5th Nov 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Environmental disaster as oysters vanish from markets

Hardliners jab at Rouhani on embassy siege anniversary

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NO: 15977

150 FILS

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www.kuwaittimes.net

MUHARRAM 1, 1435 AH

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Chiefs win again as upsets continue in NFL

Musharraf granted bail in his last legal case

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Health minister under fire for moving doctor

Medics stage protest • Adasani urges PM to sack Dashti

Max 24º Min 19º High Tide 13:35 Low Tide 07:08 &19:07

By B Izzak and A Saleh KUWAIT: Health Minister Sheikh Mohammad AlAbdullah Al-Sabah received an untimely setback yesterday and came under strong fire from the National Assembly and the health ministry for transferring a senior doctor in a bid to appease a lawmaker. Several MPs criticized the minister and demanded that the decision be immediately reversed as MP Hussein Al-Quwaian promised that he would add the issue to the request he submitted on Sunday to grill the minister.

According to parliamentary and health sources, Sheikh Mohammad transferred Dr Kefaya Abdullah Abdulmalek, head of the intensive care unit at Amiri Hospital, to the Contagious Diseases Hospital in Sulaibikhat as a punishment for “not dealing properly with a father of an MP”. The sources said the father of the MP was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit and when his condition stabilized, he was moved to a general ward. But under insistence from the lawmaker, the man was readmitted in the intensive care unit.

Continued on Page 15

Traffic Dept to work 7:30-18:30

KUWAIT: Medics demonstrate outside Amiri Hospital yesterday to protest a decision to transfer the head of the intensive care unit to the Infectious Diseases Hospital. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: The Traffic Department announced that out of its responsibility towards the public and in order to provide better services, all traffic departments will have new working hours from 7:30 am till 6:30 pm for car registration, driving licenses, technical vehicle testing, traffic violation investigations and driving tests.

Morsi defiant as trial opens Deposed prez wants ‘coup’ leaders tried Iraq pips Kuwait in China oil deal RIYADH: US Secretary of State John Kerry meets Saudi King Abdullah yesterday. — AP

Kerry: US-Saudi ties strategic, enduring RIYADH: Secretary of State John Kerry insisted yesterday that US ties with Saudi Arabia are “strategic and enduring”, even as differences on Syria remained after a visit aimed at easing tension. The top US diplomat was hastily dispatched to Riyadh to patch things up after rare complaints from the Saudi leadership over Washington’s policies on Syria and

Iran. “Our relationship is strategic, it is enduring and it covers a wide range” of issues, he told reporters as he wound up a visit, including a two-hour meeting with King Abdullah. He insisted the two allies were agreed on the “goal in Syria”. “There is no difference in our mutually agreed upon goal in Syria,” Kerry told a joint press conference Continued on Page 15

BEIJING: Sinochem Corp will become one of Baghdad’s top oil buyers next year when the Chinese state company starts its first wholly-owned refinery, the latest example of Iraq beating Middle Eastern rivals in the competition for new markets in Asia.

Sinochem plans to use Iraqi crude for 40 percent of the capacity of the new refinery, replacing a preliminary agreement to use more expensive oil from Kuwait, Chinese traders said. “Kuwaiti crude is pricier than Iraqi oil and it is non-tradable, making it less competitive,” said a trading source with knowledge of the deal.

Sinochem would still likely buy some crude from Kuwait, he added.

Sinochem may still need to honour, at least partially, a non-binding agreement inked in 2007 with OPECmember Kuwait to buy 240,000 bpd Kuwaiti oil for the Quanzhou plant. “(Sinochem) can’t burn the bridge behind it,” said the source, estimating the volume from Kuwait could be only two million barrels per quarter, or about 22,000 bpd, less than a tenth of the preliminary deal. — Reuters (See Page 21)

Saudis begin clampdown on illegals

CAIRO: After four months in secret detention, deposed President Mohamed Morsi defiantly rejected a court’s authority to put him on trial yesterday, saying he still was Egypt’s leader and that those who overthrew him should face charges instead. The trial, which was interrupted twice on its first day by shouting in the raucous courtroom, was then adjourned until Jan 8 to allow lawyers time to review the case against Morsi and his 14 co-defendants - all prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, had been held at an undisclosed location since the military ousted him in a coup July 3. His appearance in court represented a step by the militar ybacked authorities toward granting him due process in the face of mounting criticism by rights groups. Defense lawyers said they had access to Morsi and his codefendants during a recess Monday and that the judge has agreed to allow them access to their clients in jail.

The 62-year-old Morsi, who wore a dark blue suit, light shirt and no tie, was feisty and healthy-looking during his court appearance. He had refused to wear a prison uniform as the judge had ordered, according to security officials, as

part of his rejection of the trial’s legitimacy. The dispute had delayed the start of the session by two hours, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Morsi and his co-defendants face charges of inciting the killing of protesters who massed outside the presidential palace in December and demanded he call off a referendum on a new constitution drafted by his Islamist allies. Brotherhood members attacked a sit-in by the protesters, sparking clashes that left 10 people dead.

Silent video broadcast on state TV showed Morsi arriving in a minibus outside the makeshift courtroom at a police academy in eastern Cairo, buttoning a dark blue jacket as he stepped from the vehicle and flanked by burly policemen.

Another clip from inside the courtroom showed his co-defendants standing - all in white prison uniforms - in two lines like a guard of honor, applauding Morsi as he joined them in the defendants’ cage. His co-defendants, with their backs to the court, raised their hands in a fourfingered gesture, a sign commemorating the hundreds of his supporters killed Continued on Page15

Filipinos allege abuse • Foreign workers stay home

Foreign workers show their passports as they gather outside a Saudi immigration office waiting for an exit permit in downtown Riyadh. (Inset) Filipina domestic helper Yvonne Montefio, 32, weeps upon arriving at Manila international airport yesterday as she recounts her ordeal after being expelled from Saudi Arabia. — AFP

RIYADH: Saudi authorities began yesterday a clampdown on illegal immigrants after the end of an amnesty that gave overstayers and workers a grace period to leave or legalise their status. Police patrols will be searching for illegally-staying foreigners and those who help them, interior ministry spokesman General Mansur Al-Turki said late Sunday. Violators will be arrested, penalised and deported, he said. Nearly a million Bangladeshis, Filipinos, Indians, Nepalis, Pakistanis and Yemenis, among others, have taken advantage of the three-month amnesty - announced on April 3 and then extended for four months - and left the country.

Another roughly four million have legalised their situation by finding employers to sponsor them, a must to reside in most Gulf monarchies.

Foreigners desperate to work in the country were willing to pay for sponsorship, and sponsoring expatriates has become a lucrative business for some Saudis.

But under the new rules, workers can be employed only by their own sponsors, banning the practice of working independently or for non-sponsors.

“They treated us like animals,” said domestic helper Amor Roxas, 46, who burst in tears while narrating her ordeal.

Continued on Page 15

CAIRO: This image made from video shows ousted President Mohamed Morsi (right) speaking from the defendant’s cage as his co-defendants turn their backs to the court in a makeshift courtroom during a trial hearing yesterday. — AP

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Local S p e c i a l

r e p o r t

Environmental disasters

at Kuwaiti beaches, hospital area

KUWAIT: Rubbish heaps, open sewers and dead fish mar the beach opposite the health zone in Shuwaikh.— Photos by Sherif Ismail

Oysters, clams vanish from the local market MP Al-Hashem warns EPA

By Sherif Ismail KUWAIT: Getting a closer look at the seashore in Kuwait on Gulf Road demonstrates how such a piece of heaven was harmed by people and ignored by the authorities. The Kuwait Bay is contaminated with different kinds of pollutants such as plastic bags, litter and sewage that have all turned the nice sea breeze into stinking odors. This report probes what is currently happening to the 325-km long Kuwaiti coastline.

Recent studies suggest that Kuwaiti waters occupy a leading place in terms of marine environment pollution. There has been remarkable environmental destruction because of human practices such as building ports, draining sewage, radioactive and factory wastes into the sea, which caused these waters to mix with highly hazardous substances, on top of which comes mercury. When this extremely dangerous substance exceeds normal levels allowed by the World Health Organization, not only will it pollute the waters in Kuwait, but it will also make it poisonous and unfit for neither human nor animal consumption.

It also leads to the death of tons of fish, such as the death of mullets in Kuwait Bay, and over 20 percent of corals and marine algae and seaweeds that take a long time to grow. This led to serious ecological and climate changes that have had a serious impact on human beings.

An earlier report prepared by the environment studies unit at the Ministry of Health proved that Kuwaiti shores are polluted and that sewage dumped from the Mishref plant was untreated sewage waters that contained bacteria, fungi, worms and viruses that may pose health problems such as cholera and other diseases. The report also warned of the dangers of chemicals used by concerned relevant authorities and approved by the Environ-

ment Public Authority (EPA) with the excuse of sterilizing sewage dumped from the Mishref plant into the sea. The report stressed that these chemicals were extremely dangerous and that they lead to forming carcinogens and toxic elements in fish that are later consumed by humans.

The Sources of Pollution When touring the areas of Sulaibiya, Kuwait Towers and the Free Zone beaches, marine pollution was extremely evident in the form of dumping various kinds of solid wastes such as industrial, construction, ship wastes and litter that includes unrecyclable plastic and treated and untreated sewage waters in addition to oil leaking from ships and boats.

Local and migrating birds, fish and shrimp are the most vulnerable to pollution. Moreover, contaminated fish and shrimp are a prime cause of various health problems for the people consuming them, doctors claim.

Disastrous Scene What is more alarming is the fact that many of hospitals in the health zone in Shuwaikh that directly overlook the sea have been dumping their waste (usually contaminated with bacteria and microbes after treating infectious diseases and epidemics) directly into the sea. The shores have turned into dumpsters for litter, dead fish and animals and sewage that have turned blue sea waters into gloomy dark grayish ones. A once fascinating picturesque scene has now turned into a mutilated painting. The most alarming environmental danger are mud precipitations that are rich in bacteria that are harmful for both the environment and human beings. They also cause bad odors that have spoiled people’s enjoyment of the sea.

At the seafront, hundreds of people have

been dumping non-decomposing substances such as plastic bags and containers, aluminum cans and bottles that not only pose environmental threats but also endanger those enjoying the beaches or swimming. In addition, the amount of wastes help spread and attract insects and rodents. Some boat owners and fishermen are also to blame for irresponsibly getting rid of their motor oil cans, used ropes and nets in the middle of the sea. This makes one wonder why the municipality does not act to stop such messy violations. More fines should be imposed and more control practiced over beaches to stop this pollution, residents say.

Dangerous Phenomenon This marine pollution has created unprecedented damage to marine life such as ‘red tide’ resulting from pouring sewage into the sea amidst high temperatures and humidity that eventually led to a lack of oxygen in the water and as a result, the death of fish. Most recently, large quantities of oysters and crabs were found dead at Al-Khairan beaches. In fact, the number of dying oysters is alarmingly increasing amid calls for more efforts from experts and environmentalists to stop the process and save other oysters still in the sea. In this regard, the Public Authority For Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) and Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) have taken specimens of both dead and living oysters as well as the waters near the site to study them.

What is happening is an environmental crime against nature by all means because Kuwait had always been blessed by waters that used to be the best diving spots in the Arabian Gulf. So will officials act to end this disaster and will the government and the parliament cooperate to come up with revolutionary decisions to save what is left of this divine gift? It remains to be seen.

By Ben Garcia

The lawmaker also described the EPA’s action as ‘evading responsibility’. “The law KUWAIT: It seems that Kuwait’s favorite to establish the Environment Public Auseafood has already vanished from the thority makes it responsible for the mafish market after ‘toxins’ allegedly killed rine environment’s situation, but despite thousands of them near Khairan. Fish mar- this, the oyster kill crisis was discovered by ket vendor Jalal Majid noted oysters and volunteers from the Kuwait Dive Team and clams have temporarily disappeared from Green Line,” she said. the market. “We have verbal info circulated Al-Hashem further expressed concern around to avoid selling shellfish. We have about the safety of water used in desalibeen advised not to sell nation plants near the site clams and oysters tempoof the shellfish kill. “The govrarily,” he said. Oysters and ernment failed miserably in clams are used in many handling a major environrestaurants and kitchens mental crisis, which makes in Kuwait. But according us wonder what will happen to Majid, other seafood if a radiation leak happens at is available. “I don’t think the Bushehr nuclear plant,” other seafood is affected. she said.

People are still buying and Yesterday, the EnvironI think there is no problem ment Public Authority anas of this time.” nounced plans to take legal Khalid Al-Hajri, Green action against environmenLine Chairman, said since Safa Al-Hashem talists who linked massive the Misref sewage accident oyster deaths reported since in 2009, he is not sure that seafood in Ku- Wednesday in Khairan to possible polluwait is safe. “Since the Mishref sewage ac- tion, said sources who indicated that toxin cident, I don’t consume local seafood at all. tests of samples taken from the scene Now that we have the oyster kill, we have came positive. Kuwait Dive Team at the Ento be careful because our theory about sea vironmental Voluntary Foundation official pollution becomes clearer,” he noted.

Waleed Al-Fadhel indicated that the large Meanwhile in a statement sent to Ku- number of dead oysters found makes it wait Times, MP Safa Al-Hashem criticized impossible to assume that the shellfish the Environment Public Authority (EPA) were caught and opened by humans. for a statement made by a senior EPA ofBut a senior Environment Public Auficial who threatened to take legal action thority official insisted that their own tests against environmentalist for ‘spreading did not find anything suspicious. The case false information’. “Threatening volunteers sparked public attention since it was first from the Kuwait Dive Team and the Green reported by the local press on Wednesday, Line for their hard work to reveal the rea- as it highlights an environmental concern son behind the shellfish kill is unaccept- stemming from various reports about the able,” the statement reads. pollution of Kuwait’s marine environment She further indicated that the legal in recent years, and is surrounded with action threat indicates that “the EPA has mystery given the state in which the dead deviated from its role and instead is pros- shellfish were found. Kuwait Times calls to ecuting whoever exposes their deficiency”. the EPA yesterday went unanswered.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

KUWAIT: (From right) Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan, Editor-in-Chief, Kuwait Times, Adnan Al-Rashed, Treasurer, KJA, Emad Bukhamseen, Editor-in-Chief, Al-Nahar daily, Ahmed Behbehani, Chairman, KJA, Cabinet Affairs and acting Information Minister and Youth Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al- Mubarak Al-Sabah, and Faisal Al-Qanae, Secretary General, KJA, are seen at the opening of the Forum of the Permanent Bureau of the Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ) held at the Sheraton Hotel yesterday.

KUWAIT: Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al- Mubarak Al-Sabah pictured with other dignitaries during the opening of the meeting of the Permanent Bureau of the Federation of Arab Journalists. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Kuwait reiterates full support for Arab media FAJ meeting a big success KUWAIT: Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al- Mubarak Al-Sabah reiterated yesterday Kuwait’s support for all means that serve Arab media in order to meet the aspirations of the Arab peoples.

Sheikh Abdullah, also acting Information Minister and State Minister for Youth Affairs, told reporters, after the opening of the meeting of the Permanent Bureau of the Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ ), held under the auspices of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak AlHamad Al-Sabah that “it is a great honor for Kuwait to host meetings of the FAJ and the election of President of the Kuwaiti Journalists Association (KJA) Ahmed Behbehani as Chairman of the FAJ for the first time in the history of the FAJ. In response to a question about the interpellation motion against him that was submitted by MP Hussein Al-Quwaiaan, Sheikh Mohammad extolled the way the motion was presented, describing it as “very upscale”, wishing that he can keep up with this “upscale” interpellation and shed light on his ministry’s efforts and respond to the MP’s inquiries.

He thanked MP Al-Quwaiaan for giving him a chance to

get to know more on the technical issues in the Ministry of Health and rectify the mistakes that may exist.

Asked about the prospective sit-in planned by Ministry of Health staff, Sheikh Mohammad said every Kuwaiti citizen has the right to express his/her opinion freely, and “our doors are open to receive all opinions and listen to all complaints”.

He pointed out that it is the duty of the government to deal with such complaints positively in general and absolute and not only in the issues of the Ministry of Health.

For his part, Behbehani said in a similar statement that the FAJ works through its various activities on improving journalism in the Arab world and to seek to overcome the obstacles that may be faced by Arab journalists.

He stressed the need for the Arab press to keep up with the evolution in world journalism, where today’s technology has become an essential element in the press work.

He stressed the Federation’s focus on professional journalism without going into details that may not serve the professional journalistic work.— KUNA

Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and acting Information Minister and State Minister for Youth Affairs, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al- Mubarak Al-Sabah is greeting Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan, Editor-in-Chief of Kuwait Times before a dinner banquet hosted on the occasion of the forum of the Permanent Bureau of the Federation of Arab Journalists. The dinner was held at Radisson Blu Hotel on Sunday evening.

CBK welcomes students KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait welcomed the Grade 6 and 7 students from the American Baccalaureate School with a visit to the bank’s special South Surra branch last week to attend a unique presentation created and conducted by the bank under the name “My First Banking Knowledge”.

It discusses the importance and benefits of saving money as well as other related banking topics and the students from ABS greatly benefited from the useful lessons that were conveyed in the presentation.

The Commercial Bank of Kuwait created the presentation with a focus on why it is important to save money. It also talked about online banking, ATMs, the bank’s kids and youth accounts, as well as interest computation and the various services that the bank provides. After the presentation, the kids are taken on a tour of the branch where they learned about the daily tasks of tellers and are shown how an ATM machine works. Each student was awarded with a certificate signifying that they have completed the My First Banking Knowledge presentation. Staff from the Marketing department conduct-

By Nawara Fattahova

ed the presentation to the students and walked them through the tour of the South Surra branch. The Commercial Bank of Kuwait considers the younger generation a vital

aspect in shaping Kuwait’s bright future which is why the bank constantly strives to educate young Kuwaitis in many ways and help pave their way to success and happiness.

GCC looking to set up Gulf police ABU DHABI: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could set up a unified police force to protect the member countries from organised crime and terrorism, the GCC secretary-general has said.

“The GCC countries are looking into a project to set up a Gulf police similar to Europol, the European police,” Abdul Lateef Al-Zayani said.

The law enforcement force would be part of GCC plans to bolster cooperation between the member states against threats, risks and crimes. “ There is the GCC Emergency Risk Management Centre in Kuwait to assess risks and threats to the

‘Take precautions’ warning as camping season begins

Gulf countries, and there is the antidrugs centre in Qatar to protect the youth from this devastating addiction. Another centre will monitor all forms and types of radiation,” he said at the Gulf Strategic Conference in Bahrain. “It is very important that GCC citizens feel the robust ties between them through the current and future GCC policies and the achievements that have been accomplished, including the common Gulf market and the economic citizenship that has allowed them to move, work, settle and own property in any of the GCC countries,” he said. The GCC countries are well aware of the risks and threats

that might undermine their stability and they believe that any attack on, or threat to, any of them is in fact to all of them, he said. The GCC, set up in 1981, brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “The GCC countries have clearly and loudly called for shunning violence and avoiding bloodshed and the propagation of chaos and unrest. They still call upon the international community to remove the injustice that has befallen the Syrian people and to protect them from the terrifying killing machine used by the Syrian regime and its agents against unarmed civilians,” he said.

KUWAIT: The camping season started few days ago and people set up their tents in the desert without paying a deposit which has been proposed many times by different officials. It’s expected that next year it will be applied on the camps to organize camping and avoid violations that cause harm to the environment.

An employee of the emergency center of Kuwait Municipality who preferred to stay anonymous noted that many people camping in desert leave a big mess and garbage behind them after leaving the camp. “Unfortunately, the workers of the Municipality have to clean the desert and sometimes they don’t reach all the faraway areas. The violators are not punished as they are not known to us. This seriously harms our environment and destroys nature,” he told Kuwait Times.

The oft-discussed proposal of obligatory registration of camps after paying a deposit was not applied this year as it hasn’t been approved yet. “We hope and strongly believe that in the new year, the Municipal Council will approve it. According to the proposed law, the desert will divided into marked areas and people who aim to camp in any area will have to pay a deposit which they will get back after removing their camps. In case they leave the place dirty or leave their belongings behind, a fine will be deducted from their deposit amount. It will be easy to identify who was camping in that place due to the registration, which is not avail-

able now,” he added.

Currently people can only be penalized for any violations committed in the desert if somebody was caught doing it and still camping at the place. “If somebody complains to the Municipality about a violation at a camp, our inspectors will go to the place and hand the violator a fine. We at the emergency call center receive complaints 24 hours a day. People can contact us on 1855552,” concluded the employee.

To ensure the safety and security of campers, three authorities have set joint posts including the Fire Department, Ministry of Interior and the Medical Emergency. These posts are available in the common camping areas including Julaia on Nuwaiseeb Road and on Mutlaa Road in the north of Kuwait. Khalil Al-Ameer, PR and Media

officer at the Fire Department announced that they are ready for this camping season. He also said that people should respect rules and fire prevention procedures while camping to prevent accidents and ensure safety and security at the camps. These instructions include leaving a distance of 6 m between camps to avoid the spread of fire, especially since it spreads very fast in tents; ensure having powder extinguisher weighing 4 kg in the tent and a first-aid bag; ensure the safety of the electrical wires before installation, and it’s preferred they are insulated; switch off the generator when filling fuel and avoid using any heating source; clean any leaking oil before starting the generator and put the coal heater out of the tent before going to sleep.

Rainfall promises greener spring KUWAIT: A few hours after prayers for rain were held in various Kuwaiti mosques Saturday evening, Kuwait witnessed rainfalls that lasted till Sunday morning accompanied by hailstones in some areas, said meteorologists noting that the largest amount of rain of 18.3 mm fell in Boubyan island followed by 17.3 mm

in Ahmadi, 15.4 mm in Failaka island, 15.3 mm in Layyah and as little as 1.11.3 mm at Salmi. On his part, the civil aviation authority meteorologist, Mohammed Karam considered this rain a sign of a rainy winter season and a blossoming spring. They also predicted that the rain would continue during the season locally known as

‘Al-Wasm’ and last through winter until spring. On his part, meteorologist and astronomer, Dr Saleh Al-Ojairi stressed that this year’s winter was starting soon and that younger people would have to start wearing warm cloths by the end of November while older ones would have to do so by mid November.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

kuwait digest

In my view

Congratulations, Sheikha Fraihah

Who is more honest?

By Ahmad Al-Sarraf

Developmental progect

By Abdullah Buwair

R

local@kuwaittimes.net

I

was glad to hear the news that Sheikha Fraihah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was elected as President of the Kuwait Girls Sports Club. With a history of unconditioned giving to Kuwait in all fields, Sheikha Fraihah is perfect for the post that requires a lot of hard work and dedication.

Sheikha Fraihah is credited for various national, educational and social activities as well as initiatives that includes the Ideal Family Award launched in 2004, as well as an annual Holy Quran memorization competition and different voluntary works in support of Kuwaiti women. She also has similar family support activities in other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Sheikha Fraihah won several rewards and honors in appreciation for her efforts on the national, regional and international levels. In 2005, she was selected as President of the Kuwaiti-Arabic Research Center and was honored in 2006 by the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport in Egypt. In Kuwait, Sheikha Fraihah earned the title of ‘the mother of disabled children’ for her efforts which contributed to the government’s push that culminated with laws and regulations that guarantee rights of people with special needs and their social integration.

Sheikha Fraihah also earned the title of ‘ambassador of Arabs’ for her regular hosting of wives of ambassadors in Kuwait. She also met with many ambassadors in talks that focused on strengthening social ties between Kuwaiti women and her women around the world. Sheikha Fraihah has efforts in the field of religious tolerance, where she worked hard to achieve convergence between religions, sectarian groups and cultures in the Kuwaiti society, in addition to supporting efforts to build churches in Kuwait.

The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs honored Sheikha Fraiha for her efforts in supporting charity and voluntary works, and she was also named honorary chairperson by several nonprofit organizations and societies. Sheikha Fraihah was first elected President of the Kuwait Girls Sports Club in 2010, and her reelection this year is a testimony for her efforts in supporting women of her country.

kuwait digest

The welfare state of Kuwait

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

T

he majority of citizens of the so-called ‘state of welfare’ in reference to Kuwait must be very bad at mathematics. Maybe they did not receive good math classes at public school where teachers - much like politicians and government officials - still give priority to religious studies ahead of teaching students basic mathematical skills.

I am only trying to find a way to explain why the majority of citizens did not comprehend the government’s warning about the imminent end of the welfare state. Since they are unable to solve simple mathematical problems, they repeated what the socalled ‘leaders of national struggle’ taught them about ‘government squander’ being the reason behind this threat, and that stopping alleged theft or waste of public funds ‘protects’ the sustainability of the welfare state so that citizens can continue living and make children for the state to take care of.

Well, since the Ministry of Education (I am using this term loosely) failed to teach you how to count properly, take out your calculators or open the ‘calculator’ application on your computers, and calculate the following: One plus one equals two. Two minus three equals minus one. This means that in reality, state revenues cannot meet increasing demand. This simple equation describes the situation comparing public sector salaries and the state’s oil revenue. It is not an issue of ‘wastage’ or ‘mismanagement’. It is not about the government being ‘unable to get the job done’. The issue simply pertains with the demand exceeding the supply.

Put the thefts and all other clauses of the state budget aside, the public sector’s payroll alone is enough to break the budget if oil drops by 20 percent. Oil prices were above $50 per barrel in the early eighties of the past century, then dropped to $9 per barrel in 1999. Most of you remember when that happened - which basically meant that oil prices dropped by eighty percent. This makes a twenty percent drop in oil prices more than likely to happen.

There is almost no production in Kuwait except for oil, and no income except for oil revenues, which makes it necessary for oil prices to continue increasing in order for Kuwait’s budget equation to remain balanced, and for the ‘welfare state’ to sustain. Yes, this means that any oil prices’ drop is not the only case that leads to an imbalance, but stability of oil prices would be catastrophic for Kuwait’s future too.

We have population increase coupled with increased consumption levels, inflation and spending. And on top of that there are demands and modern needs that require extra expenses. In return, we have opened mouths, hands are stretched out and bellies that devour everything. —Al-Qabas

kuwait digest

Is govt ready for reforms?

By Khalid Abdallah Al-Awadhi

A

bout the government’s wish to impose taxes on citizens, maybe in the form of added fees on services or income tax, read the following story. May we and the government benefit from it. During the Middle Ages, after the death of King Richard I, the king of England from 1189 until 1199, who was known as Richard the Lion Heart, his brother John took over and reigned from 1199 until his death in 1216.

And contrary to Richard the Lion Heart who always came out victorious in his battles, King John was always losing wars, and each time he fought a battle, he lost part of the land under his throne, until the English people were fed up with him, as the taxes they used to pay were the main source - and maybe the only one - that John was financing his useless wars from. So they decided to keep the king from taking crucial decisions that affected them and their country without referring to them and

taking their prior approval.

They wrote a document they called “Magna Carta”, which is described as historic by historians, and they forced him to bow and sign it to limit his authority and authorities of those who come after him, and to state the rights and duties of each party. Since then, the English government was no longer free to take decisions that affect the English taxpayers before referring the matter to them and make sure they agree on such decisions, otherwise it would bear the repercussions of taking the decision alone, because there is nothing free in this life.

So is our government ready to give substantive concessions and carry out true reforms in exchange of imposing taxes or increasing fees? I personally hope so, because that means a change of policy governments adopted and produced the results that we know, and change the way some people look at Kuwait. — Al-Qabas

In my view

eader’s Digest is considered the oldest American family magazine, and the most circulated around the world. It published for the first time in 1922 and prints in 21 languages in 70 countries, and sells more than 10 million copies a month. There are issues in Braille, digital and audio and some copies are printed in larger fonts. This magazine carried out a unique and funny experiment in several capitals of the world. The magazine threw 192 wallets with each containing $50, a telephone number of its owner and a family picture in different parts of 16 capitals, and the result was very strange.

It was found that residents of the Finish capital Helsinki were the most honest around the world, and things here are relative of course and not absolute! Eleven out of 12 persons who found the wallet called the owner and returned it to him.

The Portuguese capital hit rock bottom! The surprise was Bombay, the largest and most populated Indian city and maybe the poorest, which came in second as nine out of 12 of those who found the wallets returned it to their owners. Several of them were asked about the secret behind their honesty. Vaishali Mascar said that she teaches her children to act honestly, and this she learnt from her parents, “so it is natural not behave anyway but like this”. Seran Kuban, a teacher trainee, said he reached for the wallet at the same time a kid did, and he insisted to take it because he did not trust the boy who promised to return it to the owners. He said his honesty comes as others deal with him honestly and he does the same, and that he must be honest to deserve the trust of others. Abed bin Salem said he returned the wallet after seeing the picture of a mother and her son, and according to him, there is nothing more important than this picture to the owner of the wallet.

The report showed that Budapest, the capital of Hungary, was third and New York fourth as eight out of 12 returned the wallets; Moscow and Amsterdam seven; Berlin and Ljubljana six out of 12; London and Warsaw five out of 12; Bucharest and Rio de Janeiro fourth; Zurich four wallets, Prague 3, Madrid 3 and Lisbon, the Portuguese capital was last with just one wallet returned!

Now, how many wallets will be returned to their owners if the experiment was carried in our countries?! My estimation is that the number will not be strange, rather we will be in the middle or maybe a little less, because we still have something good in us, but the number will not be compatible with the religious dose that we take every day compared to what inhabitants may hear in other cities of the world, such as the athan, and sermons calling for honesty and truth. — Al-Qabas

ADC at centre of scandals

kuwait digest

By Khalid Abbas

A

s individuals dedicated to empowering the Arab-American community, we are alarmed by the decline of the American-Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee (ADC). Arab America needs a proactive and inclusive civil society organisation. ADC must reform to meet its mandate as the flagship Arab-American civil rights organisation.

As former members, chapter presidents, donors, interns or supporters of the organisation, we are concerned that ADC finds itself at its lowest point after three decades of existence. All of the current female staff members at the national office have been on strike for a week. This follows publicly made sexual harassment claims by several past female employees.

Over the past two years, ADC has been at the centre of scandals that have pushed it into the margins, making it even less representative of the community it was founded to serve. In 2011, ADC convention planners disinvited Malek Jandali, a Syrian American pianist whose music was a call for freedom in Syria. ADC mismanaged the affair. After the cancelled performance, many called into question its ability to lead, represent and mediate differences within the community.

Over 770 people signed a petition calling on ADC to reform, starting with new leadership on its board of directors. After these reforms, the signers pledged to “commit ourselves to reviving the ADC as an organisation that protects and supports the human rights of Arabs in the US and across the Arab world”. The reforms never came. It was a missed opportunity to move in a new direction.

This year, highly respected Arab American leaders Rana Abbas and Michigan state representative Rashida Tlaib came forward publicly to disclose that they suffered sexual harassment when they worked with ADC ’s M ichigan direc tor, I mad Hamad. ADC merely suspended him, hired an attorney to conduct an investigation, absolved Hamad of any wrongdoing and retained him as an advisor. The board did not disclose much about the report or the basis for their conclusion. The lack of transparency and accountability calls into question the legitimacy of the conclusion. Several members of ADC-Michigan’s board resigned in protest.

Instead of sparking activity and boosting pride among Arab Americans, ADC is a dysfunctional, shrinking operation.

Rather than taking the proper course of action, ADC’s chairman terminated its communications and advocacy director, Raed Jarrar. This was a mysterious move. Jarrar had invigorated ADC’s new justice for Alex Odeh campaign and was not involved in any of the controversies that have plagued ADC. The reason Jarrar was let go was that he, along with his co-workers, inquired internally about the sexual harassment investigation, raising concerns about it and the board’s decisions.

In response to Jarrar’s firing, all of ADC’s female staff at the national office took to collective action.

They went on strike starting on Oct 21. ADC’s chairman dismissed their concerns as if charges of sexual harassment in the organisation are none of their business. Telling them their opinions do not matter is hardly the response one expects of a grassroots, civil rights organisation’s head.

By refusing to work, they lose their salary and risk their jobs and livelihood. They have so far stood on nothing but the strength of their convictions.

By work ing together to take a courageous stand, these young, female Arab Americans represent the best potential of an organisation wrecked by a leadership which has abandoned ADC’s civil rights spirit. Their commitment to principle highlights the very reasons we, as former ADC members, were initially drawn to the organisation as activists, college students, and young professionals.

At the time of this article’s drafting, the strike was still on-going.

The organisation’s recent missteps only alienate prospective members and remind former members and supporters why they left. However, the controversies and the strike are tied to a deeper problem: ADC is failing, and failing by any and all measures.

ADC appears to have more former members than current ones. Almost all of the chapters it lists on its website are defunct. Recent elections for ADC’s Washington, DC chapter attracted just two attendees.

ADC raised fewer donations annually since 2008, according to its tax forms. The portion it raises from its shrinking membership is minimal, showing its weakness as a grassroots organisation. ADC has fewer employees today than it had at the end of its first decade. Its media presence also declined since 2006, as a Lexis-Nexis search proves. It hasn’t released a publication since 2011, when it put out a compilation of scholarly writings on 9/11.

ADC’s national conventions - which once galvanised thousands of Arab Americans from across the country - drew fewer over the years. The youth in our community stay away in droves, finding little inspiration in an organisation that lost its way years ago.

Two buildings, its since-vacated Georgetown headquarters and its half-built centre in Dearborn are shrines to this organisation’s insolvency and mishandling of funds.

Instead of sparking activity and boosting pride among Arab Americans, ADC is a dysfunctional, shrinking operation. The fault must lie firstly with those on the board of directors who have been managing its demise over the past decade or so through different ADC presidents.

If the ADC has any hope to recover from this downward spiral, it lies in what these four young Arab Americans are doing. Sadly, the normal mechanisms of accountability are broken because its membership has declined so dramatically. The strikers are challenging an organisation too many others have given up on. They demonstrate what it can become if voices like theirs are empowered.

We urge the board of directors to heed the strikers’ call. Then, they must bring into the board’s leadership a chairperson who is visionary, inspirational and welcoming of wide participation. This is needed to highlight - in very clear terms - that the board of directors will advance the interests of an Arab American community that needs an effective and dynamic advocacy organisation. The stewards of the organisation, its board of directors, must recognise this. The ADC cannot recover without it.

Total paralysis during Eid

By Abdullah Al-Tarrah

I

n order for Kuwait to become a regional financial and commercial center, rules and regulations set by the Civil Service Commission must be changed because holidays have become a leave with pay. As I congratulate people for Eid Al-Adha during which citizens spent 10 days in leisure. I would like to speak about an important issue, which in my view is the paralysis of the country’s economic and productive activities that sweeps our society every now and then.

Start with reminding of the fact that official holidays in the United States are 10 days in a year, in Saudi Arabia 20, Kuwait 25 and in Lebanon, for example, they may go over 30. There is a direct relation between a country’s development and the number of holidays, and this is an inverse relation, because as official holidays increase, the level of advancement and development slows and the state’s productivity drops. Someone may come up and say that Europe takes one month off during summer, but this is wrong because the stock market continues to function in full, while banks, companies and private entities may work partially.

This means if a person finds necessary to carry out official work, he will find an employee behind his desk except on official holidays, and if the employee is on vacation, this does not keep the citizen from meeting his needs, because wise management guarantees this. Whoever raises this issue here has the excuse, because he is in a country where all undersecretaries and managers may be absent in a certain ministry at the same time, and all of them ask just one person to carry out their jobs.

Multiple holidays are the characteristic of former socialist countries, where the value of the individual’s productivity is not extant as the state carries out all jobs. Holidays that are given for a reason or without makes the citizen feel that the government is granting him those days, and he leaves his job in happiness while lauding the generous government, and keeping the Kuwaiti citizen puzzled about what the Civil Service Commission will decide about the awaited holidays is an evidence on the government’s keenness to appear as the giver and grantor at a time it should be held responsible for halting the country’s movement for no reason. The only good benefit for such holidays is that Kuwait will be quiet, as many people leave even if they have to take a loan to escape to other countries, and cannot pay it later!

The problem is not only in the total paralysis during long holidays, but also in the financial effects on the family, because it is impossible that the thousands of those who flee to Europe and some Arab countries are from well-to-do families and do not complain from piling debts, yet we know that we will return to square one in demanding help to relieve the suffering the insolvent citizen is under as he cannot repay loans!

Also, an unwanted phenomenon that shows up in an exaggerated manner during holidays is the deepening of consumption in various shapes, and this causes the depletion of limited income families through the necessity to travel abroad. A person who goes around in the streets during holidays will find them empty except for cleaning workers who keep on working from dawn until the end of the day! I am not aware of the international treaties with regards to the number of working hours and rest, but I am almost sure they are not applied here.

The rules and regulations of the CSC with regards to having the holiday in between rest days, and because of which holidays become leaves with pay, can be improved in a way that serves work interests, and we hope that regulations change, because it is not realistic for things to continue for an unlimited time because Kuwait is on its way to become a regional financial and commercial center! — Al-Qabas

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

Autumn season spurs amateurs to buy plants KUWAIT: Nurseries and greenhouse shops in Kuwait are now witnessing large turnout by citizens and residents with the onset of autumn and the moderate temperates that provide a suitable environment for home gardening.

In separate interviews while shopping for plants, they said that planting gardens around or inside the house brings joy, happiness and optimism, in addition to making the nature an enjoyable atmosphere.

They said the shopping in the nurseries and paying more attention to home gardening enourage the culture of greening especially among children, in addition to their role in the reduction of pollution and preservation of envi-

ronment. Ibrahim Al-Rabiah, a shopper, said he noticed large turnout among citizens who buy plants during this time of the year, especially ornamental plants and shrubs, saying this an evidence of the spread of the culture of beauty and interest in plants, which is a positive indication on the openness of the Kuwaiti society to other cultures as well as the eagerness of citizens to create gardens that keep pace with all that is modern and new.

For his part, Ali Hajiyah said that he changes the decor of his home from time to time and therefore, he buys ornamental plants to beautify the entrance to his home.

He added that the spread of nurseries

Twinning agreement project with Jahra: Basra governor KUWAIT: Basra Gov Majed AlNassrawi announced a twinning agreement project between the Iraqi governorate of Basra and Jahra governorate, noting that the agreement comes to crown the historical relations between both countries. He also noted that a Kuwaiti consulate would be opened soon in Basra.

Speaking to reporters on a visit to Kuwait, Nassrawi added that he listened to HH the Amir’s directives about cementing Kuwaiti-Iraqi relations to even a better level than they used to be.

“The people of Basra have historical strong bonds with Kuwaitis and Basra was the only Iraqi governorate that could watch Kuwait TV broadcasts in the 1960s,” explained Nassrawi, noting that many Kuwaiti companies are investing in Basra. He also hoped for more in view of outstanding bilateral relations.

Nassrawi added that the delegation accompanying him includes representatives from various Iraqi tribes and clans such as Al-Saadoun and AlTamimi to invite their Kuwaiti peers to exchange visits.

increased the turnout of citizens to buy all sorts of plants, trees and flowers of different types, adding that despite their high price compared to last year, citizens do not hesitate to buy different types of beautiful plants to decorate their homes.

For his part, Sami Thyab, 14, said that despite his inability to keep a plant alive for a long time, he tries to buy roses seedlings from time to time. In one of the nurseries, Umm Mohammed Al-Jasmi, said she is keen to visit the nurseries from time to time to buy new plants and shrubs, noting that she is an amateur in the acquisition of houseplants and flowers that provide her with comfort. — KUNA

Experts review Kuwait nuclear security plan IAEA delegation in town KUWAIT: Two senior experts from the nuclear security department of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have held talks with Kuwaiti officials and scientists over a number of nuclear energy issues. “The IAEA experts have reviewed Kuwait’s national integrated plan for nuclear security for the coming three years (20142016),” Dr Nader Al-Awadhi, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research’s (KISR) Deputy Director General for Information and National Liaison Officer with IAEA, told reporters.

“During its three-day visit to Kuwait, the IAEA delegation held several meetings with senior officials and

specialists at various national institutions,” Al-Awadhi added.

He stated that the meetings tackled the role of the IAEA in promoting nuclear security and the most important achievements of Kuwait’s National Plan for Nuclear Security for the 2009-13 period.

Also discussed the main aspects of Kuwait’s Nuclear Security Plan, the emergency plan and office training and the IAEA’s proposed amendments to the National Plan of Integrated Nuclear Security for the coming next three years, Al-Awadhi said.

He noted that the experts have reviewed the revised

draft of the national plan after including the agreed upon amendments before they conclude their visit and named the national bodies, which will be responsible for following up the execution of the national plan.

Representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, health, interior and defense, National Guard and Fire Service Directorate and General Administration of Customs and KISR have participated in the discussions and meetings held with the IAEA experts.

The international experts visited several authorities including the General Administration of Customs, Civil Defense Department and KISR. — KUNA

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

LOCAL

KUWAIT: The food and market supervision department at Farwaniya municipality recently launched a sudden inspection campaign in various coops and department stores in Ardhiya. The campaign resulted in 71 citations including unlicensed ads, expired ad licenses, workers without health certificates, expired health certificates, violation of health conditions and preparing food in unhealthy environments. — By Hanan Al-Saadoun

NBK launches clean, safe camping campaign

Arab ministers hail Amir for hosting donors conference Call for rallying up support

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) launches during this month its environmental awareness campaign ‘Help Keep Kuwait Clean and Safe’ during the winter season. NBK staff and volunteers will

Talal Al-Turki

clean up camps littered with trash and other harmful waste and will also provide awareness initiatives to encourage campers to keep their areas clean.

“The environment is one of our most precious resources and as part of our corporate social responsibility program, NBK aims to help keep the environment safe and clean this camping season,” said Talal Al-Turki, NBK Public Relations Officer.

“The campaign is divided into phases.

NBK team and volunteers will visit campsites and clean up litter and other waste.

Volunteers will also speak with campers and provid them with safety and security tips.” added Al-Turki.

NBK is an environment-friendly bank and has launched a range of initiatives including electricity conservation and paper recycling- aimed at promoting environmental awareness. For more information, visit: NBK Official Page on facebook or NBK Twitter account @NBKPage

CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers and officials, at an extraordinary meeting held on Sunday, lauded the State of Kuwait, especially His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, for planned hosting of the second international conference for donors for Syria early next year.

The upcoming convention will help in alleviating hardships and humanitarian tragedy suffered by the Syrian people, said the ministers in a statement at conclusion of the conference.

They called for rallying up international, regional and Arab support to ensure success of the conference to tackle the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Syria. Moreover, they urged the opposition groups and movements, namely the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, to cooperate with the concerned states to hold the Geneva-II convention for reconciliation in the country, noting that the opposition groups must form a delegation to represent them at the convention. The statement affirmed the Arab supportive stance for the coalition, namely its demand for international guarantees to ensure a peaceful settlement and pave way for establishing interim governing.

As to detailed moves that should be taken on the path of reconciliation, the ministers stressed

on necessity of establishing a transitional governing council with full executive prerogatives, as prelude to a multi-party democratic system based on equality of rights, law sovereignty, nondiscrimination among citizens on bases of sectarian, racial or religious affiliation.

The interim period must end with enacting a new constitution, to be endorsed in public referendum, and holding parliamentary and legislative elections, they noted in the final communique. The conferees noted necessity of taking certain measures, ahead of the Geneva-II conference, such as securing aid to all Syrian regions and enforcing a cease-fire. Furthermore, they affirmed support for the mission of Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-Arab League envoy, namely his bids to pave the way for the second round of talks in Geneva.

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled AlHamad Al-Sabah on Sunday stated that the extraordinary Arab foreign ministers’ meeting was of particular significance at present time, coinciding with preparations for the Geneva-II conference for Syria. The gathering witnessed lengthy and in-depth discussions regarding the Syrian crisis, namely the aspired political settlement that could be addressed at the Geneva-II

conference and supporting the Syrian National Coalition for Revolutionary Forces in its quest to attain guarantees for holding it.

The ministers at the meeting expressed full support for taking part in the Geneva conference and urged “the coalition and the Syrian opposition” to take part in it according to certain terms that guarantee the Syrian people aspiration to set up an interim governing authority with full executive powers “through which the future of Syria can be drawn,” he said.

Arab concord toward the issue of participation in the conference will encourage the opposition to take part in it for it will mark a turning point in the file of the Syrian cause that “has bled the hearts and dragged on for more than two years and a half,” the Kuwaiti minister added.

The ministers dealt with the humanitarian conditions suffered by the Syrian people, he said, stressing that this humanitarian tragedy is of prior concern for the Arab states, namely Kuwait.

He expressed gratitude to the ministers for welcoming HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah’s initiative of hosting the second donors conference for Syria, due in January 2014.

Some Arab countries host a large number of Syrian refugees and others give substantial aid to alleviate the people’s suffering, he elaborated. — KUNA

Driver killed in Wafra Road crash KUWAIT: A male driver was killed while multiple injuries were reported in a two-car collision on Sunday at Wafra Road.

Paramedics and police rushed to the scene after the accident was reported, but found out that one Kuwaiti man had already succumbed to his injuries. The other injured people were rushed to Adan Hospital while the body was taken to the forensic department after crime scene investigators examined the scene. A case was filed to investigate the circumstances behind the accident.

Vice den Four women were arrested Sunday on charges that involve offering sexual services while using massage works as a cover for their activities. Investigations had been ongoing since Criminal Investigations Department officers received information about a Salmiya massage parlour that offered sexual services. An undercover agent was sent to the apartment as a customer before police raided the place after his signal. Police arrested the Chinese masseuse based on the informant’s statements in which he said that she had agreed to provide sexual services for money.

Detectives examined the place and found cameras hidden in fire extinguishers around the apartment. They then raided an apartment next door where wires from the extinguishers led to. Three other Chinese women were arrested in the apartment

where police found computers which the women said are used to save video footage taken of customers in compromising situations. The suspects added that they used the videos to blackmail customers for money. They remain in custody pending investigations.

Overdose A man died inside the Mubarak Hospital from an overdose of a mixture of alcohol and drugs. The Egyptian man was rushed to the hospital by people who said that he collapsed after abusing large amounts of drugs and alcoholic drinks. The man was in a critical condition upon arrival, but was later pronounced dead. A case was filed for investigations.

Reckless drivers Investigations are ongoing in search for suspects who attacked a policeman who reported to a public nuisance call against them. The incident took place in Doha where a patrol vehicle headed to a place where drivers were performing dangerous stunts with their vehicles on the wet asphalt during the rain. An unspecified number of people hurled stones at the patrol vehicles; and one of them smashed the window and hit the officer on his head.

The suspects escaped before backup police arrived at the scene. The officer was taken in an ambulance to Sabah Hospital to receive treatment for his head injury.

Al-Araby vows to remain committed to aid Syrians CAIRO: Arab League Secretary General Nabil Al-Araby has affirmed that the league was committed to realising the Syrian people’s legitimate aspirations namely establishment of a democratic rule based on equality.

Sounding the alarm bell that unabated blood-spilling in Syria could no longer be tolerated, Al-Araby urged the United Nations Security Council to take necessary measures to enforce a viable ceasefire, stop the killing and violence and the policy of annihilation against the civilians.

Al-Araby, addressing the extraordinary meeting of Arab foreign ministers, affirmed keenness on supporting mission of Lakhdar Brahimi, the joint UN-Arab League envoy, aimed at holding the Geneva II conference to find a settlement to the Syrian crisis, noting, “This is what has been agreed upon by all concerned international and regional parties as the sole available option to resolve the crisis and salvage Syria, as peo-

ple, society, state and institutions from the surrounding hazards.”

The Arab League had exerted efforts to halt the blood-letting in Syria, launching the Arab Initiative in August 2011 and taking part in making final communique of the Geneva-I conference on Syria.

The Arab League role will remain pivotal regarding developments of the Syrian crisis, he said, noting that the organization of political bids in this respect would be based on the final statement of the Geneva-I conference that stipulated launch of political negotiations that should lead to an interim status, namely formation of a transitional leadership with full executive powers, he said. He called on Arab states to support the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, nudge it to take part in the next round of negotiations in Geneva and vowed to pursue efforts at the league level to aid the Syrian people. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The Farwaniya building in which fire broke out yesterday.

Duo in custody for ‘sex trade’ KUWAIT: Two Spanish women were arrested for prostitution, said security sources, noting that the two were members of an international prostitution network and that they had arrived in Kuwait a month earlier. The sources added that the two girls serviced customers in hotel apartments in the capital for KD 400 a night.

Case papers indicate that police operators received calls complaining about reckless drivers who had been stunt-driving and blocking traffic in a way that endangered others lives. Rushing to the scene, the suspects were arrested and 7 tickets were issued in addition to impounding a vehicle parked outside its owner’s house after he had been spotted driving recklessly before he parked it and fled the scene.

Eight held Policemen arrested 8 people including a juvenile for reckless driving, said security sources.

Building fire A fire broke out in a Farwaniya building Sunday evening, said security sources, noting

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

that Farwaniya and Jleeb firefighters rushed to the scene. The fire had started in the staircase, which spread thick smoke all over the building.

Tenants had to be evacuated to ventilate the building and put the fire out. No casualties were reported.

Another fire broke out in a Sabahiya house, said security sources, noting that firefighters from Mangaf and Fahaheel rushed to the scene to find out that the fire was in two ground floor rooms, a kitchen and a warehouse including tents. The fire was controlled without any casualties.

Gulf allies to give arms support to Syrian rebels WASHINGTON: Gulf countries, led by Saudi Arabia, are moving to strengthen their military support for Syrian rebels and develop policy options independent from the United States in the wake of what they see as a failure of US leadership following President Barack Obama’s decision not to launch air strikes against Syria, according to senior Gulf officials.

Although the Saudis and others in the region have been supplying weapons to the rebels since the fighting in Syria began more than two years ago and have cooperated with a slow-starting Central Investigation Agency (CIA) operation to train and arm the opposition, officials said they have largely given up on the United States as the leader and coordinator of their efforts.

Instead, the Saudis plan to expand training facilities they operate in Jordan and increase the firepower of arms sent to rebel groups that are fighting extremist elements among them even as they battle the Syrian government, according to Gulf officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve ties with the US. What officials described as a parallel operation independent of US efforts is being discussed by the Saudis with other countries in the region, according to officials from several governments that have been involved in the talks.

Unhappiness over Syria is only one element of what officials said are varying degrees of disenchantment in the region with much of the administration’s Middle East policy, including its nuclear negotiations with Iran and criticism of Egypt’s new government. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday on a hastily arranged visit

- to include his first-ever meeting with King Abdullah today - that is designed to smooth increasingly frayed US relations with the kingdom.

Kerry will also stop in the UAE, Jordan and Israel, all of which have expressed concerned at what they see as a weakened US posture in the region.

The 11-day trip also includes visits to the West Bank, Poland, Algeria and Morocco. On Saturday, Kerry briefly visited Cairo before travelling to Riyadh. Officials in several countries that had pledged to support a US strike on Syrian targets after confirmation that President Bashar Al Assad had used chemical weapons described their stunned reaction to Obama’s abrupt decision in late August to cancel the operation just days before its planned launch so he could ask for congressional agreement.

