23 Oct 2013 by Kuwait Times

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

Riyadh to ‘shift away from US’ over Syria, Iran

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Adasani targets Al-Zour plant, threatens grilling MP to demand forming bedoons committee next term By B Izzak

Kuwait loses great son in Boodai By A Saleh KUWAIT: Businessman Mustafa Jassem Boodai, who died aged 77 on Friday, was laid to rest yesterday after a life full of contributions in many economic and commercial fields, be it as a member of the boards of local banks or his contributions in investment companies. Boodai contributed to the support of the national economy through his keenness on boosting the role of the private sector and his contributions to the expansion of projects in that sector and its varied activities. He occupied leading posts in several financial establishments, in addition to his vast experience in Kuwait’s market activities and its economic indicators. Among the most important posts he occupied were member of the NBK board of directors for more than 20 years (1965-1986), Kuwait European Investment Company in 1971, Investcorp Bank, Kuwait Insurance and other companies. Many economic personalities commended the virtues of Boodai, who was known for his patriotic stands. They expressed sadness for losing him and lauded his honorable actions. Economic expert and Chairman of

the Board of Kuwait Industries Holding Company Mohammad Al-Niqi said the late Boodai established several companies in various economic fields. He had an integral part in invigorating the country ’s economy through the projects his companies were Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: Mustafa Jassem Boodai (inset), who died aged 77 on Friday, is laid to rest at the Sulaibikhat cemetery yesterday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: MP Riyadh Al-Adasani said yesterday that the awarding process of the multi-billion-dollar North Al-Zour power plant was based on wrong and illegal procedures and warned that the prime minister will be questioned in parliament if the project goes ahead. The lawmaker, who was par t of the opposition before breaking away and contesting the July parliamentary polls, said that the power plant is a key development project needed by the country but insisted that the process of awarding the project violated the law. The KD 730-million ($2.6 billion) project was awarded two years ago to a consortium of French, Japanese and Kuwaiti companies amid strong protests by the then parliamentary opposition led by Ahmad Al-Saadoun and Musallam Al-Barrak, who insisted that the process breached the law. Less than two years ago, former finance minister Mustafa Al-Shamali (currently oil minister) was grilled in the National Assembly over a variety of issues including the awarding of the Al-Zour power plant project. Adasani said that the law stipulated that the project must be awarded to a

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company that must be listed on the Kuwaiti bourse and although the law was amended in 2012 to remove this restriction, the new amendment does not have retroactive power which means it does not apply to previous contract awarding processes. The lawmaker warned that if the government ignores these facts and decides to go ahead with the project, the prime minister will be questioned in the Assembly. Adasani also cited another illegal procedure in the awarding process because the law required that the awarding process should be public and open while it was made through sealed envelopes, which was a clear violation of the law. The lawmaker also criticized the government over its vague promises over resolving the housing crisis, saying that the government has promised verbally to build 200,000 housing units and such promises must be submitted in a well-defined program along with the necessary budgets. He said that based on the housing law of 1993, the waiting period for Kuwaitis to get their homes should not exceed eight years, whereas the waiting period now exceeds 15 years and without providing the necessary infrastructure. Continued on Page 13

LOCAL

KUWAIT: Mustafa Jassem Boodai, who died aged 77 on Friday, is laid to rest at the Sulaibikhat cemetery yesterday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Family Fund fails to attract debtors KUWAIT: A little more than 16,500 Kuwaitis registered to benefit from the Family Fund out of 42,000 eligible bank defaulters, which shows lower than expected appeal of the fund that was proposed as a solution to a problem that garnered widespread attention in both the social and political scenes. This was reported by Al-Qabas yesterday quoting official statistics as of Oct 12, 2013. The parliament passed the Family Fund law last April as a bailout plan for debtors who were unable to repay their bank loans. Under the law, the government is required to purchase the loan

of a registered beneficiary, then reschedule its payment after interests are written off. But despite the strong campaign in which MPs promoted the fund as a solution to the problem that originated in the aftermath of the 2008 global economic crisis, recent statistics show that only 16,503 clients registered with the fund since it started receiving applications, or 40 percent of the total number of debtors eligible to register. The statistics further show that the total amount of debts covered by the fund reached KD 385.1 million out of

KD 710 million of total eligible debts. The Family Fund covers consumer and installment loans taken from banks and finance companies before March 30, 2008, and was later amended to cover loans from banks that adopted the Islamic system after that date. Al-Qabas quoted sources who commented on the ‘reluctance’ to join the fund by pointing out that many loans’ interests have already been paid between 2008 and 2013, while others suggested that ‘recent parliamentary attacks’ against the fund have likely affected defaulters’ decisions to register.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

LOCAL

Vote miscalculations: Judiciary records match Interior’s KUWAIT: Vote counting records assembled by a judiciary committee which oversaw July’s parliamentary elections matched those compiled by the Ministry of Interior which earlier this month suggested that two candidates should have been elected in place of MPs Maasouma Al-Mubarak and Osama Al-Tahous. This was reported by Al-Rai yesterday as it explained that the Constitutional Court deputed representatives to the National Assembly building in order to recount votes from five ballot boxes that belong to the first constituency. The decision came during a trial in challenges made by candidate Abdulhameed Dashti and Nabil AlFadhl over results in the first and third constituencies respectively. Interior Ministry

records presented earlier during trial showed that Dashti should have been elected in place of MP Maasouma AlMubarak in the first constituency, while third constituency candidate Nabeel AlFadhl should have won ahead of MP Osama Al-Tahous. The official elections result is based on vote counting carried out by judges assigned by the Ministry of Justice on election day. “The challengers will present their final appeal papers during the next trial at the Constitutional Court,” Vice President of the Supreme Judicial Council Yousuf AlMutawa told Al-Rai. “If there was sufficient time to finish the papers, the court will issue its verdict in all challenges”. The next trial is scheduled for Sunday.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received yesterday Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah at Seif Palace. The Deputy Premier presented to HH the Amir Mansour Al-Olaimi, Kuwait’s Consul General in Mumbai, Mohammed Abdullah Al-Khaldi, Kuwait’s Consul General in Karachi, Fahad Meshari Al-Dhaferi, Kuwait’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Brunei, Khaled Yateem Al-Fadhli, Kuwait’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Magnolia, Ahmed Khaled Al-Jiran, Kuwait’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Zimbabwe, where they took the oath before HH the Amir on the occasion of assuming their new posts.

Clients complain about unfair bank charges Making money from mistakes By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Some local banks impose “unfair charges” on customers for mistakes or wrong transactions they procure, in what customers in Kuwait call “scamming.” Homoud, 30, was obliged to pay KD 5 for a new ATM card which was issued to him after the newly issued card was withdrawn by the ATM. “I just got a card from a bank; the password was set by the bank. I went to the ATM machine of this bank, entered the password and followed the instructions to change the password. I tried to do my first transaction on the spot to activate it and it didn’t accept the new password nor the original one given by the bank and the machine swallowed it. I entered the branch again and told them the story, but they asked ‘why did you change the password?’ Then they told me I had to get a new card and pay KD 5 for it although it wasn’t my mistake. I feel I was scammed,” Homoud told Kuwait Times. Banks deal in different ways with the issue of swallowed cards. Sahar, a PR official at a local bank, explained that charging for issuing a new card depends on the ATM machine - if it belongs to the same bank or a different bank. “If a client tries to withdraw money from a machine of the same bank where he has his account, the bank will keep it for him and return it free of charge. But if his

card was swallowed by a machine of a different bank while processing a transaction, then this other bank is not responsible for it and will most probably destroy it as there is no deal between the banks on this issue. Some banks like ours keep the card for the client at the head office for two days, and if no one claims it, they will destroy it,” she explained. Are banks making money from other similar mistakes? Ali, 36, wondered why should the client be financially responsible for the bank’s mistakes. “I went to the bank and filled up an application to transfer money to my friend who is a client of the same bank. And instead of transferring the amount I demanded and wrote down, they removed a 0 from the initial figure and transferred a smaller amount which was wrong,” Ali said explaining that his friend was surprised when he received it and called him about the difference. The bank admitted to the wrong transaction “being their fault” assuring Ali that they will transfer the wrong amount back to his account and then re-send the whole amount registered to his friend. “Besides the time they wasted in these wrong transactions, they also charged me KD 1 for each of these transactions which was due to their mistake. So I wonder how many wrong transactions they do and how much money they make out of it,” he pointed out. Nouf, 27, also faced problems while transferring

money abroad through a different bank in Kuwait. “I transferred money from my account in one of the local banks to a bank in Europe, and provided all the required information. After about three weeks, the money still didn’t reach the receiver, and when I asked, I was told to wait. After another three weeks, they said they can’t find the money and that it was lost in the middle by an intermediate bank in the United States for unknown reasons. They then offered to return the amount back to my account here for a commission. And although it wasn’t my fault, they cut about KD 16 from the small amount I sent which was about KD 48 only. This a scam, but what could I do. So I decided never again to transfer money through the bank and better to use the services of money transfer companies,” she noted. Ahmad, 25, lost about KD 24 from his credit card when shopping online, and was told by his bank that they were not responsible for the missing KD. “I bought an online game for my mobile and repeated the transaction twice as the site didn’t confirm the success of the transaction. And when I checked my account, it was deducted twice - KD 12 and again KD 12 - but it wasn’t added to my balance at the app market. When I contacted the bank, they said it was not their responsibility and advised me to contact the online market. I wrote them an email, but haven’t received any reply for about a week,” he complained.

Kuwaiti selected as US International Exchange Alumni member WASHINGTON: The US Depa rtment of State has selected Nora Al-Othman of Kuwait as October’s International Exchange Alumni member of the month for her leadership in providing the disability community in Kuwait with training and skills. The State Department said in a statement that throughout October, AlOthman will be recognized on the International Exchange Alumni website “for her leadership in providing the disability community with employment training and skills development in Kuwait.” The statement shed light on AlOthman’s organization, Training Gate

International (TGI), which was founded in 2009. TGI is a non-profit Kuwaiti body providing the disability community with employment training and skills development. Al-Othman also implemented Kuwait’s first Dewan for citizens with disabilities. Dewan Samia is a weekly open forum where the disability community can share their personal experiences and find solutions to common challenges. “As an active member of the International Exchange Alumni community in Kuwait, Nora also assists the US embassy in identifying citizens that would benefit from a US exchange program,” the statement said. It added that

“the US Embassy in Kuwait credits Nora with identifying and recommending the first participant with disabilities for the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) fellowship. “Nora’s passion for empowering the disability community is not confined to Kuwait. In 2012, she invited Mobility International USA (MIUSA) to participate in her International Day of Persons with Disabilities program in Kuwait,” according to the statement. Each month, the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs confers this award on an outstanding alumnus or alumna of an exchange, to support alumni as they build on their experiences. — KUNA

Nurses strike report baseless KUWAIT: Health Ministry Assistant Undersecretary for Financial Affairs Mohammad Al-Azmi said that bills of patients who were treated in US hospitals at a total cost of $15 million were paid. Azmi said he personally follows all commitments and financial needs of all health offices abroad. Meanwhile, sources said the health ministry sent its budget (2014/2014) to the Cabinet at an estimated KD 1.6 billion, an increase of KD 300 million from the current budget. In another issue, Assistant Undersecretary for Technical Affairs Dr Jamal Al-Harby denied strikes organized by nurses at the health ministry, adding that the nursing society denied this and was surprised at the news. Harby said the nurses who were mentioned preparing for strikes do not belong to the health ministry but work for the education ministry. They

are Sudanese contracted through private companies. Harby said that he met a delegation of bedoon nurses who submitted several complaints and demands to the undersecretary and the nursing society about delaying their monthly salaries for more than a week compared to Kuwaiti and expat nurses who receive their salaries on the 27th of each month. They said the delay is something new as they were receiving their salaries with the others until five months ago. Some of the nurses said they submitted several demands including equality with other groups of nurses in salaries and financial allowances, because the cadre approved three years ago is not applied to them. They said that their number is 1,000 nurses of both sexes, and they perform very well but receive lesser salaries com-

Al-Hashash to partake in WSA Global Congress KUWAIT: Kuwaiti engineer Manar AlHashash will deliver a speech at the opening session of the UN-sponsored World Summit Award Global Congress of 2013 on the e-content and creativity, to kick off in Colombo today. “The World Summit Award Global Congress of 2013 has invited me to be one of four speakers at the opening session of the conference,” Al-Hashash said. Al-Hashash, who has a long and rich experience in e-content production, said she will deliver a speech at the opening session, chair a session in the second day and a workshop in the third day of the conference. The WSA Global Congress 2013 will

be held in Colombo from Oct 23 to 26 with the participation of the world’s best e-Content developers, government representatives and leading ICT experts. The conference’s objective is to present the most creative mobile and web applications from all over the world and to discuss the crucial role of e-Content for the global economy, environment, government, healthcare, education and mobility. The Congress will also put a special focus on social entrepreneurship and the role that internet and mobile phones play in reaching the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). —KUNA

pared to other nurses. The ceiling of their salaries is no more KD 400 while expat nurses receive KD 750-800. Harby on his part said that he made several contacts to find out the reason behind the delay of bedoon salaries and found out that salaries of this group is paid through lists and not through the automated system with the rest of the nurses. He said the ministry asked the Civil Service Commission to include the bedoons in the automated system, but the commission has several stipulations and these are under study to solve the problem. The health ministry sent several of its employees in hospitals and health centers including doctors, administrators, nurses and technicians to the legal affairs for questioning over their absence and laxity while on duty during Eid Al-Adha. Health sources told Al-Anbaa that this came following instructions from health ministry undersecretary Dr Khalid Al-Sahlawi to the committee inspecting reporting to work to make tours during Eid Al-Adha to control work during Eid days, and found several medics who did not report to work, and this prompted the committee to send them to the concerned legal department. The committee inspected 15 centers in various areas in addition to hospitals and found there were absentees from all the above mentioned job groups. The sources said the committee continues its daily work round-the-clock to catch slackers and absentees in all sectors of the ministry. They said that part of the committee’s job is to check fingerprint scanners and make sure that these devices are installed in all hospitals, health centers and central departments.

KUWAIT: Minister of Health and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah yesterday opened Hayat Breast Cancer Center in Yarmouk. The minister stressed that the center was well-equipped with high-end technologies and medical equipment needed for early detection of breast cancer.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

LOCAL

In my view

kuwait digest

Homophobia controversy

Grandchildren of Ptolemy! By Fahad Rashid Al-Muttairi

By Suad Al-Mojel

Al-Anbaa

he proposal to bar entrance of homosexuals to Gulf Cooperation Council states sparked controversy regarding the countries’ right to take this step. Despite many studies and statistics that indicate that homosexuality is spreading in GCC countries, dealing with this phenomenon often comes from a passive, extremist and impulsive standpoint. Homophobia refers to unjustified fear from or hatred toward homosexuals. It describes a sentiment that rejects every person with different sexual orientations. Several antigay societies worked to fight homosexuality on the basis that it is ‘wrong’, ‘unnatural’ and ‘against human instinct’. On the other hand, scientists discovered that some kinds of homosexual relationships exist within animal communities including monkeys. While international organizations, human rights societies, and some personal status laws reject bias on the basis of sexual orientation, many reject homosexual relationships based on religious contexts that prohibit and criminalize same-sex relationships. The old rhetoric used to reject homosexual relationships has become unsuitable in a world swept entirely by a revolution for freedoms. It is a true revolution that has already made its way into the Arab and Muslim worlds. The freedom space has became very open today and in a way that veterans who insist on legislating unenforceable laws might not be aware of. The open space of freedom today includes freedom of expression, ideology, belief, as well as religious and political freedom. In the meantime, many insist to include sexual orientation as an element of personal freedom. The plan to test foreigners for sexual orientation in order to ban entrance of homosexuals into GCC states is silly not only because it goes against the global freedoms revolution, but also because it lacks possible mechanisms that can make this project applicable. Will Gulf states use the help of technical staff, specialists and doctors in order to apply this idea? And can the idea sustain if it is applied? Freedoms in general remain a thorny and sensitive subject in the Arab and Muslim worlds due to it being closely related to religious references. Here lies the difficulty in discussing an issue like homosexuality which was addressed in the story of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, yet Islam does not mention specific punishment for gay people the same way it does for fornicators for example. GCC countries’ representatives plan to discuss the project during a meeting in Oman on Nov 11. There is no doubt that this is going to be a tough mission, in terms of discussing, approving or enforcing the project. Meanwhile, the entire world - not only Amnesty International - will be waiting to see the outcome of this meeting which goes against the freedom revolution and essence of the modern area. — Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

Anti-freedom fighters By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

uwait, the home of the free and land of freedom fighters, came near the 100th place in the first international index for human rights that was released by the Global Network for Rights and Development. Kuwait was also ranked fourth among countries in a region known for anti-freedoms sentiments and being ruled by governments with a history of human rights violations. To fall behind countries that already outrun us in civilization in a wide and advanced world might be understandable and acceptable. But to come in fourth place among countries similar to us and whose societies were established simultaneously with ours, this is absurd and something that should not be accepted by the free people and those fighting for dignities. I have no doubt that ‘freedom fighters’ in Kuwait and those who claim to be democratic or even liberal will rush to point fingers of blame against the government. They will hold it solely responsibility over hostility towards freedoms while at the same time ignore the obvious role of social forces in this regard. While the government’s responsibility can be considered an undeniable fact - I can list hundreds of practices that highlight their documented hostility towards freedoms - we have to ask this question: Is the

government alone hostile to freedoms? If we put aside the government’s harsh response against those who rejected the single-vote decree, who else fought against freedoms, practiced suppression and legislated laws to limit people’s freedoms? Who took to the streets to demand enforcement of the audiovisual law? Who threatened to grill the government for ‘failure’ to enforce the oppressive law? Who demanded and continues to demand blocking entrance of bright minds and those with insightful and liberated vision? The answer is simple all political forces, including democratic, populist and religious groups. All of them fought against freedoms and showed leniency regarding the government’s enforcement of oppressive laws. Most recently, politicians condemned what some described as ‘monotonous’ concerts hosted during the Eid holiday and demanded ‘punitive measures’ against the organizers. Who is the real party responsible for the social distress and political retardation engulfing Kuwait? They are political forces, including opposition groups in both of its nationalist and populist sides and who focused on alleged defense of public funds to cover up their failure in safeguarding freedoms. — Al-Qabas

ome people believe they can learn a foreign language in one week, others believe they can understand the theory of relativity by watching a YouTube video while a third group believes it can comprehend the financial crisis by following news bulletins. Let’s start with this Greek anecdote. It is said that the Greek ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy I, tried hard to understand geometry by reading a book written by the famous mathematician Euclid, but when he failed to do so, he asked Euclid if there was a shorter way to comprehend the book. “There’s no royal way to geometry,” answered Euclid. Euclid’s answer was very wise and honest. Yet it does not seem welcome nowadays. Moreover, some delusional people believe all they need to become psychiatrists is a pipe and goatee! Members of the diplomatic corps may believe that ‘encyclopedic knowledge’ is an integral part of a successful diplomat’s character because, for them, knowledge means ‘picking a rose from each garden’ and, accordingly, beguile your interlocutor who possesses full knowledge of everything regardless of how superficial such knowledge might be and provided you don’t get discovered. For instance, if the conversation is about philosophy, you’d have to mention names like Aristotle, Hegel and probably Wittgenstein. But if you find out that your interlocutor has read those, you must change the topic immediately as suggested by the dictionary of diplomacy that stresses that the form of knowledge is more important than its depth. Who cares about roots after uprooting flowers?! Have you, dear readers, heard of a book series known as ‘Books for Dummies’ which could more politely be described as books for beginners. Such publications tackle various topics such as ‘Cooking for Dummies’, ‘Sex for Dummies’ and ‘Football for Dummies’. On the other hand, there are titles such as ‘Physics for Dummies’, ‘Chemistry for Dummies’ and ‘Math for Dummies’. Most of these titles are undoubtedly targeting novice readers regardless of how smart they are. If dummies are obsessed with knowing sex details, it would be impossible that physics attracts their attention! However, it is also difficult to deny the reason behind the huge sales of this book series because if so many readers do not actually believe there is a royal path to knowledge, such books would not have flourished. In Surat Az-Zumur, Almighty Allah says: “Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Are those who know equal with those who know not?”( Az-Zumur- 9). Regardless of the knowledge referred to in this verse, it is actually a rhetorical question whose answer is already known beforehand, which is negative. However, the so many grandchildren of Ptolemy I think otherwise and their great grandfather thought that Euclid, who spent his life in quest of science, could be reached in a matter of a few hours! — Al-Jarida

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

LOCAL

KIA first of strategic planning globally London mayor hails cooperation

KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim receiving members of the Kuwait Society of the Disabled yesterday.

Al-Rasheedi urged to evaluate charity KUWAIT: The manager of charity organizations at the ministry of social affairs and labor Ahmed Al-Sane disclosed that his department had extended several memos to the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Thekra Al-Rasheedi, her undersecretary Abdul Mohsen Al-Muttairi and assistant undersecretar y Muneera Al-Fadhli demanding evaluation of charity organizations currently operating in the country in order to straighten up their performances. Sane added that the memos included lists of all the violations committed by var-

ious charities as well as recommendations on how to avoid future recurrence of any of them. Sane said that the total amounts collected by fundraising campaigns in Ramadan were still being calculated through checking charities’ receipt books used in collecting donations as well as the charities’ bank accounts. “The ministry has no intentions to cover up any violations,” he underlined, pointing out that any violations would negatively affect Kuwait’s image abroad.

Kuwait reaffirms support of UN efforts in human resources development NEW YORK: Kuwait has stressed its keenness on human resources management reform due to its belief that real wealth lies in the development of mankind. It has also called on the United Nations to give the issue more attention and promote it by implementing the necessary reformation. This came in the speech of the Permanent Mission of Kuwait to the UN delivered by diplomat Khalil Fadhel AlEnezi Monday evening before the Finance Committee of the General Assembly at its 68th session during the discussion of human resources management. Manpower are the most vital pillars that the organizations must take care of, so the reform of this aspect has a significant and vital role in the development of work, said Al-Enezi, expressing Kuwait’s support for human resources management reform, which the UN has initiated several years ago. Al-Enezi praised the reform that has been achieved in the administration, stressing his support for the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his bid to achieve the desired results in human resources management reform. He also lauded the efforts of the UN staff for their important role in various fields, particularly those working in life-

Khalil Fadhel Al-Enezi

threatening conditions. With regard to the issue of improving equitable and fair geographical representation at the General Secretariat, the State of Kuwait hopes that the countries, which are not represented, to get the chance to participate in the organization’s work as “fair geographical representation at the UN will increase the credibility and transparency.” Al-Enezi expressed his hope that the reform “would enable the different nations of the world to participate at the UN as it is a symbol of justice and freedom,” wishing that the high positions would not be exclusive to certain countries only.” — KUNA

Delaying KAC budget approval postpones planes handover KUWAIT: Well-informed sources justified Kuwait Airways (KAC)’s delay in renting new planes after a delay in approving the carrier’s new budget. “KAC will rent new planes once the new budget was approved,” they said. The sources added that this delay would postpone receiving the rented planes to the first quarter of 2014 instead of September as previously agreed. The sources highlighted that KAC’s privatization might take some time, especially since some regional carriers took up to 7 years for privatization to be put into practice and turn their losses to profits. KAC had initially signed a contract with Airbus to rent 15-20 planes to be handed over in phases during the privatization process.

Direct Aid to organize investment forum in Africa KUWAIT: The Direct Aid Society is organizing an investment forum in Africa on November 18 coinciding with the third Arab-African Summit to be hosted by Kuwait from Nov 19 to 21 with the participation of leaders of Arab and African countries. The society said in a statement that the forum’s preparatory committee has announced several axioms to be discussed by the forum including successful investment applications in Africa, in addition to reviewing expertise of companies which invest in four successful sectors including energy, health facilities, educational projects and agriculture. It added that the forum aims to enrich the information and experiences of those interested in investing in Africa, in addition to having the upcoming Kuwait summit attract numerous economic activities in Kuwait under the auspices of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah. It recalled HH the Amir’s participation in last year’s African summit that was held in Addis Ababa. The forum is also expected to witness a distinctive interaction between investors and senior officials coinciding with the prospective Arab-African Summit and the Arab-African Economic Forum, to be organized by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED). The Direct Aid Society operates in 29 African countries through provision of humanitarian services and its effective development projects such as building schools and universities, in addition to setting up medical camps and relief campaigns to deal with the impact of disasters in the African countries. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The Lord Mayor of London Alderman Roger Gifford, Head of London’s global financial district, said Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the country’s leading fund, is the first global sovereign wealth fund of strategic planning and success in selection of investment opportunities. Lord Gifford said his two-day visit to the country was his second, during which he met with a number of Kuwaiti officials to follow up on issues of common interests, adding that it preceded end of his term as mayor. Volume of investments owned and operated by KIA in the UK exceeds $100 million, said the Lord Mayor Gifford, adding that the Authority has high credibility in Britain, given that most of its investments are long-term ones. He stated that this is a routine visit in which he discussed several investment issues and bilateral relations with a number of Kuwaiti officials, including KIA Managing Director, Bader Al-Saad. Regarding issuance of visas for Kuwaitis seeking to visit the UK, the Lord Mayor said that dur-

ing his current visit, he tackled this issue as he expected future significant progress, where Kuwaitis would be allowed to travel to Britain without visas. There has been an improvement in the British economy, he said, expecting it to grow by two percent this year as it is doing much better than the Eurozone’s economy, although the latter has recently improved as well. The Eurozone’s economy has benefited from devaluation of the common currency during the past period of time where there have been several positive economic indicators in Italy, Spain and France, in addition to Germany, which has the region’s largest economy. Meanwhile, Lord Mayor Gifford said that during his visit, he met with a number of officials from the British companies operating in Kuwait, who “saw the determination of Kuwait’s government to make a reform,” especially after the release of several new economic legislations. He added that a few British healthcare, IT and education companies have signed contracts in

Kuwait. When asked about the impact of the current political events taking place in the Middle East on trade, Lord Mayor Gifford noted that they do affect the flow of investment and economic growth significantly, but the stability state of the GCC countries has contributed to attracting foreign investments. He stated “People in Europe want to see stability and solidarity in the Gulf region in order to invest.” Lord Mayor Gifford said that the US will not repeat what happened at the debt-ceiling crisis that took place this month during next January and February due to their negative effects on the US and global economies. The Lord Mayor of London said that his current visit included presenting the Mansion House Scholarship to a Kuwaiti scholar, which is the first time to happen in Kuwait. The scholarship exists to fund scholarships for the brightest and best students and young business executives from overseas to travel the UK to study or undertake training or work experience in the Financial Services Sector. — KUNA

Kuwait, Vietnam agree on broader petrochemical cooperation HANOI: Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Mustafa Al-Shimali and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung agreed yesterday to smoothly execute a joint refinery and petrochemical project and confirmed the two governments’ strong commitments to strengthening bilateral ties. While thanking the Vietnamese government for creating favorable conditions for the project by supporting essential requirement to facilitate the Nghi Son Refinery and petrochemical project between Kuwait, Vietnam and Japan, Al-Shimali renewed Kuwait’s commitment to supplying 100 percent crude oil in the long term for the vital joint venture. The $9 billion plant, to be located in 180 km south of Hanoi, is expected to start commercial operations in 2017 with a refining capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, equivalent to 10 million tons per year. As Kuwait’s third refinery abroad after Europoort in the Netherlands and Milazzo in Italy, the Nghi Son plant will provide state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiary Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) with a platform for further expansion and consolidation of their activities in Vietnam and other Asia. The project is expected to meet 40 percent of the fuel demand in Vietnam, where demand for oil products is rapidly increasing for 90 million people and 33 million motorbikes. In his separate meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang, they discussed developments of the project and exchanged views on issues of common interest. The $9 billion Nghi Son Refinery Petrochemical Complex, to be built 180 km south of Hanoi, involves Kuwait, Vietnam and Japan, with state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) set to supply all of its feedstock requirements. Al-Shimali said the project is a reflection of friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two governments and peoples. Al-Shimali also offered a plan to provide training for Vietnamese refinery staff at KPC’s facilities back home. He also offered condolences to the Vietnamese people for damages from the recent typhoon and pledged Kuwaiti aid. In a statement, Al-Shimali expressed appreciation to former Kuwaiti oil ministers, former KPC and KPI leaders and PetroVietnam President for their efforts to push this project forward, with special thanks to former KPI President Hussain Esmaiel. Al-Shimali arrived in Hanoi earlier in the day.

HANOI: Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Mustafa Al-Shimali exchanging mementos with top Vietnamese official yesterday. The delegation accompanying the Kuwaiti minister to the meetings included Kuwaiti Ambassador to Vietnam Hamad Al-Jutaili, KPC CEO Nizar Al-Adsani, KPI Chairman Mohammad Al-Mutairi, KPI CEO

Bakheet Al-Rashidi and officials from the Oil Ministry and the oil sector. Kuwait was the first Gulf nation to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam in 1976. — KUNA

OPEC to invest $40 billion in oil, gas till 2035: Badri KUWAIT: OPEC’s secretary general Abdullah AlBadri stressed the world’s daily demand of OPEC’s petrol would be 29.7 million barrels in 2014 and pointed out that this would create a balance between demand and offer in international markets. Speaking in an interview with Al-Jarida daily, Badri said that OPEC’s current daily production is 30 million barrels and that all members strictly abide by producing their agreed-upon quotas. Badri also noted that unconventional oils (tight oil) such as rock oil had not affected oil prices though they form new welcome additions. “They have been on the market for four

years now and have not affected oil prices,” he underlined. Speaking about renewable energy, Badri said that it will provide most of the world’s future supply of energy and in the aftermath of Japan’s nuclear reactor accident, other types of energy, such as nuclear, hydro and biofuel will only supply 17 percent of those needs while the rest would be covered by oil, gas and coal. Badri also said till 2035, OPEC will spend $40 billion annually on oil and gas projects. Speaking of oil prices, he stressed that the current balance between demand and offer has created a state of satisfaction amongst both producers and consumers.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

LOCAL

News

in brief

Turkish FM to visit Kuwait KUWAIT: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will visit here tomorrow to head his country’s delegation to the meeting of the Joint Kuwaiti-Turkish Committee which deals with enhancing bilateral ties, a Kuwaiti official said yesterday. The meeting of the two nations’ foreign ministers will take place Thursday but will be preceded today by a preliminary meeting that will bring together government and private sector officials from both countries to thrash out a gamut of mutual issues of concern, the Undersecretary of the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said today, in remarks to the press. He further said the meeting of the joint committee here in Kuwait was indicative of the growing robust relationship between the two countries, adding that the Turkish foreign minister’s visit at this juncture, when the region is teeming with momentous events, will afford Kuwaiti officials the opportunity to discuss the magnitude of these events with an important country of the region, namely Turkey. He added that both sides will likely focus in their talks on the crisis in Syria and the upcoming Geneva II conference. The undersecretary also noted that both sides will discuss the second donor countries conference for Syria to be hosted by Kuwait at start of next year.

Eleven students hurt in Sulaibiya road accident Policeman charged with armed robbery KUWAIT: Eleven students were injured including one whose condition required intensive medical attention following an accident on Monday in Sulaibiya. The girls were on their way to school when their bus collided with a vehicle that was later discovered to be driven by a 18-year-old Saudi national. The girls aged between 10 and 17 where rushed to the Jahra Hospital and one student’s condition (10 years) was described to be ‘unstable’. Nine of the students are bedoon (stateless) and the two others are Kuwaiti and Syrian. The conditions of the teen driver along with that of the bus’ 23-year-old bedoon (stateless) driver were not immediately known. An investigation was opened to determine the circumstances behind the accident. Andalus robbery Investigations are ongoing in the case of a police officer on charges of trespassing and armed burglary pressed by an Andalus resident recently. According to the 43-year-old woman’s account, the suspect forced his way into a house in the area where she lives with her 21-year-old relative. She identified him as a Sulaibiya police station officer and said that he was a friend. She added that the man later left with her relative’s wallet that contained her civil ID and KD 35 which he stole at knifepoint. The man was arrested at his residence in Jahra and taken to the Public Prosecution for questioning.

Transfer of students KUWAIT: Education Minister Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf rejected any exceptions for the transfer of students from public to private schools except for students with special needs and those who have already paid the fees only. The ban is also valid on all other cases including those who submitted applications before the issuance of the decision. Ministry undersecretary Mariam Al-Wutaid issued a decision in the absence of the minister giving three exceptions to break the ban on the transfer of government schools students to private ones, and allow them to complete their registrations in Arab schools based on three cases: Students who passed the second round exams, humanitarian cases and those who applied before the ban. KNPC wins oil award KUWAIT: Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has received a Middle East oil and gas award for 2013 from the Oil & Gas Journal, a leading petroleum industry weekly publication with a worldwide coverage. The company said in a release yesterday its training program “SOGT” was chosen by a panel of specialists as the best industrial training project for the Middle East region this year. The head of the KNPC training and development team, Abdulrahman AlElyan, received the award at a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi, with leading regional oil companies taking part, it said. The KNPC’s training program is meant to present an orderly process mainly based on staff experienced in the field of training newly appointed employees, it added. Discussions on Syrian crisis KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah yesterday held a meeting with the visiting UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi. Discussions between the two sides dealt with the Syrian crisis, international efforts aimed at holding Geneva-II conference and means of securing success of the second donors conference for Syria, due to be hosted by Kuwait early next year. Brahimi arrived in Kuwait late on Monday for talks with the Kuwaiti leaders on preparations for the Geneva II conference on Syria, where the conflict claimed lives of over 100,000 people and caused hardships for millions others.

Drug dealer A woman was arrested at the Kuwait International

DGCA chief urges more pan-Arab aviation coordination ALEXANDRIA: Chairman of Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation Fawaz Al-Farah said here yesterday it is necessary for all Arab civil aviation authorities and carriers to have full coordination for uniform commercial operation frameworks. Speaking to KUNA following a meeting of the Executive Office of Arab Transport Ministers’ Council, he said Arab coordination in the field of air transport would surely lead to the provision of more facilities to the air transport movement whether among Arab countries themselves or between them and other countries in the region. He called for wiping out all operational restrictions on Arab airlines and carriers, noting that many world countries have created economic groups and blocs. The Kuwaiti official also stressed the importance of creating a single aviation market in all Arab countries. On the meeting of the Executive Office

of Arab Transport Ministers’ Council, he said the gathering had discussed a host of vital issues bearing on different means of transport, especially air transport, and Arab-EU aviation relations. He added that his body had worked out an all-out study for Arab-EU air movement, citing a recommendation for Arab countries to adopt guidelines for air relations with European countries or for renewing relevant bilateral agreements. Kuwait is represented at the meeting by a delegation, headed by Minister of Communications Essa Ahmed Al-Kandari. The executive office groups officials from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Iraq, Algeria, Sudan and Palestine (as observer). Arab transport ministers are set to begin their 26th session in Alexandria today to look into recommendations and suggestions produced by Arab transport officials. — kuna

Airport on drug smuggling charges after she was caught with possession of two kilograms of heroin. The arrest followed investigations which identified the Asian woman as a prime suspect in a case involving a drug smuggler who worked for drug dealers detained at the Central Jail. Investigation revealed that the woman worked as a maid for a Kuwaiti man in Mangaf, and smuggled drugs when she returned back from leaves she spent outside. Based on these investigations, airport authorities were put on high alert in anticipation of the woman’s scheduled return. The woman was detained at the registration counter and police noticed that she was nervous and carried no luggage. She was taken for questioning during which she said that she left her suitcase at a location inside the terminal when she became suspicious by unusual police activity. Police inspected the bag and found the drugs hidden in secret pouches. The woman admitted that she smuggled drugs on three different occasions by keeping the drugs inside white cardboard and wrapped it with carbon paper so that it could not be seen by the x-ray scanner. The woman was referred to the authorities for further action. Hit and run A man was injured in a hit-and-run accident on Sunday night in Farwaniya. Paramedics and police headed to the scene following an emergency call after the pedestrian was ran over by a speeding vehicle. The Egyptian man received first aid treatment onsite before he was taken to Farwaniya Hospital. An investigation was opened in search for the driver.

Gulf Bank platinum sponsor of students’ conference KUWAIT: Gulf Bank has announced its platinum sponsorship of the National Union of Kuwaiti Students in the United States (NUKSUSA) students’ conference, which is to be held from Nov 27 to 30 in San Diego, California. The NUKS-USA Student’s conference is considered one of the largest gatherings of Kuwaitis outside of Kuwait with over 3000 participants expected to attend this event. The sponsorship is in line with Gulf Bank’s commitment to supporting Kuwaiti youth in the development of their careers after they graduate from their universities abroad. The NUKS-USA conference, entitled ‘Let Us Make a Decision...To Correct Our Path’, is the 30th US based Kuwaiti students’ conference. The conference aims to make students feel at home while abroad and to aid them in their academic efforts and to help them settle into a new lifestyle while studying in the United States.

Gulf Bank’s participation is part of its responsibility as a Kuwaiti company to help provide bright and enthusiastic young Kuwaitis who are looking for jobs, with suitable career development opportunities when they return from studying abroad. The National Union of Kuwaiti Students - United States branch is par t of the National Union of Kuwaiti Students in Kuwait. Amongst the Union’s primary tasks are the reunification of Kuwaiti students living abroad in order to help them create an academic climate that is conducive to learning. Gulf Bank is committed to supporting education based initiatives and encouraging youth to succeed and realize their ambitions. The Bank’s dedication to promoting a more prosperous Kuwait arises from its own commitment of being a responsible financial institution dedicated to developing youth and supporting the community.

KUWAIT: Fire broke out in a Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh building near the police station. The fire was in the basement of a four-storey building covering an area of 1000 meters. Residents were evacuated through the roof, and no injuries were reported. — Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

Kuwait takes part in Jordan forum on cooperatives, small industries AMMAN: Kuwait is sharing its leading experience in the field of cooperatives and cooperative action and its keenness to support small and medium industries. Kuwait is doing so during a national forum on cooperatives’ role in training and rehabilitating youth organized here by the Arab Labor Organization as of Tuesday, Kuwait’s representative at the forum Hani Al-Shimmiri said yesterday. Al-Shimmiri, Director of Cooperatives Supervision and Inspections Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, recalled Kuwait’s hosting of the Arab Economic, Social, and Development Summit in 2009 as well as the initiative of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah during the summit of contributing USD 500 million towards a total of USD two billion to aid efforts in this area, by way of example.

