9

1 6 10 12 10 6 11 13 12 9 12 10 15 12 12 14 13 22 15 22

24 19 19 16 15 14 12 11 11 10 10 9 9 8 8 6 5 5 4 3

Sochaux hold high-flying Monaco PARIS: Her ve Renard’s reign as manager of Sochaux began promisingly with a 2-2 draw against highflying Monaco in yesterday’s early Ligue 1 action.

Renard, who guided Zambia to last year’s Africa Cup of Nations title, is in charge of his first ever French first division side.

And he will have been more than satisfied with this battling stalemate against the Principality side that began the weekend top of the table, but after this result end it in second place two points behind Paris Saint Germain.

Struggling Sochaux are one off the foot of the table, on six points.

Monaco were set fair for a win after a quickfire double from Ferreira Carrasco in the fifth and tenth minutes. Sochaux to their credit never let up and earned a share of the spoils with second half goals from Cedric Bakambu and Joseph Loppy.

“I spoke a lot this week about the psychological aspect and after ten minutes I was thinking that was all for nothing,” said Renard.

“But in football you should never give up, and it was a great reaction against the leaders before the weekend. “ It ’s only one point though and we need a lot more to stay in Ligue 1.” Claudio Ranieri,

Monaco’s coach, said: “We began really well, scoring twice but then we left our concentration in the dressing room.” Later yesterday Saint Etienne host Lorient and Bordeaux are at Lyon.

On Saturday Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani both struck twice to inspire Paris Saint-Germain to a comfortable 4-0 victory over hapless Bastia.

Nigerian ‘keeper Vincent Enyeama saved a late penalty to help Lille to a 1-0 win at 2012 champions Montpellier while Guingamp came back to defeat Evian 2-1.

Nantes continued their sparkling return to the top flight by defeating Ajaccio 1-0, while Algerian Foued Kadir gave Rennes a 2-0 lead before basement dwellers Valenciennes stormed back to salvage a 2-2 draw.

On Friday, Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina shrugged off his World Cup jet lag to star in Nice’s 10 win over Cote d’Azur rivals Marseille. Another South American, Argentine striker Dario Cvitanich, grabbed the only goal of the game for Nice.

Also Friday, Toulouse edged Reims 2-1 thanks to a 87th minute penalty from Danish international Martin Braithwaite, his third goal of the season. —AFP

FRANCE: Sochaux’ Zambian forward Emmanuel Mayuka (left) vies with Monaco’s French midfielder Jeremy Toulalan, during the French League One football match. —AFP

Velasquez stops Santos

Gasquet, Halep win Kremlin Cup titles

18

17

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Ahly restore Egyptian pride after shootout

Page 19

BIRMINGHAM: Tottenham Hotspur’s Michael Dawson (right) questions referee Phil Dowd after being shown a yellow card for a foul as he plays against Aston Villa during their English Premier League soccer match. —AP

On-song Townsend sends Spurs fifth Aston Villa 0

Tottenham 2

BIRMINGHAM: England breakthrough star Andros Townsend continued his fine form by inspiring Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-0 win at Aston Villa in the Premier League yesterday.

The 22-year-old winger, who starred as England booked their place at the World Cup earlier this week, scored the opening goal with a 31st-minute cross that crept past Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan. Roberto Soldado added a second after half-time as Spurs moved up to fifth place in the table, three points below leaders Arsenal, and began to atone for their shock 3-0 home defeat

by West Ham United.

It was a first defeat in four league games for Paul Lambert’s Villa, who now find themselves 13th, but it was a marked improvement on their 4-0

capitulation to the same side in the League Cup last month. Villa had last season’s top scorer Christian Benteke on the bench following a hip injury, with Nathan Baker replacing Ciaran Clark in the only change to the side that drew 0-0 at Hull City last time out.

Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas brought Lewis Holtby into his team in place of Christian Eriksen, awarded Vlad Chiriches his debut at centre-back, and handed Sandro a first league start since January.

Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor put a half-volley over the bar from an early Leandro Bacuna cross, but heavy rain made for a slippery surface and the game suffered as a result.

Sandro shot straight at Brad Guzan from 30 yards and Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had to scramble away a free-kick from Ashley Westwood, before the visitors made the breakthrough.

Townsend claimed the goal, but it owed to a certain degree of fortune.

Picking up the ball wide on the right, he cut onto his left foot and attempted to pick out a team-mate in the centre, but his cross eluded both Holtby and

Bitter Evra labels Lizarazu ‘parasite’ PARIS: Controversial France and Manchester United defender Patrice Evra delivered a vicious tirade aimed at several pundits, among them France’s 1998 World Cup winner Bixente Lizarazu, yesterday after they criticised him over a half-time talk he gave his team-mates.

Evra was criticised for speaking his mind during half-time of the 2014 World Cup qualifier with Belarus in September in which he was only a substitute.

The French eventually won the game 4-2, ending a run of five games without a win or a goal but still ended up having to contest a play-off to see whether they reach the finals or not.

Evra, never far from controversy and who was subjected to racist abuse by Luis Suarez in the Premier League match with Liverpool two seasons ago, did not take to the criticism at all and labelled Lizarazu and three other pundits ‘tramps’ and ‘parasites’ on French TV programme ‘Telefoot’.

He was later ordered by French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet and France coach Didier Deschamps to come to Paris and

explain himself over the remarks which he made following last Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Finland in their final World Cup qualifying match.

Evra, 32, said he would have preferred that the story about his talk at half-time had stayed within the dressing room, before he lost control of himself.

“There are some pundits with whom I will soon settle my differences... they want to sell a lie to the French people that Evra is disliked. But that is not the case at all.

“I do not know what Lizarazu has against me. I was twice voted best leftback in the world, four times the best left-back in the Premier League.

“Him? I don’t even know if he was ever voted best left-back in the world. “I recall my first call-up to the national side, all the others shook my hand apart from him. Thierry Henry said to him ‘Oh Liza, here is the opposition’.

And Lizarazu looked at me and said ‘Why? Someone told you that I was already retired?’. “People have a good impression of me, it won’t be these tramps who dirty my image.

They must stop lying to the French

Soldado, only to sneak in at the far post.

Andreas Weimann flashed a shot just wide as Villa pushed for an equaliser, but Spurs came close to going 2-0 up in first-half stoppage time when Guzan produced a smart low stop to thwart Townsend.

Another fine save from the American prevented Paulinho from doubling the visitors’ advantage early in the second period and the introduction of Benteke gave Villa further reason for optimism.

The burly Belgian planted a header from a Bacuna cross narrowly over the bar shortly after coming on, but five minutes later, Spurs struck again.

Paulinho’s intelligent first-time pass freed Soldado and the Spain striker took a touch before lifting the ball over Guzan to claim his third league goal in a Spurs shirt.

Villa’s fight faded, but Townsend refused to leave them in peace. He dispatched a curler that cleared the crossbar by millimetres and then flashed a ball across the face of goal that Paulinho was unable to convert. After the best week of his fledgling career,

the man-of-the-match award came as no surprise.

Meanwhile, two men were arrested after an assistant referee was struck by a flare thrown from the stands during Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 Premier League win at Aston Villa yesterday.

Spurs had just taken a 31st-minute lead through Andros Townsend at Villa Park when a canister trailing black smoke was lobbed towards the playing surface, apparently from the away supporters’ section. It hit assistant referee David Bryan on the back, causing him to stumble forwards, but after a brief stoppage in play while referee Phil Dowd spoke to his colleague, the game continued.

Local police revealed that two men had been arrested in relation to the incident. “Police have arrested 2 men after a lit flare was thrown on the pitch during the Villa v Spurs game — the flare hit a linesman,” said a statement from West Midlands Police published on Twitter.

“The two men aged 25 and 47 were arrested following the incident at Villa Park, fortunately the linesman wasn’t injured.”—AFP

Patrice Evra

people,” said the Senegal-born defender, who then classed them as parasites.

Lizarazu, who also won Euro 2000 with the last golden generation of French players, termed Evra’s comments ‘incomprehensible and appalling’.

“His first cap I was no longer even there and yes I was once voted best left back in the world,” said the 43-year-old, who was along with Evra selected in an initial squad of 30 for Euro 2004 before

the latter was dropped from the final group by Jacques Santini.

“He blames us for dirtying his image but he is doing a great job of it himself. As regards the timing, it sucks.” Evra led the mutiny during the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa when he instructed the squad not to get off the bus and train in protest at Nicolas Anelka being sent home for an outburst of his own. —AFP

EPL results/standings Aston Villa 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Townsend 31, Soldado 69).

Playing today Crystal Palace v Fulham English Premier League table after yesterday’s match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Swansea 8 3 1 4 12 11 10 Arsenal 8 6 1 1 18 9 19 West Brom 8 2 4 2 7 6 10 Chelsea 8 5 2 1 14 5 17 Aston Villa 8 3 1 4 9 10 10 Liverpool 8 5 2 1 13 7 17 West Ham 8 2 2 4 8 8 8 Man City 8 5 1 2 20 9 16 Stoke 8 2 2 4 4 7 8 Tottenham 8 5 1 2 8 5 16 Cardiff 8 2 2 4 8 13 8 Southampton 8 4 3 1 8 3 15 Fulham 7 2 1 4 5 9 7 Everton 8 4 3 1 12 10 15 Norwich 8 2 1 5 6 13 7 Man Utd 8 3 2 3 11 10 11 Crystal Palace 7 1 0 6 5 13 3 Hull 8 3 2 3 7 9 11 Sunderland 8 0 1 7 5 20 1 Newcastle 8 3 2 3 11 14 11

Preview

European eight await World Cup play-off fate PARIS: France manager Didier Deschamps, who captained France’s 1998 World Cup-winning side, is praying the footballing gods smile on his team in today’s eight-team European zone play-off draw.

Deschamps has publicly expressed his annoyance that France missed out on being seeded and as a result in danger of being pitted against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, Euro 2004 winners Greece, Croatia or Ukraine in the draw at FIFA’S Zurich headquarters.

Joining the French in the unseeded ‘pot’ are the Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired Sweden, Romania and surprise packet Iceland.

Deschamps, asked which team he wanted to avoid, said: “It’s legitimate to say Portugal because they have Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s a great player and a big influence. “But playing Greece, Croatia or Ukraine, they’re more based round teamwork but not easier or simpler to play.” He was speaking after France’s closing victory over Finland with his side already assured of the runners-up spot in Group I behind world champions Spain.

Deschamps will be counting on his side sealing their Brazil berth in less controversial fashion than they did their ticket to South Africa. France owed their appearance at what was to prove a disastrous 2010 World Cup to a play-off success over the Republic of Ireland, with a little help from Thierry Henry’s hand. Henry admitted to deliberately handling the ball to set up William Gallas’s decisive goal to seal France’s presence in South Africa. Portugal meanwhile will be hoping to continue their success in play-offs having successfully navigated their way through the

two-legged process to get to the last World Cup and Euro 2012s both at the expense of Bosnia-Herzegovina, who made no mistake this time round qualifying by right.

Manager Paulo Bento will be relieved at the return of star striker Ronaldo, who missed out on his country’s final 3-0 win over Luxembourg which sealed the runners-up spot in Group F behind Russia.

Like Portugal Sweden go into today’s draw secure in the knowledge that talismanic leader Ibrahimovic is back after being suspended for last week’s 5-3 loss to Germany.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward said after that game: “I am not worried. In the play-offs we will have two completely different games.

“I liked the way the team fought. If I had been on the pitch, it would have been the same result.” “Everything is possible,” said Sweden coach Erik Hamren.

“There are some good teams in the pot, but we will do all we can to realise our dream of going to the World Cup.” Croatia go into today’s lottery with a new man at the helm after running out of steam with defeats in their final two qualifiers.

Coach Igor Stimac paid the price after offering to stand down in the wake of last week’s 2-0 loss to Scotland, which came four days after a 2-1 home defeat to Group winners Belgium. He was replaced by Niko Kovac, who skippered the side at Euro 2004 and 2008 as well as at the 2006 World Cup. “We had to something due to poor results and the ruining of the Croatian team’s reputation,” explained Davor Suker, president of the Croatian Football Federation.—AFP

Business

Wisdom of privatizations under question in Greece Page 23 BMW Group ME registers record growth in Q3 Page 25

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Boubyan Bank profits rise 22% to KD9.3m during 9 months of 2013

BlackBerry committed to innovation Page 22 Page 26

ROME: Members of the Guardia di Finanza protect themselves during clashes on the sidelines of an anti-austerity protest in Rome. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Italy and Portugal on Saturday to protest against budget cuts and the social cost of the economic crisis, amid concern over possible clashes in Rome. —AFP

Budget fight ‘got close to edge’: Lew ‘US economy bruised, borrowing costs increased’ WASHINGTON: Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew says the justresolved budget fight was “a little bit scary” because it “got close to the edge,” and the lesson has to be that the US won’t be put in that position again. “It can’t happen again,” said the Obama administration’s chief spokesman on the economy.

An impasse between President Barack Obama and a group of congressional Republicans over spending for the budget year beginning Oct 1 led to a 16-day, partial government shutdown and the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Lawmakers also pushed the country to the edge of economic default by threatening the Treasury Department’s authority to continue borrowing the money needed to pay the nation’s bills. The situation was resolved last Wednesday when Congress agreed to fund the government through Jan 15 and allow Treasury to continue borrowing through Feb 7. A group of House and Senate lawmakers has until Dec 13 to produce a spending deal to stave off another shutdown and possible default in early 2014.

During the period of economic uncertainty spawned by the shutdown and the default threat, Lew said the nation’s borrowing costs increased and economic activity was affected. He offered no dollar figures during an interview with NBC television’s “Meet the Press” that was taped Friday and broadcast Sunday.

“The direction is that it took an economy that is fighting

hard to get good economic growth going, to create jobs for the American people, and it took it in the wrong direction,” Lew said of the budget fight. “Our job is to move things in the right direction. This one was a little bit scary because it got so close to the edge.”

He said he now looks to Republican leaders who have said publicly that the shutdown was the wrong strategy for the party to pursue. “I think the message that we have to send going forward is that there was a turning point on Wednesday night and this won’t happen again,” Lew said. “It can’t happen again.” Lew also commented on negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, saying it was premature for any talk of softening stiff economic penalties.

Iran has said its program is for peaceful purposes and has denied claims by the US and other countries that the real goal is to build a nuclear weapon. “What I’m saying is, we need to see that they’re taking the steps to move away from having nuclear weapons capacity,” said Lew, whose department enforces the sanctions. “We need to see real, tangible evidence of it, and that we will not make moves in the sanctions until we see those kinds of moves.”

Nuclear talks in Geneva between Iran and six world powers ended on an upbeat note Wednesday, with Western and Iranian negotiators announcing a follow-up round next month. — AP

Global rally boosts markets after Eid MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical shares led a bourse rally yesterday as earnings boosted sentiment, while most regional markets also rose as they resumed trading after a week-long holiday and reacted positively to the US averting a debt default.

Shares in Saudi Kayan Petrochemical surged 9.6 percent to a nine-month high after it swung to a thirdquarter profit. The company made a profit of 43.3 million riyals ($11.55 million), compared to a net loss of 178.4 million riyals in the same period last year, according to a bourse statement.

Parent firm Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) jumped 5.4 percent, helping lift the sector’s index by 5 percent to a 17-month high.“So far the petrochemical results have been better than expected - the biggest surprise is Kayan, which reported its first ever profit after eight quarters of operations,” said Iyad Ghulam, petrochemical analyst at NCB Capital. “It’s mainly from efficiencies - they’ve managed to reduce cost of operations.”

“The read across on Sabic from the petchem earnings so far is they might report better than expected results due to higher prices for the third quarter. We’ll see positive surprises on all firms,” he added. The Saudi index rose 1.9 percent to a two-month high, breaking out of a sideways trend.

Shares in heavyweight Al Rajhi Bank dropped 1.9 percent after it reported that its third-quarter net profit fell 8.1 percent year-on-year. The figure was also 17 percent lower than analysts’ estimate.

In Dubai, the measure rose 2.8 percent to its highest level since November 2008 on renewed buying by retail investors supported by a positive global backdrop.

Global stock markets climbed to five-year highs on

Friday as investors bet the US Federal Reserve would extend its stimulus policy well into 2014, while accelerated growth in China’s economy also lifted equity and commodity markets. A last-minute deal by US lawmakers last week to avert a debt default has also improved the mood.

“We were closed for the week during which the US resolved its debt ceiling issue, at least temporarily, and the government reopened. We’re playing catch-up to the spike in major markets,” said Sanyalaksna Manibhandu, senior analyst at NBAD Securities.

Expectations of Dubai winning the bid to host the World Expo 2020 are also supporting local sentiment. A win would spur faster infrastructure development and some optimism has already been priced into equity and property markets. The winner is expected to be announced on Nov. 27.

“In the absence of anything bad, we should continue to go up at least until the results of Expo 2020 (selection),” Manibhandu said. Abu Dhabi’s benchmark slipped 0.3 percent after hitting an intraday two-month high as some booked profits. The market is up 45.6 percent in 2013. Elsewhere, Kuwait’s index rose 1.8 percent, Qatar climbed 0.3 percent and Oman added 0.5 percent. In Egypt, the benchmark index advanced 1 percent to a 33-month high. It is also now above the key psychological level of 6,000 points.

“We’re affected by regional and global markets,” said Mohamed Radwan, director of international sales at Pharos Securities in Cairo. “There’s retail manipulation on mid-caps but the sentiment is positive in general.”

Shares in Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding and Arabia Investments Development jumped 3.2 and 6.7 percent respectively. — Reuters

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

BUSINESS

BlackBerry committed to innovation Smartphone maker to focus on Middle East: Olaywan

By Velina Nacheva KUWAIT: One of the world’s most popular smartphone makers remains committed to the Middle East - a region it identifies as having great potential due to its drive for technology innovation in sync with early technology adopters. In a recent interview with Kuwait Times, Ahmad Olaywan, BlackBerry’s Country Director for Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain reconfirmed BlackBerry’s commitment to its customer base in the Middle East.

“We are doing very well in the Middle East,” said Olaywan, quoting research data from GfK, a global research company. According to GfK, BlackBerry’s Q10 was the third fastest-selling smartphone in the UAE in July 2013; across the Middle East, BlackBerry is among the top 10 selling smartphones. “This region is a success story for BlackBerry with early adopters and technology innovation,” said Olaywan, adding: “We want to focus on this region.”

Asked to reflect on the competition in the Middle East region vis-a-vis the rest of the world, Olaywan asserts that each market has its own dynamics.

Standing out The industry has changed dramatically over the last 10 years. Building from scratch takes time. “It took us a year or two to build on the BlackBerry platform.

I consider it an achievement to launch four different devices on a totally new platform within seven or eight months.

We have delivered on this promise,” Olaywan said adding, “Our customers are waiting for much more. And we are

committed to deliver much more. Things do not happen overnight. We are singularly focused on building and delivering the most advanced secure mobile computing technology to our customers.”

From its very inception, BlackBerry has deployed a carrier-oriented strategy of growth embracing a slightly different approach from other smartphone makers. “From day one we based our busi-

together. This is our approach which is different from other phone manufacturers.”

BlackBerry launched a new platform built from scratch at the start of the year.

“Launching a new platform is challenging and it requires a lot of work. We have been working hard but still there is a lot to do,” said Olaywan, explaining that today BlackBerry is focused on mobile computing. “ We believe that the

“We are here, we are committed and we will continue to deliver the best mobile computing solutions for our customers”

Ahmad Olaywan, BlackBerry’s Country Director for Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. ness model on the carrier relationship because we believe that the carriers are the major players in this technology. We work very closely with the carriers. Every new device that we launch we first test it with the carrier in order to implement it

BlackBerry platform is a very powerful platform. We need to build on this and introduce something that goes beyond email and messages,” he stressed.

Over the last two years, BlackBerry has undergone a major change. A new CEO was appointed; a new platform was launched; the BlackBerry strategy was changed. “We have made transformative decisions as a business, but we are still here, we are committed to both our enterprise and consumer customers alike. We are evolving our business. We will continue to drive the sales and adoption of the BlackBerry 10 platform,”

said Olaywan adding that there are challenges and decisions need to be made.

“We are still a company with $2.6 billion in cash and no debt. I encourage everyone to look at our Q2 results from a different angle. It is not all doom and gloom - as previously communicated, we are in the second phase of our transformation plan. Organizational moves will continue to occur to ensure we have the right people in the right roles to drive new opportunities in mobile computing,” he said.

BlackBerry has no plans to exit the consumer business. “We are working on platforms that address the business needs. Our focus is on the business customer or power -users and multi-taskers who need to check email on the go, send emails and move on. They are our BlackBerry users,” Olaywan said.

Plans for growth Asked if the company’s plans to lay off workers and to reduce the number of phone models it sells from six to four will have an impact on the BlackBerry brand, Olwayan said, “For us it is business as usual. We will continue delivering what we have promised. We will continue innovating. We are more focused and more committed to continue driving innovation.” In this region there are early adopters who embrace technology and innovation and who want to have the latest and the newest, Olaywan observed. “We are here to drive this innovation.”

Our roadmap is clear, he said, adding, “we are reducing from six to four devices which will allow us to focus more and

get the right quality of ser vices”.

BlackBerr y remains committed to launching new devices. BlackBerry 10, known as BB10, is a powerful OS which on the BlackBerry smartphones (Q10 and new Z30) will provide for the communication needs of business customers. Currently there is high interest in the BlackBerry 10 range, he said.

Unique devices, features BBM is a very successful, efficient and accurate and reliable instant messenger and is a key USP in this region: over 98 percent of Middle East BlackBerry customers use BBM, one of the highest rates globally. In Kuwait, the penetration rate is 97 percent amongst BlackBerry users.

This is a trusted instant messaging platform which delivers on its promise. “We believe there is an opportunity for BBM to become the Number 1 instant messaging platform today and that all BlackBerry users can communicate with their colleagues using Android and iOS.” We are working on future-proofed mobile computing technology that will wirelessly connect your BlackBerr y smartphone to other devices such as a smart TV, so that the large screen can become the BlackBerry’s screen allowing communication, emails, streaming and watching movies or YouTube clips on the TV screen.

Known for its mobile security, BlackBerry is the number one choice for professional people, Olaywan said. “Our customers are multi-taskers who want to conduct their business on the go and we want to support them. We want to facilitate their communication needs.”

QIB misses Q3 forecasts as profit drops 12.4% DOHA: Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), the Gulf state’s fourth-largest lender by market value, reported a 12.4 percent drop in thirdquarter net profit yesterday, missing analysts’ average forecast. The bank made a net profit of 345.1 million riyals ($94.8 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, compared with 393.9 million riyals in the same period a year ago, it said in a bourse statement.

QIB posted a nine-month net profit of 975.1 million riyals, compared with 1.1 billion riyals for the same period last year.

The third-quarter results missed the average forecast of eight analysts in a Reuters poll who had expected the bank to post a quarterly net profit of 360 million riyals. Lending growth in Qatar has been a key driver of bank profits in recent quarters as the country pours billions of dollars into infrastructure projects, such as electricity, water generation and trans-

portation, partly to prepare to host the 2022 soccer World Cup. While growth in Qatar’s total bank credit dipped to a 27-month low in August, credit still increased by 13.6 percent year-on-year, according to central bank data. QIB’s total third-quarter income from financing and investing activity dropped to 738.4 million riyals from 773.8 million riyals a year earlier.

Fee and commission income fell to 91.4 million riyals from 119.7 million riyals.