“We agreed to everything that we were asked . . . as part of what was going to take place,” said a senior Saudi official reached by telephone in the kingdom. Instead of the 10-to-12-hour warning before launch that the Americans had promised, the official said that Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar Bin Sultan “did not know about [the cancellation]. . . . We found out about it from CNN.” Although the current policy differences are unlikely to be resolved soon, if at all, the Saudis derive part of their standing as a regional leader from their close ties to Washington. Kerry’s visit, in large part, is designed to publicly stroke that aspect of the Saudi image.

Gulf officials emphasised that the US-Saudi relationship, spanning eight decades since the kingdom’s founding, is based on a range of issues, including energy, counterterrorism, military ties,

trade and investment, that remain important to both. Any major attempt at outside intervention in Syria on behalf of the opposition would be limited without the participation of US equipment, personnel, and command and control. Although France, for example, shares some of the Saudi concerns and the French defence minister met with King Abdullah and discussed major new defence contracts in Riyadh early this month, the US’ partners in Europe have long expressed reluctance to intervene in Syria without a mandate from the United Nations or Nato. In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron’s support for the US strike option being prepared this summer was abandoned when Parliament voted against any participation.

Turkey, a Nato partner that has long protested what it sees as Obama’s tepid Syria policy, has branched off on its own in terms of support for the rebels. Although the administration has long described Iranian support for Bashar Al Assad as crucial to the Syrian president’s survival, foreign ministers from Turkey and Iran met in Ankara last week to voice their shared concerns about the increasingly sectarian nature of the war.

Saudi Arabia has no interest in reaching out to Iran, which it sees as its primary rival for influence in the region. The Saudis are convinced that the US is so eager to make a deal with Iran that it has already signed on to an arrangement that its allies in the region - including Israel - are sure to disapprove of.

“Absolutely,” the senior Saudi official said. Saudi distress over the Obama administration’s engagement with the new leadership in Iran may be even more fundamental to the current strain in relations than differences over Syria and also Egypt.

TUESDAY, NOVEMOBER 5, 2013

India throws rings of protection around divisive candidate Modi

Terror at sea; Thai tourist ferry sinks

Page 11

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SAINT-PETERSBURG: A man holds a portrait of late Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin as activists of various Russian nationalist movements take part in a rally during the National Unity Day in Saint Petersburg yesterday. About 10,000 Russian ultra-nationalists marched across Moscow yesterday in an annual show of anger against the presence of Muslim migrants that witnessed dozens of arrests. — AFP

Russia nationalists stage anti-immigrant protests Nationalists’ rising strength reflects hostility to immigrants Bahrain jails 4 for life, 6 to 15 years DUBAI: A Bahraini court sentenced four Shiite Muslims to life and six others to 15 years in jail on charges of setting up a militant cell linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard that aimed at assassinating public figures in the Gulf Arab kingdom. In February, Bahrain, a Western ally which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, accused Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard of setting up the “terror” cell, which it said planned to attack its airport and government buildings.

Bahrain has accused Shiite power Iran of fuelling unrest in the country since a 2011 uprising led by majority Shiites demanding reforms and more share in running the kingdom ruled by the Sunni Muslim AlKhalifa dynasty. State news agency BNA said in a report late on Sunday that the court acquitted 14 others of the charges. Two of those sentenced to life were tried in absentia, the agency said. Authorities say the cell is part of the “Imam Army”, a group that includes Bahrainis from inside and outside the country as well foreigners.

Its planned targets included the Interior Ministry and Bahrain International Airport.

The group attended training camps run by the Revolutionary Guard inside Iran and others operated by Iraq’s Hezbollah group in Baghdad and the holy city of Kerbala, BNA reported. Despite quelling the 2011 revolt with help from Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-ruled Gulf states, protests and clashes have persisted in the country. Talks between government and opposition have failed to end the political crisis. Bahraini Shiites complain of discrimination in areas such as jobs and public services - something the government denies. —Reuters

AALI: A Bahraini woman holds a portrait of detained political activist during an anti-government protest in the village of Aali, south of Manama. — AFP

MOSCOW: Thousands of Russian nationalists rallied across the country on National Unity Day yesterday, in a sign of the growing strength of far-right political forces galvanized by an anti-immigrant agenda.

Hard-line nationalists have adopted the holiday, which commemorates the liberation of Moscow from Polish invaders in 1612, as an occasion to hold annual “Russian Marches”. This year’s rallies were larger and more numerous than in previous years, in a headache for Russian authorities who worry that rising ethnic tensions pose a threat to public order.

At the largest rally, around 8,000 people assembled in an working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Moscow, police said. Organizers’ requests to hold the rally closer to the city centre have repeatedly been denied. “Moscow has only just woken up, and Russians have only just started to recognize their identity,” said Alexander Belov, a nationalist leader and an organizer of the march. “With every day Russian nationalists are gaining more and more support across the country.”

Police said they detained around 30 marchers for wearing masks or forbidden Nazi symbols, and for other minor public order offences. No serious disturbances were reported. Smaller demonstrations, attracting hundreds or dozens of participants, were held in towns and cities across Russia. Although nationalist organizations attract the active support of only a small minority of Russians, they tap into widespread public concerns over immigration and disenchantment among Russian youths.

Many ordinary Russians are deeply hostile to immigrants from the largely Muslim regions of Central Asia and the Caucasus, blaming them for problems such as crime and unemployment. A recent survey by the Levada Centre polling agency, taken on the eve of Moscow’s mayoral election in September, showed that immigration topped voters’ concerns. More than half of respondents said it worried them more than any other problem.

President Vladimir Putin first established National Unity Day in 2005 to replace the Soviet-era commemoration of the Bolshevik revolution. This year’s marches come at a particularly sensitive

time, less than a month after thousands of youths rioted in a working-class Moscow suburb, Biryulyovo, following the killing of a young ethnic Russian man. Police later arrested a citizen from the mostly Muslim country of Azerbaijan for the murder.

Maria, a 15-year-old schoolgirl with dyed red hair, said that she attended yesterday’s Moscow march - her first - because of the incident. “After what happened in Biryulovo I couldn’t not take part. I want to live in a country where immigrants act like guests, not where they own the place,” she said, declining to give her last name.

Many of those marching in Moscow waved black, yellow and white flags, the old monarchist flag of the Romanov dynasty that has in recent years been adopted as a nationalist symbol. Others carried religious icons, or pictures of the last Romanov Tsar Nicholas I and his family, executed by Bolshevik revolutionaries in 1918. Many marchers carried banners and placards with slogans like “White Power” and “Russia for the Russians”.

“We should stop immigrants from coming into Moscow. Give them land so that they live like monkeys, like the Americans did with the Indians,” said demonstrator Alexei Shukin, 49, wearing camouflage fatigues. As the head of a patchwork state with multiple religions and ethnicities, President Putin he can ill afford any escalation in racial tensions, and he has repeatedly called for racial and religious tolerance. In a bid to head off the nationalists’ rising appeal and mobilize public support behind the government, Russian authorities have at the same time adopted elements of the nationalist agenda, however.

For example, the federal and regional governments have recently cracked down on the use of illegal immigrant labor, notably in construction and outdoor markets. Critics fear that the response may reinforce negative anti-immigrant stereotypes and fuel ethnic tensions. But such concerns were little in evidence at yesterday’s Moscow rally, where participants said authorities were doing too little to clamp down on illegal immigration. “The only way the current authorities, who make money off illegal immigrants, will listen to us is if we move onto the streets,” said demonstrator Shukin. — Reuters

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Syrian actors, stars feeling the heat TV star in Syrian uprising pays a price AMMAN: As one of the earliest Syrian celebrities to speak out against Bashar Assad, Mai Skaf is a heroine of the rebel cause, and it’s a role that has cost the film star dearly. Sitting in the apartment in Jordan where she has lived in exile since making her government’s enemies list, she recalls the rally she addressed in 2011, four months into Syria’s chapter of the Arab Spring, and the pro-regime mob that arrived to break it up. “Down with Assad, the traitor!” she shouted, with 200 other demonstrators echoing her words. The response came swiftly.

“They hurled big stones at us, showered us with raw eggs to make running away slippery. Then they came at us with batons, beat us on the head and body with the aim of inflicting injuries and breaking our spirits. Bloodstains were everywhere,” she said. Afterward, she says, she was repeatedly arrested, blindfolded, handcuffed and interrogated.

Her phone was tapped, her home watched, and finally she was charged with treason for allegedly supporting and financing Assad’s foes.

Warned by two senior government officials to flee or be killed, she chose flight, leaving behind her mother and 15-year-old son. Skaf, a 44-year-old woman with dark brown hair and a stern, commanding screen presence, is a

popular star of historical TV drama series in a country that until the uprising was making big strides in the Middle East’s growing TV market.

About half the 1,600 actors, entertainers and production staff registered with the pro-government Syrian Artists Organization are out of work, some of them scattered across other Arab countries, according to an industry official who spoke by telephone from Damascus on condition of anonymity out of fear of government reprisal. Many, like Skaf, have moved to neighboring Jordan, but the Jordan’s movie industry is too small to absorb newcomers, says Sari Assad, a deputy chief of the 400-member Jordanian Syndicate of Artists.

“We are barely able to find jobs for Jordanian artists,” he said. Skaf is said by friends to have been one of Syria’s best paid actresses. She herself will only say, her voice cracking, “I’m jobless now and I live off donations from friends.” She lives alone in a modest fourth-floor studio apartment in Amman, the Jordanian capital. While Egypt’s film industry remains the strongest in the Arab world, Syria’s had been making big strides until the region plunged into upheaval.

Apart from producing its own TV dramas and gaining large audiences at home and abroad, Syria had become a

major supplier of voices for dubbing video into Arabic, particularly big-hit series from Turkey such as “Ottoman Land” and “Wives of the Sultan.” These have generated tens of millions of dollars for the Syrian industry and Syrian artists, according to the official from the Syrian Artists Organization. He said Syria’s disarray is driving some of its film producers to the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon to maintain production.

Marwan Al-Hakim, 58, acted in episodes of “Bab El-Hara” (“Gate of the Ghetto”), a drama about resistance to the French who ruled Syria from 1920 to 1946. For several years it has been the most popular series for Ramadan holiday viewing. In January, Al-Hakim fled to Jordan with his wife and three children.

“I just couldn’t stand living in Syria under the current leadership,” he said. “The government is a big liar. It blames the brave revolution on a foreign conspiracy led by Israel and the US It describes the rebels as terrorists. It claims they are the ones killing the people, not Bashar’s brutal war machine.”

Now al-Hakim bakes Syrian-style pita bread at an Amman restaurant for $200 a month, augmented by UN rations and tips. Diners get to watch him bake pita, dressed in traditional Syrian garb of colorful vest, black pantaloons and a cere-

Syrian actress Mai Skaf monial dagger strapped to his waist. “It is humiliating to be poor,” he said, “but worse is to live in Syria now.”

Anaheed Fayyad, a Syrian-Palestinian who also acted in “Bab El-Hara,” left weeks after the uprising broke out, saying she had been critical of Assad in public and on Facebook and worried

that her family would suffer. “Although I’ve been unemployed and without any income for three years, I feel free to say what I please without fear,” said Fayyad, 30. “So I say that I’m with the revolution wholeheartedly and that Assad is an illegitimate president, in the wrong place, and should be removed.”— AP

East Libyan movement launches government, challenges Tripoli Dissent on the rise over lack of development, security

TRIPOLI: Alawite men lay on the ground after being shot by gunmen in Tripoli’s Bab Al-Tabbaneh neighborhood. Tripoli is Lebanon’s second city and is the scene of frequent Syria-linked battles, that pit Sunnis from Bab Al-Tebbaneh against Alawites in Jabal Mohsen. — AFP

Elusive Qaeda leader in Syria stays in shadows BEIRUT: Before he became head of an AlQaeda-linked group that is one of the most feared bands of radicals fighting the Syrian regime, he was a teacher of classical Arabic who fought American troops in Iraq and quickly rose through the ranks of the global terrorist network. Little else is known about Abu Mohammad Al-Golani, the man who leads the Nusra Front - including where he is now or even if he is still alive.

“His identity is really a bit of a mystery,” said Charles Lister, analyst at IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center. Syrian state media said last week that Al-Golani, also known as the emir of Jabhat Al-Nusra, was killed in fighting in a coastal stronghold of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government. But rebels deny that, describing the report as propaganda. AlGolani is so mysterious that no one can say with certainty what his real name is. Al-Golani is a nom de guerre, indicating he was born in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

A native of Syria, he joined the insurgency after moving to Iraq, regional intelligence officials say. There, he advanced through AlQaeda’s ranks and eventually returned to Syria shortly after the uprising against Assad began in March 2011. Lister, who follows Syria’s rebel brigades, said he is skeptical about reports of al-Golani’s death. If true, they would have stirred up considerable chatter on jihadist forums and social media platforms, he said.

Rebel leaders in Syria agree.

“We haven’t seen anything unusual among the ranks of Jabhat Al-Nusra fighters that suggest their leader has been killed,” Islam Alloush, spokesman for Jaysh Al-Islam, or the Islamic Army rebel umbrella group, told The Associated Press via Skype. Iraqi, Jordanian and Lebanese security officials describe the 39-year-old al-Golani as one of the top leaders of Al-Qaeda. According to two senior Iraqi military intelligence officials, he was once a teacher of Arabic before moving to Iraq, where he turned to militancy and eventually became a close associate of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of the militant group AlQaeda in Iraq.

After Al-Zarqawi was killed by a US airstrike

in 2006, Al-Golani left Iraq, briefly staying in Lebanon, where he offered logistical support for the Jund Al-Sham militant group, which follows Al-Qaeda’s extremist ideology, the officials said. He returned to Iraq to continue fighting but was arrested by the US military and held at Camp Bucca, a sprawling prison on Iraq’s southern border with Kuwait. At that camp, where the US military held tens of thousands of suspected militants, he taught classical Arabic to other prisoners, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were revealing information from secret files.

After his release from prison in 2008, AlGolani resumed his militant work, this time alongside Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq - also known as the Islamic State of Iraq. He was soon appointed head of Al-Qaeda operations in Mosul province.

Shortly after the Syrian uprising began, AlGolani moved into Syrian territory and, fully supported by al-Baghdadi, formed the Nusra Front, which was first announced in January 2012.

A leader of Jordan’s ultra-Orthodox and banned Salafi movement said al-Baghdadi sent Al-Golani and Abu Jleibeen, a senior AlQaeda operative who has a relationship by marriage to Al-Zarqawi, to fight in Syria, where Al-Golani was named “General Emir” of Nusra and Abu Jlebeeb an emir of the southern Daraa province, birthplace of the Syrian uprising. He spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing police retribution. Under Al-Golani’s leadership, Nusra has grown into one of the most powerful rebel groups, with an estimated force of 6,000 to 7,000 fighters across the country.

The US State Department, which placed Nusra on its list of terrorist organizations in December 2012, said the group has claimed nearly 600 attacks, including suicide attacks, small-arms operations and bombings in major cities. “Through these attacks, Al-Nusra has sought to portray itself as part of the legitimate Syrian opposition while it is, in fact, an attempt by Al-Qaeda in Iraq to hijack the struggles of the Syrian people for its own malign purposes,” the department said.—AP

BENGHAZI: Leaders of an autonomy movement in Libya’s oil-rich east unilaterally have declared a regional government, in a challenge to the weak central government as new violence erupted in the restive region. The announcement is a symbolic blow to efforts by the Tripoli government to reopen eastern oil ports and fields blocked since summer by militias and tribes demanding a greater share of power and oil wealth.

It has no practical implications but is sure to worsen ties between the east and Tripoli which has rejected the self-rule notion. Officials were not immediately available for comment.

Lawlessness has blighted large areas of the OPEC producer since the 2011 war that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. The government has been unable to rein in militia groups, armed tribes and radical Islamists.

This is especially true for eastern Libya, known as Cyrenaica, where tribes, activists and militias have been pushing for a federal system sharing power with the west and southern Fezzan.

Leaders of the movement met in the small town of Ajdabiya, close to the oil port of Brega, to launch an autonomous government, suppor ters said. They named themselves the Barqa, or Cyrenaica, government. A profederalist television station showed more than 20 ministers taking the oath at a podium decorated with a Cyrenaica flag. They were joined by tribal militia leader Ibrahim Jathran, former head of Libya’s Petroleum Protection Force in charge of guarding oil facilities. He defected in the summer and seized the biggest ports Ras Lanuf and EsSider with his troops. Once a rebel combating Gaddafi troops, he wore a business suit and a tie during the ceremony standing

TRIPOLI: Newly graduated Libyan police officers show their skills during their graduation ceremony in Tripoli.—AFP

next to the self-declared Prime Minister Abd-Rabbo Al-Barassi, a defected air force commander.

Tribal leaders joined the ceremony. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan had been seeking contact with the east in the past few days trying to reopen blocked oil ports in an area home to 60 percent of the country’s oil production. The protesters and strikes at ports and oil fields have knocked down crude production to some 10 percent of Libya’s capacity of 1.25 million barrels a day. The North African country used to pump 1.4 million bpd until the strikes started.

Zeidan said last week the blocked Hariga port in the far east would reopen on Sunday or Monday but an oil source told Reuters talks between the gov-

ernment and local officials to resume exports were continuing.

Jathran and many others in the east accuse Prime Minister Ali Zeidan as well as Islamists in the General National Congress of corruption and failing to provide security since Gaddafi’s downfall.

The self-rule announcement came as more violence erupted in the regional capital Benghazi, where an attack on the US mission in September 2012 killed the US ambassador. A soldier was killed and another was wounded when a mine hidden in a trash bag exploded near an army checkpoint in Benghazi late on Saturday, a security source said.

In separate violence, an intelligence officer and his daughter, aged around two, were killed by a bomb while he was driving

inside the city, said Abdullah alZaidy, a spokesman for Benghazi’s security forces. His wife and another child were wounded, he said.

More than 80 people protested in the evening in the city centre against the killing, denouncing government and parliament for failing to provide security, activists said. While assassinations of army and police officers are common in Benghazi, civilians rarely get killed. In Benghazi’s biggest prison, a group of inmates overwhelmed a guard early on Sunday and started a fire. A security source said 15 prisoners were wounded during clashes with guards trying to restore order. One guard was wounded when gunmen opened fire from outside.—Reuters

Morsi faces trial after short taste of power CAIRO: When Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi broke out of an Egyptian jail during Hosni Mubarak’s final days in office in 2011, he never imagined he would end up behind bars again. Less than three years later, the deposed president’s trial on charges of inciting violence, which began yesterday, could land him in prison for the rest of his life, or worse. After decades of repression under Egyptian autocrats, the Muslim Brotherhood won every election since a popular uprising toppled Mubarak in 2011, eventually propelling Morsi to power.

The US-trained engineer’s victory in the country’s first free presidential election broke a tradition of domination by men from the armed forces, which had provided every Egyptian leader since the overthrow of the monarchy in 1952. The euphoria that greeted the end of an era of presidents who ruled like pharaohs did not last long. Morsi promised a moderate Islamist agenda to steer Egypt into a new democratic era where autocracy would be replaced by transparent government that respected human rights and revived the fortunes of a power ful Arab state long in decline.

The stocky, bespectacled Morsi told

Egyptians he would deliver an “Egyptian renaissance with an Islamic foundation”. Instead, he alienated millions who accused him of usurping powers, imposing the Brotherhood’s conservative brand of Islam and mismanaging the economy, all of which he denied. The son of a peasant farmer was something of an accidental president, thrown into the race at the last moment by the disqualification on a technicality of millionaire businessman Khairat Al-Shater, by far the group’s preferred choice.

Morsiis a civil engineer and lecturer with a doctorate from the University of Southern California. He has spoken of a simple childhood in a village in the Nile Delta province of Sharqia, recalling how his mother taught him prayer and the Koran. In power, Morsi made the cardinal mistake in Egyptian politics; he antagonized the military. The army chief that Morsi appointed because he was known as a religious man, General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, eventually turned on him.

ISOLATED BROTHERHOOD Detecting mass discontent in the streets, Sisi pushed Morsi to reach compromises with his political opponents. He refused, and

reached out mainly to Islamists. A youth movement called Tamarud - “rebellion” in Arabic - began a petition calling for Morsi to step down. Eventually millions took to the streets demanding that he go.

Sisi, who was Mubarak’s military intelligence chief, appeared on television on July 3 to announce the end of Morsi’s troubled oneyear presidency and plans for elections. Morsi had cited fear of judgment day as one reason for seeking the top office. He said: “We are worried that God will ask us, on the Day of Reckoning: ‘What did you do when you saw that the nation was in need of sacrifice and effort?” A severe security crackdown has since left Morsi’s Brotherhood in disarray. Riot police backed by army snipers crushed Cairo protest camps calling for his reinstatement, killing hundreds. Top Brotherhood leaders have been rounded up, including the group’s supreme guide. Some fear the army-backed government will bring back the iron-fisted rule of the Mubarak years, but most Egyptians back Sisi. Morsi, who has been held in an undisclosed location since his arrest four months ago, now faces a day of reckoning in court at the same police academy where Mubarak is on trial.— Reuters

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Tunisian leaders meet anew to break deadlock on PM TUNIS: Tunisian political leaders met again yesterday in a new bid to choose a prime minister after missing two deadlines to bridge their differences and resolve months of deadlock. The powerful UGTT trade union mediating the talks said the latest meeting began at around 1300 GMT, two hours after a noon deadline passed to announce the name of a new prime minister. Tensions have gripped Tunisia since veteran strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled in a 2011 uprising, and were exacerbated by the murders of opposition politicians Chokri Belaid in February and Mohamed Brahmi in July.

The two sides opened hard-won talks on October 25 to form a government of independents, draft a much-delayed constitution and prepare for elections as part of a roadmap with a strict timetable. Under the plan, a new prime minister was to have been

named on Saturday, a week after the talks began, but when that failed to eventuate a new deadline was set for noon. As the latest meeting got underway Ennahda and the opposition warned that failure to reach a consensus by the end of the day would spell the demise of the so-called national dialogue launched last month.

The two frontrunners to the premiership are opposition-backed 79-year-old Mohamed Ennaceur, and Ahmed Mestiri, an 88-year-old supported by Ennahda and its allies. Both are well respected and served under the late Habib Bourguiba, who led the fight for Tunisia’s independence from its French colonial masters and served as its first president for three decades from 1957. The opposition says Mestiri is too old for the job and would be a puppet in the hands of Ennahda, but the moderate Islamists insist that he

France, Mali hunt journalists’ killers BAMAKO: An international operation was under way yesterday to hunt the killers of two French journalists shot dead in Mali, with a police source in the country’s north saying around a dozen suspects had been arrested. Ghislaine Dupont, 57, and Claude Verlon, 55, were kidnapped and killed by what French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said were “terrorist groups” in the flashpoint northeastern town of Kidal on Saturday.

“At present, there is no certainty about who committed the murder... We will do everything to find the killers and punish them,” Fabius said. A police source in Gao, the main city in northern Mali said “a dozen suspects” had been detained following the deaths of the Radio France Internationale (RFI) journalists. But a source close to Defense Minister JeanYves Le Drian who refused to be named denied that there had been any arrests, telling AFP French forces had “information” that could allow the murderers to be tracked down.

The murders have shaken France, which just days ago was celebrating the return of four hostages who had been held for three years after being abducted in Mali’s neighbor Niger. Fabius told RTL radio yesterday “operations” were under way in Mali in a bid to “identify a certain number of people in camps”. The Paris prosecutor has opened an inquiry into the murders, and investigators from France’s counter-terrorism unit were due to fly to Mali yesterday, a source close to the case said.

Dupont and Verlon’s bodies were found riddled with bullets just hours after they were kidnapped on Saturday, lying by a

pick-up truck in which they had been abducted. Fabius said Dupont, a veteran correspondent with decades of experience reporting in Africa, was killed with two bullets to the chest while sound technician Verlon “received three bullets in the head”.

“When the French forces arrived behind the pick-up, they saw someone escaping not far away, around 1,500 meters away, they followed him but did not catch him.”

The victims’ bodies were flown to Bamako on Sunday night, as members of RFI’s management arrived to organize their repatriation and meet President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The journalists had travelled to Kidal to interview a spokesman for the Tuareg separatist group the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), and were abducted outside his home, according to their employer. RFI quoted MNLA spokesman Ambery Ag Rhissa as saying he heard a commotion outside and saw the pair being bundled into a four wheel-drive vehicle after the interview.

Men in turbans and speaking the Tuareg language Tamasheq “ordered Ag Rhissa to get back inside and forced the journalists’ driver to lie down”, RFI said, adding that Rhissa had heard Verlon and Dupont resist and protest. A French military patrol found the victims’ bodies lying near their car about 12 kilometers east of Kidal less than two hours after the kidnapping, Fabius said. The deaths have highlighted the ongoing security threat just three weeks ahead of parliamentary elections which are supposed to mark the completion of Mali’s transition back to democracy following a military coup in March last year.

News

in brief Six ‘gangsters’ killed

JOHANNESBURG: Six people were killed Sunday when residents of a township on the outskirts of Johannesburg attacked a group of suspected gang members, South African police said. Some of the victims were burned alive and two were stoned to death by groups of vigilantes who struck after 400 men living in the township met to discuss the problems caused by local gangs. “One of the groups attacked a traditional healer, setting fire to him and his house. He died of his injuries,” said provincial police spokesman Neville Malila yesterday. Two other suspected criminals were burned alive and a sixth was “found on Sunday night, he had been burned,” said Malila. Residents of Khutsong, which lies southwest of Johannesburg, threw stones at police vehicles on Sunday but Malila said the situation was “calm” yesterday. Residents of South Africa’s townships frequently take justice into their own hands, frustrated by what they see as the failure of the country’s police and justice system to tackle crime.

Militants attack wedding convoy, kill 30 in Nigeria ABUJA: Suspected Islamist militants fired on a convoy of people returning from a wedding party in northeastern Nigeria, killing 30 of them, including the groom, local government authorities said yesterday. But the military in charge of the area denied the report, saying only five people had been killed in the attack late on Saturday. Adamawa state spokesman Ahmad Sajo said the attack happened along the Bama-Gwoza road just in neighboring Borno state, as some of the wedding party were leaving. The forested area has become a favored hideout for fighters of Islamist sect Boko Haram, which wants to carve an Islamic state out of religiously-mixed Nigeria, since a military offensive in May scattered their insurgency. Sajo said he had received a report of the 30 deaths from the military in Adamawa division, who had in turn received it from the Borno state military. “They said that 30 people were killed by the suspected BH (Boko Haram),” he said.

But in a statement, the military division for Borno state denied that as many as 30 had been killed, putting the number at five. It said it recovered the bodies and brought them to Bama.

13 killed in shootouts on Mexico northern border NUEVO LAREDO: At least 13 people were killed in three gun battles in Matamoros, a smuggling springboard on the US-Mexico border coveted by drug gangs, state officials said late Sunday. In one shoot-out, Mexican Marines clashed with armed civilians traveling aboard several vehicles. Four of the civilians in the vehicles were killed, and the Marines confiscated three automatic weapons and ammunition, the state of Tamaulipas said in a statement. Four more armed civilians traveling on vehicles were killed in a separate clash with Marines on a Matamoros street, and four men and a woman were killed in a gun battle between two groups of civilians, the statement read. The dead people have not been identified, and the Tamaulipas statement did not say if they belonged to any criminal organization. Rival drug cartels have battled for years to control the lucrative smuggling routes through the city, located in far north-eastern Mexico on the Rio Grande river across from Brownsville, Texas.

can strike a balance between the rival sides.

“We have no one else to propose” for the position of prime minister, Ennahda chief Rached Ghannouchi said of Mestiri before the start of yesterday’s meeting.

Opposition Al-Massar member Samir Bettaieb warned “the negotiations will be doomed if no consensus is reached today”, echoing fears expressed by the local press. The opposition and the government say Islamist radicals, oppressed under Ben Ali and whose influence has grown since the uprising, are behind the killings and deadly attacks targeting mostly security forces.

The opposition has demanded the government’s resignation and the formation of a cabinet of independents, accusing the current line-up headed by the moderate Ennahda of failing to rein in jihadists.

After months of stalling, Ennahda opened talks with

the opposition in line with the roadmap. Prime Minister Ali Larayedh has said he will step down so long as the timetable is respected. Failure to implement the timetable prompted the French-language daily La Press to write yesterday: “If the much-awaited solution is not found today, should we expect the dialogue to be suspended?”.

Tensions remain high in the North African country where security was stepped up this week following two botched suicide attacks in tourist resorts, and the killing of nine policemen in October. The government has linked Tunisia’s armed jihadists to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, but says that it lacks the resources to combat them. On Sunday, the presidency ordered an eight-month extension of a state of emergency which has been renewed repeatedly since the 2011 uprising. — AFP

Congo pounds rebels Leader of beleaguered rebels calls for truce NTAMUGENGA: The leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s M23 rebels has called for a ceasefire as government troops waged an offensive against the die-hard fighters in the country’s troubled east.

The call came with the rebels on the back foot as Congolese troops pounded hilltop positions where some 200 fighters have holed up after being forced from their last stronghold this week.

“We order all the forces of the Congolese revolutionary army to immediately end hostilities with the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC),” M23 president Bertrand Bisimwa said in a statement on Sunday. He said his aim was to “allow the continuation of the political process” with Kinshasa in a bid to end the insurgency rocking the long-troubled region since April 2012.

Bisimwa urged rebel chiefs to “ensure the strict observance of this order by elements under their command.” His order was issued in the midst of fierce fighting in the mountainous region bordering Uganda and Rwanda. The FARDC forces on Sunday launched a fresh offensive against the rebels who fled to the hills after their base was seized Wednesday in the town of Bunagana, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the regional capital Goma. According to AFP correspondents in Ntamugenga, close to the battle zone, the fighting raged for about eight hours and had appeared to intensify after the ceasefire order.

“We are pounding Mbuzi,” one of three mountains in eastern DR Congo where the rebels are hiding, General Lucien Bahuma said by telephone earlier Sunday. “After the artillery we will send in the troops.”

A DR Congo captain, speaking anonymously, said the army was “claiming back the hills. There is shooting in the mountains of Ntamugenga, Mbuzi and Runyonyi. The rebels are fleeing.” The lush green hilly region has been rocked by heavy fighting for the past 10 days as FARDC troops battle to stamp out the insurgency once and for all in the restive, mineral-rich

‘No clemency’ for Snowden WASHINGTON: A senior White House aide and top US lawmakers on Sunday rejected intelligence leaker Edward Snowden’s request for clemency following his disclosures of widespread government surveillance. White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer and the heads of America’s Senate and House intelligence committees spoke just days after a German lawmaker published a letter from the fugitive and said Snowden was ready to testify to Congress to shed light on “possibly serious offenses.” “Snowden violated US law,” Pfeiffer told ABC television’s “This Week” program. “He should return to the US and face justice.” But Senator Dianne Feinstein said the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor had missed his chance.

“He had an opportunity, if what he was was a whistleblower to pick up the phone and call the House Intelligence Committee, the Senate Intelligence Committee and say, ‘Look, I have some information you ought to see,’” she told CBS television’s “Face the Nation.” “We would have seen him and we would have looked at that information. That didn’t happen, and now he’s done this enormous disservice to our country. “And I think the answer is no clemency,” said the California Democrat, adding that Snowden should be prosecuted.

Snowden was granted asylum in Russia in August to the fury of the United States, where he is wanted on espionage charges. Congressman Mike Rogers, a Republican, said he didn’t see “any reason” to clear Snowden of any possible charges. “If he wants to come back and own up to the responsibility of the fact that he took and stole information, he violated his oath, he disclosed classified information... I’d be happy to have that discussion with him,” Rogers told the CBS program.

“But he does need to own up with what he’s done and if he wants to talk through why he did it and those things, that would be the appropriate time and the appropriate way to do it.” German Green Party lawmaker Hans-Christian Stroebele met with Snowden late Thursday at an undisclosed location in Moscow to discuss his revelations that Washington monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone, a matter that caused an uproar in Europe.

Feinstein appeared to question the purpose of such monitoring. “I think where allies are close, tapping private phones of theirs, particularly of the leader, the leader is what I’m talking about, has much more political liability than probably intelligence viability,” she said. “And I think we ought to look at it carefully; I believe the president is doing that and there are some exceptions.”

In a separate “Face the Nation” interview, former NSA and Central Intelligence Agency chief Michael Hayden suggested Germany had bigger woes on the spying front. “I know the Chancellor’s embarrassed and we’re a friend and this revelation has put her in a very difficult political spot,” the retired general said. “Frankly, in the world of espionage, the fact that the United States may have been intercepting her text messages is the least of their espionage worries in Berlin right now.”

In a “manifesto for the truth” published in German news magazine Der Spiegel, Snowden said mass secret surveillance poses a threat to freedom of expression and open society and that systematic snooping was a global problem that needed global solutions. He said in the letter handed to Stroebele that he was prepared to provide details of US spying to Germany and was “heartened” by the global response to his leaks despite unrelenting American pressure. The letter was addressed to the German government, the Bundestag lower house of parliament and the federal public prosecutor, Stroebele’s office said. — AFP

KARUBA: M23 rebels withdraw through the hills having left their position in the village of Karuba, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. — AFP Nord Kivu province. The clashes have forced thousands from their fields and homes, and aid agencies estimate about 10,000 refugees have streamed into Uganda.

‘A GOOD FIRST STEP’ When contacted by AFP, M23 spokesman Vianney Kazarama insisted that the ceasefire order from the group’s political branch would be carried out. “It is an undisputed order,” he said. A Congolese government’s spokesman said Bisimwa’s order was “perhaps a first step but we are waiting to see what follows and we have given instructions to our troops to act with restraint.” The head of the UN mis-

sion in DR Congo (MONUSCO), Martin Kobler, said he considered the M23 order “a good first step”, adding that it “must be followed by declaring an end to the rebellion.” However, an officer with MONUSCO told AFP there were fears of renewed fierce fighting yesterday. While the UN forces have not directly participated in the battle since October 25 against the M23 rebels, they have supported the Congolese army with logistics, intelligence and planning. The M23 movement was founded by ethnic Tutsi former rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army under a 2009 peace deal but then mutinied in April 2012, claiming that the pact had never been fully implemented. —AFP

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In Georgia, cheers for their shutdown congressman ROME: Undeterred, US Rep Tom Graves is stepping up his criticism of President Barack Obama’s health care law and defending his role in last month’s partial government shutdown, even though tea party demands weren’t met to dismantle it. “This isn’t over,” Graves, the sponsor of the GOP’s unsuccessful resolution to defund the president’s signature law, says despite the fact that the shutdown ended Oct 16 without any changes to the health care law.

“In no way was this in vain.” The Republican has hit the national talk show circuit, and his social media sites regularly highlight the law’s clumsy implementation. “POTUS refused to negotiate, forced govt shutdown & now Ds are running to our last pre-shutdown offer to delay #Obamacare indiv mandate,” he posted on Twitter recently.

Back in his northwest Georgia district, constituents like John Massey, a 67-year-old jeweler and military veteran, applaud his steadfastness.

“Sometimes it takes somebody to stir it up, and if the tea party is what it takes, so be it,” he said. The mood helps explain why many House Republicans like Graves have little incentive to relax their governing approach, from opposing every aspect of Obama’s health care law to refusing to raise the nation’s borrowing limit.

Massey’s sentiment is widespread in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, which encompasses the Appalachian foothills near Chattanooga, Tenn, to the outer edges of metro Atlanta. A former state lawmaker, Graves won a special election in 2010 to succeed Nathan Deal, who left Congress for the governor’s mansion. Deal had gone to Congress as a Democrat two decades ago, but switched parties in 1995, months after Georgia’s Newt Gingrich led Republicans to the House majority. The region has trended solidly Republican since, and redistricting

after the 2010 census pushed Graves’ district even further to the right.

In 2012, Republican Mitt Romney got 73 percent of the district’s presidential vote, 20 percentage points better than his statewide total. So it’s no surprise that the 43-year-old congressman was at the forefront of House Republicans who pushed Speaker John Boehner to deny money for the health-care law and block a debt-ceiling vote. The strategy ultimately led to a partial government

shutdown and threatened a default on national debt payments. Boehner relented to the White House on the eve of the Treasury Department’s default deadline, but Graves was among the 144 Republicans who voted against the deal.

“It didn’t fix any of the problems with the (health care) law or the larger problems with the budget,” Graves said, without offering specific recommendations for health care policy or ways to curb the debt.

Floyd County Republican Chair woman Layla

VIRGINIA: US President Barack Obama greets supporters as he arrives at a campaign rally of Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Virginia Terry McAuliffe at Washington-Lee High School on November 3, 2013 in Arlington, Virginia. President Obama participated in the event with McAuliffe as the campaign urged Virginians to vote today. — AFP

Shipman said Republicans should “offer more detailed alternatives,” but said emphatically, “I’m proud of Tom.” The congressman, she said, “pretty much mirrors most of the views here. ... I was proud of seeing the Republican Party dig in. I think we need more Tom Graves.”

Massey, the Rome jeweler, put the standoff in the larger context of his views on government and the economy. He said the anchor provisions of the health care law - the insurance exchanges with taxpayer subsidized premiums and expansion of the government’s Medicaid insurance program - are “more giveaways” that cost too much. Any major budget deal, he said, should curtail “this entitlement mentality.” Even some residents with less strident views are skeptical about the health care law and realistic about the district’s politics.

Nedra Manners, a Democrat who works in Massey’s antique shop in Rome, said she’s shopped around on the federal insurance exchange Georgia’s Republican leaders declined to run their own - but hasn’t been able to get a price quote. The 62-year-old noted new coverage standards and methods for figuring premiums and said her existing individual policy premium, not sold on the exchange, is set to double. “A shutdown isn’t the answer,” she said, but, “I’m not sure the law is set up the best way.” Self-described libertarian Colin Williams, a 27-year-old who works in a new home supply distribution center in the district, also blasted widespread premium increases, and he blamed the new law. Asked whether he followed his congressman’s efforts to derail it, Williams said he hadn’t but added that he wasn’t surprised at Graves or the shutdown. “He’s just another cog in the political machine,” Williams said, “and I’m sure he’ll get reelected.” — AP

Iran hardliners jab at Rouhani on US embassy siege anniversary ‘Death to America’ chants challenge opening to West

MIAMI: File photo shows former US President John F Kennedy (left) and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy greeting members of the 2506 Cuban Invasion Brigade at Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami, Florida. — AFP

Kennedy era marked by missile crisis, Bay of Pigs HAVANA: US President John F Kennedy, who left behind a 50-year legacy of frozen relations between Washington and Havana, led his nation at a moment in history when Cuba took the Cold War to America’s doorstep. From the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 to the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, Americans were on the edge of their seats as Communism loomed ever closer and nuclear warheads seemed capable of raining from the sky.

Although Kennedy is associated with the invasion and crisis, it was his predecessor Dwight Eisenhower and CIA director Allen Dulles who formulated plans for a military intervention by Cuban exiles, which would become known as the Bay of Pigs invasion.

After Kennedy took office in January 1961, he gave the plan a green light on condition that it would not involve a direct American presence.

After training in Guatemala, some 1,400 exiled Cubans landed on April 17, 1961 on beaches along the Bay of Pigs, less than 200 kilometers southeast of Havana, with an end goal of halting Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

The invasion was a disaster on air and land.

US bombers largely missed their targets.

Castro’s T-33 jets struck two US B-26 bombers, killing four American pilots. And the surprise ground attack was easily thwarted after news leaked to Cuba and tens of thousands of militiamen led by Castro himself greeted the invading forces. Fierce fighting lasted two days until the exiled Cubans threw in the towel on April 19 with 1,189 prisoners taken and 107 dead among their ranks, compared to 161 dead among Castro’s forces.

The prisoners were paraded on television.

Five officers were executed, nine were condemned to 30 years in prison and the others were freed in December 1962 in exchange for $53 million in food and medicine. “The invasion was one of the major strategic errors of the United States in the 20th century, reinforc-

ing Castro’s control over Cuba, ensuring the permanence of his revolution and helping to drive him into the Soviet camp,” said historian Richard Gott. The following year, the Cuban Missile Crisis would clearly demonstrate the strength of the Cuba-USSR relationship.

MISSILE CRISIS BEGINS In February, Washington strengthened its economic embargo against Cuba and the CIA continued to devise anti-Castro plans to destabilize Cuba under its Operation Mongoose.

Castro turned to Moscow to ensure protection, and a delighted Nikita Khrushchev convinced him that missiles fixed on the United States would be a better US deterrent than any military accord.

In October 1962, US spy planes spotted Cuba’s new missiles. Unable to tolerate the presence of a Soviet nuclear arsenal 150 kilometers from American soil, Kennedy warned Khrushchev of an imminent attack if the missiles were not removed. The missile crisis reached its height between October 14 and 27, peaking on October 22 when Washington ordered a naval blockade of Cuba and the mobilization of 140,000 troops. Castro, meanwhile, mobilized 400,000 troops in the event of an American invasion.

Without consulting the Cuban leader, Khrushchev on October 28 conceded the removal of missiles in exchange for a US promise to not invade Cuba. Covertly, Moscow also negotiated the removal of US missiles from Turkey. The agreement fell short of Castro’s desires, which included an end to the US embargo and anti-Castro activities, a halt to airspace violations and the closure of the US military base at Guantanamo Bay. It did not, however, prevent Cuba and the USSR from operating in close concert during the next 30 years, as Washington abandoned its military designs on Cuba. — AFP

US: Navy secrets bought with prostitutes, bribes SAN DIEGO: The gregarious Malaysian businessman nicknamed “Fat Leonard” is well known by US Navy commanders in the Pacific. But prosecutors in court papers say Leonard Francis worked his connections to obtain military secrets by arranging prostitutes, Lady Gaga tickets and other bribes for a US commander, in a scandal reverberating across the Navy.

The accusations unfolding in a federal court case signal serious national security breaches and corruption, with the threat that more people, including those of higher ranks, could be swept up as the investigation continues. A hearing Nov. 8 could set a trial date.

Navy commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz passed confidential information on ship routes to Francis’ Singapore-based company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd, or GDMA, according to the court documents.

Misiewicz and Francis moved Navy vessels like chess pieces, diverting aircraft carriers, destroyers and other ships to Asian ports with lax oversight where Francis could inflate costs, according to the criminal complaint. The firm overcharged the Navy millions for fuel, food and other services it provided, and invented tariffs by using phony port authorities, the prosecution alleges.

“It’s pretty big when you have one person who can dictate where ships are going to go and being influenced by a contractor,” said retired Rear Adm. Terry McKnight, who has no direct knowledge of the investigation. “A lot of people are saying, ‘How could this happen?’” So far, authorities have arrested Misiewicz; Francis; his company’s general manager of global government contracts, Alex Wisidagama; and a senior Navy investigator, John Beliveau II. —AP

DUBAI: Thousands of Iranians chanted “Death to America” on the anniversary yesterday of the 1979 seizure of the US Embassy in a jab at moderate President Hassan Rouhani as he tries to ease tension with Washington and resolve the nuclear dispute. The rally outside the former embassy complex is an annual rite in Iran but took on extra resonance this year as a barometer of hardline conservative opposition to Rouhani’s diplomatic opening to the West after eight years of increasing confrontation under predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iran has launched substantive talks with world powers on a peaceful resolution to the standoff over its nuclear program, and Rouhani has won critical support from clerical Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for his conciliatory approach. But this did not prevent large crowds from gathering around the embassy building dubbed the “nest of spies” in the local press, holding up anti-US placards and shouting “Death to America”, a standard refrain since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Footage broadcast live on state television showed what appeared to be a crowd of several thousand and the walls of the embassy compound plastered with large posters intent on showing supposed deceptions of the United States. The 1979 siege began when, ten months after the fall of the US-allied shah, radical students stormed the embassy, taking hostage 52 staff for an eventual 444 days. There have been no US-Iranian diplomatic relations since.

After 34 years of frozen mutual hostility, many Iranians applauded a short telephone conversation between Rouhani and US President Barack Obama after the UN General Assembly in September, but it was met with suspicion by conservatives. “Thirty-four years ago, our nation showed the realities to the world, that American embassies are a place of espionage and hatching plots,” hardline war veteran and former chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said in an address to the crowds. “The capture of the nest of spies showed that the revolution was on the right path,” he said, in remarks carried by the official news agency IRNA.

TEHRAN: An Iranian woman steps on a US flag outside the former US embassy in Tehran yesterday, during a demonstration to mark the 34th anniversary of the 1979 US embassy takeover. — AFP SUPREME LEADER But on Sunday, Khamenei, the Islamic Republic’s most powerful figure, delivered a strong public endorsement to current nuclear negotiators, an apparent warning to hardliners not to paint Rouhani as a pushover towards Tehran’s old enemy. “No one should consider our negotiators as compromisers,” Khamenei said in a speech. “They have a difficult mission and no one must weaken an official who is busy with work.”

Rouhani is pursuing a nuclear agreement with big powers to secure relief from increasingly crushing sanctions imposed over suspicions that Iran is using its nuclear energy program to develop the means to produce atomic bombs.

Tehran denies this. But Kayhan, a major media mouthpiece of hardliners, warned on Saturday

against trusting the United States and cited signs that “the Americans are aiming to trick the Islamic Republic” in the next round of nuclear negotiations in Geneva this week.

The new mood of Iranian diplomacy has also brought into question the use of the slogan “Death to America”. While moderate figures have suggested it is time to drop the phrase, conservatives say it is more important than ever. Jalili told the throngs that the chant was not directed against the American nation but against its statesmen, according to a translation of his speech on English-language state television channel, Press TV. “Death to America means death to arrogance, death to violence. Death to America is a symbol,” he said. “The Iranian people turned it into a symbol for seeking freedom and seeking independence.”— Reuters

Doctors complicit in torture at CIA and military prisons WASHINGTON: Doctors and nurses tasked with monitoring the health of terror suspects were complicit in abuses committed at prisons run by the Pentagon and the CIA, an independent report said yesterday. The Defense Department and the CIA demanded that the health care personnel “collaborate in intelligence gathering and security practices in a way that inflicted severe harm on detainees in US custody,” according to the two-year study by the Institute of Medicine and the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations.

Medical professionals helped design, enable and participated in “torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment” of detainees, according to the report. Collaboration at US prisons in Afghanistan, Guantanamo and the Central Intelligence Agency secret detention sites began after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States.

“It’s clear that in the name of national security, the military trumped (the Hippocratic Oath), and physicians were transformed into agents of the military and performed acts that were contrary to medical ethics and practice,” said study co-author Gerald Thomson, professor of medicine emeritus at Columbia University. The Hippocratic Oath is a commitment made by medical personnel to practice their profession in an honest and ethical manner.

The report, conducted by two dozen military, ethics, medical, public health and legal experts, calls on the US Senate Intelligence Committee to fully investigate medical practices at the detention sites. Co-author Leonard Rubenstein of Johns Hopkins University focused on force-feeding on Guantanamo Bay’s hunger strikers, as well as CIA agents’ use of harsh interrogation meth-

GUANTANAMO BAY: A detainee sits wearing restraints as he reads during a life skills class that includes resume writing inside Camp VI at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in this March 30, 2010 file photo. — AFP ods and simulated drowning known as water- Rendition, Detention and Interrogation Program boarding at secret sites. “Abuse of detainees and by executive order in 2009,” Boyd said.

Obama signed an executive order shortly health professional participation in this practice after taking office in 2009 that banned interrois not behind us as a country,” he said.

The authors also urged the Pentagon and CIA gation techniques used under his predecessor to follow standards of conduct that would let George W Bush and that critics say amount to medical personnel adhere to their ethical princi- torture. Although the president has not banned ples so they could later heal detainees they extraordinary rendition, new rules prevent susencounter. Both the CIA and the Pentagon pects from being tortured before they are transrejected the report’s findings. The report “con- ferred to a different country for interrogation, tritains serious inaccuracies and erroneous conclu- al or continued detention.

Obama also established a task force to review sions,” said CIA public affairs chief Dean Boyd.

“It’s important to underscore that the CIA does interrogation and transfer policies and issue recnot have any detainees in its custody and ommendations, but the group’s 2009 report President (Barack) Obama terminated the remains classified. —AFP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

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

Tajikistan’s Rakhmon: Unchallenged ruler of impoverished state DUSHANBE: Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmon has ruled the Central Asian state for over two decades, restoring a degree of stability after its ruinous post-Soviet civil war but failing to eradicate grinding poverty and chronic energy problems. A burly former collective farm chief from the rural south of the country, Rakhmon, 61, is expected to easily win re-election tomorrow in polls that will once again pose questions about the health of Tajikistan’s political system. The country is the poorest state in the former Soviet Union and its energy shortages mean that its citizens experience hours of power cuts every day, even in winter.

Yet on every trip around the country Rakhmon is shown by state television surrounded by well-wishers who sing him odes and address him as “your highness” and is expected to win the election at a canter. The US diplomatic cables leaked in 2010 by WikiLeaks painted a grim picture of the state, saying that from the “president down to the policeman on the street, government is characterized by cronyism and corruption.” Rakhmon took power in 1992 at the beginning of what was to be a five-year civil war between secular forces and Islamists, when few others wanted to be leader simply for the sake of selfpreservation.

Initially taking the post of chairman of the Supreme Soviet, he vowed to bring Tajikistan “peace and unity” but the civil war ended only with a peace treaty signed in Moscow in 1997 and years of fighting that left tens of thousands dead. The staunchly secular Rakhmon has since moved to wipe out the armed Islamist opposition although there have been outbursts of trouble, most notably in 2010 when unrest left dozens of Tajik servicemen dead.

He also spearheaded an energetic policy of de-

Russification, in 2007 dropping the Russian ‘ov’ from the end of his surname and making it clear he would be known as Rakhmon. The status of the Russian language was downgraded in 2009. By contrast, Rakhmon has sought to tighten economic ties with giant neighbor China and key regional player Iran, with which Tajikistan shares linguistic and cultural ties. Military cooperation with the United States has also widened, a key factor as Washington prepares to withdraw its troops by 2014 from Afghanistan, which shares a 1,200-kilometre border with Tajikistan.

IN POWER TILL 2020 After his first election as president in 1994, Rakhmon was then easily re-elected in peacetime in 1999 and 2006. With the presidential term now seven years, he is due to stay in power until 2020 if he wins these elections. With little serious opposition inside his political system and genuine opponents sidelined, observers believe that the father of nine is grooming his eldest son, Rustami Emomali, 25, to succeed him. The young man, who has already risen to be deputy head of the customs service, is often seen at his father’s side on state television during meetings with the government or visiting foreign delegations.