The official told the participants, representing 13 Arab countries, that the State of Kuwait is keen on regulating the founding, management, and other affairs of cooperative societies and bodies and updating legislation to best supervise such bodies. The support, these bodies received, enabled them to prosper and become important, even vital, institutions for the Kuwaiti economy, he added. The conferees are to assess the role played by cooperatives in the Arab world and their actual, rather than potential for, contribution to social and economic development and their support of small and medium industries and enterprises as well as their role in creating jobs, the official noted. Cooperatives’ contribution to the aspired Arab economic integration would also be discussed, along with related leg-

islation and the role of the Arab Labor Organization. Upon inaugurating the forum, Secretary General of the Jordanian Ministry of Labor Hamadah Abu Nijmeh said the officials are convened in line with the resolution of the 2009 Kuwait summit urging members to make the second decade of the 21st century a so-called ‘Arab labor decade’. The forum also seeks approval of the program presented by the Arab Labor Organization to curb unemployment, with great stress on job opportunities for youth in particular, he said. Other areas in need of more focus were mentioned by organization consultant Hamdi Ahmad, including removal of obstacles which impede movement of labor within the region, and curbing the economic rift between cities and countryside areas. — KUNA

NREC organizing blood donation campaign KUWAIT: As part of its commitment towards advancing humanitarian causes in Kuwait and abroad, National Real Estate Co. (NREC) is set to launch its second Blood Drive in cooperation with The Kuwait Central Blood Bank on Friday from 4pm to 8pm at Souq Sharq. NREC would like to extend an open invitation to the public to join its senior management and staff in saving lives. The company has stressed that a single donation can save up to three lives and that every donor will be able to make a difference. “NREC’s second Blood Drive redoubles our commitment to supporting Kuwait’s healthcare sector and ensuring that it ranks favorably at the international level,” commented Chief Executive Officer of NREC, Mr. Samuel Sidiqi.

KUWAIT: Jahra municipality launched special inspection campaigns during the Eid vacation on a number of restaurants, food stuff and dessert stores to make sure they are safe for human consumption and that all places had proper and valid licenses and health certificates. In this regard, the team head, Ali Al-Quwaidhi said the campaigns resulted in filing 109 citations. —- Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

Sudan, South Sudan leaders seek flashpoint enclave deal

Teacher called hero in fatal Nevada school shooting Page 10

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France tells US snooping must stop Actions ‘unacceptable between friends and allies’ PARIS: France yesterday told the United States to stop snooping on its citizens but backed away from picking a fight over reports millions of telephone calls were monitored by US intelligence. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius used a breakfast meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris to demand a full explanation of the latest revelations about a controversial US National Security Agency (NSA) spying programme. “I said again to John Kerry what (French President) Francois Hollande told (US President) Barack Obama, that this kind of spying conducted on a large scale by the Americans on its allies is something that is unacceptable,” Fabius said in London later in the day. All the signs were however that Paris wants to defuse the row created by the latest reports based on leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. When asked if France was considering reprisals over the NSA’s conduct, government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem replied: “It is up to foreign minister Fabius to decide what line we take but I don’t think there is any need for an escalation (of the situation). “We have to have a respectful relationship between partners, between allies. Our confidence in that has been hit but it is after all a very close, individual relationship that we have.” Le Monde newspaper reported this week that the NSA had monitored more than 70 million phone communications in France between December 10, 2012 and January 8 this year. The daily said the operation appeared to have targeted business and political figures as well as people suspected of being involved in

terrorism, putting it in a diﬀerent league from the monitoring France’s own intelligence services carry out. Le Monde followed up on Tuesday by publishing details of US spying on French embassies around the world, most of which had been reported before.

France’s Communist Party called for the country to pull out of NATO in protest, but reaction to Le Monde’s reports was otherwise muted. Most commentators seemed to agree that it was far from surprising that the US was carrying out intelligence operations in France. An opposition MP suggested the revelations

had been engineered by the government as a diversion from its domestic problems. “It doesn’t mean it is not very serious, and the Americans must explain themselves, but this has all been known about for a very long time,” said Christian Jacob of the centre-right UMP. “They’re panicking and attempting a

PARIS: US Ambassador to France Charles H. Rivkin, left, sits with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Paris during their meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, yesterday. — AP

diversion operation.” Hollande told Obama on Monday evening that the NSA’s actions had been “unacceptable between friends and allies.” Obama has already initiated a review of how the US gathers intelligence with a view to addressing concerns over citizens’ right to privacy, officials say. US officials also stress that intelligence acquired from phone monitoring can benefit all of Washington’s allies in fighting terrorism. “Protecting the security of our citizens in today’s world is a very complicated, very challenging task... because there are lots of people out there seeking to do harm to other people,” Kerry said on Monday. “Our goal is always to try to find the right balance between protecting the privacy and security of our citizens.” As it seeks to keep France sweet, the Obama administration is simultaneously grappling with the fallout from the revelation by German weekly Der Spiegel that the NSA hacked into former Mexican president Felipe Calderon’s email. Calderon described the news as an “affront to the institutions of the country, given that it took place when I was president”. Mexico’s current President Enrique Pena Nieto has already complained to Obama over reports US spies have gone through his emails. The latest revelations come on top of previous disclosures by Snowden that the United States had a vast secret programme called PRISM to monitor Internet users. French prosecutors are investigating the programme. Snowden is currently living in Russia, having fled there via Hong Kong to escape US authorities pursuing him for leaking classified information. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

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

Israel troops kill militant ‘behind Tel Aviv bus bomb’ KUFR NEMEH: Israeli troops yesterday killed an Islamic Jihad militant said to be behind the 2012 bombing of a Tel Aviv bus, officials said, as the Palestinian movement confirmed his death. The militant was killed as troops stormed an area between the West Bank villages of Bilin and Kufr Ne’meh, 10 kilometres (six miles) northwest of Ramallah, sparking a gunfight which ended at a cave, Palestinian witnesses and medics said. The army confirmed the incident, naming the dead man as Mohammed Assi and describing him as an Islamic Jihad militant responsible for the November 2012 bombing of a Tel Aviv bus that wounded 29 people.

“A wanted Palestinian terrorist was killed this morning in Bilin during a gunfight with the army while he was in a cave,” army spokesman Avichay Adraee tweeted in Arabic. Islamic Jihad confirmed Assi was one of its militants in a statement on its website which said he had been “assassinated” by the army in Kufr Ne’meh, while Gaza’s Hamas rulers offered condolences. Peter Lerner, the official spokesman for the Israeli army, described Assi as the “planner” of the Tel Aviv bombing. “On 21st November 2012 a terrorist planted a bomb on a bus in #TelAviv injuring 29 people. This a.m. its planner was killed in exchange of fire,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Mohammad Assi involved in #TelAviv bombing last Nov. opened fire at security forces and was killed this a.m. in the exchange of fire,” he said, adding two others also involved in the bombing were arrested. In a statement, the army said Assi’s whereabouts had been discovered by Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service after “extensive continuous efforts.” It said Assi had barricaded himself into a cave and that soldiers used grenades and “other means” in a bid to reach him. “While attempting to detain the terrorist, he opened fire towards security forces. They responded with fire which killed him,” said the army. Troops also arrested two of Assi’s “assistants” overnight, it said, saying the two had been previously

jailed for Islamic Jihad activity and were being interrogated by the Shin Bet. Witnesses told AFP the incident began at 5:00 am (0200 GMT) when troops entered Bilin then moved into an area between the village and nearby Kufr Ne’meh, sparking gunfire. Troops surrounded a cave in the area and bulldozed it, a Palestinian medic at the scene said. The witnesses confirmed troops were hunting for Assi, saying he was a wanted Islamic Jihad activist. The Tel Aviv bombing took place on November 21 on a bus near the defence ministry. The attack came as Israel was engaged in a major air campaign in Gaza to stamp out cross-border rocket fire that ended with a mutual ceasefire several hours later. — AFP

Iran nuke overture: More a promise than an offer Suspension of enrichment above fuel-grade levels

JUBA: Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir (C) arrives to meet South Sudan’s President at Juba airport on October 15, 2013. Bashir, an indicted war crimes suspect wanted by the International Criminal Court, was met at the airport in Juba by his southern counterpart Salva Kiir, with the former arch-enemies shaking hands and then embracing. — AFP

Sudan, South Sudan leaders seek flashpoint enclave deal JUBA: Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir met yesterday with his southern counterpart Salva Kiir amid pressure to strike a deal on the disputed Abyei region and other issues left unresolved since South Sudan won independence. Bashir, an indicted war crimes suspect wanted by the International Criminal Court, was welcomed at the airport in Juba by Kiir, with the former arch-enemies first shaking hands and then embracing warmly. “The meeting is about building relationships between our countries, to strengthen our ties,” South Sudan’s Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told reporters as the presidents left for closed-door meetings. As Bashir arrived, a military guard of honour stood to attention, comprising former rebel fighters he once battled during the two-decade civil war that led to South Sudan’s independence in July 2011. The African Union has urged the leaders to “seize the opportunity” towards settling the dispute over war-ravaged Abyei, wedged between the two countries and claimed by both sides. Abyei was meant to vote on whether to be part of Sudan or South Sudan in January 2011 — the same day as Juba voted overwhelmingly to split from the north-as part of the 2005 peace deal which ended Sudan’s civil war. But a referendum to decide the region’s fate has been repeatedly stalled, with residents now saying they will organise their own vote to determine their fate. The United Nations and AU have warned that any such unilateral move could inflame tensions in the oilproducing zone and risk destabilising the uneasy peace between the longtime foes. “Abyei is one of the top items on the table,” Benjamin said, adding that other issues included opening up border posts to allow traders and residents to cross the new frontier that splits the formerly united nation. Sudan’s Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti, in a statement on state news agency SUNA, said the talks would “stave off the fear” that the dispute over Abyei would endanger the “improving relations between

Arab women push to the fore in Israel local vote NAZARETH: From billboards across Nazareth shines the discreet smile of Hanin Zuabi, a controversial Arab woman MP who is hoping voters will chose her as mayor of Israel’s largest Arab city. This 44-year-old former maths teacher, her black hair cut into a sleek bob, is the only woman running for leadership of the sprawling northern city revered by Christians as Jesus’ childhood home. Zuabi is just one of a growing number of women from Israel’s Arab minority vying for office in Tuesday’s elections across 191 municipalities. “Running for mayor sends an important message saying that Palestinian women are entering local politics and putting themselves on the political map,” she told AFP during campaigning. Israel’s Arab minority has its roots in the 160,000 Palestinians who stayed on their land after the creation of Israel in 1948. Today, they number more than 1.3 million, and often refer to themselves as ‘48 Palestinians.—AFP

the two countries”. But many are gloomy for a quick resolution. “I think there isn’t a solution in sight for quite a long time,” a Western diplomat said, but added there was a need at least to show some progress “otherwise people get desperate.” Abyei, patrolled by some 4,000 Ethiopian-led UN peacekeepers, is home to the settled Ngok Dinka, closely connected to South Sudan, as well the seminomadic Arab Misseriya, who traditionally move back and forth from Sudan grazing their cattle. “Both governments have important constituencies that they need to pacify, making the issue very difficult to solve,” the diplomat said. Senior leaders of the Ngok Dinka said last week they will organise and run their own referendum, saying international efforts had stalled and there was “no light at the end of the tunnel”. Trade, security and oil issues are also on the presidents’ agenda for the one-day visit, with more than 50 officials including senior ministers and businessmen accompanying Bashir. Bashir and Kiir met in talks in Sudan last month, while Bashir last visited South Sudan in April, his first visit since independence and which followed a furious row over the shutdown of crucial oil exports as well as bloody border battles last year. When South Sudan split away, it took with it oil fields accounting for 75 percent of the reserves-with production totalling some 470,000 barrels per daythat Sudan used to call its own. The landlocked South complained that Sudan was demanding too much to use its pipelines and port facilities, and the shutdown cost both countries billions of dollars. Battles along the two nations’ undemarcated border last year involving warplanes and troops then aggravated the situation and raised fears of a return to the level of violence seen in the 1983-2005 civil war. International pressure eventually reined the two sides back in, with leaders signing a raft of deals, most of which however are yet to be implemented. — AFP

VIENNA: Iran nuclear talks ended last week with enthusiastic pronouncements of progress from negotiators. Tehran’s willingness to engage is a big step, but diplomats familiar with the meeting also say significant gaps remain between what the Iranians offered and what the six negotiating powers seek in order to reduce fears Iran wants to build nuclear weapons. Details of the Iranian offer remain confidential, but two diplomats agreed to give The Associated Press some insight. They demanded anonymity because they are under orders not to discuss the issue. The diplomats said the chief advance achieved at Geneva was not detailed Iranian concessions, but Tehran’s apparent willingness to engage the six powers on their concerns - a departure from previous Iranian refusal to even discuss most of the other side’s demands. Differences remain over the size and output of Iran’s enrichment program, which can create both reactor fuel and weapons-grade material suitable for a nuclear bomb. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, refused to confirm the characterization of negotiations, saying only that his country “introduced the framework for the talks” during the meeting and that they were welcomed. He said that Iran and the six powers had agreed to keep details confidential. Iran, which denies any interest in such weapons, currently runs over 10,000 centrifuges that have created tons of fuel-grade material that can be further enriched to arm nuclear warheads. That’s a relatively slow process with such reactor-grade material. But Tehran also has nearly 440 pounds (200 kilograms) of higher-enriched uranium in a form that can be turned into weapons much more quickly. Experts say 550 pounds (250 kilograms) of 20 percent-enriched uranium are needed to produce a single warhead. The following is a list of demands on Iran from the six powers - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany and what the diplomats say Tehran offered at the Geneva talks: The six want Iran to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent. The diplomats say Iran offered to halt 20-percent enrichment at the Geneva talks, which ended Wednesday. They had already proposed this at the round preceding the Geneva talks. The six demand that enrichment operations at Fordo, an underground bunker believed to be impervious to air strikes, be disabled to the point where they would be difficult to restart. The diplomats say Iran offered only to discuss the status of Fordo. The six powers want a cap on how much enriched material Iran can produce and stockpile. With some of Iran’s enriching centrifuges more efficient than others, this would mean tough negotiations on the number and type of machines it has installed and is operating. The diplomats say Iran has signaled it is open to discussing numbers. The six powers want Tehran to ship out most of its supply of 20-percent enriched ura-

TEHRAN: Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during United Nations day in Tehran, yesterday. The United Nations Day is devoted to making known to peoples of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations Organization and runs as part of the United Nations Week, from 20 to 26 October. — AFP nium or blend it down into reactor fuel. They while making nuclear advances. The diploalso want Iran to agree to stricter U.N. super- mats said no formal implementation time vision of its lower-grade enriched uranium table of any deal was discussed last week. In contrast to the overture on nuclear stockpile. The diplomats said the Iranians did effor ts, hardline fac tions in I ran have not substantially address these demands. Additionally, the diplomats said the increased their bluster. They hold sway Iranians agreed to discuss six power concerns over the pace and direction of the nuclear about a reactor that experts say will produce program and the West could grow increasenough plutonium for one or two bombs a ingly skeptical about the country’s outyear once completed. The U.S. and its allies reach. Yesterday, Gen. Masoud Jazayri, the have called on Tehran to stop construction of deputy chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, that reactor. Araghchi predicted Monday the nuclear issued a veiled warning to the negotiators talks could take as long as a year in step-by- representing Tehran at the talks. “Iranian step measures with the first milestone com- diplomats will never give in to the oppressive ing in three to six months and negotiations West,” Jazayri was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars new agency. “The Iranian concluding within the year. Such as a timetable, however, could bring people will carefully watch what their own pressure on Washington from Israel and oth- representatives and the other party at the ers that fear Iran could be seeking to buy time talks say and do.”—AP

VILNIUS: The Speaker of Lithuania’s parliament Seimas, Loreta Grauziniene (R), shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) at the parliament in Vilnius yesterday. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

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

WWII vet honored with long-overdue military medals TULSA: Given the choice, World War II veteran Phillip Coon probably wouldn’t want the formality and fuss of being honored on some military base with men and women standing at attention, dressed in full regalia even if it was with a fistful of long-overdue medals he waited decades to receive. So it’s fitting that the awards were presented to the humble Tulsa-area man Monday evening during an informal ceremony in a waiting area at the Tulsa International Airport, with family and fellow veterans in attendance and little pomp and circumstance. There, the 94-year-old survivor of a POW labor camp and the Bataan Death March received the Prisoner of War Medal, Bronze Star and the Combat Infantryman Badge. He and his son, Michael, had just returned from a trip to Japan aimed at promoting an understanding and healing between that country and the US.

The two dozen or so people in attendance applauded wildly after the medals were presented to Coon, who was seated in a wheelchair. He lifted his ball cap in recognition, exposing a shock of silver hair. “I’ve been blessed to come this far in life,” he said, a tear streaming down one cheek. “I thank the Lord for watching over me.” Retired Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon, Oklahoma’s secretary of military and veterans’ affairs, said many veterans like Coon were more focused on reuniting with their families than chasing after military ribbons once they returned home after the war - and rightfully so. Coon, who lives in Sapulpa in northeastern Oklahoma, served as an infantry machine gunner in the Army and survived the brutal Bataan Death March in the Philippines in 1942. Tens of thousands of American and Filipino soldiers were forced by the Japanese mili-

tary to complete a 65-mile trek with little food or water in blazing heat. As many as 11,000 died along the way. It’s not clear why Coon didn’t get his medals before now, but such occurrences with awards are not uncommon in the military. “He was entitled to the medals but never received them,” said Jake Heisten, press secretary for US Sen. Jim Inhofe, whose office contacted the military three weeks ago about the missing medals. “Unfortunately, our office comes across instances where members do not actually receive the awards they are eligible for or have already been awarded.” Kay Guynes, president of Rolling Thunder Oklahoma, a national advocacy group for POWs and those missing in action, said some people “choose to put a period at the end of things” after veterans return home from combat. Guynes, who attended the cere-

mony for Coon, said instead of doing that they should focus on ensuring that medals and other honors go to those who deserve them. Tulsa veteran David Rule, who served in the Vietnam War, helped Coon and his family with their push to find out why his medals hadn’t been issued. For the past 10 years or so, Rule has helped recognize about 150 area veterans by memorializing their names, ranks and branches of service on granite plaques that are presented to them and their families. “It’s not just (Coon’s) story. Every one of these men are special,” Rule said earlier Monday. “I have a passion for these servicemen. They just sacrificed so much. It doesn’t matter to me whether they were a cook or a four-star general, just for them to get this million-dollar smile on their face when they know they aren’t forgotten.” — AP

Mexico’s hard-hit coast preparing for hurricane Memories still fresh of devastation from Manuel

SPARKS: A tearful Michelle Hernandez, left, is led away from Agnes Risley Elementary School following a shooting at Sparks Middle School in Sparks, Nevada on Monday. A student at the middle school opened fire on campus just before the starting bell Monday, wounding two boys and killing a teacher who was trying to protect other children, Sparks police and the victim’s family members said. — AP

Teacher called hero in fatal Nevada school shooting SPARKS: Students at a Nevada middle school were filing off buses and reuniting with friends on the playground after a weeklong vacation when the pop of gunfire shattered the morning calm. Children fled the campus for their lives before the first bell rang. Police said a Sparks Middle School student was the lone gunman who injured two young classmates, killed himself and took the life of an 8th-grade math teacher who tried to stop the rampage. The teacher, former serviceman Michael Landsberry, 45, was being hailed for trying to protect students from a shooting that was witnessed by 20 or 30 children. “We have a lot of heroes today, including our children ... and our fallen hero, an amazing teacher,” Washoe County School District Superintendent Pedro Martinez said. Authorities did not provide a motive for the shooting, and it’s not known where he got the gun. The 12year-old wounded students were listed in stable condition. One was shot in the shoulder, and the other was hit in the abdomen. Parents clung to their teary-eyed children at an evacuation center, while the community struggled to make sense of the latest episode of schoolyard violence to rock the nation less than a year after the massacre in Newtown, Conn. Sparks, a city of roughly 90,000 that sprung out of the railway industry, lies just east of Reno. “It’s not supposed to happen here,” said Chanda Landsberry, the slain teacher’s sister-inlaw. “We’re just Sparks - little Sparks, Nevada. It’s unreal.” Investigators were still trying to piece together the chain of events that began around 7:15 a.m. Monday, 15 minutes before classes were set to begin for roughly 700 students in the 7th and 8th grades. “As you can imagine, the best description is chaos,” Reno Deputy Police Chief Tom Robinson said. “It’s too early to say whether he was targeting people or going on an indiscriminate shooting spree.” It was no shock to family members that Landsberry - a married military veteran with

two stepdaughters - would take a bullet. “To hear that he was trying to stop that is not surprising by any means,” said Chanda Landsberry. She added his life could be summed up by his love of family, his students and his country. On his school website, Michael Landsberry posted a picture of a brown bear and took on a tough-love tone, telling students, “I have one classroom rule and it is very simple: ‘Thou Shall Not Annoy Mr. L.’” “The kids loved him,” Chanda Landsberry said. Sparks Mayor Geno Martini said Landsberry served two tours in Afghanistan with the Nevada National Guard and was well known in the school community. “He proudly served his country and was proudly defending the students at his school,” he said. The mayor praised the quick response from law officers who arrived at the scene within 3 minutes of the initial 911 calls to find the gunman with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. “They got it under control very quickly and shut down the scene,” said Martini, who urged listeners on a local radio station hours after the shooting to be sure all guns in their homes are locked away safely. “I couldn’t understand how this kid got a gun,” he said. “I’m sure his parents didn’t give it to him.” Students from the middle school and neighboring elementary school were evacuated to the nearby high school, and classes were canceled. The middle school will remain closed for the week along with an adjacent elementary school. “We came flying down here to get our kids,” said Mike Fiorica, who came to the evacuation center to meet up with his nephew, a Sparks Middle school student. “You can imagine how parents are feeling. You don’t know if your kid’s OK.” The violence erupted nearly a year after a gunman horrified the nation by opening fire in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., leaving 26 dead. The Dec. 14 shooting ignited debate over how best to protect the nation’s schools and whether armed teachers should be part of that equation.—AP

Haitians want boat capsizing survivors to be released MIAMI: Haitians who believe their relatives were among 15 people aboard a boat that capsized off South Florida called on US officials Monday to release more information about who survived the accident. Four women died and 11 people were found clinging to the overturned hull last week seven miles east of Miami. Since the news broke, Dieudonne Alcinor has been trying to find out if her 37-year-old niece was among the survivors being detained by immigration officials - or if the niece was among those who died. “We are suffering a lot,” Alcinor said at a news conference in Miami’s Little Haiti. The illfated voyage began in the Bahamas, US officials say. Drowning was the cause of death in all four cases, said Larry Cameron, director of operations at the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office. One has been identified as a 38-year-old Haitian woman, Carmen Valeris, but no one has come forward to identify the other three victims, Cameron said. Six Jamaican and Bahamian citizens, including two men identified by other survivors as the boat’s captain and the crewman, face a charge of attempting to illegally enter the U.S. after being deported. The crewman also faces a charge of attempted smuggling. The remaining survivors include four Haitians and one Bahamian, but it was not known where they were being detained or whether they would be released to their families, said Marleine Bastien, executive director of Haitian Women of Miami. Bastien and Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat, whose elderly uncle died in

US custody after fleeing violence in Haiti in 2004, called on immigration officials to release the survivors. “We believe these refugees were traumatized,” Bastien said. “We believe they’ve suffered enough.” Along with other Haitian-American community leaders, they decried US immigration policy as a double standard that usually permits Cubans who reach US shores to be quickly processed and released to their families while their claims for humanitarian parole are considered, while Haitians and migrants from other countries typically remain in immigration detention. Each year, thousands of migrants from Haiti, Cuba and other Caribbean countries attempt to illegally enter the US by reaching Florida’s coast in overloaded or unseaworthy vessels, often through established smuggling networks that include islands in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. Bastien pinned some responsibility for the ongoing migration from her homeland on the Haitian government for not maintaining an infrastructure that would offer jobs, an education or political stability to potential migrants considering the risky journey. “We want the refuge to be in Haiti,” she said. Authorities were also investigating whether the Miami case was related to another overloaded boat intercepted this month off Palm Beach County. According to the Coast Guard, an overloaded boat was found Oct. 16 off Lake Worth Inlet. Two people on board were transferred to US law enforcement authorities, and 23 Haitians were sent back to their home country. — AP

ZIHUATANEJO: Tourists and residents in Mexico’s southwestern Guerrero state were preparing for Hurricane Raymond’s arrival yesterday, with memories still fresh of the devastation from Manuel. The powerful storm was still churning off the Central American country’s west coast, but could in the coming hours cause “urban flooding, landslides in mountainous areas, including on roads, and overflowing rivers,” Mexico’s National Weather Service said. Rain had already been drenching the resort of Acapulco since late Sunday, causing water to rise up to the knees in some neighborhoods, just a month after floods trapped tourists there for almost a week. As the major hurricane crept off the coast, several residents of the small town of Los Cimientos, west of Acapulco, took refuge on the second floor of an elementary school. “We are afraid that it will take us by surprise, so it was better to come here,” said local resident Bernarda Garcia whose town was devastated by Manuel. Guerrero state, which was pummeled by Tropical Storm Manuel in September, closed schools for 35,000 children, shut down seaports and evacuated vulnerable residents, officials said Monday. After gaining strength Monday, the Category Three hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale weakened slightly on Tuesday. It packed maximum sustained winds of 115 miles (185 kilometers) per hour, the US National Hurricane Center said in its latest bulletin. After “meandering” the day before, the storm was “nearly stationary” some 85 miles (140 kilometers) southwest of Zihuatanejo and 140 miles (230 kilometers) from Acapulco, it said. The US forecasters said Raymond could move closer to the coast yesterday but would slowly move west today. Some additional weakening is expected over the next 48 hours. Soldiers evacuated some 500 people from Los Cimientos and Tierra Digna, which are part of the Coyuca de Benitez municipality, due to the risk of floods, Mayor Ramiro Avila told AFP. Another 400 were evacuated from IxtapaZihuatanejo further west, while some 100 fami-

lies were moved from at-risk areas in the municipality of Tecpan de Galeana, officials said. In Zihuatanejo, tourists set to arrive this week were cancelling trips, and those already in the city, were being asked not to leave their hotels. But only 40 residents agreed to go into one of the three shelters prepared for some 1,500 people. “Unfortunately, people are refusing to go to shelters until something happens,” mayor Erick Fernandez said. Fishermen docked their boats after many fellow seamen lost their vessels during Manuel’s passage. “Everybody has bought food supplies to last a week. God willing this won’t get ugly,” said tuna fisherman Leonardo Gutierrez. Threatened by heavy rains, the neighboring state of Michoacan opened 34 shelters and closed schools in four municipalities, said state government secretary Jaime Mares Camarena.

The region is still recovering from Tropical Storm Manuel, which struck Guerrero in midSeptember while another system, Ingrid, slammed the opposite coast almost simultaneously. The twin storms claimed 157 lives and damaged the homes of 1.7 million people. Hardest hit was Guerrero, where 101 of the deaths were recorded and a massive landslide buried a mountain village. In Manuel’s aftermath, some 5,000 people are still living in shelters in Guerrero and 5,000 other families may have to be relocated. The National Water Commission said Raymond could also dump torrential rains in Michoacan and soak several other states, as well as Mexico City. The commission has warned that soil across the region was already saturated with water, increasing the chances of flooding and landslides. — AFP

ACAPULCO: Workers reinforce a road with sandbags in Acapulco, Mexico, Monday. The area is on alert as Hurricane Raymond gained more strength and threatened to hurl heavy rains onto a sodden region already devastated by last month’s Tropical Storm Manuel. — AP

Greek police seek foreign clues on mystery child among Roma ATHENS: Authorities in Greece yesterday were seeking clues in global child disappearance cases resembling a young blonde girl whose discovery in a Roma camp has sparked worldwide interest. “There are nearly a dozen disappearance cases from countries such as the US, Sweden, Poland and France that are being more closely investigated,” Panagiotis Pardalis, a spokesman from the Smile of the Child charity that has been assigned care of the toddler, told AFP. The girl, known as Maria, was found by police last week in a Roma camp near the town of Farsala in central Greece. Initially thought to be four years old, but later confirmed from dental checks to be five or six, she was kept by a Roma couple who were placed in pre-trial detention on Monday for allegedly abducting her. The couple, a 39-year-old man and his 40-

year-old wife, deny the charge and claim that she was voluntarily handed over by her Bulgarian Roma mother who could not care for her. Smile of the Child has said Maria is at an unidentified Athens hospital for health tests and will soon be taken to one of the organisation’s care homes. The girl’s discovery has struck a powerful chord with parents of missing children around the world, including those of Briton Madeleine McCann, who vanished in Portugal in May 2007. The Smile of the Child has received more than 8,000 calls from around the world on the case since this weekend, Pardalis said. “Some are calls to give information, and we forward to the police whatever we feel can be helpful to the case. Other calls are from people who want to express sympathy,” he said.

LARISSA: Roma women walks outside the courthouse in the central Greek city of of Larissa, yesterday, where a Roma couple is due to appear in court on charges of abducting a young girl dubbed the “blonde angel”, whose discovery has prompted thousands of calls from parents of missing children. — AFP

“This case has highlighted the problem and the need to deal with it. There are (parents of missing children) who have been living in agony for years. We tend to forget these cases exist,” he said. According to police, the Roma couple had registered 14 children in total, most of them through false documents, enabling them to claim state benefits. Late on Monday, Athens mayor George Kaminis sacked the head of the city’s birth registries department, where Maria had been recorded in 2009. “The case has exposed shortcomings at all levels,” Kaminis said, noting that post-dated child registrations had multiplied eight-fold from 2011. “One can speculate that a great number of these cases was carried out so people could claim benefits from as many sources as possible,” Kaminis said. There are over 40 pending cases on the trading of minors and illegal adoptions in Greece, some of them implicating doctors and private clinics, according to justice ministry data made public on Monday. Police were also investigating hospitals and childcare agencies for possible child trafficking, suspecting a ring operating between Bulgaria and Greece. “The police are investigating every possible angle,” a spokeswoman at the local Larissa police station told AFP. In January 2011, police arrested more than a dozen people in the two neighbouring countries, for the trafficking of newborn babies to Greece. In that case it was Roma babies who were being trafficked. The ring arranged for pregnant Bulgarian women, primarily of Roma origin, to give birth in Greece with their babies then sold off in illegal adoption procedures. Illegal adoption, in some cases involving trafficked children, has flourished in Greece, where birth rates are low and official adoption procedures grueling. Intermediaries can charge 15,000-20,000 euros ($20,000-27,000) per child according to police data, the state-run Athens News Agency said Monday. Impoverished Roma families in Bulgaria are approached by traffickers who offer to pay 3,000 euros for a boy and 2,500 euros for a girl, the agency said. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

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Africans leap daunting barrier to European dreams MELILLA: Growing numbers of Africans are taking a daunting test to enter Europe: leaping a towering, triple-layer security fence and trying to race across before rapid-deployment police guards can catch them. A vast security operation has failed to deter the would-be migrants attempting to reach the Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla, cities that lie on the northern coast of Morocco and offer the only land border between Africa and Europe. At dawn in Melilla, Spanish Guardia Civil police peer through powerful night-vision binoculars at the 11-kilometre (seven-mile) long, seven-metre (23-foot) high fence that loops around the city until it reaches the Mediterranean coast. Surveillance cameras watch over the three layers of fencing, which is lit up along its entire length to help spot migrants. On the other side, plunged in darkness, stands Mount Gurugu where hundreds of African migrants lie in wait for the right moment to make a dash for European soil. “Every day for the past few months we have seen groups approach. There are quite a few of

them and they don’t all manage to get up to the fence but there are attempts almost every day,” said Non Commissioned Officer Javier Martinez. “They go barefoot to climb the first fence, then they clear the second, then the third.” On September 17, Spanish security forces were taken by surprise by a night-time assault by about 300 migrants in the Barrio Chino (Chinese District), one of the most vulnerable areas because small buildings near the fence provide hiding places for the migrants. “The strength of the assault, the large number of people over such a short distance, with so much force, so much violence... it was impossible to contain,” said Lieutenant Juan Antonio Martin Rivera, spokesman for the Guardia Civil in Melilla. Since 2005, the semicircular frontier that encircles this 12-square-kilometre (five-square-mile) city of 80,000 people has been continually upgraded: it has now been strengthened with a raised, third fence equipped with 48 cameras, highly sensitive sensors, and tighter “anti-climb” fence links. The exterior fence, the highest at seven metres, leans

outwards at its top to stop anyone clambering over. “Even so, they manage to climb it,” said the Guardia Civil spokesman. “This is a brake. But someone who has crossed the whole of Africa, who has travelled for months to get here, isn’t going to be stopped by a fence.” The Guardia Civil has deployed 600 men at Melilla to confront the migrants. “Our reaction time is in the order of one-and-a-half to two minutes,” the officer said. “But often a strong, agile young person needs just a few seconds to get over the triple fencing, which looks impenetrable,” he said. Omar Kamara is one of the hundred or so migrants who managed to cross the fencing on September 17 and get to the other side. At 19, the young Malian left Bamako 15 months earlier “because of the poverty” and, after travelling through Algeria, came to Mount Gurugu. “On September 17, we left Gurugu. We walked for four hours,” he recalled. “If you succeed you get through, if you don’t succeed you go back to the mountain. On September 17, God gave us this chance.” It was

a Tuesday when Kamara crossed the border into Melilla. “I stayed hidden until Wednesday. Then I met a Spaniard. He gave me something to drink,” Kamara said. Then the Melilla resident showed him the way to Ceti, the Spanish government centre for migrants where Kamara is still living. There are now some 860 migrants crammed into the 480-place centre, which has transformed two large communal halls into dormitories of 100 beds each. “The migratory pressure has grown over the past two years,” says Carlos Montero Diaz, the centre’s director, evoking the conflict in Mali and unrest sparked by the Arab Spring revolts. “They are young, about 22. Their aim is to reach any country in Europe. They leave their families in their countries, hoping to be able to send them money,” he said. “They used to arrive only at certain times of the year when the weather was good. That’s no longer the case.” Melilla and Ceuta have been under Spanish rule for centuries but are a stress point in relations with Morocco, which demands Spain cede its sovereignty over the territories. — AFP

Mozambique ex-rebels attack after tearing up 1992 peace deal ‘Gunmen attack police station’

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and lawmakers of her Christian parties block a vote about the size of the German parliament presidium during the constitute session of the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, yesterday. Following the Sept 22, national election Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian parties block will start coalition talks about an new government with the Social Democratic Party today. — AP

Ex-wrestler, TV cop among new faces in German parliament BERLIN: A former wrestler, an ex-TV detective, Germany’s first African-born federal politician and a record number of women entered parliament yesterday, one month after Chancellor Angela Merkel won elections. The first Bundestag session since the September 22 vote was largely ceremonial as Merkel was to be confirmed as head of a caretaker government while she hammers out a coalition deal with the defeated Social Democrats (SPD). Those talks kick off today after Merkel’s conservatives and the centre-left party last week formally committed themselves to seeking a “grand coalition” government, a process of political haggling that could drag on for many weeks. Officially Merkel and her outgoing government were to be discharged from their posts later Tuesday by President Joachim Gauck, even though they will keep ruling until her Christian Democrats (CDU) find partners for a new governing majority. In an unusual twist, cabinet ministers from Merkel’s former allies the pro-business Free Democrats were to stay on in their posts for now but had to sit in the visitors’ gallery Tuesday after their party crashed out of parliament in the election. As the new 631-member lower house of parliament gathered under the huge glass dome of the Reichstag building in Berlin, about one-third of the legislators were newcomers. The new parliament, the 18th in post-war Germany, has a record number of women, at 36 percent, and of legislators with migrant backgrounds, at 5.9 percent, a ratio that is however only one-third of the nationwide statistic. One new face that drew much attention was that of former wrestling bad guy Matthias Ilgen, 29, who has swapped the black cape and fake sword he wore in the ring for suit and tie to do battle on the floor of parliament for the SPD. Another professional entertainer turned political pro is Charles M. Huber, 56, who long played a cop in the popular German TV series “Der Alte” and has now entered parliament for the CDU.—AFP

MAPUTO: Mozambique’s former rebel group Renamo staged a pre-dawn attack on a police station yesterday after declaring the end of a two decade-old peace deal that ended one of Africa’s worst civil wars, officials and locals said. Police fled their post in the central town of Maringue when Renamo fighters opened fire in an escalation of hostilities between the ex-rebels and Frelimo, the ruling party against which Renamo fought a bloody 16-year civil war that ended in 1992. “Gunmen attacked the police station but fortunately there were no casualties because the policemen fled the post,” Maringue’s administrator Antonio Absalao told AFP by phone. The town is located about 35 kilometres (22 miles) from Renamo’s military base, which government troops seized on Monday in an operation the ex-rebels claimed was aimed at killing their leader, Afonso Dhlakama. “The situation is horrible here. Early this morning, armed men supposed to be Renamo attacked, and it was a mess,” said Romao Martins, a local teacher. “For one hour shooting could be heard from all directions and people fled from their homes,” he said. Schools have been shut amid fears of an escalation in violence. A spokesman for the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo), which became a political party with a parliamentary minority after the civil war, hinted that the movement was responsible for the attack. “The president of Renamo has lost control of the situation and you cannot blame... (him) for what happens from here on,” Fernando Mazanga told AFP. “The guerrillas are scattered and will attack without taking any orders,” he said. Renamo, which took up arms against the then-communist Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) after independence from Portugal in 1975, declared Monday that it had pulled out of the peace agreement that ended that bitter conflict. Mazanga said Monday’s attack on its base “marks the end of multiparty democracy” in Mozambique. But the declaration should be taken with a “pinch of salt”, South African Institute of International Affairs researcher Aditi Lalbahadur told AFP. “It’s very unlikely that you are going to see a return to war.” Lalbahadur said that Renamo lacked the capacity to engage in a full-scale conflict and that war was not in the interests of the government with its more powerful armed forces. “Mozambique is trying very much to attract foreign investment into the country so any type of political instability works to their disadvantage,” Lalbahadur added. Heading into local government polls next month and a national vote in 2014, Mozambique has a history of election-related violence. Renamo, which has faced dwindling political support, demands more representation on election bodies and in the armed forces. While electoral reforms are acknowleged as necessary, the former rebels have been accused of failing to offer a counter-proposal. Tensions between the rival sides began escalating last year after Dhlakama set up camp in the Gorongosa mountains and began retraining former guerrilla fighters. “You’re seeing a Renamo that has always ever spoken the language of war... and you’re seeing it again in a context where they have lost a lot of support over the years,” Lalbahadur said. Charles Laurie, Africa expert with the London-based risk analysts Maplecroft, agrees. “I really see the extent of these recent incidents as in fact being a sign of weakening political prospects for Renamo whilst of course acknowledging