QIB and Commercial Bank of Qatar have asked Qatar Exchange to increase the number of their shares available to foreign investors to 25 percent of their market capitalization, Qatar ’s stock exchange said in June, with the changes due to be implemented in six to nine months. QIB shares closed 0.3 percent lower yesterday. They have fallen 9.7 percent year-to-date.—Reuters

KSE stocks rebound in post-Eid trading KUWAIT: As Kuwait stock trading resumed after Eid Al-Adha yesterday, the three indices of the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) went up thanks to the return of market-makers and investors’ optimism. The rise, which coincided with a breakthrough in the US budget crisis, made up for losses and drops incurred by Kuwaiti stocks ahead of the Muslim festival.

But, some shares were not so active during today’s trading sessions. Small less-than-100fils shares were highly demanded by upbeat individual investors who sought safe but fast profits. With yesterday’s trading meeting analysts’ expectations, market-makers reappeared to inject money into selected shares involving

leading sectors, primarily banks, investment and services, backing a supposition that the market could see hikes. There were really purchasing processes at the market today, clearly buoyed by portfolios and investment funds in order to improve the market situation. Amid this active purchasing wave, speculations, led by a key investment group, increased. Kuwait Stock Exchange ended yesterday’s trade on a green board as the weighted index gained 3.06 points, the price index hiked up 138.88 points, whereas the KSX 15 also finished on a gain of 4.71 points. Trades came to 11,016 transactions worth KD50,581,884.94, and volume was 678,604,399 shares. —KUNA

ROME: A camp is set up in front of the Porta Pia a day after an anti-austerity protest yesterday in Rome. Hundreds of people said ysterday they would stay camped out in central Rome in an unsanctioned protest to call for an end to austerity and evictions and for more affordable housing. — AFP

Housing protesters stay camped out in Rome ROME: Hundreds of people said yesterday they would stay camped out in central Rome in an unsanctioned protest to call for an end to austerity and evictions and for more affordable housing.

A delegation of protesters was set to meet Transport and Infrastructure Minister Maurizio Lupi tomorrow to discuss their demands. “We will keep the tents until we meet with Lupi on Tuesday, when we will have another demonstration to make our voice heard,” said Luca Fagiano, a representative of the protest organizers. “Let’s Take Back the City” read a banner at the camp,

which is blocking a major throughway in the Italian capital. Another banner said: “Stop to evictions, clear-outs and repossessions”. “The camp is not a point of arrival but the beginning of the uprising,” read a slogan on the website of protest organizers, the Civic Coordination for the Struggle for Housing.

Tens of thousands had marched through Rome in a mostly peaceful demonstration on Saturday to draw attention to the social cost of the economic crisis, and some later set up the tent camp. There were some clashes between riot police and groups of protesters outside the

finance ministr y on Saturday and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said 16 people had been detained and five French militants had been expelled from the country.

A painful two-year recession in Italy has pushed unemployment levels to record highs, shut down thousands of businesses and forced many young Italians to move abroad to look for work.

Many people are struggling to keep up with mortgage repayments and to afford rent, leading to a sharp increase in evictions and repossessions. — AFP

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES 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 75.684 Qatari Riyal 77.982 Omani Riyal 737.170 Bahraini Dinar 753.820 UAE Dirham 77.292 ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 42.900 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.717 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.324 Tunisian Dinar 173.730 Jordanian Dinar 400.790 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.904 Syrian Lira 3.083 Morocco Dirham 35.025 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 283.700 Euro 390.000 Sterling Pound 458.350 Canadian dollar 279.510 Turkish lira 143.090 Swiss Franc 317.870 Australian Dollar 274.050 US Dollar Buying 282.500 GOLD 20 Gram 248.000 10 Gram 125.000 5 Gram 65.000 Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal Irani Riyal

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

SELL DRAFT 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

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen

Selling Rate 282.650 277.890 458.160 387.904 313.773 746.334 76.932 78.486 76.242 398.436 40.969 2.155 4.615 2.660 3.630 6.547 694.244 3.887

Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

10.074 3.049 3.867 90.687

Bahrain Exchange Company CURRENCY

BUY

SELL

Belgian Franc British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Romanian Leu Slovakia Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Turkish Lira

Europe 0.007353 0.450515 0.006622 0.047875 0.381586 0.043993 0.081630 0.008101 0.040025 0.307556 0.141848

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar

Australasia 0.265593 0.277093 0.234011 0.243511

Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint

America 0.269781 0.278281 0.278800 0.283150 0.279300 0.283150

Bangladesh Taka Chinese Yuan Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Korean Won Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso

Asia 0.003394 0.044991 0.034401 0.004469 0.000020 0.002808 0.003418 0.000256 0.085873 0.003016 0.002507 0.006432

0.008353 0.459515 0.018622 0.052875 0.389086 0.049193 0.81630 0.018101 0.045025 0.317756 0.148848

0.003994 0.048491 0.037151 0.004870 0.000026 0.002988 0.003418 0.000271 0.091873 0.003186 0.002787 0.006712

Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar Turkish Lira UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

0.000069 0.225225 0.023003 0.001832 0.009515 0.008757

0.000075 0.231225 0.031503 0.002412 0.009695 0.009307

Arab 0.743942 0.038428 0.000078 0.000183 0.394793 1.0000000 0.000138 0.022626 0.001198 0.728773 0.076996 0.074803 0.001926 0.169198 0.141848 0.076041 0.001285

0.751942 0.041528 0.000080 0.000243 0.402293 1.0000000 0.000238 0.046626 0.001831 0.734453 0.078209 0.075503 0.002146 0.177198 0.148848 0.077190 0.001365

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

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

BUSINESS Commodities weekly update

US govt back in business and gold back to neutral

Wisdom of privatizations under question in Greece Talk of more spending cuts, EU-IMF creditor push

By Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy

T

he US avoided being sent over the cliff by a last-minute agreement in Washington but the half-baked solution has only postponed and not solved the twin budgetary and debt ceiling problems. Global stocks took off nevertheless and hit a five-year high while bonds rallied as taper expectations were further delayed.

Commodities, meanwhile, ended in the black for a second week in a row having been led higher by precious metals.

The as yet unknown impact on the US economy of the shutdown has resulted in the tapering expectations being delayed further into 2014 and this left the dollar reeling. At one point, the USD hit its lowest level against the euro since February.

And although the dollar’s role as a global reserve currency will not be challenged by this latest debacle, it may trigger some concern among investors about how to treat the greenback in the future.

The DJ-UBS commodity index was higher for a second week in a row while the energy-heavy S&P GSCI was down for the first week in three. The best-performing sector was precious metals which found support from the falling dollar and bond yields. The energy sector was torn between supportive Chinese growth data and rising supply on the one hand and general uncertainty about nearterm demand on the other.

Gold back to neutral Gold managed to recover strongly from a position of weakness on the news that a deal had been reached on Capitol Hill in Washington. The metal had been trading lower within its established downtrend up until then. The rally following the deal announcement was driven by short covering and a weaker dollar. Additional support came from the fact that the solution is temporary and will expire in January. This has heightened expectations that tapering will now be further delayed as economic uncertainty will persist in the interim.

The downtrend in gold has now been broken by the sharp recovery and this points towards some near- term consolidation, potentially between USD 1,290/oz and USD 1,343/oz. The longer-term prospect will continue to depend on whether investment flows start to return to gold.

Such flows will depend on investors’ perceptions of where inflation, bond yields and economic activity are heading. The longer- term projections still point towards interest rates normalising as the economic growth rate picks up. On that basis we see the near-term direction in gold as mostly sideways while any upticks in the metal from current levels will continue to be viewed as selling opportunities, which would in turn limit the upside potential.

The risk to these expectations may come from an unexpected deterioration in the economic outlook in coming weeks as this could lead to indefinite quantitative easing. But unless we see a significant negative reaction in stock markets on the back of such a development, gold might not find enough support to challenge key resistance levels above USD 1,433/oz and USD 1,525/oz.

Gold got a welcome fillip from the temporary US political settlement. Illustration: alexmillos Chinese growth Both crude oils trimmed their weekly losses on signs that growth in China, the world’s second largest consumer of the fuel, picked up during the third quarter. This quelled at least some of the current worries about China’s ability to sustain its growth rates - something on which oil markets are keeping a close eye as the country remains the single biggest driver for oil demand growth.

WTI crude oil’s discount to Brent remains elevated as US crude inventories rose on lower demand from refineries while seasonal maintenance work is underway. Looking ahead further, the upside seems limited and we maintain a neutral to bearish short-term view on both oils with any major pickup most likely to be met by renewed selling both from hedging and speculative long liquidation.

The resumption of government functions in the US should also lead to the return of a much-followed weekly report from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission which gives traders an overview of how hedge funds and other large investors are positioned in the oil markets. The most recent available data dates back to September 24 and traders will be interested to see what impact the price weakness since then has had on hedge funds positioning which were relatively elevated back then.

Brent crude remained stuck around USD 110/barrel with a downside risk towards USD 105 the most likely path ahead. WTI crude continued to find support towards USD 100/barrel, a break through of which could signal further weakness down towards USD 98/barrel.

ATHENS: The approach of a new budget year in crisishit Greece has rekindled talk of more spending cuts, along with a renewed EU-IMF creditor push for a breakthrough in the country’s clogged-up privatization program. But after three years of effort, with paltry results, worries are growing on the wisdom of state asset sales made on the quick and on whether they will ultimately benefit Greeks themselves. Unions have long warned that the planned offloading of stakes in utility and transport companies will impose higher water and gas prices to a population already struggling through a sixyear recession.

Wages have fallen by over 22 percent since 2010 according to state statistics, and unemployment has soared to over 27 percent of the active workforce. Right now, the agency tasked with the privatizations, the problem-prone. Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, is pushing a laundry list of Greek state holdings. Up for sale: Greece’s main oil refiner, a cluster of land developments, a motorway, a dozen ports, the national post office and a trio of struggling defense and mining firms.

And reports this week said a plan to divest up to 55 percent of Athens International Airport was being sped up.

But economists are divided on the net effect of privatizations carried out under a tight time pressure and in a depressed market environment, with some critics fearing the potentially corrupting power of vested interests. “The privatization of ports and airports will help build credibility, create positive investor sentiment and, more importantly, will start delivering benefits in terms of quality services to the population,” said Gikas Hardouvelis, chief economist at Eurobank. “The net sum for Greeks will be negative,” countered Costas

Melas, a professor of economics at Athens’s Panteion University. “When the troika leaves, the wealth of the Greek people will have sustained a major blow. Not only in terms of public corporations but also in terms of their own assets,” he said.

“Anything that moves, flies or walks in Greece has sustained a devaluation of 30 percent on average,” Melas told AFP. The privatization program is far behind schedule and planned sales have repeatedly been delayed. Athens recently revised its estimated asset sales for this year down to 1.6 billion euros ($2.2 billion) from an initial target of 2.6 billion euros. And in August, the privatization agency’s head was sacked after travelling with a businessman who was part of a consortium which had just bought state gaming group OPAP for 652 million euros. The chairman job at the agency has already changed hands three times this year.

His removal was the second blow to Greece’s privatization drive, following the sudden withdrawal in June of Russian gas giant Gazprom from a deal to buy the country’s state gas operator DEPA. Meanwhile, the OPAP deal has raised broader questions on whether standards are being compromised to secure a quick sale. OPAP, in whose locations thousands of Greeks gamble everyday, is a key sponsor of the country’s football clubs, and the businessman who now partly owns the gaming company also controls AEK Athens, one of the most popular teams in the country.

A few days after the OPAP deal was announced, the gaming company announced a new AEK sponsorship of 1.9 million euros, a sum deemed overly generous for a club that was relegated to the third division this year over

unpaid debts.

Questions on the issue were sent to the offices of the European commissioners for finance and competition, but there was no response. HRADF likewise did not respond to a request for an interview.

‘Vested interests’ The OPAP case “proves that vested interests still operate, the economy is not free...or transparent”, said Melas, who also castigates a recent EU decision to approve a takeover by Greece’s Aegean Airlines of its main rival, Olympic.

“Perhaps the EU does not take this into account because they want to see immediate privatization progress...and get their money back,” he said. European officials have barely been able to contain their impatience towards the sluggish pace of state asset sales. Earlier this week, European Central Bank executive board member Joerg Asmussen once again urged Athens to focus on its privatisation program to make up a looming financial gap in 2014.

And Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was forced last month to deny rumors that the privatization program would be transferred to a European holding company to achieve better results. “(HRADF) will remain in Greek hands,” Samaras said in a newspaper interview.

“If we fix the economy first, and potential investors see Greece growing, asset prices will rise,” says Hardouvelis, the economist. “This is why we should tell the (creditors), let’s stabilize the economy first and then privatize. Or sell some asset first, to persuade them we mean business, and then sell the rest after the economy stabilizes.” — AFP

S Korea, Malaysia sign $4.7bn currency swap deal SEOUL: South Korea and Malaysia yesterday signed a currency swap agreement worth $4.7 billion, Seoul’s central bank said, in a move to encourage bilateral trade and help curb currency swings.

The latest agreement allows the two Asian nations to purchase and repurchase each other’s currency of up to 5 trillion won ($4.7 billion), or 15 billion ringgit, the central Bank of Korea said in a statement.

The deal-valid for three years and renewable upon agreement-will allow greater flexibility for businesses to use local cur-

rencies for trades that have been commonly settled in US dollars, the two countries’ central banks said in a joint statement.

The latest agreement is the third currency swap deal South Korea has signed this month in a move to guard against financial turmoil and encourage trade with other emerging markets. Asia’s fourthlargest economy earlier this month struck currency swap deals worth $10 billion and $5.4 billion with Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, respectively. — AFP

PetroRabigh shuts ethane cracker COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan man transports furniture for sale on his bicycle in Colombo yesterday. The IMF expects growth for the current calendar year to be about 6.5 percent, a full percentage point lower than Sri Lanka’s central bank’s forecast of 7.5 percent. — AFP

Supply concern may push base commodities higher

By Hayder Tawfik Most commodity prices peaked back in 2007 and it seems that they have bottomed out back in the second quarter of this year. It is a bit early to call it the long waited turn around but some encouraging signs are supporting the call. Seasonal forces changing direction, with global growth and inflation rates turning upward and supply channels thinly stocked.

Moreover, sentiment is universally bearish following metal price swoons that have obscured the fact that the bear market in metals has been going on for a few years.

Risks are now tilted towards demand picking up and supply disappointment.

In general commodity prices are gradually recovering, which is good news for the commodity based countries such as Australia, South Africa, Brazil and Russia, and the outlook for commodities during the coming years may be even brighter. Recoveries in commodity prices follow the massive commodity fund liquidations, inventory reductions at refinery, final consumption levels and mines closures over the last couple of years.

This has been evidenced with the massive stockpiles at the Metal exchanges in London and China.

The recovery in base metals and oil prices should be seen in a context. The sharp price declines over the last few years has lead to a

Hayder Tawfik

massive cut back in productions and in some places a total shutdown of what has become uneconomical mines, resulting in a substantial cutbacks in production already seen and more planned for the next few months. The key to any sudden recovery in prices is with the Chinese government. China continues to be the main driver in the metals market.

Some early indications from China show that the metal index is rebounding to some healthy levels and the latest increase in the Chinese Growth Domestic Product to 7.8 percent may indicate that economic growth is rebounding and the country might have seen the worst GDP growth statistics. All this may provide upward momentum to the rally in metal prices.

For China some base metals are strategically important. It has accumulated significant amounts of metals at the bargain prices to enhance its strategic reserve. At the same time the Chinese government has been busy buying its own domestically produced metals to keep its uneconomic mines afloat. Copper is one of those metals that China regards as a strategic metal. Some copper smelters around the world rely heavily on China for its total productions. I believe that the uptrend in commodity prices since it reached the extreme lows should be considered as a return to equilibrium due to cutbacks in production and China’s activity in the commodity markets rather than the start of a strong bull market. This will underpin metal and oil prices and any positive economic news on China and the global economy will push prices higher at least in the short term.

In general, I believe that the outlook for commodity prices in the coming months is very much encouraging. The wider closure and in some extreme instances of a complete shutdown of mines and mothballing of smelters in the mining industry are making the industry much leaner and cost effective.

From the supply side the industry is ready to rebound on any significant improvement in the global economy’s fundamentals and that will be reflected in higher commodity prices.

My personal advice to international investors is to make sure that they are no longer underweight base metals in particular copper in their equity portfolios and should be for the long term investment. - Hayder Tawfik Executive Vice President of Asset Management, at Dimah Capital-

KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s PetroRabigh shut its ethane cracker last week because of a leak from water pipelines linked to the unit, the company said yesterday. The company, a joint venture between national oil giant Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical, said the leak occurred on Oct. 16 and that it shut the unit as a precautionary measure to prevent damage.

The unit, which has an annual produc-

tion capacity of 1.3 million tons of ethylene, will be back online within three days, the company said. PetroRabigh estimated the financial loss due to the outage at 81 million riyals ($22 million), which would be reflected in fourth-quarter results.

The company, which has an integrated 400,000 barrel per day oil refinery, can produce an annual 18 million tons of refined products and 2.4 million tons of petrochemicals. — Reuters

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

BUSINESS

Rwanda rolls out free wireless in bid for business boom KIGALI: It’s a scene any visitor would be surprised to see deep in central Africa: a tech-savvy consumer sitting in a restaurant and surfing a broadband connection with a smartphone, tablet and laptop.

But in a region long associated with war and

genocide, Rwanda is busy trying to reinvent itself as a regional high tech hub by rolling out free citywide and eventually nationwide wireless connectivity. “I came to use the Internet. Sometimes I download video and books,” said South Korean development worker Lee Il-mo, aged 31 and a

resident of the Rwandan capital Kigali for the past two years.

“Before I went to restaurants or coffee bars and I had to buy a drink, but here it’s a free area,” he said, sitting in Kigali City Tower-a zone slated as the city’s new tech hub and the one of the first

steps of the so-called ‘Smart Kigali’ project. Last month the Rwandan government announced it had started to cover the lush green, rolling hills of the capital with wireless hotspots.

This was the first step of a plan to provide wifi coverage to all schools and public buildings, markets, bus stations and hotels in the city and, in the long-term, to the entire country.

Rwanda’s minister in charge of Information Technology, Jean Philibert Nsengimana, said he wanted to see the plan “accelerate growth of the Internet sector” and attract more investors.

“Connectivity is one of the most important draws for business in this age of digital economy,” he said, asserting that free wifi was merely a step in the direction of a much bigger infrastructure goal-that of fourth generation, or 4G, access.

In June, the Rwandan government signed South Korea’s KT Corp to build a 4G network that it wants delivered to 95 percent of the country, up from the estimated 10 percent who currently have 3G access.

“Broadband access,” said Nsengimana, “has to be considered as an essential, just like water and electricity.”

Not quite an African Tiger For Rwanda’s government, the stakes are high. President Paul Kagame and his ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which has dominated Rwanda since ousting Hutu extremists and ending the genocide nearly 20 years ago, is attempting to push through a dramatic transformation from trauma to economic success story.

The country is ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in Africa, while the World Bank’s ease of doing business index for 2013 ranked Rwanda 52nd out of 185 countries, the third best in subSaharan Africa. But the government now wants to push economic growth to 11.5 percent for each of the next five years, drive poverty from 45 percent to below the 30 percent mark and reach middleincome status by 2020 — no easy task for a mainly agricultural econo-

my. And for the ‘Smart Kigali’ plan to succeed, the private sector needs to stay on board.

“Smart Kigali really it is a test, it is giving people a taste of better things to come,” explained Alex Ntale, director of the Rwanda’s information and communications technology chamber. “But it is not perpetual, someone has to pay at the end of the day. The private companies are testing a business model... they are trying to find out if the market is really there,” he said. He cautioned, therefore, that if the new, high-tech Rwanda fails to take off and the program does not turn out to be profitable, then the private sector will have “every right to switch off the machines.”

Mark Bohlund, an economist with IHS Global Insight, said he was optimistic Rwanda would develop “into a regional business-services centre”, at least serving the currently war-torn but mineral rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But he also pointed to tough competition from east Africa’s largest economy Kenya, which is already ahead on mobile banking technology and home to offices of tech giants such as Intel, Google and Microsoft. Elettra Pauletto, an analyst at Control Risks, said while Rwanda was scoring well on World Bank rankings due to low levels of corruption and positive attitudes towards foreign investment, it was still had some way to go.

“Rwanda has focused its efforts on improving World Bank scores, but is so far much weaker in its provision of follow-up once a business is set up,” she said. As for the IT sector, she said it was unlikely to become “a major factor in drawing international business interest in the short-term.”

“Rwanda will face stiff competition from Kenya and South Africa, both of which are already more experienced in the sector and who have more advanced English language skills compared to Rwanda, who, until recently was primarily a Francophone country,” she said.

“Large investments typically require a large labor pool, and Rwanda just doesn’t have that available at the moment.” — AFP

Google stock crosses $1,000 mark after earnings NEW YORK: Google’s stock surpassed the $1,000 mark for the first time, helped by strong thirdquarter results. Shortly after the markets opened Friday, Google Inc shares jumped 14 percent to $1,015.46 and closed a day heavy trading at $1,011.41. The gains marked Google’s biggest one-day jump in more than five years. The stock had never been higher than $928 in regular market trading since Google went public at $85 per share nine years ago.

Late Thursday, Google reported a 36 percent jump in third-quarter net income that beat Wall Street’s predictions. The numbers showed that while the company’s average ad prices continue to decline, they’re being offset by a larger number of people clicking on ads.

Over the years, Google has expanded its reach far beyond the powerful search engine that made it famous. It now includes the video sharing site YouTube, along with the Android operating system that runs on close to 1 billion smartphones and tablets. The company ranks as the No 1 digital ad company by revenue, leaving rivals such as Yahoo Inc and Facebook Inc far behind.

Google’s stock has climbed steadily in the last five years, more than doubling in value. But the stock slipped slightly in recent months, while the overall market has risen, amid worries about

deteriorating ad prices.

Google’s average ad price has fallen from the prior year in each of the last eight quarters, primarily because advertisers aren’t paying as much for mobile ads because the screens on smartphones and tablet computers are smaller than those on laptop and desktop computers. As more people rely on mobile devices to connect to Google’s search engine and other services, the trend is driving down the company’s average ad price, or “cost per click.”

But the number of so-called “paid clicks” on Google’s ads helped offset the lower prices in the third quarter. The clicking volume increased 26 percent from last year, an indication that Google’s data analysis is doing a good job matching ads with the interests of its services’ users.

Friday ’s stock surge takes Google’s market capitalization to about $333 billion, which still pales in comparison to that of technology industry rival Apple Inc. The iPhone and iPad maker ranks No. 1 in the world with a market capitalization of $462 billion. It’s unlikely that Google shares will stay above $1,000 for very long. The Mountain View, Califonia, company plans to issue a new class of stock that will likely cut the value of the shares in half, though its market capitalization will be unaffected. — AP

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

BUSINESS

BMW Group ME registers record growth in Q3 Poised to close 2013 with record year KUWAIT: BMW Group Middle East is confident of achieving another record year after the company posted a 19 percent increase in sales for the third quarter of 2013 compared with the same period last year.

The company’s impressive year-to-date numbers demonstrate the continued growth of the region’s premium automotive industry and also highlight Middle East customers’ appetite for luxury cars. Continuing a trend, which has seen double digit sales in the majority of its Middle Eastern markets during 2013, and a record 18,835 BMW and MINI cars sold to customers.