His eldest daughter, Ozoda, is a deputy foreign minister. Rakhmon, who was born in the southwest region of Kulub, has invited controversy inside the country by packing top posts with fellow natives of the south of Tajikistan and ignoring those from the north. The mountainous, landlocked country has few energy resources of its own except water and its only major export is aluminum. Rakhmon’s ambition is to solve these problems by reviving a Soviet project to build the gargantuan Rogun dam hydroelec-

DUSHANBE: People wave Tajik flags in front of a giant poster depicting Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon during a rally in support of Rakhmon in Dushanbe. — AFP tric power station.

But the project has been held back by logistical problems and Rakhmon’s dire relations with powerful rival President Islam Karimov of neighboring Uzbekistan, who fears the project will take away his country’s water and has warned the tensions could lead to war. Amid the economic problems that according to the World Bank mean the average income of the country’s 8 million people is just $860 a year, Rakhmon has ordered a crackdown on luxury.

He has told Tajiks to scale down their typically

high-spending weddings and even funerals and banned students from driving themselves to college or bringing in mobile phones. But according to the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables-whose contents where vehemently denied by Dushanbe-it is the president and his clique who are the most lavish of them all.

The cables alleged that most of the revenues of the Tajik Aluminum Company, which is the country’s main exporter, “end up in a secretive offshore company controlled by the president, and the state budget sees little of the income.” — AFP

Musharraf granted bail in his last case Ex-general on bail in all court cases

AHMEDABAD: Chief Minister of the western Indian state of Gujarat and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi (center) gestures as he greets supporters upon his arrival at The Bhadrakali Mandir in Ahmedabad yesterday. — AFP

India throws rings of protection around Modi NEW DELHI: Indian security forces are preparing for one of their most challenging assignments in decades, protecting prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in a country with a grim history of political assassinations. A series of small bombs killed six people at a rally the Hindu nationalist leader held in the city of Patna on Oct 27. Authorities said the home -grown Indian Mujahideen (IM) group was responsible. While Modi was not in the immediate vicinity of the explosions, the message was clear.

“Narendra Modi is way above everyone else on their hit list,” said an officer in the Intelligence Bureau, who declined to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media. “The IM cadre say he is actually 1 to 10 on their list. The rest come after that,” said the officer, citing confessions of captured militants. Modi will lead his Bharatiya Janata Party into a general election due by May and his enemies will almost certainly be looking for another opportunity to strike.

The militants hold Modi responsible for riots in 2002, during his first term as chief minister of Gujarat state, in which at least 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed. Modi denies any role in the riots or bias against minority Muslims. Communal animosity has led to several high-profile assassinations in India, beginning months after independence when a Hindu fanatic gunned down Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of a non-violent struggle to throw off British rule.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was not related to Mahatma Gandhi, was killed

by Sikh bodyguards in 1984 and her son, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was killed by an ethnic Tamil suicide bomber in 1991. The election is shaping up to be a highly charged clash with Modi and his aggressive Hindu nationalist supporters facing off against their Congress-led rivals, who say the vote is a fight to preserve India’s secular foundations.

Much of the battle will be waged at public gatherings. Even in these days of 24-hour news channels and the Internet, Indian election campaigns hinge around rallies. Modi will address countless throngs in coming months in his race against the Congress-led coalition which is expected to put up Rajiv Gandhi’s son, Rahul Gandhi, as its prime ministerial candidate. An elite team protecting Modi has been ordered to secure all public meetings using the same tactics of the Special Protection Group that guards former and serving prime ministers and their families along the lines of the US Secret Service.

Spotters in disguise will mingle in the crowds while an advance team will “sani-

tize” sites six times, the last time an hour before Modi’s arrival, a security official said. “Sewage pipes, manholes, you plug every hole in the ground and above,” said the official. Gandhi has spoken of the deaths of his father and grandmother and said recently he could be next to fall to the politics of hate. He is guarded by the toplevel Special Protection Group. An attack on either Modi or Gandhi could spark waves of reprisal violence.

Modi, the three-time chief minister of Gujarat arouses strong passions among supporters and rivals. He is a hero of the Hindu right, and seen as a tough, business-friendly administrator who can help steady a nation in economic drift. Critics accuse him of a deep-seated bias against Muslims and say he turned a blind eye to attacks during the 2002 riots. The Supreme Cour t absolved him of any wrongdoing.

The Indian Mujahideen has ties to Pak istan-based militants who have launched numerous attacks in India including the 2008 assault on several targets in the city of Mumbai. Four days before the explosions at recent Patna rally, the Intelligence Bureau sent a letter to state authorities warning them of the threat to Modi, although they did not have specific information. “Narendra Modi being perceived as a leader of Hindus, may be targeted by rabid elements,” the bureau said. “Modi is also a target in the list of various terrorist organizations.”

He is now protected by 108 Black Cat commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG), the anti-terrorism force that fought the militants who mounted the Mumbai attack. Originally, Modi had a small NSG group trained to whisk him away in case of attack, a Home Ministry official said. But his security has been stepped up and he now has three layers of protection: one group to take on any attackers, a second to provide cover and a third to get him to safety. Ajay Sahni, head of the Delhi-based Institute of Conflict Management, said that given the rings of security, the chance of a direct attack on Modi or Gandhi was low.

“The inner core is very heavily protected,” said Sahni, whose institute studies South Asian militant groups. “It would be hard to penetrate unless the groups have the capacity to project explosives such as missiles. Those are difficult to smuggle around.” The biggest risk was the politicians themselves pushing against the security bubble as they bid to reach out to voters, Sahni said. Unlike in the West, powerful leaders in India at times overrule their security agents and wade into crowds.— Reuters

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan court yesterday granted bail to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf over a deadly raid on a radical mosque, bringing closer his possible release after more than six months of house arrest. The ruling by an Islamabad district court means the ex-general is on bail in all the cases brought against him since his return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile, including one relating to the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

But the 70-year-old is likely to remain under heavy guard at his villa on the edge of Islamabad, where he has been under house arrest since April, because of serious threats to his life. Judge Wajid Ali approved bail on condition Musharraf pays bonds totaling 200,000 rupees ($2,000). The trial is due to start on November 11. Defense lawyer Afshan Adil said the money would be paid today, but rejected rumors that have circulated in recent months that Musharraf would try to leave Pakistan. “He is not going abroad and will stay in the country,” she said.

Musharraf’s name is currently on the interior ministry’s “exit control list”, meaning he cannot leave Pakistan without the approval of the government. Musharraf was arrested last month over the deadly 2007 raid on the Red Mosque in Islamabad, just a day after he was given bail in the last of three major cases against him dating back to his 1999-2008 rule. Tariq Asad, a lawyer for the Red Mosque, condemned the bail ruling and said an appeal would be launched in the high court.

The former commando returned to Pakistan in March to run in the May general election, vowing to “save” the country from economic collapse and militancy. But he was barred from standing in the election, won convincingly by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-the man he ousted from power in 1999 — and was hit with a series of criminal cases dating back to his rule.

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf (center) is escorted by soldiers as he arrives at an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad. A Pakistan court yesterday granted bail to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf over a deadly raid on a radical mosque, bringing closer his possible release after more than six months of house arrest. — AFP Musharraf has faced charges over Bhutto’s murder at an election rally in 2007, the death of a Baluch rebel leader in 2006 and the suspension of judges in 2007.

In April he was put under house arrest, an unprecedented move in a country ruled for more than half of its life by the military. The decision was seen by many as a challenge to the armed forces’ power. Since Sharif won the election there have been repeated rumors that a deal would be reached to allow Musharraf to leave Pakistan before his trials were completed.

One theory was that he might be allowed to visit his sick elderly mother in Dubai on compassion-

india’s Congress party seeks opinion poll curbs NEW DELHI: India’s ruling Congress party has supported calls to ban electoral opinion polls in the world’s largest democracy in what the opposition said is an attempt to suppress bad news during a busy election season starting next week. Congress has fared badly in a raft of recent surveys that show the party is on the back foot ahead of state elections starting next week and a general election due within six months.

“What is the authenticity, what is the scientific process all these agencies are adopting in predicting (results with) these polls?” the Congress party’s general secretary, Digvijaya Singh, said in a television interview yesterday.

Singh said opinion polls were negative because they could influence voters to back candidates seen as winners. He also claimed a polling company has asked him to pay a bribe to secure a favorable result. He did not give details. The party on Oct 30 backed a proposal by the electoral commission to restrict opinion polls. The commission has long sought to halt such polls once election dates are announced. They are currently only banned 48 hours before voting begins.

India’s size and diversity means that election issues can vary widely between districts and local leaders hold great sway, making results notoriously tricky to predict. In the run-up to the last

national election in 2009, most opinion polls by large agencies correctly forecast the Congress would win more seats than the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but underestimated the size of its winning margin. The Congress-led coalition won 262 seats.

After ten years in power, the government coalition is facing an uphill battle to convince voters it deserves a third term. Welfare schemes and years of fast economic growth have increased prosperity in much of the country, but polls suggest many voters are favoring the BJP’s candidate Narendra Modi, who is running a vigorous campaign blaming the government for high inflation, corruption and a recent economic slowdown.

Several recent polls have put Modi and the BJP ahead in some of the state elections and the general election. The BJP is forecast to win 162 seats in India’s 545-seat parliament next year, versus 102 for Congress, according to a survey by pollsters Team Cvoter for two television networks released last month. “ When the trend of opinion polls is adverse to the political parties, they rubbish them. They start demanding a ban,” senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said in a statement yesterday. “A potential loser in an election cannot seek to alter the rules of free speech.” — Reuters

ate grounds, but aides have said repeatedly that he is determined to face justice and clear his name. The ex-ruler has been living in part of his 1,100 square meter house, declared a “sub-jail” under the auspices of a prison in Rawalpindi. He is guarded by some 300 police, paramilitaries and marksmen. Reports have claimed he is enjoying a comfortable life in detention. He has even had the services of his personal cook because of his fears of being poisoned. The Taleban have threatened to kill Musharraf, who as president allied Pakistan with Washington in the US “war on terror” in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. — AFP

India PM urged to shun Commonwealth summit NEW DELHI: A senior Indian minister yesterday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to boycott a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka because of human rights abuses, joining opposition in government ranks to the trip. Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said she wanted Singh to consider the “strong sentiments” of ethnic Tamils and stay away from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo next week.

“I will write to the PM asking him to skip the CHOGM meet,” Natarajan told reporters in Tamil, comments that were translated into English by national television networks. “I have requested a meeting with the PM. I want to convey the strong sentiments of people of Tamil Nadu on his Sri Lanka visit,” she said. The minister, a member of the ruling Congress party, was speaking in Chennai, the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, whose population shares close cultural and religious ties with Sri Lanka’s ethnic Tamils.

Shipping Minister G K Vasan, who like Natarajan represents Tamil Nadu in the national parliament, has also urged a boycott over claims thousands of Tamils were killed in the final months of Sri Lanka’s separatist war. The junior minister for parliamentary affairs, V. Narayanasamy, whose Pondicherry constituency has a large Tamil population, joined the chorus yesterday. “I have con-

veyed my opinion to the Prime Minister that he should not visit Sri Lanka,” Narayanasamy told national news agency the Press Trust of India (PTI).

Leaders on both sides of Indian politics are wary of upsetting Tamil voters months before the country holds national elections. While India’s foreign ministry said last week no final decision has been taken on whether Singh will attend the November 15-17 meeting, some ministry officials said they were in favor of his visit, PTI reported yesterday.

The pressure on Singh comes after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged his counterparts in April to follow him in boycotting the meeting of the 53-nation bloc.

Colombo has resisted international pressure to investigate its troops over allegations by rights groups that 40,000 civilians were killed in the final push against Tamil rebels in 2009. Small political parties in Tamil Nadu including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have demanded India boycott the summit.DMK split with the Congress-led coalition in March over the Indian government’s perceived failure to condemn the alleged atrocities against Tamils in Sri Lanka. “The DMK is totally opposed to India’s presence at the summit. The Congress party will have to pay a heavy price for this,” DMK spokesman T M Selvaganapathy said.— AFP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

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

‘Anonymous’ targets Australian politician over biker laws SYDNEY: An Australian politician yesterday dubbed activist group Anonymous “gutless cowards” after they warned Queensland Premier Campbell Newman to “expect us” over new laws aimed at biker gangs. In a clip posted on YouTube by a masked person claiming to represent Anonymous Australia, Newman is singled out over the anti-gang legislation, which the speaker said could be used against anybody and was unconstitutional.

Motorcycle gangs linked to organized crime are an increasing problem across Australia and under the laws passed by Queensland state last month gang members could have an extra 15 years added to any

jail sentence. “Premier Campbell Newman has gone too far. It breaches our very human rights, liberties and our Australian constitution,” said the masked man in the video which has been viewed more than 197,000 times since it was posted on Thursday. “The creeping fascism has already begun and the bill is already being used against everyday people like you and me.

Queensland Police Minister Jack Dempsey said police were investigating the clip. “Obviously they are just gutless cowards-they have to hide behind a mask,” he said. Newman said activists against the laws were in the minority, with most Queenslanders

supporting the anti-biker legislation, as he refused to back down. “These laws stand. They are not changing because we are determined to deal with criminal gangs,” he told reporters.

His comments came with police also reportedly investigating how his home address and he and his wife’s mobile phone numbers were circulated on social media over the weekend. Reports said Newman and his wife received confrontational phone calls as a result. Last month it was revealed that threats had been made against Queensland’s Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie since the laws were passed, but authorities have not elaborated on how

these were conveyed.

Under the new laws, if offences are committed as part of a criminal organization, perpetrators found guilty will face being sent a bikers-only prison with no gym facilities or television access and having their motorcycles destroyed. But the legislation, which names motorcycle gangs the Bandidos, Hells Angels and Finks among 26 “criminal organizations”, has also been criticized by civil libertarians who say they are discriminatory and unfair. Experts say increased biker violence stems from turf wars over drug distribution, while the gangs are also allegedly involved in the distribution of firearms and explosives. — AFP

Terror at sea; Thai tourist ferry sinks Tragedy raises new questions about safety standards

BEIJING: Muslim worshippers attend prayers at a mosque in Beijing. Festering discontent with China’s governance of Xinjiang is on the rise and Beijing is intent on clamping down, analysts say, in a vicious cycle that will only spin faster after a fatal attack in Tiananmen Square. — AFP

China berates foreign media for Tiananmen attack doubts BEIJING: China’s Foreign Ministry yesterday took a swipe at foreign media for suggesting there may have been social or ethnic motivations behind last week’s incident involving a car driven into pedestrians on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Last Monday, a car ploughed through bystanders on the edge of Tiananmen Square and burst into flames, killing the three people in the car and two bystanders. The government called the incident a “terrorist attack” carried out by Islamist militants from the far western region of Xinjiang. More than 40 people were hurt, and the police have detained five people in connection with the attack.

But Uighur exiles, rights groups and some experts have cast doubt on the official accounts. Foreign reporting of the incident has discussed whether punitive action against Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang was behind for the incident. China has long said it grants all its ethnic minorities broad freedoms. “Some people have linked the violent terrorist act of crashing into innocent civilians and tourists with China’s ethnic and religious policy and have even slandered China’s ethnic and religious policy,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a news briefing. “This is connivance with terrorists.”

“We express our strong disapproval,” he said, when asked about media reports disputing the police’s account of the incident.

State-run media have only reported the government line, as is standard for sensitive stories. “China consistently opposes any form of terrorism and opposes double standards on this issue,” Hong added. He urged the media to take an “objective and

fair” stance, adding that “any person with a conscience should condemn” the incident.

DISTORTION Hong’s comments follow commentaries by state media, including broadcaster CCTV and the Global Times, a popular tabloid owned by the Communist Party’s People’s Daily, both of which accused US news network CNN of distorting the facts. “The article may reflect the opinion and attitude of a certain number of Americans. But it is of a vile nature to present such a view at the mainstream media,” the Global Times said in an editorial yesterday.

CNN published an op-ed last week, questioning whether the incident “was a well-prepared terrorist act or a hastily assembled cry of desperation from a people on the extreme margins of the Chinese state’s monstrous development machine”.

CNN, in a statement, said the article was simply an opinion piece. “As with all opinion pieces that appear on cnn.com, the views expressed are solely those of the author and do not in any way reflect the position of CNN,” it said.

A website was set up yesterday to “support the Xinjiang terrorists, CNN, getting out of China.” As of yesterday evening, more than 20,000 people signed the petition.

China keeps Xinjiang, strategically located on the borders of Central Asia, Pakistan and India, under tight security, making it difficult to make an independent assessment of the situation there. Armed police last week prevented Reuters reporters from entering Lukqun, the home town of one of the detained suspects, sending them back to the nearby city of Turpan. — Reuters

Older Americans nix US Social Security changes CHICAGO: Raise the age at which you can begin collecting full Social Security benefits? Older Americans say no. They also veto reductions in the cost-of-living increase. But a poll finds support among those 50 and older for raising the cap on earnings that are taxed to fund the Social Security program so higher-income workers pay more. The survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds passionate opposition to any change in the way Social Security benefits are calculated that could result in smaller annual raises.

The poll found that 62 percent of respondents expressed opposition to such a proposal, compared with 21 percent who supported it. The chained CPI, or consumer price index, has been proposed as a new way of calculating the cost-of-living adjustment, but it would reduce raises. “I really think it’s a sacred cow,” said Margie Nugent, a 55-year-old farmer from North Umberland, Pa. “They shouldn’t touch it.”

About the same number, 58 percent, oppose gradually raising the age when retirees qualify for full benefits, while 29 percent support it. About one -third believe people should be eligible for full benefits before 65. Only 10 percent say full eligibility should come after 67, the top eligibility age under current law. “I contributed to it. It’s my money,” said Joan McDonald, 65, of Annapolis, Md., who retired as an accountant this year and began collecting Social Security. “The plan was, ‘Contribute this and you get this.’ You can’t change the rules.”

Survey respondents showed more willingness to support Social Security proposals that would mostly impact those with higher incomes. Forty-one percent expressed support for reducing benefits for seniors with higher incomes, compared with 44 percent who opposed the proposal. Whites were much more supportive of reducing benefits for high-earning seniors

than minorities. Changes to Social Security are on the horizon because the trust funds that support the massive retirement and disability program are projected to run dry in 2033.

At that point, Social Security would only collect enough taxes to pay about threefourths of benefits. If Congress doesn’t act, benefits automatically would be cut by about 25 percent. A new round of budget talks underway in Washington could produce proposals to change Social Security.

In previous budget talks, President Barack Obama has proposed adopting the chained CPI, making it one of the few issues on which he and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, agree. Other groups, including Obama’s 2010 deficit commission, have proposed raising the age when retirees can get full Social Security benefits.

Among older Americans, the poll suggested the most popular idea for improving the program’s finances was raising the cap on income subject to Social Security taxes. Currently, the cap is $113,700, meaning those earning more do not pay Social Security taxes on wages above that threshold. The poll found that 61 percent of people favored raising the cap, compared with 25 percent opposing it. Among Democrats, support was at 73 percent; among Republicans, it was 45 percent. “If the rich get richer, they should pay,” said Rhonda Rossi, 56, of South Bend, Ind. “If they’re multimillionaires, they don’t need Social Security. They could live off their interest.”

Rossi collects Social Security disability benefits of about $950 a month due to kidney failure. Even with that, she struggles to have enough to buy groceries at the end of the month. She says any talk of reducing benefits makes her nervous. “I got sick and if I didn’t have the Social Security, I don’t know how I would live, I really don’t. I’m struggling as it is now,” she said. The politicians don’t live day by day like I do.” — AP

PATTAYA: Thai rescuers yesterday recounted frantic efforts to pluck terrified survivors from the sea after a crowded tourist ferry sank, leaving six dead including three foreigners, as police searched for the captain who fled. The tragedy raised new questions about safety standards in the kingdom, which drew a record 22 million tourists last year but is struggling to shake off a reputation for lax regulation. Three Thais, one person from Hong Kong and two other unidentified foreigners were among the dead, according to officials in the tourist resort of Pattaya, around 150 kilometers southeast of Bangkok.

The double-decker ferry sank on Sunday afternoon near Koh Larn, a small island popular with day-trippers from Pattaya, a popular beach resort renowned for its racy nightlife. “The boat went down in minutes. I saw people-some with life jackets, some without-in the water. One man was holding on to a gas cylinder. There was a body face down in the water. They were all panicking, shouting for help,” said a local dive guide who was one of the first on the scene. “We pulled 60 people from the water, including a Russian boy. We gave him CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) but he was in a very bad way,” she said, asking not to be named.

Police said that apart from the six dead, all of the 150-200 others on the boat-including many Russians-were believed to have been rescued.

Nineteen people were injured. “We don’t expect to find any more dead. One Russian boy is seriously ill in intensive care,” said Pattaya police chief Colonel Suwarn Chiewnawintawat. “The captain ran away. We will issue an arrest warrant for him,” he said. “Divers will recover the boat today. We still don’t know the cause.”

Stunned tourists were seen being led to safety on shore on Sunday where they were met by dozens of ambulances along Pattaya’s neon-lit beachfront. Medics performed emergency first aid on injured passengers. Accidents involving boats, buses and other forms of public transport are common in Thailand, where safety standards are generally poor. “We still don’t know the reason for the accident. I am not sure if there are

PATTAYA: Thai rescue divers search the waters where a double-decker ferry sank near Koh Larn island, a small island popular with day-trippers from the Thai resort area of Pattaya yesterday. — AFP more dead or not, because we don’t know how many people were on the boat,” said Thai rescue diver Suttipong Boonmachai.

“Today we are going to recover the boat. We will use underwater detection equipment,” he told AFP on Pattaya’s main pier. A local boat captain who witnessed the tragedy recounted throwing life jackets to passengers in the water.

“I saw 100 people-most of them foreigners-in the water,” he said. “I threw 50 life jackets into the water. There was one man, he was not breathing.

We pulled him out of the water.” On Pattaya’s main pier it was business as usual Monday for the operators of double-decker wooden ferries preparing to take tourists out on day cruises.

“After an accident like this the boats should be grounded for checks but today they are all running,” said a European working in the town’s marine tourism industry, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The boats are very old.

There’s no maintenance. They are always over-

crowded... there’s no head count.” In recent years the kingdom’s tourist-friendly image as the “Land of Smiles” has also been tarnished by political violence, crimes against foreigners and devastating floods, but visitor numbers continue to rise. Diplomats from China and the European Union have voiced concern at the number of incidents involving their tourists.

In May more than 100 people were rescued from a tourist ferry which began to sink in rough seas near the tourist island of Phuket. Two Chinese tourists were killed and several others injured in August when a speedboat in which they were travelling crashed in Pattaya. Last month an Indian woman died when a boat propeller struck her head while she was parasailing on her honeymoon in the same resort. Other high-profile safety incidents in the kingdom include a fire at a nightclub in August 2012 on the island of Phuket that left four people dead including two foreigners. — AFP

Indonesia backs the UN privacy push on spying JAKARTA: Indonesia yesterday backed a UN text highlighting anger at US-led data snooping, as Australian websites came under cyber attack in protest at Canberra’s reported involvement in the surveillance network.

Jakarta said it would co-sponsor the draft resolution at the UN General Assembly following reports the US and Australian missions in the Indonesian capital collected data as part of the American-led spying efforts. “Enough is enough,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters.

“The recent revelations will have a potentially damaging impact in terms of the trust and confidence between countries concerned.” He added that Indonesia was “joining Germany and Brazil in co-sponsoring a resolution in the General Assembly of the United Nations to address precisely the kind of issues that are now being brought up”. On Friday, Brazil and Germany submitted a joint draft resolution on the protection of individual liberties to the UN General Assembly’s human rights panel, according to Brazilian diplomats in New York.

The text does not explicitly mention the United States. But it calls for necessary measures to end violations of the right to privacy, including in digital communications and to force countries to respect their obligations within the framework of international human rights laws. The spying row started off between the US and its European allies but last week erupted in Asia after the Sydney Morning Herald reported there was a network of US intelligence facilities in the region. The newspaper, amplifying an earlier story by German magazine Der Spiegel, said Australian missions were also involved in the US-led spying network.

On Sunday, The Guardian newspaper reported Australia and the US mounted a joint surveillance operation on Indonesia during the 2007 UN climate change conference in Bali, citing a document from US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden. The Australian government has said it does not comment on intelligence matters. The row has strained relations between Canberra and Indonesia, its northern neighbor and strategic ally, with Jakarta last week summoning the top American and Australian diplomats in the country over the reports.

As well as official anger, cyber activists vented their fury Monday with the group Anonymous Indonesia claiming to have

defaced more than 170 Australian websites in protest at reports of Canberra’s alleged spying activities. “Hundreds of Australian Websites Attacked for #OpAustralia By Indonesian Hackers,” it posted on Twitter, listing the sites which appeared to be mostly small businesses that ended with the Australian domain .au.

Calling up the web pages was met with the message: “Stop Spying on Indonesia” under-

neath an Indonesian flag imprinted with a black graphic of the face of Guy Fawkes, whose image is used as a mask by Anonymous internationally. Anonymous is believed to be a loosely organized hacker collective that conducts online attacks internationally, most recently in Singapore on Friday when a newspaper website was defaced over Internet freedom in the city-state. — AFP

SEOUL: A South Korean protester holds a placard during a rally denouncing the US spy agency’s alleged wiretapping of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, near the US embassy in Seoul yesterday. South Korean political parties urged Park to speak out over reports that she could be one of global leaders bugged by the US spy agency. — AFP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

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Issues

Storm clouds over Mideast talks ahead of Kerry’s visit

By Nasser Abu Bakr ascent Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are likely to collapse without urgent US intervention, voices on both sides warned ahead of a new visit by Washington’s top diplomat. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is due to arrive late Tuesday for the latest round of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, has kept up a positive front, insisting he is “hopeful” progress can be made “within the next months”. But Israel’s topselling Yediot Aharonot newspaper said Kerry has realised the talks will not result in a deal within nine months and is working on a proposal for an interim agreement to be presented to the two sides early next year.

“Washington is secretly preparing a document aimed at reinvigorating the increasingly faltering IsraeliPalestinian peace talks,” wrote Yediot’s Alex Fishman, describing it as “an American compromise” between Israel’s insistence on an interim agreement and the Palestinian demand for a final status deal. He said the idea emerged from an Oct 23 meeting in Rome between Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Reports of a new US approach were strengthened yesterday when Zehava Gal-On, head of Israel’s leftwing Meretz party, said Washington would unveil its own diplomatic plan in January. “The Obama administration plans to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough at the beginning of 2014,” she told Haaretz newspaper, quoting US, Palestinian and Arab officials. “The Americans want to move from coordinating between the two sides to a phase of active intervention.”

US officials have denied the existence of any plan for an interim agreement, insisting that Washington is still hoping to broker a comprehensive peace deal. “All major issues have been on the table and all parties remain determined to reach a final status agreement by the end of the nine-month period of negotiations,” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki. The Palestinians have long opposed the idea of an interim deal, pointing to the repeatedly missed deadlines of the Oslo process in the 1990s, and in his September address to the UN General Assembly, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas ruled out entering the “vortex” of a new interim deal.

“The Palestinian and Israeli sides have not yet received the expected US proposals on reaching a breakthrough,” a Palestinian source close to the talks told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The negotiations are going through a real crisis and the gap between the positions of the two sides is widening, instead of narrowing as it was supposed to,” he said.

“There have been more than 18 meetings between the negotiators over three months during which the Palestinian side laid out its propositions,” he added, saying the Israeli side had listened but had not done the same.

Palestinian officials insist that negotiations to end the conflict must be held on the basis of the lines which existed before the 1967 Middle East War, when Israel seized the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem. The source said the proposition was for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, which should be considered a single geographic entity, and safe passage between the two. Its capital would be in east Jerusalem. The state of Palestine would accept a staged withdrawal of Israeli forces over a period of not more than three years and would agree to limits on its own military capabilities, he said. “It will not accept any Israeli presence on its land after the end of that period, although it would accept that of a third party,” he said, in reference to the possible stationing of peacekeepers in the Jordan Valley or other areas.

Debate over the eastern border with Jordan has increasingly come up in recent months and on Sunday, Netanyahu vowed not to give up a security presence there. The Palestinian source said the future state would have “sovereignty over its airspace, its border crossings, its ports and its electromagnetic frequencies,” adding that it would accept up to a 1.9 percent territorial swap based on the 1967 lines. The question of the Palestinian refugees should be resolved on the basis of UN Resolution 194 which defines principles for their “right of return”, but Israel must also acknowledge its role in the refugee crisis, he added.

The Israeli negotiating position rejects the 1967 lines as a reference point, and also rejects the 1.9 percent proposed by the Palestinians, saying it does not take into account demographic changes since 1967 in reference to its settlement activities, he said. “Israel’s positions amount to zero Palestinian sovereignty over anything, whether that is borders on land, sea, water or air,” he said. — AFP

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US sees improved ties with China

By Paul Eckert ith ties between Washington and many close allies strained because of eavesdropping revelations and differences over US policies in the Middle East, the Obama administration can take some comfort from an improvement in ties with China. A year after China’s President Xi Jinping took over the helm of the country’s ruling Communist Party, senior US officials say they see increased cooperation on a range of issues from climate change to North Korea’s nuclear weapons ambitions. They also regard greater bilateral military contacts as an important safety valve if there are any potential flare-ups.

On the economic front, Washington is focused on China’s Nov 9-12 Communist Party conclave where Xi’s blueprint for making the world’s second-largest economy more open is expected to be unveiled. Xi’s administration already has spawned optimism with an agreement to reopen bilateral investment treaty talks and a pilot free trade zone in Shanghai that augurs well for deeper reforms to address Chinese investment and trade barriers. Both could help dent the $300 billion annual US trade deficit with China.

Not all is rosy. Serious fault lines remain over issues that have long vexed the Sino-US relationship, such as human rights. Western experts and Chinese activists are concerned that China’s record on human rights may be worsening under Xi, who became China’s president in March, given there have been crackdowns on lawyers, activists and Internet opinion leaders. Potential discord also lurks in China’s recent increasing recourse to what its critics call gunboat diplomacy in maritime territorial disputes with Asian neighbors, including US allies such as Japan and the Philippines.

But officials from both countries say they are committed to what China calls a “new model of major country relations” - a Xi mantra that aims to minimize Sino-US rivalry as China’s global power grows. To Washington, the concept means “there is room on planet Earth for a rising, strong, stable, prosperous China and a United States that continues to serve as the champion of a liberal, democratic, freemarket and rules-based system,” said Daniel Russel, the State Department’s top Asia diplomat. Washington and Beijing intend to “avoid a mechanistic dynamic in which a rising power and an enduring power were inevitably destined for conflict,” he added.

The most common concrete example US officials give of a better working relationship is North Korea, whose

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nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs are seen as one of Asia’s most serious security threats. Washington has long sought to convince Beijing to do more to rein in Pyongyang, a Chinese ally since the Korean War. North Korea’s nuclear test in early 2013, the latest of three since 2006, was accompanied by threats of nuclear attack on the United States and South Korea. “We’ve seen (China) be more forward-leaning in applying pressure on the North Koreans,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communications. “That’s in part because the cycle of provocation that was taking place in the spring was concerning to them because it was destabilizing the region ... and ultimately it was not consistent with their own interest,” he told Reuters.

China, often criticized by the United States and its allies for weak enforcement of UN Security Council sanctions on the North, last month published a detailed list of technologies and goods banned from export to North Korea because of their potential use in weapons of mass destruction. The narrowing of differences on North Korea was a key outcome from Xi’s informal summit with President Barack Obama last June in Rancho Mirage, California - a desert retreat that allowed the two leaders to meet for eight hours over two days.

That informal summit, mainly designed as a trust-building exercise, also produced an agreement to reduce the use of greenhouse gases and to launch a bilateral working group to hold regular discussions on cyber-security. “The US and China are cooperating not on boutique projects, not on off-Broadway, where it doesn’t really matter, but on priority, critical issues that genuinely matter to both of our people and genuinely matter to the region and the world,” said Russel, who attended the summit, in an interview.

In early 2012, when Xi was China’s vice president, he toured the United States as a guest of US counterpart Joe Biden, visiting a small town in Iowa where he did a brief home stay in 1987, as well as Los Angeles and Washington.

The Washington trip included a visit to the Pentagon, which helped set up a packed 2013-14 calendar of exchanges between the two countries’ militaries. Militaryto-military ties have long been the weakest link between the two powers.

US-China ties have warmed but then cooled in the past, and analysts warn that Xi’s agenda may only start to become clearer after this month’s Communist Party Central Committee Plenum sees him put his full stamp on Chinese policy. On economic policy, Americans see room for opti-

mism, based on Xi’s record since the 1990s as a businessfriendly party and government leader overseeing roaring economies in Shanghai and the vibrant coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang. “Everything about his past where he served before in China indicates that there are reasons to be optimistic that he will take a more pro-market approach than his predecessor,” said Kenneth Jarrett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and a former US diplomat in China.

The US Treasury on Wednesday said China was not a currency manipulator and had allowed the yuan to appreciate 12 percent against the dollar since June 2010, while adding that the Chinese currency still appears undervalued. But in a semiannual report to Congress, the criticism of China was muted and less prominent than an attack on Germany, which was accused of hampering economic stability in Europe and hurting the global economy because of its focus on exports rather than boosting domestic demand.

On human rights and regional security, however, there are more question marks. A party directive called Document No. 9, believed to reflect Xi’s beliefs, makes it a taboo to discuss publicly “Western notions” such as constitutional rule, universal values, press freedom, judicial independence and civil society. In less abstract terms, China’s widening crackdown on bloggers, lawyers and activists has seen the detention or arrest of scores if not hundreds of people.

Obama, while not dropping the human rights issues, appears to have decided not to turn it into a make-orbreak issue for Sino-American relations. Xi has broken with Beijing’s traditionally reactive and defensive foreign policy, said Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt of the US Institute of Peace. She sees Xi testing US allies and pushing back against Obama’s decision to shift diplomatic and security attention to Asia. “Xi Jinping has come in and essentially pivoted on a dime and is now the first to really embrace China’s role as a ‘great power’ and he’s making foreign policy with a great power mindset,” she said.

US officials say they do not expect Beijing to escalate its maritime disputes with Japan or other smaller neighbors because it would risk harming China’s economic growth. “If Xi Jinping wants to realize the goal of the Chinese dream, of becoming a middle-class country by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the PRC, they’re going to want to do that without any kind of disruption or distraction,” said a senior US official. — Reuters

Pak anger over US drone strike to ebb

By Damon Wake akistan has railed against Washington for killing a Taleban leader as peace talks were being prepared, but analysts said diplomatic and financial considerations mean the latest spat with Washington is unlikely to move beyond fiery rhetoric. Interior minister Chaudhry Nisar slammed Friday’s attack as the US sabotaging fledgling peace efforts, coming as government representatives were to meet the Tehreek-e-Talban Pakistan (TTP). Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday used his first public speech since the drone attack to say the cycle of violence plaguing Pakistan could not be ended by “unleashing senseless force against our citizens” without giving peace efforts a chance.

The government’s anger echoes the outrage that came after US special forces infiltrated the country to kill Osama bin Laden in a raid the Pakistanis were given no notice of.

Nisar has pledged a complete review of ties with Washington, which have been warming in recent months after lurching from crisis to crisis in 2011 and 2012. The foreign ministry summoned the US ambassador to protest at the drone strike, and there have been calls by opposition parties to block NATO supply routes into Afghanistan. Pakistan took this step after a botched US air raid killed 24 soldiers at a border post in Nov 2011.

But analyst Hasan Askari said there would be little support for a similar move following the death of a man whose network has killed thousands in a six-year campaign against the state. “Pakistan would be isolated. At the

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moment Pakistan looks like defender of Hakimullah Mehsud and there will be no international support to Pakistan on this issue,” he told AFP. The fiery rhetoric over the weekend resonates with deep-running anti-US feeling among the Pakistani public, but it contrasts sharply with the positive messages emanating from Sharif’s visit to Washington last month.

Just a fortnight ago, as US President Barack Obama welcomed Sharif to the White House, the State Department announced the release of $1.6 billion in aid, including $1.38 billion for the country’s powerful military. Analyst and newspaper columnist Mosharraf Zaidi said that as long as Pakistan was so keen to take Washington’s dollars, its regular protests about drones being a violation of sovereignty would ring hollow. “If you have a problem with America taking out a guy you were about to hold talks with, fine, but you can’t review relations two weeks after you’re thanking the US for giving you more money,” he told AFP. “Pakistan is both taking money from the US and then telling the US what to do, it’s a nonstarter - Pakistan wants security sovereignty without fiscal sovereignty.”

Further tying Islamabad’s hands, said Zaidi, is the $6.7 billion International Monetary Fund loan deal agreed to help Pakistan rebuild its shattered economy. Some have questioned what substantive moves towards peace had actually taken place - and suggested that the elimination of a hardliner like Mehsud could even benefit the process. Nisar on Saturday indicated that a significant dialogue was about to swing into action, but in the days before the drone strike both government and

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (right) sits in the front passenger seat as Pakistani Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani drives an army vehicle to take him to witness a military exercise in Khairpure Tamay Wali in Bahawalpur district yesterday. — AFP Taliban sources said contacts were at a very embryonic stage. If Nisar knew of advances that have not been made public, Zaidi said, now is the time to share them. “Given this is a group that has said they do not believe in the constitution, the only possible starting point for negotiations would be the acceptance of the constitution or the surrender of the TTP,” he said.

What happens next for the peace process, which has been supported by all the main political parties, depends to a large extent on who is chosen to replace the radical Mehsud.

Imtiaz Gul of the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies said there appeared to be division within the TTP since Mehsud’s death. The emergence of a more pragmatic - if not more moderate - leader could take things forward, he told AFP. “Hakimullah Mehsud had been the symbol of the rejection of state of Pakistan and had issued several video messages telling the people to reject the present system and support imposition of Islamic Sharia,” he said. The choice of the new TTP leader is not expected for several days at least. — AFP

NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

The Italian Air Force aerobatic unit Frecce Tricolori spreads green, white and red smoke in the colours of the Italian flag marking the day of National Unity and Armed Forces in Rome yesterday. — AFP

Saudis begin clampdown on illegals Continued from Page1 She claimed Saudi police rounded them up and placed them in a crowded cell for four days before they were paraded from the immigration centre to the airport. “Our feet were chained,” added Yvonne Montefeo, 32, in between sobs. Saudi embassy officials in Manila did not want to comment on the allegation of abuse.

Migrante International, a support group for Filipino overseas workers, said 1,700 other workers remained stranded in Jeddah waiting for their documents to be processed so they can return home while about 5,000 more were scattered in Riyadh, Al Khobar and Dammam and also needing consular assistance. It warned that the Filipinos “are in danger of being violently dispersed, arrested and detained by Saudi authorities” as the kingdom implements its crackdown. The Filipinos are among tens of thousands of mostly Asian unskilled workers likely to be expelled, the group said.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is also presidential adviser on migrant affairs, last week appealed to the Saudi government to extend its deadline, noting that “thousands are still hoping to correct their employment status”. “Due to the large number of Filipino workers seeking correction of their employment status, many of them may not be able to meet the Nov 3 deadline,” he said in a letter to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud last week.

Binay said more than 4,000 Filipinos had been repatriated since the crackdown was announced, while 1,716 are waiting for their exit documents to be processed even as the deadline expired Sunday. About a tenth of the Philippines’ population live and work abroad, and their dollar remittances are a vital pillar of the economy. A vast majority of them work as unskilled labourers or maids, and are exposed to situations where they are prone to abuse.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is seen as a goldmine for millions of people from Asia and elsewhere in the Arab world, who find work as common labourers, drivers, porters and house maids. Expatriates account for around nine million of the country’s 27-million-population. Saudi Arabia has the Arab world’s largest economy, but the unemployment rate among natives is above 12.5 percent, a figure the government is aiming to reduce.

The streets of the Saudi capital Riyadh were unusually quiet yesterday as many expatriates stayed at home to avoid the crackdown. Building sites were deserted, Riyadh’s stuttering rush-hour traffic flowed smoothly and many shops and market stalls were closed in normally busy neighbourhoods that are home to large

numbers of Saudi Arabia’s lower-income foreign community. The government of the world’s top oil exporter has promised raids on businesses, markets and residential areas to catch expatriates whose visas are invalid because they are not working for the company that ‘sponsored’ their entry into the kingdom.

In the Riyadh Industrial Zone, where many workers are foreigners, most shops were closed yesterday morning, according to a witness who said he saw a dozen people scurry for cover when they heard a police siren from a nearby road. “Nobody has come to buy anything at all today. It’s a very bad situation,” said Abu Safwat, a Syrian who owns a machine parts shop in the area. The enforcement of visa rules is another effort to end a black market for cheap imported workers, cut the foreign labour force and free up private-sector jobs for Saudi nationals.

For decades, Saudi authorities ignored irregularities such as working for firms that had not sponsored their visas or in trades other than those listed on their immigration documents. That spurred a black market in which foreigners overstayed visas, set up illegal businesses or took low-paid jobs in areas where authorities wanted Saudi workers hired on higher salaries - thwarting implementation of wide-ranging labour reforms that penalise companies for hiring more foreigners than locals. In March the labour and interior ministries began raiding offices and markets before declaring an amnesty in April to enable foreigners to correct their visas without being fined.

Before the amnesty expired, the government issued repeated warnings for foreigners to correct their status or face punishments including prison, fines and deportation. Companies employing expatriates without proper visas will also be fined, as will people or firms that charge expatriates a fee to sponsor their visa. “We want foreigners to remain in the kingdom lawfully,” said Deputy Labour Minister Mufrej Al-Haqbani in remarks quoted by the local Arab News English-language daily.

A long queue stretched down the road outside one visa office as Arab and South Asian foreign workers tried to leave without paying fines for overstaying.

Some carried personal possessions in hopes of leaving immediately. A Sri Lankan woman working as a freelance maid in Riyadh said she and several of her friends had decided to stay at home in case they were caught up in government raids. In the Batha district, home to many low-paid foreigners, some shops were shut and only Saudi employees were working in others. Market stalls had vanished from the normally busy street where vendors hawk fruit, vegetables, clothes and mobile phones. — Agencies

Health minister under fire for moving...

Continued from Page1 Dr Abdulmalek however ordered the man be moved back to the ward when a new patient arrived at the hospital and needed to be admitted at the unit. This, according to sources, infuriated the lawmaker who apparently complained to the minister. The minister then penalized the doctor by moving her to Sulaibkhat.

MP Saleh Ashour issued a statement yesterday saying that his elderly father was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit a few days ago after suffering a stroke and brain hemorrhage. The lawmaker said when his father’s condition improved, he was moved from the ICU to the ward and never brought back. Ashour said all other details are baseless rumours and vowed to take legal action against “whoever spread false information and took advantage of his father’s health condition”.

Also yesterday, about 200 doctors at Amiri hospital and supporters of Dr Abdulmalek staged a gathering outside the hospital to protest against the minister’s decision of transferring her. The minister however explained yesterday that the decision to move Abdulmalek was an administrative action not related to the case of the lawmaker’s father.

Quwaian, who filed to grill the health minister, announced yesterday that he would add the issue to his grilling. He also challenged the denial of the health ministry that there are expatriates infected with AIDS who have not been deported in accordance with the rules in Kuwait. Quwaian said that if the information he exposed is not true, “I am ready to withdraw the grilling request.”

His statement come in response to Infectious Diseases Hospital’s Dr Ghanim Al-Hujailan who was quoted by Al-

Rai daily yesterday insisting that there are no expatriate AIDS patients in Kuwait.

In another development, MP Riyadh Al-Adasani called on Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to dismiss State Minister for Development Rola Dashti over the weak development program the government submitted to the Assembly. Adasani, who on Thursday filed to grill the prime minister over a variety of allegations, said that the government program did not come up with more than one percent of the ambitions of the Kuwaiti people and is a copy of previous programs.

Accordingly, the minister must be sacked, he demanded.

Al-Qabas daily reported yesterday that MP Khalil Abdullah plans to file a grilling against Dashti as soon as tomorrow, according to sources close to the lawmaker.

While the unexpected number of grillings raised concerns that a political crisis could be looming only a week after the parliament’s summer recess ended, one MP reiterated lawmakers’ constitutional right to file grilling requests. “The Kuwaiti constitution does not state that the Cabinet should be given an opportunity to operate before ministers are held accountable,” MP Yousuf AlZalzalah said in response to voices which criticized the grillings’ timing. “Filing a grilling motion is an MP’s constitutional right which he can file against any minister and at the time they feel is the best”.

In another development, MP Safa Al-Hashem sent a number of questions to Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah inquiring whether the ministry’s investigations have revealed cases involving ministers or parliament members who have dual citizenship in violation of local regulations.

Kerry: US-Saudi ties strategic, enduring Continued from Page 1 with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud Al-Faisal. He insisted Washington “will not stand idly by as (Syrian President Bashar Al-) Assad continues to use weapons” against his own people.

But Prince Saud, while stressing the strength of ties with the United States, slammed the “international community’s failure to stop the war against the Syrian people”.

Negotiations to solve any crisis “shouldn’t just go on indefinitely”, he said, in reference to a US-Russian proposed peace conference. He insisted that some “grave issues desperately need decisive and resolute intervention that should put an end to the human tragedies they produced”. Saudi Arabia has expressed anger after US President Barack Obama stepped back after he threatened a punitive strike against Syria over a chemical attack on a rebel-held district near Damascus.

Kerry reiterated that Washington opposes a military intervention to end the 31-month conflict. “Absent a negotiated solution we don’t see a lot of ways to end the violence that are implementable or palatable to us, because we don’t have the legal authority, or the justification or the desire at this point to get in the middle of a civil war,” he said. “I think that’s been made very, very clear, “ he added.

“Our hope is we can bring the parties together. It won’t be the first very complicated conflict, where very emotional highly separate entities are brought together by an international community and ultimately find their way forward,” he said. Kerry earlier acknowledged things were tough as the region is rocked by the turmoil of the Arab Spring, which is reshaping the geopolitical landscape. “Right now we have some very important things to talk about to make certain the Saudi-US relationship is on track, moving forward and doing the things that we need to accomplish,” he told US

embassy staff in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia, locked in a decadeslong rivalry with Iran, is concerned that proposed Syrian peace talks could leave a Tehran-backed regime in place in Damascus and that a breakthrough in nuclear negotiations could also lead to a US rapprochement with its arch foe.

Kerry paid tribute to the conservative oil-rich kingdom’s traditional role in the region, praising the Saudis as “really the senior player in the Arab world”. Washington and Riyadh shared many current concerns, he said, highlighting the difficult transition in Egypt, the war in Syria and Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He repeated US assurances that Iran “will not get a nuclear weapon” after stressing a day earlier, in a veiled warning to Tehran, that Washington would stand by its Arab friends.

In an unprecedented move last month, Saudi Arabia turned down a coveted non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in protest at the world body’s failure to end the war in Syria, which has killed more than 120,000 people. Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud also reportedly told diplomats last month he would scale back cooperation with the CIA on training Syrian rebels. Kerry’s 11-day tour comes at the start of a key week, with talks scheduled in Geneva on trying to fix a date for the Syria peace talks and a new round of nuclear negotiations between six world powers and Iran.

Saudi Arabia has also eyed warily international moves to engage Iran on its nuclear program following the election of President Hassan Rouhani, a reputed moderate who held a landmark phone call with US President Barack Obama in September. Analysts said while ties between the US and Saudis are strained they are unlikely to break completely. “Despite the Saudi outcry, the bedrock of US and Saudi ties - intelligence coordination and military containment of Iran - is solid,” wrote Frederic Wehrey of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. — Agencies

Morsi defiant as trial opens Continued from Page1 when security forces moved to clear pro-Morsi sit-in sites in August.

Reporters in the courtroom were not allowed to bring cameras, computers or cellphones as authorities sought to keep tight control on the proceedings, clearly wanting to prevent protests and clashes in the streets. The case against Morsi and the other defendants is rooted in complaints filed against them by rights activists at the time of the December riots. It is not related to events stemming from the coup, contrary to what Morsi’s supporters maintain. “This case (of violence) is a turning point and the beginning of the downfall of Morsi,” said Ragia Omran, a civil lawyer who represents two of the victims. If convicted, Morsi and the other defendants could face the death penalty. During yesterday’s session, Morsi rejected the proceedings and said he had been forced to attend. When Judge Ahmed Sabry Youssef called out Morsi’s name as one of the defendants, the ousted president, to the cheers of defense lawyers, indignantly replied: “I am Mohammed Morsi, the president of the republic.” The judge interrupted him, saying rules for addressing the court must be observed. Morsi still went on: “I am Dr Mohamed Morsi, the president of the republic. I am here by force and against my will. The coup is a crime and treason.”

Morsi later refused to enter a plea and demanded that he be given a microphone, although his voice was loud enough for everyone in the lecture hall converted into a courtroom to hear. “This is not my court,” Morsi went on.

“This court, with all due respect, doesn’t have jurisdiction over the president. There is a military coup in this country.

The leaders of this coup must be brought to trial according to the constitution.”

Similarly defiant was Mohammed El-Beltagy, a senior Brotherhood leader who repeatedly interrupted the judge.

At one point, he said he held the judge personally responsible for what he said was his flawed referral to trial. “You are not paying attention. You will get the chance to speak,” the judge told him. “It is you who is not paying attention,” snapped Beltagy.

The raucous session reflected the highly charged atmosphere of a nation deeply polarized - with Morsi’s Islamist supporters on one side and the military-backed administration and moderate Egyptians who support it on the other. The judge had to adjourn the hearing twice because of cheering and chanting in the court. Defendants chanted, “Down, down with military rule!” The defense lawyers chanted, “The people greet the steadfastness of the president!” and some of the Egyptian reporters covering the session responded with: “Execution, execution!”

After the adjournment, Morsi was taken to Bourg El-

Arab, a prison in the desert near the Mediterranean city of Alexandra. His co-defendants are being held in a prison near Cairo. The military says it removed Morsi only after millions of Egyptians marched in the streets demanding his ouster, accusing him and the Brotherhood of trying to subvert the law and impose their will on the country. Morsi’s supporters accuse the military of crushing Egypt’s nascent democracy by overturning the results of multiple elections won by the Islamists since the 2011 fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising.

Rights advocates have expressed concern about the trial’s fairness, as it is taking place in the atmosphere of a widescale crackdown on the Brotherhood and its Islamist allies in which several thousand have been arrested and hundreds killed. The judicial system is stacked with Morsi’s adversaries, with whom he clashed repeatedly during his year in office. Authorities on Sunday switched the location of the trial to the police academy, a move apparently aimed at thwarting mass rallies planned by Morsi’s supporters. Security was tight, with hundreds of black-clad riot police backed by armored vehicles deployed around the sprawling complex and helicopters hovering above. The final stretch of road leading to the academy was sealed off, with only authorized personnel and accredited journalists allowed to approach. The academy also was being used for the re-trial of Mubarak, who is charged with failing to stop the killing of some 900 protesters during the 18-day uprising that toppled his 29-year regime. But unlike Mubarak’s first trial, the proceedings against Morsi were not broadcast live.

