19th Nov 2013

CR IP TI ON BS SU

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Amir keen to boost Africa-Arab partnership

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MUHARRAM 15, 1435 AH

Hollande meets Abbas, demands end to Israeli settlements

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Emirates president vows to keep buying aircraft

Egypt’s bitter politics spill onto the sports field

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Widespread flooding after burst of rain Heavy thunderstorm deluges streets, shops

Max 23º Min 16º High Tide 13:52 Low Tide 07:22 & 19:03

KUWAIT: Streets across the nation are flooded after a thunderstorm yesterday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat, Joseph Shagra and Sherif Ismail

By Shakir Reshamwala

MPs file to grill Othaina for razing Ashura tents Shiite tweeter jailed for insulting Prophet

By B Izzak KUWAIT: Shiite MPs Abdullah Al-Tameemi and Faisal Al-Duwaisan yesterday carried out their threat and filed a request to grill the municipality minister over the removal of tents used by Shiites on Ashura day. The two MPs accused Minister of State for Municipality and Housing Salem Al-Othaina of “undermining national unity, destabilizing the country, misusing his authority, violating the law and breaching the constitution”. They held the minister responsible for orders issued to raze a number of tents used by Shiites to mark the martyrdom of Imam AlHussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who is highly revered by Shiites.

The two lawmakers said the tents were removed although their licenses, issued by the Municipality, were valid until Nov 20, and that they were removed without any KUWAIT: MP Abdullah Al-Tameemi (right) hands a request to grill the municipality minwarning. ister to National Assembly General Secretary Allam Al-Kandari yesterday. — KUNA Continued on Page 15

KUWAIT: Heavy rains lashed Kuwait yesterday after days of warnings from the Meteorological Center and the US navy.

And in what has become a depressingly familiar recurrence, streets and roads across the country were flooded after storm drains seemingly failed and rainwater gushed from manholes. Traffic crawled at a snail’s pace, with broken down vehicles and accidents adding to the snarl.

Social media, blogs and mobile messaging apps were yesterday awash with images and videos of the downpour and its aftermath - of submerged cars and malls inundated with floodwaters. Even hospitals and the airport were not spared

by the deluge. The Meteorological Center had warned of southeasterly winds that would reach a speed of 25-50 km/h, coupled with torrential rain, thunder and lightning storms. Experts however had excluded the possibility of flooding.

The fire department and various ministries had also announced preparedness for any inclement weather, but their efforts were left wanting. The government has faced considerable flak over the poor drainage system in the country after heavy rains in past years resulted in a few deaths. More unstable weather is forecast for today, but a public holiday announced for the start of the 3rd Africa Arab Summit may bring some respite to motorists, students and workers alike.

Runaways’ iqamas void after 60 days KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor in coordination with the Interior Ministry has adopted a new system which nullifies the iqama of an absconding worker 60 days after police are informed. Informed sources said the system went into effect on Sept 1, adding that there was a proposal to cancel the iqama immediately after an

employer reports a worker missing, but the ministry objected and proposed the 60-day period to give the worker a chance to know that there is an absconding complaint against him or her. The sources said if the absconding complaint is malicious, the ministry will take necessary legal procedures against the employer for forgery. — Al-Watan

Militants blamed for Egypt officer’s killing Protests in Tahrir Sq • Train-bus crash kills 26

Young Saudis get creative on YouTube IRAN: This photo released yesterday claims to show a Fotros drone aircraft at an undisclosed location. — AP

Biggest Iran drone has 2,000-km range TEHRAN: Iran unveiled a new aircraft yesterday that it says is the biggest drone yet to be developed in the Islamic Republic, capable of staying aloft for up to 30 hours.

Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said the reconnaissance and combat drone Fotros has a range of 2,000 kilometers. That would cover much of the Middle East, including Israel. The earlier Shahed-129 drone is reported to have a similar range, but can only stay aloft 24 hours. “This drone is able to carry out reconnaissance

missions and carry air-to-surface rockets for combat operations,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Dehghan as saying.Dehghan said scientists at Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries, affiliated to Iran’s Defense Ministry, have designed and developed the drone. He said the country has achieved self-sufficiency in building drones, but didn’t elaborate. Iran has pursued a military self-sufficiency program since 1980s, and frequently Continued on Page 15

DUBAI: Turn on a Saudi television and you’ll usually get a diet of religious programming and uncontroversial imported fare. But there’s much more to a “night in” for the average Saudi - they’re also the world’s most avid watchers of YouTube. The programs of Jeddah-based UTURN, from drama to reality shows, are typical. “3al6ayer”, or “On the Fly”, is a Saudi version of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”.

“Eysh Elly” is a lighthearted weekly review of Arab online videos.

As of mid-September, UTURN had 286 million views on YouTube and 8 million followers on social media such as Facebook and Twitter, most of them Saudis, said Abdullah Mando, 27, who set up the company in 2010 with two university friends. The secret of UTURN’s success is simple, but in a Saudi context, rather revolutionary - give the audience what it wants. “These kinds of shows are useful and entertaining, and because they are made by young people, they are close to the heart,” said Maram Continued on Page 15

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities blamed Islamist militants for the high-profile shooting death of an Interior Ministry lieutenant colonel, heightening security fears yesterday in a country on the edge with mass protests looming. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 protesters marched on

Cairo’s Tahrir Square yesterday night to condemn the actions of Egyptian security forces and some criticised army chief General Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi. The demonstration began hours earlier to commemorate people killed in clashes with police Continued on Page 15

DAHSHUR, Egypt: Egyptians walk past the wreckage of a mini-bus at the site of an accident near a railway crossing where a train ploughed into a truck and the mini-bus yesterday. — AFP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

LOCAL

Heavy rainfall, flash floods hit Kuwait

—Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat and Joseph Shagra

Schools set up immediate response teams KUWAIT: Ministry of Education asserted its full readiness to implement its contingency plan at schools to ensure the safety of students in case of heavy rains and floods.

As part of its emergency crisis intervention program at all schools, there will be a trained team from the school’s staff members that will ensure the safety of students in case of emergencies, the ministry said in a statement.

The team will be trained in calming down the students to prevent panic and chaos inside school classrooms.

The Gulf region, including Kuwait, is currently witnessing heavy rains and thunderstorms. However, meteorology experts excluded the possibility of flooding. —KUNA

Hashem apologizes for ‘bribery’ remarks MPs frustrated over grillings KUWAIT: After MPs Abdullah Al-Tamimi and Faisal Al-Duwaisan filed to grill Minister of Housing and Minister of Municipality Affairs Salem Al-Othaina yesterday, six interpellations are scheduled for debate on the parliament’s Nov 26 session. MPs are also scheduled to vote on a no - confidence motion filed against Minister of Health and State Minister of Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad AlAbdullah Al-Sabah during the same session.

According to parliament insiders, MPs are not expected to discuss any draft laws with grilling debates potentially resuming in the Nov 27 session as well. According to the sources, many lawmakers expressed frustration from the ‘influx of interpellations’ as two motions have already been debated since the new parliamentary term opened on Oct 29.

“The parliament can pass 10 draft laws that are ready and already listed in its schedule during the time in which the six

grillings will be debated,”, said the sources who spoke to Al-Qabas on the condition of anonymity. They also indicated that MP Hamdan Al-Azmi has fallen under pressure to postpone his grilling against Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Thekra Al-Rashidi until after the other grillings are debated.

In other news, MP Safa Al-Hashem issued an apology for earlier statements in which she accused Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah of bribing owners of local dailies. She reiterated

however that the premier approved a decision to grant lands for headquarters of local dailies, saying that “his statement in that regard can be found in news coverage of the premier’s meeting recent meeting with editors-in-chief ”. Al-Rai daily announced plans yesterday to take legal action against Hashem for the statements she made during a live interview with AlWatan TV, but it is still unknown whether the paper will drop its plans after the MP’s apology.

66 firms participate in property exhibition

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Whether you want to buy a property to use it or you’re looking to invest in real estate, you should visit the Kuwait International Property Show (KIPS) held at the Kuwait International Fair Ground, Hall 8 from Nov 18 to 23. The event is organized by Top Expo Group.

More than 66 firms are participating in KIPS this year. “This is the sixth consecutive year of this event as it attracts many companies. This year 66 companies from different countries are offering more than 200 projects in 15 Arab and European countries, including lands, villas, flats and beneficial ownership documents. Real estate exhibitions boost the economy due to their importance,” said Sheikh Malik Al-Sabah, Chairman of Top Expo Group.

Kuwaiti investors occupy a high rank and make up a large percentage of investors in the real estate sector worldwide. “Kuwaiti investors typically search for new opportunities in active and vital markets. There is no doubt that statistics shows that there is a growth in the number of Kuwaitis investors comprising of both individuals and companies in the regional and international real estate sector, demonstrating the nature of the Kuwaiti people and their interest to invest in those countries,” he added.

“Many companies are marketing projects to

the Kuwaiti people, and we believe it is an excellent opportunity for companies to get to know new investors in addition to market projects in KIPS. This fair is held over 3,150 square meters to allow the participation of a huge number of companies,” stressed Sheikh Malik.

Sheikh Nemer Al-Sabah, Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said that this event is one of the biggest real estate events held here. “Many countries are participating in this exhibition.

Also this exhibition witnessed high attendance from different categories with different needs and demands. The high interest in this event reflects the interest of Kuwaitis in the real estate market. It also proves that there is great purchasing and economic power in Kuwait and high demand to own properties abroad,” he pointed out.

“We also noticed the increase of apartments that provides an alternative solution for citizens amid price hikes. So he can fight this increase by buying a flat. The prices at this fair are affordable, which gives him good opportunity to do so,” he added. Sheikh Nemer also spoke about vacancies at the Ministry which will be filled soon after meeting with the undersecretaries and officers from the Audit Bureau. “According to the latest report of the Audit Bureau, violations have decreased by about 70 percent. We also

make sure that the mistakes don’t repeat and I formed a committee to remove all previous administrative mistakes. We will also make sure to get back all the debts of employees who left the ministry many years ago. The legal department based on our order files cases against retired employees who still have debts to be returned to the national treasury,” he concluded.

A visitor can find various products at KIPS. For instance, Baz Company provides undivided ‘Mushaa’ shares. “This type of ownership is suitable for those who love travelling. The client only pays once and can enjoy a room in a fivestar hotel for seven days a year forever. In case of his death, this ownership will be inherited by his children. For instance, we are currently promoting a room for two at Park Suites in Istanbul for KD 295 only. Of course, the client he can always upgrade to a bigger flat after paying the difference,” Tamer, a marketing staff, told Kuwait Times.

The Murabahat company is providing both investment and beneficial opportunities. “To those looking to invest, we can offer them flats at the Movenpick Hotel and Residence at Hajar Tower in Makkah with very good profits. While those who would like to enjoy staying there for some time, especially during haj or umrah, can buy a flat at the same place at a good price,” said Mustafa, a sales staff.

KUWAIT: Sheikh Nemir Al-Sabah during a tour at the fair yesterday.

KUWAIT: Sheikh Nemir and Sheikh Malik Al-Sabah at one of the wards of the participating company. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

LOCAL

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Amir stresses commitment to boosting partnership Africa-Arab Summit begins KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, welcoming Arab and African leaders, said Sunday Kuwait’s hosting of the 3rd Africa-Arab Summit stemmed from his country’s commitment to boosting bridges of cooperation aimed at a strategic partnership on the ground. The Amir, marking the Nov 19-20 Summit, expressed profound delight at Kuwait’s hosting of the event, which is being held under the theme “Partners in Development and Investment.”

“It (the summit) reflects the keenness of both regions on joint commitment and boosts cooperation on all spectrums, particularly political, economic, commercial and cultural,” he added. “Complicated circumstances and swift developments - especially on the economy - the world is witnessing, have forced Arab and African nations to come closer and form a solid base for cooperation aimed at achieving their joint interests,” he said. His Highness the Amir also expressed confidence the event would be successful in achieving aspired goals of the people of both regions.

The leader of Kuwait was echoed by the government which, during its meeting at Bayan Palace and chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak AlHamad Al-Sabah, hoped the 3rd Africa-Arab Summit would achieve “positive results” that would improve well-being of the Arab and African people. The government, in a statement, said the two-day summit reflected His Highness the Amir’s keenness on “activating the Arab-African cooperation.” His Highness Sheikh Sabah is also keen on exploring new horizons of cooperation between the two regions, which reflects “positive civilized interaction for the sake of advancement and prosperity of mankind,” added the statement, read by Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Health Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah following the weekly cabinet meeting. He noted that the cabinet welcomed the guests of His Highness the Amir who already started arriving in Kuwait for the summit.

As many as 71 delegations from nations and international organisations would be attending the Summit, including over 34 heads of state, seven deputy leaders and three prime ministers. Arab and African leaders or their representatives have already started arriving in Kuwait for the summit.

Foreign Ministers of the African and Arab countries held a preparatory meeting earlier and approved the draft agenda, Kuwait Declaration and a statement on Palestine.

At the opening of the foreign miniserial meeting, Kuwait’s Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said the time has come to push forward on joint efforts that serve a bright future for both the Arab and African regions.

“Nations today cannot move alone, they require groupings and large regional blocs built on mutual interests and exchanged benefits,” he said.

Holding the 3rd Africa-Arab Summit in Kuwait aims to build on historical ties shared by both regions, he said, adding that they both have promising potentials.

Their geographic proximity of these dynamic regions obliges them both to cooperate with one another, judging their joint historic depth and heritage, he added.

“Both regions together form 18 percent of the world’s population, a total of 1.2 billion people. These human resources compared to the average GDP of 4. 25 percent is more than that of the world at three percent,” he added.

Kuwait aims for the summit to “provide tangible results

KUWAIT: Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, the President of Tunisia Moncef Marzouki and Sudan president Omar Al-Bashir arrived in Kuwait yesterday to attend the ArabAfrican Summit. They were received at the airport by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Parliament Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, senior commanders of the Army, Police and National Guard. that reflect positively on the peoples of both regions, respond to the aspirations of the people, raises the development of their countries and creates constructive economic partnerships,” he explained. UN reports on Africa revealed a huge gap in infrastructure development, he said, adding this deficit requires the joint international efforts in order to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, goals that Kuwait already met.

The pivotal and fundamental role of private businesses, he also stressed, in the field of human development is a main factor in comprehensive and sustainable development. This is due to what it offers of projects that support construction, growth and job opportunities across vital spectrums. The Kuwaiti minister praised the efforts of experts, academics and civil society organisations at the African-Arab Economic Forum, which concluded on Nov 12. The forum was organised by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and resulted in recommendations in the fields of development, the economy and investment.

“Kuwait is committed to openness, and human and civil contact with the nations of the world. It also remains faithful to its message of friendship and good deeds in the promise of a safe and prosperous world,” he said.

Others speakers also addressed the foreign ministerial meeting. Mauritanian Foreign Minister and Deputy Chair of the Executive Bureau of the African Union Ahmed Ould Teguedi, called for exerting of efforts to achieve economic integration, boost trade between the Arab and African regions. Secretary General of the Arab League Dr. Nabil AlAraby, for his part, commended His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for hosting the Summit, and the State of Kuwait for the comprehensive preparations for the high-level meeting. He said the meetings held since the 2010 Libya summit at the government and private sectors’ levels contributed to enhancing partnership between the two regions. “We aim at establishing a modern partnership based on mutual interests,” said Al-Araby.

The Arab league Secretariat and the African Union Commission (AUC), he said, supported the struggle of the

Palestinian people in their right to establish their independent state and in the fight against occupation.

Al-Araby said the Arab world was still seeking to establish an area free of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and nuclear arms. Al-Araby said the Arab-African Economic Forum that was held in Kuwait last week touched upon economic and investment opportunities as well as achieving food security. Chairperson of the African Union Commission Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said that the Africa-Arab Summit was held amidst changing circumstances in the Arab and African regions. Zuma said Africa was witnessing a shift in the economic growth and a decrease in conflicts, and an improvement in governance.

Zuma said that progress has been made in human development indicators, noting that the average age rose from 40 to 60 years in addition to declining infant mortality rate by 50 percent as well as a rise in the number of children who attend school. Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammad Abdulaziz said the 3rd Africa-Arab Summit was held amidst “accelerated developments which require active parnterships.”

He said openness of Kuwait under leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah and the country’s hosting of international meetings, “indicate that Kuwait attaches great importance not only for the strengthening of democracy but extends its hands to many areas in the world to contribute to development projects benefiting many spectra of society.”

The Arab and African governments should honor aspirations of their peoples on the basis of equality, respect, mutual interest, understanding and trust, he said.

Foreign Minister of Gabon Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet, whose country was the co-chair of the 2nd Africa-Arab Summit, commended Kuwait’s commitment to strong relations between the Arab and African regions, which would further activate the dynamic partnership between the two sides.

He noted that there has been “a big progress” in relations and cooperation since the 2nd Summit that was held in Libya in 2010. “It is time to advance on food security and

industry,” said Issoze-Ngondet, calling for providing the necessary funding for investment projects in the Arab and African regions.

The Foreign Minister, meanwhile, expressed support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state that would “live within secure and stable borders,” and voiced backing to the declaration about Palestine that would be issued by the Summit.

Meanwhile, the UN commended Kuwait’s hosting of the summit which proved its “international inclinations and its status as a very important international partner.”

Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson, in an exclusive interview with KUNA, said “the fact that Kuwait is now the host of this Summit - as well as other upcoming major Summits and Conferences - is a sign of its international role as a solid UN member that contributes to regional and international cooperation.”

Eliasson, who will represent Secretary General Ban Kimoon at the two-day Summit, noted that Kuwait was scheduled to host the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit next month, the International Donor Conference for Syria in January 2014 and the Arab League Summit in March 2014.

The UN senior official, who would arrive in Kuwait on Monday, expressed hope that the Summit would be a “unique opportunity” for him to discuss with Arab and African leaders, not only the issues on the gathering’s agenda - economy, development and investment - but also other issues of common concern, including the situation in Syria. On the humanitarian situation in Syria and in reference to the Donor Conference scheduled to be held in Kuwait next January, he said “we look forward to another meeting under Kuwait’s leadership and we appreciate that very much.

“We at the UN are deeply grateful to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for hosting the first Donor Conference last January where Kuwait’s contribution was very substantial and important.” He was referring to the USD 300 million contribution to the alleviate suffering of the Syrian people. — KUNA

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

LOCAL

In my view

In my view

Bouteflika will not leave a positive legacy

400,000 child refugees

By Mohamed Azraqi Farad

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By Labeed Abdal

local@kuwaittimes.net

A

ccording to the UNICEF, there are at least 400,000 children among Syrian refugees in Lebanon who are in dire need of international aid before the beginning of winter. These are very alarming numbers, especially when we consider the fact that nearly 820,000 Syrian refugees, half of them children, put economic and social pressure on a small country like Lebanon which has its own share of political and security hardships.

The situation cannot tolerate waiting any longer, as waiting leads to deterioration of living conditions in refugee camps and thus increases the suffering of refugees. The ongoing events in the Arab world require a unified and just humanitarian position from the international community to step in and save the innocent children who are directly affected by the dreadful effects of the war machine.

The miserable situation that refugee children suffer from should motivate international decision makers to stop their show of power that is carried out through proxy wars.

We cannot accept to see the process of drawing a new ‘road map’ for the region continue being used as an excuse to turn the region into an experiment field or a square to dispose off artillery waste. It is the international community’s duty to step in immediately and end the fighting inside and outside Syria in order to stop further bloodshed and killing of innocent civilians.

kuwait digest

New personality of our premier

By Mubarak Fahad Al-Duwailah

W

hoever saw Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak during the grilling session last week, and how he dealt with events, feels that he is in front of a new prime minister and new personality that we are not used to! He was talking with unprecedented courage and with a challenging tone that is not known in him. This personality was confirmed during the press conference he held with editors-inchief, where leadership attributes such as decisiveness, perseverance and self confidence showed in him, and these attributes are required in every leader.

This new personality of the prime minister is not necessarily positive for its owner, but it may be a bad omen and destructive if it is not used correctly for the benefit of the country and preserve its beliefs and constants! Nero was not a tyrant but he burned Rome, Hitler was genius and courageous but his recklessness destroyed half of the globe and the infamous Saddam Hussein did not lack courage and good talk but he did not employ them to build his country and preserve is security, rather he used them to destroy the great Iraq, divide it and get it occupied by his enemies! So, we are in need to understand the situation, and realize what the country needs, more than our need of a strong personality and a decision maker, but the Monday session was necessary for any success and advancement.

Adasani’s grilling, without a doubt, was full of constitutional violations, but the behavior of the Cabinet and Assembly on how to deal with it turned things around and

This new personality of the prime minister is not necessarily positive for its owner, but it may be a bad omen and destructive if it is not used correctly for the benefit of the country and preserve its beliefs and constants! Nero was not a tyrant but he burned Rome, Hitler was genius and courageous but his recklessness destroyed half of the globe and the infamous Saddam Hussein did not lack courage and good talk but he did not employ them to build his country and preserve is security, rather he used them to destroy the great Iraq, divide it and get it occupied by his enemies! put the right in the hands of the suspect, and the victim was made to bear the crime’s elements! Because the authority that decides whether a grilling is constitutional or not is either the constitutional court with a constitutional decision, or the National Assembly after seeking a legal opinion supported by evidence and justifications from the concerned committee, which is the legislative one! If the government used the majority it has, it would have got what it wanted without being accused of bypassing parliamentary traditions, and emptying the constitutional tool of its supervisory value! But what happened is a parliamentary precedent, that if it becomes a tradition, the supervisory role of the Assembly would be minimized, and the Assembly will have an advisory status, more than being a true parliament that represents the nation’s will.

So we hope that prime minister, who made us happy with his new charisma, employs his energy, power and influence to preserve the constitutional traditions and the nation’s gains which we are still bragging about in front of others! Especially that his adversaries will not spare an effort to disturb him and distort his performance in order to end his era with a failure. I hope that his adversaries do not destroy the country in order to halt his march, and maybe what happened earlier in the form of instigating sectarian strife in some areas confirm what I said that he is facing an adversary that does not care about what is right and what is wrong. So he should not lose the sincere friend, as he already lost the staunch enemy beforehand! A quick look at the latest sectarian events, and who started it and we will all recognize who stirs it and what he wants from it. So are we going to learn the lesson?! — Al-Qabas

In my view

Egypt at a crossroads

By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid

W

e are confident that the Egypt’s military leadership is capable enough to deal with security threats. From purely a military point of view, the Egyptian army can fight unscrupulous elements in the Sinai Peninsula and outside.

However, the real challenge is the effective management of the political process as it is much difficult to deal with political opponents than chasing terrorists.

It is, thus, imperative to engage capable and experienced people during the transitional phase.

Undoubtedly, the Egyptian president’s announcement of holding parliamentary elections in February has come to many as a surprise who were under the impression that the military - being the sponsor of the current political process - would try to slow it down to remain in power.

Although the parliamentary elections will not silence the Muslim Brotherhood, which is raising a hue and cry over the credibility of the electoral process and its results.

The elections will, however, prove the seriousness of the military in helping Egypt return to the democratic path and in involving local political forces in the administration and accountability of the state. This process may be complemented by the announcement of the presidential election date and thus become a genuine rule of legitimacy, not a temporary one. The parties currently in power must ensure active participation from all quarters.

Failing to involve the Islamists in the political process will only result in a crippled political system.

The real challenge is to sift through the ranks of the Brotherhood to find moderate elements. However, this is an uphill task. Due to this reason, I think that the smooth functioning of the political process is much more difficult than fighting terrorists. This should not be seen as reconciliation attempts or concessions but a call to build a strong political base wherein all stakeholders are given representation.

Egypt is at a crossroads. They must build the road to the future in line with their true aspirations for which they took to the streets about three years ago.

However, this time around, more checks and balances need to be in place so as to ensure democratic separation of powers and respect for rights. Then, if the Muslim Brotherhood or any another political group wins, they will be governed by constitutional controls while the differences will be controlled through the agreed upon and stipulated terms of reference. Had this been the case earlier, it would have been possible to avoid the events that led to Morsi’s toppling.

All stakeholders, including the military, can enable Egypt to form a government that could rule for the next hundred years, ensure stability and help governments work without fear of the street revolutions or coups. Only in such reassuring, safe, and clear climate, major economic and developmental challenges could be faced.

kuwait digest

A professional grilling

By Dr Mohammad Al-Moqatei

A

fter a thorough reading of MP Safa Al-Hashem’s grilling of Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah, there are some points I would like to point out. The grilling is characterized with brevity and clarity when it comes to explaining the issues it tackles, which pertain with the government’s work program in accordance with article 98 of the constitution. Therefore, it is connected to the general policy of the Cabinet, something that falls under the responsibilities of the prime minister according to the constitution.

The grilling focuses on two issues - the government’s delay in presenting its program, and the desired goals that have to be achieved in accordance with a timetable and indicators to gauge the level of achievement. Therefore, we can say that the grilling is in line with the constitution because it addresses aspects linked to general policy, and only mentions examples while avoiding focusing on these examples to prevent unconstitutionality suspicions. In the meantime, I believe that the ‘generality’ of the topics addressed in the grilling can be answered with similar generality.

I am not tr ying to give an assessment of the

strength of the grilling or the topics it raises, because judging this depends on the prime minister’s responses. Hashem mentioned constitutional rhetoric and utilized it in a good way, which should be the basis of parliamentary discussions.

Meanwhile, I believe that Hashem’s step to file two grilling motions simultaneously (the second one against Minister of Development Rola Dashti) weakens both of them. Questioning the prime minister is supposed to be enough, while debating a grilling against a minister ahead of the premier’s grilling leads the latter to lose its level of seriousness.

This being said, I believe that Kuwait’s parliamentary work needs grilling motions that are similar in brevity and preciseness to Hashem’s in order to achieve the real goals of interpellations.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet deserves credit for facing the grilling motions, which should with Hashem’s grilling too so that interpellations are not used as a tool for political intimidation.

Furthermore, the Cabinet also deserves credit for its decision to not accept debating an unconstitutional grilling. — Al-Qabas

lgerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s third term in office is now drawing to a close. The president - may God grant him health - has been practically incapacitated by a chronic illness, and will barely make it to the end of his term in office.

Some could even argue that the conditions for Article 88 of the Algerian constitution have been met. In this case, the Constitutional Council, in coordination with the parliament, should announce that the office of the presidency is vacant and call for presidential elections to take place as soon as possible. Therefore this authoritarian regime has not just trampled on the constitution, but some of the president’s allies - from political parties to civil institutions - are also now calling on him to stand for a fourth term in office.

Are they doing this for the sake of Algeria, under the pretext that Bouteflika has managed to restore national stability by eliminating terrorism and securing national reconciliation, restoring Algeria’s international prestige? Or have the beneficiaries of this rentier system raised the slogan of a ‘fourth term’ in order to protect their illegal privileges?

In the post-independence era, Bouteflika was part of the Oujda Group that forcibly took power and which has held the foreign affairs portfolio since independence. It kept hold of this post during the era of president Houari Boumediene. Following his death, Bouteflika felt that he was his legitimate heir, but the Algerian intelligence services led by the late Kasdi Merbah brought someone else to power. As a result of this, Bouteflika entered his lost period which lasted for twenty years (1979-1999).

The military brought Bouteflika back to the political arena, bringing him to power in 1999 in a cartoonish manner based on a super ficial election.

Bouteflika’s return to power was a source of hope, with the Algerian people viewing him as a mujahid and a statesman with important experience in international relations, based on his two-decade marginalization and wandering. However he quickly disappointed the Algerians hoping to see the construction of a democratic state, as he sought to centralize all authority in his hands, saying in effect that he and the state were one. In this context, he moved to close down the political arena by restricting the activities of political parties and banning the formation of new ones. He also moved to muzzle the media. As for civil society, Bouteflika turned this into an extension of his authority by stifling independent associations while providing support to those affiliated with him.

The Bouteflika era is characterized by rise of the totalitarian regime which is reflected in his quest to stay in power for life. This is why he repealed Article 74 of the constitution, which limited presidential terms to two terms in office and no more than 10 years in total, thereby attacking the basis of democracy and the transition of power.

Bouteflika repealed the post of prime minister, while he also targeted the separation of powers. This led to the complete disappearance of opposition viewpoints, which is something that is necessary for balanced politics.

Herd behavior and a cult of personality replaced critical thinking, and so nothing happened outside of the president’s will. During the Bouteflika era, relations between the state and its citizens was based on blind obedience and loyalty to the rentier state, rather than being based on a true “social contract” that could be torn up in the public interest.

One of the results of this totalitarian rule was the rise of the phenomenon of official impunity. This opened the way to political corruption and the looting of public funds. Bribery became a common thing in major public contracts. One of the repercussions of this was to allow dirty money into the political arena, with the general public thereby losing trust in political parties. As a result of this, politics became increasingly viewed as something cheap and sleazy.

In conclusion, despite the abundance of funds resulting from this rentier economy, President Bouteflika has been unable to achieve a comprehensive breakthrough in terms of Algerian growth and development, securing pride and dignity for the people. Despite the fact that he spent vast sums of money on huge developmental projects over his three presidential terms in office, the lack of oversight and checks and balances ensured that much of these funds went into the pockets of the regime’s supporters. Meanwhile, the absence of political and economic freedom - and these are two things which must come together - halted development. Therefore, a fourth term in office, should this happen, would only serve to further weaken comprehensive development, which is vital to secure the aspirations of the Algerian people.

In my view

US influence in ME on decline?

By Hassan Barari

T

oday, even the Americans are not confident about their country’s influence in the Middle East. Skeptics, who argue that the United States is on the decline, are on the rise. Graham Fuller, the former vice-chair of the National Intelligence Council at CIA and a respected author, argues, “Things are getting worse for the US, not because of our weak policies but because the times are changing, our capabilities and energies (are) limited, and we haven’t recognized it yet. We can’t afford to keep on doing those things we shouldn’t have been doing in the first place.”

While I don’t subscribe to the argument that the vacuum left by a possible retreat of America in the Middle East will be filled in by Russia for many reasons, the perception of the Arabs with regard to the future role of the US has slowly but surely shifting. Many of US allies believe that America is turning its back on them.

The Egyptian leadership has cast doubts over the reliability of the US. Perhaps, turning to the Russians for weapons is a logical conclusion of the emerging perception among the Egyptians that the US has neither the vision nor the strategy in the wider Middle East.

If anything, President Barack Obama has failed to demonstrate is: Leadership. Neither foes nor friends in the Mideast appreciate his policies. Even Israel,

America’s closest ally, is concerned that Obama’s policies will be detrimental to everyone in the long run.

While America’s allies are sometimes wrong, they think that a deal with Iran that fails to put an end to the nuclear program may be a bad one for the region in the years to come. Perhaps, for this reason, France “sabotaged” the talks in Geneva.

Key US allies in the region are certain that Tehran is acting in bad faith. Washington seems desperate to reach any deal with Tehran. Implicit in the US wheeling and dealing is that Washington’s interests should not always be in line with its allies’. Some leading columnists describe behavior of US allies in the region as “ingratitude”. In the words of Thomas Friedman, “We, Americans, are not just hired lawyers negotiating a deal for Israel and the Sunni Gulf Arabs, which they alone get the final say on.”

Meanwhile, the US Congress is debating whether to impose additional economic sanctions against Iran.

Obama does not favor imposing new sanctions when he thinks that there may be a deal signed in the near future. He has been trying to convince hard-liners in the Congress with his perspective on the issue of Iran and sanctions. Should the Congress fail to impose new sanctions - which would comfort the president - it would send a bad signal to US allies and it would make

America look less reliable.

For many countries in the Middle East, Iran is nothing but an enemy. Furthermore, Tehran’s pro-Assad policies run against the interests of the Arab countries.

In other words, the conflict in Syria is not only a civil war but also a regional war the outcome of which would define the future fault lines and the future identity of the region as a whole. Amid this charged atmosphere, it seems that the P5+1 and Iran are gearing to reach an interim deal that would roll back the nuclear program and prevent it from advancing. It remains to be seen whether Iran will agree on such an agreement without getting something as a quid pro quo.

The US efforts to sign off a deal may be undermined by the Congress if the latter proceed with further sanctions against Iran. Not surprisingly and regardless of whether Washington will sign an agreement with Iran, key Arab states feel that not only the US has let them down in one of the most critical moment, but also America’s shift of gear is a function of weakness and decline. Some analysts in the Arab region are jumping to a premature conclusion about a possible role for Russia in the region. Few of them still believe in the existence of the “American moment” in the Middle East that once was obvious in the aftermath of the end of the Cold War.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

LOCAL

Stage ready for ‘Music for a Mission’ gig, donation drive Filipinos in Kuwait hold charity drive for typhoon victims

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: The new Cuban Ambassador Andres Gonalez Garrido presenting the credential to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at the Bayan Palace over the weekend.

Kuwait Airways buys used jets KUWAIT: The Kuwait Airways is buying five used aircrafts from India’s Jet Airways after an initial deal with Airbus fell apart due to lack of funding, a local daily reported yesterday quoting sources with knowledge of the case.

Speaking to Al-Qabas on the condition of anonymity, the sources said that an agreement to purchase the Airbus A330-200 aircrafts was reached during Kuwait Airways board meeting last Wednesday. Kuwait Airways had signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this year with Airbus to purchase and rent the same class of aircrafts, but the deal fell apart due to lack of funding and after Boeing reportedly entered negotiations with the national carrier.

According to the sources, Jet Airways offered the five planes which have a total

capacity of 1260 seats (252 seats each) for a total of KD 80 million. The Kuwait Airways’ board sent its approval to the Kuwaiti government to make the final decision; which according to the sources is expected to be made by the Kuwait Investment Authority, which represents the general assembly for the Kuwait Airways and which will fund the deal if approved.

If a deal is signed, the source predicts the aircrafts to arrive early next year. The planes, which have been in service for four years, can be used in medium and short range flights to Europe, the Middle East and Far East, the sources said. They added that each plane has two classes; a ‘Premium Class’ with 42 seats for businessmen, and an economy class with 190 seats.

Ministry to collect unlicensed weapons KUWAIT: Top Interior Ministry officials received a bill that gives power to local authorities to collect firearms from the public, a local daily reported yesterday quoting Assistant Undersecretary for Criminal Security Affairs, Maj Gen Abdulhameed Al-Awadhi. “ The project is comprehensive and includes additions to the Penal Code”, Maj Gen Al-Awadhi told Al-Rai daily. He added that the law calls for forming a team of policemen and policewomen “with large authorities” to collect unlicensed weapons. According to Maj Gen AlAwadhi, the law changes classification of the unlicensed weapon possession charge from misdemeanor punishable by 1 to 3 years in jail, to felony punishable by 5 to 15 years in prison.

KUWAIT: A ‘Music for a Mission’ concert was agreed upon by the group of Filipino organizations in Kuwait to solicit help and support for the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in central Philippines. The concert will be held on Nov 29, 2013 at the Qadisya Stadium in Hawally.

The concert will be held from 8 am-5 pm in which various Filipino local talents are expected to participate.

Dubbed as the biggest charity event of the year - the concert will also be known as a ‘Day of Prayer, Praise and Charity’ for the survivors of the typhoon. Ecumenical services will be held from 8am to 11am and the programs which include performances from local talents will begin from 11 am until 5 pm. Charity bazaars and auctions of valuable local Pinoy paintings, gowns and ladies’ dresses will take place the entire day.

“This is the time to act fast and gather all our resources so we can extend our help a soon as possible. I’ve noticed that a lot of individuals, groups and companies have been calling us up on how they can help. With this “Music for a Mission”, we encourage everyone who wants to help to be there on November 29 and extend whatever help they can,” said Pastor Allan P Dytianquin, Lead Pastor of the Life Connection Church, Kuwait, a church connected to The National Evangelical Church in Kuwait.

“We also want to lend them our shoulder to cry on, to comfort some family members who are here on this terrible tragedy. I feel we are all obligated to extend our hand and our loving arms to comfort each other. This large-scale tragedy is so great that we all need each other to lean on and strengthen our faith. Our sincere sympathies for all the victims,” he added.

KUWAIT: Filipino organizations in Kuwait join hands to solicit help for Super Typhoon Haiyan victims.

The “Music for a Mission” which will be hosted nies who have pledged to help us, many are really

by Maxxy Santiago (ABS-CBN Kuwait rushing to give something and this is a very good Correspondent), Ricky Laxa (GMA-7 Stringer & picture of ‘bayanihan’ shoulder-to-shoulder spirit,” Morning Talk Host) and Ben Garcia (Kuwait Times noted Philippine Consul General Atty Raul H Dado.

Various Pinoy organizations in Kuwait Reporter, Filipino Panorama Editor). “I hope that all talented groups and individuals will be able to responded to the disaster in different ways. Some participate in this charity show. So please, if you of them have organized a donation drive for a know you could offer your talent to our day at the Catholic Church, another organized kababayans, please contact us,” opined Dr Chie sports activities while some are selling paintings.

Umandap, Coordinator of the Alliance of Filipino Haiyan hit the Philippines last week and the Organizations in Kuwait. “Our embassy fully sup- depressing news stories from Manila show heartports this charity event to help the survivors of the wrenching pictures of devastation which is estistrongest typhoon to hit the Philippines. We are mated to affect millions and the death toll may thanking all the individuals, groups and compa- reach up to 10,000.

He added that the team members will have full authority to ‘inspect and arrest’, and that the law includes articles “to encourage handing unlicensed weapons over to authorities in order to avoid legal action”.

But the senior official rejected the notion that a ‘reward’ could be given in exchange of the weapon, explaining that such measure “would encourage [weapon] trade”.

Maj Gen Al-Awadhi says that the law is in response to the spread of celebratory gunfire in weddings, in addition to unlicensed weapon possession and shooting incidents reported in recent years. “ The situation reached unbearable levels and something needed to be done”, he said.

KUWAIT: The Algerian Ambassador to Kuwait Khamisi Araif hosted a reception on the occasion of the National Day of his country recently. It was attended by a number of diplomats and other dignitaries. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

Kuwait-Malaysia ties to drastically improve

KUWAIT: Salmiya firefighters rushed to a burning boat in an open area yesterday and extinguished the fire in record time and prevented it from spreading to nearby cars.

Investigations are being conducted to find out the reason of the fire. —By Hanan AlSaadoun

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuwaiti Embassy in Malaysia is to draw up a comprehensive map to drastically improve economic and political bilateral ties in the foreseeable future, Kuwaiti envoy to Malaysia Saad Abdullah Al-Assoussi said yesterday.

The newly appointed ambassador said that bilateral ties will see a notable progress especially after establishing a joint committee dedicated for that purpose.

He said Kuwaiti embassy will focus on

enhancing economic ties through increasing trade and commercial volume of the two countries. He added that regulations will be facilitated to encourage Kuwaiti and Malaysian businessmen to invest in both countries.

Trade volume in Kuwait and Malaysia has seen drastic improvement from 1996-2012 when it jumped from $79 million to nearly $1 billion, respectively.

He added that Kuwait imports liquefied gas,

woods, natural oils, electronic appliances from Malaysia, while the latter imports oil, petroleum products and petrochemicals products from Kuwait. The Kuwaiti envoy expressed hope that a pact will be signed between the two countries in the field of higher education where it will enable Kuwaitis and Malaysians to pursue their education. A Kuwaiti delegation will soon visit Malaysia to discuss the promotion of educational and cultural ties, he concluded. — KUNA

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

LOCAL

Maid jumps from employer’s apartment to escape abuse Thief tries to ‘frame’ detective was opened into the accident.

KUWAIT: A domestic helper was injured after she jumped from her employers’ apartment to escape their physical abuse, according to her accounts. Paramedics and police arrived at a house in Agailah where a man reported that his housemaid attempted suicide by jumping from the first floor. The Filipina woman was rushed to the Adan Hospital and admitted inside the intensive care unit. Preliminary investigations indicate that the woman made a desperate decision to jump from the window in order to escape abuse at the hand of her employer and his wife. A case was filed for legal action.

Murder threat A woman filed a case with Roudha police station officers in which she accused six people of forcing her to sign documents at gunpoint. In her statements to police, the 32-year-old Kuwaiti woman said that three men and three women forced their way into her house and demanded that she sign a number of documents. She added that she eventually agreed to sign after one of the women pointed a gun at her. Investigations are ongoing.

Road accident Five people were hospitalized including three in a critical condition following an accident reported on the King Fahad Highway in front of Abdullah Por t.

Paramedics and police arrived at the scene shortly after the accident was reported, and found one adult and four children injured. The five were taken to the Adan Hospitals as three were admitted inside the intensive care unit. An investigation

Officer assaulted Three men were arrested on the Gulf Road where they attacked a police officer who pulled their car over on suspicions of drunk driving. According to the police report, the three began verbally assaulting the officer when he asked them to step outside their vehicle. Backup police were soon present at the scene and put the suspects under control. The officer had called for backup after discovering that one of

the suspects was armed with a knife. The three were referred to the proper authorities to face charges.

Maid suicide A domestic worker was found dead inside her employers house while preliminary investigations indicate that she committed suicide. Police arrived to a house in Salwa where a man repor ted that his housemaid committed suicide. They found the woman hanging dead from a rope tied to the ceiling of her room, and called crime scene investigators. The body was taken to the forensic department after investigators examined the scene, and a case was filed for investigations.

Thief’s complaint Investigations are ongoing in search for thieves who robbed a camp in Jahra then tried to frame a police detective in the case. Taima police station officers were first approached by a Kuwaiti man who reported that his camp was subjected to theft. He said that he found the camp’s keeper tied up. The keeper told him that

three men restrained him then robbed the camp and stole his cell phone. The camp owner dialed up his keeper’s phone, and a person answered identifying himself as a detective in the Taima police station. The man demanded to press charges against the detective; who was notified and agreed to go on with the case in order to clear ‘misunderstanding’ regarding the incident. Police suspect that the thieve is trying to frame the detective ‘in revenge’ for his involvement in a previous arrest.

Drug smuggler A truck driver was arrested at the Abdali border checkpoint with possession of drugs he tried to smuggle into Kuwait.

Customs officials decided to put the truck under intensive inspection upon arriving from Iraq when they noticed that the driver was nervous. The Egyptian man was placed under arrest after 12 kg of hashish, 2.5 kg of shabu (meth) and 80,000 captagon pills were found hidden in secret places in the truck. He was taken to the Drug Control General Department for further action.

KUWAIT: Narcotics department arrested an Asian for selling drugs yesterday. He was arrested at his home with nearly 250 grams of ICE, and 100 grams of pure heroin. He said the drugs belong to him and it was for sale. He was sent to concerned authorities.

— By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Direct Aid signs MoU with Malawi to build university KUWAIT: President of Malawi Joyce Banda and Kuwait-based non-profit organization Direct Aid signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) yesterday to establish a university in the African country as well as implementing a number of charity projects.

Banda, who signed the MoU with Direct Aid Board Chairman Dr Abdulrahman Al-Muhailan, expressed content that the agreement would pave way for the establishment of a university in her country which “enable the Direct Aid to work in Malawi as an international organization in order to fully benefit from its programs.”

She noted that Direct Aid, a non-governmental organization (NGO), was active in more than 30 African countries, adding the NGO started operations in the city of Mangochi in Malawi in 1981 under the name of Malawi Muslims Committee, then changed the name to the African Muslims agency and now known as the Direct Aid. “Since its inception, the Direct Aid has been supporting programs of education, health and social care in Malawi,” said Banda.

“Our country benefitted greatly from the programs of Direct Aid when com-

pared to other countries. So I am happy to sign this MoU which will open new opportunities for the Malawi people as well as benefitting economic and social development sectors,” added the president.

“I am happy with the organization’s (Direct Aid) pledge to build a university that will provide technical education which will help the youth to acquire necessary skills to get jobs,” she said.

Banda said she requested allocation of part of the Direct Aid funding to building a grand mosque in southern Mangochi, located near the southern end of Lake Malawi. She said recent statistics showed that 12 percent of Malawi people were Muslims, therefore the “establishment of this grand Mosque will inspire everyone nationwide; with our affirmation and commitment to backing freedom of worship for all Muslims and followers of other faiths.”

Banda thanked Direct Aid for answering her appeal it made last Feburary to buy medicine.

Direct Aid, she added, bought medications and were on their way to Malawi.

The Malawi president also thanked Direct Aid for providing clean drinking

water for many Malawi people as well as other direct assistance.

Direct Aid Board Chairman Dr Abdulrahman Al-Muhailan noted that Malawi was the first country the late Dr Abdulrahman Al-Sumait visited 30 years ago, who then registered the NGO in Kuwait under Direct Aid. “We have schools in Malawi but our students who are poor cannot continue university studies, however today’s agreement enables us to work with full force in Malawi to serve the poor,” he said.

Al-Muhailan said the would-be-built university in Malawi would be the fourth in Africa. Direct Aid has already built a university in Mogadishu with a capacity of 3,500 students, a university in Zanzibar with 1,500 students and a university in Tanzania. There is a university being built in Nairobi, he added.

Direct Aid, said Al-Muhailan, runs more than 400 schools in Africa. “We know that good education is like a weapon for the poor in African. We also have other projects including the drilling of 800 water wells in addition to clinics and medical camps. “Malawi is a very beautiful country and its people are thirsty for good education ... ,” added Al-Muhailan.—KUNA

ZAIN staff during the workshop.

Zain holds Knowledge Conference with Apple co-founder Wozniak KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, announced yesterday that it has commenced its second “Zain Knowledge Conference” for employees — a forum that aims to encourage the development of the organization’s strategy for internal growth, to enhance creativity and to ser ve as a platform for exchange of motivational success stories. The conference commenced with a two-hour presentation by motivational leader and inspiring technology mentor, Steve Wozniak - Apple’s cofounder as well as other distinguished speakers.

The company’s second Knowledge Conference will demonstrate Zain’s achievements through employees’ hard work. The first session of the conference will serve as a catalyst that drives further creativity and innovation within employees in administrative areas. The sessions, which are more comprehensive this year, will gear up employees towards enhancing leadership skills and stimulate the development process.

The conference commenced with an introductory exclusive seminar to Zain employees that highlighted ways of achieving success and ways of enforcing company loyalty by Steve Wozniak.

Through several upcoming lectures and workshops, employees will get a hands-on-experience with other international and local speakers as well.

Commenting in this occasion, Nawal Bourisli, Zain Kuwait’s Human Resources director said “Zain intensified the number of academic workshops and training in this year’s conference, recognizing the importance of excelling in customer service, marketing and business operations of the company. By hosting international and local speakers like Steve Wozniak - Apple co-founder, Ron Kaufman Customer Ser vice speaker, and Engineer Fouad Boushahri, our employees will receive direct insights of leadership qualities, hence, elevating their overall perception of excellent operational performance.”

Steve Wozniak during the special worshop for Zain staff

Japan’s governor hails friendship with Kuwait TOKYO: Governor of Japan’s Kagawa Prefecture Keizo Hamada has expressed his gratitude to His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and the Kuwaiti people for their unstinted support in the wake of a quake-tsunami disaster in 2011, while praising the historical ties and friendship between the people of the two countries.

Hamada has made remarks during the visit to the southeastern prefec-

ture by Kuwaiti Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi, the Kuwaiti Embassy said yesterday.

Following the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 that left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing in country’s northeast, upon directives of His Highness the Amir, Kuwait offered the donation of 5 million barrels of crude oil to Japan, equivalent to some USD 550 million, which was the largest contribution by any nations.

For his part, Al-Otaibi said the Kuwait-Japan relationship is a model for relations built on the basis of friendship and mutual cooperation and expressed hope that the strong ties between the two friendly peoples will be elevated to a new level.

During his three -day visit to Kagawa, the ambassador and his wife Jamila Al-Otaibi inspected historical monuments and educational and cultural sites, and met elementary school students. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Oil Company honored 260 students in a ceremony held to reward employees’ children with top academic results. The event was held under the patronage of CEO Hashem Hashem who was in attendance along with top KOC officials.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Bachelet takes first round in Chile’s presidential race Page 9

Hollande calls for end to Israeli settlement Page 8

WASHINGTON: Damaged buildings along Washington Road in the aftermath of a tornado yesterday in Washington, Illinois. A fast-moving storm system that produced several tornadoes that touched down across the Midwest left behind a path of destruction in 12 states. — AFP

Violent tornadoes kill 8 in US Midwest Level homes across Illinois, then sweep east CHICAGO: Residents sifted through piles of rubble yesterday as they recovered from violent tornadoes that ripped through four midwestern US states, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens. An unusually powerful fall storm spawned reports of 81 twisters in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio on Sunday along with powerful winds and heavy rain which soaked a dozen states.

Homes were smashed into rubble, cars and trucks were tossed into the air, trees were ripped out of the ground and downed power lines left hundreds of thousands of people in the dark.

In the hard-hit town of Washington, Illinois Michelle Cumrine came back from a trip to find that her house was completely gone. “A lot of people have a pile of rubble still,” Cumrine said in disbelief as she stared at the destruction. “I don’t have anything. It’s gone. I don’t know where it went.”

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn declared a state of emergency in seven counties where hundreds of homes and business were destroyed and six of the storm’s fatalities were reported.

“As we pray for the families of those who have lost their lives and others who are injured, the state of Illinois will do everything necessary to help these communities recover,” Quinn said in a statement. Indiana Governor Mike Pence said he was thankful that despite the massive proper ty damage and significant number of injuries “there has been no loss of life in the Hoosier state.”

“We will help these families pick up the pieces and move on with their lives,” he told reporters after touring some of the damage.

President Barack Obama was briefed about the storms and will receive regular updates, the White House said.