Across the region, the world’s most successful premium automotive brand performed well with Bahrain and Kuwait leading the charge recording increases for the first nine months of 36 percent and 33 percent respectively. Qatar also performed strong with a 25 percent increase in sales while Dubai chalked up an 18 percent increase; Saudi Arabia was up 15 percent and Abu Dhabi grew by 13 percent over the same period.

“Our team of professionals on the importer side of our business as well as in our regional office have worked successfully together and I’m extremely pleased to say that the results show that we are well on our way to outperforming our 2012 success,” said Dr. Joerg Breuer, Managing Director, BMW Group Middle East. “With the recent launches of the BMW 4 Series

CoupÈ, BMW 5 Series, BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo and all-new X5 we are confident we will close out 2013 with an even more impressive performance than 2012.”

BMW: Continued demand for premium high-end models The biggest seller across the product range, has continued throughout the year to be the 5 Series which aside from being the world’s best-selling vehicle in the executive saloon segment, it accounted for 4,409 cars sold and marked a 12 percent increase in registrations. The recent launch of the new BMW 5 Series is expected to continue to drive sales for the executive saloon.

The successful launch of the latest generation BMW 7 Series late last year has continued to flow through into the first nine months of this year and be a positive contributor to the BMW Group’s overall outlook for 2013 in the region. With a sales increase of 24 percent compared to the same period in 2012, the BMW 7 Series continues to lead the luxury segment in the region delivering 3,440 cars to customers.

Commenting on BMW Group’s flagship 7 Series model, Dr. Breuer said: “The absolute embodiment of the modern luxury sedan, it comes as no surprise that our flagship BMW 7 Series continues to be a market leader and main growth driver of the BMW brand. With the launch of the latest BMW 7 Series last

year, blending the prefect balance of luxury, elegance and technological innovation, we are confident that the BMW 7 Series will continue to raise customer expectations in this segment.”

Even as the popular X5 Sports Activity Vehicle was gearing up for the introduction of the third generation model, interest in the outgoing X5 remained exceptionally strong with a 4

percent increase in sales resulting in 3,076 cars sold across the region. With the launch of the more luxurious, more comfortable, more spacious and more powerful vehicle, the third generation BMW X5 is poised to have an extremely successful year ahead and continue its absolute leadership positioning in the Sports Activity Vehicle segment.

The ever-popular 3 Series continues to maintain its position as the world’s best-selling premium car with a 68 percent increase in sales as more supply of the new model filters through to the region, recording 2,119 sales while the X6 Sports Activity CoupÈ chalked up an impressive 1,804 sales.

Following the launch of the latest generation of both models in 2012, the BMW 3 Series and BMW X6 continue to be bestsellers and witness robust growth across the region.

MINI: continues to garner interest MINI kicked off the year with the introduction of the seventh model to the brand’s portfolio, the all-new MINI Paceman which contributed towards the sale of 1,147 cars sold as of the third quarter 2013, an 11 percent sales increase. The most popular selling model was the MINI Countryman - the first MINI with four doors with four wheel drive option - which accounted for 44 percent of total regional sales. Meanwhile the MINI Hatch, MINI Cabrio and MINI CoupÈ were also strong contributors to the brand’s on-going 2013 success.

Zain Group’s 2012 annual report earns accolades at ARC Awards in New York

Uncertainties after shutdown weighs on dollar NBK MONEY MARKETS REPORT KUWAIT: Last week, politicians in the US approved a deal to end a 16-day partial government shutdown and avert a default hours before the government reached its $16.7 trillion debt ceiling. The deal sets a new date, January 16, for the Republicans and Democrats to work out their differences over the US budget, and allows treasury to borrow normally through February 7.

Under the current deal, the US government is able to borrow as much money as it needs to cover obligations now. It can also use months of extraordinary measures once again to keep the government running if Congress were to refuse to raise the debt ceiling in the future. However, the new deadline indicates more uncertainty that could create chaos in the markets.

Initially after the deal, the Dollar rose as investors took a sigh of relief. Conversely, the US dollar reached 81/2 months lows against a basket of currencies as the political wrangling combined with the estimated damage that inflicted growth from the US shutdown, fuelled expectations that the Fed will revisit the idea of tapering its QE program in the middle of next year rather than in January, as previously expected.

The dollar index, which measures the Dollar’s value against a basket of currencies, fell to 79.478 on Friday; its lowest since early February.

The index was down around 1 percent on the week, posting its biggest weekly decline since the week of September 20, which came after the surprise Fed decision to refrain from tapering and keep its policy unchanged. The Euro rose to 1.3703 against the Dollar, its highest since early February when it touched its 2013 peak of 1.3711. It closed the week at 1.3685, up 1 percent for the week.

The greenback also struggled against the Japanese Yen after a fall in US bond yields weighed on the US currency’s appeal to investors. It was slightly lower at 97.80, below a three-week high of 99.01 reached on Thursday.

The Dollar has lost 0.8 percent against the Yen this week, the worst week since September 27.

The Australian Dollar rose to a four-month high, helped by data showing China’s annual economic growth accelerated to 7.8 percent in the third quarter. The currency reached a high of 0.9678 for the week and closed high at 0.9675.

Sterling rose on Friday and was on track for its best weekly against the Dollar in a month, lifted by strong British data combined with expectations that the US Federal Reserve will not withdraw stimulus any time soon. Cable reached a high of 1.6206 on Thursday as retail sales data exceeded estimates, supporting expectations that the British economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter.

Growth in the Manufacturing Sector Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded more than projected in October, a sign that factories are sustaining the momentum gained prior to the partial federal shutdown that ended today. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index fell to

19.8 this month from a more than two-year high of 22.3 in September.

Unemployment llaims lower Jobless claims decreased by 15,000 to 358,000 in the week ended October 12 from a revised 373,000 in the prior period. Economists expected a decrease to 335,000. Applications in California remained elevated and last week’s total included some non-federal workers dismissed due to the gridlock in Washington.

German investor confidence German investor confidence increased for a third month in October, signaling that the recovery in Europe’s largest economy is withstanding financial-market turbulence stoked by a US fiscal standoff. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations, which aims to predict economic developments six months in advance, rose to 52.8 from 49.6 in September.

That’s the highest since April 2010. Meanwhile economists predicted no change.

Retail sales UK retail sales rose more than expected in September as an increase in furniture demand led a rebound from a slump the previous month.

Sales including fuel increased 0.6 percent from August, when they declined 0.8 percent, the Office for National Statistics said. Expectations were for a 0.4 percent gain. Household-goods sales surged 3 percent, while food-store sales fell 0.2 percent. Britain’s recovery is strengthening and unemployment is falling, lifting consumer confidence.

UK unemployment The number of people in Britain claiming jobless benefits had its biggest fall in more than 16 years last month but the jobless rate held steady, underscoring the Bank of England’s message that unemployment is likely to fall only slowly. The number of people claiming jobless benefits fell by a much bigger-than-expected 41,700 in September, the biggest monthly fall since June 1997. August’s claimant count was also revised lower to show a drop of 41,600, a fall of 9,000 more than first reported. The unemployment rate was 7.7 percent in the JuneAugust period, unchanged from May-July and in line with most forecasts in the market.

China Data released last week showed that China’s economy grew 7.8 percent in the third quarter of 2013 from a year earlier. Meanwhile, expectations were for a 7.8 percent gain in gross domestic product after a 7.5 percent advance in the second quarter.

Kuwait Kuwaiti dinar at 0.28205 The USDKWD opened at 0.28205 yesterday morning.

KUWAIT: Zain Group, a pioneer in mobile telecommunications in eight markets across the Middle East and Africa, is proud to announce that its annual report for 2012, titled ‘Believing in the Power of Dreams’, has been recognized and rewarded in five prestigious categories during the annual ARC Awards ceremony held recently in New York.

Zain Group’s 2012 annual report, designed with the support of creative communications agency M&C Saatchi MENA, was recognized in five different categories, being awarded: • Grand Winner / Best of International • Gold Winner / Non-Traditional category / Telecom • Silver Winner / Interior Design category / Telecom Asia • Honors Winner / Non-English category / Telecom • Honors Winner / Illustrations category / Telecom.

The ARC awards honor overall excellence in corporate annual reports across the globe, and encourage noteworthy and vital writing, as well as imaginative and original design. The Awards are organized

by MerComm Inc , the world’s only independent awards organization, founded with the mission to advance the standards of excellence in the fields of corporate and investor communications.

This year’s awards saw only 55 Grand Awards presented out of record-breaking number of 2200 entries from 34 countries around the world, placing

Zain in the top 1% of the telecom field. It is noteworthy that all entries submitted by Zain won an award in their respective categories.

Zain Group CEO, Scott Gegenheimer commented on the recognition, “We take the publication of our financial information very seriously as we maintain high internal standards to ensure accuracy and

BoE: Rates could rise fair amount before problems LONDON: The Bank of England has some leeway to raise record low interest rates without hitting borrowers buying homes with the help of government lending schemes, BoE policymaker Ben Broadbent said yesterday.

The government launched a flagship loan guarantee plan earlier this month to help people buy houses, prompting criticism it could fuel a property bubble and burden buyers with unsustainable debt once rates return to normal levels. Asked on Sky News whether he worried how borrowers will cope with higher rates, Broadbent said: “The numbers entering the scheme are relatively low. And although interest rates will at some point start to rise, you’ve got to remember quite how low a level we are starting from.

“I think there is a fair amount they could go up before borrowers got into great difficulties.” The central bank has kept interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent since 2009 and has pumped 375 billion pounds ($600 billion) of new money into the economy since the financial crisis.

A cross-party committee of lawmakers has warned that the government housing schemes risk raising prices rather than supply.

In August the central bank committed to keeping rates on hold until unemployment falls to 7 percent something it forecast would take at least three years unless inflation threatens to get out of control.

Broadbent said that guidance could be reconsidered if inflation becomes a problem, although the central bank would only raise rates once the economy is on a secure footing. “We want to ensure that this recovery continues and is not choked off by a premature rise in interest rates,” he told Sky News. “If, in the meantime, inflation became a problem, then that is something that could end the guidance.” In a separate interview, outgoing Deputy Bank of England Governor Paul Tucker said the era of state bailouts of big banks could be drawing to a close. “I cannot see how the US administration could persuade Congress to provide taxpayer support to some of the biggest US banks,” he said in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph.—Reuters

transparency in an appealing and creative manner.

Acknowledgement from the industry and identification of our annual report as the best from the region, as well as it been an example to others, is an honor and a privilege.”

Furthermore, Gegenheimer noted, “We also congratulate and are appreciative of the joint efforts of our creative partners M&C Saatchi MENA and our Investor Relations and Corporate Communications teams in producing such a wonderful annual report.”

The ARC Awards competition is unique in that each annual report is judged against itself, based on its success in communicating its company’s story.

Judging is based neither on corporate profitability nor production, but on the values of creativity, clarity, effectiveness, and excellence.

Some of the elements to be considered in the judging include: cover design, Chairman and CEO letters, interior design, clarity of written text, presentation of corporate information, expression of financial data, and how well the spirit of the organization is communicated.

Judges come from around the globe to participate on the ARC jury panels. Preliminary judging is carried out independently by panels of judges representing leaders in the fields of investor relations, writing, design and photography. Final judging is made by presidents, CEOs and other senior executives of corporations, agencies, and design firms.

Britain grabs slice of Chinese investment UK loosens visa restrictions LONDON: Britain has assuaged its hunger for economic ties with China after finance minister George Osborne came away from a trip to the Asian powerhouse with a range of investment deals.

From easing visa restrictions to building on recent currency cooperation and winning Beijing money for investment in British nuclear power plants, Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne can claim to have smoothed relations with the emerging economic power. He in part managed to win over a Chinese government that had rebuffed Britain after Prime Minister David Cameron met Dalai Lama-the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet-last year. The chancellor’s trip coincided with one made to China by London Mayor Boris Johnson-with the pair seen as potential rivals for the leadership of the Conservative party should Cameron come unstuck before or after the next general election in 2015.

In a speech at Peking University, Osborne insisted “there is no country in the West more open to investment-especially from China” than Britain. He said: “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.”

Osborne on Thursday said he would allow Chinese companies to take majority stakes in nuclear power projects across Britain. The British government said the initial Chinese stakes in nuclear power stations were likely to be minority shares, but added: “Over time stakes in subsequent new power stations could be majority stakes.”

The announcement comes amid reports that China General Nuclear Power and French energy giant EDF have agreed a controversial deal to build a new atomic power station at Hinkley Point, southwest England. Howard

Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight consultancy, said the nuclear tie-up made sense for Britain’s indebted economy.

“With the government strapped for cash, there are obvious major attractions in attracting Chinese investment into projects such as the building of the Hinkley Point nuclear station,” Archer told AFP. “It is plainly evident that China will become ever more important as a potential market for UK firms,” he added.

Also last week, Beijing Construction Engineering Group signed a deal with British firms to develop a business district around Manchester airport. The development of Britain’s third busiest airport-described as one of the largest construction projects in Britain since the 2012 London Olympics-will cost £800 million ($1.30 billion, 947 million euros).

Osborne used his trip also to announce plans to make it easier for China’s citizens to obtain British visas, as it seeks a bigger share of the multi-billion-dollar Chinese traveller market in the face of stiff European competition.

Chinese tourists visiting the European Union using selected travel agencies will no longer have to file a separate application to visit Britain, which is not part of the EU’s “Schengen Area” for border-free travel.

Business travellers will be able to apply for a “super-priority” visa, which will be processed within 24 hours rather than a week. Some 210,000 visas were issued to Chinese nationals in 2012, adding around £300 million to the British economy as designer label-hungry Chinese shoppers snapped up goods. Plans enabling Britons to invest up to 80 billion yuan ($13.1 billion) in China’s heavily restricted capital markets-with the aim of making London a major trading hub for China’s currency-also emerged during Osborne’s trip.—AFP

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

BUSINESS

VIVA participates in GITEX technology Week Only Kuwaiti telecom firm participating in this year’s exhibition KUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait’s fastest-growing and most developed telecom operator, announced its second participation in the GITEX Technology week to present its wide range of products to the exhibition visitors. The International GITEX Technology week will take place from 20 - 24 October 2013 in Dubai at the Zaabeel Exhibition Hall in the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre , and is considered the leading IT and technology exhibition and attracts a majority of decision makers in the Middle East.

Commenting on VIVA’s second participation in the GITEX 2013 exhibition, VIVA’s Chief Executive Officer, Eng Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Badran said: “We are honored to take part in GITEX for second consecutive year, especially that we are the only Kuwaiti telecom company taking part in the exhibition. It’s an exciting experience for the VIVA family to take part in one of the world’s most anticipated IT and technology exhibitions.

Our participation in the GITEX Technology Week 2013 comes in line with our corporate strategy to extend and

present our services not only locally, but on a regional level.

“We has successfully increased its customer base to over two million subscribers, and recently launched LTE Advanced technology, the next generation of LTE technology. We aim to continue to pursue challenging opportunities that will further elevate VVIA’s name in regional and international conventions,” added Al-Badran.

Alongside VIVA, Saudi Telecommunication Company (STC) and VIVA Bahrain will be taking part in the exhibition and exhibiting their latest products and services through a dedicated team present at their booth. GITEX is the information and communications technology business gateway to the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia Region and was launched in 1981. It focuses on providing exhibitors with high return on investment through direct business opportunities with decision makers; GITEX has maintained its position as ‘The Industry’s Trend Setting Authority’.

To find out more VIVA’s numerous competitive promo-

tions, products and packages visit any of the 31 VIVA branches or visit our website at www.viva.com.kw or contact its 24 hour call center at 102.

VIVA is the fastest-growing telecom operator in Kuwait. Launched in December 2008, VIVA makes things Possible for its customers by transforming communication, information and entertainment experiences. The company has rapidly established an unrivalled position in the market through its customer centric approach. VIVA’s quest is to be the mobile brand of choice in Kuwait by being transparent, engaging, energetic and fulfilling. VIVA continues to take a considerable share of the market by offering an innovative range of best value products, services and content propositions; a state of the art, nationwide network and world-class service. VIVA offers internet speeds of more than 100 Mbps, due to the implementation of the most advanced fourth generation (4G LTE) network in Kuwait resulting in superior coverage, performance and reliability.

VIVA’s Chief Executive Officer Eng Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Badran

Boubyan Bank profits rise 22% to KD9.3m during 9 months of 2013 Bank on track to achieve its strategic objectives: Al-Majed

Free checkup for Japanese cars KUWAIT: Due to its ongoing commitment to providing a safe driving experience as well as offering the best service, products and valuable promotions to each and every customer, Bumperto-Bumper has recently launched its free checkup promotion for all Japanese cars of any model or make. Every driver and car owner of a Japanese vehicle can now enjoy a comprehensive vehicle checkup, a free service that is available at all Bumper-toBumper’s branches across Kuwait. The limited time offer started from September 24 and will continue until October 31, 2013.

The new promotion showcases Bumper-to-Bumper’s keenness on offering the best promotions so as to ensure cars’ safety and drivers’ experience on the road. Not only does the limited, exclusive promotion enhance Japanese cars’ safety and driving features, but it also readies the cars for the upcoming winter season as well.

If you have a Japanese car and would like to benefit from the free checkup, you can visit the closest Bumper-to-Bumper branch so as benefit from this special offer that provides you with tire service including checking tires’ pressure, brake and disks as well as thread depth and tire quality. Regarding the electrical system, Bumper-to-Bumper’s skilled professionals will check the battery, wiper, lights, brake lights, turn signals, headlights and lights. As for the suspension system, professionals will check the suspension checkup, control arms and bushes.

Ever since its launch in 1980, Bumper-to-Bumper has been one of Kuwait’s first state-of-the-art, one-stop shop for customers who want a quick solution for their vehicle’s problems.

Working within four main areas of service including quick service, quick lube, quick body shop and car wash, the company’s crew of highly-trained technicians use the most advanced equipment to offer customers an unprecedented level of quick service support. Bumper-to-Bumper offers a warranty on parts and labor charges that has been specifically developed to ensure customers’ peace of mind when servicing their vehicles.

The company also provides customers easy finance solutions that are subject to terms and conditions. Bumper-to-Bumper is committed not only to providing customers with the best quality service but also to make the service experience convenient by offering comfortable amenities including waiting lounges, children’s play area, electronic games area, digital satellite channels, free wireless Internet access and a coffee shop. The services that are provided to customers include diagnostics, quick lubrication, quick repairs and maintenance, quick body repairs and genuine, quality after-market parts delivered through the company’s strategically located network of branches in Kuwait, specifically Al-Rai, Fahaheel, Shuwaikh, Jahra, Sharq and Shuwaikh Express Lube. Starting in 2013, the company’s main strategy is to grow and expand its services across Kuwait through the diversification of its offers and services such as the newly inaugurated accessories department that offers a variety of services including window tinting, rim sales and installation plus bedliner for trucks.

Bumper-to-Bumper caters to all car makes through its highly trained team of technicians and professionals who all work with the most advanced equipment to provide every customer with a satisfying experience. In addition to its special promotions, Bumper-to-Bumper is conveniently located in strategic areas in Kuwait so as to be more accessible for every customer’s unique wants and needs. One of Bumper-to-Bumper’s special services is the Vehicle Fitness Test in Al-Rai that is certified by the General Traffic Directorate.

KUWAIT: Boubyan Bank reported a net profit of KD9.3 million for the third quarter of 2013 growing by 22 percent compared to the same period of last year, at earnings per share of 5.1fils.

The Vice-Chairman and CEO of Boubyan Bank, Adel AbdulWahab Al-Majed said: “Once again, we stress that the Bank goes on the right track towards achieving the pre-set strategic objectives represented in gaining customer satisfaction through diversification of products and services and adding value to them.”

Al-Majed emphasized that the Bank’s plans is based on expanding the business base and focusing more deeply on core banking activities including products, services and finance solutions catering to all retail and corporate needs, while ensuring preservation of asset quality, effectiveness of credit risk management policy and continuing to adopt the conservative policy in taking provisions. “ The Bank’s “Strategy of Returning to Core Banking Business” (2010-2014) focuses on expansion in the local market through retail and corporate services and products.

Considering services, efforts were focused on two sides; the first is increasing the number of local branches or redistribution of the same so as to be closer to customers; whereas the second was represented in expansion in offering brand new, unprecedented products and services.

Geographic Expansion Al-Majed stated: “This direction stems from the fact that the growth of operating profits for any bank is related to its ability to be in closer contact with customers, referring to that branches are still the best way for this contact.”

Al-Majed added that the Bank recently inaugurated its new branch in Al-Rigie Area, thus increasing the number of branches to 25, while expecting the number to exceed the target set in its 5-Year Strategy (2010-2014) by reaching 35 branches by the end of next year.

Noteworthy is that over the past nine months, the Bank inaugurated a number of branches including Saad Al-

Burgan Bank announces winners of daily winners of Yawmi account KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday the names of the lucky winners of its Yawmi account draw, each taking home a prize of KD 5,000, for the draw conducted during the week before the Eid holidays and last Sunday 13/10/2013.

The lucky winners for the daily draws took home a cash-prize of KD 5000 each, and they are: 1.

Ali Fahad Al-Fahad Alhmoud Alabdulwahab 2.

Abdullah Hamed Abdullah Awad 3.

Sanaa Abdulaziz Mubarak bin Naser 4.

Emad Abdulrazzaq Ahmad Al-Fahad 5.

Heirs of Humoud Sulaiman Al-Mudhaiyan 6.

Mostafa Jassim Mohammad Al-Mutawaa With its new and enhanced features, the Yawmi Account has become more convenient, easier, and faster for customers to benefit from. Now, customers will be eligible to enter the draw after 48 hours only from opening the account. Customers are also required to deposit KD 100 or equivalent only to enter the daily draw, and the coupon value to enter the draw stands at KD 10.

The newly designed Yawmi account has been launched to provide a highly innovative offering along with a higher frequency and incentive of winning for everyone. Today, the Yawmi account is a well understood product, where its popularity can be seen from the number of increasing account holders.

Burgan Bank encourages everyone to open a Yawmi account and/or increase their deposit to maximize their chances to becoming a daily winner. The more customers deposit, the higher the chances they receive of winning the draw.

Opening a Yawmi account is simple, customers are urged to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch and receive all the details, or simply call the bank’s Call Center at 1804080 where customer service representatives will be delighted to assist with any questions on the Yawmi account or any of the bank’s products and services.

Customers can also log on to Burgan Bank’s www.burgan.com for further information.

Mezzan Holding to acquire UAE’s UMG DUBAI: Kuwait-based Mezzan Holding Company KSCC announced yesterday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire UAE-based Unitra Mets Group (UMG) from InvestAD (Abu Dhabi Investment Company) and other shareholders. UMG is a leading beverage distributor in the UAE with a unique portfolio of high profile brands including Red Bull, the global market leader in the energy drinks segment, and San Pellegrino, amongst others.

With a celebrated heritage of over 60 years, Mezzan Holding is one of the GCC’s largest diversified conglomerates in the food and beverage, consumer goods and services sectors.

Mohammed Jassim Al-Wazzan, Chairman of Mezzan Holding,

stated that, “we are excited about this acquisition; it expands our strategic partnerships with globally renowned brands and strengthens our foothold in one of the key markets in the Gulf”.