Several hundred Morsi supporters rallied outside the police academy, carrying posters with his photo. They also chanted slogans against Gen Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, the military chief who led the coup. Police fired in the air to separate them from Morsi’s opponents. They also used tear gas to end clashes between the two sides at a major court complex in downtown Cairo. Police also used tear gas to disperse thousands of Morsi supporters in the southern city of Assiut.

“Morsi’s insistence that he is still the legitimate president shows that he and most of the Muslim Brotherhood is not ready to give up their legitimacy claim,” said Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Doha Center think-tank. “Their stand is detached from the reality, but their defiance is noteworthy and could keep supporters energized.”

Amnesty International said Morsi should be granted a fair trial, including the right to challenge evidence against him. “Failing to do so would further call into question the motives behind his trial,” said the watchdog’s Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. But Hamid believes the “political” nature of the trial will drive its outcome. “There is zero chance of it being free and fair,” he said. —- Agencies

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORT S Yang detained after car crash

Skiing winter World Cup

Warne slams Cook’s captaincy

BEIJING: Chinese Olympics swimming champion Sun Yang will spend seven days in detention, state media said yesterday, after a car he was driving without a licence collided with a bus in the latest incident to taint the reputation of the world record holder.

Sun was not injured in the Sunday afternoon accident in the eastern city of Hangzhou, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Police have given him seven days of “administrative detention” — which means he will be held in a detention centre — and an unspecified fine, Xinhua said, citing Hangzhou police. It provided no other details. Olympic champion in London last year at the 400 and 1500 metre freestyle events, Sun had earlier taken to his Sina Weibo microblog to say sorry.

“I should have been a role model as an athlete and a public figure but I failed my responsibility,” he wrote on the popular Twitter-like platform.

“I am deeply sorry for what I have done and will reflect on my behaviour. Because I have been focusing on training and competition, I had only a hazy knowledge of the law, which led to my mistake,” he added. “After this incident, I will strengthened my knowledge and study of the law to prevent such a thing from happening again. I hope that everyone will take this as a warning and give me an opportunity to correct my mistake.” —Reuters

BERLIN: The international skiing federation (FIS) has called on all winter sports governing bodies to oppose any plan to stage the 2022 soccer World Cup in the winter, fearing it will damage their own competitions. Following a council meeting late on Sunday FIS said it planned to agree on a resolution with the other six winter sports federations in a combined attack on world soccer’s governing body FIFA’s plans to switch the dates of the tournament in Qatar.

“FIS will submit a proposal to the other six International Winter Sports Federations to sign a resolution against organising the World Cup during the winter sports season in 2022,” it said in a brief statement. FIS has long viewed FIFA’s plans with suspicion, aware that a soccer World Cup, the world’s biggest and most popular single sports event, would take away viewers and sponsors from the skiing season.

Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup at the expense of rival bids from the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has since said it was a mistake to award a summer tournament to Qatar and is now looking for dates in the winter. A date for the tournament has yet to be finalised and the expected switch to a winter tournament to avoid the searing summer desert heat in the Gulf state has also angered other leagues and soccer clubs. FIS President Gianfranco Kasper has repeatedly warned such plans would impact the skiing competition and has called on FIFA to respect other sports federations. —Reuters

MELBOURNE: Alastair Cook’s captaincy is “negative” and “boring”, and could cost England the Ashes if the hosts lift their game, according to former Australia spinner Shane Warne.

Cook led England to an emphatic 3-0 victory in the first of back-to-back Ashes this year and is expected to lead the tourists to a fourth consecutive test series win over Australia. The first test starts in Brisbane on Nov. 21.

“When I’m asked my opinion I’ll tell you what I think and that is Alastair Cook needs to be more imaginative,” Warne said in comments published by British media on Monday.

“Alastair Cook can be negative, boring and not very imaginative, still win and be very happy. “But I think if Australia play well and he continues to captain the way he does I think they are going to lose the series. I don’t think he can captain the side like that. “I think he lets the game drift. He waits for the game to come to him. “To me I don’t like that style of captaincy and when you’re playing against the best sides in the world under pressure it won’t hold up.” Warne, Australia’s top test wicket-taker and second all-time behind Sri Lankan Murali Muralitharan, also took aim at England batsman Joe Root, saying the 22-year-old would be “crucified” by Australia’s pace attack if asked to open his team’s batting.

“We know Root played well at Lord’s but I don’t think he is an opener because of his technique and I think Australia found him out,” Warne said of the Yorkshire batsman, who scored 180 in the second test at Lord’s. “You can’t hang back like that and get stuck in the crease in Australia because of the pace of the wickets. —Reuters

Wild see off Devils ST. PAUL: Josh Harding stopped 19 shots for his second shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild beat the New Jersey Devils 4-0 Sunday night. Mikael Granlund, Torrey Mitchell, Dany Heatley and Jason Pominville scored for the Wild, who have won five of six. Nino Niederreiter had three assists.

Cory Schneider, back after missing three games with an injured groin, finished with 16 saves for New Jersey. The Devils were blanked for the second straight night and fourth time in 14 games. New Jersey defenseman Jon Merrill left his first NHL game after sliding hard into the boards in the first period. The team said he had lacerations on his face.

FLAMES 3, BLACKHAWKS 2 Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime and Reto Berra made 42 saves in his first NHL game, leading the Flames to the victory.

Russell’s shot from the blue line clanked off the crossbar and past Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford, ending Calgary’s 10-game losing streak in Chicago. The Flames won at the United Center for the first time since March 2008.

Mike Cammalleri and Curtis Glencross scored in regulation for the Flames. Calgary’s T.J. Galiardi missed on a second-period penalty shot.

Chicago’s Marian Hossa scored a power-play goal with 4:19 left in the third period to tie it at 2.

Patrick Kane also scored for Chicago, which had won three in a row. Crawford made 27 saves.

Watch the legend, Tendulkar’s 200th and final Test match only on OSN Pehla DUBAI: OSN, the region’s leading pay-TV network, is giving cricket enthusiasts across the region, the exclusive opportunity to watch the legend, Sachin Tendulkar’s, final Test match against West Indies, live on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Kicking off on November 06, 2013, India’s tour of West Indies, will mark Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th Test Match, making him the second greatest Test Cricket batsman after the late Sir Don Bradman.

Sachin Tendulkar holds just about every batting record in the game, including the

most hundreds in Tests and One Day Internationals (ODIs), and the highest number of international runs.

Having started his career at the young age of 16, today, Tendulkar is the only cricketer in the history of the sport to have a staggering 100 international centuries to his credit. The India versus West Indies series is set to kick off live on OSN Sports Cricket HD, from November 06. Enjoy every moment in high-definition only on OSN Sports Cricket HD, the home of cricket for the region.

STARS 4, SENATORS 3 Jamie Benn scored in the shootout to power Dallas to the road win. Antoine Roussel, Ray Whitney and Valeri Nichushkin scored in regulation for the Stars (6-6-2). Kari Lehtonen stopped Milan Michalek, Jason Spezza and Bobby Ryan in the shootout.

Ottawa lost goaltender Craig Anderson when he went down hard after being hit by Valeri Nichushkin in overtime. He was taken off the ice on a stretcher after he appeared to take a knee to the head. Anderson faced 36 shots before Robin Lehner was forced into action. Ryan, Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza scored for the Senators (4-6-4), with Ryan tying it with 9.6 seconds remaining in regulation. Lehtonen made 33 saves. — AP

Josh Harding in action in this file photo.

NHL results/standings Dallas 4, Ottawa 3 (SO); Minnesota 4, New Jersey 0; Calgary 3, Chicago 2 (OT).

San Jose Anaheim Phoenix Vancouver Los Angeles Calgary Edmonton

Western Conference Pacific Division W L OTL GF 10 1 3 53 11 3 1 50 10 3 2 51 10 5 1 46 9 6 0 43 6 6 2 42 3 10 2 36

GA 27 39 46 41 40 49 59

PTS 23 23 22 21 18 14 8

Colorado Chicago Minnesota St. Louis Nashville Dallas Winnipeg

Central Division 12 1 0 42 9 2 4 52 8 4 3 38 8 2 2 44 7 5 2 31 6 6 2 37 5 8 2 35

19 42 34 29 40 42 45

24 22 19 18 16 14 12

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Tampa Bay 10 4 0 47 35 Toronto 10 5 0 48 36 Detroit 9 4 2 38 37 Boston 8 5 0 36 25 Montreal 8 7 0 41 31 Ottawa 4 6 4 42 47 Florida 3 8 3 28 49 Buffalo 2 13 1 26 49 Metropolitan Division Pittsburgh 11 4 0 48 33 NY Islanders 6 5 3 45 44 Washington 7 7 0 44 40 NY Rangers 6 7 0 25 38 Carolina 4 7 3 27 44 Columbus 5 8 0 33 36 New Jersey 3 7 4 26 42 Philadelphia 4 9 0 21 37 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one the standings and are not

20 20 20 16 16 12 9 5 22 15 14 12 11 10 10 8 point in

Softball cricket tourney gets off to a flying start

Horner says Vettel’s F1 control mind-blowing LONDON: Sebastian Vettel’s run of seven grand prix wins in a row may be even more impressive than Michael Schumacher’s similar streak in 2004, according to his Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. Vettel, already the sport’s youngest quadruple world champion at 26 years old, was utterly dominant in Abu Dhabi on Sunday as he chalked up his seventh successive victory with almost embarrassing ease.

No driver in the modern era has won more than seven in a row, and Schumacher and Vettel are the only ones ever to have done so in a single season.

Italian Alberto Ascari racked up nine consecutive victories but that was over the course of the 1952 and 1953 seasons when the calendar admittedly had a fraction of the number of races seen today.

“The times are very different,” Horner said when asked to compare Vettel’s achievement with Schumacher’s success at Ferrari. “We’re all on a standard tyre now, there’s no testing, we’re limited on the amount of engines we can have, the amount of wind tunnel time and so on.

“So it’s a much more even playing field (now). It’s always difficult to compare generations with generations but the level at which he’s performing, I don’t have words to describe how phenomenal it is. It’s just truly impressive,” added Horner.

Vettel finished more than 30 seconds ahead of second placed team mate Mark Webber in Abu Dhabi, the best benchmark of performance given that the Australian was in an identical car and had started on pole position. He had been 40 seconds clear of the rest at his second pitstop.

Under the Singapore floodlights in September, the German’s most dominant win of 2013 before Sunday, he had taken the chequered flag 32.6 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

In India, he won 29.8 seconds clear of

second placed Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes. “It was absolutely mind-blowing in many respects. After the start, Seb just got his head down and disappeared,” said Horner of Sunday’s latest display of supremacy.

In 2011, Vettel won 11 races - a number he has matched already this year with two rounds remaining - and is now on course to equal Schumacher’s 2004 record of 13 victories in a season.

“It’s just truly dominant, he has just hit a patch of form that is incredible. We know Mark Webber is a very fine racing driver and in a race that didn’t have any safety cars or any issues, to achieve what he’s done is quite mind blowing,” said Horner.

“I think Sebastian’s just stepped up another gear.” While others have struggled to get the most out of the tricky Pirelli tyres, or indeed make them last, Vettel seems to have unlocked their secrets more than anyone else - even if he denied there was any great mystery.

The tyres, he said, remained difficult to drive because of their extreme sensitivity but it helped to lead from the front and have clean air.

“Somehow we got the hang of it,” he said. “More and more so towards the end of the year. And looking after them (the tyres), really listening to them and being able to extract maybe a little more performance than the other guys.”

The comparisons with compatriot Schumacher have followed him throughout his career but the numbers tell only part of the story. “The thing is that people see seven races. People don’t see the challenge it takes every single race to nail it,” said Vettel. Webber, who has been on pole in two of the last three races but has yet to win a race this season, knows what it takes and recognised his team mate was simply ‘on another category’. “I think he’s in a sweet spot, for sure,” he said. — Reuters

KUWAIT: The Annual BEC Red N Black — Softball cricket tournament is underway.

It was inaugurated by ED Titus, Director& GM BEC. This tournament is one of the most watched and followed soft ball cricket tournaments in Kuwait. In the fifth year of its functioning, this tournament has seen some very good players in Kuwait showcasing their skills.

Teams from various par ts of Kuwait, with members from various nationalities participate in this tournament. Inaugurating the tournament, Titus congratulated Red N Black Team for their sincere efforts and professionalism in arranging and conducting the event. In a light hearted quip, he also mentioned that playing under the sun made sure that the players also received

adequate vitamin D from sunlight.

Last year ’s tournament saw healthy competition between the teams, which made the final, a nail biting thriller. Also, the participating teams have practiced very well over the last couple of months, braving the hot sun, so we expect this year’s competition to be equally heart churning.

This tournament consists of 32 teams from across Kuwait and brings together people of different nationalities under one roof. All the matches are held on Fridays and last for 1 month. T he matches of the first round group A & B were held on 25th October with some scintillating performances.

Summary of the matches GROUP A

Kuwait Rangers vs Abbassia men in Blue

SL Youth won by 3 wickets

Kuwait Rangers 95/4 in 10 overs Abbassia Men in Blue 72/7 in 10 overs Kuwait Rangers won by 23 runs

GROUP B Red N Black vs BEC Red N Black 160/2 BEC 45/7 Red N Black won by 115 runs

Alghanim vs Artec Alghanim 83/7 in 10 overs Artec 76/8 in 10 overs Alghanim won by 7 runs

NCC vs Reliance Boys NCC 101/8 in 10 overs Reliance Boys 103/5 in 9.4 overs Reliance Boys won by 5 wickets

Friend 11 Mahaboula vs Kerala Brothers Friends 11 M 98/6 in 10 overs Kerala Brothers 64/8 Friends 11 M won by 34 runs

Jabria CC vs Blue Birds Jabria CC 123/3 Blue Birds 127/5 in 9.3overs Blue Birds won by 5 wickets

Gulf Spic vs Srilankan Youth Gulf Spic 78/6 in 10 overs Srilankan Youth 79/7 in 8.5 overs

Packers 11 vs Stars Packers XI 109/3 in 10 overs Stars 73/9 in 10 overs Packers 11 won by 36 runs

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORT S

Els to skip Dubai event SHANGHAI: Former world number one Ernie Els has described as “farcical” the European Tour’s increased playing demands and will register his disapproval by skipping next week’s flagship season-ending event in Dubai.

The South African is annoyed at the tour’s new regulation that its members must play two of the three events leading into Dubai to be eligible for the $8 million season finale.

Els, a four-times major champion who

is also a member of the US PGA Tour, said he understood why the European Tour wanted to coax its top players into contesting more of the big-money Asian tournaments.

“I can see (the tour’s point of view) but it’s crazy,” he said. “I’ve been playing both tours since 1994 and it’s been no problem but for some reason now the European Tour expect us to play a full schedule.

“We used to play seven events and

CHINA: Ernie Els of South Africa tees off in this file photo. — AFP has been a member of the European Tour for nearly two decades, is clearly hurt that the tour does not seem bothered about whether he plays in Dubai. “I don’t think they really care,” Els said wearily when asked how the tour had reacted to the news that their most celebrated veteran member would not play in Dubai.

“Why would they make a decision like that and expect guys to play? It’s farcical.

In my view it’s an absolute joke.” Els, who

you could keep your card in Europe. Now you have to play more than in America.

(That is) the direction they’re going in. I just think it’s the wrong one.

“I’m going to have to look at my schedule. I was there for the growth of this tour, 22 years, and now they’ve making it almost impossible for me to remain playing the tour.

“All the good things I’ve done for this tour and a lot of other guys have done

for this tour They’ve given me honorary membership and all that but the way they’re going is not the right direction.

“You could always play both tours.

You’ve had Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy win both money lists. “Now we have to make a decision where we never used to do that. Guys are not going to keep doing that. We’ve got families and schedules to keep.”

The two-out-of-three rule that has riled Els refers to the recent BMW Masters in Shanghai, the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament that ended in Shanghai on Sunday, and this week’s Turkish Airlines Open. Els’s comments, made while signing tournament flags at the HSBC Champions tournament at the weekend, demonstrate the conundrum faced by the European Tour, which is struggling to keep up with the richer PGA Tour as more and more non-American players choose to play primarily in the United States.

World number two Adam Scott, the Masters champion from Australia, quietly relinquished his European Tour membership a few years ago and now plays almost exclusively in the U.S. and his homeland.

At 44, Els, twice British Open and US Open champion, may not represent the future of the European Tour, but he has been the non-European face of the tour for the past two decades and it could be an embarrassment for the tour if he is not present for the DP World Tour Championship starting on Nov. 14.

Els is 14th on the tour’s Race to Dubai standings. The top 60 players after this week’s Turkish Airlines Open qualify for Dubai. The tour, however, is unlikely to ever lose its top European players - nearly all of whom covet Ryder Cup selection.

But the balancing act of trying to get the top players to compete regularly, without driving them off the tour altogether, will continue. — Reuters

Japan glimpses rays of hope in All Blacks defeat TOKYO: For New Zealand, their comfortable win over Japan on Saturday will become a mere statistic in their fabled history, even if some will deride the All Blacks for not choosing stiffer competition to warm up for their European tour.

For Japan, though, the 54-6 loss was far more significant, evidence that the wheels of progress, backed by a professional environment and infusion of international expertise, were turning in a country that will host the 2019 World Cup. Their previous two test encounters with the All Blacks, both at World Cups, had been lopsided defeats of 83-7 in 2011 and 145-17 in 1995 - the latter one of the lowest points in the history of Japanese rugby. A similar defeat on Saturday for the ‘Brave Blossoms’, currently ranked 15th in the world, would have been highly detrimental to their build up towards the 2015 World Cup, not to mention the even more important tournament four years later.

As it was, though, Saturday’s tenacious and combative performance against the toughest of teams greatly excited a 21,000 crowd at Tokyo’s Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium and proved a point or two. “New Zealand is undoubtedly the best team in the world,” said general manager Kensuke Iwabuchi.

“But we wanted to show ourselves and our fans that they are no longer a presence above the clouds, but a team to beat.”

Apart from anything else, it showed Japan’s win in June against Wales, albeit an inexperienced Welsh side without its British and Irish Lions, was no fluke. Many credit the progress in Japanese rugby to the establishment a decade ago of Top League, a semi-professional competition which has drawn coaching staff and top players from around the world. All Blacks Sonny Bill Williams and Jerome Kaino as well as Springbok Jaque Fourie are among those who have been drawn to Japan by generous salaries.

The Top League has undoubtedly raised the level of rugby and there have been early signs of a trade going the other way with scrumhalf Fumiaki Tanaka and hooker Shota Horie signing for Super Rugby teams.

The hope is that a two-way interraction between imports and exports to Super Rugby and New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship (ITM Cup) will provide Japan with the constant exposure to top level rugby that is key to further

development. “Currently we have a few players playing Super Rugby, and we would like more. It’s the same with the ITM Cup. We would like more players playing ITM Cup,” said Scott Wisemantel, the technical director who stood in on Saturday as coach for Eddie Jones, who suffered a stroke in October.

“The level of Top League has improved, it’s just that week in week out competitive rugby our players need.” The appointment of former Wallabies coach Jones last year represented a continuation of a policy that began in 2007 when the Japanese Rugby Football Union (JRFU) appointed its first national coach from overseas in former All Black John Kirwan.

Kirwan and Jones have not only provided the JFRU with some needed clout in the international rugby community but have helped infuse the national team with a high level of technical expertise.That was especially evident in the Japanese scrum on Saturday, which surprisingly pushed back the New Zealand pack on a few occasions and were clinical at the lineout where they also contested the opposition’s throw.

Australian Wisemantel credited the improved performance to the tutelage of scrum coach Marc Dal Maso, a former France hooker and one of a number of foreign advisors drafted in by Jones. One of the biggest problems facing Japan has always been that of stature, with the country producing plenty of pacy backs but few players with the sort of physique necessary to compete up front and increasingly in the midfield in test rugby. Imports have helped - the back row on Saturday was made up of players who qualified for Japan by residency - but there has also been progress on developing homegrown hulks and the tight five that played against the world champions were all Japanese born and bred.

If official statistics are to be trusted the combined weight of the Japanese starting front row on Saturday was 335 kilos, 10 kilos heavier than that of the New Zealand trio.

A competitive scrum is hugely important for Japan as the backs have so often spent large portions of tests against top nations starved of the ball as their forwards struggle. Japan will have another chance to test its scrum on Saturday when they face Scotland at Murrayfield, just the sort of fixture they will have to start winning if they are to fulfil their ambition of getting into the top eight in the world by 2019. —Reuters

Williams guns for fifth Melbourne Cup MELBOURNE: Local property magnate and racing enthusiast Lloyd Williams’ presence looms large over today’s running of the A$6 million ($5.66 million) Melbourne Cup, with his six entrants hogging a quarter of the field of “the race that stops a nation”.

The 73-year-old owner clinched his fourth Melbourne Cup last year on the back of the Robert Hickmott-trained Green Moon but his hunger for Australia’s richest and most famous thoroughbred

trainer Hickmott and only Mourayan drawing outside barrier 10, the tycoon’s powerful bid has proved controversial, with English trainer Ed Dunlop raising concerns that the race could be manipulated.

“I hope Mr. Williams isn’t allowed to boss this race,” Dunlop, who has entered eight-year-old gelding Red Cadeaux for a third tilt, told local media.

“It is not ideal, let’s not beat about the bush. We are drawn wide. I think the most interesting thing is Lloyd Williams’ horses

Lloyd Williams feeds a horse in this file photo. trophy shows little sign of abating.

Green Moon, who defied 22-1 odds and a field of quality European stayers to win the gruelling two-mile handicap, returns to Flemington Racecourse to bid for back-to-back Cups, but the seven-yearold stallion is among the less fancied of Williams’ sextet.

Sea Moon, Fawkner and Seville are all highly backed to win, with Masked Marvel and Mourayan rated rough chances to salute in front of an expected crowd of more than 100,000.

With all prepared by Williams’ trusted

are all very well drawn.” The reclusive Williams hit back at Dunlop’s ‘team orders’ comments yesterday, describing them as “extremely poor manners”.

“Twelve months ago this Friday, I put plans in place for eight horses to be aimed at the Melbourne Cup and six have made it,” Williams, known for his meticulous management of his horses, told The Australian newspaper.

“Racing is like business, you have got to have a plan.” Dunlop’s comments have touched a raw nerve with Australia’s racing community, which has bemoaned the ris-

ing strength of foreign-prepared entrants and happily adopted a siege mentality hyped up by local media.

Australian racing has also been hit by a string of corruption scandals in recent years and last year’s race was tarnished when stewards allowed jockey and former winner Damien Oliver to ride despite being embroiled in an illegal betting probe.

Having served a 10-month ban for placing a bet on a rival horse, Oliver returns to ride on the Gai Waterhousetrained Fiorente which most agencies had installed as a 7-1 favourite on the eve of the race. Runner-up last year, Fiorente was Waterhouse’s third second-placing after Te Akau Nick in 1993 and Nothin Leica Dane in 1995.

“It’s probably made me keener and hungrier than ever,” Oliver said of his ban, which pundits criticised as lightweight for not precluding him from Australia’s richest spring racing season.

“I’m very keen to reward Gai and hopefully share in her first Melbourne Cup.” Of the nine foreign-prepared entrants, Mount Athos is rated the strongest chance to win and give trainer Luca Cumani a maiden Melbourne Cup after runner-up finishes with Purple Moon in 2007 and Bauer the following year. The powerful Godolphin stable, also chasing a first Cup triumph after 15 fruitless years, has entered a single challenger in Saeed Bin Suroor-trained Royal Empire, a five-year stallion to be ridden by former winner Kerrin McEvoy.

Former England striker Michael Owen has also flown to Melbourne as part-owner of the Tom Dascombe-trained Brown Panther. Australia’s holy grail of racing has never fallen into English hands, and Owen was guarded about the chances of the sixyear-old stallion breaking the drought. “To be the first would be a huge honour. (But) we’re not getting too carried away,” he said. — Reuters

Photo of the day

Competitors perform during Red Bull Flugtag at Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar on November 1, 2013. — www.redbull.com

Heat scorch Wizards MIAMI: LeBron James scored 25 points and Chris Bosh added 24 as Miami beat winless Washington 103-93 on Sunday night to end a rare two-game slide.

Dwyane Wade scored 20 points for Miami, which hasn’t dropped three straight regular-season games since Jan. 1013, 2012. The Heat (2-2) had 32 assists on 37 field goals, including on all nine of their baskets in the third quarter.

Including playoffs, the Heat are now 100 games over .500 at home since the start of the 2010-11 season - 127-27.

Bradley Beal scored 19 points for the Wizards. Marcin Gortat finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for Washington (0-3). Miami’s last three-game slide was against Boston in the 2012 Eastern Conference finals, a series the Heat won in seven games.

PISTONS 87, CELTICS 77 Josh Smith and Andre Drummond scored 15 points each as Detroit kept Boston and first-year coach Brad Stevens winless. The Pistons (2-1) trailed 65-63 early in the fourth quarter but went on a 10-0 run to take the lead for good and win their second home game in as many tries.

Drummond added 12 rebounds and Brandon Jennings had 14 points in his Detroit debut.

Rookie Kelly Olynyk scored 15 points and Jordan Crawford added 13 for the Celtics (0-3). Jennings missed most of the preseason and the first two games because of a fractured jaw caused by a wisdom tooth. Jennings came to Detroit during the offseason in a sign-and-trade deal with Milwaukee.

MAGIC 107, NETS 86 Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 12 rebounds as Orlando routed Brooklyn in Jason Kidd’s coaching debut.

Magic rookie Victor Oladipo scored 19 points, 14 in the second half, as Orlando won back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 19, 2012. Andrew Nicholson added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic (2-2), who beat New Orleans 110-90 at home last Friday night.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 21 points. Paul Pierce was the only other Net to score in double figures with 16 points and he grabbed seven rebounds. The Nets (1-2), who shot 38.2 percent for the game, and were outscored 66-48 in the second half.

THUNDER 103, SUNS 96 Kevin Durant had 33 points and 10 rebounds and Russell Westbrook had 21 points and seven assists in his return from a knee injury for Oklahoma City.

Serge Ibaka added nine points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City (2-1), which won its fifth straight home opener and defeated Phoenix (2-1) for the 11th straight time. The Suns last beat Oklahoma City in December 2010.

Westbrook, sidelined for six months after first tearing the lateral meniscus in his right knee during the second game of the NBA playoffs, then having a medical setback, returned three to five weeks ahead of the team’s previously announced timetable.

Eric Bledsoe scored 26 points and added a career-best 14 assists for Phoenix, which opened the season with home wins over Portland and Utah. The Suns stayed with Oklahoma City thanks to 14-of-37 3-point shooting, compared to 2 of 18 for the Thunder.

TIMBERWOLVES 109, KNICKS 100 Kevin Love had 34 points, 15 rebounds and five assists and Kevin Martin scored 30 points as Minnesota improved to 3-0 for the first time in 12 years.

Minnesota took a huge lead after a 40-point first quarter, then pulled away after the Knicks trimmed it to two in the closing minutes to move halfway to matching the 2001-02 team that set the franchise record by winning its first six.

The Timberwolves, averaging a whopping 37.3 points in

the first quarter, are healthy again after an injury-wrecked 2012-13 and showing the early promise of a team that can contend for its first playoff berth since 2004.

Carmelo Anthony had 22 points and 17 rebounds for the Knicks, who have dropped two straight after a seasonopening victory and drew some loud boos in the first half while appearing to be standing still on defense.

Anthony shot just 8 of 21. Metta World Peace added 17 points, but the Knicks were too far behind by the time they found any offense.

LAKERS 105, HAWKS 103 Xavier Henry scored 18 points and Pau Gasol hit two tiebreaking free throws with 6 seconds remaining for Los Angeles, which lost all of a 21-point lead.

Henry started at forward for the first time as a Laker and the 19th time in 137 NBA games. He was 5 of 11 from the field. Gasol finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Steve Nash had 13 points and six assists and Nick Young added 13 points.

Kyle Korver led Atlanta with 22 points, converting all six 3-point attempts, but he missed a 21-footer from the right baseline as time ran out. Hawks point guard Jeff Teague had 14 points and six assists after missing his first five shots.

Two nights after shooting only 37 percent from the field and blowing a 15-point lead against San Antonio, Los Angeles shot 42.7 percent. — AP

NBA results/standings Detroit 87, Boston 77; Miami 103, Washington 93; Orlando 107, Brooklyn 86; Oklahoma City 103, Phoenix 96; Minnesota 109, NY Knicks 100; LA Lakers 105, Atlanta 103.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Philadelphia 3 0 1.000 2 1 .667 1 Toronto NY Knicks 1 2 .333 2 Brooklyn 1 2 .333 2 Boston 0 3 0 3 Central Division Indiana 3 0 1.000 2 1 .667 1 Detroit Milwaukee 1 2 .333 2 Chicago 1 2 .333 2 Cleveland 1 2 .333 2 Southeast Division Miami 2 2 .500 2 2 .500 Orlando Atlanta 1 2 .333 0.5 Charlotte 1 2 .333 0.5 Washington 0 3 0 1.5 Western Conference Northwest Division Minnesota 3 0 1.000 2 1 .667 1 Portland Oklahoma City 2 1 .667 1 Denver 0 2 0 2.5 Utah 0 3 0 3 Pacific Division LA Clippers 2 1 .667 2 1 .667 Phoenix Golden State 2 1 .667 LA Lakers 2 2 .500 0.5 Sacramento 1 2 .333 1 Southwest Division Houston 3 0 1.000 2 1 .667 1 San Antonio Dallas 2 1 .667 1 Memphis 1 2 .333 2 New Orleans 1 2 .333 2

MIAMI: As Washington Wizards’ John Wall (2) falls backwards, trying to make a shot as Miami Heat’s Mario Chalmers (15) looks for the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game. — AP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORTS

Rampant PSG look to secure last-16 berth PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain will look to put fitness concerns to one side and continue their superb recent form to clinch a place in the last 16 of the Champions League when they entertain Anderlecht today. Laurent Blanc’s side have enjoyed a perfect start to their continental campaign this season, winning all three games, scoring 12 goals and letting in just one.

When they last met Anderlecht in Brussels late last month, the Ligue 1 title holders ran out 5-0 winners, registering their biggest ever European away win as Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored four times including a quick-fire first-half hat-trick.

But the nature of that victory was perfectly in keeping with their recent performances, with PSG coming into the return encounter with the Belgians fresh from thumping Lorient 4-0 on Friday.

They are unbeaten in their 16 competitive matches this season and have not lost over 90 minutes in

31 games since the start of March.

Another win today will take them through to the knockout phase before their final games against Olympiakos and Benfica.

Thiago Motta featured for Barcelona when they won the Champions League in 2006 and was later part of the Inter Milan squad when they lifted the trophy in 2010.

Despite that, he missed out on appearing in the final both times, but now he believes that the French champions are one of the select few who could go all the way to next May’s showpiece in Lisbon. “It won’t be easy because there are three other teams who are capable of getting there tooBayern Munich, Barca and Real Madrid,” the Brazilian-born Italian international said last week.

“There is not much difference between us technically, physically or in terms of our collective play.

What brings us close to the level of the teams with

whom I have won the title, and the other teams to have won it, is the fact that we have equally great players.” PSG’s win against Lorient-which extended their unbeaten run at the Parc des Princes to 24 games in all competitions since November last yearwas achieved despite Blanc making a host of changes to a starting line-up deprived of Zlatan Ibrahimovic due to a minor knee problem and still missing skipper Thiago Silva. Edinson Cavani has since picked up a hamstring problem to add to Blanc’s injury worries, but elegant 18-year-old midfielder Adrien Rabiot admits the mood among the squad as a whole is buoyant. “All the players are at 100 percent. It is a pleasure to play in a team like this. I have the impression that we are invincible, especially at the Parc with our fans behind us,” he said. “Now we will concentrate on Anderlecht because we are just missing one victory in order to qualify.” In stark contrast to PSG, Anderlecht are bot-

tom of Group C having lost all three games to date without scoring a goal.

One of Europe’s leading sides in the 1970s and 1980s, when they won five continental trophies including the 1983 UEFA Cup, the Belgian champions can no longer compete at this level.

They are also now struggling even to compete in their own domestic Pro League having sold several established stars in the summer before replacing them with untested youngsters.

Fifth in their domestic table, Les Mauves’ coach John Van den Brom is under pressure and has lost two key players-captain Guillaume Gillet and Argentine forward Matias Suarez-to serious injuries since the last meeting of the clubs.

“It’s going to be difficult. Everyone remembers the beating they gave us two weeks ago,” said defender Cheikhou KouyatÈ. “We will go there hoping to avoid a similar outcome.” — AFP

Van Persie and Rooney hit form before Sociedad clash

TURIN: Juventu’ Argentine forward Carlos Alberto Tevez attends a press conference on the eve of the UEFA Champions League Group B football match between Juventus and Real Madrid. — AFP

Ancelotti can push Juve closer to exit TURIN: Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti can push his former club Juventus and disciple Antonio Conte closer to the Champions League exit door if they win in Turin today.

The two teams, who have won the competition 11 times between them, were both expected to comfortably progress from Group B and Tuesday’s match was seen initially seen as little more than some early sparring for the knockout rounds.

But, after drawing with Galatasaray and Copenhagen and then losing in 2-1 Madrid two weeks ago, Juventus suddenly find themselves fighting for survival. Ancelotti is unlikely to admit it but he may gain some grim satisfaction if he can help eliminate his former club. He had two difficult years at Juventus early in his coaching career, where despite twice leading them to second place in Series A he was sacked on the last day of the 200001 season. Conte, who has led Juventus to two successive Serie A titles, was his swashbuckling captain at the time and has since gone on to become of Europe’s top coaches although he has sometimes shown exasperation at his club’s lack of financial clout.

A win for Real, whose only previous away win against Juventus was 51 years ago, would send them into the last sixteen with two matches to spare and leave third-placed Juve with only two points from four games.

Should Galatasaray win away to FC Copenhagen in Tuesday’s other Group B game, Juventus would find themselves five points behind the Turkish champions with a trip to Istanbul still to come. Juventus have failed to win their last five Champions League

ties, a run which started when they lost both legs of their quarter-final to Bayern Munich last season. Worryingly, three of those matches have been at home at the Juventus stadium, which the club had hoped to turn into an impenetrable fortress when it was opened two years ago. On the other hand, they have won their last three Serie A matches without conceding a goal and will be hoping that Real’s defence will be caught off guard, having leaked five goals in its last two La Liga outings. “Real have plenty of strong players up front who sometimes help out less in defensive areas, which puts their backline under pressure,” Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio said on Sunday. “We managed to defend well in Spain, enjoy possession and cause them problems.”

Juventus will be without defender Giorgio Chiellini, who was sent off at the Bernabeu a fortnight ago, leaving Marchisio as the only survivor from the team which beat Real on their last visit to Turin five years ago.

“Even when down to ten we played an excellent game in terms of our attention and chances created,” he said of their last meeting.

“We must do this again today, whilst being cautious of their threat on the counter through the likes of Angel Di Maria, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.”

“Plus, in Turin, we’ll be able to count on the support of our fans, who will provide a red-hot atmosphere at the stadium.

“We haven’t had a great deal of time in which to prepare for the game, but encounters like these provide plenty of motivation by themselves.” — Reuters

In-form Bayern eye fourth straight win PRAGUE: An in-form Bayern Munich will be looking to notch up their fourth straight win in the Champions League group stage and seal a spot in the final 16 when the Bundesliga champions face Viktoria Plzen today. Title holders Bayern will, though, have to manage without Dutch winger Arjen Robben who stayed behind on Monday, nursing a groin injury.

PILSEN: Bayern Munich’s coach Pep Guardiola ponders a question during a press conference prior to the Champion League soccer match against Viktoria Pilsen. — AP The German side, who have ridden Franck Ribery’s hot start to the season, have scored 11 goals and conceded only one in their three Group D games to stay three points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the table.

Coach Pep Guardiola had Spain international Javi Martinez and German midfielder Mario Goetze back in the starting lineup for the first time in months after the pair’s long injury breaks when they equalled a 30-year-

old Bundesliga record with their 36th game without defeat since October 2012.

Bayern were by no means dominant in their 2-1 win against Hoffenheim on Saturday but they controlled the pace and have yet to lose a game this season in any of the three competitions they are in. Central defender Dante was also back after a two-week injury break.

“It certainly was not one of our best performances,” Guardiola said. “Not everything worked well and we need to correct that.”

Goetze, who joined Bayern in a 37-millioneuro transfer from Borussia Dortmund, said his team had to work harder.

“We have the occasional situation where we play really well and cannot score,” said Goetze. “We need to push more but the team is really good at coming back and that is important.”

In their previous meeting, Bayern ran rampant with Ribery leading the way with two goals in a 5-0 mauling of the Czech champions. A fourth win on the trot in the Champions League group play, combined with a Manchester City victory over CSKA Moscow, would send Bayern into the round of 16. They face a Plzen side who have not yet taken a point in Champions League play and have had an uneven start to their domestic league season.

Plzen have suffered numerous defensive break-downs this season, costing them points, and the team managed only one win during the month of October.

The Czech holders seemed to reverse their fortunes over the weekend with a 6-1 drubbing of Jablonec but face a far tougher task against an intimidating Bayern side.

“Were we in a crisis?” Czech manager Pavel Vrba said after the Jablonec game. “I did not feel anything like that in the locker-room and I’m glad we cruised through the match in such a way.” — Reuters

MADRID: Manchester United’s hopes of silverware this season will likely rest on the shoulders of Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney and manager David Moyes believes the attacking pair are starting to move into top gear.

The Dutchman and the Englishman scored in Saturday’s 3-1 victory at Fulham as the champions put a slow start to their domestic campaign behind them and gave themselves a lift before today’s Champions League Group A clash at Real Sociedad. It was the fourth time that they have netted in the same game under Moyes, who is in his first season in charge after taking over from decorated Scottish compatriot Alex Ferguson, and Van Persie now has six for the season in the Premier League, with Rooney on five.

“I thought there were real signs of great combination between them and they made the goals for each other,” Moyes said at a news conference.

“There was good link-up play and I just started to see really good signs from the two of them,” added the 50-year-old.

“It was great they both got on the scoresheet because that is what forwards do and I have always said you need these boys to get a hatload of goals if you are to be successful.

“They are both incredibly talented and understand each other and the talents they both bring with them.” United captain Nemanja Vidic also praised the two forwards.

“I was really pleased with Robin and Wayne,” the Serbian centre back told United’s television channel MUTV. “In the first 30 minutes they played terrific football and we need them to keep doing that. “Their movement was terrific; they got a goal each and set up the other for Antonio (Valencia). It was a good sign for us and for the team.”

Victory for United at Sociedad’s Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian will put them within touching distance of a place in the last 16 and end the Basque club’s first foray into the Europe’s elite club competition in a decade.

The Liga side’s 1-0 defeat at United last month left them without a point after three of six matches and their exit will be confirmed even with a draw today if Bayer Leverkusen beat Shakhtar Donetsk in the group’s other game in

LONDON: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (centre) trains with teammates at Carrington training ground. Manchester United will play Real Sociedad in Spain in a Champion’s League Group A soccer match today. — AP Ukraine. United are top on seven points, Bundesliga side Leverkusen have six in second and Shakhtar are third on four.

Sociedad showcased their attacking prowess with a thumping 5-0 success at home to 10-man Osasuna on Saturday that lifted them to seventh in La Liga.

Defenders Ion Ansotegi and Inigo Martinez struck with headers either side of halftime before Osasuna centre back Jordan Loties was shown a straight red card for tripping Carlos Vela when he was through on goal.

In-form forward Antoine Griezmann nodded a third in the 56th minute, Gonzalo Castro finished off a sweeping break in the 82nd and substitute Haris Seferovic helped himself to a goal two minutes from time. “It was the kind of match that every coach wants,” Sociedad’s inexperienced

manager Jagoba Arrasate told a news conference.

“Winning, not conceding a goal, it wasn’t easy but everything came off perfectly,” added the 35year-old. United’s win in London did not come without a cost and Moyes has injury concerns over midfielder Tom Cleverley and defenders Jonny Evans and Rafael, who all had to be replaced at halftime. “Tom Cleverley had double vision, Jonny Evans’s back stiffened up and Rafael went over on his ankle,” Moyes said.

“I’m hoping they will be fit. Rafa is the biggest doubt. Tom should be okay in a day or two’s time and Jonny, I couldn’t tell how his back is.

“To go and play against any side in Spain who have qualified will be a hard test, but we will go over there and try and get a good result that will continue our good form in the group.” — Reuters

Man City target last 16 LONDON: Buoyed by their demolition of Norwich City, Manchester City will look to secure qualification for the Champions League knockout phase today when they resume hostilities with CSKA Moscow.

Saturday’s 7-0 victory over Norwich underlined City’s Premier League title credentials and they will enter Tuesday’s game at the Etihad Stadium with confidence high. A win would give City a six-point lead over the Russians in Group D with only two matches remaining.

With head-to-head results the determining criteria in separating teams that are level on points and with bottom club Viktoria Pilsen likely to drop points at home to group leaders Bayern Munich, victory would probably send City into the last 16. After consecutive group-phase exits in the last two seasons, it would represent a breakthrough achievement for new manager Manuel Pellegrini, who nonetheless benefited from a kinder draw than his predecessor, Roberto Mancini, ever enjoyed.

Ahead of the potentially decisive game, rightback Pablo Zabaleta says City can draw encouragement from their strong home record this season. Although they fell 3-1 to Bayern in their last Champions League home game, they have won all five of their league games at the Etihad to date, scoring 20 goals and conceding only two.

“We feel very comfortable at home and our performances have been great since the start of the season,” said the Argentine.

“Playing away we have dropped too many points, but when we play at home we are a very strong side.” The racist abuse to which City’s Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure was subjected by CSKA fans in the reverse fixture on October 23 gives today’s game an unsavory subtext.

European governing body UEFA punished the Russian champions by imposing a partial stadium closure for their next home game in the competition, against Bayern on November 27.

CSKA refused to acknowledge the need for action, however, with general director Roman Babayev claiming that the accusations of racism were “not proven” and accusing the British press of mounting a “smear” campaign.

Of perhaps greater concern to Pellegrini is the form of goalkeeper Joe Hart, who was dropped in favour of Costel Pantilimon for the game against Norwich after a series of recent mistakes.

Pellegrini must decide whether to keep faith with the Romanian, but he has revealed that Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo should be fit to play despite being taken off at half-time against Norwich.

“Negredo was not injured, but he played 115 minutes last Wednesday (against Newcastle United in the League Cup) and we have to play

LONDON: Manchester City squad members take part in a training session in Carrington, north-west England ahead of their UEFA Champions League football match against CSKA Moscow. — AFP again today in a very important game for the club so I thought it was better for him,” explained the Chilean.

CSKA will be without injured playmaker Alan Dzagoev, but defender Vasili Berezutski is expected to return following a spell on the sidelines. CSKA coach Leonid Slutsky saw his side beat Volga Nizhny Novgorod 2-1 in the Russian Premier League on Saturday and has warned his players that their future in the Champions League will be on the line in Manchester.

“The match in Manchester will be the decisive encounter for us,” he said. “If we lose the match,

we lose the chance to get a place in the knockout rounds.” CSKA trail league leaders Zenit Saint Petersburg by nine points after 15 matches, but Ivorian forward Seydou Doumbia says they have turned things around following a disastrous recent run of five games without victory. “As long as we have the slightest chance, we will battle for the win,” he said.

“Every match that we win at home or away is important for us. Recently we managed to battle back from a five-match winless streak to win two games in a row. It will be great to extend the winning streak in Manchester.” — AFP

Matches on TV (Local Timings) UEFA Champions League 22:45

Copenhagen v Galatasaray Aljazeera Sport 4 HD

22:45

Pizen v Bayern Munich Aljazeera Sport +2

22:45

Olympiakos v Benfica Aljazeera Sport +3

22:45

PSG v Anderlecht Aljazeera Sport 5 HD

22:45

Juventus v Real Madrid Aljazeera Sport 1 HD

22:45

Shakhtar v Leverkusen 04 Aljazeera Sport +4

22:45

Sociedad v Man United Aljazeera Sport 2 HD

22:45

Man City v CSKA Aljazeera Sport 3 HD

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

S P ORT S Guadalajara notch up rare win MEXICO CITY: Guadalajara Chivas ignored threatening banners displayed by fans to notch up a rare 1-0 victory over UNAM Pumas in the Mexican Apertura championship.

The west stand of Chivas’s Omnilife stadium was bedecked with banners denouncing players, coaching staff and club owner Jorge Vergara at Sunday’s match.

“Leave or you die”, “Enough is enough”, “You can’t mess with history”, “Our patience is up”, “Mediocre directors” and “Go, Vergara”, said some of the banners displayed.

Guadalajara, who with current champions America hold a record 11 league titles but last won the crown in 2006, have been struggling to live up to their big name.

Coach Juan Carlos Ortega brushed off the banners, saying: “I didn’t even read or see them, the match was too good to be looking at threats on sheets.

“We already have a very serious worry

trying to get the team to win,” he told reporters after Chivas’s second victory in 16 matches in the championship thanks to a goal from striker Rafael Marquez Lugo.

Guadalajara, three from bottom of the 20-team championship, have failed to reach the eight-team knockout rounds which is a must for Mexico’s leading clubs.

America, who qualified with four matches to spare, made sure of finishing top of the table despite a 0-0 draw at Queretaro on Friday and will meet the team finishing eighth in the quarter-finals.

Second-placed Santos Laguna lost 2-1 at Chiapas on Saturday and are four points behind with one round to go in the league phase. Santos, Cruz Azul, Leon and Toluca have secured places in the last eight with Chiapas, Morelia and Queretaro occupying the other three qualifying berths while UANL Tigres and Tijuana are mathematically still in the running. — Reuters

Roux double sinks Monaco PARIS: Lille striker Nolan Roux scored twice to inflict big-spending Monaco’s first Ligue 1 defeat of the season with a 2-0 win that lifted the hosts into second place in the standings on Sunday.

Roux put Lille ahead after 27 minutes when he tapped the ball in from close range following a Marko Basa header from a corner. The forward made it 2-0 midway through the second half after Salomon Kalou had initiated a quick counter-attack.

Lille, who have now recorded 10 clean sheets from 12 games, easily contained a struggling Monaco side. They moved up to second on 26 points, two behind leaders Paris St Germain who thrashed Lorient 4-0 on Friday thanks to an Edinson Cavani double and goals from Brazilian Lucas and Frenchman Jeremy Menez. Monaco are third on 25. “Congratulations to Lille. They were better than us tonight,” Monaco’s forward Emmanuel Riviere told broadcaster

Canal Plus. “We did not manage to play our game. We can’t win every match in the season, we knew it would happen. Now, we have to stick together.”

The principality club created few chances throughout the game despite the efforts of striker Radamel Falcao who managed just two shots on target as his team mates failed to supply him.

The Colombian created Monaco’s only clear-cut scoring opportunity with a neat deep pass for Riviere in the 67th minute but the latter was superbly denied by Lille and Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. “It’s a beautiful night and Vincent did what he does best,” Roux told the club’s media after Enyeama did not concede for the seventh consecutive league game.

“It was our first test and we passed it brilliantly,” he added. Lille still have to face last season’s runners-up Olympique Marseille and PSG next month. — Reuters

TURIN: AS Roma’s Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanic (right) fights for the ball with Torino’s defender Danilo D’Ambrosio during the Italian Serie A football match. — AFP

Cerci ends Roma’s run ITALY: AS Roma’s 100 percent record in Serie A finally ended on Sunday when they were held 1-1 at midtable Torino in their 11th game of the season after conceding their first goal in more than 12 hours play.

Alessio Cerci’s 63rd minute equaliser for Torino ended goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis’s run of seven successive clean sheets, a total of 744 minutes playing time, after Kevin Strootman had given the Serie A leaders a first-half lead.

Defender Andrea Ranocchia became the first Italian to score for Inter Milan in the league this season as they brushed aside Udinese 3-0.

All but four of Inter’s 27 goals have come from their South American contingent while Japanese midfielder Yuto Nagatomo has netted twice and one belongs to Algerian Saphir Taider.

Domenico Berardi grabbed a hat-trick, including two penalties, to give Sassuolo a 4-3 win at Sampdoria and pile the pressure on coach Delio Rossi while Lazio’s problems continued with a shock 2-0 home defeat by revitalised Genoa.

Roma lead with 31 points from 11 games followed by Napoli and titleholders Juventus in hot

pursuit on 28 and Inter and promoted Hellas Verona on 22.

After Napoli and Juventus both won on Saturday, the championship already looks likely to turn into a three-horse race.

Roma set a new Serie A record by winning their first 10 games and were on course for an 11th when Dutchman Strootman fired them ahead after Miralem Pjanic pulled the ball back. But, looking somewhat lethargic, they handed the initiative to the hosts after the break.

Riccardo Meggiorini had already forced a superb save from De Sanctis when he muscled defender Mehdi Benatia off the ball and crossed low for Cerci to bundle into the net against his former club, only the second goal Roma have conceded this term.

Inter’s Ranocchia volleyed home at the far post in the 29th minute after Argentine forward Rodrigo Palacio had put the visitors ahead with his seventh league goal of the season.

Palacio also set up the third goal for compatriot Ricardo Alvarez in stoppage time. Nicola Pozzi gave Sampdoria a first-half lead against Sassuolo but it

all went wrong for the hosts after a calamitous three minutes for defender Andrea Costa at the start of the second period.

Costa failed to cut out a cross, allowing Berardi to equalise in the 49th minute. He also gave away a penalty, converted by Berardi, and was sent off in the 52nd.

Antonio Floro Flores increased Sassuolo’s lead before Eder and Lorenzo De Silvestri hauled Sampdoria level. Berardi then converted another spot kick with two minutes left to give newcomers Sassuolo a thrilling first-ever Serie A away win.

Promoted Hellas Verona, who are fifth and trail Inter on goal difference, clocked up their sixth straight home win when veteran Luca Toni and Bosko Jankovic scored in a 2-1 win over Cagliari who replied late on through Daniele Conti. Lazio dominated the first half against Genoa, with Germany forward Miroslav Klose denied by a brilliant Mattia Perin save, before the visitors snatched all three points with second-half goals from Juraj Kucka and Alberto Gilardino (penalty). Genoa have taken 10 points from five games since re-appointing Gian Piero Gasperini as coach. — Reuters

Bayern boss Hoeness to stand trial for tax evasion

FRANCE: Monaco’s French defender Layvin Kurzawa (right) vies for the ball with Lille’s French defender Dijbril Sidibe during the French League football match. —AFP

BERLIN: Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness will stand trial for tax evasion in March, a German court said yesterday, but his club wants him to stay on in his current role.

The charges of the prosecutor’s office were admitted for trial which is set to start on March 10.

Hoeness, the face of Bayern Munich for many years, stunned Germany in April by saying he had voluntarily alerted tax authorities in January to a Swiss bank account he held.

He said it was a personal account, created for his stock market trading. He admitted to gambling bigger and bigger amounts and taking a major hit as the dotcom bubble burst.