The fast moving storm weakened overnight but still caused damage as it marched east through New York and Philadelphia, the National Weather Ser vice said. The service predicted stormy conditions for much of the northeastern United States on Monday, including hail and isolated tornados, but said it would likely be over by the afternoon.

At least two victims were killed in the small town of New Minden, Illinois, Washington County Coroner Mark Styninger told AFP. Joseph Hoy, 80, was found

dead on his farm while his 78-year-old sister Frances was pronounced dead in hospital.

“It just happened so fast,” said Styninger. Some 55 people were treated at St. Francis hospital in Peoria, the biggest town in largely rural central Illinois. Of those, 16 were so badly injured they needed to be admitted, the hospital said.

The dangerous weather caused the National Football League to suspend a game in Chicago, asking fans and players to take cover in the stadium. The game resumed almost two hours later.

The town of Washington, Illinois was among the hardest-hit with entire blocks of homes flattened. Tears welled up in the mayor’s eyes as he struggled to describe the damage. “Devastating. A war zone,” Mayor Gary Manier told reporters. “I walked through one of the hardest hit areas and four streets of homes are gone. ... I couldn’t tell what street I was on.”

In Kokomo, Indiana the storm pushed a two story house off its foundation and into the middle of the street.

Michael Gardner, 21, had just come home from church with four friends when the storm hit. They rushed into the

basement for shelter, with the last person having to jump down the stairs as the house started to move. “It all caved in on us,” Gardner told the Kokomo Tribune. “We were buried in rubble.”

A Michigan man was killed when his car was crushed by a fallen tree Sunday night in rural Jackson county, MLive news reported. Another man was electrocuted when he went outside to investigate a noise during the storm and got tangled in high tension wires in Michigan’s rural Shiawassee county, MLive reported. The storm also grounded flights across the region. — AFP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

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

Israel experts wary on French pledges ahead of Iran talks JERUSALEM: Strong French declarations on Iran may win praise in Israel but are no guarantee Paris will advance a deal acceptable to the Israelis when nuclear talks resume, experts warned yesterday.

On his first state visit to Israel, President Francois Hollande was warmly received after France took a tougher stance than its Western partners in the latest world powers’ bid to reach a deal to scale back Tehran’s nuclear programme in talks in Geneva that ended on November 10.

France “will not tolerate nuclear proliferation”, Hollande pledged on arrival in Israel on Sunday, three days before the P5+1 group of world powers are to resume the negotiations with Iran. But Israeli commentators rushed to dampen enthusiasm over its new-found ally on the Iran issue, after tensions soared between the Jewish state and Washington over the proposed interim deal.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeat-

edly sounded the alarm over handing Iran “the deal of the century” by offering it some sanctions relief without blocking its ability to convert its nuclear programme to military ends.

“What is perceived here as a renewed honeymoon, a return to the relations that existed between France and Israel in the mid-1960s, could cause disappointment to anyone who has raised their expectations to new heights,” wrote Shimon Shiffer in the top-selling Yediot Aharonot.

“Hollande may have promised that France would never permit Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, but as of now, France is falling in line on this matter with the world powers that are conducting the negotiations,” he said. And Maariv’s Nadav Eyal said Israel appeared blissfully ignorant of Hollande’s domestic problems and flatlining popularity back home.

“Netanyahu... obviously doesn’t read the editorials of Le Monde or Liberation,” wrote Eyal. “If he did, he’d

Key Syria rebel chief killed in regime strike BEIRUT: Abdel Qader Saleh, the charismatic chief of the Syrian rebel Liwa alTawhid Brigade, has died of his wounds after a regime air strike last week, rebels and activists said yesterday.

His death is a blow to the opposition, particularly in the Aleppo area that Saleh came from and fought in, where the Syrian regime has made a string of advances in recent weeks. Saleh was considered one of the opposition’s most respected commanders, with ties across the opposition seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad, and his death was widely mourned yesterday. The 33-year-old “was the first to organise peaceful demonstrations in Aleppo and then the first to attack the bastions of Assad’s gangs”, the opposition National Coalition said in a statement. “He became a living symbol in the hearts of the Syrians,” the statement added. Saleh’s death was announced by Liwa al-Tawhid on its official Facebook page and confirmed by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“Abdel Qader Saleh, known as Hajji Marea, died of wounds he sustained last Thursday when warplanes targeted the Liwa al-Tawhid leadership,” the watchdog said in a statement.

“He was taken to Turkey after being wounded, and died in a hospital there before being brought back to Syria for burial,” Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. Thursday’s strike also killed Liwa al-Tawhid’s intelligence chief Yussef al-Abbas, known as Abu al-Tayyeb.

He had been in a car along with Saleh, and another senior figure in the rebel group, Abdelaziz Salameh, who was also

wounded. Following the attack, Liwa alTawhid arrested 30 people suspected of being regime informers.

Saleh, chief of operations for Liwa alTawhid, was widely seen as the brigade’s most important figure. A former grain merchant, he was one of tens of thousands of civilians who took up arms as a 2011 peaceful uprising against Assad gradually turned violent.

He was considered a moderate Islamist, particularly compared to the hardline jihadists who have flooded into Syria, and said he sought an Islamic state but with free elections.

“In Europe, all the leaders are Christian because the majority is Christian. In Syria, the majority is Muslim and the government should be too, elected by the people,” he told AFP during an interview in March. Saleh’s death comes as the Syrian regime makes new gains in Aleppo, seizing several towns and talking about reopening Aleppo International Airport after nearly a year of closure.

“As an individual, he was very, very important, certainly in the Aleppo area, but increasingly as an individual that many in Syria felt represented the revolution,” said Charles Lister, an analyst at IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre.

“He came from a humble background, was outwardly religious but was very open... and he maintained extremely good relations with almost all groups of all different natures.” Lister said Saleh’s death would be “a very significant blow” to the opposition, but added that it could “spur on the rebels to launch a counterattack as the regime advances”. —AFP

know that he can’t rely on Paris.”

Trusting France to thwart Iran’s nuclear programme would be “a grave mistake”, he wrote.

“French diplomacy has one central characteristicuncompromising flexibility.” “The (Israeli) attempt to hug and compliment a moment before the Geneva meetings was a bit too transparent,” he continued.

“Possible contracts with Saudi Arabia and Gulf states are what could influence Paris. Meanwhile, they are doing so quite well, but Britain and Germany are putting huge pressure on Paris to not be a party-pooper.” Tsilla Hershco of the Bar Ilan university near Tel Aviv warned against expecting France to represent Israel’s interests in negotiations with Iran, even if ties with Paris have warmed in recent years. France “is also a European state and will take those interests into account, it has its own interests and its own issues”, she told AFP. According to Hershco, an expert on Franco-Israeli relations,

“Netanyahu has more demands than France on Iran”.

“It’s a game of interests, sometimes they overlap... and sometimes they don’t,” she said. Israel is the sole if undeclared nuclear power in the region, and along with world powers it suspects Iran of trying to acquire a nuclear weapons capability-an allegation Tehran denies. Netanyahu has warned Israel would do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from going nuclear, including a military strike. On Sunday, his former national security adviser Yaakov Amidror told the Financial Times Israel was capable of launching an attack that would delay Iran’s progress “for a very long time”. He noted that the Israeli air force had been conducting “very long-range flights” as part of preparations for just such a mission. In an interview heavily promoted by Netanyahu’s office, Amidror said the premier was “ready to take such decisions” as a unilateral military attack on Iran, if the need arose. — AFP

Hollande calls for end to Israeli settlement ‘Committed to continue negotiations’ RAMALLAH: French President Francois Hollande yesterday called for a complete halt to Israel’s settlement activities, saying it was harmful to peace efforts. In a speech after talks in the West Bank city of Ramallah with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas, the French leader made an unequivocal demand for Israel to stop building on land seized in the 1967 Six-Day War. “France demands a full and complete halt to settlement activity,” Hollande said on his first official visit to the Palestinian territories.

“Settlement activity complicates the negotiations and makes it difficult to achieve a two-state solution,” he said a day after talks in Israel focused heavily on the Iran nuclear issue.

Since direct peace negotiations resumed in the summer, ending a hiatus of nearly three years, Israel has announced thousands of new settler homes in a move which has angered Ramallah and taken the talks close to collapse.

A previous round of talks in 2010 fell apart just weeks after it began in a bitter row over Israeli construction on land the Palestinians want for a future state. Hollande had raised the settlement issue on Sunday but in much softer language, saying he expected Israel to make “gestures” on settlement activity in order to advance peace negotiations which began in late July but which have made little apparent progress. “If you want peace, you need to have gestures towards peace,” he said.

But he made clear that France also expected “efforts” from the Palestinians. “It is clear that this will require efforts from the Palestinians as a number of Israeli settlements will remain,” a member of Hollande’s entourage said. Last week, Israeli plans

RAMALLAH: French President Francois Hollande (L) stands near Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas during a joint press conference following a meeting yesterday in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Hollande discussed the faltering Middle East peace process after a day of talks in Israel focused heavily on Iran. — AFP to build another 20,000 new settler homes sparked the resignation of the entire Palestinian negotiating team, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly rescinded the move to avoid a major fallout with the international community. Despite the crisis, Abbas on Sunday told AFP that peace talks with Israel would continue for the full nine months agreed with Washington-”regardless of what happens on the ground”. He also said the negotiators would con-

tinue in their role until further notice. “We have committed to continue the negotiations for nine months, regardless of what happens on the ground,” Abbas told AFP in an exclusive interview.

On arrival yesterday at the Muqataa presidential compound, a brief 15-minute drive from Jerusalem, Hollande paid his respects at the tomb of Yasser Arafat, who died nine years ago under mysterious circumstances which Swiss experts now say was probably due to poisoning. —AFP

Iraq death toll from bombings rises to 26 BAGHDAD: Violence across Iraq, including a spate of evening bombings against markets and cafes in Baghdad, killed at least 26 people and a dozen militants, officials said yesterday.

The attacks on Sunday were the latest in a protracted surge in violence that has forced Iraq to appeal for international help in combatting militancy just months before its first general election in four years.

The deadliest attacks struck in Baghdad, where a wave of evening bombings targeted civilians in both Sunni and Shiite neighbourhoods of the capital. From the evening onwards, four car bombs and three roadside bombs hit areas ranging from the Shiite slum neighbourhood of Sadr City in nor theast Baghdad to the western Sunni suburb of Radhwaniyah.

A car bomb also went off in the centre of the capital, while blasts also struck a market in south Baghdad and a cafe in the north.

Overall, at least 21 people were killed and more than 60 wounded, according to security and medical officials.

The explosions are par t of a months-long trend of attacks timed to go off in the evening as Iraqis mass at public meeting places, with restaurants, cafes, and football pitches all hit as violence has surged. In previous months and years, attacks had typically been timed to coincide with morning rush hour.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bloodshed, but Sunni militants linked to AlQaeda often set off coordinated bombings across Baghdad, ostensibly in a bid to undermine public confidence in the Shiite-led government.

Earlier on Sunday, violence in Baghdad and north of the capital left five people dead, while security officials claimed to have killed a dozen militants attempting to carry out attacks. The unrest is part of a surge in bloodshed that has pushed violence to its highest level since 2008, when Iraq was recovering from the worst of its Sunni-Shiite sectarian war.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called for Washington’s help in the

BAGHDAD: An Iraqi woman walks past damages of a vehicle at the site of a car bomb attack in Sadr City neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, yesterday.

Attacks across Iraq killed tens of people Sunday. Violence has escalated in Iraq in recent months, with the pace of killing reaching levels unseen since 2008, officials said. — AP

form of greater intelligence sharing and the timely deliver y of new weapons systems in an effort to curb the bloodshed.

In addition to failing to stem the bloodshed, authorities have also struggled to provide adequate

basic services such as electricity and clean water, and corruption is widespread.

Political squabbling has paralysed the government, while parliament has passed almost no major legislation in years. — AFP

ARSAL: Two Syrian women carry their children as other women stand in line waiting to collect aid from relief agencies helping refugees who fled into the eastern Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon, yesterday.

Thousands of Syrians have fled to Lebanon over the past days as government forces attack the western town of Qarah near the border with Lebanon. — AP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

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Wedding murder exposes Kurdish divisions in Turkey DIYARBAKIR: When gunmen stormed a wedding and shot dead a guest in southeastern Turkey, they stirred fears of a new outbreak of bloodshed in a region increasingly destabilised by Syria’s civil war.

The killing in the city of Batman highlighted divisions between Kurds which echo the faultlines of the conflict in Syria, complicating Ankara’s efforts to draw a line under a three-decade Kurdish insurgency on its own soil.

Turkey’s peace process with the armed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), aimed at ending a conflict that has cost more than 40,000 lives, was already fragile. But the emergence of a Kurdish Sunni Islamist party, Huda-Par, has reopened old wounds in the southeast, poorer than the rest of Turkey and scarred by the wider KurdishTurkish fight.

The party, established in December and now campaigning for local elections in March, draws support from sympathisers of Turkey’s Hizbullah militant group which fought the PKK in the 1990s.

“That bloodshed is the source of animosity between the two sides and is not easy for people to forget,” said Ayla Akat, member of parliament for Batman from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which shares the same grassroots support as the PKK. The historical animosity has been given a new twist with the war that has fragmented Syria, where radical Sunni Islamists are now fighting fierce battles with local

Kurdish forces in the north, near the border with Turkey.

The PKK say that late last month, members of the Sunni Islamist Hizbullah attacked mourners with sticks and knives in Cizre, a town near the borders with Syria and Iraq, after the funeral of a Kurdish youth killed in a bomb attack in Syria.

Huda-Par denied its members had staged any such assault and said on the contrary, a group of 50-60 people, their faces concealed by headscarves, had headed to a district where the Islamist party’s members live and attacked them, chanting: “Damn Islam”, “Damn Sahria”.

That incident followed a series of attacks on Islamists claimed by the PKK youth wing, which said they were in retaliation for attacks on Kurds in Syria. The animosity came to a head on Nov. 2 when Huda-Par and BDP groups brawled on a Batman street. Half an hour later, gunmen opened fire at the nearby wedding of known BDP supporters, killing one guest, Ozcan Temel, and wounding two before fleeing in a car.

The shooting revived painful memories of hundreds of tit-for-tat murders in the region by the ideologically opposed Hizbullah and PKK, both of which also fought the Turkish state and are deemed terrorist groups by Ankara.

Thousands thronged Batman for Temel’s funeral, holding aloft PKK flags and pictures of its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been in talks with Ankara

on ending the PKK’s insurgency for the last year. Many in the crowd chanted “Murderer Huda-Par” and “Damn Hizbullah”.

Hizbullah founder Huseyin Velioglu, who was born in Batman, was shot dead

by Turkish police in a siege of an Istanbul villa in 2000 and further raids had largely crushed the group, which is unrelated to Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

Huda-Par, Kurdish for “God’s Party” and synonymous with the Arabic name Hizbullah, denies any direct links with the militants but acknowledges they share the same support base.

Tensions have been fuelled by a widely held view among PKK supporters, strongly denied in Ankara, that the Turkish government is backing radical Islamists in Syria.

Fighters from the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and other jihadist groups are fighting both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Syrian Kurds in a conflict that has created a patchwork of antagonistic ethnic and sectarian pockets.

The Islamist Ozgur-Der association, which says it works with all rebel groups in Syria to supply food aid, said PKK hostility towards Turkish Islamists had been inflamed by reports of atrocities by Syrian rebels fighting the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), viewed as close to the PKK. “When we said these allegations were untrue, PKK supporters attacked our offices in Van and Diyarbakir on the pretence that we were defending people in Syria who were killing Kurds,” Ozgur-Der

Chairman Ridvan Kaya said in his Istanbul office. As well as the petrol bomb attacks on Ozgur-Der, Islamist groups were also targeted in similar incidents in Cizre, Silopi and other southeastern towns in recent months, with a PKK youth wing claiming responsibility for some attacks on Twitter.

“Our movement’s actions will continue against those who see themselves as jihadists and support gangs with blood on their hands, like al Qaeda, al Nusra and the FSA,” the PKK’s youth wing said on Twitter on Sept. 19.

Various Turkish Islamist groups do help radicals fighting in Syria, but Huda-Par say it favours dialogue to end the conflict.

Whether the groups are linked or not, the BDP’s Akat Ata said Kurds in southeastern Turkey were drawing comparisons with events in Rojava, the Kurdish region in northern Syria. “ They say: ‘ There, gangs use guns against our people and look, today they used guns against the people in Batman’,” Akat said in an office in the main southeastern city of Diyarbakir.

There are fears that the presence of Huda-Par in local elections in March, in which the BDP and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party will vie for dominance, may exacerbate tensions in the region in the months ahead.

The two Kurdish groups share a distrust of the Turkish establishment and speculate the “deep state”, a clandestine network of alleged nationalists within the state appa-

Bachelet takes first round in Chile’s presidential race Student leader Camila Vallejo elected SANTIAGO: Socialist Michelle Bachelet handily won a first round of Chile’s presidential race Sunday, but despite a crushing margin of victor y still faces a runoff vote against conservative rival Evelyn Matthei.

With 99 percent of the vote counted, Bachelet had nearly 47 percent against 25 percent for Matthei, Chile’s Electoral Board said.

Bachelet failed to reach the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff, so a second round of balloting is set for December 15. “ We knew that it would be tough to win on the first round, we worked really hard, and we almost did it,” Bachelet told supporters late Sunday.

“We did win tonight, and we are going to work hard to win comfort-

ably in December.” Bachelet, Chile’s first woman president in 20062010, is eyeing a second term as leader of the South American nation with the highest per capita income.

Matthei was relieved to have a second chance to reach out to voters. “I am really pleased. We will have a runoff,” she told reporters.

Both women are seeking to succeed conservative billionaire President Sebastian Pinera, who is barred from a consecutive re-election. Trailing Matthei and Bachelet were independent economist Franco Parisi and Socialist FrancoChilean filmmaker Marco EnriquezOminami with about 10 percent each. The remainder of the vote was divided among five minor candidates.

A pediatrician by training, Bachelet, 62, wants to overhaul the country’s political and economic system, a legacy of Augusto Pinochet’s 1973-1990 military dictatorship. She has pledged to bring a “new cycle” of reforms to reverse the country’s wide income gap.

Bachelet wants to legalize abortion and raise business taxes to offer free university, answering the demands of a powerful student movement that led a series of massive protests since 2011.

Chile has the highest GDP per capita in Latin America — $22,362 based on purchasing power paritybut half of the nation’s 17 million people make less than $500 per month. The daughter of an air force general and a separated mother of three, Bachelet is supported by a

SANTIAGO: Supporters of Chile’s former President Michelle Bachelet stand together after the announcement of partial election results in Santiago, Chile, Sunday. Bachelet won nearly twice as many votes as her closest rival in Chile’s presidential election Sunday, but she fell short of the outright majority needed to avoid a Dec 15 runoff. —AP

“New Majority” alliance of socialists, Christian Democrats and communists. Matthei, 60, is a former labor minister under Pinera and former legislator for the ultraconservative Independent Democratic Union (UDI). She was the first woman presidential hopeful chosen by Chile’s right.

Matthei’s father was also an air force general, and as children she and Bachelet played together on a military base in Chile’s parched north. However Bachelet’s father died after being tortured for supporting slain leftist president Salvador Allende, while Matthei’s father supported the dictatorship that came to power in a 1973 coup.

Matthei has called for a continuation of the legacy of the unpopular Pinera, claiming that a back-toBachelet era would be a step backwards. Pinera took office when Bachelet’s first term ended in 2010.

She went on to head the United Nations office that promotes gender equality.

Preliminary results also show that Bachelet’s coalition will have a simple majority in both chambers of congress. This will allow her to carry out proposed reforms of the tax code and education system, but is not sizeable enough to overhaul the constitution, a holdover from the Pinochet era.

One of the new legislators swept into office is Camila Vallejo, 26, the charismatic young leader who helped organize the massive student protests that rocked the Pinera presidency. Balloting generally went smoothly, though a group of protesting students occupied Bachelet’s campaign headquarters calling for election reform. There were no immediate reports of damage or injury. More than 13 million people were registered to vote. For the first time since democracy was restored in 1990, voting was no longer compulsory. — AFP

Minneapolis man ordered Nazi-led attack BERLIN: A retired Minnesota carpenter, shown in a June investigation to be a former commander in a Nazi SS-led unit, ordered his men to attack a Polish village that was razed to the ground, according to testimony newly uncovered by The Associated Press. The account of the massacre that killed dozens of women and children contradicts statements by the man’s family that he was never at the scene of the 1944 bloodshed.

In June, an AP investigation found that Michael Karkoc entered the US in 1949 by failing to disclose to American authorities his role as a commander in the SS-led Ukrainian Self Defense Legion, which is accused of torching villages and killing civilians in Poland. The investigation found that Karkoc was in the area of the massacres, but did not uncover evidence linking him directly to atrocities.

However, a newly unearthed investigative file originally from the Ukrainian intelligence agency’s archive reveals that a private under Karkoc’s command testified in 1968 that Karkoc ordered the assault on Chlaniow in retaliation for the slaying of an SS major. The major, slain by resistance fighters, led the Ukrainian Self Defense Legion, in which Karkoc was a company commander.

A German roster of the unit confirms that Pvt. Ivan Sharko, a Ukrainian, served under Karkoc’s command at the time. An initial order was given by a separate officer, Sharko testified, before Karkoc told his unit to attack the village.

“The command was given by one of the commanders to cordon off the village and prepare for battle,” Sharko said, according to the Russian-language investigative file, which bears the stamp of Ukraine’s Volyn regional prosecutors’ office. “The commander of our company, Wolf, also gave the

command to cordon off the village and check all the houses, and to find and punish the partisans.”

Karkoc fought under the wartime nom de guerre “Wolf,” and he wrote a 1995 Ukrainian-language war memoir under both his real name and the pseudonym “Wolf.”

According to the document, Sharko described how nobody was spared in the ferocious onslaught on Chlanow. “The legionaries surrounded the homes, set fire to them with matches, or with incendiary bullets, and they shot anyone who was found in the homes or anywhere in the streets,” Sharko said. “Most of the houses were burned as a result of this action. How many people were killed in all, I don’t know. I personally saw three corpses of peaceful inhabitants who had been killed.”

The AP learned of the file’s existence after its initial report and subsequently tracked down and reviewed its contents. Other eyewitness accounts, both from villagers and members of Karkoc’s unit, corroborate the testimony that the company set buildings on fire and gunned down more than 40 men, women and children.

Karkoc’s son and family spokesman, Andriy Karkos, has denied his 94-year-old father’s involvement in the Chlaniow incident or any other possible war crime. Michael Karkoc continues to live quietly in Minneapolis as he has for decades.

He refused to comment on the Sharko testimony when reached by phone: “Until and unless The Associated Press can provide their alleged evidence and their witness, we will not respond to your defamatory and slanderous allegation,” he said Friday. Sharko died in the 1980s.

In July, weeks after Karkoc’s commanding role in the SS-led Legion was revealed, Karkos questioned

the statements from men in his father’s unit and comments in his father’s memoir suggesting he was at the scene. He was cited by the Minneapolis Star Tribune as saying his father told him he was not in Chlaniow when the killings took place, and wrote in a letter to the same newspaper that his father was no war criminal.

“There is no record that Karkoc had a hand in any war crimes,” Karkos wrote. “He did nothing wrong. He never lied. He’s not afraid of the truth.”

Stephen Paskey, who led Nazi investigations for nine years as a prosecutor at the US Department of Justice’s Office of Special Investigations, said the Sharko testimony is highly credible and should bolster cases in Germany and Poland to launch prosecutions against Karkoc. He noted that Sharko did not appear to be in custody or under investigation at the time of his questioning, and that many of his statements are confirmed by historical documents.

“I see no reason to doubt that is what (Sharko) said and that it was said without any pressure,” said Paskey, now a law professor at the SUNY Buffalo Law School. “And that’s exactly the sort of thing that would help persuade a judge that it’s credible that there’s other evidence to corroborate the other things that he said. ... There’s no indication in the Soviet statement that the guy they were interviewing had a motive to lie.”

Since the initial report, both German and Polish prosecutors have opened investigations into whether to charge Karkoc with war crimes, based on the fact he had “command responsibility” for his unit when it committed massacres. Karkoc was a founding member of the SS-led Ukrainian Self Defense Legion and later an officer in the SS Galician Division.— Reuters

ratus, could be stirring their conflict to frustrate peace efforts.

The PKK says shadowy state operatives encouraged Hizbullah to counter it in the 1990s, during one of the region’s bloodiest episodes.

Now both groups say the operatives are backing the other, although “deep state” activities are widely believed to have been curtailed under Erdogan’s rule, with hundreds of people convicted of coup plotting. “The deep state was never dissolved in this region,” Huda-Par deputy leader Huseyin Yilmaz told Reuters in the party’s main office in Diyarbakir. “Their aim may be to revive a PKK-Hizbullah conflict and to prevent the Kurds from securing their rights, maybe to sabotage the (peace) process.”

The PKK said it was “striking” that the Batman and Cizre attacks occurred after Erdogan met Huda-Par leader Zekeriya Yapicioglu, accusing the state of a turning a blind eye.

Police remanded in custody a Huda-Par member last week in connection with the wedding shooting. Yilmaz said the police action was part of a plot to undermine the party before elections, adding that dozens of attacks against his party had gone unpunished.

“They want to marginalise us or make us appear as the side which wants conflict,” said Yilmaz, who was a lawyer for Hizbullah leaders in the past. “We are aware of this trap.” —Reuters

Website asks people to share stories of JFK legacy BOSTON: There’s no shortage of places for people to share memories of where they were 50 years ago when they found out John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. But a website debuted yesterday aims to take the focus from past to future by asking people of all ages - even those who weren’t alive when Kennedy died - to share their thoughts about how he has inspired them.

The website is part of the JFK Library and Museum’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death, which is Friday. The museum also plans a new exhibit of never-before-displayed items from his three-day state funeral, including the flag that draped his casket and notes written by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

Visitors to the “An Idea Lives On” site can explore an interactive video that includes NASA Commander Chris Cassidy, former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, comedian Conan O’Brien, Freedom Rider Charles Person and others talking about Kennedy’s lasting impact.

The Kennedy Library Foundation, a nonprofit that raises money to support the library, is spearheading the project.

The foundation hopes visitors will upload their own photos, videos, written messages and tweets to answer the question “How do the ideals of John F. Kennedy live on in your life today?”

“It’s ambitious,” said Tom McNaught, the foundation’s executive director. “He was an ambitious president. In a way that’s how we see this. You can’t stop trying to instill in young people the ideas he instilled in my generation.”

All submissions will become part of the

archives at the JFK Library in Boston. The best stories will be featured on the site.

“The stories are meant to be really personal,” said Brian Williams, vice president and creative director of The Martin Agency, which produced the site.

The site’s name comes from a quote in a speech Kennedy gave in February 1963: “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.” It’s also inscribed on the wall visitors to the library see when they exit the small area of the museum that focuses on his assassination and walk into a brighter area where they can learn about his lasting impact on civil rights, public service, civic discourse, the arts, space exploration and more.

“President Kennedy stood for vitality and optimism and hope, so we’ve made a conscious decision to try to have the experience be uplifting,” said Tom Putnam, the library’s executive director.

Because of that focus, the library does not typically do anything special to mark the anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination. But this year is different. In addition to the website, a new exhibit starts Friday that will include the flag from his casket and the saddle, boots and sword worn by the riderless horse that walked in the funeral procession. Visitors will also see notes written by Jackie Kennedy as she made plans for her husband’s funeral and a 15-minute video with footage from the events.

Curator Stacey Bredhoff hopes it will help visitors who were not alive or too young to remember comprehend the enormity of the shock and the mourning that followed. —AP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

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

East or West? Ukraine now has to choose its path KIEV: According to an old folk tradition, if a man knocks on the door of a Ukrainian beauty with a marriage proposal, but does not win her heart, she will reject her suitor by presenting him with a pumpkin. Who will get the pumpkin from Ukraine at the end of this month - Russia or the European Union?

More than 20 years after gaining independence from the Soviet Union and painfully searching for its place on the geopolitical map, Ukraine finally has a real chance to firmly align itself with the EU, with its democratic standards and free-market zone. The alternative is to slide back into Russia’s shadow, both politically and economically.

President Viktor Yanukovych has declared that Ukraine’s future lies with the 28-member bloc and has pushed through a flurry of pro-EU laws and reforms. But he has resisted fulfilling the most important condition set by the EU in order to sign a political association and free-trade agreement at a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Nov. 28-29: the release from jail of his top political rival, the former premier, Yulia Tymoshenko, who is serving a seven-year sentence on charges the West considers politically

motivated. “ We have a chance to be finally together,” said former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, an EU envoy who has traveled to Ukraine 27 times over the past 11/2 years to urge Yanukovych to release Tymoshenko and sign the EU deal. “Never (was) Ukraine so close to being inside the European community,” Kwasniewski, who led Poland toward EU membership, said in September at an international conference in Yalta, a Ukrainian resort on the Black Sea. Most analysts say the EU deal would benefit Ukraine by giving it access to European markets, bringing its products into line with EU standards, accelerating much-needed reforms and increasing the likelihood of Ukraine getting a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. But, equally important, it would be a precursor to eventual EU membership and thus cement Ukraine’s place in the West, with its commitment to democracy and human rights. “I think it could be a total game changer - good for the people and good for Ukrainian business. I think if it ends up making the choice to go

with Russia, then Ukrainians can forget about European values and perspectives,” said Tim Ash, chief emerging-markets economist at Standard Bank in London. The alternative, he said, would be “relegating Ukraine’s status finally and decisively to that of a second-division Russian proxy.”

But the Kremlin has other plans for Ukraine, which shares a similar language and common Orthodox Christian faith with Russia. Having ruled over large parts of Ukraine for centuries, Moscow would hate losing this large piece of its former empire to the West, and has worked aggressively to derail the EU deal while nudging Ukraine to join a Moscow-led customs union instead.

As Kiev intensified negations with Brussels, Moscow offered Kiev sweet deals, such as price discounts on natural gas and loans. But it has also banned Ukrainian imports on dubious health grounds and warned of a possible trade blockade. “ Whatever happens, wherever Ukraine is headed, we will still meet each other somewhere, some place,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told The Associated Press in an interview in

September. “Why? Because we are a common people.”

With Putin facing a reinvigorated opposition at home, keeping Ukraine on a leash is also an attempt to legitimize his own power among Russians nostalgic for their country’s former might, according to Andreas Umland, assistant professor of European studies at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy. “It distracts from domestic politics, it creates legitimacy by building an international alliance, a new collection of lost land.”

Moscow would also feel threatened by a fully democratic Ukraine at its doorstep, as that would pose a threat to the Kremlin’s model of “sovereign democracy,” with manipulated elections and limited tolerance for dissent. While a majority of Ukrainians favor an alliance with the EU, pro-Moscow lobbyists are targeting the part of the population that tilts toward the historical ties with Moscow. Ukrainian Choice, a proMoscow organization led by a former government official with close ties to Putin, has dotted the country with billboards warning of the perceived horrors that would follow the EU deal: price increases, job losses and, playing on the

conservative Orthodox Christian attitudes, gay marriages.

With Yanukovych unwilling to pardon Tymoshenko, the charismatic leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution who nearly defeated him in the 2010 election, Kwasniewski has proposed a compromise solution. He has urged the Ukrainian parliament to pass a bill next week that would allow Tymoshenko to travel to Germany for treatment of a back problem.

But Yanukovych is up for re-election in 2015 and he is maneuvering hard between Moscow and Brussels, trying to gauge which alliance would give him the best chance to stay in power.

His choice? Political and financial support from Moscow, which has never been fixated on clean elections, or the gratitude of Ukrainians for leading their nation toward the EU, but with the obligation to hold an honest election that comes with it.

Yanukovych took a mysterious trip to Moscow this month to meet with Putin, a meeting only belatedly confirmed by the Kremlin. Ukraine’s opposition accused Yanukovych of selling out to Moscow in behind-the-scenes talks. — AP

Russia seeks clues over plane crash that killed 50 Pilot error, technical problems seen as likely causes

BERLIN: (L-R) German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich attend an extraordinary session in the Bundestag lower house of parliament yesterday in Berlin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called yesterday for answers over “grave” accusations of US spying which, she said in a speech to parliament, had put transatlantic ties “to the test”. — AFP

Merkel urges explanation over ‘grave’ US spy claims BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel called yesterday for answers over “grave” US spying accusations which, she said in a speech to parliament, were testing transatlantic ties, including fledging trade talks.

Ahead of a special debate on US secretservice snooping on German soil which included her mobile phone, Merkel kicked off a statement to parliament meant to tackle another issue by addressing the US espionage claims. “ The transatlantic relationship and therefore also the negotiations for a freetrade agreement are presently without doubt being put to the test by the remaining accusations against the US and the collection of millions of data,” Merkel told MPs. “The accusations are grave. They must be explained and, more important still for the future, new trust must be built,” she said to applause. Merkel, who went on to speak about EU partnerships with Eastern European nations, did not directly mention the surveillance of her phone.

But she stressed that the relationship with the US was of “paramount” importance for Germany and Europe. Lawmakers called a special parliamentary debate on the revelations that have put the US in the firing line and strained diplomatic ties, also casting a shadow over EU-US talks on what would be the world’s biggest free-trade accord.

Merkel was not due to speak during the debate but was expected to face tough questions from opposition MPs, who have denounced the government’s response as “feeble” until evidence emerged that the chancellor herself had been a target, reportedly since 2002.

With US President Barack Obama’s June visit to Berlin still fresh in many minds,

deputies will examine the impact on USGerman ties of sweeping surveillance, revealed in leaked US National Security Agency (NSA) documents.

And they will likely hear calls for Germany to grant asylum to Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who is behind the leaks that have fed near-daily media reports for months and is wanted in the US on criminal charges.

Hans-Christian Stroebele, a veteran Greens par ty MP who recently met Snowden in Russia where he has temporary asylum, said Germany owed the US fugitive not only thanks but a safe and permanent residence.

“Granting him asylum wouldn’t be about revenge or retaliation for spying on us. It would be a decision based on our fundamental values-and a moral duty,” he wrote in a New York Times editorial.

Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich has said that the government is studying the possibility of questioning Snowden in Russia. But Berlin has already rejected a bid for asylum on the grounds that any applicant must be in the country.

After the evidence about Merkel’s phone, German spy chiefs headed to Washington for talks with US officials, including on a No-Spy Agreement. A poll showed earlier this month that Germans’ trust in the US had taken a battering in the wake of the spy revelations, with 61 percent saying Washington was not a partner that can be trusted. While opinion was divided over whether Germany should offer Snowden political asylum, a majority said they viewed him as a hero. The survey followed an acknowledgement by US Secretary of State John Kerry in a German newspaper that “tensions” had arisen between Berlin and Washington over the revelations. — AFP

Mandela ‘stable but critical’ JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela remains in a “stable but critical” condition, but “continues to respond to treatment,” according to the South African government, issuing its first update on his health since September.

“The health of the former President remains much the same,” according to a statement issued after President Jacob Zuma visited the anti-apartheid icon at his home yesterday.

The 95-year-old was discharged on September 1 to receive intensive care at home, after nearly three months in hospital for a lung infection. The government has refused to give details about his condition, citing the need for privacy, but said “he continues to recover.” Mandela’s former wife this week told a local newspaper that Mandela remains “quite ill” and is unable to speak because of tubes being used to clear his lungs of liquid. He is using facial expressions to communicate, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela added. The country’s anti-apartheid hero is under the

care of 22 doctors, and while his pneumonia has cleared, his lungs remain sensitive, she said, adding that it was “difficult for him”. “He remains very sensitive to any germs, so he has to be kept literally sterile.

The bedroom there (in Houghton) is like an ICU ward,” she told the Sunday Times.

“He remains quite ill, but thank God the doctors were able to pull him through from that (last) infection.” Mandela, who spent 27 years in apartheid jails before becoming South Africa’s first black leader, has faced several health scares. His most recent 86-day hospital stay was his longest since he walked free from prison in 1990. Earlier this month, fellow Robben Island prisoner Tokyo Sexwale also said Mandela was “fine”.

Mandela has been in and out of hospital since last year with lung-related complications. A globally admired figure for steering South Africa peacefully into democracy, Mandela’s health problems prompt outpourings of well wishes around the world.— AP

KAZAN: Russian investigators sifted through the charred remains of a Boeing 737 airliner on Monday in the search for clues about what caused it to crash and burst into flames, killing 50 people, officials said yesterday.

Sunday’s crash raised new concerns about Russia’s poor safety record as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics in the southern city of Sochi in February, an event on which President Vladimir Putin has staked a lot of personal political prestige.

Residents of Kazan wiped away tears as they lay flowers at the airport where the plane crashed in windy weather, with some venting anger over Russia’s bad safety record. Flags flew at half mast in the city 800 km (500 miles) east of Moscow.

The Tatarstan airlines flight from Moscow had been trying to abort its landing when it crashed, killing all 44 passengers and six crew in a blaze that left little of the plane.

“The plane just fell,” Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov told reporters. “The plane was vertical, practically vertical.” But he cautioned that video recordings of the crash were not of high quality and the black box flight recorders would be needed to provide more information on what happened. “The main versions are pilot error and technical problems, including equipment failure,” Alexander Poltinin, a senior regional investigator, said of the crash. Poltinin said the fire had been extinguished several hours after the crash, but that it could take weeks for all the dead to be identified in the wreckage, scattered over a wide area.

The plane had lost altitude quickly, he said, and the fuel tank had exploded on impact. The local Health Ministry said only two bodies had been found by noon today. The son of the president of the oil-rich province of Tatarstan and the regional head of the FSB intelligence service were named among those killed. The dead also included two foreigners, a Briton and a Ukrainian.

“It’s unimaginable - it’s awful, just awful,” said a man who gave his name as Dmitry as he left flowers at the airport gate. “Everyone already knows what state our national aviation is in. So, on the one hand this isn’t surprising, it’s just a shame that people die,” he said.

Russia and the former Soviet republics combined have one of the world’s worst air-traffic safe-

KAZAN: People place flowers in Kazan airport, Russia, yesterday. The plane belonging to Tatarstan Airlines crashed Sunday while trying to land at its home port in the Russian city of Kazan, the capital of the oil-rich province of Tatarstan. Russian investigators yesterday combed through the charred fragments of the Boeing 737 jetliner as they tried to determine what caused its crash that killed all 50 people on board. — AP ty records, with a total accident rate almost three times the world average in 2011, according to the International Air Transport Association.

In Soviet times, flag carrier Aeroflot had a virtual monopoly of the airline industry, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many small private companies emerged. IATA said last year that global airline safety had improved but accident rates had risen in Russia and the ex-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States. The government says it is confident about security and safety matters at the Sochi Olympics and the city’s international airport has been upgraded for the Games.

Flight U363 took off from Moscow’s Domodedovo airport at 6:25 pm (1425 GMT) and crashed just over an hour later, emergency offi-

cials said. The leased plane was 23 years old.

There had been no technical problems reported with the plane prior to the flight and regular maintenance between flights had been conducted, officials said. Two people who said they had flown on the same plane from Kazan to Moscow earlier on Sunday were quoted by Russian media as saying they felt vibrations as they landed in Moscow. Kazan is the capital of the largely Muslim region of Tatarstan. There was no suggestion of foul play. A new runway was built at the airport before the World University Games, held in the city in July. Kazan is one of the venues for the soccer World Cup that Russia is hosting in 2018. Boeing said in a statement it was prepared to provide technical assistance to the investigators. — Reuters

Troops deploy in Tripoli as militias ordered out

ST PETERSBURG: Greenpeace International activist Kieron Bryan of United Kingdom stands in a cage at a court room during hearing that’s considering investigators request to extend the detention of 30 members of the Arctic Sunrise Greenpeace International ship in St.Petersburg, Russia, yesterday. The 30 people arrested following a Greenpeace protest at an Arctic oil rig were transferred to St Petersburg from Murmansk. — AP

Greenpeace activist in jail for 3 more months SAINT PETERSBURG: A court in Russia’s second city of Saint Petersburg extended the pre-trial detention of one of the 30 Greenpeace activists arrested for an Arctic protest for three months until February 24.

Colin Russell, an Australian citizen, was the first of the 30 detained activists to have his case heard and the ruling by the court creates a precedent that could mean all those arrested will have their detention extended in a similar fashion.

The measure means that all the 30 activists may remain in detention until the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi are over in Russia on February 23. The judge at Saint Petersburg’s Primorsky court ordered to “leave the pre-trial restrictions unchanged until February 24,” an AFP correspondent reported from the court. A request for bail or house arrest was denied.

“I love you all. I love everybody,” Russell, 59, said after the judge announced her decision. “I am not a criminal,” he said in comments released by Greenpeace. Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo said: “This case is now a circus.”

“We will continue to pursue every legal avenue we can, and leave no stone unturned, until each and every one of them is home with their families,” he said in a statement.

Earlier in the day Russell insisted he was innocent. “I have spent two months in detention, having done nothing wrong,” Russell, looking visibly upset, said from a metal cage in the courtroom. “I have not committed a crime so I have nothing to run from.” Four more Greenpeace activists and two freelance journalists face hearings in Saint Petersburg yesterday. — AFP

TRIPOLI: Troops deployed in Tripoli yesterday after militias were ordered to leave the capital following deady weekend clashes sparked by protest against the former rebels in Libya’s 2011 revolt.

The unrest in Tripoli was the deadliest in the capital since the uprising and erupted when former rebels from Misrata opened fire on protesters, triggering the clashes that killed at least 43 people and wounded 450.

As the capital observed a three-day period of mourning on Sunday, gunmen had seized the deputy head of Libya’s intelligence services Mustafa Nuh near Tripoli airport. But his abductors released him on Monday, an intelligence official told AFP. “Nuh has been freed today,” the source said on condition of anonymity, without elaborating. The abduction of Nuh, who is himself originally from Misrata, came amid persistent tensions between armed groups from his hometown and rival groups in Tripoli. On Sunday, community leaders, officials and former rebel commanders from Misrata urged the “withdrawal of all ex-rebels from the city of Misrata who are in Tripoli, whatever their group is ... in under 72 hours,” in a statement issued late Sunday. In the streets of the capital itself, dozens of soldiers and armoured vehicles deployed on Monday in response to the violence. “A number of units of the national army are about to enter the city of Tripoli from several areas in order to secure it,” the government said in a statement.

The Misrata brigade at the heart of the latest violence saw some of the heaviest fighting during the uprising against Qaddafi, when Misrata was besieged by regime forces.

While such groups were initially hailed as heroes for their role in toppling the Qaddafi regime in 2011, public frustration with militias has been growing.

Many groups have rejected government calls to lay down their arms or integrate into the armed forces, instead carving out their own fiefdoms across the vast mostly-desert country.

Demonstrators protesting against militias on Friday in Tripoli’s Gharghour neighbourhood were fired upon from villas occupied by the fighters from Misrata, who killed several protesters before rival militias swept in, sparking clashes that continued until Saturday.

In response to the bloodshed, Tripoli’s city council had called a three-day general strike, and on Monday many shops and businesses were closed around the capital, an AFP journalist said. — AFP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

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

Travel ban hearing for Musharraf postponed ‘Former ruler wants to stay and clear his name’

BHAKTAPUR: A Nepalese policeman recruited for the Constituent Assembly election removes election campaign posters from a wall near a polling booth in Bhaktapur, Nepal, yesterday. The residents of landlocked Nepal go to the polls today, picking from more than 100 political parties in an election that is not expected to produce a strong winner to deal with the country’s deep-rooted problems. — AP

Nepal’s revolutionary leader loses his appeal CHAPAGAUN: Widow Narayan Kumari Ghimire has lost faith in Nepal’s powerful Maoists: the only reason they will get her vote in today’s election is because her son died fighting for them during the insurrection that ended seven years ago.

For Ghimire, 62, the one-time guerrillas have turned out to be no better than the rest of Nepal’s grasping and ever-bickering politicians since they took off their red bandanas, gave up arms and tasted power in a 2008 election.

“They are corrupt, they live in big houses.

They have not done anything for the families of those who sacrificed their lives,” she said at an election rally outside the capital Kathmandu.

“But I will vote for them because I have a blood relationship, because of my son,” said Ghimire, standing in open ground ringed by snow-capped mountains. Wedged between India and China, Nepal will elect a new assembly to write a constitution following the abolition of the 240-year-old feudal monarchy that the Maoists fought against.

The Himalayan nation, the size of Greece, has lurched from one political crisis to another over the past five years since a first attempt to agree on a charter failed, leaving space for militant groups and criminal gangs to thrive.

Five governments - two of them headed by the Maoist party - have come and gone as politicians wrangled over the structure of the proposed new republic and how it should be governed. Economic growth in Nepal, where nearly a quarter of its 27 million people live below the poverty line, has hovered around

3.5 percent over the past 10 years, much lower than the pace achieved by China and India on its doorstep, forcing many people to seek work abroad.

Much of the ire for the drift is directed against Prachanda, the 58-year-old Maoist revolutionary whose party, riding a wave of hope in a war-weary nation, won the largest number of seats in the first constituent assembly that also functioned as the parliament. Named prime minister, Prachanda promised to stitch together a republic from the nation’s 103 ethnic groups and turn it into a modern-day Switzerland. He also offered sweeping land reform in a country where 80 percent of the people live off farming. He failed on both counts.

Critics say the most noticeable change has been Prachanda’s lifestyle. He has gone from an enigmatic guerrilla commander living in the jungles to the nation’s top politician. One former Maoist colleague slapped him at a rally last year, saying he had strayed too far from the ideals of the movement, which waged a bloody insurrection that killed 160,000 people.

“The amount of wealth they have amassed, they can be comfortable for decades,” said Bipin Adhikary, a constitutional lawyer and independent commentator.

Prachanda’s campaign is the best-resourced in the country, outstripping those of his rivals, including the Nepali Congress, the party that has wielded power the longest. The balding leader with a slight pot belly crisscrosses Nepal in helicopters while others struggle to get around, sometimes going on horseback. — Reuters

KARACHI: A Pakistani court yesterday adjourned a hearing into a travel ban against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, his lawyer said, a day after the government announced it would try him for treason.

The former general applied last week to be removed from the government’s “exit control list ” that stops him leaving Pakistan, to go to visit his sick mother in Dubai. Musharraf is facing a host of criminal cases dating back to his 1999-2008 rule, including for the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.

The Sindh High Cour t in K arachi put off considering Musharraf ’s exit control list application until November 22, after the government’s attorneygeneral failed to attend court, lawyer A.Q. Hallipota said. The decision to tr y Musharraf for treason, announced live on TV

by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, puts the countr y ’s civilian leaders on an unprecedented collision course with the all-powerful military.

It comes after Musharraf was granted bail in other cases against him, stoking rumours a deal for his departure could be imminent. The treason accusation relates to Musharraf’s decision in 2007 to impose emergency rule shortly before the Supreme Cour t was due to decide on the legality of his reelection as president a month earlier while he was still army chief.

Critics said the announce ment smacked of political opportunism and appeared to be aimed at deflecting public attention from sectarian violence on Friday. At least nine people were k illed in Rawalpindi, which neighbours Islamabad, during clashes on the most important day of the mourning month of Moharram,

British news team leaves S Lanka after harassment COLOMBO: Britain’s Channel 4 news team, which travelled to Sri Lanka for the weekend Commonwealth summit, said it left the country early after days of extensive intimidation and surveillance by security forces.

The television channel’s news editor Ben de Pear said he finally decided to pull the team out after six men appeared at his hotel room door early on Sunday demanding entry.

He said the men claimed they were from the immigration police and accused the journalists of breaching their visa conditions by “attempting to enter the president’s palace”.

“It was an intimidating experience,” he wrote on Channel 4’s website in a posting Sunday, saying the campaign of intimidation made it impossible to work. “People often get visits in this country and are bundled off in white vans never to be seen again,” he said.

The team was repeatedly targeted by protesters over the channel’s award-winning documentary “No Fire Zone: Sri Lanka Killing Fields”. The Commonwealth summit, which ended late Sunday afternoon, was overshadowed by a row over alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan military during the conflict against Tamil separatist rebels that ended in 2009. British Prime Minister David Cameron threatened to

push for an international inquiry into the allegations, while Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said he would not be pressured over the issue. A UN panel in 2011 found as many as 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final months of the civil war, mostly due to Sri Lankan military action. Colombo denies its troops killed any civilians.

Throughout the summit, Sri Lankan ministers and senior officials consistently and publicly criticised the channel.

During its six days in Sri Lanka, the news team was stopped from travelling to a former war zone to speak to ethnic minority Tamils, who say they are still suffering four years after the war ended.

The government said it was for their own safety. “Our phones and laptops have been monitored, our hotel was under instructions to tell the authorities every time we left, and it has been made clear to us by those who have bravely wanted to meet that many of them are then spoken to themselves,” de Pear said.

Media rights groups say Sri Lanka remains a dangerous place for journalists despite the end of the war. In 2009 the Sunday Leader newspaper’s editor, a staunch critic of the government, was shot dead near his office just outside the capital. — AFP

Sectarian violence spreads in Pakistan DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Sectarian violence spread in Pakistan yesterday after clashes between minority Shi’ite and majority Sunni Muslims near the capital Islamabad prompted the government to impose a curfew and block mobile phone services over the weekend.

Clashes confined to areas in and around the capital

RAWALPINDI: Pakistani soldiers and rescue personnel keep watch as unseen hardline Sunni Muslims demonstrate in front of a burnt Sunni Muslim mosque following sectarian clashes in Rawalpindi yesterday. — AFP

at the weekend spilled over on Monday into two towns in the volatile northwest. Tensions are high this month as Shi’ites mark Muharram, an annual period of mourning which has often sparked bouts of violence.