InvestAD is an independently run, sovereign-related asset manager. NazemFawwaz Al-Kudsi, InvestAD’s Chief Executive Officer, commented that, “we are proud to have been part of the development of UMG into a leading, high-profile, food and beverage distribution company”. Mezzan Holding were advised by Watani Investment Company KSCC (NBK Capital) and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. InvestAD were advised by deNovo Corporate Advisors and Clifford Chance LLP.

Abdullah City Branch, thus becoming the first local bank to operate a branch in this big city.

As for products, Al-Majed pointed out that due to the ardent competition in the local banking market, we had to focus on offering brand new and unprecedented products that meet the aspirations and wishes of our customers.

Al-Majed extended thanks and appreciation to all the Bank’s shareholders, customers and human resources for the role they all played in supporting the Bank over the past tran-

Adel Abdul-Wahab Al-Majed

sitional stage, and their efforts which contributed to the success achieved.

Positive indicators On the other side, Al-Majed presented some of the key positive indicators in the Bank’s financial results stressing that the most remarkable achievement is that the Bank’s assets exceeded KD2.1 billion; growing by 17 percent compared to the same period of last year, an achievement that would have been unattainable without the sincere efforts of all staff.

Al-Majed pointed out other positive indicators including the increase in financing income to KD45 million by the end of September, 2013 compared to KD38 million for the same period of 2012; growing by 18 percent, in addition to the increase of customers’ deposits to KD1.7 billion compared to KD1.3 billion; boosting by 24 percent.

Total shareholders’ equity increased to KD258 million compared to KD250 million; giving rise to a Capital Adequacy Ratio of 22.2 percent. Al-Majed added that positive indicators also included an increase in financing portfolio to KD1.4 billion compared to KD1.2 billion by the end of September, 2012; boosting by 18 percent in addition to the continuous increase of the Bank’s customer base.

Regional and international recognition Concluding his statements, Al-Majed noted the Bank’s achievements realized during the past period of this year as represented in winning 11 regional and international awards; notably Best Up-And-Coming Islamic Bank from “Global Finance Magazine”, Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait from Arabian Business for the fourth year in a row, in addition to Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait for Customer Service from “Service Hero” for the third year in a row, Fastest Growing Bank in Kuwait from “The Banker Middle East Magazine” for the second year in a row, and Best Social Responsible Bank in Kuwait from Tatweej Academy and Best Islamic Fund from “The Banker Middle East Magazine”.

Al-Tijari announces winners of daily and mega draw KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held the Al-Najma account daily and mega draws on 20th October 2013. The draw was held under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry represented by Abdulaziz Ashkanani.

The winners of the Najma Daily Draw for the week October 6 to October 10, 2013 are:Rubha Zeyad Mohammed Shetara — KD 7000, Muneera Motlaq Fajri Al Qeryafi — KD 7000, Samir Saleh Abdullah Al-Awadhi— KD 7000, Fakhriya Habib Haji Ibrahim — KD 7000, Ishaq Naseem Mesad Nakhlah— KD 7000.

The winner of the Najma daily draw on October 13, 2013 is Laila Mohammed Abd Al-Sayed— KD 7000.

The winner of the Najma mega draw (Eid Al-Adha) is Nassry Ibrahim Farag Bakheet — KD 100,000

The Commercial Bank of Kuwait announces the biggest daily draw in Kuwait with the launch of the new Najma account. Customers of the bank can now enjoy a KD7,000 daily prize which is the highest in the country and another 4 mega prizes during the year worth KD100,000 each on different occasions: The National Day, Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha and on the 19th of June which is the date of the bank’s establishment.

With a minimum balance of KD500, customers will be eligible for the daily draw provided that the money is in the account one week prior to the daily draw or 2 months prior to the mega draw. In addition, for each KD25 a customer can get one chance for winning instead of KD50.

Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this opportunity to congratulate all lucky winners and also extends appreciation to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for their effective supervision of the draws which were conducted in an orderly and organized manner.

IFC Capitalization Fund acquires 167m AUB shares at 211 fils per share KUWAIT: AUB is pleased to announce the completion of the conversion of the International Finance Corporation Capitalization Fund’s (“IFC Fund”) Mandatorily Convertible Preference Shares (MCPS) into AUB common shares resulting in the issuance of 167,045,454 AUB shares to the IFC Fund at a conversion price of 211 Kuwaiti fils per share. Post conversion, the IFC Fund has a 2.95 percent shareholding in AUB. The conversion price represents a premium of 10 percent on the closing market price as of 10 October 2013. The IFC Fund’s decision to accelerate the conversion was based on AUB’s solid financial and operational performance.

Fahad Al-Rajaan, AUB Chairman stated that, “IFC Fund’s decision to exercise the conversion option prior to the mandatory conversion date represents a strong vote of confidence in the solid fundamentals of AUB and its regional business strategy.”

The IFC Capitalization Fund is a global equity and subordinated debt fund founded by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. It aims to support banks considered vital to the financial system of emerging market countries.

The $3 billion fund is invested in banks of strategic importance in their countries.

Fahad Al-Rajaan, AUB Chairman

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

TECHNOLOGY

Twitter quitters dog IPO

NEW YORK: A Twitter app on an iPhone screen is shown on Friday. — AP

NYSE to hold ‘dry run’ for Twitter IPO NEW YORK: The New York Stock Exchange isn’t taking any chances with Twitter’s initial public offering. The Big Board said Friday it would allow trading firms to conduct a dry run of their systems to prepare for Twitter’s IPO. The NYSE test will occur on Saturday, Oct 26, according to a notice sent out to traders.

The exchange seems to want to avoid the technical problems that marred Facebook’s debut on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in May 2012. The glitches were a major embarrassment for Nasdaq, and resulted in a big fine. The micro-blogging

service is expected to go public sometime in November, possibly before Thanksgiving (Nov 28). It will trade under the ticker “TWTR” on the NYSE. Twitter’s IPO is the biggest technology debut since Facebook’s. While Nasdaq won Facebook’s listing, one of the biggest IPOs in years, the debut was hit with trading delays and order failures. As a result, the Securities and Exchange Commission in May fined Nasdaq $10 million, the largest ever levied against an exchange. Twitter said earlier this week that it had chosen to list with the NYSE over rival Nasdaq. — AP

Sound advice

Why I recommend plasma HDTVs and mirrorless cameras

By Don Lindich NEWYORK: Everyone I talk to says to buy an LED / LCD HDTV. You seem to be the only person who says to buy plasma.

Why should I believe you over everyone else?—T.D., West Mifflin, Pa. Don Lindich: I am far from the only person recommending plasma. In fact, almost all my product recommendations are quite orthodox as far as industry experts and reviewers are concerned.

The experts and hobbyists tend to know what the deal is. Sadly, the general public often does not, through no fault of its own.

If you do some research you will find most reviewers say the same as I do: Plasma has the better picture and the Panasonic ST, VT and

ZT series plasmas are the best T Vs on the market, with the ST series representing an amazing value. I, C/NET, Consumer Reports, hdguru.com and Sound & Vision magazine are just a few off the top of my head. In fact, the latest issue of Sound & Vision has the Panasonic ZT plasma on the cover with the tagline, “Simply the best.”

The salespeople in the big box stores are the ones recommending LED / LCD. There is more selection, the ultra-bright (if unrealistic) picture looks better in a showroom environment, and many salespeople are not fully educated. Word spreads from the people who buy LED / LCD as they relay what they were told, and the result is widespread myth and

misconception that is hard to overcome.

Money and marketing also play a part. For example, if you read audio hobby websites you will find Bose is typically scorned by audio enthusiasts.

Advertising and big-budget marketing sways the general public to perceive Bose as a high-end product, so they pay a healthy premium for it when there are better, less expensive alternatives.

Similar phenomena are affecting the adoption of mirrorless cameras in North America. In overseas markets, mirrorless quickly captured a huge slice of the market and last year the Olympus OM-D EM5 practically ran the table of “Camera of the Year” awards worldwide. Despite this, if you walk into stores you will find digital SLRs from Canon and Nikon are pushed almost exclusively, though most of the general public would be better served by a mirrorless camera.

I am a serious photographer. I own an extensive SLR system but now use Micro Four Thirds mirrorless over 95 percent of the time.

With the Olympus OMD E-M5 I have a viewfinder that shows exactly what I get in the picture, the viewfinder works while recording video, the picture proportions are a more natural 4:3 ratio vs. the oblong 3:2 of an SLR, autofocus is lightning fast, and I can touch the rear screen and it will focus on the point and take a picture almost instantaneously.

Extremely effective image stabilization is in the camera so every lens is stabilized.

The cameras and lenses are small, light and beautifully crafted, and pictures look amazing straight from the camera so you don’t really need to tweak them in software. There are many art filters and they can be used for stills or making cool-looking videos, with the effect visible in the viewfinder. It’s far and away the best, most satisfying creative tool I have ever used and it’s much easier to carry the cameras and lenses around.

That’s why I prefer it to an SLR and if you tried it I think you would, too. — MCT

SAN FRANCISCO: Retired schoolteacher Donald Hovasse signed up for Twitter about a year ago at the urging of his daughter. He lost interest after trying the service a few times and finding lots of celebrities but few of his friends using the online social network. “I didn’t really get the point of it at all,” said the Las Vegas resident. “Most of them were people I wasn’t interested in hearing what they had to say anyway.” He said, however, that he does check Facebook every day to see what his friends are up to.

Hovasse’s experience highlights a risk for investors as Twitter Inc marches towards this year’s most anticipated initial public offering in the United States, expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange in mid-November.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 36 percent of 1,067 people who have joined Twitter say they do not use it, and 7 percent say they have shut their account. The online survey, conducted Oct 11 to 18, has a credibility interval, a measure of its accuracy, of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. In comparison, only 7 percent of 2,449 Facebook members report not using the online social network, and 5 percent say they have shut down their account. The results have a credibility interval of 2.3 percent.

People who have given up on Twitter cite a variety of reasons, from lack of friends on the service to difficulty understanding how to use it.

Twitter declined to comment for this story, saying it is in a quiet period ahead of its IPO. Twitter’s attrition rate highlights a challenge that has dogged the online messaging site over the years: while it has managed to enlist many high-profile and avid users, from the Pope to President Barack Obama, Twitter has yet to go truly mainstream in the way Facebook has.

Convincing ordinary people to think of Twitter as an indispensable part of their lives is key to the company’s ability to attract advertisers and generate a profit. Twitter reported it had 232 million “active” users - people who access the service at least once a month - at the end of September, up 6.1 percent from the end of June. Twitter’s quarter-over-quarter growth in active users has not exceeded 11 percent since June 2012.

When Facebook was a similar size, its active users were increasing by more than 20 percent every quarter, and it was not until the social network neared the half-a-billion member mark that its user growth decelerated to 12 percent.” Twitter is a great service, it’s still got growth in front of it.

But in my opinion, I would say the opportunities are less than that of Facebook, and it has to be valued appropriately,” said Dan Niles, chief investment officer of tech-focused hedge fund firm

AlphaOne Capital Partners.

“The data would seem to imply that the ultimate revenue potential for this company is less than for Facebook,” Niles said, referring to Twitter’s number of active users. Twitter’s revenue in the third quarter more than doubled from the year before to $168.6 million, while its net loss tripled to $64.6 million. Analysts expect Facebook, which is due to report its third-quarter results later this month, to bring in $1.9 billion in quarterly revenue.

Quitters Twitter aims to become the “fabric of every communication in the world” and to eventually reach every person on the planet, Chief Executive Dick Costolo has said. Still, Twitter acknowledged in its IPO prospectus that “new users may initially find our product confusing.” The company prides itself on staying true to its roots: it lets people send 140-character messages and does not pack in scads of extraneous functions. Since its inception, Twitter has resisted overtly manipulating how people use its platform, instead preferring conventions to be formed organically.

As a result, new users often find it initially difficult to grasp how discussions ebb and flow, complaining that features such as the “hashtags” that group Tweets by topic, abbreviations for basic functions (for instance, RT for retweet) and shortened Web links, are geared towards a technologically-savvy crowd. “The average person that’s coming on here, they’re still baffled by it,”

said Larry Cornett, a former executive at Yahoo Inc and designer at Apple Inc, who now runs product strategy and design consulting firm Brilliant Forge.

“If they want the mass adoption and that daily engagement, they have to make it really easy for people to consume.” According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 38 percent of 2,217 people who do not use Twitter said they did not find it that interesting or useful. Thirteen percent said they do not understand what to use Twitter for.

The results have a credibility interval of 2.4 percent.

Twitter has taken steps to help new members.

In December 2011, it introduced a new “Discover” section to highlight the most popular discussion topics based on a person’s location and interests.

The company also simplified some features and rolled out new tools that embed photos and videos directly in a person’s tweet stream, making for a richer and easier-to-use experience.

These changes may mean that Twitter’s retention rate for the past several months is better than its overall retention rate, which includes people who joined years ago, say analysts.

Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group, said Twitter’s current user base is already big enough to be valuable to advertisers.

Investors need to get more comfortable with the idea that Twitter is not for everyone, he said.

“The practical matter is that this is a niche medium,” he said. “Their appeal, they will never be as broad as Facebook.” — Reuters

Sell, trade, recycle: Plenty of ways to dispose of old phones CALIFORNIA: Standing in a mall food court, Marcellus Lang slipped a used cellphone into an ecoATM kiosk. Instantly, the machine scanned his phone, assessing its condition. Separately, it also snapped his photo, scanned his driver’s license and recorded his electronic fingerprint.

For Lang’s old Evo phone, he was offered $4.

Repeating the process with an iPod Touch, he landed a $55 offer. Without pausing, the 25-year-old punched in his acceptance. Within minutes, the machine spit out $59 in cash, which Lang folded into his jeans pocket.

“It’s cool. You dump your old phone for quick cash,” said Lang, a security guard who said he has used the sell-your-electronics kiosk at Sacramento’s Downtown Plaza Mall several times and likes the walk-up convenience. For consumers, using an ecoATM is just one of a growing number of options for getting rid of old digital devices, particularly cellphones.

With the average consumer getting a new smartphone every 18 months, Americans are sitting on an ever-growing heap of digital discards.

And many of those abandoned phones by some estimates, 800 million in the United States alone still hold some value, either as recycled donations or cold, hard cash. Here’s a look at some of the options for trading, selling or recycling: Trade up, trade-in? Plenty of major retailers, such as Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Radio Shack and Wal-Mart, will take your old cellphones and in some cases, computers, tablets, video game players and other devices and give you gift cards toward a store purchase.

“If you have a phone in good condition, this could go toward a substantial dent in the cost. (The trade-in payments) are worth more than ever before because every store wants to get your business,” said Jeanette Pavini, consumer savings expert with Coupons.com, based in Mountain View, Calif. With so many big-box retailers dangling trade-in incentives, “there’s this great competitive

CALIFORNIA: Marcellus Lang, a security guard at an Old Sacramento sports bar, uses an EcoATM kiosk at Downtown Plaza mall to get instant cash for two devices: a used cellphone and an iPod Touch. — MCT environment that consumers can take advantage of. I’ve never seen it at this dollar amount, up to $200 to $300,” Pavini said.

Apple announced its own swapping program last month, letting consumers trade in their older iPhones for a discounted price on the new iPhone 5 models. Not to be outdone, Microsoft also jumped into the trade-in game, trying to woo customers away from Apple. Under two deals running through late October or early November, Microsoft

will pay owners of “gently used” newer iPhones or iPads up to $200 to be used toward a new Windows phone or tablet.

Cash for phones: Companies such as Gazelle.com and USell.com enable consumers to sell their old electronics from their computer. In most cases, you look up your device, answer questions about its wear-and-tear condition, get a price, then receive a prepaid mail-in envelope for shipping the phone. You’re paid once they receive the device.

Business booms every time Apple debuts a new phone, said Anthony Scarsella, chief gadget officer at Boston-based Gazelle.com.

“This year alone, we’ve seen four times the number of trade-ins, compared with (Apple’s) launch day last year.” In the first hour after Apple CEO Tim Cook debuted the new iPhone 5S and 5C models on Sept 10, Gazelle was getting “600 offers a second,” Scarsella said.

Customers can lock in a selling price early, then take 30 days to hand over their old phone, so they aren’t left smartphone-free until their new iPhone arrives. While new iPhones and Androids fetch the highest prices, the company also buys phones from other manufacturers, including the troubled BlackBerry. “We still take them but, in all honesty, the trading volume has gone down in the last two to three years,” said Scarsella. “There’s still demand in some emerging markets for older BlackBerry devices, but I’m not sure what will happen ahead.”

Companies such as Gazelle either recycle the phones for scrap metal or sell them to wholesale refurbishers, who fix them up for overseas markets such as Africa, India and Southeast Asia, where demand is high for cheaper, used phones. Walk-up sites such as ecoATM are another option, offering on-the-spot cash for used cellphones, tablets and MP3 players. Since 2009, the San Diego-based company has installed more than 650 kiosks in major retail locations. In April, it announced it had recycled its first 1 million devices. —MCT

UN women ads show sexism behind Google searches

A

The UN Women ads are a powerful reminder that gender inequality is worldwide problem, say their creators. — Agencies

new ad campaign highlights how bigoted and outdated views about women are still widespread - even in the domain of cyberspace. The campaign from UN Women shows real suggested search terms from Google’s autocomplete feature.

Christopher Hunt, from ad company Ogilvy & Mather Dubai, who came up with the poster campaign, told Ad Week: “This campaign uses the world’s most popular search engine (Google) to show how gender inequality is a worldwide problem.

“The adverts show the results of genuine searches, highlighting popular opinions across the world wide web.” For example, typing ‘women shouldn’t’ brings up popular search terms such ‘women shouldn’t work’ and ‘women shouldn’t have rights’. —heraldsun

The autocomplete feature is based on the popularity of search terms. — Agencies

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

‘Toxic bomb’ ticks on Maldives rubbish isle MALE, Maldives: Descending by plane into the Maldives offers a panoramic view of azure seas and coral-fringed islands, but as the tarmac nears, billowing smoke in the middle distance reveals an environmental calamity.

Thilafushi Island, a half-hour boat trip from the capital, is surrounded by the same crystal clear waters and white sand that have made the Indian Ocean archipelago a honeymoon destination for the rich and famous.

But no holidaymaker sets foot here and none could imagine from their plane seats that the rising smoke is the waste from residents and previous visitors being set alight by men like 40-year-old Fusin.

A migrant from Bangladesh, he is one of several dozen employees on “Rubbish Island”-the biggest waste dump in the country where he’s paid $350 a month for 12-hour shifts, seven days a week.

With no safety equipment bar a pair of steelcapped boots, he clambers over a stinking mountain of garbage, eyes streaming and voice choked after four years’ exposure to thick, toxic fumes.

Beneath his feet lie the discards of the cramped

capital Male and the local tourism industry that has helped turn the collection of more than 1,000 islands into the wealthiest country in South Asia.

Bottles of beer-illegal for local Muslims but ubiquitous on tourists’ islands-lie scorched next to piles of half-burnt hotel forms requesting speed boat transfers. A discarded plastic diving mask lies in a heap of packets of juice, plastic bags and rotting vegetables that awaits Fusin’s attention.

“Before we used to separate cardboard and glass, but now the company is not so strong,” says site manager Islam Uddin, a friendly man who has worked here for 16 years.

He complains of neglect from successive governments and laments that a privatisation deal signed in 2008 with a German-Indian waste management company has stalled as a result of local political upheaval. Only plastic bottles, engine oil, metals and paper are collected, with the waste sent by boat to India, forming the biggest export from the Maldives to its giant neighbour to the northeast.

All of the rest, including electronics that escape the attention of hundreds of human scavengers and

batteries, go up in flames-with no sign of the hightech incinerators promised as part of the privatisation deal.

“The batteries contain lead. There are products with mercury in them. All of these can easily get into the food chain,” says Ali Rilwan, an environmentalist with local organisation Bluepeace Maldives.

“Unlike landfill, this is the ocean they are filling.”

As he speaks, waves lap at the edge of the dump which has been expanding steadily into the sea since 1993 and upwards-forming one of the highest points in the whole country, 80 percent of which is less than a metre above sea level.

He cites government figures showing visitors to the Maldives created on average 7.2 kilograms of waste per day, compared with 2.8 kilograms for residents of Male, which make up a third of the 350,000-strong population. Tourists, at nearly a million last year, outnumber locals by a ratio of about three-to-one.

Local authorities plan to stop the toxic open burning on the island and the private operator of the site, finally set to start work after a five-year

delay, will build an incinerator.

Better waste management in the capital Male through door-to-door collection and recycling will also help to reduce environmental damage, says a city councillor from the capital, Ahmed Kareem.

“The project that is going ahead will monitor air pollution and also the sea pollution near Thilafushi Island and so no further expansion by waste will be done for Thilafushi,” Kareem told AFP. The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry declined repeated interview requests from AFP seeking comment on efforts of resorts to reduce their environmental impact.

Site manager Islam is hopeful he will get new machinery allowing them to move waste more easily and sort it. Rows of broken diggers and bulldozers sit nearby in a vehicle graveyard.

Behind him as he talks stands a row of palm trees discarded by a hotel resort which were planted in an incongruous attempt to beautify a place of toxic smoke clouds and buzzing swarms of flies.

The trunks are blackened and the leaves are missing. “They died,” Islam smiles. — AFP

Delhi hospitals overflow with hidden dengue epidemic ‘No luck’ with treatments

ALBERTA: In this image obtained from Parkland County, Alberta, Canada, fire erupts from an oil-bearing Canadian National train which derailed and ignited yesterday in Gainford, 80 km west of Edmonton. The train carrying crude and liquid gas left the track for unknown reasons at around 1 am, federal transport officials said. Canada’s transportation safety board said no one was believed injured in the accident. — AFP

Overnight dialysis boosts kidney health TORONTO: Receiving dialysis at home while sleeping not only improves kidney health and quality of life for people with kidney disease, it could also decrease their risk of heart disease, says new study presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.

“Patients with end-stage renal disease have at least a five-fold increase in cardiovascular complications,” says Dr. Christopher Overgaard, one of the study’s authors and a cardiologist at the Toronto General Hospital. “Longer dialysis, done while patients are sleeping, may improve the health of arteries and could lower the risk of developing heart disease.”

The study found that after patients transitioned to overnight dialysis, there were improvements in coronary artery function.

Because of the frequency and duration of overnight dialysis, toxins are more evenly and gently removed from the blood.

“Increasing the number of hours patients receive their treatment results in less toxin buildup in their blood for shorter durations,” says Dr. Overgaard.

Impaired endothelial function-a condition that reduces blood vessel’s ability to dilate-puts kidney patients at a significantly higher risk for the development of atherosclerosis (the buildup of fat in the walls of arteries). Atherosclerosis, in turn, can eventually lead to serious problems including heart attacks, stroke or even death.

Conventional hemodialysis in a clinic

typically involves dialysis three times a week, for three to four hours at a timeupwards of 12 hours a week.

Contrast that with what’s called overnight “home” hemodialysis, done while patients sleep at home. This method allows dialysis six times a week, for up to 12 hours at a time, for up to 72 hours.

Beyond the clinical benefits, patients on overnight dialysis no longer have to revolve much of their schedule around clinic trips.

“This method also improves quality of life by having the dialysis in the comfort of your home, while sleeping, instead of being stuck in a dialysis unit for hours,” says Dr Overgaard. “Old-fashioned dialysis is stressful.”

A dialysis machine functions as a kidney for people whose kidneys aren’t functioning properly; in essence, cleaning their blood. “This could be revolutionary for kidney patients,” says Dr Beth Abramson, Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson. “A simple change in the way we deliver care can make a significant difference. In addition to benefits to kidney function and quality of life, it could lower their risk of heart disease.”