Last season’s treble winners said yesterday the board’s position was that Hoeness should remain as chairman despite the trial hanging over his head. “The board is of the unanimous opinion that Uli Hoeness shall remain in his position even with a trial being set,” the Bavarians said.

Bayern, who demanded a legal opinion on the current situation, said legal experts cited Hoeness’

long Bayern career, his contribution to the club over decades and the overwhelming backing of Bayern members as supporting the board’s decision yesterday. “Also the law for board members does not foresee any ban on holding office due to a criminal conviction. Indeed there are a number of cases, including listed companies, where board members kept their posts despite accusations of breaking the law in other areas of their lives,” Bayern said. Hoeness himself said he was surprised that his own admission had not been accepted by the authorities. “At first it has to be said that it was to be expected, whether I like it or not,” Hoeness told reporters in the Czech Republic ahead of their Champions League game at Viktoria Plzen today.

“I am surprised that our voluntary alerting of the tax authorities so far is seen as invalid. We are going to do everything with my lawyers in the coming months until the trial in March to convince the court of our arguments.”

A World Cup and European championship winner with Germany, Hoeness, who also won three

European Cups as a player at Bayern, spent 30 years since as the team’s general manager before being elected president of the Bundesliga’s richest and most successful club.

“The court will examine the evidence and then will decide whether indeed the charge of tax evasion can be substantiated,” Munich chief prosecutor Ken Heidenreich told Reuters Television.

He said it was too early to talk about potential sentences in case he was found guilty. Bayern playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger said the affair was not distracting the treble winners. “We can focus on the game without any distraction,” he told reporters. “This has nothing to do with football. We players can do him the biggest favor if we win our games.” Hoeness, who could face a jail sentence but hopes for leniency after naming himself as a tax evader, has said the account had nothing to do with Bayern. German car maker Audi and sports equipment manufacturer Adidas, who both own stakes in the club, have not called for Hoeness’ resignation. — Reuters

Kerala Challengers, Raiders, Curtorcares and Strikers win KUWAIT: The 8th round of the KIFF League matches was held on MOH grounds at Sabah Hospital on Nov 1, 2013 for the Late JP D’Mello Rolling Trophy.

Four matches were held with Kerala Challengers beating Real Betalbatim Football Club 2-0, Skynet Raiders overcoming FC Sparx 2-1, Curtorcares United shocking AVC - Kuwait 6-0 and Indian Strikers registering their first win against Santos United 1-0 In the first match between Kerala Challengers and RBFC the match got underway with a cautious approach, but as time passed Kerala Challengers upped the tempo and went ahead through Rafeeq and consolidated the lead in the second half through Mohammed H. RBFC tried to come back into the match, but Kerala Challengers held firm and won the match 2-0. Rafeeq of Kerala Challengers was declared the Man of the Match given away by Amaldo Fernandes, President of Curtorcares United.

The match was supervised by Tiago and assisted by Mubarak and Nicholas In the second game FC Sparx took on Skynet Raiders. Both the teams started the proceedings with speed and Skynet took the lead through Sony Gomes. Arif Shaikh consolidated the lead for Skynet.

In the second half FC Sparx came back strongly, but

Curtorcares Man of the Match.

Skynet goalkeeper Olavo thwarted everything thrown at him. Towards the fag end of the match FC Sparx reduced the margin through Bipin, but Skynet held on to win the match 2-1 and end FC Sparx’s unbeaten run in the league.

Francis Olavo Monteiro of Skynet Raiders was adjudged the Man of the Match for his superb performance and the award was give away by Mr. Demino D’Cruz, Founder and Advisor of AVC Kuwait. The match was officiated by Mubarak with assistance from Chris and Pascoal The third encounter was between Curtorcares United and AVC - Kuwait. The match started on a sedate note with AVC Kuwait dominating the opening proceedings. Curtorcares went ahead against the run of play when AVC failed to clear the lines from a corner and Cleto Gomes scored.

As AVC searched for an equalizer Curtorcares scored from a counter attack when Bonny Niasso connected his header to increase the lead. In the second half AVC was in a uncharacteristically shutdown mode and allowed Curtorcares to score at will with Bonny Niasso completing his hat trick and Cleto his brace to give their team a well deserved victory by 6 goals to nil and consigning AVC to their heaviest

Indian Strikers Man of the Match.

defeat. Bonny Niasso was deservedly declared the Man of the match and the award was handed over

by Michael of Indian Strikers. The match was supervised by Pascoal with Lloyd and Julio on the lines.

The last match of the day saw Indian Strikers taking on a Santos United. The match was mostly consigned to the midfield at the start. As time wore on Indian Strikers attacked with intent and found the net through Vijeesh. Santos tried in vain to come into

Kerala Challengers Man of the Match.

the match, but their strikers fell short of the target.

Indian Strikers held on to win the match at 1-0. Dixon Benedict of Indian Strikers was awarded the Man of the Match which was handed over by Raymond D’Sa President of GOA Maroons. The match was refereed

by Julio at the center with Lloyd and Christopher on the lines.

The matches were supervised by IFRA officials.

Man of the Match awards for the KIFF League are sponsored by United Steel Industrial Company. The customary housie snowball was conducted by Bernard Fernandes with the prize of air ticket sponsored by Al Qattan Travels.

The schedule of KIFF League matches for 8th November 2013 is as follows: At 6.45am Don Bosco Oratory v/s Kuwait Goan Association. 7.45am Real Betalbatim FC v/s YRC Rising Stars. 8.45am GOA Maroons v/s United Goans center. 9.45am FC Sparx v/s Santos United.

All matches will be played at MOH grounds at Sabah Hospital. Kuwait KIFF advises all that the matches will start promptly at the given time with the 1st match starting at 6.45am sharp from now onwards. Individual intimation is being sent to the affiliates.

Skynet Man of the Match.

Van Persie and Rooney hit form before Sociedad clash

Williams guns for fifth Melbourne Cup

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

17

18

Bayern boss Hoeness to stand trial for tax evasion

Page 19

LANDOVER: San Diego Chargers running back Danny Woodhead dives over Washington Redskins free safety David Amerson and lands short of the touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game. — AP

Colts defeat Texans, Eagles soar HOUSTON: Houston coach Gary Kubiak collapsed leaving the field at halftime and was taken by ambulance to a hospital on Sunday, before the Indianapolis Colts rallied for a 27-24 victory over his Texans. Kubiak hunched over and dropped to his knees at the 24-yard line and was carried off the field on a stretcher.

The Texans didn’t reveal what was wrong with Kubiak, but did say he didn’t have a heart attack. The team said the 52-year-old coach was conscious and was with his family as he was taken to the hospital.

Andrew Luck got off to a slow start before throwing three second-half touchdowns to T.Y. Hilton to overcome an 18-point halftime deficit and give the AFC South-leading Colts the victory.

Case Keenum threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns in his second career start, but had trouble moving the offense after halftime as the Texans, up 21-3 when Kubiak collapsed, lost their sixth straight game after opening the season 2-0 with Super Bowl hopes.

Houston receiver Andre Johnson had nine catches for 229 yards and three touchdowns. Houston had a chance to tie it, but Randy Bullock’s 55-yard field goal attempt as time expired sailed wide left.

EAGLES 49, RAIDERS 20 Nick Foles equaled an NFL mark with seven touchdown passes and threw for 406 yards to revitalize Philadelphia in a victory over Oakland.

The backup quarterback connected three times with Riley Cooper to become the seventh passer in NFL history with seven TD tosses in a game.

Peyton Manning did it for Denver on opening night this season against Baltimore.

Foles also threw scoring passes to Brent Celek, Zach Ertz, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson as the Eagles (4-5) looked nothing like the offense that failed to score a touchdown in each of the past two weeks. Foles completed 22 of 28 passes as he frequently exploited mismatches and blown coverages, starting with a 42-yard screen pass to Cooper on the opening drive when the Raiders (3-5) had two defenders trying to match up with three receivers.

Foles tied the record with a 5-yard pass to Cooper with 4:28 remaining in the third quarter, matching the mark

also held by Sid Luckman, Adrian Burk, George Blanda, Y.A. Tittle and Joe Kapp.

SEAHAWKS 27, BUCCANEERS 24 Steven Hauschka kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8:11 left in overtime, helping the Seahawks overcame a 21point deficit to beat the Buccaneers for their greatest comeback in club history.

Trailing 21-0, Russell Wilson rallied Seattle (8-1). He threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin with 1:51 left in regulation to pull the Seahawks even. Wilson then led Seattle on a nineplay, 51-yard drive in overtime capped

by Hauschka’s winner.

Tampa Bay fell to 0-8 for the first time since 1985 when the Buccaneers started the season 0-9. Mike James rush for a career-best 158 yards for the Buccaneers.

CHIEFS 23, BILLS 13 Sean Smith returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown and Tamba Hali scored on an 11-yard fumble return in the Chiefs’ win over Buffalo.

The defense made up for a sputtering offense that managed just 210 yards, and for its own deficiencies. The Chiefs gave up a season-worst 470 yards

to a Bills (3-6) offense that was led by undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel, making his first career start. Tuel finished 18 of 39 for 229 yards passing, including a 59yard touchdown to Marquise Goodwin.

Tuel, however, threw two interceptions that led to 10 points for the Chiefs.

Kansas City (9-0) remained the NFL’s only undefeated team and matched the best start in franchise history set in 2003.

The Chiefs held an opponent to 17 points or fewer for the ninth straight time - matching the NFL record set by the Atlanta Falcons in 1977.

JETS 26, SAINTS 20 Nick Folk kicked four field goals and Rex Ryan’s defense held Drew Brees and the high-scoring Saints to six points in the second half as New York upset New Orleans.

Ryan is now 7-3 against his brother, Rob, and the Jets (5-4) maintained their string of alternating wins and losses.

They tied the 2005 New England Patriots for the longest such string to begin a season, according to STATS. Folk is 23 for 23 on field goals and 14 of 14 on extra points. Interceptions by Demario Davis and Antonio Cromartie

highlighted New York’s solid defensive performance, and former Saints running back Chris Ivory rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown. New Orleans (6-2) got two touchdown catches from Jimmy Graham, giving him 10 this season.

BROWNS 24, RAVENS 18 Jason Campbell threw three touchdown passes - two to Davone Bess - and the Browns ended an 11-game losing streak against Baltimore.

Campbell’s 3-yard pass to Bess on fourth down with three minutes left helped the Browns (4-5) seal their first win over Baltimore since 2007.

The Ravens (3-5) lost their third straight and didn’t win in the week following a bye for the first time in six tries under coach John Harbaugh.

Baltimore’s Joe Flacco had a pair of TD passes to rookie Marlon Brown. Flacco finished 24 of 41 for 250 yards.

Making his second straight start after Brandon Weeden was benched, Campbell completed 23 of 35 passes for 262 yards. The nine-year veteran was at his best in the closing minutes, when the Browns ran 6:30 off the clock to finish off the Ravens, who have lost

NFL results/standings Carolina 34, Atlanta 10; Dallas 27, Minnesota 23; NY Jets 26, New Orleans 20; Tennessee 28, St. Louis 21; Kansas City 23, Buffalo 13; Washington 30, San Diego 24 (OT); Philadelphia 49, Oakland 20; Seattle 27, Tampa Bay 24 (OT); Cleveland 24, Baltimore 18; New England 55, Pittsburgh 31; Indianapolis 27, Houston 24.

New England NY Jets Miami Buffalo Cincinnati Cleveland Baltimore Pittsburgh Indianapolis Tennessee Houston Jacksonville Kansas City Denver San Diego Oakland

American Football Conference AFC East W L T OTL PF 7 2 0 1 234 5 4 0 0 169 4 4 0 0 174 3 6 0 1 189 AFC North 6 3 0 1 217 4 5 0 0 172 3 5 0 0 168 2 6 0 0 156 AFC South 6 2 0 0 214 4 4 0 1 173 2 6 0 1 146 0 8 0 0 86 AFC West 9 0 0 0 215 7 1 0 0 343 4 4 0 1 192 3 5 0 0 146

PA 175 231 187 236

PCT .778 .556 .500 .333

166 197 172 208

.667 .444 .375 .250

Green Bay Detroit Chicago Minnesota

155 167 221 264

.750 .500 .250 0

New Orleans Carolina Atlanta Tampa Bay

111 218 174 199

1.000 .875 .500 .375

Seattle San Francisco Arizona St. Louis

Dallas Philadelphia Washington NY Giants

National Football Conference NFC East 5 4 0 0 257 4 5 0 0 225 3 5 0 0 203 2 6 0 0 141 NFC North 5 2 0 0 212 5 3 0 0 217 4 3 0 0 213 1 7 0 0 186 NFC South 6 2 0 0 216 5 3 0 0 204 2 6 0 0 176 0 8 0 1 124 NFC West 8 1 0 0 232 6 2 0 0 218 4 4 0 0 160 3 6 0 0 186

209 231 253 223

.556 .444 .375 .250

158 197 206 252

.714 .625 .571 .125

146 106 218 190

.750 .625 .250 0

149 145 174 226

.889 .750 .500 .333

four of five.

PATRIOTS 55, STEELERS 31 Tom Brady threw for season highs of 432 yards and four touchdowns, Rob Gronkowski had a career-high nine receptions and the Patriots racked up the most points ever scored against Pittsburgh.

Brady had 252 yards passing in the first half, more than he had in five of his other eight games for New England (72). New England piled up 610 yards overall, third most in team history.

Three Patriots had more than 100 yards receiving, Gronkowski with 143, Aaron Dobson with 130 and Danny Amendola with 122.

Pittsburgh (2-6) wasted a solid performance by Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions.

COWBOYS 27, VIKINGS 23 Tony Romo threw for 337 yards and two touchdowns, including the goahead score to Dwayne Harris with 35 seconds left, and the Cowboys beat the Vikings.

Romo’s 7-yard pass to Harris answered an 11-yard touchdown by Adrian Peterson that had given Minnesota a 23-20 lead. The East Texas kid raised on the Cowboys (5-4) had 140 yards rushing in his first game at their $1.2 billion stadium.

Christian Ponder threw for a touchdown and ran for another score against his hometown team, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a fourth straight loss for the Vikings (1-7). Jason Witten had eight catches for 102 yards and a TD for Dallas.

PANTHERS 34, FALCONS 10 Cam Newton threw for one touchdown and ran for another to overcome a shaky start, and the defense intercepted Matt Ryan three times as Carolina beat the Falcons for its fourth straight victory.

Newton had two first half interceptions and wasn’t sharp on his deep balls, regularly overthrowing his receivers. Yet he bounced back to throw for 249 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Greg Olsen. He also ran for an 8-yard touchdown for the Panthers (5-3).

Fullback Mike Tolbert scored his fifth touchdown in the last four games on a

4-yard burst and cornerback Drayton Florence intercepted Ryan and returned it 38 yards for a score to seal the win.

Ryan was 20 of 27 for 219 yards.

The Falcons (2-6) continued to struggle without Julio Jones and Roddy White. Tony Gonzalez had six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown but the Falcons were held to 78 yards rushing.

REDSKINS 30, CHARGERS 24 Darrel Young scored three times, including a 4-yard run in overtime that gave the Redskins a win over the Chargers. Young stormed his way into the end zone 6:01 into the extra period, with the Redskins scoring on their first drive after winning the coin toss at the end of regulation.

Washington blew a 10-point lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but a goal-line stand at the 1-yard line helped send the game to overtime.

Robert Griffin III completed 23 of 32 passes for 291 yards with one interception and ran six times for 17 yards, including a 10-yard ramble that ended when he was flung to the turf by Thomas Keiser near the sideline. Alfred Morris rushed 25 times for 121 yards and a score, Pierre Garcon had seven receptions for 172 yards, and the defense intercepted Philip Rivers twice as the Redskins (3-5), despite their record, remained competitive in the weak NFC East. Rivers was 29 for 46 for 341 yards with two touchdowns for the Chargers (4-4).

TITANS 28, RAMS 21 Chris Johnson ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns and the Titans got the best of Jeff Fisher, who coached them for 16 seasons, and the Rams.

Johnson’s 19-yard scoring run snapped a tie with 2:54 to go and came a snap after Jurrell Casey sacked and stripped quarterback Kellen Clemens, and Derrick Morgan recovered.

The Rams (3-6) got a second straight 100-yard game from rookie Zac Stacy, who had 127 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns. The Titans (4-4) snapped a three-game losing streak and won after their bye against a team on short rest.

The 100-yard game was Johnson’s first since Week 7 last season against Buffalo. In the previous four games, he’d totaled 110 yards with a 2.4-yard average per carry. — AP

Business TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

DAMAC plans $500m London share listing Page 22 Brussels takes on oversight of EU budgets Page 25 HSBC posts $5.1bn Q3 profit, confirms probe

Revolutionary BMW i8 headlines Dubai Show Page 26

Page 23

PLELAN-LE-GRAND: A truck passes under an “ecotax” control portal with a banner reading “Brittany is dying, no to the ecotax” yesterday in Plelan-le-Grand, western France, on the motorway between Lorient and Rennes. The ecotax, aimed at encouraging environmentally friendly commercial transport, imposes new levies on French and foreign vehicles transporting commercial goods weighing over 3.5 tons, but its implementation has repeatedly been put off. — AFP

Iraq pips Kuwait to win oil supply deal China’s Sinochem to buy 40% of Iraq crude BEIJING: Sinochem Corp will become one of Baghdad’s top oil buyers next year when the Chinese state company starts its first whollyowned refinery, the latest example of Iraq beating Middle Eastern rivals in the competition for new markets in Asia.

Iraq’s output has increased rapidly after years of unrest and China is the most important battleground for exporters looking for new markets. China overtook the US as the world’s largest net oil importer in September and has driven global fuel demand growth for a decade.

Iraq said China is seeking to increase purchases of its crude by more than two-thirds next year.

To boost sales it has offered sweeter payment terms to buyers than competitors.

Sinochem plans to use Iraqi crude for 40 percent of the capacity of the new refinery, replacing a preliminary agreement to use more expensive oil from Kuwait, Chinese traders said.

“Kuwaiti crude is pricier than Iraqi oil and it is

non-tradable, making it less competitive,” said a trading source with knowledge of the deal.

Sinochem would still likely buy some crude from Kuwait, he added. Sinochem’s 240,000-barrels-per-day Quanzhou plant on China’s southeast coast is expected to process about 100,000 bpd of Iraqi crude after completing test runs due to start in December, the trading sources said.

Sinochem may still need to honour, at least partially, a non-binding agreement inked in 2007 with OPEC-member Kuwait to buy 240,000 bpd Kuwaiti oil for the Quanzhou plant. “(Sinochem) can’t burn the bridge behind it,” said the source, estimating the volume from Kuwait could be only two million barrels per quarter, or about 22,000 bpd, less than a tenth of the preliminary deal.

Sinochem’s informal tie-up with Kuwait helped it obtain state approval for its refinery since Beijing requires large new refineries to

Egypt gains in cautious trade MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Egypt’s bourse gained in cautious trading yesterday as ousted President Mohammed Morsi’s trial began, while most Gulf markets edged up with investors hungry for fresh catalysts after strong early-year rallies.

Morsi’s trial on charges of inciting violence was adjourned to January 8 yesterday after he interrupted the session repeatedly. His nowbanned Muslim Brotherhood movement has said it would continue staging street protests to pressure the army to reinstate Morsi.

Cairo’s benchmark index climbed 0.6 percent, trading sideways since it hit a near threeyear high last week. “People are being cautious to avoid (losses due to) any tensions,” said Islam Batrawy, a Cairo-based trader. “The market volumes are improving and there can be a more sustained upward trend going forward but we need to see what might develop from the court case.” Trading was also muted ahead of a holiday. Egypt’s exchange will be closed today for a one-day holiday for the Islamic New Year. Oman and Kuwait’s bourses will also be shut. In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark ticked up 0.2 percent in dull trading.

Investors were cautious as the government began a crackdown on illegal immigrant after amnesty expiration. “When we have a better idea of what the impact is on companies, investors will select sectors accordingly,” said Asim Bukhtiar, head of research at Riyad

Capital. “Right now, construction companies are complaining. If labour costs go up, you’ll see inflationary impact.”

In Oman, the bourse rose 0.4 percent.

Boosted by quarterly earnings, the market hit a two-month high. “Earnings have been mostly in line and some above our expectations,” said Kanaga Sundar, Gulf Baader Capital Markets head of research. “Dividend buyers should start positioning in the coming weeks. In the medium-term, the market should do well.” The services sector will be the main draw for dividend-seeking investors, while earnings growth expectations in the industrial sector and attractive bank valuations may support the market until the yearend, he added.

In the United Arab Emirates, Dubai’s bourse slipped 0.4 percent, its third decline in the last five sessions since it hit a five-year peak. The market is up 79.4 percent year-todate. Investors have already priced in quarterly earnings and are positioned for Dubai to succeed in its bid to host World Expo 2020, analysts say. They see little near-term upside in prices should Dubai be chosen to stage the exhibition. But if its bid fails there could be a sharp sell-off. The winner will be announced on Nov. 27. The next possible catalyst for the market will be dividends and fourth-quarter earnings early next year. — Reuters

secure oil supply first.But Sinochem had never formalised the supply deal with Kuwait, traders said, partly because the OPEC member does not appear to have any immediate plan to boost its oil output beyond the current 3.2 million bpd. A Sinochem trading executive said that while Kuwaiti oil is what the refinery was designed for, economics would be the most important criteria when deciding which crude to use.

For test runs, the Quanzhou plant will process sweet crude from West Africa - including 3 million barrels of Angolan Cabinda crude before switching to lower quality sour grades after entering normal operations, traders said.

Sinochem, one of Baghdad’s long-standing Chinese customers, is already lifting under it 2013 contract some 200,000 bpd of Iraq’s flagship crude Basra Light.

Most of Sinochem’s contracted barrels now go to Chinese refineries owned by top Asian refiner Sinopec Corp. Sinochem’s Quanzhou

plant was also likely to buy crude from other Middle East exporters such as Saudi Arabia, traders said. Sanctions-hit Iran was also on the potential suppliers’ list, said the Sinochem executive, if and when sanctions ease.

“We are closely following the progress of the Iranian nuclear talks. We shall be prepared to take Iranian oil once the sanctions are lifted,” he said.

Iraqi play By offering deeper discounts in pricing and extending credit payment durations, Baghdad is also luring other key Chinese buyers including state refiner Sinopec Corp and smaller state traders Zhenhua Oil and state-run China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC). CNOOC lifts oil from Iraq’s Maysan oilfield, which its listed arm CNOOC Ltd is involved in developing.

Sinopec will raise its Iraq term purchases next year after nearly doubling this year’s volume to

around 270,000 bpd, traders said.

“The volume will grow, and by not a small rate,” said a trading official who was familiar with Sinopec’s crude purchases but declined to give a more specific estimate. Smaller trader Zhenhua Oil is likely to more than double its Iraqi term crude in 2014 from this year’s 22,000 bpd, said another source with knowledge of China’s oil trades. Iraq expects China to seek 70 percent more crude - or a total of 850,000 bpd in 2014 versus current contract levels, its deputy prime minister for energy Hussain Al-Shahristani said earlier this month.

Total exports are now running about 2.5 million bpd, but in the first quarter of 2014 Iraq expects its export capacity to rise to 4 million bpd, Al-Shahristani also said. Iraq expects its oil output to hit 3.5 million bpd by the end of the year, as it counters infrastructure and security issues that have this year hampered its efforts to maintain steady output and exports. — Reuters

France drags on slow Euro-zone recovery LONDON: The euro-zone economic recovery that began in Germany has spread to some smaller members but shrinking French manufacturing is hampering a more robust rebound.

Business surveys released yesterday showed factory production in the 17nation bloc accelerated as expected in October, getting close to August’s 26-month high, but still weak compared with historical levels. Markit’s final Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 51.3 in October from 51.1, in line with an earlier flash reading and with the consensus forecast of economists. It hit a 26-month high of 51.4 in August. But Germany and France, the bloc’s two biggest economies, went in opposite directions.

Germany showed activity picked up last month, with its index rising to 51.7 from 51.1. In France manufacturing activity shrank to 49.1, its 20th month below the 50 market that divides growth and contraction.

Trouble spots Spain and Italy also diverged, with both growing but the latter at a slower pace than previously.

The lack of substantial growth overall, and with prices barely rising last month, has heightened some expectations the European Central Bank will cut interest rates from already record lows when it meets later this week. An index measuring

output, which feeds into a composite PMI due on Wednesday that provides a good indicator of overall growth, rose to 52.9 from 52.2.

“On past performance it is still only consistent with pretty weak industrial production growth. It’s rising - but it’s hardly at booming levels,” said Ben May at Capital Economics.

Healthy growth in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, pulled the troubled region out of its longest recession in the second quarter, but it will probably only grow 0.2-0.3 percent each quarter through to the end of next year, according to Reuters polls.

France, the euro-zone’s secondlargest economy, shook off a shallow recession in the second quarter with better-than-expected growth of 0.5 percent, but French national statistics office Insee forecasts a flat third quarter. “The GDP figures for the second quarter certainly overstate the underlying pace of growth in France and these latest numbers underline the point that is not in the midst of a strong and sustained recovery,” May said.

Still, euro-zone sentiment unexpectedly rose in November, jumping to its highest since May 2011 after a blip in October due to the US fiscal crisis, a survey by research group Sentix showed yesterday.

Demand for manufactured goods increased last month, although not as fast as in September, and factories made little change to prices, despite rising input costs. The output prices sub-index nudged up to an 18month high of 50.5 from 50.3 but was down from the 50.7 flash reading. Euro zone inflation fell to just 0.7 percent in October, official data showed last week, well short of the European Central Bank’s goal of just under two percent.

While a Reuters poll last week did not predict a cut in interest rates

from their record low of 0.5 percent when the Governing Council meets this week, Thursday’s inflation data prompted some economists to forecast a cut.

“We don’t anticipate any policy move from the ECB at the November meeting,” said Annalisa Piazza at Newedge Strategy.

“However, we see increasing risks that the ECB might cut its refinancing rate by 25 basis points at the December meeting and further liquidity injections cannot be ruled out in early 2014.” — Reuters

Mabanee reports KD38.8m net profit in Q3 2013 KUWAIT: The Board of Directors of Mabanee Company approved its third quarter 2013 financial results. Mabanee achieved a net profit of KD38.8 million with earning per share of 55.41fils, reporting an increase of approximately 81.5 percent in comparison with same period of last year, where company had previously reported a net profit of KD21.4 million with a 31.2fils earning per share.

The company achieved a remarkable increase in total shareholders’ equity and total assets by the end of third quarter 2013.Shareholders equity is amounting to KD220.4 million, with an increase of 21.2 percent in comparison with the same period of 2012, and the net value of assets KD395.3 million, reporting an increase of 6.6 percent from the previous level of the ending third quarter 2012.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Ryanair cuts forecast again as fares tumble DUBLIN: Ryanair’s annual profit is set to fall for the first time in five years as intense competition in Europe pushes average fares down by around 10 percent over the winter months, Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers said yesterday.

Two months after making its first profit warning in a decade, the Irish budget carrier cut its profit forecast further for the year to March to around 510 million euros ($688 million) from 570 million euros. Ryanair’s profit warnings follow a series of radical customer service improvements announced in September to win customers from rivals, but also seen as an admission that the airline’s “abrupt cul-

ture” might have become a problem.

Chief Financial Officer Howard Millar said passenger numbers were stable and on-board spending was growing, but that people were only booking discount fares, a sign Europe may not be recovering as quickly as many people hoped. “At the macro level in Europe signals have gone green, but on the micro level things don’t seem to be as strong as people think,” he told Reuters.

Ryanair shares fell up to 11 percent in early trading. Shares in rival easyJet dropped 3 percent, while the ThomsonReuters EU Airlines Index was down 4 percent.

“This is a weak and disappointing

profitability guidance from Ryanair indicating that the airline is experiencing a more difficult operating environment than several of its peers,” said David Holohan, an analyst with Merrion Stockbrokers. The weak numbers coincide with Ryanair’s efforts to attract premium passengers from lowcost rivals like easyJet and Norwegian, in its big strategy shift announced after the September profit warning.

In the latest of a series of changes to the airline’s no-frills model, Ryanair said it would allocate all seats on its planes, ending the often frenzied rush by passengers to secure the best seats.

But management said the changes, which included a halving of some bag-

gage charges, would not have a significant impact on the current financial year. “These things aren’t instant” said Millar, who forecast it could take 12-18 months for the changes to make an impact. The airline met analysts’ forecasts with a profit of 602 million euros for six months to September, up 1 percent on the year, as a fall of 2 percent in average fares was compensated by a 22 percent rise in extra charges.

Analysts said there could be some upside in the 2014-2015 financial year, which includes two Easter periods, and should see the impact of recent cuts to charges in key airports and lower fuel prices. But Millar said it was too early to predict how they would

impact profitability. Ryanair in September had warned that its profit would be at the bottom of a previously announced 570 million-600 million euro range. On Monday it said that would fall to between 500 million and 520 million, below the 569 million euro profit last year and the first fall in annual profits since 2009.

Several competitors, including Norwegian and Aer Lingus have also warned of strong competition pushing down prices. While Britain’s easyJet last week nudged up its pretax profit for the 12 months to September, it has not yet released figures for the October-March period where Ryanair is seeing weakness. — Reuters

DAMAC plans $500m London share listing Citigroup, D-Bank appointed joint bookrunners

KUALA LUMPUR: An investor enters the share price trading hall at a private stock market gallery in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Global stocks markets were mixed yesterday, clouded by persistent fears that the US may tighten its monetary policy by January. — AP

DUBAI: Dubai developer DAMAC Properties said yesterday it plans to raise around $500 million from a sale of global depositar y receipts on the London Stock Exchange as it seeks to take advantage of a recovery in the emirate’s property market. A London listing would make DAMAC the first major property firm in Dubai to conduct an initial public offering since the emirate’s proper ty market imploded in 2009.

Each GDR will be worth 3 ordinary shares in DAMAC, the regulatory filing said. A GDR is a certificate that represents a block of shares in a company. GDRs are often issued by firms in emerging market states to allow foreign investors to buy the stock more easily.

All the shares in the issue will come from Hussain Sajwani, the executive chairman and

Asia shares edge lower, reversing earlier gains HONG KONG: Asian markets edged lower in holiday-hit trade yesterday, reversing earlier gains that were fuelled by upbeat US and Chinese manufacturing data as well as strong US auto sales.

The euro made a small gain after suffering selling pressure last week on expectations the European Central Bank (ECB) will cut interest rates at its next meeting Thursday. Sydney slipped 0.38 percent, or 20.6 points, to close at 5,390.5 and Seoul fell 0.70 percent, or 14.25 points to 2,025.17. Shanghai closed flat, dipping 0.07 points to 2,149.63 and Hong Kong gave up 0.26 percent, or 60.17 points, to 23,189.62.

Tokyo and Mumbai were closed for public holidays. US shares finished on a high Friday after figures showed manufacturing activity grew faster than expected in October. That came hours after China said its own purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at its highest level for 18 months.

News that October auto sales from the three largest US manufacturers-Chrysler, Ford and General Motors-saw double-digit percentage gains supported Wall Street Friday. The Dow added 0.45 percent, the S&P 500 tacked on 0.29 percent and the Nasdaq was flat.

Over the weekend data showed signs of growth in China’s services sector, as the official non-manufacturing PMI recorded its strongest reading in 14 months. In China, attention is turning to a Communist Party policy meeting due to start Saturday, with

traders looking for possible economic reforms. Also, Washington will release third-quarter gross domestic product advanced estimates on Thursday and official October non-farm payrolls figures Friday.

On currency markets the euro ticked up slightly after tumbling last week on expectations the ECB would cut interest rates, after figures showed inflation in the region at a four-year low.

The euro bought $1.3492, compared with $1.3482 in New York but well down from $1.3750 on Wednesday. It was at 133.09 yen against 133.10 yen in New York.

“The euro-zone has seen poor results in recent months, and there are serious concerns that the inflation rate has gone too low,” Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, told AFP. “Investors will be watching if the ECB president Mario Draghi will indicate further monetary easing in the euro-zone, with a new long-term refinancing option a viable option,” he said. The dollar was at 98.65 yen from 98.69 yen in New York. The greenback is being buoyed by speculation the Federal Reserve will begin winding down its stimulus program next month after it gave an upbeat assessment of the US economy last week. In oil trade New York’s main contract West Texas Intermediate for December delivery rose 14 cents to $94.75 a barrel in afternoon trade.

Brent North Sea crude for December climbed 44 cents to $106.35. —AFP

founder of DAMAC, who is selling part of his stake in the firm, the statement said. No details on timing or the percentage of the company being sold to investors was given in the statement. Citigroup and Deutsche Bank are joint bookrunners for the offering, with the investment banking arm of Saudi Arabia’s Samba Financial Group and VTB Capital acting as colead managers.

DAMAC had hired the investment banks to advise on the planned flotation, Reuters had reported in September. Dubai’s property market is recovering after a 60 percent plunge in prices from their 2008 peak. The developer, which was founded in 2002, scaled back projects during the downturn but has returned with new schemes.

It recently announced plans for a $1 billion

Turkish lira weakens on surging inflation ISTANBUL: The Turkish lira weakened yesterday after October inflation came in higher than expected, with investors betting the data would do little to spur the central bank into raising interest rates.

Consumer prices rose 1.8 percent month-onmonth in October, above a forecast of 1.3 percent in a Reuters poll, driven higher by sharp rises in the cost of food and clothing. The data reinforced the view that the central bank, which last week raised its inflation forecasts for this year and next, is comfortable with current price levels and does not see a need to defend the lira aggressively. “All this I guess reflects the official acceptance of a weaker lira as the price for trying to rebalance the large current account deficit,” Timothy Ash, head of emerging markets research at Standard Bank, said in a note. “In choosing between lower inflation and growth, the central bank has ultimately gone for growth over the past year or so,” he said, predicting

little change in its monetary policy stance.

The lira weakened to 2.0185 against the dollar by 0935 GMT from 2.015 before the latest inflation data. With no trades yet yesterday, the 10-year benchmark bond yield stood at 9.08 percent. The main Istanbul share index was up 0.26 percent at 76,710.54 points, outperforming the broader emerging markets index, which fell 0.28 percent.

With elections looming next year and the government bent on maintaining growth, Turkey’s central bank has been reluctant to raise rates, instead cancelling repo auctions and selling dollars at auction to tighten liquidity and support the lira. Delays in a cut to the US Federal Reserve’s $85 billion monthly stimulus program have bought Turkey time. But markets worry that the complicated policy mix will not be enough to shore up the lira when US tapering does eventually start. The central bank did not hold its usual one-week repo auction yesterday.—Reuters

Hollywood-themed development in Dubai with Viacom Inc’s Paramount Group and said in May it was working with American real estate mogul Donald Trump to build a new golf course in Dubai.

DAMAC’s revenue for the six months ended June 30 was $631.9 million, it said in the statement. Its profit in the first half of the year was $332 million, higher than $212.1 million it made in whole of 2012.

As at 30 June 2013, DAMAC had total assets of $2.3 billion. The developer joins a growing list of Gulf companies seeking international investors amid a lack of liquidity and institutional interest in regional markets. Abu Dhabi-based Al-Noor Hospitals listed in London in June with a valuation of $1 billion. Its rival, NMC Healthcare listed in London last year. — Reuters

Oman budget surplus widens MUSCAT: Oman’s year-to-date government budget surplus widened to 339.9 million rials ($882.9 million) at the end of September from 234.5 million rials in the first eight months of 2013, official data showed yesterday.

However, the January-September outcome is sharply down from a surplus of 2.9 billion rials in the same period of 2012, according to the data from the National Center for Statistics and Information.

Analysts polled by Reuters in September forecast the non-OPEC oil exporter would post a fiscal surplus of 4.9 percent of gross domestic product in 2013 and 3.0 percent in 2014. Oman based its 2013 budget on a projected oil price of $85 per barrel, expected expenditure of 12.9 billion rials and a deficit of 1.7 billion rials. —Reuters

Zimbabwe 2014 budget delayed until December HARARE: Zimbabwe Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa has postponed the announcement of his 2014 budget, tentatively scheduled for this month, to allow more time for consultation, local media reported yesterday.

Chinamasa, who was appointed by veteran leader Robert Mugabe in September, had said his maiden budget would come this month but the state-owned Herald newspaper quoted him as saying that was too soon. “We won’t have a budget statement in November. I need

more time, possibly in December, but we will meet the constitutional requirement of doing it by January 2014,” he told members of parliament at a pre-budget meeting in Victoria Falls.

Chinamasa could not immediately be reached for comment. Mugabe has promised to increase the salaries of government workers but with wages already consuming 70 percent of the budget and revenues barely growing, Chinamasa has little room to move.

The southern African nation’s economy is

expected to grow 3.2 percent this year, a significant decline from the near-double digit expansion it enjoyed after the government scrapped the worthless Zimbabwe dollar in 2009.

Zimbabwe desperately needs foreign investment and donor support to create jobs and revamp infrastructure but Mugabe and other top officials remain subject to international sanc tions, mak ing major suppor t impossible. — Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.895 4.592 2.649 2.155 2.877 228.980 36.431 3.626 6.559 9.105 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES Saudi Riyal 75.350 Qatari Riyal 77.639 Omani Riyal 733.920 Bahraini Dinar 750.500 UAE Dirham 76.951 ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 40.950 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.544 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.318 Tunisian Dinar 174.190 Jordanian Dinar 399.030 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.896 Syrian Lira 3.070 Morocco Dirham 35.306 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 282.450 Euro 391.480 Sterling Pound 458.560 Canadian dollar 271.590 Turkish lira 142.650 Swiss Franc 317.360 Australian Dollar 272.420 US Dollar Buying 281.250 GOLD 20 Gram 248.000 10 Gram 125.000 5 Gram 65.000 Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal Irani Riyal

UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

SELL DRAFT 273.41 276.55 315.70 386.12 283.30 455.35 2.95 3.643 4.592 2.166 2.878 2.657 77.20 754.03 41.11 403.20 736.76 78.23 75.68

SELL CASH 272.000 276.000 316.000 388.000 286.000 458.000 3.000 3.800 4.910 2.600 3.400 2.770 77.500 754.900 41.200 408.300 742.900 78.600 75.900

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

Selling Rate 283.650 275.105 454.040 383.755 311.135 748.980 77.205 78.760 76.510 399.850 41.120 2.163 4.592 2.651 3.644 6.544 696.700 3.890 10.120

Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit Chinese Yuan Renminbi

Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

3.055 3.855 91.032 46.920

Bahrain Exchange Company CURRENCY Belgian Franc British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Romanian Leu Slovakia Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Turkish Lira Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar America Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint Bangladesh Taka Chinese Yuan Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Korean Won Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso Sierra Leone

BUY SELL Europe 0.007351 0.008351 0.447076 0.456076 0.006619 0.018619 0.048057 0.053057 0.383682 0.391162 0.043903 0.049103 0.081615 0.81615 0.008099 0.018099 0.040294 0.045294 0.308198 0.318398 0.140723 0.147723 Australasia 0.260043 0.271543 0.227620 0.237120 0.265129 0.278750 0.279250 Asia 0.003422 0.045021 0.034395 0.004482 0.000021 0.002799 0.003411 0.000256 0.085857 0.003030 0.002507 0.006438 0.000069

0.273629 0.283100 0.283100 0.004022 0.048521 0.037145 0.004883 0.000027 0.002979 0.003411 0.000271 0.091857 0.003200 0.002787 0.006718 0.000075

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

0.225000 0.231000 0.022645 0.031145 0.001891 0.002471 0.009510 0.009690 0.008770 0.009320 Arab 0.743809 0.751809 0.038421 0.041521 0.000078 0.000080 0.000183 0.000243 0.394722 0.402222 1.0000000 1.0000000 0.000138 0.000238 0.022620 0.046620 0.001196 0.001831 0.728643 0.734323 0.078982 0.078195 0.074790 0.075490 0.001925 0.002145 0.169706 0.177706 0.140723 0.147723 0.076028 0.077177 0.001285 0.001365

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 283.300 385.350 454.000 274.150 4.575 41.105 2.163 3.631 6.545 2.650 754.500 77.150 75.575

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Kuwait credit growth strong in September NBK ECONOMIC REPORT KUWAIT: Bank credit registered a strong third quarter after a weak start in July. The KD 263 million monthly gain in September was the third largest since 2009.The non-financial sector saw a particularly strong gain while household borrowing maintained its solid growth. Money supply bounced back following a seasonal decline in deposits during the summer.

Credit was up a strong KD263 million to reach KD28.4billion, registering yearon-year growth of 6.2 percent.

September’s figures confirm the accelerating pace of credit growth. The September year-to-date rate of 6.1 percent compares to only 4.6 percent in September last year. We expect 2013 to comfortably record 7 percent growth and for 2014 to continue to see acceleration.

The household sector maintained the strongest pace of credit growth, gaining KD 142 million on the month.

Growth in household credit (personal facilities excluding credit for the purchase of securities) remained unchanged at 18 percent y/y, reflecting the sector’s resilience.

Credit to the non-financial business sector experienced its strongest month-

ly gain in 18 months, adding a solid KD197 million in September and bringing growth against a year ago to 4.4 percent. Healthy gains were seen across the board, led by the real estate and industrial sectors. Meanwhile, the nonbank financial sector remained in deleveraging mode registering a larger than usual KD 76 million drop in credit,

with year-on-year growth at a negative 19 percent.

Private sector deposits saw a sizeable gain of KD 384 million, partially reversing seasonal withdrawals. Dinar sight deposits drove the increase, while dinar time deposits and foreign currency deposits experienced drops of KD 105 million and KD 28 million, respec-

tively. As a result, money supply was boosted following two months of declines. Broad money (M2) expanded

by KD 442 million, causing year-on-year growth to accelerate to 9.6 percent from 8.2 percent in August. The narrower M1 measure increased by KD 539 million, with growth doubling to 21 percent from a month ago.

Deposit rates on dinar time deposits remained steady at their currently low levels. Average rates remained unchanged for 1-month, 3-month, and 12-month time deposits at 0.56 percent, 0.74 percent, 1.12 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, 6-month deposits saw an increase of one basis point to 0.94 percent.

HSBC posts $5.1bn Q3 profit, confirms probe CEO gives positive outlook, sees broadening recovery

BEIJING: A delivery boy uses his mobile phone as he lies in a tricycle along a road in Beijing yesterday. Chinese manufacturing grew at its strongest pace in 18 months in October, figures showed, but government and independent analysts warned underlying data suggest economic weaknesses remain. —AFP

Power bills squeeze Italian business MILAN: Enrico Frigerio has been trying to save on energy bills at his car-parts plant in northern Italy for years. The CEO of Fonderia di Torbole last year upgraded the air-intake and lighting systems to make them more efficient. This year, he installed meters to monitor energy costs to bag efficiency bonuses.

Yet Frigerio’s company is still struggling with high energy bills that last year totaled around seven million euros, compared to Fonderia di Torbole’s 70 million euros in sales.

“Bringing down energy costs are crucial for competing internationally,” says Frigerio. High taxes, dependence on imported gas and bottlenecks on the power grid have long pushed up the price Italian companies and consumers pay for energy to fuel factories and heat homes.

Small and medium-sized companies, with a yearly energy consumption of between 500-2,000 megawatt hours, are particularly hard hit. They paid around 40 percent more for their power in the second half of last year than the European Union average, according to data from Eurostat. Energy costs for this category of company are higher only in Cyprus, Eurostat said.

Now, with Italy tiptoeing out of its worst post-war recession, energy costs are proving a stumbling block to any nascent business recovery, companies say. Italy’s small and medium companies make up 80 percent of the country’s non-financial private sector employment, according to the European Commission.

Business associations have recently become so vocal about power costs that Italy’s economic development ministry is scrambling for new ideas. Among them: a proposal to issue bonds to help pay for the 12 billion euros a year that Italy spends on subsidies to the renewable energy industry and that ends up in everyone’s energy bill.

The idea, which was included in a bill drafted in September by Industry Minister Flavio Zanonato, is still being discussed by the government, partly because of concerns among Treasury officials that the measure would cause Italy to overstep its budget commitments.

Still, the move - which would shave three billion euros a year off bills over the next three years by selling bonds to help spread the cost of green incentives over a longer time frame - is finding support within the business community and underscores how desperate Italy Inc. is to find new solutions to the high energy price problem.

“It’s a classic case of debt restructuring. It would certainly cost more in the end and it would load more debt on our children. But it would give industry a breathing space at this tough moment,” said Chicco Testa, head of Italy’s power producers association Assoelettrica.

Italy liberalized its energy sector at the turn of the millennium, but retail prices have not fallen in the same way they have in other liberalized industries, notably the telecoms sector. Part of the reason for that is that the

underlying cost of oil has risen almost tenfold.

Italy’s wholesale prices, before taxes and add-ons, are also some of the highest in Europe. With no nuclear power and a very limited use of coal, Italy has been dependent on natural gas to fuel its power generation most of it imported on costly long-term contracts. State-controlled Eni, the dominant player on Italy’s gas market, has in recent times wrung better terms on its contracts, but still has a way to go with key suppliers like Russia and Algeria, which are reluctant to cede too much ground.

“We are the country that is most dependent on gas in Europe, and we get it from countries still geared to expensive long-term gas contracts. Germany can afford to fund its renewable industry because it uses a lot of cheaper coal,” said Davide Tabarelli, head of energy think-tank Nomisma Energia.

Taxes and subsidies, which make up around 50 percent of Italy’s electricity bills, are the biggest burden. As in other countries, the subsidies are designed to fund the country’s renewables drive to enhance security of energy supplies and create a new industry and jobs.

Most EU countries are subsidising green energy, as they try to meet mandatory targets for renewable energy production by 2020.

Italy’s energy regulator recently calculated that of the 514 euros on average that Italian consumers will pay this year for their electricity, some 93 euros will go to pay green subsidies. Most of them will be photovoltaic since Italy is Europe’s second-largest producer of solar energy after Germany.

As a result of the subsidies, solar power installations have skyrocketed almost 4,000 percent since 2008, helping fuel growth in renewable energy sources, which generated 32 percent of final power demand in Italy last year. That compares to 23 percent in Germany, 15.5 percent in the UK and just 13 percent in nuclear-dominated France.

As in other countries there is much debate as to whether the subsidies to renewable energy are distorting the market. Italy, which uses natural gas to fuel over 40 percent of its electricity, has one of the most modern gasfired generation fleets in Europe. As the economic crisis saps power demand and renewables muscle in, the plants are underused and in some cases mothballed.

“These plants are very efficient but they were built to work 8,000 hours per year. A lot of them are now working on 1,000-2,000 hours only, and that’s not a clever way to do things,” said Paolo Ghislandi, secretary general of AIGET, Italy’s association of energy traders and suppliers.

Moreover, by their very nature renewable energy sources are intermittent; they don’t work when the sun stops shining and the wind stops blowing. To keep the lights on, therefore, flexible gas-fired plants are needed as back-ups that are ready to be switched on upon demand - a standby process that remains costly.—Reuters

LONDON: HSBC reported a 10 percent rise in third quarter profits yesterday, helped by tighter cost control and fewer losses from bad loans, and confirmed it was being investigated as part of a global probe into currency market trading manipulation.

Europe’s largest bank said underlying pretax profit was $5.1 billion for the three months to Sept.

30 - up 30 percent on a statutory basis - with strong Hong Kong and British markets together accounting for more than half of earnings and offsetting a fall in Latin American profits.

Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said he saw evidence of a broadening recover y in which the US should continue to grow, albeit slowly, and the UK would outperform the euro-zone. “ There are signs for optimism around. We’ve always been confident China would have a soft landing ... which is supportive for the rest of Asia-Pacific,” he told a conference call with reporters.

Gulliver also confirmed that HSBC was cooperating with Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority, which is leading an investigation into the $5.3-trilliona-day foreign exchange market that has spread to include regulators in the United States, Asia and Switzerland. Traders from some of the world’s top banks, including Barclays, Citigroup and JP Morgan have been suspended or put on leave.

HSBC, which has vowed to instill a more responsible corporate culture after it was fined a record $1.9 billion last year for lax anti-money laundering compliance, has not taken any action against its staff, Gulliver said. “We haven’t suspended anyone. It’s at a very early stage and the names we’ve been given so far don’t work for us anymore,” he

LONDON: A signage at a branch of HSBC bank in London. Banking giant HSBC said yesterday that it was being investigated along with other banks as part of a worldwide probe into the possible manipulation of foreign exchange trading. —AFP said. The bank said no-one had been fired, and added that it had been contacted in October.

Regulatory caution Despite the mushrooming FX probe, with its echoes of the recent interest rate fixing scandal, investors focused on HSBC’s improved quarterly performance and growth prospects. HSBC led the FTSE 100 index higher with a 2.4 percent gain by 1000 GMT and kept the European banking index in positive territory after a call for higher capital requirements by the Swiss finance minister over the weekend dragged sector heavyweights UBS and Credit Suisse sharply down.

“If investors are seeking a strong

and dependable bank, HSBC could be the place to look. The key metrics were, on the whole, progressive,” said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers. The rise in HSBC’s profits, in line with analysts’ forecasts, was underpinned by a 4 percent dip in losses from bad loans and a $700 million fall in operating expenses to $9.6 billion, although that was mainly due to the absence of one-off items last year..

Underlying costs were up on the year due to investments, wage inflation and regulatory costs.

Revenues were flat. HSBC said its capital position improved, with a core tier one ratio, a key measure of financial strength, of 10.6 percent under tough new rules and a lever-

age ratio of 4.2 percent, above an international requirement of 3 percent.

But the bank cautioned that there was significant regulatory uncertainty on the horizon as financial watchdogs around the world continue to refine new rules insisting banks hold more capital in order to shore them up against any future financial crisis.

That warning was borne out over the weekend when Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf was quoted as saying authorities there were discussing raising the leverage ratio for Swiss banks to 610 percent, two or three times the required ratio set out by the global Basel III accord, which is being phased in by 2019. — Reuters

Bumper year for Australian banks SYDNEY: Australian banking giant Westpac yesterday posted a 14 percent jump in full-year net profit with all core divisions performing well, capping a bumper year for the country’s major lenders.

The result in the 12 months to September 30 came in at Aus$6.82 billion ($6.44 billion), compared with Aus$5.97 billion the previous year. Cash earnings-the measure more closely watched by analysts, which strips out volatile items-were up eight percent at Aus$7.10 billion, in line with expectations, although its share price closed 1.22 percent lower at Aus$34.16 in a weak market.

The solid result follows a record annual profit last week for ANZ Bank, up 11 percent to Aus$6.3 billion, and a 33.6 percent jump to Aus$5.45 billion for National Australia Bank.

With the nation’s biggest lender, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, posting an eight percent rise in its annual result to a record Aus$7.68 billion in August, their collective profits soared to some Aus$27 billion for 2013, despite a slowing economy. It makes Australia’s banking sector one of the world’s most successful, benefiting from falling bad debts and cost-cutting.