Rawalpindi, a garrison city near Islamabad, remained under curfew and tight security for three days after a Shi’ite procession on Friday degenerated into sectarian clashes which killed at least eight people.

Yesterday, a mob set shops on fire in a predominantly Shi’ite district in the northwestern town of Kohat in clashes that killed a policeman and a civilian, police said. Tensions were high in the northwestern city of Hangu, also subject to a curfew, local media reported.

During Muharram, a period of mourning to mark the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, Shi’ites hold long processions where they flagellate, beat or cut themselves to show their grief.

The authorities imposed a mobile phone blackout on Rawalpindi, the seat of the Pakistani army, and parts of Islamabad over the weekend. The curfew was lifted only yesterday, but the city remained tense.

Attacks on Pakistan’s Shi’ites, who make up about a fifth of the 180 million population, have worsened in recent years. Most of the attacks are the work of Sunni extremists affiliated with banned groups, such as the Taleban or Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which wants to drive all Shi’ites out of Pakistan.

Hundreds of Shi’ites were killed in bombings and other attacks last year, including children gunned down on their way to school and doctors heading for work. — Agencies

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani policemen stand guard beside banners showing images of former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf near his residence in Islamabad yesterday. Pakistan announced it would put former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason, punishable by death or life imprisonment, for imposing emergency rule in 2007. — AFP

traditionally a flashpoint for sectarian violence.

An editorial in Dawn, Pakistan’s oldest English-language newspaper, said that faced with mounting crises, the government had decided to “change the subject”. Analyst and retired general Talat Masood said the timing of the announcement, just 10 days before army chief General Ashfaq Kayani is to step down, was “inappropriate”.

“This is a case which involves civil military relations and is very sensitive and would not just confine to Musharraf,” Masood told AFP. “The matter could have been dealt with at a later stagethey are definitely tr ying to deflect from their failures to pro-

vide security during Moharram.”

Afshan Adil, a member of Musharraf’s legal team and representative of his All Pakistan Muslim League, denounced the treason decision but said her leader was not afraid.

Aides to the 70-year-old former commando have said he wants to stay and clear his name of all the charges against him.

So far the cases have proceeded with glacial slowness, edging from adjournment to adjournment with almost no perceptible progress made since April, beyond the granting of bail.

Masood the analyst warned the government had opened the way to yet another “judicial quagmire” with its decision to press treason charges.

Musharraf overthrew the government of Nawaz Sharif-elected to power again in May this year-in a bloodless military coup in October 1999, but a year later the Supreme Court validated the take over.

During the 2007 emergency rule he suspended the constitution and parliament, and sacked top judges who declared his actions unconstitutional and illegal. Musharraf technically became a free man this month when an Islamabad distric t court granted him bail over a deadly raid on a radical mosque in the capital in 2007. But faced with Taleban threats to his life, he has remained under heavy guard at his villa on the edge of Islamabad. — AFP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

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

North Korean refugees arrested in Kunming SEOUL: At least 13 refugees from North Korea have been arrested in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming while they were trying to reach South Korea, media reports said yesterday. Chinese police on Friday arrested the 13 who were trying to board a bus bound for an unidentified Southeast Asian nation, Yonhap news agency said.

It cited South Korean activists promoting human rights for North Korean refugees. Dong-A Ilbo newspaper also reported the arrests but put the number at 15. “Most North Korean defectors travel in a group of five at most when crossing the Chinese border to a Southeast Asian nation,” said one activist quoted by

Yonhap. “It appears that they were trying to save money for hiring brokers who could help them cross the border.”

A spokesman for the South’s unification ministry, which handles cross-border affairs, said Seoul was trying to verify the report. Some 25,000 North Koreans have fled famine or repression at home to settle in the capitalist South over the past six decades.

Almost all cross the North’s border into China.

Many of them then secretly travel through China to a third nation-often in Southeast Asia-where they arrange to fly on to South Korea for resettlement.

China-the North’s sole major ally-considers the

fugitives to be illegal economic migrants instead of refugees and repatriates those whom it catches.

Rights groups strongly criticise Beijing’s policy. The fugitives can face severe punishment including a term in a prison camp once they are sent back to the North.

Asked about the South Korean reports at a regular briefing, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: “These people that you have mentioned are not defectors from the DPRK (North Korea), they are illegal border crossers. In dealing with relevant issues we have always abided by domestic law, international law and humanitarian spirit.”

Asked if he was confirming the detainees were North Koreans, he said: “I’m not aware of the specific issue as well as the specific persons involved in the issue.” The North’s young leader Kim Jong-Un is believed to have tightened border controls since he took power in late 2011.

The number of refugees arriving in South Korea plunged more than 40 percent to 1,508 last year. A rare repatriation in May of nine mostly teenage North Koreans arrested in Laos-previously considered a relatively safe transit point-sparked UN criticism and concerns that Pyongyang might be stepping up diplomatic campaigns to bring back refugees from abroad. — AFP

‘Help us’: Isolated typhoon victims clamour for food ‘It’s the first food we’ve had’

BEIJING: Former US President Bill Clinton waves after speaking at a forum in Beijing, China, yesterday. — AP

Clinton tells China forum he hopes for female US president BEIJING: Former US president Bill Clinton hopes there will be a woman in the White House in his lifetime and will support his wife Hillary in whatever she decides to do, he told a Chinese audience yesterday.

Hillary, who earlier this year stepped down as US secretary of state, has not yet said whether she plans another presidential run after her failed 2008 bid for the Democratic nomination.

“I hope we have a woman president in my lifetime, and I think it would be a good thing for the world as well as for America,” Clinton said at a conference organised by the respected Chinese financial magazine Caijing.

“But I do not know if she’s going to run, and there is no such thing as a sure thing in politics,” he added. In a question-andanswer session before a standing-roomonly crowd in a Beijing hotel ballroom, Clinton, who was president from 1993 to 2001, was asked whether he envisages becoming a “first husband” in the future.

“You know, if I knew the answer to that, I couldn’t say,” he responded. “But I can give you an honest answer: I have no idea.” He called his wife “the ablest public servant I have ever worked with” and said that he would support her whatever decision she makes on a White House run.

“If that’s what she wants to do, I will support her,” Clinton said. “But if she decides for whatever reason she doesn’t, I will support that.” “It’s very interesting for us; we still feel young and we still feel healthy,” he added, noting that compared with several decades ago, he believes his wife now is “less motivated... by a fear of failure”.

Clinton was in Beijing for meetings with China’s President Xi Jinping as well as to

promote the work of his New York-based philanthropic organisation, the Clinton Foundation. During his nearly hour-long remarks Clinton made no mention of current US President Barack Obama, whose approval rating has reached an all-time low over a clumsy rollout of his signature health care overhaul.

Clinton did not criticise Edward Snowden, the fugitive US former intelligence contractor who has been granted temporary asylum in Russia after leaking thousands of classified documents about the vast US global surveillance network.

American authorities are seeking to repatriate Snowden, who has been charged with three felonies in connection with the leaks. Clinton said he believed it was “perfectly legitimate” for the US government to search “big data pools... to see if there are patterns of communication between certain numbers or sites and others known to be in the possession of terrorist groups”.

But he went on: “The question is when, if ever, is the government justified in going beyond the patterns to listen to telephone calls, read emails, read text messages, and who’s supposed to decide that? “Mr Snowden obviously thought that it was excessive.” The fact that Snowden was able to receive a top-secret security clearance despite having only been a contractor for several months “made me think that we are on the verge of having the worst of all worlds: We’ll have no security and no privacy”, Clinton added.

“I think the US and China and everybody else, we’re going to have to be more upfront with each other and probably with our own people about what it is we’re looking for and listening to,” he said. — AFP

Indonesia recalls envoy from Australia JAKARTA: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recalled his ambassador from Australia yesterday and ordered a review of bilateral cooperation following reports that an Australian security agency attempted to listen to his cellphone in 2009.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. and The Guardian reported yesterday that they had documents from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden showing that the Australian agency also targeted the phones of Indonesian first lady Kristiani Herawati and another eight government ministers and officials.

The documents reportedly showed that the Australian Defence Signals Directorate, now the top-secret Australian Signals Directorate, attempted to listen to the president’s phone conversations on at least one occasion and tracked activity on the phone for 15 days in August 2009.

The diplomatic spat is the second in less than a month between Indonesia and Australia stemming from Snowden’s revelations linking Australia with US espionage. It’s an early test for Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s new government, which was elected in September and is anxious to cement ties with it populous near-neighbor before the uncertainty of Indonesian presidential elections next year. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters in Jakarta on Monday afternoon that Yudhoyono had “directly ordered” the ambassador, Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, to be recalled. “Never underestimate our attitude, which is very disturbed by this matter,” Natalegawa said. He said Kesoema would soon leave the Australian capital of Canberra and fly home. No time frame was given for his return to Australia. Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister of Political and Security Affairs Joko Suyanto said in a statement that all cooperative relationships between the two countries were also under review, as were the postings of Australian officials in Jakarta. Abbott, who was not in govern-

ment in 2009, declined to comment on the reports in Parliament. “All governments gather information, and all governments know that every other government gathers information,” Abbott said.

“The Australian government uses all the resources at its disposal - including information - to help our friends and our allies, not to harm them,” he added. But Bob Carr, Australia’s foreign minister until Abbott’s coalition won September elections, advised Abbott to assure Yudhoyono that if his phone had been tapped, it wouldn’t happen again.

“If the American president can give a guarantee to Angela Merkel of Germany that America won’t be overhearing what she says on the phone, then we ought to be able to do it without any trouble to the president of Indonesia,” Carr told Nine Network television news.

Second on the target list after the president was his wife, also known as Ani Yudhoyono. Vice President Boediono, who visited Australia last week, was third, and his predecessor, Jusuf Kalla, was fourth. Like many Indonesians, Boediono uses one name.

Also listed was the government’s thenforeign spokesman, Dino Patti Djalal, who later became Indonesia’s ambassador to Washington. Former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, now a managing director at the World Bank, was also on the list.

Earlier this month, the Indonesian government called in the Australian ambassador for an explanation following reports that the Australian Embassy in Jakarta was a hub for Washington’s secret electronic data collection program.

A document from Snowden published last month by the German magazine Der Spiegel describes a signals intelligence program called “Stateroom” in which U.S., British, Australian and Canadian embassies house surveillance equipment to collect electronic communications.

Those countries, along with New Zealand, have an intelligence-sharing agreement known as “Five Eyes.” —AP

HOMONHON: The message spelt out in giant letters on the ground outside the remote, typhoonshattered Philippine village was clear enough: “Help Us. We Need Food”. Easily visible as the US helicopter carrying emergency food supplies made its approach yesterday, it reflected the desperation of the villagers 10 days after Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the central Philippines.

As soon as the chopper touched down and the doors opened, around 100 villagers rushed to the aircraft and began pulling at the bags of rice inside before they could be properly unloaded.

“It’s the first food we’ve had,” a woman shouted as the crew tried to persuade the residents of the tiny inland village in eastern Leyte island to move back. The rice was finally offloaded and, as the helicopter took off again, one of the villagers gestured wildly with his hands to his mouth, pleading for the crew to return with more supplies. “Those in the remote areas are the most desperate,” said Chief Petty Officer Matthew Gensler. “The further out you go, the harder it is.”

The helicopter was one of many that have been flying continual sorties off the USS George Washington aircraft carrier since it arrived to spearhead a growing international relief operation. Haiyan made landfall on November 8, triggering a storm surge that laid waste to large areas of coastline and pummelling inland towns and villages with some of the strongest winds ever recorded. The official death toll stands at 3,976 with 1,602 people missing. The United Nations estimates up to four million people have been displaced, of whom only 350,000 have found shelter in evacuation centres.

On the tiny island of Homonhon, which suffered a direct hit from the super typhoon, the mood was calmer, with villagers waiting patiently as the helicopter crew unloaded water supplies.

The approach to the village offered an aerial view of the destruction inflicted on the island, where thick coconut groves had been torn up and flattened. Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, commander of USS George Washington strike group, said that as well as bringing supplies in, its helicopter crews had “airlifted around 5,000 displaced people to safety”.

Although the relief operation took time to get up and running, aid agencies and humanitarian groups have firmly established operational posts in the flattened region’s largest city Tacloban. The city remains without regular power, but distribu-

ORMOC: An aerial photo shows a message that reads “We Need Food Help Us” amongst the devastation in the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan in Ormoc, on the eastern island of Leyte yesterday. Philippine President Benigno Aquino blamed the slow response to the ravages of Typhoon Haiyan on the total collapse of local government in the face of the storm’s unprecedented destructive power. — AFP tion centres have been set up, ensuring a steady flow of food and water to still-traumatised residents, while mobile surgical units provide emergency care for the sick and injured.

Some petrol stations have opened and enterprising individuals were selling fuel in Coke bottles yesterday by the side of the roads as cars and motorbikes made a tentative return to the streets. But the overall situation remains critical, and teams were still recovering bloated bodies yesterday from areas in and around Tacloban. The UN said an estimated 2.5 million people need food assistance, and stressed the importance of ensuring supplies of rice seed for the crucial December-January planting season.

President Benigno Aquino, who was criticised over the speed of the initial response to the disaster, toured the worst-hit areas on Sunday and Monday and acknowledged that the power of the typhoon had simply overwhelmed the local authorities.

“The systems failed,” Aquino told reporters.

“We had a breakdown in power, a breakdown in communications... a breakdown in practically everything,” he added. Although the situation in Tacloban has markedly improved in the past three days, daily life is still a grinding struggle among the ruins of the once thriving coastal city.

An AFP journalist saw one man salvaging wood to rebuild his shack as three bloated bodies-two of them children-lay nearby. “Please can you tell the authorities to come and pick these up?” he begged.

In Manlurip village just outside Tacloban, Flordeliza Arpon, 32, recounted how she and her eldest child had been separated from her husband and their two other children as the storm waters destroyed their house and almost swept them out to sea. “We were each sure the others had died, but then we found each other again four days later,” Arpon said. “We lost everything, but we are still together.” — AFP

Fukushima operator starts dangerous fuel-rod removal TOKYO: Workers at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant yesterday began moving fuel rods from a reactor building, in their most difficult and dangerous task since a tsunami crippled the facility in 2011.

Operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said it had begun the process of removing the uranium and plutonium rods from a storage pool-a tricky but essential step in the complex’s decades-long decommissioning plan.

The operation follows months of setbacks and glitches that have stoked widespread criticism of the utility’s handling of the crisis, the worst nuclear accident in a generation. However, the work pales in comparison with the much more complex task that awaits engineers, who will have to remove the misshapen cores of three other reactors that went into meltdown before being brought under control two years ago.

The fuel rods are bundled together in socalled assemblies which must be pulled out of the storage pool where they were being kept when a tsunami smashed into Fukushima in March 2011. There are more than 1,500 such assemblies in the pool.

Over the course of two days, the company said it expects to remove 22 assemblies, with the entire operation scheduled to run for more than a year.

“At 15:18 (0618 GMT), we started to pull up the first fuel assembly with a crane,” a company spokesman said yesterday. The huge crane, with a remote-controlled grabber, is being lowered into the pool and then hooked onto the assemblies, placing them inside a fully immersed cask.

The 91-tonne cask will then be hauled from the pool to be loaded onto a trailer and taken to a different storage pool about 100 metres (yards) away.

Experts have warned that slip-ups could trigger a rapid deterioration in the situation. “We are concerned that TEPCO may not be capable of conducting this risky operation safely,” Greenpeace said yesterday.

It added that a botched job may mean “workers could be exposed to excessive levels of radiation and in a worst-case scenario there could be a massive new release of radiation to the atmosphere”.

While such operations are routine at other nuclear plants, the disaster has made conditions far more complex. “This is an important process that is an inevitable part of the decommissioning process, but it includes work that could pose a great risk,” said the Citizen’s Nuclear

OKUMA: In this Nov. 7, 2013 file photo, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) employees and journalists wearing protective suits and masks look at the spent fuel pool inside the building housing the Unit 4 reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan. — AP Information Center, an independent energy Tama University.

“The high level of radioactive waste inside think tank.

Hiroaki Koide, assistant professor at Kyoto (other) reactors are the most difficult to deal University’s Research Reactor Institute, said the with as everything inside is a mess,” added timing of the fuel rod removal was crucial as “the Tasaka, who advised the government in the reactor’s storage pool is in an unstable condi- aftermath of the Fukushima crisis.

Work at the plant has suffered months of settion”.

Koide added that the whole decommission- backs including multiple leaks from tanks storing process would involve “unprecedented chal- ing radioactive water, and a power outage lenges”. The reactor which the pool serves-No. 4 caused when a rat electrocuted itself on a circuit — was not in operation at the time of the acci- board.

TEPCO’s management of the problems has dent. But hydrogen from Reactor No. 3 got into the building and exploded, tearing the roof off been criticised as haphazard and uncoordinated, and leaving it at the mercy of earthquakes, with one government minister saying it was like watching someone playing “whack-a-mole”. storms or another tsunami.

The full decommissioning of Fukushima is TEPCO says it has not yet found any damage to the assemblies at No. 4, but will be monitor- likely to take decades and include tasks that ing for abnormalities, such as rust. While remov- have never been attempted anywhere in the ing fuel rods from the No. 4 site is easier than world. bVillages and towns nearby remain largefrom other reactors that went into meltdown, ly empty. Fear of radiation makes residents the process still “has to be done with extreme unable or unwilling to return to live in the shadcare”, said Hiroshi Tasaka, a professor at Tokyo’s ow of the leaking plant. — AFP

NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

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China reform plan impresses, effects unseen

By Kelly Olsen hina’s quick release of a surprisingly detailed national reform plan shows leaders are serious about economic change, analysts say, but uncertainties remain over its implementation. Just days after an initial outline announced at the end of a closely watched Chinese Communist Party meeting was largely panned as vague and disappointing, the ruling body added weight to the framework for change in the world’s second-largest economy. Reforms approved at the so-called Third Plenum meeting, a year after the party revamped its top leadership, include requiring powerful state-owned companies to pay larger dividends to the government to beef up a weak social security system.

China will also encourage a bigger role for the private sector, further champion interest rate reform, loosen currency controls and allow farmers more room to profit from state-owned land they currently till on contract, according to documents released by state media. “The new leaders really delivered and promised a number of concrete changes,” Hong Kong-based Societe Generale economist Yao Wei wrote in a report.

The lengthy and detailed final “decision” document released late Friday was “encouragingly specific” compared with the initial communique three days earlier, she wrote. State-owned businesses will have to pay 30 percent of their profits into the Social Security Fund by 2020, up from a current maximum of 20 percent, and Yao said: “This ratio may not impress everyone, but it is laudable that the leaders are willing to set this target explicitly.”

While analysts mostly expressed pleasant surprise at the final plan’s contents, they stressed its ultimate success can only be judged based on implementation, which will be complex. “I would take it as essentially positive,” said Christopher Balding, who teaches economics at Peking University’s HSBC Business School in the southern city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. “I think the concern is going to be when the rubber hits the road,” he told AFP, citing the nuts, bolts and speed of how it is carried out, including the issue of when it becomes law. “China has been talking about rebalancing the economy for upwards of a decade and there’s really been no progress.”

The country’s leaders have said its credit-fuelled state investment model must yield to one where consumers and private businesses drive demand, as in advanced economies such as the United States, Europe and Japan. Annual growth rates above 10 percent were once common during China’s metamorphosis from a classic communist-style command economy to the state-private hybrid unleashed by reforms introduced

by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s. In the process, hundreds of millions of Chinese were lifted out of poverty as the economy enjoyed a decades-long boom, becoming a lynchpin of global commerce and influencing everything from Australian iron ore prices to US interest rates.

But with growth slowing - last year’s 7.7 percent expansion was the weakest since 1999 - the impetus to find new engines to keep the huge ship sailing forward grows ever more acute. London-based Capital Economics analysts Mark Williams and Wang Qinwei called the final plan “the most impressive statement of reform intentions that we’ve seen this century”. Though they emphasised words are one thing, action another.

“A policy document, however weighty and well puttogether, does not in itself change anything on the ground,” they wrote. “Whether or not the plenum ends up a turning point in China’s development depends on how well reforms are implemented.”

Helping shore up optimism among some was what they saw as the strong hand of Xi Jinping, who took over the reins of the party last November before becoming state president in March in a once-a-decade leadership change. “The bold reform package is a powerful demonstration of President Xi Jinping’s personal authority within the system after only a year at the helm,” Christopher K. Johnson of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said in a report. Now the emphatic public declaration of the pledges is likely to heighten expectations on the ruling party to deliver. “It does put them on the spot,” Peking University’s Balding said. — AFP

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Reps plan campaign around Obamacare chaos

By Steve Holland ust a few short weeks ago, Republican elders could only hope that time would make voters forget about the government shutdown the party engineered in October. Now, with millions of Americans in an uproar over health insurance policies canceled because of President Barack Obama’s health care law, Republicans believe they could seize control of the Senate and build on their majority in the House of Representatives in the Nov 2014 congressional elections. Republican strategist Karl Rove, architect of George W Bush’s two presidential victories, said Obamacare could hurt Democratic candidates more than in 2010. “In 2014, it’s likely to be a bigger, more obvious and equally deadly issue for Democrats, especially incumbent Democrats in red, even purple states and districts who voted for the monstrosity,” he told Reuters.

Groups allied to Republicans are already running digital ads against vulnerable Democrats, with TV ads coming in the months ahead. “2014 will be a referendum on the failures of this administration,” said Representative Greg Walden, head of the House Republican campaign committee. Some in the party, however, are warning conservative Tea Party Republicans not to push the government into another shutdown or risk a debt default in upcoming budget talks, out of fear of voter backlash. “Republicans need to play it smart,” said Republican strategist Charlie Black. “We can shift the focus to our own vulnerabilities if we participated in another government shutdown or resisted extending the debt limit.”

Democrats already would have to beat historical odds to pick up congressional seats next November, since the party that controls the White House usually loses seats in these so-called mid-term elections. The Democrats’ chances appear even worse when the president’s approval rating is below 50 percent, and a Quinnipiac University poll this week put Obama at 39 percent. Support for congressional Democrats has dropped nearly 4 percentage points from a month ago, when the government was shut down and the debt ceiling fight was unresolved, according to a compilation by website Real Clear Politics of so-called

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“generic” congressional race polls, which test voter preferences by party. Republicans’ support dropped 1 percentage point.

Democrats control the 100-member Senate by a margin of 55-45, meaning a six-seat swing would tilt the chamber to Republicans. Of the 33 Senate seats that will be on the ballot next November, 20 are held by Democrats, and many of them are seen as vulnerable. Indeed, five Democrats who face voters in 2014 - Oregon’s Jeff Merkley, Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu, North Carolina’s Kay Hagan, Arkansas’ Mark Pryor and California’s Dianne Feinstein were among the sponsors last week of a Senate bill designed to stem the wave of health insurance cancellations.

Republicans control the House by 234 to 200, and could see their majority increased despite the lingering hangover from the Tea Party-backed shutdown in October that sent the approval rating of Congress down to historic lows.

“Obamacare has essentially neutralized the Democrats’ momentum from the shutdown. It’s offset it,” said Dave Wasserman, a political analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “All things being equal Republicans ought to be able to gain seats in 2014 because the composition of the electorate will be more favorable to Republicans,” he said. Lower turnout in non-presidential elections often favors the GOP. November 2014 is still a long way away, though. A repeat performance of the government shutdown this winter - when congress will confront new deadlines for raising the debt ceiling and funding the government - could turn the tables once again. So could a dramatic improvement in the implementation of Obamacare or a turnaround in the economy that speeds up growth and creates more jobs.

But Republicans see things playing out in their favor next year. Obama’s bid to persuade insurers to extend policies through 2014 for people whose insurance plans are being canceled means there could be a repeat of the current chaos just in time for the election. Americans could face a perfect storm, losing coverage, shopping for new plans or suffering sticker shock from higher premiums, all while deciding on who to vote for during the heat of the

2014 campaign season.

Democrats dismiss such talk as political bravado and believe Obamacare could provide a net plus for Democratic candidates next November, assuming the troubled HealthCare.gov website is functioning smoothly.

“They don’t want Obamacare to work,” said Democratic National Committee spokesman Mo Elleithee. “They are actually afraid of it working. Why? Because they know once people begin to enjoy the benefits that come with a better and more affordable healthcare system, they won’t want to give them up.”

Still, even Obama sees the issue as a drag on Democrats who support his Affordable Care Act. “There is no doubt that our failure to roll out the ACA smoothly has put a burden on Democrats, whether they’re running or not, because they stood up and supported this effort through thick and thin,” he told a news conference on Thursday. He spoke just before 39 Democrats in the US House of Representatives joined with anti-Obamacare Republicans to pass a “fix” to the insurance cancellations that Obama said he would veto. Twenty-nine of the Democrats are in potentially competitive races in 2014.

Obamacare woes are already hitting the re-election campaign of North Carolina’s Hagan, an Obamacare booster who had a big lead over her Republican challengers but has seen them draw nearly even with her. The Obamacare rollout is seen as a factor. Allies of Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell have been running TV and radio ads in the state tying his Democratic challenger, Alison Lundergan Grimes, to Obamacare. “The DNC thinks they are going to run on Obamacare in 2014, but all of the activity we’ve seen from Democrats running in 2014 shows us just how scared they are,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.

Republicans’ ability to focus on a core issue and keep from being sidetracked will test the party in the months ahead, if the past is any guide. “I think the ground shifted this week in a pretty dramatic way,” said Republican strategist Scott Reed. “It just feels like things are changing for the better, and there will be no more government shutdown silliness.” — Reuters

Push to loosen Gitmo transfer rules

By Nedra Pickler S President Barack Obama is pushing to overcome obstacles to closing the Guantanamo Bay prison, an elusive goal which has frustrated him since he took office. That is setting the White House on a collision course with Congress in its bid to loosen restrictions for moving out detainees.

Administration officials say a Senate defense policy bill, coming up for debate within days, would allow them to move out prisoners who have long been cleared for transfer overseas but are still held, in part because of a complicated Pentagon certification process. The bill would ease those restrictions and lift a ban on bringing suspected terrorist prisoners from Guantanamo to the United States for detention, trial or emergency medical treatment.

The White House effort faces dogged resistance, with opponents pointing out that some former detainees have joined terrorist efforts after being released from the remote U.S. naval prison in Cuba. “Why would you want to reduce the standard?” asked Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican who along with Sen Saxby Chambliss is working on amendments to preserve the current high bar for transfers.

Even if the Senate passes the White House-backed legislation, the House earlier this year approved a measure that further restricts transfers, including an outright ban on sending detainees to Yemen. Yemen is a particular challenge since more than half of the 164 detainees are from there. It’s also home to the world’s most active Al-Qaeda branch. Obama himself imposed a ban on Yemeni transfers from Guantanamo after a Nigerian man attempted to blow up a US-bound flight on Christmas 2009 with explosives hidden in his underwear on instructions from Al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen. But Obama lifted that moratorium in his speech on May 23 at National Defense University in which he said Guantanamo “has become a symbol around the world for an America that flouts the rule of law.”

“I transferred 67 detainees to other countries before Congress imposed restrictions to effectively prevent us from either transferring detainees to other countries or imprisoning them here in the United States. These restrictions make no sense,” Obama said. He has vowed to close the prison. “There is no justification beyond politics for Congress to prevent us from closing a facility that should never have been opened,” Obama said.

Purely from an economic point of view, the administration says Guantanamo is too costly. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

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In this June 27, 2006 file photo, US military guards walk within Camp Delta at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba. — AP told Congress that annual spending on Guantanamo was $454 million - or about $2.7 million per detainee. Obama has not said much publicly about Guantanamo in the six months since the speech, but administration officials say he presses Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry on the matter every week. Obama also has new special envoys for Guantanamo closure at the State Department and Pentagon working full time on the matter. “Our marching orders are very clear from the president, and in terms of what he wants to do, and that’s to close the facility,” said envoy Clifford Sloan at the State Department.

Sloan said achieving that goal requires three steps - transferring out those who have been approved, prosecuting others and making a plan for the remaining detainees accused of participating in dangerous plots who cannot be prosecuted because the evidence against them is inadmissible in a court of law. That’s a tall order on a three-year clock, but Sloan vowed,

“Step by step, we will get there, and we will close it.” Sloan has been holding meetings at Congress to push for more flexibility, while Lisa Monaco, Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser in the White House, has been calling moderate senators to encourage them to back the Senate bill.

The Senate bill would allow the Pentagon to transfer any detainee the administration no longer considers a threat to the United States, as long as actions are taken to “substantially mitigate the risk” that the detainee would re-engage in terrorism and ensure that the transfer is in the national security interest of the United States. This summer, the administration sent home two Algerian detainees. Eighty-four others have long been cleared for transfer, and the US government has begun a formal review process of about 45 others previously considered too dangerous to be released to determine if circumstances have changed. — AP

NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Britain’s Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows, performs at the Dubai Air Show yesterday. — AFP

Biggest Iran drone has 2,000-km range Continued on Page 15 announces technological breakthroughs including the building of jet fighters, tanks, missile, submarines, torpedoes and drones. Most cannot be independently confirmed.

He said the new drone is a key strategic addition to Iran’s military capabilities, and was developed despite tough sanctions against Iran over its suspect nuclear program. “Sanctions by enemies can’t create an obstacle in

the path of progress for our defense industries,” IRNA quoted him as saying. The sanctions were imposed on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a program that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or materials for a warhead.

The country says it is fighting an intelligence battle with the US and Israel, which accuse Tehran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability. Iran denies the charges, saying its nuclear program is peaceful and geared toward generating electricity and producing radioisotopes to treat cancer patients. -— AP

Young Saudis get creative on YouTube Continued from Page 1 Gaily, 16, a student in Riyadh. Addressing serious social issues through humour made it easier to reach the audience, she said. “The public wants to watch what makes them laugh.”

The Internet’s challenge to traditional media is not unique to Saudi Arabia. YouTube has helped fund around 100 new channels on its platform, and 25 attract more than 2 million views per week as of February, according to the most recent data provided by the company. But the restrictions on Saudi society, where morality police patrol public spaces to enforce approved modes of behaviour, has created a uniquely captive audience for web-based news and entertainment, media experts say.

With a population of 28.3 million, Saudi Arabia is now the biggest user of YouTube per capita in the world, and according to analysts Semiocast was the eighth most active country on Twitter as of April, accounting for 2.33 percent of all tweets. “Because of the way of life over there, the main entertainment is based online,” said Salam Saadeh, managing partner of Y+ Venture Partners, a Dubai venture capital firm that specialises in digital, mobile and new media.

Saudis have been ravenous for media outside the state’s purview since they started using the Internet on a mass scale in the 1990s, said Joe Khalil, associate professor of communications at Northwestern University in Qatar. “This included homemade videos and forums where people could exchange ideas,” he said. “The homegrown videos would be duplicated on DVDs or CDs and distributed among friends. This is a do-it-yourself type of media.”

The direct contact with the audience that the Internet allows works to the advantage of low-budget productions, said Kaswara Al-Khatib, owner of Saudi advertising agency Full Stop, who joined UTURN in 2010 and is now company chairman. “You produce, you put online, you get feedback immediately - the number of likes or dislikes, number of views, comments. It’s not like we have to produce a whole season and then ‘Ooops! It’s not doing well’,” he said.

About 90 percent of UTURN’s revenue comes from advertising, of which four-fifths comes from product placement. Neither UTURN nor C3 (Creative Culture Catalyst), which runs its rival Telfaz11, would provide data for revenues or other financial information. C3’s programs have claimed 222 million YouTube views as of mid-September, and according to a company presentation also have 2.85 million followers on Twitter, 1.16 million on Google+ and 724,000 on Instagram.

Eighty-four percent of its viewers are from Saudi Arabia, 5.6 percent from the United States and 1.2 percent from the United Arab Emirates, C3 says. La Yekthar, a satirical series launched in 2010, has 560,000 subscribers and 4.7 million monthly views. Its spinoff Temsa7LY, featuring a puppet alligator talking about

popular YouTube videos and interviewing celebrities, claims 11 million monthly views. “What makes C3 a success is not the product or the business model, but the lifestyle (it promotes),” said Abdulaziz al-Shalan, C3’s cofounder.

C3 also utilises in-content advertising and has integrated products from Unilever, BlackBerry, Saudi Telecom, Samsung, Dunkin’ Donuts, Nestle and CocaCola Co into its shows. “There’s almost no (original) advertising in Saudi Arabia because there aren’t a lot of creatives working in advertising agencies,” said Shalan.

“We are developing a new industry in content advertising,” The Saudi government owns about nine free-to-air television stations through the Broadcasting Services of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (BSKSA), plus there are some privately-held local broadcasters such as Al-Majd, which is religiously-focused, and Rotana, owned by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. No foreign stations can broadcast within Saudi Arabia - although multiple channels reach the kingdom from other countries, capturing about 45 percent of market share - and cinemas are banned. About 90 percent of households have satellite or digital television, according to consultants Informa Telecoms & Media.

Channels transmitting to the kingdom tend to rely on shows that present an idealised picture of Saudi life or foreign productions that are often remote from the experiences of most viewers in a country where nearly half the population is under 25. “Traditional media companies ... create content that is disconnected from reality,” said UTURN’s Mando. The Saudi government has taken steps to monitor or block some web-based communications and content with an eye on the role social media played in the protests that unseated rulers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

But the authorities have so far given YouTube free rein. “There were attempts to regulate blogging, but they haven’t been very successful, so for now they (the authorities) are turning a blind eye,” said Northwestern’s Khalil. That means production companies are operating in an unregulated space - for now. “They’re not broadcasters so don’t need a licence, yet they are filming,” Khalil said.

YouTube declined to say whether it was planning to help start-up channels in Saudi Arabia but said it was watching developments in the region with interest.

“We’re impressed with the boom of content creators in MENA and want to bolster the ecosystem and support them as much as possible,” said Maha Abouelenein, a spokeswoman for YouTube in the Middle East and North Africa. The companies for their part are careful to avoid attracting official attention by being provocative.

“Everybody who works at UTURN was raised in Saudi Arabia and understands the sensitivities,” said Mando.

“We’re a business and in order to fulfill what we started it for, which is to advance society, the best way to do it is without offending anyone.” — Reuters

MPs file to grill Othaina for razing...

Continued from Page 1 Shiite MPs had Friday’s action as an “aggression on Shiite sacred places” and vowed to hold those responsible accountable. The lawmakers’ move came one day after the cabinet formed an investigation committee to probe who issued the orders to remove the tents and to penalize them.

Duwaisan said in a statement after filing the grilling that the minister should bear political responsibility for what happened, adding that they will continue to use constitutional tools guaranteed by the law. Duwaisan challenged the government to face the grilling and not to refer it to the Assembly’s legal committee. He said he was not concerned about rumours that the National Assembly might be dissolved as a result of filing far too many grillings, saying that “we will not be scared for the sake of our seats”.

Shiite MP Khalil Al-Saleh said yesterday that he will back the grilling and he will speak in support of the grilling during the debate. But MP Hamdan Al-Azmi termed the grilling as sectarian, adding that it is the

result of a “conspiracy”, claiming that the action was deliberate and politically-motivated. Azmi also announced that he will file a request to grill Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Thekra Al-Rasheedi next week.

So far, seven grillings have been submitted since the start of the new Assembly term on Oct 29. Two grillings each are against the prime minister, the state minister for planning and state minister for municipality and housing and the seventh against the health minister.

The last grilling was debated last week and ended with 10 MPs submitting a no-confidence motion against the minister. The six grillings are scheduled to be debated on Nov 26 when the vote on the no-confidence motion will take place too.

In another development, the criminal court yesterday sentenced Shiite tweeter Musaab Shamsah for five years in jail for remarks he wrote on Twitter that were deemed offensive to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The court also ordered the confiscation of the mobile Shamsah used to write the tweets. The ruling is not final as it can be challenged before the courts of appeals and cassation.

Egypt’s bitter politics spill onto sports field CAIRO: The banning of two athletes for on-field displays of sympathy with outlawed Islamists has seen Egypt’s bitter politics cast a shadow over sport - and not for the first time.

Al-Ahly football club banned its forward Ahmed Abdel Zaher from next month’s FIFA Club World Cup and intends to sell him over a goal celebration last week that sympathised with supporters of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, deposed by the military in July. Abdel Zaher, 28, held up four fingers in a sign called Rabaa (fourth) in Arabic after scoring a goal against Orlando Pirates of South Africa in African Champions League finals, which Al-Ahly won.

The symbol was adopted by Islamists who camped out for weeks in Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Square to protest the army’s ouster of Morsi before security forces moved in to disperse them on Aug 14. Hundreds of people, mainly Morsi supporters, were killed. Al-Ahly also fined its prized footballer and known Morsi sympathiser Mohamed Aboutrika for failing to show up at the medals ceremony after the match. The decision came after Egypt’s Kung Fu body banned Mohamed Youssef for two years for wearing a shirt bearing the Rabaa sign while accepting his gold medal in a tournament in Russia last month.

The suspension “constitutes part of an autocratic regime’s efforts to control all public space,” James Dorsey, an expert on Middle East soccer and senior fellow at the Singapore-based S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told AFP. “(Abdel) Zaher’s suspension moreover highlights the inextricable relationship between sports and politics that both government and sports bodies deny.”

When Al-Ahly suspended Abdel Zaher, Egypt’s interim minister of state for sport Taher Abu Zeid had urged that he be banned for two years, the “way Kung Fu fighter Mohamed Youssef was.”

Egypt has become deeply polarised since Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president, was ousted by the military amid massive protests against his turbulent oneyear rule. “There is a complete media blackout when it comes to Islamist views...and anyone who expresses dissent is a potential threat,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research at Brookings Doha Center. “Banning players is a clear politi-

cal decision.”

Khaled Mortagy, a member of Al-Ahly’s board, said it was the other way around - that Abdel Zaher “broke a key principle of our club... of not mixing politics with sports.” “We have repeatedly warned players not to do this,” he said, adding that the gesture could have led to a “huge catastrophe” as Al-Ahly has large numbers of supporters from both camps.

But politics has rarely been far from the playing field in Egypt, particularly when it comes to football, a national obsession. “Players largely endorsed (toppled president Hosni) Mubarak because he showered them with gifts when they were victorious,” said soccer expert Dorsey. “It was Mubarak’s way of associating himself with Egypt’s most popular form of popular culture in the hope that some of the game’s glory would counter his increasingly tarnished image.”

However, it was the “Ultras” - notoriously rowdy fans of Al-Ahly - who played a crucial role in toppling Mubarak during the 2011 uprising. They also protested against the military junta that ruled Egypt between Mubarak’s overthrow and Morsi’s election in June 2012. In February 2012 more than 70 people, mostly Ultras, were killed in clashes between fans of Al-Ahly and Al-Masry in Port Said, but the country’s worst sport-related carnage was not overtly political.

But the political divisions were back on display when Egypt’s national team was battered by Ghana last month in the first leg for a World Cup berth, with some Morsi supporters tweeting that Egypt’s shattering 6-1 loss was a punishment for its new rulers. The two teams meet again today.

“If you don’t want to mix sports and politics, you must have clear and established rules,” said Hamid of Brookings. But the authorities feel they can get away with anything, he said, “as they know the international community has largely backed off from what’s happening” in Egypt. Islamists are openly backing Abdel Zaher, with hundreds rallying outside his home after he was suspended. But Al-Ahly insists the footballer is out. “Abdel Zaher is a gentleman ... but we have decided he will not wear (the) Al-Ahly jersey, and this is not a political decision,” said Mortagy. — AFP

Militants blamed for Egypt officer’s killing Continued from Page 1 two years ago and then turned into chanting against the army. Security forces killed 42 people opposed to the military council ruling Egypt at the time. One banner read, “Down with the dogs of the Interior Ministry”.

Another: “The military killed our children”.

The army toppled elected president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood on July 3, a year after he took over from the generals. Since then, Islamist militants based in the Sinai Peninsula have stepped up attacks on security forces in Egypt, one of the United States’ most important regional allies. Militant operations in Cairo have raised concerns that an Islamist insurgency could take hold beyond the Sinai. On Sunday, Interior Ministry Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Mabruk was shot dead outside his home in Cairo’s Nasr City district, the highest-profile killing in Cairo since Morsi’s overthrow following mass unrest against his rule. The attack occurred three days after a three-month curfew and state of emergency were lifted.

Mabruk, who was gunned down by masked men, was in charge of monitoring the Muslim Brotherhood movement in the Interior Ministry’s National Security division. “Our investigations point to Islamic jihadists carrying out this assassination with political motives,” a security official told Reuters. “They were taking revenge on Mabruk because he took care of a very high-profile file.” In a statement, prime minister Hazem El-Beblawi condemned Mabruk’s “assassination by treacherous hands”. “The government will not tolerate criminal and terrorist groups who raise their arms to terrorise security officials,” Beblawi said. He said the authorities are “able to cleanse the country of all criminal hands, returning security and safety to all corners of Egypt”.

The army says a political roadmap will lead to free and fair elections and stability to Egypt, where the popular uprising which toppled Mubarak in Feb 2011 raised prospects for democracy after decades of authoritarian rule.

Since Morsi’s exit, army chief Sisi has become a wildly popular figure in Egypt with state media whipping up public sentiment against the Brotherhood. A small minority of hardcore activists from the 2011 uprising are questioning this official narrative. They are using the anniversary of the Nov 2011 clashes on Mohamed Mahmoud Street to draw attention to the actions of security forces, who have acted mostly with impunity in nearly three years of political upheaval.

In unusual defiance of the army, some activists wrote on social media about their desire to overthrow what

they call the new “military junta”, a reference to the interim government installed by the army after Morsi’s removal. “Our goal must be summed up as the downfall of the ruling military junta,” an activist said on a Facebook page set up to organise the protests that begin this evening.

Beblawi visited Tahrir to lay the cornerstone of a planned memorial that is disputed. The government says the monument will honour the “martyrs” not only of the 2011 uprising, but also of what it calls the “June 30 revolution,” referring to the date of the mass disturbances that precipitated Morsi’s ouster. Activists say it insults the memory of protesters killed by security forces. “Creating a memorial to say we respect the souls of the martyrs without ensuring accountability is basically a joke,” said Ziad Abdel Tawab of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies.

One of the protesters in downtown Cairo on Monday night, Ahmed Abdel Hamid, held up a poster of a friend he said was killed by security forces during the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes. “I’m a son of the revolution and I came out on June 30 to demonstrate against the Brotherhood. But I don’t accept what’s happening in the prisons now. I don’t accept the arbitrary arrests.”

Aside from the Mohamed Mahmoud protests, an Islamist coalition that includes the Brotherhood has called on backers to take to the streets, and today is Sisi’s birthday, raising the possibility that his own followers will demonstrate too.

Separately, at least 26 people were killed in Egypt when a train ploughed into a truck and a mini-bus at a railway crossing early yesterday, the health ministry said. Another 28 people were injured in the accident, which happened south of Cairo. Local police chief Kamal Al-Dali told state television the mini-bus had been carrying guests home from a wedding. The head of the Egyptian Railway Authority said the drivers of the vehicles had ignored warning lights and chains blocking entry to the crossing, and tried to go across the tracks.

“The bus stormed the crossing, according to initial reports,” Hussein Zakaria told state television. “The crossing was closed with chains, (and) there were warning lights,” he said. The train, whose driver survived the crash, continued for almost one kilometre before coming to a halt, he said. Egypt’s rail network has a poor safety record stemming largely from lack of maintenance and poor management. Yesterday’s accident took place days after train services resumed completely across the country, after they were halted due to unrest following the overthrow of Morsi in July. — Agencies

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

S P ORT S Wallabies players suspended MURRAYFIELD: Australia have suspended six players for one match and sanctioned another nine for “breaches of internal team protocols” following a drinking session in the days leading up to Saturday’s test against Ireland, the team said.

“Everyone in our squad is required to comply with and adhere to high standards of ethical conduct both on and off the field,” coach Ewen McKenzie said in a Wallabies statement yesterday.

“Those standards were compromised in the lead-up to Saturday’s victory over Ireland with a group of players making the decision to stay out late and consume inappropriate levels of alcohol during the early hours of Wednesday morning.” Wingers Adam Ashley Cooper and Nick Cummins, front-rowers Tatafu Polota-Nau and Benn Robinson, and backrower Liam Gill have been stood down for Saturday’s test with Scotland at Murrayfield. Front-rower Paddy Ryan has also been given a one-game ban, but will serve his suspension in the Wallabies’ final tour match, against Wales in Cardiff on Nov. 30, because international regulations state all squads must contain at least four props.

Australia have only five in their touring party of 32. McKenzie gave written disciplinary warnings to Dave Dennis, Kane Douglas, Saia Fainga’a, Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps, while Scott Fardy, Mike Harris, Ben McCalman and Nic White received verbal warnings. “Let’s be clear — these are internal sanctions and aren’t a result of any complaints or reports of inappropriate or sinister behaviour while our players were out,” said McKenzie, whose team beat Ireland 32-15. “Instead, we have chosen to address an issue that has come up internally and we are now being up-front about it. —Reuters

Serbia left Ferrari in the garage, says Stepanek BELGRADE: Serbia’s decision to leave Novak Djokovic out of the doubles rubber of their Davis Cup final against Czech Republic was “like leaving a Ferrari in the garage”, victorious opponent Radek Stepanek said on Sunday.

The Czechs wrapped up a 3-2 win to retain their title thanks to Stepanek’s crushing straight-sets demolition of the inexperienced Dusan Lajovic in the decisive rubber. The match, however, hinged on the outcome of the doubles with Djokovic winning both his singles ties and Stepanek, along with stand-in captain Vladimir Safarik, said they were surprised the world number two was rested.

“We expected him to play but that was their decision and we just focused on beating whoever was on the other side of the net,” Safarik, deputising for the ill Jaroslav Navratil, told a news conference.

In Djokovic’s absence, Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek romped to a 6-2 6-4 7-6(4) win over Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac to take a 2-1 lead heading into the final day.

Serbia were already weakened after losing Janko Tipsarevic to a foot injury and Viktor Troicki who was banned for missing a blood test in April. “We only had so many fit and eligible players to choose from and although I must take responsibility for the outcome as the decision maker, I have no regrets about the team selection in any of the rubbers,” Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic said. —Reuters

Boxer Haye advised to retire LONDON: Former world heavyweight champion David Haye has been advised by doctors to consider retiring after undergoing shoulder surgery, the Briton said on Sunday.

Haye underwent five hours of surgery in Germany on Thursday to reconstruct his right shoulder and was advised to think about ending his 11-year professional boxing career.

Haye, 33, had been due to box compatriot Tyson Fury in a rearranged bout on Feb. 8, 2014, in Manchester, but he has cancelled the fight for a second time.

The bout had been originally scheduled for Sept. 28 but was called off after Haye cut his left eyebrow in sparring. “I genuinely believed the shoulder injury wasn’t that bad,” Haye said in a statement on his website (www.hayemaker.com).

“But the doctor sent me for a detailed MRI scan and within 24 hours I was told the full extent of the damage. Twenty-four hours after that I was in the operating theatre. “It’s a crushing blow for me. I had big plans for next year and the ultimate goal was to win back the world heavyweight title, something my amazing fans deserve. “What I didn’t anticipate was that this year would be the unluckiest of my career and that a number of injuries would disrupt my plans so much. Perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be. The boxing Gods keep hinting that maybe enough is enough and that it’s time to finally hang up my gloves.” Haye, who lost his WBA belt in 2011 to Ukrainian Vladimir Klitschko, called off his previous planned fight against Germany’s Manuel Charr in June when he suffered a hand injury. “The surgery and subsequent results are a bitter pill to swallow because I truly felt I had a lot more to offer and was looking forward to paying back my loyal fans with some great fights in 2014,” he added. —Reuters

Kings march past Rangers NEW YORK: Ben Scrivens made 37 saves in his second consecutive shutout and Tyler Toffoli’s second-period goal held up as the winner as the Los Angeles Kings completed a successful Eastern road trip with a 1-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday.

Dominic Moore thought he tied it with 2:41 remaining, but the goal was disallowed because he kicked it in with his right skate.

Scrivens, filling in for injured regular Jonathan Quick, followed up a blanking of New Jersey on Friday with one against the Rangers. Los Angeles went 3-0-1 on the trip, winning the final three games.

Scrivens has gone 155 minutes, 2 seconds without allowing a goal over three games. Los Angeles is 5-0-1 in its last six.

Henrik Lundqvist stopped 29 shots in the hard-luck loss. The Rangers, 7-3 in their last 10, failed to follow up on a 1-0 win at Montreal on Saturday and dropped their second straight at home.

BLACKHAWKS 5, SHARKS 1 Patrick Sharp scored two goals, including one on a third-period penalty shot, and Kris Versteeg had a goal and an assist to lead Chicago over San Jose.

Jonathan Toews and rookie Brandon Pirri also scored for the Blackhawks, who rebounded with a tidy defensive effort following a 7-2 loss in Nashville on Saturday. Joe Pavelski connected for San Jose.

Versteeg scored his first goal with the Blackhawks since being reacquired from Florida on Thursday. Corey Crawford stopped 23 shots and wasn’t heavily tested in the win.

AUSTRALIA: England Ashes Test cricketer Kevin Pietersen plays a shot in this file photo. —AFP

Confident England eye fourth Ashes title in row SYDNEY: The second leg of an Ashes double-header unique in the 131 years of such contests gets underway in Brisbane on Thursday with everything bar the eternal optimism of the Australian nation pointing to a fourth successive England triumph.