She adds that high blood pressure and diabetes are two common causes of kidney disease and all Canadians should be mindful of reducing these risks.The Canadian Cardiovascular Congress is co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

General lifestyle advice good for diabetics AMSTERDAM: There should be little difference between the lifestyle advice given to diabetics and that given to the general public, results of a large, prospective study suggested.

Although diabetics in the study had a 62% higher risk of dying than people without a diabetes diagnosis, diabetes status did not substantially influence the associations between lifestyle and mortality risk, researcher Diewertje Sluik, MSc, of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and colleagues, wrote online in Diabetologia. Using a competing risk model to quantify and test for differences in epidemiological associations between diabetics and nondiabetics, the researchers were able to assess the impact of BMI, waist/hip ratio, alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise, and 26 food groups on death risk. Intake of fruit, legumes, nuts, seeds, pasta, poultry, and vegetable oil was associated with lower mortality in the diabetics, while intake of butter and margarine were associated with higher mortality.

“These associations were significantly different in magnitude from those in diabetes-free individuals, but the directions were similar,” the researchers wrote. “No differences between people with and without diabetes were detected for other lifestyle factors.”

Along with drug treatments, lifestyle modification is a cornerstone of diabetes treatment.

Patients are advised to lose weight or maintain a healthy body weight, exercise regularly, limit alcohol consumption, avoid smoking, and eat a healthy diet, but Sluik and colleagues wrote that “the evidence supporting these recommendations has rarely been derived from studies of people with diabetes.”

Their own previous research in diabetic patients found that measures of abdominal adiposity, but not general adiposity, were associated with higher mortality, and those who exercised regularly had a lower risk of death.

The main objective of their latest study was to investigate whether lifestyle recommenda-

tions for diabetics should differ from those given to the general public. The study included close to 260,000 people without a diagnosis of diabetes and 6,384 people with a diabetes diagnosis enrolled in a large, prospective study that included 10 European countries. The participants’ weight, height, and waist circumference were measured at baseline, and dietary intake during the previous year was assessed through dietary questionnaires that included 300 to 500 items, as well as food frequency questionnaires and combined dietary methods of food records and questionnaires. Other questionnaires were used to assess exercise and alcohol consumption frequency. After a median follow-up of almost 10 years, 830 of those with diabetes (13%) and 12,135 nondiabetics (5%) had died.

Joint Cox proportional hazard regression modeling was used to evaluate the impact of individual lifestyle and dietary components on mortality.

Among the findings: • Higher butter and margarine consumption was associated with increased mortality in those with diabetes (HR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.09, P=0.004), but this was not the case with nondiabetics (HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.99-1.02).

• Compared with light alcohol consumption (up to 6 grams a day), abstinence and high consumption (more than 60 grams a day) was associated with increased mortality risk. However, moderate drinking (6-60 g/day) was associated with a lower risk of death in nondiabetics, but not in those with diabetes. This risk was not statistically significant for either abstainers (P=0.41) or heavy drinkers (P=0.86).

“This study suggests that, with respect to mortality, lifestyle advice for people with diabetes should not differ from the existing recommendations for the general population,” the researchers wrote. “It may be that those with diabetes benefit more from a healthy diet than diabetes-free individuals. However, this has to be confirmed in further studies.”

NEW DELHI: Factory worker Mohammad Awwal is gripped by fever, sweats and the sort of agonising aches that mean his condition is sometimes called “breakbone disease”. It’s an annual plague in India and a hidden epidemic, say experts. Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease with no known cure or vaccination that strikes fear into the citizens of New Delhi when it arrives with the monsoon rains-just as the scorching heat of the summer is subsiding.

Hospital wards are overwhelmed and tales abound of deaths and cases while New Delhi public authorities insist that only 3,500 have fallen sick so far this year — with only five fatalities.

“I took him first to a government hospital. I was shocked to see that it was packed with dengue patients. There was not even a single bed available,” said Awwal’s mother, Mehrunissa, sitting in her one-room shack in east Delhi.

She is now treating him at their home, giving him multi-vitamins, paracetamol and water as he lies on the floor with two pillows and a bedsheet but no mattress. In a sign that this year’s outbreak could be as bad as record-breaking 2010, the city’s largest public hospital, Hindu Rao, announced earlier this month that it had suspended all routine surgeries to make room for more dengue patients.

The Delhi government has blamed prolonged monsoons for the hike in infections, but says it has added beds at hospitals and increased resources for spraying insecticides to tackle the mosquito menace.

“It’s nothing to worry about, there is no crisis,” Charan Singh, additional director of Delhi health services, told AFP, dismissing allegations that the city of 17 million under-reports the problem.

“It is a lot of hype going on... The government is in action and we report all cases according to international guidelines,” he added.

Fear of a panic?

The virus-first detected in the 1950s in the Philippines and Thailand-affects two million people across the globe annually, with the number of cases up 30 times in the last 50 years, according to the World Health Organisation.

Transmitted to humans by the female Aedes aegypti mosquito, it causes high fever, headaches, itching and joint pains that last about a week. There are four strains, one of which can cause fatal internal bleeding.

In India, cases have increased sharply over the last five years-there have been 38,000 so far in 2013 — but doctors say these numbers only capture part of the problem.

At the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), India’s most prestigious public hospital, doctors are overwhelmed by patients whose beds are squeezed together like Tetris tiles in the emergency ward with saline drips nailed to the walls. Medics, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that they were seeing 60 new dengue patients a day-an influx they suspected was not reflected in the official figures.

“Maybe it’s because they don’t want to create panic or because they don’t want to be blamed, but if they hide, people won’t know how bad the situation is,” said one doctor.

The former health chief at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said that only positive results from one of the two standard dengue tests-known as ELISA test-was registered. “There is gross under-reporting of these cases every year. I believe the real numbers are always three times higher than those projected by the MCD,” V.K. Monga told AFP. Sandeep Budhiraja, internal medicines director at private Max Healthcare hospital in Delhi,

NEW DELHI: An Indian Municipal health worker fumigates against mosquitoes at a neighborhood in New Delhi. Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease with no known cure or vaccination that strikes fear into the citizens of New Delhi when it arrives with the monsoon rains — just as the scorching heat of the summer is subsiding. — AFP blamed city authorities for failing to be prepared and said cases would only decline with the onset of winter next month.

“It’s an epidemic that hits the country every year, yet there is never any preparedness by officials. It just keeps getting worse,” said Budhiraja, adding that Max had opened its fever wards to accommodate dengue patients.

While dengue is painful and debilitating, death is usually rare but patients are vulnerable to other fatal viral infections during or shortly after the time of illness.

There is still no specific treatment, but last year French healthcare giant Sanofi Pasteur said it would begin tests for a dengue vaccine in India before making it available internationally by 2015. A leading Brazilian biomedical research institute, Butantan, also said last month it was

working on a new dengue vaccine that they hoped would be ready by 2018.

British firm Oxitec has also created genetically modified sterile male Aedes mosquitoes what they call “birth control for insects” - but met with severe criticism for releasing unnatural species into the environment. The only defence so far is preventive steps, like removing stagnant water near residential areas, spraying insecticide, applying mosquito repellent and wearing long sleeves and trousers. Many victims in India gulp down papaya-leaf juice believing it to boost blood platelet levels, which are decimated by the virus. “It is a largely preventive, self-limiting virus, but we still hardly invest in research for treatments,” said Budhiraja from Max Healthcare.

“There are only some vaccines being tried out, but no luck yet.” — AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian residents walk past the home of Mohammad Awwal, 18, who is suffering from dengue fever in New Delhi. — AFP

Nearly half million apply for US health insurance despite flaws WASHINGTON: Roughly half a million Americans have applied for health insurance through new federal-and state-run exchanges under President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, an administration official said yesterday.

That figure comes as problems with the federal marketplace’s entry portal serving 36 states, the website Healthcare.gov, have thwarted consumers from shopping for federally subsidized health coverage and drawn derision from Republicans, who oppose the law, popularly known as Obamacare.

The acknowledgement of the number of applicants, late on a weekend evening, appeared to be part of a ramped-up damage control effort by the White House.

Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is expected to provide private health coverage to an estimated 7 million uninsured Americans through the new online marketplaces

that opened for enrollment in all 50 states on Oct 1. But the Healthcare.gov website was hobbled by technical issues - including error messages, garbled text and delays loading pages - that administration officials blame partly on an unexpectedly high volume of 14.6 million visitors in its first several days of activity.

Obama is frustrated by the poor start and told advisers during a recent Oval Office meeting that the administration had to take responsibility for not having the site ready on time, an official said.

“The website is unacceptable, and we are improving it, but the product is good and across the country people are getting access to affordable care starting Jan 1,” one administration official said. “We are going to work intensely for the next six months to make sure we meet the demand.” Another administration official said that among the roughly half a million applicants, more than half lived in states where the federal govern-

ment was administering the health exchanges in full or in part. Official figures from October activity are not due until next month.

Obama is holding a healthcare-themed event at the White House on Monday and will likely address the problems.

Members of his administration plan to travel the country to encourage people in areas with high levels of the uninsured to apply, an official said, and call centers were getting more staff to deal with phone calls from applicants who have trouble getting through online.

As Washington moves on from a 16-day government shutdown that concluded this week, Republicans are also turning up the heat on the administration to address the program’s problems.

Republicans in the House of Representatives triggered the government shutdown in a failed attempt to defund or delay Obamacare.

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Indonesian miners risk lives in modern-day gold rush A health timebomb KERENG PANGI, Indonesia: In a desolate area of central Indonesia where lush rainforest once stood, illegal miners on the frontline of a modern-day gold rush tear up the earth in the hunt for the precious metal.

Thousands of men use high-pressure hoses to blast tonnes of sand out of the ground daily in open pits around Kereng Pangi on Borneo island, before running it through filters to find specks of gold. Aside from the environmental devastation, the workers there and at many similar sites across Indonesia are risking their health and poisoning communities by illegally using mercury to extract gold.

Mercury can cause serious neurological damage and gold miners who work for years burning the metal develop symptoms such as tremors and persistent coughing.

The situation has been described as a “health timebomb” by Professor Marcello Veiga, an expert in the use of mercury in small-scale gold mining at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

“They will die by the thousands,” he said.

Jakarta hopes that a landmark UN convention, signed this week in Japan aimed at reining in the use of mercury, will limit supplies of the metal for miners in Indonesia and help reduce the deadly practice.

But others believe the treaty, signed near Minamata in southwest Japan where mercury pollution poisoned tens of thousands, is too weak to tackle a problem that has grown in tandem with the price of gold.

The United Nations estimates that up to 15 million so-called “artisanal small-scale gold miners” operate in 70 countries.

In Indonesia, the numbers have risen from an estimated 50,000 in 2006 to around 500,000, according to Abdul Harris, who heads a government-backed task force charged with tackling the issue.

The widespread use of mercury to extract gold has made mining the biggest single source of man-made releases of the highly toxic metal into the environment, according to the UN. The growth in the practice is clear in Indonesia, where many who struggle to make a living are employed to crush rock ore and blast through sand at hundreds of sites in search of gold. When mercury is mixed with the ore or sand mixture, the heavy liquid metal forms an amalgamate with the gold that allows it to be easily separated out.

It is the next part of the process that is dangerous. The mercury is burnt off, releasing neurotoxins that can cause irreversible neurological damage and harm vital organs.

“We do worry-but we worry more about not getting enough to eat,” said a gold miner, who declined to be identified, on the central island of Lombok. In recent years, many shops where the amalgamate is burned off have had ventilation hoods fitted to suck up the dangerous fumes, but there is nothing to stop the burning that occurs in open fields.

Rini Sulaiman, an advisory board member of Borneo-based development foundation Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta, said it is hard to monitor the health of people working in the industry as many are migrant workers.

When deaths do occur, the cause is rarely recorded for this group, making it difficult to know if mercury is a factor.

However some see a greater danger for communities surrounding the fields, as the toxic metal finds its way into the food chain.

It is a particular danger when it enters rivers, as it mixes with bacteria and forms “methylmercury,” which is more toxic than normal mercury.

It can build up in fish and be passed on to humans, causing serious illness and birth defects. In Minamata in Japan, methlymercury dumped in industrial wastewater by a factory over decades poisoned tens of thousands of people, around 2,000 of whom have since died.

Sulaiman said the impact of mercury on wider communities was likely to be more serious than on the miners themselves. “Communities that live downstream and eat fish are at high risk of developing mercury poisoning over the years,” she said. Gold mining is also wreaking environmental devastation, adding to the destruction caused to the country’s rainforests by industries such as palm oil. The damage is so widespread around Kereng Pangi that satellite photographs show the area as a huge white blotch amid lush rainforest on Borneo, a vast, biodiverse island shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

Gold mining has also crept into “protected” areas such as Tanjung Puting national park on Borneo, home to a large population of endangered orangutans.

A local official, speaking anonymously, said men were paying off park officials to mine gold in the park. An AFP reporter saw mining equipment lying inside the boundaries on wide stretches of deforested land.

No national programme is in place across Indonesia-a sprawling archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where power is heavily decen-

tralised-to convince small-scale gold miners not to use mercury.

But Rasio Ridho Sani, deputy environment minister, insisted the government had sought to encourage miners to use alternative methods.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury would help tighten up the distribution of the metal in Indonesia, where it is not produced, he said. “We hope that we will be able to reduce illegal imports into Indonesia.” —AFP

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe eats seafood landed by a test fishing operation following the Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident during his inspections at a fishing port in Soma, Fukushima prefecture yesterday. — AFP

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

TIES Center

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TIES Center cordially invites you to the following events this week: 1) Second session of the course on clearing common misconceptions about Islam. On Sunday October 20 at 7:00pm, we will clear the misconception that women in Islam are bought and sold under the guise of dowry. Some Modern Western societies claim to have improved the condition of women but have actually demoted them to the level of slaves in the hands of pleasure seekers and sex marketers by convincing them that they should be freed from religious and social restrictions. In some countries women are the ones who pay dowry; does that mean they also buy and sell men? What is this significance of dowry? I (Hassan) will answer all these questions and many more. You are welcome at tonight October 20, 2013 at 7:00pm.

2) Quran Quotes and Tafseer class by Hassan and Nejoud. After reading specified Quranic verses aloud and explaining them very briefly, Hassan will explain the various connotations of some words and phrases to show the literary beauty and miracle of the Quran. After that, attendees will be asked to participate in a discussion on the topic and other related issues. The class will involve an open discussion in a casual setting with the aim of reflecting and pondering verses from the Noble Qur’an as well as learning how to recite

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! Let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

Announcements Pravasi drama competition he pravasi theatre troupes in Kuwait registered for participating in Pravasi Amateur Drama Competition to be conducted by the Kuwait Chapter of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi (KSNA) are requested to submit their scripts on or before October 31, 2013.

Three copies of the scripts, type-written and in PDF format, can be submitted along with filled in registration form either to KSNA Ad Hoc Committee or to Program Committee, a press release issued by KSNA Kuwait said. The duration of the play must not be less than one hour while it should not exceed 2 hours. The Pravasi Amateur Drama Festival slated to be held on February 25,26,27, 2013 in Kuwait, has been organized to identify the best pravasi theatre artistes in the Gulf and confer on them the Kerala state government awards. For details contact, email ksnakuwait@gmail.com or Tel: 97977317/99293929/97322614.

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Issue of online visa

by Indian embassy oreigners requiring visas for India need to apply it online from 16th June 2013. Applicants may log on to the Public portal at www.indianvisaonline.gov.in. After successful online submission, the hard copy, so generated, has to be signed by the applicant and submitted with supporting documents in accordance with the type of visa along with the applicable fee in cash at any of the two outsource centres at Sharq or Fahaheel. It is essential that applicants fill in their personal details as exactly available in their passports. Mismatch of any of the personal details would lead to non-acceptance of the application. Fees once paid are non-refundable. All children would have to obtain separate visa on their respective passports.

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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.

some short surahs. Today (Monday, October 21), we will discuss Surat AlKawthar (A River in Paradise 108), which is among the virtuous surahs (chapters) in the Holy Quran. All those interested are most welcome.

3)A lecture entitled, “Leading through turbulence,” by Sean Chapple The TIES Center welcomes you to ‘break the ice’ with one of the World’s most successful polar expedition leaders, Sean Chapple FRGS the ‘Ice Man,’ who will be speaking at the TIES Center on Tuesday October 22, 2013 at 7:00pm. Against the backdrop of his recent 72-day ground breaking South Pole journey (a journey completed by less people than have stood on the moon!) Sean will offer inspirational and powerful learning in self-motivation, risk-assessment, teambuilding and high performance leadership.

Q&A will follow a 40-minute multimedia presentation Closer to home, Sean recently worked with the Council of Ministers to improve Kuwait’s coastal defense to protect critical oil infrastructure. Here his planning, management and leadership skills were used to build a ‘first-of-type’ operational maritime security force fully staffed by Kuwaiti nationals. For more information, please call 25231015/6.

DPCS Grand Diwali Mela, 2013

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Enjoy the taste of true Espresso at Vergnano Cafe at Olympia Complex

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he superior quality of the blends comes from the meticulous selection of the best raw materials available, and from an extraordinary production process. Cafe Vergnano is the first to introduce an innovation that brings all the passion and pleasure of the perfect

espresso to everyday life at home.

Espresso is now available in Kuwait, through Al-Sanabel Al-Thahabiya Est. Tel: 22413795/98. Espresso Vergnano can be ordered through www.taw9eel.com Espresso Vergnano capsules are compatible with other espresso machines.

lose on the heels of its successful inaugural function, “Grand Welcome Meet”, which was held in May 2013, the Delhi People Cultural Society (DPCS) is organizing its very first cultural event for its members and their families and friends.

With the festive season around the corner, DPCS is bringing the Grand Diwali Mela 2013 with the sole objective of bringing the same flavor and fervor of Diwali to its Indian brethren residing far away from home, in Kuwait.

The DPCS Grand Diwali Mela 2013 will be held at the Messilah Beach Resort, Kuwait, on Friday, October 25, 2013, from 5 pm to 11.30 pm.

Among the many attractions planned for the Grand Diwali Mela 2013, there will be several stalls (for food items, handicrafts, jewelry, clothing, carnival games, etc.) at the venue, in keeping with the true essence of a Diwali mela. In addition, there will be other cultural activities and events, including a spectacular fireworks display as the event’s grand finale! So put on your colorful clothes, strap on your dancing shoes, and don your festive mood, as DPCS promises to bring to you a grand cultural extravaganza filled with loads of fun, food, masti and magic!

For further information/enquiries please visit the official website of DPCS: www.delhipeople.com

Rotana opens first Oman Property — Salalah Rotana Resort

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Indian Embassy sets up helpline he Indian Embassy in Kuwait has set up helpline in order to assist Indian expatriates in registering any complaint regarding the government’s ongoing campaign to stamp out illegal residents from the country. The embassy said in press release yesterday that it amended its previous statement and stated if there is any complaint, the same could be conveyed at the following (as amended): Operations Department, Ministry of Interior, Kuwait.

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otana, the leading hospitality management company in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe will be welcoming guests to its first Oman property, Salalah Rotana Resort from 25th December 2013.

Located on the stunning coastline with views overlooking the Arabian Ocean, Salalah Rotana Resort is a luxurious 5-star resort boasting 399 rooms and suites, each furnished with modern amenities and conveniences for all guests to enjoy as well as 45 exclusive villas. Inspired by traditional Omani architecture, it is the latest addition to Rotana’s portfolio, which features a collection of some of the most desirable properties in leading destination in the Middle East and Africa.

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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

Tourism has certainly done an excellent job in harnessing the tourism potential of Oman and promoting its key offerings in the global market. With our heavy presence in the region, Rotana is keen to work with the Ministry to help draw attention towards Oman’s worldclass tourism offerings.”

Oman’s Ministry of Tourism has been working on developing the country’s appeal and establishing Oman as one of the world’s most popular year-round tourist destinations, and Salalah Rotana Resort’s opening is in line with the Ministry’s strategy to strengthen Oman’s reputation as a luxury hospitality haven.

Bangladesh Defense Secretary visits Bangladesh military contingent

GPCC elects office-bearers ulf Pravasi Cultural Congress (GPCC) held its central committee meeting at Abbassiya and unanimously elected the following members to the central Committee. Binoy Chandran R (spokesperson), Sam Kunju Kunju (secretary- central committee), Sabu Paul (convener-Salmiya area), Praju T M, Arshad and Basheer Murambathi (central committee members).

GPCC leaders Rajeev Naduvilemuri, Jomon Thomas Koikkara, Mathew Chennithala, Jils Kudakassery, Anish Kumar T M, Sunil Varghese, Nebu Jacob, John C, Philip C V and Al-Kurien welcomed the new office-bearers to the central committee.

The meeting was presided by GPCC president Rajeev Naduvilemuri and general secretary Jomon Thomas Koikkara welcomed the gathering. Chief coordinator Jils Kudakassery and other GPCC leaders gave the felicitations. GPCC treasurer Mathew Chennithala proposed a vote of thanks.

Key appointments for the property include Claudio Melli, a well-respected veteran of the hospitality industry with more than 20 years of experience in the business, as general manager.

Omer Kaddouri, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Rotana, said; “Oman has always been a key growth market for us and this is clearly reflected by our aggressive expansion plans in the country. The 5-star Salalah Rotana Resort plays an important role in our growth strategy for the Middle East market, where we will be launching several new properties throughout the year to increase the total number of rooms under our management to over 14,500 by the end of the year. Oman’s Ministry of

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efense Secretary of Bangladesh Khondaker Mohammad Asaduzzaman visited Bangladesh military contingent to Kuwait on October 8, 2013. He was accompanied by a three-member delegation from Bangladesh. The delegation called on Acting Chief of Staff Kuwait Armed Forces and the Undersecretary of Ministry of Defense. Later, the delegation visited working site of Bangladesh Military Contingent and witnessed its activities. The defense secretary was briefed on Bangladesh Military Contingent’s activities in Kuwait by Brigadier General S M Shamim-UzZaman, NDC, PSC Commander Bangladesh Military Contingent to Kuwait. Later, he joined with the officers of Bangladesh Military Contingent at a lunch organized by Bangladesh Military Contingent Command Headquarters at Subhan. Brigadier General Md Nasimul Gani, afwc, psc Defense AttachÈ of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to Kuwait and Colonel Nabil Abdullah AlHasan, Chief of Second Personnel Affairs Branch were also present on the occasion.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

38,000 visit Scientific Center during Eid

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE For the Argentinean citizens who had not already enlisted in the embassy’s electoral register, and taking in consideration the elections which was held on Sunday 11/08/2013, it is necessary to justify they no vote by presence at our embassy which located in (Mishref - Block 6 - Street 42 - Villa 57) and should present the DNI and/or the Argentinean Passport. The Embassy of the Argentine Republic in the State of Kuwait avails itself of this opportunity to renew the assurances of its highest consideration. nnnnnnn

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he Scientific Center, found by Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, received 38,000 visitors during Eid Al-Adha holiday.

Chairman of the Board and Managing Director of the Center said the large number of visitors to the Center’s facilities during Eid confirms its status as a major recre-

ational facility. It provides an ideal atmosphere that combines learning and entertainment for individuals and families.

EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Embassy of Australia has announced that Kuwait citizens can apply for and receive visit visas in 10 working days through www.immi.gov.au. All other processing of visas and Immigration matters are handled by the Australian Visa Application Centre located in Al Banwan Building, 4B, 1st Floor, Al Qibla Area, Ali Al Salem Street, Kuwait City. Visit. www.vfs-augcc.com for more info. The Embassy of Australia does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visas and immigration matters is conducted by the Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: Info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VIS), immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office), Tel: +971 4 205 5900 (VFS), Fax: + 971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). Notary and passport services are available by appointment. Appointments can be made by calling the Embassy on 22322422. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-imenquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF GREECE The Embassy of Greece in Kuwait has the pleasure to announce that visa applications must be submitted to Schengen Visa Application Centre (VFS office) located at 12th floor, Al-Naser Tower, Fahad Al-Salem Street, Al-Qibla area, Kuwait City, (Parking at Souk Watia). For information please call 22281046 from 08:30 to 17:00 (Sunday to Thursday). Working hours: Submission from 08:30 to 15:30. Passport collection from 16:00 to 17:00. For visa applications please visit the following website www.mfa.gr/kuwait. nnnnnnn

ICS holds rocking show ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’

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everal hit show makers Indian Cultural Society, conducted a rocking high voltage concert featuring the ‘Today’s choice playback singer” Javed Ali and the king of Comedy Raju Srivatsav on Friday, Oct 4, 2013 “Jab Tak Hai Jaan”.

ICS team always strives to equate cultures and keeps the community happy by bringing world fame artists together on one stage. The evening started with National Anthem of Kuwait and India comparing the musical tone beautifully together. This is a unique feature of ICS. Immediate after souvenir release showcased the talents from Kuwait. Fans from across Kuwait hit the AIS auditorium, filling the house full arena to its capacity.

The chief guest of the evening was the first secretary (Information, Press and Cultural wing) of Indian Embassy Kuwait Vinod Kumar.

The eminent guests who blessed the evening were Kamal Al-Din Hussein (GM-Kuwait Continental) and Jeevan Pinto (PARI Agro & Al Zoba). The special guests of honor were Laurence D’Souza (Chairman - Caesars Group), Aijaz Ahmed (MD- Sahara Air Conditioning Co), Qayed Johar (GM - Al-Zahem and Malhotra Co), Rexxy William (Brand Manager - Geely), Anuradha Kavi (MM- Crown Plaza)A R Tariq (GM-KBE), Ramesh Adwani (SM- Taal and Dawat), Directors from M3 events Minhaj Shikari, Murtaza Pachorawala and Amit Malhotra, Shariff Rangrez (MD- Eternity Travels), Huzaifa Padladi (MD- German Press) and Sai Nawaz (President- PKS) and Alkesh Thakkar (MD- Crescent).

The show was anchored by President of Indian Cultural Society Ashfaque A Khan in his customary style who crossed his 100 shows as anchor and emcee in varieties of events.

The main show kicked off with a unique song and Punjabi bhangra performance by Yasir Ali and group on behalf of PKS followed by title music played by “Sargam Stars Band”. King of Comedy Raju Srivastav geared up with his laughter punches. He presented an unforgettable session of laughter riot nonstop till Manisha took over the stage and mesmerized the audience with her popular numbers and old hits.

Upcoming singer Safa Khan who set the tone of the evening with her soulful song “Kahna hee Kya Ye Nain Eik Anjaan Se Jo Mile” creating a perfect mood for the evening. The highlight of the show was the man who has been labeled the reflection of great music director A R Rahman. Javed Ali entered with” Kahne Ko Jashn e Bahara Hai”. Javed Ali continued with his soulful voice & hit numbers including Sufi songs. His duets with Safa Khan (Tu Muskura Jahan bhi Hai & Tera Ishq Bada Tikha) were very well received by the audience who packed the auditorium for nonstop five hours of

EMBASSY OF UKRAINE The Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait would like to inform that submission of the documents for tourist visa is temporary closed (from August 26 till September 26). Within the above-mentioned period, the visa will be issued only in the case of emergency. In the case of planning travel to Ukraine, please apply for visa before August 20. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF US

entertainment. Double session of entertainment, given by both artists Raju Srivastav and Javed Ali enthralled the audience with their high energetic performance. Javed sang series of hit songs on request by music lovers including melodies from yesteryears “Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho”. A crowd pleaser with the perfect combination of singing ability and stage presence rocked the evening. Live band from Bollywood Sargam Stars (R Mishra and team) was also the attraction of the evening.

The guests were gifted memento and gift hampers

by Sahara AC & ICS. Special memento was given by ICS to Pascal B Pinto for his social & welfare services given to the community since last 30 years. Refreshment & complementary items were distributed to the udience.

The ICS president expressed his gratitude to all executives of ICS, volunteers, event supporters, A D’Souza (Catering), Subin Philip and Rocky Camco (sound, light and video), Rashid Sheikh for auditorium services, Prashanth Shetty and Shahzad Ahmed for

still photography. Khan also expressed his thanks to the media, press and columnist.

Finally the show ended with the famous number duet by Javed Ali and Manisha “Nagada Nagada Baja”.

The hard work of the ICS team and quality entertainment on time became a model for live programs in Kuwait.

Event manager Shugufta Khan’s hard work cannot be left unnoticed.

Entire ICS team put on maximum efforts to make this event successful among them were Khaliq Zama, Shahnawaz Mirza and Abazar Badshah, Anwar Raja, Shagufta Khan, Sunita Seth and Tasleem Jaffer, Arun Arvindakshan, Minhaj Shikari, Umm Hany and Afreen Zafar, S K. Banwari, Awais Khan, Shahzad Choudhry, Sajjad Sayeed, Dipak Seth, Yusuf Iqbal, Hussain bin Mohammed, Kanchan Banwari and Dr N Dheer, Shamim Ahmed and Aurangzeb Khan, Al-Lewaa and Mathae Anthony and P B Pinto.

The US Embassy in Kuwait has new procedures for obtaining appointments and picking up passports after visa issuance.

Beginning August 9, 2013, we now provide an online visa appointment system, live call center, and in-person pick-up facilities in Kuwait.

Please monitor our website and social media for additional information. This new system offers more flexibility for travelers to the US and to meet the increase in demand for visa appointments.

The general application steps on the new visa appointment system are: 1. Go to www.ustraveldocs.com/kw (if this is the first time on ustraveldocs.com, you will need to create a profile to login).

2. Please complete your DS-160 Online Visa Application which is available at ceac.state.gov/genNIV. 3. Please print and take your deposit slip to any Burgan Bank location to pay your visa application fee.

4. Schedule an appointment for your visa interview online at www.ustraveldocs.com/kw or by phone through the Call Center (at +9652227-1673).

5. If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please do so 24 hours beforehand, as a courtesy to other applicants. For more information, please visit the US Embassy website - kuwait.usembassy.gov - as it is the best source of information regarding these changes. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF VATICAN The Apostolic Nunciature Embassy of the Holy See, Vatican in Kuwait has moved to a new location in Kuwait City. Please find below the new address: Yarmouk, Block 1, Street 2, Villa No: 1. P.O.Box 29724, Safat 13158, Kuwait. Tel: 965 25337767, Fax: 965 25342066.

Email: nuntiuskuwait@gmail.com.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

03:15 North America 04:05 Snow Leopards Of Leafy London 04:55 Animal Cops Houston 05:45 Untamed China With Nigel Marven 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Monkey Life 07:25 My Cat From Hell 08:15 The Most Extreme 09:10 My Cat From Hell 10:05 Roaring With Pride 11:00 Animal Cops Houston 11:55 Predator’s Prey 12:20 Call Of The Wildman 12:50 ER Vets 13:15 ER Vets 13:45 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 14:40 Roaring With Pride 15:30 Cheetah Kingdom 16:00 Monkey Life 16:30 The Most Extreme 17:25 Breed All About It 17:50 Breed All About It 18:20 The Magic Of The Big Blue 19:15 Monkey Life 19:40 Call Of The Wildman 20:35 Cheetah Kingdom 21:05 Roaring With Pride 22:00 Too Cute!

22:55 Too Cute!

23:50 Animal Cops Houston 00:45 Killer Jellyfish 01:35 Untamed & Uncut 02:25 Roaring With Pride

03:05 Gates 03:30 Bedlam 04:15 The Weakest Link 05:00 Mr Bloom’s Nursery 05:20 Teletubbies 05:45 3rd & Bird 05:55 Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock n Roll 06:15 Mr Bloom’s Nursery 06:35 Teletubbies 07:00 3rd & Bird 07:10 Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock n Roll 07:30 2 Point 4 Children 08:00 Gates 08:30 The Weakest Link 09:15 Big Bear Diary 09:45 Doctors 10:15 The Fat Fighters 11:05 Casualty 11:55 2 Point 4 Children 12:25 The Weakest Link 13:10 Gates 13:35 Big Bear Diary 14:05 Doctors 14:35 Casualty 15:25 The Fat Fighters 16:15 Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky 17:10 Eastenders 17:40 Doctors 18:10 The Weakest Link 19:00 My Family 19:30 Little Britain 20:00 Waking The Dead 20:50 Threesome 21:15 The Children 22:05 South Riding 22:55 Roger & Val Have Just Got In 23:25 My Family 23:55 The Fat Fighters 00:45 Little Britain 01:15 Eastenders 01:45 Doctors 02:15 Threesome 02:35 South Riding

BBC Lifestyle 03:30 Antiques Roadshow 04:30 Antiques Roadshow 05:25 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 07:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 07:40 Bargain Hunt 08:25 Antiques Roadshow

09:20 Come Dine With Me: Supersize 10:55 Masterchef: The Professionals 11:50 Celebrity MasterChef 12:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 13:25 Antiques Roadshow 14:15 Holmes On Homes 15:55 Bargain Hunt 16:40 Cash In The Attic 17:30 Antiques Roadshow 18:20 Marbella Mansions 19:10 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 19:35 Come Dine With Me: South Africa 20:30 Come Dine With Me 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Cash In The Attic 23:45 Marbella Mansions 00:30 Come Dine With Me 01:20 Celebrity MasterChef 02:15 Fantasy Homes By The Sea

03:25 River Monsters 07:00 Mythbusters 07:50 Extreme Fishing 08:40 American Chopper 09:30 Border Security 09:55 Storage Hunters 10:20 Baggage Battles 10:45 How Do They Do It? 11:10 How It’s Made 11:35 Fast N’ Loud 12:25 Patrick Dempsey: Racing Le Mans 13:15 Wheeler Dealers: Trading Up 14:05 Border Security 14:30 Storage Hunters 14:55 Baggage Battles 15:20 Flying Wild Alaska 16:10 American Chopper 17:00 Ultimate Survival 17:50 Dirty Jobs 18:40 Mythbusters 19:30 Sons Of Guns 20:20 Storage Hunters 20:45 Baggage Battles 21:10 How Do They Do It? 21:35 How It’s Made 22:00 River Monsters 22:50 Deadliest Catch 23:40 Giant Squid: Last Mystery Of The Deep 00:30 River Monsters 01:20 Deadliest Catch 02:10 Giant Squid: Last Mystery Of The Deep

03:00 03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:15 08:40 09:05 09:30 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:40 14:30 15:20 15:45 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40 00:30 01:20 02:10

On The Case With Paula Zahn Ripped From The Headlines Dates From Hell Dr G: Medical Examiner Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth...

On The Case With Paula Zahn Solved Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth...

Disappeared Solved Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn On The Case With Paula Zahn Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Deadly Devotion Deadly Sins I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner A Haunting Deadly Devotion

03:35 Sport Science

05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:05 09:30 10:25 11:20 12:10 13:00 13:50 14:20 14:45 15:10 16:00 16:55 17:45 18:35 19:30 20:20 21:10 21:35 22:00 22:50 23:40 00:30 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:45

The Gadget Show The Tech Show Deadliest Space Weather Prototype This X-Machines The Gadget Show The Tech Show Sport Science Superships Thunder Races Space Pioneer X-Machines How Do They Do It? The Gadget Show The Tech Show Prototype This Sport Science Kings Of Construction Thunder Races How The Universe Works Prototype This X-Machines The Gadget Show The Tech Show Prototype This X-Machines The Colony How Do They Do It? The Gadget Show The Tech Show Prototype This X-Machines

03:25 Leaning Tower Of Pisa 04:20 Man On Earth With Tony Robinson 07:00 Discovery Saved My Life 07:50 American Car Prospector 08:45 Collapse: When Structures Fail 09:35 True Stories 10:30 Ultimate Warfare 11:20 Man On Earth With Tony Robinson 12:10 American Car Prospector 13:05 Leaning Tower Of Pisa 13:55 Raging Planet 14:50 Crime Scene Wild 15:45 The Hunt For The Samurai Subs 16:40 The Mistress 17:35 Inventions That Shook The World 18:25 I Shouldn’t Be Alive 19:20 Altered Statesmen 20:10 Classic Car Club 20:35 Ultimate Cars 21:05 Ultimate Warfare 22:00 Altered Statesmen 22:55 I Was Bitten 23:50 Murder Shift 00:45 Ultimate Warfare 01:35 Altered Statesmen 02:30 I Was Bitten

03:00 03:20 03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:25 11:50 12:15 12:35 13:00 14:35 15:00 15:25

The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Jonas Los Angeles Jonas Los Angeles 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 High School Musical 2 My Babysitter’s A Vampire That’s So Raven Gravity Falls

TOMBSTONE ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD

22:00 Pacific Pirates 23:30 D’Fenders 01:00 The Adventures Of Don Quixote 02:45 Beethoven’s Second 03:00 03:20 03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:25 11:50 12:15 12:35 13:00 Long 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

The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Jonas Los Angeles Jonas Los Angeles 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 Teen Beach Movie Dance-A-

04:00 The Odd Life Of Timothy Green 06:00 Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked 08:00 Hotel Transylvania 10:00 Charlotte’s Web 12:00 Puss In Boots 14:00 Superman vs. The Elite 15:45 Hotel Transylvania 17:45 The Amazing Spider-Man 20:00 Chronicle 22:00 Clear History 00:00 Prowl 02:00 The Amazing Spider-Man

03:00 ICC Cricket 360 03:30 Futbol Mundial 04:00 Darts Grand Prix 06:00 UFC - The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 07:00 Darts Grand Prix 09:00 ICC Cricket 360 09:30 Trans World Sport 10:30 Champions Tour 13:00 NHL 15:00 This Week In WWE 15:30 Darts Grand Prix 17:30 UFC - The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 18:30 UFC - Countdown 19:00 UFC - Unleashed 20:00 Live NHL 23:00 Trans World Sport 00:00 PGA Tour Higlights 01:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 02:00 Live NHL

My Babysitter’s A Vampire Jessie Jessie 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 Doc McStuffins 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 Doc McStuffins 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

03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00

Spirit Of Yachting World Cup Of Pool World Cup Of Pool Golfing World

03:30 06:00 TCM 03:00 05:15 07:00 08:55 10:30 12:05 14:25 Game 16:00 17:50

NHL U.S Bass Fishing

03:45 05:30 07:00 08:55 10:50 12:50 14:00 16:00 17:50 19:35 22:00 23:45

Sunday In New York Texas Carnival The Searchers Seven Days In May Lust For Life Texas Carnival The Three Musketeers Rebel Without A Cause Two Weeks In Another Town The Brothers Karamazov Pennies From Heaven The Train Robbers

THE BOURNE LEGACY ON OSN MOVIES HD

06:00 Kid vs Kat 06:10 Scaredy Squirrel 06:35 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 06:45 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 14:40 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 19:15 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 21:30 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja

03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:30 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:15 08:40 09:05 Basics 09:30 10:20 10:45 11:10 11:35 12:00 12:50 13:15 Basics 13:40 14:05 14:30 14:55 15:20 15:45 16:35 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:15 18:40 19:05 19:30 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00

Unique Eats Food Crafters United Tastes Of America Chopped Iron Chef America Unwrapped Unwrapped Unwrapped Unwrapped Recipes That Rock Kid In A Candy Store Jenny Morris Cooks Morocco Barefoot Contessa - Back To The Next Food Network Star Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Aarti Party Unwrapped Unique Sweets Amazing Wedding Cakes Reza’s African Kitchen Barefoot Contessa - Back To Charly’s Cake Angels Siba’s Table Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Symon’s Suppers Chopped Barefoot Contessa Barefoot Contessa Andy Bates Street Feasts Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Guy’s Big Bite Roadtrip With G. Garvin Siba’s Table Charly’s Cake Angels Chopped Chopped Siba’s Table

22:25 22:50 Feasts 23:40 00:05 00:30 00:55 01:20 01:45 02:10 02:35 Feasts

Siba’s Table Andy Bates American Street Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Food Wars Recipes That Rock Outrageous Food Siba’s Table Siba’s Table Andy Bates American Street

03:00 New Girl 03:30 Veep 04:00 Girls 04:30 The New Normal 05:00 The Simpsons 05:30 Cougar Town 06:00 Seinfeld 06:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 07:30 Two And A Half Men 08:00 1600 Penn 08:30 Friends 09:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 10:00 Seinfeld 10:30 Two And A Half Men 11:00 The Simpsons 11:30 Guys With Kids 12:00 Modern Family 12:30 Friends 13:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 14:00 1600 Penn 14:30 Seinfeld 15:00 Two And A Half Men 15:30 Friends 16:00 Cougar Town 16:30 Guys With Kids 17:00 Modern Family 17:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 18:00 The Colbert Report 18:30 1600 Penn 19:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 20:00 The Simpsons 20:30 Last Man Standing 21:00 Community 21:30 Modern Family 22:00 Parks And Recreation 22:30 Don’t Trust The B**** In Apartment 23 23:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 00:00 South Park 00:30 Brickleberry 01:00 The New Normal

03:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 12:00 12:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00

Scandal 24 Parenthood Covert Affairs Emmerdale Coronation Street Covert Affairs 24 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Covert Affairs Once Upon A Time Revenge The Blacklist Boardwalk Empire Scandal 24

03:30 05:45 08:00 Doubt 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 00:00 02:00

End Of Days Tombstone Jesse Stone: Benefit Of The Meteor Storm Burden Of Evil Metal Shifters Meteor Storm The Fog Metal Shifters Bait Summer’s Blood Botched

03:45 06:00 Doubt 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 00:00 02:00

Tombstone Jesse Stone: Benefit Of The Meteor Storm Burden Of Evil Metal Shifters Meteor Storm The Fog Metal Shifters Bait Summer’s Blood Botched Bait

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 00:00 02:00

Lying To Be Perfect Envy Best In Show Just Crazy Enough Lying To Be Perfect My Dog’s Christmas Miracle Just Crazy Enough Beware The Gonzo The Do-Deca Pentathlon Girl Walks Into A Bar American Cowslip The Do-Deca Pentathlon

03:00 Me 05:00 07:00 09:00 10:30 12:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00 00:45 02:30

Katy Perry The Movie: Part Of Five One Angry Juror Second Chances Hidden Crimes Hindenburg Saving Grace B. Jones Taken Back: Finding Haley Ondine One Day Hesher Taken Back: Finding Haley Hidden Crimes

03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00 02:00

Love Takes Wing Blue-Eyed Butcher Would Be Kings Love Takes Wing The Key Man Dolphin Tale Love Finds A Home The Key Man Sleepy Hollow Sound Of My Voice Casino Love Finds A Home

05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:15 14:45 16:45 18:45 21:00 23:00 01:00

One Life Barnyard Klitschko The Bourne Legacy Flower Girl Class Klitschko Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Another Earth Underworld: Awakening The Whistleblower

04:30 Dragon Hunters 06:00 Snow Day 08:00 The Adventures Of Don Quixote 10:00 Snowmen 11:30 Puppy In My Pocket: The Movie 13:00 Beethoven 14:30 Pacific Pirates 16:00 D’Fenders 18:00 Snowmen 20:00 Beethoven’s Second

The Fixer Across The Pacific Johnny Eager Across The Pacific The Train Robbers 2001: A Space Odyssey Take Me Out To The Ball Adventures Of Don Juan The Barretts Of Wimpole

03:00 Airport 24/7: Miami 03:30 Airport 24/7: Miami 04:00 Descending 05:00 Globe Trekker 06:00 Globe Trekker 07:00 Globe Trekker 08:00 Departures 09:00 Airport 24/7: Miami 09:30 Airport 24/7: Miami 10:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 11:00 Insane Coaster Wars 11:30 Insane Coaster Wars 12:00 Extreme Chef 13:00 Bizarre Foods America 14:00 International House Hunters 14:30 International House Hunters 15:00 International House Hunters 15:30 International House Hunters 16:00 Hotel Impossible 17:00 It’s A Woman’s World 18:00 Extreme Chef 19:00 Bizarre Foods America 20:00 International House Hunters 20:30 International House Hunters 21:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 22:00 Rock My RV With Bret Michaels 22:30 Rock My RV With Bret Michaels 23:00 Airport 24/7: Miami 23:30 Airport 24/7: Miami 00:00 Insane Coaster Wars 00:30 Insane Coaster Wars

00:20 01:10 02:00 02:50 03:45 04:40 05:35 06:30 07:25 08:20 09:15 10:10 11:05 12:00 12:55 13:50 14:45 15:40 16:35 17:30 18:25 19:20 20:10 21:00 21:50 22:40 23:30

Dead Or Alive Crocodile King Fish Warrior Dangerous Encounters Croc Invasion Zambezi Fish Warrior Dangerous Encounters Croc Invasion World’s Deadliest Killer Three Monster Fish Shocking Sharks World’s Weirdest Croc Labyrinth Caught Barehanded Dangerous Encounters Mother Croc World’s Deadliest Killer Three Phantom Wolverine Monster Croc Hunt World’s Weirdest Caught Barehanded Dangerous Encounters Mother Croc World’s Deadliest Killer Three Phantom Wolverine Monster Croc Hunt

Classifieds MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

FOR SALE Nissan Pathfinder 2003 model, in good condition, white. Price: KD 2000 Serious buyer may contact 97277135 21-10-2013 Toyota XA 2005, maroon color, full options, 100,000 km, excellent condition. KD 1300. Tel: 50994848.

(C 4539) 20-10-2013 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.

Tel: 66507741.

(C 4533)

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.

10-10-2013

SITUATION VACANT Mitsubishi Pajero for sale 1996 model, color red, passing up to Aug 2014, used by a lady.

Contact: 97277139.

A family is looking to hire a driver. 94026500.

(C 4536) 20-10-2013

SITUATION WANTED 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

ACCOMMODATION Sharing in Farwaniya for decent Filipino only, block 1, st 122 near Gulf Mart/Nesto hypermarket, rent KD 85. Mob: 97805614.

(C 4537) Sharing accommodation available for decent bachelor non smoking. Amman street, opposite to Al Rashid hospital. Please contact: 66232356.

(C 4538) 20-10-2013

CHANGE OF NAME I, Khaliq Uzzaman Khan, S/O Rafiq Uzzaman Khan, holder of Indian Passport No: G3956560, R/o 49/1 Mahewa, Allahabad U.P., India, have changed my name to Khaleeq Uzzaman Khan for all legal and practical purpose.