“It’s apparent that on many measures the Australian banking sector is among one of the world’s most successful,” PwC Australia banking analyst Stuart Scoular said. “They seem well placed to maintain that mantle for a good while yet, provided of course that Australia can maintain its enviable record of economic growth.”

Westpac, the country’s second largest bank by market capitalization, said all of its operations contributed higher revenue and earnings amid stronger demand for home loans, improving asset quality and

solid growth in customer deposits. “I am very pleased with our 2013 result. It demonstrates strength, consistency, careful balancing of growth and return, and disciplined execution of our strategy,” chief executive Gail Kelly said. “I am particularly pleased that all of our operating divisions and brands contributed positively to the result. It demonstrates the quality of the performance, with cash and core earnings up across the board.”

The company announced a final dividend of 88 cents and a special dividend of 10 cents, taking its

annual payout to shareholders to Aus$1.74 per share, joining the other big banks in boosting rewards for investors. While Kelly said the bank would continue to operate cautiously due to global uncertainty and a slowdown in mining investment impacting the Australian economy, she indicated a recent improvement in consumer confidence boded well for the next 12 months. “There is no doubt that domestically we are seeing a pick-up in consumer confidence which we expect will translate to a gradual increase in credit growth,” she said.— AFP

SYDNEY: A woman walks past the entrance to the Channel Nine television network complex near Sydney yesterday. Media giant Nine Entertainment, which owns the Nine television network, ticketing services provider Ticketek, the country’s largest indoor arena, and has a stake in Sky News Australia, announced on November 4 plans to list on the Australian stock exchange with its prospectus valuing the company at about $2.0 billion. — AFP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

US shale boom will boost LPG exports LONDON: A US energy drilling boom is revolutionizing the niche market for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), bringing down global prices and challenging established exporters in the Middle East. The changes are the latest sign of the global impact of a drilling renaissance in the United States that has already hit oil and natural gas. And like oil and gas, it is US producers of LPG who are set to gain most while established exporters may struggle with new competition in a suddenly altered landscape.

Unconventional oil and gas drilling, including shale gas extraction from fracking, is controversial because it requires large amounts of water and chemicals to be pumped at high pressure into the earth, and some countries such as France and

Bulgaria have banned the technology.

In the United States, however, shale oil and gas has resulted in a sharp increase in production, turning the country from a large energy importer into an oil and gas exporter. In the LPG market, which is mostly known for use of butane and propane in household devices but increasingly also in transport, analysts say that North America will vie with the Middle East as the world’s top LPG supply region this year and in 2014 at average daily production rates of around two million barrels per day (b/d). US shipments are expected to bring down global LPG prices as top Middle Eastern suppliers like Saudi Arabia and Qatar have to adjust to their new low-priced competitors. “The stars are

aligned for increased US LPG exports to Asia,” US energy researchers ESAI Energy said in a research note in October. “Of the anticipated US LPG surplus of nearly 350,000 b/d by 2015, about 110,000 b/d could reach Asian markets. This game-changing development will redraw global LPG trade flows and force Middle Eastern LPG exporters to lower prices,” ESAI Energy said, adding that Saudi contract prices would fall from over $70 a barrel now to $68 per barrel in 2014 and to $65 in 2015.

Although US propane production from shale gas has been rising for a while, a lack of export infrastructure has kept most of the output at home, pulling US prices well below international levels, but high global prices have attracted invest-

ment and US export capacity is now rising fast.

Following Texas-based Enterprise Products, which announced early in October that it would build a 6 million barrel a month LPG export terminal, its local peer Phillips 66 also said last week that it would develop a $1 billion LPG export terminal at Freeport, Texas, with a capacity of 4.4 million barrels per month.

“We are looking at a rapidly changing energy landscape that presents excellent opportunities,” said Tim Taylor, executive vice president at Phillips 66. “There are attractive markets outside of the United States for products like butane and propane,” he added. US LPG exports averaged around 148,000 b/d in 2011 and rose to 196,000

b/d last year, while exports were already up to an average of 280,000 b/d in the first seven months of 2013.

With the US having too much LPG to use itself, its traditional supplier Canada is also eyeing an export terminal to serve Asia, adding to future downward price pressure and further undermining the Middle East’s market dominance in this sector. Analysts say that the US LPG export boom will be further aided by the expansion of the Panama Canal, allowing the passage of so-called very large gas carriers (VLGC) to pass through it from 2015 and reducing the cost of freight by cutting the sailing time from the US to Asia by over two weeks.—Reuters

YANGON: Customers buy dried shrimp at a market in Yangon yesterday. Myanmar has the potential to quadruple the value of its economy to $200 billion by 2030 if it presses on with reforms, embraces technology and shifts away from agriculture, a study said recently. — AFP

Brent climbs above $106 as steep fall lures buying LONDON: Brent crude futures rose above $106 a barrel yesterday as investors bought after steep falls in the previous session and as tensions in major oil expor ter Libya escalated.

Leaders of a movement in Libya’s oil-rich east unilaterally declared a regional government on Sunday, in a further challenge to the OPEC member’s fragile central government. Brent rose 39 cents to $106.31 a barrel by 1015 GMT, after settling nearly $3 lower on Friday at its lowest since July 4. US oil gained 26 cents to $94.87, after ending $1.77 lower and posting its fourth straight week of losses. “ We’re seeing a slight technical rebound in Brent after the sharp drop on Friday,” said Carsten Fritsch, an oil analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

“But the gains are limited by the overall bearish view of the oil market. You have abundant supply, especially in the United States, a strong US dollar and geopolitical risks have been pushed back for the moment,” he said. The dollar index eased slightly on Monday after climbing to a seven-week peak on Friday.

Upbeat US manufacturing data had stirred speculation that the Federal Reserve could roll back its monetary stimulus in December, instead of March

as many currently expect, boosting the dollar and weighing on most commodities.

Should the Fed taper its stimulus program, the dollar would receive a further boost, making dollar-denominated assets such as oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. Strikes at ports and oil fields across Libya have slashed crude production to about 10 percent of the North African country’s capacity of 1.25 million barrels a day, keeping global oil prices supported.

“The situation in Libya will limit any downside in Brent, until that is sorted we can expect some support for oil,” Fritsch at Commerzbank said. But in the fourth quarter, oil prices could remain under pressure and slide from current levels, analysts at Barclays said in a note.

“In our view, Q4 is rich in swing factors for the crude oil markets, yet the directional bias for prices is slightly to the downside from current levels,” they said. “We maintain our Q4 forecast of $105 per barrel for Brent and do not expect prices to venture out too far on the upside from $110 per barrel currently.” The spread between Brent and the US benchmark was broadly steady at about $11.40 a barrel after reaching $13.60 last week, its widest since April.— Reuters

Gold drops for sixth session on Fed stimulus worries SINGAPORE: Gold eased for a sixth straight session yesterday to trade near two-week lows as renewed uncertainty over when the US Federal Reserve will scale back its stimulus measures weighed on sentiment.

Last month the US central bank said it would stick with its monthly $85 billion bond purchases, citing a drawn-out budget battle in Washington and the need for stronger economic data, leading many to believe its tapering of the program would not begin until next year.

However, recent strong data on US factory output and jobless claims have brought back the possibility that it may start to scale back this year. “There are worries now in the market that a December tapering is possible,” said a precious metals trader in Hong Kong.

“The dollar movement is also hurting gold. Until we get a clear view on the Fed plan, gold will react to data.”

Spot gold fell 0.06 percent to $1,313.95 an ounce by 0715 GMT, while the dollar index was near six-week highs.

Gold fell to a low of $1,305.69 on Friday, its lowest since Oct 17.

If the metal ends down yesterday, it

would be its longest losing streak since the seven days to May 17.

The Fed, which meets next on Dec. 1718, has said the timing of its tapering depends on the health of labour and housing markets. The Fed’s bond-buying has burnished gold’s appeal as a hedge against inflation, boosting prices over the past few years, but signs that the program could be coming to an end have hurt prices this year.

Physical demand The sharp drop in prices last week of nearly 3 percent has failed to revive physical demand and some dealers say the price may have to fall below $1,300 to attract more buyers. Premiums on the Shanghai Gold Exchange picked up by about $2 to $5 an ounce yesterday from the previous session but were still well below April-May levels of $30. Indian demand was muted during the biggest gold-buying festivals of Dhanteras and Diwali, celebrated on Friday and over the weekend, with many opting for cheaper silver due to high gold premiums and the scarcity of the metal on the domestic market. — Reuters

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Brussels takes on oversight of EU budgets BRUSSELS: New forecasts for growth, EU control of government deficits and the oversight of national budgets: these are big developments in a heavy month for the European Commission beginning today. Following the drawn-out adoption of new tools intended to help harmonise cross-border economic governance for the euro-zone as a whole, Brussels can for the first time order changes to draft national spending plans. Assessments will be made on November 15 and will show whether the European Commission can impose its will and emerge as a credible supervisor armed with its new crisis-fighting powers, including the ability to issue fines.

The objective is to make sure that at

least all euro-zone, and it is hoped all European Union states, run their budgets with the common good in mind, rather than just their own interests, after the harsh lessons of the debt crisis. Not all member states are as sensitive to their national prerogatives as non-euro Britain but even in the 17-member eurozone, Brussels’ new powers are likely to cause friction.

“Some lawmakers won’t take kindly to this,” said one EU source busy with the build-up.

France is committed to closer eurozone integration over time but tensions are possible with its current Socialist government led by President Francois Hollande who is floundering in opinion

polls. The French government has until 2015 to get its public deficit under the three-percent-of-GDP threshold that so many European countries flouted for so long, but which Brussels now says must be scrupulously observed.

Having got a two-year extension to its deadline earlier this year, Paris has had to commit to difficult reforms in exchange, notably covering retirement and pensions.

It has a public-deficit target of 3.9 percent of gross domestic product for 2013, which it is expected to miss, and 3.6 percent for 2014.

The Commission has said it will take into account progress on structural reforms when deciding if progress

towards interim targets has been sufficient. “It’s not the big shake-up required, we’ll need to come back to that,” said an EU official speaking on condition of anonymity. “But even imperfect reform is better than no reform at all.”

The Commission’s latest projections for deficits and public debt across the 28-state EU, as well as the all-important forecasts for growth, unemployment and inflation, will be issued by EU Economy and Euro Commissioner Olli Rehn today from 1000 GMT. In its last forecast at the start of May, the Commission tipped 1.2percent growth for the 17-state eurozone in 2014, with two of the euro currency countries-not bailed-out Greece, but Cyprus and Slovenia-predicted to

remain in recession.

The forecasts for all are likely to be revised, the region having scraped out of a record recession in the second quarter but with the road to growth looking decidedly bumpy and slow going, judging by most of the recent economic data.

On the public deficit projections, the Commission can use these forecasts to open excessive deficit procedures that can now lead eventually to financial penalties on those states which do not meet the targets. Spain is one to watch here, Madrid having until 2016 to get within the EU limit, as well as Portugal, which has firm interim targets demanded by international creditors in exchange for its bailout. — AFP

Britain’s construction sector picks up speed Today’s services PMI in focus

MADRID: Luis Dominguez Quintana, 77 years old, disabled, finishes his food as he waits to be evicted in Madrid yesterday. Dominguez Quintana bought a euro 286,000 ($386,000) apartment by taking a mortgage with Bankia bank in 1996 but stopped paying due to his financial situation in 2009. — AP

Crisis destroys one in 7 Portuguese jobs: ILO LISBON: Portugal’s economic crisis has destroyed one in seven jobs, with most of them lost since its 2011 emergency bailout program kicked in, the International Labor Organization said yesterday.

“The labor market has not improved since the launch of the financial assistance program” in 2011, which was agreed with international creditors to protect Portugal from financial collapse, the UN-backed labor relations agency (ILO) wrote in a report.

“In fact, the trend of rising unemployment intensified over the past two yearsshowing some signs of abating only recently.” It said that since the world financial crisis erupted in 2008, Portugal had suffered the third biggest deterioration of the labor market in the euro-zone, after Greece and Spain. Portugal secured its 78-billion-euro ($108 billion) rescue deal in 2011 from three international bodies-the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

In return for the bailout money, they demanded economic reforms to get Portugal’s public deficit down. The govern-

ment responded by cutting public sector jobs and salaries, among other measures.

“Restructuring measures in the public sector have directly affected unemployment,” the ILO wrote. The private sector meanwhile is suffering from banks’ reluctance to make loans, “entailing lost opportunities for job creation”, it added.

Portugal’s unemployment rate eased in the second quarter of this year to 16.4 percent, according to its official figures. The government forecasts however that next year unemployment will return to the level of the first quarter of this year: 17.7 percent.

The ILO warned the lack of jobs was pushing “some of the most talented and qualified youth” to emigrate from Portugal. It said nearly one in five Portuguese workers “would like to move abroad permanently should the opportunity arise.”

In Portugal, “a stronger focus on jobfriendly policies would contribute to reducing unemployment by up to two percentage points by 2015,” the ILO estimated.

“There is also a strong case for a welldesigned job support system at the level of the euro-zone.” —AFP

Libya oil export terminal stays idle TRIPOLI: Protesters have kept up their blockade of the main oil facilities in Libya, where production has fallen 80 percent, the country’s National Oil Corp said yesterday. “Current output is estimated to be running at 250,000 barrels per day,” down from 1.5 million bpd before the protests, NOC official Mohamed Al-Harairi told AFP. He said exports from Al-Hariga terminal in eastern Libya, which the government had said would resume by Monday, have not gone ahead for logistical reasons.

“Marketing procedures with clients are holding up the start of crude exports from this port,” he said. “The crisis has been resolved, as announced by the government.

Two cargoes of crude are ready for export” from Al-Hariga, he said, without giving a timeframe. But Harairi said that output from Al-Sharara field, which produces 330,000 bpd, had been blocked by residents of the southern region of Ubari since October 28.

The protesters are demanding a fairer distribution of the region’s resources to improve living conditions, with similar actions mounted elsewhere in Libya since its 2011 revolt which ousted strongman Muammar Gaddafi. Protesters demanding jobs have been blocking other terminals since late July, causing around $13 billion in losses to Libya’s oil-dependent economy, authorities say. —AFP

S Africa investment law overhaul fuels concerns CAPE TOWN: A new South African investment law should come into force next year to replace a raft of individual, 20-year-old treaties but foreign investors are adequately protected and have nothing to fear, trade minister Rob Davies said yesterday.

Pretoria let bilateral treaties agreed with European nations shortly before the end of apartheid lapse last month, to the concern of some foreign investors who are unsure whether the replacement law will offer the same protections. The draft Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill, published last week, rolls over existing guarantees against state seizure of assets but narrows the definition of expropriation, analysts say. It also removes the explicit possibility of recourse to international arbitration in the event of a dispute. “If you wanted to sue, you would have to sue them in the South African domestic courts or take them to domestic arbitration,” said Peter Leon of Johannesburg-based law firm Webber

Wentzel. “International arbitration is a very important issue for investors. It gives one access to an independent forum which is not connected with the state.”

However, Davies insisted the bill was fair and balanced the interests of the public with those of investors in Africa’s biggest economy. “The bill confirms that South Africa remains open to foreign investment.

It does not impose any new obligations on investors,” he told a media briefing.

“Experience over the world shows that bilateral investment treaties are not decisive in decisions to invest or not in any jurisdiction.” European nations affected by the lapse in bilateral treaties include Germany, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland.

Europe accounts for around three-quarters of all foreign direct investment in South Africa, although Pretoria has been pushing hard to attract capital from other big emerging markets such as China and Brazil. —Reuters

LONDON: British construction picked up speed last month, unexpectedly growing at its fastest pace since September 2007, a survey of purchasing managers showed yesterday. The Markit/CIPS construction PMI rose to 59.4 in October, beating economists’ expectation that it would hold steady at September’s reading of 58.9. The figures were the latest in a series of positive economic figures and followed a strong reading for the manufacturing sector on Friday.

Economists will now turn their attention to today’s services PMI, which covers private-sector firms outside the retail sector and casts light on a much larger part of the British economy than construction.

Sterling rallied against the dollar after Monday ’s data and the brighter economic news caused the spread between British and German government bond yields to widen to its greatest since late September.

“UK construction output continues to rise like a phoenix from the ashes, with housing, commercial and civil engineering activity all seeing strong rates of expansion at the start of the fourth quarter,” said Markit economist Tim Moore.

Construction was one of the hardest-hit sectors of the British economy in the aftermath of the financial crisis, as housing market activity slumped and the government and businesses axed building projects to save money. But it has picked up this year, and in the three

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron addresses delegates at the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) annual conference in central London yesterday. — AFP months to September it expanded accounts for 6.3 percent of national construction sector going forward by 2.5 percent according to official output,” said IHS Global Insight is that the economy holds up well data, the fastest rate since the sec- economist Howard Archer. House over the coming months and that building was the strongest sector housing market activity sees susond quarter of 2010.

It is nonetheless a relatively of construction for another month - tained healthy but not excessive small part of Britain’s economy. something likely to please the gov- growth,” Archer said.

British property prices have “While evidence that the construc- ernment, which expanded a tion sector is continuing to gain scheme to help home-buyers at the been soaring, something that momentum is good news for over- start of October which also aims to has triggered concern among some analysts about sustainabilall growth prospects, it needs to be bolster the supply of new homes.

“Of critical importance to the ity. —Reuters remembered that the sector only

ECB may soon join flight of the doves LONDON: Even as the euro-zone economy shows faint signs of stirring, the European Central Bank is likely to send a dovish message this week that more monetary help will be on the way before long. After a plunge in inflation to 0.7 percent in the year to October, well below the ECB’s target of just under 2 percent, UBS and RBS are among those who reckon a rate cut could come as soon as Thursday’s policy-setting meeting.

At the very least economists expect ECB President Mario Draghi to indicate that the balance of risk has tilted toward further easing, partly because the recent strength of the euro will hurt exports with a lag. But many believe it would make more sense for the ECB to hold fire until December, when the bank’s staff updates its growth and inflation forecasts.

“A significant downward revision to its inflation number for next year - let’s say at or below 1 percent, from 1.3 percent currently - may push the ECB to act,” said Giuseppe Maraffino, a bond analyst at Barclays. A cut in the ECB’s main refinancing rate, now at 0.50 percent, would have the greatest headline impact. Other options include a reduction in the deposit rate to below zero, which would have a bigger effect on money market rates, or a promise of another longterm refinancing operation to ensure banks have plentiful liquidity.

Sarah Hewin, an economist with Standard Chartered Bank in London, agreed that disinflation made the case for a rate cut more compelling. But she said there were signs the eurozone’s economy was turning up. The ECB’s latest bank lending survey provided evidence that credit constraints might soon ease, while struggling members of the euro-zone periphery

appear to be touching bottom. Spain returned to modest growth in the third quarter. “We haven’t changed out forecast, which is for no rate cut, taking into consideration way the ECB has approached policy previously,” Hewin said.

Although the strong euro might be weighing on prices, the drop in inflation fundamentally reflects immense slack in the euro-zone.

Unemployment in September was a record 12.2 percent.

Other central banks are also grappling with sub-par growth, reduced pressure on commodity prices because of slower Chinese demand and improved energy buffers, notably in the United States, said Alan Ruskin, chief currency strategist at Deutsche Bank in New York.

“Though a few central banks will write off disinflation as a lagged response to output gaps, generally G10 monetary policy will remain easier for longer on a global scale,” he said.

All eyes on China plenum Economists unanimously expect the Bank of England this week to keep its short-term policy rate at 0.5 percent and its asset purchases at 375 billion pounds, even though the British economy has logged two consecutive quarters of robust growth and house prices are surging in and around London.

And many believe the Federal Reserve, which held policy unchanged last week, is unlikely to start reducing its bond purchases from $85 billion a month until 2014, not least because economic statistics have been muddied by last month’s partial government shutdown in a row over the federal budget.

Friday’s US employment report for October is likely to show that nonfarm payroll growth

slowed to 125,000 from an already unimpressive average over the previous three months of just under 150,000. Economists polled by Reuters are also forecasting the unemployment rate to tick up to 7.3 percent from 7.2 percent.

Julia Coronado with BNP Paribas in New York expects employers to have added only 100,000 jobs, partly because the government closure slowed private sector hiring momentum.

“Coming as it will with the slowing in the interest rate-sensitive sectors of housing, business investment, and auto sales, such a reading would effectively eliminate the possibility of a December taper,” she said.

With the Fed waiting to examine ‘clean’ data, the preliminary report of third-quarter GDP will be less important than usual. Economists expect a growth rate of 1.9 percent, down from 2.5 percent in the April-June quarter. Far more important in the longer run for the global economy will be a gathering of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee to plot economic strategy for the next few years.

Whereas Western central banks have embraced forward guidance with gusto, the CCP remains frustratingly opaque: expectations that the Nov. 9-12 meeting will provide a blueprint for policy reform are likely to be disappointed.

The key gauge of success should be whether the leadership presents a coherent plan to shift the economy from investment to consumption that can provide clear direction to officials over the years ahead, according to Nicholas Consonery and Michal Meidan with Eurasia Group, a consultancy. “By contrast, a piecemeal approach would signal that the leadership has been unable to agree on a framework for how reform should progress,” they said in a report. — Reuters

Velti to sell businesses to Blackstone DUBLIN: Ireland’s Velti Plc said it would sell its mobile marketing business in the United States, Britain and India to a unit of Blackstone Group LP, and that it had filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 for its remaining US operations. The company restructuring follows more than a year of losses and a build up in unpaid bills by customers that have contributed to a breach of debt covenants.

It has been particularly hit by the meltdown in Greece and Cyprus, two countries where it wrote down more than $100 million in receivables in the second quarter ended June. Velti shares collapsed in price on Monday, with just a few trades at around 8 US cents premarket, down from Friday’s closing price on the Nasdaq of 29 cents. The shares peaked at $20 each in 2011, the year the

company listed. Velti reported revenue of $31.2 million for the second quarter, just over half that of a year ago. It is yet to report thirdquarter results. Velti’s mobile ad exchange, Mobclix, filed a Chapter 7 petition on Monday to wind down that business.

The company said in August that Web publishers moved off its Mobclix platform as it was unable to pay them on time, driving down the company’s advertising revenue.

Mobclix and rivals such as Google’s AdMob and Apple iAd operate platforms that help publishers sell online adver tising. GSO Capital Partners LP, the credit division of Blackstone, has committed to provide up to $25 million in debtor-in-possession financing, including a $10 million cash injection, to support the operations it is buying, Velti said.

Velti, whose customers include Russian

mobile operator MTS , said its operations outside the United States, including in Greece, China, Brazil, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, will continue business as usual. The company’s remaining businesses include the mGage advertising and marketing platform and the Velti Media mobile advertising network. Blackstone’s GSO also assumed debt from HSBC as part of the deal, Velti said. Velti got a $50 million revolving credit from HSBC in 2012 by providing substantially all its assets as security.

Roth Capital Partners had placed the stock under review in September saying, “we are particularly troubled by the rate of cash outflow, and prospects for the company to satisfy its debt and working capital requirements while management restructures and reorganizes.” —Reuters

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

BUSINESS

Revolutionary BMW i8 headlines Dubai International Motor Show Hybrid i8 sports car to be joined by 7 Series M V12 Bi-Turbo, X4 Concept, 4 Series Coupé sub brand.

Powered by the latest generation BMW TwinPower Turbo petrol engine which, in typical BMW sports car fashion, drives through the rear wheels, the i8’s intelligent plug-in hybrid system also capitalises on a potent electric motor which sends drive to the front wheels resulting is a combined power output of 362hp delivered to all four wheels.

When united, the dual motors (electric motor at the front and petrol engine at the rear) work together to allow the BMW i8 to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds while using only 2.5 litres of petrol per 100kms and emitting just 59g/km of emissions.

Its mid-engined design is reminiscent of BMW’s famed M1 sports coupé of the 1970s yet features cutting edge aerodynamic elements never before seen on the street and all wrapped in a super light, high-tech, carbon

DUBAI: BMW Group Middle East together with local importer AGMC will showcase the future of motoring when more than 100,000 expected visitors to this year’s Dubai International Motor Show see the revolutionary BMW i8 hybrid sports car for the first time.

Taking centre stage for the duration of the show from November 5 to 9, the BMW i8’s visionary design, intelligent lightweight construction (carbon) and dynamic performance allows it to accelerate like a sports car and yet consume less fuel than a compact hatch while emitting zero emissions in city driving.

The all-new BMW i8 is scheduled for a Middle East launch in the second quarter of 2014 and will be joined on stage at its media reveal by Henrik Wenders, Head of BMW i8 Product Management who will highlight the significance of the radical new technology that’s being introduced through BMW’s new i

BEC opens second branch in Salmiya, 30th in Kuwait KUWAIT: BEC Exchange Company (BEC), one of Kuwait’s leading money transfer and foreign exchange company yesterday announced the opening of its latest branch in the country. The Salmiya - Baghdad Street branch, located on the Baghdad Street opposite Al-Hilal Hospital was inaugurated by Titus ED, Director and General Manager of BEC. The chief guest at the function was, CAHM Wijeratne, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Kuwait.

The guest of honor was Madhuben Paudel, Ambassador of Nepal to Kuwait.

Speaking at the function, Wijeratne, commended the good services provided by BEC and mentioned that he himself is a customer of BEC. Madhuben Paudel also spoke with satisfaction about the services provided by BEC to Nepalese customers.

Ajay Goel, Chief Executive Officer of Citicenter, one of the most prominent hypermarkets did the first transaction at the branch and wished BEC all the very best. To celebrate the opening of the branch, which is BEC’s 30th branch in Kuwait and 2nd branch in the Salmiya district, BEC gave away 50 silver coins to the first 50 customers. The new branch will offer customers a full suite of BEC services including EzRemit Money Transfer, Credit to Account, Cash Pick Up, MoneyGram and Foreign Currency Exchange to name a few.

Customers will be served by highly trained BEC Sales Consultants from 4 counters and the branch will be open 8am to 9pm, seven days a week.

Commenting on the opening, Titus ED,

Director and General Manager BEC, said “Part of our business strategy is to open convenient and accessible branch locations and to take BEC closer to our customers. As Salmiya is highly populated with expatriates living and working there, we felt it was ideal to open another branch to meet the needs of customers in this busy and peopled area.”

Customers who make an FX or remittance transaction at the new Salmiya- Baghdad Road branch, with their BEC Bonus Loyalty Card, will automatically be entered into BEC’S current campaign - BEC’s 2013Year End Bonanza. Customers will be entered into an automated draw with the chance to win the star prize of a Renault Duster Jeep plus other prizes including two gold bars x to the value of KD 250, seven Laptops, 10 Sony Mobile Phones and 10 x KD50 cash prizes. Customers who have not yet registered for a BEC Loyalty Card can do so at any of BEC’s 30 branches across Kuwait.

Established in 1992, BEC specializes in sending money safely and efficiently at competitive rates. Parented by BFC Group Holdings, the leading remittance and foreign exchange group in the region has over 100 branches across Bahrain, Kuwait, the UK, India and Malaysia. BEC has a global reach covering over 200 countries, through its own money transfer product - EzRemit and its partnership with MoneyGram an international money transfer company and offers customers unparalleled remittance and foreign exchange products and services.

fibre body resulting in an unladen weight of just 1,490 kg.

Along with the headlining i8, BMW will also display the first 7 Series ever to wear the high performance M badge with the jaw-dropping 760 M V12 Bi-Turbo as well as the next chapter in the Sports Activity Coupé story, the X4 Concept and the all-new 4 Series Coupé.

Made exclusively for the Middle East, the high performance executive 760Li M V12 BiTurbo saloon features bespoke paint and interior trim features including “V12” stitching on the headrests as well as a Bang & Olufsen High End Surround Sound System and a state-ofthe-art rear seat entertainment system with iDrive control.

With almost a third of all BMWs sold worldwide being an X model, the X4 Concept is another exciting interpretation of the X family which pioneered an entirely new segment in

the automotive landscape following the arrival of the X6 Sports Activity Coupé in 2008.

Continuing the coupé-like profile mixed with rugged looks that has made the X6 such a stand-out success, the X4 Concept takes it a step further by previewing the X family’s future with eye-catching proportions and sporty contours. The result is an unrivalled product character brimming with emotional appeal, dynamism and the sturdiness you would expect from a BMW X model. At the same time, its looks offer the promise of outstanding performance and driving dynamics.

The arrival of the new BMW 4 Series Coupé heralds the dawn of a new era for BMW as it represents the fourth generation of BMW’s premium mid-size coupé. The new 4 Series embodies the sporty nature of this segment in every aspect of its design, performance and dynamics.

The 4 Series Coupé sets itself apart from its predecessor in every aspect, sporting a clearly more dynamic and muscular design language, substantial technical differentiation and a host of innovative new features.

BMW Group has seen strong sales performance in the Middle East between January and September 2013, with 18,835 BMW and MINI models sold representing a 19 percent increase compared to the same period in 2012. The company’s impressive year-to-date sales demonstrate the continued growth of the region’s premium automotive industry and also highlight the Middle East customers’ appetite for luxury cars.

The Dubai International Motor Show is the largest and most popular automotive event in the Middle East, hosting more than 500 companies and is held every second year at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

en.v, Zain announce ‘Reuse’ program to promote environmental awareness KUWAIT: The en.v Initiative, a leading organization dedicated to social responsibility in the Arab World and Zain, the leading mobile telecommunications provider in Kuwait, announce the launch of the REUSE Program a program that promotes environmental sustainability and community participation in Kuwait.

“In this day and age our environment is facing dire challenges, most of which are due to socio-political and economic factors. Our aim has always been to further the development of Kuwait in all its sustainable forms and empower a new generation of leaders. The REUSE Program in 2013 will strive to elaborate on these principles,” said Zahed Sultan, the Managing Director of The en.v Initiative.

REUSE was established by en.v in 2007 as a yearly exposition, which served as an opportunity for non-profit organizations, companies, professionals and aspiring creative talents to showcase their accomplishments in the fields of social responsibility and sustainability via a range of artistic mediums and interactive activities for the general public.

After a successful five year-run, REUSE has now been repositioned from an annual event to an ongoing social development program to further its goal of raising environmental awareness in Kuwait while engaging the local community. Driven by creativity, this new program will include various interactive and educational activities focusing primarily on youth empowerment, advocacy and capacity-building, and will engage a variety of stakeholders from the public, private and civic sectors.

Zain has been a dedicated supporter of theen.v Initiative since its inception in January of 2008.

Through en.v’s publication, advisory services, and annual environmental awareness event “REUSE” (www.projectreuseme.com), Zain has consistently played an active role alongside en.v in promoting awareness for socially driven issues and engaging the gener-

al public, with a particular focus on the environment.

Waleed Al-Khashti, Zain’s Corporate Communications and Relations Manager in Kuwait, said: “ Zain always thrives to contribute to society’s many sectors, including the environment. Keeping our environment green and healthy is a goal we always aim to accomplish by choosing responsible and accountable ways of recycling, and accomplishing that goal would eventually make our company an example in the telecommunications industry as well as across other industries. Our partnership with en.v came from our strong belief and commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, and from our role as a committed, leading company in the Kuwaiti community”.

The REUSE Program will include activities such as educational roadshows and competitions, community events, online environmental campaigns and workshops. The first of

these activities will be the ‘Recycled Art Competition’ whereby school and university students will compete with each other to create the best works made entirely out of scrap / recycled materials. Selected artwork from each school will then be displayed in a high traffic location for the general public to view and vote for their favorite pieces - with an exciting Grand Prize to be offered by Zain.

In its first year, the REUSE Program hopes to increase environmental awareness amongst the general public and drive Kuwait a step further towards a future where citizens and residents, of all ages and walks of life, have acquired more sustainable day-to-day habits.

Vision for ME’s sustainable energy future in spotlight Arab Forum for Environment and Development SHARJAH: Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum, has delivered a keynote address to the Annual Conference of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) in Sharjah, in which he describes the challenges and opportunities in realizing a sustainable energy future for the region. The annual conference, which this year is taking place at the American University of Sharjah, aims to present a situational analysis of the current state of energy in the Arab region and is attended by Ministers from across the Arab World, as well as academic experts and business leaders.

Delivering a keynote speech at the American University of Sharjah in the opening session on 28th October in the presence of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, Jafar reminded the audience that energy, specifically oil and gas production, has long been the economic power of the Arab region, providing the basis for development at home and trade with the abroad. As the region relies on the electricity, water and gasoline it creates to power its

urban lives and industrial activities, it relies too on the export revenues these industries create to provide the capital for investment and the funding of social policies. However, he warned, this central role of energy in the Arab region cuts both ways: “The abundance of energy resources has been a benefit; but it also creates a dependency that requires careful long term polices for sustainability development.”

Taking advantage of the region’s energy resources without limiting development,”, is therefore crucial. And so Mr. Jafarposed a question: How can we ensure that we continue to take full advantage of the region’s resources? How can we combine our energy endowment with the other advantages our region has, like its youthful population and its central geographic position for global trade? And how do we create a resilient energy supply base on which to build a diversified economy?

“It is important to consider the global context”, he told the audience.”As international trade continues to grow, the Arab region must remain sustainably competitive with the rest of the world in its energy policy,

just as it seeks to be competitive in its industrial and business policy.”

And so, what does a sustainable competitive energy system look like? “It is one which maximises affordability, reliability and environmental responsibility in balance”. Jafar drew an important international comparison. “In China, a heavy reliance on coal ensures low energy costs and reliability but comes at a high environmental cost, with visible pollutions in many Chinese cities. In Europe hundreds of billions of dollars are being invested on a renewable energy that has raised prices for energy in Europe and affected the competiveness of European products. In North America a strong free market has resulted in the shale oil and gas, resulting lower costs, high reliability and a lower environmental impact”. Jafar explained that the Arab world should not neglect its core energy strengths in oil and gas production. Even with efforts to diversify the region’s energy supplies, oil and gas will remain these economies’ main energy and export revenue sources.

SHARJAH: Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum, delivers a keynote address to the Annual Conference of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) in Sharjah.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

technology

DuPont receives Robert W Campbell award DUBAI: The National Safety Council presented its 2013 Robert W. Campbell Award to DuPont, recognizing the company’s commitment to the environment, health and safety (EHS) as part of its everyday operations.

“DuPont is honored to be named the 2013 recipient of the Robert W. Campbell Award,” said DuPont Chair and CEO Ellen Kullman. “Our active commitment to safety excellence has been embedded into DuPont for over two centuries. This commitment has helped us grow into the organization we are today, and we will continue to seek improvements in safety, health and the environment as we work to live up to the high standards represented by the Campbell

Award.”

Award recipients are chosen based on a comprehensive evaluation of their organization’s EHS management system and its impact on the bottom line.

DuPont will be involved in the Campbell Award’s ongoing educational efforts, including development of a case study sharing its best practices for use by top business and engineering schools.

Johan Van Der Westhuyzen, Segment Leader Turkey, Middle East, Pakistan, DuPont Sustainable Solutions said: “Our aim is to share the key learnings of DuPont’s 212 years’ experience on Risk Management with our clients in the Middle East to ensure sustainable community development. We take

pride in educating, promoting and spreading awareness about maintaining a healthy environment and to adhere to the highest workplace health and safety standards. This award endorses our commitment to safety and our support to future EHS initiatives.”

“As we mark the 10th anniversary of the Campbell Award, it is an honor to recognize DuPont and its multi-faceted approach to EHS management,” said Janet Froetscher, National Safety Council President and CEO. “We think it is commendable that DuPont is working to be the world’s most dynamic science company, creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer and healthier life for people everywhere. As DuPont looks toward the future, its commitment to

EHS in the pursuit of business excellence should be applauded.” The Campbell Award is named for Robert W. Campbell, a safety pioneer and the first president of the National Safety Council. For more information on the award, visit CampbellAward.org.

DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment.

Doubts over data security on US-owned servers Swisscom builds ‘Swiss Cloud’ as spying storm rages

HONG KONG: Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, speaks during a session with students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, in Hong Kong, yesterday.

Google announced yesterday that it will partner with the university on a program to encourage the innovation and the entrepreneurship. —AP

Google boss says US data spying is ‘outrageous’ HONG KONG: Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt said reports that the US government spied on the Internet giant’s data centres were “outrageous” and potentially illegal if proved true, in an interview yesterday. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal during a visit to Hong Kong, the technology guru said that Google had filed complaints with the National Security Agency, US President Barack Obama, as well as members of the US Congress.

“It’s really outrageous that the National Security Agency was looking between the Google data centres if that’s true. The steps that the organisation was willing to do without good judgement to pursue its mission and potentially violate people’s privacy, it’s not OK,” Schmidt said.

“The NSA allegedly collected the phone records of 320 million people in order to identify roughly 300 people who might be at risk. It’s just bad public policy...and per-

haps illegal,” he said in the interview conducted in the southern Chinese city.

“The Snowden revelations have assisted us in understanding that it’s perfectly possible that there are more revelations to come.” A recent news report said the NSA had tapped into key communications links from Yahoo and Google data centres around the world.

The Washington Post, citing documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and interviews with officials, said the programme could collect data from hundreds of millions of user accounts “at will”.

The report said the programme, called MUSCULAR, operated jointly with the NSA’s British counterpart GCHQ, indicated that the agencies could intercept data flows from fiber-optic cables used by the US Internet giants. The NSA disputes key details of the report. —AFP

NEW YORK: Research in Motion CEO Thorsten Heins unveils the BlackBerry 10 mobile platform as well as two new devices in this January 30, 2013 file photo at the New York City Launch at Pier 36. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins is reportedly being pushed out along with several board members as BlackBerry abandons its buyout plans and raises a new round of funding instead. — AFP

LG tablet has phone alerts, multitasking NEW YORK: For a short time, LG had the distinction of having the rare 8-inch tablet with a high-resolution screen. But then Apple came along and stole the spotlight when it unveiled a new iPad Mini with an even better screen.

That doesn’t mean you should dismiss LG Electronics Inc.’s new tablet outright, particularly if you have an Android phone. There are a number of features that improve how you work with multiple apps and stay connected without touching your phone - features that other tablet makers ought to consider. These additions, though, aren’t enough to distinguish this device as the best tablet for the money.

The new LG G Pad 8.3 has a screen that measures - surprise - 8.3 inches diagonally. With a screen resolution of 1,920 pixels by 1,200 pixels, it’s enough for high-definition video.

It goes on sale in the US starting Sunday cheaper than the new iPad Mini, when it comes out later in November. But while the iPad Mini has a smaller screen, at 7.9 inches, the resolution on that is better, at 2,048 pixels by 1,536 pixels. Google and Amazon also have tablets with high-resolution screens, but at 7 inches.

Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle Fire HDX are also much cheaper. Unlike the iPad, the G Pad can pair with an Android smartphone with a Bluetooth wireless connection. All you need is the free QPair app from LG. I got it working with LG’s G2 phone as well as Samsung’s Galaxy S III. When someone calls your phone, you see who’s calling on the tablet. You can choose to reject the call and even text back a reply to say that you’re busy. Texts you get on the phone will

appear on your tablet, and you can reply from it.

Unfortunately, you’re limited to one reply, and you can’t initiate a text from the tablet. Another drawback: You can’t receive texts with photos or video on the tablet. Nevertheless, these features are nice to have when you’re comfortable on your couch and don’t want to bother with answering the phone. You can keep doing what you’re doing on the tablet. It’s also nice to be able to focus on just one device at a time when multiple gadgets frequently tug at our attention spans.

The iPad also lets you send texts using its Messages app, but it only works with users of other Apple devices. And the iPad doesn’t alert you to phone calls.

The G Pad’s alerts are similar to what smartwatches such as Samsung’s Galaxy Gear are trying to do. But the small screens of smartwatches limit your ability to read and reply to the messages. With the Gear, for instance, text replies are limited to voice dictation that can get garbled in the electronic translation. With the G Pad, you have the luxury of a full on-screen keyboard.

Beyond message alerts, linking the two devices through Bluetooth allows them to sync QuickMemos, or screenshots that you annotate with your finger or a stylus that’s sold separately. It’s similar to Screen Write feature found on Samsung’s new 10-inch Galaxy Note tablet.

Another feature provides quick access to the app last opened on another device. So if you’ve been checking out Facebook on your phone, you’ll get a quick link to it when you pick up the tablet. — AP

ZURICH: Swisscom is building a “Swiss Cloud” that could loosen the grip of US technology giants and attract foreign companies looking for a way to shield sensitive data from the prying eyes of foreign intelligence services.

Companies are increasingly turning to cloud computing - an umbrella term for technology services such as email and business software offered remotely via the Internet instead of onsite - to cut costs and add flexibility to their IT departments.

But revelations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) secretly gathered user data from nine big US tech companies including Google, Apple and Facebook has demonstrated that privacy for users of cloud services can be compromised, and some suggest customers could seek out alternatives to the dominant US providers to try and protect sensitive information.

Swisscom’s head of IT ser vices Andreas Koenig told Reuters the telecom provider’s decision to set up a home cloud was unrelated to the recent NSA revelations and driven more by a desire to cut costs and make its systems more dynamic.

Still, as the technology to protect against illegal threats progresses, Koenig says it will start to make more sense to store data in locations where strict privacy laws make it harder to retrieve sensitive information.

“Data protection and privacy is a long tradition in Switzerland, and that’s why it’s pretty difficult to get to something,” Koenig said. “But if legal requirements are there and we are asked

by the judge to obtain or deliver certain information then we would obviously have to comply with it.” Unlike in the United States, where the 2001 Patriot Act and the 2008 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISAA) gives US intelligence agencies the power to carry out mass information gathering, Swisscom would have to receive a formal request from a prosecutor before allowing access to data.

Yet while Swiss privacy laws will govern data stored locally in Switzerland, Swisscom says it is hard to guarantee the security of data that crosses borders, such as information exchanged by employees working in different countries.

Concern over the extent of foreign intelligence access to data has unnerved many countries, including Germany, where state-backed Deutsche Telekom wants communications firms to collaborate to shield local internet traffic.

Swisscom, which is majority-owned by the Swiss government, wants to be at the forefront of new technology to monitor and detect illegal threats, such as hacking.

“If you are a provider in a cloud environment you need to apply the highest standards of security you can get,” said Koenig, adding the company was implementing new ways to look at intrusion and data threats.

He said improvements in technology such as HTML 5, a new programming language for websites that can support apps on many different platforms, would make it harder to retrieve data.

“It’s like opening a data tunnel from the server to your screen and then displaying the data

on your screen. That makes it pretty, pretty difficult for anyone to see what’s there.”

In Switzerland, which upholds privacy and data secrecy for its citizens and has long profited from providing discreet banking services to foreigners, the NSA surveillance furore is particularly sensitive.

The Swiss government is worried about surveillance of Switzerland’s more than $2 trillion financial centre and is seeking measures to ensure against spying, Basler Zeitung reported last week, citing sources.

Swisscom is subject to regulation requiring it to store all client data in Switzerland. The company counts banks among its biggest clients, and the country’s financial regulator FINMA also stipulates that data and data transfer must happen within Switzerland.

For now, the company is focusing on its Swiss-based clients but says it would have the capacity to support demand from foreign companies seeking a privacy haven.

Koenig declined to disclose how much Swisscom was investing in its cloud nor how much it was planning to charge potential clients for the service, but said it would be competitive with other providers such as Amazon Web Services and International Business Machines.

He said Swisscom’s goal was to have 70 percent of its own IT infrastructure in the cloud by 2016, the equivalent of 200-300 petabytes of data. According to analysts at Deloitte Analytics, it would take 223,000 DVDs to hold just one petabyte. — Reuters

AUS chooses Xerox’s ‘Managed Print Services’ KUWAIT: Xerox-Kuwait, the premier distributor of Xerox products in Kuwait, recently partnered with the newly-opened American University School (AUS), to provide the institution with Xerox’s comprehensive ‘Managed Print Services’ AUS management was focused on finding the latest technology that was both cost-effective and environmentally-friendly; this search led the school directly to Xerox-Kuwait. The Xerox ‘Managed Print Services’ portfolio uses Lean Six Sigma methodology to achieve print fleet optimization, cost management of document services and maximization of return on investment.

Additionally, Xerox printers and copiers are extremely energy efficient.

Dr Jennifer Beckwith, Director - AUS, stated, “Signing up with Xerox Managed Print Services just made sense, as the products and services they offer perfectly match our school’s needs.”

Rusty Burns, Technology Consultant for AUS, added, “Having installed Xerox Managed Print Services at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) in 2012, I was very familiar with the exceptional products and services Xerox provides; hence my recommendation to install these services at AUS.” Xerox’s General Manager, Ayman Mattar stated, “Industry must do its part to protect the envi-

ronment. To this end, we reduce our carbon footprint by cutting energy use in our facilities, investing in product designs that conserve energy and lower greenhouse gas emissions, and offering digital multifunction printers and energy-efficient solutions to our customers. Xerox Managed Print Services help customers become

more productive, improve energy efficiency and reduce material use and related waste, by streamlining their print environment and processes.”

Xerox-Kuwait is proud to help AUS achieve its operational goals and looks forward to its continuing partnership with the school.

Kaspersky Lab observes Increase in Malware in ME DUBAI: While taking part in GITEX Technology Week 2013, Kaspersky Lab presented its research into the current landscape of cyber threats in the Middle East region and pointed out the main trends in this sphere.

“In general the security threat landscape for the Middle East region is seeing increased activity from hacktivism groups that use DDOS and web defacement attacks to deliver their political message. Although removable media and local networks are still the primar y method for spreading malware in the region, there is an increase in the use of drive-by downloads which exploit vulnerabilities in browsers and their plugins. Android mobile malware is rapidly becoming more widespread in the Middle East, and this is causing companies to have more concerns about adopting a Bring Your Own Device strategy,” said Ghareeb Saad, Senior Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab. In the Middle East, as in the rest of the world, users face a constantly rising tide of malware and cyber threats. In the third quarter of 2013 nearly half of Egyptian users (47.8%) suffered from local cyber threats that spread via offline sources - removable USB drives, CDs and DVDs, etc. In other Middle Eastern countries between a third and a half of users suffered similar problems, with the lowest figures coming from Kuwait (33.4%) while Qatar (40.7%) was second behind Egypt. Kaspersky Lab arrived at these figures after analyzing the

data provided by its global cloud-based Kaspersky Security Network (KSN)*.

The analysis also helped to reveal the number of malware incidents in each country of the Middle East region in the third quarter of 2013.

The UAE took the unwelcome prize for topping this table, suffering 34% of all attacks in the region. It’s followed by Saudi Arabia with 22% of malware incidents. Turkey takes third place gaining 14%.

However, Turkey suffered the highest prevalence of Internet-based malware incidents slightly more than a third of its users (34.4%) were attacked by such threats in the third quarter of 2013. Next came Qatar (29.3%) and Saudi Arabia (27.4%). This rating indicates the user’s online security awareness- there is an obvious correlation between greater understanding of the risks of malicious sites and lower levels of Internet-based malware incidents.

Although Internet-based malware incidents increased in the third quarter of 2013, local threats are still dominating in the Middle East and KSN statistics prove it. In turn, the region’s most widespread malware, as detected by Kaspersky Lab analysts, appears to be win32.Sality - a polymorphic virus that propagates using removable media and network shares.

In terms of malicious hosts, Turkey contains the biggest share of malware hosting detected during the third quarter of 2013 with more than 203,000 malicious hosts. That makes up

90% of the regional total. The total Middle East region share from the number of worldwide malicious hosts is less than 0.5%.

Malware spread via social networks (especially Facebook and Twitter) has increased sharply in the Middle East, probably due to the massive rise in social network users in the region - now 88% of the Middle East online population uses social networks daily.

Another reason for spreading malware is to capitalize on interest in the volatile political situation in the region - by creating fake links to political news and videos, criminals can direct users to malicious websites to exploit vulnerable browsers and download malware.

As everywhere in the world, Android has been put at risk in the Middle East. The number of Android malware incident we receive from Kaspersky mobile security users in the region increased from 2.7 thousand in the third quarter of 2012 to more than 7.3 thousand in the same quarter of 2013. The increasing number of Android users in the region (more than 8 million users) and their habit of installing software from unknown sources caused this massive increase in Android malware infections in the region. As Kaspersky Lab observed,the most popular vulnerabilities in the Middle East regionduring the third quarter of 2013appeared to be those in Oracle Java, VLC Media Playerand Adobe Reader. They are often used by cyber criminals to infect users’ devices.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

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

World Bank urges better cookstoves in developing states OSLO: Simple measures to reduce pollution from cooking stoves in developing nations could save a million lives a year and help slow global warming, a World Bank study showed yesterday. Tighter restrictions on diesel emissions, for instance from car exhausts, could also avert 340,000 premature deaths annually by reining in soot and other heat-trapping pollutants that are also stoking climate change, it said.

The study called for tough limits on pollution from methane and soot, which

can settle on snow and ice and hasten a thaw by darkening the surface, in everything from cooking and heating to mining and flaring by the oil and gas industry. “The damage from indoor cooking smoke alone is horrendous - every year, four million people die from exposure to the smoke,” World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement of the study “on Thin Ice: How Cutting Pollution can Slow Warming and Save Lives.”

Many people in developing nations cook on open fires with wood or coal,

exposing people - mainly women and children - to fumes that cause everything from respiratory problems to heart disease. “If more clean cook-stoves - stoves that use less or cleaner fuel - would be used it could save one million lives,” the report said of the annual benefits.

Mass produced, such stoves can cost a few dollars each. Yesterday’s study was co-written by the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative - the cryosphere is the world’s ice, snow and permafrost from Siberia to Antarctica.

New stoves use fans to improve combustion, or less-polluting fuels such as gas from crop waste or manure. “If we act fast and cut common pollutants like soot and methane we can slow the rate of warming...and if we did so we can save millions of lives,” Rachel Kyte, World Bank vice president for sustainable development, told a telephone news conference.

Tighter controls on pollution could also boost crop growth, the report said. Plant growth can be hampered by a haze of pollution. A 2011 UN study estimated

that measures to limit air pollutants such as methane and soot could slow the pace of global warming by 0.5 degree Celsius (0.9 Fahrenheit) by mid-century. A study in August 2013, however, said benefits will be far less. Temperatures have risen by about 0.8 C (1.4 F) since before the Industrial Revolution. Almost 200 nations will meet in Warsaw from Nov. 11-22 to consider ways to combat global warming. They have agreed to work out by the end of 2015 a deal that will enter into force from 2020. — Reuters

UN special envoy sees major hurdles to ending AIDS New approach needed for drug users, sex workers, gay men

DAMASCUS: In this Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 file photo released by UNICEF, a health worker administers polio vaccine to a child as part of a UNICEF-supported vaccination campaign at the Abou Dhar Al Ghifari Primary Health Care Center in Damascus, Syria. A top official vowed yesterday authorities will immunize all children in Syria after the UN reports first outbreak of polio in 14 years. — AP

One dose of HPV vaccine may prevent cervical cancer WASHINGTON: A single dose-rather than the recommended three -of a vaccine against the sexually transmitted disease HPV may be enough to ward off cervical cancer, researchers said yesterday. The findings may lead to simpler delivery and lower costs, possibly increasing the number of young people who get vaccinated, said the report in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

The HPV vaccine is recommended for girls and boys before they become sexually active, but US research from 2012 showed that only one third of US female teens and fewer than seven percent of US boys got the recommended three doses.