Luxembourg parties eye coalition without Juncker LUXEMBOURG: Europe’s longest-serving leader Jean-Claude Juncker risked losing power in Luxembourg as three rival parties were set to begin negotiations yesterday to form a coalition without him. The heads of the Liberal and Socialist parties said a day after parliamentary elections they would open talks with the Green party, a move that could see Juncker’s centre-right Christian Social People’s party (CSV) ousted, despite winning the largest share of the vote. The 40-year-old head of the Liberal Party, Luxembourg city mayor Xavier Bettel, told journalists he had been given a “mandate” to open talks on forming an unprecedented coalition of the three parties. “We need different policies to pull the country out of crisis,” he said. Together the three parties, due to begin formal negotations on Tuesday afternoon, won 32 seats in the small country’s 60-seat parliament. Veteran eurozone dealmaker Juncker’s party lost three seats in Sunday’s poll, leaving it with 23 lawmakers. But Juncker had been widely expected to form a new government that would take him into a remarkable third decade in power. He has already been prime minister for 18 years. The election had been brought forward by seven months after the discovery of misconduct in Luxembourg’s secret services. The 58-year-old Juncker handed his resignation to Grand Duke Henri, the head of the European Union’s wealthiest country per capita, on Monday but remains caretaker prime minister. The head of state will hold talks with the main party leaders yesterday. Allies in the conservative European

People’s Party (EPP), which includes German Chancellor Angela Merkel, confidently congratulated Juncker on Monday. “The people of Luxembourg have renewed their trust in Prime Minister Juncker and have given him the mandate to lead the country for another term,” said the grouping’s leader in the European Parliament, Joseph Daul. Juncker’s party has won every election bar one since it was established in 1944. The CSV secured 33.7 percent of the vote, down more than four percentage points on 2009 polls. Official figures showed the Socialists in second place on 20.3 percent but the Liberals were widely seen as the big winners with a sharply improved 18.2 percent. Each of these parties won 13 seats, with the Greens taking six, down one. Juncker congratulated Bettel’s party on its score, but insisted: “We claim priority.” On the campaign trail, Juncker said he would be prepared to govern in a two-way coalition with either the Socialists or the Liberals. Juncker’s former coalition with the Socialist party splintered over misdemeanours from illegal phone tapping to dodgy dealing in luxury cars. However, Socialist leader and outgoing economy minister Etienne Schneider, contesting his first general election in charge of his party, failed to convince. An editorial in the Quotidien daily said he had not made the breakthrough the left had hoped for with unemployment rising to nearly seven percent.But Schneider said the Socialists were considering the option of a three-way coalition.—AFP

GORONGOSA: A file photo taken on November 8, 2012 shows fighters of the former Mozambican rebel movement “Renamo” receiving military training in Gorongosa’s mountains, Mozambique. Mozambique ex-rebel group Renamo has declared yesterday the end of a peace deal signed 21 years ago after the army seized its military base. — AFP that these are worrying military events, worrying incidents of conflict,” he said. The assault on the Renamo base came after the former rebels attacked a government military unit on Thursday. Defence ministry spokesman Custodio Chume told state

broadcaster Radio Mozambique that Monday’s assault on the Renamo base was in response to that attack. The Mozambican civil war, which ended after Renamo lost its Cold War backers Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa, killed about one million people. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

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

Philippine quake island officials accused of aid ‘hoarding’ MANILA: The Philippine government said yesterday it was investigating allegations that local officials on an island devastated by an earthquake are withholding aid to residents in need. While large deliveries of aid have arrived in Bohol, mainly from the national government, some residents have complained they had not received any from their local officials a week after a 7.1-magnitude quake hit the island, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said. “It is not right that relief goods given by the national and provincial governments are hoarded at (municipal and district) offices,” he said in a statement. “If this is really happening, those responsible must be prosecuted for relief hoarding,” he said

without naming names. He said Bohol police were ordered to monitor aid distribution for signs of hoarding. The quake left 190 people dead, most of them on Bohol. It also damaged more than 50,000 homes, and 111,000 Bohol residents are staying in government-run camps, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. Relief oﬃcials said many others were camped out in tents outside their homes amid frequent aftershocks. The aid controversy has centred on Maribojoc, a town of 20,000 people about 15 kilometres (nine miles) west of the quake’s epicentre. Mayor Leoncio Evasco said he asked the Red Cross to leave the town Thursday, saying the organi-

sation had disrupted Maribojoc’s aid distribution system. The Red Cross said the local authorities had asked them to hand over aid to them, and that they had refused. Hundreds of Maribojoc residents were left hungry and disappointed after lining up for Red Cross food packs, Philippine Red Cross secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang told AFP. “They (local officials) wanted our people to surrender the goods to them. We can’t do that,” she added. “It is one of worst-affected areas.... We see a lot of people suffering,” Pang said. Local media have accused Evasco and other Bohol officials of wanting to take control of the aid for political gain, so that residents feel beholden to them, something that

Evasco has denied. “The whole town is an evacuation centre,” Evasco told AFP. He said that under his system all outside aid must go through the municipal government for “fair and equal” distribution among the town’s districts and villages. He rejected suggestions that the system was designed to beneﬁt him politically, saying he is banned by law from standing for the same post in 2016. Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman told DZMM radio in Manila that it was best to coordinate aid distribution through local oﬃcials because they know their area and residents’ needs. However, this did not mean the aid must be surrendered to the mayor, she said. — AFP

Rights groups urge US to end secrecy on drone attacks Hundreds of innocent civilians died in strikes

WINMALEE: A view of a gutted house at Winmalee in the Blue Mountains yesterday. Firefighters yesterday deliberately merged two major blazes in southeastern Australia in a desperate attempt to manage the advancing infernos ahead of weather conditions that authorities warn will be “as bad as it gets”. — AFP

Australia merges wildfires ahead of ‘bad’ weather LITHGOW: Firefighters yesterday deliberately merged two major blazes in southeastern Australia in a desperate attempt to manage the advancing infernos ahead of weather conditions that authorities warn will be “as bad as it gets”. Crews made up largely of volunteers worked tirelessly along trails in heavily forested areas west of Sydney to try to prevent the blazes becoming one out-of-control “mega-fire” that could race towards a third blaze nearby. Thousands of firefighters have been battling infernos across 1,600 kilometres (992 miles) of New South Wales state since they flared in high winds and searing heat last week, with more than 200 homes destroyed so far and many others damaged. Only one person has died but with today’s weather forecast worse than previously predicted, NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned: “There is a very real potential for more loss of homes and loss of life.” He urged anyone who does not need to be in the Blue Mountains region, home to 75,000 residents, to leave, although no mass evacuations were planned. “The forecast and scenario for tomorrow is about as bad as it gets,” said the fire chief. Temperatures in the mid-30s Celsius range, lower humidity and wind gusts of up to 100 kilometres (62 miles) per hour are predicted before more favourable conditions from Thursday. In the state’s worst fire emergency in almost 50 years, dozens of blazes have been extinguished or contained but 57 are still alight and 17 of them deemed out of control. The Blue Mountains, a popular tourist area, is the main focus of concern because of a huge fire in the Lithgow area. Fitzsimmons said two fires were “deliberately and tactically joined” through backburning-a tactic aimed at creating firebreaks to control the path of blazes. The decision to merge the edges of the infernos near Lithgow and Mount Victoria

in the Blue Mountains is aimed at starving them of the fuel that would otherwise have allowed them to become the “mega-fire” authorities were fearing on Monday. Authorities had feared they would join up with an out-of-control blaze at Springwood and Winmalee, which razed 200 houses last week and which has flared again. “We are seeing positive results of these very deliberate, very targeted, very decisive strategies being deployed, particularly in relation to backburning operations,” Fitzsimmons said. But while firefighters have had “some extraordinary success”, Fitzsimmons warned “there’s still a way to go”. While claiming some success, with the Lithgow area fire downgraded one notch to a “watch and act” from the highest level “emergency”, it still threatened properties near the township of Bell and other villages. In addition to the fires outside Sydney, large tracts of the state remain at risk. Wildfires are common in Australia’s summer months from December to February. But an unusually dry and warm winter and record spring temperatures have seen the 2013-14 fire season start early with warnings of a long, tough summer ahead. As debate rages in Australia on a possible link between the infernos and climate change, United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres said wildfires are “absolutely” linked to global warming and increasingly intense heatwaves. She said the decision of Australia’s new Prime Minister Tony Abbott to repeal a carbon tax on emissions introduced by the previous government would come at a high price. “We are really already paying the price of carbon,” she said. “We are paying the price with wildfires, we are paying the price with droughts.” Data from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology show that 2013 is on track to become the country’s hottest year on record while last month was the hottest September ever recorded in the country. — AFP

Afghanistan disqualifies 16 presidential candidates KABUL: Afghan officials yesterday disqualified more than half of the candidates who registered for the 2014 presidential election, marking a chaotic opening stage in the country’s first democratic transfer of power. “Out of the 26 candidates who had officially filed to the IEC, after checking documents, 10 made it to the election,” Independent Election Commission chief Yousof Nooristani told reporters. All the major names remained in the April 5 vote, which is seen as a key test of Afghanistan’s progress as the US-led NATO military coalition pulls out after 13 years of fighting the Taleban insurgency. President Hamid Karzai, who must step down after serving two terms, has called for just two or three candidates to avoid the confusion of the fraud-riddled 2009 vote, when 40 names appeared on the ballot paper. But a last-minute rush of candidates signed up in the closing hours of the nomination period on October 6, after weeks of negotiations had failed to form any significant coalitions. Presidential hopefuls must be aged at least 40, have a clean criminal record, provide 100,000 voter cards to prove they have a network of supporters, and lodge a deposit of one million Afghanis ($18,000). The constitution also decrees that all candidates must be Muslim, born of Afghan parents and not a citizen of another country. The criteria were tightened after the 2009 election to try to reduce the size of the field. “Those who couldn’t make it had several problems, they could not fulfil the requirements set for them in election law, including not having enough voter signatures from all provinces or some of their forms were not complete,” Nooristani said. Among the leading candidates still in the race are former

foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, the president’s low-profile elder brother Qayum Karzai, and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani. Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, a former Islamist warlord who had close ties to Al-Qaeda, is also on the list, along with Karzai loyalist Zalmai Rassoul, who recently resigned as foreign minister to run. Rassoul chose a radio as his election symbol, while Qayum Karzai chose a pencil and former Kandahar warlord Gul Agha Sherzai opted for a bulldozer to match his nickname, earned for his pugnacious style and support for building projects. President Hamid Karzai has vowed not to endorse any one candidate and to oversee a free and fair election as his “legacy” to Afghanistan. But his implicit support could emerge for his older brother Qayum, veteran politician Rassoul-or any one of several other runners. International donors, led by the US, have repeatedly stressed that the aid money on which Afghanistan relies would be at risk if the elections are not held on time or produce a disputed result. The 2009 vote was undermined by violence, fraud and delays, badly shaking international efforts to support the development of the country after the US-backed ousting of the Taliban regime in 2001. In 2009, Abdullah Abdullah came second with around 30 percent of the vote, triggering a run-off against Karzai. He then pulled out after Karzai supporters were involved in nationwide vote fraud. Many Afghans fear a surge in violence during campaigning and on polling day, but the government has said its security forces will ensure safety. The election next year coincides with the withdrawal of 87,000 NATO combat troops as Afghan soldiers and police take charge of the battle against the Taliban. Disqualified candidates will be able to appeal, with a final list of runners due to be published on November 16. — AFP

ISLAMABAD: The United States should end the secrecy surrounding its drone campaign in Pakistan and Yemen and bring those responsible for illegal attacks to justice, rights campaigners said yesterday. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) published separate reports on drones on the eve of White House talks between US President Barack Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, at which the weapons are expected to be discussed. Amnesty highlighted two drone attacks in northwest Pakistan last year, one of which killed a 68-year-old grandmother as she picked vegetables, saying there appeared to be no justification for either. The US has carried out nearly 400 drone attacks in Pakistan’s restive tribal districts along the Afghan border since 2004, killing between 2,500 and 3,600 people, according to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Washington says they are an important and effective tool in the fight against militants linked to the Taleban and Al-Qaeda, who have strongholds in the tribal areas. But critics say hundreds of innocent civilians have died in the strikes. Amnesty said that without more transparency it was impossible to test US claims that the attacks conform to international law. “Secrecy surrounding the drones programme gives the US administration a licence to kill beyond the reach of the courts or basic standards of international law,” said Mustafa Qadri, the group’s Pakistan researcher. US President Barack Obama mounted a defence of the drone war in May as legal and just and the best way to counter terror plots against Americans. But they are very unpopular in Pakistan, where the government condemns them publicly as counterproductive and a violation of sovereignty. Amnesty’s drone report published yesterday focused on 45 confirmed strikes in the North Waziristan tribal agency between January 2012 and August 2013. The campaign group highlighted two incidents that it said raised serious concerns about violations of international law. The first was the death of 68-year-old Mamana Bibi in a double strike as she picked

ISLAMABAD: In this Friday, Dec 10, 2010 file photo, Pakistani tribal villagers hold a rally to condemn the US drone attacks on their villages in border areas along the Afghanistan border, in Islamabad, Pakistan. Amnesty International calls on the US to investigate reported civilian casualties from CIA drone strikes in Pakistan and compensate victims in a report providing new details about innocent citizens allegedly killed in the attacks. — AP vegetables in the family’s fields in October 2012. In the second, Amnesty said, 18 labourers were killed in a village on the Afghan border as they ate a meal at the end of the day in July last year. “We cannot find any justification for these killings. There are genuine threats to the USA and its allies in the region, and drone strikes may be lawful in some circumstances,” said Qadri. “But it is hard to believe that a group of labourers, or an elderly woman surrounded by her grandchildren, were endangering anyone at all, let alone posing an imminent threat to the United States.” Amnesty called on the US to investigate publicly all cases where drone strikes may have caused deaths unlawfully, and to prosecute those responsible where there was enough evidence. Though the Pakistani government publicly protests against drone strikes, previous administrations are known to have given them their tacit blessing. Amnesty called on Islamabad to investi-

gate drone strikes and probe whether Pakistani oﬃcials were involved in providing information for them. ‘Clear violation of rules of law’. According to Human Rights Watch, the US has carried out 80 targeted operations in Yemen since 2009, including strikes from drones, warplanes and cruise missiles-killing at least 473 people. Its report examined six US attacks on suspected members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which Washington regards as the global jihadist network’s most dangerous aﬃliate. “Two of these attacks were in clear violation of international humanitarian law-the laws of war-because they struck only civilians or used indiscriminate weapons,” the report said. HRW urged the Obama administration to explain in detail the legal basis for its targeted killings and ensure they conform to international law. It also echoed Amnesty’s call for the US to investigate possible breaches of law and prosecute those responsible. — AFP

Japan mayor offers Fukushima kids home MATSUMOTO: A generation ago, Dr Akira Sugenoya performed lifesaving cancer surgery on more than 100 children after the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe. Today, as mayor of a central Japanese city, he’s trying to avoid a repeat of his own history. Beginning in April, parents living in the shadow of the Fukushima nuclear disaster will be able to send their children about 300 kilometers (200 miles) away to his city, Matsumoto, to go to school. The city will pay 1.4 million yen ($140,000) a year for a six-bedroom house and caretakers; parents won’t pay tuition but will cover expenses such as utilities and meals. “If my fears turn out to be unfounded, nothing would be better news,” Sugenoya said in a recent interview with The Associated Press at Matsumoto city hall. “But if they become reality, then there is little time before it’s too late.” Sugenoya has been critical of the government’s response to the three meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, which exploded after the March 2011 tsunami and is still releasing radiation into the air and sea. Decommissioning will take decades, and experts disagree over how much the disaster will affect the health of area residents. The single sickness confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency to have been caused by low-dose radiation from Chernobyl is thyroid cancer, which if properly treated with surgery is rarely fatal. Sugenoya, a thyroid specialist, volunteered to work in Belarus, close to the Ukraine power plant, in 1991 after hearing about thousands of cases of thyroid cancer there. Five years later, he quit his job in Japan at a prestigious hospital and returned for another five and a half years. He has set up a donation fund for Chernobyl victims and regularly brings doctors from Belarus into Japan for training. It’s unclear how the radiation leaks near Fukushima Dai-ichi compare with those from Chernobyl. Measuring exposure at the individual level involves complex calculations to account for the daily intake of food and water, and can vary greatly. The Japanese government has detected 44 confirmed and suspected cases of thyroid cancer among 217,000 youngsters, 18 and under, checked in Fukushima prefecture (state). Thyroid cancer among children is generally rare, estimated at only one in a million. The link to radiation is still inconclusive, and extensive testing of Fukushima children could account for the higher numbers. Children are far more sensitive to radiationcaused diseases than adults because their bodies are developing, but their bodies can bounce back and heal from the damage of radiation. Sugenoya said that in areas of Belarus that are close to

Chernobyl, children are periodically sent away from radiated areas. Matsumoto, in Nagano prefecture, has about 240,000 people, and has room in its schools because of the declining population common in rural areas. Sugenoya’s plan, called the Matsumoto Project, will be open to Fukushima students from third grade to junior high school. Matsumoto oﬃcials have conducted meetings in Fukushima to explain the plan, and some parents have expressed interest, but it is unclear how many of them will send their children away to study. Fukushima residents most worried about radiation are already gone. Some 150,000 people have left areas in Fukushima most ravaged by the tsunami, a third of them to other prefectures. About 200 of them are in Matsumoto, including Hiroshi Ueki, his wife and their children, 6 and 4. “They ask me, ‘Can I now touch the ﬂowers?’” Ueki said of his children. “In Fukushima, they had to wear masks, and they became afraid. They were getting scolded a lot. ‘Don’t touch any dirt.’ ‘Don’t touch this.’ ‘Don’t touch that.’”

Some who remain in areas surrounding the wrecked nuclear plant are torn over whether to stay. Yuri Hasegawa, a 45-year-old Fukushima mother, is so worried she has bought a Geiger counter and has a stockpile of masks. She cooks with only food that has been tested for radiation. She has been sending her two children, 9 and 13, to summer and winter camps in the northernmost island of Hokkaido, the southernmost island of Okinawa, and the southwestern city of Hiroshima. She is thinking about taking part in the Matsumoto Project. She said she faces opposition from her husband and other relatives, who scoﬀ at her concerns as extreme. In her backyard and other areas, “The Geiger counter starts going beep, beep, beep, beep,” she said. “The beeps are coming so fast. You know radiation is going through our bodies. It’s because it’s invisible. If we could see it, we wouldn’t be living here.” The Japanese government says it is safe to live in areas that have not been forced to evacuate, but it also has admitted errors in responding to the radiation danger. —AP

SEOUL: Poland’s President Bronislaw Komorowski (R) and his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye greet children waving the two countries’ national flags during a welcoming ceremony at the presidential Blue House in Seoul yesterday. Komorowski arrived for a three-day state visit to South Korea for a summit with South Korean President Park Geun-hye about economic and security cooperation. — AFP

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple CEO Tim Cook holds the new iPad Air during an Apple announcement at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts yesterday. — AFP

Spy chief warns Riyadh to ‘shift away from US’ Riyadh angered over Syria, Iran inaction RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief has said the kingdom will make a “major shift” in relations with the United States in protest at its perceived inaction over the Syria war and its overtures to Iran, a source close to Saudi policy said yesterday. Prince Bandar bin Sultan told European diplomats that Washington had failed to act effectively on the Syrian crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was growing closer to Tehran, and had failed to back Saudi support for Bahrain when it crushed an antigovernment revolt in 2011, the source said. It was not immediately clear if Prince Bandar’s reported statements had the full backing of King Abdullah. “The shift away from the US is a major one,” the source close to Saudi policy said. “Saudi doesn’t want to find itself any longer in a situation where it is dependent.” The United States and Saudi Arabia have been allies since the kingdom was declared in 1932, giving Riyadh a powerful military protector and Washington secure oil supplies. The prince’s initiative follows a surprise Saudi decision on Friday to reject a coveted two-year term on the UN Security Council in protest at “double standards” at the United Nations. US Secretary of State John Kerry said he had discussed Riyadh’s concerns when he met Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal in Paris on Monday. Kerry said he had told the Saudi minister that no deal with Iran was better than a bad deal. “I have great confidence that the United States and Saudi Arabia will continue to be the close and important friends and allies that we have been,” he told reporters in London. Prince Bandar, who was Saudi ambassador to Washington for 22 years, is seen as a foreign policy hawk, especially on Iran. The Sunni Muslim kingdom’s rivalry with Shiite Iran, an ally of Syria, has amplified sectarian tensions across the Middle East. A son of the late defense minister and crown prince, Prince Sultan, and a protege of the late King Fahd, he fell from favor with King Abdullah after clashing on foreign policy in 2005. But he was called in from the cold last year with a mandate to bring down President Bashar Al-Assad, diplomats in the Gulf say. Over the past year he has led Saudi efforts to bring arms and other aid to Syrian rebels while his cousin, Foreign Minister Prince Saud AlFaisal, worked the diplomatic corridors. “Prince Bandar told diplomats that he plans to limit interaction with the US,” the source close to Saudi policy said. “This happens after the US failed to take any effective action on Syria and Palestine. “Relations with the US have been deteriorating for a while, as Saudi feels that the US is growing closer with Iran and the US also failed to support Saudi during the Bahrain uprising.” The source declined to provide more details of Bandar’s talks with the diplomats, which took place in the past few days. But he suggested that the planned change in ties between the energy superpower and its

traditional US ally would have wide-ranging consequences, including on arms purchases and oil sales. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, ploughs much of its earnings back into US assets. Most of the Saudi central bank’s net foreign assets of $690 billion are thought to be denominated in dollars, much of them in US Treasury bonds. “All options are on the table now, and for sure there will be some impact,” the Saudi source said. He said there would be no further coordination with the United States over the war in Syria, where the Saudis have armed and financed rebel groups fighting Assad. The kingdom has informed the United States of its actions in Syria, and diplomats say it has respected US requests not to supply the groups with advanced weaponry that the West fears could fall into the hands of Al-Qaedaaligned groups. Saudi anger boiled over after Washington refrained from military strikes in response to a poison gas attack in Damascus in August when Assad agreed to give up his chemical arsenal. Saudi Arabia is also concerned about signs of a tentative reconciliation between Washington and Tehran, something Riyadh fears may lead to a “grand bargain” on the Iranian nuclear program that would leave it at a disadvantage. However, Kerry said he had tried to reassure his Saudi counterpart on U.S. Iran policy. “I reaffirmed President Obama’s commitment that he will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” said Kerry. The UN Security Council has been paralyzed over the 31-month-old Syria conflict, with permanent members Russia and China repeatedly blocking measures to condemn Assad. Saudi Arabia backs Assad’s mostly Sunni rebel foes. The Syrian leader, whose Alawite sect is derived from Shiite Islam, has support from Iran and the armed Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah. The Syrian leader denounces the insurgents as Al-Qaedalinked groups backed by Sunni-ruled states. In Bahrain, home of the US Fifth Fleet, a simmering pro-democracy revolt by its Shiite majority has prompted calls by some in Washington for US ships to be based elsewhere. Western policymakers say Bahrain’s hosting of a US naval base makes it an important ally in keeping open the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for 40 percent of the world’s sea-borne oil exports. Many US economic interests in Saudi Arabia involve government contracts in defence, other security sectors, healthcare, education, information technology and construction. But American businessmen in Riyadh, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said they did not believe the political bumps in the US-Saudi relationship would affect their business significantly. “The big contracts are mostly government, but I don’t see much political content in who gets the contracts,” one said. — Reuters

Kuwait loses great son in Boodai Continued from Page 1 handling, and this reflected positively on Kuwait’s economic environment at that time. Niqi added that the late Boodai’s family was the first to establish a private flour mill in Kuwait and was well known in the region due its importance at the time. Former chairman of the board of Kuwait Industrial Bank Saleh Al-Yousuf said the late Boodai was a successful business personality as he founded several companies that had a major role in supporting the national economy at that time besides being an unmatched banking personality. Yousuf said Boodai contributed to creating a banking community. He also lauded the honorable stands of the deceased towards the Kuwaiti people, who will always

remember him for it. The Boodais are one of Kuwait’s well-known families, who got this name due to the long arms of one of their grandfathers. The family lived in Al-Obaibna (then AlDareya), the capital of the ﬁrst Saudi state, but after the emergence of Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdul Wahab AlTamimi and the spread of his reformist message and his alliance with Imam Mohammad bin Saud, there were major troubles and instability, so they left Dareya. The family then divided into two parts - one remained in Ihsaa area and the other settled in Kuwait with the families of Musaibeeh, Bursli, Al-Sabah, Jalahma and Khalifa. During the time of the Boodai family in Kuwait, plague swept the area and killed many families, and from Boodai family only the late Hamad Boodai and his cousin Abdelaziz survived.

Adasani targets Al-Zour plant, threatens... Continued from Page 1 In another threat, MP Mohammad Al-Hadeya warned yesterday that he will ﬁle to grill Minister of Public Works and Electricity and Water Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim if the prime minister does not sack him. He blamed the minister for hindering the implementation of a number of key development projects in the country without any justiﬁcation like cancelling contracts to build a number of roads and four new hospitals under the pretext that the cost was too high.

In another development, MP Sultan Al-Shemmari announced yesterday that he will submit a request at the Assembly’s opening session on Oct 29 to form a special committee to deal with the issue of stateless people, or bedoons. The lawmaker said the committee is necessary to contribute to resolve the problem of bedoons and end their plight. Currently, the Assembly’s interior and defense committee handles the issue of bedoons. But Shemmari said the interior panel has plenty of issues to tackle and accordingly a special committee for bedoons is needed to help resolve their decades-old crisis.

Apple unveils ‘iPad Air’ SAN FRANCISCO: Apple yesterday unveiled a slimmer version of its top-selling full-size tablet computer, dubbed the “iPad Air,” along with a revamped iPad Mini with an improved high-deﬁnition display. The new iPad Air is 43 percent thinner than the version it replaces, weighs just one pound (450 gm), and is “screaming fast”, Apple vice president Phil Schiller said at an unveiling. Apple also showed an upgraded iPad Mini, which has high-deﬁnition “retina” display along with faster computing power and graphics. The two new iPads will be sold alongside the existing versions, starting Nov 1 in a number of countries. The iPad Air will start at $499 and the new Mini version at $399 for US customers. Apple will cut the prices of the older iPad versions. The new iPads feature the Apple-designed A7 chip with 64-bit “desktop-class architecture,” Apple said. “iPad created an entirely new mobile computing experience, and the new iPad Air is another big leap ahead. It is so thin, light and powerful, once you hold one in your hand you will understand what a tremendous advancement this is,” said Schiller. The new iPads come on the same day Microsoft began selling an upgraded version of its Surface tablet, and as Nokia unveiled its own tablet computer. Industry tracker Gartner yesterday forecast that global tablet shipments will

reach 184 million units this year in a 53.4 percent rise from last year. The iPad remains the largest-selling tablet, according to surveys, but its market share is being eroded by rivals using the Google Android operating system. Apple is also under pressure to adapt to the popularity of premium tablets with high-quality screens in the seven- to eight-inch (18- to 20-cm) range where the Mini competes. Apple also refreshed its computer lineup. A new, 13inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is thinner and lighter, Schiller said, adding that the laptop has up to 9 hours of battery life, enough to “watch the entire trilogy of ‘The Black Knight’ on one charge”. The notebook’s new price is lower: $1,299, compared with $1,499 for the previous version. A larger MacBook Pro, with a 15-inch monitor and 256 gigabytes of storage starts at $1,999, compared with $2,199 for the previous version. The Mac Pro, a high-end desktop computer aimed at what Apple calls “power users”, will be available in December for $2,999. The company also said that its latest computer operating system, Mavericks, is available free of charge. Apple also says nearly two-thirds of its mobile devices are running iOS7, the revised operating system it released in September. Twenty million people have listened to iTunes Radio about a month after its release. — Agencies

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

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US-Iran nuclear deal faces hard sell in Congress By Jo Biddle ith nuclear talks between Iran and western powers gathering steam, the Obama administration will likely face an uphill battle to convince Congress to back any deal rolling back its tough sanctions regime. For years, US lawmakers have carefully crafted legislation aimed at reining in Iran’s suspect nuclear program and moves to provide even some sanctions relief are likely to be met with suspicion on Capitol Hill. Even as the nations leading the talks with Tehran - the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany - met for the first time with the new Iranian leadership in Geneva last week, US lawmakers issued warnings to the negotiators to be on their guard. Details of what Iranian officials proposed during an hour-long power point presentation in English behind closed doors remain confidential, but the talks were hailed as “serious and substantive” and the broad contours are not hard to discern. The six powers want the Islamic republic to halt enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, which brings it to weapons grade, and dismantle its weaponsrelated infrastructure, in return for relief from crippling economic sanctions imposed by the US, UN and European powers. But enmity and suspicion between Iran and the US stretch back decades to the Islamic revolution and the 444-day siege of the US embassy in Tehran in 1980. And any deal could be a hard sell to hardliners in both nations. US chief negotiator, Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman, has already been debriefing lawmakers by phone and is set to testify at a series of classified briefings before she returns to Geneva for the next talks on Nov 7 and 8. “I don’t think the issue’s convincing the American people, I think it’s convincing the people in Congress who want to pass sanctions no matter what,” said Alireza Nader, senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation think tank. Indeed, draft legislation for new US sanctions targeting the automobile sector and Iran’s foreign reserves is awaiting a vote in the Senate, after being adopted in July by the House of Representatives. President Barack Obama has some authority to ease some US sanctions hitting the petroleum and banking sectors, mostly those slapped on third countries doing business with Iran. And the New York Times reported last week the White House may be considering unblocking some $10 million in frozen Iranian assets in the United States to give the Rouhani leadership some access to badly needed foreign exchange reserves. But Joel Rubin, director of policy at the Ploughshares Fund, a non-government organization working for a nuclear-arms free world, warned that if Congress continues to press sanctions it may become “a spoiler” to the delicate diplomatic maneuvering under way. “Congress has done a very good service to help create a pressure component to the overall strategy on Iran,” Rubin told AFP. “The danger is Congress will continue to do what it does in promoting additional measures, that would actually complicate the environment.” He argued that while the world’s toughest sanctions regime had brought the new Iranian leadership of President Hassan Rouhani to the table, it had failed to halt Iran’s nuclear drive, which the West suspects masks a bid for a nuclear bomb. Iran is now believed to have something between 18,000 to 19,000 centrifuges, key to the enrichment operation, while its new heavy water reactor at Arak may come online in 2014. “Demands for Iran to completely dismantle its nuclear program are very unreasonable and could sabotage negotiations,” Nader told AFP, referring to some of the louder voices in Congress as well as allies such as Israel. “The Iranian nuclear program is a reality. They have a relatively big infrastructure, they’ve mastered the technology. “I think at this point we have to make sure that they don’t move towards a weapons capability, rather than getting rid of the program completely.” Daryl Kimball, executive director for the non-partisan Arms Control Association, agreed, saying that “from a nonproliferation standpoint” zero enrichment would be the ideal, but it is “clearly a non-starter”. “If the P5+1 were to insist upon zero enrichment and the dismantling of its core facilities, it’s more than likely that the Iranians will simply just walk away,” Kimball told AFP. He argued the choice was now “between limiting Iran’s nuclear program and having tougher IAEA safeguards... or having Iran continue to improve its program, unconstrained uranium enrichment and the increasing likelihood that there’s a military conflict over Iran’s nuclear program”. “This maybe our last best opportunity to secure an agreement that bars against a nuclear armed Iran. If we lose this opportunity, both sides will lose out,” he added. — AFP

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Instead of a divorce, GOP needs reform By Reihan Salam few days ago, an older and wiser friend of mine and I had a lengthy conversation about divorce, that most cheerful of subjects. He noted that one of the surest signs of a marriage in trouble was that both parties were convinced that they had been forgiving of various betrayals and accommodating of various foibles, yet this generosity hadn’t been reciprocated. Naturally, this brought to mind the increasingly strained relationship between Tea Party conservatives and Republican regulars. What better way to describe how Ted Cruz must feel about John Boehner, the sellout, and how John Boehner must feel about Ted Cruz, the zealot? Molly Ball of the Atlantic recounts the quasi-mutinous musings of various conservative luminaries, like Glenn Beck of TheBlaze, Erick Erickson of RedState.com, and Sean Hannity of Fox News, among others. As recently as 2010, the notion that the Tea Party movement would bolt from the GOP to establish a party of its own would have seemed absurd. But now, in the wake of a fiscal showdown that’s proven to be an utter fiasco for congressional Republicans, the idea of a bona fide divorce is gaining credence. Among the Tea Party faithful, there is a widespread conviction that the effort to defund Obamacare would have proven successful had Speaker Boehner and his anxious allies been tougher, and more willing to risk breaching the debt ceiling. Republican regulars, meanwhile, are largely convinced that the defund Obamacare effort was a hopeless indulgence that exacted a real political cost. At least one critic of the Tea Party movement, David Frum of the Daily Beast and CNN, has argued that Republicans would benefit if “the Sarah Palins and the Ted Cruzes who have done so much harm to their hopes over the past three election cycles” were to bolt. This isn’t the first time libertarian-minded conservatives have contemplated a formal exit from the GOP. In the 1970s, William A. Rusher, the publisher of National Review and a staunch, Rockefeller-hating Goldwaterite, frequently made the case for a new conservative party, which he hoped would be led by Ronald Reagan. After Reagan’s narrow defeat in the 1976 contest for the Republican presidential nomination, however, the former California governor stood by his moderate rival Gerald Ford, and in doing so he dashed the hopes of Rusher and other third-party enthusiasts. The Libertarian Party, established in the early 1970s, has

long been divided over whether to appeal to disaffected Republicans or hippies. In the 1980 presidential election, the Libertarians achieved great success by espousing a pacifist, left-leaning brand of “low-tax liberalism,” while in 1988 the party turned to Ron Paul, the libertarian populist who would later make waves as a Republican presidential candidate in 2008 and 2012. The 2012 Libertarian presidential nominee, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, an unpretentious Republican who combined familiar Tea Party bromides with a commitment to ending the War on Drugs, had some promise as an alternative to Mitt Romney, but in the end his candidacy proved to be a footnote, in part because the septuagenarian Paul stole his thunder. The Constitution Party, first established as the US Taxpayers’ Party in 1991, is a vehicle for a hard-edged Christian conservative politics that has never found much success. And in 2000, Pat Buchanan tried to transform Ross Perot’s Reform Party into a nationalist conservative party in line with his own idiosyncratic, anti-trade populism. Given that all of these efforts have failed, why would the Tea Party movement succeed in establishing itself as a real rival to the GOP? I doubt that it would. But it is true that the political landscape has changed in recent years. Over the past decade, formal party organizations have grown progressively weaker, to the point where they are hollowed-out shells often overshadowed by well-funded independent expenditure groups. This is despite the fact that broadbased party organizations have a number of advantages over non-party outfits, including greater accountability and autonomy. The Tea Party movement already operates as a kind of shadow party within the larger Republican universe, with independent expenditure groups, think tanks, and overlapping networks of intellectuals and activists serving as its foundation. Getting on the ballot would be difficult, as the Democratic-Republican duopoly in most states actively works to suppress political competition from minor parties, but it wouldn’t be impossible. The obvious downside of a Tea Party exit for conservatives is that the US relies almost exclusively on first-pastthe-post elections, in which the candidate with the most votes wins the election. Countries that use various forms of proportional representation are far friendlier to minor parties, which is why Germany, Israel and New Zealand tend to have several parties represented in their national legisla-

tures and not just two. Tea Party candidates in congressional races would presumably be splitting the right-of-center vote with GOP candidates, thus allowing Democrats to slip into office in areas that are now monolithically Republican. Moreover, Tea Party stalwarts have good reason to believe that they can eventually take over the national Republican Party. Why abandon it now when victory is within reach? Of course, the prospect of a Republican Party dominated by the Tea Party movement isn’t exactly heartening to mainstream conservatives who fear that Tea Party excesses will cement a generation-long Democratic majority. Rather than an outright divorce, Republicans ought to consider a different approach. Right now, Tea Party activists are pledging to launch a new round of primary challenges against Republicans deemed “squishy.” The big problem with primary elections, however, is that they attract relatively few voters, and even fairly well-informed party members often know little about the candidates on primary ballots. Knowing a candidate’s party is tremendously useful - it offers a quick shorthand as to what candidates believe. Primary ballots are bereft of this kind of useful information. Yes, you can generally be assured that the candidates running in a GOP primary are Republicans. But which kind of Republican? In “Informing Consent: Voter Ignorance, Political Parties, and Election Law,” Christopher Elmendorf of the UC Davis School of Law and David Schleicher of the George Mason University School of Law propose providing primary voters with on-ballot guides to candidates’ issue stances, as well as endorsements. For example, if a Tea Party candidate runs against a regular Republican, she can include endorsements by current officeholders (like Ted Cruz or Rand Paul) or widely-recognized political groups (like Tea Party Express). Republican primary voters would have a much easier time making a meaningful choice between candidates if they knew that one had been endorsed by the Tea Party Express while the other had been endorsed by the centrist Main Street Partnership. This wouldn’t make the GOP’s warring factions fall in love all over again. Indeed, it could intensify intra-party conflict by encouraging the formation of new pressure groups. But it would help settle the question of whether Republicans want to be the party of Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz or of Chris Christie and Jeb Bush. And that’s not nothing. — Reuters

Bottomless optimism of billionaire publishers By Jack Shafer bay founder Pierre Omidyar - reckoned to be worth $8.5 billion - inspired tens of thousands of journalists to freshen their resumes this week when word of his plan to start his own mass media organization leaked out. With Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, and Laura Poitras announced as its first hires, the outlet will emphasize investigative journalism, but as Omidyar explained in a post, the site will serve all news. Rattling his dumpster of cash, Omidyar will soon join other billionaires who made their money elsewhere and now peddle product at the newsstand, including Michael Bloomberg of Bloomberg News, Jeff Bezos of the Washington Post, Herb Sandler of ProPublica, Philip Anschutz of the Weekly Standard and the Washington Examiner, Mortimer Zuckerman of the Daily News and US News and World Report, Richard Mellon Scaife of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, John Henry of the Boston Globe, the late Sidney Harman of Newsweek, and the late convicted felon Rev Sun Myung Moon of the Washington Times. A whole junior varsity of sub-billionaire moneybags, including Wendy P McCaw of the Santa Barbara News-Press, Jared Kushner of the New York Observer, Doug Manchester of U-T San Diego and Chris Hughes of the New Republic, have similarly bought their way into the news business to spread their influence or enrich democracy, depending on who is doing the telling. Plutocrats the world over delight in owning media properties, and for good reason: Money can buy a lot, but unless you own a publication you’re just one of the world’s 1,426 billionaires - human cargo on a private jet, a delegator, an employer of lobbyists, another yakker in the opinion chorus. Moving to the head of the line requires the media club upgrade, which makes you and your publication a compulsory venue for campaigning candidates. Media properties are like musical instruments: when played just so, they compel your enemies to dance, as William Randolph Hearst of the San Francisco Examiner and New York Journal first demonstrated with his family’s money in the 1890s, and the super billionaire Koch brothers would have discovered had they purchased the Los Angeles Times. A week ago, few outside the tech and business worlds knew who Omidyar was, and even inside some newsrooms his name

would have likely drawn a blank. Today he’s a celebrity whose every utterance will be recorded, cataloged, analyzed, assessed, and yes, valued! Last week, he was just another billionaire who supported non-profit journalism (Center for Public Integrity, Columbia Journalism Review, and Honolulu Civil Beat, which he founded) and civil liberty organizations (Sunlight Foundation). Today, he’s a budding philosopher king. A decade ago, I charted the life cycle of the “vanity press mogul,” the tycoons who dabble in the press with their excess millions: In the opening phases, the mogul opens the money throttle wide, hiring the best journalists and designers, and even voices the view that he’ll make money where his predecessors made none to little. Then comes the morning after and with it sobriety. Too much red ink is flowing, too many projects overbudget and late, too many gifted wunderkinds spending wildly. Not even billionaires enjoy losing money forever. Then comes the reality adjustment, the downsizing, the prospecting for partners or “synergies,” and often an exit from the media business, which attracts a fresh vanity mogul and restarts the cycle. Because the past is not destiny, Omidyar need not ride the traditional wheel. Thanks to the Web and breakneck technological advances, the media business has acquired a volatility that favors new entrants over incumbents as never before, as the lightning successes of such well-funded, rapidly-expanding sites as Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Business Insider, Bleacher Report, The Verge, Quartz, Gawker Media, and others have demonstrated. Incumbency may actually be an impediment to success, barnacling owners to ancient methods and technologies in a way that clean-break media organizations are not. Bezos’s purchase of the Washington Post and Omidyar’s asyet-unnamed site offer a dandy laboratory setting for the testing of this thesis, as Bezos’s renovation of an existing franchise will surely be judged in terms of Omidyar’s startup. (Omidyar, by the way, window-shopped the Post when it was for sale.) The difference, of course, is that the Post is just one of the dozen vacation homes that Bezos owns or is in the process of expanding, whereas Omidyar appears to be building a single dream-home from the basement up. The Bezos purchase, however fanciful, is a practical move into the for-profit sector. Omidyar’s venture, on the other hand, harkens back to the techno-idealism of the