(C 4540) 21-10-2013

Prayer timings Fajr: Shorook Duhr: Asr: Maghrib: Isha:

04:30 05:49 11:34 14:51 17:18 18:35

112

No: 15962

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)

THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION

Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is

1889988 Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines QTR RJA JZR JZR JZR FDB THY ETH GFA AFG UAE ETD FDB MSR QTR THY DHX FDB QTR KAC BAW FDB KAC KAC JZR UAE ABY KAC KAC KAC FDB QTR ETD GFA MEA JZR IRC MSC JZR SYR UAE MSR MSR THY KNE KAC QTR FDB MPH KAC JZR

Arrival Flights on Monday 21/10/2013 Flt Route 148 DOHA 5506 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 267 BEIRUT 242 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 539 CAIRO 8063 DUBAI 764 SABIHA 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 416 JEDDAH 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 67 DUBAI 612 CAIRO 138 DOHA 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 6130 DOHA 412 MANILA/BANGKOK 157 LONDON 53 DUBAI 206 ISLAMABAD 302 MUMBAI 503 LUXOR 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 284 DHAKA 344 CHENNAI 352 COCHIN 55 DUBAI 132 DOHA 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 6521 LAMERD 403 ASYUT 561 SOHAG 341 DAMASCUS 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 579 SOHAG 766 ISTANBUL 480 TAIF 672 DUBAI 140 DOHA 57 DUBAI 93 AMSTERDAM 546 ALEXANDRIA 257 BEIRUT

Time 00:05 00:15 00:20 00:30 00:40 01:10 01:40 01:45 01:55 02:15 02:25 02:30 03:10 03:15 03:30 04:35 05:10 05:50 06:05 06:15 06:30 07:45 07:25 07:50 07:40 08:25 08:50 08:15 09:35 09:55 09:15 09:25 09:30 10:40 10:55 11:35 11:45 11:35 12:00 12:05 12:45 13:00 13:05 13:10 13:20 13:40 13:45 13:50 13:55 14:15 14:30

SVA KNE OMA KAC RJA KAC JZR QTR ETD UAE ABY GFA SVA JZR JZR NIA KAC QTR RBG KAC KAC FDB GFA MSC KAC KAC KAC KAC JAI OMA FDB ABY MEA MSR AXB JZR JZR JZR MSC ALK UAE QTR ETD GFA JAI FDB AIC TAR DLH PIA JAI MSR KLM THY

500 472 645 788 640 118 535 134 303 857 127 215 510 177 777 251 542 144 553 786 104 63 219 405 774 618 674 742 572 647 61 129 402 618 489 135 185 239 401 229 859 136 307 217 576 59 975 327 636 205 574 614 411 772

JEDDAH JEDDAH MUSCAT JEDDAH AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA NEW YORK CAIRO DOHA ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI SHARJAH BAHRAIN RIYADH DUBAI JEDDAH ALEXANDRIA CAIRO DOHA ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH LONDON DUBAI BAHRAIN SOHAG RIYADH DOHA DUBAI DAMMAM MUMBAI MUSCAT DUBAI SHARJAH BEIRUT ALEXANDRIA COCHIN/MANGALORE BAHRAIN DUBAI AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA ALEXANDRIA COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA ABU DHABI-INTL BAHRAIN COCHIN/ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI CHENNAI/GOA TUNIS FRANKFURT LAHORE/PESHAWER MUMBAI CAIRO AMSTERDAM/DAMMAM ISTANBUL

14:30 14:35 14:40 15:00 15:55 16:00 16:10 16:15 16:35 16:55 17:10 17:20 17:20 17:30 17:50 18:00 18:15 18:25 18:30 18:30 18:45 18:55 19:05 19:15 19:25 19:10 19:25 19:30 19:35 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:15 20:30 20:35 23:00 22:40 22:30 21:00 21:10 21:15 21:30 21:30 21:45 22:05 22:20 22:25 22:55 23:10 23:15 23:20 23:30 23:40 23:45

Departur Flights on Monday 21/10/2013 Airlines Flt Route Time AIC 982 AHMEDABAD/HYDERABAD/CHENNAI 00:05 JAI 573 MUMBAI 00:20 UAL 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 00:25 DLH 637 FRANKFURT 00:30 MSR 615 CAIRO 00:30 RJA 5507 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 01:00 JZR 502 LUXOR 01:30 FDB 8064 DUBAI 01:55 THY 773 ISTANBUL 02:20 THY 765 SABIHA 02:40 ETH 621 ADDIS ABABA 02:45 AFG 416 KABUL 03:15 UAE 854 DUBAI 03:45 FDB 68 DUBAI 03:50 MSR 613 CAIRO 04:15 ETD 306 ABU DHABI-INTL 04:20 QTR 139 DOHA 04:25 QTR 149 DOHA 05:15 JZR 560 SOHAG 05:35 FDB 70 DUBAI 06:30 GFA 212 BAHRAIN 07:00 THY 771 ISTANBUL 07:10 KAC 545 ALEXANDRIA 07:20 JZR 164 DUBAI 07:25 QTR 6131 DOHA 07:35 BAW 156 LONDON 08:25 FDB 54 DUBAI 08:25 JZR 256 BEIRUT 08:50 JZR 534 CAIRO 09:10 KAC 671 DUBAI 09:25 ABY 126 SHARJAH 09:30 KAC 787 JEDDAH 09:35 UAE 856 DUBAI 09:50 FDB 56 DUBAI 09:55 ETD 302 ABU DHABI-INTL 10:15 QTR 133 DOHA 10:25 GFA 214 BAHRAIN 11:25 KAC 541 CAIRO 11:30 KAC 165 ROME/PARIS 11:45 MEA 405 BEIRUT 11:55 JZR 776 JEDDAH 12:25 KAC 103 LONDON 12:30 MSC 406 SOHAG 12:35 IRC 6522 LAMERD 12:35 KAC 785 JEDDAH 13:00 SYR 342 DAMASCUS 13:05 JZR 176 DUBAI 13:20 MSR 580 SOHAG 13:50 MSR 611 CAIRO 14:00 THY 767 ISTANBUL 14:10 KNE 481 TAIF 14:10

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

UAE FDB QTR KAC MPH KNE OMA SVA KAC KAC KAC RJA JZR QTR ETD JZR ABY UAE GFA SVA JZR JZR NIA RBG QTR FDB GFA JZR MSC KAC JAI FDB ABY KAC OMA KAC MEA MSR DHX MSC ETD ALK UAE QTR KAC GFA FDB KAC JAI KAC TAR

872 DUBAI 58 DUBAI 141 DOHA 673 DUBAI 93 AL MAKTOUM INTERNATI/HONG KONG 473 JEDDAH 646 MUSCAT 501 JEDDAH 617 DOHA 773 RIYADH 741 DAMMAM 641 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 238 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 135 DOHA 304 ABU DHABI-INTL 538 CAIRO 128 SHARJAH 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 511 RIYADH 184 DUBAI 266 BEIRUT 252 ALEXANDRIA 554 ALEXANDRIA 145 DOHA 64 DUBAI 220 BAHRAIN 134 BAHRAIN 404 ASYUT 283 DHAKA 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 120 SHARJAH 331 TRIVANDRUM 648 MUSCAT 351 COCHIN 403 BEIRUT 619 ALEXANDRIA 171 BAHRAIN 402 ALEXANDRIA 308 ABU DHABI-INTL 230 COLOMBO 860 DUBAI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 218 BAHRAIN 60 DUBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 575 ABU DHABI-INTL/COCHIN 411 BANGKOK/MANILA 328 DUBAI/TUNIS

14:15 14:30 14:55 15:05 15:25 15:30 15:40 15:45 15:45 16:00 16:30 16:55 17:05 17:20 17:20 17:40 17:50 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:30 18:40 19:00 19:10 19:25 19:35 19:50 20:05 20:15 20:15 20:35 20:40 20:45 20:50 20:55 21:05 21:15 21:30 21:50 22:00 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:40 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:00 23:05 23:40 23:45

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 344

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) ARIES Your happiest times all month are the days, like this day, when you spend time with friends in group activities. Spiritual practices and some charity work may be involved in making this a rewarding time. You may find yourself being put to good use by your friends. You usually have quick answers, great wit and a surplus of insights. This is a good time to write and communicate with real originality. Inventions and breakthroughs are possible. Everything conspires to value and to bring out your unique and unusual qualities. You find that someone close to you understands and is supportive of your ideas or your work; they encourage you. Tonight you show family and friends your appreciation of them—some meal or entertainment is in order.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) After a busy week, you may decide to take some time to relax and enjoy your environment. You may decide to check out a new bookstore or visit the park. An old friend may reenter your life today and you two may find yourselves lost in much conversation. This is a time of coming to grips with the past or getting in touch with the mystical and the spiritual: these things give a sense of satisfaction and completeness. Rewarding days make up for all the stress that comes with those challenging days. It is your turn to grab the attention. There are emotional beginnings, a fresh start, perhaps the establishment of new habit patterns. Relationships with all sorts of people and family events are very important during this time. You are a very positive person.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. The rate at which energy is drawn from a source that produces a flow of electricity in a circuit.

4. A prehistoric megalith typically having two upright stones and a capstone.

12. The bill in a restaurant.

15. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

16. West Indian shrub or small tree having leathery saponaceous leaves and extremely hard wood.

17. One of the five major classes of immunoglobulins.

18. A small hard painless nodule at the site of entry of a pathogen (as syphilis).

20. Informal terms for a mother.

21. A native-born Israeli.

23. The emotion of hate.

24. An ancient branch of the Semitic languages.

26. Transient cessation of respiration.

29. Region of western Asia Minor colonized by Ancient Greeks.

30. A male monarch or emperor (especially of Russia prior to 1917).

33. Light informal conversation for social occasions.

34. (prefix) Opposite or opposing or neutralizing.

37. An accidental happening.

42. Remove from its packing.

45. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery.

46. The rate at which red blood cells settle out in a tube of blood under standardized conditions.

47. Patterned with veins or streaks or color resembling marble.

48. Of or relating to the stomach and intestines.

51. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

52. Any of a series of radioactive elements with atomic numbers 89 through 103.

54. A soft cotton or worsted fabric with an open mesh.

56. Of or relating to or characteristic of Hades or Tartarus.

57. South African term for `boss'.

61. Squash bugs.

63. (botany) Of or relating to the axil.

65. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

69. Term of address for a man.

70. American gurnard.

74. United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters.

75. The United Nations agency concerned with international maritime activities.

76. In former classifications a major division of Mammalia comprising all hoofed mammals.

77. An ugly evil-looking old woman.

78. Airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc..

79. Reflects weight of sound argument or evidence.

80. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

DOWN 1. (used of count nouns) Every one considered individually.

2. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

3. A social club for male undergraduates.

4. Counting the number of white and red blood cells and the number of platelets in 1 cubic millimeter of blood.

5. (usually followed by `to') Full of eagerness.

6. A metal-bearing mineral valuable enough to be mined.

7. A unit of information equal to one million (1,048,576) bytes.

8. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism.

9. Physicist honored for advances in solid state electronics (born in Japan in 1925).

10. Being ten more than one hundred ninety.

11. A cry of praise or adoration (to God).

12. The inner and thicker of the two bones of the human leg between the knee and ankle.

13. A city in northern India.

14. Any of various edible seeds of plants of the family Leguminosae.

19. Not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances.

22. A Hindu goddess who releases from sin or disease.

25. Sluggish tailless Australian arboreal marsupial with gray furry ears and coat.

27. The sense organ for hearing and equilibrium.

28. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

31. The capital and largest city of Yemen.

32. (British abbreviation) "he accepted it on appro".

35. Any plant of the genus Reseda.

36. Without offspring.

38. Enthusiastic approval.

39. (Mesopotamia) God of agriculture and earth.

40. Surpassing the ordinary especially in size or scale.

41. Tie again or anew.

43. The superior of a group of nuns.

44. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

49. The length of a straight line passing through the center of a circle and connecting two points on the circumference.

50. Having come or been brought to a conclusion.

53. A radioactive mineral consisting of thorium silicate.

55. (Greek mythology) Son of Daedalus.

58. (Jungian psychology) The inner self (not the external persona) that is in touch with the unconscious.

59. American professional baseball player who hit more home runs than Babe Ruth (born in 1934).

60. Hungarian choreographer who developed Labanotation (1879-1958).

62. An ancient Assyrian city on the River Tigris and traditional capital of Assyria.

64. A Loloish language.

66. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

67. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

68. Primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves.

71. The compass point midway between northeast and east.

72. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

73. A coenzyme derived from the B vitamin nicotinic acid.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Being more practical and budgeting your income take on a special importance this morning. Sometimes we all get to take giant steps forward toward our goals but sometimes we get to take a few steps backward. This backward stepping is actually a blessing . . . Sorting things out and becoming better organized has its own reward. You and a mate or family member may chuckle over the mistakes of late and realize that everything serves a purpose. This evening, you may encourage each other. You will find the evening a good time to catch up on your letter writing, phone calls and bill writing. Communicating with loved ones and tending to unpaid bills or forgotten correspondence brings about a good feeling of having accomplished important tasks.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) There is an interest in broadening your intellectual and spiritual horizons. A friend of your family may have invited all of you to a special event at his or her church.

This time is favorable for involvement in advanced ideas in information, communications and transportation. There have been several questions that you wanted to ask someone knowledgeable and you will be happy to have your questions answered. Being in touch with ideas on a grand scale keeps your mind busy. You may learn how to figure out resolutions to opposing views and encourage better relations between people. You are certainly excited to try out what you have learned today. You may have insight into helping create world peace. Keep a log of your thoughts.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Start to plan now for a vacation in the next few weeks. This will be the time when energies work in your favor and will also comply with the idea of a change in activities. The vacation you take may lead you into a new type of job market—if that is what you are seeking. Whatever the case, you are open to new and better opportunities.

This new job may require travel and if you have no children, this would be a good time for the change. Being a travel guide or survivor teacher is a position you have looked forward to for a long time. Music is likely to play an important role for you and it is highly likely that friends or family will enjoy the music you produce. You will probably not be alone with your music as others enjoy singing or playing an instrument with you.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Today is most rewarding. The attention you give your work and the followthrough steps that you exert to help your customer or client are commendable and worthy of attention. You seem to stand out in a crowd as a person that cares and a person that is intent on making a positive difference. When you attempt to perform your duties you perform them confidently but carefully. Financial speculation can be risky just now as there is something very special for which you have been saving. Romantic relationships seem fated; there is a charismatic element about them. Someone you love or are infatuated with is changed in a fundamental way. You may be able to feel especially kind toward a friend or loved one this afternoon. A visitor is appreciative of you.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) There are motivating energies available to help you gain more vigor and to generally improve your physical well-being. Health goals take on a greater importance.

Do an inventory, seek advice and enjoy busying yourself with new ideas for better health.

New changes in security issues bring about that feeling of comfort. You are a stickler on being prepared for the winter and you may have discovered a few things that are in need of repair, updating and securing. You also plan on taking care of personal business, saving only a few necessary trips for business interaction during next week. You crave organization and may want to change the way you run your home. You aim to have a place for everything and everything in its place.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) In-depth discussions and probing conversations find you at your mental best. Your analytical abilities are at a high point. Ideals and a sense of belonging to something bigger than the merely personal become greater focuses in your life. You attach more importance to friendships and taking part in group activities that center on idealistic goals. Meeting yourself in another person is the keynote of a new cycle that begins for you now. Relationships—romantic, business and social—are the arenas where life is enjoyed and adventures are thrilling. In coming to know the other person, you come to a better understanding of yourself. It’s easy in theory, but it’s only in practice that it comes to mean anything real—so practice, practice, practice.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) As this day progresses, romance and social interaction take on a greater importance for you. Pleasant ties to others are what you crave for; refinement and elegance are what you seek. The ideal partnership, the perfect balance, the highest standards of truth and beauty are some of the things that quicken your pulse.

You will recognize the opportunities coming that will help you achieve your desires. This is a practical and materialistic kind of focus, one that emphasizes the making and spending of money. Learning what really counts is an important lesson that may be learned the hard way. A mentor would be a good thing. A friend may need your help this evening, which may be the diversion you need. Laughter is great medicine.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Take a little trip today. Enjoy getting away from your regular routine. This is a very nice day, perhaps filled with some renewed appreciation for all that is beautiful and fine. There is a sense of value and valuing that may find you lavishing affection on those near you. You might feel sensitivity toward an older person. You have a natural sense for communicating with others, especially those younger than yourself. Clear thoughts about the past may also be flowing in as you update a photo album or write to a relative. You may be able to enjoy and value your own life situation and communication opportunities are open between you and a friend or loved one. Your advice to a young person is timed perfectly. You make a positive difference.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Lovers, children and other people or things dear to your heart are emphasized at this time. Being appreciated and admired for your gifts and talent is a powerful need. Taking chances can bring big rewards. Friends, group projects and community concerns play a key role that influences your future goals. Today may be a good time to have a group meeting with family, neighbors or friends and decide on the wonderful decorations that are available for parties or preparations for the wonderful upcoming fall events.

Instead of decorating your house all by yourself, why not work as a team on each other’s houses traditions are the glue that help deepen relationships; now is a good time to start a new tradition.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Be sure to let others know of your ideas when conversations seem difficult today—your thinking could easily turn a negative into a positive. The day could work with you if you would just take a bit of time to relax: laugh, sing and find a friend to hug.

You are insightful and can use this day to your best benefit. This day is not too lazy or too stressful—a time for accomplishing tasks or setting things up to work in your favor. You attract money today. Any uncertainty concerning relationships can become clear decisions for you now. Matters of freedom are at risk. A relationship could end today but this may have been building for a long time. Positive results are possible, but you must act on your decisions. Real insight will surface now.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Depp salutes Christopher Lee

David and Victoria Beckham

at London festival

D

looking for weekend escape avid and Victoria Beckham are house hunting for a country weekend escape. The retired soccer star has become a keen “countryside” walker, and the couple are reportedly looking at homes in the Cotswolds, south west England which is hugely popular with celebrities and the British royal family. An insider told the Sunday People newspaper: “Recently, David has adopted a new hobby, walking, and he loves to do it in the countryside. “His idea of a great weekend is a long, countryside stroll. They’re looking for a slow-paced lifestyle when they’re not working. “they also want their sons to be able to what other kids do without being worried.” Together, the couple have sons Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 11, and Cruz, eight, and two-year-old daughter Harper and while they want a new London home near to their schools, they are keen for the opportunity to be a “normal” family. The source added: “David and Victoria are looking to buy two houses. They love Britain and want to base themselves here for the foreseeable future. “But as much as they love London and they need to be there for work and the kids’ schools, they want somewhere quiet. “They want a weekend, countryside estate where they can chill out and do normal things that normal families do.”

J

ohnny Depp has made a surprise appearance at the London Film Festival to give a career honor to horror icon Christopher Lee. Depp called Lee “a national treasure” and “a genuine artist” as he presented the 91-year-old actor with a British Film Institute Fellowship. Lee’s 250 movie roles include Dracula in a series of Hammer Films thrillers, Bond villain Scaramanga in “The Man With The Golden Gun,” the founder of Pakistan in “Jinnah” and Saruman in “The Lord of the Rings.” During a ceremony Saturday, the London festival gave its best-picture prize to UK-based Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski for “Ida.” The 12-day festival ended yesterday with a gala screening of “Saving Mr Banks,” starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as “Mary Poppins” author P.L. Travers.

David and Victoria Beckham

Delevingne ready for pop career

Sir Christopher Lee and Johnny Depp

Jolie set for £31 million book deal A

Angelina Jolie

Kris

ngelina Jolie is set to sign a book deal worth over £31 million. The 38-year-old star - who underwent a double mastectomy in February - is reportedly the subject of a bidding war for the rights to her autobiography, and the battle has already hit around £31 million. A source at one US publisher told the Daily Star Sunday newspaper: “Whoever gets her will be sitting on a gold mine. “Her book is guaranteed to top the bestseller lists in virtually every country on the planet and even an advance of that size would be recouped within weeks.” A friend of the ‘Salt’ actress - who has six children, Maddox, 12, Pax, nine, Zahara, eight, Shiloh, seven, and five-year-old twins, Knox and Vivienne with fiance Brad Pitt - revealed Angelina thinks “the time is now right” to pen her book, and she won’t be holding back. The insider said: “She has always wanted to do this and believes the time is now right ... She has never known such peace and fulfilment in her life. “There are demons in her past but she is in a place mentally and spiritually where she feels comfortable enough to write about them honestly and put them in context. “No issues - apart from those that might damage her children’s privacy - will be taboo.”

C

ara Delevingne is reportedly preparing to move from fashion to music. The 20-year-old model is said to already be working on her debut album as she looks to launch a pop career, something she’s always been passionate about. Speaking to the Sunday People newspaper, a source revealed: “Cara loves singing. “When she was younger she would sit at home and mess about but recently she’s started to take it seriously. “She loves music, she loves festivals and she loves singing. Now she wants to add it to her CV and actually get herself a pop career.” It might all start sooner than expected too, and fans can reportedly expect to get some news on her music career in 2014. Her modeling career is still taking up the majority of Cara’s time, while it is said she also has some acting roles “lined up”.

The insider said: “She is a very busy girl at the moment, with a couple of movies lined up as well as her modeling. “Now it looks like things will be kicking off for her musically next year.”

Shelley

Cara Delevingne

stays coy on Gomez romance

concerned about Bruce’s closeness to ex

K

ris Jenner is reportedly worried about Bruce Jenner getting closer to his ex-wife.

The Kardashian matriarch - who announced her separation from her husband of 22 years last week - still worries about her estranged spouse’s relationship with former wife Linda Thompson, whom he divorced in 1985. A source told National Enquirer magazine: “It’s been nearly 30 years since she and Bruce were married, but Kris continues to bear a grudge. Friends say that, deep down, Kris has always feared Linda would come after Bruce or Bruce would cheat with Linda.”

Bruce, 63, has two sons from his marriage to Linda, Brandon, 32, and Brody, 30, and the former Olympian has reportedly been spending time with his ex-wife since moving into a rental home near her in Malibu after leaving the home he shared with Kris, 57. The insider added: “Bruce and Linda have been meeting for afternoon coffee dates and sunset walks on the beach. Kris blew up when she found out, and Bruce didn’t deny having feelings for Linda. She’s the one person who can drive Kris crazy with jealousy.”

The ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ stars - who have two daughters together, Kendall, 17, and Kylie, 16 confirmed their split in a statement last week, but they both claimed they have no plans to divorce.

G

Selena Gomez and George Shelley

eorge Shelley is in a “tough situation” with Selena Gomez.

The Union J singer has been romantically linked with the US star - who previously dated Justin Bieber - after they met at one of her shows in Lisbon, Portugal last month and while he thinks the “classy” beauty is “lovely”, he admits their working commitments could make a relationship tough. George admitted: “Selena’s one of the classiest girls I’ve ever met and I love class in girls. So... yeah! She’s a superstar, she’s very busy and we’re just starting out. It’s a very tough situation. But she’s very lovely...” George, 19, insisted nothing happened with Selena beyond a conversation and he is astonished at how much their relationship has been speculated about. He said: “Nothing [happened]!

We just chatted - all of us were there.

It was lovely of her to invite us back to her place, but it was a private thing.

We were a bit shocked it got into the papers. It highlighted the fact that you don’t know who to trust.” Meanwhile, George’s bandmate Josh Cuthbert insisted it was too early to start calling the pair a couple.