“Our findings suggest promise for simplified vaccine administration schedules that might be cheaper, simpler, and more likely to be implemented around the world,” said Mahboobeh Safaeian, an investigator in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland.

The study focused on a population of nearly 7,500 women aged 18-25 in Costa Rica. Although all were supposed to get the recommended three doses of the HPV vaccine at different times, about 20 percent of participants did not.

So researchers analyzed blood samples from a group of 78 who got one dose, compared to groups of 120 to 192 that received two or three doses as planned. They found that all the women in all three groups had antibodies against virulent strains of HPV, known as 16 and 18.

These antibodies persisted in their

blood for up to four years, which is about as long as researchers have expected the vaccine to be effective. The levels of antibodies also appeared stable over time, even though they were slightly lower in the single dose group, suggesting “these are lasting responses,” said the study.

The vaccine used in the study was Cervarix, made by the British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. “GSK is continuing to review findings from this trial and is committed to ensuring regulatory authorities and public health officials have access to this information,” a company spokesman told AFP. Study authors said antibody responses after a single dose have not been evaluated for Gardasil, the quadrivalent HPV vaccine made by Merck that is more widely used in the United States and many other countries. More research is needed before any formal changes can be decided, but Safaeian said the findings could have farreaching impact in low income nations.

“Vaccination with two doses, or even one dose, could simplify the logistics and reduce the cost of vaccination, which could be especially important in the developing world, where more than 85 percent of cervical cancers occur, and where cervical cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths,” she said.

HPV can cause oral, anal, and cervical cancer. According to the World Health Organization, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide, and causes 500,000 new cases and 250,000 deaths each year. —AFP

HIV-like virus suppressed in monkey experiment NEW YORK: Doctors may one day be able to control a patient’s HIV infection in a new way: injecting swarms of germfighting antibodies, two new studies suggest.

In monkeys, that strategy sharply reduced blood levels of a cousin of HIV. The results also gave tantalizing hints that someday the tactic might help destroy the AIDS virus in its hiding places in the body, something current drugs cannot do.

The study results “could revolutionize efforts to cure HIV” if the approach is found to work in people, said a commentary published Wednesday by the journal Nature along with the monkey studies.

Antibodies are proteins in the blood that grab onto specific germs and mark them for elimination. People infected with HIV naturally make antibodies to fight the AIDS virus, but they are generally ineffective. The two new studies used lab-made versions of rare antibodies with unusual potency against HIV. One study of rhesus monkeys showed a profound effect from a single injection of antibodies, said lead author Dr. Dan Barouch of Harvard and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The 18 animals had been infected with SHIV, a monkey version of HIV. In 13 animals, blood levels of SHIV became unde tectable by standard tests within a week of the treatment. After the antibodies petered out, the virus came back. That happened one to three months after treatment.

In three monkeys with the lowest levels of SHIV before treatment, the virus didn’t return during an observation peri-

od of up to eight months. Barouch said the animals were not cured, but the treatment had apparently improved their immune systems enough to keep the virus in check.

The two other monkeys started with the highest blood levels of SHIV. Treatment lowered those levels but not to the point where they were undetectable. The second study in Nature, from the National Institutes of Health, showed encouraging results in a smaller group of monkeys.

In people, standard drugs routinely tamp down HIV to undetectable levels in the blood. But the antibody approach may someday help doctors attack virus that’s hiding in infected cells, beyond the reach of today’s drugs, said the Nature commentary by Dr. Steven Deeks of the University of California, San Francisco, and Dr. Louis Picker of the Oregon Health & Science University in Beaverton.

In theory, antibodies might activate the body’s immune system to kill those infected cells, they wrote. Barouch’s results hinted at such an effect, they noted. Virus levels dropped faster in the monkeys than they do when people get standard HIV drugs, and when the monkey virus returned, it generally didn’t reach its pre-treatment levels. Barouch also found virus levels reduced in cells and tissues after treatment.

The findings of the two studies are “provocative” about prospects for attacking HIV’s hiding places, Deeks said in a telephone interview. “ These studies raised more questions than they answered,” he said. “But that’s how science advances.” — Reuters

LONDON: HIV epidemics are becoming more concentrated in marginalised groups such as sex workers, drug users and gay men, and could defy global attempts to combat AIDS without a change in attitudes, according to a UN special envoy.

Michel Kazatchkine, UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe, says he would like to be able to celebrate without reservation vast global progress made in the past decade, but stubborn infection rates and alarming growth of outbreaks in hard-to-reach populations make that difficult.

The risk, he says, is that as the world turns the tide of the generalised global AIDS epidemic, the virus will return to being a disease that plagues only certain groups, and the political will to overcome it there may fade. “If we do not address the roots of the problem, if we do not address stigma, discrimination and inappropriate legislation, if we don’t look at these people from a public health perspective, rather than from a delinquent, criminal perspective as we do now, then the trend will only go on,” he said in an interview. “Then the AIDS epidemic will become more and more a sum of these concentrated epidemics.”

Some 35.3 million people worldwide are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, but the rising number of patients reflects great strides in recent years in developing sophisticated HIV tests and combination AIDS drugs and getting them to many of those who need them to stay alive.

The annual AIDS death toll is falling, dropping to 1.6 million people in 2012, down from a peak of 2.3 million in 2005, and there are also steadily declining rates of new HIV infections: a third fewer in 2013 than in 2011.

The progress has generated much hope and many headlines - about the possible end of AIDS, or a potential world without HIV, or the

chance of an AIDS-free generation, in our lifetimes.

Kazatchkine refers to this - both the progress and the hope as “extraordinary”. “I’m really concerned about the future of the AIDS epidemic, especially at a time when we are perhaps a little too optimistic because of the huge progress we are making from a technological and scientific perspective,” he said.

“As we celebrate the extraordinary progress, we should also be conscious that we will not stop HIV and AIDS by just having more sophisticated drugs and only focussing on the generalised epidemic and not focussing enough on the complexities of the concentrated epidemics.”

The worrisome groups are fairly clearly defined: Injecting drug users, who can pass the AIDS virus to each other by sharing needles and syringes, prostitutes and sex workers, who are often criminalised and have little access to health service, and gay and bisexual men - the population in which the HIV epidemic first started.

To illustrate how little has changed in the battle against HIV among drugs users - particularly in regions such as Eastern Europe and central Asia - Kazatchkine tells the stories of two women.

The first is AndrÈe, a drug user he met in Paris in 1986 who had no hope of effective HIV treatment, since there was none yet developed, and who ultimately died a lonely death. The second was Larissa from Yekaterinburg in Russia, a drug addict repeatedly arrested and locked up, deprived of medications for years and at one time sentenced to five years in a labour camp.

“These stories are remarkably similar,” he said. “But Larissa’s is not from 1986, it’s from this year. Some 25 years passed between my meeting these two women, but their predicament was depressingly, tragically, the same.”

Among gay men, Kazatchkine said, the situation is little better. In poor and middle-income countries, men who have sex with men and female sex workers are 19 and 13 times more likely to have HIV, respectively, than the rest of the population.

Even in wealthy regions like western Europe and North America, HIV rates among gay men or men who have sex with men (MSM) as Kazatchkine refers to them - stubbornly refuse to shift.

“In MSM populations, there is no sign it has decreased,” he said. “It has either been a stable number of new infections every year for 10 years, or it is an increasing trend. And this, in western Europe at least, is in the context of basically free and easy access to therapy and services.”

Elsewhere, in China, for example, gay men alone account for more than 33 percent of new HIV infections, and projections indicate that gay men may account for half or more of all new infections in Asia by 2020.

Kazatchkine admits that he is as frustrated and worried now, faced with these smaller but relentless HIV epidemics, as he was more than a decade ago when the vast generalised HIV and AIDS outbreak in Africa looked too overwhelming to begin to tackle.

“We are a bit in disarray. We don’t know quite what it is that we should do. Here we are, we have all the technology, we have extraordinary scientific progress, and we just cannot translate that into making a difference in these populations.”

Yet if nothing changes, the AIDS virus may never be beaten. Kazatchkine called for a “shift in the collective mindset” to put equity and human rights at the centre of the battle against HIV in these groups: “If we do not deliver the right response, we will fail to deliver an end to AIDS,” he said.—Reuters

News

in brief

New dolphin species spotted WASHINGTON: A newly discovered species of humpback dolphin has been seen swimming off the northern Australia coast, an international team of scientists reported this week. All humpback dolphins have a characteristic hump just below the dorsal fin, but there are several distinct species in this family of marine mammals, the scientists found. US Dream Chaser space taxi soars on test flight, skids after landing Planet hunters find Earth-like twin CAPE CANAVERAL: For the first time, scientists have found a planet beyond the solar system that not only is the same size as Earth, but has the same proportions of iron and rock, a key step in an ongoing quest to find potentially habitable sister worlds. The planet, known as Kepler-78b, circles a star that is slightly smaller than the sun located in the constellation Cygnus, about 400 light years away.

ARLINGTON: Girls wait at an American Girl series book signing in this April 4, 2013 file photo at the Arlington Library in Arlington, Virginia. Girls of all races are entering puberty earlier than ever before, and US research out yesterday suggests that obesity may a contributing factor, particularly in white girls. Early puberty has been linked to a number of medical conditions, including increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer, as well as high blood pressure and depression. — AFP

Obesity linked to early onset of puberty in US girls WASHINGTON: Girls of all races are entering puberty earlier than ever before, and US research out yesterday suggests that obesity may a contributing factor, particularly in white girls.

Early puberty has been linked to a number of medical conditions, including increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer, as well as high blood pressure and depression. White girls on average began developing breasts at a median age of 9.7 years, about four months earlier than found in a separate study in 1997, said the report in the journal Pediatrics.

A higher body mass index, or ratio of height and weight, was “the strongest predictor” of early breast development across all races in the study. AfricanAmerican girls continued to develop at earlier ages than whites and Asians, as previous studies have also found, though no earlier than was observed in prior studies from the late 1980s and 1990s.

“The obesity epidemic appears to be a prime driver in the decrease in age at onset of breast development in contemporary girls,” said the research led by Frank Biro at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

The research is based on a group of 1,200 girls in New York, the San Francisco Bay area and the greater Cincinnati area,

as part of the government funded Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program.

The girls enrolled in the study beginning in 2004 when they were between the ages of six to eight, and their development was tracked for multiple years. A trend toward earlier puberty has been noted in past international studies as well.

Research from Denmark published in 2009 showed that girls were experiencing breast development nearly a year earlier than those born 15 to 16 years before. An accompanying editorial in Pediatrics by Marcia Herman-Giddens of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said that the reasons for early puberty are complex and may not be fully understood for some time.

“Each individual girl is exposed to multiple factors in today’s environment, many not present decades ago, that may potentially influence her pubertal onset,” she wrote. “Furthermore, because early puberty and menarche are associated with many detrimental health and psychosocial issues, we must not accept this premature development as the ‘new normal.’ Instead, she called for a renewed push to create “a healthier environment for our children.” — AFP

India, US to probe Martian atmosphere CAPE CANAVERAL: Two new science satellites are being prepared to join a fleet of robotic Mars probes to help determine why the planet most like Earth in the solar system ended up so different.

India’s Mars Orbiter Mission, the country’s first interplanetary foray, is due to blast off on November 5 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.

Astronomers discover distant galaxy CAPE CANAVERAL: Astronomers have found the most distant galaxy yet, a discovery that pushes back scientists’ view of the universe to about 700 million years after it is thought to have come into existence. Light from the galaxy, designated by scientists as z8 GND -5296, took about 13.1 billion years to reach the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, both of which detected the galaxy in infrared light.

H7N9 strain gives kick to bird flu research ROTTERDAM: Dutch scientists hidden away in a top-security laboratory are seeking to create mutant flu viruses, dangerous work designed to prepare the world for a lethal pandemic by beating nture to it. The idea of engineering viral pathogens to be more deadly than they are already has generated huge controversy, amid fears that such viruses could leak out or fall into the wrong hands.

Orbital Sciences’ cargo ship departs ISS CAPE CANAVERAL: Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp completed a successful test mission at the International Space Station on Tuesday, clearing the firm to begin regular cargo runs for NASA under a $1.9 billion contract. Using the space station’s robotic arm, astronauts aboard the station plucked the Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus capsule from its docking port and released the unmanned capsule into space as the two sailed high over the Atlantic Ocean.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

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

AAW supports CAN in its drive to fight Breast Cancer Encourages women to get tested for early detection KUWAIT: Ali Abdulwahab Al Mutawa Commercial Co. (AAW), one of Kuwait’s leading medical distribution companies and the main distributor of Roche Pharmaceuticals in Kuwait, partnered with the Cancer Awareness Nation (CAN) to encourage women to take mammogram tests for early breast cancer detection through a month-long breast cancer awareness campaign targeting 20,000 women

in the Kuwaiti community.

Marking breast cancer awareness this month, AAW and CAN helped encourage women to start testing by providing discounted services at a select number of private hospitals. It also calls on women to get tested before the end of the month.

AAW’s support stems from recent national studies by the Kuwait Cancer Registry showing

that delayed cancer detection cases are the higher in Kuwait than in other countries like the US and UK. Studies from the Kuwait Cancer Registry also showed that breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in Kuwait with 40-year old women most likely developing the disease.

AAW General Manager of Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Sherif Younan said: “According to the last

reports from Kuwait Cancer Registry in 2009, one in 19 Kuwaiti females are likely to develop breastcancer in their lifetime and this number is on the rise. Women in Kuwait are not conducting regular mammogram tests for this disease. Health checks are not common practice in Kuwait, and we support CAN’s mission to encourage as many women as possible across the country to acknowledge and understand

the importance of getting mammograms.

Testing can result in early detection of the disease, which can also mean overcoming it. We encourage every woman to test today.

CAN is a Kuwait-based organization initiated in 2006 under the patronage of HH The Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah, and aims to increase cancer awareness and help support cancer patients.

Plunging eel stocks spell hard times for a global delicacy CRUMLIN: From the food stalls and pie shops of Dickensian London to haute cuisine restaurants in Tokyo, the eel has a long and rich culinary history that transcends classes and national borders. But it is becoming an increasingly rare delicacy as stocks plummet and Europe’s fishing industry shrinks to make itself sustainable. With an annual catch of about 600 tonnes, Europe’s largest commercial eel fishery - and the United Kingdom’s largest lake - is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.

Those whose families have fished its shallow grey-green and nutrient rich waters for generations believe their traditional industry and way of life may be coming to an end. “There will not be another generation of fishermen. More than half are of pension age. Whenever I finish that will be the end,” said Shane O’Neill, a sprightly 70 year old from the nearby town of Crumlin who has worked the lake since 1960.

According to legend, Ireland’s patron Saint

Patrick removed all its snakes, which represented the Devil, and many went into the water and became eels - one possible reason why they are not a popular dish in Ireland. So most of the lake’s produce - protected under European law in the same way as champagne and parma ham and a delicacy in countries including Germany, Poland, China and Japan - gets sent abroad.

Selling at around 6 pounds ($9.7) a pound (450 grams) or three times the price of other eels, Lough Neagh’s catch is also exported across the Irish Sea to Britain. Londoners used to harvest eels from the Thames and they became a staple for the city’s working class, whether jellied - chopped and boiled in a stock that cools and sets - or baked in a pie with mashed potato.

But most of the capital’s eel outlets have long since closed. This week the government, which says the fish is as closely linked to the city as its black cabs, put one that is still doing

business, the L Manze Eel, Pie and Mash Shop, under special architectural protection.

The decline of London’s eel shops mirrors a sharp drop in Europe’s stocks. The number of young eels reaching the continent’s river systems, where the fish mature before returning to the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic to breed, has fallen by up to 99 percent since the 1970s, according to the International Council for Exploration of the Seas group of scientists.

“It’s gone from an extreme abundance to a massive drop of arrivals,” said Andrew Kerr, chairman of the Sustainable Eel Group conservation organisation. “It is a similar level of endangerment to the tiger or panda.”

There is no single explanation for the drop but possible causes other than overfishing include parasites, damming of rivers, pollution and changes to the course of the Gulf Stream.

Scientists say it is very tricky to keep tabs on populations.— Reuters

SHAWNEE: Polar bear protein samples await testing by Elvis, a beagle at Iron Heart Performance Dog Center in Shawnee, Kan., yesterday. Elvis is demonstrating 97% accuracy in positive identification of samples from pregnant females.— AP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Raouche Arjaan by Rotana Hotel provides guests with ultimate service

SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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

Announcement Gokulotlsavam, 2013

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eva Darshan Kuwait’s children’s wing Bala Darshan Kuwait will hold a day-long competition for its children tomorrow named ‘Gokulotsavam’ at the Khaitan Indian Community school. Over 300 children will compete in various categories based on the study classes they attend every week. The off-stage competitions was held on November 1 at various locations in Abbasiya, Salmiya and Fahaheel. Vichar Bharati Kuwait in association with PART (Progressive Art Realization Troop Kuwait) will be holding an open canvas exhibition on Swami Vivekananda as part of the Swami Vivekananda Jayanti 150th year celebrations at the venue. For further details contact at sevsadarshan@gmail.com.

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aouche Arjaan by Rotana is classified amongst the most luxurious hotels in Lebanon. With a central location, gorgeous views, extravagant bedrooms and state of the art conference rooms, this hotel is the perfect place to stay for families and business travelers alike.

Raouche Arjaan by Rotana is conveniently located in the heart of Beirut, on the well-known Raouche Boulevard facing the famous Pigeon Rocks and Mediterranean Sea. This location allows for hotel guests to be minutes away from Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, famous downtown Beirut that is equipped with shopping, site seeing, entertainment and food. The hotel is also near the main business and banking districts in the downtown area, leading institutions, exhibition grounds at BIEL and Forum de Beyrouth, Waterfront Corniche and Zaitounay Bay. With 175 appointed studios, suites and non-smoking rooms, Raouche Arjaan by Rotana offers guests a great selection to accommodate their stay. The hotel also offers 4star upscale hotel apartments to well-accommodate the needs of families and long-term guests.

To ensure the complete satisfaction and comfort of guest, the hotel provides several in hotel services to meet each guest’s needs. The food and beverages facilities in the hotel make for the best meeting places. With delicious food and exceptional customer service, guests can choose from Murjan Restaurant & Terrace, Bella Vita Cafe & Terrace and the Aquarius Pool Bar & Terrace to have small meetings or just have a good time while the state of the art meeting and conference rooms are perfect for conferences and seminars. Raouche Arjaan by Rotana’s meeting facilities include one boardroom with

the latest audio-visual equipment. The second banquet room serves as another meeting facility for seminars and private occasions. A business centre with secretarial support and dedicated service are also available for conferences.

Raouche Arjaan by Rotana is the ultimate hotel providing a multitude of services to meet the needs of business, friends and family travelers alike. Each guest has a plentiful amount of options to personalize their stay and feel as if they are comfortably at home.

Katsuya by Starck makes its debut in Kuwait M

Entertainment City special timings

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he Entertainment City welcomes visitors today (Tuesday) on special timings from 2:00 pm to 11:00 pm, the Touristic Enterprises Company announced yesterday. Public Relations and Marketing Manager Saqer Al-Bader said in the meantime that winter timings at the facility start on 40:00 pm to 12:00 am on weekdays, and at 10:00 am to 10:00 pm on weekends, while entrance on Mondays is restricted for female visitors only.

.H.Alshaya Co., the leading international franchise operator for over 70 of the world’s most recognized retail brands, announced today the official opening of the first Katsuya by Starck restaurant at Grand Avenue, The Avenues in Kuwait. Katsuya by Starck debut marks the first venture for the award winning brand outside its home country in the US, and reinforces Alshaya’s continued commitment to bring customers in the region exciting, innovative shopping and dining experiences from around the world. A second Katsuya by Starck will open shortly in Dubai.

Featuring the dynamic pairing of Master Sushi Chef Katsuya Uechi and design impresario Philippe Starck, Katsuya by Starck is truly a feast for the senses. With specialty freshly-squeezed-fruit cocktails, unique hand-rolls, a robata grill (Japanese indoor barbeque) and spectacular sushi and sashimi platters, Katsuya skillfully translates Japanese flavours to an international palate. Customers will love the diverse collection of signature dishes which include Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna, Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno and Miso-Marinated Black Cod. With superb talent and exacting precision, Chef Katsuya is changing the face of Japanese cuisine.

“Making our international debut represents a defining milestone for the evolution of Katsuya

by Starck and for sbe,” said sbe Founder, Chairman and CEO Sam Nazarian. “We are delighted to be

ISCON 2013: Knowledge for enlightenment and salvation

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he real knowledge is to develop mankind socially and spiritually. The lack of education is not the cause of immorality but lack of moral and social awareness is the causes.

Eminent speaker, scholar and senior advocate in the High Court of Kerala said presenting topic on “knowledge for enlightenment and salvation” at the Islamic students’ conference -ISCON conducted by Kuwait Kerala Islahi Center (KKIC) at Grand mosque auditorium under the sponsorship of Awqaf Ministry. Man becomes the slave of consumerism in the modern world. Knowledge and education became the symbol of selfishness and immorality. But the attainment of knowledge is for enlightenment and to achieve salvation for the hereafter life. He said.

Assistant Undersecretary of Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Awqaf Sheikh Dawood Al-Asoosi inaugurated the two-day conference. He appreciated the relentless activities of Kuwait Kerala Islahi Center for the development of community and their efforts to disseminate the message of oneness of God among the Indian expatriate

people in Kuwait. Shekih Al-Asoosi released a souvenir published as part of conference and distributed the awards to the winners of Quran Hifd Competition conducted by KKIC. Dr Ali Al-Omair, Member of Kuwait Parliament also appreciated the Indian community in Kuwait who have been living peacefully and appreciated KKIC for their activities among the expatriate community especially conveying the message of Oneness of God. An exhibition was also conducted as part of conference. Mukhtar Mauroof, FIMA president, Sheikh Yousef Al-Shuaib, Supervisor Grand Mosque, Thajudheen Swalahi, ex-president have felicitated in the function.

TP Abdul Azeez, General Secretary of KKIC welcomed the gathering; PN Abdullatheef Madani, president presided over the function and KC Mohammed Najeeb, Joint secretary proposed vote of thanks. Earlier, in parenting and children butter flies sessions, Thajudheen Swalahi, Dr. Shaheer, Haris bn Saleem and PN Abdurahiman, president -Islamic Students Movement (KISM) presented lectures.

working with the world leading retail franchise operator Alshaya, to bring the Katsuya by Starck brand to the Middle East, starting with Kuwait, followed by Dubai and then more widely across the region.”

“We are pleased to introduce Katsuya by Starck to the Middle East,” said Mohammed Alshaya, Executive Chairman of M.H. Alshaya Co., “The combination of Chef Katsuya’s culinary skills and Philippe Stark’s creative flair has created a dining experience to savour. We are confident that discerning customers in Kuwait, and across the region, will come to appreciate the international dining experience and the exceptional quality of food and service that Katsuya by Stark represents.

We look forward to introducing the brand to our customers in other countries across the region.”Katsuya by Starck was created in L.A. by the entertainment

group SBE and is a regular destination for Hollywood’s A-listers.

The interiors of the restaurants are beautifully designed by the leading global interior and product designer, Philippe Starck who has been wowing the design world with his architecture, furniture and homeware for over 30

years. The stunning new restaurant at the entrance to Grand Avenue, The Avenues, blends samurais with bento boxes and uses the natural beauty of wood and stone to create an exquisite and stylish environment, unlike any other previously seen in Kuwait.

PGA Everton coaching programme

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he P.G.A. Everton, sponsored by Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company, hosted teams from Arsenal Soccer School at Under 7, Under 8 and Under 14 age groups at Bayan on Saturday. One hundred players participated in the games, cheered on by enthusiastic parents, guided by their coaches and played in a great sporting spirit across the four pitches. The event was a huge success and will be followed up this coming weekend with games in the Under 10 and Under 12 age groups. The next P.G.A. Everton six week coaching program will commence this coming Friday 8th November.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

GUST celebrates graduation of 8th Bachelors class

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nder the patronage of Education and Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf, the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) hosted pioneers in the educational sector including the Secretary General of the Council of Private Universities Dr Habib Tahir Abul, families, friends and students at their 4th MBA and 8th Bachelors classes Graduation Ceremony in their esteemed outdoor amphitheater on campus. The Minister, Dr Al-Hajraf, and new GUST President, Dr Donald Bates were the guest speakers at the grand ceremony.

The theater was beaming with the smiles faces of the graduates and their family and friends but also with GUST faculty, staff, and proud leaders including Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Muhailan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Dr Donald Bates, new GUST President, Dr Ghassan Aouad, new VP of Academic Affairs and all of who came to show their support and acknowledge the importance of this occasion.

In his opening speech, the Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf, emphasized on the importance of the private sector’s effective contribution in supporting institutions of higher education, and that together with the efforts of governmental and educational institutions, the needs of the labor market can be supported and we can help ensure the quality of education.

He spoke to the graduates directly, saying: “The school days have passed in which you achieved your success and the time has come prove that you are a real supporter of the country and its future.” At the same time he directed a sincere thanks and appreciation to the parents of the graduates for their efforts in their care and concern for their children. In his turn, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Dr Abdulrahman Al-Muhailan, congratulated all the graduates and wished them the best of luck in the rest of their life to further their academic and professional journey to work well and hard. He thanked their parents who have endured this responsibility, the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education and the Council of Private Universities for their efforts and support all these years, and the GUST facilty and staff who were keen on the care and education of students and helping them reach this achievement. He emphasized on the great strides the university has made since its inception and the increasing number of achievements to its name and what is to come in the bright future.

Dr Donald Bates, GUST President, expressed his happiness for being able to participate in this special occasion where GUST graduates its largest class in its history, noting that the achievements of graduates represent a very important step in their lives where they must be able to

face the biggest challenge: to interact, respond and cope with the ever-changing times. “Remember that you were students yesterday and today you are graduates and alumni; remember that this was a dream for you yesterday and today it’s a reality,” and stressed on the responsibility to apply all that they have learned during their time at GUST into the real world.

Student Abdullah Al-Abduljader then gave a speech on behalf of his fellow graduates in which he recited a bit of Arabic poetry which hit home for many. Al-Abduljader noted in his speech that the greatest asset and the greatest value we have gained is our relationships and our friendships formed within the walls of this university which make us a family. He noted later that GUST has recently been through a remarkable development in various fields which have been achieved through strong plans and strategies, academic partnerships, programs of accreditation, employment of graduates, and other factors that have contributed effectively to the progress and development of the university.

The night ended with a grand display of fireworks, the students and their families ecstatic, giving hugs and shouts of congratulations with the endless clicking of their cameras. GUST faculty and staff were honored to share these special moments with their graduates.

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Embassy of Australia has announced that Kuwait citizens can apply for and receive visit visas in 10 working days through www.immi.gov.au.

All other processing of visas and Immigration matters are handled by the Australian Visa Application Centre located in Al Banwan Building, 4B, 1st Floor, Al Qibla Area, Ali Al Salem Street, Kuwait City. Visit. www.vfs-au-gcc.com for more info. The Embassy of Australia does not have a visa or immigration department.

All processing of visas and immigration matters is conducted by the Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: Info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com ( VIS), immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au ( Visa Office), Tel: +971 4 205 5900 ( VFS), Fax: + 971 4 355 0708 ( Visa Office). Notary and passport services are available by appointment. Appointments can be made by calling the Embassy on 22322422.

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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 BANGLADESH The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait will remain closed on 05 November 2013 on the occasion of Arabic New Year 1435. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF US

The US Embassy in Kuwait has new procedures for obtaining appointments and picking up passports after visa issuance. Beginning August 9, 2013, we now provide an online visa appointment system, live call center, and in-person pick-up facilities in Kuwait. Please monitor our website and social media for additional information. This new system offers more flexibility for travelers to the US and to meet the increase in demand for visa appointments.

The general application steps on the new visa appointment system are: 1. Go to www.ustraveldocs.com/kw (if this is the first time on ustraveldocs.com, you will need to create a profile to login).

2. Please complete your DS-160 Online Visa Application which is available at ceac.state.gov/genNIV. 3. Please print and take your deposit slip to any Burgan Bank location to pay your visa application fee.

4. Schedule an appointment for your visa interview online at www.ustraveldocs.com/kw or by phone through the Call Center (at +965-2227-1673).

5. If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please do so 24 hours beforehand, as a courtesy to other applicants. For more information, please visit the US Embassy website - kuwait.usembassy.gov as it is the best source of information regarding these changes. nnnnnnn

EMBASSY OF 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.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

03:25 Wildwives Of Savannah Lane 04:15 Too Cute!

05:05 America’s Cutest Pets 05:55 Animal Cops Houston 06:45 ER Vets 07:10 ER Vets 07:35 Call Of The Wildman 08:00 Monkey Life 08:25 The Magic Of The Big Blue 09:15 The Most Extreme 10:10 Breed All About It 11:05 Wildwives Of Savannah Lane 12:00 Animal Cops Houston 12:55 Monkey Life 13:20 Call Of The Wildman 13:50 Earthquake: Panda Rescue 14:45 Swimming With Monsters: Steve Backshall 15:40 Wildwives Of Savannah Lane 16:30 My Cat From Hell 17:30 The Most Extreme 18:25 Bad Dog 19:20 Great Animal Escapes 20:15 Too Cute!

22:05 Lion Man: One World African Safari 23:00 Bondi Vet 23:55 ER Vets 00:25 ER Vets 00:50 Animal Cops Houston 01:45 Mermaids: The Body Found

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

Roger & Val Have Just Got In Little Britain My Family Me Too! The Green Balloon Club 3rd & Bird Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock n Roll Me Too! The Green Balloon Club 3rd & Bird Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock n Roll My Family Little Britain The World’s Toughest Driving Eastenders Doctors Outcasts Roger & Val Have Just Got In My Family The World’s Toughest Driving Little Britain Eastenders Doctors The Weakest Link Outcasts The World’s Toughest Driving Eastenders Doctors The Weakest Link Last Of The Summer Wine Roger & Val Have Just Got In Carrie’s War Dinnerladies Mistresses Dead Boss The Weakest Link Last Of The Summer Wine Outcasts Eastenders Doctors Roger & Val Have Just Got In

03:00 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 03:30 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 04:15 The Boss Is Coming To Dinner 04:45 Cash In The Attic 05:30 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets 06:00 Bargain Hunt 06:45 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 07:35 The Boss Is Coming To Dinner 08:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 08:45 Bargain Hunt 09:30 Marbella Mansions 10:20 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill

10:45 Come Dine With Me: South Africa 11:40 Come Dine With Me 12:30 Celebrity MasterChef 13:00 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 13:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 14:15 Antiques Roadshow 15:05 Homes Under The Hammer 16:55 Bargain Hunt 17:40 Cash In The Attic 18:25 Antiques Roadshow 19:15 Homes Under The Hammer 20:10 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 20:35 Rick Stein Tastes The Blues 21:30 Come Dine With Me 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 23:15 Bargain Hunt 00:00 Cash In The Attic 00:45 Homes Under The Hammer 01:40 Come Dine With Me 02:30 Celebrity MasterChef

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

Mythbusters Dirty Dozen Border Security Storage Hunters Baggage Battles How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Sons Of Guns Mythbusters Dirty Dozen Flying Wild Alaska Overhaulin’ Border Security Storage Hunters Baggage Battles How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Diamond Divers Bush Pilots Jungle Gold Border Security Storage Hunters Baggage Battles Yukon Men: Last Chance Overhaulin’ Ultimate Survival Dirty Jobs Mythbusters Sons Of Guns Storage Hunters Baggage Battles How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell Dual Survival (Brazil) Car vs Wild Bear Grylls: Escape From Hell Dual Survival (Brazil) Car vs Wild

03:45 Mighty Planes 04:35 Punkin Chunkin 2010 05:25 Through The Wormhole 06:15 Gadget Show - World Tour 06:40 The Tech Show 07:05 Mega World 08:00 Unchained Reaction 08:50 Large Dangerous Rocket Ships 2011 09:40 Gadget Show - World Tour 10:05 The Tech Show 10:30 James May’s Man Lab 11:25 Mega World 12:20 Punkin Chunkin 2010 13:10 Through The Wormhole 14:00 Mighty Planes 14:50 Weird Connections 15:20 Gadget Show - World Tour 15:45 The Tech Show 16:10 Mighty Ships 17:00 James May’s Man Lab 17:55 Mega World 18:45 Punkin Chunkin 2010 19:35 Through The Wormhole 20:30 Rocket City Rednecks 20:55 Rocket City Rednecks 21:20 Junkyard Wars 22:10 Gadget Show - World Tour 22:35 The Tech Show 23:00 Rocket City Rednecks 23:25 Rocket City Rednecks 23:50 Stuck With Hackett

00:15 00:40 True 01:30 02:00 02:25 02:50

Stuck With Hackett Dark Matters: Twisted But Weird Connections Gadget Show - World Tour The Tech Show Rocket City Rednecks

03:30 Human Sacrifice 04:25 I Shouldn’t Be Alive 05:20 The Aviators 05:45 The Aviators 06:15 Danger Hunters 07:05 Trashopolis 08:00 I Shouldn’t Be Alive 08:50 Classic Car Club 09:15 Ultimate Cars 09:45 Inventions That Shook The World 10:35 Crime Scene Wild 11:30 The Rise And Fall Of The Japanese Empire 12:20 Trashopolis 13:10 The Aviators 13:35 The Aviators 14:05 Trashopolis 14:55 Danger Hunters 15:50 Altered Statesmen 16:45 Ultimate Warfare 17:40 Trashopolis 18:35 I Shouldn’t Be Alive 19:25 Richard III: King In A Car Park 20:20 Trashopolis 21:10 The Aviators 21:35 The Aviators 22:05 Heroes In The Sky 23:00 Richard III: King In A Car Park 23:55 Human Sacrifice 00:50 Murder Shift 01:45 Heroes In The Sky 02:35 Richard III: King In A Car Park

03:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 03:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 03:45 Sonny With A Chance 04:05 Sonny With A Chance 04:30 Suite Life On Deck 04:50 Suite Life On Deck 05:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place 05:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 06:00 Austin And Ally 06:25 Austin And Ally 06:45 A.N.T. Farm 07:10 A.N.T. Farm 07:35 Jessie 07:55 Good Luck Charlie 08:20 Sofia The First 08:45 Doc McStuffins 09:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:30 A.N.T. Farm 09:55 A.N.T. Farm 10:15 Jessie 10:40 Jessie 11:05 Suite Life On Deck 11:25 Suite Life On Deck 11:50 Shake It Up 12:15 Shake It Up 12:35 Austin And Ally 13:00 A.N.T. Farm 13:25 That’s So Raven 13:45 Dog With A Blog 14:10 Good Luck Charlie 14:35 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 15:05 That’s So Raven 15:25 Good Luck Charlie 15:50 Good Luck Charlie 16:10 Violetta 17:00 Dog With A Blog 17:20 Austin And Ally 17:45 Gravity Falls 18:10 Shake It Up 18:30 Monsters University: Behind The Screams 18:55 A.N.T. Farm 19:20 Violetta 20:05 Jessie 20:30 Good Luck Charlie 20:50 Good Luck Charlie 21:15 Gravity Falls 21:40 Shake It Up 22:00 Austin And Ally 22:25 A.N.T. Farm 22:50 Good Luck Charlie

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DOWN THE SHORE ON OSN MOVIES HD

23:10 23:35 00:00 00:20 00:45 01:05 01:30 01:50 02:15 02:35

Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place

03:00 Little Einsteins 03:25 Special Agent Oso 03:50 Imagination Movers 04:20 Handy Manny 04:35 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 04:40 Special Agent Oso 05:00 Timmy Time 05:10 Imagination Movers 05:35 Little Einsteins 06:00 Jungle Junction 06:30 Little Einsteins 06:50 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:45 Handy Manny 08:00 Special Agent Oso 08:15 Jungle Junction 08:30 Higglytown Heroes 08:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:10 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 09:35 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 09:50 Doc McStuffins 10:20 Zou 10:35 Henry Hugglemonster 10:45 Mouk 11:00 Sofia The First 11:25 Zou 11:40 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 11:55 The Hive 12:05 Doc McStuffins 12:20 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12:45 Mouk 13:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 13:05 Higglytown Heroes 13:20 The Hive 13:30 Doc McStuffins 14:00 Zou 14:15 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 14:30 Henry Hugglemonster 14:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 15:45 Higglytown Heroes 15:55 The Hive 16:05 Doc McStuffins 16:20 Zou 16:35 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 16:50 Mouk 17:05 Art Attack 17:30 Goof Troop 17:55 Tarzan 18:20 Quack Pack 18:45 Mouk 19:00 Zou 19:10 The Hive 19:20 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 19:35 Sofia The First 20:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 20:05 Pajanimals 20:25 Doc McStuffins 20:40 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 20:45 Zou 21:00 Pajanimals 21:15 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 21:30 Goof Troop 21:55 Tarzan 22:20 Quack Pack 22:45 Lilo And Stitch 23:10 Sofia The First

07:00 Max Steel 07:25 Phineas And Ferb 08:15 Crash & Bernstein 08:40 Kickin’ It 09:05 Ultimate Spider-Man 09:30 Phineas And Ferb 10:20 Lab Rats 11:10 Pokemon Bw: Adventures In Unova 11:35 Max Steel 12:00 Zeke & Luther 12:50 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 13:15 Scaredy Squirrel 13:40 Pair Of Kings 14:30 Phineas And Ferb 15:20 Pokemon Bw: Adventures In Unova 15:45 Phineas And Ferb 16:35 Crash & Bernstein 17:00 Lab Rats 17:30 Kickin It 18:25 Phineas And Ferb 19:15 Slugterra 19:40 Crash & Bernstein 20:05 Ultimate Spider-Man 20:30 Marvel Avengers Assemble 20:55 Pair Of Kings 21:20 Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja 21:45 Phineas And Ferb 22:35 Lab Rats 23:00 Kickin It 23:30 Scaredy Squirrel 00:00 Programmes Start At 7:00am KSA

03:15 03:40 04:10 06:00 07:50 08:20 09:15 10:15 10:40 11:10 12:05 13:05 13:35 14:30 15:00 Miami 17:00 Do? 18:00 18:30

Style Star Extreme Close-Up E!ES THS Style Star E! News Scouted Married To Jonas Chasing The Saturdays The Wanted Life E! News Extreme Close-Up THS Style Star Kourtney And Kim Take What Would Ryan Lochte Hello Ross Married To Jonas

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

A Monster In Paris Stealing Paradise Journey 2: The Mysterious Flicka 3 Premium Rush True Justice: Dead Drop Journey 2: The Mysterious Mary & Martha Love’s Kitchen Project X True Justice: Dead Drop Mary & Martha

03:30 Futbol Mundial 04:00 ITM Cup 06:30 Top 14 Highlights 07:00 Rugby League World Cup 09:00 ICC Cricket 360 09:30 Champions Tour 12:00 Trans World Sport 13:00 Futbol Mundial 13:30 Rugby League World Cup 15:30 Top 14 Highlights 16:00 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 16:30 World Golf Championships Highlights 17:30 Champions Tour 20:00 Futbol Mundial 20:30 Rugby League World Cup 22:30 ICC Cricket 360 23:00 Live Rugby League World Cup 01:00 Futbol Mundial 01:30 World Golf Championships Highlights 02:30 Champions Tour

ARCTIC BLAST ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD 19:00 E!ES 20:00 Eric And Jessie: Game On 20:30 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:30 The Wanted Life 22:30 Fashion Police 23:30 Chelsea Lately 00:30 The Dance Scene 00:55 The Dance Scene 01:25 THS 02:20 E! Investigates

03:10 Siba’s Table 03:35 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 04:00 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 04:25 Food Wars 04:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 05:15 United Tastes Of America 05:40 Chopped 06:30 Iron Chef America 07:10 Food Network Challenge 08:00 Unwrapped 08:25 Unwrapped 08:50 Food Crafters 09:15 United Tastes Of America 09:40 Extra Virgin 10:05 Barefoot Contessa 10:30 Food Network Star 11:45 Aarti Party 12:10 Unwrapped 12:35 Unique Sweets 13:00 Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook Off 13:50 Tyler’s Ultimate 14:15 Barefoot Contessa 15:05 Siba’s Table 15:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 16:20 Symon’s Suppers 16:45 Chopped 17:35 Barefoot Contessa 18:00 Barefoot Contessa 18:25 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 18:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:40 Guy’s Big Bite 20:05 Reza’s African Kitchen 20:30 Siba’s Table 20:55 Charly’s Cake Angels 21:20 Chopped 22:10 Iron Chef America 23:00 Reza, Spice Prince Of India 23:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:30 Heat Seekers 01:55 Meat & Potatoes 02:20 Outrageous Food

03:00 Bondi Rescue 03:30 Bondi Rescue: Bali 03:55 Bondi Rescue 04:25 Mega Food 05:20 Banged Up Abroad 06:15 Eat Street 06:40 Delinquent Gourmet 07:10 Eat Street 07:35 Street Food Around The World 08:05 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 08:30 Market Values 09:00 Chefs Run Wild 09:25 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 09:55 Bondi Rescue 10:50 Bondi Rescue: Bali 11:15 Bondi Rescue 11:45 Mega Food 12:40 Banged Up Abroad 13:35 Eat Street 14:00 Delinquent Gourmet 14:30 Eat Street 14:55 Street Food Around The World 15:25 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 15:50 Market Values 16:20 Chefs Run Wild 16:45 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 17:15 Bondi Rescue 18:10 Bondi Rescue: Bali 18:35 Bondi Rescue 19:05 Deadly Arts

03:00 The Simpsons 03:30 Go On 04:00 Seinfeld 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 The War At Home 06:00 All Of Us 06:30 Friends 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Seinfeld 08:30 The War At Home 09:00 The Simpsons 09:30 Guys With Kids 10:00 Modern Family 10:30 Friends 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 All Of Us 12:30 Seinfeld 13:00 The War At Home 13:30 Friends 14:00 Go On 14:30 Guys With Kids 15:00 Modern Family 15:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 16:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 16:30 All Of Us 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 The Simpsons 18:30 Melissa & Joey 19:00 The Crazy Ones 19:30 Arrested Development 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Enlightened 22:30 Brickleberry 23:00 Family Guy 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 Enlightened 02:00 Brickleberry 02:30 Family Guy

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 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 01:00 02:00

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

American Horror Story Revenge Once Upon A Time Touch Drop Dead Diva Royal Pains Revenge Once Upon A Time The Blacklist Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Royal Pains Touch Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show Royal Pains Once Upon A Time Grey’s Anatomy Homeland Hemlock Grove American Horror Story Touch Homeland Hemlock Grove

Sultanes Del Sur Brake Interview With A Hitman Arctic Blast Romancing The Stone Nitro Circus: The Movie Arctic Blast Metal Shifters Nitro Circus: The Movie Beneath The Darkness Battleship House Of The Rising Sun

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

Brake Interview With A Hitman Arctic Blast Romancing The Stone Nitro Circus: The Movie Arctic Blast Metal Shifters Nitro Circus: The Movie Beneath The Darkness Battleship House Of The Rising Sun Beneath The Darkness

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

Brewster’s Millions Johnny English Reborn Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot Celtic Pride Brewster’s Millions The Tooth Fairy 2 Celtic Pride The First Wives Club Flypaper Under New Management Grabbers Flypaper

03:45 06:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:30 01:30

Reign Over Me Hindenburg The First Grader Web Of Lies Of Two Minds Angels Crest The Iron Lady Good Day For It Margaret Shelter The Iron Lady

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

The People vs Larry Flynt Trust Wuthering Heights Dead Again Planet Of The Apes (1968) Joyful Noise A Dog Named Duke Dead Again Dark Horse Wish You Were Here Philadelphia A Dog Named Duke

03:00 Love Will Keep Us Together 05:00 Planet Ocean 07:00 The Pirates! Band Of Misfits 09:00 Down The Shore 11:00 Flower Girl 13:00 Fastest 15:00 Arthur 3: And The War Of Two Worlds 17:00 Down The Shore 19:00 Chronicle 21:00 Looper 23:00 That’s My Boy 01:00 Another Earth

04:30 The Little Rascals 06:00 Jumanji 08:00 The Apple & The Worm 09:45 Mandie And The Secret Tunnel 11:30 Krazzy Planet 13:00 The Little Rascals 14:30 Angel’s Friends 16:00 Twigson 18:00 Mandie And The Secret Tunnel 20:00 Problem Child 22:00 Angel’s Friends 23:30 Twigson 01:00 The Apple & The Worm 02:45 Angel’s Friends

04:30 Champions Tour 07:00 Trans World Sport 08:00 World Golf Championships Highlights 09:00 NHL 11:00 Top 14 13:00 Challenge Series Golf Highlights 13:30 European Challenge Tour Highlights 14:30 World Golf Championships Highlights 15:30 Trans World Sport 16:30 Futbol Mundial 17:00 NHL 19:00 WWE Bottom Line 20:00 NFL 22:30 World Golf Championships Highlights 23:30 European Challenge Tour Highlights 00:30 WWE NXT 01:30 NHL

03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:30 10:30 12:30 15:30 16:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 00:00

ICC Cricket 360 Top 14 Highlights World Cup Of Pool World Cup Of Pool Golfing World Golfing World Spirit Of Yachting World Cup Of Pool World Cup Of Pool Pro 12 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes ICC Cricket 360 Pro 12 Trans World Sport World Cup Of Pool World Cup Of Pool Golfing World Pro 12 Frankfurt Marathon

03:30 NHL 05:30 Triathlon UK 06:30 World Aquabike Championships 07:00 WWE NXT 08:00 WWE Bottom Line 09:00 Ping Pong World Championship 10:00 U.S Bass Fishing 11:00 NHL 13:00 Triathlon UK 14:00 UIM Class 1 Powerboat 14:30 European Le Mans Series Highlights 15:30 European Le Mans Series Highlights 16:30 World Aquabike Championships 17:00 Triathlon UK 18:00 Triathlon UK 19:00 Porsche GT 3 Cup Challenge Middle East 19:30 Porsche GT 3 Cup Challenge Middle East 20:00 This Week In WWE 20:30 UFC - The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 21:30 UFC - Maia vs. Shields 00:30 NHL 02:30 Triathlon UK

03:00 Off Limits 04:00 Hotel Impossible 05:00 Rock My RV With Bret Michaels 06:00 Airport 24/7: Miami 06:30 Airport 24/7: Miami 07:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 08:00 Globe Trekker 09:00 Departures 10:00 Airport 24/7: Miami 11:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 12:00 Bert The Conqueror 12:30 Trip Flip 13:00 Jonathan Phang’s Caribbean Cookbook 13:30 Jonathan Phang’s Caribbean Cookbook 14:00 Bizarre Foods America 15:00 International House Hunters 17:00 Hotel Impossible 18:00 The Ethical Hedonist 19:00 Jonathan Phang’s Caribbean Cookbook 19:30 Jonathan Phang’s Caribbean Cookbook

Classifieds TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Kuwait

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

SHARQIA-2 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 4:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:45 PM 12:30 AM

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

MUHALAB-1 DJINN (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) DJINN (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM

MUHALAB-2 ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) KRRISH 3 (DIG) (HINDI) KALBY DALILI (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM

MUHALAB-3 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG)

1:00 PM 3:45 PM 6:30 PM 9:15 PM

FANAR-1 ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) BANI ADAM (EMIRATHI FILM) KALBY DALILI (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

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

FANAR-2 ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 1:00 AM

FANAR-3 DJINN (DIG) DJINN (DIG) DJINN (DIG) KRRISH 3 (DIG) (HINDI) KRRISH 3 (DIG) (HINDI) DJINN (DIG)

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (31/10/2013 TO 06/11/2013) NO SUN+TUE+WED

SHARQIA-1 ENDER’S GAME (DIG) DIANA (DIG) KRRISH 3 (DIG) (HINDI) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

SHARQIA-3 ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) DJINN (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) DJINN (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

FOR SALE

12:45 PM 2:45 PM 4:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:15 PM 12:15 AM

KALBY DALILI (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

FANAR-4 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:30 PM 4:15 PM 7:00 PM 9:45 PM 12:30 AM

10:30 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-4 ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

3:30 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

360º- 1 ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 7:00 PM 9:30 PM 12:05 AM

MARINA-1 ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (DIG) ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM 12:05 AM

360º- 2 ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

MARINA-2 DJINN (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) DIANA (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) DJINN (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) DJINN (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 11:00 PM 1:15 AM

360º- 3 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 (DIG-3D) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 (DIG-3D) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 (DIG-3D) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG)

MARINA-3 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:15 PM 4:00 PM 6:45 PM 9:30 PM 12:15 AM

AL-KOUT.1 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 4:00 PM 6:45 PM 9:30 PM 12:15 AM

AVENUES-1 GRAVITY (DIG) GRAVITY (DIG) GRAVITY (DIG) GRAVITY (DIG) GRAVITY (DIG) GRAVITY (DIG) GRAVITY (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:00 PM 1:00 AM

AL-KOUT.2 DJINN (DIG) ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (DIG) ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (DIG) DJINN (DIG) DJINN (DIG) DJINN (DIG) DJINN (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM 12:45 AM

AVENUES-2 KRRISH 3 (DIG) (HINDI) KRRISH 3 (DIG) (HINDI) KRRISH 3 (DIG) (HINDI) KRRISH 3 (DIG) (HINDI) KRRISH 3 (DIG) (HINDI) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:30 PM 3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.3 ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ESCAPE PLAN (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) ENDER’S GAME (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

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

FANAR-5 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 GRAVITY GRAVITY GRAVITY GRAVITY NO SUN+TUE+WED

AVENUES-3 KALBY DALILI (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG)

1:30 PM

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM

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

AL-KOUT.4 GRAVITY (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) BANI ADAM (EMIRATHI FILM)

2003 model Toyota Prado 4 cylinder for sale, new tyres, good condition, expecting KD 2,950, serious buyers only contact 97277154.

5-11-2013 CHANGE OF NAME I, Anandharaj son of Subbaiyan holder of Indian Passport No: F4197628, permanent resident of new Udaiyar Street, Pattukkottai P.O, Thanjavur Dt, Tamil Nadu, India, present resident of Jabriya block 10, street 18, bld 11, flat 3 Kuwait, converted to Islam do hereby change my name from Anandharaj to Abdul Rehman with immediate effect. (C 4552) I, Bondalapati Venkata Raman a Devi, D/o Bondlapati Chitti Babu, R/o 155 K Bethapudi Na rasapur West Godavari District, A.P. I, have changed my name and religion as “Syeda Ayisha Siddeeqa and Religion Islam. (C 4556) 5-11-2013

LOST

SITUATION VACANT

Lost original examination, compartment, migration, secondary, senior secondary school certificates for year 2000/2002. Please contact 65841234. (C 4557) 5-11-2013 Original document policy no. 633004321-8 Mr. Imran Qammer the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan, Gulf zone is reported to have been lost.