With the dominant 3-0 success on home soil still fresh in the memory, England can justifiably approach a trip Down Under with more confidence than at any time since the 1970s, when World Series cricket tore the heart out of the home side.

The core of an England side unbeaten in tests this year has very happy memories of their last trip in 2010-11, when they hammered Australia 3-1 to win the Ashes on foreign soil for the first time in 24 years.

That feeling has been compounded by the conviction that they won in England with something to spare and their vaunted batting line-up can only do better than they did in the five home tests.

“I think Australia will suit our batsmen a bit more than English conditions,” England paceman Stuart Broad said last week.

“We had these sort of slow, turning wickets that are quite hard to score on and we’ve got guys who cut and pull, free-scoring players, and I think our batsmen are very excited to play here and will thrive in the Australian conditions.”

And yet, despite losing seven of their last nine tests and drawing the other two, there is also a growing feeling of confidence in Australia.

The hosts feel the series in England was closer than the scoreline suggested, their batting line-up is more settled than it has been for a while and that if their quick bowlers can fire on the hard home decks, they can really trouble England.

There was little chance that their preparations for the second series could be disrupted as much as those for the first, when coach Mickey Arthur was sacked and opener David Warner was stood down for punching England’s Joe Root in a bar.

The excellent bowling performance of Ryan Harris in England was one reason for the growing optimism and the injuryprone paceman articulated the feeling of the Australia camp after the squad was announced for the Gabba.

“It’s time we brought the urn home and we know that,” he said. “You always have pressure at this level and there is extra after not winning the last few series.

“But if we play our best cricket we will win. We believe in each other.” Australia have been forced by injury to take a gamble on pace bowler Mitchell Johnson recapturing his best form after four years of erratic performances which have made him the favourite target of England’s Barmy Army of fans.

In addition, Harris’s fragile frame is

unlikely to last the full five tests so Australia will be hoping the recuperation of James Pattinson and Jackson Bird continues to go well.

Another gamble was on the uncapped George Bailey for the vacant number six batting spot and while the 31-year-old does not have great red ball pedigree, he has shown a remarkable ability to step for his country in Twenty20 and one-day internationals.

All-rounder Shane Watson’s talent is in no doubt but a hamstring injury has disrupted his preparations and the decision over whether he will be able to bowl in the first test is likely to be taken on the first morning at the Gabba.

Despite those small flies in the ointment, Australia captain Michael Clarke has been trumpeting the new optimism like a politician on the campaign trail.

“I think the team is in a fantastic place and the feeling in the group is outstanding,” he said in Sydney last week. “I think the boys are flying. They’re all looking forward to Thursday week.”

The Australian weather means England’s preparations have not been perfect but, apart from a calf injury to wicketkeeper Matt Prior, they have not seen much to darken their collective mood.

“As a team, I think we can take a lot of confidence about how we’ve performed over a the last 18 months or so,” said Broad.

“We’ve had games where we’ve not been that good but got away with draws when we shouldn’t have done. We’ve got a really steely unit in that changing room.”

Jonny Bairstow is on standby should Prior fail to prove his fitness, while opener Michael Carberry looks set to make his Ashes debut at the Gabba with Root moving down to number six in the batting order. Australia, though, has never been an easy place to tour for any England side.

Their last win at the Gabba came in 1986 and their most recent victory in Perth, venue for the third test, goes even further back to the 1978-79 tour.

The decision to move the Australia-hosted Ashes out of its proximity to the limited overs World Cup in the cricketing calendar means only 88 days will have past between the two series this year.

There has been no sign of any Ashes fatigue setting in, though, and ticket sales have been brisk for all the matches, which also include tests in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

“The Aussie public have got an excitement from feeling their side is a bit more settled and are really coming for us,” added Broad. “And we’ve a lot of confidence in our own ability and I think if I was a fan I’d be really excited about this series, it’s going to be extremely entertaining.” — Reuters

CAPITALS 4, BLUES 1 Alex Ovechkin won the head-to-head matchup between the NHL’s two leading goal scorers, getting a pair in the first period to move into a tie with Alexander Steen in Washington’s win over St. Louis.

Ovechkin’s 16th and 17th goals led the Capitals to their third straight win and seventh in nine games. Mikhail Grabovski and John Carlson also scored for Washington, Nicklas Backstrom had three assists, and Braden Holtby made 46 saves.

Ovechkin and Steen are two of the NHL’s hottest forwards playing for two of the league’s hottest teams, but the Capitals cruised after dominating early, scoring on three of their first six shots against Jaroslav Halak.

Vladimir Sobotka scored in the second period for the Blues, who had won eight of 10. St. Louis was playing for the third time in four nights, including a back-to-back after a home win over Carolina. The Blues took a season-high 47 shots compared to 20 for the Capitals.

BLUE JACKETS 4, SENATORS 1 Ryan Johansen, RJ Umberger and Fedor Tyutin each had a power-play goal to lead Columbus over Ottawa. Derek MacKenzie also scored for Columbus (7-10-3), and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots.

Erik Karlsson scored the lone goal for the Senators (8-8-4) in the third period. Craig Anderson made 18 saves. The ugly game got even uglier after Ottawa’s Mark Borowiecki caught Jared Boll with his head down in the third. James Wisniewski quickly came to his teammate’s defense and fought Borowiecki. The two were tossed from the game.

WILD 2, JETS 1 Mikko Koivu scored two goals, including the

NEW YORK: Ben Scrivens No. 54 of the Los Angeles Kings tends net against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. — AFP winner with 3:12 remaining, as Minnesota extended its winning streak to four games by beating Winnipeg. Josh Harding made 21 saves for his 12th victory.

The Wild have an eight-game point streak (70-1) and pulled into second place, two points behind Chicago, in the Central Division. They also extended their home winning streak to six and are 10-1-2 at home.

The Jets had a four-game winning streak snapped. Koivu doubled his goal total for the season. Zach Parise earned an assist and has 13 points in his past 12 games.

STARS 2, CANUCKS 1 Kari Lehtonen made 42 saves to help Dallas edge Vancouver. Valeri Nichushkin and Erik Cole scored for Dallas (11-7-2), which came off a 7-3 victory over Calgary on Thursday and extended its road winning streak to six games. Henrik Sedin scored for Vancouver (11-8-3), which got 21 saves from Roberto Luongo but dropped its fourth in a row.

After Lehtonen kept Vancouver off the scoreboard in the second period in which Vancouver held a 20-6 edge in shots, Cole made it 2-0 early in the third. — AP

NHL results/standings Columbus 4, Ottawa 1; Washington 4, St. Louis 1; Los Angeles 1, NY Rangers 0; Chicago 5, San Jose 1; Minnesota 2, Winnipeg 1; Dallas 2, Vancouver 1.

Western Conference Pacific Division W L OTL GF Anaheim 15 5 2 71 13 3 5 72 San Jose Phoenix 14 4 3 73 Los Angeles 14 6 1 58 Vancouver 11 8 3 56 Calgary 6 11 3 54 Edmonton 5 15 2 53 Central Division Chicago 14 3 4 78 13 4 4 55 Minnesota St. Louis 13 3 3 66 Colorado 14 5 0 59 Dallas 11 7 2 58 Winnipeg 10 10 2 57 Nashville 9 9 2 46

GA 56 50 66 46 58 75 83

PTS 32 31 31 29 25 15 12

61 44 46 41 56 61 63

32 30 29 28 24 22 20

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Tampa Bay 14 6 0 64 50 28 Boston 12 6 1 53 36 25 Toronto 12 7 1 57 47 25 Detroit 9 5 7 54 60 25 Montreal 10 9 2 52 45 22 Ottawa 8 8 4 58 62 20 Florida 5 12 4 46 70 14 Buffalo 5 16 1 41 68 11 Metropolitan Division Washington 12 8 1 69 59 25 Pittsburgh 12 8 0 56 47 24 NY Rangers 10 10 0 42 50 20 Carolina 8 8 4 39 55 20 New Jersey 7 8 5 42 49 19 NY Islanders 8 10 3 61 68 19 Columbus 7 10 3 52 57 17 Philadelphia 7 10 2 35 48 16 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

Bowe breaks world record KEARNS: American Brittany Bowe broke the world record in the women’s 1,000 meters Sunday in a World Cup speedskating race at the Utah Olympic Oval, finishing in 1:12.58.

Bowe broke the record of 1:12.68 set by Canada’s Christine Nesbitt in Calgary, Alberta, on Jan. 28, 2012. “I daydream about it,” Bowe said.

“I’ve dreamed in my sleep about it. When it becomes a reality and finally hits you, it’s a dream come true.” American Heather Richardson was second in 1:12.61, and the Netherlands’ Ireen Wust followed in 1:13.33. Richardson also celebrated Bowe’s victory. “We train together every day,” Richardson said. “It’s great to see her up on top.” Bowe set her sights on winning the race after finishing second a day earlier. Setting a record didn’t really cross her mind until the final lap. “I knew if I could just hang on, it would be a really fast time,” Bowe said.

Japan’s Keiichiro Nagashima won the men’s 500 in 34.24 seconds. The Netherlands’ Ronald Mulder was second in 34.25, and South Korea’s Mo Tae -mum was third in 34.28. American Mitchell Whitmore was seventh in 34.52.

The Netherlands swept the top three spots in the men’s 5,000. Sven Kramer won in 6:04.59, Bob de Jong was second in 6:07.43, and Jorrit Bergsma third in 6:08.13. American Jonathan Kuck finished fifth in 6:09.73. The Netherlands also won the women’s team pursuit in 2:56.02. Canada followed in 2:56.90, and the United States was third in 2:57.09. — AP

KEARNS: Brittany Bowe (center) of the United States celebrates her victory on the podium with Heather Richardson (left) of the United States and Ireen Wust (right) from the Netherlands, after the women’s 1000-meter competition at the World Cup speedskating event. — AP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

S P ORT S

Johnson clinches sixth NASCAR championship HOMESTEAD: Soaked in sweat, champagne and success, Jimmie Johnson celebrated yet another NASCAR championship. Back on top with only two NASCAR legends left to catch, Johnson won his sixth title in eight years Sunday to stake his claim as one of the most dominant competitors in sports history. Now looming large in Johnson’s windshield is the mark of seven titles held by Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt.

The party had barely started on No. 6 when the debate began: Where does Johnson, who on-and-off for two years has used the hashtag ‘6Pack’ on Twitter to describe his bid for this title, rank among NASCAR’s greats?

“I feel like this team is capable of a lot of great things. There’s still great years ahead of us,” Johnson said. “But all of that is in the future, a seventh, an eighth. I don’t want to focus on that yet. It’s not time.” The time to rank Johnson will be when his driving career is over. But at just 38 and the youngest driver to win six titles, his career could last another decade or more.

“I have six, and we’ll see if I can get seven,” Johnson said. “Time will tell. I think we need to save the argument until I hang up the helmet, then it’s worth the argument. Let’s wait until I hang up the helmet until we really start thinking about this.”

Said crew chief Chad Knaus, who trails only Dale Inman’s eight championships in the NASCAR record books: “I don’t think we’re even close to the potential of the team yet.” That should be devastating news to the rest of NASCAR. There’s no telling how many drivers might have won titles had they not competed against Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team. The loser this year was Matt Kenseth, who 10 years removed from his only NASCAR championship had a career year but still came up short.

“Unfortunately, we’re racing during the Jimmie Johnson era,” said Denny Hamlin, winner of Sunday ’s race.

Hamlin lost the 2010 title to Johnson.

“We’re just unlucky in that sense. I think being out there and racing with him, I can say he’s the best that there ever was.” Johnson, needing only to

finish 23rd or better to spoil Kenseth’s dream season, was on cruise control most of the day at Homestead. His lone hiccup came when traffic stacked-up on a restart and he and Kenseth made slight contact, causing Johnson to plunge 15 spots in the field with damage to his fender. Yet he still rallied to finish ninth and beat Kenseth for the title by 19 points.

“He is an amazing talent, there’s no doubt about it,” Knaus said. “He can do things with a race car that most mortals can’t. Let’s just be straight with it.”

Kenseth, needing a Johnson collapse to have any shot at the title, positioned himself to pounce should anything go awry. Kenseth led a racehigh 144 laps and finished second to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Hamlin.

“It was just unbelievable year for us.

Obviously, we wanted to win the championship as good as we ran all year,” said Kenseth, winner of seven races in his first season with JGR. Kenseth’s effort just wasn’t enough against a Hendrick Motorsports team that wouldn’t be denied for a third consecutive year.

“If Jimmie would have got a flat or something, that would have been all right,” Kenseth lamented. “Never seen anything like this in the sport and probably never will again. ... Maybe he’ll retire.”

Johnson won a record five straight titles from 2006 through 2010, was mathematically eliminated before the 2011 finale, but was back in the title hunt last season. Only he had a tire failure in the penultimate race at Phoenix and then a mechanical failure in the finale to lose the championship to Brad Keselowski.

His two-year drought is over, and his crew was ready for the party on the South Beach. “You better get a sip of that (water) bottle, it’s the only healthy liquid you’re going to get all night,” Knaus radioed Johnson after he crossed the finish line. Johnson planned to savor every moment of the celebration and his championship reign. “This is extremely sweet. I feel like those five years were a blur. And things happen so fast,” Johnson said.

“It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it or appreciate it or respect what happened. It just went by so fast it seems like. Now, I’m really going to slow things down

here and enjoy it. This is so, so sweet.”

It was just as special for Hamlin, who bounced back from a fractured vertebra earlier this season that sidelined him for over a month. Hamlin hasn’t been the same since, and Sunday’s victory, his first of the year, extended his winning streak to eight seasons.

“Is the year over yet?” a grinning Hamlin asked in Victory Lane. “Man, I wanted to keep that streak alive.”

Hamlin’s celebration was brief as the victory stage was cleared for Johnson.

Hamlin nearly stood atop the podium in 2010, when he took Johnson down to the wire, only to fade in the finale as Johnson claimed his record fifth consecutive title. Now, with the sixth title, Johnson’s accomplishments resonate far beyond NASCAR. His numbers stack up with Roger Federer, who won 16 of 27 Grand Slams from 2003-10; Michael Phelps, who won 18 gold medals in three Olympics from 2004 to 2012, and Tiger Woods, who won four consecutive majors in 2000 and 2001, and seven overall from 1999-2002.

More important to Johnson, like Michael Jordan, he now has six rings, too. Jordan won six NBA titles from 1991-98. “ When you mention Michael’s name, he’s given me a hard time that I only won five,” Johnson said. “I can’t wait to send him a text and say, ‘Hey, buddy, I’ve caught up.’”

Johnson won the title this year with a 5.1 average finish over the 10 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship races. The mark was second only to the 5.0 average he posted in 2007 when he beat teammate Jeff Gordon for his second title.

It was four-time champion Gordon that discovered Johnson racing in the Nationwide Series in 2001 and convinced team owner Rick Hendrick to hire him for a new fourth team.

“You know, they are unbelievable and they proved it again this year just how good they are as a group, as a team,” Gordon said. “Jimmie as a driver, Chad as a crew chief, Hendrick Motorsports, everybody is just so good. But specifically, the No. 48, they just have a chemistry and a way to make incredible things happen especially at the right times. That is unbelievable — six championships.” –AP

Photo of the day

A Competitor performs at the WISBI Challenge Final 2013 in Spielberg, Austria on October 26th, 2013 — www.redbull.com

Lexi wins Lorena Ochoa Invitational GUADALAJARA: Lexi Thompson won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational on Sunday for her second victory in her last four starts, birdieing the final hole to beat Stacy Lewis by a stroke.

The 18-year-old Thompson made a 5-foot putt on the par-5 18th, then won when Lewis missed her 5-foot attempt. “To have Lorena Ochoa give me the trophy on the 18th green, it’s so memorable and honorable,” Thompson said. “She’s been such a huge role model to me. Just to play in her event, it’s an honor and to be here and to see her. It is a great honor to win this event and have her give me the trophy. It means a lot to me.”

Ochoa won 27 LPGA Tour titles before retiring in 2010.

Thompson closed with a 3-under 69 to finish at 16-under 272 at Guadalajara Country Club. She won the 2011 LPGA Navistar Classic at 16, and took the LPGA Malaysia last month for her second tour title.

Thompson two-putted for the victory. “First off, I had like a 50- to 60footer for the first one, which was interesting getting up there within a few feet,” Thompson said. “You know on the second putt, that’s what it all came down to thinking I can make it and went up to it confidently. Just knock it in.”

The third-ranked Lewis, a threetime winner this year, had a 68. “I knew I had to make it,” Lewis said about her birdie try on the final hole.

“I had a good line on it, just with these greens, those downhill putts are the hardest ones to make. I hit a good putt. I hit it where I wanted to. It just didn’t go in.”

So Yeon Ryu was third at 13 under after a 69. Top-ranked Inbee Park finished fourth at 11 under to wrap up the points-based player of the year award with one event left. She is the first South Korean player to win the award. “I said all year, there should have been at least two or three girls that already won the award, but nobody really did it,” said Park, who

Lexi Thompson shot 69. “It’s just really hard to believe make a run at me any time during that and I’m just very lucky I won.” Lewis round. When she made the two-shot birdied Nos. 12-14 to take a one- swing on me, I think on No. 12, it stroke lead, but dropped into a tie brought it back to all squared. I knew I with Thompson with a bogey on the had to make birdies on top of her because she gets on a roll and she par-3 17th.

“Stacy is an amazing player,” doesn’t stop. She’s an amazing player Thompson said. “I knew she could and played great today.” — AP

English triumphs in Mexico HOMESTEAD: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, poses with his wife Chandra and two daughters Genevieve Marie and Lydia in Champions Victory Lane following the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400. — AFP

World Cup set for Olympic-style preview MELBOURNE: The World Cup this week will offer a glimpse of what to expect when golf returns to the Olympics at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Individual stroke play and world rankings will determine who plays and, for the most part, players will carry the flag of their countries on their golf bags.

After that, the similarities begin to fade.

The World Cup which begins Thursday at Royal Melbourne will have its traditional team component — the Olympics will not have a team competition — and the situation involving Britain and Ireland is much different. That’s raised a bit of a quandary for Rory McIlroy: who he will represent in 2016 in Brazil — Britain or Ireland?

At the Olympics, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compete as Britain. But at the World Cup, England, Scotland and Wales will compete as separate countries. To muddy the waters a bit more at the World Cup, the tradition is for Ireland and Northern Ireland to compete as Ireland. McIlroy is not competing at Royal Melbourne this week, and is confident he still retains the selection choice for the Olympics. For the international players who are at the World Cup the rules are more cut and dried, and use the same rankings format that will be used to determine Olympic places. Players in the top 15 on the Official World Golf Ranking gain access to the World Cup, with the exception that there will be no more than four players for any country. After the top 15, up to two players are allowed per country until the field of about 60 is filled.

When Matt Kuchar, who is representing the United States this week with Kevin Streelman, won the last World

Cup in 2011 with Gary Woodland, the tournament at Haiku, China featured four-ball competitions on Thursday and Saturday and foursomes on Friday and Sunday.

Individual stroke-play was instituted this year for all four rounds to mirror the Olympic format, and the best two scores from each country will determine the team placings.

Adam Scott, who will team with Jason Day this week for Australia, likes the change in format and the fact it attracts world ranking points.

“It’s an important tournament ... and now it’s got that individual focus,” Scott said after winning the Australian Masters on Sunday. “I think it’s going to take a step up from where it was. Certainly you can see that a lot of guys are coming a long way to play for a huge purse and world ranking points.” There are 25 teams set to play, including Italians Francesco Molinari and Matteo Manassero, the Irish pair of Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry and South Korea’s KJ Choi and Bae Sang-moon.

Fiji’s Vijay Singh, who finished third in the Australian Masters, will be one of the approximately 15 players competing only in the individual competition which offers $7 million in prize money. The winning individual player gets $1.2 million, the winning team $600,000.

Yesterday, Singh was out on the 18th hole at Royal Melbourne practicing putting to various parts of the green.

“I’ll take a lot from last week, and know the course coming into the World Cup,” Singh said. “I had six of everything yesterday, six pars, six bogeys and six birdies. I intend to learn from my mistakes and play better this week.” — AP

MEXICO: A steady finish by Harris English coupled with a late stumble

by Swede Robert Karlsson helped lift the American to a four-stroke victory at the $6 million OHL Classic at Mayakoba on Sunday.

English closed with a six-under-par 65 at the El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, to cruise to his second PGA Tour victory following his breakthrough win at the St. Jude Classic in Tennessee in June.

The 24-year-old English bogeyed the par-four second, birdied seven of his next 11 holes and then closed the tournament with five consecutive pars for a 21-under 263 total and a $1.08 million payday.

“It was an awesome win. I was a lot more comfortable out there than I was in Memphis a couple of months ago,” English said after moving to second on FedExCup points standings.

Fellow American Brian Stuard (67) claimed second place at 17 under, while compatriots Jason Bohn (68) and Chris Stroud (68) and South African Rory Sabbatini (70) were a further shot back.

The leaders had to complete more than half of the third round on Sunday following torrential rain earlier in the week that put the event behind schedule.

Third-round leader Karlsson, who led by a stroke at the turn, sent drives into jungle hazards at the 12th and 13th holes for successive bogeys and then double-bogeyed 14 to fall out of contention and hand a big lead to English. The Swede finished tied for

sixth at 15 under. “Even yesterday I wasn’t playing great and was struggling little bit with the driver and on a course like this you can’t hit the really bad ones (and) unfortunately I did,” Karlsson told PGA Tour Radio.

“You usually get found out when it’s into the wind and that’s what happened but (I’m) very, very happy with the week overall and two top-10s in a row.” English started the final round one shot behind Karlsson, and was still behind at the turn, before picking

Harris English

up birdies at 10th and 11th holes to take a one-stroke lead.

Karlsson then self-destructed to all but hand victory to English, who only had to avoid disaster down the stretch, which he duly did. The Mayakoba event marked the sixth official tournament of the 2013-14 PGA Tour season, which for the first time started its season in October, rather than January. The tour now takes a break before resuming in Hawaii in early January. — Reuters

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

S P ORTS

Italian soccer in dire state as television weighs options MILAN: When Italy’s cash-strapped soccer clubs meet late yesterday to prepare for a new deal on broadcast rights, their deliberations will be colored by the unhappy knowledge that Italian football is in a dismal state and viewers are switching off.

A farcical match in the third division this month, which saw a local derby near Naples abandoned after players were threatened by fans and faked injury to avoid playing, underlined the grim climate in the Italian game, beset for years by match-fixing scandals and stadium violence.

More seriously, from the broadcasters’ point of view, the game’s top level has fallen sharply since the glory days of the 1990s, when Serie A was a byword for footballing glamour and attracted the cream of the world’s playing talent.

Italy’s deep recession has hit spending on luxuries like television football subscriptions hard, but broadcasters have also been worried by a slide in matchday attendances and the now standard backdrop of empty seats in half-filled stadiums.

Swedish attacker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, perhaps the last genuine international star to play in Italy, moved to Qatar-backed Paris Saint Germain in 2012, and though in 2010 Inter Milan won the UEFA Champions League, a competition among Europe’s top clubs, Italian clubs overall have slipped behind their rivals in Spain, Germany and England.

“The reality in Italy is that pay-TV is losing subscribers,” Marco Giordani, chief financial officer of Mediaset, Italy’s biggest private broadcaster told financial market analysts this month.

“Consumer spending is declining, disposable income is declining, the UEFA ranking of the Italian team is declining, the number of teams participating in the European competition is declining, top players are leaving Italy,” he said.

It is in this downbeat climate that the clubs are

preparing to appoint an agent to negotiate next year with the television companies for a new deal for the rights to broadcast matches, which are shared between clubs and form well over half of their annual income.

The choice of agent, expected at a meeting late yesterday of Lega Calcio, the body that represents the clubs, will set the agenda for at least the next three seasons. The company favored to win, Swissbased agency Infront, has held the contract since 2009 and is bidding to have it extended for another six years in the face of resistance from some of the clubs and from News Corp’s Italian unit Sky Italia.

Sky Italia has long been unhappy with a status quo, which it says holds back development of the game and favors its rival, Mediaset, owned by Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister and boss of Serie A club AC Milan.

It has pushed hard for a re-negotiation of the contract, which, uniquely in Europe, awards television rights on the basis of delivery platform but which charges widely different prices to the two main broadcasters.

Sky pays 561 million euros for the right to broadcast 380 matches a year via satellite, while Mediaset pays only 268 million euros for 324 matches on digital terrestrial television, which used to have - but no longer has - a smaller geographical coverage than satellite. “It is a discriminatory model which is not fair, just or sustainable,” Sky Italia Vice President Jacques Raynaud said in a letter to the Corriere della Sera newspaper earlier this year.

Without the roughly 1 billion euros ($1.35 billion) in television income, the clubs, which racked up combined operating losses of 160 million euros in the 2011/12 season, would be unable to keep going. But without the 4.4 million subscribers to soccer matches, Sky and Mediaset, the two pay-TV

companies left after the failure of the fledgling Dahlia in 2011, would also struggle to keep their operations going. “Lega Calcio’s problem is how to increase these revenues in the long term so they can compete with other leagues abroad,” said Claudio Aspesi, an analyst at financial market research firm Sanford Bernstein. “But Italy is a market that is not big enough to support two pay-TV operators. That’s the bottom line.”

Sky proposes breaking up the rights into packages on which different operators would be free to bid for exclusive rights, a model it says would open the sector up to more competition, increase subscribers and bring in more revenue.

But many of the clubs are suspicious that such a model would give too much power to one broadcaster, while Mediaset, which is slashing costs and investments to make up for falling advertising sales and is unable to match Sky Italia’s bidding power, fears being left only with unattractive packages.

“If there are good packages and bad packages, we’re not going to be bidding for the bad ones; we’d get out of football,” said one source close to Mediaset. “It would be bad news for us, but we’re not going to pay money for something no-one watches.”

Infront’s chairman Marco Bogarelli, a veteran executive whose career stretches back to the 1980s when Berlusconi pioneered private television in Italy, rejects the frequently heard criticism that he is too close to Mediaset and Milan, for which Infront manages some commercial rights.

He says he is committed to maximising revenues but he has been reluctant to consider changing the current system. “Our role is to sell the product as best we can. But in the end it’s the market and the fans and supporters that set the price,” he told Reuters.

Infront says it will guarantee a minimum of 900 million euros a year to the clubs for the next three seasons and another 930 million for the three seasons after that in a six-year deal worth 5.5 billion euros. The deal has been upset by an 11th-hour offer from sports agency IMG, which put in a 3 billion euro bid for domestic and international rights for the three seasons from 2015/16, sources close to the situation said. IMG declined to comment ahead of Monday’s meeting of Lega Calcio.

Sources close to the talks say the clubs are expected to back Infront’s offer, but only for three years, rather than the full six years it has sought, with several clubs still unhappy with the proposal.

The battle has already split Lega Calcio into two blocs, with a 13-strong group around Milan and Mediaset lining up against Sky Italia and a smaller group of seven clubs led by Juventus that want to overhaul the system.

Big clubs such as Juventus, with its big fan base, glorious playing history and ties to car giant Fiat, and Inter Milan, now owned by Indonesian tycoon Erick Thohir, play in a different financial league from smaller clubs such as tiny Hellas Verona or Udinese and already collect the lion’s share of TV revenues.

They have been particularly keen for an overhaul with more cash raised from international rights, which Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli noted last month earned Italian clubs only a fraction of the sums raised by the English Premier League.

For the moment, though, the betting is that the current arrangement will continue without the kind of revolution that would create new winners and losers among clubs desperately hanging on to their share of a shrinking pie. “That’s not going to happen,” said one source close to Mediaset. “I don’t think the clubs are going to be that greedy and risk what they’ve got already.” —Reuters

Costa finds ally in choice of Spain over Brazil

PARIS: Ukraine national team players run during a training session on the eve of second leg World Cup 2014 qualifying play-off matches against France. — AFP

Mexico face NZ with one foot in World Cup finals WELLINGTON: Pride dented and World Cup hopes in the balance, Mexico have coped with the ignominy of an intercontinental playoff and are all but assured of a spot at next year’s global soccer showpiece before they face New Zealand in the second leg tomorrow.

‘El Tri’, who only qualified for the playoff when the United States scored two late goals to beat Panama, ran rampant against a defensive All Whites’ side at the Azteca last week to record a 5-1 victory in the first leg. While New Zealand must score at least four goals to give themselves

Mexico coach Miguel Herrera

any hope of advancing to their second successive finals, the visitors are not prepared to accept they have booked their place in Brazil just yet.

“We’re here to win the match, to convince that we’ve done things right,” coach Miguel Herrera told reporters in Wellington. “We can’t make the mistake of overconfidence or triumphalism, at this moment our principal enemy could be Mexico (itself). “We’ll go out with the same attitude, as determined or more so than in the first leg.”

Mexico exploited New Zealand’s defensive tactics in the first leg when the All Whites had nine players behind the ball at times, which allowed the hosts the space to dictate play.

They also exploited a makeshift All Whites defence with three goals coming from set-pieces. New Zealand felt the

result flaterred Mexico. “I don’t think the Mexican team were worthy of five goals,” All Whites midfielder Chris James told reporters.

“I think we handed it to them, they’re a good team and everyone can see that but I think ... we gave them the chance to score five goals and they took them.”

The All Whites have adopted a seige mentality in the buildup to the clash, trying to convince themselves and the New Zealand public they can overturn the deficit. Much of the feeling at home, however, is that qualification is beyond New Zealand. Instead, the focus has shifted to the future of coach Ricki Herbert, who delivered a bizarre outburst after the game in Mexico, and whether he will give younger players an opportunity to prove themselves.

The 52-year-old’s contract is to expire at the end of the current campaign, and short of a miraculous turnaround at Wellington Regional Stadium, Herbert is expected to be out of work by the end of the week.

New Zealand Football Chairman Frank van Hattum told local media they expected to call for applications for the job and Herbert was welcome to express his interest. Herbert will be forced to shake up his defence tomorrow with Ivan Vicelich and Leo Bertos both suspended after picking up yellow cards in Mexico City. The biggest question will be whether he embraces calls to introduce younger players to help build a team for the future, with pundits suggesting defenders Bill Tuiloma and Storm Roux should be given an opportunity.

A more attacking mindset has also been forced upon him with calls for James to start alongside Michael McGlinchey in the midfield while VfB Stuttgart’s Marco Rojas and Shane Smeltz should also come in after striker Chris Wood was suspended. “We need to score four goals, so we have to be attacking,” James said. “We felt that we let the country down a bit with the performance last week. “We are going to take it to them, the same way they did to us in Mexico.” — Reuters

Matches on TV (Local Timings) FIFA World Cup play offs

France v Ukraine Aljazeera Sport 5 HD

23:00

Romania v Greece Aljazeera Sport +4

22:00

Croatia v Iceland Aljazeera Sport +2

22:15

Egypt v Ghana Aljazeera Sport +2

19:00

Sweden v Portugal Aljazeera Sport 4 HD

22:45

Algeria v Burkina Faso Aljazeera Sport +1

21:15

African Qualifiers

MADRID: Because he was born in Brazil but opted to play for Spain, Diego Costa can expect a rough reception from Brazilian fans at next year’s World Cup. But Marcos Senna completely understands Costa’s decision to play for the country that adopted him.

Like Costa, Senna also was born in Brazil but played his international football for Spain. He expects the furor over the striker’s choice of national team and the tug-of-war for him between Spain and Brazil to soon blow over.

“I don’t see any reason for such polemic,” Senna, a 2008 European Championship winner with Spain, said in a telephone interview. “While it is a heated issue right now, I think come the World Cup, people will be focused on their own teams.” Dozens of naturalized players have turned out for Spain over the years. The most famous are Argentina-born Alfredo di Stefano, who made 31 appearances for Spain, and Hungarian pair Ferenc Puskas and Laszlo Kubala. Costa moved to Europe in 2005, signing first with Portuguese club Penafiel and then moving around Spain with spells at Celta Vigo, Valladolid, Rayo Vallecano and now Atletico Madrid.

He has scored 17 goals in 18 games for Atletico this season. That reliability makes Costa an interesting alternative for Spain to Fernando Torres, who is so erratic with Chelsea.

The 23-year-old Costa also has a gritty streak not found in all of Spain’s players. “Diego has a particular character that makes up a big part of his game,” Senna said.

Costa played a few minutes for Brazil in friendlies against Russia and Italy in March but never in an official competitive match, leaving him eligible for Spain. A leg muscle injury prevented him from making his debut for Spain on Saturday against Equatorial Guinea. His next chance will come on

Diego Costa March 5 when Spain plays an international friendly against Italy.

Costa said making himself available to Spain was his way of repaying the country where he’s been successful as a professional.

“It’s a complicated decision because it’s a decision related to the country where you were born against the country that has given you everything,” he said. “I hope people can understand and respect this decision, which was very difficult to take.”

Senna said choosing to play for Spain was “the easiest decision of my life.” He was the 40th naturalized player to do so. “From the very first minute, you

feel like a privileged person to be pulling on the jersey,” said Senna, who spent 11 seasons at Villarreal.

“It’s reciprocal. You want to thank the people with your on-field play for all the care and attention they show you.”

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was among those critical of Costa’s choice. He accused him of turning his back “on the dream of millions, to represent the five-time world champions in a World Cup in Brazil.”

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has been welcoming. “Nobody chooses where they are born,” Del Bosque said. “The national team is not a closed club, everyone will be well received here.” — AP

Late win lifts Fluminense away from relegation zone SAO PAULO: Defending Brazilian champion Fluminense scored a last-minute goal to defeat Sao Paulo 2-1 Sunday and move away from the relegation zone in the Brazilian league.

Defender Gum netted the winning goal with a header from a 90th-minute corner to give Fluminense the crucial win at the Maracana Stadium, moving the titleholders two spots away from the drop with three rounds to play.

Fluminense, which also won the title in 2010, is trying to avoid becoming the first defending champion to be demoted in the Brazilian league.

Vasco da Gama remained in serious danger of relegation after a 0-0 draw at Corinthians, a result that kept the four-time Brazilian champion 18th in the 20team standings. The bottom four clubs are demoted.

Cruzeiro, which clinched its third Brazilian title on Wednesday, drew Ponte Preta 2-2 with its secondstringers. Some Fluminense players kneeled in relief after the final whistle at the Maracana as nearly 40,000 fans chanted frantically on the stands.

Gum sent his header into the far corner to give Fluminense its second consecutive victory after a streak of nine winless matches had left the champion in danger of relegation. Midfielder Welliton had put Sao Paulo ahead in the 18th and right back Jean scored Fluminense’s first goal in the 25th.

“This was a special victory,” Gum said. “We are still in a difficult situation, but things are starting to improve, things are returning back to normal, we are winning again.” The victory moved Fluminense to 15th place with 42 points, one more than 16th-place Bahia and two more than 17th-place Coritiba. Bahia beat already relegated Nautico 1-0 in Recife, while Coritiba lost 2-1 to Criciuma in Curitiba on Saturday.

Fluminense’s turnaround coincides with the hiring of Dorival Jr., who replaced former Brazil and Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo two rounds ago.

“Dorival is making all the difference,” Fluminense midfielder Vagner said. “He boosted the team’s morale.” A four-time national champion, Fluminense almost was relegated in 2009, but it won six of its last seven matches to remain in the first division. The Rio de Janeiro club was relegated to the second division for the first time in the late 1990s.

Before the match, Fluminense announced that next year it will count on Argentine playmaker Dario Conca, who played with the team in 2011.

Sao Paulo, a six-time Brazilian champion, rested some regular starters because it’s in the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana, a competition it won last

year. The team is only eighth in the Brazilian league.

Vasco da Gama needed a victory to have a chance to leave the relegation zone, but it couldn’t manage more than a scoreless draw against club world champion Corinthians at the Pacaembu Stadium in Sao Paulo. Vasco, which made a coaching change just four

rounds ago, hasn’t won in three matches and is four points away from Bahia, the first team outside relegation zone. Corinthians, which announced this week that will not keep coach Tite next year, has drawn 16 of its 35 matches in this year’s league. It is ninth on the table with 49 points. —AP

ARGENTINA: Boca Juniors’ midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme (right) vies for the ball with Arsenal’s midfielder Nicolas Aguirre during their Argentine First Division football match. — AFP

River Plate continues its slide in Argentina BUENOS AIRES: River Plate continued its terrible run with a 3-1 loss Sunday at home against struggling Olimpo. River Plate has picked up only three points from a possible 21 in its last seven matches, falling near the bottom of the first-division standings with 17 points in 16 games.

Olimpo has only 11.

Giovanni Simeone gave River a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute, before Olimpo rallied with goals from Martin Perez Guedes, Ivan Furios and David Vega. Angry fans at River’s Monumental stadium chanted, “Out, all of you,” with loud jeers as the team left the field.

In another Sunday match, Ramiro Caseres scored all three goals as Velez Sarsfield defeated Rosario Central 3-2. Walter Acuna scored in the 86th for Rosario and Gonzalo Castillejos added a second two minutes later.

On Saturday, San Lorenzo defeated Belgrano 4-2 to take the lead with 30 points. Newell’s Old Boys have 29 points and can move clear at the top with a victory Monday over Tigre. Also on Saturday, All Boys lost 3-2 to Lanus 3, Godoy Cruz downed Estudiantes 2-1 and Quilmes drew 1-1 with Racing Club. On Friday, Gimnasia and Argentinos Juniors drew 0-0. — AP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

S P ORT S

Chiefs lose but can still learn from it DENVER: The Kansas City Chiefs came out of it with their record finally sullied yet their pride still fully intact. No reason to be embarrassed by losing to Peyton Manning and the Broncos in Denver on Sunday night, even if they were the last unbeaten team in the NFL. Indeed, the argument could be made that the Chiefs played well enough in a 27-17 loss that they have legitimate hope when the two teams meet two weeks from now in a rematch in Kansas City.

That, of course, will be predicated on finding some more offense because no one is going to beat the Broncos without putting a healthy number of points on the scoreboard.

But at a time of year in the NFL where teams start sneaking a look at playoff possibilities, the Chiefs still have to like what they see.

No one expected a team that went 2-14 last season to run the table anyway, and the first-half schedule was so weak that even the Chiefs seemed a bit unsure how good they had actually become under the mustachioed and rejuvenated Andy Reid.

The answer is they’re plenty good, even if their chances to rally were slim on Sunday. The Chiefs simply aren’t built for big comebacks, and by the

time they had gotten acclimated to the thin air in Denver the Broncos already owned a 10-0 lead they weren’t about to relinquish.

But if there is such a thing as a good loss - something no self-respecting coach would ever admit this was it. “We played a good football team and they got us today,” Reid said. “There are things we can learn from here and get those fixed. We’ll get ourselves better.”

The Chiefs will need to do just that if they want this to be known as more than just a turnaround season under Reid.

To win a rematch against the Broncos - or to win a playoff game in January - they’ll have to get more out of quarterback Alex Smith and an offense that sputtered much of the night in Denver.

They will also need to figure out how a team leading the NFL in sacks didn’t drop Manning once all night. “We’ll get a handle on it. I’m not worried,” linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “We’re not sitting back shocked like we’re not this team that we thought we were. We’re 9-1 and things are still looking up for the Chiefs.”

Things are looking up for the Broncos, too, who had a pretty good night on primetime television

with their coach convalescing from heart surgery at home.

Any team with Manning under center is going to be overlooked on defense, but with Von Miller rounding back into form and fellow linebacker Wesley Woodyard healthy the Broncos are suddenly a pretty good defensive team, too.

And any time Manning - who showed decent mobility on his heavily taped ankles - gets through a game barely being touched, it’s a good night. “To go sackless against the leading sack defense in the NFL, that’s a great testament to those guys,” Manning said.

The Broncos, though, always figured to be good this season. The Chiefs were another matter. After 14 seasons in Philadelphia, Reid has turned things around quickly in Kansas City, thanks largely to a hard-nosed defense and an early schedule of patsies.

Still, even as the wins kept piling up it was hard to find many in football predicting the Chiefs would go deep in the playoffs.

The non-believers included the sharp guys in Vegas, who thought so little of the Chiefs that they were eight-point underdogs against Denver. It was

the first time in recent memory that a team unbeaten so late in the season was not favored to continue its winning ways.

Denver will almost surely be favored in the rematch, too, though the Broncos have other business to take care of first in a hotly anticipated game next Sunday in New England. It will be Manning against Tom Brady once again in a game that could serve as a preview to a Super Bowl eliminator in January. The Chiefs, meanwhile, return home to face San Diego, and they do it for the first time with a blemished record.

“As great as it is to win, it’s that lousy to lose,” Smith said. “(But) it’s good in some ways. Good teams gotta find a way to deal with it. How many teams have ever gone undefeated, two in the history of football?” The Chiefs weren’t going to be No. 3, even if they had somehow found a way to beat Denver. No one was confusing them with the 1972 Dolphins or the 2007 New England team that was perfect until the Super Bowl.

They’re a good solid team that couldn’t win largely because the quarterback of the other team is named Peyton Manning. And no one should be embarrassed about that. — AP

Bears maul Ravens as Saints and Eagles win CHICAGO: Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal to lift the Chicago Bears to a 23-20 victory over Baltimore on Sunday in a game delayed about two hours by a torrential downpour. Justin Tucker tied it for the Ravens with a 21-yard field goal at the end of regulation. The big delay came after Tucker kicked a 52-yard field goal with 4:51 remaining in the first quarter. Fans were ordered to take cover. Players headed to the locker rooms as heavy rains and winds whipped through Soldier Field. They emerged about two hours later with the sky clearing and the sun coming out, but the rain and wind returned in the third quarter, turning the stands into a sea of ponchos. Gould won it with a 38yarder on third-and-8 with 8:41 left in OT.

PITTSBURGH: Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell (26) leaps for more yardage as he tries to evade Detroit Lions strong safety Glover Quin (27) and the defense in the first half of an NFL football game. — AP

Blazers beat Raptors in OT TORONTO: LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard each scored 25 points, and Nicolas Batum added 24 as the Portland Trail Blazers won their sixth straight game with a 118-110 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Lillard was 3 for 3 from the floor in the extra period as the Blazers escaped after blowing a 17-point lead in regulation. Rudy Gay forced overtime with a buzzer-beating layup and tied a season high with 30 points to go with 10 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points and Jonas Valanciunas added a season-high 19. The Blazers made a season-high 15 3-pointers, finishing 15 for 32 from beyond the arc. Toronto made just three.

LAKERS 114, PISTONS 99 Jordan Hill had career highs of 24 points and 17 rebounds, and Jodie Meeks and Nick Young scored 19 points apiece in the Lakers’ victory over Detroit.

Steve Blake had nine points and 16 assists for the Lakers, who made a late surge for just their second victory in six games. Los Angeles scored 16 consecutive points in a rally spanning the third and fourth quarters, holding Detroit without a

field goal for more than five minutes.

Brandon Jennings scored 23 points and Andre Drummond had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons, who have lost five of six. Detroit has lost 38 of its last 40 road games against Western Conference teams.

GRIZZLIES 97, KINGS 86 Zach Randolph scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and also had 10 rebounds to lead Memphis over Sacramento.

The Grizzlies led by 20 points in the third quarter and survived a second-half rally by the Kings to win their second straight on their four-game road trip that includes tough games late yesterday against the Clippers and Wednesday at Golden State.

Marc Gasol had 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Grizzlies. Mike Conley also had 19 points and nine assists, and Tony Allen added 12 points.

Travis Outlaw scored a season-high 18 points for the Kings, who have lost two straight and seven of eight. Isaiah Thomas added 15 points and Marcus Thornton had 12. DeMarcus Cousins, who came into the game averaging 22.8 points, had nine points in 19 minutes. —AP

SAINTS 23, 49ERS 20 Marques Colston capped a record-setting day with a 20-yard reception to get the Saints into field goal range, and Garrett Hartley kicked a 31-yarder as time expired, lifting New Orleans over San Francisco.

Hartley, who had missed four field goals in the Saints’ previous three games, made all three of his field goal attempts in the fourth quarter - he earlier hit from 21 and 42 yards. The Saints (8-2) overcame three turnovers, a failed fourth down conversion and a 20-14 deficit. Colston finished with five catches for 80 yards to become the Saints’ all-time leader in yards receiving with 7,923, passing Eric Martin’s two-decade-old mark of 7,854.

Colin Kaepernick completed 17 of 31 passes for only 127 yards and was sacked three times as the Niners (6-4) lost their second straight.

EAGLES 24, REDSKINS 16 Nick Foles threw for 298 yards and ran for a touchdown, LeSean McCoy had two TDs rushing as Philadelphia snapped a 10-game home losing streak.

A year after finishing 4-12 under Andy Reid, Chip Kelly’s Eagles (6-5) are first in the NFC East. They’re a half-game ahead of idle Dallas (5-5). The defending division champion Redskins fell to 3-7.

The Eagles hadn’t won at the Linc in 413 days since defeating the New York Giants on Sept. 30, 2012. Down 24-0 in the fourth quarter, the Redskins rallied behind Robert Griffin III’s TD passes of 62 yards to Darrel Young and 41 yards to Aldrick Robinson and both 2-point conversions. RG3 then drove the Redskins to the Eagles 18 before his pass off his back foot was intercepted by Brandon Boykin.

BENGALS 40, BROWNS 21 Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes as Cincinnati returned a blocked punt and a fumble for touchdowns during a 31-point second quarter that set a Bengals record and swept the AFC North leaders over Cleveland. The Bengals (7-4) head into their bye week with their division lead intact. They’d lost their last two games in overtime, tying the NFL record and allowing the Browns (4-6) to draw close.

The biggest quarter in club history left this one in hand by halftime. It ended as the most lopsided game in the intrastate series since Cincinnati’s 30-0 win in Cleveland in 2006. Dalton had a horrid start that helped Cleveland get a promising early lead. He threw two passes that were picked off by Joe Haden, who ran one of them back 29 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead in the first quarter. When the quarter ended, Cleveland fell apart.

STEELERS 37, LIONS 27 Ben Roethlisberger passed for 367 yards and four touchdowns, including two in the final 5 minutes as Pittsburgh rallied to beat Detroit.

Antonio Brown caught seven passes for 147 yards and two scores and Pittsburgh’s defense rebounded from a horrific second quarter to shut out Detroit in the second half. The Steelers (4-6) have won two straight and kept the Lions (6-4) winless in Pittsburgh for 58 years and counting. Matthew Stafford threw for 362 yards with two touchdowns and an interception to become the Lions’ all-time leading passer. Calvin Johnson hauled in six passes for 179 yards and both scores, but Detroit’s two stars disappeared over the final 30 minutes. Stafford completed just 3 of 16 passes in the second half, with none of the completions going to Johnson.

LaMarcus Aldridge

NBA results/standings Portland 118, Toronto 110 (OT); Memphis 97, Sacramento 86; LA Lakers 114, Detroit 99.

Eastern Conference Western Conference Atlantic Division Northwest Division W L PCT GB Portland 8 2 .800 Philadelphia 5 6 .455 Oklahoma City 6 3 .667 1.5 4 7 .364 1 Toronto Minnesota 7 4 .636 1.5 Boston 4 7 .364 1 Denver 4 5 .444 3.5 NY Knicks 3 6 .333 1 Utah 1 10 .091 7.5 Brooklyn 3 6 .333 1 Pacific Division Central Division LA Clippers 7 3 .700 Indiana 9 1 .900 Golden State 7 3 .700 5 3 .625 3 Chicago Phoenix 5 4 .556 1.5 Cleveland 4 7 .364 5.5 LA Lakers 5 7 .417 3 Detroit 3 6 .333 5.5 Sacramento 2 7 .222 4.5 Milwaukee 2 7 .222 6.5 Southwest Division Southeast Division San Antonio 9 1 .900 Miami 7 3 .700 Houston 7 4 .636 2.5 6 4 .600 1 Atlanta Dallas 6 4 .600 3 Charlotte 5 5 .500 2 Memphis 5 5 .500 4 Orlando 4 6 .400 3 New Orleans 4 6 .400 5 Washington 2 7 .222 4.5

BILLS 37, JETS 14 Jairus Byrd had two interceptions in leading a Buffalo defense that forced four turnovers in a victory over the Jets. Kyle Williams had two sacks and forced a fumble, and Da’Norris Searcy returned Geno Smith’s third interception 32 yards for a touchdown. Buffalo (47) snapped a three-game skid and won for only the second time in seven games.

Buffalo’s EJ Manuel won Round 2 of the AFC East showdown of rookie quarterbacks by finishing 20 of 28 for 245 yards passing and two scores.

Smith, a second-round pick out of West Virginia, struggled in blustery conditions, finishing 8 of 23 for 103 yards four turnovers - including a lost fumble before being yanked in favor of Matt Simms after three quarters. The Jets (5-5) became the NFL’s first team to alternate wins and losses through the first 10 games of the season.

RAIDERS 28, TEXANS 23 Rookie Matt McGloin threw three touchdown passes in his first NFL start as Oakland extended Houston’s franchise-record skid to eight games in Texans coach Gary Kubiak’s return from a mini-stroke. McGloin, an

MIAMI GARDENS: San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews (24) stiff arms Miami Dolphins middle linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (59) during the second half of an NFL football game. — AP undrafted free agent, was 18 of 32 for 197 yards in place of an injured Terrelle Pryor. Kubiak wasn’t on the sidelines, instead coaching upstairs from the booth on doctor’s orders two weeks after collapsing at halftime of Houston’s game against Indianapolis.

Houston (2-8) had a chance to take the lead late.