1980s and 1990s, when the first impulse of computer scientists, programmers, and other techies was to change the world, not make more money. According to USA Today, he and his wife have committed more than $1 billion to hundreds of philanthropic causes. Omidyar’s first-round hiring of Greenwald, Scahill, and Poitras - who hail from the rich tradition of partisan American journalism - speaks to his idealism. Where Bezos is banking on an institution and its brand value, Omidyar is making his first-round investment in individual journalists whose work he admires. Like Hearst, who preached in favor of the “journalism of action” that battled corruption and incompetence, and got things done, I assume Omidyar has world-changing on his mind. Given the backgrounds of his first hires, it should come as no surprise that privacy, surveillance, and the NSA dominate Omidyar’s recent Twitter feed. Still, he seems to have modulated his image to appear politically opaque. The Federal Election Commission donation database reveals a steady stream of donations to Democratic candidates, but hey, in 1999 he gave $1,000 to George W. Bush! It’s not enough political baggage to fill a fanny pack, especially compared to that other ambitious startup, the emir of Qatar-owned Al Jazeera America. He comes close to being a clean slate. Omidyar’s new venture - which will be all-digital, according to his interview with Jay Rosen, and in which he will invest at least the $250 million Bezos spent on the Post - won’t fill a vacuum in national security reporting because there is no vacuum. Thanks to the good work the Guardian (the venue Greenwald just departed), the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Associated Press, ABC News, NBC News, and many others have done and continue to do, we’re experiencing a national security reporting renaissance. Depending on how the youthful Omidyar (just 46) sets up his operation - as a trust (like the one that the Guardian is eating up), or as an endowment, or as a multi-year fully budgeted project - we have reason to hope that no matter how market forces savage conventional for-profit journalism, at least one outlet funded by a devoted magnate will remain in the mix. Those of us who subscribe to religion should pray he lives a long and lucid life. — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

S P ORTS Misbah: I don’t listen to critics DUBAI: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq says his career would have ended long ago if he’d listened to his critics. Cricket pundits at home came down hard on Misbah after Pakistan was upset by Zimbabwe in Harare last month. But Misbah came back strong in leading his side to its own stunning victory, a seven-wicket defeat of top-ranked South Africa in their first test last week. “I am not bothered what people are saying because if I would have listened to them my career would have been over in 2001,” Misbah said on Tuesday as he prepared for the second test, starting from today. A draw will give Pakistan its first test series victory against the Proteas since they beat Graeme Smith’s team in 2003 at home. “I don’t just listen to the guys because I know what I am doing after playing 15-20 years of cricket,” he said. “I know what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong.” The knock on Misbah has long been about him consuming too many deliveries to build the team total. Yet, in a team which has often struggled, his reliable defense has been the main resistance. This year he’s been particularly productive, at the age of 39. He tops the world this year with 1,441 international runs that include 480 in six tests and 961 in 21 one-day internationals. —AP

Rugby players test positive

Mosley, Mundine fight is off

LONDON: Five players at English Premiership clubs tested positive for recreational drug use during the 2012/13 season, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) announced yesterday. The third annual doping report by the RFU, the English game’s governing body, said 345 tests took place as part of the illicit drugs programme, which conducts out-of-competition tests for common illicit drugs, focusing on Premiership players. Five positive results were returned. However, these cases were treated confidentially as they were initial offences, resulting in a ‘first strike’ fine of £5,000 ($8,000) and access to assessment, rehabilitation and counselling. “The five players who returned positive tests belong to Premiership clubs,” an RFU spokesman told Britain’s Press Association wire service. It is the first time since the illicit drugs programme was introduced for the 2009/10 season there have been violations of the policy. Four major illicit drug groups are tested-cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy and amphetamines. “A small number of adverse findings via the illicit drugs programme is a reminder that we can never assume the anti-doping job has been ‘done’,” Rugby Players’ Association rugby director David Barnes said. In addition to the illicit drugs programme, there were a total of 617 in and out-of-competition tests for performance-enhancing drugs.—AFP

SYDNEY: Backers for Shane Mosley say the American boxer has withdrawn from his scheduled bout with Anthony Mundine in Sydney today due to a contract dispute. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer issued a statement from Los Angeles saying “we have no choice but to protect our fighter” because terms of the contract had not been met. The official weigh-in was scheduled for late yesterday in Sydney but local media reported that Mosley had already been spotted at the airport and Golden Boy Promotions says “boxing superstar Sugar Shane Mosley will instead be going home.” In a statement, Mosley was quoted as saying: “I’m very disappointed with this turn of events because I was planning on making a big statement by beating Mundine, but I was left with no choice but to withdraw. “The fans in Australia have welcomed me with open arms, and I hope to return to fight for them one day in better circumstances.” The 42-year-old Mosley, who has held world titles at lightweight, welterweight and lightmiddleweight divisions, was due to fight Mundine in a WBA light-middleweight bout at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. —AP

Rain forces early stumps DHAKA: Shakib Al Hasan claimed three wickets as Bangladesh reduced New Zealand to 107-3 yesterday before rain forced an early close on the second day of the second Test in Dhaka. A downpour led the umpires to suspend and then call off play after an early tea break with the game evenly poised. New Zealand had dismissed the hosts for 282 early in the morning thanks to Neil Wagner’s maiden five-wicket haul, but Bangladesh struck back through Shakib. He took two wickets in his first two overs, with New Zealand in trouble at 32-2 at lunch before Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor rebuilt. Williamson had to leave the field after Rubel Hossain struck him with a bouncer, but he returned soon afterwards as Shakib removed incoming batsman Brendon McCullum. Rubel took a stunning catch at deep square leg as the New Zealand captain fell for 11. Resuming on 228-5 at start of play, Bangladesh managed to add only 54 more runs in the face of tight bowling. Wagner finished with 5-64, making full use of overcast conditions to induce some edges from the batsmen, after play resumed 30 minutes early to make up for overs lost on the opening day due to rain. “I take quite a bit of confidence out of that and that’s something I think that any bowler works hard for in their career,” Wagener said of his first five-wicket haul in nine Tests. “So I’m pleased with that,” he

said. “Every opportunity you get, you want to put your hand up and make the most of it,” said Wagner, who replaced left-arm spinner Bruce Martin for this Test. “For me personally it was tough to miss out on the first Test, but it’s one of those things; that’s the nature of the game.” “When you get another chance you’ve got to use it and you’ve got to grab it with both hands.” The pitch provided some vicious turn as New Zealand legspinner Ish Sodhi chipped in with two wickets to finish with 3-59. Wagner had Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim caught at gully for 18 before Sodhi dismissed Nasir Hossain, caught at slip for 19. Bangladesh’s Sohag Gazi launched a counter-attack, hitting a four and a six but could not repeat his heroics in the first Test when he scored an unbeaten century and claimed a hat-trick. He fell for 14. Wagner completed his haul with the wicket of Rubel for four while Sodhi bowled Abdur Razzak for 13 to wrap up the innings. Williamson (28 not out) was batting alongside Taylor (37 not out) when play was called off. Shakib said Bangladesh must take those two wickets today if they want to take the lead and put New Zealand under pressure. “We need to pick up the two wickets at the crease now because they are the most important batsmen,” he said. “They are the senior players and can always play big innings.” The first Test ended in a draw. —AFP

Vatican fields cricket club as sport and faith merge

DHAKA: New Zealand’s Kane Williamson falls on ground as a bouncer ball hits him during the second day of the second cricket Test match against Bangladesh. —AP

SCOREBOARD DHAKA: Scores at stumps on the second day of the second Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand at the Shere-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka yesterday: Bangladesh first innings (overnight 228-5) Rubel) 10-282 ( Razzak) Tamim Iqbal c Williamson b Wagner 95 Bowling: Boult 16-2-55-1, Bracewell 14-1-57-0 (w1), Anamul Haque c Williamson b Boult 7 Wegner 19-5-64-5, Sodhi Marshall Ayub b Wagner 41 18.5-3-59-3, Williamson 4-0-30-0, Anderson 3-0-14-1 Mominul Haque c Watling b Anderson 47 New Zealand first innings Shakib Al Hasan lbw b Sodhi 20 P. Fulton lbw b Shakib 14 Mushfiqur Rahim c Fulton b Wagner 18 H. Rutherford c Mominul b Shakib 13 Nasir Hossain c Taylor b Sodhi 19 K. Williamson not out 28 Sohag Gazi c Williamson b Wagner 14 R. Taylor not out 37 Abdur Razzak b Sodhi 13 B. McCullum c Rubel b Shakib 11 Rubel Hossain c Watling b Wagner 4 Extras (b4) 4 Al-Amin Hossain not out 0 Total (for three wickets. 33.3 overs) 107 Extras (b2,lb1, w1) 4 Fall of wickets: 1-31 (Rutherford), 2-32 (Fulton), 3-101 Total (all out, 74.5 overs) 282 (McCullum) Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Anamul), 2-90 (Marshall), 3-166 Bowling: Al-Amim 6-3-14-0, Sohag Gazi 6-0-13-0, (Mominul) 4-208 ( Tamim), 5-228 (Shakib), 6-246 Shakib 11-1-25-3, Razzak (Mushfiqur), 7-252 ( Nasir), 8-266 ( Sohag), 9-274 ( 5-1-33-0, Rubel 5.3-0-18-0.

VATICAN CITY: The Vatican served tea and cucumber sandwiches yesterday as it launched its first cricket club, an initiative aimed at forging ties with teams of other faiths. No, Pope Francis isn’t taking up the sport long associated with manicured grounds and English nobility; the soccer-mad “slum pope” still prefers the lower-brow sport of his beloved San Lorenzo club. But he and the Vatican have long championed sports as good for mind, body and soul, and the cricket club is the latest initiative of the Vatican’s culture ministry to use sports to engage in dialogue with the contemporary world. Australia’s ambassador to the Holy See, John McCarthy, was the brainchild behind the initiative and said he hopes the St. Peter’s Cricket Club will field a team to play the Church of England at Lord’s sometime next fall. He said the aim is to boost interfaith dialogue, given cricket’s immense popularity in largely non-Catholic India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It would be a “very special occasion” if seminarians from Rome’s pontifical universities might one day play students at Muslim or Hindu religious schools on the subcontinent, he said. The initiative also is aimed at educating Italy, the Vatican and even Pope Francis that “there is some sport other than football!” he said before passing around a tray of cucumber tea sandwiches, a mainstay of cricket events. The club is expected to count on some 250-300 students and priests at the Vatican and various pontifical universities around Rome where cricket is already being played informally; from these individual teams a Vatican one would be selected and fielded as early as the spring. Rome’s Capannelle Cricket Club is letting the Vatican use its pitch, and McCarthy said anonymous private sponsors were prepared to fund equipment, organizational and other related costs. The Vatican already has its “Clericus Cup” soccer tournament, which pitches the Swiss Guards against seminarians from the North American College and other teams. And just on Sunday in another sporting initiative, the culture ministry organized a “Race of Faith,” laying down a 100meter (yard) track along the main boulevard leading to St. Peter’s Square to emphasize sports’ positive spiritual and educational values. —AP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

S P ORTS

Late field goals are becoming a sure thing in NFL NEW YORK: Playing for the field goal used to be a roll of the dice at the end of NFL games. Now, it’s almost a sure thing. The numbers say kickers are more dependable than ever, both overall and when the outcome is on the line. Consider this: Only one field goal attempt for the lead in the final two minutes of a game or in overtime this season has been missed, by Houston’s Randy Bullock from 46 yards on Sept. 15. The Texans still won the game, in overtime against Tennessee. On Sunday, four games were won with late field goals: Nick Folk of the Jets from 42 yards to beat the Patriots in overtime; Cincinnati’s Mike Nugent from 54 to beat Detroit; Buffalo’s Dan Carpenter from 31 to beat his former team, Miami; and Pittsburgh’s Shaun Suisham from 42 to knock off archrival Baltimore. Everyone loves the last-ditch

touchdowns such as Tom Brady’s connection with Kenbrell Thompkins against New Orleans the previous week. But more and more, coaches are looking to their soccer-style booters to provide the decisive points. And the kickers are coming through. “I like the situation,’” said Folk, whose work proves it - he has clinched three of New York’s four victories with late field goals. “I don’t find it intimidating, and I just face the pressure.” Folk and the Jets are at Cincinnati next Sunday, where the Bengals have their own strong-willed kicker in former Jet Mike Nugent. Against the Bills on Oct. 13, he nailed a 43-yarder for a 27-24 win. Then he beat the Lions by the same score with the 54-yarder, the longest winning kick in the fourth quarter for a team that didn’t relinquish the lead through seven weeks, according to

STATS. Earlier in the final period, Nugent had missed from 47 yards. But he knew coach Marvin Lewis would have faith in him if the situation arose later on. “You kind of think about it both ways. I sit there thinking if I’d made that earlier kick, how different would the game be at the end of the day,” Nugent said. “You think about that after the game but not so much during, because if you make a big deal of that during the game, it’s going to drive you crazy and maybe not get the better result.” Carpenter’s might be the most inspiring performance. After five years with the Dolphins, he was released and wound up in Buffalo. On Sunday, he connected for a little payback. Coach Doug Marrone was certain he could rely on Carpenter, and not just because of the kicker’s familiarity with the stadium. He knew Carpenter would-

n’t tighten up in a pressurized situation. “I think for maybe with a young kicker that could be (an issue) but not with a guy like him,” Marrone said. “He’s fine. Nothing’s really going to rattle him too much. ... I think Dan is well-respected. He had a great career here. I don’t think anyone needs any extra motivation in this league to come back and kind of say, ‘Hey, I told you so.’ Dan’s a professional.” Kickers have become such a reliable commodity that their 86.7 percent success rate thus far would be an all-time high. Keep in mind, though, that the percentage was higher at this time a year ago, 87.7, and tailed off to 83.9 as the weather got worse and footballs became harder to kick for distance or accuracy. So far in 2013, four kickers are perfect on field goals: Folk, Suisham, St. Louis’ Greg Zuerlein and Denver’s Matt Prater. Folk has the most, 16.

That’s not a significantly higher number than in other seasons, and only two kickers have gone through an entire schedule without a miss, Minnesota’s Gary Anderson in 1998 (35 for 35), and Indianapolis’ Mike Vanderjagt in 2003 (37 for 37). Neither got to the Super Bowl in those years. With coaches so confident in their kickers, they are willing to “settle” for the 40-plus field goals late in games, especially when their offense can run down the clock and not allow the opponent any time to respond. “We have ‘Folk Hero’ and we thought he could pop one on them,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “At the end of the day, we believe in our guy. He’s a great kicker.” And what instructions do these kickers need? “I just thought, ‘Kick it through those yellow things,’” Carpenter said. Seems nearly ever kicker is doing it to win games this year. —AP

Giants whip sloppy Vikings

FAISALABAD: In this photograph taken on September 13, 2013 Pakistani snooker player Mohammad Asif plays at a snooker club in Faisalabad. —AFP

Pakistan’s modest world champion FAISALABAD: Rising sports stars regularly spout the cliche about not letting success change them, but in the case of Mohammad Asif, Pakistan’s sole current world champion, it seems to be true. The 31-year-old was given a hero’s welcome when he returned to Pakistan after winning the amateur world snooker championship a year ago, feted by politicians and media alike. He still lives in the same modest house in a nondescript corner of Faisalabad, an industrial city in Punjab province, and still practises at the same grubby basement club. He says he has seen nothing of the $100,000 reward promised him by the government for his win, but his success has made him a superstar in the city once known as the “Manchester of Pakistan” for its countless cotton mills. “Wherever I go, thanks be to God, I get special love from the people, everybody is caring and praying for me,” he told AFP. “Now everyone in the city recognises me, which gives me pleasure.” The biggest change for Asif has been his wheels. Gone is his rickety old motorbike, replaced by a gleaming black Toyota Corolla emblazoned with “M. Asif World Champion”-a gift from Pakistan’s richest man, property tycoon Malik Riaz. Asif is only the second Pakistani to win the world title, after Mohammed Yousuf, nearly 20 years ago, but his campaign nearly ended before it began. A shortage of funds meant the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF) had practically given up hope of sending players to last year’s championship in Bulgaria until a slew of personal donations allowed Asif to board the plane. The shy, softly spoken Asif repaid their generosity with a fairytale win, beating

England’s Gary Wilson 10-8 in the final. Now he has his sights set on matching the achievement of his professional counterpart Ronnie O’Sullivan, who in May successfully defended the world crown he won in 2012. “I am ready to defend my title and am confident I will win it again,” Asif said ahead of the tournament in Latvia starting on November 27. Asif helped Pakistan to victory in last month’s world team championship in Ireland and he said the experience has brought him added mental steel. “ The recent wins have boosted my morale and have matured my game. I have learnt how to handle the pressure, which is key in snooker,” he said. All being well, Asif plans to turn professional next year thanks to a $20,000 sponsorship deal from entrepreneur Nadeem Omar. Illustrious names like Jimmy White, James Wattana and Ken Doherty are all former amateur champions, with the Irishman being the only player so far to have held both the amateur and professional crowns. Despite enjoying great popularity at amateur level around Pakistan, snooker struggles for funding and exposure in a country obsessed with cricket. While cricket stars earn good livings with big-money sponsorship deals and endorsements for everything from banking to shampoo, snooker is left to struggle on thanks to the efforts of dedicated amateurs. But for Asif, there is no comparison. “This is the best game. Technically there is a lot of joy in it, you have to beat your opponent by yourself whereas in cricket you have to rely on your teammates,” he said, noting that the sport had a distinguished history in Pakistan. “Our founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah also used to play this game.” —AFP

EAST RUTHERFORD: The New York Giants got their first win of the season by holding Adrian Peterson in check and converting Minnesota mistakes into a 23-7 victory on Monday night. The Giants began the season with six losses in which they were the team turning over the ball while showing little penchant for playing defense. But against the Vikings, they were efficient enough, if not overwhelming, and had three takeaways to one lost fumble. Peterson, the league’s Most Valuable Player last season and a 2,000-yard rusher, was held to 28 yards five days after his 2-year-old son was buried in South Dakota. The man accused in the death was indicted on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges, prosecutors said Monday. Peterson was not helped by a rusty Josh Freeman, making his debut as Vikings quarterback after being signed as a free agent when Tampa Bay cut the 2009 first-round draft pick. Freeman frequently missed open receivers, and several of his throws sailed yards beyond his targets. Josh Brown kicked three field goals and Rueben Randle caught a 24yard TD pass for New York. Marcus Sherels provided Minnesota’s points with an 86yard punt return, but his fumble without being hit during a runback midway in the third quarter set up New York at the Vikings 3. Peyton Hillis, signed last Wednesday with the Giants in dire need of running backs, surged in from the 1 for a 17-7 lead - New York’s biggest in 2013. The lead grew on Brown’s 23-yard field goal to finish off a 16-play, 75-yard drive, and to 23-7 on his 36-yarder. Another Vikings mistake handed those points to the Giants: Rookie Sharrif Floyd, a defensive tackle of all things, fumbled at Minnesota’s 18 while returning a short kickoff. Manning, who led the league with 15 interceptions, didn’t throw one for the first time all season. And while Freeman was picked only one time, by Antrel Rolle, he looked like someone who hadn’t played in more than a month. —AP

EAST RUTHERFORD: New York Giants tight end Bear Pascoe (86) leaps over Minnesota Vikings’ Jamarca Sanford (33) during the first half of an NFL football game. —AP

Li Na gets chance of atonement ISTANBUL: Li Na has a chance to atone for her ill fortune in one of the most dramatic Grand Slam finals in recent years as the round robin draw in the WTA Championships gives her a certain meeting with Victoria Azarenka this week. The most successful Asian tennis player of all time looked capable of earning the second Grand Slam title of her ground-breaking career until she took two falls in the final of the Australian Open against Azarenka, in January. Now the Chinese star has been drawn in the same group as the Belarussian, giving her a chance both to show that she is a better player past the age of 30 and the opportunity to settle an old score. “I know they always ask me about this, the second oldest women on the tour, and I would like to say age is nothing,” said Li. “Hopefully this time I won’t drop down,” she added, referring especially to the remarkable second fall when she hit her head on the court and for two seconds saw nothing in the final set of that incidentpacked final in Melbourne. Li has won four times out of ten against Azarenka, and two of the three in Grand Slams. Significantly, they have not met since the one she lost, after which she received a huge round of applause from the Aussie crowd. The 31-year-old from Wuhan has also been doing a good job at dispelling preconceptions which say she should now be in decline. Not only has she maintained a place in the world’s top six all year, reaching her third Grand Slam final and the US Open semi-final, but the quality of her tennis has lent weight to her assertion that this has been the best year of her career. Li reckons her standard in 2013 has been even higher than when she famously won the French Open two years ago. “I feel I can control myself more,” she said. “Mentally before when I came onto the court I had already lost the match. I lost to myself, not my opponent. Now it’s not like before. At least I’ve learnt something. I’m still learning every day.” Li has benefitted both from the coaching of Carlos Rodriguez, the man who steered Justine Henin to seven Grand Slam titles, and from better physiotherapy. This is crucial too because physically Li feels she has improved. It has reduced the tendency to slower

Li Na in action in this file photo. recovery times and has made her confident in her movement. “I think I have a very good physio ... I feel I move faster than before.” She concluded: “At least this year I always stay like same level, not like before. Maybe 2011 was when I won a Grand Slam, but in other tournaments I hadn’t good results. “This year it doesn’t matter if it is a Grand Slam or even an international tournament, I always play well. Yeah, it is more controlled. “I think I enjoy it more now,” she said, producing her familiar and popular smile. “When I was younger, if I lost the match, I was like, how can you lose the

match? There were so many negative things in my mind. “I am happy the way I play now. I feel, win or lose, it’s a tennis match, you know. It really doesn’t change my life.” Li’s other two opponents are Sara Errani, the world number seven from Italy, and Jelena Jankovic, the former world number one from Serbia, against whom she has 5-0 and 5-4 winning records respectively. She will therefore hope, whatever the outcome of her match against Azarenka, that she can still qualify for Saturday’s semi-finals in the WTA Championships. —AFP

Jamaica facing Olympic ban over dope scandal — report

KUWAIT: Saudi Motor Sports Ambassador Yazeed Al-Rajhee is getting ready for the Spanish Rally to be held from Oct 24-27, near the city of Barcelona. This will be the 12th round in the World Championship rallies this year. Al- Rajhee is looking for best possible result to improve his standings in the WRC 2 for this year, as he finished third last year.

LONDON: Jamaica’s athletes, including sprint star Usain Bolt, could be banned from major events like the Olympics due to the island’s handling of recent drug scandals, according to yesterday’s Daily Telegraph. World Anti-Doping Agency president John Fahey, in an interview with the paper, accused Jamaica of “farcical” behaviour in its attempts to defer an extraordinary audit of its anti-doping programme until next year. This followed an invitation to WADA by Jamaica’s prime minister to investigate revelations from the former executive director of the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO)

that it conducted no drug tests in the five months leading up to last year’s London Olympics. But JADCO’s suggestion that they would talk to WADA next year infuriated anti-doping chiefs. If Jamaica is deemed to be non-compliant with the WADA code, their athletes could be banned from major competitions until the situation is resolved even though the likes of multiple Olympic champion Bolt have never failed a drugs test. “The current position is unacceptable to WADA and we’re not going to take it lying down, their suggestion that they’ll talk to us next year,” said Fahey.

“To suggest to WADA they’re not ready to meet with us to talk about their problem until sometime next year is unsatisfactory, it’s totally unacceptable to me and we shall act appropriately within an appropriate time frame.” Asked if Jamaica would be declared ‘non-compliant’, Fahey replied: “There are a number of options. “You can read into that exactly what those words are likely to mean but I don’t want to flag it up,” added Fahey, a former premier of the Australian state of New South Wales, whose mandatory maximum six-year term as WADA president ends this year.—AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

S P ORTS

Cardinals, Red Sox set for World Series duel BOSTON: The resurgent Red Sox will try to cap a worst-to-first season with a World Series win over talent-laden St. Louis in a battle of baseball’s best teams that starts today. The 109th World Series, which opens at Boston’s Fenway Park, is one for the purists. For the first time since 1999, the teams with the most wins in the American League and National League have made it through the playoffs to Major League Baseball’s Fall Classic. Both Boston and St. Louis posted 97 regular-season victories and both led their leagues in runs scored. The Red Sox wrapped up the American League pennant with a six-game triumph over Detroit in the AL Championship Series, while the Cardinals downed the Dodgers in six games in the NLCS. “I’ve faced the Cardinals a lot over the years and that’s one excellent baseball team,” Red Sox right fielder Shane Victorino said. “We’re going to have to be at the top of our game.” For the Red Sox, the entire season has been about rebounding from a dismal 2012 campaign that yielded only 69 victories and 93 defeats. A roster makeover included the addition of Victorino, Mike Napoli and Jonny Gomes, with former pitching coach John Farrell returning to Boston as manager to guide the turnaround that the Red Sox say won’t be complete without a World Series triumph. “We’ve got to win four more games,” right-handed hurler Clay Buchholz said. “But the way this team jelled and meshed right away in spring training, obviously every team in Major League Baseball has a

LOUISVILLE: Senorise Perry No. 32 of the Louisville Cardinals runs with the ball in this file photo. —AFP

goal to make the World Series and the playoffs from the start. “Everybody here just believed it, and the numbers this year, they speak for themselves. The way guys grinded out at-bats throughout the season, passing the torch to the next guy-it’s what this team’s about.” The Cardinals are back in the World Series for the fourth time in 10 seasons, but they too have had to put behind them the disappointment of 2012. After lifting the title in 2011 they appeared headed back to the World series last season, only to surrender a 3-1 lead in the NL Championship Series to San Francisco, which went on to sweep the Tigers for the crown. The Cardinals haven’t displayed the kind of offensive power shown by the Red Sox, who had grand slams from both 37-yearold designated hitter David Ortiz and Victorino in the series against Detroit. However, the St. Louis offense led by Carlos Beltran has shown an uncanny knack for the timely hit. Beltran, a 17-year veteran who is playing in the World Series for the first time, is hitting only .256 this October, but has driven in 12 runs in 11 games. St. Louis’ offense could also receive a spark from the return of first baseman Allen Craig. Craig, who led the Cardinals with 97 runs-batted-in and a .454 batting average with runners in scoring position, hasn’t played since September 4 because of a broken foot. He was expected to be back on the roster, perhaps as a designated hitter. Defensively, the Cardinals boast a rising star in 22-year-old right-handed pitcher Michael Wacha, who twice out-dueled Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. The rookie has won all three of his postseason starts and was named Most Valuable Player of the NLCS. “I think we just don’t talk about it much, because we don’t want it to change,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Wacha’s brilliance. “We just want him to think that this is normal and this is expected.” Wacha’s emergence should help St. Louis counter a strong Boston rotation that includes Jon Lester, John Lackey and Buchholz. The rock-solid Red Sox bullpen features Japanese closer Koji Uehara, the AL Championship Series MVP. Uehara hasn’t walked a batter in his last 30 appearances and has five saved games in the post-season. St. Louis will send right-handed ace Adam Wainwright to the mound on Wednesday. Wainwright, the National League wins leader in the regular season with 19, is 2-1 in this post-season. The Red Sox give the ball to Lester, who has bounced back from a 9-14 2012 to go 15-8 in 2013 and 2-1 in this post-season. Given how finely matched the teams are, game one could be the start of an epic clash between clubs that are meeting for the fourth time in US baseball’s championship showcase. Most recently, in 2004, the Red Sox ended their fabled 86year title drought with a four- game sweep of the Cardinals. In 1946 and 1967, however, the Cardinals beat the Red Sox in seven games. —AFP

With Lorgat suspended India agrees to tour SA CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s cricket board suspended chief executive Haroon Lorgat yesterday pending an ICC inquiry into his conduct and also reluctantly agreed to a shortened home series against India, with both decisions taken under pressure from India’s powerful cricket bosses. The two boards announced that Lorgat, a former International Cricket Council chief executive, would be investigated over his “role” in recent comments made by David Becker, a former legal adviser to the world body and Cricket South Africa who was critical of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and its leadership. In a joint BCCI-CSA statement, the boards said Lorgat, who was appointed by CSA in July despite heavy Indian opposition, had been withdrawn from any business related to the ICC and also “from having involvement in any aspect of CSA’s relationship with the BCCI, including but not limited to the upcoming tour.” Despite an ICC-appointed inquiry being announced, the world body has so far made no public comment and left the two boards, led by India, to release details. The ICC merely posted the statement on its website. The joint statement also suggested that India agreed to tour South Africa, an important financial windfall for the host country, only after Lorgat was dealt with. “The agreement to tour was concluded by the two boards after various concerns were raised ... about the alleged conduct of CSA’s chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, and recent comments made about the ICC board by a former legal adviser to CSA, David Becker,” the statement said. It was not made clear what involvement Lorgat may have had in Becker’s public criticism of India, but the BCCI and CSA said any findings against Lorgat “will be binding on CSA.” CSA’s new chief executive has a long history of bitter disagreements with the BCCI stretching back to his time at the ICC, and CSA was surprisingly open in conceding it had battled against BCCI opposition when Lorgat was appointed in July. CSA President Chris Nenzani said then that their officials had been summoned to a meeting with the BCCI to explain Lorgat’s appointment, where Indian bosses made clear their “concerns” over South Africa’s choice.

South Africa also initially announced India’s end-of-year tour would consist of three tests, seven ODIs and two Twenty20s over two months from November through to January, but India immediately expressed its unhappiness with that schedule. Following meetings in London over the past few days, CSA has given in and agreed to only two tests and three ODIs, and Lorgat was sidelined from having any involvement in the tour. The BCCI and CSA said the ICC was considering its legal options with regard to Becker, but it will set up an independent investigation to see if Lorgat played a role in Becker’s public statement criticizing the dominance of India and, specifically, BCCI President Narainswamy Srinivasan. In a statement released to the media this month, Becker said India was flouting ICC guidelines by, among other things, ignoring the agreed Future Tours Program and deciding unilaterally how many games and where it wanted to play. “When the ICC allows one of its directors to blatantly disregard an ICC board resolution, it becomes more than questionable governance - it becomes improper,” Becker was quoted as saying in his statement. In response, the BCCI and CSA said: “The ICC and CSA have already refuted the comments made by Becker, and the ICC is now considering its legal options in respect of the same. In addition, the ICC will convene an investigation by an independent third party (to be appointed by the ICC) into the content and distribution of the media comments, subsequent attempts to have them withdrawn, and, in particular, the role of Lorgat in relation to these matters.” The boards said the third-party investigation “will be carried out in private” and CSA declined to make any further comment yesterday until the inquiry was complete. No time frame for the investigation was given. The two boards also said the exact dates of India’s shortened tour to South Africa, likely to be in December, would be announced later, while the South African Cricketers’ Association said a reduced series between two of cricket’s leading teams would be meaningless. “It’s a very sad day when international cricket becomes more about what happens off the field than what happens on it,” SACA chief executive Tony Irish said. —AP

Photo of the day

Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell perform on track during the 2013 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, NSW.— www.redbull.com

Avalanche bury Penguins

PITTSBURGH: Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned aside 34 shots for his second shutout in 11 days, helping the Colorado Avalanche edge the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 on Monday night. Gabriel Landeskog scored the game’s only goal 5:26 into the second period as Colorado improved to 8-1, the best start in franchise history. The game was billed as a fight for bragging rights between Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby and Colorado rookie Nathan MacKinnon. The former No. 1 picks both are from Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia in Canada. Instead, Giguere stole the show. Pittsburgh went 0 for 7 on the power play and lost for the first time at home despite outshooting the Avalanche 34-14. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 13 shots for the Penguins (7-2). SHARKS 1, RED WINGS 0 Logan Couture scored in the shootout as San Jose beat Detroit. The Sharks (8-0-1) are the NHL’s last team without a regulation loss. Each goalie got a shutout for not allowing a goal in 65 minutes. Antti Niemi - who got his 24th career shutout - made 24 saves for San Jose and Jimmy Howard, who earned his 17th shutout, stopped 27 shots. It was Niemi’s third shutout against Detroit. He also stopped Todd Bertuzzi on Detroit’s final shootout attempt with a spectacular pad save. It was the first game of a four-game Eastern road swing for San Jose. FLAMES 3, KINGS 2 TJ Brodie scored the tiebreaking power-play goal with 29.7 seconds to play, helping the Flames rally for a victory over the Kings. The Flames were awarded a power play with 2:12 left in regulation when Dennis Wideman fell to the ice near the benches, drawing a hooking penalty on Anze Kopitar. Brodie collected a bouncing puck in the slot and beat Jonathan Quick for the third power-play goal of the night for the Flames, who

PITTSBURGH: Chuck Kobasew No. 12 of the Pittsburgh Penguins handles the puck in front of Nate Guenin No. 5 of the Colorado Avalanche during the game at Consol Energy Center. —AFP had lost on the first two stops of their five-game trip. Mike Cammalleri scored in his

season debut for the Flames, and rookie Sean Monahan added another power-play goal in the sec-

ond period. Karri Ramo stopped 27 shots in his first victor y for Calgary.—AP

NHL results/standings Los Angeles 2, Calgary 3; Detroit 0, San Jose 1 (SO); Pittsburgh 0, Colorado 1.

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 8 0 1 40 7 1 0 30 5 2 2 27 6 4 0 26 5 4 1 27 4 2 2 26 2 6 1 26 Central Division 8 1 0 28 5 1 2 23 5 1 1 27 5 3 1 19 3 3 3 19 4 5 0 22 3 5 0 20

GA PTS 16 17 19 14 26 12 25 12 29 11 28 10 36 5 12 19 19 22 22 25 28

16 12 11 11 9 8 6

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

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division 6 3 1 24 6 3 0 30 5 2 0 20 5 3 0 26 5 3 0 26 3 3 2 21 3 6 0 20 1 8 1 13 Metropolitan Division 7 2 0 31 4 2 3 22 3 3 2 25 3 5 0 19 3 5 0 21 1 4 3 17 2 5 0 11 1 7 0 11

24 22 10 15 21 24 32 28

13 12 10 10 10 8 6 3

20 26 23 22 25 26 29 24

14 11 8 6 6 5 4 2

Note: Overtime losses (OT) worth 1 pt and not included in loss column (L).

Arab, Int’l Sailing Tourney

Ahmad Al-Failakawi

KUWAIT: The Arab, International Sailing Tournament kicks off tomorrow morning at the Kuwait Sea Sports Club, featuring competitors from 16 different countries. The competition continues until Oct 27 and includes sailboat races under four classifications. “The competition starts at 10:00 am at the

Competitors take part in a sailing race in this file photo.

KSSC headquarters in Salmiya with attendance of the participating teams”, said general coordinator Ahmad Al-Failakawi who also announced that the tournament is held under the patronage of Minister of Information and State Minister of Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah. In addition to Kuwait, participants taking

part in the tournament represent Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, the United Kingdom, France and Bulgaria. The judging panel consists of international judges from Thailand, Poland. Bulgaria, Egypt, Bahrain in addition to Kuwait.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

S P ORTS

Alex Ferguson’s autobiography - the best bits LONDON: Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson launched his new autobiography yesterday, in which he looked back on his record-breaking 26-and-a-half-year tenure at Old Trafford. Here, AFP Sports provides some of the most revealing extracts from the book, entitled ‘My Autobiography ’, which goes on sale tomorrow. •On turning down the England manager’s job in 1999 and 2001: “There was no way I could contemplate that. It wasn’t a bed of nails I was ever tempted to lie on.” •On David Beckham: “David was the only player I managed who chose to be famous, who made it his mission to be known outside the game.” •On his clash with Beckham following an FA Cup defeat by Arsenal in February 2003: “David swore. I moved towards him, and as I approached I kicked a boot. It hit him right above the eye.” •On Wayne Rooney: “I felt he struggled more and more to do it for 90 minutes, and he seemed to tire in games. He came into my office the day after we

won the league (in 2013) and asked away. He wasn’t happy with being left out for some games and subbed in others.” • On a row with former captain Roy Keane after the Irishman criticised several of his team-mates in an interview with the club’s in-house television station, MUT V, that was never aired. “It was frightening to watch. And I’m from Glasgow. He has the most savage tongue you can imagine.” • On discussing Keane’s outburst with his assistant, Carlos Queiroz: “‘He needs to go, Carlos,’ I said. ‘One hundred percent,’ he said. ‘Get rid of him,’ I said.” • On Cristiano Ronaldo: “Cristiano Ronaldo was the most gifted player I managed.” • On watching Ronaldo play for the first time: “One night I was watching a movie, White Fang, the Jack London book about going down to Klondike in search of gold. That’s what it must be like for a scout. You’re standing watching a game on a Saturday morning and

you see a George Best, a Ryan Giggs or a Bobby Charlton. That’s what I felt that day in Lisbon. A revelation. That was the biggest surge of excitement, of anticipation, I experienced in football management.” • On an incident with Ruud van Nistelrooy during the 2006 League Cup final: “ We were on cruise control against Wigan and I saw an opportunity to give (Patrice) Evra and (Nemanja) Vidic a taste of the game. They were my final substitutions. I turned to Ruud and said: ‘I’m going to give these lads a part of the game.’ They were going to get a touch, a smell of winning something with Manchester United. ‘You — —,’ said Van Nistelrooy. I’ll always remember that. Could not believe it ... But that was the end of him.” • On Liverpool’s decision to wear Tshirts in support of striker Luis Suarez after he was accused of racially abusing United left-back Patrice Evra: “Liverpool wore those T-shirts supporting Suarez, which was the most ridiculous thing for a club of Liverpool’s stature”.