Anyone finding the same or claiming any interest in it should communicate with the manager Kuwait State Life office Ph: 22452208.

(4553) Original document policy no. 6330034920 Mrs. Haleema Agha the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan, Gulf zone is reported to have been lost.

Anyone finding the same or claiming any interest in it should communicate with the manager Kuwait State Life office Ph: 22452208.

(4553) 3-11-2013

Required English speaking nanny/maid. Please call 99824597. (C 4555) 5-11-2013 THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is

1889988 Prayer timings Fajr:

04:43

Shorook

06:04

Duhr:

11:32

Asr:

14:37

Maghrib:

16:59

Isha:

18:18

112 No: 15977

1:30 PM 3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines BBC JAI KLM JZR JZR THY QTR DLH ETH GFA THY PIA UAE ETD OMA MSR RJA QTR FDB THY DHX FDB JZR BAW KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR ETD FDB IRA GFA MEA JZR JZR TMA MSR KNE SYR FDB

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 5/11/2013 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 574 MUMBAI 411 AMSTERDAM 267 BEIRUT 539 CAIRO 772 ISTANBUL 1084 DOHA 637 DAMMAM 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 764 SABIHA 239 SIALKOT 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 643 MUSCAT 612 CAIRO 642 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 1076 DOHA 67 DUBAI 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 503 LUXOR 157 LONDON 412 MANILA 416 JAKARTA 206 ISLAMABAD 53 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 352 COCHIN 362 COLOMBO 284 DHAKA 332 TRIVANDRUM 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 1070 DOHA 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 55 DUBAI 619 LAR 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 561 SOHAG 213 BEIRUT 610 CAIRO 480 TAIF 341 LATAKIA 57 DUBAI

Time 00:05 00:10 00:30 00:40 00:40 00:45 00:55 01:10 01:45 02:10 02:15 02:20 02:35 02:45 03:05 03:10 03:05 03:45 04:20 05:35 05:40 05:50 05:50 06:40 06:45 06:25 07:40 07:50 07:55 08:10 08:45 08:50 08:15 08:40 09:00 09:10 09:20 09:40 10:05 10:40 11:55 11:30 12:55 12:10 13:00 13:15 13:40 13:50

KAC QTR KAC KAC SVA KNE JZR SYR KAC QTR UAE ETD RJA SVA ABY GFA UAL JZR QTR FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC GFA OMA FDB MSR JAI AXB ABY IRA DLH ALK MEA ETD UAE GFA QTR FDB KLM JAI JZR AIC JZR UAL

514 1078 672 546 500 472 325 1429 562 1072 857 303 640 510 127 215 982 177 1080 63 678 742 786 542 618 774 674 166 104 217 647 61 618 572 393 129 605 634 229 402 307 859 219 1074 59 415 576 239 981 185 981

TEHRAN DOHA DUBAI ALEXANDRIA JEDDAH JEDDAH NAJAF DAMASCUS AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA DOHA DUBAI ABU DHABI-INTL AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA RIYADH SHARJAH BAHRAIN WASHINGTON DC DULLES DUBAI DOHA DUBAI MUSCAT DAMMAM JEDDAH CAIRO DOHA RIYADH DUBAI PARIS LONDON BAHRAIN MUSCAT DUBAI ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI KOZHIKODE SHARJAH ISFAHAN FRANKFURT COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI-INTL DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI AMSTERDAM COCHIN AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA CHENNAI DUBAI BAHRAIN

13:45 13:55 14:00 14:05 14:30 14:35 16:05 16:25 16:50 16:40 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:25 17:30 18:00 18:20 18:40 18:45 18:55 18:20 18:45 18:05 19:00 19:30 19:25 19:10 19:35 19:30 19:55 20:05 20:05 20:10 20:15 20:20 20:25 20:55 21:10 21:20 21:35 21:40 21:45 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:30 23:20 23:25

Airlines AIC TAR AXB JAI KLM BBC DLH ETH THY PIA UAE ETD OMA MSR QTR FDB QTR JZR FDB JZR RJA THY GFA KAC THY FDB BAW KAC KAC ABY KAC UAE ETD QTR FDB IRA GFA KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR MEA KAC JZR TMA MSR KNE FDB

Departure Flights on Tuesday 5/11/2013 Flt Route 976 GOA 327 DUBAI 490 MANGALORE 573 MUMBAI 411 AMSTERDAM 44 DHAKA 637 FRANKFURT 621 ADDIS ABABA 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 240 SIALKOT 854 DUBAI 306 ABU DHABI 644 MUSCAT 613 CAIRO 1085 DOHA 68 DUBAI 1077 DOHA 560 SOHAG 70 DUBAI 164 DUBAI 643 AMMAN 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 212 BAHRAIN 545 ALEXANDRIA 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 54 DUBAI 156 LONDON 513 TEHRAN 671 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 101 LONDON 856 DUBAI 302 ABU DHABI 1071 DOHA 56 DUBAI 618 LAR 214 BAHRAIN 561 AMMAN 541 CAIRO 165 ROME 677 MUSCAT 324 AL NAJAF 405 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 223 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 481 TAIF 58 DUBAI

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Time 00:05 00:15 00:15 01:10 01:45 01:45 02:10 02:45 02:55 03:20 03:50 04:00 04:05 04:10 04:15 05:00 05:15 06:20 06:30 06:55 07:05 07:05 07:15 07:15 07:30 08:30 08:45 09:25 09:30 09:40 09:50 09:55 10:05 10:10 10:20 10:55 11:25 11:25 11:30 11:50 12:20 12:40 12:55 13:00 13:45 13:45 14:00 14:10 14:30

SYR QTR KAC KAC KAC KNE SVA KAC JZR SYR ETD QTR UAE JZR RJA ABY SVA GFA JZR JZR UAL FDB QTR GFA KAC FDB OMA ABY KAC MSR JAI KAC AXB IRA KAC DHX ALK MEA ETD GFA KAC FDB UAE KAC KAC JZR KLM JAI QTR KAC

342 1079 673 741 617 473 501 773 238 1430 304 1073 858 538 641 128 511 216 184 266 982 64 1081 218 283 62 648 120 361 607 571 351 3942 604 343 171 230 403 308 220 301 60 860 381 205 554 415 575 1075 411

LATAKIA DOHA DUBAI DAMMAM DOHA JEDDAH JEDDAH RIYADH AMMAN DAMASCUS ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI CAIRO AMMAN SHARJAH RIYADH BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DUBAI DOHA BAHRAIN DHAKA DUBAI MUSCAT SHARJAH COLOMBO LUXOR MUMBAI KOCHI KOZHIKODE ISFAHAN CHENNAI BAHRAIN COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI BAHRAIN MUMBAI DUBAI DUBAI DELHI ISLAMABAD ALEXANDRIA DAMMAM ABU DHABI DOHA BANGKOK

14:40 14:55 15:05 15:20 15:30 15:30 15:45 16:05 16:55 17:25 17:35 17:40 17:50 17:50 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:40 18:50 19:15 19:25 19:40 20:15 20:30 20:45 20:55 21:00 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:10 21:15 21:20 21:30 21:50 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:50 22:50 22:55 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:55

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 359

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) ARIES You may find this day beginning with a customer or project that needs your attention. You do all the things that are in your power to do in order to please a customer or complete a particular project. You are relentless about completing tasks.

Deciphering problems and finding the right solution takes on a special significance. This could also involve some legal or financial matters. Getting things organized into a rational system is a part of this. There is much mental busywork. Later today you will see the energies open up in a natural way. All of a sudden, choices and opportunities are easy to decide upon. This evening you have fun putting some effort into getting a few students interested in some form of art or sports activity.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) With a challenging day ahead of you—you report for duty early! You may be especially dynamic and assertive just now. You encourage others to high-energy accomplishments. There is a lot of energy available for the work you want to do and you have a strong drive to move forward. Pace yourself and take the usual breaks—these are important. Close relationships offer a lot of potential for growth this evening. By observing the emotional upheavals of others, you may find one similarity connecting each event—fear. When you uncover fears, you promote healing. Use this information wisely; it will resurface several times in the next few years. You are able to encourage many healings. This evening is good for identifying the stars and planets.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. An accidental happening.

4. Compulsively or physiologically dependent on something habit-forming.

12. A manner of performance.

15. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

16. A Welsh terrier first bred in Sealyham (Wales).

17. 100 avos equal 1 pataca.

18. The dead body of an animal especially one slaughtered and dressed for food.

20. An emotional response that has been acquired by conditioning.

22. An independent ruler or chieftain (especially in Africa or Arabia).

23. A compound in which the hydrogen atoms of a hydrocarbon have been replaced by bromine and other halogen atoms.

25. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

26. Soviet gymnast (born in 1955).

28. Knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote.

29. A city in western Nevada at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

30. A benevolent aspect of Devi.

31. A disposition to remain inactive or inert.

33. Wild and domestic cattle.

36. Make difficult to perceive by sight.

37. Measuring instrument in which the echo of a pulse of microwave radiation is used to detect and locate distant objects.

40. Port city in northwest Portugal.

43. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

44. A rotating disk shaped to convert circular into linear motion.

45. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily.

46. Somewhat arid.

49. An intricate traditional dance in India performed by professional dancing girls.

51. Ceramic ware made from clay and baked in a kiln.

52. Thickening of tissue in the motor tracts of the lateral columns and anterior horns of the spinal cord.

53. The 19th letter of the Greek alphabet.

54. A very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic forms.

56. A radioactive transuranic element produced by bombarding plutonium with neutrons.

58. Express strong disapproval of.

62. A flat cake of thin batter fried on both sides on a griddle.

67. A woman hired to suckle a child of someone else.

68. A mark left by the healing of injured tissue.

70. Deliberately arranged for effect.

71. Flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes.

74. Any loose flowing garment.

75. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

76. The Magadhan language spoken by the Assamese people.

77. The biblical name for ancient Syria.

78. A coenzyme derived from the B vitamin nicotinic acid.

79. An industrial town in north central Alabama.

80. A small cake leavened with yeast.

DOWN 1. A diacritical mark (an inverted circumflex) placed above certain letters (such as c) to indicate pronunciation.

2. The mission in San Antonio where in 1836 Mexican forces under Santa Anna besieged and massacred American rebels who were fighting to make Texas independent of Mexico.

3. A manicurist who trims the fingernails.

4. Wild ginger.

5. A potent estrogen used in medicine and in feed for livestock and poultry.

6. Distinctive and stylish elegance.

7. Being nine more than forty.

8. (meteorology) Of or relating to or characteristic of the atmosphere around a low pressure center.

9. A proposition deducible from basic postulates.

10. Someone who earn wages in return for their labor.

11. Diabetes caused by a relative or absolute deficiency of insulin and characterized by polyuria.

12. The part of a missile or torpedo that carries the explosive charge.

13. (zoology) Pertaining to or characteristic of birds.

14. A cruel and brutal fellow.

19. An important seaport on the Island of Cebu in the Philippines.

21. Type genus of the Cariamidae comprising only the crested cariama.

24. Surveying instrument consisting of the upper movable part of a theodolite including the telescope and its attachments.

27. A city in central Tanzania.

32. Structure forming the transverse part of a cruciform church.

34. German industrialist who was the first in Germany to use an assembly line in manufacturing automobiles (1871-1948).

35. Leafless East Indian vine.

38. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

39. A demon who swallows the sun causing eclipses.

41. Joint capital (with Mecca) of Saudi Arabia located in the central oasis.

42. (Scot) A leather strap for punishing children.

47. Inflexibly entrenched and unchangeable.

48. (criminal law) Money that must be forfeited by the bondsman if an accused person fails to appear in court for trial.

50. The local time at the 0 meridian passing through Greenwich, England.

55. Filled with fear or apprehension.

57. Scarabaeid beetle considered divine by ancient Egyptians.

59. The ending of a series or sequence.

60. Submerged aquatic plant having narrow leaves and small flowers.

61. Small shrubby African tree having compound leaves and racemes of small fragrant green flowers.

63. An association of nations dedicated to economic and political cooperation in southeastern Asia.

64. 100 agorot equal 1 shekel.

65. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

66. Swelling from excessive accumulation of serous fluid in tissue.

69. Voluntary contributions to aid the poor.

72. A flexible container with a single opening.

73. A usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

It is likely that you will be in charge of others during your working life. This may include teaching or having your own company, tutoring or having a job that deals with the hiring of others. Whatever the case, you may find that people with no desire to do anything but earn money, soon lose interest in a particular project or profession. This Monday morning you encourage co-workers to find the positive points of their current work. Finding the positive things about a job, as well as acknowledging the capabilities behind the job, encourages enthusiasm. You will encourage others to add some kind of volunteer work to their lives’ interests. By finding talent and desire, one finds the incentive to move forward and create.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) You have an urge to strike out on your own in a new direction and to take on new challenges, no matter what the risk. You can be a bit impatient at times. This is a period emphasizing an enhanced sense of personal possibilities. There is tremendous psychological growth, which can lead to great personal success if you follow through with it. You might also find that you will put on the pounds if you are not careful. There is a bout of philosophy or even a little religion now that could have an enormous effect on your career. Lasting values and whatever you find to be true will guide you now—opening up avenues that have remained blocked. There is support all around you for whatever you want to accomplish.

Leo (July 23-August 22) Making your mark on the world has a special significance for you.

Achieving your goals is an important factor. Organizing and administering people and projects will become central to your lifestyle. At this time you might really consider being ship coordinator for entertainment or you could be the person to see when auditioning for a movie. My . . . You have a fine talent for knowing the right personality that is needed to get a particular job done. You certainly can direct people to the right job or the right activity. Friendships and involvement in group activities play a more important part for you this afternoon. Friends are our only true riches, and the satisfaction that comes from accomplishing things in cooperation with others is precious.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Today is a good time to concentrate on your career goals. A new employee or an employee that could be leaving may put the office in a flux at this time. There may be an abundance of paperwork to wade through. You work to complete any task that is set before you now so that there will be no overtime. You have an activity this evening that calls for some concentration and effort. This may mean an extended education class on a heavy subject such as economics or business finance. A majority of the energy available to you now is in the area of established values. You know and understand more than you let on and life changes seldom surprise you. It may be time to create some positive attention toward your personal goals.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) Many alumni from your school have gone on to receive notability in their particular skill. You may decide to take the leap and create your own business. Perhaps you will go for a better job within the company for which you work. You could start a special savings that will allow you to quit work for several months and write your novel. Yours is a passionate life. Secretive perhaps, but you are not at all superficial—you always get to the heart of things. This is good for business and politics. You have a sense for power, wealth and passion. You have a genuine regard for young people and one business you might decide to put together is one in which you can help connect young people to a work program. Flowers decorate your table tonight.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You consider working in a more technical business and plan to update your resume this evening. Work may go better than you expected. You may feel that you are in harmony with others today—communication is easy. The support you need for whatever you want to accomplish is available at this time. A conference with a teacher this afternoon will give you some insight into how you can assist the self-expression of a young adult. You enjoy your job and return to work to complete any unfinished tasks.

Circumstances may stimulate appreciation and enjoyment of your life situation. That purchasing eye of yours is in an awareness state. Others may find you selecting the best buys with perhaps, a surprise for that young adult.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You may bear the expense of moving your household goods and family to another city in search of a job. This will actually be a good move and takes the kind of strong will that someone like you naturally has. You have a good support system and your final choice is a wise one. Pay attention to the benefits before you sign on the dotted line. You choose a work environment that is the most practical of environments. Almost every idea or situation will be put to good use. Emotions are seldom a priority and you are always very practical and ambitious. Your career is central to everything you do. Farsighted and traditional, you enjoy success and the successful. Obtaining and exchanging information takes on more emotional significance for you.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) This is a great time to work and be with others. An authority figure may seek you out as just the person for a particular job. This is a busy but rewarding workday. Outside of your own good works, you encourage others to high standards. Making your home situation more pleasant and attractive plays a part in this and the sale or purchase of real estate could bring you much gain before this cycle ends.

You find time to volunteer and choose your service in a hospital. You may work at the information desk and you probably do very well in that endeavor as you like to do what you can to ease the troubles of others. You feel especially kind toward a loved one this evening. A sense of support and harmony make this a happy time.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) In today’s high-powered work environment, people need every advantage they can get. Perhaps you are teaching a few employees in a large company how to use new software or some other tool of business. Your particular job becomes more important as the technical equipment becomes more complicated. A new level of appreciation and recognition emerges. This afternoon you give or attend a lecture, a creative class or a business show. The results certainly spur your imagination into new areas of discovery.

Radical and inventive ideas hold the key to realizing your ambitions and advancing your status but careful—an unexpected change could be in the works. Most of the outcome here is from the attitude. Good luck surrounds you this evening.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Work and routine are beginning to be boring. You intuitively know that things do not stay the same for very long. You bide your time until the next life challenge or work issue changes your routine, or you decide to instigate a few changes. Spicing up your time away from work will bring some amusing conversations to your day. A class in hang gliding or scheduling in a hot air balloon ride may be just the thing. You give some time to planning for the holidays and may decide to do a bit of shopping this afternoon.

This evening could be a creative time in that you try your hand at some story writing or composing poetry. A loved one enjoys sharing your ideas and may also have some creative input. Negotiations are in order with this loved one.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

lifestyle G o s s i p

Gomez doesn’t do one night stands

S

elena Gomez says she’s the kind of girl guys can introduce to their parents. The 21-year-old pop star - who split from heartthrob Justin Bieber earlier this year - insists she isn’t the type of person to succumb to a new beau’s advances easily and prefers longterm commitment. On the subject of love, she said: “You fall in love and it completely consumes you. So a part of you is broken when that’s gone. And part of you wants to have that rebellious feeling where you’re just like, ‘Forget it, I can do anything I want.’ I’ve tried it and I’ve never been that girl. I’m always going to be the girl you want to take home to your parents, not for the night.” Meanwhile, the ‘Come and Get It’ hitmaker feels she has a “good sense of judg-

ment” and hopes to avoid the same pitfalls experienced by some of her fellow former child stars, however, she believes she can only grow from experience. She explained to the new issue of Teen Vogue magazine: “The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve learned that I have to open myself up to all opportunities. Maybe I’ll get burned and not meet the right people, but I won’t know until I do it.” The actress-and-singer also admits to having a short attention span, as well as not getting enough sleep. She added: “My attention span is all over the place and I over think things. I’m an insomniac. Dancing allows me to go away and not have to think of what I’m doing next. That is the opportunity for me to really escape.”—Bang Showbiz

Beckham attends Halloween as himself

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avid Beckham went unrecognized at a Halloween party by dressing as himself. The 38-year-old retired soccer star who is married to Victoria Beckham - celebrated the spooky holiday at a masquerade party at the Bowery Hotel in New York City in the early hours of Saturday morning, however, as he was the only person not in costume his fellow party goers failed to realize he was the real David. A source told the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column: “David Beckham showed up after 1am with Mazdack Rassi and Alexandra Richards, who was DJing.

“Beckham was practically the only person at the party not in costume - but because of this barely anyone recognized him.

Somebody asked him, ‘What’s your costume?’ He said, ‘I’m going as David Beckham,’ and the person replied, ‘Wow, you look just like him!’ “The Halloween Hangover bash was thrown by modelturned-party promoter Jeffrey Jah and American entrepreneur Matt Levine. Other guests included Jayma Cardoso and David Rabin, and models Jeisa Chiminazzo, Aline Weber, Jessica White, Anouk Sanders and Alynn Babinski.

Presley

makes ‘horrible animal noises’

Jenner

L

isa Marie Presley makes “horrible animal noises” before going on stage.

The singer - who is the daughter of late rock ‘n’ roll legend Elvis Presley has revealed she has a strange pre-show vocal routine before big concerts and jokes that her high-pitched babbling could be mistaken for an “exorcism”. She quipped: “I do really horrible animal noises to warm up my voice ... I can actually perform an exorcism, I think!” As well as making animal noises, the 45-year-old star - who is currently travelling across the United States on her ‘Storm & Grace’ tour - also prepares her voice with a hot drink which includes cayenne pepper, similar to drinks taken by other pop stars including Beyonce. She added to JustJared.com: “I drink this apple, cider, cinnamon, cayenne pepper concoction before I go out to clear my throat.” Lisa Marie - who was previously married to the late King of Pop Michael Jackson and actor Nicolas Cage - recently claimed her 20-year-old son Ben Keough, whom she shares with her first husband Danny Keough, bears a resemblance to her iconic father. She said: “Sometimes a lot. It depends how he’s fixing himself up. Yeah, without question actually.” Lisa Marie also has famous daughter Riley, 24, with Danny, and five-year-old twins, Harper and Finley, with fourth husband Michael Lockwood.

splits from his girlfriend

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rody Jenner has split from his girlfriend. The ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star’s four-month romance with model Bryana Holly is over and “just fizzled” out, according to Us Weekly. The news comes just days after it was claimed they had an argument after attending the Playboy Mansion Halloween party on October 26 in Los Angeles, California. A source told the MailOnline: “Brody and Bryana both partied at the Playboy Mansion to celebrate Halloween, something Bryana was really looking forward to, but the night ended really badly.” Brody - who only joined ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ this season in a bid to repair his strained relationship with his father Bruce Jenner and Bryana went public with their romance in June when the blonde beauty posted images of them during their trip to Hawaii on Instagram. The images of the then-couple - who were pictured kissing on at Hulopo’e Beach on the island of Lanai - have now been taken down from the photo-sharing site. The source added: “Straight away the next day both deleted each other off Instagram.

“Bryana even went as far as deleting all the photographs with Brody, including their special trip to Hawaii.” Bryana is Brody’s first known girlfriend since his twoyear relationship with Avril Lavigne, which ended in January 2012.

Lourdes lands high school ‘Grease’ role

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adonna’s daughter Lourdes Leon is to star in her school’s version of ‘Grease’. The 17-year-old fashion designer has landed the role of Betty Rizzo in the LaGuardia High School production of the iconic musical, which is set in a 1950s high school, New York Daily News column Confidenti@l is reporting. The role was played by Stockard Channing in the 1973 movie - which starred John Travolta as Danny Zuko and Olivia Newton-John as his love interest Sandy Olsson. Wisecracking Betty is a member of The Pink Ladies clique of girls with Sandy and ends up dating T-Birds group member Kenickie (Jeff Conaway).

Lourdes enrolled in the exclusive New York school in 2010 and it was there where she met her boyfriend, ‘Homeland’ actor Timothee Chalamet. Shortly after they began dating, Madonna arranged a meeting between her and Timothee so she could get to know the boy who had impressed her daughter so much.

Queen Latifah, Hutcherson to honor teens

Q

ueen Latifahand Josh Hutcherson will help honor four teenagers at the awards show founded by Nick Cannon, which is set to be broadcast live for the first time.

Nickelodeon announced yesterday that the “Hunger Games” actor and rapperactress will present trophies at the fifth annual TeenNick HALO Awards, which recognize teen volunteers for outstanding community service. The honors will be presented during a ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium on Nov 17 and broadcast live on Nick at Nite.Cannon says HALO, which stands for Helping and Leading Others, aims to “continue the conversations about issues that impact teens today, and empower young people to take action and make a difference.” This year’s honorees are involved with causes such as transgender rights, autism awareness, urban revitalization and girls’ education.

Morrison splits from her boyfriend

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ennifer Morrison has reportedly split from her boyfriend. The ‘Once Upon A Time’ actress and her co-star Sebastian Stan - who began dating in 2012 secretly called time on their relationship months ago after deciding to get their separate ways. A source told Us Weekly magazine: “They broke up at least four months ago. They have gone their separate ways - no bad blood. They just grew apart.” The 32-year-old star was engaged to her ‘House’ co-star Jesse Spencer in 2006, but just a year later the pair called off their romance. The brunette beauty previously admitted that she has good instincts when it comes to judging people, but believes her gut feeling is affected when she is dealing with a guy she has romantic feelings for. She said: “I have strong instincts about people in terms of whether I feel they are being honest with me or not. And it is interesting because, at times, I feel like I’m very off about it when my emotions get involved, or when I’m dealing with a guy that I have feelings for.”

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Afaf Al-Essa

showcasing her art with

By Sherif Ismail

A

lthough Afaf Abdullah Al-Essa started painting in 2001, since she was young, she had always had an eye for the arts and creativity.

Prior to making her hobby into a fulltime profession, Al-Essa was occupied raising her family and maintaining a healthy career as HR Manager in the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait. Her academic background includes a bachelor’s degree from Kuwait University.

She is also a member of the Kuwait Arts Association.

With her keen eye for vibrant colors she uses symbols such as the eye, heart, flowers and the crescent moon, to showcase her love for optimism in all of its forms. Seeking inspiration from her surroundings, Al-Essa manages to grasp the positive from her everyday life and paint it on canvas. In her acrylic message the eye symbolizes the

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

reflective mirror to life and serves as an emotional barometer, while the heart stands for sympathy, love and affection.

The flowers are the harbingers of positivity and icons of happiness.

Finally, the crescent moon symbolizes the arrival of optimist energy and metaphorically equates the force of gravity with passionate attraction.

Afaf Al-Essa is in the beginning of her career as an artist, however, she still considers herself a forever student to the subject and has chosen to take this journey a step further by attending courses, the last of which was at St Martin’s College for Fine Arts in London, UK. This exhibition is her first public event and is showcasing her pieces exclusively at Al M. Gallery which is running from October 27 until November 7, 2013.

Photos by Sherif Ismail

Xcite.com

introduces perfumes category

I Madi International and Wella

Professionals set new trends in hair coloring with Color.id

n its efforts to increase its e-commerce product lines to include more than just electronics, X-cite

by Alghanim Electronics have recently launched the perfumes category on its website.

The addition is in line with X-cite’s vision to diversify its product range and provide customers with more online shopping options at competitive prices.

Perfume becomes the 13th category on the site and joins home furnishings in the non-electronic sector.

To treat customers to good deal this week, xcite.com is running a promotion where customers will get 5KD off every 50KD perfume purchase. The promotion is valid till November 11th.

Some of the perfume brands on offer include Hugo Boss, Chopard, Bvlgari, Carolina Herrera, and Chanel. Customers can order online and purchases will be delivered within 24 hours.

X-cite would like to invite customers to visit the perfumes category on

the website www.xcite.com/perfumes. htmland start their shopping for their favorite perfume at best market prices.

In addition, X-cite has a daily newsletter highlighting special discounts.

Customers and can sign up on the website’s homepage and be the ‘first to know’.

Home Centre receives overwhelming response for room makeover challenge

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adi International – one of the leading distributors of internationally reputed professional beauty brands across the entire Middle East and Wella Professionals – the global leaders in professional hair care, have unveiled Color.id, the revolutionary innovation in hair coloring which offers the most beautiful, blended and breathtaking color results one has ever experienced without the use of traditional foils.

The innovation in hair coloring was unraveled at special events organized by Madi International and Wella Professionals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi last week. The two events were very well attended and demonstrated the breakthrough technology behind Color.id, the perfect professional color service for today’s beauty driven salon clients. The events also showcased workshops by Wella Professionals, where hair dressers tried the products and the innovation on dummy heads.

So, if you want a multi-tonal look that requires much time and tools, Color.id offers the colorists the option to color the hair without the use of traditional foils, which means the experience is much more comfortable, creating a harmonious color that is perfectly blended even with limitless contrasting tones.

Color.id boasts InvisiDivider Technology, which when added to Wella

Professionals color products such as Koleston Perfect, ILLUMINA COLOR and Welloxon Perfect, creates a unique matrix with the color mass and acts like a flexible barrier, separating and holding different hair color sections. Colors can be applied side by side without bleeding (when colors run into each other) or foils.

Mohammed Madi, President of Madi International Group, said: “It is a great privilege to be part of the launch of Color.id in the region with Wella Professionals. This is a revolutionary innovation in hair coloring in salons, and stylists will experience a real ease and freedom in the process. With Color.id, one can blend colors so easily and beautifully that every color service can be tailored to the individual.”

He added: “Clients are results driven and being able to create limitless multi-tonal color results is now even easier than before with the new Color.id.” A rigorous testing by Wella Professionals has confirmed that 98% of those who experienced Color.id would ask for it again and 95% would recommend it to their friends because the color experience has become so much more pleasurable, while the result is truly bespoke and luxurious.

fter carefully short listing 500 entries from over 37,000 total submissions for its annual Room Makeover Challenge, Home Centre is now in the final stage of selecting 25 rooms in the region that will eventually be renovated in styles that reflect the occupants’ tastes and personality. The public is invited to select three of the final winners through an online voting medium on Home Centre’s website (www.homecentrestores.com) and Facebook page – (www.facebook. com/homecentrestores). Valid from 4 - 16 November 2013 In addition, the judges will select 22 winners based on a standard screening process that evaluates the eligibility of contestants.

Each makeover will be worth the equivalent of AED10,000 – amounting to a whopping AED250,000 to be won in the form of dramatic room makeovers.

In its third season the brand changed the mechanics of the Room Makeover Challenge to engage participants in a personality-based questionnaire. The preliminary

stage that ran from 17 September - 19 October saw residents in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman responding to simple, personality-based, multiple-choice questions. Following a stringent judging process, the shortlisted 500 contestants were given the choice to upload pictures of the room they wished to renovate.

The competition has gained tremendous popularity since its inception in 2011, when it drew just over 3,000 entries. The quality of the makeover and the sensibilities it conveyed has attracted significant attention through the past three editions, bringing the competition to its present leading position in the region for home-makers.

Home Centre’s makeover includes all elements of a living space from colours and lighting to furniture and accessories. Each room makeover is completed in a single day, magically transforming the lives of its occupants.

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LIFESTYLE M u s i c

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Film on

Mandela’s life premieres in

South Africa A

long-awaited film on the life of anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela premiered in his native South Africa on Sunday, stirring emotional memories of the country’s turbulent history. The movie “Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom”, largely based on his autobiography of the same title, traces the life of the revered leader from his childhood in the rural Eastern Cape to his election as the country’s first black president in 1994.

The 95-year-old Mandela was too frail to attend the premiere as he is under medical care at home after having spent three months in hospital in a critical condition with a lung infection earlier this year. His ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said in remarks before the screening that she had “no words” to describe the film’s “translation of that painful past”. “We should remember where we come from and that this freedom was hard earned and that it was won at a very, very heavy price,” said Madikizela-Mandela, wearing traditional Xhosa dress with headwrap.

After spending 27 years in jail for activism against the racist regime, Mandela preached equality and forgiveness in the bitterly divided nation, winning him worldwide admiration as a peace icon. The two-and-ahalf-hour movie will hit South African cinemas on November 28 and will be released in the United States in December. Reacting to chilling scenes of apartheid era brutality against defiant blacks, some of the selected

Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zindzi poses with the cast and members of the film ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ in Johannesburg.—AFP

VIP viewers at the premiere could not hide their emotions as tears rolled down their faces at the cinema in Johannesburg’s upmarket Rosebank suburb.

“I cried many times during the movie because it was so emotional,” Justice Minister Jeff Radebe told journalists as he stepped out of the theatre. “It was a very emotional movie.” “It depicted not only the struggle by Nelson Mandela but also by the people of South Africa.”

‘It broke my heart’ Mandela’s close friend George Bizos, the lawyer who defended him during the 1963-64 trial in which he and fellow activists were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment, said: “The film will be a very big contribution to our history.” Bizos told AFP he hoped all South Africans would watch it “in order to realize the important role that Mr Mandela played not only in sacrificing his freedom but on insisting that a peaceful solution to our problem was what he fought for.”

Bizos added: “I am sorry that he is not well enough to see the film, he would have been very proud of it.”

Jaci de Villiers, whose husband Gys de Villiers plays ex-president FW de Klerk, who unconditionally released Mandela from jail in February 1990 and shared the Nobel Peace prize with the ex-prisoner in 1993, said she wept during the film.

“It broke my heart. There were moments where I just

cried,” she told AFP. “It brings back a lot of pain that is still around. You want a young Mandela to come back to South Africa. You want all that fire, all that passion, all that purpose and ideology, the spirit of a possible future that we may need, some eclectic leadership,” she said. Mandela is played by British actor Idris Elba, 41, and his ex-wife Winnie by Naomie Harris, also of Britain.

“This story is so much bigger than me, bigger than anyone of us,” said Elba, who made it just in time for the premiere having missed his earlier flight from London after suffering an asthmatic attack.

‘Now we know the sacrifices Mandela made’ But there were some misgivings about star roles being given to foreigners. Nobel literature laureate Nadine Gordimer told AFP she was “a little troubled... because we have got wonderful actors here, like John Kani. I don’t know why we had to have a stranger playing Mandela, our Mandela.” But South Africa’s celebrated Kani, whose son Atandwa played the role of the young Mandela in the film, said he understood “well the passion of South Africans.”

Production costs at times dictated that an international actor be hired and “give a little hope that the people who invest will make their money. Idris Elba is an African, I am happy,” Kani said, referring to the fact that Elba’s parents are from Ghana and Sierra Leone.

Breaking into Xhosa in one of the scenes and amply

British actor Idris Elba, who plays the role of Nelson Mandela in the movie “Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom”, delivers a speech on the day of the movie’s premiere. pulling off the Mandela deeply accented voice, Elba said: “It’s a massive honor for someone like me to play Mr Madiba (Mandela’s clan name).”

Tsepo Nakedi, 37, who is unemployed, said he had not had the full appreciation of the country’s bitter history until after watching the Mandela movie.

“Sometimes we disrespect our history. Now we know the sacrifices that Mandela made, I know the amount of hate and frustration he went through. I took a whole of things for myself, for my kids and for my future,” said Nakedi.—AFP

Burns

explores Roosevelt legacy in new documentary Stock is displayed in “Sounds of the Universe” record shop in Soho, central London.—AFP photos

A customer browses through the records for sale in “Sounds of the Universe” record shop in Soho.

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ilmmaker Ken Burns says he wants to tell the story of the Roosevelts, both strengths and flaws, in his upcoming documentary on one of America’s most famous political families. Burns previewed parts of the 14-hour series Saturday during a Roosevelt family reunion on the grounds of the Georgia polio clinic purchased by President Franklin Roosevelt. The film airs next year and explores the history of Roosevelt, his wife, Eleanor, and President Theodore Roosevelt.

Burns said the Roosevelt political legacy remains relevant now as US leaders debate how big the federal government should be. The Roosevelts featured in the film lived and governed during a time of enormous change in the US, including the country’s emergence as a world power, the Great Depression, World War II and the civil rights struggle.—AP

Headphones and a turntable are seen in “Sounds of the Universe” record shop.

Play it again

Vinyl enjoys renaissance in Britain

V

inyl records are back in fashion in Britain where they have recorded their best sales for a decade as devotees and new fans relish what they say is a livelier sound than digital formats. The Soho district of London is peppered with small shops where music fans are once again enjoying the feel of dust on their fingertips as they flick through the racks of albums. “They love the sound, they love the packaging, they feel they are buying something a bit more special,” said Neal Birnie, of the Sounds of the Universe shop.

“It’s more real than buying an MP3, you are buying more of a product than when you buy an MP3.” Nearly 550,000 vinyl discs have been sold in Britain already this year, according to music industry body BPI. If sales continue at the same pace until the end of the year, they could exceed 700,000, which would be the highest since 2003.

While that represents less than 0.8 percent of all music formats sold, it is clear that having almost suffered a death at the hands of digital music, vinyl records have more than survived.

It is not just old re-releases either—the highest-selling vinyl record in Britain this year was “Random Access Memories” by French duo Daft Punk, featuring their global hit single “Get Lucky”.

David Bowie released a vinyl edition of his first album for a decade, “The Next Day”, and British pop-rockers Arctic Monkeys followed suit. FrenchCanadian stars Arcade Fire, US indie legends Pixies, Pearl Jam and even Paul McCartney have also put their latest albums on vinyl.

“We’re witnessing a renaissance for records— they’re no longer retromania and are becoming the format of choice for more and more music fans,” BPI Chief Executive Geoff Taylor said. The principle of the disc emerged at the end of the 19th century. It soon replaced cylinders and remained the dominant format until the mid-1980s.

Digital age ‘degrading our music’ The main reason for vinyl’s renaissance is clear—it offers a richer sound than download-

able digital songs, which although hiss-free lack the “warmth” of vinyl records. “We live in the digital age, and unfortunately it’s degrading our music, not improving,” veteran rocker Neil Young complained last year. But the enthusiasm of collectors has also played a role in reviving vinyl. At another Soho store, Reckless Records, a rare copy of “Masters of Reality” by Black Sabbath is priced at £400 (470 euros, $640). “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” by Smashing Pumpkins will fetch £225 while early editions of records by the Rolling Stones or the Beatles sell for £80.

Charity shops have also been a lifeline for vinyl records. Steve Kelly, who runs an Oxfam shop in Dalston, northwest London, said he spots familiar faces returning again and again. “There’s about 20 different people looking for vinyl whose face I would recognize. They come in at least once a week, sometimes a few times a week.

“They tend to be older, they have knowledge, they are 30 or 40, sometimes older.” But one group of music afficionados have not been won over by the return of vinyl—DJs. Christov Brilliant, a French DJ and musician based in London, told AFP: “None of the big DJs use vinyl anymore. It might sound great but we live in a digital world and that also gives us great possibilities.”

Regardless of its claims to have better sound, British music critic Pete Paphides wonders whether the return to vinyl could be a phenomenon in line with the slow food movement. “The pleasure you get from an experience is often proportionate to how much time and effort you expend. The carrier bag on the bus home. The expectation. The way it looks and feels. Even the way it smells. And that’s before you even place it on the turntable,” he wrote in the Guardian.—AFP

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, left, is shown the car used by former President Franklin D Roosevelt when he visited his Georgia home known as the Little White House.—AP

‘Walking Dead’

fans meet for convention in Atlanta

Kim Kinney, of Atlanta, dressed as a zombie, walks through the floor Lacy Dearring, of Lawrenceville, Ga, left, is of Walker Stalker Con, a worked on by makeup artist Lucas Godfrey to convention based off the look like a zombie at Walker Stalker Con. cable TV show “The Walking Dead” .—AP photos Britney Francis, of Atlanta, walks through Walker Stalker Con. ans of the hit cable television show “The Walkthe “Walker Stalkers,” created the convention after ing Dead” congregated in downtown Atlanta a road trip they made last fall from Nashville, Tenn, this weekend for a convention focused on the to Georgia to see the show being filmed. Fans were AMC series. The convention, named “Walker Stalker treated to sessions with makeup artists to look like Con,” was expected to draw about 10,000 people to zombies during the convention, and the event feathe Atlanta Convention Center over the weekend. tured appearances by some of the actors from the Eric Nordhoff and James Frazier, also known as show.—AP

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Rapper Eminem

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M u s i c

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takes home Artist

of Year YouTube Music Award File photo shows rapper Eminem performing at Yankee Stadium in New York.—AP

‘Frozen’ (From second left to right) Joel Cassady, Ryan Marshall, Sarah Blackwood, Gianni Luminati, and Mike Tayler of Walk Off The Earth attend the 2013 YouTube Music awards at Pier 36 in New York City.

(From left) Dinah Jane Hansen, Camila Cabello, Lauren Jauregui, Normani Hamilton and Allyson Brooke Hernandez of Fifth Harmony.

Singer Lady Gaga

Megan Mace and Elizabeth Mace of Megan & Liz.

T

he first-ever YouTube Music Awards on Sunday, improvised with plenty of celebrity cameos thrown into the mix, saw awards going to rapper Eminem and hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

The show made a clear bid for the quirky, a benefit of being streamed by YouTube rather than broadcast on television. If the music itself sometimes felt a little overshadowed by all the hoopla, it shouldn’t surprise. The show was also a sort of announcement by YouTube of its intentions to take a bigger role in the music industry.

The music awards market is almost as crowded as the music market. YouTube featured big stars such as Lady Gaga to attract attention, while keeping enough of an outsider perspective to differentiate itself from MTV, the Grammys and other music powerhouses. Although the Google-owned site has for years been a go-to place for music fans around the world, the site is now expected to introduce a paid music service by year-end.

“There was nothing scripted tonight,” said actor Jason Schwartzman, who, along with performance artist Reggie Watts, hosted the show, which was directed by Spike Jonze.

Eminem won the Artist of the Year award.

Video of the Year was awarded to Girls’ Generation, who are megastars in South Korea but are still making inroads into the US music scene.

Breakthrough of the Year went to hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, whose songs include the gay rights anthem, “Same Love.” Walk off the Earth, along with KRNFX, took the Phenomenon Award for their version of Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble,” while the Innovation Prize went to DeStorm, who won for “See Me Standing.”

And in an acknowledgement of the hefty

McConaughey’s ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ scores in solid debut

T

he Matthew McConaughey-Jared Leto AIDS drama “Dallas Buyers Club” got off to solid start in its limited box-office debut, taking in $264,128 from nine theaters for a $29,347 per-screen average. “Dallas Buyers Club” is the last Focus Features release before incoming CEO Peter Schlessel takes over the specialty label, which has merged with FilmDistrict, from founder James Schamus. The fact-based tale stars McConaughey as a homophobic Texas drug addict diagnosed with AIDS in 1986, who begins to smuggle anti-viral medications into Dallas from all over the world.

The opening was below that of some other Focus films that dealt with issues of interest to the LGBT moviegoers, including 2005’s “Brokeback Mountain” (a $109,485 average from five theaters), “The Kids Are All Right” ($70,282 from seven) in 2010 and “Milk,” which averaged $40,385 on 36 theaters in 2008.

But Focus was pleased with the debut of the film, for which McConaughey and Leto are drawing acting awards buzz, and saw a second-day surge as significant.

“The film experienced a strong increase in box office on Saturday with a 71% overall bump from Friday to Saturday.

Historically, smarthouse films increase in the upper 40% range from Friday to Saturday. Yesterday’s increase is a strong

indication that the film’s popular and box office momentum is working well,” said a spokesman.

“About Time” and “Diana,” two movies from the U.K., landed softly in their limited release debuts. The time-travel tale “About Time,” is the latest effort from writer-director Richard Curtis, the man behind romantic comedy hits “Love Actually,” “Notting Hill” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral.” He’s reunited with Working Title producers Tim Bev an and Eric Fellner for “About Time” which stars Rachel McAdams, Domhnall Gleeson and Bill Nighy.

Universal launched “About Time” on 175 screens ahead of its nationwide rollout next weekend. It brought in $1.1 million for a decent per-screen average of $6,045. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel’s “Diana” brought in $69,914 from 38 theaters for eOne for a weak per-theater average of $1,754.

The biopic starring Naomi Watts tells the tale of the Princess Diana’s secret love affair with Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan. It has been savaged by the critics, and has just a 9 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes..—Reuters

amount of user-generated content that goes on YouTube - everything from yawning kittens to cellphone video of major world news - YouTube gave out something called Response of the Year. That prize went to Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix, for their cover of Imagine Dragons “Radioactive.” Stirling is a star among violinists - but not have the star power of Katy Perry, another of the night’s nominees.

Lady Gaga, cultural references Along with Gaga there was a shaky-cam performance by Tyler, the Creator, and Earl Sweatshirt, both of the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All hip-hop collective. There were cultural references, including the quirky song “The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)” from Norwegian duo Ylvis, a viral hit earlier this year. YouTube has positioned itself in recent years as a major source of new music videos for fans. Sites such as YouTube effectively function as on-demand stations for music, with fans able to listen to play lists over and over just for watching the occasional commercial.

The shift highlights some of the challenges - and opportunities - for artists. Access to music is easier than it’s ever been, thanks to sites such as YouTube, music blogs, file-sharing software and more. But it’s also become that much more difficult for musicians to earn a living.

YouTube is expected to introduce an option by the end of the year to let music fans skip the commercials via a paid subscription service. This would pit YouTube directly against services such as the online music streaming Web service Spotify, whose business model has been criticized by musicians for squeezing artists.—Reuters

Disney’s best animated musical since ‘Beauty and the Beast’

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ou can tell the folks at Disney have been agonizing over how to tell a story about pretty, pretty princesses that will make the marketing department (and taffeta-dress-buying little girls everywhere) happy and still assuage the progressives out there who want those little girls to aspire to more than just being rescued. The paradigm-defying archer of Pixar’s “Brave” was certainly a step in the right direction, and with “Frozen,” they’ve got something that should please both sides: It’s about two beautiful sisters in a castle, yes, but it’s also about learning to embrace your own power and to overcome the fear of your own abilities.

Oh, and it’s a musical, too. In the Scandinavian kingdom of Arendelle live two princesses: Anna (voiced by Livvy Stubenrauch as a child, Kristen Bell as an adult) adores her older sister Elsa (Eva Bella, later Idina Menzel), especially when Elsa makes it snow inside the palace’s great ballroom. Elsa, you see, has the power to summon any kind of wintry precipitation with just the wave of her hand. When Elsa accidentally hits Anna in the head with her ice-touch, the younger girl can only be revived by the Troll King (Ciarán Hinds), who erases Anna’s memory of the incident.

Shaken up after almost killing Anna, Elsa hides away from the world in her room, terrified that she won’t be able to control her powers. Anna wonders why her sister has shut her out, and as she sings the poignant “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” we see the years pass and the girls growing up together but separately, on opposite sides of Elsa’s locked doors. (The songs are by Robert Lopez of “Avenue Q” and “The Book of Mormon” and his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez; they previously created the lovely tunes for the underrated 2011 “Winnie the Pooh.”)

The death of their parents (this is a Disney cartoon, after all) makes Elsa the new queen, and Anna is thrilled that the gates will be opened and visitors will be coming to the castle for her coronation. One such guest is Hans (Santino Fontana), a visiting prince who immediately sweeps Anna off her feet. When the two rush to Elsa to announce that they want to get married, Elsa tells Anna to slow down and think it over. The sisters argue, and Elsa loses control, displaying her powers in front of everyone.

Elsa flees to the mountains and builds a hideaway - not unlike Dr. Manhattan’s Martian palace in “Watchmen” - but she’s so upset that she doesn’t realize that she’s left Arendelle plunged in winter. Leaving Hans in charge of the kingdom, Anna sets off for the highest peak to talk Elsa into bringing back the summer.

Aiding Anna in her quest is ice delivery man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff ), whose business is currently on hold until Elsa can reverse her spell.

While Kristoff and Hans bring romance and intrigue to the story, it’s really about Anna and Elsa mending their fractured relationship and Elsa learning to embrace her power. It’s a great message, and never hammered home too obviously; there are lots of laughs (Josh Gad voices a snowman who dreams of experiencing his first summer) and tunes along the way to keep the female empowerment of “Frozen” from feeling too didactic.

With the exception of “Love Is an Open Door,” which sounds as if it came out of the “High School Musical” unused-song drawer, the tunes are terrific - moving, stirring, funny and catchy. Don’t be surprised if “Frozen” becomes yet another Disney animated feature to hit the Broadway stage; in this case, however, the transition promises to be fairly smooth, based on the strength of the material. (“Frozen on Ice,” meanwhile, seems inevitable.)

“Frozen” has the smarts to tweak itself - Kristoff’s reindeer Sven, unlike most other Disney animals, doesn’t talk, so Kristoff does both parts when they “converse” - but it doesn’t take the irony route that’s in vogue for so many current family films. While it lags the tiniest bit on its way to the conclusion, the script by Jennifer Lee (who co-directed with Chris Buck) and Shane Morris, based on the Hans Christian Andersen fable, really delivers; it offers characters to care about, along with some nifty twists and surprises along the way.

Given that it’s a Disney cartoon, you probably already know how it ends, but what’s interesting about “Frozen” is that you may not predict how they’re going to get there. And for children’s animation, that’s a wilder ride than we usually get.—Reuters

‘Thor: The Dark World’

hammers way to $109 million overseas debut

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isney’s “Thor: The Dark World” Powered to $109 million in its first three days at the overseas box office, and the early returns from the Marvel superhero sequel are running well ahead of the original film as it rolls in 36 foreign markets this weekend ahead of its US opening Friday. The massive opening lifted the studio’s overall overseas grosses to $2.31 billion for the year, marking the fourth consecutive year that Disney has surpassed the $2 billion benchmark overseas. The previous record was $2.302 billion, set in 2010.

And it knocked Warner Bros’ “Gravity” out of the top spot it had held at the foreign box office for the past month. The Sandra Bullock-George Clooney space epic added another $27 million from 55 markets to up its international total to $207 million and its worldwide haul to $426.7 million after five weeks.

The original “Thor” took in $450 million worldwide in 2011, with nearly 60 percent of that coming from abroad. “The Dark World” is expected to do even better, owing largely to the effect of Disney’s 2012 blockbuster “The Avengers.” The Marvel superhero mash-up gave a huge boost to “Iron Man 3 earlier this year and will likely do the same for “The Dark World.” Joining Chris Hemsworth in “Dark World” are Tom Hiddleston, who reprises his role as the bad brother Loki, the villain from the “Avengers,” and Natalie Portman, who returns as the Norse god’s love Jane Foster.

Alan Taylor, whose credits include TV’s “Game of Thrones,” directs.

He’s also been tapped to helm the upcoming “Terminator” reboot for Universal.

The UK has been the strongest market for “The Dark World” so far, with $13.4 million since opening Wednesday, followed by France ($9.4 million), Mexico $8.2 million), Brazil ($8.1 million) and Germany ($7.9 million).

Elsewhere, Paramount’s “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” upped its international total to $17.6 million - better than the foreign totals of “Jackass the Movie” and “Jackass No. 2 - in its second week abroad. It brought in $6 million from 19 markets.

Fox’s animated snail tale “Turbo” upped its foreign total to $186 million by taking in $12.3 million from 21 markets.—Reuters

Eminem takes home Artist of Year YouTube Music Award

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Models present creations by Melissa during the 2014 Winter collections of the Sao Paulo Fashion Week in Sao Paulo, Brazil. –AFP photos

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Levine’s anti-fashion clothing line

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dam Levine’s clothing line is “anti-fashion”. The Maroon 5 frontman thinks his Kmart clothing range will appeal to most men because it shuns passing trends in favor of a timeless look. He told People magazine: “In a way I’m not into fashion. What I’m trying to do is something that in a lot of ways is the anti-fashion line, and not necessarily based on momentary trends.” Adam admits his proudest moment since launching the line was seeing a singing hopeful wearing one of his t-shirts to ‘The Voice’ US auditions.

The ‘One More Night’ hitmaker said: “I saw somebody wearing one of my t-shirts at ‘The Voice’. All of a sudden I see this graphic t-shirt that this guy’s wearing and he’s really into it and he was kind of giving me a thumbs up. I was just really proud.”

The handsome star insists he is his own biggest fan and he has filled his wardrobe with pieces from the range.

Adam quipped: “I kind of love it all. I love the way the leather jacket turned out. It was really simple and cool.

I have definitely lined my closets with my stuff.”—Bang Showbiz