Holmes enjoys date with

Clooney Kris Jenner

K

atie Holmes has reportedly enjoyed a string of dates with George Clooney. The 34-year-old actress - whose recent romance with her ‘Mania Days’ co-star Luke Kirkby is said to have “fizzled out” - was a guest at the hunky actor’s ‘Gravity’ premiere in New York earlier this month and came after the pair enjoyed several intimate dinners after bonding at a friend’s recent dinner party. A source said:” Katie and George have known each other for years. They met through her ex-husband Tom Cruise and have always got on. “Katie has had a crush on him for ages. They’re both single and have met up a couple of times since the dinner party. “Katie really has her sights set on him. There is a genuine connection.” However, insiders insist that the romance isn’t serious. The source added to Britain’s Grazia magazine: “Katie and George are having a lot of fun. They are enjoying their new flirtation. He’s a fun guy with buckets of charisma and Katie loves his company.” Katie was recently romantically linked to another of Tom’s friends, Jamie Foxx, but the actor-andsinger has dismissed the speculation.

Katie Holmes

37

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

LIFESTYLE

Jason Derulo can’t cook

G o s s i p

Westwick’s

T

drunken swordfight

E

he ‘Talk Dirty’ hitmaker - who is dating Jordin Sparks - admits he is hapless in the kitchen and struggles with even the most basic recipes. He said: “I’m the worst cook you’ll ever meet. I cooked rice one time and the bottom was burnt and the top was raw. I was so confused. “I can’t even cook a hot dog properly, but I’ve tried grilling a really thin steak for a few minutes each side and having that with salad and mustard. It was supposed to be easy.” Jason admitted he would have to order take-out if he was ever caught be a surprise visit from friends. He said: “I’d have to get a takeaway, otherwise everyone would go hungry. I’d probably order in some good Japanese food.” And the singer eats out a lot, admitting his favourite restaurant know him “very well”. He told heat magazine: “I love Katana in LA. I always order the same thing, rock shrimp, black cod, capaccio salad and a vodka tonic with lychee. “They know Jordin and I very well.”

d Westwick tried to drunkenly swordfight with Douglas Booth. The actors star together in a new movie adaptation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and the ‘Gossip Girl’ hunk was keen to master an action scene which sees his character Tybalt take on Douglas’ Romeo, but his co-star had to point out it wasn’t the best time to rehearse.

Douglas said: “Ed’s a fun guy but mad. We had to rehearse those sword fights regularly. “One night after we’d been out. he hid behind a hotel pillar and jumped out and surprised me. He tried to get me to rehearse drunkenly in the middle of the night. I was like, ‘Ed, it’s 2am.’ “ Douglas enjoyed working on the film with Hailee Steinfeld - who plays Juliet - and was determined the capture the essence of a teenage romance while also ensuring his character didn’t come across as “poncey”. He told Britain’s Grazia magazine: “I wanted to make my Romeo a little less poncey. He’s a teenage boy so I wanted him fighting and horse riding. Working with Hailee was great fun. “The first scene we did together was the balcony scene. Talk about throwing us in at the deep end. Love scenes are never comfortable. It’s bizarre because you’ve got 100 people watching, but I think we created something really innocent and captured that craziness of first love.”

Jason Derulo

Ed Westwick

Beyonce

enjoys two bungee jumps

Beyonce

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eyonce performed two bungee jumps in New Zealand on Friday. The brave ‘Love On Top’ hitmaker, who has a 22-month-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, with her rapper husband Jay Z, jumped off the Sky Tower twice in Auckland, just hours before performing in the capital. A source at the tourist attraction revealed they were shocked when the 32-yearold star and her minders showed up unannounced at 10.30 a.m. One insider told the Herald on Sunday newspaper: “She got changed into the bungee clothes out the back somewhere and was taken straight up in a service elevator. “It was difficult to see her when she came down because she had so many bodyguards with her. “It was all over very quickly and bosses kept it quiet from everyone because they didn’t want word getting out and risk huge crowds turning up to watch.

“She did the whole thing virtually unnoticed.” Beyonce enjoyed the first jump so much she immediately asked to do it a second time. She then “disappeared as quickly as she arrived”. The singer posted a photograph of herself preparing to free-fall from the 1,076 feet tall tower, which is the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere, on her Instagram page. Beyonce is currently performing her Mrs. Carter Show world tour in New Zealand and Australia, and will wrap up the tour in New York City on December 22.

Upton’s boyfriend surprised by romance

Jada Pinkett Smith

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isn’t affected by criticism

ada Pinkett Smith no longer cares what people think about her. The 42-year-old actress - who has son Jaden, 15, and daughter Willow, 12, with her ‘After Earth’ star husband Will Smith - used to want to be liked by everyone and it left her feeling miserable so now she refuses to pay attention to her critics. In an open letter of advice to a mystery friend on her Facebook page, she wrote: “I will tell you this, I have learned that just because something has been done a certain way for a long time does not mean that it’s the appropriate approach for you. Conditions and traditions are great when they work. When they don’t, I believe it’s important to muster the strength to create the dynamics that specifically work for the experience we desire to create and is unique to our lives, and it almost never reflects what is ‘accepted’. Who said OUR decisions, OUR lives must look like anyone else’s?” She added: “Be your own opinion leader and let your approval, in regard to your own life, be enough.” Jada previously hit back at her critics for blasting her parenting skills after she let her daughter shave her head last year. She said: “I think that old school style of ‘I’m your parent and I’m greater than you’ doesn’t work. What I establish with my children is a partnership. I’m not necessarily dictating what is happening in their lives.”

Jada Pinkett Smith

Segel doesn’t want his body to be a joke

changed by fame?

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endra Wilkinson’s mother thinks fame has changed her. The former ‘Girls Next Door’ star’s mother, Patti Wilkinson is very upset that she had to find out her daughter was pregnant with her second child from the media, but blames Hollywood for the “mess”. She wrote on her Facebook page: “So seems as Kendra hates me & I quote hopes I die! All because I confronted her about me being the last to know she is having another baby. Wow. Hollywood sure does mess with people.” She later wrote: “Thank you all for your messages of support! Appreciate you a lot!” Patti’s Facebook page has been flooded with kind messages from her fans, and it appears she hopes that she and her daughter will mend their feud as she liked a message from one fan that reads: “Kendra will come around, Patti. I know you love her, and that love will carry you both through this one way or another.” Patti and Kendra briefly fell out when the blonde beauty announced her first pregnancy at her bridal shower in front of a large group of people, including her camera crew, in 2009.

Kendra’s brother, Colin Wilkinson, branded her “psychotic for not telling her family she is pregnant again.

He tweeted: “Every1 plz never ask me about my sister again. She is no longer a part of my life. She’s an inconsiderate psychotic woman. I’m done (sic)” Kendra, 28, and husband Hank Baskett already have a three-yearold son, Hank IV and gushed about their desire to have another child earlier this year, but the couple has yet to comment on her current pregnancy.

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Jason Segel

ason Segel lost weight because he was worried how his body would look on the big screen. The ‘How I Met Your Mother’ star, who recently adopted a healthier lifestyle and lost more than 40 pounds, decided to slim down when he discovered he would be appearing shirtless in the movie ‘Sex Tape,’ which he is currently filming alongside Cameron Diaz. The 33-yearold actor told Us Weekly magazine: “It is R-rated and I’m not in shape for no reason. “This time when I take my shirt off, I’ve made a promise to myself, it doesn’t have to be funny.” Jason, who split from Michelle Williams earlier this year, overhauled his diet and started exercising regularly over the summer for the film, which began shooting in Boston last month. He said: “I’ve just been living healthy, exercising, eating right - no more midnight pizzas.” A source told the MailOnline website that Jason, who is now dating model and actress, Bojana Novakovic, decided to lose weight after ending his relationship with Michelle in March. The insider said: “They decided the relationship just couldn’t work with Michelle in New York and Jason’s commitments here but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t heartbroken. “He discovered he wasn’t as hungry as he normally is and that helped him lose weight, then it just became routine.”

Kendra Wilkinson

DeGeneres gives waitress $10,000

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llen DeGeneres has given a waitress $10,000. The talk show host reached out to Sarah Hoidahl in Concord, New Hampshire, on Friday after she heard that the server recently picked up the lunch tab for two National Guard soldiers affected by the US government’s shutdown. Ellen was so touched by news of Sarah’s kind gesture, which saw her pay the soldiers’ $27.25 lunch bill, that she presented her with a cheque for $10,000 on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’. She also reimbursed her for the bill and gave her a brand new 50-inch TV. Upon receiving the gifts, Sarah repeatedly told the presenter: “You’re a good person”. Ellen is well known for her charity work. Earlier this year she joined forces with Randy Jackson to host a star-studded gala to help Brad Pitt’s charity, Make It Right, which aims to help residents of New Orleans, who lost their homes during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Ellen has also donated more than $2 million to the organization.

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Kate Upton

Kendra Wilkinson

ate Upton’s boyfriend never expected to fall in love with her. Former ‘Dancing With the Stars’ professional Maksim Chmerkovskiy has opened up about his relationship with the Sports Illustrated model for the first time, and says she is an “amazing person”.

The 33-year-old dancer told UsMagazine.com: “We have an incredible time together, and, you know, I definitely didn’t see that coming and I think neither did she.” The couple got together after being introduced by mutual friends more than six months ago. He added: “We enjoy each other’s company very much and like I said, she’s a great girl that I never thought anything romantic like this could have happened.”

Maksim’s younger brother Val Chmerkovskiy, 27, also gets on well with Kate. He said: “I think she’s awesome. She’s a great girl, and we’re great friends. She’s an incredible chick and we have a great time.” An insider previously revealed that Maksim originally feared the 21-year-old blonde beauty was too young for him. The source said: “(He was) hesitant to start things with Upton because she was so young. They have a lot of fun.

She’s very mature for 21.”—Bang Showbiz

Ellen DeGeneres

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

LIFESTYLE F e a t u r e s

France’s elite ‘Booster’ socks reach mass market

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portsmen among its clients, from car racer Alain Prost to Zinedine Zidane, but the French maker of Booster sports socks, BV Sport, faced the classic challenge of conquering a mass market. BV Sport began out of collaboration in the early 1990s between Serge Couzan, a specialist in blood circulation problems associated with athletes, and doctor and Olympic ski champion Michael Prufer. The two men developed gradual support socks—still patented today—that improve muscular performance and speed up recovery.

The socks provide calibrated pressure in the calf area so as to speed up circulation, unlike traditional products that placed pressure on the ankle. Quadruple Formula One champion Prost was one of the earliest converts to the socks. “According to him, he won a tenth of a second for each lap” thanks to the comfort of the socks, said BV Sports chief executive Salvatore Corona. The company also equipped the French football team that triumphed at the World Cup in 1998.

Despite Booster’s success, the company based in the Loire valley was going through a difficult period when Corona took over

in 2007. The company took in only 150,000 euros ($205,000) annually with just one multi-tasking employee. Corona admitted he hesitated before taking the job.

‘Granny socks’ for athletes At first “I could not see the interest because, for me, ‘varicose veins stockings’ were for grannies.” But then he realized his reaction was the problem the company needed to tackle with branding and marketing, and that there was incredible potential as the socks were at that point only being sold to professional athletes.“When you have the know-how you have to make it known.” So, out with “stockings” and in with “Booster”. And their appearance was jazzed up with a more aesthetic design and a range of colours.

Corona’s strategy focused on making the socks accessible to the mass market and an advertising push, while still focusing on winning over professional athletes as trendsetters. Supplying French football clubs helped BV Sport expand across the continent.

“When French footballers started to emigrate successfully abroad, we entered into the big European clubs,” said Corona.

Lionel Potillon, a former footballer and now director at the French club Saint-Etienne, said he wore Booster for recovery. “When you finish a match, putting on the recovery socks accelerates and eases this process, especially as we spend a lot of time travelling on planes or buses,” he said.

“It has become indispensible when you know you will have to play every three days.”

BV Sport now supplies more than 2,500 elite athletes including 230 world or Olympic champions in various disciplines. Today the company takes in four million euros a year and employs 25 people. Originally it had outsourced all of its production, but around four years ago it brought the manufacturing of its key compression and support products, about 70 percent of its products, in-house to a site near Saint-Etienne where it benefits from some tax exemptions.—AFP

Napoleon

An employee checks compression socks at the Booster Veines Sports (BV Sports) company’s production unit of support-compression field for high-level sport and leisure in Saint-Etienne, southeastern France.—AFP

defeated in Leipzig, again

An actor dressed as Napoleon Bonaparte takes part in the opening event of the reenactment of the Battle of the Nations.

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housands of history buffs in 19th-century costumes took to a battlefield outside Leipzig, Germany, yesterday to reenact the bloody Battle of the Nations on the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s decisive loss. Fifes and drums played in the background as men in the brilliant green, red, light blue and grey uniforms worn by Napoleon’s army tended to their cannons and muskets. A historical commission spent years perfecting the scenario for the bicentennial re-enactment, and some 6,000 enthusiasts turned out to stage the Battle of the Nations, also known as the Battle of Leipzig.

“I want to show the history for our young people,” said re-enactor Peter Bach, 59.

“Otherwise they could only read about it in the history books.” Bach, from nearby Erfut, is playing a two-star general in the service of the Duke of Saxony. The gold-braid trim on his uniform and his feathered, two-corner hat attests to a certain status on the battlefield. Ahead of the re-

enactment, however, he had no idea where his unit would be moving.

“We want it to be like reality, so I wait to get my orders from the big chief,” Bach said, happy to be kept in the dark. “It’s good, it’s real. I was in the German army, and it’s the same,” he said with a laugh. Fighting for Napoleon’s army, though, one thing is certain: “In the evening, we are all in heaven,” Bach said. “It’s no problem, though, we are all friends.” Weakened from a campaign through Russia, Napoleon suffered a decisive defeat here in 1813 at the hands of allied forces including Prussia, Russia, Sweden and Britain.

The battle is known as the bloodiest in Europe before World War I, claiming one in six of the 600,000 troops who were mobilized. Yesterday, re-enactors from 28 countries were on the field.

In drills ahead of the event, orders were barked above the din in a host of languages. “The winks and nods are helpful,” said Robert Smith, 41, an American whose English-speaking unit was getting its marching orders in Polish. Smith

translated orders for his unit, while also relying on the international language of hand gestures and head nods to tell his men where to go.

“There are six languages in this battalion,” said Mark Koens, like Smith clad in a Prussianblue coat and grey wool trousers. Koens, 43, travelled from faraway Sydney with a handful of other Australians. He was drawn to re-creating the Napoleonic wars because so many veterans immigrated to Australia after the fighting, settling there and shaping the infant land. “It changed the Australian landscape,” Koens said. “Areas are named after battles: towns, streets, pubs (such as) Lord Nelson, Hero of Waterloo.”

Both Koens and Bach say the best part of such an event is spending time with a veritable United Nations of re-enactors in the evenings leading up to battle. “Mostly it’s about the camp, cooking, singing, sewing, everyday activities,” Koens said.

“Nations that were once at war come together to share and commemorate about that loss, which is great.”—AFP

Polish Lanciers ride in the field during a re-enactement of the Battle of the Nations (Voelkerschlacht) in Leipzig yesterday.

A house burns during a re-enactement of the Battle of the Nations.—AFP photos

Nourish and keep your skin moisturized with the new ‘Rasasi Folklory Body Butter’

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he changing season, coupled with dust particles in the air, wreck havoc on all types of skin. These elements not only make the skin look dull but also damage the silky texture of the skin.

Coupled with the weather conditions, the skin also loses its charm due to age which leads to loss of elasticity in skin.

Rasasi Perfumes, one of the leading names in the regional olfactory milieu – has an answer to these skin issues. The company, which has carved a niche with its range of oriental and western fragrances, has diversified in the beauty sector with a revolutionary body butter product that is set to provide the skin with the vital nutrients and nourishment.

The ‘Rasasi Folklory Akhdar’ and ‘Folklory Wardi Body Butter’ provides the skin with an extraordinary butter-like texture that gets absorbed into the skin, and stimulates fibroblastic function, increases its tone and compactness, and subsequently improves the structure and elasticity of the skin.

Part of the famed ‘Rasasi Folklory’ collection, which symbolizes the rich tradition and culture of the Middle East, the

‘Folklory Body Butter’ is formulated with finest Shea butter, sweet Almond oil and coconut oil to provide the skin with ultra rich velvety caress.

All these ingredients provide a regenerating effect when spread on the body as it melts and makes the skin silky. A derivative of vitamin E is infused to rejuvenate the deep layers of skin in order to leave it intensely

nourished, delicately perfumed and incredibly smooth.

Conceptualized in two variants, ‘Folklory Akhdar’ and ‘Folklory Wardi Body Butter’ are truly traditional yet contemporary protection for the skin and are set to become a perfect adornment for Arab nationals and expatriates alike.

Salim Kalsekar, Managing

Director of Rasasi Perfumes said, “As a company, we were always looking at launching a revolutionary product in the beauty sector to build on our market reputation as one of the best fragrance brands.

We are happy to announce our diversification in the beauty industry with the launch of the ‘Folklory Akhdar’ and ‘Wardi Body Butter’ collection, which provide stimulating and revitalizing properties that restore tone and compactness to the skin.”

Ideally applied to the skin with a light massage after a bath or shower, the ‘Rasasi Folkory Body Butter’ stimulates the production of collagen deep down and tones with a reshaping action. It is immediately absorbed and does not make the skin greasy, but renders it softer and revitalized.

The ‘Rasasi Folklory Body Butter’ will be available at all Rasasi stores and will be showcased with the Folklory Fragrance collection.

Rasasi also offers a rich portfolio of fragrances designed to preferences of everyone in the UAE and across 60 countries around the world.

Celebrity chef Matt Moran cuts pieces of a giant cake of the SydneyOpera House.—AFP A giant birthday cup cake is displayed on the steps of the Sydney Opera House as the world heritage-listed building celebrates its 40th birthday yesterday.—AFP photos

Sydney Opera House celebrates 40 years

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he Sydney Opera House, world heritage-listed as “one of the indisputable masterpieces of human creativity”, celebrated its 40th birthday yesterday with a flotilla of lifesavers, Aboriginal dancers and a gigantic cupcake. Huge crowds packed the steps for a distinctively Australian performance on the glittering harbourfront, where three generations of Danish architect Jorn Utzon’s family were the guests of honor.

It was a postcard-perfect day beneath the same cloudless blue skies that inspired Utzon’s winning design to build Sydney an opera house back in 1956 -- the white sails drawn from his childhood in the Aalborg shipyards.“A building like this happens once in a lifetime,” Utzon’s son Jan told revelers yesterday. “It is a unique Australian expression of will and enthusiasm and ‘let’s go do it’ kind of spirit.” A crew of surf lifesavers wearing their famous yellow-and-red caps and costumes arrived at the Opera House’s Man O’ War steps on one of Sydney’s distinctive ferries, flanked by six of the association’s dinghies and two tugboats.

They were met and led up the red-carpeted steps

by Aboriginal dancers where a traditional smoking ceremony was held to spiritually cleanse the site accompanied by an indigenous dance ritual and didgeridoo. A giant cupcake topped with a model of the Opera House made from icing was carried onto the stage by the lifesavers, and Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes—frontman of Cold Chisel—led a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday accompanied by a navy brass band and school choir.

An Etihad A340 made a low pass over the site to cap celebrations. The distinctive performance hall is one of Australia’s best-known landmarks and centerpiece of Sydney’s cultural scene, hosting some 2,000 shows every year and attracting 8.2 million visitors. “As the most internationally recognizable symbol of both Sydney and Australia, it has become our calling card to the world,” said Governor of New South Wales, Marie Bashir, whose husband Nicholas Shehadie was the mayor of Sydney when Queen Elizabeth II opened the Opera House on October 20 1973.—AFP

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LIFESTYLE F e a t u r e s

Peter Pan, genies, mermaids, pirates

Land in Kuwait

Text and images by Sherif Ismail

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uwait Touristic Enterprises Company in cooperation with Power Media Advertisement, Conferences and Exhibitions Organization Company held the international show “Peter Pan” on ice at the grand ice skating rink, a TEC facility, during Eid Al-Adha.

TEC’s Assistant CEO for Entertainment Affairs Khalid bin Sat said the show was chosen for “its global fame and distinguished presentations that are fit for our visitors”.

Peter Pan, the character created by Scottish playwright James M Barrie, is a boy who can fly and does not age.

Peter spends his endless childhood in adventures at Neverland Island as the leader of Lost Boys. He deals with mermaids, Native Americans, genies, pirates and sometimes with normal children outside Neverland.

In addition to the distinguished acts that were presented by Barrie, this character appeared in various media that promote Barrie’s work.

Sir J M Barrie studied in Scotland, then moved to England. He is best and known for Peter Pan, which he wrote in 1901.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Peter Pan, genies, mermaids, pirates appear in Kuwait

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

A work entitled “Flag I” by South African artist Willem Boshof is displayed at the Frieze London art fair in Regent’s Park, north London, England. Frieze London features over 150 of the most exciting contemporary art galleries in the world.—AFP

Record-breaking Chinese artist

Zeng lifts the mask

Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi poses in front of one of his paintings entitled Autoportait.

A woman looks at a painting by Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi entitled “Mask series N°6” as part of an exhibition dedicated to his work, on October 17, 2013 at the Museum for Modern Art in Paris.—AFP photos

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is 2001 painting “The Last Supper” has just sold for $23 million, but growing up in a working class family during China’s Cultural Revolution, Zeng Fanzhi could never have anticipated the path his life would take. “The notion of the artist didn’t exist,” he said of his art school days in the central Hubei province. “We were art workers. We didn’t know that we could be free and independent,” Zeng, in Paris for a retrospective of his works, told AFP. Based on Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, Zeng’s “Last Supper”—part of the Paris show—set a new record for a contemporary Chinese artist when it was sold at auction in Hong Kong on October 5. The work, which depicts Christ and the disciples wearing masks and communist Young Pioneers uniforms, was purchased by an anonymous private buyer following a 10-minute telephone bidding war.

Born in 1964 in Wuhan in Hubei province, Zeng is currently the subject of a show at Paris’ Museum of Modern Art featuring around 40 of his works dating back to 1990.

“It’s the first time in my life that so many of my works have been brought together... It’s very important to me,” he told AFP, speaking through an interpreter. Currently ranked the fourth highest-selling contemporary artist—in terms of auction turnover—according to art data firm Artprice, his sales in 2012/13 reached $34.3 million.

Such success is a far cry from his days as a student at the Hubei Academy of Fine Arts.

“In the place where I was living, there were no toilets so I had to go to the neighboring

hospital several times a day,” he said. This inspired a series of works based on what he had witnessed on his visits. For his graduation painting he presented the expressionistic “Hospital Triptych No.1” which attracted the attention of the Chinese art world.

In 1993, Zeng moved to Beijing and began working on his masks series. “Behind most of these masks, it’s me. I had very few friends because I had just arrived in Beijing,” he said.

His works have always drawn on his own life and emotions including his childhood, which was indelibly marked by the Cultural Revolution. From its start in 1966 until Mao’s death in 1976, this saw the rejection of traditional forms of Chinese culture.

In “The Last Supper”, the disciples’ Young Pioneers uniforms feature the red scarves that were a symbol of achievement in Communist China—something Zeng said always eluded him. And the Judas figure “wears a gold scarf which evokes the power of money and capitalism”. “I never had the red scarf,” he said. “I was excluded from collectivity. It was like a badge of shame for my parents. It was a shadow over my childhood,” he added. Zeng is now collaborating on a museum project that he believes will enable him to express his artistic vision.

His current work uses a technique which he adopted in the middle of the last decade in which blurred lines are employed to depict landscapes. “Before painting a big canvas, I prepare for several days in order to attain a state of calm and serenity. Then I paint fast, in an intense way,” he said.—AFP

A woman looks at a painting by Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi .

A man visits the exhibition dedicated to the work of Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi.

A woman walks by a painting by Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi entitled “The last supper”.