But Matt Schaub’s pass to Andre Johnson on fourth down from the 8 was broken up in the end zone to give Oakland (4-6) the win.

CARDINALS 27, JAGUARS 14 Carson Palmer threw for 419 yards and two scores and did not throw an interception for the first time all year, leading Arizona over Jacksonville.

Michael Floyd had a career-high 193 yards receiving, including a 91-yard touchdown on a catch-andrun. Will Blackmon was beaten on the play, and then slipped off the receiver and rolled into cornerback Alan Ball to set Floyd free the rest of the way. The Cardinals (6-4) won their third straight game. The Jaguars (1-9) at least scored a touchdown at home for the first time this year. On fourth-and-2 from the 38 on the opening drive, Chad Henne found tight end Danny Noble behind the defense for a 62-yard score. It was Noble’s first NFL reception.

BUCCANEERS 41, FALCONS 28 Bobby Rainey rushed for 163 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Tampa Bay over struggling Atlanta. A waiver wire pickup who’s filling in for the injured Doug Martin and Mike James, Rainey scored on first-half runs of 43 and 3 yards. He caught a 4-yard TD pass from Mike Glennon in the third quarter to help the Bucs (2-8) win for the second straight time following an 0-8 start. The Falcons (2-8) have lost four straight by a combined score of 135-61.

The 5-foot-8, 212-pound Rainey also ran for 45 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown in a 22-19 victory over Miami the previous week. He’s been with the Bucs for four games after beginning the season as a kick returner and backup running back with the Cleveland Browns.

GIANTS 27, PACKERS 13 Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul scored on a spectacular, leaping 24-yard fourth-quarter interception return as the resurgent Giants won their fourth game

in a row by beating slumping and injured-riddled Green Bay. Eli Manning threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Rueben Randle and Brandon Jacobs added a 1yard run as the Giants (4-6) handed the Packers (5-5) their third straight loss, their longest skid since a fivegame losing streak near the end of 2008. Two of the three losses have come with quarterback Aaron Rodgers sidelined with a broken collarbone.

While Scott Tolzien played well at times in his first NFL start, the Giants intercepted him three times, setting up 10 points. Pierre-Paul’s pick early in the fourth quarter gave New York a 14-point lead.

SEAHAWKS 41, VIKINGS 20 Percy Harvin made an impact in his season debut, returning a kickoff 58 yards late in the first half to set up Russell Wilson’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin as the Seahawks rolled to their franchiserecord 13th straight home win by beating Minnesota.

Harvin made his anticipated Seattle debut after missing the first 10 weeks of the regular season following hip surgery. His kickoff return proved one of the biggest plays as Seahawks improved to 10-1 and stayed on top of the NFC heading into their bye week.

Wilson and Marshawn Lynch wouldn’t let Harvin’s debut take the entire spotlight. Wilson had two touchdown passes, while Lynch had two touchdowns running and one receiving. Wilson completed 13 of 18 for 230 yards and a career-best passer rating of 151.4.

Christian Ponder threw a 38-yard TD to Jarius Wright in the first half for Minnesota (2-8), but threw two poor interceptions in the fourth quarter.

DOLPHINS 20, CHARGERS 16 Miami held San Diego without a touchdown over the final three quarters as Brent Grimes broke up Philip Rivers’ final pass in the end zone as time expired. The victory gave the Dolphins something to celebrate amid a harassment scandal that has raised questions about the team’s locker room culture. An NFL special investigator will question players this week about what might have happened between Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito.

Ryan Tannehill threw for 268 yards, including a 39yard score to Charles Clay, who broke two tackles on the play. Miami managed 104 yards rushing behind a makeshift line. —AP

NFL results/standings Buffalo 37, NY Jets 14; Tampa Bay 41, Atlanta 28; Pittsburgh 37, Detroit 27; Philadelphia 24, Washington 16; Chicago 23, Baltimore 20 (OT); Cincinnati 41, Cleveland 20; Oakland 28, Houston 23; Arizona 27, Jacksonville 14; Miami 20, San Diego 16; Seattle 41, Minnesota 20; New Orleans 23, San Francisco 20; NY Giants 27, Green Bay 13; Denver 27, Kansas City 17.

American Football Conference AFC EAST W L T OTL PF PA New England 7 2 0 1 234 175 NY Jets 5 5 0 0 183 268 Miami 5 5 0 0 213 225 Buffalo 4 7 0 1 236 273 AFC North Cincinnati 7 4 0 2 275 206 Baltimore 4 6 0 1 208 212 Pittsburgh 4 6 0 0 216 245 Cleveland 4 6 0 0 192 238 AFC South Indianapolis 7 3 0 0 252 220 Tennessee 4 6 0 1 227 226 Houston 2 8 0 1 193 276 Jacksonville 1 9 0 0 129 318 AFC West Kansas City 9 1 0 0 232 138 Denver 9 1 0 0 398 255 San Diego 4 6 0 1 228 222 Oakland 4 6 0 0 194 246

PCT .778 .500 .500 .364 .636 .400 .400 .400 .700 .400 .200 .100 .900 .900 .400 .400

National Football Conference NFC EAST Philadelphia 6 5 0 0 276 260 5 5 0 0 274 258 Dallas NY Giants 4 6 0 0 192 256 Washington 3 7 0 0 246 311 NFC North Detroit 6 4 0 0 265 253 6 4 0 0 282 267 Chicago Green Bay 5 5 0 0 258 239 Minnesota 2 8 0 0 240 320 NFC South New Orleans 8 2 0 0 288 183 6 3 0 0 214 115 Carolina Tampa Bay 2 8 0 1 187 237 Atlanta 2 8 0 0 214 292 NFC West Seattle 10 1 0 0 306 179 247 178 San Francisco 6 4 0 0 Arizona 6 4 0 0 214 212 St. Louis 4 6 0 0 224 234

.545 .500 .400 .300 .600 .600 .500 .200 .800 .667 .200 .200 .909 .600 .600 .400

Johnson clinches sixth NASCAR championship

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Bears maul Ravens as Saints and Eagles win

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Italian soccer in dire state as television weighs options

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AUSTIN: A combo of recent and file pictures shows Red Bull Racing’s German driver Sebastian Vettel celebrating on the podium winning the Formula One Grand Prix of (from up left to bottom right) Belgium on August, 25, 2013, of Italy on September 8, 2013, of Singapore on September 22, 2013, of South Korea on October 6, 2013, of Japan on October 13, 2013, of India on October 27, 2013, of Abu Dhabi on November 3, 2013 and of USA on November 17, 2013. Vettel won a record eighth successive race when he triumphed in the 2013 United States Grand Prix. — AFP

Vettel wins US Grand Prix Sets F1 season record with eight straight victories AUSTIN: Sebastian Vettel climbed out of his Red Bull car, pumped his right fist then held up eight fingers, one for each of his consecutive victories. Formula One’s German dominator just keeps on winning. The four-time world champion won the US Grand Prix in easy fashion Sunday, setting an F1 season record with his eighth straight victory behind another blistering drive that gave the field no chance to catch him.

“Incredible. It’s one of those (records) you never expect to be beaten,” Vettel said. Vettel started from the pole position he snagged from teammate Mark Webber of Australia in the finals seconds of Saturday’s qualifying.

The No. 1 spot proved important. Vettel’s trademark quick start got him through the critical first turn ahead of the traffic and his lead was never threatened.

Lotus’ Romain Grosjean of France was second, his best finish of the year. Webber was third.

Vettel charges into next weekend’s season finale in Brazil with a chance to tie Michael Schumacher’s Formula One record of 13 victories in a single season.

Schumacher set the mark in 2004, and also won seven straight races that year.

Vettel also is closing on the overall Formula One record for consecutive victories of nine, set by Alberto Ascari over parts of the 1952 and ‘53 seasons.

“At the end of the day, what makes me jump into the car is not a certain number, but certainly today, when you realize you’ve done it, it makes you very proud in that moment,” Vettel said.

After the victory, Vettel spun his car through several doughnuts, a move that has drawn fines from the sports’ governing body earlier this season.

Vettel later appeared to wipe away tears as he stood on the winner’s podium while listening to the German national anthem. He has been so dominant this season and in recent years that he’s been greeted with boos after several victories. Vettel has dismissed the jeers as frustration from fans of teams who can’t beat him.

“We have to remember these days,” Vettel told his crew over his car radio after the victory. “I love you guys. We have an incredible team spirit. I’m so proud of you. I love you.”

The 26-year-old made his Formula One debut at 19 in the 2007 U.S. Grand Prix in Indianapolis and now

has an American title that escaped him last year.

Vettel led most of the 2012 race in Austin until Lewis Hamilton passed him late to get the win. Vettel had called that a frustrating loss and ruthlessly dominated the field this time.

He avoided the danger of the treacherous first corner that pushes the drivers 133 feet up and into a blind left turn back down the hill. Once through that and still in the lead, Vettel immediately began pulling away.

Webber, frustrated at losing pole position on Saturday, had a terrible start from No. 2. Grosjean and Mercedes’ Hamilton both nosed ahead and pushed him into fourth barely seconds into the race. “(Saturday) is when the victory was made easy for Seb,” Webber said. Webber fought back to overtake Hamilton, who finished fourth. He pushed Grosjean through several tense laps late but couldn’t slip into second as Grosjean held him off.

“You want to be on the outside of turn one, but Romain was already there,” Webber said. “Romain drove a very good race.” For Grosjean, it was another impressive result in the second half of the season as he earned his fourth podium finish of the year and third in six races.

“The strategy was pretty clear: If we were with Mark, we copied what he was doing. If he was pitting for hard tires, we would pit for hard tires,” Grosjean said.

The only dangerous incident came in the first lap.

Sahara Force India’s Adrian Sutil was knocked out of the race when he bumped tires with Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez. The bump sent Sutil nose first into the wall and put the race almost immediately under a yellow flag. Sutil was able to climb out of the car unhurt. For the 37-year-old Webber, Brazil will be his last race in Formula One. He’s leaving the series after 12 years, seven of them with Red Bull, a span that has featured some tense moments with Vettel.

Webber has nine career Formula One victories but none this year despite two starts from pole position and three more from No. 2. He’ll race next year for Porsche in the world endurance championships.

“I t ’s time,” Webber said about his depar ture.

“Driving around in the middle of the race I was thinking, ‘Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.’” — AP

France and Portugal face night of World Cup nerves PARIS: France and Portugal, two of Europe’s footballing heavyweights, face a fraught test of nerves today with their places at the 2014 World Cup finals at stake. France, the 1998 world champions, are 2-0 down to Ukraine after the first leg of their play-off ahead of the return in Paris while Portugal, semi-finalists in 2006, take a slender 1-0 advantage to Sweden.

Elsewhere, Greece look well set to make the finals in Brazil next year as they enjoy a 3-1 lead over Romania while Iceland, bidding to become the smallest country to reach the World Cup, are 0-0 with Croatia ahead of their trip to Zagreb.

France are clearly most at risk of failing to qualify for a major championships for the first time since they missed the boat for the 1994 World Cup. And although Ukraine have lost their previous three play-offs-against Croatia (1998), Germany (2002) and Greece (2010) — they arrive in Paris with a two-goal cushion from the first leg, a psychological advantage and facing a home team smarting from a pasting in the press.

The manner of their defeat in Kiev on Friday prompted the sports daily L’Equipe to write off their chances. “In terms of what we saw on Friday night ... the French would do well just to draw the second leg,” offered the newspaper.

And if they are to overcome the Ukrainians, they will have to do so without Laurent Kolchensky at the heart of their defence after the Arsenal defender was sent off late on following a clash with Oleksandr Kucher as tension spilled over.

France coach Didier Deschamps, who admitted his side were undone by Ukraine’s sheer physicality in the first leg, said: “We’ve got to put them under pressure, to go at them.

On Tuesday, we’ve got to be in the battle. We have the ability to turn it round and that’s what we have to do.”

In Solna, near Stockholm, things are more finely poised, with Sweden taking on Portugal in the second leg a goal down from Lisbon, predictably scored late in the game by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Swedish hopes rest even more squarely than ever on the broad shoulders of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, especially with his

STOCKHOLM: This combo of file picture taken on June 10, 2013 in Geneva shows Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Sweden’s striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic (right). Portugal will face Sweden today during the FIFA 2014 World Cup playoff football match. — AFP phenomenal goalscoring record at the Friends Arena, where he has found the net 10 times since the stadium was inaugurated a year ago.

Elsewhere, Greece should complete the formality of qualifying in Bucharest, having racked up a surprising 3-1 advantage from the first leg in Piraeus.

But little Iceland travel to Zagreb with their improbable World Cup dream still just about alive after a desperate draw in the goalless first leg in Reykjavik.

That match saw them fight a constant rearguard action against relentless waves of Croatian attacks after being reduced to 10 men for the last 40 minutes after defender Olafur Skulason was sent off.

Yet they still have everything left to play for and should they achieve the unthinkable and win in Zagreb they would become the first nation with a population of under a million ever to reach the final stages of the competition. —AFP

Business

Too few European banks have been wound down: EBA head Page 25

Qatar Airways orders 50 GE9X-powered Boeing 777X

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Page 26 Kenya considers tailor-made travel packages for Kuwait Page 22 Page 23

Emirates president vows to keep buying aircraft

DUBAI: Participants walk past an Emirates Airline stand during the Dubai Airshow yesterday in Dubai. Emirates Airline’s appetite for aircraft purchases will not cease, the airline’s president Tim Clark told AFP a day after the Dubaibased carrier ordered 200 planes from Boeing and Airbus. — AFP

Airbus, Boeing sign Gulf supplies deals Plane-makers sign deals with Abu Dhabi fund, Mubadala DUBAI: Airbus and Boeing signed deals to buy some $5 billion of parts and materials from Abu Dhabi yesterday, in a sign Gulf states are seeking a reciprocal boost to their economies from the huge orders they have placed with the planemakers.

Gulf airlines, led by Dubai’s Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, struck plane deals worth almost $150 billion - or more, including options - on the first day of the Dubai Airshow on Sunday.

The buying spree underscored a shift in power in the aviation industry, as oil-rich, fast-growing economies of the Gulf take advantage of their strategic position between East and West to draw more travellers from hubs in Europe and Asia. While the orders are a big boost to Airbus and Boeing, the world’s dominant civil aircraft

manufacturers, suppliers in Europe and the United States are worried they will suffer from the growing globalisation of the aircraft supply chain, in which Gulf firms are playing a part.

Airbus agreed a new deal on Monday with Abu Dhabi’s state investment fund Mubadala to expand their partnership “for further composite and metallic aerostructure production in the United Arab Emirates, in addition to procurement of composite raw materials, worth $2.5 billion,” Mubadala said.

Reuters reported on Sunday the two parties were close to an agreement.

Separately, Boeing said it had also signed a new deal with Mubadala for Abu Dhabi to supply as much as $2.5 billion in advanced composites and machine metals to

Gulf markets rise, KSE down MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Bourses across the Gulf gained yesterday along with global markets, with the exception of Kuwait , where property stocks dropped after a local developer reported a widening third-quarter loss. “ There is enough momentum to push markets right now and there are at the moment no negative external factors,” said John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at Saudi investment firm MASIC. Dubai posted the biggest gain yesterday, jumping 1.5 percent, although analysts said the move reflected its increased volatility in the run-up to the Nov. 27 decision on the emirate’s bid to host the Expo 2020 world fair. Abu Dhabi’s bourse rose 1.1 percent.

Gulf airlines, led by Dubai’s state-owned Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, ordered about $100 billion of planes on the first day of the Dubai Airshow on Sunday, a signal of optimism by the governments of the two emirates. Major property developer Emaar rose 1.8 percent. Drake and Scull climbed 3.1 percent after it said a wholly owned German subsidiary won a 179 million dirham ($48 million) deal to build waste water treatment facilities in Egypt, suggesting the company’s efforts to expand its international business may be bearing fruit.

But the Dubai market - which sits on the region’s highest year-to-date gain of 73 percent - remains susceptible to large swings based on Expo-related speculation, said Amer Khan, fund manager at Shuaa Asset Management.

“I continue to expect the market to be volatile,” he said.

Saudi Arabia’s and Qatar’s bourses posted smaller gains at 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent. The two indexes have been rising steadily for the last two weeks, hitting five-year highs on what analysts said was yearend dividend-hunting. “I think the momentum is still there to see the index and the market consolidating at higher levels,” MASIC’s Sfakianakis said of the Saudi index, which reached 8,408 points. “The index...is clearing away from 8,000 towards 8,500.”

KUWAIT Kuwait’s index fell 0.6 percent to a two-week low after developer MENA Real Estate reported a thirdquarter net loss of KD304,000 ($1.1 million) compared with a loss of KD225,000 in the same period of 2012.

The stock tumbled 8.2 percent and shares in other real estate companies, such as National Ranges (Mayadeen) and Investors Holding Group, also declined. Egypt’s bourse rose 1.1 percent, posting gains for a second day after two weeks of profit-taking.

Local financial newspaper Al Mal reported yesterday, quoting an unnamed official, that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were about to pledge a further $9 billion in financing for the Cairo government in addition to the $12.9 billion already promised. Officials in the Gulf declined to comment. — Reuters

the US planemaker. In addition, Boeing said it had reached an agreement with Abu Dhabi’s Tawazun Precision Industries, a state-owned manufacturing company, to set up a facility in the United Arab Emirates for producing aerospace parts.

The facility will be up and running by 2016 and will produce parts for other aircraft manufacturers as well as Boeing, the two parties said, without disclosing financial details.

Airbus shares jumped more than 3 percent yesterday following Sunday’s slew of orders, which boost its A380 the world’s biggest passenger jet, which had been struggling for orders. Boeing’s orders boost its new version of the 777 jet. The hub cities in the Gulf - Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha - are spending billions on infrastructure in a bid

to attract travellers and diversify their oil-based revenues, at a time when faltering Western economies are struggling to invest.

Mubadala, which has a mandate to develop the emirate’s local economy, has sought to play a major role in the production of composite tail sections for passenger jets.

A group representing US airline pilots warned on Saturday the sale of hundreds of planes to Gulf airlines that compete with US carriers would have “serious consequences for the US economy and US airline workers.”

Both Airbus and Boeing have already established partnerships with Strata, the composites manufacturing unit of Mubadala Aerospace which produces parts at Al-Ain near Oman. — Reuters

Boeing to decide soon where to build new 777 DUBAI: Boeing expects to make a decision on where to build a new version of its 777 passenger jet within 2-3 months, Chairman and Chief Executive Jim McNerney said yesterday. “We will be announcing within next 2-3 months very specifically plans for manufacturing,” he told reporters at the Dubai Airshow. “We have a number of alternatives and we are in the process of considering them.” Boeing won orders worth some $100 billion as it launched a revamped long-haul jet previously known as 777X at the show.

McNerney dismissed concerns that big orders from three Gulf airlines could result in too much capacity coming into the Middle East as airlines compete for the same business.

“This region is for real and we are just gratified that we could be part of it,” McNerney said.

“From time to time people wonder if the investment in infrastructure here is sustainable and my observation is that it is. As I watch as an industry participant, I see them opening routes and performing and filling planes.”

The 406-seat twin-engined 777-9 model is smaller than the 467-seat 747-8 but is widely expected to compete with the larger four-engined plane on fuel efficiency. “There is no question that the 777 puts pressure on bigger planes and our concept all along has been that there is a role for the 747 as a niche passenger plane and as a freighter,” McNerney said. “Our numbers have taken that into account and both remain viable business propositions.”

McNerney said Boeing was entering a period of cash generation as it winds down some major developments and

enters a phase of higher production, but declined to predict how this would affect the company’s dividend policy.

He said the company was “riding a little low” compared to the historical average for its payout ratio, but declined to say how this might affect its dividend policy, on which he expected some clues as it gives guidance for next year. The US manufacturer will firm up the configuration of the new version of the 777 aircraft in 2015 and plans to have a detailed design by 2016. Production will begin the following year, with the first test flight scheduled for 2019 and first delivery in 2020, Boeing’s vice president and general manager of airplane development Scott Fancher said.

Top Boeing Co executives are upbeat about the future of the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet and see a good chance of winning additional US and international orders that would keep the production line running past 2016.

McNerney told reporters at the Dubai Airshow it was difficult to predict future orders given continued uncertainty about the US budget.

“I can’t predict the future exactly, but I think there is a good chance of more orders from the US government,” McNerney said. He said he also saw “a good chance” that Brazil would ultimately select the F/A-18 in a fighter jet competition that has been delayed after reports that the US National Security Agency spied on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. “I could imagine a worst case scenario where the line shuts down in three to four years, but I don’t think that will come to pass,” McNerney said. — Reuters

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

BUSINESS

Emirates president vows to keep buying aircraft Triple Seven contract ‘very shortly’

NEW YORK: A board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the Dow Jones industrial average above 16,000, yesterday. The DJIA crossed 16,000 points for the first time early yesterday and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index crossed 1,800 points. —AP

Euro-zone posts 13.1bn Sept trade surplus: EU BRUSSELS: The euro-zone posted another big 12-month increase in its trade surplus yesterday, the latest monthly data from the EU’s Eurostat agency showed. The first estimate for September gave a 13.1-billion-euro surplus ($17.7 billion) for the trade in goods with the rest of the world, compared with 8.6 billion euros in September 2012.

A trade surplus is one of the factors of growth in an economy, whereas a deficit tends to sap growth, and so achieving a trade surplus is of critical importance to economies in crisis.

Compared to figures for August, the European Union said that the increase arose from a 1.0-percent increase in seasonallyadjusted exports, and a 0.3-percent fall in imports. For the 28-state EU, also including non-euro Britain and Poland, the data for September showed a 0.6-billion-euro surplus, compared with a 14.5-billion deficit one year earlier.

Again, seasonally-adjusted exports rose, by 0.2 percent, while imports fell, by the same level. Cumulative data for the first eight months of the year showed a falling EU energy trade deficit and a rising surplus for manufactured goods. Imports most notably fell in trade with Japan (17 percent), Brazil (15 percent) and Norway (11 percent).

The biggest percentage boost for exports

came from trade with Switzerland. These exports rose by 32 percent and generated a surplus of 56 billion euros. But exports to India, the United States and Japan fell by 3.04.0 percent each. The deficit in trade with China fell to 85.1 billion euros compared to 96.1 billion for the corresponding months in 2012. Appreciable drops in the size of deficits were also recorded with Norway, Japan and Russia. Germany-whose booming trade surplus has become the object of political pressure from Brussels and from Washingtonposted the biggest surplus, of 127.8 billion euros between January and August this year.

As ever, France and Britain logged the biggest deficits in financial terms, of 45-50 billion each.

“The issue is whether Germany ... could do more to help rebalance the European economy,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said last week after ordering a six-month review of the benefits and drawbacks of Germany’s lopsided weight in export markets compared to other euro countries.

The major downside of having such a large surplus, according to EU Economic Affairs and Euro Commissioner Olli Rehn, is that “Germans are constantly investing a large part of their savings abroad,” with Rehn pondering “whether this is deficient even from a German perspective.” —AFP

GE to support building of world’s largest liquid cracker in Egypt CAIRO: General Electric Co and Egyptian private company Carbon Holdings signed a $500 million dollar agreement yesterday to provide support in the building of the world’s largest liquid cracker at a petrochemicals complex on the Gulf of Suez.

The naptha cracker project is part of the Tahrir Petrochemicals Complex worth $4.8 billion dollars, said Basil El-Baz, CEO of Carbon Holding, an industrial developer and operator implementing downstream and oil and gas projects in Egypt. Baz said that the construction of the cracker would begin “sometime in 2014” and that construction was expected to take approximately 50 months.

GE Vice Chairman John Rice said that the company’s commitment to Egypt “cuts across all of our businesses” and said he looked forward to more projects in Egypt.

The two companies said that they would be providing “technology and equity support to the Greenfield naphtha cracker and olefins complex project of Tahrir Petrochemicals in Ain Sokhna,” an Egyptian energy hub. They said the new plant would have an annual production capacity of 1,360,000 tons of ethylene and polyethylene and “significant quantities of propylene, benzene, butadiene and linear alpha olefins.” GE and Carbon Holdings will provide technologies for the new plant including “advanced aero-derivates gas turbines, steam turbines, generators, water filtration and desalination equipment, turbo machinery compressors.”

“The positive impact of this plant on our economy will be tremendous,” trade minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour told reporters. — Reuters

DUBAI: Emirates Airline’s appetite for aircraft purchases will not cease, the airline’s president Tim Clark said yesterday a day after the Dubaibased carrier ordered 200 planes from Boeing and Airbus. The Middle East’s largest airline keeps expanding to meet the ambitions of Dubai which aspires to cement its status as a major travel hub, he said.

“I don’t think Emirates is going to stop with this order,” he said, referring to purchases announced at Dubai Airshow on Sunday. These included a commitment to buy 150 Boeing 777X long-range airliners and a firm order for 50 Airbus A380 superjumbos.

The order from Boeing is valued at $55.6 billion, excluding engines, while the purchase from its European rival Airbus amounts to $20 billion at list price. “The intention of the government of Dubai is to build the new airfield here on this site” at Al-Maktoum International Airport which opened for passenger operations last month. Dubai has in the past announced ambitions to turn AlMaktoum into the world’s largest aviation hub once completed, with five runways and a capacity to handle 160 million passengers annually.

“They’re hoping to get that in the state of readiness for 20202022, and the scale of that will allow us to grow our fleet further,” said Clark.

“When we have more firm time lines on that, we will be revisiting our fleet plans and routes structures.” But he said the fast-expanding carrier would continue to operate at one of Dubai’s airports, not both. Dubai International is already one of the world’s busiest hubs for international travel, handling nearly 58 million passengers last year.

DUBAI: A Dassault Aviation French made Mirage 2000 belonging to the UAE Air Force performs during the Dubai Airshow yesterday in Dubai. Emirates Airline’s appetite for aircraft purchases will not cease, the airline’s president Tim Clark told AFP a day after the Dubai-based carrier ordered 200 planes from Boeing and Airbus. — AFP carriers-Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways-for Boeing and Airbus planes hitting $141.5 billion, excluding the price of engines.

Clark said that the bulk of the Emirates order is aimed at replacing aircraft retiring by the end of the decade, when the 777X begins to enter service. “Although it looks a large number on paper, the reality is that the capacity that is being phased out... the new aircraft are coming in to replace it,” he said. “We keep our aircraft for 12 years,” he added.

Asked if there was enough room in the market for all three main Gulf carriers to expand, Clark sounded upbeat. “Every time the three companies ordered more aircraft, every-

Clark said the carrier’s commitment to buy 150 Boeing aircraft would be finalized before the end of 2013.“The contract will be finalized by the end of December, so six weeks away... What we did was sign a commitment letter which will lead to a contract very shortly,” he said. Emirates was in discussions for four to five years with Boeing over the new Triple Seven airliner scheduled to enter service around 2020.

“In the last months we’ve got it where we wanted it to be,” said Clark.

“Basically the terms are agreed with Boeing.” Business at the biennial Dubai Airshow got off to a bright start. Sunday’s opening day saw orders from the big three Gulf

Rwanda economic growth to slow to 6.6% in 2013: CB ABU DHABI: Rwanda’s economic growth is likely to slow to 6.6 percent this year, more than the government expects, but it should rebound again in 2014, its governor said yesterday.

“Currently we have a projection of about 6.6 percent (real GDP growth) this year. It is a big slowdown from last year’s around 8 percent because of unfavorable weather conditions, the global economic problems,” John Rwangombwa told Reuters. The central bank’s forecast is in line with the International Monetary Fund, which cut its 2013 growth projection for the East African country’s $7.7 billion economy in October. The government’s forecast is 7.5 percent.

“Next year, it will be maybe around 7.4 percent. The service industry performed well this year and we expect it to pick up again next year and construction may go higher as well,” he said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the United Arab Emirates. That is more conservative than the finance ministry’s forecast of an over 8 percent growth in 2014. Rwanda’s growth clip averaged 8.2 percent in 2006-2012.

Rwangombwa also said the country was not considering another international bond issue so far for 2014 as the market conditions are not as favorable as in April. “For now we have not decided on going back to the market. It will depend on the projects we need financing for and it will also depend on the conditions on the market,” he said.

“We will keep it (bonds) as an option for financing but we won’t have it as a plan to do it annually as such only for the sake of it. We will only do it when there are specific projects,” he said.

Rwanda launched a $400 million international bond in April at the height of demand for high-yielding bonds, drawing subscriptions of more than 8 times the issue size.—Reuters

body asked is there enough to go round,” he said.

“We seem to be managing to fill the airplanes,” he said, despite the carriers expanding passenger capacity enormously over the years. “We are optimistic that there will be enough room,” Clark said.

“We see growth in Europe already and many markets that didn’t actually get affected by the (global financial) crisis at all,” he said.

Emirates is the largest single operator of Boeing 777s and Airbus A380 double-deckers, flying to 137 destinations. Clark said Emirates continues to make “incursions” into new markets despite some governments hesitating to grant wider traffic rights. —AFP

Dubai Investments sees $300m debut sukuk sale DUBAI: Dubai Investments aims to raise $300 million from a debut sale of Islamic bonds by the end of 2013 after delaying a similar plan early this year due to rising interest rates, its chief executive said.

The conglomerate, which has interests in several sectors including property and manufacturing, had in April picked Citigroup Inc, Nomura and JP Morgan Chase & Co to help arrange the sale.

“We are in the final stage of application to the various markets. I’m hoping that it should be done this year,” Khalid bin Kalban told reporters yesterday. “This (sukuk sale) is delayed because interest rates climbed up. We are targeting a specific interest rate.

Once we achieve it we will go into the market, otherwise there’s no point. It has come down to lower than the level we expected.” The company, whose manufacturing business was hit by political unrest in the Gulf Arab region, has been eyeing a sukuk issue since last year to finance expansion of some manufacturing units and repay debt.

Stake sales Kalban reiterated that plans to offload stakes in two of the conglomerate’s units were still on track despite an apparent delay - in April, he said the sales would be completed by September-end and that combined they would raise about 700 million dirhams ($190.58 million).

“By the end of the year everything will be sealed,” said Kalban. “This is a big transaction. The delay is from the lawyers not from us.” He said one deal would raise around 500 million dirhams and the other 200 million dirhams, but declined to identify the companies in which Dubai Investments is planning to sell stakes or the proposed buyers. Kalban was speaking at the launch of a new subsidiary Emirates Insolaire, which is a joint venture between Dubai Investments and Switzerland technology firm SwissINSO to produce solar panels. The panels will be manufactured at Dubai Investments’ existing plants in the Gulf, which will produce 300,000 square metres of the glass in 2014, Kalban said. — Reuters

EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.834 4.539 2.637 2.162 2.821 228.400 36.618 3.645 6.511 9.006 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES Saudi Riyal 75.737 Qatari Riyal 78.037 Omani Riyal 737.790 Bahraini Dinar 754.350 UAE Dirham 77.346 ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 40.950 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.761 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.325 Tunisian Dinar 170.820 Jordanian Dinar 401.071 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.905 Syrian Lira 3.085 Morocco Dirham 34.749 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 283.900 Euro 384.680 Sterling Pound 459.350 Canadian dollar 273.420 Turkish lira 140.010 Swiss Franc 311.640 Australian Dollar 268.800 US Dollar Buying 282.700 10 Gram 124.000 5 Gram 64.000 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 270.24 275.99 315.01 386.57 283.30 460.99 2.89 3.644 4.498 2.162 2.812 2.642 77.20 754.03 41.12 403.20 736.76 78.23 75.68

SELL CASH 268.000 274.000 313.000 386.000 286.200 461.000 2.900 3.800 4.890 2.600 3.400 2.770 77.600 755.3000 41.200 408.500 743.300 78.600 76.000

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

Selling Rate 283.650 274.545 458.005 383.985 310.455 748.980 77.205 78.760 76.510 399.850 41.126 2.162 4.519 2.636 3.644 6.496 696.700 3.830 09.965

Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit Chinese Yuan Renminbi

3.025 3.805 89.415 46.975

Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht

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 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 0.007383 0.008383 0.451630 0.460630 0.006679 0.018679 0.047322 0.052322 0.378183 0.385663 0.042505 0.047795 0.081948 0.81948 0.008162 0.018162 0.038795 0.043795 0.303787 0.313987 0.138797 0.146797 Australasia 0.258019 0.269519 0.230839 0.240339 America 0.266881 0.275381 0.279900 0.284250 0.280400 0.284250 Asia 0.003395 0.003995 0.045249 0.048749 0.034543 0.037293 0.004374 0.004775 0.000021 0.000027 0.002750 0.002930 0.003372 0.003372 0.000257 0.000272 0.084809 0.090809 0.003042 0.003212 0.002518 0.002798 0.006458 0.006738 0.000080 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

0.224733 0.022050 0.001901 0.009487 0.008751 Arab 0.746859 0.038445 0.000079 0.000184 0.396351 1.0000000 0.000139 0.022761 0.001203 0.731631 0.077298 0.075097 0.002176 0.166958 0.138797 0.076341 0.001290

0.230733 0.030550 0.002481 0.009667 0.009301 0.754859 0.041545 0.000080 0.000244 0.403851 1.0000000 0.000239 0.046761 0.001838 0.737311 0.078511 0.075797 0.002396 0.174958 0.146797 0.077490 0.001370

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) 283.300 385.300 458.800 273.700 4.530 41.110 2.161 3.643 6.505 2.637 754.500 77.200 75.700

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

BUSINESS Russian tycoon buys potash stake ‘for $4bn’ MOSCOW: The Onexim investment vehicle of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov yesterday announced it was buying a 21.75 percent stake in potash giant Uralkali from his fellow tycoon Suleiman Kerimov. Financial details were not disclosed but the business daily Vedomosti reported Monday that the transaction would value Uralkali at $20 billion, meaning Kerimov would receive $4.35 billion for his shares.

Onexim confirmed the purchase in a statement, saying the parties expected the transaction to close shortly. “We are certain that the potash industry has strong fundamentals and that Uralkali, as the world’s leading producer and the key player in the industry, has considerable potential for growth in value,” said Onexim chief executive Dmitry Razumov.

Prokhorov, owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball franchise who challenged President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s 2012 presidential elections, has a fortune of $13 billion and is the 10th richest person in Russia, according to Forbes magazine.

Kerimov meanwhile has a $7.1 billion fortune and is Russia’s 20th richest man, according to the magazine.

However this year has proved tough for Kerimov who astonished observers by selling off all the major stars from his once hyper ambitious Russian Premier League Anzhi Makhachkala football side at the start of this season.

This saw one of the biggest mass sell-offs of quality footballers in recent times, with the team’s former captain, the Cameroonian star Samuel Eto’o, joining Chelsea.

Belarus has meanwhile charged Kerimov with suspected abuse of authority in the same probe which has seen the chief executive of Uralkali, Vladislav Baumgertner, placed under house arrest in the Belarussian capital Minsk.

The offloading by Kerimov of his stake in Uralkali was seen as a condition for Belarus to resolve the Baumgertner legal issue and resume ruptured cooperation with Uralkali.

In a hugely turbulent period for Uralkali, the company announced in September that a Chinese state investment vehicle has taken a 12.5-percent stake in the firm. Uralkali has a share of about 20 percent of global potash production. Potash is highly sought-after in fast-growing emerging economies like China as the fertilizer can be used to dramatically increase crop yields.

According to Vedomosti, two other private shareholders in Uralkali, Filaret Galchev and Anatoly Surkov, are also in talks to sell their respective stakes of 7 percent and 4.8 percent. It said they could be bought by billionaire Dmitry Mazepin, owner of the Uralchem fertiliser company, who was born in Minsk and could help ease the tensions between the company and the Belarussian authorities.

Analysts welcomed Prokhorov’s purchase and said the change in the shareholder structure could lead to the restoration of cooperation between Uralkali and Belarus state potash company Belaruskali which had been cut by Baumgertner and caused potash shares worldwide to crash.

“Credit-wise, Mikhail Prokhorov as a shareholder is clearly a better option than the other bidders, as we believe him to be unleveraged,” analysts at VTB Capital said in a note to clients. “Once Kerimov exits the company, discussions on restoring the oligopoly (between Belaruskali and Uralkali) could well be on the table,” they added. Prokhorov is one of Russia’s most visible businessmen who staged a highly efficient campaign for Russia’s 2012 presidential elections, coming a respectable third with eight percent of the vote.

Prokhorov’s Civil Platform party in September enjoyed one of its biggest successes when its candidate Yevgeny Roizman defeated an official backed by the ruling United Russia part in elections for mayor of the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. —AFP

Kenya considers tailor-made travel packages for Kuwait More knowledge on tourism products holds key: Official

By Sajeev K Peter KUWAIT: Kenya’s tourism industry is fine-tuning tailor-made packages for the Kuwaiti market and creating more product awareness about the distinct tourism attractions Kenya can offer to the Arab world, said a top tourism official from Kenya here yesterday.

Talking to Kuwait Times in an interview, Dr Ibrahim M Mohamed, Principal Secretar y, Commerce and Tourism, Ministry of East African Affairs, Kenya, said there is a renewed interest among Arabs, especially Kuwaitis, to visit various African tourism destinations including Kenya. “However, the numbers we are receiving today from Kuwait and the region are not as high as they should be.

This is mainly because there is no proper awareness about Kenya’s distinct tourism products. Today, people are going to other destinations which have the same facilities and attractions we have in Kenya,” he said. Ibrahim and Muriithi Ndegwa, OGW, Managing Director, Kenya Tourism Board, arrived in Kuwait accompanying a Kenyan delegation headed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to attend the third Arab African summit currently being held in Kuwait.

The tourism industry is one of the major contributors to Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP), which is currently estimated to be around 12 percent. “The GDP rate has been steadily increasing and it has a spillover effect on other segments of the economy as well,” Ibrahim said.

Dr Ibrahim admitted that the country had not been able to cash in on Kenya’s rich tourism potential in this part of world. “We want to change the scenario. We have now appointed marketing development representatives in the region to market Kenya’s diverse tourism produc ts in the region. I n terms of Kenya tourism, the region has immense potential and we hope to see an increase in tourist arrivals from Kuwait,” he said.

Product knowledge Muriithi, elaborating on the need to generate more awareness about Kenya’s unique tourism attractions in Kuwait, said, “A lack of product knowledge about Africa, especially Kenya as a destination, is really holding up the numbers.” According to Muriithi, most travelers from Kuwait who want to visit

Africa prefer to go to Egypt or South Africa. “As Kuwaitis become more and more aware of the various travel opportunities available and as their appetite to explore new destinations grows, we see a positive situation where more Kuwaitis begin to explore Kenya as their new destination. We are here to do a ground analysis of the market and to develop a package that is tailor made for the Kuwaiti market. We expect a real leap in the number of visitors from the region in the coming years. We also look at ways of setting the ground for creating more awareness about our products and destinations, so that people can increasingly visit our destinations,” he mentioned. “In fact, the word safari is synonymous with Kenya because its origin is actually in Kenya. It is our goal to position Kenya as the ultimate safari destination not just to Kuwait but to a wider GCC or Middle East market,” Muriithi said.

Kenya is one of the most geographically diverse countries on earth with vast expanses of savannah, highland ranges, equatorial rainforest, extinct volcanoes, a series of freshwater and whitewater lakes, alpine glaciers and deserts and tropical beaches. The country has a number of game resorts and 59 national parks spread throughout the country offering diverse and unique experiences. The great diversity of habitat is equaled by a remarkable variety of species of flora and fauna. These include grazing herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle, large mammals such as elephants, buffalo and rhinoceros and a range of predators including lion, leopard and cheetah.

Cultural linkage “Secondly, we want to position Kenya as a destination for archaeological and cultural tourism because Kenya has been recognized by science as the ‘cradle of humankind’. There are many sites that have been listed as world heritage sites,” said Muriithi. Kenya’s fascinating cultural history stretches back over 4.5 million years with some of the earliest known evidence of early man uncovered on the shores of Lake Turkana.

“The Middle East is also very rich in terms of culture and history. We share several cultural similarities. Both regions inherit a common heritage and culture from our forefathers. By inviting travelers from the Arab world to Kenya, we want to recreate the connectivity

KUWAIT: Dr Ibrahim M Mohamed (right) makes a point as Muriithi Ndegwa looks on.

KUWAIT: Dr Ibrahim and Muriithi hand over a map of Kenya to Al-Jarallah Travels & Tours General Manager Abid Hussain. — Photos by Sajeev K Peter

between the two regions and reestablish historical and cultural linkages with the Middle East,” elaborated Ibrahim.

“There are a lot of things people from the region can relate to. Similarly, halal food is available ever y where and mosques are located in all parts of the country from the coast and centre to the west,” he informed.

Muiithi said Kenya is a short-haul destination from Kuwait which is wellconnected with airlines. In addition to the country’s national carrier Kenya Airways, several Gulf carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air Arabia and Etihad fly to Nairobi offering frequent

connectivity to Middle Eastern travelers. “We may not have a direct flight from Kuwait to Nairobi. But all major airlines from the region fly to Nairobi which is a major hub in Africa. It is only a five- hour flight from either Doha or Dubai,” he added.

Tours Manager at Al-Jarallah Travels & Tours Abdulla Ismail said, “We work closely with Kenyan tourism officials to promote Kenya in Kuwait. Kenya has a lot to offer as a unique tourism destination. Unfortunately, it has not been properly explored yet. We hope that more visitors will travel to Kenya in the future from Kuwait,” he said.

EU welcomes Spanish bank reform, warns on deficit

HONG KONG: Office buildings are seen in the Central district of Hong Kong yesterday. Hong Kong’s economy grew “moderately” year-on-year in the third quarter, as domestic demand and “resilient” growth in the mainland Chinese market offset a weaker environment in the West, officials said. — AFP

MADRID: The European Union yesterday welcomed efforts by Spain to repair its banking sector but warned that the country risked missing its public deficit-cutting targets. Spain is poised in January to exit a program to shore up its banks’ balance sheets, swamped in bad loans since a property bubble imploded in 2008.

Last year, the euro-zone agreed to make a rescue loan of up to 100 billion euros ($135 billion) to fix the banks. Madrid has used 41 billion euros of the total credit. “The stabilization and repair of the financial sector have advanced further amid tentative signs of economic recovery,” the European Commission said in a review of the banking reforms.

“The timely and adequate implementation of the policy conditionality of the program, together with visible progress with growth-enhancing structural reforms, has been accompanied by a return of investor confidence,” it added. “A continuation of the positive trends is required for the successful completion of the program according to the planned timeline.” The European Commission,

which sent a mission to Madrid from September 16-27, said investors’ confidence in Spain had gradually returned, allowing Madrid to tap the financial markets for funds.

Spain, which boasts the fourthlargest economy in the euro-zone, is enjoying a fall in sovereign borrowing costs in a dramatic turnaround since market pressures pushed it close to a full-blown bailout in mid2012.

“Confidence in the Spanish financial system is back,” Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said in an interview with Spanish public television. “There are no doubts about the liquidity and solvability of the Spanish banking sector,” he added.

But the European Commission said the banks still face risks. “Despite positive developments, the economic environment continues to weigh on the banking sector and constitutes the main risk factor going forward,” it said. Spanish banks have transferred many of their dodgy assets to a “bad bank”, called Sareb, which aims to pool the bad assets and sell them at a discount.

But they still report high levels of bad loans. Risky loans, mostly linked to the collapsed property sector, climbed by 6.9 billion euros from the previous month to an unprecedented 187.8 billion euros in September, a Bank of Spain report showed yesterday. The bad loans rose to 12.68 percent of all credit extended by banks in Spain in September from 12.14 percent in August, representing a four th consecutive record high.

European Union chiefs last week said Spain’s draft 2014 spending plans placed it “at risk of non-compliance” with its deficit-cutting targets. Spain has agreed to respect EU-norms by reducing the deficit to less than three percent of total economic output by 2016.

The latest Commission repor t underscored that warning. “Reining in the fast-rising public debt demands further fiscal consolidation and strengthening of public finance management,” it said. “There is a risk that the draft budgetary plan for 2014 may not fulfil the requirements” of Spain’s deficit-cutting commitments, the report added. —AFP

UK banks see increasing risks from housing: BoE Britain may tax foreign property investors LONDON: Britain may impose new taxes on foreign property investors in response to soaring house prices in London, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said yesterday.

Demand from foreign buyers, especially from Asia and the euro-zone, has stoked concerns of a property bubble and worries that many Britons are being priced out of the market. Clegg said the government was reviewing the matter before finance minister George Osborne’s update to parliament on his economic plans on Dec. 5, but said no decision had been taken.

“We certainly need to make sure that people who invest very large amounts of money into property in central London locations...pay their fair

share of tax in those transactions,” Clegg told a news conference, without giving any details. “That is why we are looking at options like a differential application of capital gains tax to those kind of transactions,” he said.

Britons pay capital gains tax - typically at 28 percent - on any profit from selling property that is not considered their primary residence. Foreign property investors are exempt.

Clegg said an influx of foreign money had left parts of the London property market “divorced from and dislocated from the rest of the economy”.

However, he said the government did not want to undermine Britain’s status as an open economy and said it would be bad for the country if the govern-

ment “pulled up the drawbridge”. With an election in 18 months, rising house prices are a double-edged sword for coalition partners Clegg and Prime Minister David Cameron. Higher prices can make homeowners feel better off and help the drive the economy, but they are less popular with the many people struggling to buy their first home. The issue also feeds into a wider debate in Britain about the cost of living and whether the government is doing enough to help people who feel left behind by the economic recovery.

Sky News, citing unnamed Treasury officials, had reported on Oct. 31 that Britain was considering making foreign property investors pay capital gains tax. — Reuters

LONDON: A correction in British housing prices was the fastest-growing risk cited by banks in a survey published by the Bank of England yesterday. The central bank’s latest twice-yearly survey of economic threats seen by banks, building societies, insurers and asset managers said the impact of low interest rates on house prices had risen sharply as an area of concern since the May survey. “Perceived risk around property prices ... rose, being mentioned by 36 percent of respondents, up 11 percentage points since the previous sur vey,” the Bank of England said. “Concerns were concentrated almost exclusively on the residential market, where responses focused on the risk of a house price correction.” The BoE feeds the survey into its financial stability work and so far has said it sees no general housing price bubble in the making.

Property website Rightmove said yesterday that fears that Britain’s housing stimulus schemes are inflat-

ing a proper ty bubble look overblown.The Bank of England survey also found the top two concerns among banks and other financial sec-

tor players remained government debt levels in Europe and the United States, and the threat of an economic downturn. — Reuters

ATHENS: European Commission representative for economic and financial affairs Matthias Mors leaves the Greek Finance ministry in Athens after creditors’ representatives met with the Greek Finance minister and the Greek Labor minister yesterday. — AFP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

BUSINESS

China shares lead Asia market rally SYDNEY: Asian share markets advanced for a third straight session yesterday, cheered both by the prospect of extended stimulus in the United States and real economic reform in China.

China’s market put on over 1 percent, with UBS upgrading it to “overweight” on a view the Plenum reforms will likely see it outperform Asia ex-Japan for the next few months. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 1.1 percent, having boasted its best daily rise in almost two months on Friday.

The Chinese Communist Party unwrapped surprisingly bold reforms late last week, pledging to let the market play a “decisive” role in the economy. That helped the Shanghai Composite rise 1.5 percent for its third straight session of

gains, while Hong Kong’s China Enterprises index surged over 4 percent. “Multiple growth-friendly measures were announced and represent the biggest freeing up of China’s economic policy since the 1990s,” said analysts at ANZ in a note.

“Our China economists think that if these reforms are implemented successfully it will substantially reduce the downside risks to China’s economy.”

A soft yen helped Tokyo’s Nikkei add another 0.1 percent to reach a six-month peak. The index amassed its biggest weekly rise in four years last week. The Bank of Japan holds its policy meeting on Wednesday and Thursday and is expected to maintain its ultra-loose policy. The BOJ has been perhaps the most aggressive of any major cen-

tral bank in its asset buying, putting downward pressure on the yen in the process.

The U.S. dollar was trading at 100.10 yen yesterday, not far from its two-month high of 100.43. The euro bought 135.00 yen but faced major resistance at the October highs around 135.50, a level not seen since November 2009.

The euro was steady on the US dollar at $1.3490, having edged slowly higher for the past week or so as tapering talk weighed on the dollar.

Measured against a basket of currencies the dollar was a shade lower at 80.815.

It is another important week for US monetary policy as there are a host of other central bankers appearing including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who speaks on “Communication

and Monetary Policy” today.

The day after the Fed releases minutes from its October policy meeting, which will get trawled for hints on when it might start winding back its asset-buying program. Last week, presumptive Fed chief Janet Yellen sounded in no rush to taper, reinforcing market speculation that any move was more likely in March than December. “If Fed officials think a December tapering is a realistic possibility, some hints to that effect would presumably make their way into the minutes this week,” said Michelle Girard, chief US economist at RBS. “Just making clear that policymakers were open to taking action in December if the economic data showed the impact of the govern-

ment shutdown was limited would likely suffice to shift expectations.”

Girard still believes March is the more likely window for a move, if only because bond markets are typically very thin in December so a taper then could risk major dislocation.

Figures on consumer prices and retail sales are also due tomorrow and are expected to show that both price pressures and spending were subdued in September. Speculation over the timing of stimulus tapering has buffeted markets since May when Bernanke first suggested a rollback of the bond-buying program was not far off. In commodity markets, spot gold was steady at $1,286.91 an ounce, having crawled away from last week’s trough of $1,260.89.— Reuters

BOZHOU: Workers sewing in a clothing factory in Bozhou, east China’s Anhui province. China’s quick release of a surprisingly detailed national reform plan shows leaders are serious about economic change, analysts say, though uncertainties shadow its execution. —AFP

Western Union offers no-fee transfers to Philippines for Typhoon Haiyan relief DUBAI: The Western Union Company yesterday announced the activation of its no-fee money transfer offer to its consumers in United Arab Emirates, as part of its support of the relief efforts in the Philippines in response to Typhoon Haiyan’s aftermath.