• On former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez: “Soon after Benitez arrived, I attended a Liverpool game and he and his wife invited me in for a drink. So far, so good. But our relationship frayed. The mistake he made was to turn our rivalry personal.” • On Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho: “He’s a likeable person when you get to know him, and he can laugh at himself, turn a joke back on himself. I don’t know whether (Arsene) Wenger or Benitez had that capacity.” •On former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini’s decision to forgive Carlos Tevez, the former United striker, for refusing to go on as a substitute in a Champions League game at Bayern Munich: “Taking him back showed desperation. In terms of his prestige as a manager, he let himself down.” • On ‘Pizzagate’, the row at Old Trafford that followed a defeat by Arsenal in October 2004: “They say it was Cesc Fabregas who threw the pizza at me but, to this day, I have no idea who the culprit was.” —AFP

LONDON: Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson poses with his book ‘My Autobiography’ during a press conference yesterday. —AP

Manchester United eye Champions League boost

SPAIN: Real’s Gareth Bale (right) trains with Real’s Karim Benzema (second right) and other players during a training session. Real Madrid will play Juventus today in a Group B Champions League soccer match. —AP

Desperate Juve in need of win at the Bernabeu MADRID: Italian champions Juventus travel to face Real Madrid today desperately needing to kickstart their Champions League campaign. Juve could only manage disappointing draws against FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray in their opening two games, leaving them four points adrift of Madrid at the top of Group B. And their confidence ahead of the daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu wasn’t helped by a first league defeat of the season on Sunday as Fiorentina came from 2-0 down to beat Antonio Conte’s men 4-2. Conte described his side’s second-half meltdown at the Artemio Franchi as a “nightmare”. However, he is hoping his side’s experience will help them to get over the disappointment of defeat quickly. “The game against Real Madrid didn’t condition the game. When you are on the pitch it is difficult to think about the next game,” he said. “It is inexplicable with the experience that we have. “It annoys us to lose, but we have to forget it quickly. We are a mature team.” Juve’s two points from their opening two games mean they lead Galatasaray and Copenhagen by just a solitary point and are likely to have to take points from Madrid to avoid a tense showdown with the Turkish champions for second place in the final game in Istanbul. Chilean international Arturo Vidal is a major doubt after he suffered a muscular problem in the latter stages against Fiorentina, whilst Stephan Lichsteiner and

Mirko Vucinic are also likely to be missing. There have been no such problems for Madrid in their opening two group games as they set a new competition record for the most prolific start to a Champions League campaign by firing 10 goals past Galatasaray and Copenhagen. However, despite Juve’s struggles so far in the competition, Madrid defender Pepe insists they deserve respect. “We have to respect all their players. They have stars like (Gianluigi) Buffon and (Andrea) Pirlo, but I think their most important quality is their collective ability,” he told the club’s website. Carlo Ancelotti’s men also had a moraleboosting weekend as a 2-0 win over Malaga allied to dropped points for Barcelona and Atletico Madrid saw them move to within three points of Barca at the top of La Liga. Gareth Bale returned for the final 13 minutes of Saturday’s match following a slight thigh problem and Ancelotti didn’t rule out the possibility that the Welshman could start against Juve. “I don’t think he would have any problems in playing from the start and it is an option that we have.” Ancelotti is also hoping French internationals Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane will be fit despite missing the win over Malaga with calf and knee injuries respectively. Both players trained with the rest of the squad on Monday, as did Xabi Alonso for the first time since breaking a bone in his foot in August, but the Spanish international is not expected to be involved due to his lack of match practice. —AFP

City seek to take advantage of CSKA MOSCOW: English giants Manchester City will be looking to take a stranglehold on second place in their Champions League group by winning their second successive away match in this season’s competition at out of form CSKA Moscow today. The 2012 Premier League champions and runners-up last season to Manchester United had only won one of their six away matches in their previous two campaigns, but got off to a winning start this term at Viktoria Pilsen. A subsequent defeat to group leaders and Champions League holders Bayern Munich-who also beat CSKA-in Manchester reflected how far Manuel Pelligrini’s side has to go to be a viable challenger. However, even reaching the knockout stage would represent a marked improvement on their two campaigns under former boss Roberto Mancini, both times failing to reach the second round. They go into the game against a CSKA side who are goalless and winless in their last five league matches, boosted also by their first away win in the Premier League this season with a comprehensive 3-1 win at West Ham. Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero scored either side of half-time while also setting up a late goal for David Silva which put them just three points off leaders Arsenal. “Now we play four games in a row away so it is the best moment, first to win away against West Ham and then to repeat the

triumph we had against Pilsen in the Champions League,” said Pellegrini. Pelligrini, who hopes captain Belgian central defender Vincent Kompany will be fit to play, is more concerned about the state of the pitch in Moscow, which saw their first home game having to be played in St Petersburg because their pitch was deemed unplayable. “We don’t know what the conditions of the (Khimki arena) pitch will be,” Pellegrini said. “We hope that UEFA allowed them to play the game there because it’s a good pitch.” However, the recent report of the UEFA delegate, who has inspected the condition of the pitch, said that it was now good enough to play on. As if CSKA didn’t have enough of a task ahead of them they will have to confront City without several key players, Brazilian defender Mario Fernandez, Latvian midfielder Aleksandrs Cauna and Russian international playmaker Alan Dzagoev are all injured. Meanwhile, their Ivory Coast international striker Seydou Doumbia, who came on as a late substitute in Friday’s 2-0 defeat against Zenit St-Petersburg, is still not at his best having just recovered from a back injury. First choice goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev missed the league match because of a swollen knee but CSKA manager Leonid Slutsky said he was hoping he would be able to play today. —AFP

LONDON: Manchester United will once again turn to the Champions League for solace today when Real Sociedad visit Old Trafford in the third round of Group A matches. United slipped up in the Premier League again at the weekend, conceding an 89th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw at home to Southampton that left the defending champions eight points below leaders Arsenal in eighth place. Manager David Moyes continues to face questions about his suitability to succeed the great Alex Ferguson, but in Europe, at least, he has been spared a bumpy ride so far. United top the group after a 4-2 win at home to Bayer Leverkusen and a 1-1 draw at Shakhtar Donetsk and approach the double-header with Real Sociedad knowing that a pair of positive results could leave them on the brink of the knockout phase. “I feel that this is an important one for us,” Moyes said. “If we could win this one, it would give us a strong position in the group. We have to go out there and take advantage of the home game and try to get a result. “I hope it will go to plan. That’s what we want to do to put us in a strong position early on.” Real Sociedad secured their place in the continent’s premier tournament with a stunning fourth-place finish in La Liga season, before eliminating French group-phase perennials Lyon in the qualifying rounds. Their form has deserted them since, however, as they lost both their opening group matches and had gone nine games without a win in all competitions prior to Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Valencia. The Basque club can nonetheless point to the departures of both coach Philippe Montanier and star midfielder Asier Illarramendi during

CARRINGTON: Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj (left) trains with teammates at Carrington training ground. Manchester United will play Real Sociedad in a Champions League Group A soccer match today. —AP the close season as mitigating factors, and Moyes feels that their early-season results have not reflected their true worth. “I think they’re just getting the balance back in the team after selling their best player last season to Real Madrid,” said the Scot. “Maybe they’ve not started the season how they would have liked, but I know that they were unlucky to lose in the last minute against Bayer Leverkusen from a free-kick so they will be hoping to get themselves up and running. “We have to make sure we do the job, be professional and try to take all the points in this game.” United could be without senior centre-backs Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, as well as midfielder Tom Cleverley, all of whom missed

the draw against Southampton with minor injuries. Moyes must also decide whether or not to keep faith with 18-year-old winger Adnan Januzaj, who has started both of United’s last two games and signed a new five-year contract on Saturday. Esteban Granero and Dani Estrada remain sidelined through injury for the visitors, but captain Xabi Prieto is in contention to start after making a 15-minute cameo at Valencia following a hamstring problem. Despite his side’s recent travails, Real Sociedad manager Jagoba Arrasate says that they will take belief from their performance at the Mestalla. “I think we will grow and hopefully this win will be the start of a positive run, because until now I

don’t think we got the points we deserved,” said the 35-year-old, who is taking charge of a top-flight club for the first time in his career. “Now, with the win in our locker, we can think about Manchester, where we will play a historic match. To go to this stadium makes us all very excited. “Moreover, with this victory, we go there with confidence. When you have faith in what you are doing, you are always closer to victory.” Today’s match will be the first ever encounter between the sides. Real Sociedad have only played in England once before, losing 6-0 to Liverpool in the 1975-76 UEFA Cup, but United have won just one of their last six home games against teams from Spain. —AFP

Bayern wary of Czech champions MUNICH: Dutch winger Arjen Robben has insisted under-firing Bayern Munich must prove their mettle as European champions against Czech side Viktoria Pilsen in the Champions League today. After convincing wins at home to CSKA Moscow and away to Manchester City, Bayern are top of Group D ahead of the visit of Czech champions Pilsen. While Bayern have had no problems producing stylish performances against perceived big name clubs, they have struggled on occasion in the Bundesliga this season against low-ranking

MUNICH: Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer warms up during a last training session prior to the Champions League Group D soccer match against Viktoria Plzen. —AP

sides. Despite running out 4-1 winners at home to Mainz 05 on Saturday, Bayern were punished for a lethargic first-half when they went into the break behind before scoring four goals without replay. Robben says Munich can ill afford a repeat against Pilsen, who have lost both of their opening matches in Europe and are bottom of the group. “They won’t be coming here just to hand us the victory,” warned Robben. “We’ll have to be up for it from the start.” Having drubbed Moscow 30 in Munich and City 3-1 in Manchester, Bayern have laboured in the Bundesliga with a 1-1 draw at second-from-bottom Freiburg and posted below-par 1-0 wins over Wolfsburg and Frankfurt. Bayern have fallen into the habit of turning on the style for an impressive victory after a poor first-half on occasion and it is something coach Pep Guardiola wants to change. “ We need to find out why this is,” said Guardiola, who refused to blame the first-half performance against Mainz on the international break. “I want to see improvement very soon. “I don’t want the fans to think it’s only worth turning up to the stadium for the second half.” Bayern will be without Brazil centre-back Dante, after he needed 10 stitches in an ankle wound in the first-half against Mainz, while France winger Franck Riber y should be fit despite suffering an ankle injury last week. Pilsen trail Sparta Prague by six points in the Czech league after winning only one of the last four league games. On Saturday, they drew 1-1 at home with Slavia Prague who were sitting last in the table and coach Pavel Vrba has said a similar performance against Bayern would be a “disaster”. “We keep making the same mistakes, this concerns two or three players in the backline,” he said. “If we don’t improve our defence, the Bayern game will be a disaster, they would punish our mistakes badly.” Vrba is being touted as a future coach of the Czech national side after they failed to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil. The 49-year-old has a contract at Pilsen until 2015 and despite pressure to let Vrba step up to

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

UEFA Champions League CSKA Moskva v Man City Aljazeera Sport +8 Aljazeera Sport +10 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD Bayern v Plzen Aljazeera Sport +8 Aljazeera Sport 2 HD Anderlecht v PSG Aljazeera Sport +6 Aljazeera Sport 5 HD Man United v Sociedad Aljazeera Sport +7 Aljazeera Sport +10 Aljazeera Sport 3 HD Leverkusen v Shakhtar Aljazeera Sport +1 Galatasaray v Kobenhavn Aljazeera Sport +4 Real Madrid v Juventus Aljazeera Sport +3 Aljazeera Sport 1 HD Aljazeera Sport +9 Benfica v Olympiacos Aljazeera Sport +5 Aljazeera Sport 5 HD

19:00

21:45

21:45 21:45 21:45

21:45

coach the Czech Republic, his club is reluctant to let him go after the won the national league at a canter last season. Pilsen will miss injured leftback David Limbersky, out with a torn hamstring, while ex-Hertha Berlin defender Roman Hubnik may be called up to boost the wobbly defence. Having lost 3-0 at home to Manchester City and 3-2 away to CSKA Moscow, a third straight defeat would effectively end the Czech champions chance of reaching the knock-out phase. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

S P ORTS

Napoli see off Marseille

VIENNA: Atletico Madrid’s Brazilian forward Diego da Silva Costa celebrates a goal during the UEFA Champions League Group G football match against Austria Wien. —AFP

Easy for Atletico in Vienna VIENNA: Atletico Madrid moved to within touching distance of the Champions League last-16 with a 3-0 win over Austria Vienna at the Ernst-Happel Stadion yesterday. Diego Simeone’s men had the three points virtually wrapped up within the first 20 minutes as Raul Garcia tapped home the opener before Diego Costa ran half the length of the field to slot home and double the advantage. And Costa rounded off the scoring just after the interval as he guided home Emiliano Insua’s cross. Victory means Atletico, allied to Zenit St Petersburg’s 1-0 win away to Porto, are well in control of Group G on nine points, five points clear of the Russians in second. Atletico were handed a huge boost before the game as Costa was passed fit and he was surprisingly partnered by Garcia with David Villa dropping to the bench. Simeone was vindicated just eight minutes in though when Koke released leftback Filipe Luis and he rolled the ball across goal to leave Garcia with the simplest of finishes. Costa had missed Atletico’s opening two wins in the group due to a suspension

hanging over from last season and La Liga’s top scorer didn’t waste time in making his impression on Europe’s premier club competition. He collected the ball inside his own half, drove forward past one defender and then sent an unerring low finish past Heinz Linder into the far corner. Koke and Costa could easily have added to the tally before half-time as they fired off target, but the hosts could also count themselves unlucky not to have registered before the break Philipp Hosnier volleyed off the bar at the back post. Insua was forced into action at half-time in place of the injured Luis and the Argentine had an impact just eight minutes after the restart as he crossed for Costa to fire home his 12th goal of the season. With the game won, Simeone then withdrew Costa to keep him fresh for Sunday’s league game against Real Betis and without the Brazilian-born striker Atletico seemed more content to preserve what they had than go in search of a fourth goal. It mattered little though as Atletico saw out the game to respond in style to their first defeat of the season to Espanyol last weekend. —AFP

MARSEILLE: Napoli beat Marseille 2-1 in the Champions League yesterday to leave the French club on the verge of elimination. Spanish winger Jose Callejon opened the scoring in the 42nd minute with a low strike into the bottom corner. Substitute Duvan Zapata curled a shot into the top corner to double the lead in the 67th before Marseille winger Andre Ayew netted a consolation goal in the 86th. Napoli went level on six points with Borussia Dor tmund and Arsenal in Group F while Marseille slumped to a third straight loss to stay in last place. Dortmund won 2-1 at Arsenal in the other group match. “The coach (Rafael Benitez) told us they had lost a few games lately,” Napoli winger Dries Mertens said. “Therefore we had to put pressure on them, and that’s what we did.” The Italian club dominated possession in the opening minutes with Mertens wreaking havoc on his left wing. The Belgium international had a curling free kick palmed away by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda by the third minute. Mertens then fired over the bar from the edge of the box in the eighth before releasing Pablo Armero, who missed the target from a tight angle in the 13th. Marseille struggled to find space against a well-organized Napoli side. Marseille veteran Benoit Cheyrou somehow caught the Napoli defense off guard with a run from midfield could only volley wide from a cross by Jeremy Morel. A corner from Dimitri Payet gave Marseille a chance to take the lead in the 34th but centerback Souleymane Diawara sent his power ful header straight into the gloves of goalkeeper Pepe Reina. From that corner, Napoli hit the French club on the break with Mertens and Higuain facing defender Nicolas Nkoulou. Mertens slipped the ball to Higuain with just Mandanda to beat. But the Argentina striker dragged his shot wide from 14 meters (yards). Higuain made amends in the 42nd by dropping back to find Callejon with a pinpoint long ball. The Spanish winger cut inside full-

FRANCE: Marseille forward Andre-Pierre Gignac (left) fights for the ball with Napoli’s Argentinian defender Federico Fernandez (right) during a UEFA Champions League Group F football match. —AFP back Rod Fanni to fire past Mandanda. “We are once again disappointed,” Andre Ayew. “We could have done better in the first half. The goal we conceded three minutes before halftime hurt us because we could have reached the break with a score of 0-0. It’s a rough period for us, but we will show character, we

won’t keep our heads down.” Napoli managed to protect its lead in the second half despite efforts from Morel, whose cross in the 52nd was headed wide by Payet. An unmarked Pierre-Andre Gignac also failed to convert a cross from Morel in the 76th. A counterattack again exposed the frailties of the Marseille defense

in the 67th. Callejon provided a pass for Mertens, who fed Zapata with a backheel flick and the Colombian striker scored from the edge of the box. Ayew ensured a nervy finish after the Ghana winger chested down a pass from his brother, Jordan Ayew, to fire home a diagonal drive from 20 meters. —AP

Celtic break CL duck with Ajax win

PORTO: Porto’s Argentinian defender Nicolas Otamendi (right) vies with Zenit’s Brazilian forward Hulk during the UEFA Champions League Group G football match. —AFP

Zenit beat 10-man Porto PORTO: Aleksandr Kerzhakov scored five minutes from fulltime to give Zenit St. Petersburg a 1-0 win over 10-man FC Porto yesterday and its first victory in Champions League Group G. Kerzhakov met a cross from Hulk to net the winner which lifted the Russian club into second place in the group with four points. Porto slipped to third, one point behind Zenit. Atletico Madrid kept its grip on the group lead with a 3-0 result at Austria Vienna maintaining its winning run. Zenit had lost four of its previous five away games and struggled to dominate a gutsy Porto team despite its numerical advantage, and the late goal was a cruel blow for the Portuguese team which twice hit the woodwork. Porto held level for 80 minutes after Hector Herrera was shown his second yellow card only six minutes into his tournament debut.

The Mexican player brought down Hulk on the edge of the Porto area in the fourth minute and two minutes later ran out of the defensive wall too early to charge down Hulk’s free kick, earning a second booking. Hulk was a constant threat at the Stadium of the Dragon, where he scored a club record 44 goals during a four-year spell before moving to Russia last year. But Porto came closest to scoring in the first half as Lucho Gonzalez hit the Zenit woodwork with a thundering right-foot shot in the 20th. Helton produced a spectacular save to deny Hulk in the 57th after a blunder by defender Nicolas Otamendi gifted Zenit the ball. Porto kept up the pressure, though Hulk’s blistering left-foot shots in the 65th and 70th looked set the break the deadlock before Helton once again proved equal to the tests. Silvestre Varela’s curling shot bounced on the Zenit crossbar in the 78th.—AP

GLASGOW: Celtic kick-started their Champions League campaign with an impressive 2-1 victory over Ajax in Glasgow yesterday. The Dutch side had seen Christian Poulsen cannon a shot off the post before James Forrest showed nerves of steel to convert a 45th-minute penalty after Anthony Stokes had been fouled by Stefano Denswil. Celtic had ‘keeper Fraser Forster to thank as he denied Thulani Serero the chance to equalise just a minute before Beram Kayal extended the Scottish champions’ lead in the 54th minute with his first goal since 2011. Substitute Nir Biton was shown a straight red card in the 88th minute for a late challenge on Serero shortly after coming on to make his Champions League debut before sub Lasse Schone pulled one back for Ajax deep into stoppage time. The win sees Celtic claim their first points of the campaign and they move up to third in Group H, just two points behind AC Milan, who drew 1-1 with table-toppers Barcelona. It proved to be an unhappy return to Glasgow for Ajax manager Frank De Boer who had lost both his previous matches at Parkhead as a player during his brief spell with Celtic’s fierce rivals Rangers in 2004 - with his side now languishing at the bottom of the group with just one point. Neil Lennon’s response to his side drawing a blank in their opening two fixtures was to flood his team with attackers for a match they couldn’t afford to lose. Celtic created the first real opportunity as Mikael Lustig, who had recovered from injury, found space on the right but Teemu Pukki failed to make a proper connection

GLASGOW: Celtic’s James Forrest (left) scores from a penalty past Ajax’s goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen (right) during their Champions League Group H soccer match at Celtic Park. —ñAP with his cross. Ajax gradually began to impose themselves on the match with Viktor Fischer flashing a shot wide before Siem de Jong fired into the side netting. The Dutch champions came within a whisker of opening the scoring on the half-hour mark as Fischer’s free-kick caused panic in the box before breaking to Poulsen, whose first-time shot crashed off the base of the post. It didn’t look like anything would separate the sides going into the break before Stokes earned his side a 45th-minute penalty when Denswil brought the Irishman down in the box.

After a lengthy delay that saw Poulsen and Celtic’s Virgil van Dijk booked for dissent, Forrest showed nerves of steel to step up and lift the ball over Jasper Cillessen, sparking ugly scenes among the large travelling suppor t, who appeared to throw seats at stewards. Ajax had a great opportunity to equalise in the 53rd minute when Serero played a neat one-two with Kolbeinn Sigthorsson but his shot was superbly stopped by Forster. The Amsterdam giants were left to rue that miss a minute later when Kayal doubled his side’s advantage. A shot from Samaras was blocked but broke to the

Israeli international 20 yards out and his low drive took a slight deflection off Denswil in a crowded penalty box before sneaking into the bottom corner. Ajax came close to reducing the deficit in the 56th minute when Ricardo van Rhijn’s driven shot into the box broke to Sigthorsson, whose first-time effort whistled inches wide of Forster’s left-hand post. Biton replaced Lustig only to be shown a straight red card in the 88th minute for a late challenge on Serero before Schone’s superb strike from 20 yards pulled one back for Ajax in the fourth minute of stoppage time. —AFP

Champions League tables

Steaua and Basel draw

PARIS: Champions League tables after yesterday’s Group E-H matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Chelsea Schalke Basel Steaua

3 3 3 3

Dortmund Arsenal Napoli Marseille

3 3 3 3

Atletico Zenit FC Porto Vienna3

3 3 3 0

Barcelona ACMilan Celtic Ajax

3 3 3 3

Group E 2 2 1 0 Group F 2 2 2 0 Group G 3 1 1 1 Group H 2 1 1 0

0 0 1 1

1 1 1 2

8 4 3 1

2 3 3 8

6 6 4 1

0 0 0 0

1 1 1 3

6 5 4 2

3 3 4 7

6 6 6 0

0 1 0 2

0 1 2 0

8 2 2 4

2 3 3 1

9 4 3

1 2 0 1

0 0 2 2

6 4 2 2

1 2 4 7

7 5 3 1

BUCHAREST: Basel’s Mohamed Salah (right) controls the ball in front of Steaua’s Iasmin Latovlevici as they struggle for the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group E soccer match. —AP

BUCHAREST: A late equalizer from Leondro Tatu gave Steaua Bucharest a 1-1 draw against Basel and its first point in Group E of the Champions League yesterday. Marcelo Diaz opened the scoring for the Swiss side in the 48th minute, capitalizing on an error by Steaua’s Iasmin Latovlevici, who gave the ball to Marco Streller. The Basel forward passed to Diaz who unleashed a 20-meter shot past goalkeeper Ciprian Tartarusanu. It looked to be enough for all three points until Tatu collected a pass from Andi Popa and broke through the Basel defense to beat Yann Sommer from close range in the 88th minute. Basel dominated Steaua in the first half - with Valentin Stocker hitting the bar in the 40th minute - despite a bright start from the home team. —AP

Alex Ferguson’s autobiography —the best bits

Pakistan’s modest world champion

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

Vatican fields cricket club as sport and faith merge

Page 15

MILAN: AC Milan’s Brazilian forward Robinho (right) fights for the ball with Barcelona’s defender Gerard Pique during the Champions League football match. — AFP

Milan salvage draw against Barca

MILAN: AC Milan survived a dominant second-half display by Barcelona to deprive the Spanish giants of their third successive Champions League Group H win in a pulsating 1-1 draw at the San Siro yesterday. The draw leaves Barcelona top on seven points with Milan in second on five. Massimiliano Allegri’s Milan side had been hit with several injuries with striker Mario Balotelli starting on the bench due to a recent thigh problem. Lionel Messi had been suffering from a similar problem but started for the Spanish giants and, after levelling Robinho’s ninth-minute opener for the Rossoneri in the 23rd minute proved a thorn in Milan’s side all night. Barcelona started sluggishly and Marco Amelia, replacing the injured Christian Abbiati in the Milan goal, had had little to do early on. Moments after the ‘keeper’s first touch, Robinho gave Milan a deserved lead. The Brazilian won possession from Gerard Pique after a mix-up with Javier Mascherano and held off the big defender to slip the ball to Kaka, whose return ball found Robinho six yards out and free to fire the ball past Victor Valdes. Barcelona’s first real chance came from a free kick on 18 minutes after Dani Alves’s cross from the

right was handled by Kaka but Messi’s curling effort was wide of target. Messi edged closer with a shot across goal which forced Amelia down low, but the Argentinian made no mistake when Milan made their own blunder in midfield. An overhit pass gave Andres Iniesta possession and after he threaded a long ball through Messi deftly skipped half-challenges by Phillipe Mexes and Kevin Constant to shoot low inside Amelia’s left-hand post. Mexes then sent a header just wide of the post from a corner with Valdes beaten, but the Barca ‘keeper was not alone in showing some nerves. When Alves hit a cross towards the far post Amelia was left scrambling before Cristian Zapata’s leg blocked out Messi’s dangerous-looking firsttimer. Amelia did better minutes later while blocking Sanchez’s first-time effort and Zapata rescued Milan again, the Colombian sticking close to Messi as he hit a first-time shot from close in. Barely a minute later Neymar was denied what would have been a wonderful goal when he sent an angled half-volley just wide. Barcelona started the second half brighter but Robinho spurned a golden chance to put the hosts ahead when he completely missed the ball after

Constant’s long cross had sent him clear. Barcelona were more compact and their high pressing was causing Milan problems-Amelia had to perform heroics to keep out Iniesta’s shot from inside the area after the midfielder had been sent through. Balotelli replaced Robinho in the 64th minute and was unclucky not to get a touch on Constant’s fierce drive. Barely a minute later a superb cross from Alves found Adriano deep in the area but the left-back’s first-time effort curled wide of Amelia’s post. Urby Emanuelson replaced the tiring Kaka with 19 minutes remaining, with Cesc Fabregas replacing Sanchez. Fabregas came close when he got his head to Messi’s free kick following a foul by Muntari on Sergio Busquets but Amelia was quick to collect. Valter Birsa came off for Andrea Poli with 10 minutes remaining while Neymar was replaced by Pedro Rodriguez. The intensity of both sides evaporated in the dying minutes, however, although Muntari was left lamenting a scoring chance when he stumbled and failed to capitalise after being sent through. B a rce l o n a k e p t p re s s i n g, h owe ve r, a n d Milan survived a late scare when Mexes headed out a probing cross for a corner in the final minutes. — AFP

Centurion Torres hits brace in Chelsea win GELSENKIRCHEN: Fernando Torres marked his 100th start for Chelsea with a brace in a 3-0 win away to Schalke yesterday as Jose Mourinho’s side safely negotiated a tough test in Champions League Group E. Schalke were punished for slack defending as Torres opened the scoring in the ﬁfth minute and, as the hosts pushed forward in search of an equaliser, the Spaniard netted again at the end of a second-half breakaway. The oft-maligned forward might even have had a hat-trick, but he hit the woodwork with a header and Eden Hazard ignored the chance to pass to the Spaniard when he went through alone to seal the win late on. Chelsea were deserving winners as they comfortably soaked up everything that Schalke threw at them in Gelsenkirchen, and the London club now ﬁnd themselves level with Schalke on six points at the top of the group after Basel were held 1-1 away by Steaua Bucharest in the night’s other game. With two home matches still to come, including the return against Schalke on November 6, the 2012 European champions look well-placed to avoid a repeat of last season’s group-stage exit.

Back at the ground where his Porto side beat Monaco in the 2004 Champions League final, Chelsea coach Mourinho made a raft of changes to the team that beat Cardiff City 4-1 at the weekend. Torres returned to the starting line-up along with German international Andre Schuerrle, while Cesar Azpilicueta was surprisingly selected as a left-back. Schalke came into the game having lost just once in their last 10 outings — and that against Bayern Munich - but they were unconvincing in Saturday’s 3-2 victory at Eintracht Braunschweig and they paid the price for a lack of concentration by falling behind with just five minutes on the clock. With the Schalke defence sleeping, Branislav Ivanovic headed on a left-wing Frank Lampard corner and Torres popped up at the back post to convert. Schalke enjoyed much of the possession after that but they did not really come to life until the closing minutes of the half, when Petr Cech fisted a Kevin-Prince Boateng long-ranger over the bar. From the resulting corner, Cech produced a fine reaction save to keep out Roman Neustaedter’s header, and the visitors held their lead into the

GERMANY: Chelsea’s John Terry (left) is tackled by Schalke’s Kevin-Prince Boateng during the Champions League Group E soccer match. — AP interval. It was almost 2-0 six minutes after the restart when Torres rose unmarked 14 yards out to head a Lampard free-kick oﬀ the junction of bar and post with ‘keeper Timo Hildebrand rooted to the spot. The closest Schalke came to equalising came when skipper Benedikt Hoewedes headed a good chance wide in the 65th minute, but any

hopes they had of obtaining a positive result were ended three minutes later when the Premier League side doubled their lead on the break. Hazard started the counter-attack with a pass to Oscar, and the Brazilian drove into the box and held oﬀ Japanese fullback Atsuto Uchida before squaring for Torres, who kept a cool head to round Hildebrand and score. — AFP

Lewandowski ruins Wenger’s birthday LONDON: Robert Lewandowski ruined Arsene Wenger’s birthday as the Borussia Dortmund striker’s late goal clinched a 21 win against Arsenal in the Champions League yesterday. Arsenal manager Wenger turned 64 yesterday but Lewandowski played the party pooper as he netted a 82nd-minute winner at the Emirates Stadium to shatter Arsenal’s 100 percent record in Group F and end their 12-match unbeaten run in all competitions. The Gunners trailed to Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s early strike, but France striker Olivier Giroud equalised before halftime. However, Poland’s Lewandowski had the final word with a typically predatory finish that underlined why he is one of the most coveted strikers in the world. Dortmund’s win lifted them level with Arsenal and Napoli on six points in a three-way tie at the top of the group heading into their return meeting with the Premier League leaders on November 6. Arsenal had been the dominant force in their previous two group stage wins over Marseille and Napoli, but Dortmund provided a far sterner test and the Gunners failed their exam. Back in London for the first time since last season’s painful Champions League final defeat against Bayern Munich at Wembley, Jurgen Klopp’s classy side seized control in the early stages with some fluid passing and a high-tempo pressing game that stopped Arsenal establishing any rhythm. Dortmund winger Marco Reus went close to opening the scoring with a dipping strike that fizzed just wide from the edge of the area. With Mathieu Flamini sidelined due to a concussion sustained in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Norwich, Wenger had recalled Aaron Ramsey, but the Welsh midfielder’s first significant contribution completely unhinged his team. When Ramsey took possession on the edge of his own area in the 16th minute, he fatally dwelt too long on the ball instead of making a safety-first clearance and was swiftly tackled by Reus.

Lewandowski seized the loose ball and flicked a pass to Mkhitaryan, who took one touch before driving a low strike past Wojciech Szczesny. To their credit that setback sparked a strong response from Arsenal and they appealed for a penalty when Giroud was cynically tripped by Mats Hummels, but the foul was just outside the area. Hummels foiled Arsenal again just before half-time when he alertly cleared Tomas Rosicky’s goalbound shot off the line, but Arsenal’s pressure was soon rewarded with an equaliser. Ramsey spread play wide to Bacary Sagna and the French defender whipped over a teasing cross from the right. Neven Subotic got only the slightest of touches as he slid in to clear, but it was enough to distract Roman Weidenfeller, who had come off his line to claim the cross, and the Dortmund keeper allowed the ball to deflect off him into the path of Giroud, leaving him with the simple task of firing into the unguarded net for his seventh goal of the season. Arsenal remained on top for much of the second half but, with Mesut Ozil relatively subdued in midfield, they lacked the killer pass to break down Dortmund again. Wenger responded by sending on Santi Cazorla for Jack Wilshere, the England midfielder who looked completely out of sorts in a wide attacking role, and the change almost reaped an instant reward when the Spanish substitute fired a first-time strike onto the crossbar from long-range. Dortmund were showing signs of losing their cool and Lewandowski escaped with a yellow card after catching Laurent Koscielny with a flailing elbow. That proved a crucial moment as Lewandowski made the most of his reprieve with eight minutes remaining. A sweeping Dortmund move exposed Arsenal down the right flank and Kevin Grosskreutz looped over a cross to the far post, where Lewandowski, left unmarked in yards of space, powered a superb volley past the exposed Szczesny. — AFP

Business

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

Page 25 Brazil oil block goes to Shell, Total, China firms

Tiny oil shale titan Estonia eyes global boom Page 25

ABU DHABI: A Nokia executive demonstrates the new imaging innovation. (Inset) Stephen Elop unveils Nokia’s first Windows tablet Lumia 2520 at Nokia World yesterday. — Photos by Sajeev K Peter

Nokia unveils six new mobile devices Groundbreaking innovations By Sajeev K Peter ABU DHABI: Bringing groundbreaking innovations to mobile technology design and imaging, Nokia yesterday unveiled six new devices alongside new accessories. At a mega global event titled ‘Nokia World’, held at St Regis island resorts, Abu Dhabi, in the presence a galaxy of international media persons, technology experts and industry representatives, Nokia introduced its first-ever Windows tablet, the Nokia Lu m i a 2 5 2 0 a n d l a u n c h e d a p o r t fo l i o o f l a rg e screen Lumia smartphones: the Lumia 1520 and 1320. “Now more than ever, mobile devices are at the center of consumers’ lives as they look to capture, curate and share experiences on the go,” said Stephen Elop, Executive Vice President, Devices & Services at Nokia. “Three new Asha models - including the first 3G device in the Asha Platform family of smartphones - deliver industry leading design, new vibrant colors and a more intuitive user interface, all at an accessible price,” he said during the keynote address. “Today we’re inviting people around the world to switch to Nokia. With our latest range of Lumia and Asha products, we’re delivering industry leading design and imaging innovation to bigger devices at more accessible prices. The quality and value that Nokia products deliver continues to grow as we partner with developers to introduce app experie n ce s t h a t a re u n i q u e to Lu m i a a n d Wi n d ows phone,” Elop said. “We continue to build our industry-leading innovation in imaging and the latest range of Lumia and Asha products enables people to capture and share the world around them like never before,” Elop pointed out. Nokia also showcased new accessories to make life easier and more fun, and announced an array of new Nokia and third-party applications which enhance the Asha and Lumia experience.

ship with DreamWorks Animation. Additionally, the Lumia 2520 includes Nokia Storyteller, a Nokia developed application that introduces a new way to curate and relive images and videos as a story on a map, as well as Nokia Video Director, which offers the ability to edit and get even more creative with videos shot on the Lumia 2520 - as well as content from Lumia smar tphones. With integrated HERE Maps, the Lumia 2520 is the only tablet with true offline maps for a fast and reliable maps experience. The tablet also includes an exclusive version of Nokia Music with Mix Radio preinstalled. The Nokia Lumia 2520 will be available in red and white in a glossy finish as well as cyan and black in a matte finish, and is expected to start shipping in Q4 2013 with an estimated price of $499 before taxes or subsidies. Initial rollout is to begin with the US, UK and Finland, with additional countries to follow shortly after, he informed. Continuing to redefine smartphone innovation, Nokia introduces its first ever large screen Lumia smartphones, the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320. With a six inch screen and the latest software advancements for Windows Phone, the Lumia 1320 and Lumia 1520 are perfectly suited for entertainment and productivity. The Nokia Lumia 1520 will be available in yellow, white, black and glossy red. It is expected to start shipping in Q4 2013, with an estimated price of $749 before taxes and subsidies in Hong Kong, Singapore, US, China, UK, France, Germany, Finland and other European markets, with other markets to follow. The Lumia 1320 features many high-end innovations on a large 6-inch 720p display and extends the Nokia Camera app to another price range. With a range of imaging apps available, the Lumia 1320 comes with Nokia Music for free streaming of ad-free music and HERE maps and location services, so people can experience the most popular Lumia experiences at a more accessible price.

LUMIA INNOVATION Nokia’s first Windows tablet, the Lumia 2520, is designed to work anywhere, with a vivid 10.1-inch HD display that is designed to provide the best outdoor and indoor readability of any tablet. Building on Nokia’s rich mobility heritage, the Lumia 2520 combines both 4G LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity, a 6.7MP camera, and for the first time ever on a tablet, ZEISS optics, letting people take beautiful pictures even in low light. The Lumia 2520, runs on Windows RT 8.1 for a highly personal and easy to navigate experience, and also features multiple color choices and fast-charging capability - providing up to an 80% charge in one hour. The Lumia 2520 also comes with a number of unique software experiences that are exclusive to the Lumia family, including the exclusive “Dragon’s Adventure” interactive game developed in partner-

ASHA SERIES Introducing the newest additions to the Asha Platform family of devices - the Nokia Asha 500, Asha 502 and Asha 503 - , he said the already successful Asha 501 will further push the boundaries of affordable smartphone innovation. All three handsets build on Nokia’s renowned design and feature a new crystal-clear look; a fusion of ice-like transparency and bold inner color encases each phone to make it both elegant and more durable. Support for 3G is available on the Asha 503, which also includes a 5MP camera and comes with a Dual SIM option. The Nokia Asha 500, Asha 502 and Asha 503 include new enhancements to the Asha Platform for even more intuitive navigation. The new Asha user i n te r f a ce e n a b l e s f a s te r a n d e a s i e r s h a r i n g o f images on social networks, with one easy swipe to access the camera and one touch to post.