For the benefit of consumers sending money to family and loved ones in the Philippines, Western Union offers its consumers in UAE to send no-fee transactions from par ticipating Western Union Agent Location until November 30, 2013.

UAE joins 42 other countries to-date offering no-fee* money transfer transaction to support relief efforts in the Philippines.

Earlier this week, The Western Union Foundation pledged a grant of $100,000 to Save Children to support the organization’s immediate response activities in the Philippines, which include providing emergency materials, meals and water to disaster victims.

To encourage and support additional philanthropy, through November 30, 2013, The Western Union Company will match two-for-one employee donations to the Western Union Foundation for disaster relief effor ts in the Philippines.

Western Union is also encouraging its Agents to join together in supporting relief efforts. Under the Western Union Foundation Business Partner Giving program, the Foundation will provide a dollar-for-dollar match of

qualifying contributions to NGOs providing disaster relief support in the impacted region.

‘Western Union is responding with support for relief efforts in the immediate aftermath of the storm, including programs that provide meals, water and emergency materials to the families and children most affected by the disaster,” said Patrick Gaston, president of The Western Union Foundation.

“We are committed to helping the communities we ser ve, and our thoughts are with the people of the Philippines, and the Filipino Diaspora community around the world, during this time of need. In addition to immediate response, we will be working with Western Union Agents, employees and nonprofit relief agencies to provide support for initiatives that will help the area recover and rebuild,” concluded Gaston.

Sobia Rabman, Regional Vice President, Gulf, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Western Union said, “At Western Union, our hearts go out to the people of Philippines who have witnessed one of the biggest natural disasters. We are deeply saddened by the death and damage that Haiyan has caused in the country and are committed to support the relief efforts. In addition to the Western Union philanthropic initiatives our no-fee money transfer will assist the Filipino community as they send money back home in this time of distress.”

RBS in talks to sell equity derivatives business LONDON/PARIS: Royal Bank of Scotland said it was in talks to sell its retail investor products and equity derivatives (IP & ED) business, as it slims down its investment bank. Several industry sources have identified BNP Paribas , France’s biggest bank, as front-runner to buy the business.

RBS, which is 81 percent owned by the British government, declined to say who it was in talks with yesterday. BNP declined to comment. The British bank said in June it would offload the IP&ED business as it pares down its investment bank to appease lawmakers who want it to focus on lending to domestic households and businesses. “RBS continues to make

progress with its sale of the IP&ED business and is in discussions with a third party in connection with such sale,” the bank said yesterday.

The value of the deal has yet to be determined. RBS has drastically cut the size of its investment bank since receiving a 45.5 billion pound ($73 billion) government bailout in the 2008 financial crisis. Its new chief executive Ross McEwan will publish the findings of a strategic review of the bank next February. Shares in RBS were up 0.7 percent at 1023 GMT while shares in BNP Paribas were 0.8 percent higher. The European banking index was up 0.9 percent. — Reuters

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

BUSINESS

Dubai regulator sues Deutsche Bank over disclosure denial DUBAI: The regulator of Dubai’s tax-free financial center has sued Deutsche Bank, claiming that the German lender unlawfully refused to provide information as part of an investigation into alleged breaches of its rules. The filing is a rare step for the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), and the first court action the regulator has filed in at least last three years.

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is home to many large global banks and asset management who were lured by the region’s oil wealth and fast

economic growth. The DFSA started its investigation in December last year against the bank’s wealth management division in Dubai over potential breaches of due diligence and assessing clients for money-laundering risks, the court documents, filed on Oct 31 but made public on Sunday, showed.

A spokesman for Germany’s largest bank declined to comment, while the DFSA declined to provide more details aside from the court filings. Regulators around the world are investigating the role of large banks and brokers for their

roles in cases ranging from manipulation of global rates to mortgage-related practices. Deutsche Bank set aside an extra 1.2 billion euros ($1.62 billion) to cover potential litigation costs, almost wiping out its third quarter profit.

The DFSA sent a first notice to the German banking in July asking for information on wealth management client names, account opening dates, details of relationship managers and the level of due diligence performed by the bank, the court documents showed.

It also asked for information on the

bank’s dealings with Munir Kaloti, chairman of Dubai-based Kaloti Group, a large gold refiner and jeweller, according to the claim.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters. The regulator said in the court documents that the bank provided some information on clients it booked in Singapore, but said there were 120 clients booked in Geneva for which no information was provided.

“It is to be inferred that Deutsche Bank possessed relevant material within

the DIFC but which it was refusing to disclose because of its analysis of Swiss law,” the DFSA claim said.

The DFSA sent a subsequent notice in October asking for minutes of meetings between Deutsche Bank executives and other documents related to its wealth management business. The claim says Deutsche Bank responded by saying that the data requested was in Switzerland and could not be produced. DFSA is claiming an injunction order requiring the bank to produce the court documents and cover its costs. — Reuters

Growth in advanced economies stuck at 0.5% in Q3: OECD Sluggish growth in US, Europe

ATHENS: Laid off finance ministry cleaning staff protest outside the ministry of finance in Athens during a creditors’ representatives meeting with the Greek Finance minister yesterday. Greek authorities are now finalizing the budget with representatives of the so-called troika of creditors, the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank. — AFP

Emirates Airline promotion for CBK Visa Cardholders KUWAIT: Emirates Airlines in collaboration with Visa is offering its customers the best promotions for this season! Now with the CBK Visa card, customers can book a weekend trip with special prices just for them on selected destinations.

All customers have to do is log on to the Kuwait Visa site www.emirates.com/kw/myvisa and book while using their CBK Visa card to avail the offer. So now for 3 consecutive weekends in November, customers booking with their CBK Visa cards

will get a special fare.

It is well known that Emirates Airlines flies to more than 120 destinations in over 70 countries, and is known for its 5 star service and luxury, and with the CBK Visa card our customers can spend every weekend at a new destination. CBK urges all of its customers to log on to the website and start planning their weekends with special fares right away! For more information regarding the promotion, customers can visit the CBK website.

Too few European banks have been wound down: EBA head FRANKFURT: Too few European banks have been wound down over the past few years, the chairman of the European Banking Authority (EBA), Andrea Enria, was quoted as saying in an interview published yesterday.

Enria told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that governments tend to want to keep their lenders operational rather than let them fail, which has slowed the repair of the banking sector.

“I am convinced that too few banks in Europe have been wound down and disappeared from the market so far. It has been fewer than 40 institutes, in the United States by comparison there were about 500,” he said. The EBA, Europe’s top banking regulator, is preparing tests on the finances of top lenders next year in conjunction with the European Central Bank, potentially paving the way for further multibillion-euro fundraising measures by banks deemed shaky.

Enria said that it is sensible to set out the stress scenarios to be used in the tests shortly before the exercise begins. “It would be good to time the announcement shortly after the EU Commission releases its spring

forecasts,” Enria said, adding that the tests should be based on the most current macroeconomic projections possible.

“As to the methodology, we want to make that clear earlier. We are already very far advanced.” However, he pointed out that the treatment of losses on sovereign bonds remains a problem because they are considered risk-free under current banking rules.

“Government bonds that are in the trading book in banks’ balance sheets and are declared as being up for sale should be marked to market value, even if that causes losses,” he said.

While big banks are already attaching some risk to government bonds in their internal models, the question is whether the risk-weightings are appropriate, particularly as there are big variations in how individual banks treat the same bond, Enria said.

“That won’t do,” he said, adding that the EBA would push for consistent and conservative valuations in the stress tests. “We don’t want banks to throw out their own risk models, but we need consistency,” he said. — Reuters

BEIJING: People walk past a construction site in Beijing yesterday. China’s quick release of a surprisingly detailed national reform plan shows leaders are serious about economic change, analysts say, but uncertainties remain over its implementation. — AFP

PARIS: The US and British economies speeded up slightly in the third quarter but expansion in several other economies slowed, leaving OECDarea growth at 0.5 percent, the OECD said yesterday.

The latest provisional OECD data painted a picture of overall 1.4-percent growth over 12 months, but of faltering recovery stuck at 0.5 percent growth in the last two quarters.

Recover y of the euro-zone and wider European Union economies slowed down from the second to third quarters, with the French and Italian economies shrinking, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said. However, compared with output 12 months earlier in the third quarter of last year “growth for the OECD area accelerated to 1.4 percent compared with 1.0 percent in the second quarter,” the OECD said. “Among the major seven (OECD) economies, Japan recorded the highest growth rate (2.6 percent) and Italy

the biggest contraction (minus 1.9 percent), the organization said.

The second-third quarter figures from the OECD, which is a policy forum for 34 advanced democracies, are broadly in line with recent data, notably from countries in Europe and from the European Commission. The economies of the entire OECD area grew by 0.5 percent in the third quarter, the same figure as in the second quarter.

Growth of the US economy increased by 0.7 percent from 0.6 percent in the second quarter and British growth picked up to 0.8 percent from 0.7 percent. The Bank of England asserted last week that the recovery of the British economy was now firmly in place. In Japan, expansion slowed sharply in the quarter with activity growing by 0.5 percent, down from 0.9 percent in the second quarter.

Output by the euro-zone rose by 0.1 percent, and in the European Union by 0.2 percent, down

from growth rates of 0.3 percent in the second quarter. This latest data is in line with several recent signs that the euro-zone’s recovery from crises is weak and fragile.

Growth in the euro-zone powerhouse Germany slowed sharply to 0.3 percent from 0.7 percent in the second quarter. The French economy slipped backwards, contracting by 0.1 percent having expanded by 0.5 percent in the second quarter. Recent figures for France, coupled with recent critical comments about French economic policy from the European Commission and the OECD, and a credit downgrade by Standard and Poor’s, have focused attention on economic and social pressures on the French Socialist-Green coalition government.

The latest data showed that in Italy, activity shrank for the ninth quarter in a row “but with the pace of contraction slowing to 0.1 percent compared with 0.3 percent in the previous quarter,” the OECD said. — AFP

Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons Automotive special prices on Cadillac vehicles in November KUWAIT: In honor of the special relationship it shares with its clients, Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons Automotive, the exclusive distributor of Cadillac vehicles in Kuwait, has launched a brand new promotion during the month of November 2013, by introducing special prices on all Cadillac vehicles, which reflects Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim Automotive’s commitment towards providing its customers with unique offers that best suit their luxurious lifestyle.

Cadillac special promotion, offers special prices on its range of luxury cars, a factor that allows everyone the opportunity to own a Cadillac of their choice at a reasonable price once they complete their purchase during the month of November. Cadillac’s efforts illustrate its promise toward furthering exceptional experience that goes beyond the realm of comfort and into a world of infinite luxury and valuable benefits.

Cadillac lineup of luxury vehicles includes a range of exclusive models including the ATS, CTS & C TS Coupe, XTS, SRX and Escalade. The Cadillac models were recently equipped with the innovative CUE technology, a factor that offers its owner many luxury and safety-oriented options that add to the drivers’ pleasure and excitement on the road. The CUE system (Cadillac User Experience) is part of the new and advanced technology that enhances Cadillac owners’ enter-

tainment experience with LCD touch screens that are similar to the ones used in smartphones.

The large icons, easy to use commands and memory card add to the touch screen’s functionality. It also comes with a USB and MP3 player that can be connected to the car owner’s mobile phone.

These high quality and technological elements heighten Cadillac owners’ luxurious drive and unparalleled experience on the road.

In addition to the special prices, all Cadillac owners will enjoy service and maintenance for four years or 100,000 km, 24hour roadside assistance anywhere in the Middle East for four years, warranty for up to 4 years or 100,000 km, coupled with a courtesy vehicle.

Adding to the luxury, Cadillac offers its customers in Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons Automotive’ s service center the highest quality of services. Being one of the largest in the world, the service center is equipped with a large variety of the most advanced equipment operated by a team of skilled professionals and effective consultants who ensure timely service. Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons Automotive continues to offer exclusive promotions that encourage people to purchase their very own Cadillac so as to experience the limitless benefits and luxury that come along with the world famous luxury car.

US homebuilder confidence holds steady in November NEW YORK: US homebuilders’ confidence in the housing market held steady this month, but many are worried that another fight over the federal budget could cause would-be buyers to put off home purchases. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released yesterday stayed at 54 this month. October’s reading was revised one point lower from its initial estimate. Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor.

The index has stayed above 50 now for six straight months after being below that level since May 2006. It has held steady, even as mortgage rates have come off their record lows and home sales have slowed. Those readings suggest most builders are still optimistic that the housing recovery will endure.

But the trade association noted Monday that many consumers are holding off on buying a home because of concerns over another looming budget fight in Washington. Lawmakers reached a temporary agreement last month to reopen the government after a 16-day partial shutdown, but another potential shutdown looms.

“Policy and economic uncertainty is undermining consumer confidence,” said David Crowe, the NAHB’s chief economist. Builder confidence took a hit in October because of the shutdown. Some buyers found it harder to close on their mortgages.

The budget impasse ended with only a temporary agreement to fund the government through Jan. 15. Lawmakers also agreed to allow the government to continue borrowing normally until Feb. 7.

Those deadlines coincide with the traditional start of the spring homeselling season, the traditional peak period for home sales. The builders’ group did not flag higher mortgage rates as a concern this month. Rates rose sharply over the summer in anticipation of the Federal Reserve possibly reducing its bond purchases. Since then, sales of existing homes have slowed.

But mortgage rates began falling again in September after the Fed surprised markets by voting to keep buying $85-billion-a-month in bonds.

Those purchases are intended to keep long-term interest rates low, which include mortgage rates.—AP

Aberdeen to buy Lloyds fund management unit LONDON: Shares in Aberdeen Asset Management PLC surged yesterday after the company struck a deal with Lloyds Banking Group PLC that analysts say will make it Europe’s biggest independent fund manager. In a statement, Aberdeen said it will buy Lloyds’ asset management unit Scottish Widows Investment Partnership for around 550 million pounds ($885 million) in shares.

In return, Lloyds - still around one-third owned by the British government following a bailout - will get a 9.9-percent stake in Aberdeen. The two will also form a long-term strategic partnership whereby Aberdeen will manage assets on behalf of Lloyds. Lloyds said it will be a “supportive” shareholder and has committed to maintain its initial shareholding in Aberdeen for at least a year, and a third of it for at least three years.

Aberdeen could make a further 100 million pounds cash payout to Lloyds over five years if certain performance criteria are met. The sale, which is expected to be completed early next year following the necessary regulatory approval, does not include Scottish Widows, Lloyds’ life, pensions and investment business.

“We are confident that this transaction will deliver considerable additional value to our expanded client base and this will therefore benefit our shareholders,” said Martin Gilbert, Aberdeen’s chief executive.

Investors cheered the prospect of another 136 billion pounds worth of funds being added to Aberdeen’s current portfolio of around 200 billion pounds. Aberdeen shares were up 14.1 percent to 487 pence in London.

“After the completion of this acquisition Aberdeen Asset Management will become the largest fund management firm in Europe,” said Alastair McCaig, an analyst at IG. For Lloyds, McCaig said the deal is another step the bank has taken to “reorganize its portfolio of exposure.” Shares in Lloyds rose 1.4 percent to 76 pence.

Lloyds had to be bailed out by the British taxpayer at the height of the banking crisis in 2008 but has recently shown signs that it is healing. The government recently sold some of its stake in the bank. — AP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

BUSINESS

Qatar Airways orders 50 GE9X-powered Boeing 777X Engine order valued at more than $3.8 billion DUBAI: Qatar Airways ordered 50 GE9X-powered Boeing 777X aircraft. List price for these engines is valued at more than $3.8 billion. “Qatar Airways continues its rapid growth and GE is proud to play a significant role in the expansion with this order for GE9Xpowered Boeing 777X aircraft,” said David Joyce, president and chief executive officer of GE Aviation. “The new GE9X engine will be the largest and most fuel efficient engine GE has ever designed and manufac-

tured and the rising number of orders for the engineaircraft combination serve as a testament to the confidence our customers have the product.”

The GE9X engine for Boeing’s 777X aircraft will be in the 100,000-pound thrust class with a 10 percent improvement in fuel burn over today’s GE90-115B. Key features include: the industry’s largest front fan, composite fan case and fourth-generation composite fan blades, highest pressure ratio compressor for

any large GE engine, third-generation TAPS (twin annular pre-swirl) combustor for greater efficiency and low emissions, and ceramic matrix composite (CMC) material in the combustor and turbine. Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 128 aircraft to 133 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas. Qatar Airways recently joined the

oneworld Alliance, becoming the only major Gulf carrier to join a global airline alliance, enabling its customers to benefit from almost a thousand airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,000 daily departures. Qatar Airways currently has orders worth over $50 billion for more than 250 aircraft, including Boeing 787s, 777s, Airbus A380 and A320 family of aircraft. For more information, visit www.qatarairways.com.

Etihad Airways selects GE engines for fleet expansion

Nasser Lootah inaugurates world of perishables & international plants expo KUWAIT: Eng Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, officially opened the World of Perishables ( WOP) Dubai 2013: the International Perishables Expo Middle East, the GCC’s only dedicated exhibition for fresh edible food, and the 2013 International Plants Expo Middle East (IPM 2013), the only international horticultural trade show in the Middle East, on Sunday at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The 8th edition of IPM Dubai 2013 is being held under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports. The 5th edition of WOP Dubai 2013, on the other hand, is under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Chairman of Dubai Municipality.

WOP Dubai 2013 is being organized in cooperation with Eurofruit Congress Middle East and organized by the Eurofruit Magazine trade journal. The show is being positioned as a strategic platform to help producers, traders and trade visitors gain access to comprehensive information and ordering possibilities for everything to do with temperature-sensitive goods. The exhibitors represent various related industries, including Fresh Products, Technical Equipment, Fresh Produce Safety, Trading and Services, Transport and Logistics, Fresh Produce Trading, and Fresh Produce Services.

Tarek Sibai, Project Manager at planetfair, said: “Fresh flowers and food products

are in huge demand in the Middle East.

Exhibitions such as IPM and WOP are gateway for getting an insight into the best practices and innovative trends and green technologies in the trade of fresh fruits, vegetables and plants. Both shows have grown in size with a steady increase in exhibitors as well as trade visitors since their inception, affirming a bright and lucrative future for the trade.”

IPM Dubai 2013 features displays and discussions on Plants, Technology, Floristry, Garden Features, Ornamental Gardening, Plants Maintenance, and Plants Logistics. It is being mobilized through close cooperation among Dubai Municipality, Dubai Airports Cargo and Logistics, and Dubai Flower Centre. The show will feature products and services from the horticultural industry, from greenhouse and nursery growers to landscape designers, architects and contractors.

The highlight of this year’s edition is the ‘Wedding Table Display Specialist 2013’ competition-a contest open to UAE floral specialists to display their unique craftsmanship and creativity in floral arrangement. Participants will be asked to decorate a wedding-themed table for four using fresh flower arrangement as a primary decoration along with other secondary ornamental elements. The winner will be honored as ‘UAE Champion of Wedding Table Display - 2013.’

Both exhibitions are expected to receive more than 7,000 trade visitors and industry professionals from all over Europe Africa, Asia, GCC, the Middle East and the Americas during the course of three days.

Egyptian Gulf Investment Forum in Cairo on Dec 4 CAIRO: The Egyptian Ministry of Investment has announced its cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in organizing and hosting the “Egyptian - Gulf Investment Forum “ in Cairo on 4-5 December under the auspices of the Egyptian Prime Minister Dr Hazem Beblawy. This announcement was made yesterday in a press conference held at the Ministry of Investment in Nasr City.

United Arab Emirates Minister of State, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and the Egyptian Minister of Investment Osama Saleh attended the press conference together with representatives of the forum participating parties and a number of businessmen.

Minister of Investment Osama Saleh confirmed that the “The Egyptian - Gulf Investment Forum” is a great opportunity to promote joint cooperation between Egypt and the Gulf states and to attract investments in areas of electricity, renewable energy, housing, infrastructure, agriculture, petroleum, telecommunications, tourism and transportation. He valued the role of United Arab Emirates (UAE) in initiating this most important economic cooperation event between Egypt and the Gulf countries as a new step towards strategic partnership and economic integration among all parties. The Egyptian Minister of Investment reviewed the investment policies and climate in Egypt and the overall economic strategy. He pointed out the government’s vision for the future including major investment opportunities to increase growth rates and incomes and create jobs. Minister Saleh drew attention to the government’s efforts to improve the investment and business climate including legislative and institutional reforms related to investment systems, policies and legislation.

UAE Minister of State Dr Sultan Ahmed AlJaber confirmed that “The UAE has great confidence in Egypt and the ability of its people to overcome the crisis and build a better future.” He added that “History is a witness that the UAE has not and will not stop cooperating fully with the Egyptians as brothers and who are the backbone of the Arab nation.” Minister Al-Jaber explained: “We have worked hand in hand over the past months with the brothers in Egypt and GCC countries to prepare for this forum to discuss and study

available investment opportunities to enhance the attractiveness of the Egyptian investment climate for mutual benefit for the Arab investors and the Egyptian economy.”

He added: “We are confident, in light of the great interest and responsiveness seen in Egypt and the Gulf countries, that the Forum will contribute to the formation of a clear vision that will reassure investors from the Gulf to launch joint projects to strengthen the Egyptian economy and push forward towards the establishment of effective strategic partnership between the Gulf countries and Egypt.”

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber called on all participants to start developing their ideas and visions to present and discussed during the Forum next month to achieve the greatest possible benefit in practical results that would reflect positively on investors and the Egyptian economy and society.

He pointed to the importance of supporting technical training, human development, and exchange of investment related experiences and information. He also stressed the need to overcome obstacles that may hinder the establishment of real partnership that would benefit all.

He explained that the UAE has great experience in promoting economic growth and creating flourishing investment environment.

He stressed the willingness to share experiences and lessons learnt with the brothers in Egypt. The Forum will display available investment opportunities in various sectors to ministers, businessmen and public and private investment institutions. It will also discuss the development of Egyptian legislation to avoid red tape to attract more large-scale investment projects that support economic growth and employment, insure free movement of capital, shorten time limits and speed up work pace and reassure investors on their capital and financial viability. It is expected that there will be high level of participation at the Egyptian - Gulf Investment Forum including ministers, investors and businesspeople from various Gulf countries and Egypt. The Forum is planned to convene for two days and will witness different discussion sessions and specialized workshops planned by sectors.

DUBAI: Etihad Airways yesterday announced its selection of GE engines to power its order for 56 Boeing wide-body aircraft, which is part of an extensive fleet expansion for the airline. Etihad’s order includes a commitment for 25 GE9X-powered Boeing 777X, 30 GEnx-1B-powered Boeing 787-10 and one GE90-115B-powered Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. The list price for these engines is valued at more than $3 billion.

Etihad Airways has also agreed to 15-year OnPointSM solution agreements to cover all the engines in this order. The OnPoint solution agreements are valued at $8 billion over the life of the contract.

“This order demonstrates Etihad Airways’ commitment to operating one of the most technically advanced and fuel efficient fleets in the industry, now and in the future,” said James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ president and chief executive. “Our business succeeds by establishing long term strategic partnerships to ensure we can offer our customers the best. This deal allows us to do that.”

“We are honored Etihad has selected GE to play a significant role in the airline’s expansion efforts,” said David Joyce, president and chief executive officer of GE Aviation. “GE’s wide-body engine strategy builds on the solid foundation that we began with our GE90 engines, was advanced with new technologies in the outstanding GEnx and will evolve further with the new GE9X engine, which will be the largest fan diameter and most fuel efficient engine GE has ever designed and manufactured.”

Etihad becomes the first airline in the region to select the new GE9X-powered Boeing 777X aircraft and will be the largest GEnx-powered Boeing 787 Dreamliner operator in the world.

The GE9X engine for Boeing’s 777X aircraft will be in the 100,000-pound thrust class with a 10 percent improvement in fuel burn over today’s GE90-115B. Key features include: the industry’s largest front fan, composite fan case and fourth-generation composite fan blades, highest pressure ratio compressor for any large GE engine, third-generation TAPS (twin annular pre-swirl) combustor for greater efficiency and low emissions, and ceramic matrix composite

(CMC) material in the combustor and turbine.

The GEnx-1B engine is the best-selling engine on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The engine has accumulated more than 178,000 flight hours and more than 35,000 cycles since entering service in 2012. More than 900 GEnx-1B engines have been sold to more than 30 customers.

The GEnx engine family is the fastest-selling engine in GE Aviation history with more than 1,300 engines on order. Compared to GE’s CF6 engine, the GEnx engine offers up to 15 percent better fuel consumption, which translates to 15 percent less CO2. The GEnx’s innovative twinannular pre-swirl (TAPS) combustor dramatically reduces NOx gases as much as 55 percent below today’s regulatory limits and other regulated gases as much as 90 percent. Based on the ratio of decibels to pounds of thrust, the GEnx is the quietest engine GE produces due to the large, more efficient fan blades that operate at a slower tip speed, resulting in about 40 percent lower noise levels.

Revenue-sharing participants on the GEnx

are IHI Corporation of Japan, GKN Aerospace Engine Systems of Sweden, MTU of Germany, TechSpace Aero of Belgium, Snecma (SAFRAN Group) of France and Samsung Techwin of Korea. At 115,000 pounds of thrust, the GE90115B engine includes such per formance enhancing features as three-dimensional aerodynamic (3-D aero) compressor and wide-chord, swept composite fan blades for greater efficiency. The dual annual combustor emits no more than 40 percent of the hydrocarbons allowed by today’s international standards. More than 1,500 GE90-115B engines have been ordered by customers for their Boeing 777-300Ers, 777-200LR and 777 Freighters.

Snecma of France and IHI Corporation of Japan are revenue-sharing participants in the GE90 program. The GEnx and GE90-115B engines are part of GE’s “ecomagination” product portfolio-GE’s commitment to implementing innovative, cost-effective technologies that enhance the customers’ environmental and operating performance.

Honda Alghanim November Super Savings Offer

H

onda Alghanim, the sole distributor of Honda in Kuwait, has been committed to providing the best offers for customers on all Honda car-lines throughout the year. As part of its new Super Savings offer, Honda Alghanim has slashed its prices on all models at a very attractive price. This limited time offer will be valid until the end of November 2013.

Customers are encouraged to take advantage of this limited time Super Savings offer by visiting the Honda showroom in Safat Alghanim. The showroom is open from 8:30 AM until 10:00 PM from Saturday to Thursday and from 9:30 AM until 10:00 PM on Fridays.

Alghanim Motors, the sole distributor of Honda automobiles, power products, marine and motorcycles in Kuwait is committed to providing customers with flexible payment solutions, as well as offering comfortable amenities in its new service center located in Shuwaikh.

The Alghanim Motors Service Center provides efficient and cost-effective services at all times.

The waiting lounge offers customers a wide array of amenities such as an electronic gaming area, digital satellite channels, free wireless Internet access as well as relaxing massage chairs. Honda Alghanim’s customers will also

enjoy excellent customer service, quality maintenance options and competitive prices on genuine spare parts, all of which are provided by a team of professional and highly skilled technicians. For more information call 1822777.

TRACCS wins PRCA award 7th international award received in 2013 DUBAI: TRACCS, one of the largest public relations networks in the Middle East and North Africa, was named “International Consultancy of the Year (not UK-based)” at the PRCA Awards recently held in London. The win was the first time a MENA-based Arab agency took home the gong in the awards’ 23-year history.

The PRCA win adds to an impressive haul of six international awards received by TRACCS in 2013 - a record year for the PR consultancy, which currently operates across 13 markets in the Middle East and North Africa region, employing more than 240 PR professionals. “ TRACCS offers something unique - an

indigenous practice in each country they operate in, combined with a sophisticated and globally competitive service. Their local knowledge, strong Arabic competency and extensive network are their biggest strengths and are equally sought after by regional and multinational clients looking to make an impact in the market,” said Francis Ingham, PRCA Director General.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better way to end what has been an incredibly successful year.

The communications demands within the region are growing at a dizzying speed and companies are looking for skilled practitioners who are rooted in the market, understand how it works and

can provide valuable insights in addition to the standard suite of PR services,” added Mohamed Al-Ayed, TRACCS President and CEO. “Being recognized by one of the most highly respected bodies in our industry is a real inspiration to keep developing the practice of public relations in the MENA region by investing in local talent.”

One of the most prestigious peer-judged accolades in the communications industry, the annual PRCA Awards recognize exceptional talent within the UK and international PR industry, showcasing the achievements of both in-house communications teams and consultancies.

Oil slips below $108 ahead of Iran talks LONDON: Brent crude oil fell below $108 a barrel yesterday after a week of sharp gains ahead of talks between Iran and the West that could lead to an increase in Iranian crude oil exports.

Major world powers and Iran meet in Geneva Nov. 20-22 for another round of talks over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program, which the West says is designed to make an atomic bomb but Iran says is for peaceful purposes. Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Monday there was a “real chance” to resolve the standoff over the issue. Sanctions against Iran over the nuclear dispute have kept around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil off the global market and any deal could allow some of that oil to be sold, depressing a market that is already well supplied. January Brent crude was down 75 cents at $107.75 a barrel by 1321 GMT, while US crude for December delivery was down 45 cents at $93.29.

Brent rose 3.2 percent last week in its biggest gain for more than four months. “Close attention is

being paid to the Iranian talks,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, oil and commodities strategist at VTB Capital. “We already have plentiful supplies.”

“After last week’s gains, the market was a little over-bought, so we are seeing some small-scale profit-taking.” CMC Markets chief analyst Ric Spooner said a Middle East risk premium, which had helped prop up global oil prices, had eased in recent weeks. “There is less potential for major supply declines with constructive news from Iran,” Spooner added. But tensions in Libya helped keep a floor under oil prices. The country’s deputy intelligence chief was kidnapped on Sunday, highlighting the country’s internal strife which has sharply reduced its oil exports. Libyan crude oil exports have fallen by more than 1 million bpd over the last six months as fighting between rival militias and industrial unrest has spread across the country. Analysts see little sign of an immediate end to the turmoil. Investors were assessing how energy reforms pledged by China late last week would

impact oil and gas demand in the world’s largest net oil importer.The reforms include the removal of some restrictions on migration, which analysts say should mean China’s demand for metals and energy would increase in the medium term. Saudi Arabia has raised output to a record level while cutting summer domestic demand by 10 percent both of which helped the top exporter boost overseas sales in the third quarter to the highest in nearly eight years.

Investors awaited minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s October meeting for hints on when it might start paring its asset-buying program. Fed Chairman-nominee Janet Yellen signalled last week the central bank would need stronger evidence of economic growth before tapering.

Money managers cut their net long US crude futures and options positions in the week to Nov. 12 for the second week in a row, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday. — Reuters

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19 , 2013

technology

EMC welcomes top Saudi universities to EMC Academic Alliance Program RIYADH: EMC Corporation yesterday announced that three prestigious universities from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have recently joined EMC’s global EMC Academic Alliance program (EAA). The Prince Sultan University (PSU), Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University and the University of Ha’il have recently joined the EAA program in a bid to prepare the next generation of IT professionals in the Kingdom.The EAA program provides universities worldwide with technology curricula to educate the next generation of IT and data analytics professionals, and help meet the industry’s growing demand for advanced technology skills.

The announcement comes as the government in Saudi Arabia continues to invest a large concentration of funds in education, training and development to create a knowledge based society and drive socio economic development across the Kingdom’s larger community. A major part of these investments are focused on IT skills development to further aid the government’s Yesser e-government program and build a sustainable e-government workforce.

Prof Mohammed El Affedni , Dean College of Computer Science ,Prince Sultan University, “Founded on the principles of excellence and innovation, Prince Sultan University has always believed in the critical role of the private sector in contributing to the development a competent, well versed student body, ready to drive the future of our nation and its people. The university’s vision drives us to invest in partnerships such as the EMC Academic Alliance to leverage the full depth of this global leader’s industry knowledge, expertise and outlook to introduce a learning environment that integrates

modern technologies with real world cases and best practices to help our students achieve academic excellence.”

Dr Waleed Aljandal, Chief Information Officer, Imam Mohamed Ibn Saud Islamic University, from Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University said, “We aim to maintain the precious balance between the values of Islam and academic excellence in order to establish a true knowledge based society driven by the leaders of tomorrow. Imam University is proud to have partnered with EMC to be a part of the globally renowned EMC Academic Alliance to offer our students best in class education, keeping them up to date with the latest trends and developments in the ICT industry to hone their professional and leadership skills for the future.”

Dr Majed Alhaisoni, Dean of College of Computer Science and Engineering and Dean of IT & ELearning, University of Ha’ilsaid, “The University of Ha’il is proud to have become a part of the EMC Academic Alliance to introduce new, innovative courses for our student community and contribute to the social and economic development of our country. This partnership is a testament to our commitment to the government’s vision to up skill the community and prepare them for the challenges of tomorrow. Through our work with EMC, we aim to help students attain the knowledge and skills they need to support the development of our community and its people.”

The EMC Academic Alliance Program offers unique, “open” curriculum-based education on technology topics such as virtualization, cloud computing, big data analytics, information storage and man-

agement, and data protection. The “open” curriculum focuses on technology concepts and principles applicable to any vendor environment, enabling students to develop highly marketable knowledge and skills demanded by today’s evolving IT industry.

EMC’s “open” curriculum offerings for the EMC Academic Alliance include: • Information Storage and Management • Cloud Infrastructure • Data Science and Big Data Analytics • Backup and Recovery Systems Upon completion of the courseware, students will have an opportunity to achieve EMC ProvenTM Professional certification. As a Proven Professional, students can demonstrate their proficiency to potential employers, and also progress to more advanced technology education courses and certifications from EMC-all designed to help fill the current shortage of skilled workers in the IT industry. “ The EMC Academic Alliance programs are designed to help students leverage practical knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a competitive business environment using the latest breed of technologies and innovation such as cloud, virtualization and big data. We are honored to welcome three of the most prestigious universities in Saudi Arabia to this globally recognized program and look forward to working with them to create enormous opportunities for students entering the workforce while simultaneously contributing to the creation of qualified skillsets to address the many challenges that both private and public sector organizations face today,” said Mohammed Talaat, District Manager,

Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Libya, EMC Corporation.

“According to a 2012 IDC study*, the pervasive use of mobile devices in addition to steadily growing internet connectivity has contributed to the doubling of the digital universe within the past two years alone-to a mammoth 2.8 ZB. This massive data explosion continues to create challenges for organizations everywhere that need to ensure they have the resources to manage, analyze and leverage this increasing volume to drive business strategies and competitive differentiation,” said Joachim Worf, Senior Education Delivery Manager - Europe, Middle East and Africa, EMC Education Services.

“As an active member of this community, we at EMC believe that it is our responsibility to help enterprises counter these challenges, not just by providing them the right tools and technologies but also by helping create the necessary skillsets to close the technology skills gap that exists today. By participating in EMC’s Academic Alliance program, Prince Sultan University (PSU), Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University and the University of Ha’il are equipping their students with the broad and deep knowledge required to maximize the benefits of today’s complex and rapidly evolving IT infrastructures and providing these students with a substantial advantage for their future careers,” he concluded.

Prince Sultan University (PSU), Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University and the University of Ha’il join the more than 750 universities and colleges across more than 50 countries incorporating EMC’s curricula into their technology and computer science programs.

Kaspersky Lab announces new Kaspersky Small Office Security Bringing renewed support to small business

This photo provided by NASA shows a full moon rising behind the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft onboard at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 41 on Sunday. —AP

NASA launching robotic explorer to Mars CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: NASA’s newest Martian explorer is on its launch pad in Florida, ready to soar. The Maven spacecraft was scheduled to blast off aboard an unmanned Atlas V rocket yesterday afternoon. NASA is sending Maven to Mars to study its upper atmosphere.

Scientists want to know why Mars went from being warm and wet during its first billion years, to the cold and dry place it is today.

The early Martian atmosphere was thick enough to hold water and possibly support microbial life. But much of that atmosphere may have been lost to space, eroded by the sun.

“Something clearly happened,” the University of Colorado’s Bruce Jakosky, the principal Maven scientist, said on the eve of Maven’s flight. “What we want to do is to understand what are the reasons for that change in the climate.”

Maven - bearing eight science instruments - will take 10 months to reach Mars, entering into orbit around the red planet in September 2014. The mission costs $671

million. A question underlying all of NASA’s 21 Mars missions to date is whether life could have started on what now seems to be a barren world. “We don’t have that answer yet, and that’s all part of our quest for trying to answer, ‘Are we alone in the universe?’ in a much broader sense,” said John Grunsfeld, NASA’s science mission director.

Maven stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, with a capital “N” in EvolutioN. It is NASA’s 21st shot at Mars.

Fourteen of the previous 20 missions have succeeded, the most recent being the Curiosity rover that was launched in 2011 and landed in 2012. That’s a US success rate of 70 percent. No other country comes close. Curiosity’s odometer reads 2.6 miles after more than a year of roving. An astronaut could accomplish that distance in about a day on the Martian sur face, Grunsfeld noted Sunday. Grunsfeld, a former astronaut, said considerable technology is needed, however, before humans can fly to Mars in the 2030s, NASA’s ultimate objective. — AP

In this computer-generated image made available by Royal Philips NV yesterday, a LED sign on the carpet indicates a boarding gate in a fictional airport environment. — AP

DUABI: Kaspersky Lab has announced a new version of Kaspersky Small Office Security, the company’s security solution built specifically for businesses with fewer than 25 employees. This solution includes new features that help small businesses stay ahead of modern security challenges, and includes Kaspersky Lab’s latest antimalware technologies in an easy-to-use product that doesn’t require business owners to be IT experts.

According to IDC estimates, there are more than 75 million businesses worldwide that operate with fewer than 10 employees. These “very small businesses” will process millions, if not billions, of dollars in 2014. Yet this segment has been traditionally under-served by IT security vendors that don’t offer products with these businesses in mind. As a result, business owners have been forced to use consumer-level products that don’t adequately meet their business needs, or stripped-down versions of enterpriselevel products that are cumbersome to manage and force businesses to pay for security features they will never use. Small business owners can find valuable resources, videos and tips for selecting the right security solution on Kaspersky Lab’s new small business web pagehttp://me.kaspersky.com/en/small-office-security, http://me.kaspersky.com/en/protectmybusiness.

Kaspersky Small Office Security is designed to cater solely to the needs of these small businesses, combining powerful protection from cybercrime with the features small businesses need to compete in the global economy. Most importantly, Kaspersky Small Office Security is simple to install and manage, and offers incredible value in both purchase costs and administration time. This simplicity allows business owners to equip themselves with world-class protection without taking their focus away from running their companies.

What’s new Kaspersky Lab solidified its commitment to the very small business segment in 2010 with the company’s first stand-alone version of Kaspersky Small Office Security. It was then the industry’s first complete security solution built specifically for startups and growing businesses, and it is a distinction that still remains true in 2013. Kaspersky Lab has continued to improve

and refine its offering over the past several years, which has earned numerous awards from thirdparty test organizations, including Dennis Technology Labs in 2012 and 2013. In fact, Dennis Technology Labs’ latest report, published in October 2013, ranked Kaspersky Small Office Security as the most accurate and effective antimalware solution for small businesses, well ahead of four competing products. Built on the same award-winning platform, the latest version of Kaspersky Small Office Security includes several brand new features, and a host of technology upgrades and improvements, including: * Safe Money to Protect Online Banking - By automatically activating new layers of protection when users are conducting financial transactions online, businesses can now pay invoices, make purchases, and access online financial data with peace of mind. Kaspersky Lab’s award-winning Safe Money technology automatically activates an ultra-secure web browser whenever the user visits a financial site, such as an online bank or payment service. The Safe Money browser ensures no unauthorized programs can run and on-screen data is protected from key-loggers and screen-capture malware. Safe Money will also verify that the website users are connected to is authentic and has a valid certification to defeat phishing attempts, and constantly monitors the connection to ensure information is not intercepted by cybercriminals. * Enhanced Mobile Device Support - Small businesses are not immune to the challenges of protecting a mobile workforce and the fastgrowing BYOD trends. Kaspersky Small Office Security now includes support for Android tablets and smartphones, equipping these devices with an array of anti-malware, web browsing protection, and privacy controls. Most importantly, these devices will now have Kaspersky Lab’s latest anti-theft technologies, allowing employees to find missing mobile devices, or remotely wipe the data from stolen mobile devices. * Automatic Exploit Prevention- This unique technology prevents cybercriminals from using emerging vulnerabilities in legitimate software, commonly known as Zero Days, to launch malware attacks. By proactively monitoring the behavior of commonly-exploited software, such as Adobe and Java, Automatic Exploit Prevention will protect customers from undis-

covered exploits and ensure customers are protected even if the latest updates to their legitimate programs have not yet been installed. * Password Manager - Too often, users take the more convenient options of using simple passwords, reusing the same passwords for multiple accounts, or keeping a list of their passwords on a piece of paper next to their desk.

With a password manager, employees only need to remember a single “master password.”

Kaspersky Password Manager will store passwords in an encrypted vault, and automatically fill-in the correct password when needed. It can also create customized secure passwords for new accounts so employees won’t be tempted to re-use existing passwords, and enables employees to create a secure portable version of their password vault on a USB drive. * Online Backup - Small businesses can now automatically save their critical data securely in the cloud or to a local hard drive or server. By making the backup process simpler, small businesses can be assured their most important business plans, financial records, and customer data will remain accessible in case of equipment failure or accidental deletion.

Kaspersky Lab’s Chief Technology Officer, Nikolay Grebennikov remarked: “Kaspersky Small Office Security is one of our company’s best examples of combining the IT security industry’s best protection technologies into a form that anyone with even modest computer knowledge can easily understand. Shortening the learning curve has always been a priority for our small business products, and the latest version of Kaspersky Small Office Security ensures business owners can purchase the product on their lunch break, and have it fully installed across their business by end of day.”

Protection and Control with Ease The most compelling feature of Kaspersky Small Office Security is its ease of use, which makes advanced protection technologies accessible and straightforward for small business owners. By de-mystifying features like data encryption and web policy controls through wizard-driven menus and one-click options, Kaspersky Small Office Security makes the benefits of web usage policies, data encryption, and central management available to businesses of all sizes.

Google, Microsoft raise efforts to block online child porn LONDON: Google said yesterday it had developed new technology to block child porn from more than 100,000 unique searches, ahead of talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron who has been pushing for action on indecent images online. Cameron hailed Google’s move as “significant progress”, even if campaigners noted it affects only a fraction of the 1.2 trillion Google searches conducted each year.

Executive chairman Eric Schmidt said more than 200 Google staff have been working on new ways to tackle the problem of child sex abuse images in the past three months. “While society will never wholly eliminate such depravity, we should do everything in our power to protect children from harm,” Schmidt wrote in the Daily Mail newspaper.

He added: “We’ve fine-tuned Google Search to prevent links to child sexual abuse material from appearing in our results.”

The restrictions will initially apply to Englishspeaking countries but will be expanded to the rest of the world and 158 other languages within six months.

Microsoft, which owns the Bing search engine, has also stepped up action against online child abuse in recent months and it welcomed Monday’s Internet safety summit at

Cameron’s Downing Street office.

“Increased collaboration (with government and industry bodies)... is the best way to combat this vile content,” a spokesman for the technology giant said.

Microsoft has developed and shared its picture detection technology which helps prevent banned images being duplicated across the web, while Google is also testing new ways to identify videos of child sex abuse.

Warnings have been added to more than 13,000 search results making clear child sex abuse is illegal, Schmidt said, while both Google and Microsoft have stopped auto-complete features from offering child abuse search terms. The Internet summit comes just days after police in Canada revealed they had arrested 341 people around the world, including teachers and doctors, following an investigation into a child porn site. Authorities seized a vast amount of data, including hundreds of thousands of images and videos detailing “horrific” sexual acts against children as young as five.

But the British government has been pushing for action since the summer, after two highprofile child sex murders in which the killers were found to have searched for child porn

online.

In July, Cameron threatened to introduce legislation to block access to illegal images if search engines failed in their “moral duty” to do it voluntarily.

“Since then, we have worked closely with both Google and Microsoft and they have made significant progress in preventing child abuse content from being returned,” the prime minister said ahead of yesterday’s summit. But he said the threat of legislation remained.

“With the progress that has been made in four months, I believe we are heading in right direction but no one should be in doubt that there is a red line,” Cameron said. “If more isn’t done to stop illegal content or pathways being found when someone uses a child abuse search term, we will do what is necessary to protect our children.”

Some experts warned that the reforms will not stop paedophiles sharing images on the Internet.

“They don’t go on to Google to search for images. They go on to the dark corners of the Internet on peer-to-peer websites,” said Jim Gamble, former head of the police-linked Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. — AFP

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

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

Outdoor exercisers can reap unexpected benefits by moving indoors NEW YORK: Road runners and cyclists may dread moving their exercise routines indoors as winter approaches but fitness experts say it could be an opportunity to fine-tune a familiar routine or a chance to discover new skills. Jessica Matthews, a California-based yoga instructor and exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise, said road cyclists, racers and runners trickle into yoga classes.

“The cold weather might have forced them indoors but they discovered something,” said Matthews, adding that a change in the weather can offer be a

chance to supplement their workout with cross-training, group fitness classes or even workout DVDs. “Runners and cyclists often spend little time on strength training,” Matthews explained. “But we know it is a critical component to enhance what you do and do it safely.”

Outdoor runners who shun indoor training, she added, could be missing an opportunity to fine-tune their regimen on a treadmill. “Many hear the word treadmill and say, ‘No,’” she said. “But with a treadmill you have at your fingertips the ability to tailor, customize and

vary your workout every single day: to focus on speed, or to add intervals, or hills.”

And your route is not limited to your neighborhood. Suzanne Bowen, a Panama City Beach, Florida-based fitness expert, has always trained indoors.

“Whether dealing with heat or cold, you have to find something you like to do indoors, something you’re comfortable with,” said Bowen, the creator of online streaming fitness classes and the “Tighten Tone and Stretch” fitness DVD. For exercisers married to their outdoor routines who feel forced inside,

Gregory Chertok, a New Jersey-based sport and exercise psychology consultant for the American College of Sports Medicine, suggests a gradual approach.

“They may want to dedicate one or two of their workouts per week to indoors, in order to slowly adjust,” he said. “It takes some of the trauma away.”

He said perspective management, or the ability to view events as neither good nor bad but neutral, is among the most power ful tools in both general and sports psychotherapy.

When we’re forced to engage in new workouts, Chertok explained, the mus-

cles are surprised and effectiveness is enhanced. “Physiologically the body responds,” he said.

In the social setting of a gym, he added the lone outdoor runner can limber up his social skills. “There are great benefits to solitary exercise: it’s meditative. It’s a chance to ruminate and an opportunity for alone time,” he said. “But there are also benefits of working out in a social setting.” Chertok said adopting a flexible lifestyle in sports or exercise can lead to benefits in other areas. “The skill of emotional flexibility is very transferable,” he added.—Reuters

Childhood cancer survivors face heart risks soon after treatment

FRANCE: European grey wolves are pictured in the†animal†park of Sainte-Croix, in this December 12, 2012, file photo in Rhodes.—AFP

Modern dogs descended from European wolves WASHINGTON: If your dog could talk, he might have a European accent. A new study out Thursday comparing DNA from modern canines to ancient fossils suggests that today’s pets descended from now-extinct populations of wolves in Europe. Man’s earliest best friends likely scavenged bones from scrap piles left behind by hunter-gatherers, said the report by international researchers in the journal Science. The bolder the wolf, the more he would be able to eat and the more loyal to humans he would become.

Scientists now believe this process of domestication likely began as many as 19,000 to 32,000 years ago.

“All modern dogs have a very close relationship to ancient dogs or wolves from Europe,” lead author Olaf Thalmann, a researcher at the University of Turku in Finland, told AFP. The team analyzed the mitochondrial DNA of 18 prehistoric canines-eight dogs and 10 wolves-and compared them to 77 mitochondrial genomes, showcasing traits inherited from the mother, from dogs from all over the world. The ancient samples came from Russia, Ukraine, Central Europe, the United States and Argentina, Thalmann said. Some were more than 30,000 years old.

The modern DNA from dogs and wolves spanned the globe, from Israel to China, Sweden to Mexico. “The oldest domesticated dog material came from Europe,” said co-author Robert Wayne, a professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California Los Angeles. “It was an inescapable conclusion.”

However, other researchers say the matter of who tamed dogs first and where it happened is far from settled. A separate team of researchers published a study in Science in 2002, saying that modern dogs came from southern China.

“Our data points to origins in China and I am still pretty sure that is the place,” said Peter Savolainen, an associate professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. Savolainen said the study by Thalmann and colleagues lacks samples from important parts of the world-namely the Middle East and

China. “If you are looking for the origins of dogs and you only have samples from Europe, then of course it must be Europe,” he told AFP. Savolainen said that much like the “Out of Africa” theory that says humans originated in Africa and migrated elsewhere, dog history follows an “Out of south China” scheme. “You see several branches that are unique among dogs in south China and you don’t see them anywhere else,” he said. Asked about the criticism from China theorists, Thalmann countered that his team used more complete DNA sequencing and older samples that show Europe was indeed the place where it all began.