Page 23

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

BUSINESS

Halliburton 3Q profit rises, tops Street view Shares fell 3.5 percent

Joyalukkas signs Hrithik as brand ambassador KUWAIT: Joyalukkas, the world’s favorite jeweler, is proud to announce that it has added Hrithik Roshan, Bollywood superstar and global icon, to its star-studded list of brand ambassadors. As part of its “be global, touch local” strategy the endorsement of Hrithik Roshan paves the way for the Group’s expansion plans and will represent the brand globally. Coming from a long line of distinguished Bollywood personalities, Hrithik Roshan made his debut in Indian films as a young child actor in the hugely successful Aasha (1980). Known as India’s heart throb, it is his humble personality and striking good looks, coupled with a keen sense of fashion, that has led to his global recognition as an Indian superstar today. “Krrish”, the sequel to “Koi...Mil Gaya,” shot him to international fame in 2011, and its sequel “Krrish 3” is set to be released later this year, has already created waves in the highly lucrative Bollywood industry. The trailer has already broken all previous Indian movie trailer records, by attracting more than 12 million views at YouTube in less than two weeks- even eclipsing the trailers for such Hollywood superhero mega-blockbusters as Thor (2011) and The Avengers (2012). “The reach of Indian cinema has gone beyond just an Indian audience, its attracts audiences from across the world regardless of nationality. For Joyalukkas, the decision to sign on Hrithik Roshan was strategic due to the global recognition he has received over the years as a symbol of Indian cinema and a Fashion Icon. The hard work and dedication that Hrithik brings to all his endeavors, is synonymous to the foundation upon which the Joyalukkas brand has been built,” said Joy Alukkas,

Chairman &MD, Joyalukkas Group. Hrithik Roshan is a part of the Group’s “be global, touch local” strategy for current financial year, whereby key brand ambassadors, within the film industry, are identified and signed on based on their consumer reach and acceptance. After extensive research in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Joyalukkas had earlier announced the signing of South Indian superstars, R Madhavan, Suresh Gopi, Kiccha Sudeep and Allu Arjun, much to the delight of shoppers in the region. “Being a brand ambassador for a jewelry brand is definitely a first for me. However the growth that Joyalukkas has been able to achieve from its humble beginnings is truly remarkable. Joyalukkas is a global brand that has set itself apart from its competitors, not only by the quality and design of its jewelry, but also by its aggressive growth strategy which has crowned it the world’s favorite jeweler,” commented Hrithik Roshan of the endorsement. Joyalukkas Group, is today a multi-billion dollar global conglomerate that has rapidly expanded its foot printall over the globe since its inception 25 years ago. Known for its intricate jewelry designs that attract a plethora of customers across its retail stores in 10 countries, the Group further plans to expand with the opening of 20 more stores by the end of 2014. In addition to its highly successful jewelry business, the Group has further diversified its business interests to include, Jolly Silks - Fashion & Silks, Joy Jets Luxury Air Charter, Joyalukkas Exchange Money Exchange Service, Mall of Joy- Malls and its realty arm Joyalukkas Lifestyle Developers.

Wataniya new offer comes with Galaxy Note 3, 4G/LTE Internet KUWAIT: Wataniya Telecom caters to the diverse needs of different types of customers. Wataniya’s plans and offers are tailored based on the usage, spending habits and communication patterns that meet each segments high priority needs. To provide value and savings for customers, the new free Samsung LED TV offer is launched for a limited period starting from today. This new offer provides customers with three different bundles. The first costs KD 22 per month in which customers will get a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, 4G/LTE internet (4 GB), and 250 local minutes with a free Gold number. But that’s not all; customers will also receive a 32 inches Samsung LED TV for free. The Second bundle costs KD 27 per month in which customers will get a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, 4G/LTE internet (4 GB), and 550 free local minutes with a free Gold number. These customers can take home a 40 inches Samsung LED TV for free. The third bundle costs KD 43 per month in which customers will get a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, 4G/LTE internet (4 GB), and 2500 free local minutes along with that customers receive a 46 inches

Samsung LED TV for free. In order to get the get the free Samsung LED TVs, customers must subscribe to the 4G/Note 3 bundles at any Wataniya store located in Sultan Centers across Kuwait. The offer comes with an 18month commitment and is available only until stocks last. Galaxy Note 3 is latest Samsung device that was launched recently in the market. It comes with many benefits such as a 13 megapixel back camera, and a 2 megapixel front camera as well as supports 3G and 4G/LTE networks. The Samsung LED TV series deliver precise images with full high definition sources and feature Samsung’s innovative Direct LED technology for bright and vivid viewing experiences. It is designed to fit new modern homes with its thin elegant design. With this TV people can watch movies from their USB devices. Wataniya continues to surprise its customers by creating bundles and products that are unique and bring value to their lives. New and innovative services are constantly developed at Wataniya so that people can make the best of their mobile and internet access.

DALLAS: Halliburton Co boosted its third-quarter net income by 17 percent on strong revenue from its international operations, which offset sluggishness in North America. But revenue came in below analysts’ expectations, and the shares fell 3.5 percent. Halliburton helps energy producers drill for oil and gas, and it’s still seeing too much capacity for pressure-pumping services in North America as oilfieldservice companies fight for a bigger share of the shale oil and gas boom. That’s driving down prices for contractors like Halliburton. “We anticipate pricing pressure will continue as contracts renew during the next quarter or so,” Chairman and CEO Dave Lesar said on a conference call with analysts. “Accordingly, we are already working on adjusting our cost structure,” which he said would include job reductions. Company officials told analysts that as they learn to operate more efficiently, they found they had too many people for the available work. That doesn’t fore-

shadow a longer slowdown in the business, they said. They didn’t give figures, but said most of the cuts were in North America. In July, the company said it had more than 75,000 employees in about 80 countries. Halliburton took $38 million in charges to cover severance payments and write down asset values in the third quarter. Houston-based Halliburton also said operations in Colorado continued to be affected by last month’s flooding. The stock fell $1.81 to close at $50.66. The shares ended the day up 46 percent in 2013. For the three months ended Sept 30, the Houston-based company earned $706 million, or 79 cents per share. Its earnings were $707 million excluding discontinued operations. A year earlier it earned $602 million, or 65 cents per share. Excluding restructuring charges, the company earned 83 cents per share from continuing operations, a penny more than analysts expected, according to a survey by FactSet. Revenue rose 5 percent to $7.47 billion, led by

improvement in international operations including Russia, the North Sea and Angola. In North America, the company’s largest region, revenue declined 2 percent as the US land rig count was flat and there was according to Halliburton - about 20 percent too much service capacity. Total revenue was below Wall Street’s consensus forecast of $7.50 billion. Lesar said that fourth-quarter revenue and margins in Latin America will be hurt by curtailed activity in Mexico, but he said the company still has a positive outlook for the region. The company expects profit margins to improve in North America next year as activity expands in the Gulf of Mexico and Halliburton benefits from initiatives that it calls “Battle Red” and “Frac of the Future” the latter is a reference to hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” That’s the process in which chemicals and water are pumped underground at high pressure to break open rock formations and release oil and gas. It has spurred a boom in US production. — AP

Investing in property at right time and right price India Property Exhibition 2013 KUWAIT: Indus India Property Exhibition 2013 will be held on 25 and 26 October at the Ramada Hotel, Al Riggae, Kuwait from 10.45am to 8.30pm. The twoday exhibition is an ideal opportunity for NRIs looking for investment in real estate India as they would have access to first-hand information on upcoming and current real estate projects across India. The real estate sector in India is currently undergoing a self-organization from being a highly unorganized sector. This has been one of the most crucial factors for India gaining its status as a highly favored investment destination through FDI and funds. Facts and figures from the Indian Real Estate sector reveal that the estimated size of the organized Indian real estate sector accounts for $12 billion of India’s $600 billion economy; just 2 percent less when compared to mature economies. It is estimated that the real estate sector has the potential to touch $90 billion in 10 years. The real estate prices in general are on the upswing in all markets across sectors since last two years and moreover the trend of owning exclusive properties like beach houses, homes in the hills, near religious centers etc is growing fast. Returns from real estate investments in India have consistently performed well and even outperformed the other investment options. Easy home loan availability by financial institutions in India, NRI remittances and repatriation procedures has emerged as the best of all the available prospects for those NRIs looking forward to eventually returning to India. Relaxation of FDI rules by the government has brought about capital gains in every sector of Indian economy. The government is making efforts to further liberalize the guidelines and norms for investment through FDI, making them more NRI friendly. The policies set out by the government regarding property investment and repatriation, has also

made opportunities of investments in India even more favorable. Under the present relaxed conditions, Non-resident Indians (NRI) and persons of Indian origin (PIO) can invest in property in India. NRIs can acquire residential/ immovable property in India, rent it out, transfer or sell it. They can also take the rental income and capital investment in the property outside India, subject to the foreign exchange regulations. The NRI/PIO may use his own funds to acquire immovable property; other than the option of availing home loan from bank for this purpose. Moreover, they can remit sale proceeds outside India for up to two such properties without any RBI approval. Remittance for subsequent properties requires RBI’s approval. In case the property is acquired from rupee funds held in India, the remittance depends on the holding period of the property. The two-day Indus Property exhibition is cosponsored by L & T Reality, Dewa Projects and brought to you by Indus Fairs & Events (India) PVt

Ltd and Response Events & Exhibitions, Kuwait. Special exhibition and festival offers are being extended by majority of the participants for NRIs in Kuwait booking their property during the exhibition. Investments in Indian real estate across the sectors is proving highly lucrative. For instance, in the residential sector the cost of mortgage rates came down from 18 percent to 8 percent in the last 5 years. While in the commercial real estate, IT space leasing continues to boom with 12 million sft leasing in Bangalore, 6 million sft in Mumbai and 7.7 million sft in NCR (National Capital Region) in this year till date. Meanwhile there is large pent-up demand from the retail sector with organized retail, which accounts for just 2 percent of the $200 billion sector, expected to grow from $4 billion to $15 billion. Also, in the hospitality sector, both domestic and International operators are planning to invest in 3-4 star category hotels. India requires another 75,000 to 1, 00,000 rooms in the next 5 years.

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal Irani Riyal

2.879 4.591 2.661 2.141 2.869 228.540 36.511 3.634 6.552 9.095 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

75.510 77.804 735.480 752.090 77.115

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 277.25 278.85 318.07 390.31 282.45 459.67 2.94 3.633 4.590 2.159 2.870 2.664 77.97 751.77 40.98 401.99 734.55 78.00 75.45

SELL CASH 278.000 279.000 318.000 392.000 285.200 463.000 3.000 3.700 4.830 2.500 3.400 2.760 77.300 752.600 41.100 407.000 740.600 78.400 75.700

ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for 1000 Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for 1000 Syrian Lira Morocco Dirham

41.450 40.629 1.321 173.650 399.870 1.900 3.076 34.988

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 283.050 Euro 388.340 Sterling Pound 457.830 Canadian dollar 275.880 Turkish lira 143.110 Swiss Franc 314.500 Australian Dollar 274.560 US Dollar Buying 281.850 GOLD 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

248.000 125.000 65.000

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen

Selling Rate 282.800 277.765 457.840 387.830 313.455 746.730 76.975 78.525 76.280 398.650 40.992 2.158 4.581 2.658 3.633 6.535 694.615 3.875

Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

10.080 3.050 3.870 90.435

Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

0.224702 0.022900 0.001833 0.009504 0.008762

0.230702 0.031400 0.002413 0.009684 0.009312

Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar Turkish Lira UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

Arab 0.744340 0.038450 0.000078 0.000183 0.395005 1.0000000 0.000138 0.022644 0.001197 0.729162 0.077037 0.074843 0.001927 0.168754 0.141925 0.076082 0.001286

0.752340 0.041550 0.000080 0.000243 0.402505 1.0000000 0.000238 0.046644 0.001832 0.734842 0.078250 0.075543 0.002147 0.176754 0.148925 0.077231 0.001366

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY SELL CASH Belgian Franc British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Romanian Leu Slovakia Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Turkish Lira

SELLDRAFT Europe 0.007357 0.449658 0.006630 0.047807 0.381396 0.043856 0.081673 0.008108 0.040186 0.307027 0.141925

0.008357 0.458656 0.018630 0.052807 0.388896 0.049056 0.81673 0.018108 0.045186 0.317227 0.148925

Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar

Australasia 0.264891 0.233150

0.276391 0.242650

Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint

America 0.269526 0.278950 0.279450

0.278026 0.283300 0.283300

Bangladesh Taka Chinese Yuan Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Korean Won Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso Sierra Leone

Asia 0.003411 0.045016 0.034421 0.004500 0.000020 0.002795 0.003420 0.000256 0.085069 0.003018 0.002509 0.006435 0.000069

0.004011 0.048516 0.037171 0.004901 0.000026 0.002975 0.003420 0.000271 0.091069 0.003188 0.002789 0.006715 0.000075

Al Mulla Exchange CurrencyTransfer 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

Rate (Per 1000) 282.550 388.700 457.450 276.400 4.585 40.955 2.157 3.632 6.535 2.656 752.150 76.900 75.450

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

BUSINESS

Russia media tycoons expand - with Kremlin’s help MOSCOW: The skinny man in a baggy, wrinkled shirt carting groceries back to his car could have been any Silicon Valley programmer, were it not for the Russian license plate on the car behind him. The grainy photograph is the first to show NSA leaker Edward Snowden in his new life in Russia after leaving the Moscow airport. The force behind the scoop? A father-and-son team who like to see themselves as Russia’s Murdochs. With a well-oiled system of paying for scoops, the Gabrelyanovs have been able to crawl into every crevice of Russian life from show business to the security services. Their website Lifenews, which published the photo confirmed authentic by Snowden’s lawyer, is part of an expanding empire that has come to dominate Russia’s media landscape in the decades since the elder Gabrelyanov started off as a provincial tabloid publisher. A key reason for their recent success: obsequious loyalty to the Kremlin. The father, Aram Gabrelyanov, refers to President Vladimir Putin as the “father of the nation”- a fealty that was rewarded when one of Putin’s oldest friends spent $80 million to become a key shareholder in the Gabrelyanovs’ holding company, News Media, providing it with a flood of cash for investment. Its purchasing power and carefully cultivated contacts are what brought Lifenews its first Snowden exclusive: a picture of the systems analyst leaving the airport after Russia granted him asylum on Aug. 1. That was followed on Oct. 7 by the image of Snowden carrying groceries in Moscow. With its savvy for scoops, the company often works as a de facto arm of Kremlin power - humiliating Putin’s opponents by catching them in all sorts of misdeeds. But it isn’t just the Kremlin that values the Gabrelyanovs.

The public feeds on their coverage, too, because they are among the few people in Russian media still able to break news - even if it’s with a strong establishment slant - enabling them to generate the clicks and the buzz that sterile state media can no longer muster. Aram Gabrelyanov, who resembles a miniaturized, fleshier version of James Gandolfini, can usually be found barking orders across the sleek newsroom to his army of young journalists. Born to an Armenian builder father, Gabrelyanov has a warm, southern sense of humor, and it’s hard for him to go five minutes without whipping out an anecdote. He first got the bug for tabloid journalism while at university in Soviet times, where he tricked the KGB agent on campus into letting him into the library where foreign publications were kept. That exposure served him well when he moved to the provincial town of Ulyanovsk in the late 1980s, where he rapidly moved up in the local publishing world. He then relocated to the capital and, after a few hit-and-miss years, made it big in 2001 with his national tabloid Zhizn - Life - which now has a circulation of 1.6 million. Today, News Media Holding earns $1.5 billion per year. In addition to Life, they own Izvestia, once the official newspaper of the Soviet government, as well as another tabloid and three websites. The younger son and heir to the empire, 24-year-old Ashot, runs Lifenews.ru and also a new TV station. There is no substantive division between the holding’s publications, which freely feed one another information and scoops that are then retailored for each audience. The elder son, 26-year-old Artem, directs their comic book line, with a host of Russified superheroes that includes an Orthodox priest. The Gabrelyanovs pay

their staff extravagantly - in some cases, $10,000 per month - with the understanding that a large chunk of that should be spent on payments to “agents,” or the people in law enforcement and hospitals who can feed scoops. Gabrelyanov said he paid between $10,000 and $30,000 for the shots of Snowden leaving the airport, and Life journalists have won some of their biggest breaks by bribing their way into hospitals to film Russian mega-stars on their deathbeds. Aram Gabrelyanov defends the “agent” system as the key to his empire’s success: “We categorically won’t retreat from this system, it’s our business.” One former Life editor-in-chief even boasted about the tactics. “Before us nobody had ever done anything as systematic, and paid them for it. We spanned the entire city,” said Timur Marder, who started as an intern in Ulyanovsk in 1995 and worked his way up the publication ladder to lead Life in 2005 before quitting in 2009 over a personal dispute. “There were many times,” Marder said, “when our journalists arrived at the scene before investigators, the police or the ambulance.” For many of their scoops, the Gabrelyanovs’ publications have been widely believed to have relied on tips from Russia’s security apparatus - and many of those officials frequently make a flattering appearance on the pages of his papers. That proximity to the security services also has been demonstrated by their hardline stance on Russia’s opposition movement, to which they take a hatchet much more aggressively than state-controlled media. When protests erupted in Russia following manipulated parliamentary elections in 2011, Lifenews published phone calls of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov insulting his fellow activists and protesters as “ham-

sters” and “scared penguins.” When questioned on the subject, the Gabrelyanovs insisted that they hadn’t tapped Nemtsov’s phone but had “received” the files suggesting they came from the security services. This go-for-the-jugular mentality has allowed Lifenews’s star to rise, while viewership of state controlled television is in steep decline. Vasily Gatov, an analyst at Novosti Medialab, said state-media have lost their capacity to cover major events. “They think too long about whether we should cover this or not,” said Gatov. “He (Gabrelyanov) doesn’t wait; he trusts his feelings and his judgment.” Aram Gabrelyanov tries to portray News Media as an outsider organization and insists that it has few high-up contacts and doesn’t need them. “You can’t recruit the president of the United States,” he said, “but you can probably recruit his cleaning lady.” That quip clashes with the fact that Gabrelyanov has spent the last few years cozying up to Kremlin insiders. It was in the mid-2000s, as Putin was consolidating his power, that Gabrelyanov jumped on the political bandwagon and established one simple rule in his company: Don’t mess with Putin. “We do what we can to make him a symbol that unites the country,” he said. The loyalty was rewarded when, in 2008, Putin’s old friend Yuri Kovalchuk - dubbed “the Kremlin’s banker” bought just under half the company for $80 million. The resulting cash flow allowed the Gabrelyanovs to expand their empire, by opening the Lifenews website and a host of other outlets in the same year. Gabrelyanov insists he’s won the clout to be an independent voice. “When some bureaucrat talks to me,” he said, “I have a question: Who the hell are you and why should I listen to you?”— AP

China heads to S America in global energy ‘scramble’ State firms grab multi-billion-barrel deal off Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO: (From left to right) Brazil’s Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo, Petrobras’ President Maria das Gracas Silva Forster, National Oil Agency (ANP) Director General Magda Chambriard and Mines and Energy Minister Edson Lobao celebrate at the end of the auction for developing huge so-called “pre-salt” oil deposits found six years ago in deep water off Brazil’s Atlantic coast, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. — AFP

Brazil oil block goes to Shell, Total, China firms RIO DE JANEIRO: A consortium including Shell, Total, two Chinese firms and Brazil’s state-run petroleum company Petrobras won the right to develop an offshore field that could hold up to 12 billion barrels of oil, Brazil’s government said Monday. It was the first auction held under a new legal framework meant to give Petrobras and Brazil more control over its finds in recent years, oil buried deep under water and a formidable layer of salt, reserves that could hold 100 billion barrels. The decision managed to discourage both critics, who say the rules will scare off potential investors, as well as leftist protesters who tried to stop the sale. About 300 demonstrators calling for nationalization of Brazil’s oil industry clashed with police outside the hotel where the bidding took place before the auction, with security officials firing tear gas and rubber bullets. The protest was originally called by striking oil workers, whose union has long opposed any foreign involvement in Brazil’s petroleum production. Protesters overturned the car of one local TV channel and set it aflame. Among the demonstrators were the masked, black-clad “Black Bloc” anarchists who have a growing role in Brazil’s steady drumbeat of protests. Pro-business critics contend that the law, which mandates that Petrobras be the sole operator of the finds and maintain a minimum 30 percent stake in oil blocks, will scare off big private firms. They also say it will slow investment in and development of the oil - as much as 100 billion barrels of it that Brazil is counting on to catapult the

country to developed-nation status and fund ambitious education and health programs. Government officials are already locked in arguments about how to share royalties that haven’t surfaced, and the Navy is buying submarines to protect the fields. There were only 11 participants in the auction and the winning bid by the consortium was the only one made, according to the government. Petrobras holds a 40 percent stake in that consortium, Shell and Total each account for 20 percent and Chinese firms CNOOC and CNPC have 10 percent each. Adriano Pires, one of Brazil’s top energy analysts, called the new rules “very interventionist” and said the auction was a disappointment even before it began because of the lack of interest. He chalked that up to the new rules that will make production expensive. “We are talking about non-conventional oil located 6,000 to 7,000 meters deep,” he said. “The $500 billion that will have to be invested over the next 12 to 15 years made companies conclude that the rate of return made participating in the auction unattractive.” The technological hurdles to reaching the riches are intensely challenging, even for Petrobras, considered a world leader in offshore development. The deep-water reservoirs lie some 185 miles (300 kilometers) offshore in the Atlantic, more than a mile (kilometer) below the ocean’s surface and under another 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) of earth and corrosive salt. The salt beds can break loose and shear off piping, making it among the toughest substances to drill. —AP

GDF Suez chooses Britain for first shale energy deal PARIS: French energy giant GDF Suez launched into shale energy investment in Britain yesterday, taking its first step into the shale revolution despite a ban on exploration in France. Unlike France, Britain has said it wants to make the most of opportunities offered by the extraction of energy using new technologies to extract energy from shale resources. Shale energy, much of it extracted by a controversial process known as fracking that involves cracking rock deep underground, is having a radical effect on global energy markets. The change is driven by massive production in Canada and particularly the United States, where the downward pressure on energy costs is credited with giving a big boost to industrial productivity. In its announcement yesterday, GDF Suez, a global group and a leader in the gas industry, said that it was taking a minority interest in 13 exploration permits in Britain held by Singapore-based firm Dart Energy, marking its first investment in shale gas anywhere. The total eventual cost of purchase and exploration investment would be $39.0 million (28.6 million euros). Dart Energy said that interest in shale energy in Britain was rising almost by the day. The exploration for shale energy in France is

banned because of concerns about pollution from water and chemicals used to crack open rock and other effects on the environment. The announcement comes a day after two other French energy giants, EDF and Areva, controlled by the French state and with Chinese backing, clinched a contract to build a nuclear power station in Britain worth £16 billion (18.9 billion euros, $26 billion). GDF Suez, in which the French state has an interest of 35.7 percent and is the main shareholder, is buying 25.0 percent of licences held by Dart Energy in the Bowland Basin, which straddles the border between England and Wales. GDF Suez will pay $12 million and contribute $27 million to the costs of research. In September, the head of GDF Suez Gerard Mestrallet said in an interview with the newspaper L’Opinion that Britain was one of six countries in which the group was thinking of beginning exploration for shale energy, mentioning also Germany, Poland, Brazil, Algeria and China. Executive vice president Jean-Marie Dauger said on Tuesday: “We are very confident about the potential of shale gas in the UK, and its anticipated contributions to UK energy security.” —AFP

SHANGHAI: China’s global hunt for crucial energy supplies is taking it into America’s backyard, with two Chinese state firms winning production rights to a multi-billion-barrel deepwater oilfield off Brazil. China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) each took a 10 percent stake in Brazil’s “Libra” field, alongside three other companies, at an auction on Monday. Beijing is seeking oil, natural gas and other raw materials to keep the world’s second largest economy moving and the government has is encouraging companies to “go out” and make acquisitions to gain both market access and international experience. “Everyone is scrambling for resources worldwide,” said Li Li, an analyst at consultancy C1 Energy. “The whole of South America is relatively less developed with both abundant reserves and these kind of resources, so Chinese companies are more interested,” she said. China is already the biggest energy user in the world and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says it could also surpass the United States as the largest oil importer by 2014. The chief executive of CNOOC, China’s main offshore oil producer, said the latest deal will allow entry to an “ultra” deepwater field. “It also aligns with our philosophy of seeking partnerships to expand our global footprints,” Li Fanrong said in a statement. CNOOC’s traditional territory has been the South China Sea and East China Sea but last year it bought Canada’s Nexen in a $15 billion deal despite some Canadian political opposition. Less than two months ago, another Chinese state firm, Sinopec, bought a $3.1 billion stake in an existing oil and gas operation in Egypt-despite political strife in that country. The Libra auction drew several participants but no US firms, who saw too many strings attached, including major Brazilian government intervention through its Petrobras company. Li Li played down the geographical proximity of the Libra field to the US, but acknowledged there was competition for energy resources. “Chinese firms

RIO DE JANEIRO: A Black Bloc anarchist jumps over a burning barricade at the Cinelandia square during a march in support of teachers on strike in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Black Bloc, a violent form of protest and vandalism that emerged in the 1980s in West Germany, has become a driving force in Brazil behind protests in recent weeks. The young Brazilians are following the main anti-capitalist tenets of earlier versions, smashing scores of banks and multinational businesses during demonstrations and directly confronting riot police. — AP have a late start, so they must seek new assets which are harder to evaluate,” she said. Petrobras took a 40 percent stake in the field, while Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell and France’s Total each grabbed 20 percent. China already does significant business with Brazil, being a major buyer of its soybeans to feed its more than 1.3 billion strong population. The two countries recorded $85.72 billion in bilateral trade last year, up 1.8 percent on 2011, making Brazil China’s 10th-biggest trade partner. For CNPC, China’s largest oil and gas producer, the Libra deal comes at a time when the group and its listed unit are targets of a government

probe into corruption-which they claim has not affected operations. A former CNPC chairman, Jiang Jiemin, is under investigation and has been removed as director of China’s supervisory body for state-owned firms, state media said last month. Four other executives of CNPC or subsidiary PetroChina are also under investigation, the companies and state media have said. Stock investors were little moved by the Brazil venture. In Hong Kong trade CNOOC shares fell 0.63 percent, while PetroChina edged up 0.66 percent. However, Shanghai-listed shares of PetroChina fell 0.51 percent. — AFP

Serbia tries austerity but analysts warn on growth BELGRADE: A new call for austerity in Serbia is a step in the right direction, but the government should do more if it wants to revive its ailing economy, analysts warn. With a budget deficit likely to hit 7.5 percent of output and public debt to surpass 60 percent, the government has opted for an austerity program that includes public sector wage cuts and a sales tax hike. The International Monetary Fund, with whom Serbia hopes to strike a loan deal next year, said measures, if fully implemented in 2014, would be “an important step in the right direction.” Abbas Ameli-Renani, analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland, said the measures “most importantly... should serve to keep the IMF engaged and willing to formalize a loan arrangement.” An IMF loan worth one billion euros ($1.3 billion) was frozen in February 2012 because the previous government had not complied with commitments. But austerity measures alone would not be enough to meet IMF demands and would fail to significantly fix the budget, Serbian analyst Milan Culibrk said. “With these measures alone there is no way they can ... deliver a sustainable deficit (target),” Culibrk said. Serbia’s public sector employs almost 700,000 people out of Serbia’s total work force of 1.7 million people and slashing salaries by the proposed 25 percent without cutting jobs will not be enough, he said. ‘ANOTHER HIT ON OUR INCOMES’ Many state employees see the measures as just “another hit on our incomes,” said Irina Todorovic, a 38-year-old teacher. “Teachers are already humiliated with the lowest salaries among those paid by the state, which apparently does not care about educating its future working force,” she said. Culibrk, the analyst, urged the government to deal with over-indebted public companies otherwise Serbia would only continue to borrow money to cover costs. The IMF also warned that “wide-ranging structural reforms should support fiscal adjust-

BELGRADE: Two MIG-29 of Serbian Air Force leave the escort of the first Air Serbia Airbus A319100 after it landed at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has signed an agreement with Serbia to acquire 49 percent of its loss-making JatAirways, which was rebranded as Air Serbia. The Serbian government owns 51 percent of the company. — AFP ment.” “Steps to improve the business climate and ment. Strauss-Kahn had no role in preparing the reduce the state’s footprint in the economy are austerity package, but consults on mid- and longneeded to provide impetus to investment, eco- term reforms, a government source said. “If we nomic diversification, and sustainable private sec- manage to narrow the grey economy we could get a GDP growth” worth up to 10 billion euros ($13.5 tor growth in order to create jobs,” the IMF said. Both newly appointed Finance Minister Lazar billion), Radulovic said. By mid-2014, Serbia should Krstic and Economy Minister Sasa Radulovic said also find a solution for 179 state-owned companies they planned more measures to ensure growth, set to be privatized, he said. But Culibrk warned that “all those plans look which in 2013 was expected to be around 1.7 percent, according to IMF. “We identified the grey rather like a wish-list.” “Let see what will be impleeconomy, estimated to be worth 30 percent of the mented, as even these austerity measures are a difGDP, as an easy target that could provide first ficult sell to the unions and an army of public sector employees,” he said. Rating agency Fitch said results quite fast,” Radulovic said. Fighting the informal economy had also been the government’s plans to “stabilize public finances the first piece of advice by ex-IMF chief Dominique show a commitment to fiscal consolidation and Strauss-Kahn, recently hired to advise the govern- structural economic reform.” —AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

BUSINESS

Stocks rise as US jobs report boosts Fed hopes Asian markets were mixed in cautious trading LONDON: Weak US jobs figures shored up stock markets yesterday but weighed on the dollar, which fell to its lowest level against the euro this year, as investors concluded that the Federal Reserve would not be reducing its monetary stimulus this year. The Labor Department reported that 148,000 jobs were created in September, below the consensus in the markets for around 180,000. Following revisions to back data, it means that the US economy added an average of 143,000 jobs a month from July through September, down from 182,000 from April through June. Though the unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey, fell to 7.2 percent from 7.3 percent, the labor market report suggests the US economy was slow-

ing even before the US government was partially shut down. The September figures were delayed from their traditional release time of the first Friday of the month because of the shutdown. Following the figures, already solid stock markets turned even higher while the dollar’s weakness was sustained as investors think it’s now unlikely that the Fed will start reducing its $85 billion worth of monthly asset purchases this year. Until the budget stalemate in Washington, many investors had thought the Fed would already be “tapering” the stimulus. “With the budget dispute more than likely trimming fourth-quarter growth, Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to wait until March to begin reducing stimulus,” said

Max Cohen, a trader at Spreadex. “Especially now considering the weak non-farm data.” In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.5 percent at 6,688 while Germany’s DAX rose 0.7 percent to 8,927. The CAC-40 in France was 0.6 percent higher at 4,301. Wall Street was poised for a solid opening, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.3 percent. The dollar was under pressure on the prospect of a longer period of stimulus, which effectively leads to the creation of more dollars. The dollar was down 0.1 percent at 98.06 while the euro was 0.4 percent higher at $1.3727. Europe’s single currency earlier hit $1.3748, its highest level this year. As well as monitoring the US data flow, investors have a

raft of US earnings statements to digest this week. Around 30 percent of the companies listed on the S&P are due to release thirdquarter numbers this week. ASIAN MARKETS Asian markets were mixed in cautious trading yesterday. The dollar edged up against the yen, returning to its upward trend after this month’s Washington standoff over the debt ceiling and budget had sent investors running to the Japanese unit. Tokyo rose 0.13 percent, or 19.68 points, to 14,713.25 thanks to the weakening yen, while Sydney climbed 0.40 percent, or 21.3 points, to 5,373.1. Seoul added 0.15 percent, or 3.11 points, to end at 2,056.12 However, Shanghai fell 0.83 percent, or 18.40 points, to end at 2,210.65 and Hong Kong was down 0.46 percent in the afternoon. “Market participation levels are likely to remain low until data can help confirm the state of the US economic recovery,” said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equities at SMBC Nikko Securities. With last week’s global rally-fuelled by the US deal to reopen the government after 16 days and avert a devastating default-out of the way, attention has turned back to economic numbers, with the non-farm payrolls figures in focus. They had been due out at the beginning of the month but were put off because of the US government shutdown. Traders will pore over them for clues about the state of the US economy. However, Kathy Lien, managing director at BK Asset Management, said there would likely be a cautious reaction to a strong report because it predates the shutdown, which like-

ly depressed hiring. She added that if jobs growth misses expectations, “the dollar could be in even more trouble because October payrolls are expected to be much weaker”. Economists say there is a good chance the US Federal Reserve will delay winding down its stimulus program-which depressed the value of the dollar until possibly the new year. On currency markets, the dollar was changing hands at 98.26 yen in the afternoon compared with 98.15 yen in New York on Monday, while the euro fetched $1.3671 and 134.34 yen compared with 1.3681 and 134.26 yen. Wall Street was unable to provide a strong lead as investors took a breather after last week’s strong gains. The Dow was flat and the S&P 500 edged up marginally to another record high, while the tech-rich Nasdaq added 0.15 percent. In oil trade, New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November, fell 43 cents to $98.79 a barrel, extending its slide after hitting three-month lows late Monday. However, Brent North Sea crude for December gained 10 cents to $109.74. Gold cost $1,316.10 at 0700 GMT compared with $1,315.41 on Monday. IN OTHER MARKETS Taipei was virtually unchanged, dipping 1.05 points to 8,418.27. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co rose 1.36 percent to Tw$111.5 while Chunghwa Telecom fell 1.95 percent to Tw$90.6. Wellington rose 0.61 percent, or 29.23 points, to 4,831.79. Fletcher Building was up 1.37 percent at NZ$9.64 and Air New Zealand added 1.92 percent to NZ$1.59. — Agencies

OWENSBORO: A registered nurse Salanda Bowman (left) talks with part-time Kentucky Wesleyan College student Jason Ward, of Whitesville, about job openings at the Owensboro Health Regional Hospital during a Regional Career and Job Fair in the Owensboro Sports Center in Owensboro, Ky. The US economy added just 148,000 jobs in September, suggesting that employers held back on hiring before a 16-day partial government shutdown began Oct 1. — AP

Japanese firms to invest in Brazilian shipbuilder TOKYO: A Japanese consortium yesterday said it would buy a 30 percent stake in a Brazilian shipbuilder as its eyes the lucrative market for resource-exploration vessels. The deal, reportedly worth about 30 billion yen ($305 million), would see five firms including Japan’s Imabari Shipbuilding and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries invest in Brazil’s Ecovix-Engevix Construcoes Oceanicas S/A, which has more than 5,000 employees. “The initiative marks the first investment by a Japanese consortium consisting of shipbuilding companies and a trading company into a Brazilian shipbuilder,” according to a press statement issued yesterday. Rich oil reserves have recently been found in waters off Brazil, marking

what the statement described as “the largest oil discovery of the last decades”. “Brazil is expecting to achieve not only self-sufficiency but also to be a significant oil exporter in the next years. Thus, the exploration of and production out of these reserves are an important part of Brazilian plans for the next two decades,” it said. “The country is also seeing increased demand for ships and marine structures of all kinds, including drill ships.” No financial details were released Tuesday. But Japan’s leading Nikkei business daily has reported the investment would be worth as much as 30 billion yen. The other Japanese firms in the consortium are trading house Mitsubishi Corp., Namura Shipbuilding and Oshima Shipbuilding. — AFP

BHP Billiton lifts iron ore forecast SYDNEY: Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton yesterday raised its iron ore production forecast after operations in Western Australia achieved record output in JulySeptember. The world’s biggest diversified miner said overall production for all commodities had increased 11 percent year on year in the three months to September 30. The upbeat numbers sent BHP’s share price up 2.35 percent to close at Aus$37.05. In an operational review the firm said petroleum production for the quarter came in at a record 62.7 million barrels of oil equivalent, underscored by growth in United States volumes and the start-up of a new production well. On iron ore, BHP lifted its production guidance for the 2014 financial year to 212 million tons, thanks to expanding production in Western Australia’s resource-rich Pilbara region designed to meet demand from Asia. BHP said the Western Australian Iron Ore (WAIO) business achieved record production of 54 million tons for the quarter. Full year production guidance for petroleum, copper and coal was maintained. “Our pursuit of productivity gains and operating excellence is already yielding strong results,”

chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said. “There is no better example than in our iron ore business, where the deployment of mobile crushing units and the continued debottlenecking of the supply chain has underpinned a five million ton increase in Western Australia iron ore’s production guidance for the 2014 financial year.” BHP said it remained focused on the four pillars of petroleum, copper, coal and iron orea commodity that has been subject to volatile prices over the past 18 months due to a slowdown in activity in China. “In addition, a 25 percent reduction in capital and exploration expenditure to US$16 billion in the 2014 financial year has significantly increased internal competition for capital,” the company said. “Our rate of expenditure will decline again next year and if our investment criteria cannot be met in any one project, product or geography, we will redirect our capital elsewhere or we will not invest.” BHP’s report comes after rival Rio Tinto last week posted solid thirdquarter production across its commodities, with strong growth in energy coal and copper and record output at its flagship Australian iron ore operations. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

BUSINESS

Tiny oil shale titan Estonia eyes global boom Estonia cleans up dirty Soviet-era extraction, exploitation TALLINN: As experts herald a global shale oil revolution, Estonian firm Enefit, the world’s biggest producer of oil shale energy, is pursuing projects in Utah in the United States, and in Jordan with high hopes of high returns. The state-owned company has acquired one of the largest tracts of privately owned oil shale reserves in the United States and intends to start producing refined shale oil by the end of the decade. A tiny ex-Soviet EU and euro-zone nation of 1.3 million people perched on the north-eastern shore of the Baltic sea, Estonia already generates 91 percent of its own electricity using plentiful domestic oil shale deposits. Having cleaned up dirty Sovietera extraction, exploitation and refining methods, it has now accumulated decades of expertise in the sector, still in its infancy elsewhere. Unlike shale gas, which is extracted using a controversial method known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking, oil shale is dug up in underground or open pit mines and then either burned in power plants or refined into shale oil in a process relying on water. Estonia’s shale hub is Narva, in the northeast near the Russian border. There Enefit, known as Eesti Energia at home, has two underground mines and one open-cast pit fuelling power stations and a shale oil processing plant. Each year, the company mines about 15 million tons of domestic oil shale made up of sediment formed 400 million to 450 million years ago containing hydrocarbons. It hopes domestic production of shale oil will hit 22,000 barrels per day in the not-too-distant future, with more than half being processed into diesel fuel that will go straight to gas stations and into cars. This is a drop in the bucket compared to the near seven million barrels of crude which the United States produces every day, but still brings Estoniathe poorest member of the 34-nation Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development-a step closer to energy independence.