Still, the matter is far from settled, Thalmann told AFP. More research in the years to come may reveal more on the topic, perhaps through the discovery of more fossils, or a more complete look at the genetic data. In the meantime, most experts agree that early dogs became a part of human life long before the development of agriculture and farming societies. Little is known about the people who domesticated them, or how they did it. But Savolainen believes that wolves took the lead when it came to befriending humans, at least initially.

“They approached human camps and ate from the scrap heaps and those who dared come closer would get most of the food and they would have an evolutionary advantage,” he told AFP. “So with each generation they would sort of tame themselves to get accustomed to humans. That is everybody’s favorite theory, and I think it is a nice theory as well.”

As some wolves relied less on killing prey and more on eating scraps, their snouts gradually grew shorter. They likely followed human groups whenever they picked up and moved camps.

Then, about 10,000 to 15,000 years ago, the closer friendship truly began. “At some point, people and wolves really started interacting and humans took over the rest of the domestication process,” said Savolainen. Thalmann said his team’s evidence suggests dogs likely accompanied European explorers to the New World.—AFP

Long use of birth control pill could boost glaucoma risk WASHINGTON: Women who have taken birth control pills for three years or more face twice the risk of developing the eye disease glaucoma, a top cause of blindness, researchers said yesterday. The study was based on survey answers by 3,406 women over age 40 in the United States, and was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in New Orleans. Women who said they had used oral contraceptives for more than three years were 2.05 times as likely to report a diagnosis of glaucoma as women who had not taken the pill. It did not matter which kind of oral contraceptives the women used, researchers said. Glaucoma is a disease that affects the optic nerve. If untreated, it can cause people to lose their peripheral vision over time and eventually their straight-ahead vision, too. “This study should be an impetus for future research to prove the cause and effect of oral contraceptives and glaucoma,” said Shan Lin, lead researcher and professor of clinical

ophthalmology at the University of California San Francisco.

“At this point, women who have taken oral contraceptives for three or more years should be screened for glaucoma and followed closely by an ophthalmologist, especially if they have any other existing risk factors.” While this study stopped short of establishing a causal link between the pill and glaucoma, previous research has shown that estrogen may have a significant role in the development of glaucoma.

Known risk factors for the eye disease include African American-ethnicity, family history of glaucoma, histor y of increased eye pressure and existing vision problems. There is no cure for glaucoma but with early intervention it can often be controlled through medication and/or surgery. The research team also included experts from Duke University School of Medicine and Third Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.—AFP

DALLAS: Children who survive cancer treatment face increased heart health risk and should take measures soon after life-saving therapy to reduce the risk of serious problems later in life, according to research presented at a major medical meeting. The five-year survival rate from childhood cancer has soared from 58 percent in 1975 to 1977, to 83 percent in the period from 2003 to 2009.

While earlier research had shown that childhood cancer survivors face heart disease and other potentially serious health problems decades after treatment, a new study found that chemotherapy takes a toll on artery health while survivors are still children, leaving them vulnerable to premature atherosclerosis and heart disease.

“We may need to start the clock earlier monitoring these children,” said Donald Dengel, lead author of the study presented on Sunday at the American Heart Association scientific meeting in Dallas. “Healthcare providers who are managing chemotherapy-treated childhood cancer survivors need to monitor cardiovascular risk factors immediately following

completion of their patients’ cancer therapy,” said Dengel, a professor at the University of Minnesota.

Researchers used measures of the brachial and carotid arteries to test artery stiffness, thickness and function of 319 Americans ages 9 to 18 who had survived leukemia or other cancers, and compared the findings to 208 siblings not diagnosed with cancer. Signs of premature heart disease, demonstrated by a decline in artery function, was more prevalent among those children and teenagers who had survived cancer, researchers found.

Childhood leukemia survivors had a 9 percent decrease in arterial health after completing chemotherapy compared with the non-cancer group. “Given the increased risk, children who sur vive cancer should make lifestyle changes to lower their cardiovascular risk,” Dengel said. Such changes would include a hear t-healthy diet and regular exercise.

However, more studies would be needed to assess whether blood vessel health can be improved by lifestyle changes in these survivors as has been shown in studies of child-

hood obesity. It may be that damage caused by chemotherapy cannot be reversed, Dengel said. “I really don’t think it’s the cancer per se, it’s the treatment” that is causing the problems, Dengel added. A pilot study has begun in which childhood cancer survivors will be given cholesterol lowering statins after puberty to see if that can reduce the risk of future heart problems. “It may serve them better to be more aggressive,” Dengel said.

The study did have limitations, researchers noted. Because of differences in cancer treatments, they were unable to attribute changes in arterial health to any particular chemotherapy. In addition, most of the children in the study were white, so the findings were not necessarily applicable to other racial or ethnic groups.

Children in the study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health and other research groups, had survived at least five years since their initial cancer diagnosis, researchers said. They said it was the first such study to look at heart health of childhood cancer survivors while they were still children.—Reuters

Largest study widens rice, arsenic link in Bangladesh PARIS: An unprecedented probe into high levels of arsenic in Bangladesh’s groundwater strengthens suspicions that eating rice boosts exposure to the poison, scientists said yesterday.

Samples provided by 18,470 volunteers living in an arsenic-contaminated district showed that those who ate large amounts of rice had higher levels of arsenic in their urine than those who ate little rice, they said. In addition, the big riceeaters also had more symptoms of arsenic toxicity, such as skin lesions.

The paper, published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, is the biggest-ever probe into whether arsenic-tainted groundwater in Bangladesh poses a risk for people who consume rice, the staple food. The study demonstrates “arsenic in water and the food chain is a serious problem”, said Parvez Haris, a specialist in environmental biomedicine at De Montfort University in the central English city of Leicester. “(It) also shows that exposure to arsenic from rice can have harmful effects on human health, as it correlated with increased prevalence and incidence of skin lesions.” Arsenic in groundwater in parts of Bangladesh is a growing concern,

say watchdogs. The toxic element occurs in water naturally-the problem is that tens of millions of rural dwellers are exposed to it through shallow wells drilled in the 1970s in “access-to-water” programs.

Most investigations have focused on the risk from drinking water, but there is now widening interest in whether the poison can also be passed on in rice, through irrigated fields.

The study was conducted in the district of Araihazar, Dhaka state. Arsenic levels in the local rice were not determined in the study, although contamination of the area’s water is well known.

There are nearly 6,000 wells in an area of just 25 square kilometres (9.6 square miles). “We recommend people in Araihazar and other parts of Bangladesh, who consume as much as 1.6 kilos (3.5 pounds) of cooked rice daily, to reduce their dependence on rice as their main source of calorie intake, to diversify their diet by for example increasing their intake of wheat and consuming rice varieties that are low in arsenic,” said Haris.

“We have previously shown that rice from (the) Sylhet region of Bangladesh has lower arsenic content as does aromatic rice.” The work

could also have implications for other parts of the world where there can be relatively high levels of arsenic in rice, said the authors. Parts of Cambodia, China, India and Vietnam fall into this category. Haris’s team previously found a link between arsenic and rice consumption among a small number of Bangladeshis who lived in Britain. The new paper takes the exploration farther, as it draws on a much wider sample of people living in Bangladesh itself.

Research carried out among 417 villagers in India’s West Bengal, published last July, found signatures of genetic damage in urinary-tract cells. The signatures, called micronuclei, are tiny pieces of DNA that are left over from when a cell replicates and fails to copy its genetic code properly. The more frequently these mistakes occur, the higher the risk of cancer. In the villagers, micronuclei frequency rose with increasing arsenic levels in rice, a trend that held for men and women, and also for tobacco and nontobacco users. Even small amounts of arsenic, over a long time, can cause cancer of the bladder, kidney, lung or skin, previous research has found.—AFP

Be cautious with antibiotics for kids NEW YORK: Pediatricians should carefully evaluate kids with ear infections, runny noses and sore throats before giving them antibiotics, doctors said yesterday.

Antibiotics will only help shorten kids’ sickness if their symptoms are caused by bacteria and not by a virus, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Infectious Diseases noted. Still, studies show many children and adults are given the drugs for coughs and colds caused by viruses. That increases the risk of antibiotic resistance, without doing patients any good.

“People tend to not recognize how big of a problem this is,” Dr Theoklis Zaoutis said. He is a member of the AAP committee and an infectious diseases specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 2 million Americans get infected with antibiotic-resistant

bacteria each year and 23,000 die as a result. Any antibiotic use appropriate or not - contributes to the risk of resistance.

Antibiotics can also come with side effects like diarrhea and rashes, which account for more than 150,000 doctor visits among kids each year. And they occasionally cause severe allergic reactions.

Symptoms of bacterial and viral respiratory infections can overlap, the committee said. So pediatricians should use strict criteria to decide when antibiotics are warranted.

For ear infections, toddlers who have severe pain and infections in both ears are most likely to benefit from the drugs, the AAP said. But in most cases, symptoms will go away on their own - so a wait-and-see approach is an option for older kids who are not in a lot of pain.

Antibiotics for runny noses and coughs should be used when symptoms are severe, have been around for a long time or are get-

ting worse. When kids have a sore throat, pediatricians should test only those who have certain symptoms - such as swollen lymph nodes or tonsils and a fever - for strep throat. When antibiotics are justified, the committee recommended doctors prescribe amoxicillin (marketed as Moxatag or

DisperMox, among other names) or amoxicillin together with clavulanate (Augmentin) to kids with ear infections and sinusitis.

The combination, in particular, causes diarrhea or other stomach problems among one-quarter to half of patients, Dr Jeffrey Linder said. —Reuters

Princeton University can import vaccine to combat meningitis outbreak NEW YORK: A meningitis vaccine approved for use in Europe and Australia but not in the United States can be imported to try to stop an outbreak of the disease at Princeton University in New Jersey, federal health officials said. The Food and Drug Administration agreed this week to the importation of the vaccine, Bexsero, for potential use on the Ivy League campus, Barbara Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Saturday. The school, which has about 7,900 students, reported its seventh case of the year this week, said university spokesman Martin Mbugua.

Bexsero, a new vaccine made by Swiss drugmaker Novartis, is designed to protect against a strain of the disease, serogroup B, that is not as common in the United States as it is in other parts of the world, Reynolds said. The outbreak of serogroup B meningitis at Princeton is rare but

not the first of its kind in the United States, Reynolds said.

“What’s a little different now is this is the first time we’ve had an outbreak and also have had the possibility of using a vaccine that could protect against it,” she said. The university’s trustees are meeting this weekend to discuss the outbreak. Mbugua would not talk about the nature of those discussions or what day they would be held. “I will not pre-empt the trustees’ discussion by talking about it beforehand,” he said.

Reynolds said she did not have a timetable for how quickly the vaccine could be available. Its use would be optional for students at Princeton, she said.

The most recent case at the school was diagnosed last Sunday, Mbugua said. Six of those affected are students, and one was a visitor, he said. The student who most recently became ill

remains hospitalized, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. Five other students have recovered, and the visitor’s case is being followed by another state health department. The first case was reported in March.

Meningitis is a serious disease that is spread through coughing and exchanges of saliva, and people living in dormitories or other crowded living quarters are especially at risk. There is a vaccine available in the United States for other strains of the disease, Reynolds said. The CDC recommends the vaccine for children and students before they head off to college. Bacterial meningitis can cause the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord to swell. The most severe cases can result in death, hearing loss, brain damage, kidney disease or require the amputation of limbs. Symptoms include fever, headaches and stiff neck.—Reuters

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

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

AP IMPACT: Seeking lung donors after at-home death NEW YORK: The pair of lungs sits inside a clear dome, gently inflating as doctors measure how well they’ll breathe if implanted into a patient who desperately needs them. It’s a little-known twist of nature - your lungs can live on for a while after you die. The air left inside keeps them from deteriorating right away as other organs do. An innovative experiment aims to use that hour-or-more window of time to increase lung transplants by allowing donations from people who suddenly collapse and die at home instead of in a hospital.

“There aren’t enough lungs. We’re burying them,” said Dr. Thomas Egan of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who is leading the project. “It turns out your lungs don’t die when you do.”

This is a new frontier for transplants.

Today, registered organ donors don’t get to fulfill that last wish if they die outside of a hospital. The US doesn’t have a system to recover their organs quickly enough “The general public does not understand how hard it is to become an organ donor. They assume if they sign their card, when they die, then it will happen,” said bioethicist Arthur Caplan of New York University’s Langone Medical Center. “Only 2 to 3 percent of people die in circumstances that let them be organ donors.”

The new study is trying to change that, focusing on lungs because Egan’s research suggests they last the longest.

Here’s how it works. Someone collapses with cardiac arrest. Emergency workers exhaust attempts at CPR. If the driver’s license lists the person as a registered

donor, the local organ recovery agency tracks down next-of-kin for permission to participate in the research. If that happens within about an hour of death, then workers pump a little air into the lungs to preserve them while the body is transported to an operating room for organ recovery.

Inside the domed machine, a ventilator slowly filled the lungs. Egan infused them with a special fluid that flows like blood normally would. This preserves the lungs even longer. Egan peeked inside with a bronchoscope, looking for abnormalities. These lungs didn’t pass the test because Egan found some early disease. Lungs that do pass will be transplanted into patients willing to take a chance on these nontraditional organs, as part of the study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Transplant specialists are watching this newest experiment closely, saying that if it works, it eventually could open the way to many more donations - not just lungs but maybe other organs, too.

Dr Jeffrey Punch, transplant surgery chief at the University of Michigan, plans with his team to try recovering kidneys from cardiac arrest victims who are rushed to the emergency room but can’t be saved and turn out to be registered donors. Today, the vast majority of donated organs come from people who suffer a severe injury and are hooked to a ventilator for days, even weeks, until doctors determine they are brain-dead.

Machinery keeps blood and oxygen flowing until surgeons can collect organs deemed healthy enough.

In the United States, more than 6,000

Al-Noor Hospitals Group awarded ‘Finance Team of the Year’ at the 6th Annual MENA CFO Awards

A

NEW YORK: In this recent photo, lungs donated as part of research at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, sit inside a machine as they’re ventilated and tested to see if they are healthy enough to transplant.—AP people died last year while awaiting one of those organs. Lungs are in particularly short supply. Only 15 percent to 20 percent of donated lungs are usable, often because complications during the donor’s hospitalization damaged them.

Just 1,700 lungs transplants are performed each year, compared with nearly 11,000 kidney transplants from deceased donors.

In a series of experiments with animals, Egan showed lungs stay viable for an hour, or four hours if they are ventilated, before they’re cooled to await transplant. That ventilation is one key to the $4 million, three-year study,

because when emergency workers exhaust attempts at CPR and declare someone dead, they typically leave behind the breathing tube inserted in the person’s throat. That makes it simple to restart ventilation to preserve the lungs, Egan said.

“If we can get the lungs ventilated within an hour, and then removed within an hour or two and cooled, we think they’ll work just fine,” he said. Kidneys don’t have as long a survival window.

But in Michigan, Punch has a similar preservation plan: Insert a few tubes near the kidneys to filter blood to them until they’re recovered.—AP

l-Noor Hospitals Group Plc (‘Al-Noor ’ or ‘ The Company ’), the largest integrated private healthcare service provider in Abu Dhabi, announces that its finance team has today been awarded ‘Finance Team of the Year ’ at the 6th Annual MENA CFO Awards.

Al-Noor’s finance team played a significant role in the company ’s successful listing on the London Stock Exchange in June 2013. The company raised £221million from a range of international and regional institutional investors to pursue expansion plans to support the company’s growth within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and AlNoor ’s entry into other key Emirates and the wider GCC. The Al-Noor finance team played a key role in delivering the IPO, especially concerning the presentation of timely financial information, supporting the due diligence process and providing strategic business analysis.

Dr Kassem Alom, Chief

Executive Officer, Al-Noor Hospitals Group Plc said, “This award is testament to the strength, capability and dedication of our finance team which committed significant time and effort to ensuring we were well prepared for the IPO. The successful London listing has been a major milestone in the development of our business and I would like to congratulate them on what is a richly deserved accolade.”

Pramod Balakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer who was presented with the award at the Annual CFO Strategies Forum commented: “This has been an exciting year for the finance team and I would like to thank them all for their contribution to the successful listing as well as their commitment to the day to day requirements of the finance function. The finance team in any organisation can often be unsung heroes, so it is especially pleasing to see our hard work being recognised.”

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

McDonald’s Kuwait launches premium Angus beef offerings

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

Announcements Youth Chorus song competition outh Chorus, Kuwait is organizing the 8th Christian Group Song Competition on Friday, 22nd November 2013 at 6.30pm at the United Indian School Auditorium, Abbasiya. More than 10 teams are competing on the same stage. Winners will be awarded with prestigious ever-rolling trophies Mrs. Aleyamma John Pazhayidathu memorial for the first prize, and Mrs. Omana Jose memorial for the second prize and Youth Chorus Trophy for the third prize. Besides this, the winners will be awarded with individual trophies and certificates. All the participants will be awarded with Youth Chorus mementos.

A committee with Thomas Chandy M. L. A as Patron, Santhosh Eayo as Gen. Convener, Tony Mathew as Jt. Convenor, John Abraham, Somu Mathew, Adv. John Thomas as conveners are giving leadership to the program.

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ALMASS-Kuwait anniversary irst Anniversary & Annual General Meeting of ALMASS-Kuwait (The alumni association of St Stephens College, Uzhavoor; Kuwait Chapter) shall be held on Friday November 22, 2013 at 4pm onwards at Indian Community School, Khaitan. Lalu Alex an indispensable part of Malayalam cinema in the past 35 years & a proud alumni of St.Stephen’s College will be the chief guest. Expecting all the former students of St.Stephen’s College- Uzhavoor across Kuwait shall participate in the meet.

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cDonald’s Kuwait announced the launch of the Mighty and the Prime burgers, part of its new Premium Angus campaign. This marks the first time that McDonald’s has offered a burger featuring the highly popular and much in demand Angus meat. Following a long tradition of specialty iconic burgersthat have always testified to McDonald’s dedication to serving only the finest quality to its customers, the Angus Beef burgers are a premium addition to an already rich and diverse menu.

Sandwiched in a sourdough bun, the Mighty has a thick 100% Halal Angus beef patty topped with fresh tomato rings, lettuce, onions and pickles all drizzled with mayonnaise and mustard. In the Prime the Angus patty is topped with

fresh rocket leaves, onions, grated Parmesan cheese and finished off with a slice of Swiss cheese and some Dijon mustard. Both burgers are available at McDonald’s Kuwait stores for a limited time only.

Adel Fahmy, Marketing Manager at McDonald’s Kuwait said: “We wanted to show our customers a different side to McDonald’s with our new Angus Beef menu. McDonald’s has always been committed to delivering only quality food to our customers, but with these new sandwiches we are taking this to the next level. Angus Beef is the highest of quality when it comes to meats, and we felt that it would be the perfect addition to our menu to give our customers a unique, well-rounded culinary experience.”

Starbucks keeps customers warm with launch of toffee nut, gingerbread lattes

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t’s that time of year again, and nothing marks the start of the festive winter season like Starbucks’ famous espressobased delights that bring to its customers a special warmth all season long. From the sweet toffee flavor to the gingerbread flavored syrup, Starbucks presents its customers with the special taste of the Toffee Nut Latte and the Gingerbread Latte, also making available the unique Holiday Blend, at all Starbucks stores.

Setting the perfect mood for a cold day, the Toffee Nut Latte’s rich, buttery flavour of sweet toffee is combined with the warmth of toasted nuts and blended with Starbucks’ smooth espresso and velvety steamed milk; topped with whipped cream and Toffee Nut Sprinkles.

Starbucks has also launched its unique Gingerbread Latte, a recipe that combines espresso with steamed milk and gingerbread flavored syrup that gives off the flavor and aroma of a freshly baked cookie, and is topped with whipped cream.

Rana Shaheen, regional communications and CSR manager of Starbucks Coffee MENA, said: “This time of year is a special one that brings new hopes, ambition and excitement for the year to come, and each year this sensation is stronger and better than that of the year before. As such, Starbucks works towards offering something equally special, fulfilling and full of sensation. And we’ve topped it off by bringing back the ultimate Starbucks Holiday Blend.”

With the weather slightly getting cooler, it is the perfect time for Starbucks to reintroduce its masterpiece, a dark roasted coffee with a blend of lively Latin American coffees and smooth Asia/Pacific coffees, including rare, aged Indonesian beans. It is a unique blend that is popular among customers and partners alike.

Enjoy the cooler weather but stay warm with Starbucks’ winter beverages and blend which are now available in all Kuwait Starbucks stores.

GUST hosts UMSL representatives on university cooperation

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ACK students visit KIA

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he Australian College of Kuwait’s (ACK) English Language and Foundation Studies Program organized a field trip to the Kuwait International Airport (KIA) for students aiming to major in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering. The program has been established to provide a firm educational base on which students can build their subsequent courses of study in multiple areas, such as English, mathematics, physics and computing skills.

The aim of the field trip was to expose English students to real-life situations where they would need to use technical

aviation terms to express themselves and communicate with others. Accompanied

by ACK instructors, the students were given a unique chance to tour the Kuwait airport’s maintenance department, offering them important theoretical and practical information and giving them a glance at what future careers in aircraft maintenance engineering would be like.

Other field trips have been scheduled by the college for later this year as part of a strategy to provide students with the best practical experiences to enhance their educational development.

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expressed his delight to return to GUST and follow up of the evolution of the campus, “There is a constant evolution here at the level of educational services and student involvement and is a testament to careful management and care of the university.”

He mentioned their meeting at the PUC of the Ministry of Higher Education regarding the proposal put towards for the engineering disciplines,where the PUC confirmed their initial approval. “GUST has interesting times ahead with its progress in introducing new programsand with its new leadership including ProfessorDonald Bates, new President, and Professor Aouad as new VP Academic Affairs, two distinguished academics that UMSL is proud to work withon opportunities for cooperation between the two universities.”

Professor Glassman also praised the summer scholarship student exchange program between GUST and UMSL, where there are a growing number of Kuwaiti students interested in experiencing college life in the U.S. and with UMSL’s growing international student population, will provide a great cultural experience for students and faculty alike.

GUST is always keen on providing high quality, international level education to its students and continues to develop with the growing needs of its prospective students. It

also aims to improve the standards and levels of research from its faculty members by growing its worldwide university collaborations.

GUST is looking forward to these coming years of change, development and growth.

AUK students visit Kadhmah bottled water facility

Bridgestone Group donates to relief efforts in Philippines he Bridgestone Group would like to express its deepest condolences for the victims and those who lost loved ones as a result of Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the central Philippines on November 8.

Bridgestone Corporation announced that it will donate 10 million yen to support relief efforts in the Philippines through the Japanese Red Cross Society.

In addition, Bridgestone Middle East and Africa FZE (BSMEA), the company’s regional headquarter for the Middle East and Africa region, has pledged to collect additional monetary contributions through an internal fund-raiser campaign. All donations received by BSMEA employees will be given to the Philippine Red Cross Society to sup-

he Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) welcomed affiliate university, University of Missouri - St Louis (UMSL), representatives, Professor Joel Glassman, Associate Provost and Director of International Studies and Programs, and Ms Jacquelyn Elliott, Coordinator of the GUST Liaison Office. The discussions during the 4 days long visit focused on opportunities for collaboration and joint activities.

Professor Ghassan Aouad, Vice President for Academic Affairs at GUST spearheaded the visit, noting that the university is looking for the final approval of the Private Universities Council (PUC), on implementing the new Engineering and Architecture programs at GUST. In a press conference held, Prof Aouad highlighted this news and noted: “This approval will represent the newest addition to the university and the education landscape in Kuwait. It will also help achieve the aspirations of so many young students looking for an international level education in those fields.”

Prof. Aouad thanked UMSL for its continuous support of GUST, and in helping GUST grow to attain higher levels of education at the national and regional levels. The final approval from the PUC for the Engineering and Architecture programs is due in the very near future.

Professor Joel Glassman

port relief efforts of typhoon Haiyan.

With this contribution BSMEA affirms its commitment towards the local community - highly populated by Filipino expatriates - and deep solidarity with those affected by this natural disaster.

Contributions by the Bridgestone Group companies to the typhoon relief effort reflect the companies’ longstanding commitment to the Philippines. The Bridgestone Group has been selling tires in the Philippines since 1953, and also operates a manufacturing facility there that produces construction materials.

On behalf of the entire Bridgestone Group, our hope is for a swift recovery of the people and the areas impacted by this devastating natural disaster.

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he Economics Department at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) organized a fieldtrip to Kadhmah water factory for students studying Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (ECON 363) under the supervision of Dr. Ali Aljamal, Assistant Professor of Economics and Chair of the Economics Department at AUK. The main objective of this fieldtrip was to introduce students to the burgeoning bottled water market in Kuwait so that they can realize the potential of the market system in addressing water problems.

Chaperoned by Dr. Aljamal and Dr. Mark Speece, Associate Professor of Marketing at AUK, the fieldtrip included an on-site presentation and a tour of the facility, which is located in Doha and run by the Water Research Center (WRC) of Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR). The presentation summarized methods of production of potable and bottled water in Kuwait. Unlike most bottled water which relies on subsidized tap water, the facility bottles water produced from beach wells with minimal or no subsidy. “This is particularly important for Kuwait, given the fact that there is no perennial fresh water supply and groundwater is predominantly brackish, and the country is under pressure to develop viable sustainable water supplies to maintain economic growth,” said Dr. Aljamal.

The fieldtrip displayed the various facets of Kuwait’s water resources and allowed students to interact with Kuwaiti scientist in the field to

improve their understanding of water problems Kuwait is facing. It allowed the students to reflect on what they had learned in the course, and bridge the perceived gap between theory and the real world.

“Although its per capita share of fresh water is among the world’s lowest, Kuwait is a global leader in per capita water consumption (550-600 liters per capita per day),” said Dr. Aljamal. He explained that the “Emerging water markets around the world have been proved effective in improving efficiency and alleviating shortages. Policy makers can potentially use the Kadhmah model to ease off the heavy burden of water subsidy in Kuwait. By realizing the role of the market system in natural resources’ management we can appreciate this success story, which positions Kuwait on track for sustainable

water use.”

Dr. Aljamal expressed appreciation to Dr. Adnan Akbar, Director of Science & Technology at the Water Research Center, Eng. Ali Al-Odwani, Eng. Ahmad Al-Saffar, Eng. Mohammad Safar, and Eng. Ahmad Al-Sairafi for extending this valuable opportunity to AUK students.

ECON 363 is an introductory course to environmental and natural resource economics and is designed to help students recognize the role of economics in resource management. It incorporates principles of economics to develop a theoretical framework for understanding how and why resource problems arise. It also enables students to conduct critical evaluations of existing resource policies and utilize market and non-market approaches to formulate alternative policies.

W H AT ’ S O N

BBS hosts annual Pearl Model United Nations Conference

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

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.

Participating students.

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BBS Director, Dr Paul Sheppard welcoming all participating schools and students.

Keynote Speaker and BBS MUN coach, Ms Saima Faruqui.

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l Bayan Bilingual School (BBS), Kuwait’s leading university preparatory academic institution, hosted on Thursday the 13th annual Pearl Model United Nations Conference (Pearl MUN), which took place at the school’s Hawally campus over a three-day period starting November 7 till November 9.

MUN is a simulation of the United Nations, whereby students have the opportunity to represent different countries, and meet in various commissions, to debate resolutions which may help improve our world.

The theme “United We Stand”, adopted by this year’s conference, focused on the importance of unity amongst the nations of the world, and explained that in the global village where we live in today, the actions of one country affect the rest of the world. Topics of discussion ranged from the continued use of drones in counterterrorism in the Disarmament Commission, to achieving food security through sustainable and equitable agricultural systems in the Environmental Commission. The second day of the conference closed with a lively debate on the right of countries to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

The conference was launched with an opening ceremony in the school theater, at which BBS Science Chair and MUN Director, Mrs. Seema Faruqui, welcomed all the delegates and participating schools, followed by a speech by High School Principal, Jihad Sadeddin, and

Right to left High School Principal, Jihad Sadeddin, Deputy to School Director, Ms Maha Kaddoura, Deputy to High School Principal, Ms Laura Divine.

BBS Director, Dr. Paul Sheppard.

The opening ceremony also featured a live African drums show which the audience and delegates both enjoyed.

BBS Science Teacher and MUN Director, Mrs Seema Faruqui, said: “It is my greatest pride, being part of the school community, to host the Pearl MUN Conference for the 13th year now. As an educator, there is nothing more rewarding than to see all these bright students, who join us every year from different academic institutions in Kuwait, to embark on a mission to improve the world and become the leaders who will bring about positive changes in the years to come.”

Addressing participants in his opening speech, BBS Director, Dr. Paul Sheppard said: “At no time in our history is there more relevance in having today’s youth, who will be tomorrow’s leaders, debate and discuss where the world should be heading, and believe it or not, you are the leaders of tomorrow.”

Participating students had the opportunity to dialogue on political and economic issues with more than 30 ambassadors, embassy representatives, professors and business leaders, at the ambassadors’ breakfast which took place on the third day of the conference.

Among the country embassies that attended the breakfast were Germany, Australia, Canada, Poland, Nigeria, Jamaica, Guyana, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and

Palestine.

Keynote Speaker and MUN Coach, Ms Saima Faruqui, urged students in her speech titled “The World we Live in, the Role we Undertake”, to have confidence in their ability to become active leaders at a young age. She also stressed the importance of changing not only our own community, but also the world around us. “Everyone can change the world. Expand your horizon and become more open. As long as you believe in yourself, the sky is your limit.”

She also emphasized on the significance of engaging in volunteer work and helping others. “Don’t give others charity, rather give them opportunities and give them your time,” she said.

The 13th Pearl MUN Conference concluded on Saturday in a closing ceremony that awarded participating students in three categories; the best admin, best chair, and best executive. Each of the eight commissions at the conference gave out awards to the most outstanding and the most entertaining delegates in the commission..

The conference this year was sponsored by the Sultan Center, Al Rawdatain Water and United Beverage Company (KSCC).

Kuwait Marriott Hotels organize visit to NBK Children’s Hospital

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s part of yearly active and proud international ‘Spirit to Serve’ initiatives and to complement its 20th edition of Global Customer Appreciation Week - a company tradition and pillar of Marriott culture, a team of associatesfrom the JW Marriott Hotel Kuwait, the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel Kuwait City and the Arraya Ballroom managed by Marriott International in Kuwait, recently organized through the cooperation of Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital (KACCH) a special visit to NBK Cancer Children’s Hospital at the Sabah Medical district, to share happy moments with children suffering from permanent and incurable ailments.

Sponsored by the popular BAROUE Events Company, in the entertaining presence of cartoon characters such as Barney the Dinosaur and the famous blue Smurfette, the interactive kids along with members of the Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital (KACCH),

also enjoyed games, lively Arabic and English children’s songs and tasty packed lunches to add to the momentous occasion to leave them with a lasting smile. A magician show and a special puppet show delighted the kids while others played with animal-shaped balloons and munched on Marriott goodies, watched on by their families and curious hospital visitors. A Marriott associate also showed his talent at making realistic yet pretty animal shapes out of towels from the hotel, complimented with rose petals and soda bottle caps.

“Kuwait Marriott Hotels has been at the forefront in terms of support to the Kuwaiti community through a range of education, health, sports and social programs.

The visit to NBK Children’s Hospital stands as one of many initiatives we take towards enhancing the vitality of children in the various communities that we serve,” said Mr. George Aoun, Cluster General Manager of Kuwait Marriott

Kuwait Pavan Fans celebrate ‘Attarintiki Daredi’ success

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ndia’s Telugu hero Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Attarintiki Daredi’ completed its 50-day run at the box office on November 15. According to reports, the film will complete 50 days in approximately 170 theatres - a rare feat for a Telugu film.

Meanwhile Kuwait Pavan Kalyan fans in association with TEAM and TGM featured charity shows in Farwaniya Metro Theater and celebrated with a cake cutting ceremony. Famous Telugu choreographer Satya Master and Kuwaiti Yaqoub

Al Hamdani participated as chief guests and cheered Pavan fans.

The organizers announced that the collection from the Charity Show would be used for the benefit of educating poor children in India. Malepati Suresh Babu Naidu, Rathnam Naidu (TGM), Bhasker naidu (TGM), Sreenivas D. (TEAM), Prasad (Skynet co.), Nani master, G. Ramana, Chejerla Indra Kumar Raju and others took a lead part in the event.

Hotels. Andrew Fernandes, Marketing Communications & Public Relations Manager for Kuwait Marriott Hotels added, “At Marriott, our associates play an important role in our endeavor to benefit our community. Without employee involvement and enthusiasm to involve themselves in more works of community goodwill, our outreach efforts through our flagship Spirit to Serve initiative would not be nearly as successful”.

Marriott’s “Spirit to Serve” initiative is captured in uplifting human interest stories and important environmental issues across the world. Through drives like visiting NBK Children’s Hospital, Marriott strives to be a responsible member of the local community. It continues to become an important role in people’s lives, and help them overcome adversity, embody a passion for service and achieve personal excellence.

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: abdbiim-enquiry@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 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 19, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

03:25 Shamwari: A Wild Life 04:15 Too Cute!

05:05 America’s Cutest Pets 05:55 Animal Cops Houston 06:45 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 Shamwari: A Wild Life 12:00 Animal Cops Houston 12:55 Monkey Life 13:20 Call Of The Wildman 13:50 Gator Boys 14:45 Lion Man: One World African Safari 15:40 Shamwari: A Wild Life 16:30 My Cat From Hell 17:30 The Most Extreme 18:25 Bad Dog 19:20 Great Animal Escapes 20:15 Too Cute!

21:10 Too Cute!

22:05 Shamwari: A Wild Life 23:00 Bondi Vet 23:55 ER Vets 00:25 ER Vets 00:50 Animal Cops Houston 01:45 Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives

03:30 Dinnerladies 04:00 Blackadder II 04:30 My Family 05:00 Me Too! 05:20 The Green Balloon Club 05:40 Bobinogs 05:50 Tweenies 06:10 Me Too! 06:30 The Green Balloon Club 06:55 Bobinogs 07:05 Tweenies 07:25 My Family 07:55 Blackadder II 08:30 Doctor Who 09:15 Eastenders 09:45 Doctors 10:15 Outcasts 11:10 The Weakest Link 11:55 My Family 12:25 Doctor Who 13:10 Blackadder II 13:45 Eastenders 14:15 Doctors 14:45 The Weakest Link 15:30 Outcasts 16:25 Doctor Who 17:10 Eastenders 17:40 Doctors 18:10 The Weakest Link 19:00 Last Of The Summer Wine 19:30 Beautiful People 20:00 Going For Gold - The ‘48 Games 21:30 Stolen 23:00 Paradox 23:55 Absolutely Fabulous 00:25 The Weakest Link 01:10 Outcasts 02:05 Eastenders 02:35 Doctors

03:15 Fantasy Homes Down Under 04:00 The Boss Is Coming To Dinner 04:25 Cash In The Attic 05:10 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 05:40 Bargain Hunt 06:25 Fantasy Homes Down Under 07:10 Chef At Home 07:35 The Boss Is Coming To Dinner 08:00 Bargain Hunt 08:45 Marbella Mansions 09:30 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 10:00 The Little Paris Kitchen 10:30 Come Dine With Me: South Africa 11:20 Come Dine With Me 12:10 Masterchef: The Professionals 12:55 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials

14:15 15:05 16:00 16:45 17:30 18:20 19:15 20:10 20:35 21:30 22:20 23:15 00:00 00:45 01:40 02:30

Antiques Roadshow Holmes On Homes Holmes On Homes Bargain Hunt Cash In The Attic Antiques Roadshow Homes Under The Hammer The Little Paris Kitchen A Taste Of Greenland Come Dine With Me Antiques Roadshow Bargain Hunt Cash In The Attic Homes Under The Hammer Come Dine With Me Masterchef: The Professionals

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 Grylls 22:50 23:40 00:30 Grylls 01:20 02:10

Mythbusters Border Security Storage Hunters Dirty Money How Do They Do It? How It’s Made American Guns Mythbusters Flying Wild Alaska Overhaulin’ 2012 Border Security Storage Hunters Dirty Money How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Diamond Divers Bush Pilots Jungle Gold Border Security Storage Hunters Dirty Money Alaska: The Last Frontier Overhaulin’ 2012 Ultimate Survival Dirty Jobs Mythbusters American Guns Storage Hunters Dirty Money How Do They Do It? How It’s Made Get Out Alive With Bear

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

Dual Survival (Brazil) Car vs Wild Get Out Alive With Bear Dual Survival (Brazil) Car vs Wild

Mighty Planes Unchained Reaction Moon Machines The Gadget Show Tech Toys 360 X-Machines Futurecar Nextworld The Gadget Show Tech Toys 360 What Is That?

What Is That?

X-Machines Unchained Reaction Moon Machines Mighty Planes Weird Connections The Gadget Show Tech Toys 360 Mighty Ships Invisible Worlds X-Machines Unchained Reaction Moon Machines Rocket City Rednecks Rocket City Rednecks Junkyard Wars The Gadget Show Tech Toys 360 Rocket City Rednecks Rocket City Rednecks Stuck With Hackett Stuck With Hackett Colony Weird Connections The Gadget Show Tech Toys 360

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

Zero Hour Beyond Survival With Les Victory By Design Aircrash Confidential Timewatch Beyond Survival With Les Victory By Design Extreme Engineering Feral Children Marley Africa Road Trip Timewatch Victory By Design Extreme Engineering Aircrash Confidential On The Brink: Doomsday Marley Africa Road Trip Timewatch Beyond Survival With Les In Search Of The King’s Head Extreme Engineering Victory By Design Marley Africa Road Trip In Search Of The King’s Head Zero Hour Most Evil Marley Africa Road Trip

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

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

03:00 03:25 03:40 03:50

Little Einsteins Special Agent Oso Special Agent Oso Imagination Movers

HEMLOCK GROVE ON OSN MOVIES ACTION

04:20 Handy Manny 04:35 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 04:40 Special Agent Oso 04:50 Special Agent Oso 05:00 Timmy Time 05:10 Imagination Movers 05:35 Little Einsteins 06:00 Jungle Junction 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Little Einsteins 06:50 Special Agent Oso 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:30 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 10:50 Henry Hugglemonster 11:00 Sofia The First 11:25 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 11:40 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 11:55 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 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 13:45 Doc McStuffins 14:00 Zou 14:15 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 14:30 Henry Hugglemonster 14:45 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 17:05 Art Attack 17:30 Goof Troop 17:55 Tarzan 18:20 Quack Pack 18:45 Lilo And Stitch 19:10 Henry Hugglemonster 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 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 23:35 Doc McStuffins 23:50 Pajanimals 00:05 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 00:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 00:35 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 00:50 Zou 01:10 Doc McStuffins 01:25 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 01:50 Jungle Junction 02:10 Handy Manny 02:25 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 02:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 02:55 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship

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 14:05 Pair Of Kings 14:30 Phineas And Ferb 15:20 Pokemon Bw: Adventures In Unova 15:45 Lab Rats 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 20:55 Hulk And The Agents Of S.M.A.S.H. 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 Style Star 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 The E! True Hollywood Story 05:05 THS 06:00 Christina Aguilera 07:50 Style Star 08:20 E! News 09:15 Opening Act 10:15 Married To Jonas 10:40 Chasing The Saturdays 11:10 The Wanted Life 12:05 E! News 13:05 Extreme Close-Up 13:35 THS 14:30 Style Star 15:00 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 16:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 17:00 What Would Ryan Lochte Do?

01:00 Marco Antonio 02:45 Cinderella

04:00 The Odd Life Of Timothy Green 06:00 Project Nim 08:00 Beware The Gonzo 10:00 Perfect Plan 12:00 The Odd Life Of Timothy Green 14:00 American Girl: McKenna Shoots For The Stars 16:00 Beware The Gonzo 18:00 The Big Year 20:00 Moonrise Kingdom 22:00 Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 00:00 The New Daughter 02:00 Beware The Gonzo

03:00 International Rugby Union 05:00 International Rugby Union 07:00 Rugby League World Cup 09:00 PGA Tour Highlights 10:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 11:00 Trans World Sport 12:00 International Rugby Union 14:00 Darts Grand Slam

PROSECUTING CASEY ANTHONY ON OSN MOVIES HD 17:30 What Would Ryan Lochte Do? 18:00 Hello Ross 18:30 Married To Jonas 19:00 THS 20:00 Eric And Jessie: Game On 20:30 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 21:30 The Wanted Life 22:00 The Soup Investigates 22:30 Fashion Police 23:30 Chelsea Lately 00:30 The Dance Scene 00:55 The Dance Scene

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

Siba’s Table Andy Bates American Street Food Wars Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives United Tastes Of America Chopped Iron Chef America Food Network Challenge Unwrapped Food Crafters United Tastes Of America Extra Virgin Barefoot Contessa The Next Food Network Star Unwrapped Unique Sweets Food Network Challenge Tyler’s Ultimate Barefoot Contessa - Back To Siba’s Table Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Symon’s Suppers Chopped Barefoot Contessa - Back To Tastiest Places To Chowdown Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Guy’s Big Bite Reza, Spice Prince Of India Siba’s Table Charly’s Cake Angels Chopped Iron Chef America Reza, Spice Prince Of India Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Heat Seekers Meat & Potatoes Outrageous Food Reza, Spice Prince Of India

03:00 Bondi Rescue 03:30 Bondi Rescue: Bali 03:55 Bondi Rescue 04:25 Deadly Arts 05:20 Banged Up Abroad 06:15 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 Deadly Arts 12:40 Banged Up Abroad 13:35 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 Extreme Tourist Afghanistan 20:00 Banged Up Abroad 21:00 Bondi Rescue 21:30 Bondi Rescue 22:00 Banged Up Abroad

03:00 How I Met Your Mother 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 How I Met Your Mother 09:30 Two And A Half Men 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 Two And A Half Men 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 How I Met Your Mother 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 Weeds 22:30 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 23:00 The League 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

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

The Client List Revenge Once Upon A Time Psych Necessary Roughness White Collar Revenge Once Upon A Time The Blacklist Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show White Collar Psych Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show White Collar Once Upon A Time Grey’s Anatomy Homeland Hemlock Grove The Client List Psych Homeland

02:00 Hemlock Grove OSN Movies Action 04:00 Sudden Death 06:00 The Speed Of Thought 08:00 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 10:00 Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome 12:00 Alien Tornado 13:45 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life 15:45 Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome 17:45 Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows 20:00 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life 22:00 Shadow 00:00 The Veteran 02:00 Meskada

04:00 The Speed Of Thought 06:00 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 08:00 Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome 10:00 Alien Tornado 11:45 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life 13:45 Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome 15:45 Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows 18:00 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life 20:00 Shadow 22:00 The Veteran 00:00 Meskada 02:00 Shadow

04:00 The Wish List 06:00 Tower Heist 08:00 Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach 10:00 Shark Tale 12:00 The Wish List 14:00 New Year’s Eve 16:00 Shark Tale 18:00 I Don’t Know How She Does It 20:00 Casino Jack 22:00 Wanderlust 00:00 Caddyshack 02:00 Casino Jack

04:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 14:00 17:15 19:00 21:00 23:30 01:30

Treasure Island Dead Lines Waiting For Forever Treasure Island Gandhi Class Arbitrage Melancholia The Ledge Class

03:15 Dying 05:15 07:00 08:30 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:45 18:45 21:00 23:00 01:15 02:45

The Most Fun You Can Have The Rich Man’s Wife A Fall From Grace Too Late To Say Goodbye We Bought A Zoo Night Falls On Manhattan Neverland We Bought A Zoo Dreamgirls The Paperboy The Game Angels Crest The Paperboy

03:00 Frankenweenie 05:00 Of Two Minds 07:00 The Wild Girl 09:00 Gnomeo & Juliet 10:30 The Amazing Spider-Man 12:45 Klitschko 14:45 Prosecuting Casey Anthony 16:45 Gnomeo & Juliet 18:15 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 21:15 Dark Shadows 23:15 Savages 01:30 The Hot Potato

04:30 The Three Bears: The Amazing Adventurers 06:00 Wreck-It Ralph 08:00 Marco Antonio 10:00 Alpha And Omega 11:30 Twigson 13:00 Wreck-It Ralph 14:45 Rookie Of The Year 16:30 Eleanor’s Secret 18:00 Alpha And Omega 20:00 Cinderella 21:45 Rookie Of The Year 23:30 Eleanor’s Secret

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:30 10:30 13:30 14:30 16:30 17:30 18:30 19:30 21:30 22:30 23:00 01:00

Trans World Sport World Pool Masters World Pool Masters Golfing World Golfing World ICC Cricket 360 World Pool Masters World Pool Masters Frankfurt Marathon Golfing World International Rugby Union World Pool Masters World Pool Masters Trans World Sport Darts Grand Slam Golfing World Futbol Mundial Rugby League World Cup Rugby League World Cup

05:00 European Le Mans Series Highlights 07:00 WWE NXT 08:00 WWE Bottom Line 09:00 Ping Pong World Championship 10:00 U.S Bass Fishing 13:00 Triathlon UK 14:00 European Le Mans Series Highlights 18:00 Porsche GT 3 Cup Challenge Middle East 18:30 Porsche GT 3 Cup Challenge Middle East 19:00 Triathlon UK 20:00 UFC - The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 21:00 UFC - Machida vs. Munoz 02:00 Ping Pong World Championship

03:00 Off Limits 04:00 Hotel Impossible 05:00 Rock My RV With Bret Michaels 05:30 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 Descending 10:00 Airport 24/7: Miami 10:30 Airport 24/7: Miami 11:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 12:00 Bert The Conqueror 12:30 Trip Flip 13:00 The Food Truck 13:30 The Food Truck 14:00 Bizarre Foods America 15:00 International House Hunters 15:30 International House Hunters 16:00 International House Hunters 16:30 International House Hunters 17:00 Hotel Impossible 18:00 Soul Seeker 19:00 The Food Truck 19:30 The Food Truck 20:00 Bizarre Foods America 21:00 International House Hunters 21:30 International House Hunters 22:00 The Food Truck 22:30 The Food Truck 23:00 Bizarre Foods America 00:00 Airport 24/7: Miami 00:30 Airport 24/7: Miami 01:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 02:00 Xtreme Waterparks 02:30 Xtreme Waterparks

03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 Us 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 Us 19:00 19:55 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00 01:00 02:00

Ultimate Disaster Naked Science Hunter Hunted Ultimate Disaster Family Guns 100%: Planes Man vs Ride 80s: The Decade That Made Ultimate Disaster Naked Science Hunter Hunted Inside Combat Rescue Family Guns Lords Of War Lords Of War Somewhere In China 80s: The Decade That Made Banged Up Abroad Blowdown Prehistoric Predators Banged Up Abroad Situation Critical Megastructures The Border Breakout

Classifieds TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Kuwait SHARQIA-1 ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) SHARQIA-2 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 12:15 AM 12:30 PM 3:15 PM 5:15 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

SHARQIA-3 FREE BIRDS (DIG) 12:30 PM FREE BIRDS (DIG) 2:30 PM FREE BIRDS (DIG) 4:30 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 6:30 PM KALBY DALILI (DIG) 8:30 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 10:45 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 12:45 AM MUHALAB-1 ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) RAM LEELA (DIG) (HINDI) MASALA (DIG) (TELUGU) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) MUHALAB-2 Seats-210 FREE BIRDS (DIG) ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG)

1:45 PM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:00 PM

MUHALAB-3 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D)

2:00 PM 4:45 PM 7:00 PM 9:45 PM

FANAR-1 ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 12:45 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 2:45 PM KALBY DALILI (DIG) 4:45 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 6:45 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 8:45 PM KALBY DALILI (DIG) 10:45 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 12:45 AM FANAR-2 ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM

FANAR-3 DJINN (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG) RAM LEELA (DIG) (HINDI) RAM LEELA (DIG) (HINDI) ALL IS LOST (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM

FANAR-4 THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG)

1:00 PM

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (14/11/2013 TO 20/11/2013) FREE BIRDS (DIG-3D) FREE BIRDS (DIG-3D) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D)

360º- 2 ALL IS LOST (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

360º- 3 FREE BIRDS (DIG-3D) FREE BIRDS (DIG) FREE BIRDS (DIG-3D) FREE BIRDS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG)

2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 8:45 PM 11:00 PM

MARINA-1 ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 1:45 PM KALBY DALILI (DIG) 3:45 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 5:45 PM KALBY DALILI (DIG) 8:00 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 10:00 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.1 THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) FREE BIRDS (DIG) FREE BIRDS (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D)

1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM

MARINA-2 THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG) FREE BIRDS (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG)

1:30 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

AL-KOUT.2 ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG)

1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

MARINA-3 FREE BIRDS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG)

12:30 PM 2:30 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:30 AM

AL-KOUT.3 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG)

12:45 PM 3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:15 PM 12:05 AM

AL-KOUT.4 ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) KALBY DALILI (DIG) ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG)

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 9:45 PM 11:45 PM 12:30 PM 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:00 PM 11:30 PM

FANAR-5 GRAVITY GRAVITY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 GRAVITY GRAVITY GRAVITY

3:30 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM 2:00 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM

AVENUES-1 RAM LEELA (DIG) (HINDI) RAM LEELA (DIG) (HINDI) RAM LEELA (DIG) (HINDI) RAM LEELA (DIG) (HINDI) RAM LEELA (DIG) (HINDI)

12:30 PM 3:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM

AVENUES-2 ALL IS LOST (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG) ALL IS LOST (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:30 PM 4:45 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM

BAIRAQ-1 FREE BIRDS (DIG) FREE BIRDS (DIG) FREE BIRDS (DIG) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG-3D) THOR: THE DARK WORLD (DIG)

AVENUES-3 ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

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

BAIRAQ-2 ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 1:45 PM ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) 3:45 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 6:15 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 8:15 PM KALBY DALILI (DIG) 10:15 PM ARENA OF THE STREET FIGHTER (DIG) 12:30 AM

360º- 1 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

12:45 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:00 PM 11:45 PM

BAIRAQ-3 CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) ROMEO AND JULIET (DIG) CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

2:15 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 10:00 PM 12:15 AM

FOR SALE Nissan Pathfinder 2003 model, white. Serious buyer may contact 97277135.