EXPORTING EXPERTISE Land in the state of Utah holds an estimated 2.6 billion barrels of shale oil. Enefit American Oil hopes to tap into about 50,000 barrels per day-or one-third of Utah’s daily liquid fuel needs-by 2020. While ecologists there worry over environmental impacts-especially on water resources in the arid

area-critics in Estonia question the plan’s economic feasibility and complain the company is hiking energy cost at home to fund the investment abroad. But Enefit American Oil chief executive, 30year-old Rikki Hrenko, is optimistic. Hrenko is confident about the prospects for the company she runs. She said “the economics of the Utah project

BUCHAREST: People wave a flag, reading: “Stop Chevron,” at University Square in Bucharest. Thousands of people marched for the eighth consecutive in Romania against a Canadian gold mine plan to extract 300 tons of gold and 1,600 tons of silver over 16 years from Rosia Montana, in northwestern Romania, and against the extraction of shale gas, calling for Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s resignation. Chevron has permits to explore for shale gas in three villages in northeastern Romania as well as on Romania’s Black Sea coast. — AFP

are strong”, tests on oil shale are “going well” and the “possibility of success outweighs the risks.” Company spokeswoman Eliis Vennik also insists that Enefit’s unique extraction and processing techniques will safeguard Utah water. “The amount of water needed is far less than (for) other technologies” like fracking, she said. Environmentalists grouped in the Utah Tar Sands Resistance are not convinced. Come “October 25-27, we will be visiting the land that the state -owned corporation of Estonia plans to destroy for a few hours fuel,” they vow on their Facebook page. Meanwhile in Jordan-where water is also at a premium-Enefit is developing two projects it says will help the country save hundreds of millions of dollars annually. “The power project will substitute more expensive methods of electricity generation and shale oil will replace liquid fuels that would otherwise be imported,” says Vennik. Enefit expects Jordan’s first oil shale-fired power plant to start generating electricity for local consumption by 2017. It also has plans to produce 38,000 barrels of refined shale oil there per day by the 2020s. The company’s shrewd international moves anticipated International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts which spoke of a global “supply shock” over the next five years which will drive down fuel prices as shale oil and gas flood international markets. The effects are already being felt heavily on US and European markets for gas, and by repercussion for coal used in power stations. Oil shale exists in deposits around the world, including major sites in the US, China, Australia and Jordan, along with Estonia. Despite a rising tide of opposition fuelled by environmental concerns, the extraction and processing of oil shale is seen by global oil giants as the next big area of development. And thanks in part to refined shale oil, the US will trump Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world’s biggest oil producer by 2017, the IEA said last year. — AFP

Exclusive world of private jets flies high to Las Vegas Las Vegas business jet show opens

HAVANA: A Cuban shows Cuban Pesos CUP (Left) and Convertible Pesos CUC (Right) in Havana. Raul Castro’s government announced yesterday the beginning of the unification of Cuban Pesos (CUP) and Convertible Pesos (CUC) that were in use in Cuba for 19 years. — AFP

APICORP increases its stake in Egypt-based EMethanex KUWAIT: Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) announced yesterday that it is set to increase its equity share in Egyptian Methanex Methanol Company (EMethanex) by purchasing an additional 10% stake from the majority shareholder, Canada-based Methanex. The $110 million transaction will increase APICORP’s share in the joint venture from 7% to 17%. Subject to completion of certain conditions precedent, the companies expect the sale to be finalized by the end of 2013.The government of Kuwait owns a 17% stake in APICORP. The equity acquisition is aligned with APICORP’s strategic objective of deepening its support for midstream and downstream sectors in the region’s hydrocarbon industry. APICORP, a Multilateral Development Bank owned by the ten member countries of the Organization of Arab Exporting Countries (OAPEC), has been a stakeholder in EMethanex since its inception in 2005. APICORP has also been a Senior Lead Arranger for the financing arranged in 2006 for the construction of EMethanex. Ahmad Bin Hamad Al Nuaimi, Chief Executive and General Manager of APICORP said: “We are pleased to expand our direct equity participation in EMethanex, a company that has over the last decade developed into an important methanol production hub. One of the key focuses of our ongoing diversification program is tosupport companies that are helping expandthe Arab world’s downstream production capabilities. We believe that such capabilities are critical for Arab economies to maximize economic gains from their vast hydrocarbon resources. EMethanex’s impressive production capabilities give it considerable value-creation potential.” Following the equity transaction, Methanex, the world’s largest supplier of methanol, will continue to remain the operator and majority shareholder of EMethanex with just over 50% ownership. The remaining 33% interest is held by the Egyptian government, through Egyptian Petrochemical Holding Company (ECHEM); Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS); and Egyptian National Gas Company (GASCO). Subject to completion of certain conditions precedent, the companies expect the equity sale to be finalized by the end of 2013. The transaction will not create any governance or operational changes. The company’s production facility in

Damietta, Egypt is an important job-creator for the local economy. It created 3,500 jobs during the construction phase and currently employs over 450 full-time Egyptian employees and contractors. The Damietta plantis considered one of the most energy efficient methanol plants in the world. With a production capacity of 1.3 million tons of methanol per year, it supplies both local and global methanol markets. “We believe Egypt’s hydrocarbon industry possesses significant long-term growth potential and we are continuing to seek promising investment and financing

Ahmad Bin Hamad Al Nuaimi

opportunities in Egypt that are aligned with our strategic diversification priorities. As part of our mandate of developing the Arab energy sector, we seek to support companieslike EMethanex that can deliver tangible economic value to member countries such as Egypt,” said AlNuaimi. Since its founding in 1975, APICORP has played a vital role in fostering the development of the Arab energy industry. Over the last 37 years, APICORP has invested, as an equity owner, in a total of 22 oil and gas joint venture projects worth in excess of $16 billion. At the same time, APICORP has participated in direct and syndicated energy finance transactions worth in excess of US$130 billion. APICORP’s aggregate commitments in these transactions, both in equity and debt, are valued in excess of US$12 billion.

PARIS: The exclusive world of business jets associated with film stars and royalty is showing signs of being on the up as a vital tool for companies and executives. The Las Vegas business jet show opened in Las Vegas yesterday for three days until tomorrow to showcase a sector which is a barometer of both the climate for glitz and the health of international business. Frustrated by the fixed schedules of regular aviation companies, international businesses are turning to luxury jets as a means of raising, not cutting, their profit margins. “More than ever private aviation allows company directors to be more competitive and closer to their clients,” said Check Suma, a vice-president for NetJets, the world leader in the sector. Although the economic crisis still hangs over manufacturers of private jets, after four dark years there are hopes the skies may be clearing. “Coming out of the crisis is a lengthy, slow process. It is happening but in a rational way,” said Eric Trappier, chief executive of the French group Dassault Aviation speaking before the show. The business aviation sector was hit badly by the economic crisis in 2008. The market fell by 29.2 percent between 2008 and 2012, according

to a study by US analysts Teal Group and it has barely managed to return to the prosperous 2005-2008 period. Last year the 672 plane orders for private jets in the world was a drop of 49 percent compared to the 2008 peak of 1,315 planes, the aviation organization Gama said. In the first quarter of 2013, global deliveries were down by 4.1 percent compared to the same period in 2012, while manufacturers avoided forecasting a date for an upturn. “Companies are more careful. Their order books have filled up and investment time is coming,” said Trappier, who did not want to estimate when this might happen in the business jet industry. Aviation equipment-maker Honeywell believes the private jet sector will grow by 3 to 4 percent in 2013. For Suma, there are reasons to be quietly hopeful. “We are observing a continuous improvement of the economy, slowly but surely, and as a result business aviation is getting better too. But... growth will depend on a sustainable economic recovery.” The main obstacle to this, according to aeronautics expert at Oddo Securities Yan Derocles, is the still sluggish macro-economic environment. “In the next two

years economists are not anticipating a strong recovery,” said Derocles, adding that the absorption of the used market is key. “It is a sine qua non condition of the recovery of new plane orders.” NetJets, financially backed by US millionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is convinced the market has long-term growth potential. President of Executive Aviation Market at the Brazilian aerospace conglomerate Embraer, Ernest Edwards, said globalization has opened up the market, with private aviation less limited now to its traditional pool of clients from the US, Britain, France, Switzerland and Germany. “Asia, the Middle East and Russia are examples of regions where the demand for private aviation is growing,” Edwards said. In China, India and Russia the number of millionaires increases each year. In China, according to the Teal Group study, 3,000 people own more than $500 million and there are 130 billionaires. Teal Group forecast an 11 percent growth this year, followed by four years at around 12 percent. Richard Aboulafia, vice-president of the group, estimated any return to the peak number of orders from 2008 would not happen before 2015. — AFP

Dassault unveils the new luxury Falcon business jet LAS VEGAS: After years of secret development, Dassault Aviation on Monday unveiled its new Falcon business jet-the 5X-in Las Vegas, betting on rising demand for large-cabin luxury. Known until now under the code name SMS, the twinengine 5X extends the French aircraft manufacturer’s presence in the large-cabin segment of business jets, the area showing the most sales growth potential. Dassault’s announcement, on the eve of the opening of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention in the Nevada gambling mecca, comes as the business-jet market increasingly pulls out of the tailspin from the 2008 global financial crisis. While the downturn had various impacts on aircraft manufacturers, Dassault, and its US rival Gulfstream, weathered the storm relatively well thanks to their luxury jets. “Higher-end planes noticeably resisted the headwinds better but we didn’t build the 5X because there was a crisis,” said Eric Trappier, Dassault’s chief executive, adding that over some seven to eight years of development the program “evolved more toward the high end than the low.” At a list price of roughly $45 million, the 5X is expected to take its maiden flight in the first quarter of 2015 and enter service in mid-2017, said Dassault, which manufactures business and Rafale military jets. The 5X cabin will have a 1.98 meter (6.5-foot) ceiling, the highest in the market, a significant comfort factor for long flights of 10 to 11 hours, the company highlighted. The airplane can carry eight passengers and, with a range of 9,600 kilometers (almost 6,000 miles), can travel nonstop from Los Angeles to London or Paris to Beijing, for example. Its next-generation “Silvercrest” engines, made by French firm Safran Snecma, will consume 15 percent less fuel than similar engines, Dassault said. The 5X’s biggest competitors will be Gulfstream’s G450 and Canadian firm Bombardier’s GL5000. Neither company agreed to comment on Dassault’s new jet. The largecabin segment is expected to account for more than 80 percent of all spending on new business jets in the near term, according to the

Honeywell Business Aviation Outlook released Sunday. “The trend toward larger cabin aircraft with ever-increasing range expectations and advanced avionics is seen more strongly than ever in this year’s survey,” said Rob Wilson, president of Honeywell Business and General Aviation. Dassault’s Trappier said the 5X represented the biggest investment yet in the Falcon programs, with development costs at a billion euros ($1.3 billion). Richard Aboulafia, vice president of the Teal Group, a US aerospace industry consultancy, predicted an improving market for business jets in 2014. “The US is starting to see a recovery, with particularly strong corporate profits and equities markets gains. This should translate

into improved business jet demand next year,” Aboulafia said. Dassault’s launch of the 5X was a much-needed step, he said. “All business jet manufacturers, especially at the top end, need to rejuvenate their product lines frequently to retain customer interest.” But there were additional reasons why Dassault needs the new product. “Reinforcing its business jet unit is a particularly important move for Dassault, which is struggling with a very weak home market and trouble closing its first Rafale export contract.” The NBAA convention runs from Tuesday through Thursday. During pre-show press events Monday, only Bombardier announced an order, from Flexjet for 30 Learjet 85, with a list price of $615 million. — AFP

Rosneft and Sinopec sign 10-year oil payment deal MOSCOW: The world’s biggest listed crude producer Rosneft and Chinese oil giant Sinopec announced yesterday a framework agreement on advance payment by Sinopec for Russian oil deliveries. The deal will see Sinopec-China’s largest oil refiner-pay 25-30 percent of the total cost of a 10-year contract under which Rosneft will deliver 10 million tons of oil per year starting in 2014. “These are the normal terms that apply to our clients,” Interfax quoted Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin as saying during a signing ceremony in Beijing. The deal was announced during a visit by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to Beijing that aims to also lay the groundwork for the first Russian natural gas deliveries to the booming Chinese energy market. Medvedev valued the total cost of the Rosneft-Sinopec contract at $85 billion (62 billion euros). The heavyweight Moscow delegation in Beijing included the heads of the country’s top oil and gas producers as well as Russian Energy

Minister Alexander Novak. Both Medvedev-who once served as chairman of state -held energy behemoth Gazprom-and Novak sounded an optimistic note on a potential deal being signed for Russian natural gas deliveries before the end of the year. “We are now reaching a final agreement on a formula under which gas will start flowing from Russian to China,” news agencies quoted Medvedev as saying. “In essence, we have already agreed on a formula. Now we still need to agree on a price.” Moscow and Beijing have spent years haggling over the gas price-a dispute that has seen China turn to the Central Asian energy market at Russia’s expense. Novak said that an agreement on the price and the signature of a contract before the end of the year would see Russian natural gas start flowing to the Chinese market in 2018-2020. “The maximum volume would be 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year,” the Prime business news agency quoted Novak as saying. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

BUSINESS

BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo launched Combining the perfect blend of sportiness and practicality KUWAIT: Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotove, the official BMW Group importer in Kuwait, has launched the all-new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo across their showrooms in Kuwait. On a global level, the BMW 3 Series continues to be BMW Group’s best-selling model series consistently accounting for more than a quarter of the company’s global sales. In 2012, every fourth BMW sold was a 3 Series. The success story of the BMW 3 Series over the past 37 years has made it the world’s best-selling premium car. The all-new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo adds an innovative new concept to the already successful 3 Series line-up. It combines a unique combination of a sporty and elegant coupe design with excellent versatility, increase in space and hallmark BMW driving enjoyment. Inside the cockpit, this slick new model featuring four doors with frameless windows and a coupe-style downward-sloping roofline making it immediately recognizable as a member of the latest generation BMW 3 Series lineup. Generous interior dimensions allow the passen-

gers in every seat to sit back and enjoy an impressive feeling of space and unbeatable freedom of movement significantly more comfortable. The cocooning nature of the interior, complemented by its design forms, colour scheme and materials, creates a lounge-style ambience which allows passengers to enjoy short trips and long journeys alike in relaxed comfort. The rear of the all-new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo is highlighted by horizontal surfaces and lines emphasising muscular width and unshakable road holding. Another highlight is the rear active spoiler - the first of its type on a BMW - which automatically extends at speeds over 110 km/h and retracts at speeds under 70 km/h. It can also be manually controlled from the driver side window switch control. When deployed at high speeds, the spoiler increases downforce on the rear axle and ensures perfect stability when driving fast. Commenting on the launch of the new vehicle, Mr. Yousef Al Qatami, General Manager, Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive, said: “Combining the perfect blend of practicality, increased space and

driving comfort, the all-new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo is an impressive vehicle. Building on the success of the BMW Group’s best selling 3 Series model, we are confident that this model will appeal to our discerning customer base here in Kuwait. The new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo will add to our already impressive BMW portfolio and enable us to expand our BMW product in Kuwait.” An extensive selection of driver assistance systems and mobility solutions, offered under the BMW ConnectedDrive program, allows the new BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo to set the benchmark in its segment in terms of safety, convenience and in-car infotainment. The all-New BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo will debut with the 320i engine variant, which features the BMW 2.0-litre four-cylinder TwinPower Turbo engine generating 135 kW/184 hp and accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 7.9 seconds. The BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo will also be available with the 328i engine featuring the BMW 2.0-litre TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder engine generating 135 kW/245 hp.

All BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo vehicles from Ali Alghanim & Sons Automotive feature innovative communication features via BMW ConnectedDrive. This includes a host of new BMW Apps including Facebook, Twitter, Web Radio and Wiki Local; all of which can be

accessed via an Apple iPhone as well as the all new BMW Remote App which will be compatible on both iPhone and Android platforms. BMW in Kuwait is the only automobile manufacturer to offer these technological innovations to the Kuwaiti market.

ANA undecided after Airbus unveils Japanese ambitions European manufacturer riding high

‘Toyota in September’ winners announced KUWAIT: Mohamad Naser Al Sayer & Sons Automotive Co held an electronic draw of its promotion campaign “Toyota in September” the draw that took place at Al Rai Showroom on the 10th October 2013 at 7.00pm. The Promotion started on 1st until 30th September 2013. The electronic draw, attended by a representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry - Consumer protection affairs Abdul Aziz Ishkenani, and Mohamed Taha, Manager Al Rai Showroom from Al Sayer. The Sequoia prize winner Mrs. Rehab Mohamed Nabil, and the 2 Toyota Yaris each was won by Athari Mazyad Al Mutairi and

Hussain AbdulMehsen Al Marhon. The Toyota promotion “Toyota in September” started on 1st until 30th September 2013, which enables the customers a chance to enter the draw for every KD500/- spent buying any Toyota car included in the promotion. Al - Sayer Group would like to thank each and every customer for their continuous support in making this Promotion a grand success. At this juncture Al-Sayer group celebrating its 60th anniversary with Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan in 2014, has paved in providing the best after-sales service to all its valuable customers throughout the years of successful journey.

Burgan Bank gets ISO 27001 certification in all its sectors KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday that it has successfully accomplished the ISO 27001 re-certification across all its sectors. As the only bank in Kuwait to have received such an accreditation scope, this marks another major achievement for Burgan Bank for effectively implementing and maintaining an Information Security Management System (ISMS) focusing on Information Technology, Business operations and control units. This prestigious professional certificate verifies that all operations at Burgan Bank adhere to the specific requirements for establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining and improving an Information Security Management System within the context of the Banks’ overall information risk management practices. It also asserts that requirements for the implementation of security controls are customized to the needs of ensuring the highest levels of security controls for each and every relevant department in the Bank.

In 2002, Burgan Bank became the first bank across the Middle East to receive the ISO 9001:2001 certification across all of its business functions, operating units as well as branches, followed by the ISO 27001:2005 Certification received in 2010. With the re-certification for both ISO 9001:2008 in 2011 and ISO 27001:2005 in 2013, it is a clear indication for the banks successful investment in its human resources, processes, technologies, and information security to enhance the customer experience and to build trust in banks services. ISO is the world’s leading developer of international standards, which specify the requirements for state-of-the-art products, services, processes, materials and systems, and for good conformity assessment, managerial and organizational practice. Burgan Bank addresses this certification as a testament to its leading abilities to provide exceptional, secure and globally recognized services while adopting the latest techniques to enhance customer satisfaction.

TOKYO: All Nippon Airways (ANA) said yesterday the composition of its fleet was under discussion after plane-maker Airbus announced its intent to scoop up half the Japanese market. The European manufacturer is riding high after bagging a landmark $9.5 billion order from Japan Airlines (JAL) earlier this month, and wasted no time in setting out its aims in a country that has traditionally been a Boeing stronghold. Airbus has a 13 percent share of the Japanese market and that figure will almost double to 25 percent by 2020, thanks to orders already in hand. Further down the road it wants to be the maker of one of every two planes in operation in Japan. “We are going to raise our market share in Japan,” Airbus chief Fabrice Bregier told a business forum in Tokyo on Monday, adding that he wanted to boost that figure to “as close to 50 percent as possible”.

JAL’s announcement two weeks ago that it had agreed to buy 31 airplanes from Airbus set the aviation industry buzzing with speculation that its competitor may follow suit. Bregier has said he would welcome business with ANA. An industry source said earlier this month that ANA, which is known to be looking at aircraft to replace part of its fleet of Boeing 777, was expected to order around 30 new planes within six months. The source said Airbus and Boeing were going head-to-head to win this order. Yesterday, a spokesman for ANA, whose hangars are filled with Boeing-made planes, said there had been no decision as yet. “As we are currently studying planes for our fleet, we have no firm plan at the moment,” he said. Bregier has acknowledged the lofty goal to grab a big part of Boeing’s business-in place

since Japan’s post-WWII reconstruction-would take time. “For many years we asked why our market share in Japan was so low,” he said, adding that “people thought we would never sell aircraft to JAL and in fact we had always failed until now”. Japan’s two big carriers have been badly hit by the well-publicized problems with Boeing’s troubled Dreamliner. The lightweight plane-hailed for its fuel-efficiency but marred by years of production delayswas grounded globally in January after lithiumion batteries overheated on two different planes, with one of them catching fire while parked. The Japanese airlines, which are the single biggest operators of the Dreamliner, have put their fleets back into service. But they are seeking compensation from Boeing for a string of problems which forced them to cancel hundreds of flights and dented their bottom line. — AFP

Lufthansa, Germanwings expanding services KUWAIT: Lufthansa and Germanwings are marginally expanding their services in the forthcoming winter flight schedules. Their joint capacity in terms of available seat-kilometers will increase overall by 1.1 per cent. This growth is attributable to the deployment of larger aircraft. In combination with Germanwings, Lufthansa is offering customers an even wider choice of destinations totaling 211 in 81 countries. Of the total, Lufthansa is serving 199 destinations on its own, while Germanwings is counting services to 64 destinations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. In the coming winter, Lufthansa and Germanwings flight attendants will be welcoming passengers aboard on a weekly total of 12,162 flights. Worldwide, statistically, a flight by Lufthansa and Germanwings will be taking off on average every 50 seconds. In total, the group of airlines (Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Germanwings and Swiss) will be serving a total of 274 destinations in 106 countries on four continents besides offering numerous codeshare flights along with their own services. Week-in, week-out, the Group airlines will be carrying passengers on 19,798 flights comfortably and reliably to their destination. The new winter timetable runs from Sunday, 27 October 2013 to Saturday, 29 March 2014. SHANGHAI, CHICAGO, MEXICO CITY The two highly modern flagships in the Lufthansa long-haul fleet, the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747-8, will be deployed on further connections in the winter flight schedules. The A380 has already been flying five times a week from Frankfurt to Shanghai since the end of September. Also since September, the B747-8 has been operating on the Frankfurt-Mexico City route. The Queen of the Skies will also commence flights from Frankfurt to Chicago when the winter timetable comes into force. In addition, services will be increased to daily flights on connections from Frankfurt to Philadelphia on the US East Coast and to Dammam in Saudi Arabia in order to accommodate growing demand. Lufthansa will again be flying as usual non-stop in winter from Munich to Cape Town. This seasonal destination is highly popular especially among holidaymakers exploring the delights of the South African city and the nearby coastline. WITH LUFTHANSA TO SOCHI When the Olympic flame is lit in Sochi in Russia heralding the opening of the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, Lufthansa will be flying fans and competitors nonstop to the Black Sea

on a special connection set up for the winter games. This dedicated connection will be operated from 24 January to 17 March by an Airbus A321. Winter sports enthusiasts will be able to fly comfortably and nonstop to the Olympic arenas and skiing events up to five times weekly in just three-and-a-half hours. TRANSFER TO GERMANWINGS More of the Lufthansa point-to-point flights in Europe will be transferred to Germanwings in the forthcoming timetable as the switch is continued in the winter flight schedules. Germanwings with its newly and attractively priced services is taking over all Lufthansa connections in Europe, which are not operated through the Frankfurt and Munich hubs. According to present plans, flights to 23 of the previous destinations previously served by Lufthansa out of Hamburg and Berlin will be flown in winter by Germanwings. Each of the connections will be transferred successively. In the coming months, the following routes from Hamburg will be taken over by Germanwings: Amsterdam, Birmingham, Budapest, Geneva, London, Madrid, Milan, Manchester, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm and Zurich. The transfer of flights from Hamburg will be completed by the end of the winter flight schedules at the end of March 2014. Passengers on flights from Berlin will be able to fly with Germanwings in winter to Birmingham, Bologna, Bucharest, Geneva, Helsinki, London,

Malaga, Nuremberg, Rome, Milan and Vienna. The transfer of all direct services will be completed in the course of summer 2014. Lufthansa’s direct flights from Dusseldorf will be taken over by Germanwings, as planned, in the summer timetable 2014. Once the transfer has taken place, Lufthansa passengers, who have already booked flights, will automatically be re-booked on Germanwings. DOOR-TO-DOOR ITINERARY Lufthansa is making travel planning even easier for its customers. As a first in the industry, the airline is offering passengers a new online planning tool - the “Journey Planner” - for them to detail their route easily from door to door, including the use of diverse transport options. Alongside the Lufthansa flight schedules at www.lufthansa.com/door-to-door, users of the tool can view all other transport options to and from the airport, be it by train, by car, ferry, on the underground or on foot. For people traveling from Cologne Cathedral to New York’s Central, the Journey Planner has all the details on how to get from A to Z. Aside from flights operated by airlines in the Lufthansa Group, the new online journey planning tool offers information on the timetables of more than 600 urban or public transport systems as well as those published by rail and shipping companies. Intermodal travel, utilizing diverse modes of transport, ranks high at Lufthansa.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

technology

A group photo shows the Kaspersky team.

Photo shows Kaspersky booth at the event.

‘Safe Money for Banks’ at GITEX 2013 New product will enable banks to protect customers from online financial fraud By Islam Al-Sharaa

Stefan Tanase, Senior Security Researcher talking to the press.

DUBAI: Kaspersky Lab announced that it is developing a new targeted solution, “Safe Money for Banks”, which will enable banks and other financial institutions to better protect their online customers from financial cyber attacks. The new product’s capabilities were presented by the company’s Chief Technology Officer Nikolay Grebennikov at the GITEX Technology Week 2013 conference in Dubai. Attacks against online banking users are extremely attractive to cyber criminals, since each successful attack can steal money directly from the victim’s electronic account. In other types of attacks, cyber criminals usually have to find ways to monetize any stolen data by extorting money from their victims or by selling the data stolen on the black market. Unfortunately, even with this level of risk, users themselves often fail to take the necessary precautions. In a global survey conducted by Kaspersky Lab jointly with B2B International in summer 2013, 14% of respondents (in the UAE 17%) admitted using unprotected Wi-Fi connections to access online banking and shopping services. About the same percentage (and even higher in the UAE - 23%) were convinced that bank fraud is an extremely rare phenomenon, when in fact, bank fraud affects millions of people worldwide each year. At the same time, the survey found that approximately 62% of users (the figure is 69% in the UAE) had faced at least one financial cyber threat in the preceding 12 months. Attacks against online banking users also affect the banks themselves. Any incident while using online banking can result in the loss of customer loyalty. In addition, being mentioned in the context of cyber theft is detrimental to a bank’s reputation, even in cases where the bank’s security has not been compromised. Banks resort to a range of technologies to provide their customers with additional protection against fraud - such as multi-factor authentication. However, these technologies are often in capable of protecting the customers from malware designed to steal valuable financial information. During his presentation at GITEX, Kaspersky Lab CTO Nikolay Grebennikov introduced the company’s new security solution, “Safe Money for Banks”, which provides bank customers with protection against cyber threats designed to steal financial data. “In an online banking system, customer computers make up the most vulnerable element, which is exploited

by cyber criminals to conduct most of the thefts. We kept this in mind when developing “Safe Money for Banks”. Our product can effectively block all types of threats that bank customers may face while working with their finances online,” said Nikolay Grebennikov. How it works “Safe Money for Banks” provides protection from phishing attacks, as well as blocking targeted SSL certificates poofing attacks designed to make sites look legitimate. The security solution does this by matching certificates against a database created by Kaspersky Lab. If a certificate turns out to have been spoofed, the solution alerts the user. After “Safe Money for Banks” has made certain that the user has reached a legitimate website, the application enables the browser’s safe mode. This blocks the execution of any scripts not required by online banking and therefore potentially malicious. The solution also provides protection against the interception of passwords and other sensitive information by key loggers, which is achieved by in corpo-

rating a keyboard driver in the product that protects the transfer of data entered on the keyboard. “Safe Money for Banks” will be available to users of Windows and OS X computers, as well as smartphones and tablets running iOS and Android. The solution is currently in the testing stage. Kaspersky Lab plans to release its final version in Q1 2014. The technologies on which “Safe Money for Banks” is based were first implemented in Kaspersky Lab’s in targeted security solutions for home users in 2011 and have since proved their worth protecting the electronic money of millions of Kaspersky Lab users across the globe on a daily basis. The high quality and reliability of the protection mechanisms implemented in the “Safe Money” suite of technologies has been confirmed by independent experts: Last summer, the independent research institution AV-TEST granted Kaspersky Lab its Innovation Award, emphasizing the solution’s effectiveness in protecting financial online transactions.

Stefan Tanase, Senior Security Researcher answering the journalists’ questions during the event.

The Risk Of Getting Infected

Vulnerable Software In The Middle East

Vladimir Udalov, Senior Product Manager talking to the press.

EIAST to host UN/UAE Symposium on Basic Space Technology DUBAI: The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) will be hosting a UN/UAE Symposium on Basic Space Technology on (October 20, 2013) at Zayed University in Dubai. The event, which will run until October 23, 2013, is being held at the behest of the Government of Dubai in association with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). The symposium is approved by the United Nations Office for Outer Space affairs as an activity of the United Nations Program on Space Applications under the Basic Space Technology Initiative (BSTI). The four-day event is set to address key topics pertaining to space technology, with a particular focus on Capacity Building in Basic Space Technology, Infrastructure for Space Development, Launch Opportunities for Small Satellite Mission, and Small Satellite Programs for Earth Observation. It will also discuss Regulatory and Legal Issues, Space Technology Development Activities in Western Asia, Education Curriculum for Space Engineering, and the Future of BSTI. During the first day of the symposium, Salem Al-Marri, Assistant Director General for Scientific and Technical Affairs, EIAST, presented participants with an overview of the DubaiSat series missions and the technology transfer and developments related to them. The event also saw exciting talks given by Dr Rainier Sandau, an expert on space activities who has over 30 years experience in airborne and space borne missions; Soichi Noguchi, an astronaut from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) whose first space flight was on the STS-114, which was the return to flight of the space shuttle after the Columbia disaster and Dr Werner Balogh from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). The symposium is set to cover seven engaging sessions covering key topics ranging from ‘Capacity Building in Basic Space Technology Development,’ ‘Launch Opportunities for Small Satellite Missions,’ to ‘Regulatory and Legal Issues’ and ‘Space Technology Development Activities in Western Asia.’ The

event will also feature engaging lectures on space technology development; panel discussions and presentation of case studies; demonstrations and a site visit to EIAST headquarters. Dr Werner Balogh UNOOSA, said: “Small satellites are increasingly proving their effectiveness in promoting education, basic space science and for operational applications. So, in line with BSTI, we aim to assist countries in establishing indigenous capacities in basic space technology and ensure adherence to regulatory frameworks. Our collaboration with the UAE and EIAST will go a long way in leveraging space technology and its applications for sustainable development not just in the UAE, but the whole of Western Asia.” Yousuf Al-Shaibani, Director General, Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology said: “EIAST was established to enable the UAE and its people to effectively use and exploit space technology for promoting growth and sustainable development. With the successful launch of DubaiSAT-1, DubaiSAT2’s impending rollout, and DubaiSAT-3 on track for its 2017 orbit, we feel the journey has started out well. The symposium is integral to this strategic plan of establishing the UAE as a regional leader in space technology.” BSTI organizes international symposiums on basic space technology in the regions covered by the United Nations Economic Commissions for Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Asia. The first meeting in this new series, the United Nations/Japan Nano-Satellite Symposium, was held last year in Japan for the Asia and the Pacific region. EIAST was established by the Dubai Government in 2006 with the goal of promoting a culture of advanced scientific research and technology innovation in Dubai and the UAE, and enhancing technology innovation and scientific skills among UAE Nationals. It is mainly involved in outer space research and development; satellite manufacturing and systems development; space imaging; and ground station services and support for other satellites.

Kaspersky Security Bulletin KUWAIT: Due to Kaspersky Security Network’s (KSN) very rapid response to new threats, we are able to block new programs from launching on users’ computers within seconds after of them being detected, and without having to update the antivirus database first. The statistics in this report (except for spam) are based on completely anonymous data obtained from Kaspersky Lab products installed on users’ computers in Kuwait and was acquired with the full consent of the users involved. Web threats Attacks via browsers are the primary method for spreading malicious programs. The following methods were used most often by cybercriminals to penetrate systems: Exploiting vulnerabilities in browsers and their plugins Infection in this type of attack takes place when visiting an infected website, without any intervention from the user and without their knowledge. And this is the number one method utilized by cyber criminals, the one used in the majority of attacks. Protection against such attacks requires an Internet Security class solution capable of detecting threats as they are being downloaded from the Internet and the timely installation of all the latest updates for the browser and its plugins. Another key technology, developed by K aspersk y Lab, is Automatic Exploit Prevention, designed specifically to fight complex web threats, exploiting newly discovered vulnerabilities in software. Social engineering These attacks require user participation, with the user having to download the malicious file to their computer. This happens when the cybercriminal tricks the victim into believing they are downloading a legitimate program. Protection against such attacks requires a web antivirus solution capable of detecting threats as they are being downloaded from the Internet.

In the period between July -September 2013 Kaspersky Lab products detected 221,896 Internet borne malware incidents on the computers of KSN participants in Kuwait. Overall, 21.3 percent of users were attacked by web-borne threats during this period. This places Kuwait in the 89th place worldwide when it comes to the dangers associated with surfing the web. Local threats The use of local infection statistics for user computers is an extremely important indicator. Worms and file viruses account for the majority of such incidents. This data shows how frequently users are attacked by malware spread via removable USB drives, CDs and DVDs, and other “offline” methods. Protection against such attacks not only requires an antivirus solution capable of treating infected objects but also a firewall, anti-rootkit functionality and control over removable devices. In the period July-Sept 2013 Kaspersky Lab products detected 1,666,017 local malware incidents on the computers of KSN participants in Kuwait. Overall, 33.4 percent of users in this country were attacked by local threats during this period. This puts Kuwait in the 92nd place worldwide. Malicious hosts When a Kaspersky Lab customer is attacked by an online threat, we record the source of this threat - the location of the malicious objects that tried to infect the system. Based on that data, the share of malicious incidents caused by malware hosted in Kuwait was 0.00% - that is 2,560 incidents in the period July-September 2013. This puts Kuwait in 94th place worldwide. Spam sources A separate Kaspersky Lab’s services identifies spam messages in global e-mail traffic and tracks their source. Based on that data, the share of spam sent via computers and servers based in Kuwait was 0.09 percent in July-September 2013. This puts Kuwait in the 48th place worldwide.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Japan urged to improve nuclear power TOKYO: Dressed in white hazmat coveralls and carrying a dosimeter, documentary film director Robert Stone ventured into the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant’s exclusion zone a year after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns in three reactors. As he encountered abandoned homes, shops and toppled cars in the scene in his new film “Pandora’s Promise,” Stone asked a traveling companion, “So, are you still pro-nuclear?” Stone, a British filmmaker based in New York, confronts viewers with the thorny question of whether nuclear energy should be abandoned because of the Fukushima disaster. His answer is no, because he believes nuclear energy can help solve climate change. Stone was clear about that when he started making the film before the March 2011 meltdowns at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. He raises the ques-

tion as he interviews respected environmentalists who are pro-nuclear, and visits Chernobyl and Fukushima himself to see the aftermath of their disasters. He also travels to major cities around the world, carrying his dosimeter and comparing radiation figures. “As somebody who was making a documentary that is advocating for more nuclear power, going to Fukushima was deeply disturbing and very emotional,” Stone told The Associated Press in a recent interview during a visit to Japan to promote his film ahead of its Japanese opening in February. “You read the dosimeter, you take the readings around and it’s not what it should be,” he said of his Fukushima visit. “What disturbs people there is that they want everything to be as it was, and it’s not.” He found himself torn between his rational half which said nuclear energy makes sense, and his emo-

tional half which warned him of radiation and told him he should leave the zone immediately. He compared that reaction to the people he met in Fukushima during his visit, including evacuees who nonchalantly smoked cigarettes outside their temporary homes but refused to let their children play outdoors. The film incorporates such mixed feelings “because those are my own feelings as well,” he said, acknowledging that he used to be anti-nuclear until he decided that the movement against climate change wasn’t going anywhere. His 1987 Academy Award-nominated first documentary “Radio Bikini” was an anti-nuclear film. Stone said many people expected him to abandon his latest film after the Fukushima disaster, but he continued with it “to say what a lot of people believe but they haven’t stood up and said.” He now thinks that the Fukushima crisis even reinforces his case. In the 87-

minute film, environmental activists, authors and experts including Stewart Brand, Gwyneth Cravens, Michael Shellenberger and Mark Lynas argue that nuclear power can be safer and more pro-environment than fossil fuel. Anti-nuclear activists like physician Helen Caldicott are portrayed as alarmists and given little space. He urges Japan to use the Fukushima crisis as a chance to refine its technology, science and engineering to build the world’s best reactors instead of withdrawing from nuclear power. Stone said he hopes the film, which was much talked about at the Sundance film festival in June, will be well received and prompt a discussion in Japan. “I suspect there are a lot of people in Japan who will quietly acknowledge that this is the way to go, but they are just waiting for somebody to stand up and say it. So I think we’ll get support,” he said. — AP

Exercise is brainfood for teenagers: Study Effect noticeably large for girls

MOSCOW: Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, Russian cosmonaut Mikhailm Tyurin and US astronaut Rick Mastracchio pose with a Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic torch during their press conference at the Gagarin Cosmonauts’ Training Centre in Star City centre outside Moscow yesterday. The three-man crew is scheduled to blast off with the torch without the flame to the International Space Station from the Russian leased Kazakhstan’s Baikonur cosmodrome on Nov 7. The torch is scheduled to return back to Earth on Nov 11. — AFP

Cygnus cargo craft readies to leave space station WASHINGTON: A private cargo ship built by Orbital Sciences Corporation is preparing to leave the International Space Station early Tuesday and burn up on re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, NASA said Monday. The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to detach from the orbiting research outpost at 1000 GMT Tuesday and leave the ISS an hour and a half later. “Orbital engineers then will conduct a series of planned burns and maneuvers to move Cygnus toward a destructive re-entry in Earth’s atmosphere,” NASA said in a statement. Orbital said Cygnus is expected to reenter the atmosphere on Wednesday, October 23 at 1818 GMT over the Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand. The unmanned spaceship attached itself to the ISS on September 29, marking the first successful demonstration mission of a

cargo resupply flight by Orbital Sciences. It is the fourth such mission by a private company to ferry supplies to global astronauts, a capacity the United States lost when the space shuttle program ended in 2011. The California-based SpaceX, owned by entrepreneur Elon Musk, in 2012 became the first private enterprise to send its own cargo-bearing spacecraft to the ISS and back. Both companies have billion-dollar NASA contracts to deliver cargo to the ISS on multiple missions over the coming years. Unlike SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, Cygnus cannot return to Earth intact and will be destroyed after its mission is complete. NASA said astronauts aboard the ISS have loaded Cygnus “with items no longer needed,” which will burn up with the spacecraft when it plunges back to Earth. — AFP

Japan whitening creams spark 15,000 complaints TOKYO: More than 15,000 people in Japan have been left with skin blotches caused by a chemical contained in popular skin-whitening creams, the maker of the products said yesterday. Japanese cosmetics giant Kanebo said it had received 15,192 complaints from Japan from users of 54 products containing the whitening chemical “Rhododenol”, in what has become an escalating public relations nightmare for the company. A third of the complaints are from people with “serious” symptoms such as at least three blotches or a single patch of discolouration five centimetres (two inches) or more in diameter, the company said in a press release. More than 70 people abroad had reported a similar reaction, 54 of them in Taiwan and the others in Hong Kong, South Korea and Thailand, a Kanebo spokeswoman said, adding there had been no complaints from mainland China. “The number may rise somewhat hereafter but the pace is slowing down.