Mitsubishi Galant 2013, silver color, excellent condition, km 11,000, KD 2,950.

Tel: 66729295. (C 4574) 17-11-2013

ing ladies, in a C-A/C building with separate bathroom, in Sreeragam furniture building (opposite to “Spencerice bakery) from 1st December. Contact: 99750711, 97168646 or 24348730. (C 4575) 17-11-2013

SUV Trailblazer, 2005 model, white color, price KD 1,300. Tel: 66728911.

(C 4571) 14-11-2013

SITUATION WANTED M.Com (Finance) graduate 9 years of experience is in company accounts (including 3 years in Kuwait), preparation of financial statements, payroll management, portfolio man-

agement, dealing of shares and commodities. Good knowledge of Ms-Office and accounting software packages Tally ERP-9.

Transferable visa, Kuwait driving license. Mob: 65008377. (C 4573) 16-11-2013

No: 15991

MATRIMONIAL Orthodox girl 27/160 cm, MDS (Endodontics) working in Health Ministry Kuwait, from PG dentists/ doctors/ engineers or CA. Email: gthomastitty@gmail.com (C 4572) 16-11-2013 ACCOMMODATION In Abbassiya, sharing accommodation available for a small family or work-

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Airlines BBC JAI KLM JZR THY QTR DLH ETH GFA THY PIA JZR UAE ETD OMA MSR RJA QTR FDB THY DHX FDB BAW KAC KAC JZR FDB UAE ABY QTR ETD FDB IRA GFA MEA TMA UAE MSR KNE SYR FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR

Arrival Flights on Tuesday 19/11/2013 Flt Route 43 DHAKA 574 MUMBAI 411 AMSTERDAM 267 BEIRUT 772 ISTANBUL 1084 DOHA 637 DAMMAM 620 ADDIS ABABA 211 BAHRAIN 764 SABIHA 239 SIALKOT 539 CAIRO 853 DUBAI 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 643 MUSCAT 612 CAIRO 642 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 1076 DOHA 67 DUBAI 770 ISTANBUL 170 BAHRAIN 69 DUBAI 157 LONDON 416 JAKARTA 412 MANILA 503 LUXOR 53 DUBAI 855 DUBAI 125 SHARJAH 1070 DOHA 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 55 DUBAI 619 LAR 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 213 BEIRUT 871 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 480 TAIF 341 LATAKIA 57 DUBAI 206 ISLAMABAD 362 COLOMBO 514 TEHRAN 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 352 COCHIN 284 DHAKA 165 DUBAI

Time 0:05 0:10 0:30 0:40 0:45 0:55 1:10 1:45 2:10 2:15 2:20 0:40 2:35 2:45 3:05 3:10 3:15 3:45 4:20 5:35 5:40 5:50 6:40 6:25 6:45 5:50 7:50 8:40 9:00 9:10 9:20 9:40 10:05 10:40 11:55 12:10 12:50 13:00 13:15 13:40 13:50 7:40 8:45 13:45 7:55 8:15 8:10 8:50 11:30

JZR ALK MEA ETD QTR SVA KNE QTR UAE ETD RJA SVA ABY GFA UAL QTR FDB GFA OMA FDB MSR JAI AXB ABY IRA DLH UAE GFA QTR FDB KLM JAI AIC UAL RAB KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR JZR JZR JZR

561 229 402 307 1078 500 472 1072 857 303 640 510 127 215 982 1080 63 217 647 61 618 572 393 129 605 634 859 219 1074 59 415 576 981 981 300 546 672 678 786 166 104 562 774 674 542 618 742 325 239 177 185

SOHAG COLOMBO BEIRUT ABU DHABI-INTL DOHA JEDDAH JEDDAH DOHA DUBAI ABU DHABI-INTL AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA RIYADH SHARJAH BAHRAIN WASHINGTON DC DULLES DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN MUSCAT DUBAI ALEXANDRIA MUMBAI KOZHIKODE SHARJAH ISFAHAN FRANKFURT DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI AMSTERDAM COCHIN CHENNAI BAHRAIN SHARJAH ALEXANDRIA DUBAI MUSCAT JEDDAH PARIS LONDON AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA RIYADH DUBAI CAIRO DOHA DAMMAM NAJAF AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA DUBAI DUBAI

12:55 21:10 21:20 21:35 13:55 14:30 14:35 16:40 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:25 17:30 18:00 18:40 18:45 19:30 19:55 20:05 20:05 20:10 20:15 20:20 20:25 20:55 21:40 21:45 22:00 22:00 22:05 22:15 22:30 23:10 14:45 14:05 14:00 18:55 18:45 19:10 19:35 16:50 19:30 19:25 18:05 19:00 18:20 16:05 22:20 18:20 23:20

Airlines AIC TAR AXB JAI KLM BBC DLH ETH THY PIA UAE ETD OMA MSR QTR FDB QTR JZR FDB JZR KZU RJA THY GFA KAC THY FDB BAW KAC KAC ABY KAC UAE ETD QTR FDB IRA GFA KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR MEA KAC TMA JZR MSR KNE

Departure Flights on Tuesday 19/11/2013 Flt Route Time 976 GOA 00:05 327 DUBAI 00:15 490 MANGALORE 00:15 573 MUMBAI 01:10 411 AMSTERDAM 01:45 44 DHAKA 01:45 637 FRANKFURT 02:10 621 ADDIS ABABA 02:45 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 02:55 240 SIALKOT 03:20 854 DUBAI 03:50 306 ABU DHABI 04:00 644 MUSCAT 04:05 613 CAIRO 04:10 1085 DOHA 04:15 68 DUBAI 05:00 1077 DOHA 05:15 560 SOHAG 06:20 70 DUBAI 06:30 164 DUBAI 06:55 0 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 07:00 643 AMMAN 07:05 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 07:05 212 BAHRAIN 07:15 545 ALEXANDRIA 07:15 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 07:30 54 DUBAI 08:30 156 LONDON 08:45 513 TEHRAN 09:25 671 DUBAI 09:30 126 SHARJAH 09:40 101 LONDON 09:50 856 DUBAI 09:55 302 ABU DHABI 10:05 1071 DOHA 10:10 56 DUBAI 10:20 618 LAR 10:55 214 BAHRAIN 11:25 561 AMMAN 11:25 541 CAIRO 11:30 165 ROME 11:50 677 MUSCAT 12:20 324 AL NAJAF 12:40 405 BEIRUT 12:55 785 JEDDAH 13:00 223 AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL 13:45 176 DUBAI 13:45 611 CAIRO 14:00 481 TAIF 14:10

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

UAE FDB SYR QTR KAC KAC KAC KNE SVA KAC JZR 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 FDB UAE KAC KAC JZR KLM QTR JAI JZR KAC

872 58 342 1079 673 741 617 473 501 773 238 304 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 60 860 381 205 554 415 1075 575 528 411

DUBAI DUBAI LATAKIA DOHA DUBAI DAMMAM DOHA JEDDAH JEDDAH RIYADH AMMAN 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 DUBAI DUBAI DELHI ISLAMABAD ALEXANDRIA DAMMAM DOHA ABU DHABI ASYUT BANGKOK

14:15 14:30 14:40 14:55 15:05 15:20 15:30 15:30 15:45 16:05 16:55 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 22:40 22:50 22:50 22:55 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:15 23:25 23:55

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 373

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) ARIES You have an inner urge for order and organization and a great sense of responsibility. You are competent, ambitious and cool. This marks the coming of a good time as far as career and social life are concerned. If you have not discovered this already, it seems your time of paying dues is over. Real accomplishment and focus are possible now.

You are a very hard worker and driven to accomplish the projects before you. You like to manipulate a situation for its own benefit and this would make you a natural supervisor.

You can demonstrate a fine kindhearted nature, and a deep sensitivity to the needs of others may find you as a representative or possibly a politician when it comes to your community. It is easy for you to be a counselor for others.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) There are entrepreneurial energies available to you now and they continue to promote harmonious risk-taking. Make new starts in as many areas as possible and be willing to take chances that can further your dreams. The energy for achieving your goals is strong! Actively take charge of whatever needs to be done to make your dreams come true. Make a plan and follow it as closely as possible. Reassess it often and change it when necessary. The point is to get moving; this is your time to achieve and get ahead.

Melodramatic complications can come from young people this afternoon, particularly if they are not used to you taking charge. This may all culminate in a happy outcome when a chart reveals time and date with names and checkmarks for chores. Hugs!

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. A health resort near a spring or at the seaside.

4. (architecture) Forming or resembling an arch.

12. Any of various units of capacity.

15. Someone who is morally reprehensible.

16. An arthropod family including.

17. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

18. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

20. A small loosely aggregated mass of flocculent material suspended in or precipitated from a liquid.

21. Capital and largest city of Iraq.

22. Of or relating to or characteristic of Bengal or its people.

24. In bed.

26. A unit of force equal to the force exerted by gravity.

27. A port city of south central Ukraine on an arm of the Black Sea. 29. A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (trademarks Aleve and Anaprox and Aflaxen).

31. make senseless or dizzy by or as if by a blow.

34. Jordan's port.

38. Designating a solution containing 1 mole of solute per 1000 grams of solvent.

40. Light teasing repartee.

42. The brother of your father or mother.

43. Collect or gather.

45. Marked by lack of intellectual depth.

46. Neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front.

47. 1,000,000,000 periods per second.

48. East Indian cereal grass whose seed yield a somewhat bitter flour, a staple in the Orient.

49. Lean end of the neck.

51. An edible tuber native to South America.

54. The sign language used in the United States.

55. The quarter of many North African cities in which the citadel is located.

57. A card game for 2 players.

60. The capital of Croatia.

63. To fix or set securely or deeply.

65. A genus of European owls.

68. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

72. Hardened sugary exudation of various trees.

74. An indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint.

76. Used of a single unit or thing.

77. A cut of pork ribs with much of the meat trimmed off.

80. A workplace for the conduct of scientific research.

81. A period of time spent sleeping.

82. Low stingless nettle of Central and South America having velvety brownish-green toothed leaves and clusters of small green flowers.

83. The compass point midway between east and southeast.

DOWN 1. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

2. Decrease gradually or bit by bit.

3. Chief port of Yemen.

4. A very poisonous metallic element that has

three allotropic forms.

5. A shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore.

6. Peruvian shrub or small tree having large glossy leaves and cymes of fragrant yellow to green or red flowers.

7. The United Nations agency concerned with the interests of labor.

8. A tax on employees and employers that is used to fund the Social Security system.

9. A doctor's degree in optometry.

10. Author of satirical attacks on medieval scholasticism (1494-1553).

11. English economist noted for his studies of international trade and finance (born in 1907).

12. An emblem (a small piece of plastic or cloth or metal) that signifies your status (rank or membership or affiliation etc.).

13. (Scottish) Bluish-black or gray-blue.

14. Remove with or as if with a ladle.

19. Pertaining to or associated with agony (especially death agonies).

23. A public promotion of some product or service.

25. Tall feather palm of northern Brazil with hard-shelled nuts yielding valuable oil and a kind of vegetable ivory.

28. A state in northwestern North America.

30. A Russian river.

32. (physiology) Of or relating to or producing normal tone or tonus in muscles or tissue.

33. A circumscribed inflammatory and often suppurating lesion on the skin or an internal mucous surface resulting in necrosis of tissue.

35. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

36. A clergyman in many Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites.

37. Great nature goddess of ancient Phrygia in Asia Minor.

39. Popular music originating in the West Indies.

41. British composer (1857-1934).

44. Flat tableland with steep edges.

50. A city in northeastern Ohio.

52. (botany) Outer tissue of bark.

53. The state of owing money.

56. A metallic element having four allotropic forms.

58. A ductile gray metallic element of the lanthanide series.

59. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

61. (Hindu) A manner of sitting (as in the practice of Yoga).

62. Tropical American tree bearing a small edible fruit with green leathery skin and sweet juicy translucent pulp.

64. The Oceanic language spoken by the Maori people in New Zealand.

66. A branch of the Tai languages.

67. (obstetrics) The number of live-born children a woman has delivered.

69. Exhibiting or restored to vigorous good health.

70. Type genus of the Anatidae.

71. A very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk.

73. Of southern Europe.

75. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

78. An informal term for a father.

79. Being nine more than ninety.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

A high-tech or idealistic approach sets you apart. You are at your mental best with sharp ideas and clear thoughts. This is an excellent time to make decisions and take care of mental work. You develop a knack for being in the right place at the right time. You easily win the admiration of others. A drive to probe and penetrate may find you examining and working through many changes that relate to your profession. Big changes affecting your career, status and reputation are likely at this time. There is much to enjoy as many parties and gatherings are near. Take your time and prepare gifts and treats ahead of time for holiday events next month. If you are not cooking, start now to find little store-bought treats you know will please your friends.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Your ambition is strong. Things seem to fall in place and progress is easy. You are in a time of expanding consciousness and heightened awareness. You will prosper through new insights, inventions and an independent point of view. Others may find you a little quiet today; little do they know that those late night talk shows and trips to the library are helping to educate you about world affairs and planet health issues. You may even be plotting a path to help create awareness so that others will help toward healing our planet. Consider recording some shows to get better rest. Although financial rewards will come through your hard work, decorating projects, landscaping and real estate could be lucrative for you in the coming years.

Leo (July 23-August 22) This is a busy time and you will find your attention is needed in several different directions. There could be times in the workplace today that you would be presented with the choice of gossip or joke playing or some other non-work activity—don’t. Your behavior is an example to others; make it positive. You may receive sudden news that will create much excitement today. Share this news with a loved one; it will bring you closer together. There are new social contacts that come to you through your co-workers, perhaps someone new. The power of organization on a social scale, such as business or political affairs, seems to take greater importance. Look through your clothes this evening and list the things you need for an upcoming event.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Give very little energy to the difficult person in your office or the short-tempered driver that may be in your way of making an appointment on time today. Any negatives can distract you from your goals and keep you out of focus just now. Effort is important with your work—staying away from emotional issues is a very wise plan. You may be feeling more private and in a stay-at-home mood this evening. A cycle of nostalgia and domesticity begins now emphasizing a need for security and a sense of roots. You might enjoy getting out the old photograph albums. Be sure to write the names of people you remember under each picture so that future generations will know who the pictures are all about. Consider filling the room with soft music.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) This is a beneficial time that will accommodate your efforts to achieve a balance between the physical and the emotional parts of your life. In the workplace, a compromise is the order of the day. Instead of deciding that you are not going to do something, talk it out and try to find a favorable result. You may find that both your personal growth and your career depend on how you can compromise. Problems and obstacles are short-lived when you give them your personal attention. You have a friend that depends on you to speak up when he or she is not thinking in a focused way. You might be more help if you were to encourage him or her to listen. Perhaps you could both take an analytical or investigative class. Challenges help us stretch and grow.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You may feel your independence is blocked. Take the initiative—work cooperatively to reach mutual goals. You reason and analyze endlessly and are never happier than when fully engaged in some project. You may be tempted to place a bet later today.

An opportunity to improve your financial situation will soon present itself—don’t let it slip through your fingers by involving yourself with reckless gambles. The planets, at this time, help actualize or bring out your sensitive side. You are seductive and affectionate and if you are single, you may find that this is a good time to seek and find a special relationship.

If you are not single, this is an excellent time to build upon your present relationship. You cook this evening and set the table with candles.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) The energy for today is positive, especially as you relate to the workplace. It is easy to accomplish your goals for the day. Take chances and follow your dream. There are positive energies for successful entrepreneurial endeavors today and tomorrow. You could feel great support from those around you. Circumstances could dictate your taking action—you feel well and strong. Your mental energies may undergo some transformation or change—there is a natural sense of growth and development.

Your thoughts count now—use your mind and communicate—write your novel. Tonight, while writing out personal checks in order to take care of some debts, you may discover the accounts are in better shape than you thought.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) If you are working, much progress is realized. At home, you work to decorate and prepare for the next upcoming holiday. One question keeps gnawing at your mind and that is who the person might be that you could invite to a social gettogether. You could feel that anything is possible. Young people gather in your home this evening for some sort of meeting. This could mean you have volunteered to have girl scouts or boy scouts or a church group of young people as a planning committee for the same upcoming holiday. Your organizational abilities and sense of responsibility will be what guides you and proves successful. You have all the drive and energy you could want and it should be easy to channel. Be careful that you do not overspend just now.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) This may be a tough day to solve problems or to look for insights and solutions. You may feel that your independence is stifled or just not available now. Someone older may tend to stifle your freedom. You may have to abandon your own ideas for those of another. It could be time to reassess your goals. Your appreciation for hard work and discipline is natural and lifelong but it may be time to change your professional standing. You actually love responsibility and tend to pile on the work. You will prosper by pursuing your dreams of how you want your life to be. Do not be afraid to project yourself. Speaking out is the only way to really know what works and what does not work. A positive change in financial status is possible very soon.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Your attitude about your work is commendable. If there is a job, you can do it. As a hard worker, you pour yourself into any task with absolute determination. You are responsible to the extreme and take on obligations as though you cannot get enough.

Others could seek you out for your psychological insight and understanding. This could be a time to make changes in your environment. Gathering and sharing information takes on a more emotional significance for you now. Being more involved with neighbors or siblings satisfies a deep emotional need this evening. Communicating feelings becomes more important. You have a natural ability to use emotions in productive ways.

Entertaining others is one form this might take.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

Al-Madeena

22418714

Al-Shuhada

22545171

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Al-Jahra

25610011

Khaldiya

24848075

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Omariya

24719048

N Khaitan

24710044

Fintas

23900322

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Dr. Salem soso

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Gaga’s ‘ARTPOP’ expected to lose label $25m in marketing costs

Stefani determined

U

nderwhelming sales for Lady Gaga’s new album “ARTPOP” is expected to lose Interscope Records$25 million in promotional campaign costs, according to a new report. First-week sales of roughly 250,000 copies are projected for the pop diva’s new release, according to a story published at Examiner.com on Saturday.

TheWrap’s calls to the singer’s representatives and Interscope on Sunday weren’t immediately returned. “ARTPOP” could still debut at No. 1, but that would be a 75 percent drop from the first week sales of her hit “Born This Way’ two years ago, and that one sold more than a million copies in its first week. To put that in perspective, Miley Cyrus’ “Bangerz” launched with first-week sales of 270,000 last month. Two weeks later, Katy Perry’s “Prism” debuted with 286,000 first-week sales. Neither are considered breakout hits. The soft sales for Gaga’s latest, coupled with the massive promo spend, could cause layoffs of Interscope employees, most likely around Christmas, according to the report. The singer’s new album could get a boost from her guest hosting stint on “Saturday Night Live.” But her last tour failed to sell out, reviews of “ARTPOP” have been mixed and its first single, ‘Applause,” peaked at No. 5 on the charts. Interscope Records, based in Santa Monica, Calif., was founded by Jimmy Iovine in 1989 and is a part of the Universal Music Group. The label is home to more than 100 artists, including Eminem, the Rolling Stones and Madonna.

to keep working through pregnancy

Gwen Stefani Gaga

Bieber makes party guests

G

wen Stefani doesn’t want her pregnancy to stop her working. The singer is expecting her third child with husband Gavin Rossdale but rather than take things easy she is determined to continue with her career as normal. A source told RadarOnline. com: “Gwen is working through this and even going to a lot of parties and social functions as if she isn’t pregnant at all, and she’s not interested in having long conversations with her friends about it either. “She’s clearly trying to be the ultimate low maintenance mom.” As Gwen has been through two previous pregnancies - with her sons, Kingston, seven, and Zuma, five - she is finding this one a lot easier and seems to be breezing through it. The source added: “Everybody is wondering how Gwen is doing it ... When people bring up that she’s pregnant, she tries to change the subject - she’s definitely trying to do something different with this pregnancy.” It was revealed in September that Gwen, 44, and Gavin, 48, were expecting another child together. The No Doubt star previously admitted she finds it a challenger just like all working mothers to find the right balance between her family life and work responsibilities. She said: “It’s super hard. Every day is a challenge and I don’t know, like, it doesn’t work most days but some days you get up and it’s all good.”

Swift not afraid to show ‘raw emotions’ in public

sign gagging agreement

J

ustin Bieber made his guests sign a confidentiality agreement prior to entering a party over the weekend. The 19-year-old singer organized an extravagant bash for around 100 friends but only allowed them to enter on the condition they signed a binding contract, which if broke would result in them paying $3 million directly to him. According to TMZ - who obtained a copy of the agreement - guests and workers were prohibited from making posts on Twitter or Facebook, texting or using phones during the event or discussing in any way what went on behind the closed doors of his Calabasas mansion in Los Angeles County, California, on Friday night. The document stipulated that anyone breaking the rules was liable to pay up the hefty sum with no exceptions, although Justin has reduced the fee from $5 million to $3 million according to a contract found for one of his previous parties. However, it didn’t take long for the ‘Boyfriend’ hitmaker to ignore his own strict rules about the party - which landed him in trouble with the police after neighbors complained about the noise. As he got into his car on Saturday he told a video paparazzo the opulent event was reminiscent of a scene from Leonardo DiCarprio’s film ‘The Great Gatsby’, in which he plays wealthy party lover Jay Gatsby.

Justin said: “It was wild. It was some Great Gatsby man.” Sources told TMZ rapper Snoop Lion was among Justin’s guests and police were called three times during the early hours of Saturday morning because of excessive noise. The first call was made at about 1:00am and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies advised revelers to calm things down. Further calls were made at 3:00am and 5.30am, one of which from Justin’s next door neighbor who recently accused him of speeding up and down the street in a hazardous manner. The pop star sealed the deal on his $6.5 million mansion in the Californian suburb, near to the Kardashian residence, last year. The 10,000 sq ft home is sat on 1.3 acres of land and previously belonged to actor Eddie Murphy’s ex-wife Nicole Mitchell.

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aylor Swift is never afraid to show her “raw, real emotions” in public. The ‘22’ hitmaker is famous for the personal content of her songs - which include a number of tracks written about her famous ex-boyfriends, which include Taylor Lautner, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Mayer and One Direction’s Harry Styles - and she hopes they send a message her fans can empathize with. She told New York magazine: “I think allowing yourself to feel raw, real emotions in public is

Taylor Swift something I am never going to be afraid to do. “Hopefully that’s the case, if I can remain a real human. I’m fine with being honest with my fans about the fact that it’s okay that everything isn’t okay all the time. “I love my life, I love my career, I love my friends - but things are not OK all the time. So I don’t sing about things being OK all the time.” The 23-year-old star started off her career as a country musician before making the leap to mainstream pop. Taylor has been thinking about what the

future holds for her career and plans to write children’s songs when she gets older. She revealed: “When I’m 40 and nobody wants to see me in a sparkly dress anymore, I’ll be, like, ‘Cool, I’ll just go in the studio and write songs for kids.’ It’s looking like a good pension plan.”

Farrell ‘freaked out by intruder

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Justin Bieber

olin Farrell “freaked out” when an obsessed fan called at his house on Saturday. The intruder was arrested after trespassing on the ‘Total Recall’ star’s property while he was at home in Los Angeles. The unidentified man walked up to Colin’s front door, which led to him calling his assistant, who then called police. The trespasser was taken into custody after officers talked to him, and placed under a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. Under Californian law an officer can place a person under this hold if they have “probable cause to believe that the person is, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled.” The man is not thought to be a US citizen, and is believed to have travelled to Los Angeles specifically to see the Irish star. Colin has two sons, James, 10, and Henry, three, by different women and he is particularly protective of his eldest son, as he suffers from Angelman Syndrome, a rare neuro-genetic disorder that can impair speech, movement and balance. He has previously said: “Things like walking and talking and eating and feeding himself, all those things that so many of us naturally take for granted because they come so easily, to James, they come somewhat harder. Everything he’s achieved in his life has come through the presence and the kind of will that is hard work. He’s someone to be inspired by.” It is unclear whether either of Colin’s sons were with him at the time he was approached by the intruder.

Hudgens throws sister lavish birthday party

Colin Farrell

JLS won’t appear on ‘The Big Reunion’

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anessa Hudgens threw her sister a lavish 18th birthday party. The ‘Spring Breakers’ actress spared no expense on her younger sibling Stellar for her big day and treated her to a wild bash at Beacher’s Madhouse nightclub at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in celebration of her landmark birthday on Saturday night.

The party was reportedly alcohol-free as many of the guests were under the US legal drinking age of 21. Amongst the party goers was Will Smith’s daughter Willow, 13, who was overheard asking the DJ to play Kanye West and watched a “Mini-Kanye” perform for guests. Vanessa, 24, was spotted getting belly-dancing lessons from burlesque star Amazon Ashley - who famously taught Miley Cyrus how to twerk. Vanessa - who is dating Austin Butler - was seemingly enjoying herself, despite her admission last month that’s she doesn’t enjoy partying and “loathes” nightclubs. Speaking to Cosmo On Campus magazine, she said: “I have never liked partying; I love dancing, but that’s as far as it goes. It’s tough because a lot of clubs are everything I loathe, especially in LA. They’re always very ego-filled and people get up to mischief. It’s just not a pure environment. I stay away from [drugs] because I know it’s smart to steer clear.”

J Vanessa Hudgens

JLS

LS won’t be going on ‘The Big Reunion’ after their split. The boy band rose to fame after appearing on the 2008 series of ‘The X Factor’ and have five UK number one singles and four UK top five albums to their name, and claim they won’t reunite for a reality TV show as they are going out on a high. Singer Marvin Humes told HELLO! Magazine: “People ask if we’re going to be on ITV’s ‘The Big Reunion’ in five years time, but there’s no point because nothing went wrong with us. “We don’t hate each other and we’re not drug addicts. We’re still best friends and have had an incredible time together.” Marvin and his bandmates Aston Merrygold, 25, JB Gill, 26, and Ortisé Williams, also 26, will pursue new ventures after their ‘Goodbye: The Greatest Hits Tour’ ends on December 22nd 2013. JB will be working on the farm he recently bought in Scotland, Ortise has his own entertainment management company, Aston will be working on solo material and Marvin will continue to present both radio and TV shows, including co-starring on talent show ‘The Voice’ alongside Emma Willis. Aston added: “We’re all going to be emotional [at our final concert] but although there’s going to be a lot of tears, there’ll also be a lot of smiles. “We’re going to be on stage lapping up every last minute.”—Bang Showbiz

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F a s h i o n

‘Signature International

Fashion Week End’

Indian models showcase creations by designer Swanil Shinde during the ‘Signature International Fashion Week End’ in Mumbai on November 17, 2013.—AFP/ AP photos

Miss Universe Canada Sahar Biniaz models a creation by designer by Swanil Shinde.

Indian Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut models a creation by designer by Bora Aksu.

Indian Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez showcases a creation by designers Falguni and Shane Peacock.

Miss Universe Canada Sahar Biniaz models a creation by designers Falguni and Shane Peacock.

Lawrence was reluctant to work with Dior J

ennifer Lawrence was reluctant to become the face of Dior. The 23-year-old actress admits she initially had reservations about signing on to represent the luxury brand until she travelled to Paris to see one of creative director Raf Simons’ shows and was “blown away” by his talent. She told France’s Madame Figaro magazine: “At first, I kept telling everyone, ‘I’m an actress, not a model, I’m not going to do it.’ But then I came to Paris and went to Raf Simons’ first show and was so blown away by his creations and his talent that I decided it would be stupid not to become a part

of this designer’s legacy.” Raf Simons has said he was struck by Jennifer’s “youth” and classic beauty” as well as her acting capabilities, which led him to ask her to model for the brand.

The ‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ actress also revealed she can identify with her character Katniss Everdeen, who must put on a brave face for the cameras to fight to the death in the popular film franchise, because they both have had to learn about the importance of appearances and fashion in their respective universes. The laid-back star mused: “It’s funny how Katniss and I have followed the same path.

When I was nominated at the Oscars for ‘Silver Linings Playbook’, I had to go to fancy red carpet events wearing couture gowns, and I didn’t feel like myself.

“I felt like an alien, that’s what Katniss feels like in the first ‘Hunger Games’ chapter, then in the second she gets used to this new life. She realises she has to communicate with this new crowd and wear certain clothes, start wearing make-up... That’s kind of how I felt too.”—Bang Showbiz

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Will this year cure Hollywood’s ‘selective amnesia’ with black filmmakers?

his has been a banner year for black filmmakers, and yet somehow their success continues to stun Hollywood. “The Best Man Holiday” was the latest film to thrill viewers, scoring an A+ on CinemaScore and grossing $30 million over its opening weekend. That was almost enough to knock “Thor: The Dark World” out of the top spot - a result no box office prognosticators predicted.

“Historically Hollywood has done a terrible job assessing the value of films and properties that are driven by women and people of color,” Franklin Leonard, a former studio executive and founder of the Black List, told TheWrap. “I’m boggled whenever black films do well by the constant refrain that they’ve over-performed,” Leonard said. “How many black films have to “overperform” before we change the model for expectations?”

This is at least the third qfilm to catch people off-guard this year. When “The Butler” opened to $25 million in its opening weekend, one trade publication called it an “over performance.” When “Baggage Claim” grossed $9.3 million its opening weekend, Moviefone wondered: “How Did ‘Baggage Claim’ Beat ‘Don Jon’?”

TheWrap’s sources have not been clairvoyant either, also dubbing “The Best Man Holiday” a surprise.

This is not the first time a strong year for black filmmakers has awed Hollywood either. Far from it. “The Hollywood machine has selective amnesia,” AfricanAmerican director, producer and distributor Ava DuVernay told TheWrap. “It’s not like we haven’t gone through a season of robust black image makers before.”

She pointed to the rise of filmmakers such as John Singleton and Spike Lee in the late 1980s while “The Best Man” director Malcolm D Lee noted the steady success of black comedies in the 1990s. Hollywood has benefited from an eager black audience before, only to back away. In doing so, Hollywood discounts a substantial part of its constituency. “12 Years a Slave” screenwriter John Ridley recently compared Hollywood’s inability to satiate a dissatisfied black audience with the Republican Party’s inability to court the black vote.

“There’s an audience out there that you’re not

tracking, in the same way that the Republicans didn’t track that audience in the 2012 election,” Ridley told TheWrap. “That audience is there, it is hungry for diver-

black moviegoers each year, and one common excuse for the paucity of those films is they don’t play overseas.

While a Tyler Perry movie can make money in the U.S.,

sity of entertainment and it has the money to go out.”

The sheer number of films aimed at a black audience this year has spurred talk of an “Obama effect.”

The success has been both commercial and critical.

“12 Years A Slave,” “Fruitvale Station” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” are all principal Oscar contenders while half a dozen films have performed well at the box office. Yet the recurring surprise at their financial success suggests such talk ignores the larger quandary. How can this wave sustain itself, and why hasn’t it before? Executives estimate studios release two to four films aimed at

the thinking goes, foreign audiences won’t relate.

“Studios are focusing on the global business and tentpole titles,” Jeff Clanagan, CEO of Codeblack films, a Lionsgate subsidiary focused on making movies for black audiences, told TheWrap. “If you are looking at urban movies, you are only looking at a domestic audience. It’s harder to get a budget for it when you’re only dealing with domestic revenues and not foreign.”

Clanagan then said it was “a whole other conversation about whether these movies can go foreign.”

DuVernay was less diplomatic, labeling that explanation

The Culture Prize Giving Ceremony

a copout. “Even studio executives I speak to behind closed doors admit there is not a real attempt to mine that area for films of color,” she said. Leonard pointed to the success of black actors such as Will Smith, Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx, all of whom have been global icons at one point or another. Their success has not created myriad opportunities for unproven filmmakers or actors.

“These films make money every time,” DuVernay said. “But it doesn’t trigger a greenlight frenzy.” Her film “Middle of Nowhere” was nominated for several Independent Spirit Awards and DuVernay won the John Cassavetes award at that ceremony. But she says that no matter how well her films do, “I have to start from square one every time, and that’s not the case for my white male counterparts.”

She has tried to establish a pipeline for black filmmakers in the independent space, founding the AfricanAmerican Film Festival Releasing Movement. AFFRM is an independent distributor dedicated to releasing arthouse movies that often disappear after a few film festival screenings.

It has released six movies, including “Middle of Nowhere.” Yet diversity is a larger problem is at the studio level. While a black filmmaker can scrap together support for a film with a modest budget, securing the support of a major distributor or financier has proven far more challenging. If there was ever reason to believe that will change, it’s this year’s crop of movies. More than a dozen movies are opening in an 18-month span, and the diversity, depth and success of those movies is unlike any in recent memory.

Some offer unvarnished looks at slavery and segregation while others are universal tales of love and farcical comedy. “What’s fueling the renaissance, if you want to call it that, are good stories,” David Talbert, who directed “Baggage Claim,” told TheWrap. “The stories would be good regardless of who was acting in them.

Kevin Hart’s stand-up is just funny material. ‘The Butler’ is a historic and it’s just a good piece. “That’s what’s going to keep this from becoming an anomaly.”—Reuters

US country star Patty Griffin gets Londoners stomping

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Spanish flamenco guitarist Tomatito (Jose Fernandez Torres) speaks after being awarded an International medal for Arts.

Spanish Catalan opera soprano Montserrat Caballe speaks after being awarded the International medal for Arts yesterday in Madrid during the culture prize giving ceremony in the Red Room of the town hall in Madrid. —AFP photos

Spanish painter and graphic artist Juan Genoves speaks after being awarded an International medal for Arts.

Mirren wins London theatre award for Queen Elizabeth II portrayal H

elen Mirren was named best actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in “The Audience” at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards on Sunday while the best actor award was split between Rory Kinnear and Adrian Lester as the leads in “Othello”. The award for best play on the London stage went to Lucy Kirkwood for “Chimerica”, an exploration of the relationship between the United States and China as seen through the eyes of an American photojournalist trying to track down a young protester who faced down a tank in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

A revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along”, a flop on Broadway in 1981, was named best musical while Richard Eyre won best director for a revival of Ibsen’s “Ghosts”. “People come from around the world to see plays in London,” Mayor Boris Johnson said as he made his way into the awards banquet at the Savoy Hotel. “It’s the place where the theatre really got going in the 16th century.”

Mirren, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in Steven Frears’s movie “The Queen”, said she feels such awards are being given to the queen as much as to her.

“The Audience” shows her meeting with prime ministers over many decades, and required that she portray a woman in her 20s as well as an octogenarian. “I’ve always felt playing her majesty that it’s actually her majesty who’s winning the award and not me,” Mirren told Reuters. “I did feel very much doing a play that the response to the play was as much a response to that person, that extraordinary woman, as it was to my performance. But I should be very proud,” she said, speaking before the official announcement was made.

Kinnear and Lester said that portraying Othello and Iago in the production of Shakespeare’s play at the National Theatre had been a challenge, both personally and in terms of seeing how the play could be interpreted for new audiences. “It was important that we got on with each other because we’re spending an awfully long time ruining each other’s lives,” Kinnear said.

Lester said he thought the production had managed to connect with a whole new generation of theatregoers. “It breathed fresh life into a play that people may have found dated,” he said. London Evening Standard editor Sarah Sands, one of the judges, said, “The high level of theatrical daring and creativity seen on the London stage this year made our choices tougher than ever to make. “We, like the rest of the world, have been dazzled by the talent on show.”

In other awards: American actor Seth Numrich took the Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his portrayal of a small-town gigolo in Tennessee Williams’s “Sweet Bird of Youth”.

Rachel De-lahay won the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright for her drama about immigration and multicultural London, “Routes”.

Rosalie Craig won a new award for Best Musical Performance as the star of “The Light Princess”.

The Evening Standard Theatre Icon Award went to Maggie Smith for her contribution to the world stage.

David Walliams took home the new Award for Comedy for his performance as Bottom in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

Actor and director Kevin Spacey, artistic director of

the Old Vic since 2003, was given the Editor’s Award for his contribution to British Theatre.

Andrew Lloyd-Webber received the Lebedev Special Award for his contribution to musical theatre.

Actress/writer Cush Jumbo won the Emerging Talent Award for her one-woman play about Josephine Baker, “Josephine and I”.

The Beyond Theatre award was given to the BBC’s 2013 Proms season.—Reuters

Helen Mirren

merican Patty Griffin brought her resonant, mournful, soulful voice to London on Sunday, singing “Meet me on the banks of the Ohio” just a stone’s throw from the Thames in a sign of country music’s growing footprint in Britain. The scene, seemingly an incongruous one for an American country music star, was the Royal Festival Hall in the Southbank Centre, not far from Buckingham Palace.

But the standing ovation at the end of Griffin’s concert, not to mention the foot-stomping and hand-slapping throughout, testified to her tremendous talent as both singer and song-writer, and to something broader: the surprising popularity of American country music in the United Kingdom. The genre has had a dedicated following in the British Isles for years but it seems to be growing, especially over the last decade. The evidence is anecdotal but ubiquitous.

This coming weekend London will host the annual British Country Music Awards, first held in 2006. The next year brought the inaugural Towerfest Country Music Festival, now an annual three-day event in north England. Other annual British country fests include the Rock Ridge Roundup, Country to Country and YeeHawUK. The plethora of British enthusiast publications and websites includes Maverick, the nation’s self-described “Leading Independent Country Music Magazine”. It carries articles on American and British performers as well as British concerts and events. Homegrown bands include Texarkana, which hails, despite its name, from northwest England, not from the town that straddles the Texas-Arkansas state line. A band called Arizona Flame comes from northeast England, far removed in every respect (especially weather) from the American Southwest.

As an American recently transplanted to London, all this left me gob-smacked, as the locals say. Key country-music totems - cowboys, Bible-belt preachers and pickup trucks - are hard to come by in Britain. The nation’s roads are largely bereft of the iconic Ford F-150 King Ranch pickup, whose seats have more leather than most cows.

Likewise, British country singers seem to lack the hardscrabble upbringing common to American artists.

Glenn Campbell was the son of a sharecropper. Johnny Cash picked cotton as a boy. Loretta Lynn was married at age 13. John Denver had it better as the son of an American Air Force officer. But his real name was John Deutschendorf, which probably was suffering enough.

Still, there’s evident logic behind country music’s British boomlet. For better or worse, American popular culture permeates the globe. And American country music traces roots to the Scots-Irish immigrants who settled the hills of Appalachia, like Patty Griffin’s family. —Reuters

Patty Griffin

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Kabul’s School of Rock Offers Lessons for Life

Afghan music student Qais Sadat, 22, practices the guitar.

Afghan music students chat and practice the guitar at “Kabul School of Rock” in Kabul.

Afghan music student Meena practices the violin.

Afghan music student Omar Paiman, 18, practices the guitar.

In this picture taken on October 22, 2013, Kabul School of Rock’s director, Robin teaches drums to an Afghan music student at “Kabul School of Rock” in Kabul.—AFP photos

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Canadian actor Keanu Reeves appears at a press conference.—AFP

Keanu Reeves film based on true Japanese story

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he director of the Keanu Reeves 3-D film “47 Ronin” says he hopes his adaptation of a true Japanese story becomes a Hollywood blockbuster. Film director Carl Rinsch, Reeves and co-stars appeared together in front of a Tokyo audience yesterday.

The film is based on an actual historical event during the Edo Period known as “Chushingura.” It involved a lord who was wrongfully put to death and his followers - ronin - who sought revenge.

Rinsch said he took on the film subject and sat down with Keanu Reeves about two years ago. They

wondered how they were going to take on a popular Japanese tale and do it justice. Rinsch said they decided to make the story their own, making “it a Hollywood blockbuster and see it through that lens.” “These themes of revenge, loyalty, perseverance, were things we knew from the very beginning were universal,” said Rinsch, who is making his directorial feature debut with the film. Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada stars as the main supporting character, Kuranosuke Oishi, a leader of the men. Sanada said that during the filming Reeves became more and more of a samurai, while

the character he played became more “wild” in style.

Sanada said Reeves and himself hoped to depict the friendship of two characters, which transcended borders and social positions, in the film. Reeves said “47 Ronin” is a story where people “share this journey to reclaim their land, their honor, their way. It was very special to me to be part of it.” Reeves, who grew up attracted to martial arts movies, makes his directorial debut this year with the martial arts action movie “Man of Tai Chi.” The film “47 Ronin” premiers in Japan on Dec. 6 and opens in US theaters on Dec 25.—AP

ith a sense of showmanship that would have impressed Freddie Mercury, Salahdeen, aged seven, struts his way through a passionate rendition of “We Will Rock You” — all part of the learning process at Kabul’s “school of rock”. Founded two years ago in a living room in the Afghan capital, the school has grown into a busy youth club based at an arts centre with a recording studio and 35 students mastering singing, the guitar and drums. The walls are covered in murals of local life and musical heroes such US duo The White Stripes, while the garden outside is decorated with graffiti paintings including one of a woman in her veil.

“This is the only place in Afghanistan to learn rock music,” Omar Paiman, 18, a spiky-haired fan of Linkin Park, told AFP. “I am really interested in guitar, and I have had lessons for seven months.

My family didn’t want me being a singer or a musician because Afghan people don’t have a good opinion of rock music.” “Some people threaten to kill artists. My dad is a construction engineer and wanted me to follow him,” Omar added as he strummed through a few chords of the Bob Dylan classic “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”.

The Taliban outlawed almost all music during their 1996-2001 rule of Kabul, and Afghanistan remains a conservative country with widespread suspicion of Western influences. But rock school founder Humayun Zadran said that the hunger among young people for a blast of electric guitar became clear when teenagers clamoured to get involved with jam sessions that he held at his home with friends. “Kids were asking ‘how do you play this riff?’ and ‘how do you hold this note?’. It got bigger and bigger and we thought about opening a proper rock school.

“We started with a couple of guitars, half a drum kit and seven students.” Zadran says that finding kit, funds and teachers to keep the project afloat is a constant battle. “Getting instruments in this country is impossible,” he said.

“We have either carried them in from outside, or friends who bought a guitar in the US have left it here as a donation. “You can’t just go out and

buy a set of strings or pick up a guitar.”

‘Music is an unreachable desire’ Despite such limitations, Kabul city does boast a lively rock scene, with mainly male crowds drawn to loud, angry music that expresses their frustration and experience of decades of war. Zadran is the proprietor of the arts centre where the rock school is housed — and he also helps run the annual Sound Central music festival. “It’s growing, there are more musicians, there are more concerts happening,” he said. “You have to be optimistic to do something like this and I’m very optimistic about after 2014 (when US-led foreign forces pull out).”

Perhaps Salahdeen could develop from singing Queen songs into being a real frontman one day. Or Meena Yousufzai, 22, could charm an audience with her gentle violin music. Meena is still learning the basics, but she knows she is lucky to be able to take up an instrument when many of her friends are banned by their protective parents.

“It is very difficult and it is not very common here, particularly for girls, to learn music. Girls can go to school to learn how to read and write, but music is an unreachable desire,” she said.

“Most of my friends are interested to learn, but they don’t have family permission. To learn an instrument is a great feeling.” For Sulyaman Qardash, lead vocalist for top local band Kabul Dreams, the most important message for beginners is not to just copy the West but to find a new sound as the country enters an era without NATO combat troops out on patrol.

“I’m not that Afghan who you saw on the TV with a turban or that Afghan caught up in explosions every day,” he said. “Kabul sound is a mixture of a lot of things. The rhythm is different, the tempo is different. Musically we are in the middle of nowhere.”—AFP

‘Thor’ stays Marvel-ous atop box office M

arvel superhero Thor hammered rivals for a second straight weekend at the North American box office, industry estimates showed Sunday.

“Thor: The Dark World,” the latest blockbuster based on Marvel’s iconic comic book character, took a hefty $38.5 million in its second weekend, figures from Exhibitor Relations showed. Starring Australian heartthrob Chris Hemsworth as the hammer-wielding son of Odin, the movie is a follow-up to the franchise’s 2011 moneyspinning first installment, “Thor.”

With its strong opening weekend— helped by the phenomenal success of 2012’s $1.5-billion hit “The Avengers,” which saw Thor join forces with other characters—the film has taken in a total of nearly $147 million. Debuting strong in second place was romantic comedy “The Best Man Holiday,” a sequel 15 years in the making to “The Best Man,” in which

the college friends reunite over Christmas and reignite romance and rivalries. The film, starring Monica Calhoun and Morris Chestnut at the head of an ensemble cast, took in $30.6 million.

“Last Vegas,” starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline on a seniors’ bachelor party to Sin City, was a distant third, with $8.9 million, while animated comedy “Free Birds” was fourth with $8.3 million. In fifth, screwball Jackass comedy “Bad Grandpa,” took in $7.7 million in its fourth week.

“Gravity”—with Oscar-winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts adrift in space after a devastating accident—held steady in sixth place with $6.3 million during its third weekend in theaters.

Meanwhile, science fiction blockbuster “Ender’s Game” tumbled to seventh place in its third week. The film, adapted from Orson Scott Card’s 1985 novel and starring

Harrison Ford, earned $6.2 million. The critically acclaimed drama “12 Years a Slave,” regarded as an early contender for Oscars glory, was in eighth with $4.7 million. Paul Greengrass’s “Captain Phillips,” a thriller starring Tom Hanks as a cargo ship captain captured by Somali pirates, earned $4.5 million. The film is based on the 2009 hijacking of the MV Maersk Alabama container ship. British romantic comedy “About Time,” starring Domhnall Gleeson as a love-struck timetraveler, rounded out the top 10 with $3.5 million.—AFP

Kabul’s School of Rock Offers Lessons for Life

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013

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Proud Ladakhi women Leh, Ladakh, India Indian photographer Shreekant Somany

‘Travelling Lens’, a collage of genres Somany’s 30 odd photographs on display

By Sajeev K Peter

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Icy Depths- an aerial view of Himalayas, Bhutan

Natural Inscription- Markha Valley, Ladakh, India

Spooky-Annapurna Circuit Nepal

Spectre of Diwali - Delhi, India

ndian photographer Shreekant Somany does not belong to any particular school of photography. Each image he clinks has a hidden dimension as it becomes conceptualized art. “I do different genres of photography. For me, it’s all about capturing moments, whether it is a landscape, wildlife or portrait of an expression, I capture that. I believe that there are a thousand ways of looking at a picture. It is the perspective that makes it meaningful,” Somany told Kuwait Times in an interview at the Indian embassy yesterday.

Somany has put 30 of his photographs on display at an exhibition at Al-Adwani Hall in Dahiyat Abdullah Al-Salem. The exhibition was inaugurated on Sunday by Ali Hussein Al-Youha, Secretary General, National Council of Culture, Arts and Literature. The exhibition has been organized by the Embassy of India, Kuwait in association with NCCAL. The ceremony was attended

by Kuwaiti dignitaries, ambassadors from a number of countries and art lovers. The exhibition will continue until Thursday (Nov 21).

“Travelling Lens” is a photographic journey through images in five sections depicting conceptualized art expression, nature and landscape, monuments, portraiture and photo oil paintings.

“I call it ‘Travelling Lens’ because my lens has travelled with me to capture the various genres of photos I have taken. I have displayed 30 odd photographs here in this exhibition. It is a collage of genres. I call it conceptualized art because photographs have been turned into art. There are some photographs that look like oil paintings,” he said.

“For me, the image I capture with my lens is the creative photographic expression of a painter’s canvas. For a photographer, it is the lens and for the painter it is the brush. In the myriad of things happening around you today and in the kaleidoscopic landscape of life, there are a lot of moments that you can capture. You capture them as you perceive it,” he explained.

His paintings on display include: ‘Specter of Diwali’, ‘Rising Prayers’, ‘Ferns on a Tree’, ‘Frogs Eye View’, ‘Icy Depths’, ‘Chinese Philosophy’, etc. “I try to capture spur-of-the-moment photographs reflecting various human moods like ecstasy, anger, curiosity and happiness. Some of them have turned out the way I imagined,” he said. “I believe photographic expression brings out the perception of the photographer. It is not just capturing the data as a file document. But more than that it becomes art,” he remarked.

Somany has undertaken long and painstaking journeys in and out of India in his endeavor to capture wonderful artistic moments. Somany said he was influenced by Nicholas Roerich, a Russian painter, who spent long years in India painting the Himalayan landscapes. “Some of my photographs were inspired by him,” he said. Somany is also a director of Samagam, an organization established with the objective of strengthening the fields of performing and visual arts.

“It is more like a hobby and a passion for me than a profession. My profession is business,” said Somany who is the Chairman and Managing Director of Somany Ceramics Limited, a wellknown ceramic company in India. “Photography is something I find very creative, especially with the kind of tools available today. You can do many things,” he said. Though Somany started clicking photos in 1964, he was not serious about it. “I used to shoot pictures just to keep for the record,” he recalled.

But over the last 10 years, Somany has been on this wonderful journey of discovering new meanings and new stories. “Only in the last seven or eight years, I have begun to look at photography from a point of view that I could bring creativity into it,” he said. A photographer by heart and a nature-lover by soul, Somany’s images are like a stunning storybook where every image has multiple meanings and a thousand stories hidden in it. And with every image he clicks, he discovers a new leaf of this book, a leaf that gives a new perspective and new meaning.

Duck face-Petra, Jordan

Standing Tall-Rohtang Pass, Manali, India

Fading Gloria Citadel Amman, Jordan

Temple of Venus-Lebanon