We hope there will be no large increase,” she said. Kanebo in July recalled of millions of products from across the globe, including Britain, because of problems with a chemical whitening substance called 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone, which Kanebo has named “Rhododenol”. Kanebo was forced to issue a humiliating apology last month after the revelation that it had continued shipping flawed cosmetics for a week after deciding to recall them, possibly increasing the number of customers affected. The company has said it will pay medical costs for customers left with uneven skin colouring, which in some cases continued after they stopped using the products. Whitening creams are popular across Asia among women seeking lighter skin tones. Kanebo’s parent company Kao has seen its share price fall since the scandal broke, losing around six percent of its value in a market that has risen by more than four percent in the same period. — AFP

US firm’s hepatitis C drug boosts cure rate WASHINGTON: An experimental hepatitis C drug from US-based Johnson & Johnson appears to be slightly more effective at eliminating the virus than currently available treatments, though government safety reviewers say it also causes rash and sunburn in some patients. The Food and Drug Administration posted its review of simeprevir online ahead of a public meeting Thursday where experts will vote on whether to recommend the drug’s approval. More than 3 million people in the United States have hepatitis C, a blood-borne disease linked to 15,000 deaths a year. The disease slowly eats away at the liver over 20 to 30 years and most people don’t even realize they have the virus until after liver damage occurs. Drugmakers see hepatitis treatments as potentially lucrative because the disease is expected to grow into a major public health problem as the U.S. baby boom generation ages. For most of the last 20 years, the standard treatment for hepatitis C involved a grueling one-year regimen of pills and injections that caused flu-like symptoms and cured less than half of patients. Then in 2011, the FDA approved two new drugs from Merck and Vertex Pharmaceuticals that raised the cure rate

to about 65 and 75 percent, respectively, when combined with the older treatments. J&J’s new drug appears to raise the level of effectiveness again: simeprevir cured 80 percent of patients who had not previously been treated for the disease, according to the FDA. The company is seeking approval to combine the drug with the standard treatment regimen for patients with the most common form of the virus. But the agency’s review is not all positive. FDA scientists note that 25 percent of patients taking the drug developed a rash during the first 12 weeks of treatment. About 5 percent of patients also developed sunburn as a side effect of the drug. On Thursday the FDA will ask a panel of outside experts whether the drug should carry warnings about rashes and sunburn on its label. The agency also wants to know whether “sun-protection measures should be recommended for all patients.” The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panelists, though it often does.The same panel of experts will review another proposed hepatitis C drug from Gilead Sciences Inc. on Friday. Some analysts expect that drug, known as sofosbuvir, to become the leading drug for the disease, based on research showing it cured 90 percent of patients in 12 weeks. —AP

PARIS: Regular exercise boosts teenagers’ school grades-and particularly helps girls in science, a British study said yesterday. The more physically active they were, the better children performed in school, according to findings published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. And “girls’ science results seemed to benefit the most”, said a press statement. Physical activity has long been suspected to boost brainpower, but little scientific evidence has existed until now. For the study, researchers from England, Scotland and the United States measured the level of physical activity among nearly 5,000 11year-olds who wore a motion-reading “accelerometer” for a week. Their academic performance in English, maths and science was then assessed at the ages of 11, 13, and 16. Children who had been more physically active at 11 performed better in all three phases and all three subjects. Every 17 minutes of exercise per day at the age of 11 led to an additional improvement in marks for boys, and 12 minutes per day for girls by the age of 16, said the findings. The effect was noticeably large for girls in science classes. “This is an important finding, especially in light of the current UK and European Commission policy aimed at increasing the number of females in science subjects,” wrote the authors. Worryingly, the researchers observed that aged 11, boys averaged 29 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per day and girls about 18 — far lower than the recommended 60 minutes. “Their findings prompt the authors to speculate on what might happen to academic performance if children increased the amount of

PARIS: Every 17 minutes of exercise per day at the age of 11 led to an additional improvement in marks for boys, and 12 minutes per day for girls by the age of 16, said the findings. The effect was noticeably large for girls in science classes. moderate-to-vigorous physical activity they did to the recommended 60 minutes,” said the statement. The children had been recruited from a large-scale ongoing project called the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) in southwest England. The scientists adjusted the results for factors that could influence the findings, like a child’s birthweight, whether their mothers had smoked

during pregnancy, weight and socioeconomic background. Further research was needed to better understand how exercise results in improved marks, said the researchers. “The findings have implications for public health and education policy by providing schools and parents with a potentially important stake in meaningful and sustained increases in physical activity,” they wrote. — AFP

Mongolia’s nomads turn to private land ALTANBULAG, Mongolia: Mongolia’s nomads have roamed its sprawling grasslands for centuries, pitching their yurts wherever they find pasture for their animals, but now Tsogtsaikhan Orgodol is staying put as part of a scheme to tackle chronic overgrazing. The tanned 53-year-old still wears his nomad’s riding boots, but he and his community have been given exclusive rights to 2,500 acres of steppe in exchange for reducing their herds and remaining in the same place all year round, giving the land a chance to regenerate. “I have agreed to cut the number of our goats in half,” said Orgodol, looking out from horseback over their 200 animals, mostly sheep and some cows, who despite the project principles are not fenced in. “The only problem is when other animals come,” he added. “They sense where the good grass is. We have to chase them away. There is no other mechanism.” According to MCC’s website, the project will cover about 300 tracts of land near Ulan Bator and Mongolia’s next two largest towns, Erdenet and Darkhan, involving around 1,000 households in total. Orgodol’s 22-strong group shares two yurts, known as gers in Mongolia, and a permanent house next to a barn about 45 km outside the capital Ulan Bator. The national tradition is for land to be accessible to all, with pastoralist families moving several times a year in search of fodder and water. But Nyamsuren Lkhagvasuren, who runs the land programme for the US-funded aid agency Millennium Challenge Corporation, told AFP: “The number of livestock has exploded to more than 40 million. “This goes beyond the limits of what is reasonable, even for Mongolia, which is a vast country.” In a study published last month in the journal Global Change Biology, researchers from the University of Oregon using satellite images from NASA found that 70 percent of Mongolia’s grassland-which makes up almost four-fifths of the country-is now “degraded”. Twelve percent of the country’s biomass has disappeared in recent years, they said, calling overgrazing a “primary contributor” to the alarming decline of the steppe. Livestock was collectivised under the socialist planned economy imposed under decades of Communist dictatorship when Mongolia was a satellite of the Soviet Union. But since the advent of democracy and a market economy in 1990 many Mongolians have returned to their sheep and cattle-partly because unemployment shot up-so that 40 percent of the working population are now herders. Agriculture Minister Battulga Khaltmaa-a former judo champion-acknowledged concerns about desertification but downplayed the University of Oregon findings, attributing the problem to climate change rather than overgrazing. “The number of animals is not that high compared to the size of the land,” he said. In the Soviet era even greater numbers of cattle roamed the country of 1.6 million square kilometres, he pointed out.

“Under socialism we had 26 million livestock and under Stalin the target was set at 250 million in order to meet the demand for meat in Siberia.” But herders who cannot command high prices resort to selling large quantities instead, said Thomas Pavie, an agriculture expert who advises French government projects in Mongolia.

“There is indeed overgrazing, especially in the production of cashmere. The problem is that Mongolia exports wool in the form of raw material, particularly to China, so the value-added happens somewhere else,” he said. “That requires them to produce a lot. If wool were sold more expensively, they would need fewer animals.” — AFP

Ethiopian running legend shares his health secrets ADDIS ABABA: For anyone looking for the secret to staying fit into middle age, who better to ask than Haile Gebrselassie-the Ethiopian running legend who’s still giving much younger men a run for their money. Aged 40 but barely slowing down, Gebrselassie says his enduring presence in international athletics has nothing to do with fancy foods or the latest gizmos. The key ingredient, he said, is in the mind. “You have to have three things: discipline, commitment and hard work,” said Gebrselassie, a double Olympic gold medallist in the 10,000 metres, four-time World Champion over the same distance and two-time world record-breaker in the marathon. It is this discipline which drives Gebrselassie to train twice a day and clock a daily average of 35 km. Preparing for a race provides a goal to commit to, and he said some of his best training comes ahead of a big event. He admits that the workload is not getting any easier, with middle-aged aches and pains ever-present. So fighting through physical pain and mental laziness is important too, he said. “One of the secrets, thank you for reminding me, is to accept the pain. Without pain, no gain,” he said. Despite his relative wealth-built up from his illustrious running career plus his expanding business empire-he insisted he still eats “what the people eat” and shuns Western, processed foods. The “Haile diet” is no fad, being made up of Ethiopia’s staple injera-an iron-rich, fermented pancake-plus lots of lean, raw meat. His home country also provides him with an ideal location to train, he said, with its temperate weather and high altitude. “The best place for training of course is Ethiopia, for me I don’t see any place like Ethiopia, I’m serious,” said Gebrselassie, who still starts most mornings by running in the lush green hills surrounding the capital, Addis Ababa. Gebrselassie is widely considered one of the world’s greatest-ever athletes, and back home his legendary status is rivalled only by Abebe Bikila, the “barefoot runner” who won gold in the marathon at the 1960 Rome Olympics. In

his storied career that has spanned over two decades, Gebrselassie has won multiple Olympic and World Championship medals, setting 27 world records along the way. Like scores of other Ethiopian champions, he started running as a child when he travelled barefoot from his humble rural home to school, a 20km round-trip. He said the 10,000-metre race is still his favourite, because it reminds him of his daily journeys to school. Despite nearing retirement age, he continues to run competitively, racing alongside much younger competitors, including last month when he finished a close third behind his compatriot Kenenisa Bekele and Britain’s Mo Farah in the Great North Run, a half marathon in northern England. Continuing to break masters records in the over-40’s category, Gebrselassie is showing no signs of wanting to hang up his shoes: he will run the “seven hills” 15-kilometre race in the Netherlands in November followed by a half marathon in the coming months. “It’s very hard to break the world record (now), but we’ll see, I don’t want to be very far from the others,” he said. “I want to show the youngsters what running means, I want to tell them ‘age is just a number’. If you think you’re old, if you tell to yourself you’re old, if you’re old mentally, then you’re old automatically physically,” he said, flashing his characteristic wide grin. As for the years ahead, Gebrselassie said he is eyeing running for parliament in 2015 as an independent candidate as a chance for him “to give back” to his country. Although Ethiopia is developing rapidly, he said growth is not happening fast enough and that he would like to see progress at “Usain Bolt” speed. “I’d like to see my country like Europe and America. We’re doing good, but it’s just the pace, the pace is not good enough,” he said. But regardless of what the future holds, he said he won’t be sitting back and gaining a middle-aged spread. “I cannot stop running, running is just a part of my life,” he said. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Conflict, clashes over China’s prized caterpillar fungus ‘Himalayan Viagra’

GAZA CITY: Manar Alwadiya, 12, gives Oday, 4, a bath in the yard of their family house in Gaza City. Most of the clothes and food for the extended family of 38 people comes from donations. The family is among the some 45 percent of Gazans who live in dire poverty, defined by the United Nations as living on less than $2 a day. —-AP

Gaza’s poorest struggle to survive GAZA CITY: Salih Alwadiya is among Gaza Strip’s poorest. The 61-year-old’s home consists of a kitchen, several small rooms and a space devoted to cages full of pigeons and a goose. Many of his 20 children, from three wives, live with him near a sewage plant. In all, more than 50 people live in the small compound. Their only form of transportation is a donkey cart, as his motorcycle is broken. With the house’s roof made of scrap metal, his only escape from the stifling heat is to lie down in the dark room with the pigeons. “When electricity cuts off, as happens every day, I go to the bed in front of the pigeon cage,” Alwadiya says. “In the day, we suffer from flies and at night, we suffer from mosquitoes.” While Gaza has always been poor, conditions in the crowded seaside territory have worsened since

Hamas militants seized power in 2007. Israel, which considers Hamas a terrorist group, along with Egypt imposed a blockade that greatly restricted imports and exports out of the area. Although the blockade has been eased, the economy remains stagnant. Roughly 70 percent of Gaza’s 1.7 million people rely on handouts, and per capital GDP, a measure of economic activity, is lower today than it was in 1994, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Nearly half the population lives in dire poverty, defined by the U.N. as living on less than $2 a day. Like many Gazans, Alwadiya, the family patriarch, used to work as a laborer in Israel. But Israel long ago stopped letting Gazans in for work. Alwadiya, who lost his right leg in a car accident as a child, was also wounded by shrapnel in an Israeli airstrike in 2008. —AP

TONGREN, China: In a dirty, dimly-lit room in a backstreet of one of China’s poorest rural towns, a trader combs his leathery fingers through a $17,000 bag of caterpillar fungus, lamenting the curse that its value has wrought. The parasitic fungus, Cordyceps sinensis to science, only exists high on the Tibetan plateau, where it grows through the body of its host-the ghost moth caterpillar-killing it and bursting out of the top of its head. What looks like a small brown twig on the end of a crinkled yellow worm is for its believers a lifesaver, a cure for cancer and a potent aphrodisiac sometimes known as “Himalayan Viagra”. For those who toil on hands and knees to collect it, it can mean death. It has a potent status in traditional Chinese medicine-making it almost worth its weight in gold. “It wasn’t in demand before, but now we realise its value, we have lots of fights between neighbours,” said Zande Gongba, as he sold half a kilogram (about a pound) of the fungus to a retailer in Tongren, a remote town in the northwestern province of Qinghai. Some of his suppliers were involved in clashes over the rights to collect the fungus that left two people dead in the green, rolling hills around Tongren, known to Tibetans as Rebkong. Pictures posted online by overseas rights groups showed at least one villager armed with a machete and scores of riot police. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama himself called for calm and reminded villagers that “violence is contrary to the beliefs

and conduct of all who believe in karma and in Buddhism”. Under a picture of the Nobel laureate, Gongba added in Tibetan: “We know this is not a good thing, but this is life, and life needs to go on.” One of the few organisms to straddle two different scientific kingdoms, the fungus is known as dongchongxiacao in Chinese and yarchagumba in Nepali, both names meaning “winter worm, summer grass”. It is harvested mainly by poor farmers, who comb through the grasses of fields in one of world’s most rugged and challenging landscapes on their elbows, at times in subzero temperatures. The gruelling process-often carried out by young boys from poverty-stricken families-can earn around two to three dollars for each fungus, depending on the season. By the time it reaches affluent end users among China’s rich it can cost far more, an expensive designer ingredient for well-to-do dinner parties, mainly eaten in soup but also stuffed into roasted game dishes, offering both nutritional value and added social standing for the host. Millions of other Chinese eat caterpillar fungus for supposed medicinal reasons, or because they believe it will enhance male potency. “We have patients with stomach cancer and breast cancer, and they are basically cured after taking about half a kilogram of caterpillar fungus,” said Yang Mengxian, manager at the Rebkong Culture store in Tongren, the town’s biggest fungus dealer. “Some men have reproduction problems,

and they boil the fungus with a chicken into a soup, drink it once a week, and they become stronger, have a great sex life and have no problems creating a baby,” she adds. There is no orthodox scientific proof of such claims, but that does not put off its adherents. “Chinese people have a theory that caterpillar fungus is a traditional Chinese medicine that can benefit your kidneys,” said Shen Tong, an entrepreneur from the eastern province of Zhejiang, who says he has spent $130,000 on it. Each day, the 49-year-old consumes tea which has been diluted with five fungi for over an hour, a drink which costs around $32. “It tastes and smells kind of fishy,” adds the father of one. “But you won’t get the health benefits if you are only taking it in the short term. You have to take it on a regular basis for a long time, or at least three years, then it will help nurse your whole body.” China’s booming traditional medicine industry-which is blamed for threatening the survival of some endangered species-produced goods worth 516 billion yuan ($84 billion) in 2012, more than 31 percent of the country’s total medicine output, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Yang makes her living from supplying the demand, but fears more violence. “In the past many didn’t realise how precious it is and how much it can sell for on the market.” But now, she said: “If they do not have fields producing it in their own village, they will go into their neighbours’ villages.” “I have been in a fight myself too,” she added quietly. — AFP

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! Let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

Greetings Four Seasons Hotel Milano presents ‘Chic’olate Room

Enjoy the taste of true Espresso at Vergnano Cafe at Olympia Complex

appy Birthday Pastor Zinny. May God bless you and crown all your efforts with success. Greetings from LAIF, husband, Favour, Joy, Chinwe friends and well wishers.

Indian global photography competition

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.

magnificent space at Four Seasons Hotel Milano, the legendary Chocolate Room, which opens every year under a different theme, debuts a fashionable new look in 2013. Renamed the “Chic”olate Room for its new fashion theme, the space showcases chocolate designed in extraordinarily stylish ways. Fifteen two-metre (6.5 foot) high panels clad the room’s walls - each carefully decorated and painted with chocolate depicting fashion sketch-style on-trend silhouettes, mixed with animal prints and camouflage patterns. Plinths are stacked with chocolate bags and stilettos, and chocolate busts are decorated with elaborate necklaces and hand-painted hats. Creator of this fantastical sweet world Pastry Chef Johannes Walk was inspired by Milan’s fashion district of picturesque streets fronted with luxury boutiques - a short stroll from the Hotel. “I looked at many fashion images but most of my inspiration came from walking around Milan’s fashion area, on streets such as Via Montenapoleone close by the Hotel,

and peering into the beautiful, meticulously curated windows of the luxury fashion boutiques,” Johannes says. Using 120 kilograms (265 pounds) of dark, milk and white French chocolate, Johannes worked on the room for more than 100 hours - often to the whirr of fans to ensure his unique chocolate creations wouldn’t melt. A life-sized chocolate mannequin clothed in a dress made of ribbons and discs of white, dark and milk chocolate is the room’s masterpiece. “When guests walk in here their jaws drop. It is so exciting to watch them react to the room - every one really is like a child in a candy store,” Johannes adds. On Sundays, the decadent room is replete with as many as 15 chocolate themed desserts, such as chocolate panna cotta and chocolate Sacher cake, where dessert is served to diners of the Hotel’s famed Brunch. Also available for hire as part of an exclusive dinner or event, the “Chic”olate Room at Four Seasons Hotel Milano is sure to close the occasion with the sweetest, most memorable finale.

Kala Kuwait celebrates Onam

Global photography competition is being conducted by Public Diplomacy Division (PDD) of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India to showcase the country’s growing ‘soft power’- factors that influence the opinion of individuals and organizations towards India through the medium of culture and personal experience. Entry for the global competition is free and open to all those who are 18 years of age or above as on September 1, 2013. Photographs for the competition must be submitted on or before October 31, 2013.The themes of the competition are: (a) India is - Youthful (b) India is -Timeless (c) India is - Undiscovered. The jurors include scholars and professionals from the fields of photography, culture and the related. Based on the scores by individuals on this panel, the winners will be awarded grand prizes including exotic getaways with Taj Holidays.

Announcements Pakistan women’s forum akistan women’s forum Kuwait - non profit organization will be holding its general meeting and election soon. All Pakistani ladies are invited. The next meeting will be on Friday 25 October 2013 (3 pm to 5 pm) at Pak house in Hateen

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.

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 ‘Malabar Mahotsava 2013’ 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.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

erala Art Lovers Association - KALA KUWAIT celebrated Onam, the national festival of Malayalees, with splendor and gaiety. Lighting the traditional lamp, the program was thrown open by former Indian footballer M M Jacob. T V Hikmath president of Kala, presided over the inauguration, while J Saji, General secretary welcomed the guests.

T K Kannan, long time member and former office bearer of Kala, who is calling it a day, was presented with a memento. J Albert and P R Praveen felicitated the program. Prinston Decruz delivered vote of thanks. This was followed by flowerbed displays, classical dances and other competitions. Escorting of ‘Maveli’ the imaginary king of Kerala, in whose reign thrived real

prosperity and equality, was performed with exciting ‘chenda’ (drum) beats. Onam feast with customary delicacies were served to all attendees.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF ARGENTINE For the Argentinean citizens who had not already enlisted in the embassy’s electoral register, and taking in consideration the elections which was held on Sunday 11/08/2013, it is necessary to justify they no vote by presence at our embassy which located in (Mishref - Block 6 - Street 42 - Villa 57) and should present the DNI and/or the Argentinean Passport. The Embassy of the Argentine Republic in the State of Kuwait avails itself of this opportunity to renew the assurances of its highest consideration. nnnnnnn

Kuwait Oil Company CEO Hashem Hashem hosted a reception for the Eid Al-Adha holiday at the KOC Hospitality House in Al-Ahmadi. Other KAC officials also joined Hashem in welcoming the visitors which included officials and staff of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation affiliates and a number of oil facilities security officers.

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

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

Tetley Tea ‘Virtual Assistants’ draw crowds

etley, a pioneering global tea brand and maker of Great Britain’s favorite tea, is on the leading edge again as it unveils another engaging and innovative approach to attract consumers to its products; Tetley Tea Virtual Assistants! Located across numerous co-ops across Kuwait, Tetley Tea uses this technology for the first time across Kuwait and the Middle East, to enhance its interaction with shoppers. The life sized Tetley Virtual Assistants do not only tell the Tetley Tea story but they also interact with the consumers, communicating messages in an enticing and entertaining manner. Located in 10 different co-op locations - Jahra, Ministry of Defense, Madina Saad Al Abdullah, Sulaibhikhat, Adan, Qusoor, Rumaithiya, Rikka, Fahaheel, and Salmiya, the Virtual Assistants present customers with a live demonstration of the Tetley Tea Drawstring tea bag, revealing the mechanism that leads to the perfect cup of tea, while bringing Tetley Tea closer to its customers. Commenting on the introduction of the Virtual Assistant, Mr. Danny Finney, Commercial Director for Tetley Tea in Middle East said, “This is a first for supermarkets in Kuwait and the wider Middle East, the Virtual Assistant experience is very life-like and unique. As a brand Tetley has a long history of innovation so we think it’s a perfect fit to use state of the art technology to demonstrate our revolutionary Drawstring teabag.” Through a live demonstration at the Tetley

product display areas, the Virtual Assistants describe the Tetley Tea Drawstring mechanism highlighting its simple and effective approach. Without worrying about making a mess, users simply need to pull the string at each end of the teabag to squeeze out every last drop of flavour, after immersing the bag into hot water. Tetley Drawstring is also staple-free, allowing drinkers to get a pure, fresh cup of tea from a bag which they can even heat in the microwave. The Tetley Virtual Assistant also updates customers on the two exclusive blends of black tea Tetley offers; ‘Tetley Strong’, which is designed to give customers a fuller flavour by using 25% more tea per bag, creating a richer blend of taste, aroma and color, and ‘Tetley Light’, which is a blend using high quality teas from Ceylon and ‘orthodox’ style teas, specially designed to give a lighter, more refreshing flavour. Tetley Pure Green tea and Green Mint tea are also introduced to customers; 100% natural tea made of the finest steamed leaves, to give a smoother and less bitter taste. Tetley continues to demonstrate its pioneering role in the tea industry, presenting customers with the latest products through the latest technologies. Tetley Tea invites you to meet the Virtual Assistant at the nearest Co-op and learn how to squeeze more out of your day.

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.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

03:15 Too Cute! 04:05 America’s Cutest Pets 04:55 Predator’s Prey 05:20 Cheetah Kingdom 05:45 ER Vets 06:10 ER Vets 06:35 Call Of The Wildman 07:00 Monkey Life 07:25 The Magic Of The Big Blue 08:15 The Most Extreme 09:10 Breed All About It 09:35 Breed All About It 10:05 Roaring With Pride 11:00 Animal Cops Houston 11:55 Predator’s Prey 12:20 Call Of The Wildman 12:50 Roaring With Pride 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 Too Cute! 18:20 Too Cute! 19:15 Monkey Life 19:40 Call Of The Wildman 20:10 Predator’s Prey 20:35 Cheetah Kingdom 21:05 Roaring With Pride 22:00 Bondi Vet 22:55 ER Vets 23:25 ER Vets 23:50 Animal Cops Houston 00:45 Swimming With Monsters: Steve Backshall 01:35 Untamed & Uncut 02:25 Roaring With Pride

03:30 Roger & Val Have Just Got In 04:00 Little Britain 04:30 My Family 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 07:25 My Family 07:55 Little Britain 08:25 Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky 09:15 Eastenders 09:45 Doctors 10:15 Outcasts 11:05 The Weakest Link 11:55 My Family 12:25 Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky 13:15 Little Britain 13:45 Eastenders 14:15 Doctors 14:45 The Weakest Link 15:30 Outcasts 16:20 Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky 17:10 Eastenders 17:40 Doctors 18:10 The Weakest Link 19:00 Last Of The Summer Wine 19:30 Roger & Val Have Just Got In 20:00 South Riding 20:55 Rev. 21:25 Dinnerladies 21:55 Mistresses 22:45 Dead Boss 23:15 The Weakest Link 00:00 Last Of The Summer Wine 00:30 Outcasts 01:25 Eastenders 01:55 Doctors 02:20 Roger & Val Have Just Got In 02:50 Dead Boss

03:00 Great British Menu 03:25 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 03:50 Cash In The Attic 04:35 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets

05:00 Bargain Hunt 05:45 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 06:30 Great British Menu 07:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 07:45 Bargain Hunt 08:30 Marbella Mansions 09:20 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 09:45 Come Dine With Me: South Africa 10:40 Come Dine With Me 11:30 Celebrity MasterChef 12:25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 13:10 Antiques Roadshow 14:05 Homes Under The Hammer 15:00 Homes Under The Hammer 15:50 Bargain Hunt 16:35 Cash In The Attic 17:20 Antiques Roadshow 18:15 Homes Under The Hammer 19:10 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 19:35 A Taste Of Greenland 20:30 Come Dine With Me 21:20 Antiques Roadshow 22:15 Bargain Hunt 23:00 Cash In The Attic 23:45 Homes Under The Hammer 00:40 Come Dine With Me 01:30 Celebrity MasterChef 02:00 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 02:25 Fantasy Homes By The Sea

03:00 Mythbusters 03:50 Border Security 04:15 Storage Hunters 04:40 Baggage Battles 05:05 How Do They Do It? 05:30 How It’s Made 06:00 Sons Of Guns 07:00 Mythbusters 07:50 Flying Wild Alaska 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 River Monsters 12:25 Deadliest Catch 13:15 Giant Squid: Last Mystery Of The Deep 14:05 Border Security 14:30 Storage Hunters 14:55 Baggage Battles 15:20 Yukon Men 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 Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell 22:50 Naked And Marooned: Ed Bares All 23:40 Car vs Wild 00:30 Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell 01:20 Naked And Marooned: Ed Bares All 02:10 Car vs Wild

03:00 03:45 04:30 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:15 08:40 09:05 09:30 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:50 13:15 13:40 14:30 15:20 15:45 16:10

Deadly Sins I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner A Haunting Nightmare Next Door Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth... On The Case With Paula Zahn Solved Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry? Disappeared

17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:40 00:30 01:20 02:10 02:35

Solved Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn On The Case With Paula Zahn Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Dates From Hell Dates From Hell Deadly Women I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner A Haunting Dates From Hell Dates From Hell

03:35 Thunder Races 04:25 How The Universe Works 05:15 The Gadget Show 05:40 The Tech Show 06:05 Kings Of Construction 07:00 Flying Anvils 07:50 Unchained Reaction 08:40 The Gadget Show 09:05 The Tech Show 09:30 Sport Science 10:25 Superships 11:20 Thunder Races 12:10 Space Pioneer 13:00 Unchained Reaction 13:50 How Do They Do It? 14:20 The Gadget Show 14:45 The Tech Show 15:10 Flying Anvils 16:00 Sport Science 16:55 Kings Of Construction 17:45 Thunder Races 18:35 How The Universe Works 19:30 Ldrs (Large Dangerous Rocket Ships) 20:20 Unchained Reaction 21:10 The Gadget Show 21:35 The Tech Show 22:00 Ldrs (Large Dangerous Rocket Ships) 22:50 Unchained Reaction 23:40 The Colony 00:30 How Do They Do It? 01:00 The Gadget Show 01:25 The Tech Show 01:50 Ldrs (Large Dangerous Rocket Ships) 02:45 Unchained Reaction

03:45 04:05 04:30 04:50 05:15 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:45 07:10 07:35 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:25 11:50 12:15 12:35 13:00 13:25 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:50 16:10 17:00 17:20 17:45 18:10 18:30 18:55 19:20 20:05 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:10 23:35 00:00 00:20 00:45 01:05 01:30 01:50 02:15 02:35

Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Austin And Ally Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Jessie Good Luck Charlie Sofia The First Doc McStuffins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Jessie Jessie Good Luck Charlie Good Luck Charlie Gravity Falls Shake It Up Shake It Up Austin And Ally Austin And Ally A.N.T. Farm Shake It Up My Babysitter’s A Vampire That’s So Raven Gravity Falls Jessie Violetta Dog With A Blog Austin And Ally Gravity Falls Shake It Up That’s So Raven A.N.T. Farm Violetta Jessie My Babysitter’s A Vampire Austin And Ally Shake It Up That’s So Raven Jessie A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place

08:00 Marco Macaco 10:00 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days 11:45 D’Fenders 13:15 Beethoven’s Second 14:45 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins 16:00 Valentina 18:00 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days 20:00 Sandokan: The Gift Of Tigers 22:00 Princess Sydney: The Three Gold Coins 23:30 Valentina 01:00 Marco Macaco 02:45 Sandokan: The Gift Of Tigers

04:15 Hotel Transylvania 06:15 Superman vs. The Elite 08:00 Ice Age: Continental Drift 10:00 Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas 11:45 The Amazing Spider-Man 14:15 The Wild Girl 16:00 Ice Age: Continental Drift 18:00 Shark Night 20:00 Ted 22:00 Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 00:00 The People vs George Lucas 02:00 Shark Night

ELF ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY 03:25 04:20 04:45 05:15 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:35 10:30 Subs 11:20 12:10 12:35 13:05 World 13:55 14:50 15:45 16:40 17:35 World 18:25 19:20 20:10 20:35 21:05 Hood 22:00 22:55 23:50 00:45 Hood 01:35 02:30

I Shouldn’t Be Alive Classic Car Club Ultimate Cars Raging Planet The Mistress I Shouldn’t Be Alive American Car Prospector Leaning Tower Of Pisa Crime Scene Wild The Hunt For The Samurai The Mistress Classic Car Club Ultimate Cars Inventions That Shook The Raging Planet Altered Statesmen Ultimate Warfare The Mistress Inventions That Shook The I Shouldn’t Be Alive History Cold Case USA Classic Car Club Ultimate Cars How The Bismarck Sank HMS History Cold Case USA I Was Bitten Murder Shift How The Bismarck Sank HMS History Cold Case USA I Was Bitten

03:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 03:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody

PIRANHA 3DD ON OSN MOVIES ACTION

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 02:00 Little Einsteins 02:25 Special Agent Oso 02:40 Special Agent Oso 02:50 Imagination Movers

06:00 Kid vs Kat 06:10 Scaredy Squirrel 06:35 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 07:00 Max Steel 07:25 Phineas And Ferb 07:50 Slugterra 08:15 Crash & Bernstein 08:40 Kickin IT 09:05 Kickin IT 09:30 Phineas And Ferb 09:55 Phineas And Ferb 10:20 Lab Rats 10:45 Lab Rats 11:10 Pokemon Bw: Adventures In Unova 11:35 Max Steel 12:00 Zeke & Luther 12:25 Zeke & Luther 12:50 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 13:00 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 19:00 Phineas And Ferb 19:15 Slugterra 19:30 Marvel Avengers Assemble 19:40 Crash & Bernstein 20:05 Ultimate Spider-Man 20:55 Pair Of Kings 21:20 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 21:45 Phineas And Ferb 22:10 Phineas And Ferb 22:35 Scaredy Squirrel 23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00am KSA

03:00 Feasts 03:25 03:50 04:15 04:40 05:30 06:10 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

Andy Bates American Street Food Wars Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives United Tastes Of America Chopped Iron Chef America Food Network Challenge 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

19:05 19:30 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40 00:05 00:30 00:55 01:20 01:45 02:10 02:35

Roadtrip With G. Garvin Siba’s Table Charly’s Cake Angels Chopped Chopped Reza’s African Kitchen Reza’s African Kitchen Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Food Wars Recipes That Rock Outrageous Food Reza’s African Kitchen Reza’s African Kitchen Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

03:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 03:30 South Park 04:00 Brickleberry 04:30 The New Normal 05:00 The Simpsons 05:30 Last Man Standing 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 Community 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 Last Man Standing 16:30 Community 17:00 Modern Family 17:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 18:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 18:30 1600 Penn 19:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 20:00 Hot In Cleveland 20:30 Raising Hope 21:00 The Crazy Ones 21:30 Arrested Development 22:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 23:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 23:30 The Colbert Report 00:00 Louie 00:30 Brickleberry 01:00 The New Normal 01:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 02:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 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 Revenge Once Upon A Time 24 Parenthood Covert Affairs Revenge Once Upon A Time Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Covert Affairs 24 Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Covert Affairs Once Upon A Time Grey’s Anatomy Homeland House Of Cards Scandal 24

04:15 06:15 08:00 10:00 12:00 13:45 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:15 00:00 02:00

Doom Last Man Standing Soldiers Of Fortune Rewind Do No Harm John Carter Rewind Deadly Hope John Carter Shadow Elfie Hopkins Piranha 3DD

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 00:00 02:15

Meteor Storm Metal Shifters Last Man Standing The Fog Soldiers Of Fortune Last Man Standing Do No Harm Soldiers Of Fortune Doom Dredd Bunraku Doom

04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:15 00:00 01:45

Ernest Goes To Jail 3 Holiday Tails Falling Star Gabe The Cupid Dog Ernest Goes To Jail Elf Gabe The Cupid Dog Love Birds Slap Shot Stripes 30 Minutes Or Less Slap Shot

04:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 14:30 17:00 18:45 Close 21:00 23:00 01:00

Hindenburg Saving Grace B. Jones Taken Back: Finding Haley A View From Here Dead Lines The Flowers Of War And Soon The Darkness Extremely Loud & Incredibly

03:30 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00 01:00

Sound Of My Voice Sleepy Hollow Dolphin Tale Love Finds A Home The Forger Black Forest A Fall From Grace The Forger Me And You Perfect Stranger The End Of The Affair A Fall From Grace

03:00 05:15 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 14:30 16:15 18:00 21:00 23:00 01:00

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Flower Girl Class The Double The Pirates! Band Of Misfits Flicka 3 A Mother’s Choice The Double The Dark Knight Rises Being Flynn The Watch Carnage

The Ides Of March Snowtown And Soon The Darkness

04:30 Pacific Pirates 06:00 Snowmen

00:30 01:00 01:30 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 Leno 05:30 07:00 08:00 08:30 10:00 11:00 Leno 12:30 13:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 18:00

03:00 04:30 07:00 08:50 10:35 13:00 14:45 16:00 17:55 20:00 22:00 00:10 01:40

The Daily Show The Colbert Report Saturday Night Live The League Ben And Kate Ben And Kate Seinfeld The Tonight Show With Jay All Of Us Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Seinfeld All Of Us Hot In Cleveland The Tonight Show With Jay Seinfeld All Of Us Hot In Cleveland The Daily Show The Colbert Report Late Night With Jimmy Fallon The Simpsons

The Train Robbers The Three Musketeers Rebel Without A Cause Two Weeks In Another Town The Brothers Karamazov Come Fly With Me Challenge To Lassie East Of Eden All The Fine Young Cannibals Conagher Wild Rovers Hit Man Wild Rovers

03:00 Currie Cup 05:00 ITM Cup 07:00 Darts Grand Prix 11:00 ICC Cricket 360 11:30 Champions League Twenty20 14:30 Total Rugby 15:00 Inside The PGA Tour 15:30 European Tour Weekly 16:00 Live PGA European Tour 20:00 Trans World Sport 21:00 Live Darts Grand Prix 01:00 Total Rugby 01:30 Amlin European Challenge Cup

05:00 UFC - The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 06:00 UFC - Unleashed 07:00 The Rugby Championship 09:00 ICC Cricket 360 09:30 NRL Full Time 10:00 Futbol Mundial 10:30 Total Rugby 11:00 Darts Grand Prix 15:00 UFC - Primetime 2011-13 15:30 UFC Prelims 17:30 UFC - Maia vs. Shields 20:30 UFC - The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 21:45 Live Amlin European Challenge Cup 00:00 Live PGA Tour

03:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 04:00 Rock My RV With Bret Michaels 04:30 Rock My RV With Bret Michaels 05:00 Insane Coaster Wars 05:30 Insane Coaster Wars 06:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 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 The Food Truck 21:30 The Food Truck 22:00 Bizarre Foods America 23:00 Airport 24/7: Miami 23:30 Airport 24/7: Miami 00:00 Insane Coaster Wars 00:30 Insane Coaster Wars 01:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides

Classifieds WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013

Kuwait SHARQIA-1 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 RAMAIYA VASTAVAIYA (DIG) (TELUGU) FRI THE BUTLER (DIG) NO FRI DIANA (DIG) DIANA (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG)

7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

SHARQIA-2 KHUMBA (DIG-3D) KHUMBA (DIG-3D) KHUMBA (DIG-3D) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) RUSH (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG)

12:45 PM 2:30 PM 4:15 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

SHARQIA-3 BADGES OF FURY (DIG) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) RUSH (DIG) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) BADGES OF FURY (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 4:00 PM 5:00 PM

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

MUHALAB-1 ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) RAMAIYA VASTAVAIYA (DIG) (TELUGU) NO TUE+WED BOSS (DIG) (HINDI) TUE+WED QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC)

7:15 PM 9:30 PM

MUHALAB-2 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 KHUMBA (DIG) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 ( DIANA (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:00 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM

MUHALAB-3 ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) RUSH (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) FANAR-1 BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) DIANA (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) DIANA (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) FANAR-2 KHUMBA (DIG) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) KHUMBA (DIG)

1:45 PM 4:15 PM 4:15 PM

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

1:30 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM

FOR SALE

KNCC EID AL ADHA PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC)

7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM

FANAR-3 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 ( RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) NO TUE+WED BOSS (DIG) (HINDI) TUE+WED RUSH (DIG) NO TUE+WED BOSS (DIG) (HINDI) TUE+WED RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 4:45 PM 7:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

MARINA-1 THE BUTLER (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) DIANA (DIG) DIANA (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG)

12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-2 QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) RUSH (DIG) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC) QALB AL ASAD (DIG) (ARABIC)

1:00 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

MARINA-3 KHUMBA (DIG-3D) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 KHUMBA (DIG-3D) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG)

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:45 PM 6:30 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

AVENUES-1 THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG) THE BUTLER (DIG)

1:45 PM 4:30 PM 7:15 PM 10:00 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-2 BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG) BADGES OF FURY (DIG)

1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-3 RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG) RUSH (DIG)

1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:30 PM 9:00 PM 11:30 PM

Mitsubishi Pajero for sale 1996 model, color red, passing up to Aug 2014, used by a lady, need little work. Contact: 97277139. Toyota Camry GL 2011, pearl white, full options, 60,000 km, excellent condition, KD 4000. Tel: 99439037, 9 am to 4 pm serious buyer please. (C 4542) 22-10-2013 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

Mart/Nesto hypermarket, rent KD 85. Mob: 97805614. (C 4537)

SITUATION VACANT A family is looking to hire a driver. 94026500. (C 4536) 20-10-2013 CHANGE OF NAME I, Safia Begum holder of Indian Passport No. L0038265 shall henceforth be known as Murugesan Uma Mageswari. (C 4541) 22-10-2013 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 ACCOMMODATION Sharing in Farwaniya for decent Filipino only, block 1, st 122 near Gulf

Sharing accommodation available for decent bachelor non smoking. Amman street, opposite to Al Rashid hospital. Please contact: 66232356. (C 4538) 20-10-2013

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